#I do think keeley loves him in a way but not nearly in the same way that he loves her. and it's like AUGHHGHHG 😭😭❤️🩷🩵💚🩵❤️🩷💙❤️💙❤️💙🩷💚💛❤️💛💔💔💔💔

[mitskijamie]

A big part of why Jamiekeeley is sooooo good is that Jamie is desperately and uxoriously in love with Keeley + she literally altered the course of his life + he's convinced that they're "meant to be together" meanwhile she said word for word that she was only into him because he was a dumb rich pretty boy, not to mention she had a new boyfriend within like a week of leaving him.....Jamie has been following this woman around for THREE YEARS like a stray puppy and she just keeps kicking him and he just keeps coming back for more!!!! I love it I hope he never stands up!!! Keep trying king I'm sure she won't kick you THIS time!!!!!!!

#oc #jeeley #going thru the drafts #I do think keeley loves him in a way but not nearly in the same way that he loves her. and it's like AUGHHGHHG 😭😭❤️🩷🩵💚🩵❤️🩷💙❤️💙❤️💙🩷💚💛❤️💛💔💔💔💔

[syllvane]

you can hear it in the silence- roy kent x reader

a/n: roy kent x tartt!reader. no pronouns specified iirc. content warnings for alcohol and growing up with a shitty father. ask to tag. yes this is 3.2k words no i dont want to talk about it

You’re outside the bar at your brothers birthday- the night is cool against your skin, a welcome relief from the crowded nosiness of the bar.

You loved Jamie, probably more than anything, and Keeley was always a sweetheart, but that didn’t change the fact that you weren’t AFC Richmond.

You don’t get the inside looks, the intricacies of everyone’s friendships with one another.

“Oi,” A gruff voice said from behind you and you nearly jumped out of your skin before whipping around and seeing none other than Roy Kent. “Did I scare you?”

“No, that’s how I react to everyone.” You deadpanned. “You’re Roy, right? Jamie talks about you a lot.”

He nodded.

“You his girlfriend?” He asked and your face scrunched up.

“Ew, fuck no. I’m his sibling.” You snorted and his lips turned upwards slightly.

“Right, he’s mentioned you. Usually calls you ‘Pip’.”

You cringed.

“Of course he does.” You said, shaking you head as you looked back towards the bar fondly. “Thank you for training him. It means a lot of him, more than he’ll admit.”

“He’s a good kid. Not bad company.” He said thoughtfully. “I’ll flat out deny it if you repeat it though.”

“Oi! I asked you to go find Pip, not chat them up!” Jamie said, walking out and looking between the two. “Is he boring you to death? He has a tendency to do that.”

“He thought I was your girlfriend.” You said, smile on your lips. Jamie groaned and put a hand on Roy’s shoulder.

“Ew,” He said, tone of voice the exact same as yours a moment before. “How did you not know that Pip’s my sister?”

“I know Pip is your sibling. You didn’t call them that.” Roy said, only slightly annoyed.

“Oh, whatever. Come back in, I missed you.” Jamie said to you.

“You know I’ve been gone maybe five minutes. I didn’t even expect you to notice I was gone.”

He looked at Roy incredulously, as if saying ‘can you believe that?’ before turning back towards you.

“Of course I noticed, now come on.” He started towards the bar and you rolled your eyes.

“It was nice formally meeting you, Roy.” You said, smiling slightly as you turned and walked with Jamie.

He smiled back- not that either of you could see- before following you both back into the bar.

The Richmond players cheered at Jamie’s reappearance- you laughed, turning to look at Roy, your smile warm and eyes curious, meeting his. Your eyes lingered until you tore them away, Keeley speaking to you.

“It’s no longer my birthday, so go on then.” Jamie said, looking at you as you both walked through the streets of Richmond.

“What are you talking about?” You asked and he scoffed slightly.

“It’s past midnight.”

“Not what I meant.”

“You like Roy.” He said and you groaned.

“I do not.

“Do too.”

“Do n- we aren’t doing this.”

Jamie pouted slightly, but didn’t argue.

“Y’know, obviously I don’t like the idea of you with anyone from Richmond, just because I’d learn more about you than I ever want to know-”

“Thank you for that, Jamie.”

“- but Roy is a good man. Better than most. You’d have my blessing.” He finished, taking a deep breathe and you smiled, stopping and hugging him.

“You’re very sweet, Jamie. I don’t even know Roy, though. Is he attractive? Yeah.”

“Ew.” Jamie commented, voice muffled from the hug.

“I’m ignoring that. But I don’t know him.”

Jamie pulled away, looking at you.

“You could.”

For a second, her heart thrummed with the possibility. You thought of the way his gaze fell on you- what would it be like to kiss him, to-

You simply smiled, not trusting your voice, and squeezed Jamie’s shoulder.

“You’re sweet, the best brother, y’know?”

“I do,” He said cheekily. “Nice to hear it though.”

You rolled your eyes and scoffed, willing yourself to enjoy the moment instead of thinking about Roy Kent,

Well, at least for a little bit.

When you arrive home to a dark, empty apartment, your mind wanders.

You hate it- hate that you keep thinking about him, hate that you don’t want to stop.

What if they dated and broke up? It would ruin Jamie and Roy’s friendship.

And even that assumes that Roy even noticed you in the first place. You were no model and he was gorgeous and-

“Fuck!” You cursed to the empty apartment, breaking the train of thought.

You were too tired for this, for thinking in circles about things that would never happen.

It’s not a week later when Jamie’s car won’t start and he asks you to pick him up from practice.

Hence your waiting in the Richmond parking lot, waiting for Jamie to hop in the car.

A knock on your window made you jump in your seat, only to look up and see one Roy Kent.

Ah, fuck.

You rolled your window down, looking at him.

“Fucking hell, you’ve got to stop that.” You said, heart still racing.

“And here I thought you reacted to everyone that way.” He said dryly and a small laugh escaped your lips.

“Only you, apparently.”

“Are you waiting for Jamie?” He asked, head cocked slightly.

“What? Oh. Yeah. Did practice run late?”

“He’s doing PR stuff. He’ll likely take a while.”

“Oh. Huh.” You did your best to keep your expression neutral.

“He didn’t tell you.” Roy said, realization dawning on his face.

“Yeah, he may have neglected to mention it.”

“Fuck. I was gonna… do you want a tour?” He asked, causing your brain to fully stop for a second.

“A tour?”

Roy blinked.

“Of the clubhouse.”

Out of instinct, maybe, you open your mouth to say that Higgins took you on a tour of the clubhouse one of the first times you were inside the clubhouse.

Then, you closed it and nodded.

“I would love one.”

More interesting than the clubhouse itself is the way Roy talks about it, the affection that lies in every word he says.

And then, he took you out onto the pitch, the one place Higgins didn’t cover.

“It feels much bigger when you’re actually on it.” You said softly, taking your eyes off Roy.

He looked at you, gaze uncharacteristically soft before forcing himself to look anywhere else.

“You wanna take a shot at the goal?” He asked and you whipped around to look at him.

“I don’t think I’m… am I even allowed?” You asked and Roy let out the smallest laugh, startling you.

“Sorry, I was just trying to picture your brother saying that. Yes, you’re allowed.” He said, passing a ball fo you that had been sitting by his feet.

You- to your great surprised- received the pass and then looked back at the pitch before shaking your head slightly.

“Jamie’s the one with all the football talent. I feel like I gotta work my way up to this.” You said and he grunted. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged.

“You’re selling yourself short.”

“You’re right. I’m actually the one with all the football talent.” You deadpanned. “I’m- hey!”

With a surprising swift move, Roy took off and stole the ball from you, walking casually towards the goal.

You followed him further onto the field until you were about twelve meters from the goal.

“Roy, what are we doing?”

“You are taking a penalty.”

“Are you going to be goalie?”

“Fuck no. I’m retired.”

You smiled, looked at him.

“You’re selling yourself short.” You said, trying to imitate his voice. He rolled his eyes.

“Penalties, it’s just you and the goalie.”

“There’s no goalie.”

Roy ignored this.

“You want to always look at the goalie when you’re shooting, to see which way they’re leaning towards.”

“Looks like this goalie is on vacation?” Someone- Jamie- said, emerging from the clubhouse. “Aren’t you supposed to be gone? Bingo or something, granddad?”

Roy grunted, staring daggers at Jamie.

“You had plans? I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“I wanted to. And it wasn’t bingo. It was yoga.” He said, the end of the sentence pointed towards Jamie.

Jamie held his hands up in defense and you smiled slightly.

“Thank you.” You said sincerely and Roy offered you a small nod before walking away.

Once he was out of earshot, Jamie looked over and started laughing slightly.

”What?” She asked. “You could have told me that you had a PR thing.”

“That’s not nearly as fun, is it?” He said, before smiling. “It’s all on your face, you know.”

“What?” You repeated and he looked at you, same strange smile on his lips.

“You like him. It’s written all over your face.”

“Jamie-”

“I know, I know. You don’t like him, or whatever.” He said with disbelief.

“Yeah,” You said. Or whatever. “Are you ready?”

“Mhm.” He said, walking back towards the parking lot.

When Roy Kent shows up at your ex’s mom’s house, you’re almost positive that you’re dreaming.

When he looks at you and says “Fucking hell”, you snap back to reality.

“Roy, this is Sam’s ex- the super sweet one I was telling you about.” She said before turning to you. “This is Roy. He has the mouth of a sailor, but he’s a good boy.”

There’s a look of panic on Roy’s face for a moment, fading completely as you outstretched your hand.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You smiled. “How do you know Tabitha?”

“We uh… we do yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” He admitted.

“And shows on Fridays.” Tabitha helpfully supplied before handing a glass of red to Roy.

Roy nodded slightly, taking a sip.

“Of course, can’t forget the shows.” Roy said with no particular emotion.

“Right. Why don’t you two grab a spot on the couch?” Janice and Gertie will be here in five- you know how they are.”

In the noisy living room, one of the older ladies in the room motioned for Roy to sit next to her, to which he happily obliged, looking at you as he sat down- an invitation.

You walked over cautiously before sitting next to him gingerly.

“Oh, Roy! Is this your-” The woman started.

“No, I’m Sam’s ex.” You said, saving yourself the embarrassment of Roy saying ‘fuck no.’

Curiosity turned to pity and the woman leaned over Roy, putting a hand on your knee.

You smiled, the pity still feeling better than whatever you were expecting from Roy.

“It was a year or two ago, ancient history really.” You said, half to Roy, half to a woman you didn’t know the name of.

Before you could speak again, Tabitha walked back into the living room, accompanied by two older women- presumably Janice and Gertie.

It takes an episode for you and Roy to get comfortable with each other’s presence- an episode for you to relax enough to the point where your leg brushed alongside his, another half episode for Roy to start catching you up on the plotlines you’ve missed.

When Tabitha pauses the telly and calls it a night, it feels like no time has passed at all and if you didn’t know better, you’d say that Roy almost looked… disappointed when your leg was no longer touching his.

“Did you drive here?” Roy asked and you shook your head. “Do you want company on the walk back?”

You smiled.

“I wouldn’t mind yours.”

He nodded, holding your eye contact before looking away and making for the door.

“Thank you Tabitha, always a pleasure.” He said gruffly.

“Always a pleasure,” She smiled. “Oh, dear?”

You turned and looked at Tabitha.

“Yes?”

“He’s a good one.” She said, voice quiet.

You turned to look out the doorway to see Roy.

“He is, isn’t he.”

Tabitha patted your shoulder affectionately and you turned back to look at her.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, dear.” She smiled, before you turned and walked back towards Roy.

“This is the last place I expected to see you.” You said and Roy shrugged.

“I told you I do yoga.”

“Yes, well, when you said yoga, I thought you meant with a bunch of other fit guys.”

“Oh fuck off.” He said, no actual malice in his voice, before he stopped walking completely. “You think I’m fit?”

You stopped, turning and looking at him, ready to tell him go fuck off.

Your voice catches in your throat at his raised eyebrows and the small smile in his face, and a smile of her own formed, features softening.

“I said what I said.”

“You shouldn’t stay stuff you don’t mean.”

“Who says I didn’t mean it?”

He let out a small grunt, a noise of disbelief, which would’ve offended you if you didn’t see the almost bashful expression in his face.

“We should continue walking.” He said, clearing his throat.

“Right.” You said, and the pair continued forwards. “Tabitha invited me to the get together next week, by the way, but I can always cancel if you don’t want me there.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know, it was your thing first. Just wanted to give you the option.”

“Fuck that, it’s… nice, having you there.” He said, voice full of indignation that you could believe for a second that your presence wasn’t wanted somewhere.

When you’re alone in your kitchen later, the feeling hits you like a brick.

It’s not your plan to go out drinking when your father reaches out to you for the first time in many, many years.

You know he’s in recovery, knows that Jamie has seen him, and none of that prepared you for the absolute vitriol you feel when you hear his voice.

The conversation lasts no more than a minute, your father gracefully taking a hint for the first time in his life.

You ignore the call from Jamie that comes a couple moments later and mindlessly drives to a bar near your apartment.

And you drink until anger turns into a full buzz in the background, which turns in hollowness.

Your phone rings- Jamie again. You looked at the photo of him that popped up. He couldn’t be more than three years old, crooked smile on his face, sitting in the grass next to a football.

Even as a kid, you tried your best to protect him from your dad. You’re still not sure how much you actually helped.

Your phone stopped ringing. You ordered another drink.

It’s not a half hour later when someone takes the seat next to you.

You glanced at them before going back to staring at your drink before doing a double take, because what the fuck is Roy Kent doing here?

“Jamie sent you.” You said, little emotion in your voice.

Roy looked at you and gave a single nod.

“He’s worried about you.”

“Okay. Well, if you’ve come here to say that I need to give my father a chance or some bullshit, you can leave.” You said, fully expecting him to stand up and walk out.

“What? Fuck no. I’m here because I care about you.”

“Oh,” You said, energy draining from your posture. “Oh.”

Silence sat in the middle of them for a couple of moments. You eyed the half-finished drink and was suddenly positive that you’d throw up if you took another sip.

All at once, it’s all too much. You, the entire bar, smells too much like your dad.

“Can we…”

“Are you okay?” He asked, standing up and you shook your head.

“I need to get out of here, I need to…”

“Okay, let’s go.” He said, throwing some notes on the bar top and guiding her to the exit.

The fresh air helps, but the smell of alcohol clings to you and it’s all too much, at least until Roy takes off his jacket and offers it to you.

You don’t put it on, just hold it against you and focus on the notes of his cologne instead of the scent of alcohol.

This and the sound of voice reassuring you that you’re okay is enough to ground you.

“I’m sorry. Fuck.” You said, voice breaking and eyes closed.

He pulled you into a hug.

“You have nothing to apologize about.” He told you. “Let me take you home.”

You pulled away from him, still sniffling, and nodded.

The ride home is silent.

You don’t have to ask him to come in- you simply give him a look and he follows.

“I’m going to shower.” You said and Roy nodded.

When you emerged, alcohol no longer clinging to your skin, you were surprised to see him standing in your kitchen, eyebrows scrunched together as he cooked.

“Thank you.”

He turned and looked at you, giving you a nod.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not.”

He held your gaze for a moment before turning back to the stove, pulling the pan off of the heat.

“How do you feel?” He asked, doing his best to disguise any concern in his voice.

“Better. I’m sorry. You probably had better plans than babysitting.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”

He set a plate of food in the counter for you and you took it, grabbing a fork from the utensils drawer and digging in.

You feel the need to apologize again, as if your mere existence is something worth apologizing for.

A bad habit leftover from when you were your father‘s kid.

You help him clean up despite his protests, and pretend not to notice his concern.

“I should go to sleep.” You said and he straightened up.

“Right, I’ll… go, then.” He turned away and you grabbed his wrist, your skin electric against his.

“Stay. I mean, you don’t have to, but-”

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

You want to kiss him, want to close the distance between the two of you. You don’t, remembering that you’re a bit of a mess right now, but it’s not for lack of wanting.

You let go of his wrist and gave him a small nod.

“I’ll take the couch. I don’t want you to fuck up your back because of me.”

“Now-”

“Roy, please. Let me do this one thing for you.”

He looked at you, narrowed eyebrows, before he sighed.

“This is fucking stupid.”

“You’re a pro-footballer, I won’t be responsible for breaking you.”

“Was,” He corrected you. “Was a pro-footballer.”

“You’re selling yourself short.” You said gently and his expression softened. “Please.”

Without further protest, he listened.

When you wake up, the embarrassment weighs on you almost as heavily as the hangover.

Almost.

On the coffee table next to you, there is a glass of water and some painkillers, which you gladly accept.

Roy is in the kitchen, disheveled and cooking breakfast.

“Twice in twenty four hours, I feel lucky.” You said, cringing as soon as the words left your mouth.

He looked at you, eyebrow raised and lips turned upwards.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” You smiled before the look faded into something softer. “Thank you for staying.”

He looked at you again, expression somewhere between adoration and frustration, because don’t you get it?

Of course he stayed. All you ever had to do was ask.

He gave you a simple nod instead.

“Roy?”

“Hm?”

You don’t say anything, but you don’t need to. It’s written all over your face and for the first time, Roy can see it:

He looked at you for a couple moments before turning his attention back to the stove.

“Me too,” He said quietly, offering you a plate.

You took it, fingers brushing against his, smile blossoming on your face.

“Yeah?” You asked and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah.”

#jamie tartt #roy kent #roy kent x reader #roy kent x you #ted lasso x reader #ted lasso imagine #ted lasso imagines #alcohol tw

[marielle-heller]

idk, something about just having EVERYONE fitting together so perfectly without Ted (Dr. Sharon returning and Keeley finding a project to work with Rebecca on and of course Beard having come back, even Rebecca’s stranger fits back into it!!!! Sam is maybe the ONLY one to leave but for his own DREAM!) … it’s sad. it’s fucking sad. like having everyone be SO together just for Ted to return to his son and the woman who divorced him in part over his optimism… it’s REALLY fucking tragic jesus christ. the way he’s cut himself off from everyone he loves and who loves him except for his son he at most has shared custody of. his relationship with his mom is still iffy. he’s shown entering the same house as Michelle which raises TOO MANY UPSETTING POSSIBILITIES (most pathetic of which is he is staying there till he gets his own place, but nearly tied with the possibility that they’d somehow get back together and he’s back where he started). everyone is so joyfully together and Ted, the person who BROUGHT them together, who helped forge stronger relationships between the team and made Rebecca realize she cares about it doing well… he’s so fucking isolated from their joy. he’s forcibly removed himself. I really don’t think he’s doing well and I really think this is the saddest ending possible. he’s not even shown to be in touch with them in ANY manner and it’s just… has an ending ever been crueller to its main character? I get moving on but moving on to WHAT? it’s not clear how many friends he has in Kansas that he’s eager to get in touch with. what his career prospects are. I appreciate him wanting to be a good dad but Henry alone is not going to cure the ache in his heart and the borderline unaddressed alcoholism. and Ted deserved so much more happiness. he sometimes didn’t feel like the main character of his own show, and I think that’s really reflected in how much respect the story has for him here

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso discourse #ted lasso critical #I’M UPSET! #ted lasso is no longer a feel good comedy this feels like the end of a tragedy

[tartts-blog]

My Reputation's Never Been Worse, But You Can Buy Me A Drink (Part Two)

Roy Kent x Fem!Singer!Reader

Taylor Swift Reputation Inspired Series- Requested by @akornsworld

series summary: roy and the reader go from strangers, to lovers, to so much more. inspired by taylor swift-reputation.

part summary: roy and the reader begin dating and secret, and he catches writing a song about him late at night

content warning: language, mild smut if you squint, mentions of an abusive relationship

a/n: this series will likely be 8 parts. feel free to comment or message me any other requests! i write for roy, jamie, and royxjamie. i'll also consider writing for keeley depending on the request.

masterlist

After your night at Bones and Honey, you didn’t see Roy again for another three weeks. You were trying to force yourself to get out of your writers block and write your new album, so you hadn’t gone out of the house much. Even alcohol had stopped helping you get out of your head. The only thing that had been helping you relax was reading. Which is why you decided while waiting in line for coffee at your favorite coffee shop that that’s exactly what you were going to do when you got home. But the universe apparently had other plans, because nearly immediately after the thought crossed your mind Roy Kent walked through the door.

He seemed to be just as surprised as you, and nodded at you hesitantly. You smiled and gave him a small wave in return. He looked different than the last time you saw him. Not necessarily physically, but something had definitely changed in his demeanor. He seemed move related, almost content, which was a stark contrast from the man you met at bones and honey weeks ago. You decided to walk over and stand in line with to him. The barista looked at you questionably, but you didn't care.

“How are you? It’s been a minute since we’ve seen each other.” Truthfully you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since the night you spent together, but he doesn’t need to know that. He looked over at you when he heard you talk, and softly smiled.

“Good. Fucking busy, but good.”

“That’s good, I’m glad. Same for me to be honest. I’ve just been working on my new album.” The small talk ended up turning into a three hour conversation at the coffee shop, and before you left you exchanged phone numbers. You realized once you got home that you hadn’t stopped smiling since you saw him. Upon realizing that, you also realized that you hadn’t smiled like that since your piece of shit ex-boyfriend almost destroyed everything you’d worked for.

A couple months after your run-in at the coffee shop, you and Roy officially started dating. You can confidently say that you’ve never been happier. You both agreed that you were going to keep it on the very down low for the foreseeable future, because neither of you wanted to be swarmed by the press or all over social media in general. Roy was loving it. He loved the quiet simple moments with you, they quickly became the favorite part of his day. You were everything to him, even if he wasn’t good at vocally sharing his feelings with you. You were in the same boat. You’ve always shared your feelings through song, it was the only way you felt like you could really express yourself.

On your quiet nights in once Roy fell asleep, you typically went downstairs to your in-house studio and worked on writing or recording for your new album. The past week you had been working on a song about how he helped you recover from your ex, and just how much you adored him in general. You were hoping that you’d be able to surprise him with the song when the album dropped, but fate had other plans. He woke up one night while you were working on it, and came downstairs to find you. You were so engrossed in what you were doing, you didn’t hear him coming when he came up behind you.

“Oi-” You gasped and jumped up from the chair you were sitting in.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Roy! You scared the fucking shit out of me.” He laughed and walked up to.

“Sorry love, didn’t mean to. What’re you doin? It’s late.” He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a hug, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

My baby’s fit like a daydream

“Just writing for my album. It’s nothin’ great yet, just some lyrics I’ve been thinking over.” You felt slight embarrassed at the thought of him hearing your unfinished song, so you pulled him closer to you and tucked your head into his neck. He rested his chin on your head in response.

“Cut the shit, I’m sure it’s fucking amazing,” he paused, seemingly debating if he wanted to say what he was thinking, then continued, “Can I hear it?” You inhaled, and held your breath for a moment. You thought it over for a second, and decided that it couldn’t hurt to let him hear the bits and pieces you had, even if it was a little embarrassing to you.

“Sure, just keep in mind it’s not all cohesive yet. And I’m not makin’ eye contact with you or I’ll laugh and not be able to get through it.” He chuckled at that as you sat down at the piano, and began to play.

My castle crumbled overnight, I brought a knife to a gunfight… all the liars are calling me one, nobody’s heard from me for months… cause my baby’s fit like a daydream, walkin’ with his head down, I’m the one he’s walking to, so call it want you want yeah, call it what you want… windows boarded up after the storm, he built a fire just to keep me warm… I recall late November, holdin’ my breath, slowly I said, You don’t need to save me, but would you run away with me…

Your singing faded off as you started to recall your and Roy’s first sleepless night from the first month you started dating, a small smile forming on your face. You looked up at him, and he was looking at you with an expression you couldn’t quite place, which made you suddenly very nervous.

“So, did you like it?” You asked hesitantly. He got up from the chair he sat in when you started playing, and came to kneel in front of you at the piano bench. Due to your height difference, that made you be at perfect eye level.

“Like it? I fucking loved it. You’re fucking brilliant.” He pulled you into a heated kiss, that was full of passion and lust. He hesitantly pulled back, just for a moment, and whispered almost incoherently against your lips, “was that about me?”

“Fuck, yeah it was. Are you okay with that?” You looked into his eyes, feeling very exposed.

“You have no fucking idea just how okay with that I am.” He pulled you back into the kiss, while slowly pulling off your shirt. The rest of your night was spent as a tangle of limbs, burning with passion and desire. I’m laughin’ with my lover, makin’ forts under covers.

#ted lasso #ted lasso fanfiction #roy kent #roy kent x reader #taylor swift #taylor swift inspired fanfic #series #fanfic series

[royjamierot]

love love LOVE your headcanons for Roy and Jamie!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️💗💗💗💗✨✨✨please share moreeee 🤍

THANK YOUUUU this was so fun to think about i have a lot so they're going under the cut

- i think roy is more of a tv and movie guy than jamie. i think jamie is just one of those people who can't sit still during movies so they usually end up making out whenever they turn one on.

- jamie can do movies in theaters though, for some reason he can pay attention to those just fine. he and roy go like every week.

- roy's favorite movie is sound of music jamie's is star wars a new hope. i know this. please believe me.

- jamie likes sour candy and roy likes sweet candy

- if they got married jamie would want to take roy's last name. like that guy has been obsessed with roy for like a decade, and you're telling him he gets the chance to be jamie kent instead of jamie tartt?? instead of james tartt?? the name only associated with his father now? yeah. he'd want to be jamie kent. and also roy would love it because he's a possessive bitch.

- jamie does not know what pronouns are until keeley tells him to put his pronouns on his Instagram. then he has a gender crisis. (he puts his pronouns on he/him and figures out the gender stuff with the people he actually knows irl)

- if royjamie were t4t they would be even more into body worship. they trace over each other's scars and admire the self made people they are.

- roy only has a minor freak out about realizing he's bisexual (he's nearly 40 only just now realizing he's bi? he'd freak out) but it'd be worse when jamie is the reason he realizes

- roy and jamie are each other's bisexual awakening

- when jamie and roy start dating jamie has to fight himself from asking if the things in the tabloids are true. because jamie read a lot of tabloids and stories about roy when he was a horny teenager. (jamie does ask about the hip movement thing on their first date and roy just has to take him home to show him. obviously)

- jamie and roy's music taste clashes a lot but they still make playlists for each other and listen to them regularly

- jamie and roy both love concerts too so they go to them a lot. they definitely go to beyonce and stevie nicks together.

- jamie has his ears pierced and lets phoebe pick out silly earrings for him. he's worn all of these.

- jamie loves iced coffee and roy loves cappuccinos

- (i dont actually know what Halloween is like in england and i dont care bc i have headcanons) i just know that jamie gets really into halloween decorations. every october their house smells like pumpkin spice candles and there's fake cobwebs everywhere. roy is kind of surprised by it until they go back to manchester once during october and he sees georgie's house is the same way

- roy makes themed pancakes all year round. valentines? strawberry heart pancakes. halloween? pumpkin cinnamon. phoebe loves it and then jamie loves it.

- jamie is a passenger princess.

- jamie loves candles there's like a million around the house. he nearly sets the house on fire at least once a month.

- jamie thinks once they start dating that the training will get easier. it doesn't. it gets worse. (jamie tries to flirt his way out of it and that doesn't work out so he just ends up tired and turned on)

- roy starts complimenting him way more when they start dating and jamie goes very pink when that happens and brushes it off so that he doesn't do something inadvisable in public

- jamie loves roy's curly hair and begs him to grow it out and roy says it's too much maintenance and jamie says he will do everything for roy if he grows it out. this leads to roy growing it out and jamie washing and styling his hair for a month (roy likes the attention it brings him so eventually he just keeps it)

- they go to each other's hair appointments together

- jamie's favorite disney princess is rapunzel

- jamie and roy are both cat people i think. i think roy has had a secret cat for years that no one knows about until jamie comes over one time. it's a black cat that way the cat's hair doesn't stand out on roy's clothing. jamie has a not secret tabby cat.

- jamie has a teddy bear his mom gave him when he was little that goes with him everywhere. to every away game and everything.

- roy cooks, jamie does dishes, they do their own laundry.

- they watch garbage reality tv together (or really they goof off with reality tv in the background.)

okay thanks that's all my headcanons for now!! thank you for the ask.

#thank youuu sorry this took so long ive had a busy few days #royjamie #jamie tartt #roy kent #mine #asks

[crazyk-imagine]

They find out you're related to Ted Headcanon

No gender specified for reader, but I imagine them young, mid to late 20's

A/N: This was the first Ted Lasso thing I had written this weekend and didn't think it'd be good to post but then I remembered that I enjoyed it and here we are :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roy: he wouldn't comment on it (in front of you) but you know he's not the biggest fan of that information, he's just happy to know you're not nearly as sunshiney as him

Jamie: he would absolutely freak out and be extremely nervous around Ted for a while until you tell him to stop it and buck up (or no more fun time… you were lying but he doesn't need to know that)

Keeley: she'd love it and would tell basically tell everyone she knew at work (if they already knew, she wouldn't care) she'd constantly ask Ted for more information about you

Rebecca: she'd think you're joking and then ask you to repeat yourself when she sees that you're serious (she'd never admit it, but she teared up a bit when you told her) but she loves the two of you… now

Coach Beard: He's known you since childhood and likes that he can still learn something knew about you (take this anyway you want people 😉) he knows how happy Ted is about the two of you

(Before he went rogue aka became a dick) Nathan: he'd be surprised, he knew you and Ted were close but he could never quite put his finger on it and feels a little bad when he spills the beans about Ted's panic attack

Higgins: Just like Rebecca he thought you were joking but absolutely came to terms with that fact that you are related to Ted (you two are work besties and get all the good gossip) your his favorite out of everyone at the office

Will: He's over the moon, you're his favorite person other than Ted and Beard, of course. Knowing this little bit of information makes him love talking with you so much more

Trent: Not as surprised as the others but knowing this still rattles his bones, a little part of him wanted to write a story about "if family working together is a good idea or not" but didn't (because he got to know you)

Danny: He'd be the most excited out of everyone to know that you're related to one of his coaches (Ted gave him a chance to do what he loves) makes him love you more

Isaac: Wouldn't believe it, not even when Ted shows him pictures of you two when you were younger spending Christmas together and celebrating birthdays (he'd be investigating hard for any signs of photoshop)

Sam: Like Danny, he'd be excited to know you and Ted are related. You're cute and confusing comments or phrases make a lot more sense now that he knows (and if you're as sunshiney as Ted, even better)

Colin: Not gonna lie, he'd be a little frightened because if he messes up some way, somehow. You can tell Ted but then you comfort him and he's a little more relaxed

Jan: He'd have conflicted feelings because now that he knows you share the same blood as one of his coaches. How is he supposed to act? What if he says the wrong thing and he's kicked off the team? But then he'd remember you grew up with Ted and are as sweet as can be. He wouldn’t be as blunt as he is for a while

#ted lasso #ted lasso headcanon #roy kent #jamie tartt #keeley jones #coach beard #rebecca welton #dani rojas #sam obisanya #trent crimm #jan maas #nathan shelley #leslie higgins #colin hughes #will kitman #isaac mcadoo #crazyk-imagine

[lunar-years]

Sorry, another anon jumping in here- while I'd love to think that Roy would take Jamie's feelings in an R/K wedding into account, I think canonically hes still a bit inept at reading Jamie sometimes (ie: the bar date/ stay away from Keeley scene) so I can see him asking Jamie to be best man without considering the further implications. Which of course leads to the Richmond boys deciding to be an emotional support bubble for him through the whole thing and its only later in the evening when Roy steps outside for some air and sees Jamie with eyes shining, gritting his jaw determinedly trying not to cry while Sam tries to wordlessly comfort him, that Roy realises hes fucked up a bit there. Isaac coming up to him like "we know you didn't mean it like that, but bit cruel that bruv"

yeah 😭

I think it all very much depends on the timeline this is theoretically happening in, too. The thread I read about the alternative s3 roy-keeley wedding was kind of funny because they were using s3 dynamics with everyone else but those two. So when they said "Jamie would obviously be best man!" I found myself thinking...like...idk man, I don't even think Roy would even want or ask Jamie to be his best man in that scenario, because they would not actually be best friends the same way they are in the actual s3.

This might be very cynical...but in a s3 where the Roy & Keeley we see on the verge of breakup in the s2 finale are suddenly getting MARRIED... i do not think Roy and Jamie would become nearly as close in that timeframe as what we see play out in canon. Because so much of their dynamic in s3 is built upon Roy being in a very bad place post-breakup, then volunteering to train Jamie (imo, at least in part as a distraction/way to bury himself in work to stop thinking about how miserable he is in the personal aspects of his life) and then ending up genuinely loving spending time with Jamie and spending ALL of his time with Jamie, slowly pulling him further out from his slump because Jamie's given him something and (someone) to care about again.

Whereas, if Roy is busy and stressed out over wedding planning all the time, whilst also consumed by the same unaddressed insecurities that plagued his relationships with both Keeley and Jamie in the s2 finale (which he only would've pushed further down after a successful proposal) I 1) think it's quite possible he wouldn't have even volunteered to do extra training with Jamie in the first place and 2) even if he did, wouldn't have had the same time to spend with or focus on him, resulting in them...not becoming close! certainly not best man close. Also, Keeley has ALWAYS been a point of strife between them. it's why Roy's head butting Jamie in the s2 finale, it's one layer of why the bar date goes so poorly, etc.

Roy "when I look at her I only think about Jamie fucking Tartt" Kent who has not gone through the breakup nor any of the growth said breakup facilitated is a man deeply insecure in his own relationship (and in this case, engagement) who sees Jamie on some level as still a threat to his peace. I do not think he'd want Jamie to be involved in the wedding at all, tbh, even if their relationship was getting slowly better and they were at the place of tentative friendship we see in the s2 finale.

Now, of course all that changes if we're talking about a scenario where roy-keeley have gotten back together post-series and are then getting married somewhere down the line. That's the version of events where I think 1) Jamie would do anything Roy asked him to, up to and including being his best man, even if it hurt him in the process and 2) Roy would be perceptive enough and care enough about Jamie not to ask. You're totally right that Roy struggles to read Jamie sometimes, but I also think there were sooo many factors at play in the bar date and so many of them would be eliminated in a scenario where Roy and Keeley are getting married post-series. Like, so much of Roy's obliviousness there stemmed (imo) from jealousy and insecurity and his own desire to win Keeley back regardless of Jamie's feelings, so part of it was him being inept on purpose as a form of avoidance, lol.

Whereas, if he's proposed to Keeley and said yes and they're both in a significantly more secure place in their relationship, Jamie isn't really any "threat", so I would like to think Roy would at least pick up on his discomfort surrounding the wedding before hitting him with "will you be my best man" (or like, Keeley would say something when Roy brought up the idea, because it really is deeply ludicrous).

#people have this idea that the show finale should have been the roy-keeley wedding and then act like that wouldn't change the entire plot #as well as alter the dynamics between many characters as we saw them. #we can't have it all esp. in one season of an ensemble cast show where rk/rjk are not the sole focus lol #a s3 roy-keeley wedding would have either been cheesy terrible writing that fixed the s2 problems between them w/out explanation #OR if they stayed true to the characters and wrote it decently. it would have been a fucking disaster lol. #a roy-keeley wedding post series 3 after a period of dating again would theoretically be far more successful #but i loathe the thought of all that build up and tension with jamie going nowhere so i reject it for my own ship reasons #like it just makes me so so sad for jamie #LOL #ted lasso #asks #royjamiekeeley #ship post #roy kent #keeley jones #jamie tartt

[vole-mon-amour]

3x09, part 1.

The opening with that music is sooo unusual for them? :D Reminds me of circus.

No but the amount of fans there? That's a lot. That's cool, but also unusual.

"Whistle! WHIIIISTLE!" Give him a freaking whistle lmao.

This moment in the trailer is from another angle and it looks sooo much fun there. First Jamie and Keeley, now this. Some poor choices were made in the editing room. Let me see Beard falling!!

What the hell is Isaac doing? Why are they trying to create this fake drama? "I'm mad at you bc you didn't tell me"? He didn't HAVE to tell you. Not even for a second I'll believe Isaac is homophobic. Colin is his best friend, come the hell on.

Scene forward when Colin tries to resolve it and offers to have a bear and a chat, and Issac refuses. Hello???? What IS this???

I dislike this kind of picking on your friend, but the fact that Richard is ok with that and Jan immediately pats him on the shoulder, like, "It's okay, mate." I love seeing those boys being friends.

*whines* Can we, as a fandom, PLEASE jump on the train of Rebecca and Keeley being girlfriends? I've been struggling here alone since s1. There is so much!! possibilities!!! And they look great together. And they love each other. Ahhhh. Ughhhh.

I'm on this boat!!!

"I saw this spa with kittens" Keeley is everything. This show gives me so many ideas. Ok, Rebecca agreeing to go to a spa with Keeley so the kittens walk all over them??? I need someone to draw that, PLEASE?

The way Rebecca looks at her. GUYS. GUUUUYS. That's love.

<3

You know what's going on here? Jamie does the same thing with Keeley. Ot3 when? My tinfoil hat is always on.

LMAOOOO. When two independent women stare you down silently & judge you & suddenly, you're not so tough.

I actually love that they're doing this bc sometimes I feel like Roy is getting too comfortable swearing and acting like a bully and thinking it's ok. I love seeing Rebecca as a boss for real and putting Roy in his place. :') I also think it's bc she tries to protect Keeley, but yeah. I like how supportive she's with Keeley. Girlfriends. Besties.

Jade is the real one. Her look with shitty men, "I see right through your bullshit." I don't buy her buying his bullshit, "he's nice-like." Impossible that she doesn't know what he did to Rebecca and isn't just being nice with Nate about his boss.

You can see that he did that to Rebecca as well & it's creepy as fuck.

Beard nearly had a fight with press. I love that man. The press also loved their time with Beard, so I don't see a problem here. :D Roy is an ass, though, for doing this to Rebecca.

SCREAMING. You honor, there's been a murder. Get Beard back in the room. :D

#natiswatching #ted lasso #colin hughes #roy kent #rebecca x keeley #roy x jamie x keeley #rebecca welton #coach beard #he's getting his own tag as the show comes to an end yep

[richmonds-disaster-bi]

Alpha Roy/Omega Jaime Shifter idea: AU to season 2 where Roy and Keeley never got together. After Jaime comes back to Richmond he is ostracized by most of his teammates because he did burn bridges. What no one realizes is that Jaime is reaching dangerous levels of touch starvation which could prove fatal, especially to omegas. After being rebuffed from yet another team hang out, Jaime's body starts to shutdown. He's home alone and about to lose consciousness. He has enough strength to blindly call someone. By some twist of fate it is Roy, who thankfully picks up. Roy demands to know what the fuck Tartt wants, what he gets in reply is Jaime letting out one last, desperately weak howl for help before he goes quiet. Alpha Roy nearly breaks the land speed record as he gets to Jaime's place and finds him on the floor barely alive. There is only one thing Roy can do to save the omega, claim Jaime as his mate. Roy sinks his teeth into Jaime's neck, and Jaime does the same. They consummate the bond and then have to deal with the fallout. Jaime is heartbroken and thinks Roy doesn't actually want him as his mate and also feeling rejected by the rest of the team, while Roy is mad as hell at Jaime for not saying anything, at the team for not giving Jaime a chance, at Ted for not encouraging everyone to patch things up, and at himself for not being a good alpha and recognizing the bad state Jaime was getting into. Roy's got his work cut out for him convincing Jaime that he actually is thrilled to have him as his mate, while everyone else has to figure out how to reconcile. Everyone feels super guilty.

I love this idea, but I'm not 100% with the fuck or die thrope, so I've changed it a little but I hope you still like my thoughts on this anon ❤️

Roy and Keeley never getting together because both of them are alphas, and while they like each others company and end up as great friends, they're just not attracted to other alphas. It's Keeley that tells Roy about how she worries about Jamie when he's back in Manchester. She doesn't tell Roy too much, but she does hint that Jamie has had issues with touch starvation before because of how he was raised and Roy already knows from the cleansing ritual that Jamie's dad has an issue with him being an omega.

Since Roy is gone when Jamie comes back, he doesn't really see what happens. He doesn't know that Ted insisted on Jamie coming back, but didn't give the team any encouragment to include Jamie in things. When they do well in training or some of the first matches, no one hugs Jamie or even touches him or incites him to celebrate. He doesn't think Keeley would want to see him, and he definetly thinks Roy hates him for ending his career (even though it wasn't Jamie's fault), so he just goes back to his home alone and ignores, as usual, the signs that he's getting back into a dangerously low period. For omegas, they are pack creatures. Betas do well alone, but most omegas and alpha's needs at elast one person they trust to have some sort of pack bond with that they can get comfort from and it helps balance their hormones. When the team, who are pack, reject Jamie, it triggers an unbalance that leaves him weak.

When they reject him once more, Jamie feels something in him snack, and it's the little bit of pack bond that he had clung too since leaving Richmond the first time. He barely makes it home, his chest hurts. His body aches, and he's just confused and crying, and when it gets too bad he tries to call Keeley, but he instead he calls Roy, and all he can do is let out a cry that signals distress and Roy, even though he hasn't spoken to Jamie in months, is moving and on his way after texting Keeley for Jamie's address.

Roy finds him curled up in his hallway just shivering, and he knows exactly what is happening so he bundles Jamie into his arms despite his screaming knee and gets them to where Jamie has a nest built in the corner of his living room. Roy only lets go to strip them both to their boxers because he knows skin to skin works best, and he spends the next few hours just holding and scenting Jamie until Jamie is settling enough that they can discuss this. Jamie is still weak, but he knows that its bad so when Roy suggests initiating a pre-mating bond through scent and a bite the doesn't break the skin, Jamie knows its his only option and lets Roy bite him and follows suit.

He just didn't expect Roy to pack all of Jamies things and bring him home with him or let Jamie build nests in Roy's home or to end up sleeping with Roy every night. He also doesn't expect Roy to bring him to practice, or for him to fuck Ted out of it for allowing Jamie to get that bad, and does the same to the team when he catches them making comments about missing a two practices because Roy was trying to regulate his body and also with doctors, trying to see how bad the damage was and when Jamie could return to full practice because of the toll it took on his body

The issue is that Jamie starts to want this pre-mating bond to be real but knows Roy only did this to be nice and that Roy might not hate him anymore, but it doesn't mean he likes him and he's just waiting for Roy to kick him to the curb once he's healthy.....meanwhile Roy is strugglign to admit taht he's always felt a pull towards Jamie and doesn't know how to court Jamie without Jamie thinking he's doing it out of pity

#omega jamie au #jamie/roy #roy x jamie #roy/jamie #roy kent/jamie tartt #jamie tartt #roy kent #abo #a/b/o

[cavehags]

bear w/ me bc i have been defending my choice to watch s1 to ppl all day and like…. i think the characters felt like people? like ted yelled at people (nate & jamie) everything was a clusterfuck and it felt… real? and now maybe two characters feel like real people, the rest are NPCs with weird dialogue. we have “main characters” and i couldn’t tell you what any of their storylines were at this point. what is ted even doing. everything is unmoored in a bad way

totally - i think s1 was really well constructed and mature and, as you said, invested in developing its characters as flawed and complicated people who are struggling to express and communicate and find support. roy and rebecca's arcs were fantastic in season one and it's sad to discover that those were the best their arcs are going to get... s1 roy was this genuinely tragic figure, a career athlete facing the end of his life as he's always known it and very nearly suicidally depressed over the thought of it coming to an end. opening his heart to keeley and to ted's coaching philosophy is the first time he's dared to crack himself open in a very, very long time. and s1 rebecca was so magnetic and fascinating, newly divorced and bitter as hell about the wasted years, trying to define herself by how she'll get revenge on her ex without realizing what a wonderful opportunity she has to add new connections and challenges to her life. those are good fucking stories! dark and heavy with the promise of hope. then add to that how pleasantly surprised i was by keeley and rebecca's friendship, how they help each other out by sharing the wisdom of their respective generations. and, yes, the foil relationship between roy and jamie felt fresh and exciting. i loved how the show wasn't precious with its characters - it let them fuck up - and it balanced comedy and drama well in those blissfully short episodes. using sports as the easiest metaphor in the world for success and failure, it got to the heart of these characters without ever feeling like it was trying to do too much.

unfortunately, since the second half of s2, it seems to me it's really been struggling to keep the focus on those small and personal stories. this season is worst of all because you can just tell the scripts are burdened by the pressure the writers are under to meet expectations for the conclusion now that the show is a monster hit. expanding the cast and allowing episodes to bloat to an hour just gets the show further away from those tight, intimate stories. and with the more scattered focus, the characters are becoming less themselves. roy has had zero arc this season and his reasons for his breakup with keeley - the most important thing to happen to him in two seasons - have only ever been implied. the lines that are coming out of his mouth are getting more and more shock-value disturbing, and while i think everyone has always enjoyed roy's violence, that was because its impact was tempered by how kind he was, too - he was a teddy bear with a gruff voice. this season, it feels like we haven't seen him do much but threaten to break into people's homes and beat them with a rope. i miss my guy :( and same goes for rebecca, whose fixation on this psychic feels like borderline bimbofication. why are we not advancing a meaningful story for her organically? why do we have to teach her a lesson about believing in fantasy? does it have to involve the promise of a husband and a baby? for a million reasons, i feel like the show has totally lost its way, and maybe these next four episodes will make me feel better about it but for now i miss the simple good writing of season one. fucking rip :(

#soccer show posting

[daydreamgoddess14]

We lie awake in love and fear pt. 2

MASTERLIST

From a @lilacmermaid25 prompt - Rebecca's legs cause Ted's brain to short circuit.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The window was wide open, Rebecca could hear the boys shouting and jeering with each other. She continued to work her way through her inbox until she heard Roy call the whistle when she stood and went to stand at the window so she could see them all lined up. They looked so excited to give their gift to Ted. Sam and Isaac led them off - both surprisingly good singers. She giggled at the dance moves. Roy nodded his head in time to the music, she was so proud that he’d managed to arrange the routine. By the time Dani was stepping up for his solo, she was on the verge of tears - the combination of being so very proud of the team, and of the goodbye itself. Dani’s gentle chorus of "Adios" nearly tipped her over the edge and she clutched at the window frame, leaning over for a closer look. Ted and Beard turned to watch Dani join the others in the stands as they reached the finale. She could barely hold herself upright. Then she heard Ted, with a smile in his voice. 

"Thank you fellas. That was perfect." She sighed with relief, pulled the window closed and pressed her forehead against the glass. She'd need a very large glass of wine over lunch with her mum, the day was proving just as highly strung as she’d expected. She felt like an acrobat on the highwire just millimeters from a fall. 

After their slightly awkward morning, and fortified by the wine at lunchtime, Rebecca braced herself to talk to Ted. She knew realistically that it had to be today, tomorrow was match day and she didn't want it to overshadow the game. She knew he'd sneak off as soon as he could to avoid any prolonged goodbyes, so that left her with now. Right now. She went down to the office, but it was dark and quiet. Only the pink gift bags from Keeley stood out. He'll be in the stands. She knew exactly that that's where he'd be. 

"I'm ready to talk now." She stated. And she did. She covered every thought that popped into her head, the schools, the money, selling the club. Threw in a joke about going away to “sleep, drink, fuck.” She poured every ounce of love into what was ultimately a one-sided conversation. 

"You liven up the place, Ted. I don't think I can do this without you." A sob rose in her throat. "Believe it or not, I'm not trying to change your mind. I know you have your heart set on this. I just need you to know how I feel." She placed a hand over his, "Would you… would you come back to mine? For a drink?" He shook his head. That final dismissal was almost too much. She nodded in acceptance, not daring to speak any more. Reluctantly, she squeezed his shoulder and left him to his thoughts. 

Once again, she found herself in bed with a large glass of wine, still working on the same page of her book as the previous night. Again, she was distracted by the doorbell. 

"If that's Beard again…" She mumbled. She checked the app before she bothered moving. Hoping it could be someone she could ignore - an incorrect food delivery or taxi driver. It was Ted, and he appeared to be alone. He had his back to the door, only turning when he heard it open. She wore a pink silk cami and shorts set - no robe this time. No counter to hide her legs. 

"Fuck me." He whispered. Rebecca raised an eyebrow in surprise. Well, not quite a surprise given how he’d been looking at her that morning and been trying to hide. "Sorry, Rebecca. I didn't mean to disturb you. I feel bad for how I left things between us earlier tonight. I wanted to apologise." She didn't say anything, offering him the same silent treatment he'd given her. "I'm sorry." He tagged on. 

"Would you like a drink?" She asked. He shook his head. "For fucks sake Ted, I know why you're being so… not you. But quite honestly it's giving me the fucking creeps. This odd, emotionless version of you. I don't like it. This isn’t my Te-" she stopped abruptly. Not my Ted - don’t fucking say that, “this isn’t the Ted I know.”

"I'm sorry 'bout that, Rebecca. I'm just tryin’ to get through the next couple of days, that's all. Some big emotions goin’ round the place - the game tomorrow, me leavin’. Feels like we’re all just clinging on like Jack and Rose on that door. I’m just tryin’ to make it through in one piece."

"At what cost, Ted? You’re allowed to be upset for the life you’re leaving behind, you know? You’re allowed to miss us. I can't stand to see you like this. I miss the Ted who finds humour in everything, who is so giving and so caring and so passionate, I miss-" She was cut off unexpectedly with a searing kiss. He'd taken a stride forwards, taken her face into his large hands, and kissed her hard. "I miss you." She trembled. "I'm going to miss you. So much."

"I'm gonna miss you too sweetheart. Gonna miss how riled up you get, gonna miss how when you blush, it starts right here," he placed his hand in the center of her chest, "gonna miss how loudly you roll your eyes. I'm really gonna miss your legs." She shifted closer to him, bringing her hand to his waist. She leaned up to kiss his jawline, keeping her eyes on him. "This really ain't a good idea." He muttered.

“I feel like I should say something about not always getting what you want, but getting what you need?” She muttered against his collarbone. He raised his foot behind him to kick the door shut.

“What if they’re the same thing?” She pulled away from him slightly. “If I’m leaving, I want you to know that I want you and that I need you.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears and she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“I wasn’t going to let myself do this. What if it hurts too much when you go?”

“If it was always going to hurt, then doesn’t this make it worth it?” She closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder and he swayed her slightly in his arms. After a moment, she looked up.

“Well then I want you too. And I need you more than you could possibly imagine. The trouble is I only have you for a few hours” He smiled sadly,

“I know. Do you want me to leave? I don’t want to make this goodbye any worse.” She shook her head firmly.

“No, I don’t care if it makes it worse. I don’t care, I just need you.” The tears threatened to spill down her cheeks but he kissed them away,

“I got you, baby. I got you. Let me love you.” He kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her nose until he captured her mouth. He spun her on the spot and backed her into the door, the wood was cool on the silk of her nightwear and made her shiver, she pulled him closer seeking his warmth, and the weight of his body against hers. His hands and kisses were everywhere, Rebecca felt overwhelmed with trying to concentrate on one sensation at a time, trying to commit each one to memory. The roughness of his hands at her waist, on her thigh, the hot kisses against her throat and travelling down between her breasts. He caught a nipple between his teeth through her cami and her whole body arched towards him.

“Please, Ted-” she moaned. He lifted her top over her head to allow for better access and fell to his knees in front of her. She tangled her hands through his hair, pulling it gently and making him moan against her soft belly.

“You’re gonna be the death of me.” He smirked.

“Haven’t, ooof,” she gasped as his hands moved to grab her ass and pull her towards him, “haven’t done anything. Yet.”

“Yet. May I?” He asked, hooking her waistband under his fingers. She nodded, a little bashful, and a blush bloomed from the center of her chest - just as he said it did. He took his time, following the silk material down her legs with kisses and little bites. He found the spot just behind her knee that made her giggle. “Way to ruin a moment there, Welton.”

“It’s not my fault there’s a very fine line between you tickling me and you… oh holy shit, Ted, you doing that.” He’d taken one of her legs and placed it carefully over his shoulder, exposing her to him fully, and placed a kiss at her core.

“Haven’t done anything yet.” He threw her teasing words back at her, earning him a glare.

“I can still tell you to go home.”

“Really?” He stopped completely, sitting back on his heels. She had been joking, but his commitment to checking in had her legs turning to jelly.

“No. Stay all night, I dare you.” She smiled down at him, brushing his hair off his forehead and cupping his cheek. He leaned into her and kissed her palm.

“Anything for you, Becca.” She pulled him to standing.

“Don’t say that,” she said, shaking her head, “The one thing I want is the thing I can’t have.” The comment lingered between them. Everything she wanted would be gone by morning. “But let’s not think about that now. Take me to bed so you can finish what you started.” He rested his forehead against hers before kissing her softly and leading her upstairs.

Rebecca sat on the bed and pulled Ted closer by his belt buckle.

“You’re frustratingly overdressed, Ted.” She muttered, working to undo the catch. She pushed his Richmond sweater up, a hint for him to take it off, which he took.

“I was busy with you. I’d like to be busy with you again.”

“Patience. I’m trying to tattoo this into my brain so I can remember you like this forever.” He reached down to kiss her,

“You’ll see me again sweetheart.”

“Not like this. Not for the first time.” She pushed his khakis down his legs, heat coiling in her belly at the sight of him.

“Now can I finish what I started?” He kissed her and laid her back on the bed before kissing his way down her body, getting to his knees in front of her once again. "Have I told you how beautiful you are yet?"

"Hmm. Not yet." She giggled.

"Well y'are. So beautiful, so perfect." He placed kisses and nips across her thighs, getting closer to where she most needed him, placing a strong hand on her hip to hold her still. She writhed under his kisses, getting more and more impatient.

"Ted, please, please just touch me, you're killing me." Finally, finally, he flicks her clit with the tip of his tongue, her hands fly to tangle in his hair and fuck his mouth feels so good. She was so wet and ready for him, he quickly settled into a rhythm with his tongue before sliding a couple of fingers into her and curling them. He kept pace, knowing exactly where and how she needed him. He could feel her unraveling beneath him, shaking, with his name on her lips like a prayer. As soon as she regained the feeling in her trembling hands, she pulled him up her body and into a deep kiss. "My god, Ted," she sighed, "I really am going to have to insist that you stay now." He laughed, pressing kisses into her neck while she still tried to catch her breath. She feels him, hard and hot against her thigh and it's not long before his kisses move down to her breasts with a gentle bite to one nipple while he brushes the pad of his thumb roughly over the other. She arches her back, trying to get a much contact with his body as possible. Her hand trails down between, gripping him, before slowly stroking him. He stuttered against her skin with a low moan and moved between her legs to fully cover her body. He pulled back to look her in the eye, 

"You sure about this? We can still-"

"I'm sure, Ted. I need to feel you inside me, I need to love you." He kissed her firmly as he pushed into her, covering her obscene moans with his mouth, "Yesss" She hissed, bringing her legs up to lock around his hips, bringing him deeper.

"Fuck, Rebecca, you feel so good." He rocked into her slowly, languidly, the closeness pulling her apart once again. He considered speeding up, fucking her into the mattress, but she spoke directly into his ear, biting his earlobe first, "Stay with me, Ted, I need you right here."

"I got you baby, I'm always yours." Her body trembled in his arms as she called out his hand over, and over. His release came only seconds later, he went to move but she placed a hand between his shoulder blades.

"Don't move yet." She whispered. 

"I'll hurt you." He said with a sad smile, she shook her head.

"You could never." He rolled just enough so that she could breathe easier, but held her in his arms. "I'm always yours." She repeated back to him. They cleaned up together in the shower and climbed into bed. 

"You sure you want me to stay over?"

"I dared you, didn't I? If this night is all I get, then I want all of it." She ran her fingers through his hair as he told her his plans for when he got back to Kansas. She noted how he never called it 'home'. Eventually, they fell asleep, limbs tangled together. 

Rebecca woke at some ungodly hour with Ted's hands everywhere. She wasn't sure if he'd try to sneak out, a gallant attempt to make things easier for them both, but two orgasms before breakfast made her very pleased that he'd stayed. They ate croissants together, stealing shy glances at one another, before Ted looked up at the kitchen clock and sighed.

"Back to reality?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Regrets?" 

"Non, je ne regrette rien." 

"Now you're just being cruel." Ted laughed. "Those legs? That smile? Seeing you come apart over and over? And then you speak French to me?" He shook his head. "Cruel."

"I've got to leave you with something, Ted." She giggled. "Time to go. Good luck for the match." He kissed her one final time, briefly, chastely.

They won. Not quite the whole fucking thing, thanks to Man City, but close. They spent a magical night with the team at Ola's. The live band karaoke was wild and despite Ted’s impending departure, everyone was in good spirits. Rebecca left him alone to take some time with each of the team. She'd had her goodbye. She snuck off into the night, leaving the celebrations and her broken heart behind.

She watched five planes depart after Ted's the following morning. She hadn't been able to resist one final declaration, though she had managed to not kiss him. She held off until she knew he wasn't getting off the plane, sitting with Beard and Jane until he'd given her a small nudge and said, "I think that's it, don't you?" She'd told them to go ahead, she'd see them later, and emerged into the bright sunshine of a new Monday morning. 

"It… it's you?" A familiar Dutch voice spoke up.

~~~~~~~

Read the sequel? HERE 💜

#ted lasso #tedbecca #ted and rebecca #tedlassoedit #ted lasso s3 #rebecca x ted #rebecca welton #ted lasso fic #ted lasso fanfiction

[damelucyjo]

I think I'm gonna come on here and spew my thoughts and feelings about each episode rather than on Twitter. I think I'll also say more about each episode here than over there...

Anyway! I'll keep everything under a cut just in case. Although it's been a while since the episode dropped, I just wanna be safe!

Episode 1 - Smells Like Mean Spirit

Here we go!

Oo scruffy Ted!! 😍

Why is she in his phone as 'Michelle Lasso'? I don't have anyone I really know in my phone with their full name. SHE IS THE MOTHER OF YOUR CHILD!!!

Still with the 'Ted has feelings for his ex' thing I see...

Henry's cute

Henry's been in London for 6 weeks and we saw none of it?! RUDE!

He still talks to Sharon! I love that

LEGO NELSON ROAD!!

OMG these Lego characters are brilliant!! And Ted & Rebecca next to each other 👀

It looks like they had fun whilst he was there...

EXCUSE ME why the same shower scene from season 1?!

So this season is going to be about Ted thinking about where he belongs then?

BRENDAN HUNT'S PARTNER AND SON!!! He is one cute baby!!

Earl Greyhound Training Facility. Nice.

Sharon Fieldstone! You cheeky bitch!! I love her

YYEEEAAAAHHH!!!!

Angry Rebecca is back. I'm in love

Hannah, looking delicious as ever 🥵

Something's wrong because he didn't rhyme? So true haha

I'm so fucking excited to see more Rupert this season!!

Ooo she's struggling with this, huh

She swears ALL THE TIME! Why did that one shock Higgins so much!?

Howdy & Yo. And then she nearly walked into the door frame. Amazing.

I need Dani's optimism

And Jamie's confidence haha

Roy & Beard's friendship is my favourite

FIFA reference, of course

His tiny car with those super cars is a great visual

Hello West Ham's Higgins

KEELEY!!!

'Fuck you, Joe Rogan' Exactly.

'Angel, Mentor, Guru Rebecca' How fucking cute are they!! 🥰

It's Katy Wix!! Love her!

Keeley's office looks like a fun place... 🫣

Their friendship is gorgeous. I love this gossip dynamic

Rebecca's reaction to Keeley just throwing her coat 😂 Amazing.

Yikes?! Where did she pick that up, I wonder...

Don't cry Keeley!!

Aww, mumma Rebecca to the rescue 🥹 She's so maternal

We must protect Dani at all costs!!

I love spotting Will in the background, he's always doing something fun

Of course their driver was a cult leader

EVERYONE RUN EXCEPT ROY!!

'Like an orgasm for the soul' You sure have a way with words, Rebecca

Gotta let Ted be Ted. Too right!

I KNEW that 'legend' bit was edited in the preview clip!

Loving uncomfortable, awkward Rebecca

And of course Keeley sees no problem is spending £200 on flowers because they look and smell nice

SHE SEEMS FUN!! Great Beard call back! 😂

Corporate Flying Object. Please never change Keeley!

She's eating meat again...👀 Hmm, okay

I can't wait for more Keeley & Rebecca bonding. It's my favourite

Fucking dumb-dumb line. Nathan is vile. Nick is brillaint.

They named him Disco purely for that line. Tell me I'm wrong

RUPERT! In his cartoon villain lair! Complete contrast to Rebecca's office

I fucking LOVE Anthony Head. He plays slimy so well

We're getting to see how Rupert charms his way onto people, interesting.

'Roy Kent, that you?' 'Get fucked' I just love him, guys!

'Why are you dressed like an umlaut?' Why ask if you have a matching one, Leslie??

MY GOD does Hannah looking FUCKING FIT in this episode. Only thought in my head every time she's on screen

Field trip to a fucking sewer! Let's go, boys!

Of course Henry asked to tour the sewer system because he watched IT and got scared. It is fucking smart, well said Roy!

'Twat' Well said Rebecca

Rupert is going to keep saying 'Wonder Kid' isn't he, because he knows it gets to Nate 👀

West Ham's press room isn't as fun as Richmond's

Oooo a King & I reference... okay, okay

I really wish spitting wasn't his 'thing'. It's gross. I know it makes sense, I still hate it.

LESLIE HIGGINS IS EATING HER BISCUIT AND SHE'S SO FOCUSED SHE DIDN'T REALISE!!! wow

Of course Jamie says poopy and not shit

I love how these boys trust Ted so much that they just went into a sewer, then asked why when they were down there

She's gonna break that laptop one day

Jamie being the one to reiterate the lesson they just learnt? Boys growing up!! AND HE'S RHYMING!!

Oooo she's angry 🥵

Rupert is laughing at me, Ted 🥺 ouch

And I am begging you, please, fight back OMFG 😭😭

I love how they highlight how different the press rooms are. They're all friends at Richmond, press included

And the contrast between Nate saying vile stuff and Ted saying encouraging stuff. Beautiful.

I'm kinda surprised though that Rebecca looks worried and doesn't trust him

But of course she's the only one who catches his baseball reference

Did Brett get in a Twin Peaks reference? Good for him!!

They're really highlighting the fact that kindness & comedy win, huh?

Ooo Rupert buying Nathan fancy gifts... so it begins!

Roy & Keeley not saying the same thing is very telling, I think

Firstly, why did it take them 6 weeks to tell Phoebe? And secondly, did they not actually discuss it themselves?Nobody knows what's going on!

Phoebe is so grown up! Asking the important questions

'Can I say a bad word? I think you're being stupid' I love her

Another conversation about why he's still in London? This really is going to be the theme of this season, I guess

Is moving that Lego Nate foreshadowing him coming back???

'Mommy's friend' 👀 uh oh

And that's episode 1 done!! Yes, I probably will be watching it on repeat until next Wednesday, thanks for asking.

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso Live Blogging

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 2x11 thoughts

For an episode that ends with a journalist Ted trusts but has (understandably) recently lied to warning Ted that he’s publishing an article about his panic attacks, it was fitting that this episode seemed entirely about what all of these characters choose to tell each other. And after most of a season of television that Jason Sudeikis has described as the season in which the characters go into their little caves to deal with things on their own, it turns out they are finally able to tell each other quite a lot.

Which is good because, um, wow, a lot is going to happen in the season finale of this show!

Thoughts on the things people tell each other behind the cut!

Roy and Keeley. I absolutely loved the moment during their photoshoot in which they bring up a lot of complicated emotional things and are clearly gutted (“gutted”? Who am I? A GBBO contestant who forgot to turn the oven on?) by what they’ve heard. We already know that Keeley and Roy are great at the kinds of moments they have before the shoot begins, in which Roy builds Keeley up and tells her she’s fucking amazing. From nearly the beginning of their relationship, they’ve supported each other and been each other’s biggest fans. But their relationship has gone on long enough that they’ve progressed from tentative arguments about space and individual needs into really needing to figure out what they mean to each other and how big their feelings are and what that means in relation to everything else. Watching these two confess about the uncomfortable kiss with Nate, the unexpectedly long conversation with Phoebe’s teacher, and—most painfully—the revelation that Jamie still loves Keeley didn’t feel like watching two people who are about to break up. (Although I could see them potentially needing space from each other to get clarity.) It felt like watching two people realize just how much they’d lose if they lost each other, which is an understandably scary feeling even—or especially—when you’re deeply in love but not entirely sure what the future holds. Not entirely sure what you’re capable of when you’ve never felt serious about someone in quite this way, and are realizing you have to take intentional actions to choose that relationship every single day. I’m excited to learn whether Roy and Keeley decide they need to solidify their relationship more (not necessarily an engagement, but maybe moving in together or making sure they’re both comfortable referring to the other as partner and telling people they’re in a committed relationship) or if things go in a different direction for a while.

Sharon and Ted. I’ve had this feeling of “Wow, Ted is going to feel so intense about how honest he’s been with Sharon and is going to end up getting really attached and transfer a lot of emotions onto the connection they have and that is stressful no matter how beneficial it has been for him to finally get therapy!” for a while now. And Sharon’s departure really brought that out and it was indeed stressful. But the amount of growth that’s happened for both of these characters is really stunningly and beautifully conveyed in this episode. Ted is genuinely angry she left without saying goodbye, and he doesn’t bury it some place deep inside him where it will fester for the next thirty years. He expresses his anger. (I also noticed he sweared—mildly—in front of her again, which is really a big tell for how much he has let his carefully-constructed persona relax around her.) He reads her letter even though he said he wasn’t going to, and he’s moved. I don’t think Ted has the words for his connection to Sharon beyond “we had a breakthrough,” but Sharon gets it, and is able to firmly assert a professional boundary by articulating her side of that breakthrough as an experience that has made her a better therapist. And is still able to offer Ted a different kind of closure by suggesting they go out before her train leaves. No matter how you feel about a patient/football manager seeing their therapist/team psychologist colleague socially, I appreciated this story because IMO it didn’t cross big lines but instead was about one final moment in this arc in which both Ted and Sharon saw each other clearly and modeled what it is to give someone what they need and to expect honesty and communication from them. I liked that Ted ends up being the one saying goodbye. (The mustache in the exclamation points!) I like that whether or not Sharon returns in any capacity (Sarah Niles is so wonderful that I hope she does, but I’m not sure), the goodbye these characters forge for themselves here is neither abandonment nor a new, more complicated invitation. It’s the end of a meaningful era, and although the work of healing is the work of a lifetime, it’s very beautiful to have this milestone.

Ted and Rebecca. So, maybe it’s just me, but it kinda feels like these two have a few li’l life things to catch up on?! (HAHHHHHaSdafgsdasdf!) I really adored their interactions in this episode. I maintain that Biscuits With The Boss has been happening this whole time (even when Ted’s apartment was in shambles, there’s biscuit evidence, and I feel like we’ve been seeing the biscuit boxes in Rebecca’s office pretty regularly too), even if it might have been more of a drive-by biscuit drop-off/feelings avoidance ritual. It was really lovely to see Ted on more even footing in Rebecca’s office, joking around until she tells him to shut up, just like the old days. And GOSH—for their 1x9 interaction in Ted’s office to be paralleled in this episode and for Ted to explicitly make note of the parallel in a way Rebecca hears and sees and understands?! MY HEART. In both of Rebecca’s confessions, she is not bringing good news but it is good and meaningful that she chooses to share with Ted. In both situations, Ted takes the moment in stride and offers acceptance equivalent to the gravity of what she has to confess. And in both situations, he’s not some kind of otherworldly saint, able to accept Rebecca no matter what because he’s unaffected by what she shares. He is affected. When he tells her about Sam, you can see a variety of emotions on his face. Rebecca is upset and Ted is calm, and even if I might have liked for him to try to talk about the risk the affair poses to the power dynamics on the team or any number of factors, I also really liked that he just accepts where she is, and—most importantly—does not offer her advice beyond examining herself and taking her own advice. A massive part of being in a relationship with another person (a close relationship of any nature) is figuring out how to support that person without necessarily having to be happy about every single thing they do. It’s so important that Ted connects what she’s just told him about Sam back to what she told him last season about her plot with the club. These both feel like truth bombs to him, and he is at least safe enough to make that clear. These are both things that impact him, things that shape how he sees her and maybe even how he sees himself. He cares about her and is capable of taking in this information; he has room for it. But it’s not something he takes lightly, and neither does she. See you next year.

Tumblr user chainofclovers and the TV show Ted Lasso. My brain is going wild thinking about all the ways the next “truth bomb” conversation could go in 3x11 or whatever. Maybe they go full consistent parallel and Rebecca confesses something else, this time about her and Ted or some other big future thing that impacts him as much or more as the other confessions have. (The same but different.) Maybe the tables turn and Ted has something to confess to her. While the 1x9 conversation ended in an embrace and the 2x11 conversation ended with a bit more physical distance (understandable given the current state of their relationship and the nature of the discussion), the verbal ending of both conversations involved voices moving into a sexier lower register while zooming in to talk specifically about their connection to each other, so I have to assume there will be some consistencies in s3 even if the circumstances will be completely different. I don’t really know where I’m going with this and I obviously will go insane if I sustain this level of anticipatory energy until Fall 2022 but I have a feeling my brain and heart are going to try!

Sam and Rebecca. I know there’s been a lot of criticism about whether this show is being at all realistic about the power dynamics and inevitable professional issues this relationship would create. On some level, I agree; I like that pretty much everyone who knows about the affair has been kind so far, but you can be kind and still ask someone to contend with reality. But I also think that in nearly every plot point on this show, the narrative is driven by how people feel about their circumstances first and foremost. (It’s why the whiteboard in the coaching office and the football commentators tell us more about how the actual football season is going from a points perspective than anyone else.) This episode reminded me how few people know about Sam and Rebecca, and how much their time together so far has been time spent in bed. The private sphere. I thought this episode really expertly brought the public sphere into it, not—thank goodness—through a humiliating exposure or harsh judgment but through an opportunity for Sam that illustrates not only all his potential to do great things but how much Rebecca’s professional position and personal feelings are in conflict with that. Could stand in the way of that. I don’t have a strong gut feeling about where this will go, but I do think Sam’s face in his final scene of this episode is telling. He started the episode wanting to see Rebecca (his most recent text to her was about wanting to connect), and Edwin’s arrival from Ghana really exploded his sense of what is possible for his life. If he’d arrived home to Rebecca sitting on his stoop prior to meeting Edwin, he’d have been delighted. Now he’s conflicted, and whatever decision he makes, he has to reckon with the reality that he cannot have everything he wants. No matter what. And Rebecca—she has taken Ted’s advice and is attempting to be honest about the fact that she can’t control Sam’s decisions but hopes he doesn’t go, and even saying that much feels so inappropriate. And I’m not sure how much she realizes about the inappropriateness of the position she’s putting him in, although maybe she’s getting there considering she exits the scene very quickly. I’ve honestly loved Rebecca’s arc this season. I think it’s realistic that she got obsessed with the intimacy she thought she could find in her phone. I think it’s realistic that her professional and personal ambitions are inappropriately linked. (They certainly were for Rupert. It’s been years since she’s known anything different; even if she’s done some significant recovery work to move on from her abusive marriage and figure out her own priorities, she’s got a long way to go.) I know there are people who will read this interaction between Rebecca and Sam as a totally un-self-aware thing on the part of “the show” or “the writers” but what I saw is two people who enjoyed being in bed together and now have to deal with the reality that they’re in two different places in their lives and that one has great professional power over the other. If that wasn’t in the show, I wouldn’t be able to see it or feel so strongly about it.

Edwin and Sam. I really enjoyed all the complexities of this interaction. Edwin is promising a future for Sam that doesn’t quite exist yet, though he has the financial means to make it happen. He offers this by constructing for Sam a Nigerian—and Ghanaian—experience unlike anything he’s found in London. Sam is amazed that this experience is here, and Edwin’s response is to explain to him that the experience is not here. Not really. The experience in Africa. Sam has of course connected to the other Nigerian players on the team, but this is something else entirely. I’m really curious if Sam is going to end up feeling that what Edwin has to offer is real or not. That sense of home and connection? So real. And so right that he would want to experience that homecoming and would want to be part of building that experience for others. But at the end of the day, he went to a museum full of actors and a pop-up restaurant full of “friends,” and is that constructed authenticity as a stand-in for a real homecoming more or less real than the home he’s building in Richmond? (With other players who stand in solidarity with him, and with well-meaning white coaches who say dumb stuff sometimes, and an a probably-doomed love interest, and a feeling that he should put chicken instead of goat in the jollof, and the ability to stand out as an incredible player on a rising team.)

Nate and everyone. But also Nate and no one. Nate’s story is so painful and I’m so anxious for next week’s episode. For a long time I’ve felt that a lot of Nate’s loyalties are with Richmond, and a lot of his ambitions are around having given so much to this place without getting a lot back, and having a strong feeling that he’s the answer to Richmond’s future. But now I’m not so sure; his ambitions have transferred into asking everyone he knows (except Ted, of course), if they want to be “the boss.” But Nate is all tactics and no communication. When he wants to suggest a new play to Ted, he hasn’t yet learned to read Ted’s language to learn that Ted is eager to hear what he has to say. And while Ted has been really unfortunately distracted about Nate and dismissive of him this season, he clearly respects Nate’s approach to football and was appreciative of the play. Nate just can’t hear that. The suit is such a great metaphor of all the things Nate is in too much pain to be able to hear clearly. Everyone digs at him for wearing the suit Ted bought him (including Will, who’s got to get little cuts in where he can, because he’s got to be sick of the way Nate treats him), but when he gets fed up his solution isn’t to go out on his own and find more clothes he likes; he asks Keeley to help him. And then crosses a major line with her...and no matter how kind she was about it, she was clearly not okay. Everything is going to blow up, and I’m so curious as to whether Nate will end up aligning himself with Rupert in some way or if he’s going to end up screwed over by Rupert and in turn try to screw over his colleagues even worse than he’s already done. Or try desperately to make amends even though it could be too late for some. Either way, I’m fully prepared to feel devastated. (And there’s no way I’m giving up on this character. If he’s able to learn, I truly believe he could end up seeking forgiveness and forging a happier existence for himself. Someday. Like in season 3 or something.)

Ted and Trent. Trent deciding to reveal his source to Ted is a huge deal, and I’m torn between so many emotions about this exposé. I’m glad it’s a Trent Crimm piece and not an Ernie Loundes piece. I’m glad that Trent made the decision to warn Ted and let him know that Nate is his source. I fear—but also hope—that this exposure will set off a chain reaction of Ted learning about some of the things he’s missed while suffering through a really bad bout with his dad-grief and panic disorder. The things Ted doesn’t know would devastate him. I wonder if Ted will want to figure out a way to make Nate feel heard and reconcile with him, and I wonder how that will be complicated if/when he realizes Nate has severely bullied Will, gets more details on how he mistreated Colin, etc. I wonder if Rebecca, whom Nate called a “shrew” right before she announced his promotion, will be in the position of having to ask Ted to fire him, or overriding Ted and doing it herself. So many questions! I have a feeling it’ll go in some wild yet very human-scaled, emotionally-nuanced direction, and I’ll be like “Oh my GOD!” but also like “Oh, of course.”

This VERY SERIOUS AND EMOTIONAL REVIEW has a major flaw, which is that none of the above conversations include mention of the absolute love letter to N*SYNC. Ted passionately explains how things should go while dancing ridiculously! Will turns on the music and starts gyrating! Roy nods supportively! Beard shouts the choreography like the Broadway choreographer of teaching grown men who play football how to dance like a boy band. Everyone is so incredibly proud when they nail it. I love them.

I cannot believe next week is the end. For now. I’m kind of looking forward to letting everything settle during the hiatus, but I’ve really loved the ride.

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #ted lasso 2x11 #meta by me #ALL THE FEELINGS!!!! #a lesbian watches ted lasso

[merci-bitch]

Congratulations Tina! I adore your work and you deserve it!

“Hold on, come right back here.”

With Rebecca Welton? Just watched the show and I’m obsessed

Well hello there 😌 and yes, ask and you shall receive! And thank you babe!

Also I don’t proof read so if there’s any mistakes, my bad!

Warning (s): fluff, swear words, word wanker, kisses 🥰

It was mid season. The American coach had turned out to be one hell of a guy. Ted Lasso. Who would have thought that a man with no knowledge of what Americans would call “soccer” was about and had never stepped a foot in England before would turn out to be a one of the best thing this club had ever seen.

He turned Rebecca for the better, he turned everyone for the better. AFC Richmond was on it’s highest. The team was the best it had been and it was all thanks to Ted. Bloody wanker.

You had been struggling with a thought all day. Sitting outside in the warm summer air on the same chair for more than 3 hours straight. The same though on your mind every minute that passed. You had thought about asking Keeley about it, but knowing her; she wouldn’t be able to keep quiet. Specially when it was about Rebecca.

You and Rebecca had been together for quite some time. You worked at the club before Rebecca and Rupert’s divorce. Being her little support double. Even though it wasn’t much. It had been a little over 2,5 years. Crazy how time goes fast huh?

“There you are! Been lookin all over for my little double up hot Sunday girl.”

You looked over on your right and saw Ted standing there with a smile.

“Hi Ted.” You replied with a small smile of your own. It made Ted’s lips twitch. He sat down next to you and handed you a coffee.

“What’s up Y/N? You’ve been out here for a while haven’t you?”

You nodded your head. Taking a sip of the coffee. Making a face.

“Still not into coffee?”

You shook your head and laughed softly.

“Ah, well. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

“What? Did you make it?”

Ted looked at you, almost surprised.

“And what if I did?” He asked dramatically.

You hit his shoulder softly and looked out at the field again.

“You wanna talk about what’s going on inside that brilliant mind of yours?”

You shrugged your shoulders. Fumbling a little with your hands.

“Alrighty cowboy. Somethings up. Hit me.”

“You promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“I wouldn’t even tell my dog.”

“Ted.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have a dog.”

“Right. Doesn’t matter, it was imaginary. I had one when I was younger. Same one that bit me. But hit me. What’s up sugar cup.”

You smiled softly and took a deep breath.

“You know I love Rebecca.” Ted hummed.

“I was thinking of asking her something.”

Ted sat quietly.

“You know, the big ol’ question.”

Seconds passed before Ted realized what you meant.

“OH!” Ted nearly shouted as he stood up.

You hushed him and pulled him down. Rebecca”/ office being only a few rows away.

“Are you out of your mind?! Her window is open! Why do you think I kept quiet?!”

Ted hushed himself and gave you an apology in his expression.

“But you should definitely ask her. Shall I to tell the team?”

“No. Don’t tell anyone. Alright?”

“You got it boss. Boss. Boss?”

“Ted.”

“Right. Good luck Y/N!”

You made multiple turns on your way to her office. Trying to burn time. Leslie caught you walking back and forth up the stairs.

“Y/N?”

“Hi! Hi, hello. Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing?”

“I was on my way to Rebecca’s office.”

“Then why are you walking up and down?”

You turned around slowly and walked up the stairs to her office. Knocking on her door and opening it. Finding her on the floor.

“Rebecca?”

“Hi” She replied as she stood up. Smiling brightly with both her eyes and face. “Anything I can do for you darling?”

You tried to speak but nothing came out. Rebecca moved her head a little to side. “You alright?”

“Yeah. I’m bloody brilliant!”

Rebecca chuckled softly. “You want anything to drink?”

You nodded your head and closed the door behind you.

“Water without bubbles I suppose?”

“You have anything stronger?”

Rebecca was surprised. “You never drink alcohol.”

“Yeah, I might need it. I need to ask you something.”

Rebecca handed you a drink and watched as you sat down on the white couch in front of her. Laughing to herself as your face twisted in disgust by the drink.

“So what’s your question N/N?”

You took, or well, tried to take a few more sips before standing up again, putting down your glass on the table and walked over to her. Taking a deep breath, making Rebecca laugh again.

“You seem awfully nervous.” Rebecca said as she looked down into your eyes. Towering over you both with heels and without them. Slowly leaning in. Brushing her nose against yours, smiling softly. Pecking your lips with a small kiss.

Although a small kiss with Rebecca Welton never stayed a small kiss. It quickly turned into something more, something more craving. Her arm was wrapped around your waist, pulling your body against hers. It took all you had to pull away from her.

“Right, your question. Hurry up would you?”

Her grip still tight and her kisses moved down your throat.

“Would you-“

“Would I what?”

“Would you ma-you know what? I just remembered that Ted asked me to join him for something.”

You got out of Rebecca’s grip and walked to the door when she stopped you.

“Hold on, come right back here.”

You turned around slowly. Not daring to look her in the eye.

“Y/N.”

Rebecca only used your full name when she was angry at you. Serious or irritated, or during something completely different.

“Yes?” You asked quietly.

“You’re such a bloody idiot.”

“What?”

Rebecca’s eyes started tearing up as she nearly sprinted towards you, wrapping her arms around your neck, holding you close, leaving a bunch of kisses all over your face.

“Of course I’ll marry you twat.

#rebecca welton #x reader #ted lasso #celebration #ask

[steves-on-a-plane]

No Place Like Home (pt 17)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten / Part Eleven / Part Twelve / Part Thirteen / Part Fourteen / Part Fifteen / Part Sixteen / 

Words: 1741 Pairing: Ted Lasso x Reader             Summary: Roy and Reader arrive at the Gala. It seemed Keeley was right, nearly everyone from Richmond is in attendance, including Rebecca’s ex-husband Rupert. 

“Hold on tight and don’t get lost.” Roy ordered as he grasped your hand. You moved together from the valet line to yet another line. This one ended on an actual red carpet. “We don’t stop for photos.” He whispered.  

“C’mon, not even one?” You asked him with a smirk. You were only teasing him. You didn’t want to have your photo taken by the media any more than Roy seemed to want it.

“I mean it [Y/N]!” He wagged the pointer finger of his free hand at you. “Not a single fu…are you laughing at me?”

“No.” You snorted. You struggled to hold back a laugh.

“You are.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“I am.” You confessed. “I just didn’t think you’d be someone who was camera shy.”

“I’m not!” He hissed. “The camera loves me. It’s just when they’re all standing there in a line like that.” He nodded his head to the area where the various journalists and photographers were corralled. “They start shoutin’ over each other. All that noise. An’ on top of that, you have a hundred lights flashing in your eyes. It’s really fucking bright and really fucking loud.”

You studied the press as you and Roy progressed through the line. He was right. The flash attachment on some of those cameras looked nearly as big as your own head. As the people before you paraded across the red carpet towards the venue’s entrance several of the attendees blink against the constant flickering of light. He’d also been right about it being loud. If you closed your eyes you might of thought you were standing in the stands back at the dog track.

“You alright?” Roy asked. You barely heard him.

“Loud. Lights.” Was all he could hear you say in response. It was enough for him to understand.

“I told you.” He remarked. When you reached the front of the line Roy gripped your hand tight and tugged you along down the carpet. His face had returned to that signature Roy Ken scowl. He shouted a few obscenities at the press and flashed his middle finger at them to ensure none of the photos were usable. You noticed the soft jazz music inside the venue before you even realized you made it inside.

“That was…a lot.” You breathed.

“I’d tell you that you get used to it, but I’d be lying. It’s that miserable every time.” Roy released his grip on your hand and offered you his elbow instead. You looped your arm through his, happy to let him continue to lead. He seemed to know his way around the event well enough. He stopped at a table that caused his scowl to deepen.

You looked at the table to see that Ted, Nate, Keeley and Jamie were all sitting at the table you and Roy had been assigned. Keeley had already told you that she’d asked for you and Roy to be at the same table with her and Jamie. You didn’t know how Nate and Ted had ended up there. Roy couldn’t decide who he objected to sharing a table with more Jamie, who annoyed him just by breathing, or Coach Lasso who Roy had been trying to give you a night away from.

“We’re switching tables.” He told you in his usual low grumble.

“No, no, hey!” Ted shook his head. “Come on back here. This is my doing. I parent trapped y’all.” He pointed at Jamie and Roy.

You and Roy surveyed the table. With Jamie and Keeley sitting together and Nate on her left, there were only two open seats at the six top table. An open seat next to Jamie and an open seat next to Ted. Without need to communicate a word to each other, you took the vacant seat next to Jamie while Roy claimed the open seat between you and Ted.

“Now listen,” Ted looked between his two players. “The two of you have got our locker room split in half. When it comes to locker rooms, I like ‘em just like my mother’s baiting suits. I only wanna see them in one piece. So we’re fixing this. You don’t need to be best friends to be great teammates. Y’all gotta find some common ground. Now who wants to get the ball rolling?”

“Pass.” Jamie huffed.

“He’s a piece of shit.” Roy declared.

“Okay, well here’s an idea that’s either going to help or hurt an awful lot. Who needs a drink?” Ted asked. Everyone around the table raised their hands. Ted nodded. He had expected as much. He gathered drink orders for the table and headed to the bar.

“Jamie, how about you switch seats with me so that [Y/N] and I can talk. Then you and Roy can glare at each other across the table properly, yeah?” Keeley offered.

“Whatever.” Jamie shrugged. You wanted to ask him why he’d decided to forgo wearing a shirt under his suit jacket, given the event had been designated as black tie. But he got up from his seat and let left the table all together. Keeley didn’t seem to mind. She slid right into his seat and leaned in close to you.

“How was your first red carpet?” She wanted to know.  

“Not for me.” You told her.

“Well, you look great. Roy, don’t you think [Y/N] looks great?” She asked him.

“You look uncomfortable.” Roy answered. “We can sit at a different table.”

“No, this is fine. You’re here, and Keeley is here and Nate. Nate is here. It’s going to be fine.” You nodded. Roy leaned closer to you so that only you and Keeley could hear him.

“If at any point, you want to leave, I’ll get the car no questions asked.” He promised.

You thanked him as Ted returned to the table with drinks. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by him that you and Roy had come over to the table arm-in-arm and now the midfielder was whispering something into your ear that had made you smile. It twisted Ted’s stomach to see someone else making you smile. He tried to push away the feeling. He’d told you not to wait for him. He just had’t expected you to move on so fast.

Rebecca called for everyone’s attention at the front of the room. She thanked all the guests for attending and for the generous donations they’d already made. She reminded everyone that later in the evening there would be a date auction and those in attendance would have the chance to win a date with some of Richmond’s players. Roy and Jamie both stiffened at the mention of the date auction, leading you to believe they’d each be players up for auction.

“Same rule as always.” A man in a white suit interrupted Rebecca as he swaggered into the room. “No hanky-panky unless the player signs of waiver!”

“That’s Rebecca’s ex-husband.” Keeley whispered an explanation in your ear. “Rupert Mannion. Real piece of work he is.”

“It’s weird that he’s here, right? I mean she owns the club now.” You asked your friend.

“Course it’s weird.” Keeley agreed. “He’s doing it to rile her up.”

“I know I’m crashing your party, but I so badly want to help!” Rupert went on. “Are you surprised to see me?”

“Only because you’d RSVPed no.” Rebecca countered. This earned her a roll of laughter from the crowd.

“Good for her.” Keeley smiled.  

The evening continued despite Rupert’s interruption and Rebecca’s good-natured recovery from it. Dinner was served and Ted excused himself to go look for Beard. Nate disappear shortly after. Jamie had seemingly reappeared as soon as food was involved. So you, Roy, Keeley and Jamie began eating. The four of you ate in near silence until Jamie, who’d been distractedly watching something else at another table, spilled sauce on his open chest.

“Yet another reason shirts exist.” Roy observed dryly.

“Shut up! It’s not funny.” Jamie complained as you and Keeley both giggled. He wiped the sauce off his chest and began running an ice cube down his peck.

“I wish I was that ice cube.” An elderly woman declared as she stood next to Jamie. You and Keeley both fought to hold back another wave of giggles. You had to look away from each other to not make it worse. “I will be bidding for a night with you.” The woman told Jamie.

“Oh. Thanks, Love.” Jamie said with a cocky smile. “Erm, it’s it’s justa date though.” He reminded her, putting the ice cube on the table. “It’s not the whole night.”

“We’ll see.” The woman disagreed as she sauntered back to her own table.

“Mate I’ve done these before.” Roy told him. “If she donates over three thousand you will have to fuck her.” To you and Keeley it was clear that Roy was joking. Jamie who was only ever used to seeing Roy yell, wasn’t as sure.

“Is that true?” Jamie whispered to Keeley.

“Don’t worry, Babe.” She shrugged. “You don’t have to go all the way. Just some of the way.” You, Keeley and Roy erupted with laughter.

“Fuck you.” He said pointing at his girlfriend. “And fuck this table.” He tossed his napkin down and stalked off.

“Jamie! It was a joke, Jamie!” She got up and chased after him.

“What happened now?” Ted asked, returning to the table.

“I have to pee.” You announced suddenly, even though you didn’t have to. You just wanted to be away from Ted. You got up from the table and walked over to the bar. You ordered a new drink and decided to wait him out.

“Just the usual.” Roy told the coach before taking a sip of his beer. “Jamie being a little bitch premadonna.”

“Roy let me ask you somethin. What were you like when you were twenty-three?” Ted questioned. “Playing in this league, making all that money?”

“Little bitch premadonna.” Roy admitted sheepishly.

“Yeah.” Ted nodded knowingly. “You know how they say youth is wasted on the young? Well, I say don’t let the wisdom of age be wasted on you.” Roy glared at the coach like he wanted to quip back at him, but he held his tongue. It was just as well, since Rebecca came over to the table and called Ted away.

“You two ignoring each other now?” Roy asked as you slipped back into your seat. “That’s new.”

“Who the hell knows.” You sighed.

@ponyboys-sunsets / @writeroutoftime / @captain-starks / @garbinge / @darshs / @companionjones / @fanaticalfantasist / @svndancekidd / @uhohmando / @wadeyouwitch / @cedricscoffin / @hellohauntedturnstudent / @busybeingtrash / @avengerslover-yee / @stankface / @marjoherbo / @the-fanfic-fangirl / @illicitghosts / @cloudedbreathing​ / @lovely----------------notlovely​ / @grippleback-galaxy​ / 

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso x Reader #Ted Lasso Reader Insert #Ted Lasso Fan Fiction #Ted Lasso FF #NPLH #No Place Like Home

[itsclydebitches]

“Do you guys ever want to be in charge? Be the boss?”: A Nate Shelley Analysis

I managed to go a whole three days without writing Ted Lasso meta, so let me break that streak by talking about one of my favorite scenes: Nate’s “Do you guys ever want to be in charge? Be the boss?” moment from “Midnight Train to Royston.”

As the penultimate episode of Season Two, the audience already has a good sense of what road Nate is heading down. Still, the show has been careful to maintain a balance up until Nate corners Ted and, later, rips the “BELIEVE” sign. Meaning, nearly everything he does has some sort of counter or ambiguity attached. Nate says horrible things to Colin, but he apologizes for it afterward. He has that tête-à-tête with Rupert, but at this point in the season we don’t know what precisely was said or (given that it’s Rupert and inevitable awful) whether Nate has bought into his perspective. Perhaps most notably, Nate’s treatment of Will, while clearly horrible, is colored by his own bullying at the hands of the entire Richmond team. It’s no excuse, but the arc of Season One makes it harder to dismiss Nate the second he becomes a bully himself. After all, the team seemed to maintain that behavior for years, they continued it happily on Jaime’s orders, needed the leadership of Roy to break the cycle, and although they silently apologize through inclusive acts from then on out—such as Isaac scooting over so Nate can sit down on the bench, celebrating his promotion, etc.—they do not overtly acknowledge their mistakes and apologize in the way Nate might need. We do not, presumably, hate the team for actions taken in the past (bullying Nate), we don’t hate them for needing help to move past that behavior (Roy’s intervention, set in motion by Ted), nor do we hate them for their failure to follow up in a manner that would assist Nate’s recovery the most (clear apologizes not colored by the masculinity of locker rooms). Thus, we presumably do not hate Nate either for being in roughly the same place that Isaac and Colin were in episode one. Baring the intensity of fandom emotions, of course lol.

As said, Season Two strikes this balance of “Obviously this action is bad, but…” which keeps the question of whether Nate will improve or devolve up in the air until the final episode. It’s the same at the start of “Midnight Train to Royston” when Will comes in saying that “the suit Ted got you” is back from the cleaners. Objectively, Will hasn’t done a single thing wrong here. He’s coming in having done a favor for Nate (even if delivering dry cleaning is a part of a kitman’s normal duties, it’s still a nice act), he’s quite pleasant, polite, and isn’t saying anything that isn’t true: Ted did buy that suit for Nate. From Will’s perspective, that might even be something he thinks Nate wants to be reminded of, given his rather obvious desire for Ted to notice him. Acknowledging a gift that someone has gotten from a loved one should, under normal circumstances, produce a positive response.

Yet as much as we can understand that Will hasn’t done anything wrong here, we can likewise understand Nate’s perspective and see how these otherwise innocent actions might come across as taunting criticism. Will doesn’t know that Nate just went to a funeral where the guys teased him over that very suit. Our coach bought you the one decent suit you own? Isn’t that a little… infantilizing? It clearly hits Nate hard, made worse by his inability to defend himself with anything other than his mom buying the rest of his wardrobe. Nate is living in a society where shopping for oneself and deciding one’s own sense of style is explicitly tied to autonomy and respect. Compare Nate being gifted his suit by Ted or, later, having Keeley and the employee criticize the cut along his crotch to, well, the entire Richmond team. Jamie makes the decision to attend a charity event sans shirt because he’s taken the time and effort (seen in the first episode) to get his chest waxed. His looks are his brand.

Sam asks Isaac for one of his legendary haircuts right before his date. He may need Isaac’s skill to achieve a good look, but Sam makes the decision to seek out that expertise to improve himself.

In the same episode as the teasing, Colin initially thinks that attending the funeral in something other than sneakers won’t be possible because they don’t have time to wait 12+ hours for a new pair of shoes. Real men—or even just respectable, powerful, autonomous adults—put a lot of effort into acquiring things that will build on a personalized look. Babies—pitiful, insignificant, needy ‘adults’—get handed their looks by others with authority: coaches, father figures, biological mothers, friends who are achieving your dream of becoming the boss. The clothes Nate is seen in the most besides that suit are his kitman/coach getup, a look designated by the club.

Even the jersey is gifted to him by Will and the team. To them, this is a considerate present that highlights how much Nate means to them. He’s their “Wonder Kid”! To Nate, this is a reminder of a mistake he’s made—something he is not emotionally equipped to deal with, no matter how small and insignificant it actually is—and the jersey, ultimately, is just another example of others dictating how the world sees him. From his perspective they’re clearly laughing at him and now here comes Will, doing it again with the suit. As Nate has yet to try and change the situation (later he’ll go shopping) for now all he can do is try to flip the script: “It became my suit, Will.” Nate latches hard onto the idea of ownership to erase the stigma of who bought the clothes in the first place.

Ted Lasso has a lot more to say about the intersection of fashion and identity, but for the purposes of this post, it’s easy to see why Will’s otherwise innocuous comment hits Nate hard. And we can likewise see how this moment, viewed outside of everything else, is just a relatable moment of miscommunication. Who of us hasn’t gotten supremely annoyed, even outright mad, over something that someone said which, when we take a breath and admit to some hard truths, we knew they never actually meant anything by?

But of course, Nate’s problems are by no means contained to a single moment of overblown irritation. It’s at this point that Roy comes in and is, notably, also talking about how he presents himself to the world. He’s worried about the photo shoot coordinator saying his eyebrows are “crazy” and, in a specifically Roy manner, is looking for reassurance. By now he’s had some experience with the Diamond Dogs and has learned from Ted that sometimes you don’t need to fix things, just talk them out with your friends (and Ted, in turn, learned that from Keeley and Rebecca—“Girl talk”). Roy knows that no one here can change what this coordinator thinks and at the end of the day, Roy is confident enough in his presentation not to rush and immediately try to change himself for others—“What do you normally do with your lashes?” “I leave them the fuck alone.”—so although Roy will experience some more intense self-doubt after the magazine rejects the photos with him in them, right now he’s just looking to vent. He wants his friends to listen and commiserate. 

The problem is that Nate doesn’t give him that emotional support. His immediate response is, “Jesus, are my eyebrows crazy?” making the situation about himself rather than Roy. Nate, as is staggeringly obvious by now, has become very self-absorbed. At the same time, this comparison helps highlight what will be made fairly obvious later in the episode: Nate longs to be Roy. Or at least someone like him. If Roy is worried about his eyebrows, Nate should be worried too. If Roy coaches in an all-black suit, Nate should get an all-black suit too. Even the season’s final shot’s ensemble evokes Roy to a certain extent, as Nate becomes the “old man” with the white hair, still dressed all in black.

Nate wants to be the guy who gets a massive cheer from the stands when he walks out: “He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-fucking-where, Roy Kent!” Or, to put it another way, he wants to be the guy who everyone praises on Twitter. The problem is, once he sees that single, negative tweet—or makes a single, tiny mistake—the fragile confidence he’s built up comes tumbling down. It was never built on anything solid, in large part because Nate has yet to receive acknowledgement from the one source he needs it from the most: his father.

So Nate has no emotional battery right now to offer Roy reassurances, especially not when he’s trying to measure up to the idealized version of Roy he’s built in his head. If Nate were listening he’d immediately realize that Roy has insecurities and makes plenty of mistakes too, but he’s not. He’s too caught up in his own, pessimistic spiral to see what’s actually happening around him: Will is being polite, Roy is insecure, later Ted is supportive. Notably, Beard also has a moment of insecurity wherein we see him questioningly run two fingers over his own eyebrows, but the difference is he doesn’t try to make the conversation about him as Nate does.

Meanwhile, Nate continues to be dismissive of Roy’s worries. He’s concerned about the coordinator putting him in all black so that Keeley can pop (there’s no consideration for how Roy will look in the shoot) and instead of acknowledging that, Nate says, “You always wear all black.” Roy tries to clarify his own perspective—no, this is “dark heather charcoal”—but Nate doesn’t care and even if he did, this is precisely the kind of inconsequential interaction that sends Nate deeper into his bitterness. Roy is saying he’s wrong? Wrong about how the world sees us? Nope. Without the guidance of Dr. Fieldstone or another of her colleagues, that conversation won’t lead anywhere good. All the while, the suit hangs between them.

Luckily for Nate, Ted arrives at that moment. He’s overheard Roy’s comment and, in another display of that characteristic emotional intelligence, is quite skilled at entering the conversation in a non-disruptive manner. He compliments both of them by saying he loves it when guys talk fashion, a comment that simultaneously reassures them that men are allowed to talk fashion, and then asks who is winning the debate. Ted is trying to keep the conversational ball rolling. Nate, in contrast, brings the conversation to a stop. His attention is immediately on Ted and he follows him from the room, leaving Roy behind, switching to talk about his new strategy. Ted appreciates Roy enough to want to hear more about what he’s just said, even as he needs to go take care of things in the other room. In contrast, once Ted arrives, Roy means nothing to Nate and, outside of what he represents in terms of success, he didn’t mean much while they were chatting one-on-one either.

When Ted arrives all the action moves to Ted’s desk, just as it normally does. Beard stays where he’s at, Nate follows Ted, Roy follows both to take his place in the doorway. The locker room is the heart of Richmond, but Ted’s desk is the setting that most represents authority, even more-so than Rebecca’s office. Her space is used for failed plots, “Biscuits with the Boss,” hanging with Keeley, getting blindsided by Rupert, worrying over texts she’s sent to Sam. Ted’s desk also has its fair share of lighthearted moments, but it’s usually the epicenter of Ted’s mentoring, with that work extending out into the locker room, but beginning here. Telling Roy he needs to step up, encouraging Jamie, forgiving Rebecca for her duplicity… all of it takes place around this desk. It’s no wonder then that Nate follows Ted and proposes his latest idea here. This is the space where he wants Ted to display the photo of them. Not at home where it’s personal, but at his desk where everyone powerful will see it, where the sausage gets made.

Once again though, Nate isn’t listening:

Nate: “Can I run a new tactic by you?”

Ted: “You can run it, walk it, cartwheel it to me, I don’t care. Call me Dumbo because I’m all ears.”

Now, at this point in time Nate is used to Ted’s unique way of speaking. Even if he wasn’t, this is by no means one of Ted’s more confusing references, or his most joke-y setup. Unlike other moments where he’s clearly waiting for the other person to give in and admit they’re not following him—“You know what you do with tough cookies, don’tcha?” “…No.” “Dip ‘em in milk.”—here Ted gives both the metaphor and the meaning: he’s Dumbo because he’s all ears. He’s listening. Linguistically, this is a really interesting moment for me because not only is Ted being clearer in his intent than is often the case, he’s directly building off of what Nate has already said: “Can I run a new tactic by you?” Ted repeats “run” and then expands that to “walk,” “cartwheel,” or any other verb Nate might prefer (“I don’t care”). Verbally, Ted is letting Nate steer the conversation.

It's easily one of their biggest miscommunications where Ted, particularly in Season Two, has allowed Nate to spread his wings. Ted sees letting his students take the reins and steer without criticism or constant praise as the ultimate form of respect. The message is, “You’ve grown and I trust you enough to follow.” We see this particularly with Roy where he’s not only made coach, but is allowed to teach Ted a thing or two along the way. The moment when Jamie asks how he can become better and Roy says that Ted “fucked him up” isn’t the normal “Wanker!” criticism that Ted has learned to shrug off with a smile, it’s a direct attack on his mentoring and the work he’s achieved with Jamie. This isn’t stuff like the offside rule, but the stuff he is good at. Yet all Ted says is, “Okay. Expound” because he trusts that if Roy is saying this, he has a damn good reason to. This idea of a trustful, hands off approach being the ultimate form of respect is likewise seen in Keeley’s journey. When Rebecca grants her freedom Keeley grabs at it with both hands, stepping up to become her own boss. When Ted grants Nate freedom, he flinches from it and interprets that as Ted “abandoning” him.

So, despite his claims to the contrary, Nate doesn’t actually want Ted to let him do his own thing. Nate doesn’t want the kind of authority that comes with praise and criticism. The audience understands this perfectly even if Nate himself does not. After all, if a single tweet can tank the happiness he’d built up about being the team’s strategic savior, how do we think Nate would handle something like this?

Nate would crumble in the face of that and, unlike Ted, Nate hasn’t grappled with the inevitability of failure and decided that he’s willing to shoulder the public’s hatred for the hope of their love.

What Nate wants is an impossible situation where he has all the power, but that power only ever leads to picture perfect outcomes. He says it himself: “Get all the credit.” In Nate’s definition of “boss” there’s nothing about shouldering the losses too. Nate wants to be the boss and remain as Ted’s beloved apprentice (that surrogate father figure). He wants to be himself and also his opposite, Roy. He wants to be someone too important to bother with Beard, but he also wants the camaraderie that Beard offers Ted. It’s fascinating that throughout this scene Nate keeps looking to Beard for emotional support. He wants the kind of rapport that Ted and Beard have, the near silent dialogue where they’re (almost) always on the same page. But Beard, for obvious reasons, doesn’t play along.

Isn’t this weird and ridiculous? Nate asks when he looks to Beard as Roy charges in, complaining about eyebrows. Beard shakes his head No.

Isn’t Ted impossible? Nate asks when he demands clarification from Beard if “Dumbo” means he can suggest a play. Beard’s expression and quick “Yes” says, You know you can suggest a play. You’re following Ted’s way of speaking just fine. Stop trying to drag me into your desire to mock him.  

“Here we go again,” Nate says, as if stealing credit is a common pattern of Ted’s that Beard should immediately jump on. Instead, Beard has already gone back to his book, looking up in surprise at this turn in the conversation. Rather than Nate bonding with Beard over how awful Ted supposedly is, Beard begins bonding with Roy over how awful Nate is actually being.

“Don’t you guys ever want to be in charge?” Nate asks and at this point Beard is just staring at him, leaving Roy to do the heavy lifting of explaining that this is the job. You know this. What’s this really about, Nate?

From Nate’s perspective, Beard would be Ted’s sidekick. Of course, the tree metaphor in this very scene debunks that. Beard tells him in his own Beard way that he and Ted are not in competition for sunlight (coaching praise) they’re working together and they share whatever they achieve. But Nate doesn’t understand that—isn’t willing to accept that—so he continually interprets their relationship as Ted standing at the top and Beard relegated to the step below him. Because Nate wants that top spot, he assumes Beard must as well. Who wouldn’t? So he keeps trying to form a connection with Beard based on that nonexistent desire, acting like this is a middle school playground where he just has to get Beard to admit that he’s secretly always hated Ted and then bam, they’re in cahoots together (and doesn’t that hark back to Ted’s refusal to step in for Nate because, as the teacher, his intervention would just make things worse). But Beard loves Ted, he digs in his heels against Nate’s attempts to warp their friendship into something it’s not, and Nate appears honestly shocked when it not only fails to work, but primes Beard to home in on Nate the second someone betrays Ted: “I’d be happy to headbutt you, Nate.” Nate is unable to come between them.

The reality is that Ted is in great leadership form during this scene. He immediately reassures Nate that yes, he’s always willing to hear his suggestions. Once the False Nine is proposed, Ted isn’t afraid to admit that he doesn’t know what that means—a far cry from Nate’s need to vehemently deny his “Wonder Kid” mistake. Ted doesn’t simply take Nate at his word, but gets input from his two other coaches before agreeing that yes, this sounds like a great idea to try. As we saw all the way back in “Trent Crimm, The Independent” when Nate offered his very first suggestion, Ted never agrees to use an idea without trying it out first. They need to see how it “fits.” Ted then completes the interaction by giving Nate the exact kind of attention he’ll later claim Ted stopped providing him: praise and a quick pat on the back.

The problem here is not Ted’s leadership, but Nate’s inability to see and accept everything that’s happening in front of him. Simply getting the name wrong—“Fake Nine”—is seen as a slight and if Ted hadn’t made that mistake, Nate’s anxiety would have made up something else to be upset over because all of this is governed by Nate’s internal, distorted view of events, not his lived reality. We see this most clearly in how he flip-flops regarding ownership of the idea. Ted calls it, “Your Fake Nine,” but because Ted got the name wrong, he’s not giving proper credit. Nate knows as well as anyone else in this room that Ted always tells the public when Nate’s strategy came through—it’s one of the first things he reports to Trent during an interview that’s supposed to be about him, Ted never begrudges Nate his success after his idea saves a game, etc.—yet he’s convinced that when this works, Ted will take all the credit.

Then he’s convinced that when the False Nine fails, Ted will blame him instead.

Then the False Nine works and… Nate still isn’t happy.

Because it was never about the outcome. There’s nothing that Roy, Beard, or Ted could have done here to fix Nate’s warped viewpoint, the same way there was nothing Rebecca could have done to fix Ted’s panic attacks. They both need professional help and until they get it, no true improvement can occur. In Ted’s case, Rebecca’s comfort was heartily appreciated and undoubtedly kind, but that bond unintentionally fed into their aversions to therapy as a mental health tool. Who needs a therapist when you can just dump all your trauma onto your friends! (Meanwhile, Keeley marches Jamie straight up to Sharon when he pops round to dump all his problems on her. I maintain that she’s one of the most mature and emotionally healthy characters in the show.) In Nate’s case, Ted’s immediate apology in the finale for making Nate feel like he wasn’t appreciated just increases the feelings of jealousy and inadequacy that Nate doesn’t know how to handle. Having the man Nate’s tried so hard to make friends (Beard, Roy) and the public (Trent’s article) see as insignificant compared to him suddenly act selfless and apologizes for things that Nate knows, deep down, are not his fault… that’s the exact opposite of what Nate can deal with right now. Ted being Ted just reinforces that Nate can’t measure up to him, so he launches another attack: You don’t belong here. You’re a joke.

Like spitting at his reflection in an effort to gain self-confidence, Nate is really just talking about himself.

Back in the office, while Nate starts to spiral about Ted’s non-existent plans to make him look foolish, Ted is telling Roy he looks nice today. In a moment, Beard will tell Roy that his eyebrows look “psychotic,” not “crazy,” but in a very Beard-ish way that also comes across as complimentary. It’s not just about the compliments though, it’s that both Ted and Beard have heard Roy, recognized his need for some validation after the photo shoot prep, and when the conversation provides an opening, they give him exactly that. It’s the more complicated equivalent of someone getting cut off during a discussion and five minutes later their friend goes, “Hey, what were you saying about ___?” Ted, Beard, and Roy have a wonderfully healthy dynamic here where they’re listening to one another and working to balance both the realities of the job—gotta stop to consider plays, of course Ted gets a lot of praise as head coach—and their personal needs. Nate is the one who doesn’t fit into that dynamic anymore and that’s a problem largely of his own making. Beard succinctly lays out the problem with his attitude and once again Nate doesn’t listen: “Can’t you just give me a straight answer for once?” He ignores the tree advice. He ignores Roy’s confirmation that the metaphor was a straight answer. He likewise ignores Roy’s “That’s the job, son.” Anything that challenges Nate’s current, paradoxically view goes in one ear and out the other, resulting in those around him growing closer as they try to navigate an attitude that, to them, doesn’t make a lick of sense. The more Nate strives to achieve success in this particular, impossible way in an effort to get others to respect him… the less people respect him.

I think the final shot of Season Two nicely sets up what we’re likely to see from Nate in Season Three. Namely, him grappling with the realization that despite having become the boss, he’s not getting the emotional fulfillment that he craves. Nate looks directly into the camera and twitches an eyebrow, sending the message, “I did it.” Yet what we see isn’t any of the power, appreciation, or camaraderie that Nate is looking for. The mantra of, “Move!” “Coach!” couldn’t be farther from the love that Ted has earned from his team and the public, the original power that Nate looked up to. Even if Nate were satisfied with this kind of militarist obedience, he’s not even the one on the receiving end of that soulless respect. There’s another coach somewhere blowing the whistle, giving the orders, and getting all the “Sir!”s that, as boss, Nate believes belong to him. We also see Rupert pass by and put a hand on his shoulder, with the height difference all but screaming the difference in power. This is still the exact same dynamic that the old, “weak” Nate had at the funeral. He’s not equal to Rupert, he’s now under his thumb.

And now Rupert is the one in the black suit. He’s the one to look up to. The one to become jealous of and grow to hate when Nate realizes he’s not happy in the way he thought achieving this kind of success would make him happy. Nate is further away from that happiness than he’s been since episode one. His skill in strategy aside—which will inevitably win them a number of games and post-pone Nate’s realization—Nate is, quite literally in the shot, back to standing on the sidelines.

Given that Ted, as a target of Nate’s insecurities, is not the person who can help bring Nate out of them, I hope that alongside the professional assistance of Sharon, that role goes to Rebecca. After all, she knows better than anyone else how easily Rupert can reel you in. She’s also been taught by Sassy and her god daughter that while Rupert might have built the tower, she willingly walked up it every step of the way. Given Rebecca’s amazing growth, there’s a lot that she could teach Nate now and I think it would be amazing if the show came full circle, allowing her to help someone who is now in a similar position to where she started out. Nate is not an evil man. Is Rebecca? After all, she brought Ted here with the intention of not just watching him fail, but orchestrating that failure, throwing him to the public and using him as a means of (uselessly) bolstering her crumbling sense of self-worth. I’d say there are a lot of parallels there to Nate airing Ted’s mental health struggles to the public, likewise hoping that watching him fall would fill that void. Both have used Ted as a tool, both have grappled with what it means to be in power, both have fallen into Rupert’s clutches… but it remains to be seen whether both get a redemption. I certainly hope so. Though Ted Lasso has its occasional ‘villain’ whose problems are simply too deep for our cast to solve amidst the comedy—Rupert, Jamie’s Dad—it’s ultimately a show that says anyone can come back from their mistakes, provided they’re willing to get the necessary help and put in the work. As we’ve seen, that has led to fantastic journeys for Rebecca, Jamie, even Trent depending on how his article influences Season Three. I think Nate should get that kind of journey too. It might be ‘realistic’ to leave him as another Rupert, but that doesn’t feel true to the show to me. As the first Richmond family member we met, racing across the field because he’s terrified of someone else messing up the grass and getting him in trouble, Nate is a character who deserves to recognize the tower he’s in and start the long climb down.

#Ted Lasso #Nate Shelley #mymetas