#Jamie coming to Ted in season 2 because he wants to be back with Richmond so bad and he’s so lost and unsure and he’s dealing with his dad

[greyhavensking]

we’re into season 2 of my ted lasso rewatch and fuck me this show makes me so emotional. starting to feel fear for season 3’s finale given how the other two have gone

[rqgnarok]

delicate - jamie tartt

fandom: ted lasso

wc: 3,589

warnings: no mentions of specific pronouns for reader, jamie being a lil self deprecating, mentions of his dad, allusions to smut but, like, barely. set in season 2.

summary: jamie hadn’t planned on dating. his reputation’s never been worse. but then he met you.

masterlist / ao3 / ko-fi

Jamie’s nervous.

This shouldn’t even be happening. Dating had been the last thing on his mind after his life fell apart. Leaving Man City, joining and being kicked out of a reality show, and coming back to Richmond with his tail between his legs– it had all been a domino effect; a very bad, terrible, decision after another. 

Jamie hadn’t planned on dating. His reputation’s never been worse. But then he met you. 

He’d gone out to some dive bar with a so-called friend of his– some guy he met during the production of Love Island that loved weed and Jamie’s connections– on a fucking Tuesday, of all days. Jamie was supposed to be in bed because training started at 7 sharp the next morning, and the last thing he needed was to show up late and tired. Instead, he’d been in a back alleyway behind a club downtown, moping and drinking his third fruity drink of the night, sweet and heavy with alcohol. 

It was a stupid idea, but he was lonely. The certified-prick plaque that he usually wore so proudly wasn’t so shiny anymore and his dad had been blowing up his phone about everything he was doing wrong– what he wore, how he combed his hair, who he hung out with, the failures that landed him back at Richmond. 

Jamie had been in need of alcohol and human company and up to that point of the night he was 50% on his way. He was considering finishing his drink and calling it a night when the muffled beat of the music inside the building exploded behind him, becoming so much louder it rattled his teeth.

Someone came out the back door, he realized. You; pretty with your own drink in hand, looking around. Your eyes fell on him and he sat a little straighter on the curb, unsure of what kind of attention he was gonna get.

You blinked. “Oh. Hi. I wasn’t expecting anyone here.”

“Sorry,” he answered automatically. He’d been doing a lot of apologies as of late. “Was a bit stuffy in there, ain’t it? It’s usually alone in here.”

He expected his accent to be a dead giveaway, gearing himself up for a photo or an autograph or a rant about something he’d done to upset you somehow. Instead, you smiled at him and turned towards the ground, shy.

Cute, Jamie had thought. He’d been doomed from the start. 

“Yeah. Don’t know what we were thinking, going out on a Tuesday,” you’d rolled your eyes, referring to the group of friends that had refused to take no for an answer and dragged you clubbing not even halfway through the week. “Like a hangover’s exactly what I need to get through this week.”

“That bad, huh,” Jamie raised his eyebrows in amusement, watching you huff and puff under the streetlight the back of the club offered. He hoped you couldn’t see him very well, his dark jeans and Nikes along with his designer shirt were pretty much footballer prick Jamie Tartt’s trademark, recognizable even to the worst of drunks. But Jamie didn’t want to be recognized, he just wanted to talk to someone. 

“You wouldn’t believe me,” you huffed, sipping your drink and obviously giving him an out. You’d both come out here for some peace and quiet, after all, but Jamie was done with quiet. 

He wanted his friends back. He wanted his efforts to be noticed, for his dad to leave him alone, and to enjoy the company of a pretty stranger at the back of a bar. 

So instead of following your cue, he patted the spot next to him, looking up at you with an attentive expression. “Try me.”

And so you did. You sat next to him and talked until three in the morning. Suddenly the bar was closing and the dark cloud that hung over Jamie’s head for months was momentarily dispersed in your presence. He went home with your number on a napkin and less than four hours to catch up on sleep before he had to go to work, but a happy man.

And, okay, look. Jamie’s popularity is– in the dumps, really. It’s all negativity at this point, and he usually balanced it with good football, but that was back when he took any honest criticism of his person as petty jealousy. Now, with his shattered self-image and after becoming the internet’s laughing stock, he’s been trying his best to keep his head down

since the media and most of England trashes him whenever he dares to take a breath in public. 

At least his mum’s talking to him again, or rather Jamie’s finally picking up when she calls, but things still don’t feel right. He’s playing and getting enough minutes but it’s not a victory if he can’t hug his teammates when he scores a goal. If he comes home to an empty apartment and no messages on his phone, no one to celebrate the night with. 

So, pretty much everyone hates him. Even Keeley’s bordering on forced politeness these days, which says a lot about how badly Jamie’s done it this time, and yet–

And yet. 

“The fuck are you smiling about?” Isaac grunted when he caught sight of Jamie biting back a grin while typing, lacking his usual bruv. Still in the doghouse, apparently. “Won’t kill you to be early for once, ey? Put that fucking thing away.”

Jamie did, not before a quick look at his texts before pressing send.

hey 

its jamie from the bar??

was wondering if u wanted to go out sometime. i really enjoyed spending the other night with u

He spent all training missing his cues, taking fouls from his teammates, and making Ted’s mustache twitch with… not disappointment but something. It made him a little nervous, but any thought about it flew out his head when he got his hands on his phone at the end of the day, your notifications on his lock screen.

Hi, I’d love to!

I really enjoyed being with you too :) 

Is tomorrow night too early?

It wasn’t. But your schedules were nightmares to line up and you spent almost three weeks trying to catch up to each other. You had a work thing, Jamie came back too tired from a game, you had a friend visit, another game was rescheduled… You name it. Anything that could’ve stopped that date from happening happened. 

But neither of you were giving up. While you couldn’t see each other, your text thread grew and grew and grew, never running out of things to talk about. Despite having seen you only once in person, Jamie was pretty sure he knew you better than he’d ever know other girlfriends and boyfriends he’d had. 

When you texted him to get a good night's sleep and when he told you to get home safe, he pretended, only with a little shame, that this was something you did all the time. That when you were on your way to your place he’d be there waiting for you, asleep on the couch because he tried to stay up for you. When you wished him sweet dreams he’d imagine you next to him, tucked close against his side.

He pretended he was yours. All the damn time.  

And this– today– when the planets finally align and a version of his illusions happens to come true, he’s nervous. Can’t help it, no matter how well it’s going. And it is going well, with Jamie in your apartment where you’d set up a nice dinner for both of you, the date you’ve been talking about for almost a month. He would’ve suggested his own place, but it’s filled with football memorabilia and awards he doesn’t want to explain yet. 

He likes how you treat him. You talk to him like he’s a normal bloke you met at a bar and not a celebrity you’re too afraid to even joke around with. 

“Oh, dinner looks ace, love.”

“Yeah? If I accidentally poison you at least it’ll taste good.”

“I’ll die chuffed, at least.”

A snort. “You’re so fucking British.”

“Oh, bug off, please! Thanks! Cheerio!”

“Jesus Christ.”

“Didn’t know you were so religious.”

“What can I say, Jay, you make me feel closer to God.”

“Ha! Haven’t even kissed you, yet.”

“You seem awfully confident.”

“Night’s very young, angelface.”

It’s so easy, being with you. Being himself with you. 

So what if you barely even know each other? He already knows all about your childhood dog and you’ve been made aware of what’s it like to grow up in Manchester. But shit, just because Jamie wants to bare his soul to you maybe it doesn’t mean he should. He could at least wait until you’ve seen each other in person more than twice, and yet.

And yet. 

He’s at your place, looking at your record collection, running his fingers over the spines of the books on your shelves. He just ate the pizza you cooked– vegan, because he did mention sometime in the past weeks that he’s on a strict diet regime and the fact that you remembered makes him wanna cry a little. 

He likes you so much. Doesn’t he owe it to you to be honest?

“I gotta tell you something,” he pipes up, obviously catching you off-guard.

“Alright,” you say slowly, leaving your wine glass on the coffee table and scooting to give him space on the couch, arms wrapped around your legs. “Sure. Shoot.”

Jamie sits, messing with his hair and avoiding your eye. He looks behind you at the picture frame hanging on the wall, a photo of you with your friends on a trip you took to the States last summer. The stories you told about them made him laugh so hard that he’d snorted and spilled his drink everywhere.

“I didn’t know how…” he sighs, figuring there’s no use beating around the bush. “Haven’t been completely honest with you, love. About… what I do. Who I am.”

“Jamie–” you begin, consoling and standing up straighter, reaching to place your hand on his arm. He shakes his head.

“I just– I didn’t know how to tell you,” he rushes out, meeting your eye with a pleading expression. How scared he must look right now he doesn’t know, but your features soften even further into something sympathetic, kind. He doesn’t deserve you. “And– and I know we– we’ve barely gone out, yeah, but I– I like you. Fuck, man, I like you so much, but you deserve to know–”

“Jamie,” you say again, firmer. You duck your head to try and meet his eye, searching for his stare. You’re still smiling. You haven’t stopped smiling at him since you met him. “I know. If this is about you being… famous, I know, okay? About everything.”

The anxiety that’s been clawing at his throat freezes and fades, just a little. “You… do?”

Your smile turns sheepish, a little guilty. “I… kind of recognized you the night we met. It took me a minute, but I knew I’d seen you somewhere. Your voice helped, too. I think I’d recognize it anywhere.”

“Oh,” he says, feeling like an idiot. He still wants to cry a little, but it’s less hysterical now. He manages to feel safe in your apartment, a space that screams you everywhere he turns to look. Your photos and posters on the walls, your chipped mugs in the kitchen, your colorful rug under your coffee table with one leg shorter than the others, held up with books underneath it. 

“I sound like a creep,” you admit, embarrassed yourself. “I’m a fan of the sport, is all. But I figured you wouldn’t like to talk about your life with a stranger, so I didn’t push. I’m sorry.”

Jamie shakes his head, finally reaching for the hand you have on his arm. You haven’t been a stranger since that first night. “Don’t be. I should’ve told you from the start. You deserve better than that.”

“Than… you?” Jamie doesn’t reply. His jaw tightens and your voice turns reproachful. “Jamie–”

“The public hates me,” he cuts you off. He hates to say it but you need to hear it. Even if you think you know what his life’s like right now, you don’t know the depth of the mess he’s in. “You… being seen with me will probably ruin your life. Wasn’t fair of me to ask you out and not tell you what comes with it.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Jamie,” you say, instantly fierce and defensive of him. You’re defending him for some reason, and you don’t know half of the things he’s done. “Not the truth, not a damn thing. You don’t need to put your whole life on display just to get me to… to trust you, or something.”

Tears blur his eyesight, but he refuses to cry in front of you. Not on the first date at least. Or is it the second one? Does your late night at the dive bar even count as a date?

“Love,” he says gently, threading lightly. “I’m serious. Wasn’t bluffing when I said I like you. A lot. And I know it’s only been, like, one date–”

“Two,” you pipe in. Jamie can’t help his amusement. That answers his question, he guesses. 

“Two dates, then,” he continues, rubbing soothing circles on your knuckles with his thumb. Your eyes go back and forth from his face to the touch, mesmerized. “But this could be somethin’, you know? Somethin’ good and I don’t want you comin’ into it blind or whatever. I’m not– I ain’t exactly a good person.”

You don’t even blink. “I don’t believe that.”

You’re stubborn. It’d be endearing if Jamie wasn’t so convinced of his shortcomings. “Love, I’m a twat. I’m mean to everyone I know, even people I like. I don’t tip enough at restaurants. Never been a very good boyfriend either. ‘m not sayin’ it to be mean. ‘s just who I am.”

You cup his face with your free hand and Jamie melts into it. It’s the first caring touch he’s been offered in fuck knows how long. “What if I like who you are? Public suicide and all, what if I want to be with you? What if you make me happy, Jamie?”

Jamie can’t see how he would but he doesn’t you to leave, either. Like, ever. “You make me happy, too. It’s like I know you already you know?. From a past life or somethin’, does that make sense?”

Your shocked silence makes him hesitate, his hands twitching in discomfort. “Is that… cool?”

“Cool,” you say, eyes full of wonder and voice a little emotional, pulling him closer before he can do something stupid like let you go. “Jamie, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I met you.” 

A pleasant surprise washes over him, warm. He says, a little choked. “Cool. That’s– that’s cool.”

You grin, trying not to laugh, and cup the back of his neck to bring his mouth to yours. “Cool.”

There’s little talking after that, and who would’ve known your couch is the perfect make out spot? Jamie’s mouth is pilant and responsive against yours, his hands wandering for any skin he can reach and making tiny sounds at the back of his throat that you swallow greedily, unable to get enough of him. 

He leaves your place that night disheveled and happy, kissing you goodbye at least five times (two of them in the hallway before he finally scurries off) and not without making you promise to watch Richmond’s game this weekend. 

It takes you a little too long to clean up after, even if Jamie did wash the dishes you used during dinner (“what kinda guest would I be if I didn’t help? Ma would have a heart attack!”) because you keep bringing your fingers to your lips, tilted upwards in a dreamy smile. 

You make it work. Both you and Jamie continue with your lives trying to be subtle about this new development and a new routine is created; he comes to your place after most games and training unless he’s too tired. Then you meet him at his house, avoiding taking the same roads in case the paparazzi get a bit too creative. 

It’s a little weird. Definitely new, but you find yourself trying to spend as much time as you can with Jamie. Dates at smaller spots and at weird hours; he even takes you running at 4 am once, to which you responded with never again and I’ll forgive you for doing this to me if we share a shower. Needless to say, the early morning wasn’t a total loss.

But your homes turn out to be the safest places to turn to. He becomes ingrained in your apartment as do the flowers he buys for you and puts in a vase on your kitchen table: red chrysanthemums and white clovers, daffodils and heliotropes, blue salvia. 

You once use his phone to order takeout and he has a website on flowers and their meanings open. When he sees you carefully put some of the flowers in a book for safe-keeping, Jamie's face fills you with a need to keep him safe, too, coped up in your home and away from the world that keeps asking too much of him.

His teammates are warming up to him, albeit slowly. Jamie has reassured you he’s alright, that he knows mending the bridges he’d burned on his way out of Richmond will take longer than he’d like, but he’s hopeful about the way things are turning out. 

You feel bad sometimes for keeping him distracted at such pivotal moments in his life of self-reinvention, but he outright refused when you offered to distance yourself a little so he could spend more time with the friends he very clearly cared much about. He was almost offended about it.

We could wait if you want. Maybe it’s too soon to do this yet. I know it’s a delicate situation Jamie, and I don’t wanna rush you into anything.

I don’t wanna wait, Jamie had answered, stubborn. He tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear, pressing you against the kitchen counter. His eyes wouldn’t leave your face. I want you. 

And he has you. Completely and undeniably; this thing between you, this relationship, however delicate, becomes steadier as time passes. You’re already talking about meeting his mom and taking him back to your hometown for a visit, possibilities Jamie could never have dreamed of when he first met you. 

You’d told him during those first dates how unpredictable relationships could be. And neither of you can deny how your personal situation makes things even harder, but that doesn’t mean you’re not willing to try. 

I can’t make any promises of what’ll happen next. No one knows shit these days, Jamie. But I can be with you. And I can make you a drink, if you want. 

He tells you about his dad, too, eventually. In his effort to be more honest with you, even if you tell him multiple times he’s got nothing to make up for. He tells you anyway, wrapped in your arms on your couch while a movie plays in the background, the only source of light in the room. 

Me dad weren’t… you know. Good, or whatever. He’s always thought ‘m too soft and shit. And when I try not to be I… I’m someone I’m not, y’know? Someone I don’t like.

It puts a lot of things into perspective. About when you first met and how he later tried to push you away, convinced he was a terrible person and you wouldn’t want to be with him if you truly knew him. 

What you do want is to track down his dad and, like, throw a brick at his window or something. But you only embrace Jamie tighter, kiss his hair, and don’t mention how tightly he holds your arms to keep them around his torso. If he cries a little, then that’s between you and God, and you’ll die before you ever make fun of him for it.

You wake up one morning to find Jamie staring at you, eyes lidded and sleepy. 

“Dreamin’ of me, angel?”

Your first action of the day is to snort thanks to your fantastic boyfriend. “You wish, handsome.”

“I do wish,” he grins wolfishly. You see his hand sliding through the sheets, moving smoothly and calculated towards your naked body. 

“If you think I’m up for anything before you get some food in me, you’re gonna be awfully disappointed,” glee shines on Jamie’s face and you push it away with your hand, groaning at his dirty-mindedness. “Food, you shameless bastard, I said food. How do you get anything done with your mind stuck in the gutter all the time?”

“Takes some effort,” he says, pride unhurt and still reaching for you. You relent quickly enough, loving the feeling of his hands on you. “Come on, babe, I’ve gotta be up for trainin’ in an hour. We’ve more than enough time, huh?”

“That depends,” you support your head in your hand, elbow digging into your pillow. “What’s in it for me?”

“C’mere and I’ll show ya,” he promises, an endearing frown on his features. “What’re you doin’ all the way over there, anyway?”

He pulls you towards him with ease and you let yourself be caged in his arms, kiss after kiss after kiss.

________

AHHHH HERE IT IS, HERE IT IS

i hope you like it! i kept ya’ll waiting a little but the response was insane!!! i wanted to give you the best i could write AND i wanted to use this fic to thank you for 1.1k! thank you for making me feel so welcome when venturing back into writing and for trusting me with your favorite characters <3 and prepare yourselves bc im making myself put as many fics out this month as i can!

<3

________

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[roeiswriting]

Let’s talk about Jamie Tartt:

The evolution of Jamie Tartt throughout Ted Lasso is a masterclass on writing a character who in the simplest words possible is beautifully human.

A statement which may seem obvious before you really get into it.

Jamie Tartt being introduced as the selfish, one in a million star in the making destined for greatness modelled after the likes of Jack Grealish is a genius play from the writers because those who grew up with football and even those who are using the show as an introduction are familiar with this stereotype throughout sports.

They had a surface model which they could have kept as that but they didn’t.

From him warming up to the team, to Ted, only to be sent back to Man City where Ted sees the aggression from his father and the sadness and stress it brings Jamie to the opposite moment of the smile on Jamie’s face when reading the note from Ted that reads “way to make the pass” you as the viewer find yourself warming up to Tartt as he himself progresses.

It’s not about pity or excuses, it’s about socialisation and learning why humans behave the way they do. Jamie is unlearning traits he adopted to try and protect himself from his father and try to live up to the impossible standard that he holds for him.

The beauty of the writing is that nothing introduced about Jamie’s life and true personality is making excuses for his behaviour. The show relies on simply introducing people into his life, in this case namely the titular Ted Lasso, to hold him accountable for his actions whilst believing that he is, at his core, a good person.

Season 2 Jamie, the moment where Roy hugs him after the Man City match is the turning point in Jamie allowing himself to fully feel the anger for his father because at this point it’s established that he wants to be a better person, it’s solidified by Roy, his childhood hero who he had posters off on his walls, is the one to comfort him.

Season 3 Jamie is a whole other level with many fans saying he’s the best character in the show. The empathy and patience that Tartt shows in this season, the proof that he is continuing to mature into a good person because he was finally surrounded by love instead of hate.

Number 24 for England: Jamie Tartt

In honour of Sam Obisanya who is being unfairly blocked from the Nigerian national team he adorns the number 24, the same number Obisanya wears proudly for Richmond. In the same episode we see him give Roy the England shirt he wore when he played, just with his own Jamie Twist of course (iykyk).

Jamie was a dick, he still is a dick, that’s the point. He is cocky but it’s not mean anymore, it’s not out of fear or because he’s putting on a facade, it’s mostly jokey but he still knows how good he is and that cockiness is now endearing and fun instead of intimidating or off putting. The best example is season 3 episode 9 when he asks Sam for the Captains arm band just to be flipped off (which was comedic genius).

The character of Jamie Tartt is phenomenally written, and is outstandingly played by the amazing Phil Dunster (who should absolutely be in the running for an Emmy come on now).

With the synopsis for Season 3, Episode 11 placing Richmond back at Man City with Roy and Keeley worrying for Jamie’s well-being it’s hard to predict what may happen. If potentially his dad resurfaces, maybe even memories coming back to Jamie now that he’s opened up to Roy a little bit about his childhood, or something else entirely.

Jamie Tartt is kind, he can be understanding, he may open up and drop his mask when you don’t expect it, and he will do whatever he can to show the ones he loves just how much he loves them even if he doesn’t say those exact words.

Jamie Tartt is flawed, he can be arrogant, he may say something he really shouldn’t have, and he messes up oh god does he mess up but…

At the end of the day Jamie Tartt is a character who embodies humanity, and that’s what makes him so loved.

(Reminder to support the WGA strikes because without the brilliant writers we wouldn’t have the media we love to indulge in 🫶)

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

I don't know if I'll ever actually write this, but I have a vague idea for a fic that's like, Sam, Jan, and Jamie vs the AFC Richmond Charity Gala that's set in early season 2 and basically explains what happened to the charity gala in 1x04 that's implied to be an annual tradition but that we never see again. The premise is as follows:

After the Dubai Air protest, Sam feels bad that he didn't look into the company he agreed to promote beforehand and decides to be more proactive in his activism. Which is why, when Ted announces the gala is coming up and Jan Maas (who obviously wasn't there for the last one) is like, "isn't it exploitative and dehumanizing to auction off players?" Sam decides he's going to Do Something About It and tries to rally the team to petition Rebecca to change the event, with mixed results.

Jamie, meanwhile, is having a... weird time. He's still nervous about his place on the team, especially now that Roy is back and at the height of his refusing-to-coach-Jamie era, and while there's not as much outright animosity from the other players, they're also not really friends. He's trying to be on his best behaviour, but the upcoming gala is making him nervous and Sam and Jan going around talking about like. consent and bodily autonomy and all that is dredging up some feelings that he's been repressing — mostly about Amsterdam but also about Lust Conquers All (I don't know a ton about reality TV production but it sounds pretty brutal on the contestants, and Jamie would not have been in a great frame of mind going in).

So when Sam and Jan go to talk to him, he doesn't want to turn them down because he's trying to make up for how he treated Sam last year, but he also doesn't want to get on the bad side of the rest of the team if they like the gala, and also also if auctioning off players is wrong then what happened to him in Amsterdam was definitely wrong, and he's not ready to confront that. But of course Sam is a sweetheart and realizes pretty quickly that Something Bad happened here and is like. okay now we really can't have the gala.

Anyway they make a 50-slide Powerpoint that they rehearse a bunch of times and go to present it to Rebecca in full Isaac-approved suits and everything, and then only get like. one slide in before Rebecca's like, "you're right, that is creepy. We'll come up with something new for this year." Also Roy apologizes for joking about Jamie having to sleep with that woman. The end 😊

[illiterateaffairs]

behind the scenes chapter two | the proposal

masterlist | prev | next

pairing: jamie tartt x actress!reader (ted lasso)

rating: T

word count: 4,116

summary: jamie makes you an offer you can’t refuse...or can you?

a/n: hi everyone! while this took a little longer than i hoped, i proudly present chapter 2 of behind the scenes! we are finally ramping up folks. i wish i could promise a regular upload schedule for this story, but i have had a lot going on this summer. but i have a free weekend now so hoping to get some chapters written that i can share a little at a time. for now, i hope you enjoy this new installment and i cannot wait to hear what you think!

It was still too early to really say, but the Richmond Greyhounds had a good feeling about this season,

They were coming off of a five game winning streak to start, and no one wanted to jinx it. Even so, they celebrated each win like it was their last, Isaac often treating them to a party at his place or Sam inviting them to his restaurant. Tonight though, Jamie was feeling particularly generous and offered drinks on him at Crown and Anchor. Of course, because he was footing the bill, suddenly everyone was available for a night out. That meant the whole team, the club staff, and their significant others. Including Keeley. 

Honestly, Jamie had thought he’d been feeling better about the whole Roy and Keeley thing. But that was until one or both of them gave him that look. The “I’m sorry we’re together while you’re sad and alone” look. But he wasn’t sad. Or alone. He had his whole bloody team surrounding him. And what the fuck was wrong with being alone anyway? 

Still it was annoying to accidentally catch Keeley’s eye when she was laughing with Roy and watch her happy face morph into one filled with guilt. 

Jamie was enjoying himself at the bar with Sam, when he glanced over at Keeley from across the room. She and Rebecca were currently egging on their significant others who were engaged in a friendly game of darts. Jamie hadn’t meant to linger on her, but when she turned her head and found him looking in her direction, he froze. In an effort to assuage her sympathetic smile, he gave her a bigger one of his own and titled his pint glass towards her. Unfortunately, this just led to the blonde snaking her way through the crowd to get to him.

“Hello, boys,” she greets him and Sam.

Jamie nods at her, while Sam beams, “Hi Keeley! How have you been?”

“I’ve been great! How’ve you been, Sam?”

“Good. Even better after the win today.”

“I bet, you killed it out there,” Keeley nudged the footballer, “That last goal was incredible.”

Sam laughs and accepts the compliment. Keeley quickly turns to Jamie. 

“You were amazing, too, Jamie!”

Jamie gives her a tight smile, “Thanks, Keeley.”

Keeley nods with a small smile of her own. Then she turns to the bartender to order a martini. 

While her attention is elsewhere, Sam gives Jamie a discreet look that says “she’s still feeling sorry for you?”. Jamie just shakes his head while Sam pats him on the back. Unfortunately, this is the moment that Richard and Bumbercatch decide to call Sam over to their table, leaving Jamie and Keeley alone at the bar. 

When Keeley receives her drink, he half expects her to head back over to Roy. But of course not. She parks herself right in the seat Sam used to occupy.

“So, what’s been going on with you lately, Jamie? Feel like I’ve hardly seen you for a bit.”

That’s been intentional. But he can’t tell her that. 

He shrugs, “Uh, nothing much. Just focused on playing my best this season.”

Keeley nods, “Roy says you’ve been improving a lot during your trainings.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I can tell he’s really proud of you.” 

Jamie huffs. He knows she’s telling the truth. He also knows that she’s not telling him this for no reason.

“You know, though, Jamie, there’s more to life than football?” Keeley adds when he doesn’t say anything else. “I get that you want to be the best. But you deserve a life outside of being a footballer. You should be taking time for yourself. Or going out with other people and doing non-football things.”

Jamie chuckles, rubbing at the condensation on his glass, “I’m doing that right now, aren’t I?”

Keeley laughs, “Well, yeah, but it's with the people you see everyday, celebrating the fact that you won a football match. You should be doing other things. Meeting other people. More friends. People who could be…more than friends.”

There it is. 

Jamie sighs, finally facing her again, “Keeley, I promise you I’m fine. I do loads of things outside of football, with loads of people. I can also assure you I don’t need your help finding people to date either.”

Keeley frowns. Before she can attempt to clarify her concern, someone bursts through the pub’s doors, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Leave it to Dani Rojas to show up late with a girl on each arm.

“You guys!” he exclaims, “Some people are closing the streets over here and I saw a couple of trailers around the corner. I think they’re filming that one movie here this week!”

Suddenly the bar is flooded by excited chatter - more than it was before. Not a day has passed without someone talking about the big rom-com shooting in Richmond since production started last week. A couple members of the team head outside to check it out for themselves. 

Jamie laughs to himself as he turns back around in his seat. He made a conscious decision to not tell anyone about his encounter with the famous actress starring in said movie. Mainly because no one would believe him. But he also sort of just wanted to keep that memory for himself. 

As he goes over that morning, once again, in his head, he remembers the blonde beside him, who is still looking at him with sad eyes. He slowly turns back to face her. 

“Jamie, I know your life and your relationships are really none of my business,” she starts off again now that she has his attention, “I just don’t want you to shut anyone out-”

“I’m not shutting anyone out,” he quickly insists.

“But Jamie-”

“Actually, I’ve been seeing someone,” he says before he can stop himself, or even process what he’s doing.

Keeley’s eyebrows raise in surprise, “Really?”

Shit. 

Jamie instantly regrets his words, but he knows walking it back would make him feel even worse.

“Uh…yeah.” He pathetically responds.

Keeley doesn’t seem to catch his hesitation, electing to be excited for him, and most likely relieved, “Jamie that's great! Who is it? Is it anyone I know? How long have you been seeing them?”

Jamie’s head swirls with her various questions, mixed with his previous thoughts of you and your brief conversation about relationships. 

“Um, it's no one you know personally,” he decides to answer very slowly and carefully, “Its new. Really new. And we both want to keep it private.”

Keeley rolls her eyes playfully, nudging his shoulder, “Come on, you can tell me.”

Jamie manages a half smile, “If it goes anywhere, I promise you’ll be one of the first to know.”

“Alright, I’ll take that,” Keeley gives him a satisfied smile, “I’m happy for you, Jamie.”

That makes one of them. What had he gotten himself into?

Even though it's only been one week and you’ve shot approximately 3 scenes, you were killing this rom-com if you do say so yourself. You were getting along swimmingly with the cast and crew, especially your co-lead Charlie. He was just as charming as he was the day you auditioned together, and just as sweet when you weren’t rolling. The friendship you were starting to build was nice and you had a feeling it would translate well on screen. Take that haters. 

It was now your second week of production; your first full week of actual filming. You were still working on the studio lot today, but soon you’d be on location and you couldn’t wait to see more of Richmond. After a busy morning, filled with exciting scenes, you were now headed to your trailer to have lunch. You were hoping Margot could grab you something from craft services while you changed out of your costume. However, when you arrive at your trailer, you find her already there and looking…anxious.

“Hey…?” you greet but it turns into a question as it drags out.

“Hi,” Margot responds, but doesn’t hide her unease, “So, we have a bit of a situation.”

Your eyebrows scrunch together, beyond curious to know what could possibly be going on. “What is it?”

“There’s this man who showed up to the studio asking for you, claiming he knows you. You know, normally we’d just get rid of them, but apparently he’s some famous athlete here and some execs thought it would be a bad look if we turned him away. His name is James or something…”

“Jamie?” you ask without thinking.

Margot’s eyebrows shoot up, “Oh, you do know him?”

You give a half shrug, “Sort of. We met when I was on my walk last week. He helped me hide from photographers.”

“Oh my God, why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I did tell you that!”

“You didn’t tell me the guy was famous.”

You roll your eyes, “I didn’t think it was a big deal, I meet famous people all the time.”

“Ones that show up randomly to your set?” Margot asks incredulously. “Have you kept in touch with him? Did you invite him here?”

“No. And no,” you’re once again brought back to the reality of what’s happening. Why was Jamie here? You were once again out of your mind curious. “Where is he now?”

“In one of the conference rooms,” Margot tells you, “Do you want to go see why he’s here?”

You didn’t just want to. You needed to. So with a bag of Cheez-Its in hand, you and Margot head for the studio.

When you arrive at the room where you’d previously done a table read the week before, Jamie turns around in a swivel chair at the head of the desk on the farthest side of the room like a super-villain. But then he gives you a wide grin, and your previous comparison no longer holds up.

“See, I told you she’d come!” Jamie exclaims to the security guard keeping him company. The man ignores him and gives you and Margot a look, and upon your signal he leaves the room.

“Are you stalking me or something?” you ask in lieu of a greeting as you sit in the chair at the other end of the table. Margot plants herself behind you with her arms crossed.

Jamie smirks at you, “Don’t flatter yourself, love.” Then he frowns, “Wait, have you had a stalker before?”

You pause, “Not in the traditional sense.”

“Alright, I’m definitely going to ask you for that story later,” Jamie shakes his head, “But that’s not why I’m here.”

“Yeah, why are you here?” you question, ripping open your Cheez-Its as your only form of lunch, “And how did you get here?”

“Let’s just say I’m very persuasive,” he states, the smirk reappearing on his face. Then he looks Margot up and down, “Who’s this?”

You have to resist the urge to roll your eyes. Jamie was a lot more cocky outside of his little café hideaway. “Margot. She’s my assistant. And she’s staying in here if that’s what you’re going to ask.”

“Does your assistant go everywhere you go?”

“She does when a strange man is following her boss around,” Margot answers for you.

Jamie nods once, “Fair enough.”

“Jamie,” you sigh, “Not that I’m not happy to see you, although I would have preferred not to be ambushed at my place of work after meeting you once, but can you please just tell me what you’re doing here before the rest of the set gets wind of a rogue soccer player lingering about.”

“First of all, you know that it’s called football over here,” Jamie tsks as he stands up, moving to take a seat closer to you. “Second of all, I’m here because I have a proposition for you. A business proposal of sorts.”

You quirk an eyebrow, “And that is?”

“You know that fake relationship your publicist wants to try out? I’d like to apply for the job.”

Your jaw drops a little, and you hear Margot let out a tiny gasp from behind you, “You told him that?”

You don’t bother answering her, “Why, uh, why would you want to do that?”

Jamie’s bravado falters a little. He glances at Margot again, but decides he can still admit it in front of her, and you, “You know that girl I told you about? The one I still see all the time?” you nod, “Well, it’s getting progressively harder to be around her, especially when she’s always giving me these guilty looks. It drives me insane. And last night she made a comment about how I need to put myself out there and meet someone, and I just snapped. I figured if she thought I had met someone, she’d let it go and things could start to go back to normal.”

Your stomach lurches. You feel for him, you do. But this was just absurd. 

“And you didn’t think to, I don’t know, actually ask someone out? Or just find another random girl to pretend to date you? I thought Jamie Tartt had no problem finding girlfriends.”

His lips quirk up just a tad, “Ah, you remember that?”

This time you do roll your eyes, “Jamie.”

“Sorry, sorry. Okay, yeah, sure I could probably find someone else. But that wouldn’t work. My ex knows I’m not looking for flings anymore. And some other random girl isn’t going to be convincing. Fake dating you makes the most sense, because you’re already good at acting-”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome - and this would benefit you too for all the reasons you told me the other day. It’s win-win,” When he sees the thoughtful yet hesitant look on your face, he continues, “Look, it’s not like I’m asking you to do this forever. You’re filming this movie for three months right? We play pretend while you’re here and get your publicist off your back. Then, we can fake break-up before you leave, and you won’t have to worry about bringing me home for Christmas. What do you say?”

You continue studying Jamie, and you can’t believe how serious he sounds about all of this. After a few moments, you also glance at Margot who, despite looking a bit apprehensive, also seems…intrigued by his offer. When she catches your eye, all she can manage is an unsure shrug. Fuck.

Finally turning back to Jamie, you take a deep breath, “I say…no.”

The hopeful look on Jamie’s face immediately falls. “What? Why?”

“I just…can’t. I don’t want to do it.”

“But…”

You shake your head, as you start to stand, “No, Jamie, I’m sorry. I understand how you feel. I really do. But I don’t want to do it. I told you the other day. I don’t want to,” As you brush past Margot and reach the doorway, you turn back to Jamie, “I’m sorry.”

All Jamie does is give you a tight smile and a nod before you take off down the hall towards your trailer. 

Margot is on your tail, and as you get ready to resume filming, you can tell she wants to ask about everything that just went down. But you just shake your head, and she gets the memo.

Unfortunately for you, your brain doesn’t get the memo, because Jamie’s offer is all you can think about the rest of the day. In between takes and set-ups, your mind wanders back to your conversation and the desperate look in his eyes when he describes his situation with his ex. It’s clear he’s hurting; both from her rejection, as well as the constant interaction with her and the man she chose instead of him. 

You think that’s what scared you; that Jamie was so invested in this pretend scheme. It made it intense; real even though the whole point of the idea was far from it. You didn’t like the risks a PR relationship posed - you never had - but doing it with someone like Jamie made the stakes even higher. If something went wrong, not only were you going to be hung out to dry in the tabloids, but Jamie would have to deal with the consequences of having his ex and their friends know that he had lied. And that wasn’t going to make their situation any better.

But there was something else holding you back. A fear you couldn’t place, one that makes your chest heavy.

Of course it was at times like these, when your thoughts were already spiraling, that you make the self-destructive decision to feed them by reading about yourself online. Most comments or tweets or articles were kind, but those did little to nothing to improve your mood, when one negative post did everything to destroy it. And on your commute home, you found yourself hyper-fixating on one particular tweet by a user pointing out your biggest insecurity at the moment.

The tweet was in response to an article about the movie you were filming. 

“A rom-com starring Y/N Y/L/N makes no sense when no one wants to date her irl”

It was the kind of thing Harry was talking about. While deep down you knew the sentiment was far from the truth, it didn’t mean people didn’t think that on account of your public persona. Nevermind that you preferred to keep things private; no public relationships meant you were an unlovable loser. And while a majority of people would argue against it, or just not give a shit about your dating life, it still stung.

So, without much thought, you told your driver not to take you home, but instead to a local café for a late night pick-me-up. And you could only hope, some company. 

Jamie knew his plan was a stupid idea. He knew as soon as he lied to Keeley about seeing someone that it was going to bite him in the ass. But he couldn’t help but get his hopes up that maybe this would give him the out he’s been looking for around Keeley and Roy; an escape from the sympathy and third-wheeling. At least long enough for them to stop feeling like their relationship was an inconvenience to him.

Of course, deciding to fake-date a famous actress was a long shot in and of itself, but you had brought it up first. And a part of him thought you really hit off that day at the café. 

Which is how he ended up right back at the same place. He’d unconsciously walked himself here after training and had been wallowing over cups of tea ever since. 

He rather enjoyed people watching when he wound up sitting alone. Very interesting people wandered in and out of this café. He assumes they’re also the type of people that prefer keeping to themselves. He often made up stories about them in his mind to keep himself entertained or when he wanted to get his mind off of his own life. 

Today he was particularly interested in an older man perched at a table facing the window. He’d been there just about as long as Jamie had, working through a word-search book. He appears to be nearing the end of the book, and Jamie decides he has grandchildren - five of them to be exact - that buy him a new word search book for every birthday and Christmas. He also decides that he and late-wife were regulars at this café, and even though she isn’t around anymore, he still comes here every week in honor of her memory. 

Jamie’s almost made himself emotional over his made-up story for this stranger, when the bell above the door rings. Ah, hopefully someone he can come up with a less depressing story for. However, he realizes he already knows a thing or two about the new customer that has entered the room.

It’s you.

He has to force himself not to look shocked by your presence, as you scan the room, eyeing each patron one by one. When your eyes finally land on him, you seem to be relieved to see him. Jamie quickly becomes hyper-aware of the fact that he’s sitting in the same spot the two of you had occupied when you were here last week, and he hopes you don’t dwell on it.

You walk further into the café, but instead of immediately going over to him, you approach the barista. After a few minutes, you slowly head over to Jamie and hesitantly place a to-go cup and blueberry scone onto the table.

“You must’ve really liked their scones to come all the way back here,” Jamie comments after a beat. 

You push the scone closer to him, “I actually got it for you.”

Jamie’s taken aback, “Oh. Thanks.” After a couple of seconds, he adds, “Do you want to sit?”

You nod, pulling out the chair across from him. He is once again overwhelmed that he’s casually speaking to you, even though it's the third time he’s done it and he was particularly over-confident the last time. 

“I actually came here to see you,” you admit eventually. 

Though he’d expected that, it still felt weird to hear. “Oh?”

You nod again, “I wanted to apologize for earlier.”

“You want to apologize?” Jamie can’t help but ask bewilderedly, “I’m the one who ambushed you with a dumb idea.”

You bite your lip, “...It wasn’t that dumb.” Jamie’s eyes widen just slightly so you quickly continue, “I’m sorry that I shut you down so quickly. I think the idea of actually doing it freaked me out.”

“Can I ask why?”

You’re unsure if you have a clear enough answer to give him since it wasn’t so clear yourself all the reasons it scared you, “I think it felt like there was a lot weighing on it, with how badly you wanted it to work out. It also kind of feels like giving into the whole idea means validating the people online complaining about me, you know?”

Jamie nods slowly, “Yeah, that makes sense. I guess it’s sort of similar in my situation.”

“Yeah. And I know eventually we'll prove them wrong. Like when you’re ready to move on or next year when this movie comes out and they see how amazing I am in it.” 

Jamie chuckles lightly. “No, yeah. You’re right.”

“But I don’t want to wait,” you say defiantly, surprising Jamie again, “I’m tired of hearing about why I'm not good enough to be in a relationship, even one in a fucking movie, and if that means pretending to be in one in real life for a little while, I’ll do it.”

“Wait, really, you changed your mind?” Jamie asks, sitting up straighter than he’s ever been.

“Yeah, fuck it, I’ve got nothing to lose,” you shrug, “And like you said, I’m a good actor.”

“Hell yeah,” Jamie smiles for a brief moment, before it drops, “Wait, are you going to do it with someone else, or were you still talking about doing it with me?”

You give him an amused smile, “I was talking about you.”

“Okay, good. I got worried there for a second.”

You chuckle, “Honestly, it works out really well. Dating a soccer player from overseas that I met while filming here seems a lot more plausible than some other A-List actor I’ve never met out of the blue.”

“Okay you’re really going to have to work on calling it football, that’s a real deal breaker for me.” Jamie corrects, but there’s still a smile on his face.

“Got it. Well we can work through a list of demands later, but for now I should probably get home. My driver is waiting outside and I have a call-time at the crack of dawn.”

As you push out of your chair to stand up, Jamie remembers something, “You’re filming around Richmond starting this week right? My teammates saw trailers being set up near a pub we go to a lot.”

You nod, “Yeah we actually start filming around town in a couple days. Maybe I can pop in one day after work and say hi to my fake-boyfriend’s friends.”

Despite the word fake, Jamie finds his cheeks warming up, “They would shit themselves.”

You giggle, “That makes it more fun.” Reaching into your pocket, you slide your phone across the table, “Put your number in so we can talk strategy soon.”

Jamie nods and eagerly does so. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you smile, “Good night, Jamie.”

He watches you exit the café with a smile on his face, feeling giddy all of a sudden. Not just at the idea of stopping Keeley and Roy’s guilt train, but getting to know you better. 

You were right. This was going to be fun.

Taglist: @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog​ @royalestrellas​ @loveslide​ @torpedo--belly​ @skewedcherries​ @littlemisssunshine192​ @hopefulromances​ @breakmyheartlater​ @ohpuckyeah​ @alipap3​ @meg-ro​ @rexorangecouny​ @pythagothug​ @gcidrvsh @lightninginab0ttle it wouldn’t let me tag the last couple of you, but i will keep trying <3

[liesmyth]

@takiki16 tags on my post are too good not to be shared! The context is wild shit that legit happened in IRL football ⚽ that I need the Ted Lasso fandom to be aware of, because it'd make for excellent fic material:

the MANAGERS #the PERSONAL DRAMA#I KNOW that ted lasso is not designed to be an actual realistic show #I KNOW that this whole thing did in fact begin as a way to soft trap Americans into watching the Prem #to the point that JOSE FUCKING MOURINHO ACTUALLY HAD A PART IN THE ORIGINAL NBC AD #I do NOT want to change the vibe of the show at all #(but like…a dramedy about the EPL that REALLY wanted to roast some fuckers would perhaps…NOT look like ted lasso #if they wanted to start with the managers it would just be two middle aged idiots with BOILING beef #who had to be physically restrained from throwing hands every other game and have personally destroyed each others’ marriages

Okay WHO would Roy have managerial beef with. I vote Arteta. Actually as @elizabear suggests, it's funnier if it's one sided

He would also instinctively dislike Rob Edwards of Luton because Jamie once said he's the hottest manager in the EPL. Roy's annoyed and he doesn't know why. (Rob Edwards is very hot)

For an example of managers throwing hands... the Tuchel/Conte handshake

In fact here's a whole compilation of managers throwing hands.

Thank you for bringing up Mourinho! This is his ad, btw. "What do you WANT Ted?" lives in my mind rent-free

After much soul-searching I've decided Roy likes Mou a lot among all the managers he's played for. YES, he is a total cunt BUT

he's really fucking funny about it. Like, really.

he's never met a referee he didn't have beef with but most of all Anthony Taylor (as a Roma fan I have to agree with him on that)

the entire 2005 Chelsea team would've died for him. I've said this before, but there can't be a Frank Lampard in TL if Roy plays the box-to-box midfielder role, so this quote about Mourinho walking into Lampard naked in the shower to give him a pep talk? That's Roy. To me.

I can't even pick a quote among all the shit he's said about all the managers he's played against, but I especially enjoy when he used to be a bitch about Pep and Pep was like "I don't know her." It was like a one-sided crush dating back from their Barca days

#if they wanted it to be about the players the literal sky is the limit. WHATEVER the writers room can come up with#it cannot come CLOSE to the batshit drama that real Sockckckckcer Playahs have amongst each other#also intricate rituals. NOT ENOUGH INTRICATE RITUALS#when Jamie scored that free kick after getting permission to be a prick Dani should have kissed him with tongue

Here's some homoeroticism:

#but TO COME BACK TO OP’S POINT ABOUT ACTUAL GAMEPLAY#I want to see Coach Roy get red carded and have to sit in the stands for the next game cursing and swearing

He'd get, like, 3 red cards a season MINIMUM. Mourinho who. Here's Klopp losing it a bit. Here's Pep being passive aggressive as fuck. Pochettino from 2 days ago. Also from last weekend: De Zerbi's "I don't like 80% of referees in England" he's so right for this.

Manager Roy would get himself red carded the week before Richmond play Chelsea away. Totally accidental. So he doesn't have to have a lil cry about it.

#I want to see what it would take to get Zoreaux sent off#and then they have to stick Bumbercatch in goal and it turns out he has some Hyper Specific Phobia about the situation#he manages to save the team but his coping mechanisms for dealing with Forcible Keeper Phobia make up the comedy B-plot of the episode#

I want CLUB RIVALRY. dunno where Richmond actually physically is but imagine if they had derbies#Ted has to be made to understand that no coach - for THIS game we will not stop till we see BLOOD#Richmond wins but bc they are playing away the home fans actively are tossing crap at them as they celebrate on the pitch#also the sprinklers come on and it’s a bus full of soaked greyhounds on the ride home

They're in West London! Maybe they just fucking hate Fulham. Or Brentford.

Actually, I've thought long and hard about Richmond's derby rivalries. Semi-canon sources say they have a bit of a West London rivalry with Brentford BUT to me it doesn't make much sense because Richmond are supposed to have been mid-table in the Prem for years, top-flight but mediocre. Brentford only made it to the Prem in 2021.

Actually, I've decided that Richmond kind of take the place of QPR for most of their history, except they didn't get relegated when QPR did. This is because 1) it'd be too many London-based clubs otherwise but, more importantly, 2) when Man City won their first title in 2012 with Agueeeeeero!!! that was against Richmond. It's funny, To Me.

Also you know Roy still fucking hates Newcastle from his Sunderland academy days. If his pundit career had lasted longer he'd be having top tier shithousery with Alan Shearer every week about it.

Anyway here's a whole youtube playlist about WILD derbies.

#ALSO BC SUAREZ IS COMING TO MIAMI - BITING INCIDENTS CAN THEY DO THAT

As an Italian I am legally obliged to SAY that if Suarez hadn't bitten Chiellini at the World Cup we would have gone past the group stage because Uruguay scored off a corner they won while Italy were all busy telling the ref that there was a fucking cannibal on the pitch. I don't forgive and I don't forget.

Anyway for context: cannibal Luis Suarez. He's a repeat offender. Someone at Richmond would think it was very funny

[marvelling-at-marvel-blog]

The thing about S1 Jamie that I think is interesting is I think on rewatch there is some insight as to why Jamie went so hard on the bullying of Sam. (Not gonna be defending Jamie's treatment of Sam just looking into maybe why). Because out of all of the things Jamie did is season one. The one that seems hardest to understand or really forgive is his treatment of Sam. The first time around, you couldn't understand it. Sam is legitimately the kindest man in existence. (I know as a stroyteller it was the easiest way to really get us to dislike Jamie and really make us more understanding of Roy's treatment of Jamie which to be frank is not great and understand Ted's fruatrations with him) and Sam just keeps trying with Jamie.

But know I think it far to say thay S1 Jamie was jealous of Sam and his easy going, happy, postive nature. I dont think he was aware of it though.

Season 1 Jamie is so interesting because on paper, he had everything he thought he wanted. But I dint think he was overally happy. But yeah it seemed to be all his way

1. He played for the team he grew up supporting and dreamed of playing for. I imagine his first time stepping on that fiels in that uniform would have been monumental. Sure, maybe he wasn't a starter, but he got some minutes and the unspken agreement that in a few years, he would be a star.

2. I imagine he was initially disappointed to be loaned out, but then he learns he is being loaned to Richmond. Yeah they suck, but he gets to play a full 90 minutes, is basically going to be the best player, kick most of thier goals and he gets to be team mates with Roy Kent (he dreamed of playing against him one day, with him is a dream come true, I really think pre show Jamie would have been so excited to play with Roy Kent and was so disappointed in how it turned out). Plus, it has the added advantage of getting him away from his dad. And once his done his loan, he can come back to Manchester. This is his chance to get away from it for a while and be the star

3. He meets and gets to date Keely Jones who his always had a crush on. Dhe is literally a dream girl for him

So he should be happy right. His got everything he wanted, but it's not going the way he expected because.....

1. Roy Kent hates him (in my mind Roy was standoffish from the start, heres come this whizkid who was everything he used to be and slowly losing. I think Jamie came in at 100% and immediatley put Roy on the back foot). Jamie tries with Roy but the more it doesnt work the more Jamie goes OK, if I cant make him like me I will show him I am better than him. Hence the beginning of that relationship.

2. Yeah his away from his dad and his killing it at Richmond, scoring their goals, winning them matches but it only seems to be winning over half the team (he can't see yet his attitude is what is stopping the other guys from liking him). And the team still isn't doing great even with him. Plus he may be away from his Dad but his relationship with his mum feels like it in a werid place which sucks cause she is his favourite person ever.

3. And Keeley seems to be where its going right but sometimes it feels like his a bit of a project for her. And I think he has heard people (like Roy) question why she is with him.

And let's face it, he is still likely hearing from his dad when he doesn't perform up to his standards.

And then heres Sam. Who (at this point in time) isn't playing well, isn't scoring goals, not massively contributing to thier wins and yet he seems so genuinely happy all the time and everyone loves him, Roy Kent seems to like him and is friendly with him, complimenting him (which he has never done to Jamie). Sam is so open and kind he has probably talked about his dad in the locker room, and his relationship with his family seems perfect and that must gnaw at Jamie because all he ever wanted is to make his dad proud and his pretty sure he will never achieve it because the man is a d***k who is impossoble to please, yet Jamie never stops trying and things are werid with his mum which he hates. But all he hears when its brought up from Sam is how great his family is.

Then along comes the new gaffer who Jamie can't even understand why he is coaching, but he also seems to love Sam and wants him to be the decoy so Sam can kick the goal. Even though Jamie knows if he kicks it, it will go in.

Now we all know the reason Sam is liked is because he is an amazing, kind hearted, dedicated person, but I think S1 Jamie is so jealous and does not even know it.

Because S1 Jamie is still living with the notion that being the best in the most important thing ( thank you James Tartt Sr) so to Jamie he is out here busting his ass at training to be the best, scoring all the goals yet Sam seems to be the one who is living what he thought his dream time at Richmond was going to be. And I know I mention it but I think it is a big thing for Jamie, the harder he tries the more Roy seems to despise him, and take enjoyment in his embarrassment.

And S1 Jamie in all maturity handles his jealously by trying to make Sam feel as bad as he is feeling. Which Jamie, baby. That's kindergarten mentality. And poor Sam actually thinks Jamie is a great player and would love to learn from him in the beginning and isnt having a great time either.

But yeah. I dont think Jamie ever disliked Sam. I think he was insanly jealous of him all the time and didn't know how to handle that or even admit it himself.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Apologies for my rambles.

[jamiesfootball]

What are your thoughts on Ted? Is it good he went home?

These are two separate answers but I'm gonna try to combine them into one thought bubble (bear with me).

My short answer regarding Ted's ending is that you can't create a fully fleshed out character for 2-3 seasons and then in the final hour decide he was Mary Poppins all along. The Mary Poppins is meant to be strange, not-quite of normal ilk. She's the static character who leads the change in others, the one who inspires. You don't usually see the inner thoughts and workings of a static character.

From the very first time the audience meets Ted, we understand that this is not a static character because he is literally one of our starting POVs. We see his uncertainty about flying across the globe to go teach a sport he doesn't understand. We see him turning to Beard for reassurance. We see him stick his hand out where it isn't wanted while he tries to find common ground with people in a new country. We see the beginnings of a panic attack at the press conference.

That is is episode one. He is not a static character. He is not a strange and unusual person impossible to understand. He is inspiring, yes, but that is because of his humanity- his kindness.

He is not a Mary Poppins.

Ted is at his most interesting when he is a complicated, struggling, but ultimately kind man who tries his best to show genuine empathy and compassion towards others. The fact that this same trait doubles as a flaw is equally intriguing.

Ted can reassure Sam that Jamie won't be coming back, or Ted can reach out to Jamie when he's struggling and ask him to come back. Both are acts of kindness. He can not do both.

Ted can show Rebecca empathy and understanding for her trying to sabotage Richmond, but it ties his hands on being honest to Jamie about why he was sent away in the first place.

In trying to balance kindness, Ted struggles to be direct. He struggles to come right out and tell people how he's feeling about situations. Despite encouraging other people to talk about their feelings, he dances around his own and avoids awkward confrontations. I think that is the flaw that Ted most needed to explore. At the same time, I hesitate to say he could have learned too much given how he was struggling to process his own trauma with his dad and how it effected his relationships with those around him. (Put a pin here, I'll be back for it in a later.)

Pivoting back to Ted's purpose in the narrative, unfortunately as the show ran through season three, it became too near-sighted on The Message and in turn lost sight of making sure the characters had fulfilling interactions with each other. This especially becomes apparent when it comes to Ted, whose motto in season one is 'be curious not judgemental.' I maintain that season three was a low point for Ted emotionally, and if I were to assign a reason in-universe as to why Ted seemed so off from his usual self, it would be that in his depression, he no longer had the energy to realize he wasn't being curious. One indication of this would be how many times Ted casts assumptions on people in season three, compared to his hey-do-you-think conversational openers from earlier seasons. Some examples would include:

-never trying to figure out what makes Zava tick (this is a big one to me. I think season one Ted would have been all over trying to crack Zava like a nut)

-assuming he already knows why Jamie is upset about Zava joining the team and brushing it off

-assuming that Dr Jacob would propose + assuming that Michelle would say yes instead of trying to ferret out whether

-his assumptions about Henry being bullied (the knee-jerk reaction as a parent to protect your kid is understandable, the lack of delving into the situation and why it happened are more what I mean here)

-his whole conversation with Jamie about his dad. Other people in more succinct words have pointed out how it feels like he fully projected what he needed to hear onto Jamie's situation, and I think that's fairly accurate. This was not a 'talk to me and tell me what's going on so I can better understand how i need to help you' conversation. This was a 'oh that's whats going on? how about you do this? that work? alright then' talk.

So the finale struts back around and Ted has made a decision. He's going home. And it's meant to feel like closure. They play the Cat Stevens song and it's supposed to feel like Ted has finally made a step in the right direction (which is certainly one take on those lyrics but I digress). He's going back home. He's going to be with his son. He's letting go of the damage his father leaving did to him. He's giving up on something and he's finally okay with that. He left Richmond better than he found it and that's what matters.

Everyone else can cry but he's not crying. He's finally with Henry again.

So here's my two cents. And this is definitely just my opinion but-

THAT'S FUCKING STUPID.

Because the only way that Henry OR Richmond exists is in a false dichotomy wherein the two cannot possibly coincide, despite the fact that there are MANY KIDS' SHOWS ABOUT CHILDREN MOVING TO NEW LOCATIONS EVEN NEW COUNTRIES because that is a NORMAL THING THAT HAPPENS IN THE NORMAL WORLD ALL THE TIME.

Like holy shit that is. That is just the plot of a Disney channel show. 'My dad the football coach moved to england to coach the other football.' That is just the plot of a Disney channel original movie with a $300 budget that magically gets a sequel. Is that what I'm supposed to say 'oh no, that could never happen' over? Because I"m already watching a TV show. You can put a show in another show- I'm fine with that.

Remember that pin above? Time to pull it out. Because you know what would have been a more narratively satisfying conclusion?

If Ted had actually asked Henry and Michelle if they'd liked to move to London to be closer to him. If he had actually expressed his fucking need to have both his Kansas family and his Richmond family close to him. Maybe they would have said no, maybe they would have said yes, but you know what? It would have at least opened the door to the discussion about what Ted might need as a person moving forward, whichever way the chips fell. At least he would have done the one thing we didn't see him do all show:

Ask for something for himself. Because he wants it. Not for the good of his family, or the team, or anyone else. Just for Ted.

I am not saying his son isn't the most important thing in his life. I am saying as a goddamn adult person, you can NOT mold your life around your kids. You can't. Full stop. It is not healthy. You put your kid's needs above your own, but as a parent your needs have to come second. You have to take care of your own emotional health so that you have the bandwidth to give them support. You have to set the example of what healthy boundaries and taking care of yourself looks like.

Could Ted make new social connections back in Kansas? Well that's the thing isn't it- season one Ted could have. Easily. Season three Ted? The one who's checked out and looks tired all the time and isn't even following his own motto anymore and didn't even cry like he'd miss his friends when he was leaving? I'm not sure about that Ted. I'm worried about that Ted. I'm worried he's going to put himself in a situation where for the next 9 years of his life his only priority is going to be keeping Henry happy by giving Henry the attention he never got from his own father. And after that? Henry's an adult. Henry has to go live his own life.

And Henry's going to be able to tell, by the way, if his dad is struggling. Whatever Ted's emotional health is like, Henry is going to pick up on it. This isn't a one way road. Kids notice.

Ted untangled himself enough to admit that what he wants is to be close to Henry. I commend that. But then he decided that there was only one way to do that, and he didn't look any further than that. The narrative didn't look any further than that. For a show that itself raises the topic of mental health, it feels tone-deaf to pretend that Ted moving away from his entire support group is a happy ending. He doesn't even have Beard!

So to summarize: what do I think about Ted? I think he's a fascinating character. I think he has a genuine kindness to him that is rare. I think he is flawed, and a little bent up on the inside, and he's got a lot of issues to work through. And I think the show did him a disservice by painting him going back to Kansas as a sign that everything was going to be okay.

[threewaywithdelusion]

Someone who's good at internet-speak (ie, not me) should write a fic about Richmond's crusade against homophobia, but in the format of posts and articles.

It starts when Isaac attacks the fan at the Richmond v. Brighton game. The tv cameras didn't catch what the fan said, only Isaac's reaction, but maybe people filmed it and put it online or maybe the fan does an angry Tiktok video or whatever. Unconfirmed rumors start that Isaac threw hands because of the f-slur. A lot of people don't believe it, because why would a (presumably straight) footballer care about something like that? Some queer fans are touched that someone cares about that language being used in football. Others are outraged that a team captain would get himself red-carded over something so minor.

Several months later (next season, after Ted's already gone home), a fan for the opposing team shouts something kind of homophobic from the stands. (This is in a world where either Colin and Michael didn't kiss after beating West Ham or miraculously zero people saw it and filmed it and posted it, so Colin isn't out). Some of the players stand at the corner of the pitch and begin shouting back at the fan, heckling them, but without actually going into the stands. Maybe Richard, Bumbercatch, and Jan Maas? I feel like Richard would be sassy and Jan Maas would be devastatingly straightforward and Bumbercatch would say something entirely out of pocket.

(Also, Colin wouldn't want to out himself by standing up for himself. Isaac is just fighting to keep his temper and not storm the stands again. Dani and Sam are too nice to yell insults at fans, even homophobic ones. And I literally cannot imagine Jamie is straight, which means he would be trying to fly under the radar just like Colin).

This time, the news hits the internet complete with videos. The players are definitely reacting this way to homophobia and it's blowing everyone's minds. Now the conversation shifts from people trying to say these are baseless rumors to center around two questions: 1) Are the Richmond players right or wrong to care so much about this and to allow it to disrupt matches? Is football about playing or about culture? 2) Why do Richmond players care so much?

There's rampant speculation online: This is Ted's influence, because he's American and they care about all this PC bullshit over there. This is some kind of publicity stunt. One of the players must be gay.

That last one gets some traction, but who is it? Isaac, who was the first one to act upset? Jamie, who *gestures at all of Jamie*? Someone else entirely?

At Richmond matches, some players from the other teams start saying shit to bait Richmond into fouls and yellow cards. As it starts to affect how Richmond plays, even the pundits take notice. The sexuality of the Richmond players is now a full-blown topic of discussion.

Everyone is curious to find out what the hell is going on. Roy gets asked about this every week at the post-game press conference. Clips appear online of players having microphones shoved in their faces and being asked who is the gay player on the team, though they all hold the line and refuse to answer. Entire threads are devoted to speculating about who on the team must be gay.

There should be tweets and tumblr posts and news articles. In the end, either Colin and Michael come out, or RoyJamieKeeley come out. Or both, and the fans are completely overwhelmed that so many of them were right when speculating about the players but also wrong because no one predicted there would be multiple gay players on the team (and coaching staff).

[altschmerzes]

🌹🌹 Wriggle up maybe some of Jamie's trauma?

boy howdy there is so much of that to go around. salutes.

specific content warnings under the cut along with the clip. it's not particularly intense, but it's upsetting and emotional. from the part of the fic set between seasons 1 and 2 and re: roy's retirement. it's a bit of a...... well. a lot of a long clip but i think we've come to expect that from me at this point lmao.

content warnings for the scene: jamie is living alone with his father in manchester at this point and his internal state is... not good. there is some like. it's not exactly outright violence, but it's rough contact that jamie doesn't want, kind of mocking not-affection.

--

Jamie is alone in his room with the door closed, staring at the ceiling and wondering if he’ll be noticed or stopped if he tries to leave and just fuck about in the park for a few hours until it’s late enough to go to bed when he hears it. The segment transition music of his father’s favourite sports network is a distinctive and familiar sound, a regular feature of life that’s gone back and forth from Manchester to London and back again, staying the same even as most everything else changed. Half the time Jamie doesn’t even register it anymore, it just is. Today he does. Today he hears it because he’s paying attention to the flat, tracking the sounds on instinct. And because Jamie hears the segment transition noise, he hears what comes after it.

The segment hosts are talking about Richmond. They’re talking about Roy. Jamie closes his eyes and pulls at the front of his shirt, pinching the fabric idly between his thumb and forefinger and tugging. He hears press conference and major announcement and knee injury and something about those words, the combination of them, has Jamie pulling himself up off of his bed and out into the hallway. Every inch of him is exhausted all the way down to the core but he has to go, compelled for reasons he can’t explain to walk into the living room.

Standing in the doorway, Jamie watches over the back of the couch, over his father’s shoulder, as Roy appears on camera and starts talking. Starts crying. The words themselves are a blur, only a few coming through clearly as Jamie listens, sick to his stomach and struggling to breathe all the way in - team of doctors, continuing degeneration, announcing my retirement. Roy sits far away in London and speaks through tears through choppy inhales and shuddering exhales, and on the couch in front of Jamie in Manchester, James laughs.

Jamie’s father tips his chin up and laughs, his head tipping side to side, obviously tickled to bits by what’s happening on the screen. The press conference goes on, but it’s even harder to hear now through the sound of that laughter. It’s not loud - it’s amused chuckling and not full-belly guffaws, but it may as well be blasting on surround-sound speakers for all that Jamie can hear anything else past it.

“Oh, Jamie, lad, get a load of this shite,” James says. He’s noticed his son in the doorway, waving a hand over the back of the couch and gesturing at the screen. “My, what a shame. Roy bloody Kent, going out like this. Used to be a man, that one, and look at him now. Jesus wept.”

Frozen in the doorway of the room, Jamie stares at the television screen. Guilt rises in his throat, threatening to choke him, and brings with it a whole host of other things he can’t or doesn’t want to name. This is his fault. This is all his fault.

There’s a mobile in Jamie’s hoodie pocket, and a note in the bottom of his schoolbag with a phone number on it. His fingertips itch to go and find it, to text Ted Lasso and tell him that he didn’t mean for what happened to happen. Maybe if Jamie begs him to, Ted will tell Roy that Jamie is sorry, that he’s so sorry, so fucking sorry. But he doesn’t. He can’t.

Turning and looking over his shoulder, James must see something in Jamie’s face that he hadn’t been able to hide - not that he was thinking clearly enough to try just at the moment. When he speaks, James’s voice has climbed into a mocking register, pitchy and singsonging with ridicule.

“Aw, what, is wee little Junior gonna get all weepy about that sad old has-been?” A sharp snort of laughter punctuates a rhetorical question that drips with casual, habitual scorn. “Hey, I mean, at least he was something. More than you can say.”

Beyond the thick and shuddering mass of emotion already packing Jamie’s chest too bursting there’s no room for anything more. The insulting reference to his own injury, the one that had ended his career before it began, doesn’t even make his surgically repaired knee throb with phantom pain the way it usually would have done. Jamie just keeps staring at the telly, watching Beard join Roy on-screen to field questions from reporters, ignoring his dad entirely.

Even fixed as he is on the programme, though, Jamie can’t help but track the man’s movements when he rises. James moves in his peripheral vision, always the most important thing to watch in any room, walking towards the hall and directly by Jamie. As he walks past, he reaches out and scuffs his hand through his son’s hair. It’s rough and abrupt, a mockery of affection that knocks Jamie off-balance and into the wall. There’s only the faintest echo of almost-pain but the adrenaline it spikes down his spine is as if he’s been shot all the same.

Once James is gone, Jamie doesn’t move. He knows that he should, that he should go back to his room or leave the house or do anything else, but he can’t. All he can do is stand there with his heart thudding hard in his chest and the crushing sense that he is all alone in the world and he fucking deserves it suffocating from the inside out while he stares at Roy’s face on the telly and wonders what the fuck is wrong with him.

[sunwarmed-ash]

Voters Choice: Roy x Jamie x Keeley snippet

AN: its gonna start p angsty before it gets happy, season 2 is where sad boi Jamie shines.(BUT S3 THE POLYCULE POTENTIAL EXPLODES) Trigger warnings: physical violence, Drink spiking/drugging (NO SA)

“What's next for Jamie Tartt?”

The obvious answer was to go back to Man City. But much like, well, everyone else in his life thus far, Keeley, Richmond, Love Island, even his hometown didn't want him. And that was just too much to swallow. Everyone wanted him, ever since he hit puberty. And even more once he became a footballer. 

“The fuck you mean no one wants me! I’m Jamie fucking Tartt!” 

“Jamie, you know I love you, you're like a son to me. But now you're like a dead son. Which makes me love you even more. Now get out.”

For the first time in years, he was at a complete and total loss as to what to do next. He didn't know where to go. He couldn't go home. Not after that horridus talk show re-airs on the late night telly and his father starts blowing up his phone with cruel, warranted abuse. He couldn’t go back to Richmond. He couldn't. The team would probably physically rip him to shreds.  

He was lost. So fucking lost. He needed to talk to someone. 

And he doubts even she would be particularly happy to see him….

Fuck!

-

Arguably, his talk with Keeley did make him feel better. She helped remind him at least one person in this world still wanted to get to know Jamie Tartt the person and not the (failed) celebrity and footballer. 

But now that he's left her place, he’s stuck with the hollow feeling of loneliness again. Keeley was just helping him as a friend, and only a friend. Because Jamie’s the one who fucked up and blew his chance with her. And now, well she’s found someone who treats her better than he ever could. She deserves better than Jamie… 

He talked with Ted too, and it went okay, yeah. If anything, it felt nice to tell someone about his dad. But then he had gotten rejected, again. 

‘Jamie, you're a hell of a player, but I don’t think it's a good idea.’ 

Further reinforcing his manager's (and inexplicably fathers) words that truly, no one wanted him anymore. And it fucking stung. Jamie stared hateful daggers at the beer Ted bought him.  

Well, fuck that shit. 

It was Friday night, he was back in Richmond, and too fucking tired to really go anywhere else. If he hopped enough pubs, he would surely find someone who wanted him. 

-

“Well, well well, look who it is! Me own flesh an' blood!”

Before he can even make it to the first pub he wanted to check out, his blood runs cold and stops him in place at the voice of his father. “Surprised you’d show your face in public after such a pathetic and public fall from grace!” Jamie Sr. continues. 

Jamie had hoped, prayed, if he actually gave a shit about praying, that 200 miles was enough distance between him and his father to avoid a ‘bump into’, but it seems like his bad luck just kept coming tonight.

He ignores him. Tries to be the bigger person. Jamie cuts left and turns to try and get anywhere public as soon as possible, but before he can take a step he’s going down. The first hit was solid, and right to the ribs. It absolutely came from his dads hand. Each of his fathers friends took their turn after. Bug was easy enough to avoid, the man was out of shape and old. But Denbo had power behind his fists. Jamie yanks himself off the ground in time to duck one, but practically walked right into the second one. It hit him square in the gut, knocking almost all of the air from his lungs. 

“Fuck,” he wheezes, wrapping one arm around his torso before rearing back and kicking. He had more power in his legs than his arms, and the swift deliverance to Denbo’s sternum with his heeled dress shoe had the older man collapsing on the cobblestone. 

And then, Jamie runs. And doesn't stop until he reaches the back alley of Crown & Anchor again. 

As soon as he reaches the deserted location he collapses, wheezing out his agony. When his back came in rough contact with the brick, he folds like a paper plane. He yanks up and grips his knees, trying to focus on the steady intake of oxygen and not the throbbing unanswered question of What the fuck is he supposed to do now? He could feel the anxiety rapidly building in his chest, it was too much. He didn't have anything to relieve it. 

Someone is shouting across the street, not close enough for him to be able to make out who or if they are talking to him or not. Jamie pulls up his hood and pushes on his sunglasses. He just wants to be left alone. 

“Jamie?” the soft, now familiar voice asks again. Jamie barely registers the soft hand on his shoulder. He blinks up to see the kind, and familiar eyes of his ex, and favorite person in the entire world (outside of himself), Keeley Jones. 

“Keels? Uh, yeah hey.” He says, quickly adjusting himself so he didn't look so fucking pathetic. Girls didn't like that.

“Hey babe,” she smiles kindly, reading through his bullshit as she offered her hand to help him up. He took it. Of course he did. “Let's get you somewhere warmer than the alley huh? Want to come to my place, it’s just a few blocks. We can take the back way, less people at this hour.”

Jamie couldn't process most of what she said, but he nods as soon as she said leave here. 

-

Most of the speed walk to their old shared flat went by in a blacked out blur, but when he was greeted with the familiar scent of sandalwood and citrus he knew he was home. It helped bring some of the feeling back into his trauma-numbed body. 

“I just need to rest a few hours, honestly,” he starts, hoping maybe she’d offer to lay next to him, but then his eyes land on the most emotionally complicated person in the world, and now ‘home’ is the last place he wants to be. Because it's not his home anymore. It's theirs. Without him. 

“Why’s he here?” Jamie asks, though he knows the answer. 

“He lives here,” Roy explained, albeit nicer than Jamie's immediate, snappy tone.

The confirmation hurts worse than all of the physical attacks he’d endured tonight combined. Rejection burns hot in his gut. He’s gotta get out of here. 

“We’re here to help Jamie.” Keeley attempts to reassure, but the panicky feeling only compounds, and he hates the way the spotlight is now on him. Even if they were just trying to help. It was having the opposite effect. 

“I- can’t- this is too much-” he is barely able to get out. 

“Maybe we should get you in bed,” Roy offers. 

That’s enough to stop the panic attack in its tracks, switch railways and turn Jamie’s mood around. His eyes are blown wide in hopeful confusion, and he’s about to agree, yeah, that actually probably would help, before Roy quickly edited, “not- like that. To sleep.”

Jamie’s mouth snaps shut and he bites into his tongue to keep back how disparagingly rejected and embarrassed that made him feel. 

In hindsight, they were probably right. He was exhausted. His body ached where there were surely bruises forming. Yet another thing he’d have to explain away at training, or tonight if they have sex. Jamie needed sleep. Not sex. 

“Yeah. Yeah, alright.”

They didn't talk about it, not really. Roy and Keeley gave him the support he desperately needed that night. They surprisingly allow him to cuddle between their two warm bodies, and it helps more than he can ever make his mouth admit. 

But then in the morning he left, giving them their life back. 

And they didn't talk about it. 

Like it never happened.

-One week later-

Jamie doesn't drink, and it will become abundantly clear over the next few hours why he doesn’t. Part of it is because his fathers lost his entire life and mind to booze, and tried to take him and his mum down with him. But mostly he just didn't like it. Didn't like the smell, didn't like the taste, and he didn't like feeling out of control of his body. But he was in a mood, one that would not be lightened by anything but sex or Keeley and currently both of those options were off the table. 

The idiots down at the end of the counter are trying not stealthy at all to take his picture and he is just not having it. 

“CAN I GET ANOTHER ONE MAE?” he asks loudly in the crowded pub before flipping the three fans off. It only makes them cheer and giggle more. 

“One second Tartt,” she shouts back, though not unkindly, and his eyes go right back into the bottom of his empty glass.  The buzzing in his head was still too loud. He needed something to dull it out. 

“Maybe I could interest you in this, it'll save you the refill time,” An older blonde gentleman probably Ted's age said as he saddled up next to him. Jamie hadn't seen the man come in, or seen him around town really. This pub had a pretty reliable clientele. Jamie has definitely never seen this man before. 

“What is it?” Jamie asked, nodding towards the fruity looking drink with the pink paper umbrella. 

“Mai Tai,” the older gentleman smiles and something about it makes Jamie's stomach turn. 

“Do I look like I drink Mai Tai’s?” Jamie shot back, because he felt almost insulted by the cocktail. He could hear his fathers hateful monologue in his ears discrediting anything that could be considered soft. Not masculine. Queer. 

“You look like someone who might want company tonight, which is why I came over.” His accent claimed he wasn’t from around here and Jamie considers, well maybe, sex wasn’t completely off the table.

“Do you know who I am?” He asks. Tonight, he really doesn’t want to fuck a fan. 

The man tilted his head like a confused puppy. It was kinda cute. Ya know, if you were into that…

“No, should I?”

Jamie scoffed. American’s. No taste in real sport. 

“Guess not.”

“My name is John,” the man said, holding out his hand with a radiant smile. 

Jamie returned it. 

“Jamie.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you Jamie.”

-

Jamie blinks and suddenly he can't tell if they have been sitting here at the hightop for 5 minutes or 5 hours. All of the faces of the pub patrons look the same and it makes his eyebrows bunch together in frustration. At least he thinks they do that, he actually can’t feel any part of his face…

He turns and suddenly he’s face to face with the Mai Tai man and he’s grinning, in a way that makes Jamie's insides churn and threaten to spew. The next moment the man is attempting to close the distance between their mouths and Jamie is acting on instinct. His fist comes out fast, punching into the jaw of the older man hard. 

It makes quite the commotion, because the man shouts, smashes his own glass over Jamie’s head, and Jamie is shouldering him into the rough edge of the counter in an adrenaline fuled rebuttal. 

The next moments pass in a blur. Everyone is screaming, Mae is yelling at him specifically, and then two bigger regulars are carrying Jamie out of the bar. His attacker is conveniently nowhere to be found. 

Jamie just wants to cry because how could this night get any worse?

[lunar-years]

Looking back in Season 1, when Jamie and Dani take penalty kicks in “Two Aces”, it’s unlikely that Jamie’s actually injured and faking it to miss training, right? Unless he’s actually lost it and is on the pitch after sustaining injuries from his father for being benched? I love the Injured!Jamie fics from this scene, but I’m wondering what your thoughts are?

Ok, so I think in canon, it was truly that he was faking nonexistent injuries because 1) he was pissed off at Ted for being benched and 2) he was beyond frustrated at not understanding Ted's expectations and where his boundaries were. So I think doing that was his way of "testing the limits" and seeing just how much he could get away with before Ted completely snapped (and to that end, I think it worked a little bit better than Jamie had anticipated or prepared for. He does get Ted to snap, but it comes at the cost of Jamie being very actively triggered, which we see onscreen.) Anyway in Jamie's mind, I think he believes he can handle anything as long as he knows what's coming, and this was how he decided he was going to figure that out.

To add another layer...I do think sometimes about how Jamie had probably hid many a "minor" (read: not obviously visible to his coaches just by looking at him) injury in the past and practiced or played matches through it. What if this was the first time Jamie went to a coach and told him he couldn't play because of non-visible injuries, and that was the response? Obviously Jamie knows he's faking it and he's being a prick on purpose this time, and even though Ted doesn't respond well, I think we can at least say Ted's anger was justified. Still, I think in the moment that could've easily felt to Jamie like confirmation that he'd done the right thing by hiding all the times those injuries were actually real. If this is what happens, he was right not to tell, sort of thing. Which is like. wow, ouch.

ALSO, apropos of nothing in canon apart from his generally rancid vibes, I actually wonder if James Sr. didn't go the route of taking on a ~united front~ with his son after that particular incident. Like, in my head I can envision Jamie getting a call from his dad after that match, expecting to be berated for being benched, and instead ALL of his dad's vitriol is focused on that yankee fucker Ted Lasso. Because 1) Jamie was playing that match "well" according to his father's standards, wasn't he? He was making himself the center of attention and he was scoring goals, which is all his dad cares about. He's benched for not being a team player, James Sr. doesn't give a shit about being a team player, therefore he thinks the benching itself was unwarranted 2) I think James Sr. loathed Richmond even before Ted got there, because he doesn't want Jamie playing for Richmond, he wants Jamie playing for City. Ted's arrival offers a very convenient scapegoat to channel his resulting anger.

So i think it's incredibly possible that James took on a very buddy-buddy "Your coach is an American idiot who wouldn't understand football if the ball hit him in the face, and you deserve better than that son. We need to get you back to City, Jamie" etc. attitude. In which Jamie, thrown off further by his dad switching around the script on him, is spurred on further with thoughts he was already having: Yes, this IS all Lasso's fault, yes i AM better than this stupid team, etc. etc. Which fuels his anger and drives him to do what he does the next day in practice.

.......all of that said, I too am a sucker for fics where the injuries were real 🫣 it's such an interesting and complicated possibility to think about (and who knows, it IS still a possibility, we don't know anything for sure!) Very akin to another one of my favorite headcanons: Jamie's eyebrow slit being the result of an injury he sustains/scar he acquires between seasons 1 & 2 instead of merely a cosmetic fashion choice. Do I actually think that's what happened in canon? No, I think it’s much more likely Jamie just thought it looked cool as fuck LOL. But i loveeee exploring it in fics. it's fun to play around in the sandbox!!

[jamietarttownsmyheart]

please i need colinjamie headcanons or prompts i’ve been deprived of them for too long

i am. so so sorry for how late this is. and how uncoordinated the rest of this will probably end up being, but, just, ima unleash random colinjamie thoughts on u and hope it makes sense lol and that you enjoy them, but since idk how long it'll end up ima put everything under the cut

random hcs

colinjamie have definitely watched the owl house at some point. maybe this is fresh in my head since the final episode just came out a few days ago, but i definitely see colinjamie watching the owl house together. two options:

maybe colin was chilling with his niece (i want colin to have a niece or a nephew so bad, he gives uncle vibes and also i want jamie to interact with the kid at some point too) and she was watching it and he got invested. and then jamie got invested via colin. OR. henry was visiting the stadium on spring break and mentioned the owl house to jamie, who was curious, watched and episode, and then got invested. flash forward to colinjamie fwb era and colin dropping by one day and finding jamie losing his shit over the episode hollow mind. jamie needs to lose his shit with someone and colin is the poor soul who came over for a hook up but ended up having to watch two seasons of a disney cartoon.

that being said, i also think that jamie, if he ever watched avatar the last airbender as a kid, only ever watched until mid season 2. life got more complicated and he was more concerned with playing well than "lazy" things like cartoons. he never got to zuko standing up to his dad. he'll get there someday, it's gonna be great

colinjamie have a unique sense of style that they somehow make work, it drives so many people mad

colin had a crush on lightning mcqueen when he was a kid. (11 years old? idk how old colin is, so im putting him at 28 in s3, making him 11 when cars came out) he thinks about this childhood crush and figures its pretty telling that he's got a speedy car and a cocky but talented boyfriend

jamie is dyslexic, and when he realized audiobooks existed, he was thrilled. still, his favorite way to experience books is to have colin read them out to him.

that being said, his favorite way to enjoy drake is to have colin rapping along

colin takes jamie along to theater performances, musicals, and the ballet.

jamie found the "whose the worm now" moment so hot. he can't let colin find out

random prompt

prompt #1

so this might be because i just re read the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, daisy jones and the six, and carrie soto is back, as well as binging all of the daisy jones and the six show, and have been listening to taylor swift all month, but i am craving something specific?

like, i am so here for an au with actor or pop star jamie (have y'all heard phil dunster's voice?) and richmond player colin hughes. its giving posh spice and david beckham.

just the different flavors of it all. if we have it in modern times, as in, the time ted lasso is set in the show, we can do so much. (we can also have a colin who is not actually a fan of his bf's music. it's not that he hates it, it's just not his style. jamie knows this, and writes songs about colin anyways. colin loves listening to these songs regardless of them not being his style.)

then of course there is the other option--i am so bad at timelines and math, so dont come for me when this is all wrong, but i, on my 7 husband of eh kick, was like omg?? give me hollywood star jamie tartt and football player colin hughes who are "roommates."

prompt #2

im a sucker for vampires and vampire hunters. i think it can go either way for them in terms of whose the vampire and whose the vampire hunters.

prompt #3

a canon divergence au where colinjamie were dating s1. jamie and keeley were dating prior to his loan to richmond and stayed friends after their breakup. he really did love her, but still hadn't learned to be accountable yet. keeley still comes around to the club bc she's jamie's best friend and wants to test the playing field with roy.

[richmonds-disaster-bi]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[fanficfanattic]

Got tagged by several lovely people because no one knew I’d already been tagged. Because it took me several hours to copy/paste WIP titles/first sentences into a document lolol. Super happy to finally make it happen though @orbitalpirate @kvetchinglyneurotic and @jamietarttdodododododo !

Game: put the titles of your WIPs, reguardless of how vague or uninformative they are and let people send asks about them. Tag some people, maybe the amount of WIPs you have.

A) I’m big in Ted Lasso so I’m only posting the 120 for this fandom. If someone wants the list of 50 for Dirk Gently or 2 dozen for My Hero Academia; just holler at me!

Battler

Choir Jamie

Jamie v Nate

Back’s Against the Wall, Takes the Hit For Us All

Block His Number

Sam's Dad Take 1

You've Become a Good Person

Jamie Forgives Nate

Season 2 era Dani/Jamie

"Higgins ""well I think if you care about"

Playlist Fic

Keeley Got Pregnant Season 1

A/B/O: All Roy's Headbutts Damage His Scent

James Tart Sr Plants Drugs

Jamie to Ted But Kind of Everyone.

Memories

Dad Like a Hornet

Season One or Two

Henry Calls Ted So He Can Talk to Jamie

Bus Ride Nightmare

Soulmate AU

Beard

Jamie's Coming Out Movies Playlists

Decided on LCA Because Healing Broken Ribs

Jamie's Aunties

One of the Georgie Brings a Video A..

DANI sharing his father

Patty Comes to Dressing Room to D..

RoyxJamie wedding fic

JamieDaniSam

Roy Saying Jamie Threw Away His Career

Roy Realizes Jamie is Scared at the Gala

Roy Kent's Pet

Jamie Nightmare on Bus Season 1 A..

Trust

Why He Had to Push Roy's Buttons

Why He Has to Be Great

Tom O'Brien/Paul Reynolds

James Tart Hurts Jamie Before His First Game Back

Pussy

Will Sees Jamie Injured & Hears Convo With Dad

Jamie's Trent Impression

You don't know anything about me!

Simon Shows Up to Take Jamie to A&E

Georgie The Harpoonist

Jamie's Make-a-Wish kids

"Georgie ""I taught him to fight but not how to stop"""

Poet Jamie

Jamie being overwhelmed with pleasure

Amy from LCA comes to visit s2 Jamie

Dani starts dating Jamie S1

Jamie's First Day Back Had a Responsible Meeting with Team

Jamie's Mom RE His Dad

Car Park Kid Video

Mystical Team Building

Jamie Comforts Phoebe Gets Hit By Roy

Ransom Fic

Georgie's Video Memories

Jamie & Jan

Jamie flirts with Paddy on the Pitch

Show Up: Convo with Phoebe

Nonsexual A/B/O: Sam is Jamie's Alpha

Ted Lasso and Dirk Gentle crossover

Lads Watch Porn

James & Bug Attack Jamie

Collar?

Every Text is A Crime

Roy Asks Keeley for Jamie Advice and Doesn't Ignore It

Georgie Gave Jamie to James to Protect Herself

Roy Sees Jamie’s Ass in a Mirror and Goes Gay

Family Day Positive Georgie

Season 1 Jamie has friends visit

Zava Multi-Chapter

Jamie Thinks Ted sent him back b/c injury

Led Tasso

Princesses and Dragon

Social Worker Jamie

Coach Crash: Pinned

S1 Jamie, Simon Dies

Time Loop

1.10: Will tries to stop James Tartt Sr

S2 Jamie kidnapped for fighting ring

Ted Laskmaster

Roy's Extra Special Football Baby

Gordon Ramsay Reminds Jamie of Someone

Paddy Insta Live

Touch Issues

Georgie Turns James In Season 2

James Fakes His Own Death

Someone Talks to Roy About How He Treats Jamie

Sam Learns to Top Season 1 Team

Yeah? Me old man thinks you and he are just alike

Teaching Phoebe Art Fic

Early Season 2, Team Tricks Jamie

Ted DOES Go in the Treatment Room

Isolation

S3 Declan/Jamie

1.06 Jamie Collapses on Pitch During Cone Duty

"""Roy Won't Hurt Me"""

Jamie's Issue with Dead People

Family Curse

Sold After LCA

Investigative Journalist

Group Home

Belted

James Visits S1 Richmond

Dani Checks Treatment Rooms after games

"""I like history, it’s already happened so it’s easier to understand"""

The Stands

Keeley Teaches Roy How to Teach Jamie

Trick Plays

Pacifier fic

Fresh Back S2 Jamie Helps Ted with Panic Attack

S2 Jamie Saves Girl From Getting Drugged

1.06 Jamie Panic Attack

James Beats Jamie for Getting Benched

You Told Me You Saw It

S2 Roy Breaks Tartt Silence but to Yell at Ted

Mind Games

S1 Jamie Ices Out Colin and Isaac

[bombshellsandbluebells]

Ok throwing out a bunch of Ted Lasso finale theories just so I can pat myself on the back if any are correct:

- Ted’s going home. His story is not ending in romance because it’s never really been about that. It’s been about healing and moving on and Richmond has helped him do that as much as he’s helped them, but ultimately his heart is with his son and he needs to be there.

- Jamie’s injury is going to keep him from playing - which is fine. He’s gotten to a place where it’s not all about himself anymore, it’s about supporting the team, and he made his big contribution last episode. He’s also gotten to a point where it’s not all about winning, it’s just about enjoying it. I actually think him cheering from the sidelines while his team wins it might be the perfect place to end his story (especially since he had his moment.)

- Above means two big things I think: 1) Richmond NEEDS Nate’s strategic genius because the style that’s been making them win all season is very reliant on Jamie. Nate will know how to come up with something new that works. And 2) Sam needs to get his big win this season, he’s just had loss after loss so far. Would love for him to be key to their winning.

- Rebecca is going to find love again and I really, really hope it’s not with a random stranger we meet in the last episode so it probably means either she’s going to date Sam again (there’s been too many nods to their feelings for each other in the recent eps) or she’s going to (hopefully) find Mr. Amsterdam Man again

- reappearance of Michael finally? getting to see Colin be open with his boyfriend in front of his teammates 

- either it’s going to hint at RoyJamieKeeley endgame or Keeley is going to tell Roy she wants to be single right now because SOMETHING was up with her not immediately wanting to be a couple again last ep and we don’t really have the time to address it, so they probably won’t officially get back together but maybe it will leave it somewhat open ended?

- we will hear something more about Trent’s book - maybe even end with Trent narrating some of it

- Beard is staying in England, for sure. He, Roy, and Nate will make the new dream team at Richmond.

- I think the Pub Boys are going to somehow know about Ted leaving and get emotional about it. I think it’d be nice to see.

- I previously said that Richmond was going to 100% win because nothing else made sense, but then Dottie had a line how in parenting sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but mostly you just tie. And if this show is about ANYTHING, it’s about parents. So there’s some possibility for a tie. And one last nod to Ted finding that ridiculous. (I will still lean mostly towards win, but I also know they love subverting expectations and now you could argue there’s some foreshadowing for it.)

- I cry.