#(And no; I will not be combining any of these ships)

[sirenalpha]

@formerlyofyourlocallibrary the dog is why you think he would cheat??????

did you not read the part where I said he got the dog to make his wife and kids happy????

or the part where I said he's bad at second order consequences which is the problem with the snap decision of the puppy? That he thinks the puppy is good but clearly hasn't thought through the effort of having to care for it and who is actually going to do that work cuz it's not the four year old which makes him an ass but not a cheater??

You say that he got the dog as a snap decision to fix problems which I agree with but you're implying cheating could also be a snap decision that would fix problems, so the cheating is fixing his marriage? Because that's the problem he's trying to fix, he's trying to make his wife happier but doesn't know what she wants but I'm pretty sure he knows she doesn't want him cheating on her

Also, how is getting caught stealing pills by an intern on her first day a red flag for cheating? I get it's a red flag in general that he has stolen pills, it is not good behavior and indicates how bad his addiction is, but Santos didn't catch him cheating, and like I said in the post you supposedly read stealing pills =/= cheating, like those are two separate things

and what does Langdon impulsively getting a puppy have to do with Santos being good at finding suspicious behavior when she's primed by her trauma to be suspicious of male authority figures like Langdon??? If you're saying actually he's just bad at lying and covering up bad behavior, yes that would make him successfully cheating without his wife finding out very difficult but it doesn't say jack about whether he would in fact cheat in the first place

I think this is a worse argument than a bias against addicts combined with flanderization for a ship, do you just think any sort of impulse control problems at all is a red flag for cheating??? Cuz that's the best I got for what the hell kinda logic you're working with, you managed to fit so many insane things into one paragraph

though tacking on the bit about getting caught with pills on day one does kinda circle back to the whole drug addiction part being the generator of this problem, would his impulse control still be a red flag specifically for cheating for you if Santos hadn't found out he was stealing pills?

unpopular opinion, but Frank Langdon wouldn't cheat, not with Mel or anyone else, he won't even leave his wife, if they get divorced it will have to be Abby who leaves him not the other way around, and if Mel tried to get him to cheat on Abby with her, he would actually think worse of her for it

I'm gonna be honest, I think this assumption he would cheat comes from the same place as calling him dirtbag hot comes from, he's a hot guy and an addict so obviously he must be capable of cheating

I also think some of it comes from overlaying romance tropes onto kingdon whether they come from fanfic or published romance novels

but I don't think it's accurate to his character as he is portrayed on the show, this dude is committed to his wife and children

we as outside audience members can totally see that his marriage is on the rocks and I'm sure he subconsciously can tell that he's not doing the right thing as he's asking people for their opinions on the dog in addition to probably making up for the addiction he can't admit to and this anxiety is why he comes up with at least three things to do for his wife or kids: the dog, salmon dinner, and the birkin

but I'm pretty sure Langdon thinks he's doing all the right things, his wife likes dogs and his kid said he would help take care of it so the dog is a good thing for the family, he's going to cook dinner, he's going to try and get his wife the fancy expensive bag

he is committed to his marriage and family, no he doesn't appreciate his wife's work when it comes to child rearing, but he is not apathetic to her, he is thinking about her and speaking of her at work in a busy high stress environment, he could be in the ER and completely focused on work as a workaholic and completely blocking out any thought of his home life, but he's not, he's thinking of his wife, he talks about his wife and kids as much as McKay talks about her son

and he is not complaining or disparaging about his wife or kids, like the worst thing he says about her is an implication she doesn't work as hard as him because he's a doctor but it's not a complaint she doesn't work enough, pretty much everything he says is about getting his wife and kids something they want even if he hasn't thought through the consequences or doesn't understand why they want it, he is actively trying to make them happy and engage positively with them

this is not a cheater, he doesn't feel unfulfilled in his relationship nor do I think he would seek out cheating for the thrill as he has his work in the ER for that which seems to be all he can manage considering how antsy he gets whenever addiction is mentioned nor do I think he feels completely entitled to his marriage and kids because why would he be trying to make up for things and doing grand gestures if he felt totally secure in these relationships? He does not act like he thinks he can get away with anything and expect his wife to still stay with him

Also, Langdon wears a bracelet made by his kid as the only personalized and colorful item in his entire outfit, he loves his kid enough to wear it even though it's not his personal style and when he calls to talk to Tanner after the death of two kids for a pick me up, he does not prioritize his emotions over him, he speaks calmly to Tanner and when Tanner asks if he can sing his song to him, Langdon says yeah I'd love to hear it, he's definitely not perfect like thinking a four year old can take care of a dog is expecting way too much out of a kid even if that kid is excited about and wants a dog, but he's going to know cheating would negatively impact his kids so he's not going to do it

the other thing is while he is an addict and stealing drugs, he otherwise cares about the rules, he originally gets ticked at Santos because she ignores procedure and treats patients before presenting which she does repeatedly in one day and his responses escalate in turn, maybe it's the ADHD he may or may not have where he needs external structure to stay on task, or he could just be compensating for the stealing, he's breaking this one rule and now he needs to follow every single other one and the big rule for marriage is you don't cheat on your partner

additionally, Langdon isn't an asshole because he doesn't care at all about other people, he banters and he doesn't speak the most sensitively out of all the doctors, but most of his gaffs come from not considering second order concerns, oh a patient comes in with a dnr a nurse didn't fax over in time? Waste of time and money who's running that facility but he doesn't complain further when it's pointed out the nurse is overworked and has other patients to see to while this one is being cared for by EMTs and the ER, oh this patient is dead why are they still using this bed get them moved to ICU but again doesn't argue further when Dana points out that Robby is helping the parents through the loss of their child, Langdon doesn't keep complaining or arguing after those things are pointed out, but cheating isn't a second order concern, it's immediately obvious why cheating on your partner is bad

all of this is why I think this idea of him being assumed a cheater vs people feeling the need to argue their case for Mel to be the other woman is coming from the fact he's an addict the same way dirtbag hot did (and probably also because he's a man)

there are a lot of stereotypes around addicts as if they have completely broken senses of morality and are inherently bad people so again even though Langdon is the most clean cut dude in the cast aside from the veteran, he gets called dirtbag hot not because of how he actually looks but because of the effect of having the label addict attached to him so of course the same can apply to his behavior, he stole drugs so he's capable of cheating on his wife when I don't think these are the same things especially not to Langdon himself and on the flip side, plenty of cheaters try to excuse and blame their behavior with substance use, but if he's not doing any cheating while using then I find it even less likely that he would do it after, why would he not try even harder to make even grander gestures to his wife once it's out in the open?

I think this is a contributing factor to why people who prefer Mel and Langdon to remain platonic got so heated on this topic at the beginning, there's an implication that shipping kingdon means that you think Langdon would cheat which is against his characterization in s1 which they don't like/agree with as making a character ooc is always going to bother some people and cheating specifically may be a particular hot button issue as it's a common deal breaker in relationships

and this assessment of kingdon shippers regarding their characterization of Langdon is accurate, there is clearly a chunk of kingdon shippers who actually are in it explicitly for the taboo of cheating between Langdon and Mel, this is the particular trope they like and are attracted to regardless of how it lines up with their individual characters and I think you should be aware in instances like this that you are prioritizing your trope preference over accurate characterization but people seem to be much more honest about this when it comes to Mel likely due to the confluence of factors of her being a woman, likely autistic as it's not confirmed in canon yet, and having explicitly said she doesn't like families being torn apart so people feel a greater need to justify going against her canon characterization

this is also where the overlaying of romance tropes from fandom or romance novels (and yes even shows like Grey's Anatomy) comes in, there are fics (even ones where Langdon is separated/divorced) where Langdon experiences an extreme attraction to Mel he's trying to resist and it's portrayed as overwhelming him, this is a romance trope and it does overhaul Langdon's character and Mel and Langdon's dynamic from within s1, he is obviously more overtly sexual in these portrayals as opposed to his clean cut and family focused characterization in the show

and it makes him more predatory towards Mel when clearly one of the things attracting people towards Mel and Langdon's platonic relationship as it is in canon is that an older man (even if it's only by two years) takes her seriously, accommodates her, supports her and is all around respectful of her, and if Langdon is a cheater and did all of those nice wonderful things to get into Mel's pants then he's neither respectful of his wife or Mel and it is a bastardization of his character and what they like about Mel and Langdon's relationship as presented in canon, it's again a prioritization of tropes over consistent characterization

and none of these larger issues will ever be completely resolved, fandom has always had splits between ships and with non-shippers, and flanderization of characters in general and to fit them to different tropes, this is just how fandom works, but I just think the Langdon being a cheater assumption is not coming through from his canon behavior any more than Mel being the other woman is coming from her canon characterization and that it's generally helpful to be aware of when you're prioritizing tropes over characterization

[kings-highway]

i definitely agree with your stance on daichi and ushijima don't really get jealous, but do you think there's any highly specific and potentially weird scenarios where they would feel jealous?? i just find the concept of a character not jealous in most common jealousy scenarios, getting bothered by something weird and unexpected, to be funny

Now THIS is a fun question!! And of COURSE I do. I actually think both characters have a really high capacity for jealousy, just not in the usual way. I think both characters have a really strong sense of self and respect for their partners (in my case, I mostly ship Daisuga/Ushiten but this is not specific to those partners.) what I specifically don't see either of them bothered by is someone flirting with or confessing to their partner, because to feel jealousy in those scenarios would require them to think their partners might want that person, or choose to leave them, and I don't think either character leans that way for self-consciousness. So they don't experience jealousy if their partner gets hit on or is the centre of attention.

NOW that still leaves a ton of open room to explore jealousy in other ways...

Ushijima is easier to do so I'll start with him, which is that I think he experiences jealousy more-so when combined with feeling "left out" of certain social situations. I've always imagined Tendou as being pretty on-top of making sure Ushijima feels included in conversations and to explain any references he might not get, but as a result circumstances that arrive that might distract or take his attention away I think can lead to Ushijima feeling quite bothered. Specifically if you can imagine a sort of social hang-out, where Tendou has been distracted into a circle of gossip or conversation and Ushijima finds himself on the outskirts of it, not quite understand what the hell they're talking about and not having a way in, I can imagine him getting first a little bit sulky about it - (well I'll just go stand over here and pet this dog then fine) and while I imagine him have a decently long battery life on his sulking, he can sit and pet that dog for like an a hour and a half, I do think it would eventually bubble up into annoyance or anger and I think the most like... Irrationally jealous behaviour he'd exhibit is making up excuses to leave social functions (and take his partner with him) now because this stems from a need for attention, I think this "we're leaving now attitude" is probably quickly smoothed over by Ushijima immediately trying to smother the other in affection and spend quality time together so it probably often comes across as him having suddenly just had a sudden bought of amore for his partner and wanting to leave the party right now, but in reality he was just tired of other people making him laugh. It's important to note here that I think this is specifically non-romantic. It's much more focused on the attention and friendship aspect of it, where he perceives Tendou as his best friend and behaviour that doesn't align with that freaks him out. This can also happen in smaller social settings. If Tendou runs into someone he knows on the street and accidentally leaves Ushijima to kick rocks for 20 minutes eventually Ushijima will, in fact, become remarkably clingy and start making up excuses for why they need to keep moving actually. Now obv. Other people might have a similar reaction due to annoyance, but I think in Ushijima's case it really is the same kind of jealous others get over romantic rivals.

This one is WAY more specific and weird but I think Ushijima also gets jealous over the way other people have saved Tendou (or insert partner of choice) into their phone contacts. I feel like if he looks over and sees a classmate has a silly inside joke contact name for him his brain just starts mentally inflicting curses upon that person.

Okay, onto my main bitch Daichi. What's interesting is that I reallllly don't see him as a jealous type, so I am struggling a bit to think of scenarios it would come out in. He's really, really dense and not super self-aware so it's hard for him to even identify situations in which he should feel jealous.

I think one of them is if someone is getting complimented for something he can also do, or has done. Like if Suga sees someone at a game and goes "oh, that's player X from that school! I heard their defense is phenomenal, they can dig anything!" daichi's just like "yeah and??? Yeah thats not hard. Thats not special. What about it? What about it makes that interesting suga???" Like he's totally chill if Suga compliments other things that he doesn't have any hand in. Suga can rave all about how gorgeous and hot this girl he saw was and Daichi doesn't give a fuck but the moment Suga says "Man I met this guy at the park who had the most well trained dog ever, it could do so many tricks!" daichi's brain just fries and he goes "that's basic dog care don't be impressed by that guy." EVEN THOUGH Daichi specifically would like Suga to be impressed by those traits (in himself) his go to is to say "none of that shit is impressive actually so"

On this vein I think he's specifically jealous of family members as well. He has a massive family and Suga simply cannot express admiration of anyone. "How your cousin is literally the prettiest! And so sweet too." "Yeah well when she was thirteen she stole some gum from a convenience store so she's basically a criminal." "..." Its unclear if this is even specifically romantic jealousy or just generally "people who look like me should not be admired by the Boy Who Says He's Attracted To How I Look."

I think he would also get jealous not just of his partner, but any friends who do a work out or exercise without him? I feel like he has a pretty set morning workout routine and he's always inviting people along and they also say no, so when someone's like "haha yeah I recently got into doing morning jogs" Daichi gets irrationally jealous like "without me? Without me, huh? Even those I spent the last year inviting you on morning runs? Yeah ok." Yeah on that vein, finding out that people didn't ask him for him on something would make him jealous. "Oh you didn't call me to help you repair that fence? You called your uncle? Oh okay I see how it is." People simply cannot explain to him that they simply did not want to ask him to do free labour. He wants so badly to be everyone's handyman. I think this is especially relevant for a partner that he doesn't live with, or any of the first years post timeskip. Daichi calling up Yamaguchi like "hey I heard your car broke down yesterday and you didn't call me for help???" And Yamaguchi's like "i called a tow truck????" And Daichi's just "hm ok......"

I think off the top of my head that's all I got. This was really fun to do I liked creating these little snippets :)

I should add an addendum that these are specifically about them being in stable romantic relationships, not generalized jealousy. Obv in circumstances they don't have their partner locked down they might have more romantically jealous tendencies.

[eralkfang]

How to Buy Takarazuka Castlevania on BD/DVD

I’ve seen a lot of Castlevania fans express interest in the currently running Takarazuka Castlevania musical and wondering whether or not it would get a pro shot, so I thought I’d jump in and write up a little guide on how to get your hands on the upcoming home video release of Takarazuka Castlevania.

Now, Takarazuka is unusual in that its parent company, Hankyu, is extremely aggressive about piracy and protecting its copyright. The company regularly trawls through YouTube and other social media websites to take down content, and they have deliberately made their livestreams increasingly harder to access in response. This can make it feel like getting your hands on Takarazuka is really difficult and, if you’re used to Japanese companies that are friendlier, it’s definitely a bit of a fan culture shock! 

However, it’s actually not difficult at all. Purchasing a Takarazuka Blu-ray or DVD from outside of Japan is a straightforward process. You just have to know what, when, and where.

What to Buy

Takarazuka releases the vast majority of their shows on physical media. All of their shows staged in the Takarazuka Grand Theater and the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (hereafter “a GT show”) receive a physical media release on both Blu-ray and DVD.*

The main distinction between the two is the video quality, price, and special features:

A GT Blu-ray costs 11,000 yen and includes rehearsal footage as well as Star Angles, which are special cuts of scenes focused on certain performers. In the case of Castlevania, the Star Angles will focus on the performers playing Alucard, Maria, and Richter.†

A GT DVD costs 8,800 yen and contains no special features.‡ 

Both are region-free but neither includes subtitles of any kind, not even Japanese.

The physical media release will include Castlevania, the one-act musical, as well as Ai, Love Revue!, a separate musical revue with no connection to Castlevania. While Takarazuka does stage two-act musicals, the combination of a ninety-minute one act play with an hour long musical revue is classically Takarazuka. This particular revue repeats some classic numbers from Takarazuka’s past, so it’s a good introduction to what Takarazuka is all about!

When to Buy

Takarazuka physical media releases try to drop fast. A GT show is usually filmed during its run in the Takarazuka Grand Theater (before it moves to the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater) and released during the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater run. Usually is the key word here; I’ve received at least one Takarazuka Blu-ray before the final performance in Tokyo, but others can get delayed, likely due to copyright negotiations.§ Given that Konami is directly involved with the production, I don’t have any concerns about copyright or delays.

Based on recent GT show announcements and releases, I would expect to hear the release schedule announcement during the break between runs (7/21 to 8/15) and the Blu-ray/DVD to release late in the Tokyo run (8/16 to 9/28). So I’d estimate finding out in August that it’s releasing sometime in September. 

Where to Buy

Once the Blu-ray/DVD has been announced, you’ll find it available for international purchase on the following websites:

cdjapan.jp

CDJapan always carries new Takarazuka products, offers multiple shipping options, often has coupons, and allows you to pre-order items. This is predominantly what I use and I can personally recommend it.

Yesasia.com

Yesasia carries new Takarazuka products, offers coupons, and offers free shipping. Takarazuka Blu-ray/DVDs will be noted as “Japan version,” but remember, they’re region-free. I have no experience with this website, so I can’t vouch for it personally.

TakaAn

TakaAn is a shop focusing on Takarazuka (but also other theatrical troupes) in Japan that offers overseas orders via email. 

Amazon.co.jp

Amazon.co.jp used to regularly stock new Takarazuka products, but less so lately. Still, worth checking.

Secondhand Stores 

Secondhand copies of Takarazuka Blu-ray/DVDs crop up on websites like Suruga-ya and Mercari from time to time. Suruga-ya is easy to use, has a wide selection of items, and often offers coupons, while Mercari has a proxy service (Buyee) built in to help you purchase items from overseas. Both are dependent on availability, but are a great way to save some money! (Just make sure the shipping and proxy fees aren’t wiping out the money you save!)

Where to Find Out More

I hope this helps out some Castlevania fans in their quest, since I know Takarazuka can be a little opaque. If the new musical has gotten you interested in Takarazuka, feel free to check out this So You’re New to Takarazuka post and this primer on the Sumire Code. Takarazuka's got a bit of a learning curve, but it’s a wonderful (and very sparkly) hobby! 

* In Takarazuka, the distinction is between GT shows and small theater shows. One of the five Takarazuka troupes performs a GT show (with the full troupe) and then will split for the small theater shows, with half of the troupe in one show and the other half in another, performing in venues outside of the Takarazuka Grand Theater and Tokyo Takarazuka Theater. This allows people who are not the Top Star of their troupe to get leads. These smaller scale shows often receive home video release on Blu-ray, but whether or not it does is based on the internal ranking of the star within Takarazuka (Top Stars always do, but baby’s first lead, not so much). So while not every Takarazuka show gets a home video release, the vast majority do. 

† Flower Troupe/Hanagumi’s Top Star Towaki Sea, the Top Musumeyaku Hoshizora Misaki, and the nibante, Seino Asuka, respectively.

‡ In the pre-Blu-ray era, DVDs not only included the Blu-ray special features, but additional features (like digests for any switch cast roles, documentary features), and came on two discs. 

§ There are some shows that are never released on home video for copyright reasons, usually imported musicals with very complicated licensing agreements (like Big Fish). This hasn’t happened to a GT show in decades and is usually kept to small theater shows, if at all.

[bratbarzal]

fancy sharing any of those uncle lukey headcannons you mentioned?

basing this off of lih!luke and his relationship with baby cheeto from oys!! (you don’t have to have read either to read this tbh it’s just random thoughts I have about that dynamic but I guess it translates into him as an uncle in general!!) also these are off the top of the dome if more come to me I’ll touch back on it bc I love uncle lukey!!

ok so I love translating real life traits into fic so I feel like a lot of luke-isms translate really well into being an uncle (I say with my only real qualification being that I am an auntie with 6 years experience and a PHD in being a niblet's favourite person and I feel like I have a decent read by now on what kids appreciate in an aunt/uncle bc it’s the biggest part of my life lmao)

like when everyone calls him a lowkey nerd, like he loves history, and he loves chess, and he loves movies based on real stories, and his favourite game is rummikub lmao I feel like he would use those sorts of things when it comes to spending time with a kid and he’s such a yapper so I feel like they all combine really well into something engaging for a kid

Uncle!Luke who read that talking to babies is good for their development, so he has a million one sided conversations with Cheeto and just reacts to every face she makes like it’s a response - like she’ll just stare at him wide eyed and he’ll be like, “Ugh Jack said the exact same thing.”

and if he’s ever looking after her for like a morning or a day, he’ll take her somewhere that he can google beforehand so he can reel off all the facts about it like a fountain of knowledge and so when she’s older she thinks he’s the smartest person because Uncle!Luke knows everything about everything. He knows about the history of the places they go, he knows about the animals at the farm or the zoo, he knows about pirates that sailed in the ship that’s in the park (that he made up but Cheeto would never know lmao)

And he’ll tell her what all the Disney movies are based off of, or like any of the kids books he reads to her, he’ll go off tangent - like he’ll read The Stompysaurus and end up keeping her way up past her bedtime telling her all about different dinosaurs

And he’d so put on dorky voices for every character when he’s reading a book - like Cheeto won’t let him read Bluey At The Beach unless he’s doing his very best (awful) Australian accent

He puts a lot of thought into what he’d want to be called, because it has to be something that still works when kids are a bit older and doesn’t seem weird for him to be called, and he thinks Lukey is fine enough, but Cheeto ends up calling him “ook” because she can’t quite get her L’s right when she first starts talking and “ook” is an easy enough sound - Jack thinks it’s hilarious until he’s “ack” and it sounds too much like a “yack” sort of noise

Uncle!Luke is always the first port of call though, because his brothers are so used to being the better known ones to everyone else, it just works that Luke beats them both out on the uncle scale, and he won’t let Jack hear the end of it.

He’s always the quickest to drop to the floor when he sees Cheeto, and when she can walk she’ll just plonk herself into his lap and carry on playing with her blocks or whatever, and Luke will just absentmindedly hoard them all and hand them to her one by one while Nico and Poppy are telling him where everything is while he watches her for date night, and he can hold like 6 in one hand at a time while her tiny fingers just about wrap around one

And Uncle!Luke never dumbs stuff down or makes things seem like they’re too complex for a kid to understand he just figures out a way to explain what he can and redirects to Poppy and Nico when it’s something they should probably handle like he just talks to a kid like he’d talk to anyone else there’s never a baby voice or made up words

But also when she gets siblings and sometimes having babies in the house is harder for older siblings, and they’re sort of forced into responsibility a lot earlier than they should be, he makes sure to still treat her like a kid where it matters and he’ll play pretend with her and be the big dumb dragon guarding the castle where Princess Cheeto is locked away lmao

Also like my favourite Luke!lore is that he’s an Eater ™️ and I love the concept that the only person he would share his food with is a child (and LIH!reader gf obvs) like he gives “joey doesn’t share food” but he’d break a sandwich in half for Cheeto and let her steal his fries

[malfiora]

I am not normal about sentryagent. Not normal at all. So naturally I have to talk about it.

I am protecting, like, two specific mutuals when I say this:

Spoilers for Thunderbolts* below the cut.

(You know who you are.)

I knew I was gone for this ship when, in the Void, John is the first person (after Yelena) to free himself to get to Bob. And he does it on his own (not to minimize Yelena's efforts at all, she is amazing and deserves nothing but praise). He's a hero, this is what heroes do, but he also deeply recognizes Bob's pain. I'd also reckon that John felt seen in the vault when Bob saw his memory, especially because Bob doesn't use it against him or belittle him for it. This is such a powerful connection with the potential to be profound.

And fucking toxic, which I adore.

I just commented on a fic how much I love "your trauma triggers my trauma." It's heartbreaking and so real and yet lovely because two people trying to make a relationship work despite the pain they are both enduring and causing is a sight to behold. (Only in fiction. In real life, this is far more complicated, so don't model your relationships after fiction.) Specifically, there's a dangerous power in pairing a child abuse victim with a neglectful and estranged father, and I love it.

More angst potential: the two of them being failed projects of Valentina's. She made them each believe they were special so she could manipulate them into being the perfect hero/soldier that she could take credit for. And when they failed, she tried to dispose of them. That's gotta hurt, to want nothing more than to be seen and have the one person who saw you deem you unworthy. In fact, the entire point of the film is about overcoming shame and hurt through connection, soooo all I'm saying is pairing the two people with similar scars is delectable.

For fun, I also want to imagine a kink awakening in John from being so easily handled by Sentry. John's used to being one of the strongest people in his immediate vicinity, so being so easily tossed around has to be humiliating — and exciting. Plus he clings to that bent shield, maybe he likes the reminder of that one time he was powerless. (And then imagine his frustration with Bob because he can't tap into that strength again. Angst 👏🏾 potential 👏🏾)

Hell, talk to me about drug use. Former meth addict x guy with perpetual roid rage? Sign me the fuck up. I'm being reductive for comedic effect, but in all seriousness, this is an untapped market. One of the key differences between John Walker and Steve Rogers (in my analysis) is that John actually saw combat prior to going through the super soldier program. He has untreated PTSD that he manages by being obedient in belief that he's serving a higher cause. I can't imagine that a drug that had only been used on three people (successfully) prior would have been good for his mental health, not that Valentina cared.

Let's throw mental health in there, too, since that's also a key theme in the film. I found it pretty clear in Falcon and the Winter Soldier that John has PTSD, which makes sense. And though it's never said explicitly, Bob probably has bipolar disorder, based on how he explains his extreme highs and lows. That might even be connected to why he's able to flip from all-powerful Sentry to the unending darkness that is the Void — it's a physical manifestation of manic and depressive states. So please let's play with thisssss.

Recommend me fics with any combination of these themes and I'll love you forever. Please and thank you!!

[eclipsedshadowk]

Surely, no one will understand me, but

[ya-boi-haru]

Kaleidoscope, Prison Duo, Ghaae, Centross x Kai, End Duo, Ariboo, Garden Duo (probs more - pick your poison)...

With a Beauty and the Beast AU

(More specifically, the 2011 "Beastly" adaptation)

[elpeadro]

I diagnose the Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld gang with QPR (queer-platonic relationship). It is so blatant and I love them so much.

Jentry-Michael: childhood best friends who haven't seen each other for half their lives after one of them accidentally burned down half the town (including her best friend’s home) with her magical fire powers and got sent away to Korea. Hit it off like nothing ever happened the day Jentry gets back in town. Gugu teases her about him because Jentry is not subtle at all. Protagonist girl x stereotypical love interest boy. Get to bond over being pressured to be someone they’re not by parental figures and being lied to about their powers. He dreams about her at night. (Don’t worry it’s not creepy.) She nearly kills him while he’s at work. Dating life stop-starts like 5 times because of shenanigans and poor communication and also maybe because their relationship isn’t meant to be romantic in nature.

Jentry-Kit: shapeshifter-adjacent demon who stalks, flirts with, seduces, lies to, threatens, and makes and wears a skin-suit of his mark only to fold after one (1) conversation, when she suggests he already has a soul, because he is that desperate for love and validation. Oh, and he’s working for the main villain who killed her parents, her great-aunt, and is actively trying to kill her. Protagonist girl x cool aloof bad boy love interest. Get to bond over being manipulated into fighting their authority figures’ feud/war. Lowkey is responsible for her almost killing stereotypical love interest boy. One kiss is enough to make him crash out when she rejects his advances afterwards. He falls for the oldest trick in the book, which is falling for your mark. He nearly dies distracting Cheng so that she can save the day (fuck you canon; you can’t take him away from me). He does this by wearing his Jentry skin-suit. They share the most homoerotically-charged scene in a TV-PG show while he’s building and putting on said skin-suit. Him nearly stealing her qi is so intimate and also please don’t do that without her consent sir 💀.

Michael-Kit: did you not SEE episode 5? They’re the nastiest parallels to ever parallel, to the point that their narrative energy warps reality and makes the lunch lady go on a comically direct lecture about how they need to choose for themselves what they want. This lecture is somehow about their identity issues and entire life’s course, and also about what they want for lunch. It is entirely unprompted. Kit nearly got him killed at work. They’re two-thirds of a love triangle, and a triangle can only be a triangle if it has 3 sides. (You get what I’m saying?) They were brothers-in-arms at the Alamo. They’re both incapable of not lying. Michael dreams about him the same number of times he dreams about Jentry. (Don’t worry it’s still not creepy.) They somehow avoid the stereotypical “high school love triangle drama” plot points between the two of them only because they’re busy fucking up their relationships in even bigger ways. Oh, and he prom-posed to Kit.

Michael-Stella: walking cliche of the high school “it” couple that was doomed the moment they set foot on the show. They were going to go to college together ffs. They dodge love triangle cliches regarding Jentry because they both think she’s that cool. She makes him protein bars. (Which suck, but it’s the thought that counts.) Football player x comphet lesbian. No seriously, she’s the most comphet lesbian to ever comphet lesbian.  They have cliche “romantic chemistry”, but then they break up because he lies to her about wanting to be a shitty flute player over a superstar wide receiver recruit (except it’s not really a lie, but also it is), and they move over the “awkward exes” period and are much better characters and friends. He dreams about her at night as well. (Again, still not creepy.)

Jentry-Stella: the girliest girl friend duo in the world. Stella helps her adjust to a new school in a way that is so nice and sweet that it’s one of the more unrealistic parts of the show. They have a scene in Stella’s bedroom. Their male love interests fumble them at roughly the same time, and then they do spirit week together and are having the time of their lives. She braids Jentry’s hair. They’re both so cool, but also so lame in their own ways. Also there’s no way Stella doesn’t have somewhat of a crush on her because 1) Jentry is that cool and pretty and awesome, and 2) Stella is a certified girl lover.

Kit-Stella: look they didn’t really interact in canon, but he’s on her shit list. She’s got her eye on him at all times, because Jentry may have forgiven him, but she’s watching out for her friend. She 100% gave him the shovel talk. Things get REALLY awkward if Jentry and/or Michael aren’t there, because these two are easily the weak link of the QPR.

Also all four of them are some form of queer.

[achirding]

Sonic finds that there are some definite perks to being the king. C:

[dabeth-is-dead]

One fun thing about being definitively aroace but loving romance as a plot device is that my shipping knows no gender restrictions because my interest is entirely literary/anthropological in nature

[kakushigotofanclub]

Obasanegiyuu is so freaking funny to me because I imagine it's just Sanemi and Obanai complaining about Giyuu to each other and the complaints slowly going from "he acts like he thinks he's better than everyone" to "why is he so dark and mysterious all the time" to "he's got these infuriatingly gorgeous eyes like-"

And then one day they just look at each other and go oh shit

[spittyfishy]

Danganronpa WLWeek2023 day seven: Free Day

Athletic polycule slowly absorbing enough members for a full girls volleyball team

@danggirlronpa

[autumnalfallingleaves]

I think they'd be cute, to be honest, and if they don't have a ship name yet, I vote for "HavocSpecter" :)

Bonus doodle and rambles underneath the cut

reblogs are highly appreciated, and please do not repost my art

[nevertheless-moving]

thinking about how fucking impossible it would be to pine secretly after someone on roshar. Like even if we assume that passionspren are only summoned by the most intense love and/or horniness - that's almost worse isn't it? Because you wouldn't be able to laugh it off like 'haha just a passing thought. Whoops again? Hahaha oh I suppose I have a little crush'

Anyway Kaladin doing one of his canonical epic hero glowing stunts with his canonical destroyed/soaked clothing (what. the man is constantly avoiding shardblades and arrows by a hairsbreath and flying around In Highstorms. The only reason he would even have pants at the end of WOR after the everstorm/highstorm fight is because we're following comic book rules- there's no way this man isn't going through clothes faster than James T Kirk - even if he's not his uniform shirt is WHITE and -)

ANYWAY kaladin having one of his Protaganist Moments and like. There is less than than zero time between the 'Oh. Oh.' Moment and Eventual Feelings Reveal because blorbo B is very visibly displaying a personified manifestation of intense romantic adoration.

[crescentpaws]

was told to post this here so. yeah.

where my fintan x bronte enjoyers at yoooooo (i’m delusional)

[midnight-blue-goth]

An OT4 where they all 'hate' each other 👌💯