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Monarch of the Glen | Paper Hearts (Author's Notes, Part 2)
Title: Paper Hearts
Fandom: Monarch of the Glen
Universe: Canon (Series 3)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: M
Rating: Language, innuendo
Word Count: 9,455
Summary: Series 3. They could never quite get their timing right…until they did. Four times when Archie shouldn’t have kissed Lexie (but did), and one time when he very definitely should have – and did.
Links: DW | AO3 | FF.net
And we move along to part two in this series of author's notes =)
We move forward a bit in the canon, to a tiny, tucked away scene near the beginning of S3E4. Here are the key points:
---
The context: Lexie came back at the end of the second episode, though not before Stella needled her about only coming back because Archie worked his "masculine charms" on her - which Lexie of course vehemently denies. In Episode 3, Stella finally experiences a bit of comeuppance, as she tries to have Golly prosecuted for stealing fish from the estate, and manages to turn the estate and the village against her in the process. Her attempts to use the law to cut Golly down to size backfire immensely, and she's thrown out of her accommodation at Duncan's aunt's bed-and-breakfast. Archie invites her to stay at Glenbogle House, much to everyone's dismay - especially Lexie's.
Lexie feels very put out at this turn of events, because not only is Stella now living at the house 24/7, Lexie perceives her as a threat to her burgeoning relationship with Archie. It doesn't help that Stella needles her, or uses Duncan's very obvious crush to manipulate him into doing things for her, but Lexie isn't exactly helping herself either, with her attitude.
The scene:
This particular scene happens in the depths of the house, the first time it's really shown how much Lexie has been forced into a below stairs/Cinderella role, which does not suit her. She's used to having the run of the house, not to being ~a servant~, per se.
It was actually the last bit of dialogue that convinced me that this was the perfect scene for an illicit kiss:
All he did in the canon was quite literally ask, so I thought it was a rather odd response for her to give. But if he'd acted in a way that gave her a reason to hope that there was still something brewing between them, such a line would be warranted =)
I had to adjust the dialogue a bit to insert the kiss, and in doing so I created a bit of more overt tension between them. I diverge from the episode at Archie's "You know how we stand" line, because it sets up the perfect opening for her to actually, directly question him about just that. He does not have a history of being very direct himself, but he responds quite nicely to it when forced - and that's exactly what he does here, by conveying in actions what he cannot convey in words.
I thought it fit nicely with the chosen lyric for this chapter, "…I’m slipping down a chain reaction – and here I go, here I go, here I go, go…" because while he did very intentionally kiss her this time, he almost lost control of the situation, given the way that she responded this time.
Why it's the wrong moment: Because he's not ready to tackle the feelings that she's stirred up in him, and because he chooses precisely that moment, post-kiss, to plead with her to get along with Stella. It feels like a horrible, manipulative move, and she reacts accordingly. It makes him feel worse than he already does about the whole situation, and just as helpless - so basically, this is just as much a step backwards for them as it is a step in the right direction.
Canon references: She’d been even more playful and flirtatious than usual, which he’d appreciated, but even more than that, she’d also helped him out of a major jam, managing to secure – on short notice – enough food to feed all twelve of his friends who had come up from London for a weekend of fishing. = The B-plot of S3E3 (Archie has invited a group of his friends up for the weekend of fishing and everything very nearly falls apart because of Stella's meddling and insistence on doing things her way instead of the way things are done in the great far north), mixed with a little bit of the C-plot (Molly reads Lexie's tea leaves one morning, proclaiming that she sees romance in Lexie's very near future - at precisely the moment Archie walks into the room. Lexie runs with this prediction, being very obviously flirtatious with him every chance she gets, and when she learns how much this weekend means to him, she basically pulls a rabbit out of the proverbial hat and saves the day - only to learn that he's invited her arch enemy to live among them now.)
“Look, Lex,” he began, launching into a speech that was starting to sound vexingly familiar, “Stella has come here to help save Glenbogle. We might not like her style or her way of doing things, but she’s the only chance we’ve got.” He held her gaze for a long moment. “Either we help her, or we can say goodbye to our home forever.” = Archie's speech to Hector when his father bristles at the notion of inviting Stella to live with them in S3E3 - I thought it would be pertinent to repeat here, and for Lexie to have basically the same reaction as Hector did, if only to show that she isn't merely jealous of another woman in the house.
“Why did I bother coming back? Surely now that Wonder Woman is here, she can run this household better than I can!” = a shoutout to the great opening scene of this particular episode, when Lexie is laying all of her frustrations with all of the changes that have been made out on poor Duncan.
---
Here we have another example of their timing being terrible - a great kiss happening for just as many of the wrong reasons as for the right ones. Archie wants to assure Lexie of her place in the household - and in his life - but he only ends up making matters worse. This pushes her headlong into Stuart Macintosh's arms, which proves to be a HUGE mistake - but also the lynchpin of the romantice storyline for this entire series.
Fandom: Monarch of the Glen
Universe: Canon (Series 3)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: M
Rating: Language, innuendo
Word Count: 9,455
Summary: Series 3. They could never quite get their timing right…until they did. Four times when Archie shouldn’t have kissed Lexie (but did), and one time when he very definitely should have – and did.
Links: DW | AO3 | FF.net
And we move along to part two in this series of author's notes =)
We move forward a bit in the canon, to a tiny, tucked away scene near the beginning of S3E4. Here are the key points:
---
The context: Lexie came back at the end of the second episode, though not before Stella needled her about only coming back because Archie worked his "masculine charms" on her - which Lexie of course vehemently denies. In Episode 3, Stella finally experiences a bit of comeuppance, as she tries to have Golly prosecuted for stealing fish from the estate, and manages to turn the estate and the village against her in the process. Her attempts to use the law to cut Golly down to size backfire immensely, and she's thrown out of her accommodation at Duncan's aunt's bed-and-breakfast. Archie invites her to stay at Glenbogle House, much to everyone's dismay - especially Lexie's.
Lexie feels very put out at this turn of events, because not only is Stella now living at the house 24/7, Lexie perceives her as a threat to her burgeoning relationship with Archie. It doesn't help that Stella needles her, or uses Duncan's very obvious crush to manipulate him into doing things for her, but Lexie isn't exactly helping herself either, with her attitude.
The scene:
This particular scene happens in the depths of the house, the first time it's really shown how much Lexie has been forced into a below stairs/Cinderella role, which does not suit her. She's used to having the run of the house, not to being ~a servant~, per se.
It was actually the last bit of dialogue that convinced me that this was the perfect scene for an illicit kiss:
ARCHIE: Lex, if you could just see that she gets what she needs.
LEXIE [put-upon sigh]: Of course. Seeing as you asked so nicely.
ARCHIE: Thank you. [lingering look]
All he did in the canon was quite literally ask, so I thought it was a rather odd response for her to give. But if he'd acted in a way that gave her a reason to hope that there was still something brewing between them, such a line would be warranted =)
I had to adjust the dialogue a bit to insert the kiss, and in doing so I created a bit of more overt tension between them. I diverge from the episode at Archie's "You know how we stand" line, because it sets up the perfect opening for her to actually, directly question him about just that. He does not have a history of being very direct himself, but he responds quite nicely to it when forced - and that's exactly what he does here, by conveying in actions what he cannot convey in words.
I thought it fit nicely with the chosen lyric for this chapter, "…I’m slipping down a chain reaction – and here I go, here I go, here I go, go…" because while he did very intentionally kiss her this time, he almost lost control of the situation, given the way that she responded this time.
Why it's the wrong moment: Because he's not ready to tackle the feelings that she's stirred up in him, and because he chooses precisely that moment, post-kiss, to plead with her to get along with Stella. It feels like a horrible, manipulative move, and she reacts accordingly. It makes him feel worse than he already does about the whole situation, and just as helpless - so basically, this is just as much a step backwards for them as it is a step in the right direction.
Canon references: She’d been even more playful and flirtatious than usual, which he’d appreciated, but even more than that, she’d also helped him out of a major jam, managing to secure – on short notice – enough food to feed all twelve of his friends who had come up from London for a weekend of fishing. = The B-plot of S3E3 (Archie has invited a group of his friends up for the weekend of fishing and everything very nearly falls apart because of Stella's meddling and insistence on doing things her way instead of the way things are done in the great far north), mixed with a little bit of the C-plot (Molly reads Lexie's tea leaves one morning, proclaiming that she sees romance in Lexie's very near future - at precisely the moment Archie walks into the room. Lexie runs with this prediction, being very obviously flirtatious with him every chance she gets, and when she learns how much this weekend means to him, she basically pulls a rabbit out of the proverbial hat and saves the day - only to learn that he's invited her arch enemy to live among them now.)
“Look, Lex,” he began, launching into a speech that was starting to sound vexingly familiar, “Stella has come here to help save Glenbogle. We might not like her style or her way of doing things, but she’s the only chance we’ve got.” He held her gaze for a long moment. “Either we help her, or we can say goodbye to our home forever.” = Archie's speech to Hector when his father bristles at the notion of inviting Stella to live with them in S3E3 - I thought it would be pertinent to repeat here, and for Lexie to have basically the same reaction as Hector did, if only to show that she isn't merely jealous of another woman in the house.
“Why did I bother coming back? Surely now that Wonder Woman is here, she can run this household better than I can!” = a shoutout to the great opening scene of this particular episode, when Lexie is laying all of her frustrations with all of the changes that have been made out on poor Duncan.
---
Here we have another example of their timing being terrible - a great kiss happening for just as many of the wrong reasons as for the right ones. Archie wants to assure Lexie of her place in the household - and in his life - but he only ends up making matters worse. This pushes her headlong into Stuart Macintosh's arms, which proves to be a HUGE mistake - but also the lynchpin of the romantice storyline for this entire series.