2023 Ship Promo Post!

[rarepairmod]

We know most of you have been looking forward to this post, so without further ado, here's your chance to share what you love about the rare ships you've nominated and will either request and/or offer! Some of the rare ships in the tagset belong to rare canons. If you're someone who loves trying new canons or is currently on the hunt to become obsessive about something else, this is a great post for you!

You can use the form below to get started. (You don't have to if you don't want to, but we advise trying to make your comment easy to read.)

Canon:

Ships:

Media:

A summary of the canon:

What do you love about this ship/these ships?:

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:

Content warnings:

If you want to copy/paste the HTML:

<B>Canon:</B> <B>Ships:</B> <B>Media:</B> <B>A summary of the canon:</B> <B>What do you love about this ship/these ships?:</B> <B>What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:</B> <B>Content warnings:</B>

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You can also use this post to ask for canon recs. We recommend advising what you're looking for (a particular medium or a canon that's so many hours long?)—and it wouldn't hurt to mention what kind of ship dynamics/tropes you're into since that's why we're here!

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Thanks to yuletide for the inspiration for the form.

Comments

Uncle (TV 2014) - Andy King/Val Pearson

[delphi]

Canon: Uncle (TV 2014)

Ships: Andy King/Val Pearson

Media: Television (19 half-hour episodes)

A summary of the canon: Uncle is a comedy about Andy, played by Nick Helm, who's a depressed, impulsive, and cantankerous musician in his thirties whose rock career and life in general are in a slump. After he finds himself called upon to babysit his awkward twelve-year-old nephew, the two form an unlikely friendship (and a band) that puts Andy on the road to figuring himself out, reconnecting with music, and forming meaningful relationships with family and friends.

One of the people in his circle is his ex-girlfriend's father, Val, played by Con O'Neill in a supporting role. Val is a middle-aged nonbinary former punk rocker turned events manager who now owns a gay club. Fiercely protective of his daughter and initially not at all a fan of Andy from the days the pair were dating, he soon becomes a mentor figure for Andy, dispensing sage and vaguely threatening advice from his own challenging journey as well as the occasional bit of, ah, application of force below the belt that Andy really doesn't seem that opposed to.

The show has a warm heart under its sometimes darker and rougher-edged humour. While a lot of the comedy arises from the way Andy makes things more difficult for himself and the first six episodes take him to a new low, he nonetheless grows in very satisfying ways throughout seasons 2 and 3, and the finale is one of my all-time favourites.

What do you love about this ship:

The Payoff
Andy's character development is closely tied to times when Val is advising him, but we know he's arriving when Val steps back and expects him to stand on his own—and that he's reached someplace to be proud of when he's the one that Val can reach out to for a willing ear and good advice. Andy's final conversation with Val on the show involves him seeing Val's strengths and insecurities, kissing his hand, and by his own admission accidentally hitting on him.

The Chemistry
Even when they're antagonizing each other—or especially when they're antagonizing each other—there's a flirtatious note to it. Andy compliments Val's appearance. Val climbs into bed with Andy to grab him by the tender parts to threaten him (with a reaction from Andy that implies he doesn't hate it). Andy forbids Val from flirting with his father, which Val goes ahead and does in front of him anyway to vex him. They've got each other's full attention in scenes, and when they don't, it's something the other one wants to correct.

The Potential
There's a little moment I love where Andy is about to go out on stage, and Val is waiting in the audience watching for him, dressed very much like the sexy girlfriend in an early '90s music video. We can see that Val knows what's keeping Andy as he has a crisis over whether to play, and when Andy stakes the stage and starts singing, there's a glimpse of Val mouthing along to the lyrics. That combination of how they know each other and the way they overlap as musicians (including another great scene where Andy has angry notes for all his volunteer session musicians but has to admit that Val was all right) makes me want to see what they could be together moving forward.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Primarily things set near the end of the series and beyond, although AUs and backstory would be fantastic too. Anything to do with music or fashion. Comedy, drama, bad-idea-sex, genuine romance, Andy re-examining his sexuality, Val re-examining his taste, it's all good.

Content warnings: The show deals with some difficult topics such as mental health and substance use as well as cancer treatment. The series opens with Andy poised to attempt suicide before a call from his sister diverts his plan.

Video: Val Giving Andy Life Advice

Picset: Val Taking a More Hands-On Corrective Approach (SFW because of where the screen cuts off)

Gifset: Andy Being Earnestly Sweet to Val