#because Ted just wanted Nate to know he was appreciated and loved

[morethanghosts]

You know in the end I think Ted did what we wanted despite what other people wanted. Not that he wanted to leave AFC Richmond. But he wanted to be there for his son and watch him grow up.

Leaving Henry was never what he wanted. He just gave Michelle space like she asked. Rebecca’s offer was convenient. And when Ted went back to Henry, he was doing what he wanted despite what Rebecca asked.

That’s his journey.

And I think the only reason Ted wasn’t shown in any of the flash forwards was because they didn’t want to show him outside of coming home to his son (because Henry is his future and his happy ending) and didn’t want to imply that he returned to Richmond later. I’m sure he stayed in contact with them all. He FaceTimes and calls them the same way he did with Henry. We can move away from family without giving them up

[lunar-years]

i wonder if a lot of the ted-as-jamies-father-figure stuff comes from the fact that he's SO heavily contrasted with james sr anytime he and jamie interact. and then you get a two roads in the woods situation. on the one hand, compared to how james treats jamie, it's easy to think "yeah ted! that's how a real dad acts!" when he's doing things like giving ted the army man or being gentle with him in the crown + anchor. but on the other hand, if you get past ted's mannerisms and look at his actions/words, what he's actually doing is, uh, not great!

Excellent point! I very much agree (and it's super interesting that the vast majority of their interactions revolve around James Sr. on some level.)

@goodmorninglovelies42 said Ted sees Jamie as a son-figure but Jamie doesn't see Ted as a father-figure and I think there's a lot of truth to that!

(although personally, I also think even that is very much mixed up in Ted's own Henry & Dad stuff. IMO, Ted sees many of the boys as substitute sons he can focus on guiding and leading in lieu of his missing actual son [and as a way to work past the guilt he feels at leaving said son behind]. He isn't there for Henry but he can be there for Jamie, Sam, Nate, etc. Like, I totally do think Ted sees Jamie as a son-figure, but in a 'Jamie can easily fit into the son-shaped hole in my chest' way as opposed to like, something specific about Jamie himself/Jamie's personality that has Ted caring for him like and thinking of him as a son. If that makes sense? To me it all boils down to that I do not think Ted actually comes to ever understand Jamie on a personal or deeper level, it's moreso the idea of Jamie/what Jamie represents that gets into Ted's head.)

I feel like i'm at risk of coming off as way too harsh on Ted lol so I also want to clarify that I believe in all of the following:

Ted genuinely cares about Jamie and Jamie's well-being (as he does about all the lads). Ted's just genuinely a good person who cares about the majority of people, Jamie included!

The (terrible) advice he gives to Jamie always comes from a well-intentioned place. Like, I think Ted really believes he's bestowing vital wisdom upon him. It's just always...misguided. Because Ted does not actually know what works for Jamie or how to effectively help Jamie, despite thinking he does.

so much of this boils down to Ted's very real mental health struggles which are not his fault. However, I do wish the show had grappled with the potential consequences of his words/actions for others. Like... I would have loved for someone else (Beard) to find out what Ted told Jamie in Mom City and call him out on that being Terrible Advice. Because it's something the show never makes Ted reckon with and I find that annoying lol.

Jamie respects Ted as a coach and appreciates what he's done for Richmond. He just sees him as a coach/authority figure, not a dad.

[hopefulromances]

Long Time Coming I Chapter Nine I Electric Love

Summary: Being hired as the first female assistant coach in the league was a challenge of it itself. Being a football protigy and University Football Legend was easy enough. Coaching Jamie Tartt was a challenge all on its own.

Word Count: 2.9k

Warning: Some angst

A/N: Enjoy

Prologue One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight

Jamie gave me some space, for which I was grateful. We had our final match coming up and our dreams of promotion were just in sight. I wanted to be able to focus on what that, the match, which was the most important thing I’d be a part of. But of course, there was only one thing on my mind, and it was Jamie. Without having Jamie around to talk to, I found myself missing him more and more.

I moped my way through the day. Coming to work, going to my desk, going to the pitch, eating a plain salad, and going home. I didn’t want to let it affect my work so when I was on the pitch I tried to stay as unbiased as possible. But honestly, I felt more inadequate than ever. It didn’t help that the media seemed to be shining a light on every mistake you’d ever made in the league.

 “Look, all I’m saying is that she’s too much of an amateur to be on the team,” George Cartrick stated firmly on the Soccer Saturday show. “A woman cannot teach a man.”

“Now, George!” Jeff Stelling defended. “(Y/N) (L/N) has performed admirably under Lasso’s leadership.”

“She’s barely out the womb! What makes her think she’s qualified to be in the Premiere League?” George shot back. “She needs to pack her bags and get out of Richmond before she loses them a chance at promotion.”

I turned my phone off, running a hand through my hair in frustration. Maybe he was right. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this job.

            “George Cartrick is a twat with shriveled balls.” Roy’s voice entered from his side room. “And I should know, he constantly wears pants that show them off.”

I glanced up at him, stuffing my phone in my pocket. “Yeah, thanks, Roy.”

            “Hey, Roy’s right,” Ted agreed. “With the sentiment, I’ve never seen George’s testicles myself.”

I rolled my eyes and rested my head on the desk. I appreciated their sentiment I really did but I was just so BLAH at the moment that nothing they seemed to say or do really help. I was in a funk. A funk I had put myself into. Ted, Roy and Beard exchanged glances with each other.

            “You know, (Y/N),” Ted said, turning to face you. “You can talk to us about anything. Honorary Diamond Dog meeting.”

I peeked out of my arms to look around the room. Nate wasn’t in the room, so I didn’t have to worry about his sorry ass judging my for my pitiful nature. I lifted my head and took a deep inhale.

            “I’m putting space between me and someone I really care about, and I thought it would make me feel better but instead its hurting me more than anything has ever hurt me before.” It all came out in a fast stream of consciousness, not breathing until I got the statement out.

            “Wait, if this is someone you cared about, why are you putting space between you and them.” Beard questioned, finally joining the conversation. You pursed your lips, trying to figure out how to tread this line. There was no way in hell you were telling this group of people about Jamie.

            “Well, um, I was afraid my feelings were getting in the way… and he didn’t care about me the same way I cared about him.” I decided to say. “I thought that I needed to give myself time to get over him.” Beard opened his mouth to say something, but I didn’t let him say anything. “But instead of getting over him, it’s making me want him even more. And I’m trying to focus on the game but everyone and their mom is expecting me to fail! And all I want is to talk to this person because I know they would support me but now I’m afraid to even talk to him!”

Ted raised his eyebrows and let out an impressed whistle. “You got all that cooped up in that head of yours?” I nodded. “Well, no reason you’re in a funk. Look, (Y/N), I think you need to take a note out of a certain snow queen’s book and ‘Let It Go’.”

            “Frozen, classic,” Roy approved, nodding his head.

            “Wait, wait, wait. Let what go?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

            “Well, it seems to me that you are holding on to every feeling, thought, and possibility,” Ted elaborated. “You hold onto all of that you’re gonna pop!”

You frowned at him. “Weren’t you the one who said that sometimes we should keep things inside?”

            “That was before I met the feeling of letting it go! It really works.”

            “It’s true, letting go is great, that’s how I do it,” Roy agreed.

            “Roy! You’re one of the most private people I know!”

            “I’m private, but I also have a very healthy relationship with my emotions and know who and when to trust people with my sharing,” he pointed out, shrugging.

Dammit I hated when he was right. I blew a raspberry and face planted on the table. I wanted to listen to them, and just let things go, but tomorrow was the big day. Maybe it was something I’d worry about later. For now, I’d just focus on the game.

That was my plan at least. But as I was leaving that night, someone pulled me into the boot room. I whipped around to see Jamie looking at me.

            “Jamie what-“

            “Hush, now, last time you got to talk and I didn’t so now you’re gonna listen to me.” He spoke so quickly that you could barely process exactly what he was saying to you.

            “Jamie I-“

“Hush!”

            “But I-“

            “Just listen!” He grabbed me, holding a hand over my mouth. I frown at him but stayed quiet. “I just want to tell you that I was wrong, yeah? I was wrong about everything. I don’t love Keely. I love you.”

My eyes became saucers as I realized what was happening. I knocked his hand away from me, suddenly feeling hurt. He was lying to me. He was giving me his pity. Well, I didn’t want it.

            “Jamie, please stop.” I felt my lip begin to tremble. “You’re being mean.”

            “No, no, no! I mean it!” He insisted, taking me by my shoulders and forcing me to sit down on the bench. He started picking at his fingers as he paced back and forth. “I really do, I was just- I was confused. I had this feeling, like… fluttery stuff in my stomach. And the last time I had that feeling you hated me, and I was with Keely. So… I guess I thought that I was getting that feeling again because of her. But when I told her it didn’t feel right. Then you told me how you felt, and I was so confused.” He finally paused and looked at me. “I know I’m slow, (Y/N), but I get there eventually.”

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but I really couldn’t think of anything to say. I was still scared that this was all a joke. That somehow, he didn’t actually love you and he was just trying to get you back in his life no matter what. He held up a hand to silence you.

            “You don’t need to say anything, I know you probably don’t believe me, but I mean it.” Gave me a sideways smile, a hint of his normal cocky self coming out. He stalked forward and bent down, so he was eye-level with me, his face just inches away from mine. “And when we win tomorrow and get promoted, I’ll be doin’ it for you, love.”

The pet name fell so easily off his tongue and I felt my cheeks start to heat up under his gaze. His smirk grew as he saw the blush on my cheeks, any semblance of the anxious boy from before was gone. He gave me one last nod, a wink following it before he turned and left. I was left sitting dumbfounded in the boot room.

            “What… the… fuck?” I finally spouted, bringing my hands up to my cheeks.

            “That was something!” Fucking Will. I turned and looked at him, watching curiously as he shined some shoes. “The two of you are cute!”

I stared at him, still reeling from the interaction. At least there was someone else to there to prove that the interaction actually happened. I didn’t know how to feel. Part of me still believed that Jamie was lying as a way to get me to act normal again, and I honestly wouldn’t blame him. But the other part of me felt like I was soaring. Jamie liked me? No, LOVED me! Could this really be happening?

From then on it felt like I was on auto pilot. Leaving the club, getting home, doing my nighttime yoga. It was all like machinery as I figured out exactly how I should feel about everything. Tomorrow, everything would be different. Whether or not we’d be promoted was one thing but what happened with Jamie and me was entirely different.

It seemed like the whole world was on edge the day of the game. Ted was dealing with his personal life being on display, Roy was having the pain of having his feelings hurt, Beard was on the rocks of Jane (again, and Nate was… well he was acting weirder than normal. All we needed to get promoted was a tie, at the least, but Brentford was a formidable challenger.

I stood in the locker room, drawing up the formation on the board. We were running Nate’s new false nine strategy. It was certainly a choice to try a new tactic so late in the season, especially with promotion on the line but the tactic was good. Colin stood with me, chatting with me about his night and the parking ticket he’d gotten for parking half on the curb outside his house.

            “I swear I didn’t even feel the curb when I parked!” He whined, stretching his arms.

            “Colin, you’re a professional footballer,” I pointed out. “Just pay the ticket. And please, for the love of God, if you feel a bump, stop driving forward.”

He rolled his eyes at me glancing over to say hello to Sam as he walked into the room. Even Sam was had something going on. Edwin Akufo was on his ass about making a decision regarding joining his super team or whatever. I gave him a heartfelt smile which he returned. We all had chips on our shoulders, and this game would prove exactly what we could do with them.

The game did not start well. Brentford scored just twenty minutes into the game. Then again taking us into the half 2-nil. There had to be a solution to this. These guys could play this tactic easily but there was something disconnecting them from the execution of it. Going into the locker room, I could feel the anxiety and disappointment seeping from the lads.

            “I’ma shoot y’all straight. This is bleak, yeah?” Ted started the conversation. “I mean, look at it out there. Looks like a Renaissance painting portraying masculine melancholy.” We looked out into the locker room. It was true, they looked almost angelic in their portrayal of their grief. “Okay, so now what? What are we gonna do?”

            “We should abandon the false nine,” Nate suggested, shaking his head. “It’d work if we had players who knew what the fuck they were doing.”

            “That’s not true, Nate,” I snapped, standing from my seat. Nate glared at me, but I pressed on. “They are perfectly capable of preforming a false nine, they just…” I closed my eyes picture the pitch. “They need to change their perspective.”

            “I agree with (Y/N),” Ted chimed in. “You know, they just had 45 minutes to figure out what not to do. What do you think, Roy?”

            “You should ask them,” Roy offered. “They’re the ones out there actually doing this shit.”

Ted glanced at me then Beard. It was a good idea.

            “Yeah, all right.” We made our way out into the room, gaining the attention of the boys.  “All right, fellas. Coaches and I are are having a little debate and wanna get ya’ll’s take on it. Should we stick with the false nine or switch it up?”

The room was silent as the team thought it over, glancing around das they waited for someone else to speak. It was Jan Maas who stepped up first.

            “The tactic is sound,” he said. “and we’re all perfectly capable of executing it.”

            “Yes, you are,” I encouraged. “The false nine is about deception, playing offense through the guise of defense.” I walked over to the white board where I had drawn up the tactic before the game. “You’re playing too forward, and Brentford sees the moves you make before you make them.” I pointed to the different players. “Fall back, make them come to you, look for the gaps. That’s how you score.”

I turned back around and saw all the eyes on me. I felt a rush of gratitude going through me as I appreciated their sincerity. I deserved to be here, and they knew it. Then my eyes fell on Jamie, who was listening with a soft smile on his face. I felt myself start to smile too.

            “It will work,” Jan Maas agreed.

            “Hey!” Ted interjected. “If Jan Maas says it, you know it’s the truth, right?”

Jamie nodded. But he wasn’t nodding about Jan Maas. He was nodding about the way you had explained the technique to them. As if you were on the field with them, knowing what was going through their minds as they played.

We ended our team meeting with the whole team laying hands on our believe sign. This was it. The moment the team became a family. Going out into the second half, it was like an entirely different team. Before we knew it Sam had scored a miraculous goal and all we needed was one more.

I found myself holding my breath as Jan Maas sent a pass to Jamie. I held my breath as he took control of the ball and started towards the goal. Then a Brentford play was sliding into Jamie’s legs sending him stumbling to the ground. I let out a shout of distain as the crowd cried  to the referee. Then we got it! The referee called a penalty. Jamie hopped up and took the ball.

I knew he could make this goal easily; He hadn’t missed a penalty all season. He turned for a moment to look over at us on the sideline, and his eyes met mine. I could tell he was considering something and was looking at me for something, reassurance?  Whatever he was thinking, I knew he needed to follow his gut, so I gave him a nod. He nodded back to me. Then he did something unexpected. He gave the ball to Dani.

Jamie gave up his chance to be called the savior of Richmond. Because that’s not what he needed to do. In this moment, he needed to get Dani his confidence back.  Gone were the days that Jamie was afraid that Dani would replace him. Instead, he was working with him to allow the team to shine.

In that moment, I decided I didn’t care if the whole world stopped, all I wanted was to be with Jamie.

Which was good because it felt like the whole world did stop as Dani prepared to score. Time stood still as he ran towards the ball, and with one fell swoop Dani scored, tying the game. The stadium erupted into cheers and excitement. We did it, we really did it.

…

The excitement and celebrations of promotion lasted at least an hour as we paraded around the club. The boys found a bar to go to nearby to celebrate the win together. But I had unfinished business here, and I hoped Jamie would find me.

I stood on our pitch, hands in my pockets as I planned out what I was going to say. I was going to tell him that I loved him, too. That I wanted to be with him. That nothing else mattered. But then I saw him, big smile on his face, as he walked towards me in his red vest and ICON hat and everything, everything I planned left my head.

            “Well, what did I say?” He bragged as he walked towards me. “Promoted, eh? How’s it feel to be in the presence of greatness?” I stared at him as he came to stand in front of me. On our pitch. The same pitch I’d chewed him out on just a year ago. He cocked his head at me, raising his eyebrows. “What is it? Why you lookin’ at me like that?”

I grabbed him by his vest and pulled him down to kiss me. He recovered from his surprise in time to grab me by my waist and tugged me closer to him. Electricity shot through me as his lips fit mine just right. How was I supposed to kiss anyone else now that I knew what kissing Jamie was like? It was heated, it was sweet, it was passionate.

It was like fucking lightening.

A/N: To be continued...

Tag List:

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[hacash]

I know you’re a huge Nate supporter and love to talk about all the microagressions against him, and one I noticed when rewatching is that in 2x3, when ted tells Jamie he’s starting on the reserve, he’s immediately playful with Will (“Mr. Kitman! Hit me!”) and it got me thinking how badly Nate must have felt seeing the ringleader of his bullies come back and immediately be nice to his replacement. Sort of like, “oh so you were capable of being a decent human being to the kitman this whole time but you just chose not to”

I think there’s such nuance in the way the the team getting nicer grates on Nate, who put up with their bullshit for years, especially since no one ever offers him a real apology. I think he’s definitely crossed lines, but when you look at it from his perspective, it’s easy to see how he got there. Anyway I just appreciate your nuanced takes on Nate and I can’t wait to see nick mohammed pull off another stellar performance in season 3!

Absolutely!

To be fair, I think Nate's aggression from Will stems a lot from power going to his head and being a perfectionist in his work; I'm a big fan of Nate but my God, the man is flawed. However I also think Will is a walking, talking reminder of how the team used to treat Nate, simply by dint of how they don't treat Will. He comes to Richmond and immediately gets handfuls of cash from them at Christmas, he's included in their little bonding rituals, he's part of the gang...whereas we all know the treatment Nate got whenever he tried to help the team.

(And that only finished after a particularly brutal show of strength from Roy. Which, uh, certainly gives Nate an interesting impression of what tactics do and don't work with the footballers.)

So yeah, from Nate's incredibly damaged perspective, having poor Will around must be unbelievably frustrating. He's pissed, and though he handles it badly, it's obvious why he's pissed. It's the moment when Eleanor in The Good Place, seeing her emotionally abusive mum parenting a new daughter, tearfully says that if her mum was capable of parenting the little girl then she was capable of parenting Eleanor but just chose not too. It's the moment in How I Met Your Mother when Barney screams at his absent dad 'well, if you were going to be some lame suburban dad, why couldn't you be one for me?!' - because clearly the team were capable, they were willing to be nice, they just didn't want to be nice to Nate, it must be about him, how they see him, he needs to change to earn their respect, he needs to perform those shows of strength....

...Of course, an outside perspective would tell you that the team's change of attitude from Nate to Will has absolutely nothing to do with Nate, and everything to do with how Ted's philosophy has impacted the team. (If Will had joined Richmond at the beginning of S1 I've no doubt that pre-reformation Isaac, Colin and Jamie would have eaten the poor boy alive, and the rest of the team would have been egging them on or wouldn't have dared stop it.) But Nate's not in the right place to see that. And considering all the history between him and the team, I don't think he should have to just 'man up' and accept that; he deserves that acknowledgement and those apologies. Which I am very much hoping we get this season.

[buzzcutseaswn]

the finale is so disappointing to me because it feels like they just took 3 whole seasons of work on the characters to just throw everything unfinished on the last episode and call it the end. if it really is the final season, why not give them what they deserve?

don't get me wrong, I loved the team scenes, the believe sign moment, the way the boys took Nate back, the women's team... but their individual endings? damn, where do I start?

they spent the whole s3 developing the Tish predictions, made a whole ass episode about the signs just to give Rebecca her "happy" ending with 3min left to the episode, with a guy we don't even know the name of. Rebecca deserved so much more development on that mother arc, her lightning, somebody actually showing her appreciation.

and don't even get me fucking started on the tedbecca fake outs, and the useless parallels between the two throughout the show. what was the use to their soulmate storyline if in the end they were separated anyway? and all the little things to hint on a possible endgame too when they could have used all that time to perfect other plotlines?

another one is the way Jamie tried to use the fact that Keeley sent him the leaked video to "claim" her when she never showed romantic interest in him this season. then he and Roy just fist fought over something that was not their decision. what the fuck happened to Jamie's s3 growth?

and the roykeeley of it all, getting back together, then not being together at all?

Beard got married to his abuser and not a single person thought about helping him out. not even his best friend.

and the one that pissed me off the most: Ted going back to Kansas, all alone, to watch 5th grade football matches forever, absolutely not being fulfilled with any of it; the way they implied that he got back together with Michelle? a woman that made him feel like he was too much, encouraged him to move an ocean away, far from his son, to get her space and then date their couples therapist?

all the interactions with Ted felt forced, out of character. Rebecca poured her heart out to him, gave him all the options, begging him to stay, got a first class ticket to say goodbye properly. he knew how hard it is for her to be open, to verbalize her feelings, to ask for what she wants. he didn't say a word. what did she get from being vulnerable?

the boys did a whole performance to say goodbye, put all the effort into something they all thought he would enjoy. what reaction did they get?

I don't feel a sense of closure at all, and I am so very frustrated they didn't do the characters I love so deeply justice. the loss I feel is heartbreaking. what a sad ending to a show with so much potential.

[ironyscleverer]

Can I do a little rant about Nate Shelley for a sec? Im gonna rant about Nate Shelley for a sec. Just becuase for a show about masculinity and healthy relationships and self-love, I HATED how they handled his character arc so fucking much.

Nate starts off in season 1 as this meek, nerdy, short, chubby Asian man who's routinely bullied by the guys (players) that he works for. He's very specifically disrespected becuase he's not conventionally masculine. It's important to note that Asian guys especially are emasculated a lot in society, doubly so if you're shy and/or brainy like Nate is.

But then once he starts getting a little respect and attention from Ted, we first get to see his confidence grow, but then we also start to see a nastier side of him emerge. He uses his new position of power to feed his insecurities and he becomes vindictive, cruel and resentful. He takes it out on his players, his former bullies, but even then he chooses the weakest person to pick on (ie Colin, who's a closeted queer man as we discover later).

And I actually think this part of the arc is really well done and interesting; it feels very real and throughout season 2, even though he's absolutely horrible, I can still see how it's stemming from a place of pain and bitterness. Being part of a system that abuses and disrespects you, especially when race is a factor, can really turn people sour and warp their perception of reality. Frankly, I think I would have a lot less sympathy for Nate's character if he was just another resentful white man, but his being brown really adds a lot of layers to the character.

And it's important to note that even once he becomes a coach Nate still suffers becuase of how he presents himself! The people at Richmond do occasionally make jabs at him (Jan Maas and the suit), and you can't tell me the situation at the Greek restaurant wasn't some kind of racist power trip. Even though he has more systemic power now, he still doesn't get respect becuase of how he exists in the world.

In that context, his choice to go work for Rupert at the end of season 2 makes complete sense. Richmond was a toxic environment for him given his past experiences there, and he was not going to get the mentorship or understand that he needed. I hoped that his season 3 redemption arc would involve him untangling his victim complex, learning to trust and stand up for himself, and looking out for people who are weaker than him (so basically this fic lmao). Basically, I wanted him to step up to the challenge of being a head coach and really confront his insecurities and their roots. Maybe he could've talked to another coach of color or something. I don't know.

The direction they went in with Nate in season 3 was so frustrating to me because he ends up right back where he started at the beginning of the show; at Richmond, working as a kit man for a bunch of white people. Sure, he's forgiven by Ted and he learns his lesson about power, but none of the actual, very understandable hurts on his end are really addressed. He's right back to the same environment he was in before, sans locker room bullying. He isn't allowed to grow or distance himself from that chapter of his life. (the writers also decided to just give him a girlfriend and make that fix everythin which I don't appreciate, but that's another essay entirely).

If I had it my way, I would have had him do the whole scene with coach Beard, reconcile with Ted, but respecfully tell them that he can't go back to Richmond. There's too much history there, and even if they've forgiven each other, it would be a bad environment for him. Then Nate and Ted/Beard/others can have a new relationship as equals, built on respect, rather than a boss/employee dynamic. But maybe that's just me being delusional.

Anyway, in conclusion, Nate deserved a better ending and I'm disappointed that they didn't give it to him. Thank you for reading this completely unedited rant, I may do another in the future about Ted Lasso's queer rep or its female characters. Lmk if you want to hear it.

[ilovehugslikealotalot]

Farewell Family PT. 1

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Knock. Knock.

Higgins chatter came to a halt turning to the door along side Keeley. “Come in!” Rebecca said, not looking up from her phone, her laptop was being fixed due to the screen being broken, sadly, the laptop screen was to match for Rebecca’s hissy fits over press.

“Ah, y/n! What brings you here on this fine morning!” Higgins joyfully exclaimed, “I actually need to talk to Rebecca. In private, if you don’t mind?”

Keeley and Higgins looked at each other and smirked, “Alright, anything you need, lovely. Well be down in the lockers if you need us!” Keeley gave her a smirk and Leslie gave her a kissy face.

As the door closed and locked, y/n turned to Rebecca with a pained expression, “Oh, darling, what seems to be the matter, hm?” She hummed patting the space next to her, y/n sat down but couldn’t seem to find the words to tell her.

“You can tell me it’s alright, love” Rebecca comforted with a smile, rubbing y/n’s thigh, “I- I’m so sorry, Rebecca. But I- we- we’ve decided to hand in our resignation.” Rebecca’s smile faltered, “What? We?” “Me and Ted, he needs to be with Henry and I- I can’t let my daughter grow up without her mother. Gabbi’s 14 and Ellie is going into Middle School, because of me she doesn’t want to leave. Rebecca, and I- I can’t get back those memories I should’ve made with her. I’m so sorry.” Rebecca’s eyes watered, was she really leaving? The woman she had grown to love so much.

“Have you told the, uh, the team?” She choked out, holding back the tears. “I wanted to tell you first, I couldn’t tell you last, I just couldn’t, Becca” she let the tears fall freely, quickly wiping them away, looking up she saw a speechless Rebecca. Y/n sucked in her lower lip as she stood up, “I’m gonna tell the team now, I want you to know that I’ll be leaving in a week. We still have time.”

Rebecca went to call after her but she was already gone as fast as she had came, her heart ached and even a box of Ted’s delicious biscuits couldn’t cheer her up.

————————

“What?! You can’t do that to us Coach! I mean, Richmond is barely Richmond without you! And Ted’s just a big Stuffy!” Jaime exclaimed with his heavy accent, Sam was almost on the verge of tears, and never in your life have you seen Roy upset. Ted had taken the day off to fully process his decision, you had agreed to make the announcement. “I’m sorry, everyone. I really am, I just need to be with Gabbi and Ellie. I love every single one of you so much. I have one week, let’s make the most of it, yeah?” Rebecca walked in, wiping away a few stray tears, she had looked like she had just came out of a depressive episode.

“But coach-“ Zava went to go interrupt, “I believe Coach Y/l/n is right, we can’t keep her away from her daughter and family there, the best we can do is appreciate the time we have left with her and Ted. And I also believe that you should be in the pitch by now.” Rebecca reasoned, the boys sadly broke out and jogged their way out onto the pitch Beard, Roy, and Nate following closely behind. Now only y/n and Rebecca were left in the locker room.

A few moments went by with them just staring at each other, observing. Neither one of them able to muster up the courage to confess how they really felt. Y/n finally opened her arms and uttered softly, “come here” Rebecca’s sobs were completely audible as she practically fell in y/n’s arms.

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

As the week went on, Rebecca did everything with y/n not wanting to leave her side. She had come close to confessing her feelings but chickened out last minute.

“And then, Roy was like-“ Rebecca grunted, “-and Keeley was like ‘well what’s that supposed to fucking mean!?’ and then! And then! This is the best part, Beard came in and said, ‘I think it means ‘no fuck’ in monkey’.” Y/n burst out laughing, almost dropping her fork in the process. Rebecca snickered while placing a hand to cover her mouth to muffle the noise. The waitress placed Rebecca’s card in front of her and walked them out making sure they got their coats.

“That might’ve been the fanciest restaurant I have been to, like ever.” Y/n beamed, looking up at the woman whom she loved so dearly. Rebecca couldn’t help but return the smile, “I’m glad you liked it, darling. Wine? My place?” She questioned, y/n couldn’t help but accept her offer. Her life seemed to be falling in place at that moment, but she then remembered that this bliss wouldn’t last long for tomorrow was her last day.

The last day Rebecca could see the face she loved so much.

The last day she would burst through her office doors with a wide smile.

The last day she would come to her office with a warm cup of coffee on her desk.

The last day…

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Next Chapter

[raviposting]

Nate is really one of the most interesting characters to me, because his character begs the question: what happens when your life gets better but you’re still not happy? 

Because we see how Nate is in the beginning. We root for him and we love the attention that he gets and how he gets his time to shine. Ted’s methods clearly work for a lot of the characters, it has its merit, and Nate (at first) is no exception. He’s promoted to being a coach, he’s getting attention, the team is also improving so they’re being kinder and everything is better now, right? 

Except in season 2 (and 3!) we see the cracks - in Nate, but for all the coaches, really, because ironically the coaches who are mentoring the players and telling them to believe are also the ones we see struggling with that mentality the most. Beard’s one of Ted’s strongest supporters, his right-hand man, but we see in Beard’s episode how deep his depression and self-hatred run. Roy isn’t exactly screaming Ted’s methods from the rooftops, but we see how he slowly accepts it and appreciates it, and how it does help him - but he struggles with finding his purpose and feeling wanted and needed, and it shines in quitting things early and never getting proper closure in things he really loved, with him constantly wondering if he ever really made the best choice (his team, his job, his relationship with Keeley). Ted struggles to express these negative emotions and it spirals quickly, especially in season 2. 

And Nate? Nate watches as his life objectively gets better, but struggles because his anger and resentment don’t go away. He gets the attention from Ted but (even though it’s not the intention!) feels as if Ted drops him the second things improve. He gets a better job but his father will never say he’s proud. He tries to exude confidence but Jade (who’s most likely seen him for a while since it’s his favorite restaurant) immediately sees through through his persona and Doesn’t Care and Nate is so thrown off by it. He keeps looking for that validation through other people and we see that clear frustration because everything is better on paper so then why are the bad feelings still there? With every win, with every improvement, he gets angrier and more frustrated and then it spirals into him leaving for West Ham and Rupert. With Rupert, Nate leans in on hey, nobody loved me at my lowest and nobody loved me at my best, so maybe I’ll try being my worst. 

And god, I LOVE that even though fans thought he’d fail and that this would humble him into a redemption, he hasn’t. He tries to go with Rupert and get that validation from him and we see how much he struggles with that, because now he’s leaning in at what Rupert wants and we see how much he hates that, but Nate’s also at a point where Rupert’s attention is clearly conditional, he’s still not getting that fatherly validation, and he knows that and that’s where we see him finally start to come into his true self. Jade finally softens because she sees Nate holding strong to his opinion on Taste of Athens and admitting he’s putting on an act, he’s being honest and himself for the first time in those scenes. He tries to cultivate a relationship with the other employees and even if the Diamond Dogs ripoff didn’t work? They still invited him to drinks this episode! He sees Rupert for who he is and he goes back to Jade, and he wants so, so much to apologize to Ted for everything. 

Nate’s moved from a positive environment to this conditional one and the narrative could have easily went “Nate has crashed and burned and now realizes what he messed up” but instead it allowed Nate to figure out who he is and who he wants to be, by himself. He’s still growing and learning, of course, but he’s well on his way, and I think it’s just such a cool way to show that what’s helpful for some people can be incredibly detrimental for others if it doesn’t target what they need and that there’s so many avenues for a person to grow and improve themselves. 

[time-is-restored]

fellas that last ted lasso episode. hmm.

listen i'll be real no matter what im gonna be out here gushing abt trent crimm cause he's my special little guy and im obsessed with him, but considering the Literal Paragraphs ive been writing abt all the shit i LIKED about the show, i didn't know how else to process these Less Good emotions than by blurting it all out over like two hours (instead of doing the dishes, lmao).

tldr; s3e2 was such an emotional high point for me, since i really felt like it had something concrete + specific to say about physical violence + social/emotional violence, and how they're BOTH highly valued as masculine ideals. but the episodes since then...

it kind of feels like im watching the result of a long and bloody fight between different writers? writers who, apparently, wanted Very different things from this last season, so now we're getting this. bizarro world mish-mash of two hypothetical shows, where tone + content + themes vary WILDLY and inconsistently from episode to episode - and even scene to scene!

[cw: discussions of sexism + racism, in a doylist context, also s3e5 spoilers]

specifically, i feel really disappointed and hurt that they went that direction with shandy's arc. i understand that we're only half way through the season, and obviously anything could happen between now and then but... really? like, is there some kind of budgeting issue here? we can't afford for there to be more than three (complex, not sexy lamps) women in any given episode? is that why the second jack appears, barbara loses any depth (what happened to that lovely moment of connection with the snow globes????????), and THEN the second SHANDY goes off her head it's. jack time? apparently???? like. this would feel a lot better as a viewer if at this point the show hadn't PRIMED me for jack doing something insanely stupid + cruel for no reason except 'haha Keeley Bad At Her Job'.

like. the first thing we see of shandy fine is her pride in keeley, and genuine appreciation of her hard work and skill. she's CLEARLY not stupid, otherwise why would the rest of her introductory scene be her helping keeley out with filmmaking advice (the extras thing) AND random, life experience shit (knowing how to deal with goat shit)?? she knows her way around a set, and she doesn't make any of the footballers feel judged, even when she's clearly thrown by the clips they're providing her.

so why in the space of like, barely a few weeks, does ALL of that get thrown out the window? 'condoms for balls'??? why are we supposed to just take for granted that she's stupid + overly ambitious (other than the Fucking Obvious!) when the show put NO effort into actually setting that up???? like, if her first scene was her monstrously fucking UP the shoot for keeley, and keeley hired her on pure sympathy then like. sure. whatever. no room for bleeding hearts in business. but that ALSO sucks as a story line for ted lasso, a show that (according to its OWN press releases!) is supposed to be about kindness and human connection and breaking cycles!

it just. it hurts? in a way where its like, i don't believe even a little bit that this was what the writers were aiming for with those scenes, and it frightens me that there could be such a wide gulf between intent and result. especially when bonding about The Shandy Incident is what got keeley and jack together (which i am trying... So hard to feel positive about, because explicitly confirming keeley's bisexuality is amazing, least of all bc it makes her jokes with rebecca feel a lot less mean-spirited on the writers' parts, retroactively)... like how am i supposed to be enjoying their moments together when i feel like the show's whole premise has been betrayed???

and really? the one moment nate gets to feel good in this WHOLE season, it's bc the server at the restaurant who previously could not care if he dropped dead right in front of him showed him some affection + validation?????

like, sure, i GUESS im happy that this random excuse for an arc has lead to a slightly more sympathetic female character existing at least in the PERIPHERY of the show's main storyline, except no im fucking not? i don't care about this fucking restaurant, and even though ive been DESPERATELY trying not to hate jade (even though the writers themselves can't seem to decide if she's Literally Racist or just a depressed service worker) NATE shouldn't care about jade! the ONLY way i can see this being an actually interesting arc for nathan is if its another exploration of his inability to leave behind the things + people that have hurt him, combined with years of conditioning where he's never allowed to express being annoyed/upset at anyone (which richmond!!! contributed to!!!!!! 'if you're mad, count to ten. if that doesn't work, count again'??? cool speedrun tips for resentment ted!). like, an arc where we see that distance away from richmond hasn't helped nate as much as it's removed some of the worst triggers, so a taste of athens ends up in the same awful pit of resentment + loathing as ted did. which nate clearly hates! he doesn't LIKE being that person! he apologised to a PAINTED DOLL of ted!!!! but when he doesn't have the framework or tools or SUPPORT to do anything else...

like. where is his team? obviously im not expecting the show to start being about a bunch of football players that AREN'T from richmond but? even just a small moment of appreciation? or hell! maybe they hate him! if we could see LITERALLY ANYTHING abt the sport which nathan has dedicated his life to, and how his Actual Coaching style is positively or negatively impacted by the lessons he learned at richmond? this is a show ABOUT football!!!!!

i just. a taste of athens? again? a-fucking-gain?????

and honestly, the worst part is that i REALLY liked the little monologue that nate got to give about how important the restaurant was to him! as much as it showed that nate is still just as passionate + earnestly defensive of the things he loves, it ALSO shows that he 1. spends that energy explaining his passion to people who don't deserve it/won't care, and 2. gets attached to things that really fucking hurt him! and like. i am on my hands and KNEES for that to be the 'point' of this arc but at this point i feel like that's me being naive! but if fucking JADE from fucking ATHENS is the civilising white gf who FINALLY talks nate down from him ~ ignorant, vengeful crusade ~ against the absolute ~ matyrs ~ of goodness at afc richmond, i just. like. what are we even DOING here gang?

i don't know. it hurts that sam's gone from being an almost principal character in s2 to only getting passing lines in s3. it hurts that rebecca's off in her own world, talking to strangers, having life-changing revelations on her own, surrounded by sets we're never going to see again, where every scene she DOES get to spend w one of the richmond members feels hasty and rushed, like the episode wants to get a few characters obligatory appearances out of the way asap. it hurts that all the chekov's guns around zava's arc (jamie's resentment, ted's lack of guidance, dani being 'demoted' + colin being benched) were apparently all just blanks, to be hastily plastered over with one big long speech about... ted wanting everyone to have higher self esteem, or something?

and listen, more the fool me if another episode comes out next week that i completely adore, and i spend like five days singing its praises. im mostly writing this so i can go INTO the next ep without feeling resentful + upset! i'll be STOKED if i was wrong and all of those little details ARE actually important, and these arcs have more to them than this! but for now im just sad and annoyed :(

[saywhatjessie]

Sleigh Bells Ring

Day 24 of the Advent calendar! Using this list. Day 24: Gift Giving Fandom: Ted Lasso - Pairing: TedTrent 1.1k[Ao3]

The Diamond Dogs decided to do their own gift exchange outside of the staff secret santa so that Trent could be included, even though he no longer worked at Nelson Road. This was completely unnecessary and made Trent well up with grateful tears when Beard told him about it.

The team and staff were doing their exchange during the half day of training on actual Christmas so Trent stopped by on Christmas Eve, coming into the coach’s office while the lads were training in the weight room, a small collection of gifts under his arm.

There were so few Diamond Dogs, they didn’t bother with the secret santa, just picking a budget and deciding to get something for everyone. It was a little more work but Trent felt like he knew the Diamond Dogs pretty well at this point. Knew what they liked. So buying for them wasn’t much trouble at all. And it was nice to be able to show his appreciation for this little community he’d been included in.

The pleased greeting that met him when he entered the office really did make him feel fuzzy inside. What had Ted done to him?

“Glad you’re here, buddy!” Beard told him. “Because we need to give you your gift before Ted logs onto Facetime.”

Trent paused, freezing in his act of arranging the gifts he’d brought on Beard’s desk. “That’s fairly ominous.”

“Yup!” Beard answered, brightly. “Roy?”

Trent did not like the look of Roy’s smile as he pulled out a very tall, very threatening looking present.

Trent looked at it, mistrustfully. It’s not that he didn’t trust his fellow Diamond Dogs, it’s just that he was pretty sure that they’d all at some point picked up on his crush(-ingly in love) feelings about the former gaffer and the fact that they were doing this without him meant there was probably about to be some teasing at the very least.

Trent sighed, stepping forward to accept the package. He could take some teasing. He knew they were not about to be mean but he also knew he was probably about to be embarrassed.

Trent glanced into the weight room to see if any of the team were paying attention. Colin was, of course, because he was Trent’s friend and also had some kind of supernatural ability to sense when teasing material was being presented to him. Jamie was also looking but he looked like he was trying to be subtle about it. Roy probably told him what was going on. Trent sighed again.

He ripped the paper off the box, having to lean it up against a desk to yank the flaps of the box open and inside was Ted Lasso.

Well, it was an illustration of Ted Lasso. Looking soft and rumbled and printed on a body pillow.

Trent dropped his head and everyone else clapped.

“Why would you do this to me?” He asked his shoes.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it,” Roy said, crossing his arms and looking smug. “We all miss Ted.”

“I have one, too,” Beard told him, holding up his phone to show Trent a picture of, yes, that’s Beard proudly holding up his own dakimakura of his best friend like an American holding a fish.

Trent hummed. If Beard had one too, it couldn’t be that weird (he thought, lying to himself. As if Beard taking part in something would ever make it less weird.)

“We all got you other things too, to open in front of Ted,” Nate contributed. “But we all chipped in on this as well. Because it was funny.”

“I thought it was sweet,” Higgins contributed with his dadly smile. “Who wouldn’t want to have a snuggle with the old gaffer?”

“So have you all got one, too?” Trent asked, hopefully.

Roy snorted. “Fuck no. I have an actual boyfriend to cuddle with.”

Everyone looked over at Jamie who was being less subtle about watching now and waved at everyone, smiling cheerily.

“He’s an idiot,” Roy allowed. “But at least he’s not a pillow.”

“Roy, be nice,” Beard said.

“I am being nice! I got him a pillow! I had to commission that drawing, you know, do you know how embarrassing that was?”

Trent couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thank you, Roy. And thank you to the rest of you as well.”

They all started howling in acknowledgement, Trent woof-ing right along with them.

Beard clapped his hands together. “Okay! Let’s get pillow Ted put away and pull real Ted up on Facetime so we can get this DIamond Dogs gift exchange underway.”

Trent smiled around at the assembled men in the room. His friends. It was nice having a group of people who could rib him for a crush but he knew didn’t really judge him. Who supported him.

And, really, he could feel his own face and the stupid thing it was doing when Ted came up on screen. If they had to deal with him being that embarrassing, they were entitled to some ribbing.

He accepted presents last and everyone else took their gifts from him well, making him feel pleased and accomplished. The other presents Trent received from the Diamond Dogs were a thoughtful assembly of writing tools, vintage band t-shirts, and hair accessories.

Ted himself got Trent a new blazer, corduroy in a deep but vibrant plum color. Casual enough for every day but also very much a statement jacket.

“You deserve to stand out a little,” Ted smiled at him. “People should look at you.”

Trent’s neck felt very hot and he was very grateful they disconnected from the call with Ted not long after.

He wasted no time in dropping his head against the wall and groaning.

Beard silently pulled the Ted pillow from the box and held it out to him. Trent took it, burying nis face in Pillow Ted’s chest and saying no more.

Years later, when the state of education in America took a true nosedive and Henry decided to try his luck at secondary school in London, Ted was back! Coaching the women’s Richmond team and learning how to live for himself again now that is son was almost grown.

What this meant was that the Diamond Dogs received a picture to the group chat about a week into Ted being back taken from Trent’s bed. It was a selfie Trent with Ted asleep in the background, clutching fast to the Ted Lasso body pillow Trent had kept for those years.

The teasing that came down on him for the picture was worth it. At least now he had his own boyfriend to cuddle as well.

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 3x7 Thoughts

Having only five episodes of this television show left is…something. I have a lot of feelings about Ted Lasso and this team he’s “borrowing for a while.�� 

These thoughts are kind of a jumble!

Common thread: good relationship advice, a dream I’ve been dreaming about since s2 contained so much bad dating advice (or, more importantly, people who didn’t want to give their opinions on relationships because they didn’t want the responsibility of meddling). I’ve been certain that as the characters start to wind their way back to each other, the questions people ask about themselves and each other will get more honest, and the answers they receive in response will be more open, too. It’s actually pretty thrilling to see that happening. It feels like the closest thing to a single string (ba-dum tss!) running throughout this season, and I love it.

I’ve liked the Nate and Jade stuff a lot more than I expected to. Getting to see more of Nate’s family was such a delight, and I love that even if the whole family is kind of navigating around Nate’s dad’s ire, there’s so much love in the house and Nate gets some genuine support. And some good advice: you have to ask for things, and you have to do it with the full awareness that it might not work out. I’m so glad Nate got to see the map his father designed for his mother in all its grandeur. And I’m so glad his own attempt at replicating the grandeur got destroyed by a vehicle, freeing him up to rely on himself simply asking the question. 

It also did my heart good to catch the tail-end of Rebecca recapping Amsterdam for Keeley, and to see Rebecca sharing her fears about Jack. It was really something—she actually shares her concerns straightforwardly, and makes it clear that she isn’t saying Keeley’s new girlfriend is like her abusive ex-husband, but that Keeley has an opportunity to keep her eyes open and respond to what she sees. I also loved that Rebecca makes it clear that she isn’t jealous of Jack and is happy for Keeley, even as she’s also got concerns and of course has experienced some significant lonely moments as a result of Keeley being wrapped up in Jack. I dunno, it all feels realistically complex but also realistically drama-avoidant, and it felt like major growth for Rebecca. And it comes right off of Keeley pointing out the growth Rebecca exhibited in not sleeping with Boat Guy even if she might’ve liked the opportunity to! 

I was also very relieved to get a return to Beard and Ted at the pub! I missed them sitting and drinking their beers together! I did not really buy that Ted thought Jane might be hinting at marriage, but if he was joking, I think he needed to be more joke-y. Alas, I think that line was in there to get them to the pegging conversation, which was in there to get them to the pegging-marriage comparison joke. It admittedly paid off, but I think Phoebe Walsh and team could’ve found a smoother transition to the pegging discussion.

Very into Simi and Sam and very into Sam figuring out his wording and positioning with the racist home secretary on his own, albeit with Simi’s influence. I appreciated his anger and sadness in the locker room so much, and his father being there just in time for Sam to be able to hug him and cry on him was such a balm. I looooove that Ola really leans into the whole thing about visiting dads being allowed to be very awkward and make things uncomfortable, whether talking to the ex or the new love interest. I love that Ola knows about Sam and Rebecca and almost certainly has opinions but was also able to laugh about the whole thing with his son. Because, you know. Everyone is fine. It’s okay. And there are much bigger concerns, like the vandalism of the restaurant. When the team is there helping and Ola sees the sign light up as the first reveal that the restaurant is named for him…ahhhhhhhhh. It all made me wonder if Sam intentionally downplayed some of the presumably-notable London media coverage of the restaurant opening specifically so he could have that surprise moment with his dad. And when the restaurant was damaged, he felt like that moment couldn’t take place the way he wanted, but then it turned into something even better than he could’ve imagined—an opportunity to bring his dad into his community and team (his home in London, all working together to repair the place he created so that Nigerian people missing home could feel a connection to Nigeria!) and cook with Simi and his father.

In keeping with the pattern of trending-up experiences with good pals (and sisters, and best friends) talking about relationships of all sorts, I love that Total Football became a very literal (and very fun to watch) reflection on space and energy and interplay, the relations between people. I LOVED that each of the coaches takes their own role in explaining the what and why of Total Football. I was a little afraid that Ted was passing it off to Beard because he was scared that he didn’t actually understand the tactic well enough, but that wasn’t the case at all—all three primary coaches were fully engaged. And then Trent’s got the spirit, with some absurdly meta commentary! And then Jamie is the one who really cracks the code, which I absolutely adored. (Side note: how adorable was it that they all brought back the signal and flipped him off.) (Side note 2: they really said “we hear a lot of y’all are extremely into this red string of fate thing” and turned it into a dick joke! And Roy didn’t fully understand that this tactic was a one-time-only situation!) 

Speaking of things I absolutely adored, the whole rom-com montage motif throughout, with storefronts opening and flowers and the promise of an early morning…..YES. And I’m forever obsessed with Roy and Jamie being folded into the quaintness of that as, briefly, just two quirky extras giving the neighborhood some flavor. The string that binds jogging Jamie to Roy on his bike! Ahhhh!

I feel like there was more. These episodes contain so much. But I have got to go to sleep, and I feel happy to be able to do that while feeling generally very glad about that entire episode. I can think of a couple characters who should talk to each other more. (More than a couple, in fact!) But I loved the sense of progress and purpose to this episode, and I feel like things this season have generally been really beautifully paced, so for the most part I’m happy.

[concerned-k1wi]

I have so many thoughts rn but none are coherent:

-oh boy Keeley don’t be looking so deeply thoughtful and considering about Jaimie’s romantic potential when the initial question was about whether he’s bangable

-Ik (or at least am hoping with my whole soul) that Keeley and Roy are getting back together but yikes I’m hoping they don’t put Keeley in a ‘one or the other’ choosing type of scenario cause that would so undermine all THREE of their characters in such a shitty way

-On another note God I have so many feelings about Nate because on the one hand I fully believe he deserves to be happy and content and appreciated and in a healthy work environment and just generally I’m of the opinion he deserves good things but aaaaa Nate also hurt so many people? Like we kinda forget sometimes that it wasn’t just Ted he was a dick to? He was an asshole to Colin and to Will and I’m sure there are other instances of him being a bit dickish that im forgetting about

-I think we’re going to get a Nate redemption I really do and I think Nate deserves that but I also really hope that they don’t just consider the shit Nate did to Ted but also the things he’s done to others (and the reverse I hope Nate gets a full apology from the team for how they treated him prior to Ted’s coaching).

-I just want peace and love is this too much to ask for 😔😔

-But also I feel like as much as Keeley believes in Shandy she is going to need to put Shandy in her place a bit? Just make sure she knows that things *have* to be run by Keeley first. Shandy can’t just make big decisions like changing the tagline for the Bantr app without consulting others (and probably not even just Keeley) first.

-I’m so genuinely proud of Ted for being able to say that he was upset and irritated by Michelle getting with their ex marriage counsellor. That was huge development and I’m so proud. It’s also I think really good representation of how sometimes negative feelings don’t necessarily have a resolution, but it is still helpful to air them out and not keep them locked up.

I have lots of other thoughts but I think most of them have been talked about by others. might rewatch the episode again today but idk. I’ve heard lots of people say this episode wasn’t as good but just because it wasn’t as funny or lighthearted doesn’t mean that this was a bad episode. It was actually so incredibly significant for a lot of characters and personally I really enjoyed it even if I didn’t have any fully body laughs this week. As much as Ted Lasso is a comedy show, it’s characters are the centre of the story *always* and this episode and it’s scenes was important for the characters.

[batnsons]

okay, catching up on Ted Lasso season 3, I’m midway through 3x5 rn. Thoughts on the season so far (spoilers and LOTS of thoughts under the cut!

Sassy's right, Ted is indeed a mess and I love him so so much and I want to give him all the hugs. (I'm also mad at her for the way she handled that but I'm not surprised, we've known she's like that from day one.) I wish this man would realize that it’s okay to be hurt by things, that he’s allowed to be upset when people hurt him, and he’s allowed to defend himself. But I also greatly appreciate that he’s always trying to take the high road. Him telling Michelle he was upset with her was soooo important and I’m so so proud. We had the beginnings of another panic attack, early on, after he found out and then it was cut off by Zava, but I wish we'd gotten more of a follow up on that. Cause there had to have been some aftermath to that. Also, I've been on the Ted is Jamie's Dad wagon since almost day one and this season is giving me SO MUCH. I hope we get to see so much more of them.

JAMIE!! My sweet Angel Boy. He’s emulating Ted so much this season and it kills me. It’s so so precious. He’s growing so much, and he’s trying so hard, and he’s just!! He’s doing so good! I do wish they would address his trauma responses, though. He’s clearly still having them and I wish they would talk about it. I’m not a fan of the way they’ve had Roy be so aggressive to him without any repercussions, when Jamie is clearly reacting with trauma responses. I’m not sure if that’s a writing point or if Phil is just doing that himself but I would really like to see it addressed. (@altschmerzes and I have talked about this a lot, they’ve got their own posts on the subject too that I really enjoy.) I am, however, delighted at the way Roy has taken Jamie under his wing. He’s been the only one to notice so far that Jamie is upset about Zava (and for good reason!) And I love that.

SPEAKING OF ZAVA. I DESPISE THIS MAN. First off, he’s just WEIRD. But second, he’s a nightmare!! And Jamie’s the only one who sees it! His speech about Zava being a diva and unpleasant was really delightful. (“And I weren’t being’ Ironic, I were neon’ hypocritical”. Have I mentioned I adore Jamie?? HES BECOME SELF AWARE!) Anyway. He’s got manipulative abilities not quite up to Rupert’s standards but, they’re still pretty bad.

And now on the topic of Rupert: this fucking PRICK. He’s manipulating the hell outta Nate and it’s making me mad. He’s gaslighting him, and essentially “love bombing” him every time Nate seems to be showing remorse or regret. And it’s so interesting because you know this is exactly what he must have done to Rebecca, and is probably now doing to Bex (although she seems like she’s well aware of his tendencies and is hitting back in her own way. Those digs about him being old?? Yeah. I hope we get to see Bex and Rebecca bonding later, I want to see Rebecca helping Bex out.) He’s an absolutely brilliant manipulator and I realllly hope we see him get what’s coming to him. And I love that Nate is showing distaste for his “activities” with the assistant.

And now for Nate. I went into this season absolutely hating him (not as much as much as Rupert, but close), and now? Now I just feel bad for him. And I love that we still see bits of the old Nate coming through. He really is just being absolutely played and manipulated and his ego and pride are the only things in his way now. He’s too proud to let himself admit that he’s been wrong, especially in front of Rupert. He’s in too deep and he’s floundering and he’s only got Ted as a lifeline but he’s very nearly burned that in his lust for power and prestige. But he so desperately wants it, you can see it. I really do hope we get a redemption arc, honestly. Never thought I’d say that. But we are now seeing the crest of that wave, so to speak, where we saw Jamie at the beginning of the series. And Jamie was able to claw his way out, so shouldn’t Nate now be able to as well?? It’s really really interesting, the way we’ve seen their stories parallel each other. What we’ve seen from Nate here is what we didn’t see with Jamie: the rise of the ego and pride as a survival mechanism. So here’s hoping we get to see Nate being pulled from that riptide just like Jamie is. But he’s gotta make the decision to reach for that lifeline himself. I really hope he does.

As for everything else: I feel like Rebecca is floundering, trying to cling desperately to this idea that she has to be more successful than Rupert in order to prove to him she doesn’t need him. But she’s missing the reality that the only person she needs to prove anything to is herself. I’m so interested to see where the rest of her growth takes her. Trent I’m delighted to see more of, I love that he’s hanging around the club now. He’s so fun and a lovely outside perspective for them all. Colin has got one hell of an interesting storyline happening on the sidelines, and I’m so so curious to see where this goes. I love that Trent was given the same missing piece of information that we were given as an audience, it makes for a really interesting audience stand-in, seeing him react to the things Colin says and does knowing what we all know now as well. Makes for some really interesting storytelling. I’m a little, not sad per se but… bummed? at how little Sam content we’ve gotten so far but I think that’s remedied later so I’m not too worried about it right now. Beard and Ted are delightful as always, I’m always so thrilled by their comfortable relationship, they’re like two sides of the same coin that function so so well together. Platonic soulmates, honestly. And then there’s Michelle. I’m so mad at her. But I’m even more mad at the therapist. I’m sorry, that man’s license should be taken away. And I’m glad they straight up had someone say it was unethical out loud but I really hope they bring it up more. Because it’s so so wrong and so unethical it’s unbelievable. Michelle is less at fault for this than the therapist, for sure, but I’m still mad at her for all of it. And I’m so glad Ted told her he was upset. Because regardless of who she’s dating, Ted absolutely should’ve been consulted before she introduced a new partner to their son. Like, that shit’s not okay. At all. Add in that he was their couple’s therapist?? (Which brings into question all sorts of other things, mind you.) Nah that’s messed up and I’m so angry about it.

Tldr: so far I’m ultimately very happy with this season, the character arcs are hurting me and also giving me so much joy. Rupert is a prick as always, and Ted and Jamie are my boys.

[writingway-in-writinghell]

I just want to say, I appreciate your highlighting of the way people of colour expressing discomfort with how Nate and Shandy have been handled is often being ignored by this fandom. It may not be intentional, but all these written interactions are so charged, and excluding Nate, one of the most important characters in the show, from half the episodes of the season while at the same time bringing the character that made his life so unpleasant to the forefront, has so not been sitting well with me. Having him have to “earn” the right to be treated like a person is gross. And Shandy…the offloading of all the problems associated with her hiring onto her, rather than acknowledging Keeley’s failures; the treatment of her as a joke; the way Keeley makes more of an active effort to connect with Jack than she has all season with the “underlings”…it feels like an intersection of racism and classism, and I am just not feeling it at all. Anyway, sorry for the ramble, I just wanted to say, I appreciate you emphasizing the need to believe us when we call out things about this story.

Thank you for your message, anon, and the added nuance to this topic. It’s something I can’t word quite as well, surely due to my own bias as a white European, and the credit for bringing it to my attention lies solely with good folks like you who point this stuff out. <3

See, I didn’t even think of Jamie’s and Colin’s arcs in relation to Nate’s here. I think Jamie’s is a very important story to tell, to show audiences how toxic men were once boys suffering under violent fathers, and how hard it is to break that cycle; and I also love the young queer/queer elder friendship we’re getting. But I also have to… kinda ignore at what cost we’re getting both if I want to take this direction in as it is.

It is jarring to think back on the Richmond team walking out of that tunnel and glaring at Nate like that. There is no compassion. No reflection on what they did to HIM. Only the expectation that he should be thankful that they… stopped bullying him??? That’s fucked up.

And look, I am STILL holding out hope that they’ll somehow address this, that they’ll give Nate the chance to heal from the *Richmond* trauma. He lashed out against Ted in an attempt to get back at Richmond as a whole, I think, and no wonder! How many years has he suffered the abuse coming from Jamie and Colin before Ted came along? How long have the others just watched? Is this a result of Rupert’s management, the toxic coach they had before? Why not address that?!

I think the focus is just way off this season. I wanted to see how Nate deals with the aftermath, and the first few episodes delved right in, even adding Shandy as a mirror to Nate’s arc!

Only to drop it in favor for a narrative that serves us white queer folks, on of which was Nate’s bully. And like. God. I am so conflicted because the AIDS epidemic wasn’t even that long ago! Gay men are still very much struggling. Queer people are still ostracized. There’s a genocide on trans people on its way. I’m queer myself and love what they did in the last episode.

But shouldn’t there be room for ALL of us? Especially, you know, people of color who are also very much still dying at the hands of other white people? What stopped them from doing Keeley/Shandy, for example? Why must it be her white skinny rich boss? (I mean. We know why, right.) There’s so much room for more, and in light of the things they DO get down SO WELL, it’s especially frustrating because the writers seem like they should be aware of these societal issues.

Well. You see me rambling as well now, anon. Goes to show how hard it is to discuss this all in a nuanced manner, especially since I’m lacking so much context myself.

But yeah, this is why we can’t just pick people of color for the roles we write and then change nothing about their arcs. Intersectionality and CRT needs to be mandatory at writing schools if you ask me.

[fanficfanattic]

L & X

L: Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your favs.

Okay, this is gonna be weird. Because it is (kind of) Nate Shelley from Ted Lasso. But like, only a certain version of him. So, like I said, I know this is weird.

He was a mostly unexpected villain. Like you can see hints of a deeper anger that he hasn’t felt able to express. It’s one of the reasons he resonates with Roy, right? That he can see the existence of his anger and the flow of it almost like ley lines.

So, we never actually see Nate being, like, particularly kind, right? And we see him revel in humiliating Colin. But Colin bullied him so…it’s good? But then it’s people who didn’t bully him. And then it’s people who were good to him.

I think his initial response to Rebecca before he realized he was being promoted was such a telling thing about the anger he had bottled up. Before being promoted, having his strategy acumen being appreciated, he didn’t think he could express it. Like Jamie was a footy god so he could (to Nate’s mind, no one else) but once he achieved that status…I dunno. He felt like it was his right?

But interestingly, he never takes this anger out on Jamie. Maybe it is belief in the Footy God. Maybe he appreciates that Jamie apologized and made amends and did the work. But Nate was there at Wembley. Revealing Jamie’s dad was abusive? That Jamie had seemingly always just taken it before then? He could have destroyed Jamie. So maybe it was the fact that they had shitty dads that spared him.

Or all of it, honestly. And that’s what made his Ted betrayal so nuanced. So interesting. So unexpected that it took people by surprise.

Before that, people seemed to see him as kind of a lovable loser. Which was part of that anger, right? He kissed Keeley, and expected Roy to be furious at him, but Roy never saw him as a threat. He wasn’t Roy’s equal. He got an “its okay buddy” head pat. And like On God he was going to make them take him seriously!

But he isn’t actually a villain any more than season one Jamie was. (They were almost inverted, honestly.) Which made for exceptionally compelling story telling. He was frustrated and hurt and he was becoming the exact same as the people who made him feel that way. At first, he loved that change. Reveled in the power. But he started to feel the loneliness of that position.

Again, I’d argue that’s another Jamie mirror. He had to hit rock bottom before he realized that he actually didn’t like this particular hole he’d put so much effort into digging.

And then he had to put an equal or greater amount into digging himself out of it. He earned his redemption. And that was a sign of respect to his character. No one gave him a free pass and he’d have resented it if they did.

But the last two episodes doubled down on the Nate is a Woobie concept. My distaste isn’t about the fact that he didn’t “earn his redemption” (though he did not, never even asked for forgiveness). It’s that he never earned their respect. Which he should have.

He was a brilliant fucking “villain”. I wanted him to be redeemed! But the Nate they gave us at the end is who I don’t like. And my genuinely nice to him comment is that he deserved better. All the pieces were there and the writers were cowards.

X: A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Found Family! The idea that we aren’t beholden to the chaos of random birth. You’ve probably heard “blood is thicker than water” but that leaves off the actual intended meaning.

Blood is thicker than the water of the womb.

The people we choose to be with us, who we shed blood and tears for on purpose, they are your actual people. You can love your blood family, sure. But you can make your love family. And I fucking love that.

[leverage-ot3]

sophie and eliot are like WHERE THE FUCK ARE ALL THEIR PARENTS DEAR GOD (not you joyce you're doing great sweetie) (hopper can stay he's trying his best) (eliot is halfheartedly restrained from taking ted out behind the shed for a good ass beating)

hardison is delighted to influence the next gen of tech geeks

parker and el have some weird dynamic. they are both bad with social cues etc (autism swag + traumatic childhoods let's gooo). she makes el copies of her Human Interaction Flowchart Cards and el kind of has a crush on her

eliot makes el waffles from scratch because she deserves better than that procesed crap and you guys know it (parker and hardison do know it, they just think it's funny to rile him up). parker makes him let her have sprinkles on them (homemade)

max side-eyes every interaction between parker, eliot and hardison. it makes hardison sweat. why is a 14-year-old girl making him feel called out??? (parker thinks it's hilarious. she feed's max's chaos 100%) (she is really just gauging if three-person relationships can work because she knows her feelings for el are more than platonic and she still loves lucas)

nate and hopper butting heads to awkward stilted conversations pipeline

will sees hardison and eliot holding hands and feels warm. mike's brain short-circuts and he has a crisis in private

not sure where in canon this would take place. timeline shenanigains would have to ensue to make the st crew exist current day but yeah I'm 100% about this

I think eliot and the rest of the crew deserve to curb-stomp brenner's head and kick the rest of the scientists into the next decade. for fun.

can't decide whether the in-the-know adults start an international team. probably not- they want the lab to burn and then live their lives in peace with their children safe. their children, on the other hand, want crime lessons starting last week

nancy thinks parker is weird but appreciates the girlboss. sophie talks haircare with steve (he unironically takes tips and fuck you guys for laughing my hair is my signature).

stay with me guys, but a leverage stranger things crossover, where the leverage crew is called to investigate Hawkins Labs. I have no further information at this time, but consider it.