#will be thinking about colin and michael for a long time

[safesoundxswift]

now that colin is canonically queer his repetition of “i am a strong and capable man” hits so much harder. he repeats it when he leaves michael’s house and when he’s made a sub. he has to constantly remind himself that having a relationship with a man does not make him a worse footballer (and he’s likely spent most of his career feeling like less of a man because he never saw other out, queer football players). i can’t stop thinking about his possible reaction when dr sharon first says that line to him. it was never just a throw away bit of comedic dialogue, it was his mantra, put there by the writers to anticipate this storyline

[sysmedsaresexist]

We're curious, since you apparently were anti-endo in the past Was there any specific event or conversation or experience that got you to start contemplating the idea you might have been wrong? I know you've mentioned talking to a buncha big name docs and going "okay I think I'm on the wrong side of this debate" but what got you to the point of even bringing it up with them in a genuinely open minded way? We think its an interesting topic for people who've escaped any kind of shithead mindset, not just anti-endo stuff, and so we're oft curious what pulls people out of those pits

This has been a loooonnggggg time coming.

I wish there was just one event that did it, if it was that simple I'd be putting everyone I come into contact with into that situation.

I spoke with Kymbra Clayton in early 2021 about her paper, Critiquing the Requirement of Oneness. It was on a bunch of, "proof endos exist," lists, and it didn't sit right with me. I was surprised to find that she wasn’t... quite anti endo, but she was upset that her work was being used to support them. Her paper was specifically about the shift in clinical circles from final fusion to functional multiplicity as a possible treatment goal. It sort of sent me deeper on the anti side, but it made me realize that, holy crap, I can talk to these people???

So I emailed Colin Ross later that year, desperate to prove someone else wrong, and despite numerous back and forth emails, he was completely pro endo. I never spoke about that conversation until I made my post about it... jeez, what, two weeks ago? What even is time.

But from there, I worked through other doctors, pro and anti, from both my personal, professional circles, and anyone else who would respond to inquiries about their work on whatever social media they were active on. Mostly, as therapists, they stressed the importance of understanding and kindness, regardless of personal beliefs.

I ended up helping a lot of endogenic systems learn about DID, and I realized that, wow, shocking, being nice facilitates conversation. As I got nicer, people were more willing to talk to me about their experiences. I saw how many people were really struggling and I realized that I wanted to help them more than I wanted to be right.

I got REALLY goddamn tired of hearing, "we don't have DID," and I realized I had to concede on that point. There was ZERO conversation to be had if I couldn't get my head around that. But if not DID, then what?

The more I heard, the more I shaped my own thoughts and understanding, the more I broadened my academic searches (wow, there's more terms to Google than just "DID trauma"), and the research was just overwhelming.

I wanted so badly to see the Stanford Tulpa studies fail that I actually started to enjoy the other work of the doctors involved (specifically Tanya Luhrmann, Michael Lifshitz is a little out there for me, but he sure is passionate). The more I read, the more I understood what they were hoping to accomplish and prove, and the more I saw ways that this kind of research can help people.

I don't agree with everything, but I'm still excited to see where it goes, and I realized it's okay to have mixed feelings and opinions, as long as I could be respectful about it.

I've been sneaking out endo safe content for about a year now, adding it on as the last tags. I've discussed at length about my changing beliefs. I'm shocked that no one noticed??

But I didn't actually change my stance publicly until the antis turned on me.

With this new round of antis from TikTok, they were posting stuff about DID that wasn't correct. At all. Some of it was disgustingly wrong. I tried to correct them, gave them pointers and resources to use, explained things they weren't understanding. I gave an amazing play by play of how @sophieinwonderland was going to tear their post apart, and managed to get it pretty damn close to what actually happened! That was fun.

And in return, they called me an endo and started an actual smear campaign against me.

(Hi, friendos, another reminder to get off my blogs and block me, please)

It was the straw that broke the back. I had held on the anti label specifically to be able to work within the anti community, but I was clearly not anti, these were clearly not my people, and they weren't interested in learning. Their actions and behaviour were beyond low. I wanted nothing to do with them.

But, I mean, I guess some people noticed my slow shift, because when I did reach out into the endo community just before I made my first Colin Ross post, they were quick to pull me in without question.

The acceptance and kindness that has been shown to me is... breathtaking. I can't think of a better word. The conversations that I've been having with people have been more interesting and beneficial than ever before.

Syscourse needs to involve actual conversation, and I've finally found that on the pro side.

TL;dr I wanted to prove endos wrong SO badly that I accidentally proved them right

[storiesforallfandoms]

favoritism ~ pete davidson

word count: 2171

request?: yes!

@absstark​ “Hi! Ik your requests are closed atm but if u are able to, would you please be able to write me a Pete Davidson x female reader where they are dating and she’s a writer at SNL? Thank you 😊”

description: in which he’s dating one of the writers of his show, so the cast often jokes about her favoritism for him

pairing: pete davidson x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist (one, two, three)

It was actually quite ironic how everything started.

Pete was out at a bar with a couple of his SNL friends when he noticed a pretty girl sat by herself. He didn’t want to seem like a weird guy by just staring at her, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

He felt someone nudge him and he looked up to see they were all looking at him. “Sorry, what were you guys saying?”

Colin smirked at him. “Go talk to her/”

“What? No, I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?” Michael asked. “She’s alone over there.”

“For one, we don’t know if she’s actually here alone. She might have a date who’s in the bathroom, or she’s waiting for him to show up. She might even have a boyfriend who’s not here. And two, girls don’t like being approached by strange men in bars. She’ll probably think I’m a fucking creep.”

They were all giving him a similar look before Devon grabbed his shoulders, turned him towards the bar, and gave him a shove. He stumbled slightly, almost bumping into another person along the way. He regained his footing and glanced over at the woman to make sure she hadn’t seen. With the encouragement of his friends, he took a deep breath and made his way across the bar.

“Hey,” he started, very lamely. She looked up and gave him a polite smile. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, but my buddies kind of peer pressured me to come talk to you and I’m mainly doing this to get them off my back. If you just want to reject me, I’ll happily back off.”

She chuckled and glanced over Pete’s shoulder. “Are they the group very obviously staring at us right now?”

Pete followed her gaze to see his friends watching them like a pack of hawks. They didn’t even have the decency to look away when they were caught. Colin even smiled and waved his fingers at them.

“Yeah, those are my asshole friends,” Pete confirmed.

She smiled and waved at the group before turning back to Pete. “Here, sit with me. Give them something to talk about.”

Pete pulled up a stool next to her. He extended a hand towards her. “I’m Pete.”

“(Y/N). Nice to meet you.”

They talked at the bar for hours. They hardly noticed the other patrons starting to clear out or the blaring music starting to die down as the bar did its last call. Pete didn’t even notice his friends had left until the bartender had come to give them the last warning before closing. Before they parted ways, (Y/N) gave Pete  her number and told him to text her the next day.

“Just so I know you’re actually interested,” she had said before walking away.

And he had. The moment he woke up, he texted her, “Hope texting you this soon doesn’t seem to desperate, but I’m very interested - Pete.”

Near seconds later, he got a response. “I’d be a hypocrite if I called you desperate. I’ve been waiting for you to text me since I woke up.”

They texted back and forth all day. Pete was almost late to work because he was too busy texting to realize the time. When he arrived on set he was radiating with happiness. He hadn’t felt hits way in a long time. He had a really good feeling about this one. A strong feeling he hadn’t had before in any of his relationships. There was no doubts this time around.

His castmates noticed his good mood and asked what was up, but he just responded with a shrug and played it off. The guys who had been out the night before knew exactly where his good mood was coming from, but Pete decided to keep it to himself. He didn’t want to get too ahead of himself and tell everyone about (Y/N) just yet.

“Hey, Pete!” Lorne called as he spotted Pete making his way to set.

“Hey Lorne,” Pete said. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to introduce you to our new writer. She’s starting today, so try not to scare her away just yet.”

Pete chuckled, but it died off when Lorne stepped aside and gestured to the newbie. “(Y/N)?”

Her eyes widened, too. “Pete?”

“You two know each other?” Lorne asked.

“We met last night,” (Y/N) responded.

Lorne looked between the two of them. “You...met last night?”

“Not like that,” Pete assured him. “We met at a bar and just talked all night. We exchanged numbers, that’s it.”

Lorne had a skeptical look on his face that made Pete’s heart drop to his stomach. He knew how this was about to go: he would have to delete (Y/N)’s number and their messages, and he’d have to forget their would be romance before it even started. It was a HR issue, one that they would definitely not be allowed to explore.

This was the quickest broken heart he had ever gotten.

“You know, technically I should be sending you to HR to discuss this,” Lorne started. Both (Y/N) and Pete winced at the idea. “But that’s a lot of time and paperwork, and all that bullshit. So, I’m going to take both of your vocal promises that whatever this is will not interfere with either of your jobs.”

The two of them happily agreed. Lorne nodded and muttered something about leaving before he witnessed something he shouldn’t. That left (Y/N) and Pete alone, a slightly awkward tension in the air.

“You didn’t mention that you’re working for SNL,” Pete said. He meant it to come out lighthearted, but he winced when he realized how accusatory it actually sounded.

“I...actually didn’t know you were on the show,” she admitted. “You never mentioned it. You just said you were an actor.”

Pete chuckled. “Okay, we were both a little untruthful. Maybe we start over on the introductions.” He held his hand out to her. “Hi, I’m Pete. I’m a main actor on  Saturday Night Live.”

(Y/N) giggled and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Pete. I’m (Y/N), and I just got hired to write for Saturday Night Live.”

“Well, congratulations. And good luck on it. I heard the cast are all assholes, except for that Pete guy. So make sure you give all the funniest jokes to him.”

(Y/N) giggled again, looking down at the ground between them shyly.

It was the start to an amazing relationship. Pete could honestly say he hadn’t felt this happy in a very long time. They kept their personal lives separate from their work lives, which seemed to be the big key to making things work. Nothing was ever discussed about the show unless they were on set, and the minute they walked on the lost their relationship was put on the back burner until they left.

But the moments they had outside of work were some of the best moments of his life. He loved being with (Y/N) and spending most of his free time with her. He was trying not to go too fast with their relationship the way he had in past relationships, but it was hard not to be a bit optimistic with how well things were going.

Of course, dating a co-worker came with some teasing from other co-workers; especially when the other co-workers were fellow comedians. The main joke that the cast liked to tell was that Pete was getting favoritism from (Y/N) when it came to being given the best jokes.

It started during the table read for a skit. They were about halfway through when Punkie cut Pete off mid-joke to proclaim, “No fair, he’s getting the best jokes!”

Everyone stopped to look at her in confusion. They couldn’t tell if the look on her face was serious or not, so Pete asked, “Excuse me?”

“Your jokes here are so much better than mine,” Punkie said. “Must be nice sleeping with one of the writers.”

Punkie laughed, but Pete looked horrified by her “joke”.

“(Y/N) didn’t even write this sketch,” Kenan pointed out.

“That’s a very serious accusation, Punkie,” one of the producers commented.

“Come on, guys, it’s just a joke,” Punkie said. “I’m not mad. Just keep reading.”

Once they finished the table read, Pete decided to approach Punkie himself. “Hey, Punkie, listen. I know what you said was a joke, but...can you maybe be mindful of the way you say it? You could get (Y/N) into a lot of trouble if the wrong people heard what you said.”

“Pete, I didn’t mean it. Everyone knows (Y/N) isn’t actually giving you favoritism in the sketches.”

“I know, I’m just saying to work on your delivery. I really don’t want to have to deal with HR.”

“Okay, I get it. I’ll try to be more funny about it next time.”

And that was truly the wrong thing for Pete to say; for him to agree that if it was clearly said as a joke, that it was fine to say that (Y/N) favorited him. Because once he made the distinction that it was okay to do it in a joking matter, it was like the entire cast had decided they wanted to joke about Pete and (Y/N). It wasn’t anything new for the cast, they joked around with each other all the time. They were all friends, and you had to have a sense of humor if you were gonna be on SNL.

But man, after some time, Pete found it so much more annoying than his castmates meant it to be. He was trying so hard to separate his work life from his personal life, like Lorne had wanted, but now it was like his personal life was open season for all of his friends.

And it was definitely something (Y/N) had noticed. The jokes were never made to her face the same way they were to Pete’s, but she heard the whisperings or the aftermath of certain jokes when approaching Pete. She never said anything at first, which made Pete hope that maybe it didn’t bother her as much as it bothered him.

But one night, as they were leaving set, Pete noticed that (Y/N) seemed distracted. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him as they walked through the doors onto the lot.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he asked.

(Y/N) nibbled on the inside of her cheek before she spoke, “Do your castmates really think I favorite you when writing?”

Pete stopped walking suddenly, causing (Y/N) to stumble a little. He turned to face her and she did the same.

“Baby, of course not. They’re only joking when they say that shit. No one actually believes it,” he assured her.

She shrugged. “I guess, but they say it so much. I’m starting to worry that they actually mean it but don’t want to say it, which could get us both in a lot of trouble if it ever comes back to HR.”

Pete put his hands on her shoulders. “Baby, I promise they do not mean it. If it ever got to HR, they would all swear up and down that they’re joking. They just like to poke fun at me because I had to fall in love with a new writer on set, out of all people. But it’s not serious, I can promise you that.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “You fell in love with me, huh?”

Pete couldn’t help but smile too as his hands ran down her arms to take hers. “I would think that’s pretty obvious by now.”

“You haven’t said the big L word before,” she said. “So, I don’t know, I thought maybe this was all just for fun.”

He chuckled, knowing that she was joking about the last part. They both knew they were in this relationship for the long run. There was nothing “just for fun” about it.

But she was right in saying that he hadn’t said the big three words to her yet. Although he knew deep in his heart that he did love (Y/N), he hadn’t been ready to say the words to her just yet.

That big L word was out there now, though. So, realisitically, he was part way there.

“I love you,” he said.

He didn’t think the smile on (Y/N)’s face could get any wider, but it did. She lit up like Times Square and leaned closer to him.

“I love you, too.”

They closed the gap between them to kiss. It was meant to be a sweet, romantic moment for the two of them, but it was quickly cut off by someone calling, “Get a room you two!”

They pulled apart, chuckling at the reaction, before deciding to go home and do just that.

[its-time-to-write]

please don’t be - ch. 4

table of contents go your way

“It’s the south of France,” Jamie says. “The fuck am I supposed to do there?”

“Brooks is throwing a wicked party,” Colin says. “Michael’s been begging me to go, so we’re going.”

“You have to go, lad,” Jack adds. “Maybe then you’ll stop being a broody prick.”

Jamie doesn’t know what to say. It’s off season, Colin’s in Manchester, and somehow he and Jack have taken it upon themselves to ruin Jamie’s self-loathing.

Because he loathes himself right now.

Yeah, football’s great as-fucking-ever, but fucking off season is making it shit in his head.

He hadn’t expected to feel anything, not when he’s usually so empty in his mind.

But you… you were a giver. And it was a problem because Jamie, always so love-starved, took everything you had. At some point something changed though, because he felt guilty always fucking taking and never giving.

He couldn’t stand the way you looked at him, as though he hung the moon, and it felt like a deception even though you knew it was temporary.

That’s what he hated the most, the fact that you always, always knew, and you still stayed.

It’s a problem. It’s summer, and he’s on his way to the south of France.

—

Jamie is losing his mind. Is this how you felt that one afternoon? He wishes he would have been kinder. He can’t really smile, he misses Richmond and he misses Roy (the prick) and Keeley (what an angel). He misses you most of all, but he won’t insult you by trying to get you back.

He keeps seeing your face everywhere he goes, but it’s impossible because you’re somewhere in London.

It’s far too quiet inside his own body, and he misses the buzz that came with being near you. The world turned electric when you entered a room.

The silence echoes louder as the night progresses. 

Jamie steps outside for air and sees Jude snogging someone under a tree. He shakes his head with a chuckle as they break apart.

There’s a crackle, one only he can feel, and the world goes red.

Jamie ducks behind a pillar as Jude passes him, presumably to grab something from inside and before Jamie can think of what to do, he’s watching you press your palms over your eyes.

“I promise this is the only time I’ll ever ask you for something,” you tell him, head in your hands.

Jamie can barely speak. He’s grinning like an idiot, completely enamored with the way you can’t bear to burden him. 

You’re not a burden, and he can’t say the exact words but he’ll try to show you.

“You think too much,” he says.

“I know,” you groan. “I just know this is not at all what we talked about.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

Your head shoots up. “Sweet? That’s what you’re going with? This is awful. I’m only asking because I have to. I promise, I wouldn’t if I didn’t.”

Jamie’s still grinning as he says, “I’ll be there. I’m great with nieces, just ask Roy. Bring her a birthday present and everything.”

“You sure?” you ask hesitantly. “My whole family will be there.”

Jamie shrugs. “Not a problem, love.”

He would have promised you the whole world just to see your eyes light up like they did then. Would have given up his god-given footy talent just to feel your arms around him like they were in that moment.

So Bellingham’s inside and you’re alone, so in a haze of poorly-exchanged pleasantries, Jamie says, “I fucking love you, and I’m fucking stupid for leaving.”

Once again, he watches your face shutter through a million expressions at once as you carefully consider and catalogue his words.

Instead of your face lighting up like he hoped it would, it shatters. Just for a moment, but it breaks into a thousand pieces.

In between one moment and the next, he sees you pull yourself together.

It’s fast, too fast for it to be real, but he’s not going to say anything about it as long as you’re his again, you have to be his again. 

There’s no other way this can go.

table of contents

[ashironie]

I don’t have a good feeling about Celia

I tried to post this earlier but it got deleted so fuck

But from so many standpoints she just irks me

-She has the same character archetype as Alice. Many have pointed out their similarities and while this by itself isn’t much (as is everything on this list) with everything else it makes me weirded out

-She just came out of the blue. We had no warning in the episodes before no build up. We were introduced to the concept she was coming and then she came with little fanfare.

-Her introduction to the rest of the cast is a lot different than Sam’s. A lot understated. Maybe Jonny and Alex just didn’t want to do the same thing again but it felt really rushed and weird.

-I cannot see how she can possibly contribute to the plot in any meaningful way if she is just another victim coworker. She was introduced too late to have her death feel like anything but fridging (when you make a character just to kill them for momentary character drama), once again she shares a character archetype with Alice so the only thing that they could give Celia could be given to Alice perfectly fine, and she once again feels forced

-Celia was also too comfortable too quick for me. She just instantly trusted none of her coworkers would report her for talking shit about their boss. She seemed too genuine about everything even though she was in a completely new environment. And she was just so laid back with everything, like sure she might not know the full scale of things but she seems like she’s been their for as long as anyone can remember (something that might be due to the fact I associate this trait with Alice who has been there a long time)

-idk if I’m reaching or going crazy with this one but Alice seemed off. She moreso just said “I’m Alice” and and Aliced all over the place. But as soon as Celia left she said ‘yeah’ sorta suspiciously? Maybe I’m crazy. Then she’s back to herself replying to Gwen, who we can assume is only less interested in what Celia has to say due to the situation she’s found herself in during ep 4 was it? with Lena. The only time we really get to know her thoughts about Celia when she isn’t in front of her is when she’s bugging Sam about his crush on her, and also literally all conversation she has with Celia she also has with Sam and shifts the conversation (aside from just meeting Celia) to Sam (imo). The only time we get her opinions on Celia away from other characters is the little ‘yeah’.

-We don’t see Colin’s reaction to Celia either, which would mark the third episode in a row where Colin is only mentioned (to my knowledge). Though we don’t have any mention that he’s been hostile to her. The only characters that truly talk to her and that we can see their reactions to her are Alice and Sam. One who I’m convinced is suspicious of her and the other who’s ’in love’ with her (I was completely caught off guard by this due to not even thinking about any of that in the very beginnings of a horror podcast, I’m autistic and demiromantic, and because I was half listening the first time I listened. I sense it more but it still feels like a stretch to me before Alice mentions it though makes a lot of sense due to Sam’s reaction to her mentioning it)

-I feel like I’d be amiss to not mention the fact this is the episode we truly have an Avatar in it. Needles is the first avatar we tma enjoyers know as an avatar (in Norris’s statement in ep1 we have the maybe scammer but it’s unclear weather that’s an Avatar, someone being possessed, or something else entirely). Thematically, this would be a great way to establish a connection with Avatar and Celia. She was introduced exactly when Avatars were. Also the episode name could also be a reference to the fact we are having our “introductions” to Avatars thought this episode, but that’s unrelated.

-People has also pointed out Celia is in Tma, same name and same voice actress (so no Michael situation or helen and Mel’s therapist situation [I think I remember them having the same voice actress and that being a problem] here). Although I don’t know what the could mean but that’s actually the reason I decided to rewrite this mini-notsomini-rant.

I could be wrong about all of this and am prepared to be wrong but still, needed to get this out there.

[paperglader]

about francesca's look after kissing john (and their relationship)

first, about john:

in the book: i really liked the brief little bits with john at the beginning. i think fran, john and michael's dynamic was super interesting and fun, i even wished that it would've lingered in it longer. i liked that their relationship had layers to it and yet still remained loving overall. i really liked the way that he haunts the characters and the narrative after his death. i think that the way that francesca spoke continuously about him and about their bond was super sweet.

in the series: i love him. i love him with francesca. i died of sweetness each time they were on screen. i love that their love is different, and i love how pefect they are for each other. i love how he makes francesca smile and look so at ease. in my opinion they nailed it with them, and ended up being my favorite part of the season (to say that pen and colin very much grew on me would be an understatement- i think they're the cutest- but franchaela and john are my personal favorites). they're soulmates and they are best friends. love them.

the few things that they've already changed from the books: first the fact that we get to see more from john at all and his love with francesca. secondly, though, their bond IS different. in the book i did get the feeling that there was physical attraction and, truly that their love was a regular bridgerton love, if that makes sense? like, francesca did say that it was less passional than with michael but it's not quite the same as what we're getting from the show, is it? the physical stuff could perfectly develop over time, but it does seem to be absent from where we left it off. i do believe that francesca loves him. truly. it's just not necessarily super physical. Which doesn’t make it any less valid or any less of a true love! personally, i find any love stories that don’t really “stick to the norm” to be super interesting, which is one of the reasons why they were my favourite couple.

Now, about the kiss: i don’t think that the look necessarily means that she’s a lesbian. i truly think that it was mostly disappointment of not immediately feeling those fireworks that everyone raves about, or even just discomfort with having to display her affection for the very first time in front of a crowd.

she could be a lesbian, or she could be an eighteen-year-old woman who’s still figuring out who she is, still figuring out how love looks like to her, and that more than anything wants to find a companion in someone that uplifts her as a person rather than drown her voice in their own sound. and she did! for some people love just doesn’t play out as easily as it may for everyone else, and that’s fine.

what she has with michaela is different, but she loved john first and she chose him, and they will be happy together. her and Michaela will have a long way to go before they can even begin to explore their relationship anyways. it is simply not their time yet.

Francesca did feel immediate attraction for Michaela, but depending on how they choose to navigate the period typical prejudice and such, she might not even have the language to understand that sort of attraction for another woman, and it won’t be the time to figure any of that out until six years later because she does love John throughout their marriage and afterwards she will mourn him. It’s not until after all of it that Michaela will become available as an option.

ultimately: maybe she doesn’t feel attraction towards men (that’s great! welcome to the club!) or maybe she just finds the navigation of romantic relationships to be a little trickier than most, and maybe we get to explore that through her storyline.

[sea-owl]

I LOVE THE OTOME AU SO MUCH I swear, the sound of excitement that came out of me when I saw the new post 🙈🤭 Already love seeing Colin fall for Penelope, they’re my faves

Aw thank you!

For this au I was thinking that things really kick off for the Bridgertons during the first night the spouses play the game. Everything starts out as normal. The Bridgertons get the screen in front of them that the game is loading and oh it's multiplayer! They haven't had that in a while, and eight players? Even more of a rare occurrence for them.

As the eight friends go through their character quizzes and building their avatars for the game the Bridgertons take time to study them. Something felt different about this group and they didn't know why.

Then the prologue before routes are chosen starts up, and each Bridgerton gets into place. As the group of friends continue to play the Bridgertons find themselves genuinely laughing and having fun after who knows how long. The real reactions that the Bridgertons can see through their screens are joys to watch, as are watching them choose which dialogue options.

Anthony can't help the smile on his face when Kate once again chooses the option that supposed to take away his love points.

"Kate you know you're supposed to romance the characters?" One of her friends will ask her.

"Yeah but this one," Kate would point at Anthony on the tv, "is aggravating and I will take him down a peg!"

Benedict knows he should be conversing with all the avatars in the prologue, but he finds he can't tear himself away from Sophie. He even went off script a little bit, which earned him a glare from Anthony, but seeing the real Sophie pause with a small blush made it worth it.

Colin was so thankful that Penelope got childhood friend with his family because now he doesn't have to make up an excuse to hang around her more than the others like his siblings would. It helps that real Penelope doesn't seem to be moving her avatar away either.

Daphne is having so much fun with Simon. Most players find Daphne to be the boring one of the sisters so her route isn't played as often and she finds herself being a support more often than not.

Eloise likes listening to Phillip when he tries to pick the academic options and then she gets to hear the real him go off on how that wasn't the real science. It's nice to have a player with a brain.

Francesca also doesn't get her route played much. Second chance loves aren't usually a route players want but the options that Michael picks when he's playing, that flirty style like he's unafraid has her blushing. Especially with how sincere he seems about it to.

Hyacinth and Gregory both found themselves laughing watching the team up between Gareth and Lucy. Oh were they fun! Nothing like the other players from before!

By the time the group of friends finished the prologue it was late and they agreed to pick the game back up in the morning. But first they lock in their routes.

The Bridgertons were ecstatic about the choices. They were even more when the friends fell asleep with the TV on. These players feel different, they make the Bridgertons excited to be a part of the game again. Could this lead to love?

They were going to find out.

When the group of friends woke up they were surprised to find themselves separated and in completely different style of bedrooms. As they went looking for one another, they realized they were in the world of the game they were playing the night before.

Uh oh.

[a-girl-in-neverland]

Once again, im here to complain about the bridgerton subplots and changes

So spoiler for Season 3 ahead

I hated that they just cast Anthony and Kate aside. Do they really had to go RUNNING to India and couldnt wait for FRANCESCA'S WEDDING???? Hello??? Werent they the head of the family??

The intention with that is great and loving but is the showrunner allergic to having Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley in our screens for more than 3 minutes????

Like at that scene of the night before Polins wedding. Colin mentions that Kanthony has "come back"??? From where??? Did they run off again??

(Also i would really like to know who Edwina married and a bit of her love story)

The way in which the writers simply forgot about benedict's art/painting plot is atonishing. The build up of S1 to S2 was great, with the art school, but then in S3 is like that never happened?? Why didnt they explore more Benedict's lack of purpose or even his disappoinment with Anthony's actions?? Noooo, they just rather have him have sex with people all season long

(Before you come after me, im not critizing Benedicts sexuality, im just pissed that his character had barely nothing to do this season other than have sex, but i did enjoy a lot his scenes with eloise)

The Mondrichs plot was sooooo inconsequential and had nothing to do with any other one in the entire season. What was the point of keeping them?????

Somehow the writers in this show can make up irrelevant plots for lukewarm characters but cant come up with anything for the most beloved ones

And lastly about Michaela Stirling. So many people on twitter are fighting over this that is sickening. But lemme tell you this, all my life i had the pleasure (or better, the experience) to see many books i adore turn into movies/tv shows. Sometimes in adapting change is good, sometimes is necessary. But this change alters the whole story.

To be clear, i am NOT trying to be disrespectul, or homophobic or even mean about it. I dont mind the representation. In fact i think stories centered around LGBTQ+ leads, in this period of time, is a niche that could be much explored. Bridgerton could inspire people who belong in this community to write these stories, which is great.

However, the change of introducing Michaela completely transforms Francescas story. The second-love with the exploration of sexuality trope has great potential. But changing so greatly a story thats well known between the fans is risky to say at least.

Francescas book is not my favorite (by far actually) but it is for a lot of people, and a lot of readers have been enamoured with michael for the last 20 years, at least. So i understand if people get upset, because i would too if my favorite couple/story changed so much out of the blue

And honestly, i think this is one of the ways the show is trying to remain relevant. I AM NOT trying to say that TV should use LGBTQ+ love stories as clickbait. But be serious, the books were written as 8 straight love stories, in todays society people would be complaining if they followed if by the rule.

Anyway, Polin were wonderful. Nicola and Luke you are so so so loved, we couldnt have actors that loved their characters more

(And at this point i might be a Portia Featherington stan, she grew a lot on me)

If you read this far, i hope you have a great week and please dont come for my critics, they are not hate opinions, i just needed to rant <3

[oh-surprise-its-me]

You guys deserve to know I listened to Not Strong Enough by boygenius on repeat the entire time I wrote this. So you know. Keep that in mind.

-

He just keeps running. He can’t help it. Knows it will throw off his run at 4am with Roy.

Roy.

The point of his current problems.

Jamie’s worked a lot in therapy in the past two years. He knows he has self worth issues. Some days he wishes he can’t look into himself and see what’s wrong.

What’s broken.

What’s been tossed around for years and handled without the care it deserves.

He keeps running.

He’s always run when things get complicated. Sometimes literally sometimes not. He’s not running with a plan. He’s in Colin’s neighborhood though.

He thinks fuck it and runs to his house.

He knocks without thinking.

A light flicks on. Shit he woke them up. The door opens and Colin is standing there. “Jamie? You okay?”

Jamie opens his mouth, he thinks about lying. Michael comes up behind Colin, “hey Jamie? Wanna come in?”

God bless Colin and Michael. They’re incredible.

They are all sitting in the living room, Jamie keeps shaking his legs, “can I ask you guys something?”

Colin and Michael look at each other, “Jamie if it’s about knowing your sexuality-” Jamie laughs. “No mate I’ve known I’m bisexual for years but thanks.”

Colin nods, “okay go for it then.”

Jamie takes a deep breath, he looks at Michael first. Less scary then seeing Colin react to this. “How did you two know you were it for each other. Like that you wanted forever.”

Michael smiles at him. “It was like waves, it hit me one day and then kept hitting me stronger until I was swept up into it.”

Colin blinks away what look like tears, six months married and they are still sappy as hell.

“It wasn’t really a sudden thing. It was like I adjusted everything in my life so that he came first. There wasn’t a question about seeing him in my future plans. He was just there.”

Michael looks a little surprised. He leans over and kisses Colin.

“You wanna explain more Jamie?”

Jamie blushes. “I think I feel forever about Roy but we aren’t even together. Fuck I don’t even know. It’s like I’m an Angel and he’s a God and want to worship him.”

Michael has slowly started smiling more, “Jamie if I may?” Jamie nods, can’t get much worse. “Roy has been worshiping you and in love with you for as long as I’ve known you both.”

“What??” “Michael!”

Colin lightly taps his leg. “What he’s trying to say is that we think you’ll be okay if you tell Roy you want forever.” “I said what I said.”

Jamie nods again, if feels like he’s been nodding to a lot of things recently.

“Thanks I’m sorry I woke you guys up. I’ve uh. I’ve gotta go.”

Colin and Michael hug him before he takes back off running.

-

He makes a detour to the park. It’s empty at this time of night. He sits on a bench. Curls his legs up. He can’t do this. He can’t be this person.

He was never allowed. His dad tried to ruin everything for him.

What if Jamie ruins this.

His phone lights up. Roy’s texting him.

Where are you.

Christ what time is it how long did he run for.

Sorry took off early for run. At the park near my house?

Be there soon stay in place.

Okay.

God. Now he has to see Roy.

-

When Roy shows up he sits on the bench next to Jamie. “Where’s your head at Jamie?”

Jamie shrugs. Tucking his arms over his knees curling himself as close to a ball as he can while sitting up. “It’s here, just loud.”

Roy slides closer, he puts an arm around Jamie’s shoulder and pulls him closer. Jamie didn’t realize how cold out it was until he felt Roy’s body heat.

“Can I say something and you not be mad? Let me finish talking before you say anything?”

Roy nods, “course you can. It’s hard to be mad at you when you look this sad.”

“I’m in love with you. Want forever with you. Ran to Colin and Michael’s house to talk about how they knew. They just did. Roy I don’t know when it started but I just know I can’t stop it. I’m in love with you and it’s fine. It’s fine if you don’t feel the same. I just needed to tell you.”

Roy brushes the tears that fell off of Jamie’s face. “Good thing I feel the same then huh?”

Jamie felt the tears flowing down his face when he was talking but didn’t realize Roy saw them, let alone cared enough to remove them.

“The same? Roy you can’t. That’s crazy.”

Roy laughs. “Jamie I’m crazy, I haven’t done anything about it because I’m your coach. Didn’t want you to feel pressured. But I love you, I want forever with you too.”

Jamie risks a look at his face. He’s smiling. “Seriously?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Jamie nods, and suddenly he’s being kissed by Roy Kent. It’s maybe the softest kiss he’s ever gotten. He melts into it.

He pulls away. “You love me?” Roy touches his cheek, “I love you.”

Jamie leaps off of the bench, he starts spinning around he lets out a shout. “ROY KENT LOVES ME!”

Roy starts laughing and stands. “Jesus baby. Come on let’s go back to your place. I’ll cook.”

Jamie spins right into Roy’s arms. “You’ll cook for your.. boyfriend? Partner?”

“Future husband?”

Jamie smacks Roy. “We can’t just skip straight to that.” Roy takes his hand and holds it, there’s starting to be people out but clearly he doesn��t care. “Fuck straight, be my fiancé. We’ve known each other long enough, know everything about each other.”

“You’re going to kill me.”

Roy kisses him again. “I’m trying to worship you.”

Jamie blinks. Maybe this time he’ll be the God and not the Angel. “Let’s go home then fiancé.”

It’s Roy’s turn to whoop. He picks Jamie up with a spin and sets him back down.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[multifanrae]

Maybe I’m reading into this because I haven’t seen anyone talking about it, but Alice seems so Spiral coded. The “time isn’t real” and the personification of technology and the milk line and honestly everything she says seems to have something underneath it. Which leads into my idea that she’s also web aligned. This one is much less based in actual evidence and is possibly due to confirmation bias, but I’ve seen a lot of ideas discussing how she seems to know more than she lets on. And I’d say that’s pretty likely. But I can’t for certain tell if the things she says to Sam are a genuine warning, or reverse psychology. Here’s my argument for the latter: she and Sam have known each other for a very long time and she appears to have a decent understanding of him so she would probably know about his apparent proclivity for questions and mystery. So did she know that immediately warning him away from the Magnus Institute would make him more likely to look into it? And she’s the one who got him the job, knowing the type of shit they work with and how dangerous it is and how much Sam would be drawn to solving any puzzle or mystery (like how he tried to “solve” the organization system, she has to know about Sam’s compulsion to understand) even with the cases, did she emphatically warn against them because she knew it would make him more likely to listen to them? I want to believe she’s innocent because I love her, but making her evil also sounds like something Jonny and Alex would do, and also I want her to be evil because I love her.

Also her relationship with Colin I think furthers my point of her being spiral aligned. This might be reaching way too far, but the way she talks about the computers with Carl, does kinda seem like she’s trying to convince him he’s the one who doesn’t know what he’s doing, and that there isn’t actually anything wrong with Freddie. Also come on you can’t tell me her general vibe doesn’t just scream spiral. It’s probably just a crack theory with confirmation bias, but I swear since I thought of this, every time I hear her speak, all I hear is the spiral and the web.

So maybe (because I don’t think they’re going with the same 14-15 fears classification and maybe the fears haven’t separated or whatever) this all make her essentially predominately web and secondarily spiral aligned? Like instead of manipulating the way Annabelle did, maybe she’s using a bit more of a direct approach like the spiral tends to?? Because the web usually likes to be behind the scenes, but the spiral seems to really enjoy being up close and personal and doesn’t have much of an issue (not even with ‘special people’, Helen and the woman from “insomnia” both saw Michael in person) because it seems like she uses the tactics of the spiral with the intelligence and foresight of the web. That’s my theory anyway

[kepnerandavery]

Sorry to keep going on this topic but HOW are they supposed to go forward with the fact that Michael knows Fran wants a baby and that's part of the reason he seduces her, he's a rake that's his whole thing! How is Michaela going to be able to do the "I'm not letting the woman I've secretly loved for years get a baby with a stranger, I'll seduce her instead even if it kills me with guilt"

Also, regarding your last ask, I pray we forget about all this in a while and the show goes to hell

It's alright. Discussing this makes it easier for me to accept it. I disagree about him seducing her for that reason. This is my take on this...

For two years, Francesca and John's marriage, his brotherhood with John, and the love/respect he had for both of them was the emotional barricade Michael had put in between him and Francesca. And after John, Michael was the person Fran was closest to, and she turned to him for support after John's death, but Michael couldn't let her lean on him without crossing the boundaries that he had created between them because that barricade was no longer there. And he knew she needed him to replace John more than she needed him. So he left Scotland.

When he came back, four years later, she had decided to find a man to marry. But there was already a lot of confusion, anger, betrayal, longing, and yearning that had built up between them during the time he stayed away. And Michael obviously felt a newfound responsibility, jealousy, and possessiveness toward her. Michael expresses that he wished that she would have already been married before he returned from India because it would have made Fran unavailable once more, thereby not giving him a chance to betray John, and also not lose her in front of his eyes. While he was processing all of this, Francesca was starting to realise her feelings for him, and she ends up initiating their first kiss, which makes Michael finally see that she sees him in a different light than she did before. To top it all off, Michael sees that most of the men who pursued Fran were ungentlemanly (to say the least). And when Colin realises Michael's feelings for her and urges him to marry her himself, he finally accepts that he is the right choice for her because he would never hurt her.

He then tries to convince her to marry him by using logic (by bringing up her lost title, the management of their estate, their mutual respect and friendship, and the idea of giving her children. She denies, and he decides to seduce her (with her consent) because in his mind, men and women had to get married if they had been intimate. But she still denies his proposal after that, and tells him that she would only marry him if she became pregnant. So Michael begins to think that she would marry him if he gave her the only thing she desires (because neither of them realises that she also desires him), and tells her that he would give her a child if that is what it would take for her to agree to marry him, because he convinced himself that he's fine with her marrying him just for the sake of a baby, as long as she became his wife. And so, this becomes their excuse to continue their affair. And after a while, he decides to impress her by courting her (the poor man really pulled out all the stops 😭), but she ends up making it clear that she misses the intimacy between them. She ends up reaching for him even after finding out that she isn't pregnant, agrees to get married, admits her love for him, and spends five years with him happily before they have children.

All of this to say, their story is so painfully angsty, and romantic, and I doubt the writers would have been able to portray it's nuances and not ruin it (how they wrote kanthony in season two is proof of how well they can mess up the beauty of the books). Polin was the only ship that they wrote well, because they still managed to include all of the key points of RMB despite changing the arc of its story. Even Simon's speech impediment was glossed over in season one, so diminishing Fran's fertility issues is nothing for them. So, if Fran gets a season (which I doubt) it will most likely feature a "new and original" story created by the writers.

Yeah, me too. We will. There's so many other shows out there for us to obsess over, so don't worry. PS: I have recently started watching german shows, and would recommend them to anyone trying to distract themselves from this hellish show :)

[tarttheart]

PRECIOUS LOVE: CHAPTER 9 - JAMIE TARTT x YOU

summary: you receive an offer of help.

word count: 660 words

warnings: language

-

chapter 9: its teaching me

You: Jamie knows.

Keeley: I’ll be there in half an hour.

Rebecca: See you both soon.

You: I’ll leave the door unlocked.

For the first time in months, there were no tears. You had no tears left to shed about this entire saga. Was it a good thing? Was this progress? You were not sure but Keeley and Rebecca had wrapped you up and cuddled you to bits anyway.

“I should apologise first for ghosting the both of you the last couple of months,” you piped up and the two shrugged it off.

“Babes, you were dealing with a lot and sometimes we sort our shit out with people and sometimes we don’t. We knew you’d come around eventually.”

“What she said,” Rebecca said, raising a glass.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” you replied graciously, peeping out from under your quilt.

“So, out with it then, how’d it all go? You wouldn’t have us here if you didn’t want to tell us.”

You groaned, hiding under your covers again.

“It was awful. Michael started at my workplace a few months ago and we hit it off. He convinced me to go on a blind date with his boyfriend’s teammate and when he said teammate, I thought he meant like an office team. Like the marketing team, you know? Not a fucking premier league team,” you ranted from under your covers.

“Right, Colin’s Michael is your colleague.”

“Yea, Colin. I don’t know. Michael doesn’t follow football so I assumed he wouldn’t be involved with someone whose entire livelihood depends on football. And then, Jamie of all the fucking people on the team has to show up.”

“Babes, you ever considered why that might be? Maybe you guys are better suited for each other than you think,” Keeley asked gently as she stroked your arm.

“It’s not that I don’t like Jamie. Wouldn’t have slept with him if I didn’t. I just…” you sighed, fiddling with your quilt, “I just can’t see us being together now.”

Rebecca huffed, pausing for a moment before she started, “darling, we love you, you know that. So, it really fucking hurts to watch you punish yourself for something you had no control over. I know what you went through was fucking hard and it must hurt like a son of a bitch. I’m not going to diminish your pain and I admire your strength to even get to this point but you have been suffering for a long, long time. Maybe it’s time to let the wound heal? It might leave a scar but scars are beautiful. It shows everyone how strong you are and it makes you you.”

“Yeh, I’ve got one from when I stepped on a sea urchin during a photoshoot.”

You and Rebecca laughed at Keeley’s input and Keeley smiled, “fina-fucking-lly, a smile.”

You heaved a long sigh, “I need help, don’t I?”

“Well, I was thinking about this. Why don’t you see Dr Sharon? She’s the club psychologist,” Rebecca held up her hand when she saw you about to interrupt, “let me finish. She can see you online so you won’t have to go anywhere near Nelson Road if you don’t want to. And, if you don’t feel comfortable with her, I’m sure she will be able to find someone who you can talk to.”

“I appreciate the offer, Rebecca, but I don’t work for the club or do anything related to the club.”

“Well, in a way, it’s related to Jamie and he’s at the club, so as boss, I’ll allow it.”

“I—I…”

“Think about it. You don’t have to say anything right away. When you’re ready, the offer is there if you’d like it.”

“Thanks Rebecca.”

You held out her arms and Rebecca moved from her seat in the corner of the room to give you a squeeze, you and Keeley shuffling to give her room to join you two on the bed. Your bed and heart have never felt this full.

-

< chapter 8 | master list | chapter 10 >

[thekatebridgerton]

How do you think Modern day Bridgerton brothers and the spouses of the Bridgerton would each react to their wife telling them their water broke/the baby is coming/their going into labor? I think they'd be varied.

Anthony: oh he panics, paces, and pulls his hair out, this man cannot keep his cool he starts throwing around money like there's no tomorrow has a team of doctors on retainer anytime Kate has a contraction he feels her pain and shouts of people to make her stop hurting he's kicked out of the delivery room at least five times and he keeps coming back in still bonus points for Anthony unlike Colin he doesn't need to be sedated while his wife is giving birth Anthony is there all the way panicked as hell but he's is there all right 8/10

Benedict: acts like the miracle of birth is the best thing that could ever happen to him. Films the whole thing, plays Vivaldi for Sophie on his phone to time contractions, he's super happy that her water broke Sophie is screaming in pain with contractions and Benedict is giving her Gatorade, drying up her sweat massaging her feet, all while he is smiling because he is going to be a dad. Telling her all sort of cringy peotic words about how beautiful she is. his wife looking like she hates him the whole time for how happy he looks and has bitten his hand a couple of times in between contractions. 7/10

Colin: oh yeah this one screams when Penelope tells him her water broke has no idea what he's doing did read the books did not understand the books no he's running like a headless chicken around the house while penelope, quietly counts her contractions and times them because her husband seem to have forgotten the number of the taxi they hired to take her to the hospital. Colin is too busy running around panicked. This man actually had to be sedated with his wife was giving birth because he kept screaming at the hospital staff to just make her pain stop. He couldn't stand knowing that Penelope was suffering and was ready to punch someone for trying to drag him out of the hospital room until the baby was out. 5/10

Phillip: boy scout, the moment she tells him that her water broke he reacts with complete calm, since Eloise is panicked already for both of them combined. he's memorized all the routes to the hospital read all the books probably went to a midwifery seminar while his wife was in her last trimester. this man is the height of zen for the moments his first child with Eloise comes into this world. His job is to make sure that everything is under control so that every time his wife so much as blinks with anxiety. He can reassure her that absolutely nothing it's wrong. (Even if he absolutely IS panicking about it on the inside) It is very possible that Philip has helped deliver at least one of Benedict's children before this. 10/10

Simon: is it wrong for me to think that Simon would be the most normal out of all of the future dads. Daphne has wanted a baby for so long that she has Simon well trained for the moment she starts feeling contractions and her water breaks probably made her husband run a couple of rehearsal runs just so he could get it right. So I think Simon would be the one husband who has his grit together, he doesn't panic, he doesn't scream he just calls the hospital ahead of time, takes his wife to the hospital all while stoicaly being her rock. Because this is the moment fatherhood begins and he's got this!! Daphne believes in him, he's not going to let her down. He's going to be a better father than his dad, starting from the moment Daphne water broke and all the way till this baby is grown up . 10/10

Michael: okay so seriously this one also panics but he tries to distract Francesca by flirting with her all the way ever since she began labor. His love language is words of affirmation but he takes it up a notch when his wife is pregnant. Probably traumatized a couple of nurses and doctors with the filthy things he was saying to Francesca while she was having contractions but hey it served to make her laugh and it served to get her to relax a little bit so could I see you Michael whatever you're doing it's working 7/10

Gareth: traumatized by Hyacinth herself because her idea of a bedtime story is to read him the most traumatizing part of the baby books and all the ways things could end badly. Just to see Garrett lose it. It backfires on her when she's actually in labor because her husband faints in the delivery room. Also knowing Hyacinth she is probably laughing trough the pain at the sight of hospital staff dragging her unconscious husband out of the delivery room 5/10

Gregory: the first thing this one does is call his whole family to give them the great news. probably a certified pediatrician. He most likely went to med school because with all the kids in his family, he figured he might as well make a career out of it. Top notch insurance, he's delivering his own child, he did a second internship In obstetrics just for this moment. For bedside manner? He's your man. Lucy has the best of the best room, best care, and as the baby of the family Gregory has to endure every single person in his family trying to give him advice while he tries to film the birth. so by the time the baby has actually been delivered Gregory is ready to kill everyone and tell them that he can handle this, because he's a doctor. His family obviously doesn't believe him 20/10

[demisexualnathanvuornos]

Funny thing happened as I was checking Lucas Bryant's imdb page, as one does. Suddenly there was a new/old entry. Apparently he was in two episodes of a show in Australia in 2022.

He was in a show called Irreverent, an Australian one season show with Colin Donnell which is a remake/version of the sitcom Impastor with Michael Rosenbaum around 2016. I've watched one ep of that show (2x1) because an actor I like was supposed to be on it (she wasn't). Impastor was a straight up comedy with a Lutheran joke I still think about. So I thought I'd check this new imdb info out and the show. This time imdb was right.

So I checked Irreverent 1x4 which Lucas is credited for and sure enough he is right there from the start of the episode. It's a flashback where main character's shitty father (Lucas) almost let's him drown. Very different start than I expected based on Impastor. The rest of the show is an hour long comedy so the scene feels even weirder in context. Lucas is also briefly in 1x6. It's a very different role than the ones he usually does. The show aired on Peacock but can be found elsewhere.

Again, as someone who checks Lucas' imdb page quite regularly, it's weird I haven't heard anything about this in the year and a half since this would have aired in Australia/USA. It's odd that he did promo work for Five More Minutes Moments Like These without mentioning that he did some acting in Australia. He must not update his imdb much.

[heterophobicmaxanne]

sending you an ask cause you've sent me some <3 when do you think royjamie get together do you think it's during the time of the show or?

awwww, thank you, that is sooo nice!

i think there are honestly a bunch of ways they could get/could have gotten together but i think i'm going to focus on the canon compliant ones - and i think it largely depends on roy and on when and how he stops repressing his feelings for jamie and how much angsting he does about his role as manager and the ethical implications of dating someone on the team

i'm going to put this under a cut because it's def going to get long

so sort of the most obvious/maybe healthiest one is roy does some therapy and with the help of dr. sharon realises that he deserves to be happy and that the way he's repressing his wants and needs because he's afraid of the pain that would come from not getting them met is not in fact at all healthy and directly tied to his anger issues. i think then he'd probably need a couple more sessions until he could actually recognise the affection he has for jamie as what it is, namely a big fat crush - i think the fact that he's low key miserable about not getting to do one-on-one 4 am training with jamie anymore because he's to busy as manager plays a pretty big role in that realisation, and the whole fight over keeley thing also plays into it, like he'd recognise that seeing jamie and keeley hug made him afraid that things were changing and because he's a repressed idiot he concluded it was about keeley when in truth it was about jamie - and then he'd probably need to like lie down for several weeks to recover from the shock and the horror agonize about how to handle the situation ethically for a while, call in the diamond dogs for help and make a plan with them that he then presents to rebecca. and only then would he talk to jamie about it, low key expecting jamie to laugh in his face or tell him to fuck off, and i think he'd be genuinely shocked when jamie is immediately like "yep this is happening i am now Roy Kent's boyfriend"

and that's sweet and healthy and good but it's a little too hinged for me, like as good and sweet as that is, it lacks that certain je-ne-sais-quoi that makes their relationship so fun and fascinating, which is why i prefer a bunch of other options!

one option that i see that is also canon compliant is that jamie does in fact go to see his father in rehab. it goes well for a while and then james tartt turns out to still be an abusive piece of shit because it was never the addiction that made him abusive, james tartt is just like that so he says something shitty and terrible to jamie, maybe something homophobic about colin who's post-match kiss with michael has gone viral or maybe something shitty about jamie becoming a midfielder and no longer dominating on the field. jamie stands up to his father but doesn't feel entirely good about it - he's supposed to be forgiving him, helping him become a better person, the way people have forgiven and helped jamie and what does it say about him that he can't do the same thing for his father? he spirals out about it in a way that's similar to the start of mom city, roy notices, finds out what's going on, including about ted's advice and is just Absolutely Enraged. Completely And Utterly Furious. Cannot Speak Will Commit Murder Livid. he gives jamie the best advice he can give him through the rage blinders he gets, and then he facetimes ted and almost murders him through the phone screen. and ted realises his mistake, apologizes to jamie for the advice and for just walking away after the man city richmond match in s1, and the next time ted talks to roy he makes a suggestive comment about roy's feelings vis-a-vis jamie, maybe something about how he never could've seen roy and jamie's relationship developing into that direction when he got to richmond, and waggles his eyebrows and that does not go over well with roy. not at all. but jamie's doing better and roy's absolutely delighted about it and he can't stop thinking about ted's comment and finally, considering how intensely angry and protective he was and how delighted he is to see jamie happy again, he realises it's true and probably needs to like lie down for several weeks to recover from the shock and the horror again does the same "figuring out how to make a move on jamie that's ethical enough for him to do it"-spiel as in the first option

(leslie higgins voice) another one: jamie gets hurt pretty badly towards the final minutes of a match and roy's brain just short-circuits and only barely reboots enough for him to force himself to make it through with some semblance of composure because he's the gaffer and he cannot fall apart about jamie getting carried of the pitch on a stretcher. the second the whistle blows, roy essentially barrels into the treatment room and pulls jamie into a hug that is so fucking tight that jamie has to essentially tap him on the shoulder at some point because he's about to black out from lack of oxygen. and that leads to jamie making a dumb joke about how he's not dying "jesus grandad get your crap together you're going to make the medics think you're in love with me" and roy's brain is still rebooting which means the repression mechanism hasn't fully come online yet so he can hear that sentence, put it into the context of all the other emotions he's been feeling and realise that yeah that is essentially why he is reacting the way that he is reacting and even say "what if i am" which leads to a very passionate kiss, a number of death threats if any of this gets out and some vaguely traumatized richmond team medics

i can also see roy just being absolutely fucking miserable about no longer getting to do one-on-one training with jamie because 1) he does not have the time anymore (now that he actually has to read the fucking scouting reports and all that other shit he lied about as assistant coach) and 2) it would be way more unethical and favouritism and so on than it was when he was an assistant coach. but he doesn't make the connection because why would he, he barely even likes jamie no matter what phoebe said and no matter the fact that he looks at the kunt shirt and smiles like the biggest fucking idiot until phoebe points out that he's managed to swear so much in just a week that he owes her what he usually owes her after like two months and asks whether it's because he's no longer seeing jamie every day? and roy wants to say no fuck off but because it's phoebe he can't and unfortunately that moment of hesitation he has while he tries to find a nicer way of phrasing it is enough for him to realise that yeah actually she's right and that's not normal why is that happening and it triggers a chain reaction that ends with him realising his feelings

and for the fourth canon compliant option, we have jamie getting a little too drunk at the post-match celebration because he's no longer in training so vanilla vodka here he comes and then drunkenly telling roy that actually it was a fucking dick move to invite him for a beer and to butter him up only to then bring up keeley and ask jamie to "step aside" especially considering the giant fucking torch jamie's carrying for roy and roy is like "the what" and jamie tells him again that yeah he has always had a pretty big fucking crush on roy and how did roy not notice despite the poster and him pulling roy through richmond on a leash and amsterdam? and jamie admits that yeah he did act a little like a dick about it, esp to keeley, but roy was being a much bigger dick not just to keeley but also to jamie and roy is like yeah you’re right i was a dick and i’m sorry but I did mean the proud of you stuff I said and jamie tells roy nice cool good and he'll see roy once they start 4am training again in the preseason and roy's like "wait why do you still want to train with me don't you think this is awkward as fuck" and jamie's like "nope this changes literally nothing" and then fucks off to brazil for a bit and again roy is miserable but once the preseason comes closer he gets more and more excited about the prospect of seeing jamie again and at some point he internally scolds himself for acting like a schoolgirl with a crush and that's when he realises that whoops yeah jamie is not the only one carrying a torch

but also i think there are a few moments in the show that open up fun little avenues for canon divergent royjamie, for example:

jamie does not come back into his childhood bedroom when he does in the show, keeley summarily rejects roy, roy wallows in it a little but realises it doesn't even hurt as much as he thought it would and there's even a part of him that's relieved which is weird why is he relieved and why is that relief so tied to nothing changing between him and jamie and whoops yeah there it is the realisation he has a Feeling

there's the slightly more angsty option where roy only realises he has feelings for jamie when jamie gets hurt during the match against man city (which i'm SUCH a sucker for!)

roy is in the room for the "everyone looks at jamie after beards comment about there being more people in this locker room who are gay"-moment and when jamie says i'm flattered roy feels something like excitment and maybe even hope and like why is he feeling that those feelings make no sense there unless he was interested in ja - whoops okay he is interested in jamie someone kill him now

and of course, amsterdam! i can imagine like a very deeply cute moment where after learning how to ride a bike roy just looks over at jamie and feels deeply content and comfortable and happy and realises wait that's how it felt with keeley why does it feel so similar with jamie is it because - yes it is jesus mary and fuckface joseph and then he falls of his bike and when jamie's standing over him laughing his ass off about it he just either pulls him down into a kiss or lets jamie pull him up and then uses the momentum to barrel into a hug with jamie and during that hug he pulls back a little and just gives jamie a look and jamie immediately fucking kisses roy

and then there's the option i'm playing around with in my fic, where roy and keeley break up way earlier than they do in the show, roy drunk-dials jamie on accident and then things develop from there

[sea-owl]

I have had a shitty day today.

What has put a smile on my face is your accidental marriage trope.

Tell me, what kind of a shitshow does Phillip walk in to ag his first family dinner?

How does he top the chaos with his twins?

Not going to lie, I kinda want it to end with Violet smoking a cigarette in the garage. Trying to recover

I'm sorry you had such a bad day lovley.

Let's see, I've been debating this for a while but what if the accidental marriage also happened in the Full House au. So now we got the Crane twins running wild but they're being horrible influences on their younger cousins. Meanwhile Penelope is trying to stay calm because holy shit the random man from London aka her baby daddy was also here.

The Bridgertons descend on Phillip's home so they can work out some sort of agreement for the anullment, and they're nosy. They need to see what kind of man Eloise married, even if it's only temporary. Plus, since they're trying to stay on the downlow, it would be more inconspicuous for the family to travel separately to an unknown location to the media than to one of their homes.

One by one, the Bridgertons started to show. First to show was Sophie and Benedict, who live the closest. Anthony, Kate, and Violet were next. Violet just had to scout out the new potential grand babies. She has a gut feeling this Phillip fellow and his family are gonna be around longer than what the others think, no matter what Anthony says. Daphne and Simon follow behind. Gregory and Hyacinth drove all the way from University to see this shit show, some good quality entertainment right here. Colin and Francesca are the last to arrive.

Michael can't tell who's tenser between his two friends. He can understand why Phillip is tense. The Bridgertons are a powerful family. Hell, he remembers when John first started dating Francesca how big of a deal it was. Now, here was poor Phillip who just accidentally married in on a drunken night. Penelope has a story with these people though, he can tell.

The meal itself goes well. The Bridgertons ask questions. They learn Phillip is a botanist and a part time professor. He's never been married. He's 30. Favorite color is green. His two friends live with him mainly because he doesn't know what to do with this big house he inherited, so why not let his friends live with him. Two of the four children living in the house are his. No one admits that those children are from drunken one night stands. Better to keep that quiet.

Michael and Penelope get asked questions too. More so Penelope than Michael since Michael already knows the Bridgertons.

Things start getting interesting when they discuss the plan for Eloise's and Phillip's anullment.

"We can't do the anullment right away. The media is in a frenzy right now from Eloise's posts," Anthony starts. "That being said, they'll also be in an even bigger frenzy should we do the anullment too soon or if Eloise is spotted living with one of us. Do you mind her staying here?"

Phillip looked from Michael to Penelope. While it was his house, they lived here too, and he was always fair about them getting their say. Michael shrugged, he didn't mind. Eloise could easily keep up with the kids, and it seems like she's developing a fast friendship with Penelope, too.

"That's fine," Phillip agreed. "Just as long as the children living here are kept out of the media."

Anthony nodded. If there was one thing the Bridgertons could do, it was control the narrative. If they didn't want someone to be known, they could do it. I mean, look at Francesca, no one could find anything about her online unless she shared it. "Our family would feel more comfortable if two of us could possibly check in and keep an eye on things."

Eloise raised an eyebrow. "Are you siccing a babysitter on me?"

"I'm sending damage control," Anthony shot back. "You know Colin and Francesca are some of the best at getting the media to calm down."

"Why can't it be Benedict?" Eloise questioned.

Everyone looked towards the said Bridgerton and his very pregnant wife sitting next to him.

"Very well," Eloise muttered.

"Besides," Colin said. "We'll only be checking in. Officially, Fran and I will be visiting Benedict and Sophie to help them prepare for the baby."

Michael watched Penelope tensed further as Phillip agreed to the babysitters. He really needed to get that story out of her.

Then Violet asked to see the children. "I brought some sweets for them."

Phillip and Penelope got up to go get their respective sets of twins while Eloiseled her family to the sitting. Michael follows his friends to give the Bridgertons some privacy, and he figured this was his best chance to talk to his own little family.

Once they were far enough away from the dining room and not in hearing distance of the kids, Michael pulled his friends to the side. "You two need to relax. I don't know who was tenser between the two of you. I bet if we had put some coal in your hands, we could have made diamonds."

Phillip sighed while Penelope shot Michael a dirty look.

Michael shrugged. "Hey the scary part is over. Now we get to watch Violet get the kids on a sugar high."

Phillip rubbed his temples. "Oh lord, Amanda and Oliver on sugar."

Michael laughed. "Oh, I can't wait for my nibblings' chaos. But before that," Michael turned to the short red head. "What was with you this evening? I understand why Phillip was tense. But you were just as bad."

Penelope let out her own sigh. "Do you remember the random man from London?"

"Your drunken one night stand baby daddy? Yeah, what about him?"

"He's in the sitting room."

Both boys jaws dropped. "Which one?!"

"The babysitter," Penelope answered.

Michael couldn't help himself, he really couldn't. He busted out laughing. "So let me get this straight. The Bridgertons, one of the most powerful families in the country, the same people who gave even my perfect cousin John a hard time. You," he points to Phillip, "accidentally marry one, and you," he points to Penelope, " have babies with another. All thanks to drunk nights!"

Oh this was perfect! Michael couldn't wait to see this shit show play out. Couldn't ask for better entertainment.

"Aren't you in love with Francesca? Who's the other babysitter?"

Oh now why did they have to be rude and bring that up?