#i like that ted went back to be with henry i just don't think season 3 did a good job with story arcs in general

[emilydoesthething]

unorganized ted lasso finale thoughts

There wasn't much question to me that Ted had to end up with Henry, whatever that looked like: moving back, a better custody arrangement, Henry moving...something had to change there. What I don't like is that it feels like we didn't develop this arc for Ted over the season. We start with him feeling conflicted/not knowing why he's still in London, and then in the penultimate episode he reveals to his mother he is scared of being close to Henry because he knows Henry will leave.

Personally, I now feel pretty bummed that Ted is now separated from his found family and I think it's because they didn't develop this story enough throughout the season.

I wish we had seen Ted working on his fears about fatherhood and that work leading him to the conclusion "I love my life in Richmond, but being there for my son is what will make me truly happy". In a season that was apparently going to lead us here, it feels like Ted's ending was rushed.

Plus, I feel pretty sad that we did get the emotional beats about him leaving with Rebecca/Higgins/the team/even the pub lads and Mae, because him telling everyone happened offscreen.

[knitmeapony]

Look, I'm probably going to get a lot of shit for this but this show was all about breaking cycles.

Rebecca could have become another wealthy owner, utterly embittered, much more interested in hurting those around them to keep themselves up than to actually finding any happiness in the world. Instead she became her own person, found several families, embraced them all, and gave back in a way that helped most of them.

Nate could have learned that lashing out and repression were at least an outlet for his frustrations, he could have followed in Rupert's footsteps and become a miserable jackass. Instead by accepting the kindness and Grace of other people he started over, found love, and came home.

Keeley could have become a lot like her friend, never recognizing her inherent talents, slowly panicking as she aged, abandoned by the Machine by the time she was 30. She could have seen other women as enemies or at least combatants, but instead she found better friendship and mentorship and began to pass it on to others as she bettered her own life.

Roy's endless cycle of rage and hurting himself and pushing himself too hard to return could have literally killed him. He could have been like any number of Aging athletes whose life ends at 35. Instead he has a new career in a place that he loves, and he is finding ways to improve his mental health and open up.

Jamie could have been just another celebrity douchebag, possibly even sinking into the alcoholism that was taking his father. Just as much as keely, he was often seen as only as good as his physical fitness and his body, but he went back and read the books, he learned tactics, he learned to accept help and to give help and he became 10 times the man and 10 times the player that he was at the beginning. his career could have flamed out young but he got his second chance and he gave his father a second chance in turn.

And Ted, oh god Ted. his father made the ultimate selfish choice. He decided if he couldn't be perfect and he couldn't be everything he would be nothing. He would rather absent himself from his son's life then be there for him in whatever ways he could. Ted could have been happy in england. Ted could have had an incredible career. But Henry would not have had a father. How many times did people remind us that parents are responsible for the ways they fuck up their children during this show? Every other fucking episode, another way to point out that there are cycles of failure and frustration and psychological damage that get passed down from generation to generation. He broke that cycle, over and over. He didn't pin Michelle down into an unhappy marriage. They split up, and were both happier for it. He chose to put his son first, to not abandon him. He can have an incredible career anywhere in the world with a season like that. But he can't be in Henry's life the way he wants to be from six time zones away.

This isn't denigrating people who by necessity are long distance parents. But I would be willing to bet that if you asked any of those long distance parents if, given the choice, they would move back to be close to their kids? I'm willing to bet you pretty much every single one of them would say fuck yes, I want to hug them in the morning and tuck them in bed at night. I want to go to their soccer games and see their art shows.

Ted chose to be sincerely and honestly present in Henry's life. I don't think he's getting back with Michelle, he's not going back for a marriage. He's going home to be a father and I think his father would be proud.

[enumchase]

Okay as my all-time favourite Ted lasso artist and blog; what are your honest thoughts about the finale episode??

i've still only seen the episode once but just for you, sweet nonnie, i will rewatch it for more thoughts, but for now:

LOVED probably 80-90% of the episode and it was bittersweet and emotional af

every single one of the callbacks made me so happy especially the offside and nate's play

the so long, farewell scene?? are you kidding me???

trent. TRENT. my sweet gal. my little guy. i'm glad we got a final few ted/trent scenes in there and so grateful for the crumbs and mr lance's wardrobe.

i'd hoped for the whole season they weren't gonna do the love triangle thing with roy & jamie again, but unfortunately they did and even left it till the finale which was disappointing, but i did like how they resolved it, even if the throuple didn't happen (:/ or at least didn't happen onscreen)

i needed more nate this episode - i was hoping he wouldn't return just as a kitman and i wanted to see how that conversation went, but as always nick delivers on the stuff he DID get and i'm eternally grateful for his presence in the show

seeing the full diamond dogs just brings me so much fucking joy god i love six (6) men

barbara is such a little freak i love her and everything about her

one final triumph of tony head's rupert was incredibly satisfying to see i love old men. but WHERE IS BEX. i needed to see the rebecca/bex/ms kakes revenge storyline

re. the tedbecca of it all, i really thought they were gonna do it till the airport scene and am still surprised they didn't, which meant that the first fakeout scene was absolutely uncalled for and felt really in bad faith after the fact, even as a person who does not actively ship them

now for the stuff i REALLY. really. did not like, as evidenced by a number of dozens of tweets and two long stern worded replies in brendan's ama: absolutely unbelievable that beardjane were endgame when basically no other established ships/relationships ended up being endgame. very disappointed about the direction the show took them in and the writers' not realizing how harmful it can be to celebrate a toxic and abusive relationship. most important i think beard deserves better than jane but maybe that's just the beard fan in me talking.

i wish ted & beard would've had a deeper conversation re. jane & leaving london before they literally got on the flight, and gave us more resolution with these two men whom i dearly love and want to see more of - it does NOT help when brendan says they "don't see each other for years" because cmon. this is a feel good tv show. you don't have to bring your "real life friendship" stuff into here. make us feel good about ted leaving please.

and finally, ted leaving, which i definitely expected. i just didn't expect that the people trying to make him stay to not have any effect on him at all. i agree with others that ted seemed quite distanced and detached for the whole episode, but they'll most likely never end up addressing this ever again. i wish he'd explored more options than just "leave permanently and never come back" - and ended up being the same place he started before he came to london, but i appreciate the effort he is making for henry.

as for the future of the show, i hope there'll be a spin off with maybe some of the existing characters but definitely a whole new showrunning/writing/creating team, i would love to see other's interpretations for the characters & universe i've grown to love over the past year and a half.

so yeah, that's about all i can think of re. the finale. i was holding out for the last 15 mins of flashforward montage to be a dream sequence but brendan debunked that theory pretty definitively yesterday, so there's that. i appreciate the show for what it was to me and forgive it for what it wasn't, and i will still be enjoying the bits i enjoyed from it wholeheartedly - it was not a perfect show, but it was a great show to have enjoyed over the past year and a half and to have shared with the rest of y'all. i cannot wait to see what the universe, and everyone who was involved with the show will go on to do next and you'll be damned if i wasn't gonna follow jimmy lance's career until he is fully out of work. richmond till we die <3

[i-dreamthedream]

Okay, I didn't hate it - I didn't love it

The finale felt average in a lot of ways. They've tried to tie all their loose ends - and there were a lot of storylines to cover this season - which is good!

Colin got to kiss his boyfriend after a win

Keeley is feeling confident in herself as her own boss

Roy and Jamie acknowledged that they are close friends (though that dialogue about Keeley at the bar was wholly unnecessary)

Roy joined the Diamond Dogs and started therapy

Nate came back to the club

The boys got to say their goodbye and to show Ted that they held on to his teaching and never stopped believing in him and in themselves

Sam made the Nigerian national team!

Rebecca chose both herself and the AFC Richmond community - which with how football leagues are operating nowadays is both bold and badass I love her so much - and also the Richmond female team!!!

But dear God why using so many rom-com tropes - including Rebecca telling him she'd do anything for him to stay and would follow him around the world - if the endgame is Dutch guy? I don't even know if I dislike him but the fact that Rebecca supposedly got over 3 years of trust and friendship in a second for a dude to whom she never told her name and vice versa? Ugh

Same thing with Ted - of course he's going back to his son - it's been a long time coming and it makes absolute sense. But the episode is titled "So long, Farewell..." and he barely says it? We don't even hear him say that's he's going back (home? To Kansas? To his son? How did he phrase it in his truth bomb?) He acts as if it's just any other week, any other game except for his half time speech (to which I absolutely cried I am weak) He should get to enjoy moments with Henry and being the dad that cheers on him at football matches - but Henry is playing football because Ted went to Richmond and it seems that it's the only thing that he kept from there (that and the snow globe - which again, I cried like a baby)

Anyway he doesn't grieve - or at least not on screen his time and the family he created and fought for and that what bothers me i think

Same thing with the last sequence - that better be a dream because Ted is in none of it. Three years and he is no longer present in these people's lives with nobody sending him a text or a selfie...

Yeah that feels unresolved as hell to me...

[mikimeiko]

Ok, so, thoughts on Ted Lasso finale and on season 3 as a whole:

Ted going back to Kansas was always the only possible ending. He has a son! He had a dad who abandoned him in the worst possible way and fucked him up, he HAD to go back to his son! (and no, Henry moving to London was not the best solution. Even if Michelle was actually ok with moving as well for some reason, uprooting your kid is not… the best move.)

(And sorry but I don't really agree with "Ted is leaving is support system in England!" and even less with the idea that he has built a found family there. He integrated in the community to a point, and he started doing it on day 1. And he has good, strong work relationships with all the people at Richmond. But! Most of the time when he is outside of work is either with Beard or by himself. He accepted Rebecca's help with that first panic attack, but he never reached out to her (or anyone else outside of doctor Sharon - who is a professional) in moments of distress. He made himself available to the people around him, but it's always been kind of unidirectional. (Ted has a wall around his core. He started chipping away at it in therapy but I would say that for now it's all very internal, he's really not ready to share. "It's just like I… It's like I'm scared sometimes to, like… to get close to that little boy. 'Cause I know he's gonna leave." This is about Henry, but it's really not just about Henry). So anyway, yes the show could have handled it better - maybe even just showing us a scene of Ted in Kansas going around with saying hello to everyone like he did in London, to let us KNOW that he is also present in that community, but anyway it doesn't feel so jarring to me). Also: I don't think going back to where you came from is necessarily a regression.

Staying in Kansas for a bit, I hated the Dr Jacob storyline. It made no sense, it was unpleasant and had no point, and I hated it.

I loved that Rebecca almost sold the team and then realized that she could be a force of change in a better direction for the game. I loved the fact that she sold the shares to the fan, I LOVED Keleey proposing a women's team because it felt SO RIGHT. I didn't particularly like the idea that they paralleled these choices to motherhood, because it's the stupidest idea ever, I'm sorry but just no. Also: I'm very sad that dutch man came back. I profoundly enjoyed the idea that Rebecca could have had that one night out of place and out of time, that it had a profound impact on her and changed the trajectory of her life a bit, while staying contained to that one night. Instead it turned into a love at first sight, happily ever after story. Ok, then? Sorry, not as interesting.

I'm so sad and upset and disappointed by how they handled Nate. I hated that it went from episode one (in which he was end-of-season-2 Nate, bitter and cocky in his new position) to episode four and he was old Nate again? Funny, clever, sweet, a little shy, basically full of love. What?! When did this happen? Where's the "be careful what you wish for cause it may come true"? Where's the disillusionment in Rupert and that kind of club culture? Where's the realization that what Nate thought would make him happy was actually not what he wanted at all? Where's the fight to make things change? ARGH. Also: that ending? Coming back to Richmond to be Will's number 2? What is going on. (I enjoyed A LOT every bit with his family. The conversation with his father! So tender.)

Also Keeley. I don't know, she felt so lost and then she actually lost everything (but it was because of her relationship with Jack) and then she didn't actually lose everything (but it was because of her relationship with Rebecca) and? Also Shandy's storyline was such a shame, when it could have been about finding the right balance to be the boss of your friend in a way that made you both shine more. But even though I liked her with Roy and hoped they would go back together (I also would have found the throuple interesting), I appreciate that her endgame was not, after all, a relationship. She's happy and she's thriving with her new weird, bloodthirsty coworker/friend and that's good to see.

Roy was so uneven. I have no words. I'm sad. I cried when he learned to ride a bike with Jaime, and at his Diamond Dogs speech. I wish they could have found a better way to show that unlearning shit and changing is hard.

Jamie definitely had the longest, better executed arc of the season and of the show (only Rebecca's is comparable). I hated him and now he is my precious bean. I actually loved Ted's speech on the field of letting go of the rage and the hate for his father for himself. I'm not enraged that they showed him reconnecting with his father, but I would have liked that part more if he hadn't immediately reached out to him (it was not supposed to be about his father).

What was Zava doing there in the first half of the season? I really thought that a character like him could have had a better story. But the answer I found is this: they needed that part when the team keeps losing to get to the revelation of total football with Jamie as the director; but they also needed Richmond to have enough points to almost win the whole fucking thing. So they got a star player that got them (alone, with no need to integrate into the team) to the top of the league, and then they made him leave suddenly. At least they made him more interesting that I thought he would be in the beginning.

Sam was also relegated to a much minor role this season (on one hand, the show has a big cast, and if you want some secondary characters to have more space - I'm thinking of Colin especially - you have to take out something else; but on the other, this could have been handled better). "His" episode felt so empty that you could take it out without changing much of the narrative structure of the season. His father was everything we thought he would be and more, and kudos for him not being a Ted-like character.

I kinda wished they would have ignored Rupert after the Akufo episode. I hated that they were showing his human side, but at the end of the episode I thought they were actually going for a very clever choice: he was this larger than life villain in Rebecca's mind, but in the end he's just an aging man, losing power and influence, fading out of everyone's memory. But no, they had to have the wife and mistress rebellion, the re-evilification, the loss of control, the crowd yelling "wanker" at him. I get the parallel, but I don't like it.

I am actually quite happy at Tedbecca not being canon. They had this amazing connection, they changed each other (though as I said above… it was mostly Ted changing Rebecca, not so much the other way around), their relationship was a life altering event. And it was NOT romantic. Sorry not sorry but I love this. I love a show that says that you don't have to be in love to love someone.

Also in general the season felt a little cartoonish. The characters were always on the brink of being caricatures of themselves (and, in the case of the himbos, many times it was not just being on the brink). Amazingly poignant moments followed by silly jokes or wildly out of characters stuff.

I watched the season finale on my way to work wednesday morning because I just couldn't wait. When the episode ended I was crying on a bench, filled with emotion. I know that probably reading what I wrote above it seems like I disliked a lot of things, but I also didn't? There were a lot of good things as well. A lot of love. This show will always have a special place in my heart, no matter the disappointments.

I just wish they could make a season 2 and 3 that fulfilled the promise of season 1. But I also think it was nearly impossible because… season 1 was written pre-covid. It was a different world.

[lunar-years]

💖💚for unpopular ask

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

uhhh I have many. I would say my most unpopular are probably:

I don't care that the show had no big "endgame" ships. I actually appreciated it being left to interpretation on where we want the characters to go. And throwing them into relationships given where they are at in the end wouldn't have made much sense anyway. (beardjane was terrible but i don't count that as a 'big' ship lol. no one was shipping them. TOMATOES!!! -500/10). the show's focus was never romantic relationships to begin with fwiw so it's weird how much people center that in their conclusion about whether the show was good enough.

Ted going home to Henry was also Really Good and the Whole Point/Natural Conclusion of his arc.

I liked that RoyKeeley broke up. Didn't love where they went with it necessarily, and both of their characters deserved to be written soooo much better in s3, but I do think the breakup itself was a Good Thing that Needed to Happen for these characters to progress.

Given the season and events as they are written, I think Keeley is far more likely to get back together with Jamie immediately post finale than she is Roy. (I don't think she should get back together with either of them right away, mind you. My girl needs some time to not exist as part of a relationship, because she has clearly spent most of her life being in relationships and it has caused Problems to her sense of self worth that i am desperate for her to healthily address. And then I would ultimately very much like her to end up with both of them, lol. But I'm just saying finale Keeley totally WOULD get back together with Jamie).

In a very similar vein to all the above, a criticism i see ALL the time that absolutely drives me UP THE WALL is when people claim the writers fell into the ol' GirlBoss Slay trap with Keeley, where in order to make her an Independent Confident Businesswomen™️ they had to remove all romance from her storyline and claim that's why they broke roykeeley up. The writers wrote Keeley very extremely terribly in s3, do not get me wrong. But this argument that writers just hate romance and don't see how a woman can be successful and also be in love (when Rebecca, a very successful businesswoman with a major arc about wanting to find love is their lead female character, mind you), just feels like baseless ragey criticism from people mad about there not being a roykeeley endgame. Look, if that's what the writers were trying to do, they don't even come close to fulfilling the other end of that promise (trading her romance to make her a Caricature Slay Business Woman) because 1. they don't show Keeley becoming independent with her business at all (Rebecca just swoops in and saves the day) 2. they do a very poor job of showing her overcoming imposter syndrome and coming into her own and 3. after the breakup with Roy, they literally show her immediately jumping into another relationship. sooo. I think it's much more likely that the writers were attempting to show Keeley spiraling in the same patterns of self-destructive behavior she exhibited in s1 and s2. rather than attempting to wash away all her flaws I actually think they were trying to highlight and reflect on those flaws. Unfortunately they just did it very, very badly and left out the necessary other half of the arc that makes it compelling and successful: actually giving Keeley the space to recognize and reckon with those flaws. the problem is they too rarely let their own characters talk and have it out in meaningful ways. anyway.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Roy isn't like THAT but he's also not like that. you know. people are always falling in love with completely different made up versions they've got of him and then acting like their Roy is canon Roy. Idk who that guy is but he isn't Roy!!! ughhhhhh. sorry.

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

long-ass tl post below. i'm not trying to start shit i'm just venting bc i've been thinking about this episode for like 12 hours today lol

man. anyway. there were definitely good moments in the finale but I was just so disappointed by the execution of almost all of the storylines' conclusions.

I want to start off that I'm not particularly broken up by any of the ships we thought would happen not happening in and of themselves, but the way we got jerked around this season for all of these storylines to have no real resolution is really frustrating.

The Roy/Keeley/Jamie triangle is a big one for me. We spent all of this season developing all of their characters individually, focused on Roy and Jamie becoming friends (which was great and one of the strongest parts of the season!), and then we wrap it up with... a literal fistfight and shitty, sexist pronouncements of ownership? Taking the foundations of their relationships, the things they've been working on for three seasons - trust, communication, accountability - and just throwing it out the window? And for what?

The Beard/Jane thing makes me absolutely furious. This is the plot thread that makes this finale feel the most rushed and shoehorned, as if they were planning to go somewhere else and just didn't have time. What was the fucking point of Beard After Hours if they were heading towards this shit the whole time

(I do think that montage at the end was supposed to be a dream, but Beard leaving the plane for Jane wasn't!! And if Ted was imagining Beard and Jane being happy together forever that's still pretty fucked up!!)

What was the fucking point of the Zava storyline. What was the fucking point of the Jack storyline. What was the fucking point of the Shandy storyline. What was the fucking point of the Tish storyline. What was the fucking point of Trent's book

(i edited that above bullet like three times while writing the rest of this post because i kept remembering other storylines that went nowhere lol)

Ted himself was giving absolutely nothing during this episode. I thought he was being quiet and reserved because he was bottling up to have a breakdown of some kind towards the end, but he just seemed... empty. Even his final speech to the team felt distant. I couldn't tell if he was conflicted about leaving, happy about leaving... I get the future was supposed to be ambiguous, but I couldn't even tell if he would ever want to go back to Richmond for a visit.

It's been pointed out before (and I agree) that the actor playing Henry is... not the best. He's very flat in a lot of the emotional scenes that he's in, and it made it harder to believe that he really missed Ted that much, especially in 3x08, which was probably supposed to be an important link in that storyline. But I can't blame him for everything - there hasn't been a lot in the script for him, so Dottie's "your son misses you" last week felt kind of unearned. And Ted's reaction to it last week felt real! But then there's barely anything in this episode that makes it feel like he's actually excited to see his son again. (When Henry was coming to visit in season 1, he was tracking the plane! He was chatting about it to Beard and Nate and Rebecca! In this episode we got one text of a gif.) If Ted's story was actually about the sacrifices of being a parent, why don't we get one (1) scene expressing that?

Nate. I really really really wanted to like Nate's storyline this season and the conclusion still kind of pissed me off. It was really that all the important parts were offscreen in this episode - did he choose to be a (assistant) kit man again or was he demoted? How did the team welcome him back? What was Ted and his reunion like? The only good thing was Nick Mohammed's acting - his apology to Ted just instantly made me start crying - but it was like a 2-minute scene! We couldn't have cut that stupid K/J/R scene for more closure on Nate?? There's something to him being back in the same place but more secure in himself, but we didn't actually get to see him choose it in any real way.

I was a big Ted/Rebecca fan in the earlier seasons, but I truly would have fine with them being completely platonic, and by the middle of this season, I was thinking they probably would be. Unfortunately, by this episode they don't even feel like friends anymore. Again, Ted is just doing absolutely nothing during their scene in the stands, and barely anything more at the airport scene. Where's the trust? The openness? And again, all the hints, the misdirects, the biscuits with the boss, the army men... and for what? To barely look each other in the eye, to leave with no promise that they'll ever see each other again?

Again, I do think the montage towards the end was a dream, but Rebecca reuniting with the Dutch guy felt like another really sloppy ending. We didn't spend an entire episode with them specifically not learning each other's names for them to suddenly be soulmates

Overall, I felt like this season varied in quality pretty drastically from episode to episode. I do think part of it was that they wrote seasons 1 and 2 back-to-back before any of it was released, and then this season was written after the huge response to the first two seasons. The rest of this is pure speculation, but I've thought a couple times this season that it felt a little "tryhard", like they were suddenly self-conscious of the goofiness and earnestness of the show but still wanted to do it. And now it feels like all of that led to last-minute rewrites, plots getting shifted around due to audience reactions, and maybe some marvel-style spoiler avoidance (that thing where whenever something leaks/gets guessed, they just change the script to something else to 'preserve the surprise' even if it makes no sense). It's fine when this show is predictable! The first two seasons were still fun when they were predictable!! It seems a little bit like this season was left open-ended in case they decide to do another season or something, but they did the rest of the show such a disservice by doing this that I'm not that interested in anything else they want to say past this point. This whole season, all the plot threads that went nowhere, I still trusted that the writers had a plan to tie it all together in the end because they've done it before, and this is what we got.

There's a place for ambiguity, but when everything is left ambiguous it's just sloppy. If we weren't sure where Ted's mind was at OR Roy/Keeley/Jamie was still up in the air OR Nate's future was uncertain OR Rebecca had maybe found a healthy relationship... any of those would have been fine, but when you have all of them unresolved it feels like no one wanted to commit to actually ending the thing.

whew. anyway. it's just such a bummer when a show you've gotten invested in shoots itself in the foot like this. this post is already too long but i'm going to end with the moments i did like:

I actually liked (most of) the opening scene, it made me laugh maybe more than anything else. I had just convinced myself that no, they're never actually going to have a canonical throuple on this show, and then I really thought for a second that they just plunked Ted/Rebecca/Beard down in front of us with no warning lol

Colin! I'm happy he got his happy ending.

Frankly, my general disinterest in Trent and, to a lesser extent, Colin, really stemmed from the fandom valorization of them from the very first season. It felt like (and I think it was, at least for a while!) that very Tumblr thing of "paying vastly more attention to conventionally attractive white men in very minor roles than any women or people of color that have actual storylines". But they had really good storylines this season - some of the better ones - and I really enjoyed them as written! I just still find their fandoms kind of annoying.

The scenes with Jamie and Roy (before they go to Keeley's) were mostly really lovely. I think that's been the strongest subplot of this season, and it's been a real joy to watch.

(i just realized 'joy' could be a ship name for jamie/roy lmao)

In a general sense, I really like that a lot of the major characters did not end up in romantic relationships, because those aren't the most important journeys they went on. Obviously I have quibbles about the execution (and larger quibbles about the ones who did (see above)), but I love that as an overall message.

Roy going to therapy!! You absolutely love to see it!!!

i keep trying to think of other stuff and keep coming up with more stuff i'm irritated about and it's past midnight so i'm going to stop lol. definitely going to be sitting on this episode/show for a bit but. yeah

The return of the Believe sign. As I've said, I'm a sucker for some well-timed cheese, and that was a really sweet scene.

ETA: OH the diamond dogs scene was actually lovely!! It got so lost in the rest of this episode but it was the only part that attempted to address the actual themes of the show!

[tylrgalpins]

so thoughts on the ted lasso finale since you reblogged to say you enjoyed it.

i'm going to put them undercut just cause it will contain spoilers!! but yes, i did like and enjoy the finale.

so my thoughts on the ted lasso finale, why I enjoyed it and why I felt the majority of the characters ended up where they should be.

so first let's address ted because so many people didn't like the fact he went back to kansas and left his found family just for henry. I saw loads of people say it was very out of character for ted but I got to disagree.

in s2 we found out that a lot of ted's issues and struggles stemed from the fact his father committed suicide when he was only 16 and that resulted in him feeling like his father abandoned him.

with ted having carried that all his life I understand why he felt he needed to go home to be with his son and be more active in his life. he never wanted henry to feel like he had abandoned him and so he went home to be with him even if it meant sacrificing his life in richmond. ted put his son first. and yes, it's nice to think 'well Henry could come to England' but realistically, to uproot his life like that and take him away from everyone in his life would be a lot for a teenager to go through.

Now let's talk about Rebecca.

I know loads of people are angry about tedbecca, which personally I don't ship so maybe that changes my opinion but I generally don't think the fact them two not getting together spoilt her story or her arc.

To me, the entire arc of Rebecca was for her to finally stop caring about Rupert and what he thinks, to get out of his hold and actually realise how much she loves and care for the club.

And she did that, she stopped caring about beating rupert and cared about the team instead. she realised how much good she had done with the club and how important it was to her and how important she was to the club.

That was her story arc done, and to me it was satisfying.

I know tedbecca shippers are upset and yes it sucks when your ship doesn't happen but to me there was no way they could have worked. ted needed to go back to henry, and rebecca needed to stay. imagine how angry everyone would have been if rebecca gave it all up to be with ted. just look how much everyone hates ross & rachel for the exact same reason.

So the roy/jamie/keeley part.

So this was maybe the part i was least happy about but also I don't think it was that bad.

I loved roy & keeley and it sucked so much that they didn't end up together but I do feel that was best for the characters at this moment.

they broke up because roy didn't feel worthy and then he did nothing to help change that mindset. we finally saw him making strides in the last few minutes and i do feel he needs to sort himself out before him & keeley give it another go because at the moment nothing has changed.

I also kinda liked that Keeley ended up single, for the entire series she's pretty much always had a partner. I like that she's decided to focus on her career for a while.

Sure it would've been nice if they had done the previous two bullets throughout season 3 but they didn't, and I think they are important for the relationship to work.

Now jamie, i do largely want to ignore the comment he made about keeley because he's made the best character progress of the season and I love him. at the same time, while the comment was out of line, i do sort of think it's on brand. a lot of the roy/jamie friendship is based on trying to out do each other and I just don't think jamie thought before he spoke which I also thought was on brand for jamie. that said I don't agree with the stuff he said.

I still love jamie and i don't think that one comment ruins his entire redemption.

other stuff.

I was really happy colin got to kiss his fella even if we all saw it coming. i've really enjoyed his storyline and I thought it was done well.

I am really pleased with where the team ended up at the end of the season.

I loved that sam got to play for nigeria.

i've seen a few people say they hated that nate didn't really move forward, especially as he came back to richmond as a kitman. but i felt this was the whole point of his story. he reached the top and it sucked for him, he lost everything but then realised that actually, that didn't matter anyway.

YES for roy kent as manager.

a little gutted they didn't end up winning the whole fucking thing.

happy with where trent crimm ended up.

loved that beard stayed but not so much that he married jane.

i think that covers everything but come talk to me about anything you want regarding the final.

[agentem]

Now the TedBecca on Twitter are mad because Ted went to Kansas to be with his son and they say that is bad because he left his found family for his biological family. Or it's bad for him to go spend his life with his kid because Ted's dad killed himself and he is essentially killing the rest of his life for his son. (And those things would be bad but I don't think are the case given the context.)

I have a lot of thoughts.

a) Ted's trauma about his own father's death does not seem to be the driving force for him to go back to Henry. We have seen him miss Henry and be happiest when Henry is around. It's not an abstract concept of a child that he will follow around to the detriment of his ability to function as a human (like a creepy stalker); he loves the kid and wants to build a life where the kid is. It's not like he ever said, "Man, I hate this kid and he's fucking annoying but my dad killed himself so I have to be around him."

b) It has been set up since the pilot that Ted misses Henry. It was particularly evident from the beginning of this season that Ted wanted to go home. He even went to that terrible looking American theme restaurant in Amsterdam. The friends he made will remain his friends. He can call and visit. But he chose his child because his child makes him happiest.

c) From a logistical standpoint, Jason Sudeikis has confirmed that spinoffs are being considered and if Ted Lasso the character stayed in London, they'd have to pretend the camera just missed him every episode. Or something. I don't know. (Like how Fraiser had to move away to have his show, so they didn't have to explain where Ted Danson was every week.) If you want to see the characters again--and I sort of do depending on what the concept is--then this is the break that needs to happen.

I need Twitter to stop recommending these weird posts to me.

[damelucyjo]

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

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

Episode 1 - Smells Like Mean Spirit

Here we go!

Oo scruffy Ted!! 😍

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

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

Henry's cute

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

He still talks to Sharon! I love that

LEGO NELSON ROAD!!

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

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

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

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

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

Earl Greyhound Training Facility. Nice.

Sharon Fieldstone! You cheeky bitch!! I love her

YYEEEAAAAHHH!!!!

Angry Rebecca is back. I'm in love

Hannah, looking delicious as ever 🥵

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

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

Ooo she's struggling with this, huh

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

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

I need Dani's optimism

And Jamie's confidence haha

Roy & Beard's friendship is my favourite

FIFA reference, of course

His tiny car with those super cars is a great visual

Hello West Ham's Higgins

KEELEY!!!

'Fuck you, Joe Rogan' Exactly.

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

It's Katy Wix!! Love her!

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

Their friendship is gorgeous. I love this gossip dynamic

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

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

Don't cry Keeley!!

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

We must protect Dani at all costs!!

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

Of course their driver was a cult leader

EVERYONE RUN EXCEPT ROY!!

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

Gotta let Ted be Ted. Too right!

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

Loving uncomfortable, awkward Rebecca

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

SHE SEEMS FUN!! Great Beard call back! 😂

Corporate Flying Object. Please never change Keeley!

She's eating meat again...👀 Hmm, okay

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

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

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

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

I fucking LOVE Anthony Head. He plays slimy so well

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

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

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

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

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

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

'Twat' Well said Rebecca

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

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

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

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

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

Of course Jamie says poopy and not shit

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

She's gonna break that laptop one day

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

Oooo she's angry 🥵

Rupert is laughing at me, Ted 🥺 ouch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phoebe is so grown up! Asking the important questions

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

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

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

'Mommy's friend' 👀 uh oh

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

[silverkat1620]

Podfics I recorded in the Year of Our Lord 2023

DC (includes DCEU and Gotham)

A Fate Resigned by gayzsasz (series) (Bruce Wayne/Jeremiah Valeska)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3212607

*five works in this series**I went back and forth on including this one as i did four out of the five in 2022; but I did record Deja Vu as my first podfic in 2023 so...*

poker face (raise it, baby, stay with me) by susiecarter (Superbat)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45381172

*Who doesn't like identity porn!!??!?*

something to believe in by susiecarter (Barry Allen/Arthur Curry)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45896722

*I just think they're neat!*

bring down the house by roipecheur (Christopher Smith/Adrian Chase)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45939856

*After the season finale Chris and Adrian deal with's Auggie's house. And other stuff.*

Earth Boys are Easy by susiecarter (Superbat)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46628719

*Bruce goes to the arctic in Man of Steel and finds something interesting*

let's do it all over again by susiecarter (Superbat)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49573567

*Clark and Bruce have met before.*

a song came after by susie carter (Superbat)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51941731

*Bruce slips up. It's a joy to watch.*

Star Wars

the size of the soul by spqr (Obianidala)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46948351

*I recorded this fic for May the Fourth and I'm glad I did. Obi-Wan makes a rash decision and attempts to handle the aftermath on his own.*

Of Warnings (Ignored) by trixree (Codywan)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48164041

*Alpha-17 is done and the rest of the GAR is longsuffering*

The Family Tree is... a Disaster by phoenixyfriend (gen)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48335869

*I adore this fic. phoenixyfriend wrote it as a piece to a larger Leverage AU and I would bite people if i thought that would induce them to continue.*

Stranger Things

in this house with you, the way i move in my mind by greatunironic (steddie)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44394808

*The spiciest fic I recorded this year; I'm really quite proud of it.*

Gladiator

Campaign by astolat (Commodus/Maximus)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48707617

One of a Thousand Roads (series) by astolat (Commodus/Maximus)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3633589

*two works in this series*

*astolat is always a solid choice and I managed to fall down the rabbit hole of these fics and then had to record them. We love a lyrical AU and she's provided two distinct ones.*

Saw

i love you like the ashes in my cigarette box (series) by neyiea (Peter Strahm/Mark Hoffman)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3874615

*four works in this series* *I followed neyiea in to this fandom with deep reluctance and I am still not sure if I'm thrilled of pissed that I did, either way there's no getting out of it*

Ted Lasso

in loco parentis by AuntieClimactic (Trent Crimm/Ted Lasso)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45793672

*Henry Lasso decides to run away and manages to accidentally adopt Trent Crimm instead.*

strong (and capable) like an elephant by jedusaur (Colin Hughes/Michael, Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46787104

*Colin comes out to the team and Roy is unimpressed for all the best reasons*

PRE-ORDER NOW by spqr (Trent Crimm/Ted Lasso)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49013017

*Trent realizes that he needs to put a caveat in his author's note.*

Top Gun

fire in the sky tonight by susiecarter (Maverick/Iceman)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45896953

*marriage as the final part of graduating TOPGUN AU*

i hate (the way i don't hate) you by susiecarter (Rooster/Hangman)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45897091

*basically and entire fic of Hangman grumbling about "stupid Rooster's stupid face!"*

Miscellaneous

listening to the sound of trees by dirgewithoutmusic {Narnia} (gen)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44903656

The Show Goes On by draculard {Nope} (gen)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44903863

*I recorded both the above fics for the Awesome Ladies Podfic Anthology and I am so happy I did.*

Blowback by speranza {The Dead Zone} (Johnny Smith/Walt Bannerman)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46786843

*lovely piece of Johnny and Walt sharing trauma and getting closer*

all that blue by spqr {The Spiderverse} (Peter B. Parker/Miguel O'Hara)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47926549

*Miguel is yearning in this one. He aches!*

Mr. Vimes'd Go Spare! by Lunik {Discworld} (gen)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49573645

*one of my very favorite stories fandoms, I am so grateful to Lunik for granting me permission to podfic this one*

lonely lonely heart by spqr {MCU} (Lokius)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51132268

*one review called this Loki meets White Collar and that's a pretty accurate summation*

Epistles to Revelation by astolat {Person of Interest} (John/Harold)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52256665

*Harold and John come together in the library in a short but incredibly sweet fic*

The Desecrated Temple by astolat {Dungeons and Dragons the cartoon} (Eric "the Cavellier"/Hank "the Ranger")

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52256860

*astolat is always worth reading and this fic is no exception*

[troglobite]

one more time for those in the back: pls don't say anything abt the shows i watch. lol

now here are some more Thoughts

okay i went back and watched the first episode of s3 and i FULLY agree w ppl theorizing that ted is gonna go back to kansas at some point this season, and then likely return.

the ENTIRE EPISODE was ted being like why the fuck am i here?

and yes it was spurred on bc of henry--but that seems to be sort of his main concern and motivation in general

he had to take henry to the airport, had to worry abt his flight, asking him directly if he knows why ted's still there

he even asked beard and beard didn't fucking answer him which. INTERESTING.

and then of course henry and the bullying thing and ted panicking and wanting to be back there in the latest ep.

also fun detail, while he's in the airport, the--what do you call the. speaker? speaker. whatever.

the person over the speaker in the airport noted that the flight to amsterdam was delayed. 👀 now what does that mean? lol

also rebecca quite literally says in the first episode TO KEELEY that she HAS grown. she used to want to crush everything rupert loved--and now she just wants to beat him.

what did i say abt that revenge body era? lol

it's not perfect but christ, again, it's only been 2 years after a TWELVE YEAR MARRIAGE and he is constantly antagonizing her in public. i'd be still hurt and pissed, too.

other thoughts!

nathan. [stares]

yeah honestly it'll be interesting. there's not much to say that hasn't already been said.

but basically rupert is clearly trying to manipulate and control him into a little mini-me that will win everything for him. the car, the look, the office, ms. kakes, etc.

yes also we get the foreshadowing of the tinted window in keeley's office in this episode.

orgasm for the soul is said in the same place that, undoubtedly, keeley & jack have regular orgasms later on. lol

but also she had to schedule time to cry--and later in these next few eps we see that. well. it seems maybe she has a little more wiggle room if she manages to get caught up w jack, etc. lol

also what is WITH barbara and jack? and barbara in general? less so the second one. but the investor sent her over as the cfo. so i'm. hm.

also keeley not knowing what cfo is, and later not knowing what position to give to shandy, officially.

again, she's not stupid--she just doesn't know the ins and outs bc she wasn't raised in that shit.

also idk it's interesting there's a parallel w keeley and nathan in that they both have a person from their past who's reminding them of where they came from

for nathan, it seems to go well w jade at the restaurant--friends or dating. thematically, makes sense.

for keeley, shandy doesn't work out so great. and i'm REALLY wondering what the final takeaway will be about that relationship and how things fell apart. bc believe me, it's not over.

also obviously leslie saying at the beginning they should look to get new blood--initially ted vetoes the idea. doesn't seem to think they need it.

but he just sort of. rolls over. lets it happen. says you got it, i'll be flying like a butterfly stinging like a bee all season, etc.

and his entire conversation w the doc over the phone that i only half paid attention to the first time bc him trimming his nose hair was. Gross. lol

but he literally says

what if i'm doing more harm than good

what if they'd be better off without me

what if i'm holding them back

she says to him "you don't quit things"

as a literal answer--part of why he's there.

everyone is echoing to him the reasons he's offered for staying. he doesn't quit, it's to win the whole fucking thing (as rebecca AND henry remind him).

so yeah i absolutely agree, i think ted is going to leave.

it will. potentially. break the fucking team. they just love him so much. i have no other thoughts or ideas abt how that would go. but it does feel absolutely certain.

also of course higgins suggesting new blood does also foreshadow him suggesting that ted is actually the problem w the team.

and he IS out of it and FEELS out of it and is just questioning his entire purpose there.

meanwhile jamie is soaring, flying, brilliant colors. he's doing GREAT! he's internalized ted's message and ethos, but with his own style. he cares abt the team. he kept his confidence and sometimes allows his ego out.

BOTH times the team starts getting worried in the locker room, it's JAMIE who calms everyone down.

he's not a mini-ted--but he's a very enlightened little jamie! and i'm proud of him.

also would you believe i forgot until this very moment that jamie has that whole stint on a reality tv show and then has such an attitude problem that no teams and no tv shows and no pr firms even want him anymore? and THAT'S how he ends up back at richmond? i completely fucking forgot until this very moment.

anyway, jamie's doing really well, right off the bat.

ALSO

we get TWO hints abt roy's uncertainty having to fill in for nate's position. "i know i'm not a tactical genius like nate" and then keeley saying "roy i know you're worried abt that but--"

very interesting.

roy is insecure.

he has been since the beginning.

and it often seems the anger overcompensates for that.

and yet in those moments, he doesn't have a lot of anger. he looks at keeley like he's HURT, not angry--bc when is he ever angry at her, anyway?

but like he's HURT that she would try and comfort him. as if to say "really? now?"

which. is interesting. bc she says they're on a break, and he says they've broken up.

and yet--

at the end of season 2. it was roy being a big ol baby that keeley wouldn't take two weeks off for vacation with him, and keeley being like "babe, i have to start my own business. i'm gonna be busy."

like. i guess that's not a "and yet" moment.

that's roy.......realizing how badly he needs so much support and how insecure he is. how much he needs to be someone's priority.

we haven't ever met phoebe's mom, and she says that her parents got divorced when she was four. "one of my core beliefs is that nothing lasts forever"

is roy..........

maybe feeling some of the stuff he imagines phoebe might? he has to be there for her bc her mom is--

way. too busy. for her.

yeah. okay. that makes sense. lol

perhaps he wanted a clean cut. even though they agreed that she could still hang out with keeley. ostensibly....

yeah it's interesting.

what else?

beard and roy bonding is nice.

also the hoosiers reference.

interesting. little details are similar.

i'm just sort of. thinking and wondering. what elements are going to be thematically relevant and compelling throughout this season. bc that seems. deliberate.

ALSO realized that season 1 also included/featured ted's getting ready routine--but it was to get ready for bed, instead. this one is to get ready for work.

[stares]

i've connected the dots

you haven't connected shit

i've connected them

[stares at the empty spot where an answer to 'so what?' should be]

HMM!!!!

anyway.

thinky thoughts.

ALSO idk if it was. intentional or relevant.

when they went to the sewer--also ted says that henry wanted to go in order to face his fears. roy says that's fucking smart.

[squints purposefully]

okay anyway when they go to the sewer, the first players to climb down seem to be plot-relevant for the season, which of course makes sense.

but then isaac is on one far end

and colin is on the other

i think roy and jamie are near each other??? idk

basically i am Paying Attention. lol

okay i think that's everything.

[governmentcoverups]

Season 4 vol 2 spoilers kinda (random thoughts or things that happened idk read if your bored.)

So what duffers, you were just queerbaiting all along? The parallels, the byler evidence, all of it for nothing? Before volume 2 I had no doubt about byler and I 100% thought it was gonna be cannon but the love confession threw me off and I'm in tears rn, byler has been one of my #1 ships since last year. I can't imagine how other bylers feel who have been in the fandom since the beginning of the show. The 210+ page slides of byler? Mike pinning, the Mike voice, 'crazy together', Everything just for it to be nothing?

I don't understand, I had so much hope and I wasn't prepared for that scene. I went in there thinking Mike couldn't say it. What throws me off is how Mike says he loved el since they first met, but then Mike pushed el away because he thought she lied about finding will at the quarry. Also heros playing during that one song line when hugging his mom?

Obviously there's a theory about Mike only liking El when she looks like a boy but idk. Bylers, do not lose hope, maybe there's a ton of proof in season 4.

Atleast we got half host will in Hawkins. That to me makes me a bit happy. It disappointed me though, I feel like it was an average season, not really that dark to me like the duffers were saying. Also will didn't come out. We were left on the weirdest cliff hanger.

Did you see how the romantic pairings were at the end when el is picking up the dead flower? J0pp3r, byler and j4ncy, idk could be a coincidence because I don't really believe in those pairing things that much.

It's disappointing to me how I woke up early yesterday morning due to a family matter and couldn't go back to sleep and I'm still not the tiniest bit tired - I've been up for like 24 hours.

Poor Eddie, atleast he died a hero. I think max is gonna be okay because everyone else who was put into a coma was okay, like Henry and if I remember correctly El was put into one too.

Around 2:58-59am before stranger things me and my friend were up waiting for it over text and I said I was having hiccups because I was and she had them too and right at 3am they stopped, that was weird. tell me If you had them too so like we know the duffers sold their soul or sum - im jk but the hiccup thing is weird.

Also I was crying over the love confession when my cat started to meow and I was like whatt? Because I thought she needed food or something and no, there was a frog and it was wet and it basically came out of the middle of nowhere, I'm not joking.

The way Mike didn't notice will was basically sobbing when he gave the painting - why not comfort your friend or ask why he's crying, or did he understand? Jonathan definitely understood and why bring up the Lego thing to talk about it?

Also Jason is just deed now? He got ripped apart by the gate😗✌

I really want will to be a villain now, from how obvious his feelings are and how heartbroken he was in s3 and like tryna hide it or sum in s4(honestly I saw him being a shipper but I didn't think it was gonna be like that) he deserves his actual villain arc but I don't think we'll get it since nothing good ever happens for us. And plus the timing is probably gonna skip like a week or so because of the big gate around Hawkins unless nothing happens but vecnas gonna strike again.

Also am I the only person missing how El brought Max back to life? Also what's with her now? The new her is cool and stuff but kinda scares me cause idk what she's doing. Go girlboss😘

Thanks Noah for trolling, we were rooting for you anyways

I think im gonna take a shower from all the stuff on my long sleeves and I might wash clothes to wear my sweet silk pjs. Wish you bylers luck. Thanks for coming to my (i hope your enjoying your chicken) ted talk.

[stonesandswords]

002: Ted and/or Jamie (or choose your own!)

I shall attempt both!

Ted

How I feel about this character: 

I adore his optimism, even if it can be a detriment to himself at times. He went through something severely traumatic and, while we don't know a lot about his young adult life, he turned around and chose goodness and kindness despite all the hardship he went through. I think there is so much genuine love and care in his lil midwestern heart and it really does make me want to be more like that.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Rebecca, Sharon, and Trent are rotating around in my brain. They all have unique but interesting personal dynamics with Ted that I think are fun!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

Beard is my go-to, the two of them have clearly grown through a lot together and have been friends for what I'm assuming is decades. Although Higgins is definitely creeping up there in my platonic OTP for Ted.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don't think he should go back to Kansas. I think that Henry should move to the UK, and possibly Michelle with him. Ted has had two really difficult events in his life that involved the breaking up of his family and I would hate to see him lose his AFC Richmond family like that too. I know it would be a big uproot in Henry's life but I think that he's young enough that he could still have a positive experience making friends as he grows up in London.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I would like to know more about why Jamie's in Ted's panic attacks! I know we have a whole third season for it to be explored but I'm just so intensely curious about it.

my OTP:

TedBecca is pretty up there! I know that's a divisive answer but I really think that they have this deep, unknown understanding of each other that not even the other canon relationships have. I don't think they'll end up together, definitely an "in another life relationship".

my cross over ship:

I don't know why but I think Ted and Jessica Day from New Girl would get along absolutely swimmingly. They both have upbeat, optimistic personalities and are so extremely supportive of the people they love and care about.

a headcanon fact:

Honestly, I don't really have any headcanons about Ted. I think there are many surprises in store with him that I'm just enjoying seeing whatever the writers throw at us about him.

Jamie

How I feel about this character:

This is my sweet baby girl and I love him so much. I probably project myself onto his character more than any other character because of similarities I've had in my life with my own parents in parallel to his dad. Despite how talented he is and how far he's come, I don't think he's really had the chance to truly and authentically be himself.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Jamie is the character I ship with the most people 🤣.

Keeley, Dani, Isaac, Sam, Colin, and Jan. Just to name a couple LOL

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Roy or Ted tbh. I think they are such great mentor/father/brother figures for Jamie. I think they really push Jamie in different ways to grow. Roy makes Jamie look into himself and stand up for himself and Ted makes Jamie really learn to care about and lean on the people around him, among many other things for both.

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

I don't know if this one is super unpopular but it's felt unpopular to me, but I think that Jamie is an inexperienced person. This ranges from everything from relationships, feelings, sex, travel, and everything in between. I don't think he had a lot growing up and was left to his own devices a lot. I think he's really good at "faking it until he makes it" but ultimately when faced with the actual truth of things, he just doesn't seem experienced in life all that much.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I really want to know more about Jamie's mom! She was brought up once really and that was in the 1x6 Two Aces episode. I would either like to meet her in season 3 or at least get a bigger picture idea of the impact she had on Jamie's life.

my OTP:

Probably Jamie x Dani, mostly 'cause that's the ship that I do talk to people about the most, so it's the one I have the most ideas about 🤣 but really if someone talks to me about another ship enough, that could probably make it's way up there 🤣

my cross over ship:

This is mostly a joke ship lol but Winston from New Girl. I love that Winston is a v confident person while living his best oddball life and it would be fun for him to bring more of that out in Jamie because I want Jamie to have his little oddball moments with no shame. But mostly I want the two of them rocking bird shirts together.

a headcanon fact:

I think Jamie really likes to feel like he's in complete control, in line with his "prick of all pricks" personality. But I think it stems from feeling like he had no control in the way he grew up or in his relationship with his dad. That his need to be in control comes from a deeply rooted place of insecurity, distrust, and scaredness.

send me a character(s) or ship(s)

[talldecafcappuccino]

Title: Between Close Friends

Rating: General Audience

Chapters: 1/1

Relationship: Ted Lasso/Rebecca Welton

Summary: Ted is bad at social media, but is that a bad thing?

Ted, what the fuck are you doing????

Ted peers at his phone, rubbing sleep from his eyes and reads the message again.

He scrolls down and sees he has twelve more texts and three missed calls all from Keeley Jones. He turns off his nighttime notifications with a few exceptions for emergency contacts, so it’s not surprising he slept through the messages.

He scratches at the stubble along his cheek and checks his clock. It’s seven o’clock here in Kansas, so it must be . . . early afternoon in London. He thinks through the last day, but he can’t remember anything interesting enough to have Keeley on the case.

Henry came over to his extended-stay hotel, they went to an American football game, got a late dinner in downtown Wichita, and watched a movie before bed.

They did make it on the Jumbotron for the Lasso-off, the team’s half-time dance contest, but his moves weren’t especially embarrassing. At least not in his opinion. Unless one of the moves was actually an insult to the English in which case, oh jeeze, he needs to get on this quick.

The call barely connects before Keeley’s voice echoes in his ear.

“Oy! Ted!”

“Keeley, I am so sorry for whatever I did to offend the great people of the United Kingdom. I am ready to make a statement and an apology tour as soon as you tell me which dance move I need to retire immediately.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I need you to log out of the AFC Richmond Instagram account. Like, now.”

That stops Ted in his tracks.

Does he even have access to that? He remembers a post-it note of accounts and passwords from Beard on their first day with Richmond.

There was an account run by the previous manager, but Keeley had taken it over long ago, converting it to the official team account. She had also made Ted a personal Instagram for his own use and brand development, but he never posted publicly.

He puts her on speaker phone and opens the Instagram app. She’s right. He’s logged into the team account with all 25 million followers. Well, shoot.

There are about a dozen stories posted from last night. All of Ted and Henry’s day together. There’s puns (“having a cow” at dinner with an image of Henry holding up a beef rib and screaming his head off), Ted and Henry singing at a dueling piano bar, the two brushing their teeth together in the bathroom mirror.

“No offense, but I think this may delay the Tom Ford deal you asked me about.”

“Yeah. I get that.”

“It’s just, you know, dads aren’t quite their brand. Or our brand. I mean we’re not anti-dorky dad, but you know with the whole comeback narrative during the season hiatus . . .”

“No I get it. You’ve put a lot of work into rebranding this team and I just undermined that.”

She sighs, but it’s fond.

“Sorry, Ted. It’s not like what you posted was bad, it’s rather sweet actually. It’s just a little different from the posts I had scheduled.”

Ted nodded. It wasn’t the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to him, but he felt bad for making Keeley’s job harder than it needed to be.

“No, I’m sorry Keeley. I swear, it won’t happen again.”

****

“Can you believe what Ted did last night? I’ve never seen someone so bad at social media.”

Rebecca has no idea what Keeley is talking about when she walks into her office. She flops onto the couch, feet splayed on the coffee table, clearly exhausted by whatever Ted has done from 4,438 miles away.

“So many puns. Which, don't get me wrong, I love word play more than most people. But I don’t think it’s right for the team right now.”

Rebecca shuts her laptop.

“You’re right about puns not being part of the team plan, but what’s this about Ted? What did he do, exactly?”

Ted hasn’t posted anything in at least 24 hours. Not that Rebecca is keeping track.

“Oh he managed to switch to the team account on Instagram and posted about his entire evening out with Henry. It was quite sweet, actually. The ones that made sense,” but then she pulled a face.”He’s like, really, really bad at social media.”

Oof. Well that isn’t great, but Rebecca doesn’t think there’s anything particularly terrible about Ted’s social media use normally.

“But everything seems under control? No big PR actions needed.”

“It’s fine. I had him log out and wrote a post about Coach Lasso’s surprise social media takeover from America.”

Rebecca nods. Okay, so it was all sorted. Keeley has things totally under control.

But she reaches for her phone anyway. She opens Instagram, taps through the AFC Richmond stories, and snorts at the image of Henry with the rib as big as his head.

“Are people at least being kind?” Rebecca hopes Ted logged out without seeing any messages about Henry. Not that she could see any reason for it, but people were shitheads on the internet.

“Well, wanker is still the most common response. But many of them are wanker with a little heart at the end, so I think it’s fine. We actually got a lot of responses, proper engagement and all that,” she looks up at the ceiling, considering it for a moment before rolling her head to look back at Rebecca.

“If we weren’t trying to present the team as a badass phoenix rising from the ashes, I’d say a Ted takeover isn’t a bad idea. He just needs some supervision. Maybe a phone with a better camera.”

Rebecca is only half listening as she taps to the next story.

“Aw, they went to dueling piano night. That must have been fun for Henry.”

She’s smiling at her phone when Keeley asks, “Dueling piano night?”

“Yeah, you know at Jim Bob’s Bar.”

Keeley is looking at her blankly.

“Fine. I know it’s not really Jim Bob’s bar. It’s probably not even a bar if Henry’s there. But I can’t remember the real name off the top of my head.”

She’d looked it up once, after Ted first posted about the dueling pianos. For some reason she started calling it Jim Bob’s. Ted didn’t seem bothered and had even started calling it that himself.

When she looks up again, Keeley is staring at her, eyes narrowed.

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you know so much about some bar in Kansas?”

That gives Rebecca pause. She isn’t sure what Keeley means by the line of questioning.

“It’s not some totally random bar. Ted posts about it whenever he goes for dueling pianos.”

If he gets to the bar early or she has a particularly late evening, Rebecca catches the story before going to bed. When she does, she always asks him to put in $5 for Wannabee by the Spice Girls. She owes him a small fortune by now, but it’s worth it to see the bar explode with cheers and jeers.

Some nights she misses the story, but he puts money in anyways and she wakes up to a shaky video of, Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.

Rebecca thinks this is a good enough explanation, but Keeley is still staring at her.

“I’ve literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Keeley, you know social media is not my thing. All I know is that sometimes Ted posts about this bar on his tiny friends list thing,” she waves her hand around, trying her best to describe it. “The one with the green ring around it.”

Keeley leaps to her feet, eyes wide.

“Am I not on Ted’s Close Friends list??”

Before Rebecca can say a word, Keeley is halfway out the door, texting furiously.

“Roy, better not be on there, if I’m not on there. Ted knows how I feel about being left out!” she shouts over her shoulder. “Sorry Rebecca, I need to do some investigating, asap.”

Oof. She may have just created a problem. It’s probably best to give Ted a heads up before Keeley gets through interrogating Roy.

She drafts a text once, twice, then deletes it and presses call instead.

“Hey Boss, let me guess. Keeley got a hold of you?”

It’s been a while since they’ve chatted, what with the time difference. It’s bizarre how familiar his American accent has become.

“She just left my office, yes.”

There’s a loud crack in the background and a metal clang.

“Where are you?”

“Oh, just the batting cages with Henry,” he says, cheering loudly. “Hey, do you guys have a sport called baseball that has nothing to do with American baseball? You know, like football and football?”

She chuckles, “I don’t believe we do. However there is always cricket.”

He hums, considering it.

“Now Ted, I think there’s something you should know.”

“Lay it on me Boss. I know I caused a headache this morning, what’s the damage? What do you need me to do? I am at your disposal or I’ll lay really, really low as long as you need me to.”

“It’s not that Ted. It’s Keeley.”

“Keeley?”

“Yes, she’s on a bit of a mission at the moment. It seems you left her off your Close Friends list? I think that’s right. On Instagram?”

“Huh. How did that come up?”

“I was telling her about Jim Bob’s. Apparently she had never heard of it and realized you had a whole social media life she was unaware of.”

“Right . . .”

“So do what you will with that.”

“You haven’t talked to anyone else about this yet, have you?”

Rebecca is confused by this new direction.

“No. Why? Ted, is something wrong?”

It takes a long moment for Ted to respond.

“What can I say, I’m just really bad at this social media stuff.”

It's a non-response and an overly folksy one at that. But Rebecca can’t be fooled by the aw shucks routine—not anymore. She tries again.

“Ted. Who is on your close friends list?”

“Uh. Not a lot of people.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“What can I say?” He huffs, a little frustrated. She would feel bad for prying, but she can't help herself. “The list of people I want to share silly life things with is small.”

“How small?” she wonders.

“Very small.”

The line goes silent and Rebecca swears she lost him. But then she hears him take a deep breath.

“It’s you. You’re the list.”

Rebecca feels flush. That’s not where she was expecting this conversation to go.

“I know that might be a lot. You don’t have to say anything. I just, that’s the honest truth and I’d like to get ahead of it before Keeley harangues the entire team.”

It’s a lot to take in, but it makes sense. Sometimes when she’s watching his posts, she wonders about his audience. Who else cares about his biscuit recipe improvements or Broadway Sundays (a recent development that’s turned into a shared movie night.)

“Rebecca?”

She realizes she’s been quiet for a while. The moment feels tenuous and she worries about saying the wrong thing, sending him running faster than Keeley during a social media snafu.

Finally she settles on, “You know, you’re welcome to text me silly life things. It wouldn’t be a bother.”

She brushes invisible crumbs from her desk, listening carefully to his breathing on the other end of the line.

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Maybe I can send some, too?”

Rebecca can hear his smile from across the Atlantic.

“Well, alright then.”

****

That night, Ted’s phone pings and he rolls over to see a text message from Rebecca. It’s a picture of the sun rising over her garden wall.

Something silly to start the day.

But it doesn’t feel silly. Not at all.

[sometimesrosy]

who are ur least favorite characters on stranger things ? 👀

Least favorite? You know what? That's a tough one because I think they do characters very well.

I don't think this last season served Mike, Will or Jonathan well. Doesn't mean I don't like them, but they slipped on my list. They were removed from the main story, but not just in a narrative way. They were like in suspended animation, waiting to start their lives again.

Argyle was a bit dopey although I really wanted to love him at the beginning. I think they do have a tendency to go over board with the comic relief characters sometimes.

I suppose I don't love Erica, mainly because she's bratty and mean to Lucas, but she's also a powerhouse and I have to give her points for her character. She's not a bad character she's just a bit too Dee from What's Happening. (dating myself)

I did NOT like Jason Carver-- the jock who went DnD nerd hunting. You weren't supposed to like him, but he was a pretty one note villain. Not that unrealistic, sadly, in this day and age where people decide others are evil because they're different. He had an ending that not one person protested because he got what he deserved.

001/Henry was creepy AF. When he was the orderly I thought something was wrong. When he was the little boy, yipes. I'm not even counting the monster part.

I didn't like Doctor Brenner/Papa. He was a bad Papa. What he did was horrific and he didn't think he was doing anything wrong. It was all justified in his head.

Those are all bad guys. Does that even count?

Oh I HATED Billy. What an awful character. And he looks like Rob Lowe looked back then. So pretty. And that was part of his character. But he's not even IN this season. Although he's still affecting Max and is pretty much her trauma that made her vulnerable to Vecna.

The characters I didn't like are pretty much all limited to bad guys. The good guys I don't love I still like. And I'm supposed to not like the bad guys.

I am okay with this. I'm tired of shows making the bad guys into gray morality hot guys that are just so interesting that you like them against your will.

Like, bullshit. Donald Trump is a bad guy and he's not interesting or charming. Ted Cruz? Bad guy. Repulsive. Lets look at the better looking ones. Cawthorne (Hawthorne? What's his name?) He's an ASSHOLE.

I think we should stop perpetrating the myth that bad guys are compelling and charming and romantic and go back to them being assholes that we hate.