#ALSO I WOULD RISK IT ALL FOR ROY KENT

[luludeluluramblings]

dream duo back on our yapping because the spiral is spiraling and by god is it worth it to have two idiots on (1) account

Bruce is going to absolutely lose it if it’s superbly or Roy or any guy he doesn’t like, but hear us out:

the in laws are yanderes too. With Konnor- Superman and Lois LIVE to have a grand baby and a new daughter in law that likes being given no strings affectiom, who WANTS to be family and adjusts to it. Especially since the batfam would have a hell of a time dealing with trying to keep Superman, Lois (she canonically shot at Bruce for coming into her home all Batman like), Kara, Jon, and Konnor away from reader.

Especially if reader actually WANTS to be around them?? man, Bruce is going through it. He can’t hurt Superman as Batman because it would screw up public relations and the Justice leagues dynamic. He can’t hurt Clark Kent because the dude basically has plot armor.

Even better if baby is also superhuman and doesn’t like the batfam either. Small army of children blasting lasers at Bruce or just flying away with reader.

Do you think Konner would just pick reader up and fly away from the batfam??? i think he would. I think he and Jon would play keep away from the batfam with reader (esp knowing that the bats can’t actually force reader away from them in the air without risking hurting or killing them). The Kent’s unite against bats.

I like to imagine these type of shenanigans as something that goes on without Reader's knowledge. They got a baby to take care of, or are too tired and irritable to deal with people bickering. Basically, whoever leaves her alone or gives her what she wants in a reasonable manner, is her favorite and she'll make sure they know it.

But, as soon as she goes to take a nap, or put the baby down to rest. WW3 starts between the in-laws and the Bats. Anarchy and flames everywhere. Chaos at the family BBQ. (Stephanie is the Bats' main source of keeping Reader to themselves until the other's can butter her up. But, baby daddy might be able to swing it in his favor if they have enough charm and can manipulate Reader.)

[church-of-lilith]

Whatever you do don't think about young mid 20s Trent Crimm having been bullied so badly for being different and gay that he can't stand it anymore, shoves it all inside and marries a woman, tries to leave the gay life behind. And she loves him, but she doesn't know him at all, not the real him, and how can he risk losing her by telling her?

He grows more bitter and unsatisfied every day, and his articles show this. Soon, he becomes cruel- these athletes are strong and manly, it all comes so easy to them, people adore them, shower them with love, and then he goes home to an unhappy wife, and she's unhappy because of him, because he just can't make himself right, can't fit into this life, can't be who the world wants him to be.

So he tells her, and regrets the words as soon as they come out. But she chuckles, "Come on, Trent, you're not serious. I know we've been having some problems lately, but I love you, okay? We can work on it. We can be happy again." It's an out, an option to take the words back, and so he does. And they decide to work on their marriage. They decide to have a child.

And for the first few months, his daughter is all that matters, and he's happy. This precious human being, she deserves a good father, and he wants to be that for her, to give her a happy, united family. A mom and dad.

But the high highs are followed by lows lower than he's experienced in a long time. His wife's kisses leave him feeling hollow. His heart is weak and empty, and he yearns for something to make it beat again.

One day, when his wife is at the park with their daughter and he's reorganizing his closet, he stumbles upon the purple American shirt, the one he got from his summer boyfriend in university. His hands tremble as he picks it up, presses it against his nose. He hasn't washed it since. It still smells like him.

He sits at the edge of his bed and cries. He remembers his kisses, the days they'd spent together at camp; the nights, too. He longs to have them back, just for a moment. But then he remembers his father's face when he found out. He remembers what followed.

He has a family now, a responsibility. He's made his choices, and they're wise. His father invites him over for Christmas, congratulates him on his promotions, plays with his granddaughter. Respects him, despite his failures, his many mistakes.

He shoves the shirt back in the closet. He will keep thinking about it for a few days, but then he'll forget about it again.

He's had his job at the Independent for a few years, and he's grown a bit bored of it. But news come of a managerial change at AFC Richmond, and he knows it's about to get interesting. The new owner must be losing it after her very public divorce; why else would she hire a dumb hick from God-knows-where USA, who's never touched a real football in his life, to coach her Premier League team? This guy is uneducated, dumb, undeserving of this privilege. This guy is going down.

An interview is arranged, and he's the man for the job. He'll give the fans what they want. He'll eviscerate this clown in the papers. His boss will give him a pat on the back. His colleagues in the press room will look up at him with respect. His father will call him and they'll have a laugh about this clown together. Who does he think he is, to come all the way to England and take this job from someone who knows a damn thing about the sport?

But Coach Lasso is, to Trent's surprise, competent. He knows how to work with people. He wants Roy Kent to be a leader, and he knows what to do to get that result.

He's also kind, genuine, warm. He spends hours at the school, kicking a ball around with some kids. He stays there longer than any other coach would have. It's not just a tactic to come across as sympathetic in the article, to soften Trent's perception of him. He actually cares.

And then he invites him to dinner.

Trent is starving, of course. Hasn't eaten anything since his plain breakfast that morning. They walk to an upscale Indian restaurant. Interesting choice. He wonders why he picked this place, in particular. It all becomes clear when he introduces his friend Olly.

The food is too hot. He can't eat it. Curse his middle-aged stomach and his eating habits over the years. Now he can't even handle a bit of spice. And by the looks of it, neither can Ted, and yet, sweating profusely and gasping for air, he still eats both their meals. He can't embarrass Olly in front of his family, he says. He has to show his respect.

"To me, success is not about the wins and losses."

What a stupid thing to say, and twice in a day, no less. They were in his office hours ago when this dumb phrase last came out of his mouth, and Coach Lasso was getting changed, his shirt unbuttoned- but Trent can't think about that right now. The American just gave him exactly what he needed for the article- a reason to mock him.

"It's about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field."

Oh, God. That's all he wants, to help these young men, and here Trent is, attempting to take him down. But this man doesn't want to destroy this club, he just wants to help. To help them get better. Most of all, that's why he's here.

Who has he become? The man in front of him has been nothing but generous, considering, inviting all day. Strike that, actually. Since he's arrived in London. And what has Trent done, besides being cruel to him? Hurting him? Bullying him?

"I really should go. Deadlines and all."

"Yeah, gotta do the work. I'll say this, though. I really enjoyed getting to spend this time with you, Trent".

And he actually means that.

He writes the article as soon as he gets home. He admits to himself how much he wants Ted to win. He probably won't, but he desperately hopes he will. Why shouldn't he? Why shouldn't a kind, good man like him prevail? Why was this world built for the Rupert Mannions and the George Cartricks of the world, and not for Ted Lasso? Why is Ted the one being called a wanker on national TV, in stadiums, on the street ?

Prove them wrong, Ted, please.

His wife and his daughter have already gone to sleep when he sends in the article. The apartment is dark, quiet, and a chilly breeze is coming in through the window that's been cracked open in the bedroom. He climbs into bed, careful not to disturb his wife. The rush of the interview has worn off, and he feels strangely at peace. He closes his eyes, allows himself to think about Ted in the office, getting changed. About his warm voice, about the gleam in his eyes in that Indian restaurant. About "What do you love?" and "I'm about to hallucinate from this heat here".

He thinks about that press room, about seeing him up there, in the light. He falls asleep to one certitude.

He can't wait to see Coach Lasso again.

oh anon now you have me thinking about it!! so much!! how are you gonna casually drop this absolute masterpiece in my ask box?? I don’t feel that I’m even deserving of this, it should be on ao3 or something??

The way you put all the little bits and pieces of backstory James Lance has given us together to paint this perfect image of season 1 Trent is so incredibly impressive to me. Like this is exactly how I picture his journey and you put it together perfectly.

The little bit about him finding the Ashland University shirt in his closet and yearning to have that young love back again, despite repressing himself so deeply all these years… so incredibly heartbreaking and beautiful.

And then Ted comes in and suddenly Trent remembers what it’s like to find real, true joy in what he does. For once he’s not garnering his satisfaction from putting other people down, and writing scathing pieces about them. Instead he finds himself smiling down at his screen as he sends that first article in, Ted’s kindness and compassion for others lingering in the back of his mind. Ted’s undying enthusiasm leaves him genuinely excited to see what comes next, makes him go against everything he’s ever conditioned himself towards. And he can’t let anyone else know, not yet, maybe not ever. But he holds the beginnings of this change close to his chest, while he decides what to do about it. While he waits to see if Ted Lasso really can succeed with kindness alone. Maybe if he can, it’s possible for Trent, too.

thank you for sending this piece of writing in anon! honored that you chose to share it with me. if you don’t write fic on ao3 already you should!! I’d love to read more of your thoughts/ideas.

[abubblingcandle]

Well done on compiling the spreadsheet! I've been thinking of doing something similar to keep track of my wips for ages but I've yet to sit down and actually do it, it's a lot of work!

How about number 42?

It is but I was laid in bed last night and was like stewing on one of the ideas and thought ... "I've never actually written down anything about this idea, oops" and so did this today!

@thirteenemeraldcats also asked for 42 but also another one so I'll do 42 here and the other in reply to that ask :)

42 - The 16 year old Jamie fic

So this fic is inspired by what I learnt a few months ago about Archie Gray at Leeds United. Quick Archie summary but he is a 17 year old Leeds wonderkid from a family of Leeds United players (his grandad, his great uncle, his dad all played for Leeds for the majority of their careers and his younger brother is in the youth set up). He's made it into the starting line up this year and he pointed it out in a post match interview that according the FA and Leeds rules ... he has his own private changing room because it is a safeguarding risk to have a minor changing and showering with adults.

This just got me thinking about what if Jamie hadn't been 23 when he was loaned to Richmond, what if he had been 16? This wonderkid who Man City don't really know what to do with coming straight into the Richmond starting line up and desperate to prove himself to everyone including his idol Roy Kent. His dad moving down to London with him. Not really being included in the team and team bonding as they just go out drinking.

Then Ted arrives and Jamie's never had a coach like Ted. He doesn't know what to do with it

Roy huffs as he watches Jamie bat away the hand Colin was offering to help him up off the floor. The kid's blue grey eyes were misting over with tears of frustration but his lips were pressed together in a mask of fury directed at the grass itself. Roy remembered being like that. He remembered being called up and touted as the best thing since sliced bread at an age where your main worries should be whose dating who and how you were going to survive your exams. But unlike Jamie, Roy wasn't a champion asshole about it. He took the hits, he paid his dues with only the token bullshit expected from an up and coming star. Then other younger models came through the ranks, Roy made his big career move and all that strife was history. It had seemed like the worst thing ever at the time. Now it was just remembered as a stepping stone. "Get the fuck up Tartt, your fault. Get over it," Roy growled, kicking the ball away from Jamie's feet and pinging it back over to O'Brien for the goal kick. The death stare from the young striker would have unnerved a lesser man. Roy glared back until Jamie flinched first and rolled to his feet.

[masochistartt]

Ableist?

im not gonna be able to explain this eloquently bc i'm having A Day and my brain hasn't been working but

they're footballers and they all grew up in this environment where you have to be At Your Physical Peak At All Times or risk being cut from like. age 6-9 upwards

i think it's fully internalized and they wouldn't know that they were ableist but i don't think any of them would want anyone ever to see them in pain and would do everything to avoid the public perceiving them as anything short of Physically Perfect

when an athlete (especially the men) gets injured they'll do just about anything to get back on the pitch that day (and if they're crying they'll do just about anything to hide their emotions)

we see roy in the tunnel in rainbow when we know he's in excruciating pain. he's doubled over with the pain. but he straightens his spine and takes a deep breath and then walks out onto the pitch like he's not hurting at all because The Public (tm) as an entity would Say Things (derogatory) about roy kent looking hurt. it's also why he walked off the pitch in the hope that kills you with his head high before he has his emotional collapse in the dressing room away from public view

when jamie's injured in mom city he's got crutches but we literally see him going out of his way to not use them (bc using them would lead to him being perceived as Broken or Damaged or whatever Not At Physical Peak word he'd use)

i think that every single one of them would have some reason or another to not want to be seen hurting in public and all of those reasons go back to that whole Academy System You Are A Footballer For Your Club First And A Person Second belief that i want to say a large majority if not all of them carry

[sebeth]

All-Star Squadron #5 (Revised 1/5/24)

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

“Never Step On A Feathered Serpent!” by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, and Jerry Ordway.

It’s been “a day or so” since the events of issues #1 – 4, so this issue takes place around December 9th, 1941.

Carter Hall (Hawkman) has decided to enlist in the United States Army.  Hawkman resigns as chairman – and member – of the Justice Society. Several other Society members have decided to enlist in the various armed services.  Would Charles McNider (Doctor Mid-Nite) be allowed to serve? Technically, he’s blind.  Johnny Thunder will be joining the Navy.

Hawkman, Sandman, Starman, Dr. Mid-Nite and the Atom are all non-powered individuals. I suppose Kent Nelson can leave the Fate Helmet at home. Should Johnny Thunder be allowed on the front lines – he’s in control of the Thunderbolt (an extremely powerful entity) and the Squadron’s encounter with the Dragon King proved that the more powerful the entity, the faster they fall under the Spear of Destiny’s influence.

In the post-Crisis era, Ted Knight (Starman) was one of the scientists who developed the atomic bomb. It would cause Ted to have several mental breakdowns.

Johnny references Peachy Pet, his five-years-old adopted daughter. Did Peachy make any post-Crisis appearances? I can’t remember if she was mentioned in the Geoff Johns JSA run.

Hawkman, the Spectre, Doctor Fate, the Atom, Sandman, Starman, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Johnny Thunder recuse themselves from the All-Star Squadron.  The Society also decides to disband for the duration of the war. Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern, and Hourman are not at the meeting.

The Justice Society’s enlistment in the armed forces is DC canon (pre-Crisis, at least) and provides an explanation for Roy Thomas focusing on non-JSA members in his All-Star series.

Wonder Woman served in the armed forces during World War II but did Batman and Superman? I could see Clark resisting as he wouldn’t want to risk discovery of his Kryptonian heritage but Bruce? Did Wayne Enterprises exist in the Golden Age – that would be an obvious reason to justify not serving in the military.

The Spectre confides in Doctor Fate that he isn’t joining the military – Jim Corrigan, his host body, is “deceased”.  The Spectre decides to isolate himself from humanity rather than watch his friends die in the war.

Doctor Mid-Nite and Hawkman decide to visit Danette Reilly before they leave for the Yucatan.  The Atom decides to accompany the duo.  The trio are heading to the Yucatan to find Shiera Saunders.

We head to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Nazis, led by General Saukel, attempt to convince the Feathered Serpent that now is the time to strike.  The Feathered Serpent disagrees as the stars won’t be in the proper position until tomorrow night.

General Saukel informs the Feathered Serpent that German naval forces attempted to attack America’s industrial northeast.  Unfortunately for the Nazis, the attack was repelled by the Green Lantern.  The editor’s note refers us to Green Lantern #4, published in 1942.

Roy Thomas = flawless continuity.

The Feathered Serpent, head of the cult of the Feathered Serpent, agrees to ally with the Nazis to ensure Mexico belongs to the Cult of the Feathered Serpent.  The Feather Serpent needs to be more creative in establishing names and titles.

Per Wikipedia: “The Feathered Serpent was a prominent supernatural entity or deity, found in many Mesoamerican religions. It was called Quetzalcoatl among the Aztecs, Kukulkan among the Yucatec Maya, and Q'uq'umatz and Tohil among the K'iche’ Maya.”

The Feather Serpent reveals that he’s captured Shiera Saunders and she will be the sacrifice for tomorrow night’s ceremony.

We head over to New York City.  Johnny Quick and Robotman are racing around the city when the police ask for their aid against saboteurs at the Statue of Liberty.  The duo makes quick work of the saboteurs and decide to check on Danette.

Danette’s doorman is very curious about the numerous heroes visiting her.  Danette’s visitors include Johnny Quick, Robotman, Liberty Belle, the Shining Knight, Doctor Mid-Nite, the Atom, and Hawkman – all in full costume.

Danette, still running a fever, awakens later in the night.  She recalls that Slugger Dunn gave her a key for a closet in Roy’s penthouse. Slugger told Danette that Rod wanted her to have the key in case something ever happened to him.  Danette opens the hidden closet and discovers the uniform of the Firebrand.

The assembled heroes are in Danette’s living room discussing the pros and cons of enlisting in the military versus serving in the All-Star Squadron.  The group smell smoke and barge into Danette’s bedroom.  Danette, now in the Firebrand uniform, is on fire!

Danette decides to become the new Firebrand and join the All-Star Squadron.  Danette must have a very frustrating time explaining her origin to others.  None of the heroes remember the events of the first three issues due to Per Degaton’s time travel shenanigans.  She’s left with “I went to the island…I’m not sure why…other heroes were there…again, I don’t know why…we fought bad guys that we can’t remember…at some point a volcano was involved…and now I’m on fire!”

The entire group heads to the Yucatan to search for Shiera Saunders.  The entire group (minus Robotman who covers himself with a hat and a trenchcoat) leave the plane in civilian attire. So why couldn’t the heroes visit Danette in civilian attire?

Carter is told by the hotel clerk that Shiera has checked out of the hotel. Carter tells Libby that the clerk is lying: “Even before I saw that signature, I knew it couldn’t be hers. Shiera’s a great gal, and I love her very much but she’s strictly a dilettante when it comes to these archaeological forays of hers. Oh, not that she minds a little dirt under her fingernails now and then but I’ve never known her not to have a comfortable room and with a hot bath waiting when she got back.”

Look, Carter, there is nothing wrong with wanting a hot bath after a sweaty day in the field.

It takes the group less than five minutes before they’re brawling with Nazis.  The new Firebrand quickly proves her worth. 

The issue ends with Hawkman and the Shining Knight ambushed by the Feathered Serpent.  Shiera is seconds away from being sacrificed!

The issue had two purposes:

·         Explain the absence of the Justice Society while the All-Star Squadron was active.  More importantly, the story explained why certain characters won’t be featured in the series.

·         Establish the new Firebrand.

The issue easily fulfilled both purposes.  Danette was the highlight of the issue.  Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle continue their flirtation.  Sir Justin continues to be an adorable knight.  The Feathered Serpent is a very generic bad guy.

I love Roy Thomas’s female characters (Liberty Belle, Firebrand, Phantom Lady).  They’ve been heroic, assertive go-getters.  I left Wonder Woman out as she didn’t receive much panel time.  I’m hoping Shiera (Hawkgirl) joins the list.  I can’t think of one notable appearance of Shiera.  She seems to serve as wallpaper in the background.  Prove me wrong, Roy!

[hacash]

thoughts on ted lasso 2x1

As a dog lover I feel bad for laughing at the Unfortunate Dani Storyline but I laughed so fucking hard. It takes some balls to attempt a ‘absolute-fucking-trainwreck-where-you-can-see-what’s-going-to-happen-but-surely-they-wouldn’t-do-this-in-the-season-premiere-OH-FUCK-they-did’ black comedy move in the first scene of the first episode, but personally I think they pulled it off - Nate’s little ‘I promise that’s not what I wished for’ sold it for me.

Sharon the Psychologist is definitely intriguing - we've not really had a comically deadpan serious character to foil Ted yet (Roy and Rebecca are the closest but even they had their goofy moments) and if there's one thing I do love, it's a Comically Serious character.

On a more meta level I love the idea of investigating Ted's relentless positivity and where that comes from/when it does and doesn't help people, and I can only imagine having a therapy storyline is going to do this. I think fandom runs the risk of overly sanitising Ted a little, and I’m excited for the show to explore his character some more.

Trent Crimm's hair is just as fabulous as it always has been, thank goodness.

'You deserve someone who makes you feel like you've been struck by fucking lightning'. ROY KENT everyone. This is a link to the entire speech; even if you've never seen the show I'm begging you to go watch it because it's what every romantically-inclined person who's considering settling in a relationship should hear at least once in their life.

I would die for li'l Kokoruda. She probably wouldn't need me to because she’s just three foot of badass, but I would.

I have to say, I'm actually here for Nate showing some teeth and being a bit more bolshy this season? It makes a lot of sense that after so long being picked on and ignored last season he'd be a bit blunter now he's in a position of security; I just hope it doesn't last because we love sweetheart Nate the Great the way he is. (Also I want to see at least one more scene with the Nate Strut.)

Of course Jamie Freaking Tartt is a reality TV star.

Rebecca realising that she can open herself up to being loved by someone wonderful and who is more wonderful than TED FREAKING LASSO we ask? had me straight up tearing up.

Roy somehow got both cuter and growlier this year and I have to confess, my ovaries are very much here for it.

Keeley wearing her boyfriend’s initials in her hair?!?!?! *swoons* Also I love how they’re continuing with the whole ‘Roy and Keeley are actual grownups who talk things out without drama’ thing; like Keeley pushed too hard on the 'football pundit’ issue and then apologised, Roy got passed it, no muss and no fuss for our favourite duo.

So far not enough Richmond FC and Nate antics, but if I'm honest I would have said that even if the entire episode focussed just on the team. With no main characters anchoring us to the team as we had last season (both Roy and Jamie) I’m interested to see where it goes, and really hope we don’t lose too much of the boys’ nonsense. (I particularly want to see Captain Isaac!)

That shot of Dani just standing in the shower ‘washing the death off me’ was sheer perfection.

Colin worrying about Dani using up all the hot water while in the middle of his complete existential crisis had me cackling; I’m very glad they’re keeping him as a complete idjit this season. I don’t think I’ve mentioned enough how much cute little Welsh himbo Colin is my stealth fave, but it needs to be said.

[incorrectbatfam]

Love your blog! I wanted to know how to write the batfams personality. I'm trying to write a fanfic and I read other fanfics about them to get a personality down but each fanfic has a specific batfam member with a different personality than the last fanfic I read. If you have any advice or a blog that you could recommend that narrow down on the batfams traits and flaws that would be great. Have a nice day!

Holy jeez I’m bad at answering on time

Anyway, this is mostly what I gathered from a mix of canon and fanon, and anyone else with suggestions can feel free to drop them

(placed under the cut for length)

Dick is a caring friend, natural leader, and your quintessential eldest brother. He wins over allies with his wit and charisma and doesn’t let societal norms confine him. Dick is a big risk-taker and refuses to give up even when the odds are stacked against him. Compared to the other Bats, he’s an optimist who wears his emotions on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to say what he thinks. Of the Bats, he’s also the most open and sociable. He comes off as a mother hen at times, but that’s usually when the group lacks guidance otherwise, like when Bruce disappeared. Otherwise, Dick is your typical older brother who embodies the phrase “only I can make fun of you”. He respects women and values each individual’s differences and strengths. Dick knows who he is and has a healthy balance between an independent and interdependent self-construal. If you find yourself lost, Dick Grayson will be your compass.

Jason is headstrong, sarcastic, and understandably jaded after all he’s been through. He’s resistant to orders and authority and takes direct action with a more dangerous MO. It’s easy to see why he’s often labeled as the rogue Bat. However, there is a softer side that he doesn’t openly acknowledge. Canonically, Jason is a literature nerd who loves learning. He’s also good at seeing emotions in others, but not in himself. He is loyal and values his friends and family—he even refers to Roy as “his other half” and similarly cheesy things. Jason would likely agree with the phrase “an unjust law is no law at all” and he helps those in need because he’s been where they are. Similar to Dick, Jason will tease his siblings mercilessly, but he’s more liberal with foul language. There are times where he lets his anger get the best of him, but his heart is in the right place. When the rest of the world is against you, Jason Todd will have your back.

Tim is so much more than a mini Bruce. Yes, he’s intelligent and knows his technology and strategy, but he is by no means the runt of the litter. Tim is a highly nuanced character, which is why he’s one of my favorite to write. He’s a quick and calculated fighter who bridges the gap between theory and practice. He is not only a great detective, but also a good CEO, a talented photographer, a capable leader, and a supportive friend. The biggest difference between Tim and Bruce is that Tim, over time, learns to ask for help and lean on his friends. Tim is generally seen as reserved and a hard worker, but the Young Justice team gradually gets him to open up. He’s got a whole 90s prep-jock-nerd-goth vibe going for him and his internal monologue is reminiscent of Tony Stark. He’s charming and liked by many and is shown to be a good boyfriend. Tim’s greatest strength is his ability to think his way out of any situation. Stuck in a bind? Tim Drake is your guy.

Damian is the son of the Bat who came from two drastically different environments, both of which shaped him in important ways. Beacuse of the League of Assassin’s training, Damian is very mature for his age, highly intelligent, a skilled combatant, and not the most emotionally warm person around. As he spends time with the Bats, he’s learned that family is not confined to blood or birthright. He’s also slowly learned to act his age, with the help of friends like Colin Wilkes, Jon Kent, and Maya Ducard. That said, contrary to both canon and fanon, I don’t think it’s accurate to have Damian reject everything on his mother’s side in favor of his father’s—it’s unrealistic and frankly, a little racist. He’s got a big heart and loves deeply, but doesn’t know how to express it. He’s also got a soft spot for animals, since they don’t judge like people do, and enjoys drawing in his free time. At times, his thinking can be black-and-white and he needs to learn to allow for leeway. He’s rude and bratty at times, but he’s far from evil. If anyone’s going to stick by you ‘till the end of the line, it’s Damian Wayne.

Duke is a newbie, but he’s not naive. He is sane (compared to the rest), but he’s not a stick in the mud. Duke will step up to the plate when no one else is brave enough to right the wrongs. He sees Gotham from the ground level and knows exactly which aspects could use the most improvement, and he won’t stand by when injustice occurs. Duke is a sunshine boy and he’s really what brings the classic Batman franchise into the twenty-first century. Canonically, Duke deals with PTSD from his parents being hit with Joker venom and he’s gone through the foster system, which left him a tad jaded, but not despondent. When he’s not fighting crime or discovering cool new power tricks, Duke writes poetry that expresses his feelings and conducts fun science experiments. Canonically, he’s an adrenaline junkie and fantasy nerd, and he’s not afraid to ask the important questions. He understands the current institutions are corrupt and he believes in the power of the people to fix it. If you’re searching for hope, look no farther than Duke Thomas.

Cullen lacks development in the comics, so I guess I’m extrapolating from the little we do know. Canonically, he’s a fan of Supernatural and loves manga/anime, so it’s not a far stretch to say that he probably listens to emo songs and has a Tumblr, and I bet a lot of us can relate to him. He’s hella gay and awkward around guys he likes. Cullen is not an active vigilante, but his input is valuable nonetheless. While his siblings are more ambitious, Cullen is the voice of reason that reminds them they’re only human and have their limits. He’s a little more introverted, likely because he was bullied in school. Cullen is not violent, but he’ll occasionally roll his eyes at people’s antics. Nonetheless, he hates seeing others get hurt and loves his siblings, because coming from a rough home, he knows the meaning of family. When you need an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on, Cullen Row will be there.

Stephanie is loud, ambitious, and unafraid. She’s a bit of a foodie and loves her sweets, and she loves hanging out with her friends for some quality girl time. Steph is a bit tomboyish and loves heavy metal. Steph jumps headfirst into action even if she doesn’t have all the info, and she knows how to stand up for herself. She’s also really good at balancing responsibilities—she’s the only one who went to university while still being a vigilante. She is equally book smart and street smart, with razor-sharp instincts and close relationships that benefit her. She’s warm, empathetic, and compassionate; she rocks the color purple and loves a good party. She forms some especially close bonds with the other batgirls, and will stand by them in solidarity. Though she’s technically not an official batkid, she embraces the others like family and will tease them as a sister should. When your voice is lost in the crowd, Stephanie Brown will speak out for you.

Cassandra is a fighter in more ways than one. Oftentimes, fans mistake her as quiet and well-behaved—I admit, I’ve fallen prey to that too—and that largely derives from the stereotype that Asian girls should behave like that. However, Cass is just as rowdy, if not more, than the boys. She’s a gremlin who loves food, messes with siblings, and pops out in unexpected places. Cass is rightfully intimidating and is highly respected. It depends on the interpretation, but Cass is generally less verbal and prefers to communicate via sign language. She’s tough and resilient—she survived David Cain’s training, life on the streets, and now she’s a swift and cunning vigilante. Friends and family are very important to her, and she will do anything for those she loves. Canonically Cass loves Killswitch Engage, plus I think we can all agree that she rocks the color black. Don’t ever worry about facing the darkness alone, because Cassandra Cain will be right beside you.

Barbara is the home base. She is level headed, intelligent, down-to-earth, and a skilled coordinator. She’s an independent gal who takes life by the horns and doesn’t back down from a challenge. She’s a good communicator who naturally gets along with most people, and no matter where she goes she always has a friend. Barbara is funny, and she knows how to have a good laugh at herself. She is determined and knows how to work around any predicament. Babs values her friends and family, but knows when to stand up to them and do the right thing. Of all the Bats, Barbara is probably one of the most mature ones, with plenty of experience and wisdom to pass on to the rest. She also knows when to stick with the team versus when to branch out and has a secure sense of identity. Though she is the commissioner’s daughter, she actively fights the status quo and doesn’t let privilege get to her head. On days where you’re floating aimlessly, Barbara Gordon will be your anchor.

Harper is bold, inventive, and resourceful, and she deserves more canon rep than she’s currently getting. Growing up, her parents were deadbeats and she had to take over household duties at a young age—namely taking care of Cullen and fixing broken appliances. She is very protective of those she cares about, and if she can’t defend them, she will do whatever it takes to show that she’s standing by their side. Harper is canonically bisexual and defies gender roles in her appearance and actions (I bet she shops at Hot Topic). She’s a quick thinker and a master improviser who knows how to make more with less. Harper has a strong sense of justice, family, and friendship. That said, she’s also sarcastic and teases her siblings like a big sister should, and knows how to poke fun without striking any sensitive spots. She’s not as entwined in the Batfamily, but she still cemented her place with her bravery and intuition. Need a boost? Harper Row is your gal.

Carrie, similar to the Rows, lack canonical development, so once again I’m building from what I know. She is the bright, colorful, spunky wild child who single handedly balances out the grimdarkness of the Batfamily. (I elect to omit the Catgirl and the dark colors Batwoman canon). Carrie is fun-loving and knows how to liven up the party. She’s a pro at the slingshot and uses her Girl Scout knowledge to help others onto their feet. Carrie is loud and unafraid, and she jumps straight into the action. She’s a good actress and loves to toe the line when it comes to rule, bending but not quite breaking them. She’s funny, sassy, and an invaluable addition to any team. Carrie is not one to confine herself to old traditions, and if anyone is gonna shake up the scene, it’s her. Though she’s only thirteen, she has an air of maturity due to her neglectful parents, but she actively channels her past experiences into something positive and productive. To brighten up your day, call Carrie Kelley.

Kate is the infamous badass Batwoman, but it’s important to note that her role is the family extends beyond being another vigilante. As a military veteran, Kate has an atmosphere of discipline around her different from the rest of the Bats. She’s traveled the world, gained unique experiences, and has met people from all walks of life. Kate was openly lesbian at a time where acceptance was still low, but she refuses to be ashamed of who she is. Though her parents had their differences with Bruce’s, she’s been a supportive and empathetic cousin throughout their childhood. When it comes to romance, she’s stumbled a few times, but she refuses to let bumps in the road stop her. I think the quote that best describes her would be, “fall seven times, stand up eight”. Like Bruce, Kate is part of Gotham’s wealthy, and she channels her money to helping the less fortunate. She frequents nightclubs and puts on a socialite persona to cover up internal struggles. When you’re at the end of the road, Kate Kane will help you carry on.

Alfred is everybody’s favorite butler and grandfather figure, but he’s so much more than an idle servant. Being a former spy has equipped him with all the skills necessary to aid the Bats in their crusade of justice, and he knows everything from patching up injuries to piloting the bat-plane. Alfred’s seen it all, so he’s hardly fazed by what life throws at him. He tackles problems with decades of wisdom, and stays classy while doing so—kind of like that Parent Trap quote, “I have class and you don’t”. He has (realistically) high standards for himself and others, and he’s not afraid to call people out on their bull. Alfred is witty, sarcastic, and passive-aggressive, but he also has subtle yet hilarious sense of humor. He became a father figure to Bruce early on, and subsequently the grandfather to all the kids. He’s rational, reasonable, and compassionate, and he’s the ribbon that tied everyone together. Villains better watch out, because Alfred’s not a silent hostage, and in fact, one can argue that he’s more dangerous than Batman. At the end of the day, Alfred does what is best for his family and wants to see everyone happy. When the winter night settles in, Alfred Pennyworth will keep you warm.

Bruce is a wonderfully complex character and the people who just see him as a grimdark punch-drunk rich boy are missing out. In public, he puts on a charming Brucie persona that has everyone tripping over their feet to meet him. He’s not only a good businessman, but a generous philanthropist who uses his wealth and status to help others and keep the city afloat. The writers who portray Bruce as an angsty jerk who mistreats his kids are so very wrong. He cares about the children he takes in and knows how to tailor his parenting style to each individual. Though he’s lost a lot as a child, the Bruce we know today is grateful for all the people around him. As a hero, Bruce is a master tactician and, like his title suggests, the World’s Greatest Detective. Both Batman and Bruce Wayne are highly respected. Bruce has the “no killing” rule because he believes everyone deserves another chance—both a strength and a pitfall of his character. Though he’s not the best at expressing emotion, he cares deeply about those around him. The black cape doesn’t do justice to the light he brings to Gotham, and I think you’ll agree with me when I say Bruce isn’t the darkness, but rather the beacon that brings you home.

[fanficfanattic]

The wonderful thing about how little concrete information we got is that there are an infinite number of paths to write about. The terrible thing about how little concrete information we got is that there are an infinite number of paths to write about!

So in one direction you could have James playing Georgie and Jamie off of each other. Telling each of them to keep quiet and hide it or he’ll start in on the other.

Or he’s blatant about it but Jamie can only do his best to minimize what happens to him and Georgie should have prioritized him but was too scared to do anything. Doesn’t much match up with James’ attempt at wooing her by being super dad, though. Like she had obviously taken a stand against him.

A head canon I have for when I want it to be especially tragic is that she was young when they married and still young when they divorced. Maybe she’s dyslexic (too) and trusted him when he said what the divorce papers included. When he showed back up he had legal access to his son. Getting a lawyer to fight that? Too expensive.

Honestly even if she was a normal age and read the papers thoroughly, that shit is so convoluted. She wouldn’t have a lawyer for that, so it’d be easy to mix up physical vs legal custody. Especially full vs partial. Visitation? Every other weekend?

In general, domestic violence is too often ignored or swept under the rug. So even if she tried to get help, that wouldn’t be guaranteed effective. And when you’re poor, existing can be considered a crime. So she’d have to be willing to go to the police at all, and if they’d do anything would be a risk. Plus:

“Ay, it’s me ex-wife, the harpy. The boy is a footballer, always getting knocked about, and she thinks she can use those bruises to ‘make me pay’. Fucking women, amirite?” And, uhh, a LOT of people would agree that he is right.

But she also could have given up the fight; he left her alone once she let him have Jamie. And he still loves his mum so he could have let those lines blur. Given the way he occasionally seems to misplace blame on himself, he could easily have believed it was his fault that he got shuffled off.

Math-wise, it seems like Georgie would have to have started dating Simon after Jamie was 14. Since there was the whole thing with James trying to get back together with Georgie then. THOUGH. That could have been his intent regardless of her status. If Jamie said mummy was dating someone serious, James seems like the type of bastard to decide he wasn’t gonna let some random bloke steal “his” wife. But realistically Jamie would have been almost grown when Simon entered their lives. Makes for a weird time to become a father figure. (More like a bother figure, ha!)

And yet “…Roy Kent remains.” Simon might have been told that. But he said it very much like he was there for those changes. Back to James’ intent vs Georgie’s actual relationship status. James could easily be one of those people who is used to charming/manipulating people to get his way. He might have thought just him being there while being A Good Dad would be enough to make Georgie see the light.

Divorce is hard, as Ted would say, and domestic violence is messy no matter how you cut it. Mix in a rough neighborhood and a high control hyper-masculine sport situation…that’s a lot of pressure to act certain ways coming from multiple angles.

I feel that people often idealise Jamie's childhood in any way that doesn't involve his dad. I see all these takes that make it seem like oh yeah he had an abusive dad but beside that he lived happily with Georgie and they didn't have much money but they were happy and content and things were good.

But it's Canon that he grew up on a council estate in North manchester in the late 90s early 2000s. Council estates in north manchester at that time weren't quaint and wholesome, the violent crime rates were crazy. He definitely saw a fair bit of violence (Plus, while Georgie obviously loves jamie loads, the fact she let his abusive alcoholic dad around him up to at least 14 years old indicates that maybe she wasn't always the best at keeping jamie safe from bad people growing up.)

Hi Anon

I've always had a view that Jamie's childhood was a struggle - I've got this head-canon that Jamie was torn between Jame's and Georgie, this conflict of a father's expectations and Jamie being influenced to dominate, not because of being conditioned - although Jame's likely had a massive impact on Jamie's personality and attitude, but because he feared the consequences of not 'dominating'.

Realistically, we really don't know much about Jamie's relationship with his mother (or Simon) and only saw the briefest of insights in S3, that indicated he had a good and happy relationship with them. I think the ritual scene on S1 hinted it wasn't always like that - when Jamie acknowledged he didn't think his mum would be proud of him (although that could also have been Jamie's own unaddressed fears).

I think a lot of fans/viewers hope that Jamie had some happy and safe place with his mum and while I agree with you that Georgie might have known about Jame's abusiveness, part of me wonders how much Jamie tried to hide from her?

I hate to think that Jamie had to choose between his parents - and I don't think Georgie would have made him - but there's a possibility the situation made Jamie think he had to, due to fear of consequences to himself or his mum?

Also, I'd love to know more about Jamie and Simon and how Jamie reacted to this completely different man to his own father. Did Jamie have difficulty accepting him as his stepfather? Did he have trouble trusting another male figure in his life?

I don't think anything was easy for Jamie and I just want to learn so much more.

[heyitsani]

I Keep My Eyes Wide Open All the Time Chapter 4

Word Count: 6000

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major character death, Mentions of past rape/non-con (eventually)

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne/Jon Kent (hinted?)

Summary: The loss of someone important changes all of their lives.

Notes: This.  Is.  Sad.  This is your warning.  I cried writing this and I hope that emotion is conveyed onto the screen for you.  Next chapter still expected Friday!

If you have not read When You Move I Move, this one won’t really make much sense.  So you can read that here: WYMIM

You can also read this chapter on AO3 here

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He had been on his way to the kitchens in search of Ser Jason when he had noticed his mother hurrying out of the castle, dark cloak thrown over her deep green gown she wore for the day.  It wouldn’t have taken his notice if the manner of dress wasn’t so...common for someone like her.  It was no more elegant than what a commoner of the lower levels would have worn.  And after all the lectures he had sat through of her trying to convince him to never lower himself to the status of the people he was to rule, he found it curious she would be wearing that dress.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” one of the staff members called out as they passed.  He gave a hello back, but kept his focus on his mother.

In a split second decision, he turned and followed the woman out of the castle at a distance.  

“Ser Roy, may I borrow your cloaks?  I will explain the instant I return them,” Damian rushed toward the knight, who was chatting with another man Damian wasn’t sure he knew.  The redhead regarded him for a moment with narrowed eyes before shrugging the black material off his shoulders and handing it over.  “Thank you.  Ser Kyle, hurry,” he called to his personal guard as he quickly tried to get his mother back in his sights.

The guard picked up his pace and caught up to his charge, brow furrowed as they kept to the shadows. “My Prince?”  Damian shushed him when he spoke and kept his focus on his mother. He watched as she weaved in and out of the people milling about in the streets.  She ignored vendors calling out about their goods and seemed to be focused on a particular destination.  

“Hoods up,” Damian told Ser Kyle as he pulled the hood on the borrowed cloak over his head and saw Ser Kyle do the same out of the corner of his eye.  “Keep to the shadows with me.  I am not certain where she is going, but Mother is acting suspicious.”

Ser Kyle kept quiet and Damian chanced a glance at the man who Ser Jason had personally vouched to be his personal guard and found him watching the Queen as she continued to hurry along.  “Ser Todd asked me to keep you safe.  I cannot say for certain this is safe, but I will follow you until I deem it necessary to leave.”

That was good enough for Damian.

“Where do you think she is going?”

“If I had to hedge a guess, I would say The Narrows.  She is not dressed for the upper levels.  But no woman, not even your mother, would travel into Crime Alley on purpose.” That made sense.  And the further into the city streets they got, the more accurate the assessment seemed to be.  But what exactly was awaiting them once she reached her destination?

The lower into the city levels they went, the cooler the air got and the less people were out milling about. It made it harder to blend in with the crowd, but Ser Kyle seemed to know exactly where to go to be sure they stayed out of sight but kept the Queen in their sight.  Damian allowed the guard to take the lead on following his mother and stayed a step behind so the older man could focus.  When his mother glanced around before stepping into an alleyway, Ser Kyle tugged Damian into the alley just before and began looking around.

“What are you doing?” Damian questioned, frowning as the man glanced around the back of the building that separated them from his mother. When Ser Kyle said nothing, but waved him over, Damian finally caught on.  There was a ladder leading to the rooftop and the pair quickly climbed it.

“You must stay quiet My Prince.”  Damian simply nodded and followed the man to the edge before dropping down so they could peek just over roof into the alley below.  The sight of his mother with her hood down was not surprising.  The fact that she was in a quiet conversation with a soldier dressed in the garb from her home country, Nanda Parbat, was.  To the point where he felt Ser Kyle grip his arm and his entire body tense.

Damian knew enough about his grandmother’s home country to know that they were on good enough terms with Gotham to be allowed into the borders, but that his great grandfather was not the kind of man to not keep tabs on all countries he was allies with.

“…You owe him much,” the home language of Nanda Parbat caught on a breeze and Damian could pick up bits and pieces.  “Ra’s does not offer this lightly.  Your son will bow to him.”  That made Damian tense, pulling Ser Kyle’s attention from the pair below to the boy next to him.  But Damian kept his focus on the two and strained to hear more.

“I will hold my end of the bargain.  Or my life is forfeit.”  The solider gave a nod and a bow before turning and walking away.  He watched his mother look at a small vial in her hand before slipping it into a pocket in her cloak and returning the way she came.

Sitting up, Damian tried to sort through what the pair could have possibly been talking about.  What was in the vial?  Why did his mother owe the king of her homeland her son’s allegiance?

“Your Highness?”

Looking at Ser Kyle, Damian frowned and tried to think of an explanation.  But there was none.  Had she even done anything wrong when he didn’t have the whole story?  Not by their word of law.

“My Prince, did you hear anything they said?  I do not speak Arabic.”  Without considering the consequences, Damian shook his head.

“I could not hear,” he lied, though he wasn’t certain as to why.  “We should return before anyone else notices we have gone.  I promised Ser Harper an explanation, but I do not know what kind of explanation this will be considering.”

He knew the older man was regarding him closely, but Damian also knew he could lie with the best of them. His mother had made sure he could play his cards close to his chest.  This was one of the few times her lessons were actually useful.

For once he was grateful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Damian, come,” his father had said softly as he passed the room where he had been reading one of the books his mother had assigned him.  Since it was an incredibly dull account of the history of Nanda Parbat, Damian was happy to mark his place and follow his father as they headed down the hall.

“Where are we going, Father?”  He questioned, looking up at the man as they made their way closer to the exit of the castle.  

“Ser Jason is to ride,” was the answer he received and the shortness made Damian frown.  He hadn’t heard of any pods coming close.  The last he had heard they were a fair ride away, but he wasn’t the Dragon Slayer.  And only Ser Jason could really say if it were necessary for him to ride.

Bounding down the steps after his father, he smiled at the sight of the Slayer in his armor.  Damian had always loved the gold and red he wore. The fierce strength the ensemble screamed.  “My King,” Ser Jason greeted his father as Damian took the last few steps to reach them. “My Prince,” he said in a tone that Damian had come to recognize as one only used with him.  His fatherly tone Damian had coined it.

“I received word that you are to ride.”

“There have been sightings coming through of a pod of three out near the Ethiopia boarders,” Ser Jason said as he straightened from his expected bow.  A bow that was so pointless in his eyes.  But propriety must stand, or so he had been told before.

“That is a far ride,” Damian said, surprised that the man would venture that far.  He didn’t see the point of traveling such a distance when their lands were not in danger.

But the man nodded and looked down at him with wise eyes.  “It is, but I would rather them not get closer to our lands.  Not whilst we approach the dry season.”  And he supposed that did make sense.  Didn’t make the decision to go so far any easier to accept though.  But Ser Jason was the one who knew how to handle these situations.  And if his father trusted him, then Damian could. Even if his instincts told him something was very wrong with this.  

“You go alone?”

“I do, for now,” Jason answered him.  Damian could tell his father didn’t like that answer.  He had seen that narrow eyed look plenty of times when he was speaking with his mother.  But Ser Jason seemed to find it amusing instead of intimidating.  “I have allies within the lands and can call upon them if the need arises,” he laughed softly, calming Damian’s own nerves that had asrisen.

Then he remembered.

“Will you bring the scale like you promised?”  It had been promised so long ago, but Damian asked each time the man rode.  At this point he didn’t even expect it anymore but enjoyed the laughter it brought to the older man’s eyes.

“I shall do my very best.” Damian let out a soft shout before smiling over at his father.  With a nod from the king, Damian sent Ser Jason one last smile and farewell before he bounded up the stairs to return to his book he had abandoned earlier.

He had almost reached the study when another set of footsteps caught his attention.  “Ah, Nephew!  Where are you coming from?”

“Aunt Cass,” he greeted, stopping so the woman could catch up to him.  “I was saying farewell to Ser Jason.  He is riding after a pod near Ethiopia.”  The look of surprise on his aunt’s face reminded him of his own concerns at the matter.  “He said he didn’t want to risk them coming closer to our lands when the dry season was approaching.”

His aunt hummed and nodded, eyes drifting as she took in his words.  But her reaction unsettled him.  He knew the woman observed much and said little.  She knew far more than most members of the family just because she watched more than she acted.  And he often wondered what kinds of secrets she kept from them all for their own sakes.

He wondered how many secrets she had been told without anyone actually meaning to tell them.

“He is not wrong,” she murmured as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him in the direction he had previously been heading.  “But you are worried, I can see it.”

“It’s so far.  He doesn’t usually go so far.”

“But he told you why he was doing so.”

Damian shrugged.  Sure, the man gave a reason, but that feeling of something being wrong still bothered him.  It still told him there was more to the situation.  “I do not know why, but I feel like that was not the full reason he was leaving.”

But his aunt didn’t say anything, she simply hummed again and walked with him.  He didn’t know if she was waiting for him to say more or if she simply had nothing to add, but he could feel his shoulders tensing with each passing moment.

Once they reached the study he had been using, he stopped walking and his aunt paused with him.  

“You should try not to worry about Ser Todd.  He is the best of the line and he loves your father too much to not return to him.” Nodding, Damian let his shoulders fall and tried to convince himself that she was right.  “But if you figure out why it is you feel this way, then you can always talk to me.”

“Thank you, Aunt Cass.” The woman nodded and leaned forward, giving him a hug before she continued down the hallway, leaving Damian to return to his lessons.  But the nagging feeling in the back of his mind remained.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you,” Damian said softly as he took the letter from his manservant as the tray with his breakfast was sat down on the small table he liked to take his first meal of the day at. At thirteen, he found he appreciated the quiet morning in his room as opposed to the lively breakfasts in the hall with the other members of the family.  

Especially the mornings when Ser Jason was still out on a hunt.  Meals were not the same when one of his fathers were missing.

Sitting on his plush chair, he carefully broke the official seal of the council and opened the letter. He couldn’t imagine what they could be sending to him in such an official capacity at this time of day, but he went along with it all the same.

But the words written on the parchment made his blood run cold.

And the paper hadn’t even hit the floor before he was throwing open the doors to his room and looking for a servant.  “Please, have you seen my father this morning?”  He gasped at the elderly woman carrying a stack of blankets and sheets.

“Yes, My Prince.  I saw him rushing out of the castle not long ago. His personal guard was with him. Barely chanced a glance at anyone as he hurried.  Must have been important,” she told him, and Damian called out a thank you before he ran off in the direction she had mentioned.

He didn’t look back when the sound of someone hurrying along behind him appeared, knowing it would be Ser Kyle since it was his job after all.  He wasn’t sure where his father would have gone, at least not until he stepped out of the castle and realized.

The Sept.

“Your Highness, where are we going?”  Ser Kyle questioned as they continued to hurry, almost running to get to the building Damian knew he would find his father in.  “My Prince, what has happened?”

Pausing in his rush, he turned to face the man who’s heart he was probably about to break.  “Ser Jason has fallen.”  Ser Kyle paled and gasped out a ‘no’, shaking his head.  And Damian wished he could say it was a cruel joke, a whim of a lie.  But he could feel his own heart fracturing and he could only image what his father was feeling right then.  “He has returned for his final rest and I must get to my father.”

The other man was silent, but nodded and they hurried to the Sept.  

When they reached the building, Damian was unsurprised to find his father’s personal guard there, blocking entrance to anyone who might want it.  But the instant Ser Victor spotted Damian and Ser Kyle, his eyes went from hard to incredibly sad, understanding.

“My Prince,” the guard gave a bow and stepped aside so Damian could head inside.  “We shall keep unwanted persons out.”  Glancing at Ser Kyle, Damian watched the other man take a few deep breaths before nodding and steeling himself.  He was so thankful for the two of them in that moment, knowing that his father’s grief would be protected for the time being.  

Stepping into the Sept was always a moment of wonder, even in the saddest of times, the room with it’s colored glass and natural light, was always breathtaking.  In that moment though, Damian couldn’t take in the beauty. He couldn’t revel in the rainbow of colors that graced the floors and the sparkling of the metals embedded in the walls.  He could only see the lower half of a body covered in a red shroud and the back of his father; shoulders low in grief.

“Father,” Damian called out softly, not wanting to startle the man.  Or maybe he couldn’t speak louder if he had tried.  He couldn’t be certain.  He could be certain that he would never forget the look in his father’s eyes when the man turned to look at him briefly before turning back to look at Ser Jason’s body.  “Father, I am so sorry.”  He felt his voice crack on the apology, his own pain breaking through.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting out of his father in that moment, but he didn’t hesitate to take the older man’s hand when it was offered.  Seeking the comfort of his father as well as trying to offer the man some of his own.  But what could he possibly offer in a moment like this?  What could he possibly do to make the pain less?

“Do you think he knew I thought of him as another father?”  Because of course he had never told the man.  Of course he had never said the words out loud, despite having felt the affection from a young age.  King Richard and Queen Catalina might have been his biological parents but Richard and Jason were his parents in every other way.  How could he not have loved the man his father loved so strongly? How could he not love the man who so obviously loved his father just as much?  Who treated him as though he were of his own blood?

He didn’t look at his father when the man looked down at him.  Instead, he kept his green eyes on the body of the man in question.  “You love him so I, too, love him.  He always had words of wisdom and tales of his travels. I will cherish those.”  But that didn’t even breach the surface of how he really felt.  It didn’t tell of the times they had spent laughing over a snack in the kitchens while the staff bustled around them.  It didn’t tell of the encouragement that the older man had provided while Damian trained with the swords and learned to be the best fighter he could be.  It didn’t tell of the quiet conversations between them in the library when his mother had gone too far.  When she had forced him to cut off the only friendship he had ever cherished.

It didn’t tell of so many things he would hold close to his heart for his remaining days.

“He felt the same for you. He…”  Finally glancing away from Ser Jason’s body, Damian looked up at his father and pressed his lips together to fight tears of his own.  The man before him would never be the same, he knew that with every fiber of his being.  He knew his father would never be the man he was.  “I do not know that I will recover from this loss.  I feel as though the world has been stripped of all its color, all its joy.”  And what was he supposed to say to that?  What comfort could a son give when a love like theirs had been stripped away?

Opening his mouth to say something, anything, he was cut off by the sound of one of the various guards who had apparently come to watch over them.  “Your Majesty, your father is on his way.  His manservant thought you would like the warning.”  

His father nodded and Damian watched him reign himself in, in a way that he had only ever seen his father do it.  It made him frown, heart aching more prominently for the man.  That he felt he had to compose himself for the sake of his own father instead of allowing himself to just be honest in his pain.  But when his father gave him a small, albeit sad, smile, he accepted the action.

“Would you like me to leave?”

“No, my son.  I feel I would be much better should you be willing to remain at my side.” And though Damian felt it would be better for him to step out and let father and son be alone, the squeeze of his father’s hand put an end to that line of thought.  “Father,” the man greeted as Damian spotted his grandfather hurrying down the steps.

“Richard, I am so sorry.” And while Damian had been concerned his father would try to hold it in while the former king was present, he was glad and heartbroken to watch that not be the case.  He watched his grandfather gather his father into his arms and felt the quiet sobs like a knife to his heart.  Never had he seen his father cry.  There had been plenty of emotions he had seen in the other man, but never sadness in this way.  Never sorrow.

Never grief.  

It hurt to watch, to hear. But it didn’t make him want to run, it made him want to come closer, to provide comfort he wasn’t yet qualified to give.  But he did what he could.  He moved closer and grabbed onto his father’s cloak with the hand not still holding his and pressed close.  

And the look in his grandfather’s eyes over his father’s shoulder told him he had made the right choice. That this was exactly where he needed to be right in that moment.  That nothing else mattered.  No one else mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had kept his gaze on his father for most of the meeting and he knew that most of the Council had done the same.  The usually vibrant and cheerful king was dull in his smile and his eyes.  Not that any of them blamed him for his current demeanor.

Not when Damian had spent the entire night up with the man as he cried silently into his pillow.

But the Council had been called and the discussion had been the procedure for the lack of a slayer, despite the body having only been in the Sept for a day.  It almost seemed cruel to expect the king to go through this, but appearances had to be kept.  Or so everyone told him when he had voiced his displeasure at forcing his father through this.  

“The kingdom still needs their king and they do not know the connection between the two men the way those close to him do,” his grandfather had reminded him.  But Damian knew most of the country at least suspected the truth of it all.

“Is there anything left to bring to the table?”  One of the councilmen asked, standing in a spot a few seats down from where Damian sat just to the right of his father.

Pushing to his feet, he drew twelve sets of eyes to him as he took a deep breath.  “Council, I know my presence is technically not one of authority yet, but I would like to bring forth a request regarding honoring our fallen Slayer.”  There were some murmurs amongst those at the table and for a moment he thought he would be denied, but at the clearing of his father’s throat any complaints were kept silent.  “For as long as our history has been told, we have celebrated and honored our royal members with the Feast of the Seven after their passing.  I would like to formally request that we grant that honor to Ser Jason.”

“Impossible.  It has never been done,” one of the older members called out from the far end of the table and Damian frowned, looking down at his father.  The man was already looking up at him, pride and adoration in his sad eyes.  At his nod, Damian steeled himself further.

“We have broken tradition plenty of times in the past,” he pointed out.  “When King Thomas and Queen Martha were taken before their time, the Council granted the Feast to be fourteen days.”

“Because we were honoring them both.”

“But it was unnecessary as you were honoring them together.  Ser Jason was not of royal blood, but he is one of us.  My grandfather loved him as one of his own children.  Other members of the family have loved him more deeply then they would ever be able to say,” he kept his voice steady, despite building emotion.  Not just for the sake of his father but for his own. Because he loved the man more than he was allowed to admit without casting shame on his mother.  “He was the last of a legacy and he deserves to be honored as such.”

One of the women near the middle of the table carefully stood and looked toward the king with a firm nod before sending a smile to Damian.  “I second.  The Kingdom of Gotham deserves to honor the Last Dragon Slayer and this would allow those who wish to travel into the city to pay their respects the opportunity to do so.”

“I third and call it to a vote.”

Dropping back down into his seat, Damian let his father slip his hand into his smaller one as they watched the council members go through the motions of the vote.  Damian let out a relieved sigh when it passed unanimously.

“Thank you, My Son,” his father whispered, squeezing his hand.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Grandfather, may I speak with you?”  Damian called out from the doorway of his grandfather’s study.  The older man was seated at his desk, but his attention had been on the window instead of the papers in front of him.  The tired, blue eyes of the older man turned to take in the sight of his only grandchild and waved him in.

“Of course,” he agreed, and Damian nodded, stepping fully into the room and letting the door fall shut behind him as he made his way closer to the desk.  “Is everything all right?”  And the question made Damian frown, wondering how he could answer it honestly.  “Perhaps that is not the right question to ask.  Given the situation.”

Sighing, the young man nodded and dropped down into one of the plush chairs.  “I have a question regarding the pyre tonight.”  His grandfather’s eyebrows rose, but he remained silent so Damian could say his piece.  “I wish to break tradition again.  I know we are giving…that we are honoring him with the Feast of the Seven, but I wondered if I might light the pyre after Father?”

Damian had studied up on and been to enough pyres to know that the acting King and the still living previous kings were the ones to traditionally light the pyre, especially when the person was of the high ranking Ser Jason was.  But there had also been a few moments in time when that tradition had been broken under special circumstances.

“May I ask why?”

“He did not contribute to my blood, but he was still a father to me.  I deserve the right to stand by Father’s side and say goodbye to…” He trailed off, looking down at his hands that he had clasped tightly in his lap.  He hadn’t said his name since he had found out that he had been slain and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to without a deep ache in his chest.  

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and got himself under control.  His mother’s voice sounded in his mind, telling him to act like the Crown Prince that he was.  To act like a Wayne.  His father had been strong outside of the moment in the Sept the other day and Damian knew he could do the same.

Once he felt like he had gotten himself under control, he looked up to find the former king regarding him sadly.  “Though I thought of Jason as a son, I will relinquish my right to the pyre light. You may say goodbye to your father in this manner, if that is what you really want.”

“It is.”  His grandfather nodded and leaned back in his chair.  

“Tell me how my son is. I have not seen him since yesterday and no one I have asked has either.”  Damian felt a sad smile curl his lips just slightly.  He had left his father to come here.  He had hardly allowed himself to be apart from the man since the Sept.  Despite his mother’s protests and demanding he keep up with his studies, he had not allowed his father to be alone for long.

“He was sleeping when I came here.  I have been close ever since hearing the news,” Damian admitted to his grandfather.  The man looked relieved and pained at the news, a conflicting set of emotions if Damian had ever seen them.  “I do not know how to help him other than make sure he sleeps, and he eats.  I think the Feast will be good, give him something to focus on other than his broken heart.  But until then, he deserves the chance to mourn in his own way.”

“It is good of you to look after him.  That is not a burden a son should have to carry.”  And perhaps his grandfather was right, but Damian couldn’t help but wonder who would carry it if he didn’t?  Who else would his father allow himself to be honest around?  Who else would he trust with this pain?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Everyone is already in place, Your Majesty,” one of the guards spoke softly.  His father glanced back at him before looking to the guard and nodding.  Without another word, Damian walked behind his father with his mother at his side and headed up the steps where the funeral pyre was being held.  And in the short walk, Damian couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of all the people who had gathered to watch.  People who had loved the man in their own way.  Including the women from the local brothel that he had heard Ser Roy and Ser Kyle discussing on the training fields.  

Damian had made a mental note to mention it to his father so they could be sure they were still looked after.  But he had a feeling his father already knew.  Even in the depths of his grief, he was still good at caring for his kingdom.

When his father took his designated seat, Damian came to a stop beside it and stood tall.  With his mother so close, he knew it was expected of him to remain strong.  He wasn’t sure how she would react to him being the second to light the pyre tonight, but he told himself whatever she did or said would be worth it.  She had already proclaimed her displeasure at him having gotten Ser Jason honored with a Feast of the Seven.  This couldn’t be any worse.

“It is no secret that House Wayne has always held the highest respect for those of the Dragon Slayer occupation, but Ser Jason always held a special place in our lives due to the fact that he was the last remaining slayer.  The last of his line and the last of a profession of bravery and strength.” The words of his grandfather washed over him as he looked out over the crowd, taking in each of the faces as they listened.  He watched tears fall and hands clasp together.  He watched whispers and hugs of comfort.  He watched people give to each other what he was not allowed to give to his father in that moment.

“We will honor Ser Jason Todd with the Feast of Seven Days as we do for members of the royal family because he is one of ours.  The doors to the palace and sept will be open to each and every citizen of Gotham to pay their respects and to join us in our grief.”  And despite his mother’s discontent at his actions regarding this, Damian felt his pride swell when he watched the approval of the citizens.  

He hadn’t suggested it for them, he had done it solely for his father.  But he was glad that they approved of the motion all the same.  He was glad to give them something that had been somewhat selfish in its origin.

The movement of his father standing pulled Damian’s attention away from the crowd to the man as he walked toward Ser Jason’s closest friend to retrieve the torch to light the pyre.  The look that passed between the two men was meaningful and Damian knew that Ser Roy was grieving just as much, though in a different manner, for the man they all had loved.  He knew Ser Kyle, who he would find if he bothered to glance back, was struggling with the grief as well.

Something precious had been stolen and they were all struggling under the absence of it.

With a shaking breath, his father stood before Ser Jason’s shrouded body and looked out over the crowd.  “To the last of the Dragon Slayers, to the greatest of the line, to the fallen soldier, and to the man behind the sword. The world is a colder, darker place without the splash of crimson from your cloaks and your sea colored eyes. May those of us who have been left behind honor your legacy and never forget your bravery.  May we never forget your strength and your character.  May we never forget your love and kindness to those who surrounded you.”  

A scoff to his right drew Damian’s eye for a moment and though he couldn’t be certain, he was fairly sure it had come from his mother.  But her stiff posture and blank face gave away very little.  And not for the first time, his mind flashed back to the exchange between her and the guard from Nanda Parbat he and Ser Kyle had witness in the Narrows.

“You owe him much.”

But what did she owe King Ra’s for?

“Damian,” a voice cut through his thoughts, pulling his attention to his grandfather as he stood in front of him.  With a nod, Damian moved forward and ignored the motion his mother made to try and stop him. He knew his grandfather had probably positioned himself between them on purpose, so he could step up behind his father.

No words were exchanged when the older man passed the torch to him, but he could she the surprise in his eyes.  The question as to what was happening.  But Damian ignored it in favor of stepping forward to the pyre to light the opposite corner that his father had started.  And though he was expected to step away from the fire once the act was done, he felt he couldn’t move away just yet.  The heat from the flame warming him, but the sight breaking him with each crackle.  

Ser Jason had said this would happen.  That there would come a time when Damian and his father would have to bury him.  Not because he wasn’t good at his job or that he was reckless, but because that was the way of the Slayer.  Families always buried them long before they joined them. And though he had believed the man, he had hoped beyond hope that Ser Jason would be wrong.  That this once he would be proven incorrect.  

“I’ll take that, My Prince,” Ser Roy said softly as he stepped up next to Damian.  Glancing up at the older man, Damian allowed him to take the torch but still did not move.  There was a beat of silence and Damian found himself waiting, knowing there was something the solider wanted to say.  “He loved you very much, Your Highness.  I know he was never able to tell you how much, but he was not so shy with his words with others.”

With a stilted bow, the solider walked away and Damian felt himself move away from the pyre to stand next to his father and grandfather, ignoring the look his mother was sending him. Because despite knowing she would find some way to punish him, he would never regret his actions as of late.

[economictheoriesitcp-pt1]

ECONOMIC THEORIES

Economics tackles with how society deals with our natural and limited resources and how we utilize them. The five theories discussed below deals with different theories that delve deep into economics and its inner workings.

INNOVATION THEORY

While we shall return to Schumpeter’s views of proper government policy in a later chapter, for now we simply point out that these policies can have large impacts on the rate of experimentation and discovery undertaken by entrepreneurs in the economy. To Schumpeter, this process was the key to economic growth and prosperity. Entrepreneurship is important because it is the competitive behavior of entrepreneurs in search of profits that drives this search for new possible combinations of resources that create more value.

Some of these new combinations will be more valuable than existing combinations and some will not. In a market economy, it is the profit-and-loss system that is used to sort through these new resource combinations discovered by entrepreneurs, discarding bad ideas through losses and rewarding good ones through profits. A growing, vibrant economy depends not only on entrepreneurs discovering, evaluating, and exploiting opportunities to create new goods and services, but also on the speed it which ideas are labeled as successes or failures by the profit-and-loss system.

From an economic standpoint then, business failure has a positive side; it gets rid of bad combinations of resources, freeing up those resources to be used in other endeavors, and provides information and signals to other entrepreneurs about that losing combination. A vibrant economy will have both a large number of new business start-ups and a large number of business failures. In an economy where all entrepreneurs—even those with crazy ideas for new pizza combinations—can try them out in the marketplace, there will be a lot of mistakes.

KEYNESIAN THEORY

Keynesian theory was developed by a British economist John Maynard Keynes. It was established during the 1930s with the objective to understand the great depression. Keynes aims to increase the government costs and lower the taxes to increase the demand and pull the global economy out of the depression. Afterward, the term “Keynesian economics” was used so that the best economic performance could be achieved and prevent economic slumps. Keynesian believes that consumer demand is the primary factor in an economy. Its main tools are government spending on infrastructure, unemployment benefits, and education.

In periods of economic boom, Keynes advocated saving to build a buffer so that you can increase spending in a downturn. To Keynesian Theory is to give a precise formula for evaluating the indirect impacts of an increase in government expenditure, Keynes identified the determinant of the consumption component of aggregate demand and analyzed the corresponding multiplier. He also claims that a decrease in money wages can only improve the level of employment by increasing the level of effective demand, and that the primary method is by increasing the quantity of money in terms of pay. When the economy is decreasing, growth is slowing, and jobs are being lost, when families are saving rather than buying, it should act in the other direction.

The video supports the Keynesian theory because they explain the policies of the Keynesian theory. It chose the advantages of using the Keynesian theory. According to the video debt and inflation brings prosperity. To stimulate the economy, invest and spend.

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

According to Max Weber, social action is an individual's action that is influenced by the action and behavior of other individuals and by which it is modified and its direction is determined.

Hence forth, His emphasis on the mutual orientation of social actors and the “understandable” cognition of their actions was grounded in ability to accurately assess, which account for much of his approaches in sense of belonging. The actions of the past, present, and future can all have an impact on social action. As a result, social action is a result of or a modification of some other person's or persons' action.

Therefore, I conclude that the sociological theory according to Max Weber is the social action that necessitates the development of another person as well as some action on his part. This means that social action cannot take place in isolation. As a result, social action is conceivable if another human being's action or behavior prompts the granting individual to act in a particular way.

RISK AND UNCERTAINTY-BEARING THEORY

Frank Hyneman Knight developed the risk and uncertainty bearing theory. Uncertainty and risk are the most essential factors in the production of goods and services in a corporation, according to this theory. An entrepreneur must be aware of the possibility of random events occurring while yet accepting the risk. If an entrepreneur is willing to take a risk, he or she will be rewarded abundantly. His theory stated that in a business, uncertainty generates profit, and the more uncertainty taken on, the more profit generated. It claims that taking risks is a key characteristic that distinguishes entrepreneurs from other workers.

You must be willing to take chances if you want to be an entrepreneur. You must be prepared to put things on the line. Simply said, there is no way to be a successful entrepreneur without taking risks. This is due to the fact that with risk comes opportunity. Navigating these risks is the key to being a successful business. To take the ones you can afford while avoiding the ones you can't. Entrepreneurial endeavors are, in this sense, all about risk and uncertainty management.

According to his theory, bearing business uncertainty creates profit and the more uncertainty taken on, the more profit can be gained. The relationship between uncertainty and gain may be linear, or even exponential, where there are bigger payoffs when the uncertainty born is greater. The notion places a high value on the entrepreneur's capacity to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. The uncertainty viewpoint also implies a moral dimension: businesses that are prepared to take on enormous uncertainty may be entitled to windfall profits when they do succeed on rare occasions.

The video above this theory because it tells us the biggest risks that entrepreneurs encounter when they are launching their business. The video also gave some tips on how to handle risk in entrepreneurship.

ALFRED MARSHALL THEORY / PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS

Alfred Marshall was an English economist who was one of few influential economists of their time. He wrote “Principal of Economics” in 1890 and was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. The ideas of supply and demand, marginal utility, and cost of production were brought into a coherent whole by it. He was also considered one of the founders of “new economics.”

Before Marshall, economists had differing ideas on the principle on how to determine the price of a product. He answered these varied views by explaining that the price of a product is the point where production cost meets the consumers’ marginal utility. These are represented by curves on a graph, by which the supply curve represents the production cost while the demand curve represents the consumers’ marginal utility. These curves constantly change, like how if a product’s supply decreases, the price would increase.

Marginal utility refers to a consumer’s satisfaction when they consume a unit. When the unit of consumption grows, the satisfaction would decrease. Marshall described this as a new way to analyze economic phenomena. While reviewing one factor, other factors are temporarily placed aside. This approach helps determine causalities between economic phenomena. The narrower the scope of the problem, the easier it would be to analyze the economic phenomenon.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP PERFORMANCE TASK#1

SUBMITTED BY: 12 - ITCP 1A / GROUP 6

GROUP 6: Sevilla, Christian Roy Sinining, James Andre Sabandal, Kier Ivan Salig, Lyn Charisse Sobere-yu, Michael James Romero, Mike Bernd Serilla, Katleen Mae Villaver, Kent Legran Repunte, Frenz Nicole

[abubblingcandle]

Augusnippets Day 18 - Protective Caretaker - Ted Lasso

Jamie finds himself in hospital yet again and Keeley and Roy find out through a secondary source. Neither of them were called as Jamie's emergency contacts. So if it wasn't them ... then who was it?

Here on AO3 @augusnippets

Jamie was in hospital. Again. According to Jamie he had been helping out a neighbour and had fallen off a stepladder rescuing a kitten. Roy had no reason to not believe that tale of events but he just didn’t. Also according to Jamie, he was fine and didn’t need the ambulance that Shannon had called. Now that he absolutely didn't believe. "Why were we not called?" Keeley growled in a great Roy Kent impression at the poor doctor that choose that moment to come check on Jamie. 

"Keeley come off," Jamie groaned, arm drapped over his eyes. 

"No! I am his emergency contact and I should have been called as soon as he was admitted," Keeley continued to vent. 

"There's nothing wrong with me they didn't need to call," Jamie's groans turning more and more into whines. 

"Well there if it isn't our little bruised banana," Ted announced himself bursting into the room with Beard on his heels. 

"What are you fuckers doing here?" Roy frowned. 

"That's what I was trying to tell you. Mr Tartt here is at risk of a concussion from his fall and so needs to leave with someone to supervise him," the doctor interrupted the posturing contest. 

"Oo I'm very good at those. I have different voices to keep it fresh," Ted pointed at the doctor then Jamie who looked like he was in his own personal hell. 

"Which is why we called Jamie's emergency contact ..."

"Which is me." Everyone slowly turned to look at Beard with a varied tableau of surprise. “Imagine how I felt.”

The doctor fled with the promise of a prescription and discharge forms leaving them to try and work all this out.

“Jamie? What’s going on?” Keeley was immediately there, squatting down at Jamie’s bedside with a comforting hand on his hip rubbing little circles.

“Just tired,” Jamie groaned. “Can I go home?”

“We need to wait for the doctors with your prescription. So we can have this conversation now. Why the fuck were none of us called and Beard was?” Roy growled.

“Roy,” Keeley scolded, but Roy could tell her heart wasn’t in it and she wanted to know as well.

“I’m fine it’s just some bruising,” Jamie muttered.

“That wasn’t the question Tartt!”

“This is why,” Jamie shouted, wincing as he jostled the bruises on his cheek. “I knew that even the most minor of injuries you lot would be all up in my business and making it a problem and a big deal. I ain’t that badly hurt. I’ve been hurt way fucking worse. I just need to go home and sleep,” he vented, pointing between Roy, Keeley and Ted.

“So why Beard?” Ted asked quietly, the only one out of the three that did look somewhat scolded.

“I needed someone in Richmond that I could trust would come but wouldn’t care that I was hurt and would sign the discharge papers. None of you lot would have done that,” that one moment of heat seemed to be rapidly fading out of Jamie. Roy didn’t know if it was the pain of his injuries taking over or regret at this bullshit scheme.

“Of course we fucking wouldn’t you idiot,” Roy shouted back.

“Really not the time Roy,” Keeley sighed.

“And you thought I would,” Beard’s calm steady voice dragged them all back on track as he stepped forward to be at the foot of Jamie’s bed. He reached out and grabbed onto the plastic hand holds. It was near impossible to read Beard’s emotions on the best of days but now he was locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

“You’ve never been my biggest fan have you?” Jamie muttered, eyes locked onto Beard almost challenging him to disagree. “When I’m hurt it’s always an inconvenience, a problem you know. I didn’t want to be a hassle to people who actually care about me. I know I’m a lot so I put down someone who wouldn’t make this a big fuss about it. But now we’re all making this big fuss about it,” he sighed, resigned to his fate. Good, because they were not letting him slip away to go lick his wounds in private. That was never going to happen again.

“I’m sorry I’ve made you feel that way,” Beard broke the silence, causing all the eyes in the room to lock onto him in varying degrees of surprise. “I didn’t like you at first but I don’t think anyone did …”

“I mean …”

“Don’t lie Ted he was a fucking prick.”

“Thanks grandad, really smashing the making me feel better bit.”

“As I was saying,” Beard continued through the veiled threats, “however I did think that our relationship was improving and so am sorry you didn’t also see that.”

The surprised eyes then turned to Jamie like they were watching emotional tennis. All Jamie did was shrug, curling up into himself as much as he could despite being all one big bruise.

The doctor saved them from these emotional reveals going on for much longer. “His prescription can be filled at any pharmacy but I recommend the one downstairs on your way out. He needs to be regularly checked to make sure cognitive function doesn’t deteriorate …”

“I don’t think there’ll be anything left if his brain withers any further,” Roy mutters and grins when Jamie flips him off.

“… and rest is the best mediciene for the bruises,” he finished holding out the discharge forms to the room in general. Roy went to grab them but Beard snatched them out of the doctor’s hand before he could.

“I’m his emergency contact,” Beard stated, already signing it.

“Coach you really don’t …”

“I’m your emergency contact, you’re coming home with me,” Beard’s tone left no room for argument. And Jamie didn’t, he just looked bashfully down at the bedsheets. Roy and Keeley looked at each other and shrugged. Looks like Jamie was going home with Beard … that was not going to end well.

[haroldgross]

New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on http://literaryends.com/hgblog/soulmates/

Soulmates

[3 stars]

Soulmates starts with a fabulous premise: what if you could identify your soulmate? How would that affect current couples? How would it change how you date or your expectations. It doesn’t make life as simple as it would seem on the surface.

Unfortunately, after the great premise, and admittedly some interesting situations and events, frankly the show fails to meet expectations. In trying to be the answer to Black Mirror, and to stay in the mainstream, it also avoids all the other lovely complications that, say episode one of Weird City was more than happy to tackle, or even Black Mirror’s Striking Vipers. That said, the main writers/creators William Bridges (Black Mirror: USS Callister) and Roy Kent (Ted Lasso) are both very talented. I just don’t think they had the freedom or, perhaps, the guts to really tackle the possibilities.

Fortunately, the episodes are chock full of talent to carry off the stories they did offer. Some highlights are Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami), Malin Akerman (Rampage), Sarah Snook (Winchester), Bill Skarsgård (It: Chapter Two),  Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Utopia), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things),  Tom Goodman-Hill (Residue, Humans), and Steven Mackintosh (Rocketman). You may have noticed a number of Europeans in that list… and you’d be right. It is part of the odd feel of the series as they are almost all playing Americans (or North Americans, at any rate).

I’m not saying avoid this series. It’s definitely thought provoking and often clever. It just didn’t quite meet the expectations it set for me given the writers involved and the foundation of the premise. But I’d love to see if they could grow on what they’ve started and really expand their thinking and risks in a second series. And, in the meantime, we get these six stories to whet our appetite.

[batboyblog]

Some Comic ideas I really like

So sometimes I think about what I’d do if I was in charge of DC, there are the ideas I like best and are the most original, enjoy (and let me know what you liked) 

Batgirls United:

Barbara Gordon is Oracle, the wheelchair bound computer genus and command and control center of the Batfamily. In her clock tower HQ she leads, oversees and trains her 3 replacements as Batgirl. Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown (age 17 and 16) and Tiffany Fox (age 13) the younger sister of Batwing and youngest child of Lucius Fox who brings a bubbly energy and enthusiasm to the role of Batgirl, as well as a passion for pink. A team centric book, though some issues might focus on one girl or another as they deal with their own issues. Barbara with worry about the girls safety, Cass about socialization and being “normal” Steph the stress of high school, college applications and money problems, and Tiffany middle school drama and sneaking out of the house without being noticed.

Nightwing:

Dick Grayson moved to a new city (Blüdhaven) to start a new life and build his own brand as a superhero, how hard can it be? turns out adulting is hard! Dealing with a stressful, demanding long hours job as a legal aid attorney and a shitty apartment doesn’t leave a lot of time for heroing. Blüdhaven is crawling with would be super villains out to make a name for themselves and a corrupt city government in the pocket of organized crime, Dick doesn’t have any commissioner Gordon. Dick also has to handle being a good big brother to regular visitor Damian, and calls from Tim. His busy dating life is another issue. To top it all of a homeless 14 year old street kid named Tad has been inspired to become Nite-Wing and is insisting Dick train him and also let him crash on Dick’s couch, Dick’s not sure he’s ready to be a dad have a sidekick.

Jason Todd: The Lost Adventures:

Everyone thinks they know the story of Jason Todd as Robin, but they only know how it ends. After Jason Todd died his team of teenaged side kicks, Teen Justice, was lost from time and space and removed from the timeline. This is the story of Robin (Jason Todd) Wonder Boy a transgender teenager adopted as a baby by the Amazons, Supergirl Kara Zor-el the 14 year old cousin of Superman, Scarlet Arrow a clone of Roy Harper, Aquo an amphibious teenager from Atlantis, and Kid Flash, the daughter of Barry Allen and Iris West born in the present. Set in the 1980s it’s the story of a team, friendships and adventures you didn’t know you needed, before everything got all dark and grim.

The Signal:

Duke Thomas stars as the daytime watcher of Gotham. Charged with patrolling Gotham on his motorcycle and dealing with petty crime and being the first responder to major crimes. Duke often times bites off more than he can chew and doesn’t always call in Batman when he should. On top of his bright yellow costume Duke uses a number of light powered weapons, like flashes in his gloves and flash bangs. Duke has mild pre and post-precognitive abilities. Meaning he can see brief glimpses of the future or the past. He has no control over when this happens and rarely can tell right away if the vision is the future or the past. His book is a lot of detective work as Duke works to piece together a vision and solve or prevent the crime. Often stepping over the line, putting himself at risk, and pissing off Bruce, but getting support from Alfred.

Young, Just Us:

Every parent looks for way to entertain their kids and get them out of the house, doubly so for a super parent. So when Batman promises his (youngest) son Damian a super secret Justice League base for his own team, Robin might have had vision of glory, but Batman was thinking more a club house. Robin is joined in the run down former first JLA headquarters in Happy Harbor by Jon Kent (Superboy), Jai and Iris West (the speed twins), Lian Harper (Speedy), Cerdian (Aqua-boy), Robby Long (Darkstar), Mar’i Grayson (Nightstar), Luke McDunnagh  (Offspring). Damian is brimming with enthusiasm to whip this rag tag team of tweens into a fighting force, but his friends are more pumped about having a club house.

Super Sons: United Against the World:

When your parents are the most powerful heroes in the world the pressure can be high. The Adventures of Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, and by adventures we mean sleep over and hanging out at their friend Billy Batson’s apartment. Billy is working on his magic skills with the fast talking trickster son of John Constantine and Zatanna; Zach Zatara. Between sleepovers, movie marathons, games of truth or dare, and just trying to figure out how to be an average middle schooler there’s fighting super villains and saving the world. regular guest stars from other young adult heroes, like Freddy Freeman and Colin Wilkes.

The Doom Patrol:

In the 1950s Cliff Steele was a stunt man and race driver, till it all went horribly wrong. From 1956 till 1964 he was Robotman, a makeshift hero on a makeshift team. in 1964 it all went horribly wrong, and Cliff went into safe mode. Cliff slept a dreamless sleep for 54 years till he was awoken by a band of misfit teenage meta humans on the run. Everyone Cliff has ever known is dead, and he’s a rusting hulk that might be obsolete in the world of iPhones. Cliff might not understand the brave new world but he’s gonna stick up for his new teenaged charges, punch back as hard as he gets hit, and maybe just maybe be a hero one more time.

GraysonS:

Mar’i Grayson (Nightstar) was all ready to be the best 12 year old big (half) sister the world has ever seen to her baby brother John-James (JJ) Grayson. However a time travel mishap she finds her ginger haired baby brother replaced by an 11 year version of him from a future that’ll never happen now. Mar’i’s never been one to quit and she’s still out to be the best big sister ever. Sneaking out at night, playing pranks on “uncle” Damian, mad board games, and saving the world, whatever it takes to fight JJ’s homesickness and get him to smile. 

Red Hood and The Outlaws:

Is Jason Todd up to keeping a hard-ass Amazon, a dangerous clone, and an assassin from the future on the strait and narrow? Jason Todd teams up with Amazon former secret agent Artemis to try to keep an eye on the hulking childlike Superman clone Bizarro. Soon the trio stumble across an emotionally vulnerable Thad Thawne (Inertia). They take him in and Jason is determined to help Thad get a second chance. But is Jason up to teaching Thad to keep his anger in check when Jason isn’t sure he’s in control of his own? can he teach Bizarro where the lines are in a morally complex world when he’s not sure where they are? Not helped by Artemis who’s more warrior than mother hen, and might have her own agenda. Regular guest stars, Roy Harper, Kyle Rayner, Donna Troy, and Dick Grayson, Alfred appearing by call and video chat.

The New Teen Titans: Revisited:

set in the early to mid 1980s a look back at untold stories of the New Teen Titans era. Set in 1980s NYC deals with story lines the original book wasn’t able to, like Jericho’s struggle with his sexuality and coming out as gay, Roy Harper’s struggle with drug use, etc. showing off an optimistic time of big hair and flashy hero costumes while addressing the problems of the 1980s from drugs to AIDS, all while saving the world. only semi-canon so characters can grow and change and not be bond by the results in the main timeline, maybe it all happened and just got reconed.

[edyacouky]

DC Comics JayRoy Wedding (5/6)

Ok I still have one chapter then it will be complete.

I hope you will like this little story.

(Can be read on AO3)

                                                     ~*~

In six years, so many things change.

During a mission, Roy almost lost his left arm. He could not work as Arsenal for a long period of time. It forces him to rethink what he can do, who he can be.

Their family life, his relationship with Jason wasn’t always good because of that. At first, he was irascible and depressed. He wasn’t believe the re-education would be efficient and there were many time where his sobriety was threatened.

“Fuck Roy! Jason yells at him one night where Roy was particularly difficult. You never were only an archer! You’re smart; you can do anything you want! So stop being so stupid or I swear I take the kids and leave you behind!”

Roy feels like Jason slaps him. He knows that Jason was serious. Never he will stand have his children dealing with a parent always high on drugs and alcohol.

The next days, he stays at his workshop. He was avoided it after his accident because he didn’t think he could continue to work on his projects with only one arm. But his fears disappear. It was difficult but when it was reorganizing, he realizes he can still work. He realizes Jason was right. Roy is smart and can do anything he wants. He even patented some of his inventions, allowing his family to have more legal money back.

“Thank you. Roy said one night where they were in bed. For staying with me, even when I was an asshole.

-Roy, we deal with each other hassle for almost fourteen years. One more will not make me run away. And it was my plan all along that you become a rich inventor who can support me.

-Oh really? I should’ve known. Roy said before kiss Jason. You’re too good in sex for not being a trophy wife.

-You’re stupid! Jason laugh

-I’m your stupid. Fuck. I was your stupid for fourteen years. It doesn’t make us younger.

-Poor thing. Maybe you’re too old for sex. I should let you sleep.

-Don’t you dare.” Roy almost groans before kiss Jason

And sooner that they would like, Roy repay Jason in kind when they realize Jason read more on the lips that he really hear people. At almost thirty years old, Jason becomes deaf. Jason was uncomfortable with having to put his safety back on a small, easily breakable device.

“Don’t worry Jaybird. Roy tells him. I will make you the best ear protection that could exist.”

But he was also afraid that one day maybe, even with the best ear protection, he couldn’t hear his family’s voice, their laugh.

That fear was rude to endure and never leaves Jason despite reassurance of his family.

                                                    ~*~

Colin, even with missing some school years, success passes high school and at twenty-two years old he works as a mechanic in a good garage and sometimes helps Roy with his invention.

He knew that Roy and Jason will be happy to pay him for his studies in any university in any country. But he doesn’t like school, but he always loves car and bike. And the fact that he was something he could share with Jason was a most.

Damian tells Colin his decision was a waste of his capacity.

“You are doing studies for being veterinary. You’re not doing Harvard or Cambridge either. Colin said

-I already have master in different domain.

-Yeah but you do nothing with it.

-I use them as Robin.

-How? You slap Penguin with your certificate?

-Tt. Why do I bother talk with you?”

                                                    ~*~

Lian becomes officially a teenager. Jason and Roy cry a little when it happens. She takes after Roy his love for arrow and bow, and she was talented. Neither Roy nor Jason was happy that both of their children decide becoming vigilante. Colin was too old so they can do anything about that. And Lian becomes more stubborn. More than twice in the same week, they catch her follow them.

“I want to help! She yells at them

-You can help without risk your life!

-Then why didn’t you do it? Why did you come back at home covered by blood and injured if there are other ways?! I want help you!” She desperately wants to cries but she said nothing and keep follow them

                                                    ~*~

“Everyone! Hurry up! Jason yells. If we are late again, Alfred will be made at me!

-Don’t see how it is my problem. Lian answer while brushing his hair on the bathroom

-It will be if it makes me mad.

-That’s Daddy will be depriving of sex.

-And you little pumpkins you are depriving of sex till you are seventy years old. Roy said make her hurry up

-Finally! Jason exclaims when his family is ready to go. Up. Up.”

Another wedding was celebrating this year.

It was Tim and Kon’s wedding.

Despite Bruce’s insistence, the couple decide to refuse use the Wayne’s garden. Kon wanted have a ceremony outdoor but wasn’t comfortable have it at Gotham. And Tim’s family has enough money so they can go easily to another state. So all the guests have to go to Smallville.

The Batclan agree to travel together. And now, the Harper family was almost too late at the airport.

“I don’t understand why you have to take so many times this morning. Jason grumbles. We will have to dress at Smallville anyway.

-Looks sweetheart, Roy said, perfection needs time.

-Perfection for what? It is two a.m. and the wedding is tomorrow night.

-Alfie will be perfectly dress. Lian said

-Alfred can’t be badly dress. It is super power. Jason laugh

-Don’t worry Jaybird. Roy said. It is Bruce’s private jet. We won’t be too late.

-You know what? I will let you defend yourself from the other’s annoyance.”

The flight was long and exhausting, especially with the children who don’t seem able to rest well.

“Do you think my Father will be mad if I open one of plane’s doors? Damian ask when Jacob cries again

-I think everyone will be glad if the plane crash. Colin jokes. At least we could rest in peace.”

Helena starts a caprice upsetting Mar’i which makes Lian groans. None of adults’ techniques to calm them seems to works.

The relief they all express when the flight was over was indescribable. The worst for the parents was when they saw their children run everywhere around the Kent’s house.

“Are they ever tired? Jason sights when they all sit for coffee

-I take that the flight wasn’t going well. Tim said with a little smile he knew it was a good idea to leave sooner

-They won’t have sugar before bed. That’s for sure. Bruce groans and everyone agree

-Well don’t worry. There are enough camping tents so kids can be between them.”

And it was a good thing. Because the children keep talking even when they were supposed to sleep. The cicadas were quieter than them.

Tomorrow morning, they were tired eating breakfast, and the adults well rested. It doesn’t stay like that too long. The excitation for the wedding wakes them and nothing can stop them.

“Papa. Not like that my hair. Lian complains to Jason while Roy helps Colin with his tie. Like the photo.

-Lian, Jason said calmly. The woman on the photo doesn’t have same hair as yours.

-But I want same hair as her. Lian pouts

-You will be beautiful Pumpkins. Have faith on Jason. Roy said. You look good, Colin.

-Thanks.” Colin answers

He blushes a little, he have difficulty believe they give him a tailored tux. Years ago, never he would believe being so lucky.

“I am sure Damian will find you awesome. Lian grins after agree Jason change a little her hair dress so that it's better for her

-Who knows? Maybe the next wedding will be yours. Jason adds

-That’s not … Colin’s face was as red as his hair. Well when you and dad will get married?”

Jason just smiles and doesn’t even try to answer. Roy would like to say something but the true is Jason and him never really talk about getting married. They joke about that, think about the worst seating plan ever. But Roy doesn’t have even a little idea if Jason will say yes if he asks him the question.

Luckily, a knock on the door telling them that everyone is waited in twenty minutes stops the conversation.

“You’re beautiful, Honey. Jason said to Lian before kiss her cheek

-Thank Papa.”

When everyone was seated outside, without a cloud at sight, the music started. Clark brings Kon to the altar and Bruce brings Tim. At first the couple wanted walks to the altar together, but Clark and Bruce seemed so disappointed with their decision that they changed their minds.

“Too bad. Roy murmurs

-What? Jason asks

-No bouquet this time.”

Jason laughs, doesn’t expected this answer.

“What? Who did propose pay it for them so my legacy can go on?

-I did.

-Seriously?

-Seriously. But they said it was not worth it. I thought because they had already chosen their bouquets. Roy pouts

-You’re unbelievable Roy Harper.” Jason smiles before kiss him

Jason cannot believe it and he will not admit to Roy but, he was a little disappointed that there wasn’t bouquet to catch this time.

Each time Jason catch a bouquet, Roy’s smile was beautiful and full of promise. Even when Jason was at his worst, he was longing for this smile.

                                                    ~*~

The reception was so nice, everybody has so much fun. There was dancing, playing, singing. Enough food and drink to keep dancing, playing and singing.

The Kent doesn’t have close neighbors so they could be as loud as they wanted, no one with super power have to fear showed it, which was good for the kids.

And the sky was so beautiful. Full of star with the full moon. They almost not needed any flash light for coming back to their camping tent.

At four a.m. Roy and Jason walk to their tent. Or at least they try. In each other arms, they keep kissing without looking where they put their feet.

“You know what I was thinking? Roy asks Jason after they almost fall, again

-What I will do to you when we finally arrive to our tent?

-God yes. Roy whispers before kiss him fiercely. But no.

-No? Jason said confused by the mixed signal he received here

-In fact, I was thinking that we are together for fourteen years and there is a question that I never ask you.

-Roy. Jason warns him with a sight

-I am not proposing. I haven’t any ring. Roy said doesn’t understand Jason reaction. But we never talk about that. I don’t even know what you could answer me.

-And now it is the good moment to talk about that?

-I didn’t thought you will react that badly. Are you against marry me?”

Jason stay quiet, holding back tears and cannot look at Roy.

“Talk to me Jaybird. If it is no, I will not be mad.

-That’s not that simple.

-Explain then.”

Jason took a deep breathing then takes Roy’s hand to walk again. Roy let him take his time and finally Jason said:

“I am legally dead Roy. I can’t marry you.

-That’s it or it is an excuse because you worried tell me no. Roy asks because it is something Jason still do, do and say thing event if he didn’t want fearing the rejection

-I trust you Roy. If it was no I would tell you. Promise.

-So, if it is just that the problem, we could make you a new identity. Then we could marry and you could even adopt our children.

-That’s not that simple.

-How so? I don’t understand.

-It would be me that will marry you. You will not answer yes to “Do you want to marry Jason Peter Todd?” and I just … That’s stupid …

-Hey! If it is important for you, it is not stupid. We could use your real name for the fake identity. There are lots of homonyms in the world.

-That’s not the same. I … No one really expecting much to me, you know? I was some kid from Crime Alley. With a father dealer and a mother junkie. Even when Bruce took me in. Non one really believes I could do something with my life. Not Brucie’s friends, not my teachers, not the students. Not me. And they were right. I get myself killed, because of the Joker and my biological mom. Did you know statistically what kill kids from Crime Alley? Their parents then Gotham villains. I was in another country but I didn’t escape the statistic.

-Jason…You’re alive.

-I know. I know. And I am happy. With you, with the children. I don’t think it was a mistake I came back to life anymore but … I died. That true. I died. I didn’t prove wrong to people who doubt me. In fact I prove that they were right. I am still legally dead. Every time anyone thought of Jason Todd they think “Oh this Crime Alley kid that died.”

-You are not only that, Jaybird. You are a good son…

-I know.

-A good father…

-I know.

-A good boyfriend…

-I know.

-A good brother…

-I know, Roy! I know. But it doesn’t change that I wanted, I want to prove that I, Jason Peter Todd, can be better than what everyone think of me. I want to marry you, I want adopt our children but as me, Jason Peter Todd, son of Willis Todd, Catherine Johnson, Sheila Haywood and Bruce Wayne.

-Waouh. You collect parent as much as Bruce collect kids.”

Jason slaps his arm, but smiles a little.

“Don’t make me laugh. I am serious here.

-I know, Jaybird. I understand what you mean. Look, maybe we can make your resurrection official.

-It has been what sixteen, eighteen years that I came back to life. Which explanation can we find? It is too late Roy.

-Jason …

-Please…

-If … Would you want marry me if we can?

-Of course.

-Adopt our children?

-More than I want marry you.

-Ouch! But understandable. They are perfect.”

They look at each other a long time without another word say. Tenderly, Roy hugs Jason, kissing his temple, his cheek, his nose, and his lips.

“I want to but I am legally dead, Roy. Nothing can change that” Jason said sadly with finality

In eighteen years, so many things stay the same.

Roy didn’t insist. It was late, they were tired and they could always talk about that later. For now, all they want was enjoy their tent under the stars.

                                                    ~*~

What they didn’t know is that a little robin hears them.

[nothingbutbark]

postin~ because if i don’t~ theres a good chance i wont~ for a period of time equal to or greater than four months. roy’s got a last name here but is it his real name? dunno. only time will tell that. i wanted to finish this... piece? chapter? part? scene? today but i’m. very tired. so. progress snippets. 

Jeremiah tips his head in acknowledgement. “Whatever notice-me-not spell you cast didn't work on the security camera by the entrance. I mentioned recognising you, and the crystal shards you left behind.” Ah. Fuck. That one's on Eden. “Kent thought we should seek you out.” He says this last part with a frown.

“The werewolf goes by Roy Belmont,” Bush says. “No pack to speak of. Used to be a college student until a few months ago, when he tore out a guy's throat at a party on the full moon. He's been on the run ever since.”

“Nasty fucker,” Kent says, crossing his arms. “Killed two hunters in the mean time, on top of racking up a list of human-world crimes a mile long.”

Eden thinks of the boy in the library, quiet and desperate, and frowns. If he was a straight-up murderer, what would he get out of involving a witch?

He wants to ask for more details, but forces himself to say, “Why are you here then? You must know where he is right now.”

Jeremiah nods. “We do. The blood from the library let us finally catch up. He's holed up in a motel about a block from here. The risk of civilian causalities is too high for us to just go barging in, though.”

“And we can't rule out the danger of human witnesses, either,” Bush says.

“All true,” Kent grumbles. “But we can't just leave him to do as he pleases. But a witch...”

“A witch would theoretically be able to subdue him before he can shift or endanger civilians,” Eden finishes. It almost makes sense. “But a witch is also bound by the Witch Code.” He shakes his head. “I can't align myself with any side in a dispute between magical denizens. The Tribunal—”

[aion-rsa]

Ted Lasso: Roy and Keeley Share the Best Season 2 Scene Yet

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This article contains spoilers for Ted Lasso season 2 episode 2.

Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) are a special kind of TV couple. Like other character pairings on Bill Lawrence-produced shows before them (Turk and Carla on Scrubs, Jules and Grayson on Cougar Town), Roy and Keeley reject the “will they or won’t they” sitcom binary. 

Instead these are two adults who share an intense emotional and physical connection and who are bound and determined to make an adult relationship work. The show has already borne the fruit of their efforts. After a touching conclusion to season 1, Roy and Keeley’s dynamic got even more acute in season 2’s first episode. The soft-spoken ex-footballer, emboldened by the relationship with his better half, passionately informs Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) that she should never, ever settle.

It was a monologue that indicated just how far Roy and Keeley have come (and one that got basically half of Roy Kent Twitter stans pregnant). This week, however, the Roy and Keeley pairing outdoes itself in one hilarious, yet completely touching moment. 

When Roy returns home from coaching his girls soccer team, he walks into the bedroom to find Keeley wearing headphones, phone in hand, and…what’s the most delicate way to put this? Keeley is: checking the undercarriage, dialing the rotary phone, taking a self-guided tour, engaging in the queen’s gambit … you know: massurbatin’.

While a lesser show would turn this into a punchline surrounding embarrassment, this episode immediately turns it on its head. Though Roy came across Keeley in a vulnerable situation, it’s not her vulnerability that Ted Lasso is concerned with: it’s Roy’s. It turns out that Keeley’s wank material had been Roy’s tear-filled retirement press conference, one of the only times that Roy has ever been outwardly emotional in his life. 

“I love that scene,” Juno Temple tells Den of Geek. “It covers so much ground. It brings a comedy element and then a kind of seduction moment. Then a moment being like, ‘You know what? Being a man that’s as sexy as you are and being vulnerable and owning that is such a turn on.’ It literally has so many things in one scene. It’s a microuniverse. I loved it.”

According to Temple’s scene partner Goldstein, that moment is a highlight of the early season and was an unusually long undertaking, making up around five pages of the episode two script. 

“It was like doing a mini play, that scene. There’s lots of levels going on in it,” he says. “We loved doing it. I just think the moment of him catching her is really unusual, I don’t think you see a lot of that. It’s also funny, sexy, and all this stuff.”

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The key to it all, however, is what comes after. While Roy is initially horrified at the prospect of Keeley being turned on by him being “pathetic”, he comes to understand that she’s right…as she usually is. At Keeley’s urging, Roy gets back on the football horse and serves as a pundit on “Soccer Saturday” alongside Jeff Stelling and Chris Kamara. 

Invigorated by his return to football and the accessing of his emotions once again, Roy comes back to Keeley to inform her that she had him pegged. That’s when he places the headphones back in her ears, cues up the press conference, and…you know what – I’m not gonna do the euphemisms again – performs cunnilingus. And that’s how Ted Lasso takes what could have been a crude, one-off joke and turns it into a learning experience for perhaps its two most mature characters.

“It’s an example that a man doesn’t have to be macho to be a turn on. It’s so hot when somebody shows their emotions,” Temple says.

It’s scenes like this that run the risk of the public’s already well-documented love for Roy Kent reaching a fever pitch. According to Goldstein though, his character’s surly reputation should help in that regard. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

“I’m still in a mask (out in public), but I seem to be easy to recognize because I’ve still got these fucking eyebrows,” he says “People are slightly wary of being too effusive with me. I have people quietly go to me, ‘I really like the show,’ as they walk past. I go, ‘Good,’ and keep walking.”

Ted Lasso season 2 premieres new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.

The post Ted Lasso: Roy and Keeley Share the Best Season 2 Scene Yet appeared first on Den of Geek.

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