#which is barely even fair. they do focus a lot on family for certain characrers. but not for others and i would love to see more

[meatmensch]

ouuugggaaahhh i cannot stay silent on the topic any longer i must tell you about my roy kent backstory/family tree headcanons. they are crazy sad btw. ft royjamie

his sister ruth (shout out to teddy-after-all for originating her name being ruth) is 2 years older than him. ruth is just as angry and proud and insane as roy, if not more. just has a bit of a better handle on it all, being a doctor rather than a footballer.

their parents were a mess and were out of the picture when they were really young so they barely remember them. their mom passed away of a drug overdose and their dad is still alive but in prison and he sucks so they aren't in touch.

roy's grandad (they didn't give him a name and i haven't thought of one yet) who we already know passed away when roy was nine was roy's mom's dad. he and his wife zivia raised roy and ruth and after he passed away it was just their nan raising them and she is still alive. she is a superstar and is theee matriarch theee protective angry badass bubbe (oh right. they're all jewish btw). she and her husband had been friends since they were small. they were born in poland and were just little kids during the shoah. (they gave themselves the last name kent to assimilate in britain, chose it bc of clark kent.)

that experience ofc really shaped them and greatly informed how they raised their kids + grandkids. zivia basically always emphasized the importance of anger. "it's your compass, it lets you know when you've been wronged. it's a tool. it's your inheritance. it's your birthright." etc. when roy or ruth would get in trouble for hassling a teacher or punching a kid at school or smth she'd be like "well did they deserve it" and usually they'd be like "yeah and here's why" and she'd be like "ok cool well then i'm not mad ur suspended in fact we're getting ice cream." when their grandad passed away she emphasized this sort of stuff too. "i know you're sad. i know you're angry. i know you're lost. i am too. it's ok. let yourself feel it."

as i said she's still around and living in a great retirement home and roy ruth and phoebe see her often. she takes great pride in the lives of her grandkids (+ great grandkid) and is always asking them about what's going on with them and checking in with them. "perform any amazing surgeries lately, ruth, my little miracle worker?" calls roy after every game, says one of three things.

"you played like shit." "you were fucking poetic out there." "you were alright." when it's the first, he usually laughs, happy to just talk to her after such a shit game, pleased by their little ritual. sometimes he growls or cries. he's never really hurt by her saying it, though, 'cause she's his dear old nan, and she's not being a prick, she's just being herself, and she's blunt. when it's the the second, it means more to him than all of the applause and celebrations with teammates and everything. when it's the third he does get kind of depressed and just changes the subject and they talk about whatever. as he nears the end of his career he hears a lot of the third and it really fucks with him.

roy has never brought anyone home to his nan for her to meet them. he also never came out to her directly. he just started mentioning shit about him being queer one day. they both preferred it that way (not for homophobic reasons on her part). when he's seeing keeley she starts to badger him. "am i ever going to meet her?" "maybe." he's cagey about it. it's a big thing and it kind of freaks him out. they break up before he starts to seriously consider it. once he and jamie have been hanging out all the time for a while, she badgers him again. "from how you talk about him, and what ruth and phoebe say, he's your best friend. you know, i had a best friend once [alluding to her late husband of many years, implying there might be something there between roy and jamie]. even if that's all he ever is to you, i want to meet him. you've never had a best friend. plus, he's a good friend of ruth's and looks after phoebe. he's a part of our family. shouldn't i know my family?" it kind of freaks him out, but he realizes, not much. because she's right. about everything

so the next time he ruth and phoebe go see zivia together they bring jamie. they get along alright. she's charmed by him, a little annoyed by him, respects him, and can really tell how close the two of them are and how well they fit together. she tells him so the next time they talk, when the two of them + roy are chilling at ruth's house. "he's an odd one. i like him well enough. you act like you've known each other longer than either of you have been alive. so, for you? i love him...certainly more than i liked o'sullivan for ruth" "come on nan"