protect me, my aurora💞

hiya! paola, 20, ♑, i love pretty things & listen to pretty music. feel free to talk to me, im always here☄️

[mayfvlds]

frank langdon and his mel king staring problem

[malglories]

like what if you were a dark cesspool of self-hatred and shame but also a really fucking incredible doctor. you’re on edge all the time and your marriage is falling apart and nothing you’re trying is working so you throw yourself into work even more. and you know you shouldn’t have taken the pills, but it was just hurting so bad and—you’ll stop you’ll stop you’ll stop. just one more time and then you’ll stop. and you hate yourself so much. your soul is black and you know it but you can’t even admit it to yourself. but if you can save just one more person it’s worth it. right? it’s worth it, right? and then in walks—sunshine.

and on the other side of it…you’re lonely and talented and oh so capable and there’s so much pain and hardship and death in the world. but someone has to help. someone has to help and so it might as well be you. even though it’s loud and overwhelming. even though you have to grapple with people’s emotions on the worst days of their lives…every single day of yours. you don’t know how you bear it every day. you don’t know if you can. but you keep trying because someone has to. and you walk in to work just wanting to make a difference, maybe even to make a friend. and there’s this doctor—this brilliant, sharp, handsome confident doctor—and he’s kind sometimes. he says you’re sensitive. and he says we need people like you. badly.

like!!!

[honorarybimbo-deactivated202601]

no because here's the thing do you know how Incredible clicking the way kingdon did feels, platonic or romantic as you wanna take it, you enter a new environment and you're preparing to manage your neurodivergency around new people and you're here to learn and you want to make sure to instantly signal your optimism and enthusiasm and a few hours later there's this weird lanky jumpy husky calling you his 'least problematic intern' and constantly checking in on you without being condescending/patronising/implying you can't handle yourself and he's telling you pirate jokes and skipping excitedly ahead of you after specifically asking for you for a stemi all because you talked twice and just fucking Clicked and you were looking for friends and now you have this connection that feels like muscle memory from the future, and that's a BOND, like, FUCK

[addawithbalmiki]

on my posting era so last post tonight about why Mel and Frank are perceived as being romantic despite all the media's (scoff) disbelief and why can't a woman and man be friends doesn't really work for them: BECAUSE Langdon already has female friends and his dynamic with them are soooo different from what he shares with Mel.

they repeatedly point out how langdon is not someone who's, while quite likable, soft and gentle. he banters with garcia, collins and dana. he's wildly gleeful and snarky over every single conversation, even while treating patients. he's serious and distant with trinity, and hostile with her later on. he shows kindness to whittaker when his patient dies, but doesn't go out of his way to engage with him. with everyone else in the show, frank langdon is shown to be a bit of an asshole and abrasive without softening his edges.

EXCEPT MEL.

like the change isn't immediate. he doesn't automatically go soft on her, but when he sees that she's not engaging with him the way he's comfortable with and also that she's quite different, he changes his approach. he praises her in ways he doesn't praise anyone. he seeks her out for patient care. he constantly asks her if she's okay. it's a direct contrast to the man frank langdon is portrayed to be and he's so vocal about his preference that there's no room for misinterpretation. add to this the constant running theme of langdon being a neglectful husband and the patients reflecting his life, you can see that what mel and frank share is an instant connection.

and then people will come and cry about "why can't a man and woman be friends?"

[rileygorski-deactivated20260106]

i just find it funny that kingdon fics are all slow burn 25 years of yearning to get together meanwhile the show is only half a day, one shift in and langdon looks at mel like she’s hung the stars in the sky seven hours into meeting her and calling her his favorite two hours later.

[billspaid]

Love the idea of Frank loving Mel loudly. He’s over the top about how much he loves her. Constantly calling her baby and sweetheart, also slipping his hand into hers and swaying their interlocked fingers whilst they walk. He’s not ashamed of pda and he’s always touching her, even when they agreed to keep it a secret at work, his hands would always find her waist and he’d always sag against her, resting his cheek on her head.

And this is a first for Mel. She always thought she’d end up with someone like her, quiet, loves privately, behind closed doors and hidden behind corners. Nothing wrong with that, love doesn’t need to displayed in front of everyone.

But then Mel ends up with Frank and she’s constantly overwhelmed by just how much he loves her, how open he is it, how he does so brazenly. He’ll kiss her like he hasn’t kissed her in years and he’ll shout “love you!”from Across the Pitt whilst she passes him to catch a trauma case and it knocks her off her feet.

But Mel ends up with Frank and she never has to second guess his love. Never has to wonder if he’s not 100% in, not when she wakes up every morning with him kissing her shoulder and saying things like “morning. Love you. Let’s eat toast in bed before work. God I love you more than yesterday. Isn’t that crazy? I spent 10 mins watching you sleep. It’s not weird, you can’t tell me off. Okay, I’m going to make toast. Love you love you love you.”

[vankingdon]

I don't think y'all realize just how significant the "sensitive people' scene is. It's the first time I clocked that Langdon actually did have a drug problem. I could tell by the way he sat down because that's how *I* sit down.

When you have chronic pain, things as simple sitting down can be painful. You can see it in the way that he braces against the wall, moves in spurts, almost lets a breath out when he finally gets down, only moves his head once he's down.

His attention is 100% on Mel, but his body language says otherwise. His whole body is facing straight, he's not relaxed or calm, he's facing the room more than her. Because he literally can't move his body. He'd probably double over in pain or not be able to move. But he's moving as much of his body as humanly possible to look at her.

He is putting himself through physical pain to comfort Mel. Her comfort and trust in her abilities are more important to Langdon than his own. He's gonna be feeling it for the rest of the day at absolute minimum, but he doesn't even hesitate.

[stitchkiss]

every kingdon fic is like oh frank langdon? he's the Most Divorced Man Ever and he's a (recovering) DRUG ADDICT who's DIVORCED or GOING TO BE because he's IN LOVE with DOCTOR MEL KING and he has custody of a DOG who's name NO ONE can agree on that he bought WITHOUT ASKING his wife who probably isn't his wife and her name is abby and she is a BITCH but she DESERVES to be and he almost NEVER sees his kids of varying age but are super young and who's names are tanner and [insert any white girl name] because did i mention he's DIVORCED and a (recovering) DRUG ADDICT who's IN LOVE with DOCTOR MEL KING who he always CARPOOLS with and she's ALSO IN LOVE WITH DOCTOR FRANK LANGDON even though he has the Most Unmoanable Name Ever and he ALWAYS knows what she NEEDS because he FELL IN LOVE with her AUTISTIC SWAG and UNDERSTANDS HER and she visited him in REHAB and she treats him like NORMAL PERSON and when he's out they see each other at a PARK because apparently pittsburg has So Many of them and he learns dr king has a SISTER who's ALSO autistic and becca either lives at The Facility or DOESNT but no one can agree on which one and EVERY TIME mel and frank wanna almost-bone she's conveniently NOT THERE (and neither are his KIDS) but at some point becca has met frank and LIKES him and wants her sister to KISS HIM and maybe mel DOES or DOESNT kiss him BUT THEN Something Bad Happens at work and it's so OBVIOUS they're in love and ROBBY is UPSET because NOW he has to call HR and deal with PAPERWORK

[rylandgracie]

what if you are a SENIOR RESIDENT at the ER and you are also MARRIED with KIDS but then this GOLDEN BALL OF SUNSHINE starts working with you and you FEEL THINGS and you are also an ADDICT and there’s a SHOOTING and you GET FIRED because your boss whom you IDOLIZE finds the PILLS you STOLE and you might lose your MEDICAL LICENSE but you are IN LOVE and CONFUSED and MARRIED and an ADDICT and BUYING A DOG and all this happens in the span of 14 HOURS

[cheekbonered]

what if mel wears her hair down into work one day with the plan of tying it back when she gets there and langdon walks into a wall

[delinquentkru]

the narrative/visual cues in this scene from 1x01 are so important to how the show views mel and langdon’s dynamic and i need to talk about it lol

robby doesn’t really have any friends, nor does he want any. while he is obviously willing to mentor those junior to him at the pitt, he is also very clearly uninterested in their personal lives (with the exception of collins). he’s able to support them when it comes to difficulties on the job but it doesn’t go much further than that.

the issue there is that most of the characters are not leaving their work at work (including robby himself lmao). it is seemingly going home with them and impacting the other parts of their lives. ultimately, they all need to connect with others who understand that feeling and can help them navigate it. mel isn’t as guarded as the rest of them so she makes it pretty apparent that she’s looking for this kind of connection (speaking of, can everyone pls just be friends with her already??? jfc). langdon is more subtle about it, but he's also looking for the exact same thing.

his exchange with robby in this scene is so telling because he clearly sees robby as one of his best friends and robby can barely admit that they're friends at all (which....brutal). langdon is asking for emotional connection/reassurance in that moment and, essentially, being rejected.

and right as this rejection is occurring, mel enters the scene (both literally and figuratively lol). mel, who wants emotional connection and is very willing to give it in return. it feels like a little wink from the show letting you know that these two are going to be actual friends. it’s also a perfectly written starting point for the parallel between robby and langdon’s mentor-mentee relationship and the one that comes to exist between langdon and mel. whereas robby is not attuned enough to langdon to notice his struggles, langdon is constantly checking in with mel to make sure she’s doing okay and then offering up support when she needs it. langdon's not perfect at it and he missteps a few times when it comes to her, but it feels a lot like he is treating mel the way he wishes robby would treat him </3

you then have the added intrigue of robby watching langdon and mel interact for the first time and looking for collins immediately after. as if something about those two possibly reminded robby of himself and collins. i just find the choice to visually parallel langdon/mel and robby/collins in 1x01 to be very curious now that we know robby and collins were romantically involved. and i don’t have much more to say regarding that other than 👀👀👀

tl;dr the framing of mel and langdon’s first real interaction on the show really highlights how important they are/will be to one another.

[donetbhlmao]

i just. something about the intimacy of mel saying "you're here!" to frank from across a packed ER. not "dr. langdon, you're here!". nothing to grab his attention.

i don't know, it's just an incredibly intimate scene? like she recognizes his voice (!!), double-takes, and can't contain her excitement at the fact that he's back. this little exchange also happens at an extremely pivotal point in mel's arc - we see her struggling with the responsibility and wondering whether she even has the "special sauce," and because her hype man has been missing, she doesn't have the reassurance. until she sees langdon again.

and he KNOWS she's calling to him. im going insane does anyone want anything.

[alliekitaguchi]

insane chemistry aside, i think mel and langdon would make an incredible couple because it would be nice to see the awkward autistic girl paired up with the man literally nicknamed "ER ken."

like... to most of the others, she's odd and quirky and a lot of people don't understand her or get her humor... except for the 6 foot something dark-haired, blue eyed senior doctor who looks at her like the sun shines out of her ass and goes out of his way to check in on her 4 times in 12 hours and compliments her easily.

maybe years of seeing the awkward, weird girl be the sidekick to supermodel protagonists has irrevocably rewired my brain, but it would be nice to see the weird girl be with the hot guy for once!

[miracle-and-wonder]

A reason I think I've latched onto Kingdon and the idea of Mel and Langdon together so fast and hard is because they managed to take an already excellent trope of grumpy/sunshine and turn it into something better: brick wall vs open book.

Langdon is honest about nothing in his life. His whole persona is a way to shield himself from everyone around him by being a cynical, sardonic asshole. He doesn't want to have anyone see that he's sensitive, that the ER broke him and he's hiding something. He's also good at it. So good that no one around him realizes that something's off and it takes a day one intern to realize that something's fishy about him.

Enter Mel. Mel who can't tell when someone's joking. Who can't hide it when she's excited or sad or frustrated. She wears her heart on her sleeve and every emotion on her face, and suddenly Langdon can't wear his mask around her.

It's so telling to me that the person in the ER that Langdon is the most earnest with, the most kind to is Mel. He tries to joke with her, sure, but he goes out of his way to be sincere with her whenever he has the chance. When he actually confessed that he learned something from her with Terrance, I was blown away because I guarantee he's never admitted that out loud to any other resident or attending physician in his career.

But he has to admit it to Mel because that's the only way she's going to know. Mel is forcing him to lower his defenses, to be kind and complimentary, and I am eating up every second of it.

[malglories]

you’re telling me there’s an arrogant, sarcastic doctor who immediately notices when a painfully earnest and caring doctor gets upset??? and he says “sorry, i did a fellowship in cynicism” like he can’t stand to see the sunshine fade out of her??? and i’m not supposed to think they’re made for each other????????

[divorcedfranklangdon]

Congrats to the greatest shot ever being Emmy nominated

[hawktims]

this is pushing me to the brink of insanity bcs what do you mean i got "langdon likes to feel needed" "mel gives him the gift of saying i do need some help" "no one's biting until mel" and "mel softens langdon" ALL IN ONE INTERVIEW?????