#why is Roy just always so fucking angry and why is Ted always acting so fucking positive

[puppypeter]

just watched a bunch of Cut's Truth or Drink videos and it's making me want to read a ted lasso fic where they do it as a team building exercise (being open and honest and vulnerable all that)

#like a very heart-achey fic though #like in the videos questions can range from sex to very deep shit like have you thought about death etc #i want questions that make them have to be raw #like someone asking Jamie why he reconnected with his dad and went to visit him if he's a piece of shit #or asking Nate why he did what he did or what he experienced at WH with Rupert as a boss #why is Roy just always so fucking angry and why is Ted always acting so fucking positive #(same for Dani tbh) #ted lasso #ted lasso prompt #ted lasso fic #ted lasso ao3 #roy kent #jamie tartt #colin hughes #nathan shelley #dani rojas

[ineffablecolors]

Visited the roykeeley tag and oh boy. People sure are angry at Roy...

Call me crazy but I think people still have the right to break up with their partners? No matter the reason?? Like... breaking up with someone doesn't make you a villain or an asshole? Since when are people obliged to stay in a relationship that isn't fulfilling them??

And you know what does make you an asshole? Complaining about your partner behind their back to all your mutual friends and coworkers, to their boss and someone they most definitely don't like... about something you never even complained to them about... and then screaming at them about it... I still can't believe they tried to sell that as no big deal and SUCCEEDED

Roy had one blunder of the same magnitude and that was how he reacted to the leak and he wrote a fucking apology letter about it (and about a bunch of other stuff he had no reason to apologise for)!

I love a lot of what Ted Lasso did with its female characters and I love how strong and independent they are but man, do I hate that, unlike Rebecca, Keeley suffered from an inability to see when she was wrong unless someone else spelled it out for her (like Roy had to at the gala) and never apologised for her blunders in their relationship after that, while they made Roy bent over backwards constantly to apologise for... *checks notes* not being able to read his girlfriend's mind and not staying with her when the relationship didn't feel right anymore...

This is why I went from shipping them so much to believing Keeley is completely wrong for Roy. He was simply always too low on her priority list and it makes me so mad when people say HE didn't deserve her? In what world?

The fandom seems to do what the show did - treat Keeley as if she could do no wrong and she's too good and pure for everyone, and I'm sorry but that's just not true. She's just as messy and cruel without meaning to sometimes and in massive need of therapy as everyone else.

I was rooting for her, I was rooting for them but the same way most shows fall into the horrible habit of demonising female characters, this show and fandom have fallen into the only somewhat less infuriating habit of acting as if Keeley could do no wrong and I've ignored it and a lot of fanfic she's in because a character who's always a saint ain't exactly fun but I draw the line at everyone and their grandma throwing Roy under the bus just because he had the misfortune of actually admitting his flaws and apologising for them and trying to work on being better (instead of using the much easier method of having the writers sweep every wrongdoing under the carpet).

#roy kent #anti roykeeley #not really. i shipped them so much but the discourse where keeley can do no wrong drives me insane #anti keeley jones #again not really. i love her as a character. i dont love her for roy #this is why i cant read much rjk fanfic #i hate how people paint keeley as a fucking saint

[thetarttfuldickhead]

As much as I love Roy telling Jamie he’s proud of him (and then maybe not punching him in the face aftewards, idk, could be a thing) I’ve also grown partial to the idea of Jamie telling Roy that he’s proud of him, ‘cause well, Roy needs a bit of that too, I think.

I haven’t got the details figured, but maybe something vaguely along the lines of the ending to the “My Fallen Idol” episode of Scrubs, where Dr. Cox (having failed to save several of his patients) is depressed, drunk and not talking while unshaven and wrapped in a blanket on his couch. JD shows up, gives him a quiet but heartfelt peptalk and tells him he’s proud of him, because even after so long as a doctor Dr. Cox still cares enough to take it that hard when things go wrong.

So say Roy fucks something up. It’s not necessarily his fault; he does his best given the circumstances or acts unwittingly, but it goes tits up and he ends up making a mess of things. Not a “people died” mess, but still really quite bad. (I honestly don’t know what this could be. Maybe something slightly careless he says blowing up in the media and somehow really fucking over a young footballer? Maybe something else entirely. That’s not the important part.)

And this is Roy, who cares so very deeply but is so very unkind to himself, and the guilt and fucking shame of having fucked someone (especially a young someone!) over like that, particularly when he’s already struggling with the feeling that he can’t change for the better, that he’ll always be the same fucking idiot I’ve always been? Yeah, I don’t think he’d deal very well. He also, and obviously, wouldn’t want to talk about it.

And depending on how much hurt (and comfort) you want from this, you could either simply have Roy pull a Roy and retreat to an ice bath, and Jamie letting himself in like Ted once did, and giving a little (slightly clumsy but very earnest) speech about how fucking proud he is of Roy, and Roy has no fucking idea how to handle all the emotions that inspire, but, yeah. It helps.

Or you can drag it out a bit and have Roy stubbornly insisting he is fine and hiding behind his usually gruff exterior, only he’s not doing fine and eventually he shows up at training still drunk from trying to drown his self-loathing in way too much whisky, and Rebecca takes him home and tries to talk to him, and when that doesn’t work she calls Keeley, and Keeley’s a comfort, she always is, but this time it’s not enough (or just too early). Jamie shows up after training, bringing dinner, and he sits down next to Roy and, again, brings out the speech. It doesn’t magically make everything right, because how could it, but it��s enough to start from. Enough to give Roy the courage to begin anew.

Or if you really want to dial that angst right up, we can have Jamie – like JD in the Scrubs episode – put off visiting, making comments about how it was fucking unprofessional showing up to Nelson Road like that, Roy would have had their heads if they’d tried pulling anything like it, so why should the gaffer get special consideration? Beard and Rebecca and Nate and Isaac and his sister and Keeley all take turns sitting with Roy while he quietly stews in despair on his couch, but Jamie is inconspicuously absent.

Until he isn’t, because of course he relents in the end, and he shows up to tell Roy that yeah, he made it out like he was angry with Roy for showing up drunk, but really he was freaked out because Roy’s always been so fucking strong and Jamie’s always counted on and leaned on that strenght, back when he was a kid and they didn’t know each other and back when they were teammates and fighting all the time and most of all since Roy became his coach and his best friend. Like, Jamie knows Roy isn’t perfect – like, really man, you are not– but Roy’s strenght has been a constant and a comfort in Jamie’s life and having to face that fact Roy isn’t some sort of superhero… that scared him, yeah. But that’s Jamie’s problem, not Roy’s, and so he’s here to tell Roy how fucking proud he is of him, for how much he fucking cares and how hard he works at being there for all of them, even though he thinks he’s no good at it. But you are, yeah? Fucking good at it. But that’s not the really important bit, anyway. The important bit is that you’ve always kept trying, even when that meant doing stuff you fucking hated or were scary or hard. ‘Cause it isn’t easy for you, this shit, but you keep at it anyway, because you care, and that’s… Dead proud of you for that, Roy. Really am.  

#just #stuff i think roy both needs and deserves to hear #and i’ll pull out any contrived scenario i can think off to make it happen #and though roy would not admit it #jamie and jamie's opinion mean hell of a lot to him these days #and jamie is one of the very few people who would brave roy's ROYNESS #to not only see what he needs but to also feel confident enough to offer it #roy kent #jamie tartt #roy & jamie #my stuff

[mr-independent]

EP 7 the Keeley is Hot Shit episode (1st of many tbh)

-- Bi Keeley from the start I'm serious. She absolutely comes onto Rebecca a million times in this episode and plays it off like a joke every time

-- there's gotta be a story behind that very pointed reminder about missing furniture. Has someone written that? Someone needs to write that

-- it takes them 2 whole years to get to that promised pillow fight, but we do get there. Patience pays, my friends.

-- god i forgot that A. Sassy's name is Flo and B. She's a child psychologist. The fact that she doesn't set off Ted's early hatred towards therapists says to me either he doesn't know or it's only people who try to shrink him that bother him which. Given the full story of his couples counselor is 100% valid actually

-- we are clearly shown how Roy catches Isaac making sure that one player is present and participating during movie night, and i don't think Roy's retirement is for another few episodes at least. Us getting to see that moment is par for the course but us seeing Roy seeing it? I'm convinced more and more that these writers absolutely intended for people to rewatch this series over and over and i love them for it

-- Michelle is being really pushy actually about the divorce papers. He got them like 4 hours ago, he's currently working, in a different time zone, and travelling with the team in a hotel right now. She's really fucking pushing for this, and. And! Having her lawyer text him at midnight as well! (which. That would be the response of someone who doesn't want to get found out. Like of she were having an affair with her therapist the whole time and if Ted found out she might very well lose custody of Henry. So. Ted and Rebecca are gonna have A Lot to talk about Very Soon in the new series bc they're both gonna be jilted exes of immoral cheaters.)

-- ok yes I'm a tedependent truther but. The evidence for Ted/Rebecca is piling up too. Either that or they're literary foils which honestly is about the same for fic writers anyways lmao

-- man Ted getting mad is so fucking jarring, o can see why he made up the Led Tasso character bc that man really needs to process his emotions better holy hell

-- the theme of this episode being repressed anger (Ted's and Roy's especially, but also Rebecca's) is such a good theme that you'd never find in another sports comedy and like. Do any of the writers need a sugar baby? I'm just saying I'm single at the moment and half in love with all of them.

-- Sam jumping up immediately to take Rebecca's coat before she goes on for karaoke....

-- Ted having a panic attack to Let It Go bc he bottles up everything and never lets anyone see how he really feels and he's so fucking sad and angry and lonely and he can't let it go bc everyone relies on him being honest and happy and strong and ....relatable

-- there's a lot of psych studies coming out now saying that adults in this age are never taught how to properly process their emotions because we always shut them down before it's fully out of our system bc that's how we were taught, to wipe away the tears and keep moving, and i gotta say that's exactly how Ted acts here. He's not allowing himself to actually confront the reality of how he feels and so it just keeps building and building and. Well. We saw how that played out.

-- Roy is nowhere near my type but honestly that was so fucking hot of him. Waiting all tall dark and mysterious under the red lighting, snogging the hell out of Keeley without saying a word, then fucking off to god knows where.....yeah i agree with Keeley that shit would get me hooked, too

#ted lasso #teddy rewatches ted #catch me rebinging one of my fav shows to avoid thinking about how im so very behind on packing to move house 👍🏻

[damelucyjo]

Here we go!

Episode 3 - 4-5-1

Colin finally getting the recognition he deserves!

But I don't think this is the reveal they expected it to be 😂

His boy is cute though...

OMG the false start with the theme 😂😂

YYEAAAAHH!!!!!

Ted thinking he got maths correct then saying 'are' and Roy shaking his head - perfect

Roy fully understanding Ted’s metaphors now!! ONE OF US, ONE OF US!

Perfect reflection on actual conversations had in an office 😂

BEARD’S ACCENT! Kinda hot??

Julie Andrews talk!! And they all fancy her. My people!! 🥰

Fuck yeah Princess Diaries! But how is that a deep cut?? 🤔

They boys are all incredibly cute

Please never change Dani!!

Uh oh. For Isaac to be the one to make that comment 🫣

Paul & Idris I get, but Norm??? Come on Sam

Oop that classic ‘gay sex’ joke 🤔

Rebecca looking fine, as always! (Also this must be where that clip of Hannah, Juno & Jeremy playing ‘kissy shoes’ is from

Shandy’s first question to Rebecca being ‘how tall are you?’ was very funny to me and I don’t know why 😂

Hannah’s face! 😂

Ooo mysterious Rebecca

(I also have thoughts about the ‘I’m late’ line, but I’ll keep it to myself (unless you ask))

That Virginia line had to be for Hannah

The thigh touch 👀

Who the fuck are you? DO NOT DISRESPECT MY BOY LIKE THAT!!

I am living for angry Rebecca

‘Your desk is covered in biscuit crumbs’ fucking dying 😂😂

Zava is incredibly OTT, but I kinda love him

You are the glue 🥹

Apparently they couldn’t get through this scene for laughing and THIS IS WHY WE NEED THE BLOOPERS!!

Is there going to be something to this whole ‘everyone is enamoured by Zava but Rebecca’ thing?

Oh, & Jamie too

Ted popping out from behind him - may be the funniest thing in this episode 🤷🏻‍♀️

HES 25?!?! Wtf 😂🫣

Roy is really making me chuckle in this scene. Brett, I love you 😍

I mean, they’re all brilliant in this scene to be fair

These 3 acting like little kids is amazing. Again BLOOPERS!!

‘He’s tall’ I see you, Trent 😏

Ooo the psychic 👀

They’re testing each other… interesting

Mentioning Sam then telling her Deb told you is not going to help her believe you, Tish 🤔

I don’t understand why Rebecca has gone to see her though if she’s so against it?? She must believe in it even slightly to agree to see her

Am I the only one confused by the sudden odd smell??

‘A shite in nining armour’ 😂

I have many thoughts and feelings about this whole psychic visit, just like everyone else apparently

This whole interview talk and making it viral makes me think Colin’s story is going to come out amongst all this Zava shit

Roy would do an interview for Keeley 🥹🥹 my heart

The boys!! ‘Makes sense’ 😂

This Wordle bit is purely Jason and Brendan. Tell me I’m wrong

Jamie boy is growing up 🥹

Beard being shocked Jamie knew what he was talking about 😂

Rebecca must wear BBP always this season apparently. I ain’t mad at it!

Ted still really knows nothing about football. So real 😂

Apple getting their Tetris promo in 😂😂

So this new guy is just another Ted 👀👀 interesting

Poor Ted

Rebecca being super excited! We love to see it!

Jamie walking in & straight out again. King

Ted internet stalking the new guy. We’ve all been there 😂

Rebecca still thinking about what Tish said 👀

Poor Roy 🥹

I’d be pissed too if I was Jamie!

He got a job!! Things are looking up for the Bar Boys 😂

We love a little flirty flirt moment over food 👀👀

He’s their couples therapist?! I thought he was Henry’s doctor or something 🫣

Why keep mentioning how great Nate is? He’s coaching a team that was already good… what’s he doing??

That fucking tattoo 😂 and playing Jesus Christ Superstar over it. Genius 😂

Love to see a happy Rebecca. She feels like she’s finally winning!

Dani copying Zava 😂😂

More flirting 👀

Issac is so fucking intense 😂

How long have they been together if the boys have never met him before??

REBECCA MIDDLE NAME WELTON!! That is how you show up to your ex’s new restaurant opening!

‘Told you’ what we’re they talking about for that comment?? 👀

Beard & Jane are terrible but Brendan & Phoebe are brilliant!

Poor Jamie

LOVING this bromance developing here

Fucking pre-Madonna 😂😂

I’m excited for this training

Sassy is such a terrible person?? Like, we knew?? But my god woman

I’m very undecided on Shandy…

So is Rebecca, apparently

Hannah & Juno having a whole conversation with no words 🥰 all the awards to both of them!

I just noticed Zava is wearing a t-shirt with his name all over it 😂

Avocado callback 👍🏼

‘Borderline unethical’ says everything about Sassy

Uh oh. Rebecca beginning to panic so she drinks instead. She’s just like me!

Trent’s so cool

I think it’s gonna be important that Trent was the one to spot Colin & Michael

Also fitting ‘everybody knows’ over that part of the scene - genius!

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso Live Blogging

[gracebutnotgraceful]

shoot your shot - ted lasso

pairing: ted lasso x fem!reader, one use of y/n

warnings: roy speaks, so like quite a bit of cursing haha; insecurities

word count: 1k

summary: you’re scared to tell ted how you feel. roy manages to convince you. 

“Have I really never told you how we got together?” Keeley asked. “It’s quite funny, really.” She propped herself on one of her fluffy pink pillows and started into the story. 

You really hadn’t heard this story before. She explained how she’d broken up with Jamie, how Rebecca had managed to make her see that he wasn’t going to change for her. You’d only known her the last three or so months of her relationship with Jamie, but after seeing that relationship compared to the past sixth months of her being with Roy you were glad someone had gotten through to her. Roy treated her so well. You knew he had a soft spot somewhere after seeing him taking care of Phoebe, but he acted like an entirely different person when he was with Keeley. She seemed so much happier. 

“You’re joking,” you laughed, “he just ran?”

“Oi!” Roy shouted as he ran down the stairs. “Why do you insist on telling everyone this fucking story? It’s fucking embarrassing.” He looked upset, but he kissed the top of Keeley’s head and sat down in the chair across from the two of you anyways. 

“Because if it didn’t happen, embarrassing as it was for you and confusing as it was for me, we might not have happened.” she replied. He just grunted in response, but it was evident that he wasn’t actually angry. 

“Oh, don’t be such a grump!” she threw the pillow she’d been propped up on at him. He caught it, his mouth quirking up slightly. 

“Are you trying to convince her to tell Ted? Because I have to tell you, I don’t think a kiss and run would work with him,” Roy turned toward you. “Wouldn’t recommend it, honestly. Had to work out a few problems before we actually got to go on a date.” You blinked hard.

“Keeley!” you whined. 

“I didn’t tell him, I swear!” she responded, shielding herself from being hit. 

“Is it that obvious?” You asked Roy, worry so plainly written across your face. 

“You’re not exactly subtle,” he responded, standing up and walking toward the kitchen. 

“Oh God,” you groaned. “So everybody knows? Does he know?” You stiffened. What if he did know? Did he just let you act like a fool? Or make fun of you to Roy and Beard? You were horribly embarrassed. Here you thought you’d kept your feelings so covered, hidden so that they wouldn’t interfere with any of the business or the friendships you’d built. And here the cover was, torn off so fast you didn’t even know if it’d ever actually worked. 

“Erm, he’s not exactly smart. No, actually he’s completely fucking oblivious. Why are you worried about him knowing? That’s kind of the whole fucking point of a relationship.” He came back to the couch with drinks for all of you. You thanked him, taking a sip before answering. 

“I just…He’s such a good guy. I don’t think he’s ever done anything deliberately mean in his life. And somehow he still got hurt.” You look down at the drink in your hands, trying to find the right words. “I guess I’m just scared that I’m gonna ruin our friendship. And if I do that, we’ll both end up hurt. He deserves someone so good for him, especially after everything with Michelle.” 

“For fuck’s sake,” he groaned before looking at Keeley. “Why do none of your friends know how fucking great they are? Is it on purpose?” He turned his attention back to you. “Do you really think you’re not good enough for him? He’s a fucking dork with a mustache. He gives out plastic army men and makes references to romcoms every chance he gets. Out of all of Keeley’s friends, you’re the one who’s always known exactly what to do and say. It’s brilliant, really. Why can’t you extend that same fucking energy to yourself and shoot your fucking shot? Just go for it. I may act like I hate him a lot of the time, but I have so much fucking respect for both of you, and I’ve been waiting too fucking long for this.” You sat with your mouth agape, probably looking like a total idiot. That was a lot to take in all at once. It meant a lot to you that Roy thought so highly of you, even if he did let you know in typical Roy fashion. 

“He’s not wrong, you know. Why think of the worst possible outcome and not the best?” Keeley said, breaking the silence and putting her hand on your shoulder. Roy nodded with a grunt. 

“Now, you sit with that for a minute and we’ll get back to it after Love Island.” He grabbed the remote and clicked the television on. You all settled in for the show like the previous conversation didn’t even happen. Afterwards, he helped you put together a plan.

*

The next day you walked into the coaches’ office as the boys were getting ready for training. 

“Well, hey Y/N, nice seeing you here. What can we do for ya?” Ted asked with a smile. Nate gave you a wave. Beard gave you a nod in greeting before turning back to his book. 

“Hey, good morning! I-um,” you looked at Roy who gave a slight nod in encouragement before turning your attention back to Ted, “I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute before training? Outside?” you asked. 

“Well, sure! You guys think you can hold down the fort for a sec?” he asked. They all nodded. He put his keys and whistle in his pocket and grabbed his jacket before following you out of the locker room.

“What was that about, I wonder?” Nate asked. 

“If they wanted you to know, they probably would’ve discussed it here, don’t you think?” Roy replied. Nate nodded and mumbled something about going to talk to the team before leaving.

“She finally gonna tell him?” Beard asked, closing his book.

“After last night, I fucking hope so,” Roy responded.

“Up top!” Beard held out his hand for a high five. Roy rolled his eyes before slapping his hand and beginning his walk to the pitch.  

#ted lasso x reader #ted lasso x you #ted lasso imagine #ted lasso #grace writes!!!

[masterthespianduchovny]

I’m curious as to how Nate’s redemption arc will be handled, esp because I often see him compared to Rebecca and what she did.

For a while I tried to understand why this comparison fell flat for me. Why, despite disliking what Rebecca was doing and wanting her to fail, I wasn’t as bothered by her actions than I am Nate’s.

Don’t get me wrong, what Rebecca did was fucked up. She hired Ted under false pretenses and undermined him every step of the way. However, it wasn’t personal. Well, not to those employed by or connected to the club. Her actions was very much about hurting Rupert. Again, not to say that that isn’t fucked up and even some would argue that’s worse. However, despite her ill intent, Rebecca didn’t actively berate or threaten anyone under her outside of Higgins. This is why players and other people feel comfortable around her, she was nice to them, listened, and helped when she could, despite it being all to maintain her image initially.

Despite Higgins being employed by her and her wielding that power, that dynamic is vastly different. They were friends of sorts for years and he had standing lunches with her, which he knew and may have even been instructed to set those up so Rupert could cheat. Rebecca thought she was laughing and smiling with a friend who enjoyed her, he was and he did, who was helping her husband cheat even though it was under threat.

Part of the reason Higgins endures that is because he genuinely cared for Rebecca and he felt guilty about what he helped put her through.

During this entire time, Rebecca isn’t rude, abusive, or threatens any under her. Even when she’s negatively reacting to something they’re doing, she pauses and finds a productive way to address the issue or ignores it.

Hell, she even brushes off Nate insulting her to her face and, in the second season, when Will grabs the boots without saying excuse me, she just moves and looks at him funny.

So even when Rebecca was at her lowest, she wasn’t being a raging asshole to everyone despite her act. And we see that her not mistreating those under her is on brand for her because 2. No one notes the change in behavior from one season to the next 2. How she treats others doesn’t change because she largely treated them well on a person to person basis.

Where as even before Nate got power, he was quick to yell at, put down, or insult people who he deemed as beneath him. Or, when he was especially angry, insulted his boss directly to her face because he thought she fired him. Keep in mind, Rebecca didn’t disrespect Nate at all AND he didn’t know about her scheme. So why was his first reaction to be rude? And he switched up so quickly as well? He didn’t even wait to see what was going on, just jumped to conclusions and immediately attacked.

We remember how he treated Ted and Beard before he found out who they were. Again, rude and to complete strangers at that.

Before Nate became a coach, it wasn’t that he was nice, he wasn’t. Nate was meek because he was beaten down, however, in a situation where he felt he had power, he was and an asshole. It’s not that Nate finally wants power over those who harmed him, he wants to wield power and it may not simply be because he’s always been powerless. To treat strangers how Nate did, to lash out at someone who has never harmed him, despite her power over him?

So when you get to the second season and see Nate being an asshole because he can? Being a complete and utter dick? Like, it would be easier to swallow if he was only rude to those who bullied him. We can get that. But those aren’t his only casualties in his mission for power and dominance. Even then, before beard spoke to him, he targeted players he felt he could get away with making rude comments to. He wouldn’t have ever said that shit to Jamie or Roy if he was still a player. Nate only respects people just as powerful or more powerful than him and that’s not okay.

The way Nate is behaving is antithetical to not only their current clubhouse culture, but also how ted coaches. He’s completely undermining Ted and the growth the players and team has made at large.

And it’s what makes his treatment of Will esp gross. Will is the most powerless person there and Nate knows that. The power imbalance is even more skewed than when Jamie and the others were bullying him. Nate is constantly on will’s ass about the smallest things, perceived or real, and treating him lack complete shit. He’s even gone so far as flat out ignoring him because he’s just the kitman. Will delivers the pens Nate orders and Nate does not acknowledge his presence, and then Colin walks in and Nate acknowledges his presence.

Will does a nice thing for Nate and because someone called him a loser online, he verbally abuses Will and threatens him. That’s fucking wild.

Again, outside of Higgins which is a different story, who has Rebecca treated like that? I’d even argue that Rebecca treated Higgins better than Nate is treating Will and others in general.

Rebecca did learn Nate’s name (or already knew it), supported his promotion, and participated in the surprise announcement. She never treated him or others like they were less than because she owns the club.

Even when you consider his relationship with his dad and how he’s treated, the bullying, and other shit, although those things adds context, it doesn’t explain all of his behavior nor does it erase the active harm he’s doing.

Because what I struggle with is: did Nate mean his apology?

No.

Nate didn’t apologize due to remorse, he apologized because he got caught and is learned how to be a better bully and silence his victim from getting help. Admittedly, part of this falls on ted, beard, and now roy, however, this is largely on Nate.

Nate didn’t suddenly become power hunger and an asshole, he always was. He just didn’t have the power.

Although I do believe he’ll get a redemption arc, I honestly hope they nail this. Because what he’s doing won’t be solved with a “do better” and apology. He also needs therapy, maybe to be demoted for a while, and some other shit I can’t think of.

I also think the other difference between Rebecca and Nate is that she did feel guilt. And I’m not saying guilt is enough to excuse fucked up shit, but it makes a difference when one feels remorse and the other doesn’t.

So you have Rebecca who wasn’t mistreating her subordinates, forming relationships with them, felt remorse, and became accountable when called out (other things happened too). Nate is mistreating his subordinates, not forming relationships with anyone, doesn’t feel remorse, and isn’t accountable when called out. I’ll admit, his story is in progress, however, we’ve seen glimpses of the nasty side of Nate even before he became a coach.

Because of this, we’re reassessing everything we thought we knew about him because most of his behavior isn’t new. He just now how power to wield, which plays into why we’re so unsettled by his development and some actively dislike him.

#ted lasso #rebecca welton #nate shelley #if you read all of this thanks #lol

[chainofclovers]

Nate the Great

Hello, I am here because I cannot stop thinking about Nathan Shelley and the many things that are Happening with him. Spoiler-cut for spoilers through Ted Lasso 2x8 and speculation based on conversations w/@bristler, other people in the fandom, a really great interview with Nick Mohammed, and the endless barrage of thoughts in my head!

In 1x7, when Nate gets his chance to roast the players before their match in Liverpool, I both delighted and cringed at the moment. Nate's big moment gets the intended results--he riles up the players by hitting them where it hurts, and that energy nets Ted and the team a much-needed win. But I've always felt that part of why Nate is allowed to deliver his speech in such an uncensored way has a lot to do with Ted's shame that he got drunk and snapped at Nate the night before. It took vulnerability for Nate to decide to slip his thoughts about the team underneath Ted's door, and Ted wasn't in a position to recognize that act for what it was; Ted makes Nate feel weak, and that's got to be crushing coming from someone who's become a mentor and friend. At the same time, Ted is starting to evolve into a person who understands winning is important, so he makes the call that's going to help the team win...and ends up unwittingly rewarding the crueler parts of Nate in the process.

Fast forward to season 2, and Nate still hasn't learned the difference between vulnerability and weakness. The people in his life who understand the difference haven't fully comprehended how much Nate needs to learn it, and they haven't taught him, and Nate's own feelings of self-worth are so bound up in external factors that he's not able to pick it up by osmosis, either.

So now I can't stop thinking about the moment in 2x8 when Higgins and the coaches huddle before the big match and Ted tells everyone he's been having panic attacks. Everyone goes around and spontaneously shares something they've been keeping to themselves, and each person's admission feels like an act of solidarity. Vulnerability. But Nate sees weakness, and his own admission is actually about his ability to be calculating--his ability to make an idea feel spontaneous.

I keep imagining a moment when fame- and power-hungry Nate gets an opportunity to be in the spotlight, and I imagine another moment like the locker room scene in 1x7. A moment with spontaneous-feeling energy that's actually totally calculated. And this time, instead of a cringe-y moment easily forgotten because it brought victory, this moment could be devastating and profoundly regrettable.

Because what if Nate tells the press his own version of the vulnerable stories his friends and colleagues shared in confidence. The weak versions of their vulnerability.

In my imagined version of Nate's words to the press, Ted isn't a man seeking treatment for his panic disorder; he's unfit to coach due to untreated mental illness. Roy isn't an impatient person who doesn't bother to read the coaching reports Ted, Beard, and Nate put together; he's a star whose ego allows him to coast on fame without having to bother with the details of the team. Higgins isn't a harried, office-less professional who messed up a timezone; he's inept and in over his head and sabotaged the roster of the team. Beard isn't a normally-perceptive coach who made a mistake with the mushroom tea because he's being abused by his girlfriend and lacks his usual support system; he's a drug user who lets his personal relationships get in the way of his professional responsibilities.

There's a grain of truth to everything Nate says, but he's lacking the spirit of why he has this information, the context of vulnerability, the preciousness of this one oasis of connection between coaches who are currently disjointed.

I know there's a lot of talk about the relationship between Sam and Rebecca and the Dubai Air and Bantr sponsorships and how those could be a big issue in the press. I definitely think that's a big possibility, but everyone involved in that subplot has a support system. They have a place to land no matter how bad things get, and the show already does a great job depicting how incredibly cruel and unfair the British press can be about personal matters.

This stuff with Nate, though...while the coaches do have a support system and people they can trust, all those connections seem so much more tenuous. And Nate isn't able to trust anyone right now, least of all himself. So the more abusive he gets, he could really fuck a lot of people over, and he might be the one who gets the most hurt in the end.

There's a lot to appreciate about the interview with Nick Mohammed linked above, but I want to particularly call out the fact that he points out that in s1, when he's angry with Rebecca, he calls her a "shrew." I knew that wasn't just a throwaway line, a moment of casual misogyny overlooked, somehow, by the multi-gender writers' room. It was absolutely intentional, absolutely a sign of how far he can go even on a dime when he's upset. He also points out the importance of Rebecca telling him early in s2 that he deserves what he wants. Imagine the irony of that coming back to haunt her if Nate betrays the team (and Rebecca by extension), or if he hurts Rebecca again more personally. I also appreciate that Mohammed lets us know that he's not going to die in season 2 and that he has a storyline in season 3.

I just think there's going to be a lot of pain on the way there.

(This show is so good. Even if it goes nothing like what I'm predicting here, I have every confidence that the betrayal arc is going to be intense and earned.)

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #ted lasso speculation #nick mohammed #nathan shelley #meta by me #ted lasso 2x8

[mindibindi]

They are destroying Rebecca’s character this season and this Sam bullshit is the final nail in the coffin for her. What the f*** are they doing to their female lead ??

Well, I suppose this is the danger of offering resolution early in the piece and why so few television writers do it, particularly when it comes to romantic relationships. Because then there is the looming question of What Happens Next. So many writers prove that, while they may have the imaginative juice to create, they don't have what it takes to re-invent.

Whether you understand her as the protagonist or the antagonist of the first season of Ted Lasso, Rebecca's big revenge plot drove s1, gave it a clear narrative arc. This inaugural season likewise gave her character a clear and compelling arc. You could posit that, while Rebecca's pain drove season 1, Ted's pain is meant to be driving season 2...? But whatever Ted is going through does not have as clear-cut an objective so it is not giving the same sense of cohesion or direction. Within her s1 arc, we got to see Rebecca feel angry, frustrated, victorious, smug, thwarted, conflicted, heart-broken and vulnerable. Last season gave Hannah Waddingham so many opportunities to show the range of her skills as an actor and I still hope she wins an Emmy for this performance. But I doubt she will be winning any awards for her performance this season.

Most situation comedies stick to the same situation, snapping their characters back to where they were at the beginning of each episode. Certainly, this formula can become repetitive and dull after years. Ted Lasso received a great deal of praise when it broke this formula by offering resolution at the end of its first season no less. It broke the no-hugging-no-learning mantra of so many sitcoms when it allowed Rebecca to learn from her trauma, come clean and literally embrace Ted as a valuable part of her life. Since her character went on the biggest journey of the season, the question of What Happens Next was always going to be more significant for her than it was for any other character on the show.

Season 1 of Ted Lasso made me fall in love with Hannah Waddingham and the character of Rebecca Welton. But as much as it pains me to say it, in s2 she is nothing like the problematic powerhouse we met in s1. Her friendships with Keeley and Higgins continue on nicely enough. She's had some good moments with characters she had little interaction with in s1, like Roy and Nate. And it was great to meet her mother and god-daughter. But this fleshing out of the character is mostly work around her rather than work that propels her forward in any meaningful way. I understand that some people may be content just to watch Rebecca living her best life after the intensity of last season. But, for me, the pursuit of heterosexual romantic love by a woman to the exclusion of all else is a problematic aim since women have been told for centuries that securing a man is the single most important thing they can achieve in their lives.

Rebecca wants love and doesn't want to be alone. She's stated that, that's canon and that's fine. But romance seems to be Rebecca's ONLY aim, her single focus. We haven't seen her do anything in her role as club owner except make a phone call and look sharp, which I admit she does well. The woman looks INCREDIBLE. But if you are in your right mind (at least in my opinion), you are not expecting this amazing woman to end up with a pretentious windbag, a hot booty call or a wildly inappropriate youngster. So it all seems a bit aimless, purposeless. All of this dithering about with wrong dudes is just a waste of time when we have limited time with these beloved characters. We know we are only getting three short seasons of this show and I don't want to spend a full season watching a previously complex female character stare at her phone, only ever prompted into (questionable) action by her cute best friend. And I DEFINITELY don't want to watch...whatever the fuck they think this thing is with Sam.

Frankly, I am still flabbergasted that they have chosen this path. They genuinely seem to think that their audience will enjoy this as some hot romantic adventure...? And hey, a small but vocal minority are. Some diehard fans are trying to hold onto their faith with white knuckles. And the rest of us are just over here in compete and utter shock at the suddenness of the decline in this show's quality and ethics. The latest justification some fans are rather desperately grasping at seems to be that Rebecca's actions stem from her trauma. Now...okay. Trauma can be responsible for many things. But not this. Trauma can make you act in v strange ways but I don't see the connection here. I can clearly see how Rebecca's trauma from her first marriage dictated her actions towards Ted in s1. That is a very clear line to draw. I can see how, after her disastrous marriage, her judgement may be off and she may go for someone like John Wingsnight: someone safe, solid and appropriate. Again, a clear line to draw. I can also see why she would indulge in fun, shallow sexual relationships with the waiter in Liverpool and her booty call from bantr. All normal, understandable behaviour for a woman in her situation. And a v clear narrative line for the writers to draw. No problems there. Her actions in each of these cases can be traced back to Rupert and his abuse. But I cannot for the life of me draw a line between Rupert and Sam. As a traumatic reaction, that does not make a shred of sense to me.

It's true that sometimes those who have been abused become abusers, not that I'm saying Rebecca is abusing Sam in this scenario. What I am saying is that most trauma survivors will go out of their way to avoid becoming anything like their abusers. Most survivors try their damnedest to break the cycle of abuse, not perpetuate it. Most victim-survivors will act, sometimes even to their own detriment, to spare others from being impacted by their pain and trauma. Trauma and abuse does not break your moral compass. If anything, it makes it stronger. Trauma and abuse heightens your sensitivity to what is right, just and honest. Having seen Rebecca ultimately unable to follow through in her trauma-inspired revenge plot on Ted, it does not make sense to me that she is blindly (without any of the nuanced inner conflict of s1 Rebecca) allowing her trauma and abuse to lead her into a situation that not only emulates her ex-husband's hurtful, unethical behaviour, but endangers what is now supposed to be so valuable to her.

All the press for s2 as spruiked Rebecca as a dating disaster but enthusiastically committed to her club. There is a huge difference, however, between charmingly, comedically 'messy' and inept to the point of self-destructive stupidity. I just don't buy her as this dumb. Yet here she is, after all her dealings with the savage British press last season, endangering the reputation of herself, her club and one of its most vulnerable players. Oddly enough, the Rebecca we saw in s1, with her many layers and nuances, seems to me to be a far more moral (not to mention interesting) rendering of this character. This Rebecca was motivated by injustice, she had an acute understanding of what was and wasn't right. It's why she conceived of her revenge plot and also why she ultimately dropped it. It is one thing for writers to propose that there are multiple steps on the way to healing. It is one thing for them to lead a character into a dark forest full of conflict and complication. But, from what I can tell, some people don't know the difference between a dark forest and straight-up bad writing. And it really fucking shows.

#ted lasso #rebecca welton #hannah waddingham #sam obisanya #ask #whoops another long post without a cut #sorry not sorry

[xbustian]

                CHARACTER PARALLELS    

    Crowley  (  Good Omens   )   ,    Kaz  Brekker   (   Six  of  Crows   )   ,   Faith  Lehane  (  Buffy   )   ,    Roy  Kent  (  Ted Lasso  )    ,   Thomas  Shelby  (   Peaky Blinders   )   ,    Berlin   (   Money Heist  )   ,    Annalise  Keating   (   HTGAWM   )

TIDBITS:

Age   :   20   (  Jan 13   )    

Born    :   Limerick

Father   :   TBD

Mother   :    Azra

Step--Mother    :    TBD

Half-Brother   :   Rodolphus 

SECOND-PERSON HISTORY BITS:

You were born into royalty           the bastard son of a whore, but a Lestrange prince nonetheless, second only to your older half-brother, Rodolphus. Despite the dimpled smile and chubby cheeks, you were nothing but a spare. A safety net. A necessary mistake as your birth mother was sent away with a dark threat lingering over her. Should anyone ask: you were the product of a perfect marriage. You would call the woman who despised you, despised what you reminded her of, MOTHER. 

Despite the circumstances, your father looked upon you with proud features. His chest stuck out and he held his head high as he appraised his two sons like a diamond he would consider buying. But when you burrowed deep within the sheets of your bed, or played those childish games with whatever nanny your mother hired that week, your father was busy appraising other avenues. You didn’t realize this when you were younger, but your father controlled an impressive legacy. He was the captain of a rich and beautiful figurative ship, compared only to the Flying Dutchman. 

He produced fear like a billionaire entrepreneur.

It took a long time for you to realize what exactly your role in the family was. The cavalry, they called you. The warrior who would ride in and save whoever was lost or in danger. You see, as you grew older, and your temper began to surface, your proud parents no longer viewed you as a simple back-up plan. No, you were so much more than that. You were to act as a confidant to your brother          an easy enough task, you thought ignorantly, seeing as you had already taken up the mantle. But the cavalry was a heavy crown to rest upon your head, and you began to feel the weight the more your parents discussed your future. Because even at eleven,  or  thirteen,  or  fifteen,  you could see their definition of  cavalry  change. It adapted the more they viewed your growth. You were too smart, too tough to be thrown in the background. You were made to stand up front with the rest.

You began to feel separated from yourself. People would discuss you, in front of you, and you would think they were bragging about some stranger you never met. You even found yourself thinking, God, this bastard sounds like a total fucking tool. Though you couldn’t exactly blame them. It was your fault, too. Your mind was too curious, too far reaching to listen and merely agree. You read Machiavelli’s The Prince and found power to be something earned rather than inherited.  Were you truly a Lestrange man if you sat back and let royalty wash over you? Or were you nothing but a figurehead without the brains to control them?

While most settled for flattery when it came to life, you settled for fear, because it was always safer than love. To care about someone was to owe them something in return, and you refused to owe anyone. Not your father, not your mother, and certainly not your brother (or so you liked to think). You were a machine: alone and angry, pulling at strings to unravel whatever bullshit people would throw your way. You acted like a proletariat sometimes, wishing your life wasn’t so luxurious and stiff. You wished your parents weren’t so perfect because then you would have a reason to slouch. It was all incredibly moronic. The crown was getting much too heavy and soon, you were drowning.

But then she gave you air to breathe. Harper Macmillan: the exception to every one of your rules. 

You never told her this, but the first time you noticed her was when you were fourteen years old. Sure, you watched her as she was placed in Hufflepuff, mentally noting how cute you thought she was - but it wasn’t until three months into your Charms lesson that she truly embedded herself within the recesses of your mind. Finally succeeding with her charm, she let out a contagious laugh and you couldn’t help but compare the shine of her smile to the stars above.

Harper was as tantalizing as she was beautiful, and you despised the way her surname left a bitter taste in your mouth. The Macmillan family were blood traitors and you could remember every shallow and disgusting thing your parents and their friends have said about them. They are trash, and we would rather them lay dead on the floor than have them so much as look our way, his parents snapped.  

So you were fourteen and you ignored her. You were fifteen and you ignored her. You were sixteen and you ignored her. You were seventeen and your palms began to bleed because Thomas Peak, the stupid mudblood, asked her out. You clenched your fists so hard you barely noticed the way your fingernails dug into your skin. You couldn’t remember feeling so angry. So murderous. 

Your jealousy continued to brew as you noticed how she and her blood traitor friends rarely ever parted. How come she could associate herself with someone so low, and you couldn’t? You complain to yourself, but you know, deep down, that you are held to a much higher standard. But still, the curiosity got the better of you, and when you were seventeen you approached her friend with a question about class, subtly looking over at Harper before saying hello. You pretended not to care. You pretended to acknowledge her with such little interest that you might as well have been speaking to a wall. And when she said hi back? You shrugged. Uncaring. But your heart practically ripped itself out of your chest right then and there, forcing you to rush off the moment her friend finished her answer.

One word. Just one fucking word. Harper Macmillan uttered one word to you and you were convinced she belonged to you. Like a possession. Like the gems your mother would polish, or the money your father would practically swim in. She was yours. Eventually you could look at nothing else, your eyes always washing over her lithe form whenever she walked into a room. She was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen, and you felt no desire to torture yourself by staying away. People swarmed you, treated you like a god, and yet you kept looking only at her. 

And one day  …   she looked back.

No one knew of your relationship - or so you told yourself. You were smart enough to know when to be careful, smart enough to never mention her name. And sure, your anger got the better of you from time to time, resulting in a bloodied mess of any stupid fool who thought it smart to flirt with your girl - the same girl who appeared single to anyone curious enough to look. 

It was your own fault, and you bloody knew it too.

Feeling this way was changing you and you didn’t like it. You felt more open to discussion, often keeping an eye out for Rodolphus simply to ask how he was doing. While a part of you always cared, despite your objections to the matter, you were never so open about it - once having been caught like a deer in headlights when claiming you were proud. A simple scoff and chuckle later and the matter was resolved. You were joking, of course. But you knew, deep down, if you didn’t get control of the matter, you wouldn’t be able to hide it much longer. Over the years, the blonde was slowly erasing what your parents so forcefully cast upon you: your inability to be a human fucking being.

To make matters worse, or better depending on who you asked, you have been secretly in contact with your birth mother. Having given up on ever knowing her, it was a surprise when an owl flew your way, dropping off a letter from the woman you thought was long gone. She never forgot about you - and unlike your other family members, she took a keen interest in your interests. She wanted to know everything about you. Naturally you kept out a lot, inwardly terrified she would be as disgusted with you as you were of yourself. But just like Harper, she was your connection to something safer. Something happier. And the greedy bastard in you won’t let her go. 

Your family can never know. 

PERSONALITY

The man is infamous and rightly so. But despite his reputation, Rab has been known to isolate himself more often than not. Reasonably eschewing human interaction, he uses this time to reflect on himself, his body and its warnings. This is called interoception, and Rab requires this level of perception in order to control his anger and shift it into something more positive. Helpful. With this understanding he is able to exercise full consciousness, therefore limiting the times he allows his temper to roam free.  Furthering this point, this helps guide him when understanding others emotionally. When he is able to better understand his enemies, he is able to view their hopes and aspirations. To know them is to know how to defeat them. 

He is constantly at odds with himself. He prides control over mostly everything and yet he struggles with intense anger issues. He becomes malicious and vindictive, almost blind to the world around him. When Rab sees red, no consequences exist. This is, once again, why he tries his best to remain isolated - until his services are needed, of course. Then he wears a twisted smirk and dances along the line that separates sanity and insanity. Switching back and forth is tiring, and he often disappears for long periods of time following an intense change. People are unaware of where he goes, and they don’t try to find him. 

Even the most feared of students know to give him his space. 

While this may be difficult to see, Rabastan is a family man. Despite the endless deception and bullshit, he continues to side with his immediate relatives. They are his connection to ethos. His reminder that he is human and worthy of being loved. This can be seen as his ultimate weakness. For instance, his father threatened his mother and blackmailed her, and yet he still stands beside his father and shows a form of loyalty that could not be matched. He would die for his family - something they would be all too quick to accept. His devotion to the Lestrange family has nothing to do with their legacy or their name, but rather their blood relations. He has made the mistake of trusting them time and time again only to be disappointed in the end. 

Rab expects disappointment and therefore always has a back-up plan. He can bounce back to an almost pathological degree, wiping figurative (or sometimes literal) blood from his face with nonchalance painted across his features.  He uses his disappointments as a way to empower himself. His limits are constantly being challenged and he has repeatedly come out on top, showing a tenacity that is difficult, if not impossible to duplicate. 

#revelio.intro #hi garbage man #here is my trash #harper ain't here yet #oops