#i love growing out of a friendship i love that jamie is his self-appointed best friend i love that santi seemingly doesnt have other friends

[bicon-crange]

in other news, panels that are PLAGUING me today:

[storyshark2005]

Carraville Rec List !

See below, self-explanatory!! I'm sure I missed some bangers, so feel free to reblog and add more, or comment. I pulled all these straight off my AO3 bookmarks list. They are ALL COMPLETE, so I didn't add any WIPSs! Please note I separated "older/classic" recs from the amazing fountain of NEW works we've been blessed with in the past 3-4 months or so. Note: IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER!

Enjoy you little dancers!!

⚽️❤️ MY CLASSIC CARRAVILLE PICKS ❤️⚽️

Lockjaw by anonymous - Workplace blowjob fic that grows into a much deeper story. Sexy-with-feels MNF era Carraville. Amazing ‘show don’t tell’ characterization, top top dialogue.  Gary hiding past trauma and Jamie finding out. A crime this is anonymous, I want to read more from this author!! 

the ghosts of you and me by @blindbatalex - ahhhmazingly written, MNF-era Carraville. Uses ‘snowed in’ trope to delve greater depths of a break up; old wounds, things unspoken, beautiful writing and a really pulled-back tone that aches. 

the ocean and the coast by @carraville - Valencia!Gary. Jamie POV. Jamie pining. Lovely poetic style. “I have a separate plate for you.” <3 <3 <3 

In Your Boots by @thesecretdetectivecollection- funny, sweet, MNF-era. SO CUTE Gary jumping to conclusions and panicking over Jamie leaving. Lots of Jamie-scenery descriptions of pretty eyes and "absurd cheekbones" and "Jamie's reliable heart" <3 

keep your silver, give me that gold by @thesecretdetectivecollection - MNF-era Carraville. Jamie decides to box Rio Ferdinand. Gary has SERIOUS RESERVATIONS about his beefy colleague (just colleague, no feelings, cough cough) putting himself in harms way for a stupid charity wager. Thing come to a head in a good way. Lots of verbal eye candy Carra. <3 

Loss / loss / win by milleseptcent guuuuh the SCALE! The FEELS! Soulmates Carraville. Takes place from playing days to MNF-era. Gary and Carra, both without soul marks, fuck around in a casual relationship... for about twenty years. The ending is SO SWEET!

Anything That Isn’t This by @kloppend the sleeping death apocalypse fic, read if you want to ruin yourself for two or three days but ALSO the beauty of the writing is 100% worth the devastation, one of the finest written pieces in the fandom imho. HAUNTING, gorgeous, aching, amazing. 

Play the Whistle by @zevons - Referee!AU Carraville!! What more do you need to know?! Gary and Jamie’s football dreams never came true, so they do the next best thing. Lovely Jamie&Stevie friendship. Enemies to lovers. So much snippy banter before they realize they are actually besties who want to smootch. FEEL GOOD but with tons of depth as well. 

amunt by @carraville short, punchy, poetic = classic redandgold! Valencia!Gary, pining!Jamie. Also incredible that this was written only two weeks into Gary’s appointment, BEFORE the Barcelona loss, before things unravelled, so it’s an amazing time-capsule into the fandom in late 2015 (when they didn’t know if Gary would ever come back!) 

Through fresh eyes by @aramblingjay - Jamie comes to MNF. Gary deals. Truly top-notch writing, amazing language, deft characterization. It never overindulges while remaining poignant throughout. Can be read as pre-Carraville or platonic-soulmates type friendship. It’s tagged as incomplete but it is finished. Essential reading, a classic!

Advantages of Playing Away by @zevons MNF-era testimonial blowjob in Old Trafford dressing room Carraville!! Sooo sweet, soooo hot, dialogue is sharp and funny. Just perfect <3 

Remedial Exercises in Teamwork by @zevons - more saltstreets!!! HOGWARTS AU, both of them are Gryffindor beaters (so in character for them), both obsessed with quidditch. Background!gerlonso. Implied Professor Pep/Mou !!! Detention!flirting!! I mean!!! Sir Alex the owl!!! Checks all the boxes, nostalgic, sweet, enemies to boyfriends. <3 

⚽️❤️RECENT AMAZING 2023/2024 CARRAVILLE WE ARE BLESSED WITH ❤️⚽️

Tasting Syrup on My Tongue by @heyyjulien - PLAYERS ERA!!! Jamie and Gary have a casual relationship that gets put to the test after Jamie’s injured in a derby game. Great banter-to-feels ratio, you will want to put Julien’s sweet Jamie in your pocket and give their Gary a big hug. Great romantic closing scene where they negotiate the implications of Jamie’s injury scare. Also SCHOLESY!! <3

It’s just not what’s done by @player1064 truly a Carraville writer that ‘burst onto the scene’ as fast and furious as Micah Richards! My fave of theirs. A truly hysterical premise on the surface that they plumb deep to turn up real emotion. I love the time-jump style. Wonderful David&Gary friendship, as well as all of the Co92 rallying around Gary. Covers all eras up until today, with a January 2024 Carraville in Courcheval scene!! <3 

Package Deal (It’s Valentine’s Day, ye dimwit) by @kloppinthekop My fave of their “Holiday Husbands” series. So cute and sweet and the love scene is sooooo (SOOO) hot and poignant !! Jamie taking care of Gary in every way on Valentine’s Day. Domestic feels. 

Love You More by @effervescentdragon outstanding emotional excavation, Jamie POV Carraville. Uses a slightly disorienting (in a good way) jump around style that isn’t time stamped, but if you know your Carraville, you get your footing in a sentence or two. It’s a bookended journey between ‘fuck you too’ (visceral hatred) to ‘fuck you too’ (affectionate). 

Gary Neville is Still a Red, Just a Different Shade by @fanficburner - your ultimate ABO Carraville! This isn’t for the faint-of-heart, angst abounds, I would not call this a romance! But a great character piece. Gary gets unwillingly bonded with Jamie, while still in love with Beckham. The standout part of this fic is the world-building and social implications of what an ABO society might actually look like; separate Omega changing rooms, registration offices for Omega registration, the harsh realities of an owned class of people.

[pianoandcookiedoughlover]

bitches say they’re gonna write up a list of things that would be cool to see in s6 of jamie johnson and then don’t follow up with that for like 2 years

it’s me. i’m bitches

as a preface this is just kind of a shitpost from start to end and they’re not really fully developed ideas but yeah, it’s something at least

jamie and dillon at northport

- see friendship strengthen, still with same dynamic that they’ve always had, very playful and with a lot of sarcasm

- jamie struggling with taking risks after injury - since you start learning to drive during these years in the uk, maybe fear of driving now?

- jamie defends dillon with homophobia that may arise, no wavering from that

- elliot has to fucking come back, dealing with a romance there, where dillon is really shy at first, doesn’t reveal his feelings for a little bit

- maybe foxborough make a comeback, tension with homophobia there? i don’t know if they seem like the homophobic type

- both finding their way as the youngest on the team - how do the older players handle it? are they pretty vengeful and jealous or are they impressed? maybe one of them has some kind of backstory that will intertwine with jamie or dillon’s, like a real-life mentor

- will we get a comeback of the guy who wanted to steal jamie for some team in china, i believe it was?

- maybe seeing some stuff from hawkstone with their new prodigy, highlighting that they never really cared, they only were worried about the money, which in turn makes jamie feel bad

- SIENNA MAKE A COMEBACK WITH A GIRLFRIENDDDDDDDDDD AND SEE ELLIOT AND DILLON TOGETHER

- okay, not likely, but like lowkey it makes sense to bring her back because duncan is going to be a more significant figure in this season, it would be nice to see him improve as a father and strike the balance between handling the club but also taking care of his daughter, who is going through a lot in her teen years, it would be nice to see them have nice moments at home together

- but like actually give her a valid storyline besides social media, what does she want to do when she gets older? i can see her almost doing something artistic, like designing outfits or something, but whatever we does, it would be nice to see her not feel so restricted by her father’s work and go along her own path outside the club

- sienna and dillon become friends again and people are like, “oh my god you have a gay best friend” and she becomes really vocal about that being literally the dumbest thing ever, the show can demonstrate this type of homophobia that’s kind of “in disguise,” not as in your face as dillon’s dad

- progressive queen and then realizes she can use her platform on social media to spread awareness, since that is what she enjoys doing

- but at the start of the season wanted to step away from it, reminded her too much of everything with her dad and wanted a break, she thought it was toxic but realizes she could do good with her voice

- jamie and jack reunite, even if it’s not playing against each other (i don’t think that would work), but meeting each other now when they’re both where they wanted to get to

- can we finally get that romance between them

zoe and kat at hawkstone

- talking about body image for women in sports

- it would be really cool to have transgender girl on the team, and some of the struggles she faces being an athlete while also being trans

- or talking about disabilities in sports, that would be really nice to see

- zoe falling in love with kat, but like no comment on sexuality, it just is what it is

- IF SHE BROUGHT KAT HOME AT THE END OF THE SEASON AFTER BEING SO HIDDEN ABOUT IT OH MY GOD AND SHE MET HER MOM

- like zoe’s very private because she’s worried that kat won’t like her if she talks about her mom, which is silly, but then seeing kat support her and learning how to be in a relationship with someone with a lot of responsibilities at home

- maybe her mom’s situation interferes with her place at hawkstone

- do they meet up with jack’s team again? would they even play against her (like are hawkstone and st. george’s even compatible?)

- exploring more of kat’s backstory, maybe why she’s so superstitious and what kind of an impact her grandmother had on her

- i believe she mentioned having a brother who plays (gave zoe his old boots) so it would be interesting to hear how having a sibling doing the same thing has affected kat, in a different way to the whole competition between dillon and liam

- watching kat lose some of her superstition in that she’s able to believe more in herself and her abilities and allow herself to make mistakes

- they’ll probably have a lot of pressure on them since hawkstone just started this new women’s team, maybe there could be a lot of competition with the boys’ team

- zoe is not going to do the whole, “being jealous of other girls” thing anymore, okay? she’s grown out of it

- honestly would like to see some dillon and zoe moments, wlw mlm solidarity

boggy our absolute hero

- boggy finding his passion outside of helping sports, unless that is his passion

- friendship between him and jamie struggling at first when he finds what he wants to do, but proving that you can stick together even with not exactly aligned interests

- schoolwork getting more intense with whatever tests they have to do at his age (i have no idea how the british education system works haha)

- check in with his therapy, see how that’s going, we actually see him get to go to one appointment, maybe, hopefully he’s built a good relationship with his therapist and we see the show promoting finding professional help if you need it

- maybe tries to get through a panic attack himself, with coping mechanisms he’s learned in therapy, i don’t know if the building pressure of school would be what induces it or not, but if his storyline is more about getting to see him outside of football, i doubt it would be because of anything related to the sport or stats or whatever

- anything about his family? like how they react to his diagnosis (unless he’s already told them what’s been happening), how close he is with them, if some of the pressure in school comes from at home, whether he has any siblings - we want to know more!!

- would he and nancy cross paths after he finds the thing he’s interested in, since it might be the same thing, or at least something similar, they realize they’re really good together and supportive of each other

- i can see them really pulling through, and it would be nice to see nancy being there for him with his panic attacks and learning how to be a supportive girlfriend to someone who does have problems with anxiety, panic attacks, etc

u14s at phoenix

- i want them to get a comparable opportunity as the gothia cup, something else though, so that they get the experience they missed out on with the whole duncan situation, the season will center around them working towards that thing, i don’t really have any suggestions since i don’t know football but i’m sure there’s something else for them out there

alba and ruby

- her and ruby get further apart, doing their own respective things, now that ruby isn’t playing football anymore, for some reason i feel like she’ll be into either art or psychology, but i can also see her trying to do some activism-esque stuff after her experience growing up in foster homes and now finally being adopted (!! i’m still so happy for them)

- now that she’s not playing at phoenix, we have no idea who ruby’s friends with, maybe she has some at school? i would like elliot to come back and the two of them to bond

- i can see ruby wanting to know more about her background but alba not being so much into that, which causes tension between the pair, ruby just feels like she doesn’t have a solid idea of who she is and wants to know where her roots are, whereas alba is in a good place at phoenix with a sense of being in a family there and doing what she loves

- alba’s anger management is poor, her and ruby bond over futsal or whatever after a period of time not talking after whatever issues come up between them

- the trio made up so it doesn’t seem like she has any issues with freddie or eric, but i want to see her grow more into the captain’s role and take on the responsibilities and stresses of getting the team to whatever opportunity they’re doing, maybe working more with duncan and him being more willing to help the team

eric

- i want to get a look into his home life, maybe how that affects him at school and just in general the emotional impact it has on him

- what happens to his family after the team get that comparable opportunity to gothia, compared to what ryan was doing? 

- we’ve just heard little snippets of his life and it sounds like a really complex story to explore which i think would be really cool, dealing with grief and the loss of a family member, and how it affects day to day life

freddie

- once they get this formal opportunity, freddie would be asked to be more serious on the team, kind of always the jokester and not fulfilling his full potential

- he doesn’t know where he fits in and who he wants to be, was there something in his past that made him feel like he had to feel that jokester role (like how wozza with adhd always wanted to crack the jokes and make a fool of himself so people were laughing with him)?

- it would be great to see him get a bit vulnerable and open up about some of his motivations, but eventually he finds the balance between putting in effort and not getting distracted and also being his normal fun-loving self

- please keep commentating because that was lots of fun, freddie

liam

- i want to see him bond with one of the three when they’re in a bad spot, happened to be there by accident and they’re going through something that maybe he can relate to, that’s why he is able to help, that way it isn’t a planned way to get people to forgive him, but rather, just natural, now that he’s growing up a bit

- does he even want to do football anymore? or was it always a pressure from dillon being so good, and he’s found other interests? or maybe he just doesn’t want to be as good as dillon, i feel like there’s a lot of emotional manipulation from the dynamic at home, and i can see him realizing that he never liked football for football, he just liked winning and making his dad “proud”

the johnson family

- is karen dating someone new? i would like to see her on her own and she absolutely doesn’t need anyone to help her, but i also feel like she deserves someone that truly would be there for her and support her, especially after everything that’s gone on with ian

- i also want to hear more about her own career endeavors, and how that intertwines with jamie now going pro - she’s always been there to support him but it’ll be interesting to see how family impacts professional players in general, and ones that are really young like jamie as well

- is mike staying at phoenix? literally what’s the point of his character, does he even want to be with the now u14s? or is he going to try and interfere too much in jamie’s career, which he wouldn’t want because he’s now pro? maybe i’m just still kind of annoyed at mike and have a very negative view of his intentions, so ignore this

- ian can just disappear forever, please, unless he comes back for one episode because that’s what ian does

- what about feeling guilty for literally running his own son down bitch, i thought we were going to get a whole arc with that but maybe the point is that ian is such a flawed character and sometimes people don’t change and -

- who would teach jamie to drive, karen? new boyfriend? depending on who it is, it might present different issues with jamie learning to drive if they do want to explore him being a little nervous after the accident

TL;DR

i just kind of want to see more of the characters in their own individual element, bring in school more (season 2-3 vibes) and get a more well rounded view of some of the characters we don’t know a lot about. i think they’ve left it in a place with a lot of interesting storylines to be explored, i just hope we don’t get another freddie-eric-aisha love triangle situation

...

i was going to say stan stormzy for clean skin but it took me way too long to figure out what her name was so that is no longer a valid statement