#every time i watch ted lasso i then have to go watch some footballers of colour to like

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

thought to myself "the ted lasso team can't be tHAt white???" as i was watching sheffield vs man city and then i went to google the team.

the amount of black players on the team vs the screentime black players get............... they have a black coach ?! i'm not paying loads of attention but like ???

[rqgnarok]

standing ovation - jamie tartt

fandom: ted lasso

wc: 2321

warnings: mentions of jamie’s dad and DV, spoilers for ted lasso’s mom city. reader uses female pronouns. 

summary: reader sneaks into training grounds after richmond’s win against man city. seeing her is just what jamie needs. 

author’s note at the end!

There’s something in the air.

Jamie’s pretty sure Will sprayed some lavender shit all over the locker room again but that’s not quite what he means– he’s said goodbye to every single one of his teammates and all the coaches– and the locker room is now his and his alone. He locks away his dad’s ghost by locking up his phone, the simple message doing wonders to finish lifting that weight off his shoulders.

He wasn’t at the game. Or maybe he was, Jamie realizes now that it doesn’t really matter. A part of him will never stop looking over his shoulder whenever he visits his hometown for his dickwad of a father, but the older, bigger part of him knows Coach was right– his motivation doesn’t come from hating his dad anymore and it doesn’t have to. His forgiveness is for himself, for the little boy that had to build a mask to save himself from his dad, and for the man he is today because of him– and because of his mum, Keeley, Roy, Ted, his teammates–

The standing ovation at the end was more of a benediction than he’d like to admit. Everything about his hometown made him feel prickly; like he was a virus the town was doing its best to reject, and other than his quick visit to his mom Jamie expected the whole thing to be a disaster. The kids on the street, the people on social media, the rude assholes in the bleachers– Jamie thought that was all he was gonna get. Blind, thoughtless hatred despite Jamie trying his best.

He remembers Roy getting a standing ovation on his last game, while Jamie was still wearing Man City blue. He’d been appalled, unable to discern the possibility of someone hating you so much they respected you. All he’d ever gotten– from his dad, rival teams, his own team– had been everything except respect.

But they’d clapped for him. They thought him deserving of something precious and somehow it feels like permission. He can play for himself. He can come home without his dad’s ghost belittling him for not turning out the way he expected him to. 

Even Manchester hasn’t been home in a long time. Sure, his mom and Simon are there, but Richmond has his family, too– his friends, his teammates, his–

“Excuse me, I’m looking for my boyfriend. 5’9 not quite 6 foot, sexy as hell, the most fantastic football player to ever walk on Earth?”

Jamie’s lips involuntarily twist up as he glances at the door. (Y/N)’s a sight wearing her Richmond TARTT jersey, looking disheveled and flushed like the rest of the city probably is right now after their win tonight. 

Jamie doesn’t give a shit about the rest of the city, though. At least not right now. He cares about his girl sneaking in (with Keeley and Roy’s permission and advice, probably) to see him, normal sleep schedule be damned. 

He laughs, loud and unrestrained joy lighting up his features as he hobbles towards his girlfriend, letting himself be enveloped in a crush-tight embrace.

“Did ya watch it?” he wonders, forgoing his usual shy demeanor whenever (Y/N) praises him and just allowing his excitement to overflow, arms going around (Y/N)’s waist and hoisting her off the ground.

“Did I watch it, he asks,” (Y/N) scoff is downplayed by her big grin and the way she wraps her arms around Jamie’s neck as he spins her around, fucked up ankle be damned. “I couldn’t take my fucking eyes off of you, Jamie, oh, my God–”

She’s kissing him deeply, unable to contain her excitement. 

“You’re so fucking brilliant,” she whispers against his mouth, her hands at the nape of his neck making him shiver into her embrace, unable to get enough. “Oh, Jamie, that assist– the entire play for Colin’s goal? Your goal–”

“It was for you,” he tells as he drops her off, cupping her face in his hands and cheeks hurting with how wide he’s smiling. “I couldn’t celebrate but it was for you. For you and me mum, you were with me on the pitch the whole time–”

He stumbles a little as he drops her on the ground and (Y/N) tenses in his arms. She looks him over, suddenly worried. “Oh, shit. Your ankle, dumbass, are you okay? Fuck, did I–”

“Angel,” the nickname has her melting almost immediately just like he thought it would, a five-word weapon he’s never gotten tired of wielding. (Y/N) pouts at him, still concerned, and Jamie can’t have that, he kisses the expression off her face immediately. It should be illegal for her to be sad, no, sir. “‘s not even a sprain. It was probably the panic of bein’ in the same place as me dad, to be honest.”

Something steely flashes through her eyes, there and gone in a second, at the mention of Jamie’s dad. (Y/N)’s never been anything other than kind about it, but Jamie doesn’t doubt she’d beat the old fart up if she were given the chance. 

The thought only makes him smile.

“Did you? See him?” she wonders cautiously. She’s touching him again after her moment of hesitation over his injury, hands doing soothing motions up and down his sides. Jamie fights off a shiver.

“Nah,” he says simply as if the thought of crossing paths with him didn’t have him toeing the line of a panic attack the entire three days they were in Manchester. “I don’t know if he was there, and if he was, I didn’t see him. I don’t think I care anymore. It’s for the best, really.”

(Y/N)’s expression brightens, though they both know they’re not done talking about it. Jamie wishes it could be as easy as turning off his phone and forgetting about his dad, but his skin already itches a little with the idea of getting a text back from him. He’s also no doubt that (Y/N) will hold him throughout it all. 

“I did see me mum.”

“How is my favorite Tartt?” she teases.

“Happy,” Jamie says softly, always the most important thing to consider when it comes to his mother. Ever since he was a toddler and he gained acknowledgment of his dad’s actions; after an especially gruesome argument that ended with his dad breaking a few photo frames and plates, stumbling his way out of the apartment, and slamming the door shut, Jamie would climb on his mom’s lap and wipe her tears as best he could with his tiny clumsy baby fingers. “Yeah, she was real happy. And for me, too. Even before the match, she was happy to see me, happy to… jus’ happy.”

“That’s good, sweetheart,” she threads her fingers through Jamie’s hair to keep it off his face, his headband lost somewhere in his lockers or amongst the rest of the dirty laundry. He’ll have to tell Will to watch out for it, he’s a little attached to it after the night he’s had. 

Jamie’s usually not the one to believe in lucky garments or charms but– well. He feels pretty lucky right now; that (Y/N) saw some worth in him when they met and makes the choice to love him and come home to him, day after day, whatever the outcome may be. 

(Y/N) looks at him adoringly like she knows what he’s thinking. “Did’ya get your wings back, then?”

Jamie grasps her hand in his and turns to kiss the inside of her wrist, only slipping a little bit of tongue. “Nah. They was never gone. All I needed was a little help to see.”

He frowns before (Y/N) can answer. “I was gonna say something stupid like ‘you’re me wings’ but that’s disgusting and I hate it. I would never say something like that. ‘m not Roy.”

(Y/N)’s laugh is surprised and comes deep from her belly. “Are you telling me Roy Kent’s a secret romantic?”

“Big old softie, that tosser,” he rolls his eyes. “He snuck you in for me, didn’t he? That’s all you need to know about–”

(Y/N) shuts him up with a kiss just because she can, and they’re both smiling too hard for it to be a proper one. 

She says “He likes you. He’s proud of you. We’re all so proud of you,” while peppering kisses all over his face, landing on his cheeks, nose, temple, jaw, and corner of his mouth. “You’re so, so good, Jamie, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” he says, because there’s not gonna be a single time in which she tells him that and he doesn’t reciprocate. “Mum said that, too. And Keeley and Roy. And Coach, too, I guess, in his own way. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

“I can’t believe I missed it,” (Y/N) pouts and beats herself up over it for the thousandth time. Jamie presses a kiss to the space between her eyes for the thousandth time in response. “I should’ve been there, I should’ve told my boss to go to hell–” 

“You’re here,” he tells her, shaking her a little by the shoulders and looking her over like he can’t quite believe it. That she’s here in the locker room, in his life, loving him like he’s always desperately wished for but never thought he’d deserve. “What was I gonna do, put my dumb ankle into ice and sit alone in the dark?”

“‘m sure Roy and Keeley would be here drinking champagne with you if I wasn’t here.”

“And what could we be doing that is keeping them away right now?” he raises his brows, sneaking a hand down her back lower, lower, lower–

(Y/N) slaps his chest, though a gleam in her eye tells him she’s not saying no to anything. “You’re…” she drifts off.

He smirks cockily. “Unbelievable?”

(Y/N) shakes her head imperceptively. “Nah. I always knew you could do it. But you’re breathtaking, I’ll give you that. As if your ego needs it.”

Jamie’s mouth softens into a smile, soft and apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

(Y/N) frowns a little at the sudden shift in conversation. “Whatever for?”

“I’ve been a dick these past couple of weeks–”

He had. (Y/N) won’t let him admit it but he wasn’t lying when he told Roy he wasn’t doing well. Not eating, not sleeping, waving off (Y/N)’s concern with a little too cold shoulder. It made him feel a little too much like his dad, and that thought only dragged him further down.

It had been (Y/N) who suggested Jamie pay a visit to his mom while in town for the game, and when he’d mentioned this to her she’d smiled knowingly, ran a hand through his hair, and made him promise an introduction soon. 

“You were anxious,” she corrects him with a shake of the head, won’t let him speak ill of himself when all he did was have a normal, human reaction to a very triggering situation. “And I’ve been worried about you but you don’t have to apologize, Jamie. Not to me, not in a million years.”

“Alright,” he says, soft and charmed. He soothes his thumb over her knuckles, featherlight. He looks down at their intertwined hands for a beat or two, gently swinging them back and forth. “Then can I apologize for shutting you out? I know you were only trying to help. I’ll do better next time at letting you know what I need.”

“And I’ll do better at listening,” she assures him with an indulgent smile, using her free hand to trace the Richmond crest of his shirt. “Look at us, communicating and shit.”

Jamie scrunches his nose in faux disgust. “Gross,” he says, but even the facade is too much to keep up when (Y/N) nudges his nose with hers. His lips tilt upwards against his best intentions, drunk on her presence and something inside his chest brimming with unstirred delight. 

(Y/N) exhales against his mouth. She hasn’t been more than a few inches away from him since she came down to meet him, always touching him.  

“What do you wanna do, huh?” she asks him, pulling at the bottom of his shirt. “Anything you want. We can go get some takeout from that burger place you like or maybe something fancier? We can go home and get some ice on that ankle–”

“It’s nothin’–”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” by that, she means when the team doctor gives him the all clear and he isn’t limping slightly with every step he takes. It’ll take a while but Jamie can take it, especially if any downtime comes with them spending the days together. She makes a questioning hum. “But we can do that tomorrow, then. Tonight, whatever you want. You’ve earned it.”

And Jamie does feel like a winner. Not only because of the three points they managed to steal from Man City but because he gets to come home to this. He gets to leave his dad behind in Manchester and his mom in safe hands, he gets to accomplish his dream for himself and the people that love him instead of trying to prove someone who hurt him wrong. 

He gets to live for himself. Coach Lasso was right, him forgiving his father was the kindest thing he could do for himself. 

“I want this,” he murmurs against her temple, breathing in the smell of her perfume and taking in the warmth of her body against his. “I got all I need right here.”

(Y/N) smiles and crowds even closer, pressing a kiss to his jaw. 

A beat. Then–

“So that’s a no for a quickie in the locker room, then?”

(Y/N)’s laugh tastes like a standing ovation.

_________

precious little jamiebaby i hope i did you justice ily

i was ready to make an angsty peace about him but mom city left me craving to give him a moment of peace so ta-da! thank you so much for reading and letting me know what you think!

a reminder that commissions and asks are open!

<3

masterlist / ao3 / ko-fi

[allwaswell16]

[4 pics, 4 quotes, 4 iconic 1D fics]

Iconic Fics by...

- lululawrence -

[1]

Louis turned back to his food, getting his meal ready, and Harry meant to focus on Louis’ notes, he did. But he couldn’t help furtively watching Louis out of the corner of his eye as he hummed to himself, swaying and dancing a little in the kitchen as he finished pulling his lunch together.

He knew he couldn’t have it forever, so Harry did his best to memorize every detail he could. Maybe then, when this arrangement ended and Louis wasn’t around as much, Harry could imagine he still was and he wouldn’t feel lonely.

He suspected that no amount of imagining could ever come close to replacing Louis, though.

[2]

Whoever his soulmate was, Louis hoped they weren’t as bored as he was in that moment. Seriously, if he had to sit through another lecture on how much Mary loved Hamlet he was going to stab himself in the eye just to avoid class next time. He did remember as he watched another blossom slowly come to life that he was supposed to pick up Lottie and take her to dance class, though. He quickly scribbled, “Lotts dance 4,” on his hand so he wouldn’t forget. He wondered what his soulmate thought of that. Louis smiled a bit to himself and then continued to daydream as the vines on his arms grew in size and beauty.

[3]

Harry’s face shifted to something Louis couldn’t read.

“You don’t even know me.”

“Yeah, but I know you deserve to be treated with kindness just like anyone.” Louis cracked a smile. “Besides. I wanted to punch Niall earlier. You were kind to him even when he was being a total ass.”

Harry laughed heartily, and Louis felt butterflies erupt in his chest. It was the first time he’d seen more than a tiny smile out of Harry. He had dimples. They were deep and uneven and beautiful, just like his laugh was a little overloud. It was so distinctly Harry. Louis could tell that even after having known him for just a few hours.

[4]

He walked out, taking a little more note of what surrounded him this time around, but the only thing he recognized was his shirt laying on a chair in the kitchenette. Louis scrubbed his hands through his gross hair before he remembered getting soaked with champagne during the show the night before. That mixed with his sweat and the inordinate amounts of alcohol he was sure he consumed was enough to make Louis seriously crave a shower.

First, though, he had to figure out who he’d woken up in bed with and what the hell was going on with the ring on his finger.

Louis heard a voice that sounded familiar coming from the bedroom. The voice was quiet enough that Louis couldn’t hear what he was saying, but oh God some of the pieces were coming together.

- answers below -

1. Caught In Your Gravity

It felt like the blood froze in Harry’s veins even as he got a bit lightheaded. He hadn’t even made it two practices, only one of which he was remotely in charge of, without giving it all away and now he and Liam were both absolutely fucked.

“Shit,” Harry breathed out. “Who all have you told? Does everyone know? I thought I covered it better than that…”

“No, no,” Louis said quickly. "They’ll figure it out soon enough, though, because they’ll get used to you changing things up, but you’re only going to trip over your so called Americanisms for so long before they realize it’s because you don’t actually know fuck all about football.”

Harry sighed. “Yeah. I figured. I just need to bullshit for long enough to allow Liam to get the situation figured out from his end.”

“Right, which brings me to my entire point. I think we can find a mutually beneficial arrangement with all of this.” Louis leaned forward. “You need to learn the ins and outs of the sport incredibly fast. I can help you with that.”

“What do you want in exchange?”

Or, an AU inspired by a 30 second trailer of Ted Lasso that doesn't actually have much in common with the show at all.

2. Drawn to You

It had started with Louis getting in trouble for coloring on himself when he hadn’t touched a felt tip pen the entire day. Through the years, the random drawings had evolved and changed. There was a period in sixth form when his soulmate must have gotten shy or something, because the drawings only happened after school hours and in places that others wouldn’t be as likely to see. The inside of his bicep, his thigh. A couple times he even had drawings appear on his ribcage. While he didn’t mind those few years, he did seem somewhat soothed when they began to appear on his left arm again. He’d missed them.

Or that completely self indulgent soulmates au that plays out in not always romantic ways.

3. The World Will Open Its Arms

Harry scrubbed at the countertop. It wasn’t even dirty, but it was three in the morning and the girl who was supposed to relieve him over an hour ago never showed. He was now on hour ten of his shift and his feet hurt and his back ached and he was trying not to cry, thanks to more fucking judgmental alpha truckers who could smell it on him.

Of course they could. He practically lived at the diner. The entire place reeked of it.

Unbonded pregnant omega.

4. Will Love Be There

Louis didn’t care who he had to pay or how much, but he was pretty sure he would give his entire life’s savings and a year’s salary if it meant that whatever was causing someone’s fucking phone to ring would stop.

The person calling must have gone to voicemail, because it stopped ringing and vibrating, but it started up again almost immediately.

“Make it stop,” Louis whined. He lifted his head enough to pull the pillow out from beneath it and smothered his head to dull the sound. “Oh shit, I think I’m gonna puke.”

“Just be sure to get out of bed first, please,” a deep, gravelly voice said from right beside Louis.

“Holy fucking shit!” Louis cried in surprise as he shot up in bed.

Or the one where Louis attends a Steve Aoki concert and accidentally ends up with a husband.

[illiterateaffairs]

DISTRACTIONS VI | NIGHTCALL

pairing: jamie tartt x f!reader (ted lasso)

rating: T

word count: 5,071

summary: you don’t know what to do about your feelings for jamie anymore. luckily you know a few people with thoughts on the matter. 

A/N: posting a little early for the holiday weekend! this chapter and part seven were supposed to be one chapter but it got too long. so i apologize for the cliff hanger in advance. :)

distractions masterlist | previous chapter

How do you simultaneously savor something while avoiding it?

That’s what you’ve been trying to do the last few days. 

After deciding the best thing to do would be to end your relationship with Jamie, you’ve been putting off doing so and have maintained your routine of dodging him at every encounter. You knew ghosting him was cruel and you didn’t want to do that. In fact, you were trying to hold on to every last ounce of him you could get, not knowing how your friendship would evolve once you called off the benefits part. But you only spoke to him for a few minutes, or over very brief text exchanges because you didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. But you wanted to spend time with him while you could. Clearly you’re in quite the predicament 

The whole thing was ridiculous and you would be the first to admit that. If you were a normal person, you’d have either ended things with Jamie already or just gotten a grip and told him how you felt. But you were not normal. You were emotionally manipulated into thinking you weren’t good enough for your last boyfriend, so why would this be any different? 

You know your brain is working against you, but your heart is also aching. And while in this moment avoiding Jamie was hurting it, you wanted to protect it from more hurt down the line if he just ended up rejecting you. 

You’ve been trying to figure out the best way to break things off, and when you got overwhelmed by the thought, you dissociated by working on your book. Calling it a book was generous, but that’s what you hoped it would be eventually. A fake-it-until-you-make-it mentality. That’s also what you told yourself to do regarding Jamie. If you acted like you were going to get over him and everything would be okay, eventually that would be true. 

Of course, it was hard to convince yourself of this when he was so ingrained in your life. Even without seeing him after hours, you saw him around the club. You managed to limit your time with him over the last week, and Rebecca was surely becoming suspicious, but you expertly avoided her concerned gaze as well. Unfortunately, today you weren’t so lucky. Seemingly as a punishment for leaving her in the dark, Rebecca tasked you with getting some footage of the team while they trained. When you looked like you were about to protest, she hit you with, “or is there something you want to tell me, that would prohibit you from doing so?” And for a moment you considered breaking down and telling her everything. Then you remembered she would definitely give you reasonable advice, such as getting your head out of your ass, and you weren’t ready to hear it. So you faked a smile and headed for the pitch. 

Today, the boys were doing some sort of drill that involved them switching positions with another teammate. You didn’t really understand the ideology, but apparently it had to do with this new “Total Football” strategy Ted wanted them to try. Having not been around in a while, you were also confused why there were fans in the stands watching practice. You suspected this was Ted’s doing as well. There was a group of three fans you recognize as regulars at Crown and Anchor who called out to you with a wave. You kindly waved back before turning to Trent who stood beside you.

“How the fuck do they know who I am?”

The journalist only snorted, and went back to writing in his notebook. 

For all your effort to avoid Jamie, including eye contact while he practiced, you couldn’t help but gaze at him as he spoke with Ted and Beard. He looked particularly good today, for some godforsaken reason. The wind was blowing his hair around, making him look extra appealing. As he walked away from the coaches, with a confused smile, his eyes found yours, and his smile brightened a bit. That was your last straw. You gave him a quick smile, that you hoped he couldn’t tell was forced, and turned away as he jogged back onto the field. 

As the team started playing in their new roles, you walked further down the pitch to film from different vantage points. You were so focused on what you were doing, while also being amused by the team’s role-swap, you didn’t notice Roy slowly moving closer to you every few minutes. As you posted a clip to the team’s Instagram, you saw him out of the corner of your eye. He was facing the field, with his arms crossed, but you could tell he was chancing glances at you from the corner of his eye. You bite back a smile as you pocket your phone. 

“Can I help you?”

Roy doesn’t move. He shrugs, “Just observing training.” 

“Hmm,” you nod, crossing your own arms to mimic his posture. 

He side-steps a bit closer to you. You follow suit, and the two of you are only a foot apart now. You watch curiously as Roy’s expression turns into one of annoyance and you can’t wait to hear what he’s going to say.

“So...you and Jamie have been spending a lot of time together.”

That was not what you were expecting him to say. Jamie had told you a few things about their time in Amsterdam together, but he did not mention telling Roy about the two of you. They must have really bonded. 

“He told you that?” you don’t mean to come across so nervous but you definitely do. Luckily, the rest of the team, coaching staff, and Trent are out of earshot. 

“Yeah. Thought that was...interesting.” Roy grunts out. In other circumstances, you’d be more amused about how awkward he was in this conversation, but you were too concerned about why you were having it. 

“Well,” you debate your next words but ultimately spit them out, “Jamie told me he taught you how to ride a bike, which is also interesting.”

Roy’s eyes fall closed as he quietly groans. 

You continue, “So, I guess we both know a secret about each other.”

Roy finally turns to you with narrowed eyes, “I didn’t come over here because I wanted to tell everyone. That's your fucking business.” 

While you’re relieved that your secret is safe, you were still confused, “Then why did you?”

Roy studies you for a few seconds before letting out a long breath, “You mean a lot to Jamie.”

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise as your heartbeat rises. 

Roy keeps going, “He’d never say it himself, but you’re important to him. And what you’re doing, avoiding him or whatever, is really fucking with him. As much as it pains me to say, he’s a good guy and he doesn’t deserve being jerked around like that. He’s gotten enough of that from other people in his life. You don’t have to pretend to be in love with him or anything, but just…don’t give up on him completely. That’s all I’m saying.”

After digesting his words, you nod slowly. You’re not sure if Jamie said something to him about this, or if he was just looking out for his friend, but you know he means what he says. No matter the nature of Jamie’s feelings for you, you were clearly such a fixture in his life, that even Roy Kent could see it. And from the little Jamie’s told you about his father, you could tell he had something akin to abandonment issues. While you didn’t plan on cutting him out of your life completely, you knew your method of pulling away from him suddenly and withholding information while you got your shit together was not fair to him. 

“Thank you for saying that, Roy,” you finally say softly, knowing this was out of character for him, making it a big deal, “I would never, ever intentionally hurt Jamie. But I appreciate that you’re looking out for him.”

Roy nods back. You two let the moment hang before Roy quickly spits out, “You can’t tell him I said any of that to you.”

You laugh lightly, “I promise.”

You share a look of understanding as Roy turns to head back down the pitch. He makes it only a couple steps before turning back around. He opens his mouth but you beat him to it.

“I promise not to tell anyone about the bike thing either.” 

Roy sighs, giving you another appreciative look. This time, you’re the one who stops him as he turns back. 

“Roy?” he pauses and looks at you with a question in his eye, “You’re a really good friend to Jamie. He’d never admit it either, but you’re probably one of his best.”

While Roy is pretty good at maintaining a poker face, you can tell this affects him. You can also tell he’s not sure what to do with the information, so you give him a smile before jutting your chin in the direction he was headed. 

“You’re dismissed.”

Roy huffs out a small laugh, giving you one last nod, before finally making his way back down the pitch. 

As you stare back at the field, pretending to focus on the team’s training again, you take in Roy’s words. As you told him, you never planned on hurting Jamie, but that was mostly because you didn’t think that would be an issue. 

Jamie was not a relationship and feelings guy. He made that very clear, not only with his reputation, but also in his promise to you when you started sleeping together. You knew he cared about you. You don’t look out for someone the way he does with you if you don’t give a shit about them. But after talking to Roy, you found yourself wondering if maybe his care for you went beyond the realm of friendship.

No. No. You couldn’t get your hopes up. You still needed to end your sexual relationship with Jamie. You just needed to do it in a way that made it clear that you weren’t going anywhere.

Then another terrifying idea entered your mind. How the hell were you supposed to be Jamie’s friend without wanting to make out with him all the time? 

Moving to Richmond was supposed to make your life less complicated. 

For the next few days, you mull over your plan to break off things with Jamie between work and bursts of inspiration to write. By the time the team’s next match rolls around, you’ve thought about it so much it felt like you’ve simultaneously run through every scenario you could execute and made zero progress whatsoever. It was like saying a word over and over again until it lost all meaning. So you decided you needed reinforcements. 

Keeley would probably have really great advice, but you didn’t want to broach the ex-boyfriend of it all yet. Rebecca would definitely be helpful, but you didn’t think you could handle an “I told you so” yet about your developing feelings for the footballer. And regardless of either of those things, you came to one realization recently. 

You just really wanted to talk to Sam about it. 

He was your closest friend here - and probably ever - and he also knew Jamie pretty well. And in you’re effort to avoid Jamie, Sam had become collateral damage since that meant avoiding the whole team when possible. You’d also heard from Ted that Sam had been having a hard week with some social media blowback due to his activism around immigration. Which is fucking stupid, but you understood why it upset him. On top of that, his restaurant was vandalized in retaliation for his words, and the same week his father was visiting. So you figured you owed him a shoulder, too. And you just really missed him. 

That’s why you found yourself popping in the locker room ahead of their game against Arsenal. You spot Sam right away from your spot in the doorway. Unfortunately, he was sitting next to Jamie, so when you call his name and gesture for him to come talk to you, it gets the other boy’s attention, too.

As Sam makes his way over to you, you give Jamie a kind smile and a wave. It makes your chest hurt when he seems caught off guard by your act of kindness and gives you a timid smile back. He definitely knows you’re avoiding him and that makes you feel awful. You really need to talk to Sam.

As your aforementioned friend joins you at the front of the locker room, you instantly feel comforted by his warm smile. 

“Hi, it's so good to see you!” he greets. Okay, he’s definitely felt your absence as well. 

“You, too,” you smile back, “I met your dad a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, really?” his smile brightens, if that were possible.

You nod, “Rebecca met him, too.” Sam had told you about their brief stint together a little while ago, after you eventually confided in him about Mason. 

His smile falls slightly, “Oh, really?”

You chuckle, “Don’t worry, it was fine, and when it almost got awkward, Keeley defused the situation.” 

Sam lets out a relieved laugh as he rubs his forehead, “That’s good.”

Glancing around, you see the rest of the team preoccupied, including Jamie and Ted. Still you lower your voice, “So, I know you’ve probably got plans with your dad tonight, but would you be free to talk for a few minutes after the match? I kind of want your advice on something.”

Sam nods, but gives you a questioning look, “Everything okay?”

You nod eagerly back, “Yes, don’t worry. Just something I’ve been trying to figure out for a while and would love my best friend’s perspective.” 

The phrase slips out before you can process it. For a split second you worry you came onto strong. God, you were supposed to worried about like Jamie too much and now you were worried you were taking your friendship with Sam too series, as well? Thankfully, his bright smile returned to his face. “Well I would be honored to help my best friend out.” 

Thank God. You can’t remember the last time someone called you their best friend, and while you had (inadvertently) said it first, it still makes your heart flutter. 

“Great, I’ll see you after? Good luck out there,” You squeeze his arm before turning to the rest of the room and raising your voice, “Good luck today, guys!”

The room fills with a chorus of “thank you’s” and other words of appreciation. Before you head out, your eyes meet Jamie’s again, and you find yourself mouthing “you’ll do great.”

While he still seems surprised by your attention, he gives you a genuine smile this time. 

Richmond is not off to a great start as they round out the first half 0-3. It seemed they were trying out Ted’s new tactics, but they couldn’t get into sync. Jamie was at the center of it all, and from your spot in the suite with Rebecca, Keeley, Higgins, and Sam’s dad, Ola, you can feel the frustration radiating off of him from the field. 

However, the team seems to reenter the pitch with renewed energy for the second half. It takes them a few minutes to get there, but eventually they’re playing in perfect harmony. You’re not sure you understand exactly what they’re doing - not that you ever do - but whatever it was seemed to be working. By the end of the match, they had expertly managed to maneuver the ball across the field, with Jamie passing between other members of the team, for their first goal in weeks. And while you couldn’t explain any of it, you knew it was incredible. You want to ignore the part of you that feels proud of Jamie in particular, but you allow it. 

You wait for Sam in the parking lot with Ola afterwards. The two of you can’t help but cheer for Sam when he approaches. His dad shares how proud he is of him and the team, before he jumps in the car to leave the two of you alone. That wasn’t before the older man implied he suspected the two of you were an item. You and Sam laugh, before he corrects him and once again refers to you as his best friend. Ola smiles and tells you he’s grateful Sam has such good friends here.

“I’m proud of you, too,” you smile, shoving his arm playfully. “You guys are finally back in it!”

Sam chuckles, “I appreciate it, but honestly it was all Jamie.”

You raise an eyebrow, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sam nods, “It was his idea to drop back to mid-field and pass between all of us, even though it meant he probably wouldn’t have the chance to score.”

You huff, “That seems out of character.”

Sam shrugs, “Maybe two years ago, but Jamie’s been different, especially lately.” You almost feel yourself take credit when Sam continues, “It's probably all that training he does with Roy.”

You laugh quietly to yourself, “Must be.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Sam asks.

“Funny, it actually has to do with Jamie.”

Sam’s eyes reflect curiosity, “Really? What about him?”

“We’ve sort of, you know,” You try to figure out the best way to explain it, but you can’t bother beating around the bush, “Well, we’ve basically been sleeping together the last few months.”

Sam’s jaw drops and his eyebrows shoot up so high they’re almost nonexistent. “You’re serious?”

“Yup,” you nod, popping the ‘P’, “It’s a classic no strings attached, friends with benefits situation.”

“While those are excellent films, I would have never expected you to take part in something like that. Especially with Jamie.”

“Me either - on both accounts - but it just sort of happened.” 

Sam nods slowly, looking off in the distance, as he takes in the news, “I’m a little afraid of what advice you want from me.”

You laugh, “Don’t worry, it's nothing salacious. The opposite, in fact. I’m trying to figure out how to break things off.”

Sam’s eyes snap back to yours, “What? Really? Is…” he lowers his voice, “Is Jamie bad at it?”

You almost choke on air, “What? No! He’s good. He’s really good. Like really, really good.”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

“Sorry.”

“So why do you want to stop?”

You sigh, “Because I like him. I really, really like him. And that wasn’t a part of the deal.”

Sam nods in understanding, “You attached strings.”

“Yes,” you laugh lightly despite yourself. “So many strings.”

“And you don’t want a relationship with him because…what? Your ex sucked and ruined the idea of dating forever?”

You shake your head, “No, it's not that. I think I'd really like to date Jamie. I’m just not sure Jamie wants to date me. Or anyone for that matter.” 

Sam’s face scrunches up. He pauses and then, “I’m not sure you’re right about that.”

You squint at him, “What do you mean?”

Sam lets out a laugh, “Actually, now that I know about you two, things suddenly make a lot of sense.”

“What? What makes sense?” you question impatiently. 

“Jamie definitely likes you.”

You scoff, “And you think that because??”

“It’s little things. Nothing too crazy, but all together, plus the fact that you’ve been hooking up this whole time, it adds up,” Sam begins to explain, “Like when you first got here and we started hanging out, Jamie was very interested in what we were doing.”

“Yeah, he asked me if we were dating around that time,” You bring up softly, recalling your first conversation in the club’s parking lot.

“See!”

“See what? He told me he just didn’t think people on the team could date club employees.”

“Yeah, why do you think he wanted to know that?”

“I don’t know! Maybe he also wanted to bang Rebecca.” Sam gives you a look and you unclench, “Sorry, that was disrespectful to you and Rebecca, and probably Jamie.”

Sam shakes his head, “It wasn’t just that. A couple months ago, one of the guys - who shall remain nameless for the sake of this conversation - made an innocent but suggestive comment about you.”

“It was Richard wasn’t it?”

“He shall remain nameless,” Sam barrels on, “But Jamie flipped out and defended your honor. I thought it was because he’d been trying to be less of a prick, but it was probably jealousy. Or at the very least protectiveness.”

“I buy the protectiveness thing because we’re friends,” you roll your eyes, “but he was definitely not jealous.” 

“Come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how attached to you he is? He’s always the first person to volunteer when you need social content, and the first to say hi when you stop by during practice.” 

You shake your head, trying to find words to argue, but you’re losing resolve. 

“A couple weeks ago, a few of us were at Crown and Anchor, including Jamie, and this girl started flirting with Jamie, and she was gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful girls we had ever seen, she was-”

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“I get it.”

“Sorry. Anyway, this girl was definitely the type Jamie would normally go for, but he didn’t even bat an eye. Isaac started teasing him but it didn’t bother Jamie. He said he wasn’t interested. Before you got here, he would have gone home with her, no questions asked.”

You break eye contact with Sam. “...Maybe her breath smelled bad?”

Sam rolls his eyes, “Or maybe there was someone better he could see.”

You sigh, crossing your arms. 

“I’m not saying you have to stay with Jamie,” Sam continues, “You are a strong, independent woman who definitely doesn’t need anyone to define her. But if you want to be with Jamie, then you shouldn’t punish yourself. Just because some other idiot didn’t treat you right, doesn’t mean the next guy will do the same thing. I guarantee Jamie will treat you better, because he clearly already does.”

You swallow the lump that's forming in your throat, as tears pool behind your eyes. Looking back at Sam, his face drops, clearly taking your emotional expression as a negative reaction.

“If I overstepped-”

You don’t let Sam apologize as you cut him off with a bear hug. He quickly wraps his arms around yours and squeezes you tight. 

Not only does Sam Obisanya know exactly what to say to you, he also gives the best hugs. 

“Are you alright?” he whispers over your shoulder.

You nod into his, “Yeah. I think I really needed to hear someone else say that.”

“Good. Because your ex was an idiot. Like the stupidest person I’ve ever heard of.” You laugh as you pull away, “You know that right? That whatever he did to make you feel less than the incredible person you are was on him. You’re amazing and it was his fault for not seeing that.”

You smile, wiping a stray tear away. “Yeah, I do. My brain likes to work against me sometimes, but I know that.”

“I understand that,” Sam gives you a reassuring smile, “Brains are dumb sometimes.”

“God, they’re so dumb!” You laugh as you catch your breath. “Thank you, Sam.”

“Of course. I’m here for you anytime, you know that.” You nod. Sam bites his lip before speaking up again, “So, does this mean you’re going to profess your undying love for Jamie?”

“Shut up,” you shove him gently, “I wouldn’t go that far, but yeah, maybe I’ll tell him.” 

“Good. And I better be the first to know when he tells you he feels the same so I can gloat about being right.”

You laugh before another thought occurs to you.

“Wait, if you picked up on all of this from Jamie, do you think anyone else has?”

Sam shakes his head as if you’ve said something insane, “No way. No else on the team is that intuitive.”

You huff, but press, “Not even the coaches?”

“I don’t think so,” Sam tilts his head, “Why?”

“That is a story for another day, my friend.” 

Before saying goodbye to Sam for the night, you ask how he’s handling everything after the Twitter backlash and the break-in. While he assures you he’s doing okay, you can tell he’s putting on a strong front. You’re relieved his dad could be here this week. You’re sure it's been a great comfort to Sam. As you start heading towards the car Rebecca arranged for you, you also bid adieu to Ola, who made you promise to get dinner with him and Sam before he returned to Nigeria. 

Gazing out the window on your way back to Richmond, you reassess your plan to call things off with Jamie. After hearing how he took one for the team today, coupled with everything Sam said about him in regards to you, you feel yourself becoming hopeful that it did mean Jamie may have feelings for you. At the very least, you could put yourself out there. Because Sam was right, you couldn’t let Mason cloud your brain anymore. The way he treated you was unacceptable, and just because he made you feel like you weren’t good enough doesn’t mean you were. And sure Jamie never made you feel like that. But as of late, you’ve been feeling more confident on your own. You were good at your job. You had amazing friends who liked you for you. And you had your creative spark back and started writing again. So even if Jamie didn’t feel the same, you knew you’d be okay. Because you were more than your relationship with him.

It would just be the cherry on top of everything else. A really fucking good cherry.

Eager to see him, you quickly take out your phone and find his contact. Pressing call, you suddenly hate the sound of the dial tone. Thankfully you don’t have to listen to it for long, when Jamie picks up after the second ring. He says your name like a question, reminding you that you haven’t reached out to him on your own in quite a bit. Brushing past the guilt you felt, you greet him.

“Hi,” you say softly, “How are you?”

“Um, I’m alright. Yeah. How’re you?”

You close your eyes, still hearing the unsureness in his tone and you curse yourself for making him feel insecure. 

“I’m good,” you force out cheerfully, “You were incredible today. At the match.”

“Oh?” Jamie says, a bit surprised, “It was nothing. Richard scored the goal.”

You sigh at his modesty, “Yeah, but you were the one doing all that work getting the ball across the field. If you ask me, you were the star of the show.”

“Oh yeah?” you can feel the confidence creeping back into his voice, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” your words hang in between you for a moment, but you speak up again before you lose the nerve, “So, I called because I wanted to know what you were up to tonight. Thought maybe you could come over?”

“Really?” you can almost see Jamie’s wide eyes.

“Yeah. We haven’t really seen each other in a while, and I promise there’s a reason for that, which I can explain. And I just…miss you.”

You close your eyes, anticipating his response. You bite your thumb as Jamie sharply inhales. 

“I miss you, too,” he says softly.

“Really?” you respond just as quietly. 

“Yeah.” He pauses for a second. Then, “Shit.”

“What?” you say back quickly, heart racing. 

“It's just…Isaac and I thought it would be nice if we did something to help Sam with his restaurant since someone vandalized it. So, now a bunch of the team is headed over there to help fix it up. I was actually just about to leave.”

You exhale quietly. You didn’t think you could like him more than you already do, but you were wrong. 

“Jamie, that's really great. It's sweet that you all would do that for Sam.”

“You could come join us?” Jamie suggests hopefully, though you can feel the nerves in his voice. 

You laugh lightly, “While I would love to help, I think you guys should just keep it to the team. It’ll be more special that way.”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighs, disappointedly. 

“But you could come over after if you want?” You suggest quickly, with a lilt in your voice. 

“Yeah?” Jamie perks up, “Are you sure? It might be late.”

You nod even though he can’t see you, “I’ll wait for you.” 

“Okay,” you hear the smile in his words, “I’ll text you when I’m on my way, yeah?”

“Sounds good. Bye Jamie.” and with a giddy smile, you hang up. 

You’re too anxious to go home right away, especially knowing you’ll be waiting for a bit. So, you text Rebecca to see if she’d meet you for a drink. Keeley had a date with Jack tonight, who she’d been seeing for a bit now. But that just gives you a chance to fill Rebecca in on your rollercoaster of emotions. 

Of course, she says :I told you so: when you admit to falling for Jamie. But she’s also happy for you. She’s glad to see you so happy in general, and that you didn’t close yourself off to the possibility of happiness with someone. Apparently, that was something she used to do. 

You also “ooh” and “ahh” when Rebecca recounts her misadventures in Amsterdam with a mystery Dutch man. You hope the successful encounter also encourages her to put herself back out there. And hopefully she’ll learn the next guy’s name. 

After a couple hours of girl talk, Rebecca drops you off at your flat. Checking your phone, you still hadn’t heard from Jamie, so you pump yourself up to change into your pajamas and throw some comfort TV on while you camp out and wait for him. 

But as you make your way up your apartment staircase, you see a figure lingering outside your door. For half a second, you’re excited at the prospect of seeing Jamie sooner than expected. But as you near the top of the stairs, your eyes recognize the figure as someone you definitely didn’t plan on seeing tonight. 

Softly, you gasp, “Mason?”

A/N:

Taglist: @atabigail @boundtomyfate @sammysgirl1997 @lil-tracys @shephard17895 @alaspice @itsbarbraann @redpool @drmeghanjones @straightforwardly @alex-sulli @aiyaiy @artemismaximoff @roadtoself-love @theloud-yet-quietone @forcesofgrief @kirisimpster @geek-and-proud @grippleback-galaxy @lalla-04p @gabbycoady13 @royalestrellas @qardasngan @creationcitystreet-em @percysaidnever @emily-b @mrfitzsimmons @k-n-e @agentstarkid @legobatmans9thab @mrsprongs25 @escapismqueen @sokkigarden @for-fuck-sake-im-alive @dollfaceyourfear @dicgohargreeves @heyitz-julia @vampirodelascajas @grxcesmind @lizziel1410 @bcon24 @looooooooomis @queen-of-dumbasses @moseyluvs @alipap3 @amachira @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog @daphneblakeswife​@piper @spookysins @a-sweet-little-fangirl @optimisticsandwichgladiator @marveltg365 @ringpopdust @gcidrvsh @beardsplitter @scaramou  @ibong-adarnaaa @piper570 it wouldn’t let me tag the last few of you, let me know if its something with your settings, otherwise i can keep trying in future updates! <3  

[hopefulromances]

Long Time Coming - Prolouge

Summary: Being hired as the first female assistant coach in the league was a challenge in of itself. Being a football protigy and University Football Legend was easy enough. Coaching Jamie Tartt was a challenge all on its own.

Word Count: 1090

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, no knowledge of how football works? First person. Minimal y/n use. Based on an OC fic I'm currently posting on AO3 so

A/N: Am I joining tumblr again to write Jamie Tartt fanfiction? Now that's an interesing question. Hope you enjoy.

I didn’t know quite what to expect when I started at Richmond. I was coming on as the first female assistant coach in the league. Something of a prodigy myself, I graduated from university early after leading our women’s football team to the championship three times. I worked as a kitman (or kit woman) for some teams in the Championship league until I saw the opening at Richmond and decided to throw my hat in the ring. Never in a million years did I actually think I would get an interview, much less a job offer.

But somehow, I ended up walking up the stairs to Rebecca Welton’s office, bright and early for my first day. I stood outside the closed door and too a breath, centering myself, before reaching for the handle. To my surprise, the door opened before I could touch it. The door opened to reveal Ted Lasso, the head manager of Richmond.

            “Oh! Hello there!” He greeted with an inviting smile.

            “Oh, my goodness, I’m sorry, I’m here to see- “

            “Rebecca Welton,” the woman emerged from behind Ted, bearing her own polite smile. “And you must be (Y/N), our new Assistant Coach.”

I gave her my own polite smile and reached out to shake her hand. “That’s me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Welton.”

            “Well! What a surprise, it’s great to meet my new partner in crime, I’m Ted Lasso, nice to meet you.” He took my outstretched hand in a firm handshake.

I had read up on Ted Lasso. The American Football coach who was flying in all the way from Kansas to teach football in the Premiere League. Yet somehow, all that research could not have prepared me for what I was meeting.

            “Coach Lasso! Yes, it’s great to meet you. I look forward to working with you.” I maintained my level of professionalism, but he waved me off.

            “Please, call me Ted. My father was Coach Lasso,” he told me.

            “Was he really?” I asked, surprised.

            “No, but that would have been a great coincidence if he was,” he joked, with a smile.

I stared at him, not quite sure how to respond.

            “We were just heading on a tour,” Rebecca broke the silence, “would you like to join us?”

And that was how I ended up on a tour of the facility with Ted and Rebecca. She took us through the halls of history of the club, passing the faces of the team. Including, one, Jamie Tartt. Jamie Tartt was all the football industry could talk about of late. The young star who couldn’t seem to miss, and who stole the hearts of all those who watched him. Yeah, he was fit. And as much as I tried not to, I couldn’t help but let him steal mine as well.

I wanted to hate him. I really did. He was everything I was. Young, talented, eager. But because he was a man, he was able to get fame and fortune because of it. That kind of thing just didn’t happen for women. The women’s league didn’t get nearly the same notoriety as the men’s did and even if I scored twice as many goals as Jamie Tartt, I would never leave the same legacy he did.

So yeah, I wanted to hate him just because he was famous. But I couldn’t. Something about his stupid cocky smirk, and the way he seemed to understand the balls every move before he could even touch the ball. It was impressive. Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed to me that he was dating Keely Jones. A gorgeous model, just like all the other women he’d been seen with. He wouldn’t look twice at me. You were staring at his face for so long you didn’t realize that Ted and Rebecca were staring at you, expectantly.

“Oh, sorry, what?”

Ted’s eyes danced quickly between Jamie’s photo and you. But if he suspected anything, he didn’t dare to comment as he brought you back into the conversation.

            “Do you believe in ghosts?”

The rest of the day went by rather quickly. After the tour, Rebecca led you and Ted to a disastrous press conference that ended early, much to my own gratitude. I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk to press yet. I wasn’t ready to be a poster woman for my gender across the league. I just wanted to coach football. But luckily, after the press conference we were allowed to go watch practice.

That was what I was excited for. To watch the lads, play football. I had watched football for as long as I could remember. I grew up in Richmond. My family could never afford to go to games, but we watched every single match, good or bad. Now here I was, going to coach the team that I grew up loving. It was almost unreal.

            “So! Where are you from?” Ted asked as we made our way to the pitch.

            “I actually grew up here,” I told him with a smile. “I’ve been a greyhound’s fan since I was a girl. My dad loved the game.”

            “Well, I’ll be!” Ted exclaimed. “He must be mighty proud of you then.”

“Yeah, he was!” I responded, my smile fading slightly.

We made it onto the pitch just as the boys were scrimmaging. My eyes were immediately drawn to the legendary, Roy Kent. He was a legend for sure, and the way he commanded the field certainly lived up to said legend. But eventually my eyes landed on Jamie Tartt just as he was doing a trick shot to hit the ball off the top of the goal. God, he was amazing.

As Ted and Coach Beard headed back inside, I decided to greet the boys as they came back inside. As Jamie approached, I stepped forward, wanting to introduce myself. He was good, very good, but I knew that he could be even better. With a bit of teamwork, I was certain that he could become the best in the league.

            “Hi, Jamie. I’m (Y/N) and I just wanted to say that-"

He brushed right past me, shoving his water bottle into my hands.

            “Thanks,” he dismissed, not even turning around.

I stood there, water bottle in my hands, mouth agape. Maybe hating him would be easier than I thought.

[itsalinh]

It’s 5:30am here and who needs sleep when we can stay up and talk about s03e06 Jamie and Roy?

Friendly reminder, Jamie used to have Roy’s poster on his wall when he was a kid. To every young kid out there, the one on their wall was their hero, a role model that they strive for every single day. Jamie grew up thinking that someday, he’d be like Roy Kent. You know, the Roy Kent who played for Chelsea, which arguably the most successful club in London, the Roy Kent who won a fucking European Champions League. This precious and reputable UCL trophy is the dream of every footballer. Some would measure a footballer’s success by how many prizes they got, and believe me, this trophy is a rock solid proof.

Jamie is a great player with so much talent, he signed for Manchester City (a real deal in EPL), and he also made it to the team line up every damn time. MC is always known for their squad-depth in every position, and it’s not easy to always be on the starting XI list. I’d like to think that Jamie looked up to Roy a lot, he keeps training and training, with a hope til some day he could win trophy just like his role model.

Jamie finally got a chance to play alongside Roy. He must have been crazy about it. But their early days was not so easy. Jamie came to realise Roy had changed, he was no longer the one Jamie idolised so much as before anymore. He felt angry and disappointed. Jamie became the one in charge of the locker room, directly against the team captain. Things weren’t going well.

Luckily enough, the new manager came and steadily alternated the locker room tensed atmosphere. Both Jamie and Roy acknowledged their own problems, as well as the other one’s. They finally understood each other better. That hug, oi, it was like a big smash to the final concrete wall between them. It was not the action coming out of a spur of the moment. Roy felt the urge to comfort his team member, his younger lad, his friend. He knew a hurt Jamie needed that.

This season saw a further change in their relationship. They trust each other more and more. And this time, they even open to each other about their utmost vulnerable thoughts and memories. Roy and Jamie are not the type of people who would share their feelings to somebody else. Roy hid them under his rage, while Jamie just suppressed them because of his “dad”. For the first time, Roy admitted that he let out all of his anger on Jamie, sometimes for no reasons. And goshhhhhhhh, Jamie did not even question that, he shrugged it off immediately and literally said “For Grandad”. Such a beautiful char arcs from both of them. In return, Jamie also share some of his traumatised and heartfelt memories with his “dad” and mom. I don’t think he ever told that to anybody, even with Keeley or Ted. So this is a positive sign for their mental health, and I love to see men talking about their feelings like true heroes.

These football himbos are taking up spaces in my mind. And honestly speaking, I’ve been really sad and disappointed and depressed while watching an actual football club recently, and another lighthearted fictional football club is making my days a lot better. So guys, say thank you to Ted Lasso!

[futbolfanficpunk]

The Coach II

Player: Pep Guardiola

Summary: Months after your brief encounter at the end of football camp, Pep and female football player-reader meet up to see each other one more time. Word count: 3600+ Warnings/ themes: Infidelity, Soft Smut, Angst. Alcohol.A/N: This was going to be the second and final but it became so long I divided them up. The third and final one should come out in the next week. Since Man City won the Premier League and Pep was in Ted Lasso I decided to hurry this up and release it. Enjoy.  Part 1 

           You entered the lobby, it was early in the night. The lobby echoed with the sounds of people. tourist walking and chatter in different languages. You went straight to the hotel front desk and asked for an envelope left to you under your name, “Here you are, miss” said the man behind the counter. “Thank you, have a good night” you said as you started walking towards the elevator. You took the card key out of the envelope and looked at a sticky note on top of it that said in handwriting Room 1021. You smiled as you looked up to get in the elevator and pressed the white button next to the number 10 sign. You put the card key in your purse. You sighed and checked yourself in the reflection of the elevator mirror. Your heart had started to get a bit jittery and your breath was becoming shorter. No other man had this effect on you, no one could make you both as bold or as doubtful. But of all the things you could have been thinking, you could only think of how you got there. It was almost time for the international break and you were thinking if you should travel back home or stay in Spain, or go somewhere else for a mini vacation. Villareal, your club, was 4th in Liga F, and you were doing well. You had scored four goals by now, had good percentages of passes completed every game, and a good defensive rate. Your only shortcoming was that you sometimes lost your temper and you would argue with the ref and get a yellow, you had three of them by then.  Besides all the games won, you had a good highlight, an outside-the-box goal against Fc Barcelona, although the game ended 5-2 in their stadium, you were proud of yourself. They were the best team in Spain and in the top 3 of Europe, and you got one against them. You even exchanged jerseys with AItana Bonmati, you admired her, up there with Alexia Putellas. You still thought about Pep, not as often as before, but every now and then you would fantasize about seeing him again. You would watch some Manchester City games and get butterflies whenever the camera focused on him. He always looked so intense, so serious on TV. Not the man who offered you a flirty smile when his hand was touching your pussy, that man was never on TV. 

A week before the international break, Pep texted you. He hadn’t texted you since pre-season. You jumped up when you saw the notification with his name Coach P. He asked how you were and praised your first quarter of the season. You told him you had seen his games and were rooting for them to take over the first spot by the end of the season. You asked him how he was. He replied after a minute that he was doing fine, busy as usual, but something had kept bothering him. You asked what was bothering him, surprised he was actually having a conversation with you on text besides football. 

< I keep thinking about you and the move you pulled on me>

You answered with a question  

<In a good way or a bad way?>

<Both> he replied right away.

 <If it’s any consolation, I think about you too> you sent back, you were nervous and excited. He liked you, he thought about you, more than you had thought. You were almost about to squeal.

<That’s the least you could do> 

You didn’t know what to reply but he texted you again before you could reply

<I’m going to be in Barcelona for two days during your international break, I know you are not called up for your National Team. I would like to see you, if possible> 

You had to reread your message three times before you screamed and kicked the air multiple times. Can fantasies come true?, you thought.

<I don’t know if I can, but yes, call me and maybe we can figure it out> 

<I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon, good night>

<night!>

You almost didn’t sleep that night, thinking about seeing him again, trying to plan conversations because you were sure you were going to be a hot mess if you indeed saw each other, and you always reverted to small talk when you couldn't think straight. The elevator opened on the 10th floor, you looked for the room and opened the door with your card key. This was a big suite room. It had an entrance with a small living room, and the bed was in another room. “Hola?” you sang a bit loud while you closed the door, “Estoy aquí” (I’m here). You looked around moving slowly. You were really nervous, you had thought about this for so long that the idea of it finally happening scared you a bit. Pep entered the room from the bedroom and stopped to look at you and said “Hello” with a small smile. He was wearing a black turtleneck with gray pants and black shoes, he looked sophisticated but unassuming. You felt a small jolt down your spine when you saw him but tried to play it cool. “Hi” you replied and flashed him a small wave. The last time you saw him you felt so powerful and dominant, sure you could make him yours for a bit, but now you were feeling overwhelmed. He came over to give you customary kisses on each cheek and asked how you were, you said you were fine, trying to sound convincing.  

He took a big breath and asked “Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure, what are you having?”

“A whiskey on the rocks” “I’ll have the same” you replied

He went to the room’s kitchenette to serve your drinks while you looked around the room, admiring the colors of the room and the chic furniture.

“How was the trip here?”

“It was fine, shorter than I remembered”

“Good”

“And the hotel where I’m staying is nice, very modern and hip”

Not the small talk, you thought. 

He came over and handed you your drink. “Cheers” you said as you offered your glass “Cheers” he said and he gently touched his glass with yours. You both had a sip of your drinks while you looked at each other, there were nerves in the air. “Do you want to sit down?” he asked and he took his hand to your back to guide you to the sofa next to you.

“Okay” you said as you went in front of him to sit.

You sat and drank half your whiskey right away. 

“Is everything okay?” Pep said and sits next to you “Do you want to leave?” he said as to let you know he noticed you were different. 

“Why do you say that?” you said surprised

“Well, you barely talked or moved, you seem…uncomfortable” Pep explained as he drank some whiskey.

“Oh. I’m just feeling a bit nervous to be honest. And, no, I don’t want to leave” you replied. You wish you could control the awkwardness and you were failing but you needed him to know you wanted to be there too.

 Last time you were in a room together you felt you had nothing to lose, that you probably would never see or speak to each other again. This time it didn’t feel like that, your aggressive behavior was suppressed by the possibilities of what could be said and done there.

“Y/N, How can you be nervous when you look like this?” asked Pep pointing at your outfit and face. He was more than attracted to what he saw.

“ It doesn’t matter, being alone here with you is making me feel a bit on edge” you said, you were always honest and direct with him, it was better this way, you liked it that way.

Pep chuckled and brushed his lips on the cheek close to your lip to give you a small kiss. You let out a short, shy, quiet giggle.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, hermosa” he says as he caresses your profile with his fingers “we’re here to hang out, right?” “Um, yea” you said while your hand went looking for the one touching your face. You took it into yours while looking at him. “Is that what we’re here for? I wasn’t exactly sure”

“We can do whatever you want” he said while interlacing his fingers with yours and pulling you towards him, putting his other hand on your naked thigh

“Is that true?” you asked, feeling a warmness all over your body induced by his touch “You arranged this whole thing to do whatever I say?”  He nodded.

“So if I say ‘Pep, let’s just get drunk and watch TV’, you’re okay with that?” you asked, testing him. He stared at your soft pink lipgloss-covered mouth “Yes,” he said while the hand that was on your thigh comes towards your face and he traces your bottom lip with his index finger “Is that what you want to do?” 

 “Right now?” your heart was running even if you were seated. You looked at his mouth, he had a cocky smirk on it “No.” You didn’t feel nervous at all, it had faded away completely and you could only feel a yearning for him and his touch. His hand was now grazing your hair.

“Would you like me to kiss you?” he said, his face got close to yours.

You touched his chin with your bottom lip “Yes, I would”.  You were ready and eager, and it seemed that he was too.

He took you by your hair and gently placed his lips on yours, slightly opening his mouth right after while placing a deeper kiss. You felt liberated from any feelings that were holding you back and with a deep breath you open your mouth even more to slip your tongue into his mouth, finding and trying to dominate his. He let out a small groan. You separate from the kiss and said “Sit back”. He did and you mounted him, legs open as much as you could on the sofa, your core on top of the area his member should be. “Not nervous anymore? he said while looking up at you “Mm-mm” you said as you puckered up a smile and shook your head. He started kissing your breasts over your clothes, lips leaving wet traces on your exposed chest and neck. You were panting with desire, reacting to his touch. You couldn’t take it anymore and kissed him again furiously, lips and tongue making a sloppy mess all over his own. You pulled back to take off your top and bra in a lust-filled hurry, you wanted it all off. “Fuck, look at you” he said when he sees your naked torso. “Let me take this off” you said, tugging at the hem of his shirt. Once off, he pulled you towards him and kissed you, hand on your waist, your breasts touching his chest. You could now feel him getting hard, poking you, you moaned into his mouth while you moved your hips back and forth. You weren't thinking about anything, just feeling, letting yourself go. “I need you naked and on my bed, now” he said in between kisses. “That can be done” you said in between jumpy breaths. You unmounted him and took the rest of your clothes off except your panties while walking to the bedroom. “Ven” (come on) you said looking back, both to give your command while looking at him, but also because you really wanted to know if he was into it as much as you were. He looked flustered but ready, his eyes darker than ever, pupils dilated. He was smitten by you. You sat on the corner of the bed, legs crossed and waiting for him to come to you. You now felt the rush of carnal tension and curiosity, you had thought about this moment for so long, and you were confident it was going to be worth every minute you waited for it, or at least hoped. Pep walked over barefooted and only wearing his pants. You took off your panties slowly and crossed your legs again while he watches, you love flirting with your body.

“You’re a dream, you know? So beautiful. I’ve been thinking about you for months” he said, opening your legs while you let a seductive smile be drawn by his words “Now, let me have that pussy of yours”. You let out a big breath, barely able to breathe at a regular pace after you see his head hide in between your legs and feel his warm tongue almost make out with your slit, making you let uncontrollable moans out of your mouth. “Are you always going to be so wet for me?” he asked while still in between your legs “Alw-shit-always” you try to say while he attacks your clit with his tongue.

“Jodeeeeer!” He groaned as he came all over your back and collapsed on the bed following your mutual orgasm. The leftover waves of pleasure still made you jerk your hips. You held your core with your right hand thinking of how intense it felt. This man wanted you, desired you, kissed, bit and sucked everything he could, said the sexiest praises in your ear and pounded you like he was never going to fuck you again. He made you come hard and twice. You laid next to him, he was still panting while looking at the ceiling, looking fucked out. You looked at him, still trying to catch your breath, and gently kissed his shoulder. “If we ever do that again I might have to be your permanent side chick” you said while laughing mid way through the sentence and stumbling through the last three words. He looked at you and smiled, he planted a small kiss on your cheek, and said “That’s exactly why you need to go to your own hotel tonight”. You frowned, that sentence actually hurt your feelings. It didn’t feel like a joke, just a warning. You felt disposable, used, you felt like you just connected and he was telling you to fuck off.

“Well, you at least should have waited until I cleaned your cum off my body before you started kicking me out’ you said, annoyed as you sat up.

“That’s not what I meant“ said Pep as he sat up and shook his head

You stood up from the bed “Oh, I think you said what you meant. Having post-nut clarity, are we? That’s ok. I’m getting some myself. I’ll clean up and be on my way back to my hotel” you said in an anger-flared rush “Would you calm down and listen?” he said, you were officially mad now, you were known for losing your cool. He knew that you went from zero to sixty in three seconds.

“You should know by now, old man, that you don’t tell women to calm down when they are mad” you said and walked away from him “Oh for fuck’s sake, venga ya, mujer! Esto no es un puto partido para estar peleando tanto” you heard him say as you entered the room’s bathroom (Come on, woman! This isn’t a fucking match to be fighting this much)

 You took the first towel that you saw and threw it on the floor while grunting “Asshole!” and just stared at it for a minute. You didn’t expect anything specific from this night, but to feel like someone’s cum bucket wasn’t it. You were livid and sad at the same time. How could you be so stupid? Why would you have a crush on a married man? “Y/N” said a voice behind you. You turned to see him by the bathroom door

“What?” you snapped like a teenager talking back to their parents

“Look, I’m not saying you have to go now, I wasn’t clear. It’s just not a good idea for you to stay here. I actually want you here. Please, don’t be upset”  he said as he slowly got closer and closer to your naked body with every word. “Well, whatever, I think I'll leave now. I don’t think I want to stay here with you” you said still feeling defensive. “Stop trying to fight me, Y/N. If what I said hurt your feelings, I apologize. I wasn’t trying to kick you out. I want you to be here and hang out a bit more, and maybe we can see each other in the morning before you leave. You just can’t sleep here, that’s all. Remember, I’m not single like you” he said as he stroked your bare arms, as to comfort you in some way. “ I wasn’t planning on sleeping here, anyway” you said with a pout. He held your face and said “You’re so cute when you pout, you hot head” Pep pressed his lips against yours, and his naked body pressed itself against yours. You felt your body melt a little with his kiss. He had experience cooling women down from a mad mood, you could tell. You kissed him back, your mouth wanting his, expecting some tenderness. He separated himself from you and said “Let’s clean you up, I’ll help you” and he did. 

You shared a hot shower, washing and touching each other softly, caressing as you both cleaned each other, stopping only to kiss under the water every now and then. Just as fast as you got a hot head, you had calmed down and felt totally at ease. It felt so good to be pampered that you just had to say something because both of you were so concentrated on the task at hand that you barely talked. You took a second to hug him and lay your head on his chest, “This feels so nice” you said as you sigh. He gave you a small kiss on your hair and caressed your wet back. It felt so intimate and close, even more than just fucking each other, like something a real long-term couple would do. You barely had experienced anything close to this. All your relationships had been short, casual, or long distanced. You decided to keep washing him and get some more soap to wash his chest, stomach and reached to clean his member, when you washed him, he got hard as you moved your hand to make it clean. You smiled, it tickled you so that he was so turned on by you. “Is that for me?” you said as you grab his hard cock

“If you want it” 

“So bad” you said and let water hit it so that the soap comes off. You got down, and then you let your tongue traces its whole shape, as it twitched slightly from your tongue's touch. You grabbed the base of it with your hand, while you put the rest of it in your mouth, tasting the tip with your tongue. You couldn’t believe how hard he was. The warm water kept washing over you as you kept sucking and licking him, he kept looking at you while small deep groans came out of him, you enjoyed having him there in your mouth, seeing him trying to look at you while fighting his eyes from closing from the feeling that came from your action, small noises leaving his throat.  

“ I haven’t been this hard in years. God, you’re so good at that, Y/N”

“am I?” you said while stroking him harder, going in to suck him faster, if you liked one thing, it was his praises. Your tongue licked him up and down while one hand stroked him and the other one massaged his balls.

“Oh Fuck—Yes” he said

“Are you going to come in my mouth to show me how good I am?” you said keeping a fast pace

“Joder—keep going”

“mhmmm” you said mouth full of cock, hand doing circles around the bottom of his cock

“Me vas a hacer correr” (you’re going to make me come)

“Come in my mouth” you said quickly and kept sucking him off. You felt his cock getting harder in your mouth, Looking up, seeing his wet body and face, looking at him squeeze himself with his hands on his waist, grunting. It only took ten more seconds for him to fill your mouth and throat with all his thick juices, quiet groans in the air, you swallowed part of it and spat the other and licked his tip slowly, staring at him flinch from the intense feelings while you did. You loved having this power, making hard, making him come whenever you wanted, and the flattery that came after. “You are ridiculous” he said grabbing your face by your chin, part of it with his cum on it, and kissed you softly “I’ll take that as a compliment” you said afterward.

You stayed a while longer in bed after getting dressed, TV on but getting ignored by you both. You talked, made out in between conversations, put your hands on each other every moment you remembered this was temporary. You usually initiated the kissing, but he always kissed you back like a happy young man with his first girl, holding your face, or your neck, or your ass or your waist, fingers tracing the shape of your body. When you started feeling the heaviness of sleep crawling in you jumped up and said “I’m going back to my hotel room, I’m getting sleepy. it’s a five minute taxi ride but you know, it’s late” and walked to the door with him following you

“Ok, I’ll come by tomorrow to see you and say good-bye, okay?” he said walking you the door holding just one of your fingers with his hand.

You picked up the purse you had on a table near the door. You kissed him as to say goodbye you said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Pep” and gave him a small smile before you left.

“Adiós, querida” he said as he closed the door behind you

The elevator ride down to the lobby had you thinking you liked him more than you should but you stretched your back and fixed your posture as you tried to reject this idea from your head. 

You let a small sigh come out of your mouth as the elevator doors opened. You couldn’t wait to see him tomorrow.

[queerwheels]

I’ve been thinking about Roy not coaching Jamie. This post got incredibly long and rambly. Also possibly some Ted Lasso spoilers if you haven't watched all 3 seasons?

It’d be easy to conclude that he’s not coaching Jamie initially because he’s still mad at his previous behavior. Jamie was an asshole and did a lot of shitty things. And Roy isn’t exactly great at processing his anger. I mean he’s learning but he’s in the messy middle of it. So, we could conclude that Roy initially declines coaching Jamie because he’s holding a grudge.

Plus, we know Roy enjoys a good power play. (Like they literally did kink stuff in the hallway, what even? Lmao) So maybe he’s using his new coaching position to hold a grudge against Jamie, and power play.

But I don’t think that’s it. Or at least, not fully why.

By the point Roy becomes a coach, he deeply respects Ted. Maybe begrudgingly, maybe he never admits it out loud, but Roy Kent deeply respects Ted.

Not necessarily due to any football specific wisdom of Ted’s. But Roy is a heart player. As a heart player myself, we tend to be deeply loyal to coaches, if we respect them. By the time Roy is a coach, Ted has his respect.

Ted heard their feedback about the showers, and got the pressure fixed asap. Ted admits when he doesn’t know something and defers to those who do know without making anyone lesser. He is the epitome of treat the janitor with as much respect as anyone else. While Ted won’t outright stop the bullying of Nate, he shows him respect in other ways. He’s strategic and understands people. He’s someone that respects Roy, respects the team, as individuals and as a unit. Ted is someone who Roy can be vulnerable with. Where else does Roy have that?

Ted sees Roy. Ted knows Roy’s heart is in the right place. Ted definitely knows that Roy is a heart player. Heck, all of the fans know that Roy is a heart player, we hear it in their chant for him. “He’s here, he’s there, he’s every fucking where.”

(He’s not actually everywhere. It’s impossible to be everywhere. We know that.) But Roy knows what’s needed in various situations, and he’s self-aware enough to know his strengths; to know when he needs to be where and how to get there effectively in the time he has.

It reminds me of when I was playing wheelchair basketball. On the surface, wheelchair basketball is pretty similar to standing basketball. But below the surface, you need to be a lot more spatially aware of things, due to the nature of wheelchairs taking up more space than someone standing. You need to be aware of how much space you take up, what spaces your chair can and can’t fit into, your speed, speed of others,  angles, etc. One of my coaches, who was a Paralympian wheelchair basketball player, frequently said, “sometimes the best thing you can do is to give up a few feet (of space on the floor) in order to not let the shot be uncontested.” He is a heart player too.

My maximum speed on the court is fast enough, but it’s still significantly slower than a lot of ppl. A person who plays only on their talent might look at that and be like “they’re faster than me, so I can’t guard them.” But as a heart player, I dug in and learned how to be where I needed to be to guard them to the best of my ability. Even if it meant giving up ¾ of the court space available on a fast break, 8/10 times I’d still get there either for the defense or the foul instead of an uncontested shot.

Roy plays the same way. But you don’t get that kind of understanding and such consistent implementation of it unless you put in extra effort, maybe hours upon hours pouring over film, taking coaches constructive criticisms seriously, putting extra time in. What Roy lacks as a player, or loses in his age, he makes up for with his passion, and his understanding of what’s needed. He isn’t always able to get there but he’s damn well going to give his all or die trying.

What does all this have to do with Roy not coaching Jamie? (And then also when Roy is coaching Jamie)

Roy understands that Jamie being a prick is a strength, when it’s aimed at the other team. (But Roy also has lots of experience w/ Jamie being a prick to his own teammates. It’d be easy for Roy to conclude something like, “Sure, Jamie looks like he’s changing but what if I tell him to be a prick and he is a bully again?”)

Roy respects Ted and knows that Ted has been pushing Jamie to be a team player.

Roy is strategic. He sees things and he understands what pieces work best where.

(my guess is that Ted especially has Roy’s respect and gratitude for bringing him back to the game he loves, to feeling alive again. Especially after being forcibly retired from what he’s loved for most of his life, due to his knee giving out. Who is Roy Kent when he’s not around football? Does he even know anymore? That leaves a lot A LOT  of room for depression, despair, anger. Roy had to be somewhat forced into the pundit thing by Keeley, and then again nudged by Ted asking. Ted still leaving the ticket for him even after Roy rejected his ask/offer initially.) Roy feels seen by Ted.

When he doesn’t care about someone with that deep respect, he’ll tell them exactly what he thinks. Especially if they ask or needle him. But this coaching gig, and feeling alive again, that’s still newish when he’s refusing to coach Jamie. What if he’s afraid that criticizing Ted’s thought of getting Jamie to be a team player could make that all disappear again?

Thus we have: Roy coaching the team. But just not coaching Jamie. Until Jamie asks again and again. Until Ted agrees with Jamie and asks too. And Roy can finally believe that that specific piece of feedback is actually wanted, and/or just gets to the point of fuck it.

Bonus, Jamie repeatedly asking Roy for coaching is where we start getting to see that Jamie is also a heart player. It’s just previously been hidden behind his talent and his cockiness. But you don’t agree to 4 am workouts unless you’re a heart player.

Also I know Roy said whatever about 4 am being an opportune time. But I think that also comes down to Roy being a heart player. As a professional footballer, their practices are intense. When you’re doing multiple workouts a day, the body needs time in-between workouts to rest, to eat, etc, in order for it to be sustainable at all. My guess is that 4 am was chosen b/c of Roy’s history of having figured out that that was a time when he could  get the extra workout in, while also letting his body rest before the team practice, and still get everything done that he needed to, as well as get sleep.

[modern-day-classic]

It's been three months and I am still very much puzzled by how the creative team decided to end Ted Lasso for it's main characters. I will not be touching on tedbecca at all here cause for me that isn't why I'm left still feeling so confused and let down by decisions made. So in true me fashion I am gifting you all another essay in which I work through why this still sits as incredibly underwhelming and unsatisfactory for me.

The creatives behind the show have always been very adamant that this was a story told in 3 parts. Perfect we love that. It means they have a clear beginning (intro & initial conflict), middle (dark forest aka working through the conflict) and end (conflict resolution & conclusion). This is cookie cutter narrative structure we should be good!

If we break this down into seasons we have:

The Beginning aka Season 1: The beginning of a story should very clearly introduce the genre of the story, the main characters, the heroes (Ted and you could argue Rebecca fits this description too) the setting and then the conflict and stakes. This was done perfectly and very early on we are introduced to the conflict at the crux of the show, Rebecca's revenge plot against Rupert and the demise of his beloved football team. This is information not privy to all character and we watch as the season progresses to the point where the conflict is realised by everyone involved - in this instance the first truth bomb.

The Middle aka Season 2: Season 2 is in every aspect the middle of the story. It's not only the middle season, but the middle part of the narrative structure whereby the heroes set out to resolve the conflict (Rebecca's attempt to sink the team), it is their dark forest if you will. The middle part of the story should be where the main action takes place. We see the fallout from the conflict and Rebecca's confession to Ted. While he did forgive her instantly he is very clearly hurt by it (coupled with the demise of his marriage yes) we see Ted pull away from Rebecca and the obvious strain in their budding friendship (idk what you'd call it nothing really feels right). This is most notable in the missed phonecall and ignored voice message post Ted's panic attack. All the key pieces of the story should begin to take shape in this portion of the narrative (I'm talking all the Ted x Rebecca parallels etc (I'm not even touching on if they were ever meant to be a romantic hint that's not the point of this)) and set themself out for a nice bow to be tied closing them all out in the next part of the narrative.

The End aka Season 3: This is simply the resolution to the conflict, the portion of the story where our heroes confront their issue. At the end of the story, the narrative should be complete, characters should be settled into the new normal post conflict resolution and all loose ends tied up in a satisfying manner for the viewer. AND THIS IS WHERE THE WHEELS FEEL OFF THE TED LASSO NARRATIVE ARC.

Season 3 should have seen the carefully planted plot points come together. We should have seen Rebecca and Ted overcome the slight estrangement. We should have seen them learn of their connections. We should have seen them achieve their goal to "win the whole fucking thing". We should have seen all the open storylines from seasons 1 and 2 come to a conclusion, be it nice or not that's not the point they should be complete.

INSTEAD we saw the two main characters, the heroes of this narrative be neglected and relegated to, for the most part, periphery characters. Ted has no significant storyline in season 3 outside of the Sunflowers episode and even then it was secondary to everyone else. Rebecca was removed from a lot of the action on multiple occasions getting (this is just a guess I refuse to go watch it to figure it out for real) 10 minutes of screentime in an episode, and not appearing until 15 minutes in on some occasions. Yes we still saw her but it was mostly on her own. This isn't conducive with having the time to close out all the little breadcrumbs and storylines woven for them in the first 2 seasons EVEN WITH the extended episode run times. Rather we had a million new storylines introduced and with them an abundance of new characters. The ending of the story isn't a place for this.

The creative team seems to have forgotten the key part of an ending: the narrative should be complete, characters should be settled into the new normal post conflict resolution and all loose ends tied up in a satisfying manner for the viewer. Yes we saw a conclusion for each, but both Rebecca and Ted's endings were rushed and last minute pieces of information thrown at us. I could have walked away (yes disappointed) but satisfied with Ted going back to Kansas if that's what season 3 was showing me he needed. They instead had taken great care to show how engrained into Richmond and the football club Ted was. So how as a viewer am I meant to be satisfied with his abrupt return to Kansas. As for Rebecca, her want for a second chance at love was always a key element of her storyline. Did I ship tedbecca, yes? would I have been happy with her finding love even if it wasn't a tedbecca endgame? also yes BUT I, as a viewer needed to buy into the love interest, not just have some new character we've hardly seen supposedly be her endgame. We needed to have been brought along on the journey here and not just had it thrown in at the last second.

So what this mammoth essay has made me realise is, my dissatisfaction as how Ted Lasso ended is due to the fact that NOTHING was closed out. No storylines properly ended. No conflict properly resolved and our heroes not shown as settled into their new normal. The creative team for whatever reason didn't follow through on basic narrative storytelling framework and as a result left behind a show with no proper ending.

[threewaywithdelusion]

Keeley and Jamie Meet

I've been writing so much Ted Lasso fan fiction, but seem to be totally incapable of focusing on one project at a time. So here's a JamieKeeley pre-canon fic I was working on today (feel free to brit-pick or critique, it's a rough draft)

The first time Keeley saw Jamie Tartt, she’d just come off a shoot with Shandy and Ellie and they’d gone to get drinks at a nice club to celebrate the end of the long workday. She was in her own club clothes — a single-strapped bodysuit paired with a pink miniskirt and strappy, tall hells — but her hair and makeup was all from the shoot, which had been eighties themed, and made her whole outfit look a bit odd. 

Shandy and Ellie were out on the dance floor but Keeley’s feet hurt from her shoes and she decided to sit at the bar, sip overpriced drinks, and people-watch. 

That was when she noticed Jamie. He was impossible to miss, in a loudly-patterned graffiti shirt unbuttoned far enough that Keeley could confirm he had a six-pack. He was at a table with a group of men, but he didn’t seem to be talking to any of them. He was scowling moodily and that should have been a red flag, but frankly it made his cheekbones look fucking fantastic. 

It took Keeley only a moment to realize the group of men was a football team and then she had to roll her eyes at herself. She didn’t even care about football, but somehow football players were always exactly her type. Maybe some evil witch had put a curse on Keeley where she could only date sexy, sexy football players for all eternity. It was probably one of those curses that looked like a nice spell at first. 

Keeley’s last boyfriend, Harry, had been a player for Brighton. They’d been together for six lovely months before Keeley had walked in on him fucking another girl and ended it on the spot. He’d blamed their long-distance relationship, never mind that Brighton was only an hour and a half away from London and he’d been in town almost every other weekend playing some London team.

After that, Keeley had decided she was done with football players. Maybe it was time to go back to girls. 

Keeley finished her drink, the straw making a sucking sound against the bottom of the glass. A quick look around showed Shandy and Ellie were still dancing and didn’t seem put off by the men dancing on them, so Keeley began scanning the menu. 

“Can I buy you a drink?” asked a man’s voice with a thick Mancunian accent. Keeley turned and saw it was the man from before, with the abs and the cheekbones, grinning cheekily at her. 

Up close and with the helpful hint from his accent, Keeley realized she recognized him. This was Jamie Tartt, the kid from Man City who Harry had complained about for a whole week last season. Keeley had watched the Brighton- Man City game like a dutiful girlfriend, so she had seen when Man City had put Jamie Tartt on the field with ten minutes left on the game. The pundits had called it mad because though Man City had been leading 4-1, the cup hadn’t been secure in their hands, with the fate of the Premier League trophy depending not only on the Man City-Brighton game, but the Liverpool-Wolverhampton game as well. It was madness to put substitute a starting line player for a young benchwarmer like Jamie Tartt. 

But Jamie had gotten the ball and run past Brighton’s defense — meaning Harry — and taken a shot on goal. The goalie had caught it, thank God, but Harry had been criticized in the papers after for letting a second team player like Jamie Tartt slip past him. 

Keeley had quickly gotten tired of hearing Harry complain about Jamie Tartt. Then Harry had gotten into bed with some random girl and his complaining hadn’t been her problem anymore. 

“You’re Jamie Tartt,” Keeley said. 

Jamie grinned smugly, tongue between his teeth. “I am. I saw you looking at me. Thought I’d come over and say hi.”

Keeley scoffed and shook her head. “What? So you hit on any girl who looks your way?”

“Only the fit ones,” Jamie said. “And there’s no one fitter than Keeley fucking Jones.”

Keeley’s eyebrows went up. She wasn’t sure Jamie’s exact age, but it was getting more and more rare for young footballers to recognize her. Harry had been 26, almost her own age, and had no bloody clue who she was when they’d first met. 

Right, Harry. Keeley was done with footballers, no matter how fit or flattering they may be. 

“You can buy me a drink,” she said. “But I’m not going home with you.”

Jamie pouted, his bottom lip actually sticking out. It was ridiculous. It was endearing. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t owe you anything for a drink,” Keeley said. She’d been in this position before, with far too many men who thought spending a few pounds on drinks meant they’d bought the right to take her home. 

“What about a dance?” Jamie asked. 

“No.”

“A chat, then?”

“No.”

“Come on,” he pleaded, pressing into her space with a smile. “You might like me.”

“Jamie,” Keeley said tightly, holding up a hand to stop him. “I said no.” She’d been right to establish boundaries right away, because it was clear he didn’t know how to respect them. 

Only Jamie surprised her. He stepped out of her space and flagged the bartender down. “One shot of vanilla vodka. And whatever the lady wants, yeah?”

“I’m not having sex with you,” Keeley reminded him. 

The bartender, a pretty blonde woman, gave Keeley a supportive thumbs-up. 

“It’s not a sex drink,” Jamie said. “It’s a sorry-for-being-a-dick drink, yeah? I didn’t mean to push. I thought we were playing, like.”

He seemed sincere, hands twisting in the bottom of his shirt, eyes wide on her like he was trying to read her expression. Maybe it was stupid of her, but Keeley believed him that he hadn’t meant to push her after she’d said no. 

She turned to the bartender. “What’s your most expensive drink?”

The bartender gave Keeley a wicked smile. “If you want a cocktail, it’s the Elderflower-Plum Highball. If you mean overall, we have some bottles of champagne that cost near 200 pounds.”

Keeley raised her eyebrows at Jamie. 

“Champagne, please,” he told the bartender. 

The bartender smiled and winked at Keeley. She really was pretty. Maybe Keeley should take her home instead. 

It only took a moment for the bartender to return with a bottle of champagne. She presented it to Keeley so she could read the label, then popped it carefully so the cork didn’t fly, the way they did at all the fancy places. Keeley had waitressed for a bit as a teenager, before her modeling career took off, and she knew that was harder than it looked. 

The bartender pulled out a champagne glass and filled it, setting it in front of Keeley.

Keeley sipped the champagne. It was cold and bubbly and sweet. Keeley probably wouldn’t have spent £200 on it, but it was very good. 

Beside her, Jamie did his shot of vanilla vodka with his eyes on her, looking pleased that she’d liked the champagne. 

“I’m going back to my mates,” he said. “It was nice to meet you, Keeley Jones.”

Keeley didn’t know whether or not it had been nice to meet Jamie, so she didn’t say anything at all. He nodded his head and walked away, back to the football team that hadn’t even seemed to notice his absence. 

The bartender leaned over the bar, smiling. “That was well clever of you.”

Keeley shrugged. “He was a dick. He deserved it.”

The bartender rolled her eyes, gesturing at the group of footballers. “They’re all dicks.”

“Yeah,” Keeley agreed. “Thanks for being my partner in crime.”

The woman’s eyes sparkled. “My pleasure.”

“I’m Keeley,” Keeley said. Introducing herself was a bit out of place in a casual conversation with a bartender, but Keeley had a feeling this wasn’t going to end here.

The bartender smiled. “Alice. You dead set on going home alone tonight?”

Ooh, yes, Keeley had been right. She leaned into the bar. “Not if a better option presents itself. Why, you got someone in mind?”

By the time Alice’s shift finished and she and Keeley fell into bed in Alice’s flat together, Jamie Tartt was the last thing on Keeley’s mind. 

***

Keeley didn’t want to admit it, but she was getting old. Not old for a real person of course, but old for a model. The shelf-life for a beautiful woman didn’t go much past 30 and Keeley felt that birthday looming closer every day. She’d turned 29 last month and had to force a smile while she pretended to eat cake that wasn’t on her diet plan. 

She wasn’t too old just yet — she still got gigs, including the modeling gig she’d just done earlier that day. But the offers had slowed down, companies turning to prettier, younger models to try to sell their merchandise with the promise of sex. 

It meant Keeley had let her manager go, and was now scheduling her own gigs. She actually quite liked that part — maybe in a few years when she was too old for all of this, she could help the pretty young thing who’d taken her place to fill her calendar with modeling gigs, club appearances, and commercials. But all that meant that Keeley was standing morosely at the bar, feeling just a little too old and a little too drunk, when the man from last week came up to her again. 

“Jamie Tartt,” she said. 

“Keeley Jones,” he said, in that cute Mancunian accent of his. 

“Are you stalking me?”

“No, I swear,” Jamie said, putting his hands up like he was protesting his innocence. “You’ve just got good taste in clubs, I guess.”

Keeley hummed. “Buy me a drink?”

She was pushing it, but he laughed and flagged down the bartender. He ordered a double shot of vanilla vodka and she ordered a jaegerbomb on his tab. 

“Is this still an apology?” she asked. 

Jamie’s eyes went wide. “Shit Keeley, are you trying to drink me out of house and home? How expensive is an apology?”

Keeley laughed. “It’s not like you can’t afford it, playing for the winners of the Premier Cup.”

The smile faded from Jamie’s face. “I’m not at City right now, actually. I’m on loan to fucking Richmond.”

He looked genuinely annoyed about it. 

“Sorry,” Keeley said. “Even my ex said Richmond aren’t great, and he plays for Brighton.”

Jamie brightened. “You know football.”

“A bit,” Keeley admitted. “I’ve dated a lot of footballers.”

Jamie frowned. “So it’s just me you’ve got a problem with?”

“No,” Keeley said. “I don’t have a problem with you. Buy me another drink?”

Jamie frowned, his head tipping to the side. “Aren’t you going to tell me you’re not going home with me?”

Keeley shrugged. “It’s a new week. I might.”

Jamie’s eyes went wide. He really was fit, with a narrow waist, abs she could see through his shirt (open down to his navel again), and a jawline that could cut glass. He wore his hair gelled up like a dick and Keeley had sworn off footballers after Harry, but he was young and talented and fit and he didn’t seem to care that they’d had to photoshop Keeley’s smile lines at the shoot today. 

He didn’t care that she was old. 

Jamie bought her another drink and Keeley gave him a smile and went off to dance with her friends. The music was loud and the lights were bright and on the dance floor, Keeley still felt young. She danced with a few men, dodged a few kisses and groping hands, then made her way to the loo. When she came out, she walked past a table of footballers. 

Jamie, with two others she didn’t recognize. She went up to Jamie again. “Buy me a drink?”

The two other boys whistled and Jamie got a cocky smile on his face but still shushed his friends. He bought Keeley another drink and she waved and him and went back to the dance floor. 

She danced for another hour before her feet started to hurt and the dance floor began to feel too hot. A quick glance showed Jamie was still sitting at a table with his friends, so Keeley went to the bar, ordered a drink, then made her way over. 

“Vanilla vodka for you,” she said, pressing the shot into Jamie’s hand and sliding into his lap at the same time. He sloshed the drink a little as he moved to catch her, one hand stiffly at her shoulder like he wasn’t sure she wanted to be touched but was even less sure she wanted to be dumped on the floor. 

Keeley leaned in to whisper in Jamie’s ear. “Take me home.”

Jamie pulled back, genuine surprise in his eyes. “Yeah?”

It made something warm in Keeley — something besides all the alcohol. He’d actually listened to her — he really hadn’t been buying her drinks just to get into her pants. Maybe that was a low bar, but fuck it, Keeley was drunk and she wanted to feel young and stupid for one more night. 

“Yeah,” Keeley said, biting her bottom lip and nodding. 

Jamie knocked the shot back and stood in a hurry, lifting Keeley to her feet with those fancy footballer muscles. 

“G’night lads,” he told the other two boys. Then he led Keeley out of the club. 

[fanficfanattic]

Got tagged by several lovely people because no one knew I’d already been tagged. Because it took me several hours to copy/paste WIP titles/first sentences into a document lolol. Super happy to finally make it happen though @orbitalpirate @kvetchinglyneurotic and @jamietarttdodododododo !

Game: put the titles of your WIPs, reguardless of how vague or uninformative they are and let people send asks about them. Tag some people, maybe the amount of WIPs you have.

A) I’m big in Ted Lasso so I’m only posting the 120 for this fandom. If someone wants the list of 50 for Dirk Gently or 2 dozen for My Hero Academia; just holler at me!

Battler

Choir Jamie

Jamie v Nate

Back’s Against the Wall, Takes the Hit For Us All

Block His Number

Sam's Dad Take 1

You've Become a Good Person

Jamie Forgives Nate

Season 2 era Dani/Jamie

"Higgins ""well I think if you care about"

Playlist Fic

Keeley Got Pregnant Season 1

A/B/O: All Roy's Headbutts Damage His Scent

James Tart Sr Plants Drugs

Jamie to Ted But Kind of Everyone.

Memories

Dad Like a Hornet

Season One or Two

Henry Calls Ted So He Can Talk to Jamie

Bus Ride Nightmare

Soulmate AU

Beard

Jamie's Coming Out Movies Playlists

Decided on LCA Because Healing Broken Ribs

Jamie's Aunties

One of the Georgie Brings a Video A..

DANI sharing his father

Patty Comes to Dressing Room to D..

RoyxJamie wedding fic

JamieDaniSam

Roy Saying Jamie Threw Away His Career

Roy Realizes Jamie is Scared at the Gala

Roy Kent's Pet

Jamie Nightmare on Bus Season 1 A..

Trust

Why He Had to Push Roy's Buttons

Why He Has to Be Great

Tom O'Brien/Paul Reynolds

James Tart Hurts Jamie Before His First Game Back

Pussy

Will Sees Jamie Injured & Hears Convo With Dad

Jamie's Trent Impression

You don't know anything about me!

Simon Shows Up to Take Jamie to A&E

Georgie The Harpoonist

Jamie's Make-a-Wish kids

"Georgie ""I taught him to fight but not how to stop"""

Poet Jamie

Jamie being overwhelmed with pleasure

Amy from LCA comes to visit s2 Jamie

Dani starts dating Jamie S1

Jamie's First Day Back Had a Responsible Meeting with Team

Jamie's Mom RE His Dad

Car Park Kid Video

Mystical Team Building

Jamie Comforts Phoebe Gets Hit By Roy

Ransom Fic

Georgie's Video Memories

Jamie & Jan

Jamie flirts with Paddy on the Pitch

Show Up: Convo with Phoebe

Nonsexual A/B/O: Sam is Jamie's Alpha

Ted Lasso and Dirk Gentle crossover

Lads Watch Porn

James & Bug Attack Jamie

Collar?

Every Text is A Crime

Roy Asks Keeley for Jamie Advice and Doesn't Ignore It

Georgie Gave Jamie to James to Protect Herself

Roy Sees Jamie’s Ass in a Mirror and Goes Gay

Family Day Positive Georgie

Season 1 Jamie has friends visit

Zava Multi-Chapter

Jamie Thinks Ted sent him back b/c injury

Led Tasso

Princesses and Dragon

Social Worker Jamie

Coach Crash: Pinned

S1 Jamie, Simon Dies

Time Loop

1.10: Will tries to stop James Tartt Sr

S2 Jamie kidnapped for fighting ring

Ted Laskmaster

Roy's Extra Special Football Baby

Gordon Ramsay Reminds Jamie of Someone

Paddy Insta Live

Touch Issues

Georgie Turns James In Season 2

James Fakes His Own Death

Someone Talks to Roy About How He Treats Jamie

Sam Learns to Top Season 1 Team

Yeah? Me old man thinks you and he are just alike

Teaching Phoebe Art Fic

Early Season 2, Team Tricks Jamie

Ted DOES Go in the Treatment Room

Isolation

S3 Declan/Jamie

1.06 Jamie Collapses on Pitch During Cone Duty

"""Roy Won't Hurt Me"""

Jamie's Issue with Dead People

Family Curse

Sold After LCA

Investigative Journalist

Group Home

Belted

James Visits S1 Richmond

Dani Checks Treatment Rooms after games

"""I like history, it’s already happened so it’s easier to understand"""

The Stands

Keeley Teaches Roy How to Teach Jamie

Trick Plays

Pacifier fic

Fresh Back S2 Jamie Helps Ted with Panic Attack

S2 Jamie Saves Girl From Getting Drugged

1.06 Jamie Panic Attack

James Beats Jamie for Getting Benched

You Told Me You Saw It

S2 Roy Breaks Tartt Silence but to Yell at Ted

Mind Games

S1 Jamie Ices Out Colin and Isaac

[debinhas-bicycle]

Now that the World Cup is over, I'm reflecting on my personal journey that brought me here. Apologies for the long post, but there's so much I wanted to say.

On December 18th, 2022, I woke up in the afternoon and, upon opening Twitter, saw that the Qatar world cup final between Argentina and France was going into penalty kicks. I rushed onto my computer and managed to pull it up in time to watch Messi score on his shot, and a few minutes later, Argentina won. That was pretty fun, I thought.

I'd been hearing about this world cup for months. Despite never seeking anything out, the news was thrust in my face that This. Was. Happening! Given the time differential between here and Qatar, and the fact that I've never followed soccer closely, I wasn't very interested in watching, to say nothing of the controversies surrounding that world cup and its host nation.

I hadn't watched a game of any sport since the 2019 World Series, and I felt a pang as Argentina celebrated on the pitch, suddenly realizing that this was something I'd been missing. I was raised playing baseball and soccer, and sports has always had a place in my heart and my house, but it was something I lost when the pandemic stoppages happened, and I hadn't found my way back yet. This feeling began to simmer in the back of my mind.

On January 21st, 2023, I finally made the decision to start watching women's soccer. It was the culmination of moments and thoughts that started during that penalty shootout, as well as the long brewing determination that I wanted to follow some form of women's sports, and the coincidence that the USWNT happened to be playing against New Zealand on HBO Max at exactly the right time for me to see it. I turned on the game and I had a blast.

During the game, I learned that the women's world cup was taking place later this year (something that had not been made well known to me). The stars had aligned perfectly, and I was ecstatic! I was finally going to get back into sports, and I had seven months to acquaint myself with everything WoSo before July 20th.

I couldn't have imagined that 8 months later I would've gone to a Kansas City Current match (my first time at any professional sports game in four years). I couldn't have imagined just how much fun I was going to have following the NWSL or this World Cup. I couldn't have imagined that I would spent the better part of three weeks staying up past dawn to watch football all night long (okay, that one does sound like me, I would've believed it). I might've even believed all of those, but most of all I couldn't have imagined the friends I was going to make here along the way.

I thought I was going to watch the USWNT matches and nothing else; after all, the timezones were once again not in my favor.

But it didn't matter. It was too much fun. You all made it too much fun. I had to stay up and watch every match I could, because everything was just too exciting. Debutants were holding their own, there were upsets happening left right and center. I got invested in so many teams and so many players. I learned so much about the game over these past four weeks: about the rules (like Ted Lasso, I too would come to finally understand offsides, thanks VAR🙄), about the players and their histories, about the pains and gains that have been taking place in this sport around the world.

I learned all of this and more from you all who welcomed me into this community with open arms. From the anon in my inbox that first night on January 21st who kindly corrected my mispelling of Alyssa Naeher's name (Nair lol), to all of the mutuals I've made whose posts I found funny and informative and made it so easy to get more invested in this sport. I started posting so much that about a week into the tournament I finally made a dedicated sideblog, named after my favorite player, who I got to see score two goals when I was at Children's Mercy Park on April 30th! I was surprised when every one of you followed me back, after all I'm just some guy that just got into woso, surely there must be more to it than that right?

But there wasn't. You all saw me standing in the corner and moved over to make room for me. You said here, come sit down with us, there's a game on and you can't see it from over there! You handed me drinks and snacks and made me feel included like it was nothing. I've been looking forward to this world cup all year, and thanks to you it was the highlight of my whole year.

I cheered, I gasped, I cried, and I did it with all of you, which was more than I ever expected or hoped for, and I'm so grateful. If I stopped watching football today, I would take this experience with me for the rest of my life. And I certainly don't plan to stop watching it any time soon! This world cup might not have reached the conclusion any of us wanted, but the journey to get here truly was a life-changing one for me.

Thank you for including me in this wonderful community, I love you all so much, and I can't wait to watch more football with you. 🫶🫶🫶

[fierrochase-falafel]

Ted Lasso S2E9, Beard After Hours: What does it mean anyways?

Ok, so the Beard After Hours episode (season 2 episode 9) as a whole initially made no sense to me in terms of the story because of how cryptic and just bonkers it is, but slowly it makes more sense to me the more I rewatch it. I've rewatched it twice now and rest assured the third time, some epiphany may strike and I'll be back here to update this. Everyone seems to dislike this episode, and honestly I understand but there's also something truly fascinating about it. It's like an episode from a whole other show, even the title track sounds different, because this episode is meant to be an episode from Beard's life. This is what Beard's life looks like when he isn't with Ted, which is what the writers have said they were trying to portray. It's a speedbump of an episode where we watch him go through a wringer of a fever dream with no characters we know except the lads from the bar (I love calling them that) and Jamie's dad of all people, and you're left wondering why was this HERE and what does this mean in the context of season 2's overall story? Honestly...I have no idea, but it's fascinating to try and figure out. What I am starting to get a bit of a clue in on though is what this means for Beard's character arc.

Something I want to zero in on first is Beard dropping his keys over and over, something that I knew meant something the first time but I couldn't figure out what. Beard repeatedly drops his keys haphazardly, and there's always someone nicely giving them back to him in the night only for him to drop them again. This represents Beard being caught in a cycle where he struggles to accept help from people who care about him, and thus remains in his cycle. With the implications by the writers that this is what his life is like after work, we can assume he goes through something similar every night- a cycle. We find out more about Beard at the end of season 3, when he tells Nate about stealing Ted's car when Ted helped him (a bit like Zuko in season 2 of ATLA actually), even though he didn't exactly have a reason to steal the car if Ted let him into his house willingly- the main possible reason I can think of would be to get away and not have to need Ted for help. If he has Ted's car, he can go out and live his life by himself, right? With no help needed. There's a sort of expectation in that, that he can't rely on other people- which is actually why he ends up spending a majority of the night alone. He shows up to Bones and Honey with Baz, Paul and Jeremy and then leaves them to go to a room where he hallucinates being insulted by Thierry Henry (which is both sad and hilarious). He meets and leaves the woman, he meets and parts with her husband, he meets up with the lads from the bar again and doesn't join them further, and so on. Even though he had good reasons to leave for the most part (getting chased by a raging and strong man for instance), nobody in his night remains constant EXCEPT his hallucinations of the football pundits with special emphasis on Thierry Henry. They judge him, pressure him about losing the Man City match 5-nil, and make light of his deepest insecurities so he can simultaneously wallow in them by himself but ignore them by seeking the short but eventful company of other people. He wants to escape his thoughts instead of talking them out or being vulnerable with anyone else, so he does all this crazy stuff, only to end up alone and confronted by them anyways.

In regards to Beard and Jane, I have some complicated feelings about their relationship and it can atleast be considered unhealthy, but Jane does truly represent something good for him here and in his perspective, she is what he needs. At the beginning of the night, he refuses to join her because they were arguing beforehand. She apologises, does tell him she loves him, then gets angry with him and stuff via text throughout the night. I think Beard spending the entire night miserable accompanied by people coming and going until he meets Jane says a lot, because it's only when meeting him that he relaxes and dances a bit, and seems to genuinely have fun. In allowing himself to rely on Jane, to have fun and to see the world a bit brighter because of his love for her, he cuts himself a break (as is represented by Thierry Henry smiling at him with no comments). His keys have broken, and he's locked out of his house, yet you forget that for just a little bit because all he sees is her. It's in the camera framing when he sees her and everything. She is really intense and he matches her intensity, which may be comforting for him in a way, as it's not him being reliant but them being codependant on each other. Just as obsessed as he is with her, she is with him: she texts him like 90 messages just because he is absent from text for a little bit, and he has her on video call during his boss's dad's funeral. Everyone sees their relationship as a bad idea, and while I agree, I can see why he doesn't think of it as such, because their codependancy is something that makes him feel better, subconsciously or consciously. With her, he is never alone and both of them rely on each other almost as much as the other, putting them both at the same level of vulnerability if turned away or rejected.

Beard's arc with Jane perhaps echoes Nate's arc with Jade a bit- they both feel less vulnerable and alone with their significant others. This is a bit of a stretch (this is just one lens to look at it, and I definitely don't think this perfectly encapsulates all of Nate's arc), but maybe it makes them feel a little more secure in being able to care for someone without fear of not being cared for with the same level of intensity and need, or without fear of being misunderstood or underestimated. Nate gets over these fears when asking Jade out, fretting about it until she said yes and on the way to realising he didn't have to be so scared of rejection, and Beard developes a relationship with Jane that relies on both of their needs matching each other's. It hence makes sense that Beard would be the one who is subtly paralleled with Nate (especially before season 3's finale when he forgives him), as someone who did the effective wrong thing once and has since realised Ted just-- is nice. That sometimes people care about you, and that's just that. Beard is the one who calls Nate out in season 2 for his needless cruelty, and privately reprimands him, telling him to tell the truth or apologise when being overly harsh and judgemental. Beard is the one attempting to give Nate chances and Beard's the one angry when Nate doesn't take them, because Beard is growing to realise that reliance isn't something that automatically disappoints and sees Nate pulling away from everyone else in his anger and feelings of abandonment. Beard seems to have a tendency to pull away too, but he knows now he can rely on Ted and (kind-of) on Jane, so he knows Nate actively engaging in this behaviour is harmful to himself and the people who care about him. This is...just theory, and maybe it really isn't that deep- especially all this Nate stuff- but it's interesting to consider that maybe they were meant to have some parallels, and it's an interesting angle to look at Beard's character.

That's all I can really muster up about now, but there's always more layers if you're looking for them, and I bet there's more than meets the eye when it comes to Beard even after the 2nd watch. Heck, if I come up with enough more next time, maybe I'll make a part 2 or something. Till then, peace!

[the-ill-omen-of-hope]

Ted Lasso S3e6: Sunflowers

Alright, y’all can have a go at me for being a skeptic but I walked into season 3 every time thinking “Where the hell is this going?” Cause Love and Thunder let me down after Ragnarok and Loki Phase 4 was a let down, and GoT, HIMYM, I could go on but it breaks my heart. But fuck me head man! I should trust these folks with my life! The magic of S1 and S2 was something but I’m still sitting here smiling like an idiot, singing 🎶don’t worry, it will be alright🎶. Anyway, sorry for the rant :) Just some stuff I thought about while watching S3e6 (spoilers?) 

I was thinking I'm going to need more than one episode to convince me of Rebecca and boat man. Kinda glad it was only for one ep. Did anybody spot the GREEN BOX?

There was one bed in Ted and Beard's room...

I love Coach Beard!

Placebo High Ted was fun. Weird, but like the Christmas episode where Ted's moustache fell off kind of weird.

I love Coach Beard!!

There is so much potential for Ao3 people out there, don't let me down. TedBeard, TrentxColin, RoyxJamie, TedBecca, JackxKeeley, even a glimpse of hope out there for fellows RoyKeeley, etcccccc.

I love Coach Beard!!!

I want what Trent Crimm is wearing.

Anybody saw that loving look Beard gave Ted at the end of the episode? Or am I just being too much of a stan?

I just love the wholesome team bonding moment so much 🥰

Total football

[itsalinh]

I saw many posts saying they hate this ep and the show now, but here I’m like…. I love every bit of this ep??

I want to squeeze everything in this one post, but that’ll be a lot, a lot a lot. So this one first, I’m gonna showering my love to the locker room discussion scene and the Jamie Keeley scene.

Locker room discussion

This! This is the exact reaction we can get from a bunch of men when they found out about women’s videos being leaked. Some will have dirty thoughts with it (Colin - I know he’ll never do it, but in generally speaking, yes, men does that); some will feel once those photos/videos been sent to them, meaning that they belong to them so they don’t have to delete at all; some lay blame on women for recording/taking those content; others feel completely fine with it, the ones to condemn are those leaking; some just let their exes delete those themselves. We are not colours, we are not white or grey or black, we are just flawed human. And flawed human makes mistakes. No one is completetly “white” nor “black”, and this show has demonstrated it quite clearly and has not tried to conceal it from the beginning. We have shitty thoughts, we do shitty stuffs all the time. So I don’t think any characters got ooc-ed in this scene.

I know it is not morally right for anyone to use others’ private stuffs for entertainment without their permission, whether it’s for a joke or not. Colin said shitty thing. He straightforwardly stated that he did not want to delete it, though he has a point saying others leaking are to blame. But in the end, it’s scary to think someone still has your private stuffs in their possesion. Colin did shitty thing too.

But you know. People can change for the better, and that’s why we’re watching Ted Lasso. Isaac, Jamie, Sam they all have a right reaction to this kind of situation, so they were helping their friends think right and do right too. Everybody, sad or not (Richard baby I’m proud of you), willingly deleted their exes stuffs off their phones. In the end of the day, that’s what important. Even Colin, the one who openly opposed to that idea, also found a small place for himself to deal with it.

Some said Isaac honoured people’s privacy, only seconds later he snapped Colin’s phone himself. Isaac was pretty clear with Colin’s reactions, Colin even didn’t stay with the whole team for the mass deletion, he just walked away without specifying any reasons. Also, he said fuck off to him with pretty serious expression, why so agressive man, Isaac might think. Isaac had to do what he thought was right at the moment: took away Colin’s phone and deleted everything himself.

I’m gonna detour a little bit right here. The whole scene got on my nerves. I screamed out loud, and my head could not stop spinning for the next 10 minutes. Omfg would you look at Colin’s face right there. First it was horrified, then it was distressed, later was worried, anxious and finally was defeated. Colin would never want Isaac to find out this way. He tried his fucking life to conceal and played it cool under this supreme toxic football environment, he was not ready for this kind of confrontation, especially from his bestest friend. Isaac used to have homophobic comments, what if he felt the same towards Colin? That fierceful side-eye, that shocked impression, killed pretty much Colin from the inside. But luckily, Isaac’s face neutrolised, he nodded in empathy, he knew what was Colin going through just now. Still, this new information was too much to handle at the moment. He did need some time for himself, for Colin as well. For the next episode, I still think Isaac would going through his acceptance phase, he thought he knew Colin but it turns out he knew nothing. By the end of Ep 9, he would realise how much Colin had to suffer all these years, and he would fucking murder anyone who dares to disrespect Colin and he would cherish his friend even more. I’m not that worried about the situation between Colin and Isaac, what terrifies me is “Roy is asked to so a press conference”. What…? Would it be about Colin??? If it would, I’m going die and and cry endlessly from my grave.

OK back from my detour. I literally finished the whole episode first, after that I replayed this locker room scene, and it makes me love Phil’s acting even more. Jamie first reaction towards the leaking thing was pretty unbothered. Don’t get me wrong, he was still awared of how bad the situation was, it’s just it was not his fault so he did not feel guilty. When Sam mentioned Keeley also got involved, Jamie froze right at the moment. He startled as fuck and was spaced out for a bit. He kept rubbing his bum bag and reconnecting all those dots in his head. Was the source from him? Was he the reason Keeley got all the criticsm? He did not know for sure, but he did not feel good about this either.

And that led to…

The Jamie and Keeley hug

This damn hug sums up very well their relationship. The last time we saw Jamie and Keeley interacted (I think) was at Rebecca’s dad funeral. He pretty fucked up at that point, tho actually I understand his motive, he just wanted to let things out without holding in anymore. He didn’t have a chance to really talk about his feelings for Keeley with Keeley. OK I love you, but I respect your relationship with your current boyfriend, and now I have the gut to say it, I’m happy to move on. He coming to Keeley’s to say sorry is the most Jamie thing ever. He’s now accountable, responsible and care so much for others. Maybe nobody will ever know, and nobody will ever blame Jamie, but he himself will. Him saying It’s my fault broke me into pieces, like TWICE in a span of one episode. He needs Keeley to know he worried about her and he felt guilty, he should have done better so none of these would have happened. Idk guys… I love him sm I might cry.

After a rough evening with Jack - the girlfriend who should have understood better, Keeley was tired. Everybody said sorry, but they disappointed her more after that. Jamie came with another sorry, and she might have predicted what was going to happen next. But she would never anticipated a sincere apology from him. A little bit clumsy, a little bit bum bum from her ex, her friend. She went on for a hug and my heart melted. Might be my favourite part of the episode with so much understanding, so much loving and heartwarming affection from both of them.

We might never see them together as a couple anymore (otherwise I would hate their ending very much), but more of a understanding and trusting friendship. Keeley already moved on, and Jamie also moved on would be the best for them ig.

And that, folks, is the end of my first wheezing part. The second part about Rebecca/Keeley, Rebecca/Ted, Ted/Michelle/Dr. Jacob, Ted/Henry/Beard, Nate/Rupert, Roy/Keeley and Jack/Keeley will be posted later cuz I need more time lol. I love this show sm (and I will keep repeating this on and on), they deserve everything.

Buh-bye!

[jvstheworld]

My Ted Lasso Re-watch: S2E1 (part 3)

Goodbye Earl

Ted's wiping of the nail polish and his butt still hurts. So I thought about this, and they would have had to get the shot of Dani kicking the ball at Ted a few times. Obviously it would be a prop ball so it didn't hurt as much, but still after a few takes of trying to get it right, it you would start to ache. And who's to say it hit his butt every take. He might missed a few times.

Nate's harshness is really coming through now.

Ted said Beard's name and we all kissed it because we thought it was another reference. And yes it is definitely believable that Beard is only referred to as Beard. It's not just a TV show thing where people are just called by their last names. I've had friends who I have done that to. Two of them had the same first name, so calling them by their last names just made things less confusing.

So, Dani has the yips. Ted and Beard's reactions to it being said out loud are hilarious, as is the fact that the players and Will in the locker room all react to the door being slammed.

I don't know Ted's sports references. I'm as lost as Nate and Higgins.

Well, Ted you are living in a foreign country. One that would describe American Football as rugby but with a shit load of padding.

Ted is apprehensive about therapy because of his own time in therapy (You suck, Dr Jacob) . He agrees to it while shaking his head.

Roy is suffering. I would be too if I had to listen to that story. We like Martin Short in this house. He's definitely going to need more drinks to survive.

Roy sees through John's bullshit. And just how boring he really is.

Does anyone else get the slight impression that John looked down on Roy for saying that he coaches kids football? Even though Roy enjoys it, and is a good coach, and has experience from being a 9 year old who got scouted by Sunderland. The man is happy enough and trying to figure out what he's doing next with his life, don't judge.

Keeley was being sneaky and underhanded by bringing up the pundit stuff. Though, it does help him realise where he belongs, so it does eventually become a good thing that he did it.

I still want to see Roy's retirement speech.

To Earl. He was a good boy. I'm going to keep saying it every time it gets brought up.

Michelle had been seeing Dr Jacob as her personal therapist for a while before couples counselling. So Dr Jacob would already know a bunch of stuff about Ted, from Michelle's perspective, which made him form his own opinion about Ted before their first session. They should have seen a separate therapist for couples counselling. Dr Jacob should have stayed as Michelle's personal therapist and referred them to someone else who could have helped them. If not, then he should have done private sessions with Ted to understand his side of things before bringing them both in. Ted was being set up for failure because before he even spoke in their first session he was seen as the problem. Because instead of helping them both with their issues, they just told Ted that he was doing everything wrong and making Michelle miserable. Which is shitty therapy. And made worse by the fact that later on Dr Jacob and Michelle are dating. He might not be her therapist anymore, but he still had intimate knowledge of her relationship and personal life. The problem is, did these feelings occur during the time when he was treating Michelle or when he stopped being her therapist and they hadn't seen each other for a while? Because if it's during his time as her therapist then it adds another layer of why he's such an ass, because he could have been trying to get rid of Ted. Any way you shape this, Dr Jacob does not come out of it like a Prince.

I don't know why, but every time Beard talks about never dating another dancer, the lyrics to George Michael's Careless Whisper come into my head.

'All people are different people.' That is a good line. I might have to steal that for myself at some point. Just because he had one bad experience with one therapist, doesn't mean the next is going to be the same. And Dr Sharon is so much better than Dr Jacob. She actually helps Ted, which Dr Jacob never did!

I need the full story of Beard's life. All of it.

I fucking love Roy's little rant to Rebecca. Yeah, John is fine, and that's nice. But where's the actual spark of attraction? She's playing safe because she got so hurt by Rupert, I get that. But she deserves so much more than just safe and fine. Don't settle for less because you want to play it safe to avoid being hurt again. Find someone who makes you feel safe because they love you and makes you feel like you've been struck by lightning and wants to be with you.

The greatest thing about Roy Kent, he won't bullshit you.