jamietxrtt

[jamietxrtt]

Jamie being cute (3/?)

[jamietxrtt]

Even if we were to disregard the impact Georgie had on Jamie's motivations, I really think fear of his dad would have been more of a motivator than hate. Fear of disappointing his dad, fear of what it could lead to

YEAH. I totally agree with you. I think a lot of things about it and if I examine it too deeply I actually get sort of annoyed by the framing of it all in mom city (so I try not to think about it, because mom city is still my favorite episode, lol). BUT:

1) Jamie’s biggest motivator for excelling at football and becoming a pro footballer has always been himself! He fell in love with football first and then put in the work to continue making that his dream. It’s also expressly stated on the show that his dad doesn’t even come into the picture until he’s already playing AND exhibiting enough skill for word to have spread around town, allowing his dad to take notice. So! Of course there were other motivators, including his mom’s encouragement and his admiration for his idols in the game (like Roy) and yes, eventually the pressure his dad was putting on him/his own desire to impress his dad did play a role. But the primary motivator is and always has been himself!

2) for the vast majority of the show I do not get the impression that Jamie even does hate his father. Obviously there are moments when Jamie definitely does think “fuck you” (and those moments do increase as the story goes on and Jamie kinda comes more to terms with what he’s survived), but so much of the tragedy (to me) is how much love Jamie holds for his dad despite everything the man has done to him. Like, the way he acts in season one is because he’s chosen to go down the path his father laid for him rather than one of his own making. And a lot of his early actions revolve around straying from his mother’s gentle guidance towards his father’s abrasive one. At the end of the day, He’s desperate for his father’s approval, to appease his father, and to finally convince his father to love him back. And yes, I absolutely agree that wrapped up in that desire to be loved is a hell of a lot of fear. Jamie’s terrified of him!

3) notably, all of that ^^ makes him WORSE at football. In s1 he’s struggling because doing what his father wants him to is actively and pretty explicitly hindering his ability to play the game well and thrive. So like, he definitely doesn’t achieve greatness because of his father, but rather he achieves greatness when he’s able to let go of the hold his father has over him and lean into his own instincts again.

4) I think Jamie’s two biggest “fuck you dad” moments re: his father are 1. when he decides to quit football to go on Lust Conquers All (telling Ted he did it to piss of his dad definitely wasn’t a lie, but I do think it was only part of the truth. there’s a lot more mixed into it, namely [again] that deep-seated fear) & 2. Wembley locker room (where again, the act Jamie finally takes against his father by hitting him is accompanied by blatant, paralyzing fear.) Jamie has never hated his father without being terrified of the feeling. THAT is what’s going on in Mom City. He’s starting to realize that he does hold hatred/anger for his father and what he’s done to him and the grip that his dad still holds over him, and he doesn’t have a clue what to do with that feeling or how to feel it productively or where to put it.

5) a lot of the way they verbalize this predicament in s3 though feels like they’re weirdly trying to vindicate Ted’s season 2 comment that “having a tough dad makes you great” when 1. That was a completely bullshit thing for ted to say in the first place. 2. It isn’t at all true in Jamie’s case. He’s who he is in spite of his father not because of him.

#THANK YOUUU #IN SPITE OF NOT BECAUSE!!

[jamietxrtt]

i would LOVE to see what you do with “when will you learn?” for the prompt drabbles MWAH

All Rebecca had texted her mother that morning was, "Hope things are well [heart emoji]."

And then this shit.

"Again?! Mother, that's the third time this month."

"You know your father. He just gets a bit whimsical when things are going well."

"No. He's trying to buy you back. That's what he's doing."

"Well, they've all been lovely gifts!"

"Of course they are, mother. Because he's a miserable, shriveled up cock who thinks he can buy your affections because you let him get away with it."

"I'm not naive, Rebecca. I know exactly what kind of man your father is. You're the one who seems to need the reminder. Honestly, Sausage, when will you learn?"

"Argh!" Rebecca smashed at the middle finger emoji, the frustration only growing when she hit a pink heart instead and her handbag slipped out of her arms. "Shit!"

"Um. Everything alright?"

Rebecca swiveled on her heels; her coat slipped off, fluttering to the ground to join her handbag.

Standing next to his car, Jamie Tartt watched wide-eyed as his boss made a silly little fool of herself.

Perfect.

"Here, I can get that for you," he offered, already jogging towards her before she could respond.

Rebecca closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Jamie. Sorry, this whole morning has been a disaster."

"Not a problem," he insisted. He picked up her coat and, in an oddly solicitous gesture, gave it a little shake before holding it and her handbag out towards her with a formal, "Here you go, Ms. Welton."

"Rebecca, please," Rebecca corrected out of habit. She shuffled the items in her arm, trying to figure out how to free a hand. She had her keys, her scarf, a briefcase-styled handbag that she hadn't had the time to swap out that morning but that didn't work with the outfit she had on, her gym bag because Keeley insisted they move Pilates to after lunch this week, a to-go cup she'd impulsively asked the driver to stop for-

Her phone dinged. She jumped, nearly dropping the whole lot of it on the ground. "Shit."

"Do you need to get that?" asked Jamie. As if anticipating standing in for her coatrack, he carefully clutched her coat and the handbag that did work with her outfit against his chest. It did not match his iconography at all.

Rebecca waved him off. Flicking her phone over to silent, she complained, "No, no. My mother's just lost her fucking mind this morning."

She attempted to juggle everything again. Eventually, she noticed the silence. When she looked up, she found him staring at her uncomprehendingly.

The thing was that between Keeley's love of girl talk and the promotional materials Jamie regularly did for the club, Rebecca had an entire encyclopedia of knowledge about him stored in her head that she'd never even asked for. Jamie Tartt. Richmond's newly returned striker. Debuted at eighteen. Preferred whites over reds, evening showers, and knew a surprising amount about high-end cars. He also, somehow, regretted none of his tattoos.

It just felt like she already knew him.

Meanwhile back in reality, they'd only spoken a handful of times, and most of that had been contract negotiations and welcome schmoozing.

Probably not a good icebreaker then- maligning one's own mother at half-eight in the morning.

"Not that I speak to her like that," said Rebecca, the need to defend herself overriding any foot-to-mouth filters. "She's just been going through a rough patch with my father, and I think she's being stupid."

Well done, Stinky.

"Right. Um." He opened his mouth. Closed it. Held his arms out and asked, "Do you want help carrying all this in then?"

Gratitude filled her chest at the change of subject.

"Yes. That would be lovely, thank you."

Jamie smiled, lips and opinions kept tightly to himself. He popped off ahead of her to grab the door. With one more glance down at her phone, Rebecca found that at least one heart had flung free, sailing itself into her mother's waiting arms.

Her mum had sent one back in return.

The walk up to her office passed in relatively painless silence. She'd always assumed -- from the everything she knew about him -- that Jamie would be more of a talker. But then in the handful of months since he'd returned to Richmond on a permanent basis, he'd made himself eager to please and keen not to make waves with anyone whose name wasn't Roy Kent.

This was bad news for Rebecca, who personally could have used a small wake to clear the embarrassment lingering in the air. Where was Ted when you needed him?

Driven by mad compulsion and lack of Lasso, she found herself volunteering, "Really, I normally get on with my mother."

"It's alright, Ms. Welton. You don't have to explain anything to me," he answered. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. Then with a small grin, his eyes flicked towards her. "Besides, I wouldn't want to be judged on how I talk to my parents either. Doesn't make sense to judge anybody else on how they talk to theirs, you know?"

"Ooh, I like that. That's practically wisdom." She offered him her own commiserating smile. "I take it you don't get on with yours?"

Jamie shifted like he was about to put his hands in his pockets, only to remember at the last moment that he was actively carrying stuff. He settled for a half-hearted shrug. "I do with my mum, yeah. When I see her, that is."

"Does she live in Manchester?"

Jamie snorted. His eyes lit up. "Always. She'll never move either. Won't even let me buy her a new house or nothing. I tried to surprise her with a new car a while ago, and she asked me how I thought I'd be getting back to London with two cars."

"She sounds like a firecracker."

A fond smile broke out across his face, only to be reeled back in, dulled down into something wistful. "Yeah. She- yeah, she's great."

Without any flourish, he stepped ahead to open a door for her. She could see what Keeley meant when she described him as 'thoughtlessly sweet.' When he wasn't trying to push people's buttons, he was easy to like.

Not that he'd ever tried to push hers. Oh, no- she just hadn't liked him because Rupert had liked him.

Her heart stirred. That kind of behaviour she wasn't proud of anymore.

Pushing down the emotion knotting in her throat, she asked, "Does she have any plans to come see you play at any of our upcoming matches?"

"Nah," Jamie huffed. "No plans for any upcoming matches, no."

"Well then perhaps you should invite her." When he turned towards her with a question written in his furrowed, handsome face, she elaborated, "You know we always have spare tickets set aside for friends and family."

"I do know that, yeah." His eyes darted away from her. Some of the excitement faded from his expression. "Really, I appreciate the offer, but she doesn't come out to my games in Manchester either. She's good with catching me on TV when she can."

All signs indicated that she had hit a sore spot. She shouldn't interfere. Really, that would be the height of hypocrisy- her telling anyone what they should or shouldn't do about their parents. But with her hand gripped tight around the heart in her phone-

She was trying to do better.

Her mother had chosen gladly to stay in the ivory tower her father built. Rebecca might not be able to talk her into coming down, but perhaps she could convince Jamie not to leave closed a door that served him better open.

So she pressed, "How about you invite her to our semifinal match at Wembley?"

He froze up next to her.

"I know that we're playing against your old club, but really, it's a huge accomplishment for the team to have made it this far, and we wouldn't have done it without you," she told him bluntly. His ears caught pink. Emboldened, she continued, "And even if she doesn't care for football, I'm sure she'd love to see you. You can make a special occasion of it. Treat her to a night in London. I know two weeks is rather short notice, but I'm sure Higgins can help arrange some wonderful accommodations-"

"That's not going to happen," he cut her off sharply.

No. No, it wasn't a door at all. Rebecca knew that icy chill. For more than five years, she'd wake to find it haunting the cracks of her reflection in the mirror. Attention focused his straight ahead, not from awkwardness at the situation but in pure dismissal. Every one of Jamie's expressive features was schooled in position of bland indifference, a perfectly sculpted shell made out of a person.

Tower or not, he dawned his armour all the same.

"My apologies," she spoke softly. "I shouldn't have pushed."

They continued their walk up the stairs in silence.

When they arrived, he held up her coat and bag and asked in a nonchalant tone that bordered on boredom, "So where do you want these, then?"

It was exactly the attitude she'd expected from him at the start. Disappointment crawled into her chest and made a home.

"Right there on the tree by the door is fine," she sighed.

His brow furrowed. "Right there by the what- woah." He took a step back, eyeing her coat rack tree up and down appraisingly. "Nice. That's fucking mint, that is. You've got good taste."

A sharp laugh escaped her. "Why thank you. I happen to think so as well."

He hung her bag up. Then, gingerly, he arranged her coat on the other, smoothing out any wrinkles.

Guilt and care made for a strong mix at half eight in the morning. It would take a crueler person than her to leave things on such a sour note when he'd been nothing but darling company before she opened her mouth.

Willing to make a fool of herself one more time, Rebecca called out before he could leave- "Jamie."

He halted, already halfway out the door.

"I- apologise, if my earlier remark made you uncomfortable. I truly didn't mean for it. I only meant to say that-"

She took a step towards him. He stepped back, one foot out of the office.

Her heart felt positively chilled.

"The door is always open," she finished, defeat numbing her ears to her own pitch. Nonetheless, she perserved, determined to say her part even if the wind stole it away. "If you ever do change your mind, talk to Higgins. He'll see to it that she's treated like a VIP. Anyone important to you is important to this club."

A shadow crossed over his face; some dark presence moving in the tower just out of sight.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said cautiously. Then, as simple as snapping his fingers, he closed back up. The armour latched shut, and in it's place was the usual cocky arrogance -- the one she found herself growing reluctantly fond towards. He gave her a wave. "Thanks, Ms. Welton. You've been a help."

She frowned. Gathering the only name she'd never shared with disappointment to her chest, she shouted after him, "It's Rebecca!"

He was already gone, the sound of his footsteps on the stairs the only response.

#OUGHHH SO GOOD

[jamietxrtt]

jamie is such a guy you can put in situations it’s awesome

[jamietxrtt]

TED LASSO & COACH BEARD + their handshake

1x01 | 2x06 | 3x06

#😭😭😭

[jamietxrtt]

#ok yes beard is the obvious choice but: consider how FUNNY it would be if it was higgins #he only does it once in the entire show btw

[jamietxrtt]

i really still am never over the missed opportunity of bringing september 13th back up in s3. given the timeline…the start of the season WOULDVE been around August of 2021. so…around the thirtieth anniversary of ted’s dad’s death and rebecca catching her father cheating. they could’ve addressed it, and honestly i would’ve preferred Ted’s mental decline being from the 30th anniversary rather than michelle dating their therapist.

#RIGHT IVE BEEN SAYING THISSSSS #LITERALLY THEEE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPT 13 #I was so sure they were gonna do something with it and then they didn’t #less important but Roy’s 40th bday too! since his age is so important for his self-acceptance journey at least in the early seasons…

[jamietxrtt]

it’s been like. a year since i was regularly posting fics but i’ve posted a couple short (under 10k) fics recently(ish) so:

about time, even

So Jamie stands seething in front of the poster, and he looks at Roy’s glowering, angry face, always watching, always instructing— this is how you be a man — and always judging— he used to throw a towel over the thing when he cried, couldn’t stand the disappointed glare the poster seemed to give him whenever he collapsed under his own weakness.

Hell of a Pass

Jamie wipes at his nose, keeping his eyes on the ground. “What do you want, then?”

To gloat, probably. Rub it in his face how prince-prick-of-all-pricks is being put in his place.

Instead, Roy surprises him. “Y’alright?”

“What?” Jamie looks up at him then; Roy’s eyebrows are raised in genuine concern. “I’m fucking fine, Jesus. Wish people would stop asking me that.”

Roy scowls, and it looks much more natural on his face than concern did. “Fine, I won’t be nice then. Fuck you.”

“Fuck you too.”

#jamie tartt #roy kent #my writing #ANYWAY.

[jamietxrtt]

me watching a movie like oh im such a fan of this cocky little shit character who’s a bit of an asshole but also is endearing and— oh i love their relationship dynamic with this older character who’s exasperated and annoyed by them but over time becomes genuinely fond of them and looks out for them when their youthful naïveté gets them in trouble and— oh man huh i really have a fictional character and dynamic Type huh

#it’s just such a good fictional character dynamic #does anyone have recs of other things that feature this kind of dynamic #I need moar #if u saw me post this exact same copy pasted message in a discord server last night no u didnt #I need a wider pool to ask ppl for recs

[jamietxrtt]

back on my bs

[jamietxrtt]

Roy paying attention to Jamie when no one else is

Ted Lasso | 3.03 4-5-1

#HE NOTICES!!!

[jamietxrtt]

"Stop passing the ball around and bloody do something! You're a disgrace to the badge! You're all playing like a bunch of fucking fa—" aka Isaac's reaction to homophobia + Roy seeing and reacting to Isaac's reaction with understanding (despite not knowing what exactly set Isaac off and what was said to him). Making sure the threat is removed and only then agreeing to walk away.

TED LASSO | 3x09.

#im a lesbian and have never gotten the roy hype before but he is. looking very fine here. hello. #also love the roy: fucks sake. isaac: fucks sakes. parallel

[jamietxrtt]

One thing I am glad about with Jamie’s arc with Sam is that Sam does not have the context of Jamie’s father until months after they are friends. By time of the man city ep, Jamie’s at a point where he can make fun of Sam’s texts with Rebecca without it stinging the way it would before. His apology to the team and his actions with Sam has no lame excuse attached to it (hopefully how his apology with Nate goes that I really am hoping for). Sam is a compassionate enough person that he would’ve forgiven Jamie, or at least lowered his anger towards Jamie, if he knew the context, so I’m glad they didn’t do it like that and had Jamie own up without Sam showing him any sympathy or kindness that wasn’t organic.

[jamietxrtt]

“Coach, I know that you have my best interests at heart, or the club’s anyway-” always breaks my fucking heart

#jamie thinking ppl only care about him for the club’s sake (gotta make sure the star player is still useful) will get me EVERY TIME #they all have an issue of tying their self worth to their usefulness in terms of the team #it’s something I wish they’d talk about— esp w Roy who also had that define him early on

[jamietxrtt]

its so important to be in a hater4hater friendship. more than one is preferable but one is absolutely necessary

#BAHAHAHA YES THANK YOU #it’s what i’m here for 😌

[jamietxrtt]

scenes that make me feel clinically deranged

#yes to the avoiding eye contact— & James’ shadow falling across beard’s face #yes to the resignation to the fight when the door is locked #yes to the heartbreaking little nod at ‘you had to push it didn’t you’ #thinking also about james’ ‘whoa whoa whoa it’s okay!!’ #it almost sounds like genuine for half a second. but beard knows better than to believe that #also when James says ‘because it doesn’t happen on the pitch— nah.’ something about #the way he says it or moves his face there screams s1 Jamie to me #the shared mannerisms between James and s1 Jamie make me so. so upset

[jamietxrtt]

2x3 || 3x10

#agh stop them