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Monarch of the Glen | Oneshot: Fall Into the Sky
Title: Fall Into the Sky
Fandom: Monarch of the Glen
Universe: Canon (Series 1)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: M
Warning(s): Innuendo, sexual content
Word Count: 2,585
Summary: Episode 1x7. If the ‘damn fine snog’ that Archie and Lexie shared on the sleeper train from London hadn’t ended when it did…
Links: DW | FF.net | AO3
Written for the "cajole" prompt on my 2015 Summer Mini Challenge table.
Talk about a story that came out of nowhere - hell, even a fandom that came out of nowhere! I've been a MotG fan for a long time, but it was one of those series that I put aside and kinda forgot about until I was looking for something to marathon during my staycation this past week. I wanted something British and fun, so I pulled my DVDs off the shelf - and the rest is history...
...in that I fell for this series and these characters like a ton of fucking bricks, LOL. It is a cute little show that just sucks you in with its magical mix of comedy and drama, quirky characters, and breathtaking scenery ♥
Back in 2009, I did a the shipping meme on LJ and this pairing was one of the ones I mentioned as a sort of enduring OTP. Here's what I said back then:
This ship is a rarity for me, in that it is not the first pairing that was presented in the canon. Archie started out with a girlfriend, Justine, with whom he lived in London. He then cycles through a couple of other paramours before finally realizing that Lexie is the one for him, and the one he ultimately marries.
This pairing kinda came out of nowhere in Series 1, in the penultimate episode. There is a contest in London among the restaurants - whichever is the first to serve fresh grouse for Twelfth Night wins a cash prize and a spread in a food magazine. Archie and Lexie are traveling to London with fresh fish and grouse and are basically racing against time to meet the deadline and win the contest. Of course, things don't exactly go as planned, and they end up having to hitch a ride down with an ice cream truck, so they have to take the overnight train back to Glenbogle. This fic takes place in the final third of that episode, a bit of alternate canon, if you will. Here is some setup:
How's that for a first kiss, LOL? The chemistry between Archie and Lexie practically leaps off the screen, and to me, it was crying out for more.
I wanted to write something smutty, but the characters have so much depth and complexity that I couldn't really just shirk it all in favor of sexytimez. Plus, I really wanted to challenge myself to write something that would slot into the canon - which means it'd make sense not only in the 'morning after' scene at the end of that clip, but also when Archie inadvertently spills the beans to two of Lexie's most ardent admirers:
and when he apologizes to her for it:
"I'd especially like to apologize to you, Lexie. I'm mortified at the thought that I might have hurt you, because over the past few weeks and months I've come to see just what a special girl you are...and before anyone else does a simple sum with that sentence and comes up with a figure approaching the size of our overdraft, let me say that nothing has happened between us that I am ashamed of, or that warrants any explanation to anyone." (at 1:00 in the above clip)
In canon, all they did was kiss (albeit quite passionately) but his explanations leave it open instead of specifying just what it was that happened between them. Considering Lexie's spacy behavior at the start of this episode, it's rather obvious that she's smitten with him, though she does well to hide her feelings.
No, that will come later, in Series 2, when she propositions him in the bath :P
I had a lot of fun with this - it was fairly easy to slip into Lexie's voice, because it is such a unique one, I think. My wit is not quite that sharp but I think I did okay here =) Archie definitely hits all my buttons for dark, brooding lords with tragic pasts, and I can't help but have a lot of sympathy for him. He spends much of the final episode of Series 1 looking absolutely haunted as the weight of the world bears down on him. I just wanted someone to give him a hug, because he constantly appeared in need of one.
It really didn't help that Justine was a total bitch, and she makes his life that much harder by continuing to insist that he leave his family and return to her in London - rather hypocritical, considering family is the #1 reason she gives him for not wanting to move with him to Glenbogle. Whereas I could deal with Katrina, I just can't with Justine. She didn't deserve him, and I have no idea how in the world they got together, much less stayed together for five years o.O
Lexie has a bit of a tragic past herself, having left her broken home at age 15, and there's quite a bit of her background to plumb - I can definitely see myself writing more for her.
The first 3 series of MotG are considered classic. Things start to fall apart a bit when patriarch Hector dies, and then the cast starts to turn over in a major way. Even though I came into it originally in Series 5 for Lloyd Owen (who plays Paul) when I went back I just completely fell in love with Archie and his family. I've been rewatching episodes over and over again, and feel so reluctant to return to my real life tomorrow. My only regret is that I didn't do this earlier in the week, so I'd have more time to revel, LOL.
The title of this piece (and the inspiration song for it) is yet another gem from Zedd:
I don't know if I'll finish my table this year, but I do know that I am definitely not finished with writing for this series ♥
Fandom: Monarch of the Glen
Universe: Canon (Series 1)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: M
Warning(s): Innuendo, sexual content
Word Count: 2,585
Summary: Episode 1x7. If the ‘damn fine snog’ that Archie and Lexie shared on the sleeper train from London hadn’t ended when it did…
Links: DW | FF.net | AO3
Written for the "cajole" prompt on my 2015 Summer Mini Challenge table.
Talk about a story that came out of nowhere - hell, even a fandom that came out of nowhere! I've been a MotG fan for a long time, but it was one of those series that I put aside and kinda forgot about until I was looking for something to marathon during my staycation this past week. I wanted something British and fun, so I pulled my DVDs off the shelf - and the rest is history...
...in that I fell for this series and these characters like a ton of fucking bricks, LOL. It is a cute little show that just sucks you in with its magical mix of comedy and drama, quirky characters, and breathtaking scenery ♥
Back in 2009, I did a the shipping meme on LJ and this pairing was one of the ones I mentioned as a sort of enduring OTP. Here's what I said back then:
Monarch of the Glen was another one of those awesome late 90s BBC shows that was imported across the pond. It's mainly the tale of Archie MacDonald, the (very relunctant) laird of Glenbogle, a Scottish Highlands estate - that is also a complete money pit. In the first series, he's happily living in London and trying to make a life for himself with a new restaurant, but he is recalled to his childhood home to take over the duties of the laird from his wayward father. He fights it with all his might, but as he becomes reacquainted with his family and finds friends amongst his tenants, slowly but surely he decides to stick around.
He has a fairly tragic backstory not uncommon to those of noble birth, but the biggest sticking point is the fact that he was the younger son, and was never supposed to take over the duties of laird - but his older brother was killed in a tragic accident, one for which he still blames himself.
He has several romantic entanglements on the show, including with Lexie, the charming housekeeper. It's pretty impossible not to root for the feisty, unorthodox Lexie. She has her feet firmly planted on the ground, even when she doesn't want to, and Archie really has to work to win her - and keep her.
This ship is a rarity for me, in that it is not the first pairing that was presented in the canon. Archie started out with a girlfriend, Justine, with whom he lived in London. He then cycles through a couple of other paramours before finally realizing that Lexie is the one for him, and the one he ultimately marries.
This pairing kinda came out of nowhere in Series 1, in the penultimate episode. There is a contest in London among the restaurants - whichever is the first to serve fresh grouse for Twelfth Night wins a cash prize and a spread in a food magazine. Archie and Lexie are traveling to London with fresh fish and grouse and are basically racing against time to meet the deadline and win the contest. Of course, things don't exactly go as planned, and they end up having to hitch a ride down with an ice cream truck, so they have to take the overnight train back to Glenbogle. This fic takes place in the final third of that episode, a bit of alternate canon, if you will. Here is some setup:
How's that for a first kiss, LOL? The chemistry between Archie and Lexie practically leaps off the screen, and to me, it was crying out for more.
I wanted to write something smutty, but the characters have so much depth and complexity that I couldn't really just shirk it all in favor of sexytimez. Plus, I really wanted to challenge myself to write something that would slot into the canon - which means it'd make sense not only in the 'morning after' scene at the end of that clip, but also when Archie inadvertently spills the beans to two of Lexie's most ardent admirers:
and when he apologizes to her for it:
"I'd especially like to apologize to you, Lexie. I'm mortified at the thought that I might have hurt you, because over the past few weeks and months I've come to see just what a special girl you are...and before anyone else does a simple sum with that sentence and comes up with a figure approaching the size of our overdraft, let me say that nothing has happened between us that I am ashamed of, or that warrants any explanation to anyone." (at 1:00 in the above clip)
In canon, all they did was kiss (albeit quite passionately) but his explanations leave it open instead of specifying just what it was that happened between them. Considering Lexie's spacy behavior at the start of this episode, it's rather obvious that she's smitten with him, though she does well to hide her feelings.
No, that will come later, in Series 2, when she propositions him in the bath :P
I had a lot of fun with this - it was fairly easy to slip into Lexie's voice, because it is such a unique one, I think. My wit is not quite that sharp but I think I did okay here =) Archie definitely hits all my buttons for dark, brooding lords with tragic pasts, and I can't help but have a lot of sympathy for him. He spends much of the final episode of Series 1 looking absolutely haunted as the weight of the world bears down on him. I just wanted someone to give him a hug, because he constantly appeared in need of one.
It really didn't help that Justine was a total bitch, and she makes his life that much harder by continuing to insist that he leave his family and return to her in London - rather hypocritical, considering family is the #1 reason she gives him for not wanting to move with him to Glenbogle. Whereas I could deal with Katrina, I just can't with Justine. She didn't deserve him, and I have no idea how in the world they got together, much less stayed together for five years o.O
Lexie has a bit of a tragic past herself, having left her broken home at age 15, and there's quite a bit of her background to plumb - I can definitely see myself writing more for her.
The first 3 series of MotG are considered classic. Things start to fall apart a bit when patriarch Hector dies, and then the cast starts to turn over in a major way. Even though I came into it originally in Series 5 for Lloyd Owen (who plays Paul) when I went back I just completely fell in love with Archie and his family. I've been rewatching episodes over and over again, and feel so reluctant to return to my real life tomorrow. My only regret is that I didn't do this earlier in the week, so I'd have more time to revel, LOL.
The title of this piece (and the inspiration song for it) is yet another gem from Zedd:
I don't know if I'll finish my table this year, but I do know that I am definitely not finished with writing for this series ♥