#I actually stand by Roy not being in the wrong for MOST of his relationship with Keeley

[asteria-argo]

correct me if I'm wrong but I was just thinking about the roykeeley in season two of it all, and that fight where Keeley loses it at Roy for being clingy because she can't handle how close they are now that they work in the same building but like,,, Keeley and Roy would have been working in the same building while dating for a good chunk of season one as well.

She started working at Nelson Road before Jamie was even sent back to Manchester. They would of had months working in the same building, so either Roy has always been that clingy and Keeley just didn't mind at first, which I found doubtful given that it only takes her like a week to blow up at him for it in season two, or Roy being clingy is an out of character thing for him to be doing that should've raised some kind of red flag to friends and loved ones that I feel like from what we know about Keeley as a character would've been treated with more empathy than she actually had in the show.

[scarletttries]

Romeo Take Me Somewhere We Can Be Alone (Roman Roy Succession Request)

Part Two Available Now!

Pairing: Roman Roy (Succession) x Gender Neutral! Reader

Requests: "Roman x Mattson!reader? Forbidden/secret relationship?" AND "Perhaps some smut for Roman Roy? Maybe Roman being on the more submissive side? Thank you!"

Warnings: Smut, spoilers for the new season.

Word Count: 2.7k

Author's Note: Oh Roman, I'm going to pretend I haven't seen the latest episode so I can continue fancying you without having to think critically about this piece of media 🙃 Thank you to the ABSOLUTE genius that suggested a Mattson! reader, forbidden romance vibe, I loved the request and enjoyed writing this so much, I've gone full Romeo & Juliet! (More like Rome-eo, hahaha I felt like a genius for this). Also this is my first Roman smut so it was a bit of a challenge to try and keep it in the same tone i've written Roman in so far, but I hope you enjoy! As always keep the requests coming :D

Romey-o take me somewhere we can be alone

"Have you had enough of this little ass-kiss fucky fest yet?" You watched the little bubble pop up on your phone and looked across the party in reflex, scanning the crowd until you saw his smug little smile directed your way. You unlocked your phone to reply, scrolling up to glimpse the hundreds of messages between the two of you since you'd met that day at the woodlands company retreat three weeks ago.

***

"Problems working with your older brother? I can relate." You stepped out into the night air to find Roman hunched over the railing of the small balcony, hands threading through his hair so firmly he threatened to pull it out in clumps. His shoulders grew a little less tense as your voice washed over him, hands falling to the edge of ledge as he gestured for you to join him.

"So you're the younger Mattson? You could have fooled me, on account of you not being a massive dick." He laughed at the words but it came out hollow, watching his breath form a white wisp in front of his face in the cold night air.

"Thanks, I try my best to be an actual human being. I hear out of all the Roys you're the most favourable to be around too."

He turned his head sharply to really look at you, the sincerity in your tone and the measured kindness of your words catching his attention.

"Oh yeah?" He probed, hoping another almost compliment would fall from your lips before he did something to ruin this moment. Truth was he'd spend half the weekend watching the way you floated through the conference, poised, humble, soft; the antithesis of your brother Lucas. And so he'd avoided you, sure that any moment spent in your presence would only tarnish the shining light you carried so effortlessly.

"I like to think I've got good instincts for people, and I think there's something about you that's different from the rest of your family. And I mean that in a good way." You were thoughtful as you spoke, treading lightly around the slick man in front of you, sure that one wrong move would have him sprinting back inside, spitting venom in his words as he went.

"That's actually pretty nice to hear these days." Roman replied after a pause, now standing squarely to face you, searching your eyes for any hint of deception and mockery and instead finding a tranquility that washed over him in waves as you returned a smile he hadn't realised he was sharing.

"I'm really sorry about your father by the way. And I'm even more sorry that you have to be here right now." You grimaced at your brother's insistence that this weekend go ahead as planned, every ounce of humanity seeming to leave him the moment his bank account saw a certain amount of zeros. Roman nodded at your words, the taste of condolences still unfamiliar and bitter in his mouth, cursing his father for ruining yet another interaction for him, even from beyond the grave. You read his silence for the pain that it was and set your hand gently on top of his where it rested on the railing.

"Well I should go back inside before any of our siblings accuse us of fraternising with the enemy, but it was nice to meet you. I really mean that."

Panic rose up in the back of Roman's throat as you turned to move away, not yet ready for this moment to end, feeling better than he had in weeks. He ignored the voice crying out inside him to stay strong, to isolate himself, to trust no one, and instead caught your rising hand with his.

"Maybe we could fraternise just a little longer.

***

And so you and Roman had spent an evening sharing in the perils of being a younger sibling in your strange corporate worlds, swapping numbers and an unspoken agreement to keep this from your families as you departed the next day, Roman touching the spot on his cheek you had blessed with a gentle kiss when he snuck into your treehouse to say a real goodbye. And so followed weeks of secret texts and furtive phone calls, pouring out your souls until finally you were back in the same room, parted in a hotel lobby by a sea of political donors and movers and shakers, but feeling only one pair of eyes on you.

"I thought you'd never ask." You sent back in response, locking eyes with him once again and tipping your head toward an emergency exit you had checked led to a service elevator. From opposite sides of the room you each slipped through the crowd, trying your best to be unseen, aware that any of these prying eyes could collapse what you had delicately built with a single passing comment. As you reached the door you did a final scan to ensure there were no Waystar or GoJo members nearby who could catch a glimpse of this subtle rendezvous, before backing through the door yourself.

Roman stood waiting between the open elevator doors, looking almost bashful as you dashed towards him, vanishing into the small metal room as he let the door slide shut behind him.

"Thanks for holding it." You couldn't help the anticipation loaded in your tone, facing Roman and finding him stood barely an inch away from your blushing face.

"I had a feeling we were going to the same floor." He breathed out, eyes wide and hands shaking as they rose to brush either side of your face, the adoration clear in the gentle way his thumbs stroked your cheeks.

Before either of you could think your way out of something good, you leant forward, closing the gap between your lips and sending a whirlwind of warmth and glitter spinning through your bodies, the reunion more than worth the wait. His head bobbed forward to return the gesture, body following the movement until he was pressed entirely against you. It wasn't rough, or frantic, or urgent. It was like deep down you knew you'd be doing this forever, so you had all the time in the world to sweetly caress the nape of his neck, parting his lips for a content sigh that only let you taste more of him.

By the time the lift doors opened on your floor Roman could hardly remember where he began and you ended, unsure how he ever coped being half way across the planet from you, needing to keep you as close as he could for every second you could steal tonight. You could feel it too, the desperate pull of your heart towards him, the air of secrecy that only made you want him more, this forbidden fruit the sweetest you would ever taste.

You could feel his cheeks brush against yours as he fought back a smile at finally having you in his arms, and the physical confirmation you had been feeling this overwhelming chemistry too. He would have berated anyone else for believing in love at first sight, but as you rested your forehead softly against his, feeling the joy emanating between you, he didn't think this could be anything else. When you pushed the jacket free of his shoulders, helping him shrug away the fabric until it crumpled on the floor, he had to stop himself from pulling away. Not because he didn't want this with you. It was really the opposite; he couldn't remember ever feeling this way, ever wanting someone to be so close to him, to feel every part of him, and now he wanted that more than anything with you. But he was scared of being vulnerable, and insecure in his inexperience, completely unsure what real intimacy could even look like.

As you worked through the buttons on his shirt, you could see the gears whirring in his head, the unmistakable fear and excitement of a man that's seen a hard-drive's worth of porn but never felt the touch of a person that genuinely cares about them.

"We can stop?" You offered, pulling your hands away from his shirt, only for him to vigorously shake his head and rip it off himself, a stray button clattering across the floor, disrupting the heavy silence.

"I want to." He insisted, his eyes full of desperate desire as you brought your hands to his now bare chest, his heart hammering in anticipation inside. Unsure of what to do next, Roman firmly grabbed at your ass, voice wavering as he tried to take control, feeling like that should be his role,

"Do you like that, you fucking slut?" Both of your faces seemed to contort in discomfort as the words tumbled out of his mouth, his hand quickly releasing and his eyes clenching shut in embarrassment.

"Sorry Rome, I don't even think you like that?" You questioned softly, bringing your fingertips to sweep delicately over the creases in his forehead, his brow slowly unfurrowing as he blinked his eyes open to see you again.

"Fuck, sorry, I was trying to, you know, talk dirty, be sexy." He waved his hands in a gesture of uncertainty as he spoke, surprised you weren't laughing at him or taking the opportunity to run for the door.

"You know talking doesn't have to be degrading to be sexy?" You replied, the calm, confident smile on your face matched by the alluring look in your eye leaving Roman feeling like a deer in headlights, but praying the car will crash right into him.

"Oh yeah?" He gulped, eyes wide as you nodded, pushing him gently so he could step backwards towards the end of the bed. He let himself drift in your current as your touch laid him backwards, every wave of contact soothing his nerves.

"Can I show you?" You breathed in his ear, settling your thighs either side of his legs, feeling all the more powerful for being fully dressed as his bare chest heaved beneath you.

"Please." He begged softly, letting his eyes flutter shut as your lips found his again, fingers tracing a path down his stomach until they reached his belt.

"I'm so glad I got to see you tonight." You sighed against his lips as you began to undo the buckle, feeling his hips twitch, reacting to even the slightest touch. His head leant forward, trying to chase your lips as you spoke, needy for the taste of your kiss as you released the zip and buttons in your way.

"Me too." He eventually sighed out as your lips moved out of his reach, mapping a course across his cheek until you reached the edge of his jaw, applying a little more pressure until you heard the low rumble of moan escape his lips.

"I like hearing you enjoy yourself." You purred, confidence building as he relaxed against your touch, submitting to your control, putty in your hands. Marking a sweet constellation of kisses over his neck you slowly slipped your hand inside his boxers, running one finger over the length of him and feeling him buck up to meet your touch. Roman had never felt both so excited and so relaxed at the same time, never this comfortable with someone exploring his body before, but feeling like he wanted to give every inch over to your control, sure your loving touch could put all the broken pieces of him back together.

You wrapped your hand around his hard length, pumping over him a few times to gage his reaction. His eyebrows scrunched down towards his nose, lips parting as a moan seemed to reverberate through his whole body.

"Does that feel good?" Your tone was sweet, if not a little teasing, sucking on a spot on his throat that seemed to leave him barely able to spit out an 'uh-uh' in response.

"Good, I want to make you feel good, Roman. Will you let me make you feel good?" You praised, bobbing your head down to his chest and picking up the pace of your rubbing hand. Ability to think and speak quickly surrendered, Roman just nodded, for once unable to think of a quippy comeback and just enjoying someone else taking control and being with him so intimately. He'd touched himself like this hundreds of times, thinking cruel, perverse little thoughts the whole time until he was left sitting in a puddle of his own self-contempt. But with you it felt like something new entirely, something positive, and warm, and with each soft praise and gentle kiss that poured from your lips and landed squarely on his chest he could feel his heart lifting, thinking maybe there's a reason he'll only ever thought of it as 'fucking' and not 'making love'.

Your lips drifted down to his chest, gingerly placing a kiss on one nipple and smiling at the way he squirmed under you, eyes now staring down at you in full adoration like you were the most wondrous miracle he could have dreamt of. You could feel his cock starting to twitch in your hand, cooing over him again, sure this wouldn't be the last time the two of you spend a night hiding in the sheets together.

"You're doing so well, Roman. Good boy."

"You feel - so - good." He panted out, the praise bringing him close to the edge before he could really think enough to stop it. Ignoring your own desire stirring up inside your stomach, you gripped your hand on him a little firmer, leaving the other to trace faint circles over his chest, the lingering damp of your kisses only making him more sensitive. Crashing your lips back against his you swallowed his moan before breathing out,

"Cum for me, Rome, please." His lips pressed hard against yours as his hips started to shake, unable to hold back for a second longer and spilling hot white ropes across his stomach, almost whimpering at his sensitive release, overstimulated but still whining the second you released your grip.

His hands reached up to capture your face, somehow trying to portray a lifetime's worth of gratitude and affection in a single overwhelming kiss, before finally releasing you to breathe. As you rose up onto your knees, surveying the smiling fool of a man lying beneath you, you couldn't help but laugh at the state of both of your suit trousers, marred with streaks of sticky white.

"We might need to hide up here for a while until we get cleaned up and dried off, or this might be hard to explain."

"You don't think we could say two seperate waiters happen to get lucky?" Roman rebuffed, pulling a disgusted face as he wiped a finger over the fluid pooling on his stomach.

"Or one waiter got very lucky?" You suggested with a smile, Roman using every ounce of remaining strength to sit up until his lips could find their way to yours.

"No-one's that lucky, so I guess we better stay hidden. I reckon there's a lot more stuff you could show me anyway." Roman's eyes drifted down your body eagerly, wondering exactly what else he'd been missing by never trying it with the right person.

"You don't think the party will miss us?" You teased, pretending to bat away his eager hands.

"What party?" He scoffed, letting you capture him by the wrists and pulling you back to lie with him, falling so you pinned his wrists either side of him, a position he was more than happy to end up in.

"What about our families?" You couldn't help the worried tinge in your voice as you remembered the seemingly insurmountable barrier that stood between yours and Roman's lives. With unusual sincerity he gazed up into your eyes and said softly,

"Fuck 'em, you're my family now."

[superbat-lmao]

I think comics have a closer proximity to fanon works than most other forms of canon works (movies, tv, books, podcasts, etc) because of how many possible authors contribute different storylines.

Meaning, while I love Jayroy in fanon, I can completely understand why it wouldn’t work in canon. Too much uneven characterization where Jason’s actions towards the arrowfam aren’t justifiable even if their friendship remains possible. And it’s so easy to imagine crossing lines of canon into fanon since even canon can contradict itself.

So something I undeniably love about Jayroy fanon is how each character is written as someone who believes they just aren’t worth it, and they find someone else who believes basically the same thing about themselves and they’re both wrong.

To simply things in fanon, Roy’s struggles with addiction and Jason’s struggles with violence mean that in their respective narratives, they’re the black sheep of their families.

Roy typically struggles with a sense of self worth, of wanting someone to stick around through the bad and where his headspace actually goes because of addiction. He was one of the first titans and to have so many of your peers succeed (or die) when you’re struggling definitely fucks with you in major ways.

Jason has a complicated relationship with everyone, including himself. The pit made a lot of things worse but his grief over wanting his father to avenge him and thinking his death changed nothing, or his stance on punishing criminals, all of these things separate him out from the batfam’s code of ethics. He is constantly living in the shadow of himself and can’t figure out how to actually move on with his life.

And when these are the characterizations people are working with I love that the narrative is “two people who believe they’re fundamentally broken realize they aren’t and rely on each other until they get better”.

Like, neither of them is asking the other to change. Roy is okay with Jason’s version of justice and Jason sticks around through cravings and meetings. Neither thinks that their families were right about them, that they’re fuck ups beyond hope. Because they don’t have to be.

And so many of the other storylines of superhero’s is that, even if they’re at a low point, or have made mistakes, they can change. They can see the light and reform their actions and become better people and fit into new dynamics if they can’t go back to old ones.

And while a lot of fics will soften Jason’s actions, there are some where Roy still sticks around. And if they change, it’s not because someone demanded it of them in order to be worthy of being loved. It’s because someone who loved them gave them the time and space to figure out who they are and loved them regardless. They didn’t withhold support, they provided it even when the other failed and saw them through to the other side.

And sure, in reality that can be a recipe for toxicity, of people hurting each other over and over by claiming that love should be unconditional in order to justify horrible things, but in comics where magic is real (and sometimes a stand in for PTSD ) and so are aliens and vigilantes and addiction, then the standards for what a person is capable of withstanding, what a relationship is able to withstand, need to have room for grace too.

That the only way people stop suffering is by having support networks. And while in some cases it doesn’t work, in this one, it does.

[royboyfanpage]

What would you consider to be the defining characteristics of Roy? Like what makes Roy Harper well Roy Harper?

Please and Thank You ☺️

Hi! That is a really great question

Okay the first defining characteristic is easy to answer: love. Romantic, platonic, familial etc. He loves so strongly, and once he’s loved someone once he’s pretty much gonna love them forever. You can see it with Lian (which I think is particularly present during Lian’s early appearances- baby Lian era- but is also very evident all throughout her existence), you can see it with how he never stopped loving Jade, you can see it with how he lets his heart get broken for Donna, you can see it with Dick and Ollie and Dinah and everyone important to his life, and regardless of if these people hurt him he’s still gonna love them. Which leads onto his second defining characteristic-

Forgiveness, and emotional honesty. In my opinion, a good Roy Harper does not hold grudges, at least not for very long. This is something that I think’s most interestingly demonstrated in Titans (1999) #15, wherein the Fab Five are all on an island together where their emotions are being manipulated to turn them against each other. And the main reason I think this issue in particular is so interesting is because when everyone else is there bringing up resentments and grudges, particularly towards Roy, Roy doesn’t. The only times that it could be argued that Gargoyle’s manipulating Roy’s emotions to make him more hostile, it’s always in direct response to something else that’s happened there- take, Dick insulting Roy and calling him unreliable, for example. And when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Roy’s generally perceived as the “hothead” of the group and, while I don’t like it that much as a negative connotation (though there are undoubtedly some moments where it is a negative), it is in a way true. He’s very much an immediate responder- he won’t let things fester, he’ll immediately call things out when he doesn’t like them, and then once he’s gotten that out in the air he’ll drop it even without any apology (which, to be honest, 9/10 times he does not get an apology). He doesn’t hold grudges because he takes action immediately against things he doesn’t like, and then ends it there once he’s voiced his thoughts. He forgives incredibly easily, which unfortunately has made him a bit of a punching bag among his friends- everybody knows Roy as the one who doesn’t hold things against you, and so they don’t have many reservations about calling him a junkie or insulting him (which as a little aside is why I love Roy punching Dick in Outsiders so much- this isn’t a new occurrence, people have been calling him a junkie for years, but he actually stands up for himself which. Good for you baby.) Obviously this isn’t always the case, and a really interesting casual observation I’ve made recently is that it’s definitely something that came about more after Lian was born. I haven’t thought about this in great depth before, so I’m not taking into account the original Teen Titans run because it’s currently 5am and I cannot be arsed to reread it all looking for panels that back up my point, but Roy’s emotional honesty was definitely not as key pre-Lian as it after she came into his life, particularly surrounding Ollie. Maybe I’ll make a separate post about this at some point when I’ve thought about it more, but essentially my point is that Roy promised Lian that he wouldn’t lie to her, and a part of not lying is being more open and honest in all aspects of your life.

And then the next is Roy’s abandonment issues. Is he even Roy Harper if he doesn’t have abandonment issues. A key part of Roy’s relationships is that he expects them end, he expects everything to go wrong and for him to be once again left on his own. The most clear example of this is with Donna, particularly their relationship in Titans ‘99. In #5, he asks her on their date “With all the great guys in your life, why the hell are you out here with me?” To which her answer is essentially he’s not Dick, Garth, Wally, or Kyle, nothing about who he is, just who he’s not, which she later expands on in #6 by saying she wanted to date him for his “reputation”, so she could be seen as less of a nice girl, which again, isn’t really saying anything about Roy as a person, just what function he can provide as a boyfriend at that time. And then again in #15 (have I mentioned before that the Gargoyle storyline is one of the absolute best stories for Roy analysis? Because it is) when Donna tells Roy that she doesn’t intend on staying with him, saying “when we break up”, Roy just… leaves. Which I think is a really interesting juxtaposition against the last point I made, it’s one of the few instances where Roy actually can’t immediately voice his feelings because he just can’t handle having his fears confirmed one more time, he has to leave. And then when Donna and Roy finally have their heart to heart at the end of Donna’s “who is” arc (I can’t remember the exact issue), Roy has this… one split second, one single panel where you can see his pain, before he puts a mask on to go back to the carefree Roy Harper, essentially telling her he’s glad he chose her out of everyone to experiment and that he’ll always love her regardless of if they’re in a relationship, despite the fact Donna doesn’t really acknowledge his feelings- just Lian’s. I just think it’s really interesting how Roy’s usual openness about his emotions isn’t as present with Donna, and he’s way more likely to lie to her to hide his pain. And Roy’s abandonment issues are so important throughout his story- he can’t stand being alone, he’s hardly ever a solo hero, but he expects it. There are a lot of reasons why Roy got addicted to drugs, but the main one which was present in both the original Snowbirds comic (through Roy’s speech about how “someone” might turn to drugs in order to deal with an “older friend” leaving them) and his Secret Origins story is that he turned to drugs because he couldn’t handle Ollie leaving. I’m not gonna go into depth with Snowbirds here, I’ve already done that a lot, but his abandonment issues are absolutely a core part of his character particularly in the fact he’s proven right so often. But what’s most interesting is something I made a post about before is that Roy’s abandonment issues don’t manifest in the way you’d expect. Usually, a character who has abandonment issues will hide themself away, not let anybody close for fear of being hurt again. Roy? His arms are always open. He will let them into his life, fully expecting them to hurt him, and he’ll do this again and again and again. He’s attracted to it like a moth to a flame- he can’t be alone, he’s an extrovert to the highest degree, and he keeps getting his heart broken because it’s always on his sleeve.

There’s a lot more I could talk about here, but I’ve been typing for like an hour and my fingers hurt now. I hope this is satisfactory :)

[eccentrickleptomaniac]

im gonna ask you to share your poland headcanons :]

WAHAHAHA ANNOOOOOOON THANK YOUUUU IVE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT HER FOREVER

ohwhere do i start... i suppose i'll talk about her personality first?

ok so let me set the record straight. she is a bitch. she's incredibly stubborn and once her mind is on something it's incredibly difficult to get her to change it, even if she knows its wrong. she enables the worst in people and rewards them for it. you know that one scene in angels in america where roy and belize are arguing about azt and roy starts hurling slurs at belieze and once belize does the same roy gives him the azt? yeah poland would do that. she will start fighting with anyone to bring them to their breaking point. it's a skill she learned while still in the same house with the bastard known as the ussr.

speaking of, she hates russia more than anyone. genuinely. it's actually kind of scary how far it goes. she pretty much allout refuses to speak with his friends and if she seems him, hoo boy you better be ready to hold her down. the hatred, i suppose its justified considering the.. how do i put this Hostile and imperial history between the two. i genuinely believe the last time the two ever had a positive interaction was during smolensk and even that was only because at first russia was the only one around to comfort her.

ok lets talk about her with closer friends.. while yes she fucking loves to push people's buttons when alone with someone she likes shes actually a very understanding and loyal person. she will actually listen to you rant about something you're passionate about for hours. if you are in trouble she will be the first to help you. however, if you look at her funny please know you've made an enemy for life. she holds long and petty grudges unapologetically.

speaking of pettyness, lets talk about the ussr and her relationship with him. i think about them a lot just because they hate eachother so much. completely genuinely i believe she only stayed in the warsaw pact for two reasons: to somehow destroy the ussr oh and also taking care of eg since shes still a teenager. im like, 99% sure the two got into arguments daily. they genuinely hate eachother more than anyone, and whatever the fuck perestroika didn't help. at best she was tolerant of him, at worst she was actively trying to kill him. she hates him for everything he stands for as well as his treatment of eg. despite her thing for long and petty grudges, she could tell that that girl could do no wrong from the start. the two have a very mother-daughter like relationship

she has both of her wings and they work just fine! although for a long time they didnt lol. i believe during ww2 they got fucked up during the destruction of warsaw (since that was pretty much the moment that armie krawoja lost its footing and poland became a guaranteed soviet puppet state after the war) and it took until her eventual leaving of the warsaw pact for them to be fully functional again. it's a fun little metaphor for freedom, i guess.

the cross she wears on her neck isn't actually because she's super religious. it was originally a small postwar act of spite against the soviet union, but eventually it kinda just became part of her outfit. she still isn't super religious, most countries arent due to their inherent personification of a whole ass landmass. unless it's like, the vatican or something JAJA

she is a hardcore alcoholic. it's, uh, not good, but it has quite literally been going on since pre-interwar. although she has gotten better with not downing like, 3 bottles of vodka in 1 sitting. she mostly just drinks beer at this point, unless she's like, really stressed for whatever reason. hey, old habits die hard. if i were being constantly harassed and assaulted by my neighbors i too would probably have some sort of addiction to a substance at this point. a random poland fun fact, the national drink is vodka.

her signature item (an item of which a country has associated themselves with and can now summon at will) is a hussar sabre as gifted to her by her father (the polish-lithuanian commonwealth). she cherishes it greatly and can use the sword quite well in combat. 10/10 would bring it to a gunfight.

due to her time spent in annexation for like, 100 years, she's pretty good at playing piano. on her spare time she'll play it rather leniently. admittedly, she doesn't have many hobbies. she sort of reads most of the day when not out with people.

wait how have i got this far without talking about her friends. she's good friends with the folk in the lublin triangle (lithuania (whos also her sister lol) and ukraine) and the visegrad group (czechia, slovakia, hungary) as well as all formerly in the eastern bloc. she would die for them and genuinely wishes nothing but the best for them. theyre also one of the few people who can actually tolerate her for long periods of time.

while it doesn't tend to show, she is very wary of france and britain specifically due to ww2. france especially, actually, considering the whole duchy of warsaw situation. for a long time she genuinely believed france was going to help her get her freedom. as you can see, that did not turn out, and nowadays the relationship between the two tends to be strained, only amplified by the russo-ukrainian war. she tends to interject on anything france is saying in an eu meeting with a sarcastic remark, especially if it's about war. she doesn't forget and she doesn't forgive.

uhhh i hope this suffices? i felt like this basically the entire time i was writing this

edit nope nvm im adding more i forgot to talk about interwar poland

ok so. interwar and postwar poland are basically two seperate people at this point. like, not literally, poland didnt fucking die in the war lol but personality and appearancewise they're completely different. as opposed to current poland's rather brash, loud, and belligerent personality, interwar poland was very quiet. he's much closer to that "fanon" poland. while, yeah he still was pretty fierce. it was much harder to get him to that point than it is now. he was pretty pacifistic all things considered.. he also at the time worked at a library doing archival things.. nowadays her job primarily consists of doing paperwork, which she doesn't mind all that much all things considered.

edit 08/08/23: her """"government assigned"""" username is probableLiability.

[hughiecampbelle]

Omg I would love a ship!! I’m a 21 year old woman, and I’d love to be shipped with a male character :) I’m currently in school to be a high school English teacher! I spend lots of time reading—mainly short stories and anthologies. I also love to write!! One thing I’m really into is music—I mostly listen to 60s and 70s stuff from any genre, and I sing and play bass. I’d say I’m a pretty laid back person; I can usually just go with the flow in most situations. I can also get along with pretty much anyone, whether or not I actually like them—but this feeds into the fact that I’m way too non-confrontational lol. I love to be the person in the room who makes everyone else laugh, so I make jokes and keep the mood light whenever possible! Thanks so much!!

Hi my love! I ship you with: Kendall Roy!!!

He loves your singing voice. Kendall loves music, he's always listening to it when he can, but nothing compares to your voice. It both soothes him and leaves him in goosebumps. He's always asking you to sing to him, whatever you want he doesn't care, he just needs to hear your voice. Especially after his father passes and he is more alone now than ever, you cave in more. You sing whatever he wants and always get cheers and whistles and a bravo from him. He also loves how you get along with everyone. To him, that's like a superpower. He can't hide what he's feeling, his face moves before he can think, so the fact that you can be so kind and nice and then turn your back and roll your eyes leaves him both in awe and laughing.

You love that once he gets something in his mind, he can't let it go. Though it doesn't always lead to good things, you know he has good intentions, at least most of the time. Kendall is very driven, very passionate, and that's what you fell in love with, not the money or power like everyone thinks or assumes. You see the real him, the him that knows he can run a company with his siblings, who is desperate to get out of his fathers shadow, who once he gets his mind on something it has to come to fruition.

Your relationship is never dull. Kendall keeps things exciting. You being so laid back actually balances him out a bit. he's not used to someone just going with the flow, especially when it comes to what he wants to do. Usually he's met with opposition and anger. You go along with it, whatever it might be, within reason. If it's something that has the potential to hurt him or others around him, then you have to put a stop to it. Kendall is always coming up with date night ideas and takes you on all kinds of crazy adventures. You wish people knew him outside the office, the fun-loving, bright guy you know.

Your first date to a bar. It's there Kendall gets them to play all your favorite 60's/70's songs. Music is important to both of you and one of the biggest things you bond over. He loves to listen about all the books you read, which ones are your favorite, which you'd love most to teach. You listen to all his funny stories about growing up. He keeps it pretty lighthearted, though you know how Logan can really be. You laugh a lot and the time passes so quick you don't even notice. At the end, Kendall immediately asks when he can see you again.

Relationship Headcanon: Kendall is definitely confrontational for you. if someone is bothering you, if someone is rude to you or got something wrong, even the littlest stuff, he stands up for you. He doesn't give it a second thought. if he loves someone he'll do anything for them, even if that means getting on a few people's bad sides. That doesn't matter, all that does is you. You always will.

Thank you my love!!! Future English teachers unite!!! Hope you like it! 💜💜💜

[damelucyjo]

Okay. I think I’ve calmed down enough. I’ve done the ironing listening to Films To Be Buried with. I’m in a better mood. So let’s give this rewatch a go so I can pretend most of it never happened!

Episode 12 - So Long, Farewell

I will say, one thing I love (as a Brit that has to be involved in football in some way) is that this show got so many ‘real’ football people involved. It’s a shame it was all men though…

Ooo Rebecca, looking for as always 😏 that robe is a gorgeous colour

Is that headline indicating Bex kicked Rupert out?? Good on ya, girl! 💪🏼

Exactly. Shut up Thierry

‘Morning, Rebecca’ ‘Morning, Ted’ WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US 😫😫

Heavily implying they slept together. Why else would they be so awkward around each other?? 🤔

The fake out was cruel, but the introduction of Beard is brilliant

And what the actual fuck are you wearing Brendan?! 😂 To be that comfortable around your boss 😂

Okay but now I really want to see what the night before was like. Also why are Beard & Jane at Rebecca’s? Why not go to Jane’s?? 🤔

Also was there really an emergency? Or does Beard know there could be something between Ted & Rebecca and needed them to spend real time outside of work together??? If so you’re a genius, my friend!

Yes, Rebecca. Don’t talk about it. That way it’s not happening 👍🏼

GET YOUR BARE ARSE OFF HER COUNTER!! 😂 it’s kinda like a car crash; you know you shouldn’t look but you can’t look away either 😂

Poor Mina 😂 Rebecca, I hope you pay her a ridiculous amount of money

‘Those ropes are not garbage. Some of it’s dirty on purpose’ they sure are an interesting couple 😂

God Hannah’s pretty. And Jason looks very cute 🥰

YYEEAAAHHHH!

I absolutely love how over the top all these boys are with things

He’s the assistant kit man 🥺 I actually love that. Not so much that this is the first times it’s mentioned though…

‘I was just the only one that was snoring’ 😜 Jamie putting extra money in the box, how far you’ve come 🥰

Okay the tears have started again. I’m gonna miss these boys so much!! 🥹🥹🥹

I wish they had shown Keeley scaring Roy. That’d’ve been hilarious

‘… stuff’ 😂😂😂

She shredded his passport 👀

‘I won’t take it out, but I’m happy to tell you you’re wrong’ love the confidence, Trent 👌🏼

It’s a real shame it’s taken until the last episode to see Keeley doing press for the club again 🙁 I’ve missed the scenes between these three

‘Juicer, the better. Safe save’ he’s such a gossip 😂

Exactly. Fuck Rupert. Why waste breath on him

She truly is living in denial! She’s finding it very hard and everyone knows 🥺 Poor Rebecca

WE’RE NEVER GOING TO GET TO SEE THEM ALL BEING SILLY TOGETHER AGAIN 😫

The shock on their faces! 😮

Final spit take & ‘fuck me’ call back 🫡

Nobody is handling them leaving well 🫠

This is incredibly cute though 🥹 their little smiles

ROY MOUTHING ALONG!! My heart 🥰🥰

Everyone in the stands joining in on the final goodbye 🥲 I’m fully crying

Oop a ‘perfect’ call… forward? Foreshadowing?? 🤔

So who told everyone ‘Now react as if we’ve just won the whole fucking thing’ 😂

‘Love those boots’ cause we need to stereotypically remind everyone Trent is gay 🫣

Just call back after call back in this episode 🫡

They’re friends now 🥹 my little heart

‘I really am exceptional’ yes you are, Deborah!

Rebecca, even your mum knows it’s more than a big deal to you that Ted is leaving. So much so that he’s equating it to him dying…

She just wants her daughter to be happy 🥲🥺 am I crying again? Have I even stopped??

See, I love their relationship now! Another thing we’ve not gotten to see much of 😢

Deborah & Mae bestie era WE NEVER GOT TO FUCKING SEE. I’m gonna flip a table 🫠

These three have been amazing to watch too. They so easily could have been throw away characters, but they’re not. They’re wonderful

But she ain’t your mother, boys 😂

Oh she did not like being called their grandmother 😂😂 Harriet, nicely done

So we’ve been cheated out of seeing Dame Harriet Walter skateboard. Rude.

The outrage!! 😂

He’s proud of him 🥹 here comes the tears again

Mentioning the video was a low blow, Jamie

‘If you go, I go’ 🥺🥹🫡

She truly thought about what they could do to get him to stay. Told him if he goes, she goes. That if she sells 49% of the club she could pay him a lot more, but nowhere near what he’s worth… fully outright asks him to please stay… and he gives her nothing. Certainly was a choice, Jason 🙄

Hannah is giving a masterclass in this scene, though

And he couldn’t even tell her she shouldn’t sell?? Wtf is up with that??

‘More like Drink, Sleep, Fuck’ 😂 I wanna watch that show!

Of course they beat the shit out of each other over Keeley. Good on you girl for sending them both packing!! 💪🏼 at least they know they’re idiots 😂

I actually love this scene between Nate & Ted. It felt like a great ending to their story. He’s getting to see Ted’s forgiveness first hand. Beautiful.

Oh, look! The rom-com couple 👀

A call back to the tickets under country women 🫡 My Wynonna Judd loving heart is soaring at this mention! A lovely nod to her for her contribution to Thundergong. Also this episode (if it hadn’t been pushed back 3 hours) would have been released on her birthday! 🥳

And I am happy to see whatshisface back too… genuinely can’t remember the characters name… JOHN! 🫣😂 also he’s not a Richmond fan. Why is he there??

Shut up, Jake

SHARON!!!!!!!!!!! 🥰

Yes, Ted, it doesn’t make sense. But we don’t question it!

‘You’re stuck with us, buddy’ but not really, cause you’re leaving. Arsehole.

‘Can I be a diamond dog’ 🥺 boys, he really needs help 🥺 and he’s actually asking for it for once 🥹 well done, Roy

I’d have liked just one scene of the guys in the changing rooms reaction to that lot barking 😂

You’re still you because you don’t need to change, Roy. You don’t need to be someone better. You just need to learn to speak up more. Talk about things with others. That’s it, babes!

Okay, now that shimmy was also kinda perfect 😂

Of course he got George to be his new coach.

Okay, question (if you read this); why now all the negative press against Rupert when it’s nearly the same as when he broke up with Rebecca?? Is the fact that the affair came out as sexual misconduct instead the only real difference? Why such a shock when he’s been in the press for the same thing before?? Another thing that doesn’t make sense to me 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tony showing wonderfully that being Rupert in public is him ‘playing a part’. God, I love this man

Good on you, Rebecca, for showing him he really doesn’t get to you anymore. I’m so proud of you!

And Ellie Taylor 🫡 I do not like Sassy, but you’re amazing, babes!

I completely missed Barbara holding up her hand for a high five and Rebecca just waving at her the first time I watched this!! 😂😂😂

She’s into violence, and I think that’s perfect. Barbara is possibly the only addition to this season that they got spot on. I love her!! How of that is down to Katy though, I don’t know…

😂 Mary’s reaction

Why bring up Zava again? This really wasn’t needed 🫢

‘Zorro’ was too easy 😂

As an ex Irish dancer of nearly 29 years I’m going to take that Michael Flatley mention purely for me. Sorry guys ✌🏼😜😂

Yes, this video made me as much of a mess as it made the 😫😫😫 oh, shirt indeed

SHUT UP, JAKE!

Another nice callback to Nate knowing what the notifications means 🫡

Nice goal, Chip 😉😂

‘Shut your butts and sit your mouths down’ made me chuckle both times I’ve seen this now 😂

Another tear inducing speech 🥲 I’m gonna miss you too, Ted

I know it’s to make a point, but how did he forget the sign wasn’t there?? You just had a conversation about it, man. Are you really that for gone?? 🫣

It had to be either Sam or Jamie to start off the Believe sign pieces 🫡

And they were all in the most perfect of places! Behind Sam’s inspiration, in Jamie’s book, Issac’s armband, Colin’s shinguard 🥹🥹

Another sweet moment between Nate & Ted

So is number 4 that their belief can be broken, but together they can put it back together again?? If so it’s brilliant! (I can’t remember what 1, 2 & 3 were 😂)

‘I know folks like to say ‘There’s no place like home.’ That’s true. Man, there ain’t a whole lot of places like AFC Richmond either’ SO DON’T LEAVE THEN, TED!! 🫠

Miss after Miss after miss 😂 this game would go fine in history if it were real! 😂

Sharon is me throughout this match 😂

Ooo Rupert is falling apart 🫢😏

Allowing Issac to take the penalty, showing they all know it’s just a game. Like Colin said ‘it’ll be fun’ 🥹

SHUT. UP. JAKE! 😂

He broke the fucking net!! 😂😂 nice one, Issac!!

Oh he’s really mad!! And Rebecca is confused… why is she paying him any attention, honestly!

Sharon really is me watching football 😂

Hitting John in the face - brilliant. But as I said before, since when has he been a Richmond fan?! Am I forgetting something?? 🤔

Fucking Barbara absolutely loving it 😂😂😂

Here he comes, Emperor Palpatine 🫣 and he is not happy!

Another callback!! Someone get this man some longer shorts! 😂

Dude… to fall apart like that in front of that many people 🫠

I’ve already written about this, but Rupert walking off the pitch breaks my heart. Tony made Rupert so human 😢

Ted just now knowing the offside rule enough to pick up on it when both Beard & Roy don’t?? YOU SHOULD NOT BE LEAVING, TED!! How many more times do I have to tell you?? 🙄

And an offside payout callback 🫡

Had to bring it full circle by asking Nate for his opinion and using his play 🫡

A hilarious call back for Jamie too!! 😂 bet Phil had fun with that

And the quiet mention of Barbecue Sauce 🥹🫡

Of course they won right at the last moment

Sharon! 😂 glad we got to see something more from Sarah! We’ve never seen Sharon this animated!!

And a jump into the arms! 🥲🫡 As a solid lover of the callbacks I’m incredibly great full for the amount we’ve had this episode

Have the fans storm the pitch but don’t use it as an excuse to get Rebecca down there? Huge wasted opportunity!!

Colin kissed his boyfriend!! 🥹🥰

And he did his celebration dance from the pilot 🥹🫡 we love to see it

Oh she’s so emotional 🥰

Had to pause of this Sun cover - Rupert’s out, Kakes is going on Lust Conquers All and Bex got a book deal 👍🏼 nice one, ladies!

Of course he had to grab a copy of the paper that had her photo on it 😏

Then we get a Zava returns, Shandy’s doing great, and a Marcus Rashford Beano 🥹 the work that goes into this show is incredible!

And a rule of 3 with the ussie kid! 🫡 but did he forget he’s met him before or??

‘Wicked’ ‘Kinky Boots’ 🥺 I’m gonna miss these

So was she not going to make a fuss if he hadn’t happened to have seen her?? And why have her turn around right as he notices her?? Why do they do these things?! 😫

She’s sticking around because you told her without words you don’t want her to go with you, mate. She didn’t want to talk about it before, but apparently neither did you!

Not the ‘club matriarch’ 🤢

Like… I really am confused. There’s so much Jason & Hannah put into their performances that speak volumes, and yet the words they speak contradict it all. What I get from this ‘thank you’ moment is that both of them have so much they want to say but won’t. Or can’t. Kills me

And those tears are purely Hannah. You can’t tell me otherwise 🥺

MAYBE I AM STILL ANGRY ABOUT THINGS! How can you have a woman in front of you, holding back tears as fiercely as she is, and not say anything. If you’re so confident you’re making the right decision why aren’t you trying to reassure her. Comfort her. I-

Good God Hannah is so pretty when she cries 🫠

He’s on the plane asking his best friend if it really was the best decision to leave. Showing he’s really not sure if he’s making the right choice. Beard got off the plane, Ted (award worthy performance I might add) and so could you.

A great fake out would have been if it seemed like he was leaving, but didn’t. Cut to him in the airport watching the plane take off. Or he arrives in Kansas but tells Henry he can’t stay. Yes, I’m bitter. Leave me alone.

How long was she in that airport for her to be completely fine now??

Baby Rebecca!!

And Boat Man! Who I will admit looks great in that pilot uniform 😏 Well done, Rebecca 😂

He gets her name but we don’t get his? Rude.

Omg she gifted them snow gloves! The Barbara effect!! 🥰

KBPR… Keeley Barbara Public Relations?? I like it!

Roy as the new manager, as he should 🫡

Aww, the little photo and sign from Phoebe 🥰

Sam on the Nigerian team is a little wtf. Did Edwin change his mind about Sam? Did the breakdown of the Super League make him wash his hands with football completely?? THESE ARE THE THINGS I NEED ANSWERS TO!! 👀

Aww, Jamie & his dad 🥰

Everyone at the Higgins’ for a BBQ 👀

Dutch man’s daughter and Phoebe playing together is cute, though

The boys having one share in the club 🥰

Mae having a whole stack 😂

Hey, it’s Shannon! Nice callback to have her be the one to show at Trent’s signing 🫡

‘The Richmond Way’ 🥰 ‘A very brief forward by Roy Kent’ 😂

AFC Richmond Woman’s Team 👀 This is the spin-off!! it’s not a want, it’s a need!!

And Sharon’s back at the club?? SINCE WHEN?! I just-

But Roy getting help from the Head of Mental Health & Emotional Well-Being. Well done, Roy. 🫡

I’m also incredibly happy Beard is still with the club, too 🥰

Nate on Roy’s shoulders 😂 made me chuckle

The fixed sign 🥹

COULD HAVE ENDED THE SHOW THERE!! Just saying

But no, had to show Beard marrying his abusive, pregnant girlfriend 🙄 I really hope for his sake they just didn’t show that she’s really calmed down and we just didn’t see it. LIKE SO MUCH ELSE! 🫢

WHY WASN’T TED AT HIS BEST FRIENDS WEDDING?!?! 📢📢📢

Everyone with their partners 🥹 or both partners in Dani’s case 😂

And how wonderful to see the couple who helped Beard on his crazy night out with their baby 🥰 I actually love that he apparently kept in touch with them 🥰

But Ted’s asleep on the plane… 👀 Ted doesn’t sleep on planes… was that montage all his dream?? SO MANY UNANSWERED FUCKING QUESTIONS!!!

Henry & Michelle didn’t go get him from the airport?? Thought his son was desperate to have his dad back??

So are they implying he’s back in his unhappy life he left?? Okay…

He basically became one of the biggest names within English Football for what he did, and now he’s just coaching his son’s soccer team?? Like…🤷🏻‍♀️ more questions for my list…

That did not seem like. Happy guy at the end… 🫤

Okay, apparently Dutch man is called Matthijs and his daughter is called Jelka. Good to know! Would have been nice if it wasn’t left to the credits to teach me that… 🫣

Woah. Okay. I honestly don’t know that I’ll ever be able to watch that episode again in it’s entirety. There were many things I loved about it, but also things that I didn’t. And whilst I felt the same about many other episodes, I did expect more for the season finale. Why did him leaving seem to everyone like they were never going to talk again?? Did they all agree to never stay in contact??

But I do know that it didn’t ruin the show as a whole for me 👍🏼 I’ll just stay living in my delusional TedBecca fantasy land they built for me 😉

[kinetic-elaboration]

February 5: Tinker Tailor (Movie Version)

Just finished re-watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. That was... an interesting experience. Last time I watched it, it was before reading the book, on purpose to see how well I could follow it blind, and this time I just finished a re-read.

Overall impression: this was made for people who've read the book. It's not that it was difficult to follow exactly... that's too hard for me to judge at this point. It's more that I think it might be hard to see the point or to really get invested without the book. But maybe I'm wrong because I think I was pretty invested after my first watch, with just the movie to go on.

Often times, what it reminded me of was a sort of summary, picking out the most important part of each section or scene and presenting it with minimal context. When I was a kid, and the internet had like 3 sites on it, I would amuse myself sometimes by using the summary function in Word to make summaries of various lengths of things I had written. This movie felt at times, especially early on, like such a document. It was accurate in picking out the most important bits but they weren't presented with much context and they had no particular room to breathe, no time for excess detail. (Which is sort of understandable because it's a 2 hour movie but also not understandable because there are a lot of quite random interlude scenes of Smiley... walking? swimming?)

I did think it did a good job of compressing important plot points when necessary. For example, cutting out Dani and her mother but still having a reason for Guillam to suspect Tarr was lying, or simplifying the confusing situation with Haydon at the club.

The relationship between Smiley and Peter was so good, and I thought there was a subtlety to the performances that really brought a lot that was unique while still being in keeping with the book. Smiley's "You're going to do something for me" really sent me. He didn't get to show off that much of his softly powerful interrogation style, but he had moments--"Yes, I am a better spy than Bill Haydon" moments--like that one, or like when he had Guillam pulled off Tarr, that really drove his character home.

The Karla encounter story was also really well done. That's a long story that seems like it should be a flashback in a movie, and yet it can't be a flashback without showing Karla, and they way it was done here really solved that problem beautifully. The smoky brown room and they're both fucking plastered and Smiley's re-enacting the whole memory to a blank chair on the second half of the screen... Karla is the empty space, the eye of the storm, the vortex around which everything else whirls.

I really liked Tom Hardy's portrayal of Ricki; it seemed a stand out performance to me this time around. He's certainly more sympathetic, but he still retained that coiled up nervous energy.

In general, a lot of the characters came off more sympathetic here, in particular Ricki, Connie, and Westerby--though Westerby was arguably just a name, really, since he didn't have either actual Westerby's personality or the personality of Sam, the actual duty officer on the night of Jim's shooting.

There were some bits that were added that I liked quite a bit: in particular, Haydon bringing his bicycle into the Circus, because it was a quick, fun way to show how quirky and likable he is; Tarr using the mirror to draw light on Irina's face, because it made them both sympathetic very quickly and it was beautiful; and the use of the Mr. Wu song while Guillam was stealing from the Circus. It's hard to depict on screen the sort of paranoia that is so obvious on the page, especially in Guilliam's arc, but having him pass by Roy singing on the stairs did that super well, and in a way that fit the medium. Is he singing it because he was listening to the same radio station, or because he was listening to Guillam on the phone? You simply can't know!

I'm also pro-recurring Christmas party scene, though I wonder if that's a controversial take.

Though there were places where I felt the summarizing was well done, there were other places where I felt like shortcuts they'd put in created inconsistencies, or where things were cut I would have liked to have seen kept in. For example, Smiley tells Jim when they meet that it's presumed that he blew his networks to save himself--no, it's presumed he died immediately from being shot. You can't have both. Seems a weird thing for Smiley to lie about and yet it doesn't fit with the movie timeline. It makes sense in the book--but then the networks were a much bigger deal in the book as well. Similarly, I get why they depicted Karla shooting Irina in front of Jim--it established she was dead and showed what kind of torture he endured, two birds, etc.--but the timeline, fudged as it is, doesn't make sense. Either Tarr sat on his info for even longer than in the book, or she hadn't been captured yet.

I also think the movie was too coy about Bill and Jim. I've heard both takes--it was too coy and it was (somehow) too explicit--but I'm bothered that one completely legitimate interpretation of this movie by itself is that Jim's feelings were not requited. It's true Bill takes the photo of them, and that he mentions having both a man and a woman he's attached to in England (aka canonically is bisexual) but the Christmas party scene makes it look perhaps like it's only Jim who has those feelings. Also, the truly fucked up relationship between them and the depth of Haydon's betrayal are not clear enough in my opinion. It wouldn't take much to make them so. It could be as little as adding "because he loved you" in the middle of the line "He came to warn you. Because he knew all along it was you."

On a related note, I think it was important to make clear that Operation Testify was not a legitimate operation that the mole fucked up. It was a set up from first to last. Again, there isn't a lot of excuse for keeping this unclear in my opinion. Smiley's last talk with Haydon is extremely short--very much one of the 'summary scenes'--and adding in a few more lines wouldn't have made it run too long. They do talk about it! After Haydon saying "Dammit I got him back," Smiley could have asked if the operation was ever real, for example, and he could have said no.

I also think it was unnecessary and mean to make Jim reject Roach at the end. That's completely made up, not just truncated from the book, and I think both characters deserve more than that.

I realize I'm harping on Jim stuff (I wonder why) but it also bothered me that the kids talked about his hunchback but he absolutely did not have one??? Am I just not seeing it? He seemed fine to me.

Another nitpicking detail: Witchcraft was the name of the intelligence product, and Merlin was the name of the source. I don't get why they didn't differentiate those two things. Jarring to hear "Witchcraft" used as the name of a person.

Overall.... the structure of the film seemed softer and less precise than the book, and I realize this is book bias talking but... I was a little frustrated. Why does Ricki tell his story so late? Why isn't Operation Testify given its due? There was a real build up to Smiley and Jim meeting in the book; in the movie it's just another interview, like with Connie or Westerby. Even really big scenes, like the Jim interview, or the reveal of the mole (which could have used more violence imo), or the Haydon scene at the end, seemed like, eh, just another scene. The pacing was too even, I suppose is what I'm saying, and the placement of scenes too random. I think that's what people find hard to follow: the when of each scene seems quite arbitrary most of the time. It isn't always, but I think if the movie followed the larger structure of the book, which is really quite smart and well thought out, I mean it's all done for you right there, it might have been easier to parse.

But that's easy for me to say as someone who's never written a screenplay I suppose.

Now where's my movie that's all about Thursgood's?

[briarmoon1015]

I can tell you about Kid Flash/ Wally!! Obviously there’s been a lot of different lore for the character so I’ll try to condense it into what is the most canon rn lol

Wally is Iris Wests nephew and son of Rudolph and Mary West. Rudolph is Iris’s brother, and to be honest, neither Mary or Rudy are good people. Both are extremely manipulative people, especially Rudy. Wally admired the Flash a ton as a kid as well.

Wally went to visit his Aunt Iris for a summer as they have a strong relationship. Barry showed up as the flash and was hanging out with Wally, showing him where he got his powers, when Wally got struck by lightning as well and got the same powers.

Wally became kid flash for a while, fighting with his uncle who he thought was the best guy ever. Wally adored Barry, and barry was very much a father figure in his life. Barry was a pretty good mentor as well, giving Wally the space he needed to grow but also being there when Wally needed him. The two often hung out with Batman and Robin, which allowed Wally and dick to become friends.

Wally was a great titan and was often the heart of the team. The original titans were him, dick, Donna, Roy Harper, and Garth. Wally did often struggle on the decision if he wanted to be a hero, and on multiple occasions chose not to follow that path.

His real arc begun after his uncles death and his split from the titans however. When his uncle died saving the universe, Wally decided to continue his uncles legacy by becoming the next flash. Wally struggled a lot during this time to live up to his uncle however, mostly because of imposter syndrome lol. He believed his uncle was pretty much perfect, and refused to let himself out shine his uncle while also putting himself down the whole time. For example, he never let himself run faster than Barry could, and then would get on himself about how he could never compare to Barry.

Over time Wally learned that he could be great while still respecting his uncle. He met the love of his life, Linda, a writer/reporter, and joined up with the league. He did fight a ton of flash villians like Savitar, the rogues, so on and so forth, but his main villian was definitely Hunter zolomon/zoom. He was Wally’s friend until he had a terrible accident involving gorilla grodd, where he basically ended up paralyzed. Mad that Wally wouldn’t go back in time For him, he got himself some time powers and decided to ruin Wally’s life to try and make him a better hero.

Wally eventually thinks he pulls Barry back from the speed force, the speedster equivalent of the after life, only for it to actually have been the reverse flash. From there, him and Barry learn to share the flash title until Barry accidentally crashes the entire time stream trying to save his mom and erases Wally out of it.

Wally eventually comes back thanks to his uncle and the titans, and after a lot of anguish of his wife and children not being around, he works super hard to try and get them back. This results in him break the source wall, locking speedsters out from time traveling, and accidentally killing some other hero’s at sanctuary, basically a super hero mental health hospital. The killing of other hero’s was retconned to not be his fault.

He did get his wife and kids back eventually, and once again took up the mantel of the flash. I know he’s been working a ton with the titans right now, but Wally’s identity very much stands outside of them. He is his own hero at this point, and I’ll say the best flash we have ever gotten. r

I did my best to try and condense stuff, even though I’ve been reading comics for like three years now I’ve undoubtedly got something wrong so if people have anything to add or correct please do! I did also leave a ton of details out so if you want more I really suggest reading Wally’s comics! Especially during the time he was trying to figure out how to be the flash.

Hey. Pst! DC Lore Masters. Got a sec?

K, so like, I’ve seen Teen Titans… and some of Young Justice… but I’m interested in the comics.

See these guys up here? These guys specifically (Robin/Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, Kid Flash, and Cyborg), what’s the condensed version of each of their stories? Is there a way to condense it? Is there even a story to condense?

I’m familiar with Raven’s story—half demon, Trigon wants to use her to end the world, blah blah blah, etc etc—and I know some of Starfire’s origins on Tamaran and Beast Boy’s past with the Doom Patrol, and of course there’s Dick Grayson which I know most of the story already, but like… especially Cyborg, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl… what are their stories? Who are their arch nemeses? What journey do they go on? How do they grow as people? Am I asking the wrong questions? I am just curious, and Google isn’t helping me rn…

Thanks…

[nonotnolan]

Soulmate Swap

“Look, Roy... I know you’re still hurting from your break up... but there are plenty of fish out in the sea!  Or, you know, casual hook-ups, whatever is more your speed... anyway, most of them aren’t as crazy as Lacey.  I promise.”  When Roy invited me to spend the weekend at his family’s beach house, I sprang at the opportunity.  He needed time to get away from life, but he didn’t want to go alone.  Sure, I was gonna spend the weekend on sob duty... but he’s one of my closest friends.  I’d be lending him an ear either way, so at least this way I’m getting a vacation out it.

Roy smiled back.  “Admittedly, being less crazy than Lacey is not a high bar.  I dunno, Pedro... I’m just not sure I’m cut out for the bachelor lifestyle anymore.  Trying to find someone is such a pain in the ass, so whenever I do manage to hook a girl, having a one night stand just feels like such a waste, you know?  I’m looking for a relationship.  I can’t just hop on Grindr and find a hookup like you can.  I... don’t mean that to be rude,” he added quickly.  “Just... between the tats, the chest hair, and the muscles, you never have issues hooking a guy.  But me, I don’t have much in my favor except my family’s money.”

I shook my head.  Roy had self-esteem issues on a good day, but ever since Lacey broke his heart, it was getting even worse.  He was a good looking guy-- sure, he was pretty slender, and his smooth skin confirmed that he’d never worked a hard day of manual labor in his life-- but that didn’t make him any less of a man.  And if a girl couldn’t appreciate his good looks and sharp wit, well, her loss.

“Are we really going to have this argument again?” I asked.  “We’re not going anywhere until you stop selling yourself short.  You’re a hell of a guy, and your perfect girl is out there, somewhere.”

Roy pulled two vials out of his back pocket, and placed them on the table next to his beach chair.  “I had a different plan, actually.  It’s a modified true love potion.  The red one causes the drinker to swap bodies with their soul mate, and the purple one reverses it.”

I paused, examining the liquid in the vials a bit closer-- the purple one had bits of globby slime suspended in it, while the red one was thick like honey.  “And your soulmate is just supposed to be okay with having their entire life interrupted like that?”

“Okay, see, the fact that your first reaction is to complain about the logistics of the potion, rather than express any sort of skepticism?  Yeah, that’s why I invited you out here this weekend.  If they’re my true love, they can handle a little bit of weird magic.  The potion’s supposed to take ten minutes before it takes full effect.  So just... sit here next to me, find out who ends up in my body, and ask them some questions.  Get their name, write down their phone number... stuff like that.  Then, give them the purple vial once you’re done.”  He paused, flashing a wide grin before downing the red liquid.  “What could go wrong?”

Frankly, I could think of any number of things that could go wrong, but it was too late now.  I grabbed a pen and paper, and joined Roy outside on the rear deck.  I was all set to interrogate whatever woman ended up inside of his body once the potion kicked in, but the warm sun and salt breeze was far too relaxing.  Well, if she was going to be his true love, she could figure out how to wake me up.

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

I woke up to someone shaking my arm.  “You dumbass!,” the voice said, playfully chiding me.  “Why didn’t you tell me you had a crush on me?  I went through all of that work to find this potion, and we could have just talked to each other instead!”

I opened my eyes and found myself looking up into a mirror.  No, wait, I was looking up at my own body.  Hang on.  I looked down at my chest, only to find that I was suddenly wearing a blue polo.  The same one Roy had been wearing today.  My arms were less hairy, and Roy’s Apple Watch was on my wrist.  But if we switched bodies with each other, then...

“Roy, you have a crush on me?  Since when did... I thought you were straight!”  I felt myself blushing with embarrassment, but I couldn’t help but feel my chest ignite with hope and passion.  “I didn’t think I had a chance with you, and I didn’t want to make our friendship awkward, so I just... I didn’t say anything.  Besides, you and Lacey were cute together, so I figured that ship had sailed.  You’re not gay, are you?”  

He leaned down next to me, grinning ear to ear.  “Pedro, I’m bisexual.  I thought you knew.  And here I was, thinking that you were out of my league.  You’re like, the pinnacle of strength and masculinity, and I’m over here--”

I leaned over and kissed him full on the lips.  It was somehow everything I had imagined it would be, even if we were in the wrong bodies.  “Don’t you dare sell yourself short,” I said, once we pulled away.  “If I wanted a muscle bro for a partner, I’d just stick my junk in a glory hole at the gym.”

Roy just smiled.  “Speaking of which, perhaps we should explore the bedroom before you drink the purple vial?”

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

It’s been three weeks, and I still haven’t taken the purple vial.  Roy’s parents were thrilled to learn that their son was suddenly willing to take a finance job at his father’s firm and slowly earn his way up the ranks.  In my own body, nobody wanted to take a chance on the gym employee who earned a business degree at a community college.  In Roy’s body, suddenly the glass ceiling had been lifted.  It’s amazing what the right connections will do for a guy.

It’s a new job, so no one noticed when Roy suddenly started a more intricate manscaping routine.  Well, maybe his father would have... but we’re on opposite ends of the building so that no one can complain to HR about the nepotism.  The fact that I’m getting on-the-job training in Roy’s body means it will be near impossible for us to swap back, but I don’t hear him complaining.

Roy’s made himself at home in my body, and he’s been doing a great job of keeping up with my gym routine.  He insists on wearing my glasses instead of my contacts, but otherwise you’d never suspect anything was different.  Well, he did quit my job as a Personal Trainer at the gym to focus on “my” new OnlyFans account, but we both agreed that would be for the best.  

Honestly, I think we’re going to stay like this.  Roy knows exactly where to rub my back whenever I start getting sore muscles, and I know precisely where to nibble on his earlobes to maximize pleasure.  We’ve even started calling each other by our old names.  Looking into my eyes and calling myself Pedro was weird at first, but it’s starting to become more natural.

Do I feel a bit silly that it took a magical body swapping love potion to figure out that my best friend and I were in love with each other?  Absolutely.  But I don’t regret it in the slightest.

[stxleslyds]

Robin Jason, a friend and ally of the Titans.

PART 1.

Last Friday I was feeling extra rage-y after the news about the Titans mini with the Titans show line-up of heroes. I still think that a) Jason shouldn’t be considered a Titan or be in the team as Red Hood and b) that him going back to wearing a bat symbol on his chest is just bad but as @randomlut said there is a possibility of that book not being set in DC’s current universe and if that’s the case then okay, I will not complain about it anymore.

But this post isn’t about that Titans book it’s about Jason’s Robin’s appearances in volume two of the New Teen Titans!

Now, this won’t be an in-depth review of those issues from a story point of view, it will be a post in which I talk about Jason’s characterization and interactions with the Titans. Maybe I will even dive a little bit into why I think that the interactions that Jason and Roy have in those issues makes the relationship that they had in New52 very out of place.

Let’s begin!

·         NTT (1984) #19

Jason as Robin appears here only in the last page of the issue. After the current team of the Titans appears to be falling apart Donna calls Jason and others to help in a mission, this team that she puts together resembles the “original” line-up with Robin, Speedy, (Kid) Flash, Aqualad and Hawk.

·         NTT (1884) #20-21

Jason appears in the Titans tower along the OG Titans, when Donna finally tells them what the mission is all about (stopping Cheshire from interrupting a meeting) she asks if they are in on the job, Jason is not only excited about being there but about Batman actually letting him come all the way to the tower. A little bit of what Jason thinks or saw in Bruce is shown when Wally says that he “didn’t think the Batman could be thrilled by anything. He is always so grim.”

Basically, what Jason says is that the Bat isn’t that bad if you get to know him and that he cares about Jason’s education outside of vigilantism. Also, Jason seems to be grateful and very receptive of the things that Bruce taught him, he regards him as a very good mentor.

After everyone decides to help, they get on their jet. Here we have a very important interaction between Jason and Donna, she is telling him how she is feeling about the attitude of the rest of the team and about how she is a little bit lost now that she is in charge of the Titans and then she asks what Robin thinks about the whole thing, Jason is obviously thrilled once more, someone as experienced as Donna is asking him for his opinion? It blows his mind away! Batman never does that, he is always following his lead and never has a say on what they do so, to him, helping the Titans is only getting better and maybe he will ask the Bat to let him join them permanently.

Because they were talking Donna wasn’t paying much attention while flying and after they barely avoid crashing the jet, she apologizes to everyone and once more looks for reassurance with Jason, this time Jason is caught off guard but after Hawk teases him about his hesitation he tells her that “everything’s okay”.

When they arrive to Switzerland (where the meeting will be held) we have Jason’s first interaction with Roy Harper and him also slowly transforming into a burrito, that boy was cold and pissed off about it!

It’s really funny to me that Roy talking about Oliver’s pervy arrows is his very first interaction with Jason, who would have thought that a mad man would later make them besties?

They all go inside a building to get warm and for a while Jason is just chilling while the other Titans are all having an existential crisis, because here is the thing, Jason is a kid, he was presumably 14 here while all the other are in their twenties. Donna is having trouble with her new position as leader of the Titans, Wally is trying to live up to Barry, Garth is grieving his love, Roy is still very uncomfortable about being on a mission that involves Cheshire and Hank is just crazy. The others are trying to complete a mission while their real-life problems loom over them and Jason is just on an adventure with cool people.

Its not much later than Cheshire attacks the Titans, she first takes on Wally because he is her biggest threat and then detonates a bomb, now here I will give a little bit of context, Cheshire does not want to kill the Titans as of now, she just wants to incapacitate them because them being there is making her own mission more complicated, all I will say is that she doesn’t truly have villainous intentions and that she has a very weak spot for Roy.

Anyway, the bomb incapacitates Garth and Roy and Cheshire also managed to shoot Wally so only Donna, Hank and Jason are left standing to capture Cheshire, but here is the thing, Hank doesn’t want to capture her, he wants to kill her.

Jason has interacted very few times with Hank so far and it has always been Hank teasing him but now as Jason is going to fight Cheshire Hank interrupts him telling him that he will do “what has to be done”. Cheshire of course wont fall easily and I think that at this very moment she is thinking that killing Hank wouldn’t be a bad idea because he is going to mess her plans up! But not to worry as she is raising her gun Jason comes in to save his ass!

Jason is not a match for Cheshire and after that she quickly subdues him. But what’s important here is two things, first Jason doesn’t want or consider the idea of killing Jade, he just wants to capture her and bring her to justice, secondly, he doesn’t even want her to kill Hank, who has been violent towards every Titan and rude to Jason every single time that he has interacted with him. What I am trying to say is that this IS Robin Jason, he doesn’t think or act the same as Red Hood will in the future, he has his opinions on what punishments killers should get but he is not there to kill anyone himself.

There is this whole page where Donna beats Hank against a tree so he stops killing, because that’s not what the Titans do, she explains that if they do that then the public (that is already quite afraid of them) will just fear them more and they don’t need that, plus she believes that he is acting that way out of grief after losing his brother, as she is saying all of this though she is putting quite a lot of pressure on his chest and that might have ended up in her actually killing Hank if Jason hasn’t been there to stop her.

Donna is obviously not having a good time and after this she says that she “has had it” and that from now on Robin should “take command” because “its his group anyway”. Oh man…its clear to the reader that Donna is not having a good time being team leader but she also misses a certain person a lot. She is obviously not seeing Jason there, she is seeing Dick, the person that she is used to take orders from but he is not there.

Jason is aware of this, he might be a kid and might not have as many problems as the other Titans as of now but he is not a fool and he doesn’t want people to see someone else when they look at him, so he confronts Donna about what she just said/did.

Jason is just great in this scene; he just doesn’t want people that he admires to treat him as if he were someone that he isn’t. Just because Dick isn’t there doesn’t mean that he (because he is Robin) can replace him, they are not the same person and they do not have the same experience. He calls out Donna on her behaviour towards him and Donna being an adult takes responsibly for her actions and understands that ultimately, she was hurting Jason’s feelings. We have a kinda wholesome moment when they hug but because this is written by Marv Wolfman and he just can’t help himself, he proceeds to write Jason as a horny teenager. What a way to ruin the moment Marv…

Back to Cheshire, she is about to kick Wally’s face in when she decides to first tell him what he has to tell the others when they wake up, which is “Cheshire remembers”.

Wally tells the Titans Cheshire’s message but none of them truly understands what it means, Hank says that he doesn’t even understand why they are alive. Donna comes to the conclusion that Cheshire might want something from them and this is where Jason gives his thoughts, he says “Doesn’t matter what she wants. We take care of her. She’s a killer.”, its clear once more than although Jason (as Robin) wouldn’t kill anyone he does feel a certain type of way about criminals and wants them to be locked up.

After yet another verbal fight between Hank and Donna the Titans take a cable car to their next location, Jason is shown as exited about the view and the whole experience once more. When they arrive, they find Faraday (the guy that called Donna for help in #19) and he explains a bit more the situation but Jason once more is having trouble staying warm so he goes to the cable car tunnel nearby, but he doesn’t go alone, Roy goes with him because his “costume wasn’t made for this kind of weather either”, in this second interaction between these two we get to see Jason’s detective skills shine.

Jason has been watching Roy and he found his reaction to Cheshire’s message quite sus. Not only is he showing his detective skills here but he also said in a previous panel this: “The Batman keeps telling me to watch people’s eyes. And every so often I notice you become awfully agitated…like something was going on you didn’t want to be part of”.  Zdarsky, hey pal, I am talking to you, look at this dude! He read Roy like an open book, this is Robin Jason, he likes being Robin and he is brilliant at it, he is methodical because he learnt from paying attention and working with Batman, so, you sir are wrong, not only did UtRH disprove your dumb narrative but so does this interaction (along all his appearances in this book).

Roy is impressed by the kid, and yeah, he calls him kid because he is a kid…Roy is visibly older than Jason as he should, do you see it Lobdell? Yeah, there is no dubious age gap between those two as you made it seem. Roy is impressed because between both of them he is the one that is most experienced, not the other way around. How did Lobdell manage to make up a whole as run where not only were Roy and Jason close in age and besties but also Jason was better at vigilantism than Roy and Roy was the one being impressed. It’s wild, wild and bad.

Back to the issue, Jason taken out of the fight quite fast once more by Cheshire and she proceeds to talk to Roy, that’s where we find out that they were lovers and that she feels weak when she is around him because he makes her feel feelings but that’s not all, she tells Roy that he is “the man that fathered my child” …Oh and now she does want to kill him. That’s where #20 ends, so let’s see what happens with Jason in #21.

In the beginning of #21 Jason is conscious once more and when he hears Cheshire’s threat, he attacks her so she can’t shoot Roy, he also says this “Sorry ‘cat’ that’s a definite no-no. Don’t you know mommy’s and daddies should never fight” I, I don’t know why he had to say it like that…the 80s were weird. While Jason is being himself Roy is thinking “Don’t be cocky kid, Jade hasn’t got a sense of humour…” but because he wants to talk to Jade, he tells Jason to go, that he will handle Cheshire and he leaves.

Roy and Jade talk, Donna and Hawk are fighting bad guys and each other and at some point, Jason joins Garth and helps him take down a couple of guys, he also tries to make conversation with him but Garth is still not talking to anybody.

Cheshire tells Roy that he will never hear about their child again and that he needs to let her do her thing and stay out of it because he doesn’t understand what’s going on, Roy doesn’t do what she asks and she “poisons” him. Donna saves a guy that Hank was trying to kill. After Cheshire leaves Roy comes to the conclusion that she wasn’t there to kill the people from the meeting or that she poisoned him, but because they were there and everything went to shit now the people that were getting together are blaming the Titans for the interruption. The whole thing is a mess and the news channel are not nice about the Titans as a whole, but I am not interested in exploring that here. All you need to know is that the people that made Cheshire do what she did to the Titans were the Brother Blood people.

It’s on the jet that we see Jason again, he and the others are going back to the tower. Because the news are painting the Titans as bad when they are arriving to the tower Jason sees a lot of people protesting about them and he feels bad. This was his first job with the Titans and he is a kid, imagine how sad it would make you if you wanted to help and after getting the job done people were mad at you. But even though he is sad about that he takes time to ask Roy if he is okay after he sees him almost running away from the tower, he doesn’t get a response but he isn’t mad about it.

Jason’s stay with the Titans comes to and end and he says that he loved hanging out with them and is grateful for having been invited, he is so sweet!

·         NTT (1884) #24

Here, for some reason, we see Jason saying goodbye to the Titans again and unlike at the end of #21 Roy is there to see him leave.

I am not going to lie though; I liked this goodbye better it feels like it’s more complete than the other one. Here he says that Batman wants him back in Gotham but that if the Titans ever need him again all they need to do is call. He also mentions Nightwing which is funny because he will be called by Donna again in #26 to help the Titans get Dick back from Brother Bloods Church.

I am going to cut this part here because issues 26 to 31 have a lot of Jason content that I want to explore and I can’t put any more pictures here, also this post is already long as it is now!

I just love Jason’s little moments in these issues, him confronting Donna and reading Roy like and open book in #20 are my absolute favourite, I just think this is a nice way to kinda show how wrong some current characterizations of Robin Jason are and what better way to do that than reading and looking into some good stories.

Oh! Before I forget, in #21 Roy leaves the Titans’ tower to go see Jade and he actually gets to meet his daughter Lian for the first time, so yeah, that was a wholesome moment!

[topaz-eyes]

I wrote Johnny/Brackett for Yuletide, so I got to ponder how a potential romantic relationship between them might work. I agree with Johnny's and Brackett's character similarities for sure. I think that Brackett sees a lot of himself in Johnny too, some of which rubs him the wrong way--which might account for some of Brackett's initial dislike of Johnny at the beginning of the show.

Though I would also say Johnny/Brackett is imho not a ship that can sail successfully until a few things happen. Luckily, most of those are covered in the episodes.

Like, Brackett successfully overcomes his initial "paramedics are inferior" attitude, and he comes to genuinely like and respect his paramedics, especially Roy and Johnny. Brackett is very empathetic and supportive of Roy when he thinks of leaving the program early on, and he always seriously considers Johnny's suggestions on improving the program.

Johnny's arc in the show is how he matures and starts becoming more comfortable with himself. Which is admittedly a work in progress right to the end of the series. Imho it's important to point out that along with the gaps in income, lifestyle, and education, there's a good 12-15 year age gap between Johnny and Brackett too. (It shows in episodes like "Virus" where they share a room and Brackett has to put up with Johnny's audience of adoring nurses.) I think that any successful relationship between Johnny and Brackett would have to be as equal as possible. I can't really see Johnny/Brackett together believably while Johnny's still a paramedic, because I think both men would be mindful of the inherent power imbalance of sleeping with one's boss. Being together when they're fire captain and doctor, however, equalizes those power dynamics. (Though it might cause other issues.)

Not to say those power dynamics shouldn't be explored because there are lots of fascinating fics to be writ there! Messy, dysfunctional ships are great too.

Brackett respects and values confidence and competence. He respects and needs people to stand up to him: people who know what they want, and who can hold their own against him, like Dixie, Joe Early, or Mike Morton. We know Johnny is also well capable of standing up to Brackett; he does that in a few episodes. But Woobie!Johnny, Indecisive!Johnny, Endless!Disaster!Johnny, or Constantly!Insecure!Johnny won't cut it for long without pushback. Not to say that Johnny can't be emotionally vulnerable with Brackett, or seek comfort and advice from him! Except Brackett's not someone who tolerates wishy-washy angsty bullshit either.

I personally don't believe Johnny would care about the optics of Brackett as an influential doctor. Dating or otherwise, if Brackett's wrong about something, Johnny would point that out regardless of how it looks. I kind of think they hold similar standards in people too; they value honesty, sincerity, forthrightness. Johnny's power and influence is limited relative to Brackett's, sure, but I think that Johnny's influence on Brackett would get things done when it's the right thing to do (even though Johnny might chafe at not being able to do it himself). And I don't think Johnny would be overly envious about lifestyle differences; yes he's displeased about paramedics' low salaries and knows they're underpaid, but he doesn't blame Brackett for that.

Either way, their arguments would be loud and legion (and so would the make-up sex). These are two very passionate, driven, and caring men.

For me, "Loose Ends" is the turning point episode where Johnny/Brackett becomes feasible. It feels like the first time Brackett actually sees Johnny as the competent, confident, and caring professional and person he is; not just the goofy, nurse-chasing hose jockey at the ER desk after rescues. I mean, after 5.5 seasons, Brackett's worked with Johnny long enough to know all that on an intellectual level. Yet having Johnny treat him as a patient on the accident scene, while he's injured and emotionally fragile, is very different. That hand clasp and look between them in the treatment room is everything and it's fascinating how long they hold it.

For sure, Brackett's insistence on buying picnic tickets from Johnny so Johnny can win the Vegas trip (though Johnny doesn't want it!) definitely shows how much further they have to go to make a relationship work. But imho the Johnny/Brackett basics are set by this episode.

Non-canon ship/crackship ask game: Johnny Gage and Kel Brackett.

Oh lordy.

Potentially a disaster, definitely interesting and vastly underrated; I've read fic about that before, but it was always just PWP, which doesn't live up to the ship's full potential if you ask me.

Anyway.

Johnny and Brackett are pretty similar in a lot of ways (frequently a bit abrasive towards people they don't like or trust, insanely dedicated, clever, prone to getting emotionally involved when they shouldn't, idealistic), but from vastly different backgrounds - and I think Johnny's gonna be a lot more aware of that than Kel.

So there's the obvious - the difference in power and influence and just sheer standard of living that's probably going to be a massively sore spot for Johnny, and Brackett's gonna put his foot in it. Repeatedly. Badly.

Badly enough to sustain several slow-burn will-they-or-won't-they fics if someone feels like it.

Beyond that, I feel like they'd either take great joy in mercilessly ribbing each other, particularly for things they themselves also do (it's the hypocrisy that makes it fun - and makes Dix and Joe roll their eyes so hard it's a wonder they haven't sprained anything yet), or there'd be ample quiet, comforting moments, commiserating about patients and the stupidity of the general public, and the injustice of who lives and dies and the senselessness of it all. Probably both, in turn.

Probably a lot of severely awkward dates, too, as they kind of adjust to each other's standards. Lots of angst on Johnny's side about how do you date a very influential doctor without screwing it up, even before potentially getting into the whole, yknow, 1970's gay ship aspect of it all (especially since I love to ignore THAT whole mess), and Brackett really not seeing the problem or understanding the fuss.

Get them both onto the same page about something though, and it suddenly becomes very clear why they're dating.

[justmypartner]

I’ll hold you close in the quiet

Summary: Inspired by 9x03 bts/synopsis - After moving into their new home together, Jay and Hailey find themselves struggling when buried secrets come back to haunt them. They soon realize there’s only one thing that can make things feel better - each other. 

*title taken from the song Watching You by Night Traveler 

Read on AO3 or below

Hands entwined, strides in sync, Hailey and Jay climbed the steps to the front door of their new home. Their home. It still felt so strange to say. After getting engaged and realizing they were only wasting money still paying the lease on two separate apartments, they began the hunt for a place of their own. Hailey had been no stranger to house hunting. In fact, she’d been in and out of at least three places in the past few years, but she’d never found a place as perfect as that one. The commonality among each of her previous places was that none of them ever truly made her feel like she was at home. Not in the same way she felt standing there on that stoop. 

She couldn’t quite explain it. She just knew that the feeling she had was one of certainty and peace, and she could tell Jay felt the same way. They never spoke the words, but they were each other’s home. No house or apartment would ever give them the same warm and comforting feeling they gave each other. So that’s why the shell before them, the empty structure waiting to be filled felt so much like home for them — because it was theirs together. 

“Should I carry you over the threshold?” he asked her, holding out his arms.

She let out a nervous laugh. 

“I’m pretty sure you do that after we’re married. Plus, you’re not carrying me anywhere.”

“Is that a challenge or a threat?”

“Neither,” she laughed, flashing him her best you’re an idiot smile. “I just don’t want-“

Her words were cut short with a screech as he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder before carrying her through the doorway.

“Jay put me down!”

Their laughter was the first thing they filled the space with, and they only hoped that it augured well for their future there. 

They spent the next few days settling into that home, starting a new chapter, a better chapter, in neutral ground they were working to make their own. It was the perfect blend of his things, her things, and new things, something that only reflected the very essence of their relationship. 

Packing, moving, unpacking, it was all just the distraction Hailey needed from the Roy and Voight of it all. Putting all of her energy into the process kept her mind busy, something she was glad for considering how rampant her mind would run in the quiet. 

Voight had told her to learn to be okay with not being okay. She couldn’t help but envy how capable he was of doing that. He was back to business as usual every day since that night in the warehouse. Though, she couldn’t seem to flip that switch so easily. Insomnia kept her up most nights, her appetite was almost non-existent, and she was beginning to forget what it felt like to not be on edge at all times. She had to put on a face — a face that told the world everything was fine when really, pain and guilt had been eating her alive every second of every day since she pulled that trigger.

The job that was once the one thing that made her feel safe now felt like her biggest threat. She couldn’t bring herself to look her sergeant in the eyes. His placid demeanor only filled her with a rage she feared she’d never come back from if she gave into. She also couldn’t bear to face Kim who was struggling in her own ways, hellbent on finding the man who shot her. The man Hailey knew was already in the ground. Work was no longer her safe space. So what she was left with was Jay and the sanctuary they were building together. 

After long, anxiety-ridden days, operating on autopilot, jumping every time a stranger said her name, coming home to Jay was the only thing that could make her feel normal again. Anything as simple as his touch or the soft voice he only chartered with her was enough to cast away all of the bad and remind her that things were okay because she had him. 

What she didn’t know was that no matter how hard she’d tried to hide the fact that she wasn’t okay from him, he knew her well enough to see through the facade. He’d been watching her. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t pry. He’d pretend to sleep when her restlessness had her fleeing from the bed in the middle of the night, and he’d pick up her favorite foods when he noticed she’d gone the whole day without eating. He knew something was eating at her, but also knew whatever it was, she would tell him when she was ready. 

So, they leaned into their new chapter together, pulling out the best moments and treasuring them amid the worst ones. Yet, as fate would have it, just as they’d reached a point of bliss with one another in their new home, old ghosts came back to haunt them. For Jay, those ghosts came in the form of an old army buddy, for Hailey, it was the FBI’s investigation into Roy’s whereabouts. 

Each struggling in their own ways, they found themselves isolating from everyone and everything, including each other. They couldn’t be the usual anchors they were for one another because they were both working to conceal the secrets they wanted to protect the other from. At work, they rarely spoke unless it was about the case. They weren’t checking in on each other, they weren’t being the support they both needed, instead they were relying on the one thing they could give: the unexplainable comfort they got just from being in the presence of one another.  

So that night, after dealing with their ghosts separately, they tucked into their shared bed in their shared home, sharing everything but the thoughts in their heads.

Late into the night, Jay woke to an empty bed. Hailey had already silently escaped hours prior. He had been so used to giving her that space, rolling back over when he realized she was gone to conceal the fact that he even knew she was. Not that night. After everything that day, that case, the ghosts he’d faced, he needed to be close to her. He needed the comfort of the other half of his heart beside him, in his arms, reminding him that everything was going to be okay. So he got up and found her in the living room. She had the corner lamp on, shining a dim glow over her head as her eyes followed the words of a small book in her hands. She wore that focused frown he’d come to love, and he smiled as he watched her unnoticed.

“You know, if you’re already sick of sleeping next to me, I don’t know how long this engagement thing is going to last,” he joked, his cheeky grin eliciting a low laugh out of her. It was the first time that day either of them felt anything even resembling joy.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” she sang quietly, closing the book over her thumb to mark her position as she looked up at him. His mouth twitched up at the corners.

“What are you doing up?” his voice was tired and raspy. He tilted his head at her and slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants.  

“What are you doing up?” 

He smirked, moving the loose boxes from the coffee table so that he could sit on the edge across from her. They had unpacked the major things, but random boxes were still scattered about the house. It was just a reminder that things were still a work in progress.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

She smiled, knowing he knew the question was rhetorical. Knowing he knew exactly what her response was going to be. 

“No, do you?”

He shook his head and took a deep breath, pushing on his knees to stand.

“Scoot over,” he instructed, waving a finger for her to make room for him. She put her book down at the edge of the couch and moved into the cushions, allowing space for him to join her. He settled down next to her, propping his arm up under her body as she tucked into him. He let out a breath of relief when she was in his arms. That feeling, that comfort of having her so close to him, it was like that first breath after coming up for air. It was like the weight of that day had sat so heavy on his chest that it had collapsed his lungs, and she was the air he needed to breathe again. What he didn’t know was that he made her feel the exact same way. 

“Let’s not talk about it then,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. 

Hailey’s right arm draped over him, pulling him closer as her left hand tapped light patterns against his chest. He reached over and grabbed her hand in his, playing with her fingers as silence fell upon them. 

“I think maybe we should consider putting something on this finger,” he whispered, the motion of his breath moving the hair on the top of her head. 

“Oh yeah? What were you thinking?” she asked, smiling as she allowed him to raise her hand in the air.

“I don’t know, something nice. Maybe a ring?”

“Hm, I like this idea,” she hummed, twisting her head so that she could place a kiss against his chest. 

“We’ll get you a ring then,” he said certainly. 

“How about a new last name too?” she added, a playful twitch in her voice. 

“Hailey Halstead… I like the sound of that,” he murmured. 

“Me too.”

She raised up to look at him and he leaned forward to kiss her. When they pulled away, her face fell back into his chest and he continued to trace her hands with his fingers.

“Hailey?” he muttered. 

“Hm?” 

“I do want to talk about it. Not tonight…but someday.”

“Same here, Jay.”

They laid like that for the next few hours, holding each other close in the quiet, surrounded by an overwhelming sense of comfort capable of hiding away all of the fears and sorrows stirred up that day. Whatever they went through, whatever weighed heavy enough on them to scare them and make them uncomfortable, they both knew all it would take was a moment like that to feel okay again. Even if it was just for the night. They were each other’s home, each other’s safe space, and they knew that as long as they were together, their actual home would always feel that way too.  

[kendallsdreamsong]

okayyy heres the roman analysis. cw: discussion of nsfw topics (its about his sexuality. so), abuse (references to physical & emotional abuse, heavy discussion of sexual abuse), homophobia, ummm. yeah okay that should be it

romans sex deal is so interesting to me bc its a major facet of his character but its also so open-ended. there are the 4 main interpretations that ive seen; intimacy, power, queerness, and that hes a csa survivor

intimacy makes the most sense imo. he is most comfortable when he cant see the other party, with tabitha he creates this whole. weird necrophilia thing to justify not having to properly interact with her, and with gerri theres always something *between* them -- a phone, or a door, or the fact that they can never actually discuss it since gerri doesnt want her career ruined. this would also parallel nicely with shivs marriage issues, since those also come down to intimacy. shiv even says, in 3x07, "the relationship was fine sexually and you're loving the intimacy and all?" to roman and like. if anyone knows roman its shiv. self recognition through the other (derogatory). see also: tomshiv/romangerri parallels. theres not rlly much i can say here, its like. just metaphorical enough for it to be a theme but not Too much that its grasping at straws.

the only thing i'd have to say against the intimacy interpretation is that i think the fact that they explicitly said it in s3, *especially at kendalls bday party* (where the csa survivor implications are the heaviest), prob means theres something more. if that was meant to be taken straight-on as a whole explanation of romans sex issues then it wouldve been part of a major turning point in his arc -- instead, well. literally in the next episode dickpicgate happens. so. nothing changed. it reads as a one-off line that reflects more on shiv than it does on roman

if u want to read it as a power play thing, i think it has to be in combination with another interpretation. its certainly not enough to stand on its own, since most of romans sex deal is a Lack of sex. having said that, his relationship with gerri attests to this in a very particular way. it started with gerri degrading roman, with him seemingly taking less power in the relationship (which is only hammered in by the age gap), until u realize just how much power roman has over gerri. yes, gerri is a board member, but roman is a *roy*. yes, hes *roman* roy, but a roy nonetheless. he could ruin her career just by a wrong text message, and he almost fucking did! because he was too shortsighted with his own power that he didnt fully conceptualize how dangerous the game he was playing truly was, even though gerri told him time and time again. either way, their dynamic creates this interesting faux secession of power, in which roman can play a sort of. charade that hes less powerful than he truly is

queer interpretation: okay. this one… definitely has backing. i get that the bathroom thing is about masculinity and exclusivity, but its also very very gay to bring not 1, not 2, but 3 men into the bathroom with you. there is no heterosexual explanation for the mencken bathroom meeting. in any case, there are also lines with double meanings, like "i am a walking rainbow band" and logan saying to "get straightened out" when discussing his sex deal. which is. definitely one way to phrase it! roman also has a very noticeable reaction to being called queer/the f slur by logan, which to me says theres some truth to it. overall, i wouldnt say this makes sense as an Explanation of his sex deal, since yknow. his relationship with gerri is to some degree about sexual attraction, from what i can tell. i think hes just queer And has a lot of psychosexual issues. he can do both❤️ (i also left out a Lottt of examples of him being. so manliking. like his entire agreement to "seduce" eduardo, saying "i could rim with vim", etc. theres a 5 minute fancam of him just being gay and the only reason its that short is bc of tumblrs video limit. to give u an idea of just how not-straight he is)

the csa survivor reading is. well. okay. he has a tendency to separate "sex" from "bodies", for example when tabitha says shes wet he cringes and asks her to be less specific. even gerri and romans whole Thing carries with it the knowledge that it is solely gerri degrading roman, only mentioning his behavior and not his body. roman does say shit like "i'd lay you badly but i'd lay you gladly" but like. gerri has made it VERY clear that its not gonna get physical and they both know that. which means roman can make those advances without actually having to fulfill them. additionally, (edit: nvm im proofreading and this is all wrong, sorry i wrote this in the middle of season 2 i didnt know what was coming) he feels isolated from the family bc they think hes "weird"/"has something wrong with [him]". this can presumably be brought back to the dog pound, as thats when he "went weird" and was sent to military school. however we know that his recounting of the event that transpired is unreliable, seeing as kendall confirms later that that wasnt the whole story. ssssso. something big happened around the same time as the dog pound. we get mentions of bedwetting, which is a common symptom of csa, and he makes a Lot of incest/pedophilia jokes, particularly where he is the victim (see: "…said the father as the sexual assault allegations poured in" "like a camp counselor in my butt when i was 12"). like, um, more than any other sibling (except for shiv, whose incest jokes are also always about roman). ESPECIALLY in season 3, like. it feels like every time roman is on-screen in s3 theres some joke about him wanting to fuck his mom. in any case, this has all been talked about before. if u wanna see more about it, heres an article discussing it that i really liked: https://medium.com/@krpilon/successions-roman-roy-is-a-csa-victim-here-s-why-b96aa628fe71 . what i havent seen discussed while ppl talk about this interpretation/theory, is his role in the argestes panel. for a refresher: the panel was waystars initial statement following the news of the sexual assault and murders in cruises. shiv and kendall take haphazard turns making statements, while roman is notably quiet. now, u could just say that this is a metaphor for their respective roles within the company, and u'd be right -- shiv and kendall are really the only two that are at all being considered for ceo, while roman fades into the background, despite technically being there. but i wanna try out a different interpretation. lets take a look at the cinematography first. at ~50:56, kendall says, "we dont know." at the same time, the camera moves to romans face. kendalls voice is overlayed, "right now we just dont know". before zooming back out and focusing on the rest of the panel as kendall moves on. if were running with the csa survivor interpretation here, which we are in this case, this would reference people not knowing about romans sexual abuse, only bolstered by the fact that the argestes panel *was literally discussing sexual abuse*. finally, the only thing roman says during this panel is, "we'll do whatever anyone wants". again, double meaning. theres other stuff, like in 3x01 the camera focuses on roman when the possibility of logan sexually assaulting someone is brought up, but that was the most clear example i could see of cinematography being used to imply this

FUCK i forgot another thing with the csa interpretation. okay so like. theres sexual abuse within the company. thats a pretty big piece of season 2 and season 3. and we know that the violence of capital (abuse within waystar) is the violence of the family (abuse within the roy family). so it would make sense that there would also be sexual abuse within the family. this leads into theories surrounding rose as well, since if romans csa mirrors the sexual abuse in cruises, then the murder of rose would mirror the murder in cruises

IN ANY CASE. those are the 4 most common interpretations ive seen. i agree with all of them to some degree, but i also trust in succession's ability to throw us curveballs

[masterthespianduchovny]

I’m going to be honest: I dislike Nate right now.

And that’s perfectly fine.

I understand that this show loves to redeem people, however, as I said in another post, you can only redeem someone if there are negative feelings and/or you believe that person wronged someone or whatever. If you have positive feelings and excuse what they did, what exactly are they being redeemed for?

Despite loving Rebecca’s character, when I rewatch season one, I don’t like her at times. I dislike a lot of what she did back then. It doesn’t matter that I know she tells the truth eventually, the stuff she did was still fucked up. I’m not going to preemptively excuse her actions because I know the end goal.

Take Jamie for instance, his behavior was not okay. We know why he behaves that way, but it still wasn’t justified. We are still allowed to dislike him and what he did then. We talk about the negative effects of the bullying Nate received from the players, yet some try to excuse Nate’s bullying and his actions?

Wrong is wrong. Jamie being verbally abused by his dad didn’t justify how he treated others just like how Nate’s father (and bullying by others) is emotionally abusive doesn’t justify Nate’s behavior.

Although we understand the context, Nate IS being a fucking backstabbing asshole right now. Some may hate to hear that, but this isn’t an unfair opinion or unflattering light of him. This is exactly how he’s behaving.

There are some who has a ton of sympathy for Nate, but I’m not one of them. Please believe, I do hold some sympathy for him, but I have a limit.

So here’s reasons why Nate is on my shitlist and I’ll wait until he’s actually redeemed to forgive him.

1. Calling Rebecca a shrew. It’s not the fact that he literally called Rebecca this, but that he immediately verbally attacked the woman. We can say, “oh no, she’s the owner so he had reasons to think…”

No, Nate literally attacked Rebecca for no reason at all. She had little to no interaction with him and has never disrespected or harmed him in anyway, yet he has these intense feelings of dislike in the moment based off what exactly?

Nate attacked Rebecca because she is a woman. If you disagree, what other reason it might be? The reason I believe it was due to her gender is because she’s been defanged so to speak. So he doesn’t fear her like he used to. But Nate also practices in casual misogyny ie his shoe remark to Rebecca and Keeley. That may not seem like a big thing, but how is that an involuntary response??? With him believing he got fired, he doesn’t wait for answers, he immediately attacks her. And I had to ask myself, would he have done this with a man? With someone like Rupert? No fucking way. Nate can’t even directly challenge Ted who is a ray of sunshine, but attacks someone who he literally ran away from in fear in the pilot. Although Nate respects power, he respects male power the most. He skipped over Ted and Beard and went straight towards Rebecca. The fact that this even happened has always been disturbing to me. And Nate is fucking lucky that he hasn’t said any of his comments to old Rebecca (not age, but personality. 🥺) because she would have fired him. Only due to her relationship with Ted and him getting to let her guard down and find her old self that she frowned and shrugged Nate’s comments off. Most bosses at the very least would’ve talked to Nate and he didn’t get even that.

2. Projecting his daddy issues onto Ted. I understand that nate is going through some tough shit and has been for literally decades, however, that doesn’t mean make someone your stand in dad because they were nice and kind. Ted treats Nate like he does the other coaches, but Nate wants a special and unique relationship that will never exist. Ted is not his father and he didn’t ask for the job or the responsibilities.

I understand that people go through shit and latch onto those who made the rough times easier. I get that. However, all this animosity, scheming, and resentment because Ted isn’t giving the attention he wants. That fucking unfair to Ted. He didn’t ask or sign up to be Nate’s father figure. Yet he’s being punished for not being something he never wanted to be. Never even thought about it.

And because I’ve seen/partially experienced this shit, people getting mad at you for not being who they projected onto, it makes me upset at Nate. Because people like this really do become resentful and manipulative and that is not okay despite their own hurt that they’re dealing with. Why does the person you projected on have to suffer for something they’re unaware of and have no obligation to fulfill?

Nate isn’t just trying to blow up Ted’s professional career, he’s doing it via one of the cruelest ways: using his mental health against him. Thereby exploiting Ted’s trust in him.

Ted has literally changed Nate’s life for the better and rather than have a man to man talk with him, he cowardly tries to sabotage Ted in one of the worst ways imaginable.

3. His cognitive dissonance about how coaching works!!!

This seriously irritates me because, on some level, Nate knows that the very system he’s criticizing is how it works across ALL team sports and with reason.

He wants to be a damn head coach soooo bad—does he think ideas, plans, plays, etc only comes from head coaches???

What does he think assistants are there for?

For those who aren’t familiar with sports and coaching, literally every team sport has a head coach and then assistants under them. These assistant typically specialize in a given thing.

In American football, I believe there are like defensive coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. there are coaches who watch a lot of tapes to learn the opposition and how to make plays to hold them exploit their weakness and tailor plays around that.

Like on the professional level there are so many types of coaches and, hell, not all of them want to be head coaches. Some of the greatest coaching minds aren’t head coaches.

For example, the American basketball team the Chicago bulls fired their coach Doug Collins in like 1989, I think. He was a good coach, but one of his assistant coaches had a basketball IQ out of this world. Doug refused to listen to him, but management fully supported this assistant coach. Now the other assistant coach they were grooming to take over, Phil Jackson, if you’ve heard of him, DID listen to this basketball genius. So much so that when he became head coach after Doug was fired, he continued to implement The Triangle offense that came from this basketball genius, which Phil was known for until he retired.

Nate’s upset that Ted gets all the credit for if they win, he does realize that Ted also gets all the blame for if they lose. Ted has always highlighted his coaching staff and everyone who helped him. He has always stressed that he wouldn’t be where he is without them. And when he loses, he takes full ownership. He doesn’t pass the blame at all.

Does Nate seem like someone who’d take ownership for losing?

Does Nate seem like someone, at this moment, who’d appropriately give credit to assistant or anyone else who helped him?

Would he even listen?

What makes Ted a great coach is that he gives others opportunities to step up to the plate and if/when they succeed, he allows them to shine.

Ted sees the fuller picture, for the most part, and knows how to address his weaknesses and who’s stronger than him in what area. He realized that the team needed a presence like Roy on the team. He knew he needed someone like beard who could absorb insane amounts of knowledge. He saw that Nate had potential coaching ability.

But Nate doesn’t understand the importance or value of this. He also doesn’t understand how instrumental Ted’s philosophy has been in transforming the culture of the team. That this is also a reason why the team is playing better.

So like, yeah, I’ll forgive Nate when he’s redeemed. But these three things are what really irks me about him. Just because I understand why he is acting this way doesn’t mean I have to excuse it when he’s being a dick to others, complaining about shit only due to his ego, and doing fucked up shit like leaking someone’s mental health struggles so he can gain an advantage over them.

Does he think that if Ted leaves/gets fired that he’s getting the job??? I mean hopefully whatever he has going on with Rupert works out (before it inevitably goes wrong) because this isn’t going to turn out how he thinks it will.

[here-there-everyfuckenwhere]

Ted Lasso for the fandom ask thingy

Ooh this is going to be fun! Okay so-

Favourite female character: This is honestly kinda tough tbh, but.. I think I’m gonna have to go with Keeley Jones. I think the first time I watched the show, she was my favourite character because I kinda relate to her. Like she starts off in season 1 being kinda superficial, trying to still act like her 18 year old self (which we learn in s01ep04 when she says that she’s been dating footballers since she was 18), and she’s used to people judging her and assuming she’s just a dumb WAG, but she really comes into her own and learns that she’s strong and capable and worthy of being in a real, mature relationship. And I just loved watching her character development in season 2.

Favourite male character: I mean.. is this even a question? Trent Crimm? Independent? The love of my life?

Favourite season: I really do go back and fourth over season 1 and 2, but ultimately I think I enjoyed season 2 more. I do believe that season 1 had better writing overall, but personally I think season 2 is more enjoyable. I know people complain about “filler” episodes, (like the Christmas episode or Beard After Hours) but even the “filler” episodes are still fun to rewatch

Favourite episode: Definitely s01ep03 “Trent Crimm, The Independent”. Other than the most obvious reason (I mean it’s The Trent Episode™) this episode is great. It’s sorta the first time we see Keeley and Rebecca’s friendship, and its also the first time we really get to see Keeley and Roy’s relationship.Not to mention the first time we see Roy being the cutest uncle ever. It’s one of those episodes that kinda sows the seeds for more important plot lines later on, like Nate becoming coach and that photo of Keeley and Ted leaking. And idk if this counts for anything but the soundtrack from the episode is also A++.

Favourite cast member: I mean they’re all wonderful but it’s pretty hard to go past JSuds

Favourite ship: I mean, I live in the Tent full-time as you all well know, and Ted/Trent are my absolute OTP. But I also ship Keeley/Roy because they are the best couple in the whole show imo, and (and idk if this is a popular opinion or not) I actually really like Sam/Becca as well..

A character I would die defending: SASSY! Ohmygod the amount of Sassy hate I see on Tumblr genuinely breaks my heart I love her so much

A character I just cant sympathise with: If I may quote Sassy, fuck off and die Rupert.

A character I grew to love: Definitely Jamie. I really couldn’t stand him in season 1, even after we see his father for the first time in season 1, I really didn’t care for him much. But I definitely think his redemption arc in season 2 is straight-up on of the best redemption arcs I’ve ever seen in a piece of media in my entire life. He completely won me over when he decided to take part in sam’s protest and started acting more like a team player

My anti-OTP: I might piss off a lot of people but I really don’t ship Ted and Beard. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore their relationship so much and I love all of their scenes together, but I just feel like their friendship is so lovely and they should just stay friends

Ask game!!

Also, to make this ask game more fun I'm gonna tag some people who I think should do this ask (for Ted Lasso obviously): @bipolarjamietartt @enumchase @smooth-crimminal @trent-crimm @leupagus @infiniteeight8 @rimedio8 @polikszena @imgoingtofreakoutnow