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Monarch of the Glen | Paper Hearts (Author's Notes, Part 4)
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
Part 4, or: where my headcanon meets my (previous) headcanon :P
On the face of it, S3E7 is ridiculous, even for MotG - and yet, somehow, it still works =) It's actually one of my favorite episodes in this series, and feels like a bit of a throwback to the earlier, frothier episodes from the previous seasons. The fact that it moves my ship along is only a bonus, LOL.
Here are the key points:
---
The context: Is pretty much explained in the exposition of the scene. Archie and Duncan have switched places, because Duncan has been lying to his French penpal Marie-Hélène in his letters to her, and basically Molly takes pity on him and wants to give him a leg up. Poor Duncan definitely needs it (he's had very little luck in life, much less love), and watching him transform into the laird is both hilarious and endearing. Archie, meanwhile, drops in status at pretty much the exact wrong time: the health inspector has made a surprise visit, and Archie has already upset him by kicking him out of a private garden on the estate. Now he has to out-Duncan Duncan, which of course he fails miserably at.
Meanwhile, Stella is urging Lexie to give it a go with Archie (basically telling her that if she wants him, she's going to have to make the first move, which in and of itself is actually decent advice) only to show up at the worst possible moment and intervene. Lexie's no fool - she already suspects the newly divorced Stella has ulterior motives - but for the moment, she keeps her thoughts to herself. Lexie and Duncan have a great heart-to-heart near the end of the episode about what it means to suffer through unrequited love. The C-plot involves Molly manipulating the health inspector in a desperate bid to keep Glenbogle open.
The scene:
Lexie borrows a sleek black dress from Stella and goes down to Duncan's cottage to visit Archie after the failed health inspection. She shows up unannounced, but makes quite the impression nonetheless :D Perhaps my favorite part of the whole scene is the way he's staring at her while she's eating dinner. It just sends shivers down my spine. If that's not the look of love, then I don't know what is!
This scene represents forward movement for this ship because of how they act (and react to being) on equal terms. There is no power divide between them, and they have a pretty frank and earnest conversation, something that definitely does not usually happen between Archie and his women. I like that they can be so open and honest with each other (even with sarcasm), and it's really important that this happens. They are definitely still feeling each other out at this point, but I think that they are already in love with each other, even if they aren't ready to necessarily admit it.
I definitely re-wrote this scene to take it beyond where it actually ends - instead of having Stella interrupt them, I pretty much allow them to continue along the path they were starting to take with that conversation about what they want out of their lives. I wanted to draw a parallel to S1E7, the first time they experienced their undercurrent of sexual attraction, but to make it a "wrong moment" for a completely different reason.
I didn't really know where I was going with the end of this until it happened, LOL. I kinda like it when that happens, because sometimes my muse has a better idea than I do about how to bring about a swift, unexpected conclusion. I needed this to still slot into the canon, and for Lexie to have a reason to feel so downhearted when she runs into Duncan in the kitchen in the aftermath, and they have their heart-to-heart about unrequited love, but how exactly could I do that without the useful interruption of Stella?
By blowing everything to pieces, of course =)
Why it's the wrong moment: Because of the false power balance. The difference in their positions in the household is still a major, major thing, and it would've been completely inappropriate for them to get even more emotionally tangled up without acknowledging that fact. He recognizes this, and stops, but manages to hurt her anyway (much as in the very first scene, when he manages to say exactly the opposite of what she wants to hear). Their parting is bitter, but they do have enough brewing between them that it won't separate them for good. It's just another case of one step forward and three steps back.
Canon references: He’d tried a lot of things during his tenure as laird of the estate, with varying degrees of success: bottling the spring water; opening aviaries and nature trails and a visitor’s centre; a wedding planning business; embedding webcams around the house to broadcast their curious existence live on the internet. = bottling the spring water was a subplot of S1E5; the vistor's centre and associated trails and nature attractions was the season-long subplot of S2; the wedding planning business venture was the subplot of S2E6; and the webcamera experiment was the major subplot of S2E1.
She’d already made a pass at him, and though he’d shot her down pretty quickly, he knew that he was treading on dangerous ground. = At the end of S3E6, Stella kissed Archie and thanked him for "protecting her" against her estranged ex-husband, who'd shown up to write a hit piece on Glenbogle just to get back at her for leaving him. This most definitely counts as a pass in my book. She'd already fretted to him about how she was going to be fired because she'd gotten "too close to the business," and while you can describe Stella's manipulations in many ways, "subtle" is not one of them. Archie is oblivious, but even he saw through that one - she's made her intentions clear to him even if she's still being coy with everyone else (*coughLexiecough*)
It had been a long time since he’d cooked a meal for a woman – since his days with Justine, in fact. = The last time we see Archie preparing a meal is when he cooks a pike for Katrina way back in Series 1.
Even when his father had attempted to marry him off at thirty in order to induce the production of heirs, it had all been quite theoretical. = The main plot of S2E4, also known as Archie's 30th Birthday Episode :P Hector isn't at all subtle about why he's so insistent that his son get married...and in the end, neither is Archie, LOL.
“What’s this?” she mused softly, closing her arms around him, holding him firmly in place. “Shades of Penrith?” = Their delicious moment on the sleeper at the end of S1E7. While in the canon they only shared a few clandestine kisses, in my headcanon they did much more than that. I wanted to write this scene so that referencing either version of the Penrith moment worked, and I think I accomplished that. I wrote it with my headcanon in mind, hence Lexie reacted bitterly in the aftermath.
“Whatever happened to finishing what we started?” = At the end of Series 1, Lexie promises Archie that one day they will finished what they started at Penrith =)
---
As the penultimate scene of the story, it feels like I've boxed myself into a corner from which I can't escape, especially given the limitation of my format (4 wrongs + 1 right). I saw this dilemma but liked the ending of this scene so much that I kept it - and it actually helped me flesh out the final scene a bit more than I originally intended, which I think only helps the story. These two ♥ They are so close, and yet not close enough to where either wants to be...
Woohoo, somebody's read this story! =) Thank you for indulging my headcanon, LOL, and letting me know you liked it via kudos! :P
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
Part 4, or: where my headcanon meets my (previous) headcanon :P
On the face of it, S3E7 is ridiculous, even for MotG - and yet, somehow, it still works =) It's actually one of my favorite episodes in this series, and feels like a bit of a throwback to the earlier, frothier episodes from the previous seasons. The fact that it moves my ship along is only a bonus, LOL.
Here are the key points:
---
The context: Is pretty much explained in the exposition of the scene. Archie and Duncan have switched places, because Duncan has been lying to his French penpal Marie-Hélène in his letters to her, and basically Molly takes pity on him and wants to give him a leg up. Poor Duncan definitely needs it (he's had very little luck in life, much less love), and watching him transform into the laird is both hilarious and endearing. Archie, meanwhile, drops in status at pretty much the exact wrong time: the health inspector has made a surprise visit, and Archie has already upset him by kicking him out of a private garden on the estate. Now he has to out-Duncan Duncan, which of course he fails miserably at.
Meanwhile, Stella is urging Lexie to give it a go with Archie (basically telling her that if she wants him, she's going to have to make the first move, which in and of itself is actually decent advice) only to show up at the worst possible moment and intervene. Lexie's no fool - she already suspects the newly divorced Stella has ulterior motives - but for the moment, she keeps her thoughts to herself. Lexie and Duncan have a great heart-to-heart near the end of the episode about what it means to suffer through unrequited love. The C-plot involves Molly manipulating the health inspector in a desperate bid to keep Glenbogle open.
The scene:
Lexie borrows a sleek black dress from Stella and goes down to Duncan's cottage to visit Archie after the failed health inspection. She shows up unannounced, but makes quite the impression nonetheless :D Perhaps my favorite part of the whole scene is the way he's staring at her while she's eating dinner. It just sends shivers down my spine. If that's not the look of love, then I don't know what is!
This scene represents forward movement for this ship because of how they act (and react to being) on equal terms. There is no power divide between them, and they have a pretty frank and earnest conversation, something that definitely does not usually happen between Archie and his women. I like that they can be so open and honest with each other (even with sarcasm), and it's really important that this happens. They are definitely still feeling each other out at this point, but I think that they are already in love with each other, even if they aren't ready to necessarily admit it.
I definitely re-wrote this scene to take it beyond where it actually ends - instead of having Stella interrupt them, I pretty much allow them to continue along the path they were starting to take with that conversation about what they want out of their lives. I wanted to draw a parallel to S1E7, the first time they experienced their undercurrent of sexual attraction, but to make it a "wrong moment" for a completely different reason.
I didn't really know where I was going with the end of this until it happened, LOL. I kinda like it when that happens, because sometimes my muse has a better idea than I do about how to bring about a swift, unexpected conclusion. I needed this to still slot into the canon, and for Lexie to have a reason to feel so downhearted when she runs into Duncan in the kitchen in the aftermath, and they have their heart-to-heart about unrequited love, but how exactly could I do that without the useful interruption of Stella?
By blowing everything to pieces, of course =)
Why it's the wrong moment: Because of the false power balance. The difference in their positions in the household is still a major, major thing, and it would've been completely inappropriate for them to get even more emotionally tangled up without acknowledging that fact. He recognizes this, and stops, but manages to hurt her anyway (much as in the very first scene, when he manages to say exactly the opposite of what she wants to hear). Their parting is bitter, but they do have enough brewing between them that it won't separate them for good. It's just another case of one step forward and three steps back.
Canon references: He’d tried a lot of things during his tenure as laird of the estate, with varying degrees of success: bottling the spring water; opening aviaries and nature trails and a visitor’s centre; a wedding planning business; embedding webcams around the house to broadcast their curious existence live on the internet. = bottling the spring water was a subplot of S1E5; the vistor's centre and associated trails and nature attractions was the season-long subplot of S2; the wedding planning business venture was the subplot of S2E6; and the webcamera experiment was the major subplot of S2E1.
She’d already made a pass at him, and though he’d shot her down pretty quickly, he knew that he was treading on dangerous ground. = At the end of S3E6, Stella kissed Archie and thanked him for "protecting her" against her estranged ex-husband, who'd shown up to write a hit piece on Glenbogle just to get back at her for leaving him. This most definitely counts as a pass in my book. She'd already fretted to him about how she was going to be fired because she'd gotten "too close to the business," and while you can describe Stella's manipulations in many ways, "subtle" is not one of them. Archie is oblivious, but even he saw through that one - she's made her intentions clear to him even if she's still being coy with everyone else (*coughLexiecough*)
It had been a long time since he’d cooked a meal for a woman – since his days with Justine, in fact. = The last time we see Archie preparing a meal is when he cooks a pike for Katrina way back in Series 1.
Even when his father had attempted to marry him off at thirty in order to induce the production of heirs, it had all been quite theoretical. = The main plot of S2E4, also known as Archie's 30th Birthday Episode :P Hector isn't at all subtle about why he's so insistent that his son get married...and in the end, neither is Archie, LOL.
“What’s this?” she mused softly, closing her arms around him, holding him firmly in place. “Shades of Penrith?” = Their delicious moment on the sleeper at the end of S1E7. While in the canon they only shared a few clandestine kisses, in my headcanon they did much more than that. I wanted to write this scene so that referencing either version of the Penrith moment worked, and I think I accomplished that. I wrote it with my headcanon in mind, hence Lexie reacted bitterly in the aftermath.
“Whatever happened to finishing what we started?” = At the end of Series 1, Lexie promises Archie that one day they will finished what they started at Penrith =)
---
As the penultimate scene of the story, it feels like I've boxed myself into a corner from which I can't escape, especially given the limitation of my format (4 wrongs + 1 right). I saw this dilemma but liked the ending of this scene so much that I kept it - and it actually helped me flesh out the final scene a bit more than I originally intended, which I think only helps the story. These two ♥ They are so close, and yet not close enough to where either wants to be...
Woohoo, somebody's read this story! =) Thank you for indulging my headcanon, LOL, and letting me know you liked it via kudos! :P
Motg paper hearts
(Anonymous) 2020-12-04 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)I really enjoyed your writing and how you manage the capture the characters. I think is brilliant. I really liked how you re wrote episode 1:7. Q I’m a big fan of the show. You are very talented writer.
I was wondering if you ever thought about writing a story or filling in the gaps about when they got engaged, after the dance stopped, as you said there wasn’t much physical demonstration of their love until the engagement moment. I noticed how in series 3 Archie seems very aware of where he is physically is with Lexie compared to series 2 and wondered if this is related to him being aware she has feelings for him after the bath tub scene or exploring the jealously he experienced when she dated Stuart.
Thank you so much
Re: Motg paper hearts
I've definitely contemplated writing more MotG fic! Unfortunately Life has gotten in the way of all of my writing lately, but one day I will get back to it again.
Personally, I think Archie always had feelings for Lexie, and as one relationship after another failed he really started to realize what was right under his nose. There is a TON of subtext in Series 3 that is delicious, and I only touched on a few of the moments for this fic, so there's definitely more out there to be mined!
Re: Motg paper hearts
(Anonymous) 2020-12-07 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)I agree I think Archie always has feelings for Lexie but was blind to his feelings as maybe she wasn’t what he thought he wanted / needed. My favourite two scenes are the one when Lexie suggests Archie and Stuart should work together and that Stuart treats her with respect (I always think she means she doesn’t think Archie treats her with her respect and the look on Archie’s face) and the scene where Archie has to ask her to be the chef for the ball in her bedroom and she accuses him of not thinking of her at all and he responds with he does, a lot actually... (sounding that he realises how much he does as he says this) but she sends him away. The way Archie looks at her as he leaves. But he still turns up to help the next morning!
Thanks again for writing your wonderful stories and bringing the characters back to life.
Re: Motg paper hearts
Lexie definitely got in some choice words during the whole Stuart debacle. She made some pointed comments that hit a little too close to home sometimes. The whole meeting between her and Archie in the kitchen during that time is one of my favorites. So many lovely, longing looks exchanged ♥
And YES! They were laying the Cinderella stuff on really thick by the end of S3, but that is another great scene between them in her bedroom. (I also love the part where Duncan lends Lexie the extra money for her ballgown, that was such a sweet gesture! Duncan + Lexie is one of my favorite friendships on the series.)
Re: Motg paper hearts
(Anonymous) 2020-12-10 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)I watched series 2 episode 8 last night after reading your summary of Katrina and Archie. I don’t usually watch it as I was rooting for Archie and Lexie. I found Katrina really frustrating and I hated he said Katrina got to me first. I thought this was really insensitive. (He certainly paid for this comment !) Maybe it was meant to show he felt he could be honest. I’ve read your piece and think you have done a much better job than the writers at communicating what was going on his mind. I
I’d never noticed that Archie asked Lexie if she was ok when she comes up. Really sweet. Made me like the episode a bit more.
Archie does appear in love with Katrina at this point. He’s very smitten. I don’t think he ever seems smitten with Lexie like this, because they can be open and honest with each other unlike Katrina and Archie, therefore the dynamic is different. He does really fight to be with Lexie eg stopping the bus.
You can see the impact of fergal and Archie’ rejections and stellas mind games really impact on Lexie’s self confidence. I really felt sorry for Lexie in series 3 episode 3, as in episode 2 Archie seemed to hint he was interested even if subconsciously eg the fight on the stairs, the killwillie kitchen scene and the party afterward. I don’t think molly would have encouraged Lexie if she thought it was hopeless eg taking the photo of them together. He seems very different this episode 3,3 to the one before and when he becomes jealous in 3,4. 3.3 is the last time Lexie really flirts in Archie’s face and shows her midriff. She seems to change at this point. What do you think?
Re: Motg paper hearts
I definitely think Molly was playing matchmaker between them, long before Series 3 happened. Molly is a lot smarter than anyone gave her credit for, as proved in the very first episode with her gambling on the horses! She knows what's best for her son, but unlike Hector she had a very light hand when it came to guiding him.
I hate what the writers did to Lexie in Series 3, all in the name of a grand Cinderella-style plot. They stripped her of her feistiness and had Archie riding to her rescue on a white horse - but what's so great about Lexie is that she doesn't need to be rescued! She can take care of herself. It broke my heart that her confidence was completely shorn by the end of the series, even if she did end up getting her man in the end.
Series 4 Episode 3 will always be the lynchpin for me in the whole Katrina/Archie/Lexie triangle. So dramatic, but with the right ending, LOL!!
Re: Motg paper hearts
(Anonymous) 2021-01-15 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)The last scene between Archie and Katrina- I always think sums her up. She wasn’t prepared to risk anything eg hadn’t given up her job and thought Archie was naive to think she would come back if she couldn’t have him, (Archie , Archie - walking away) that his choice was only between Lexie and Katrina. I also think Lexie loved Archie more as put what he wanted first.
I really liked that Duncan supported Lexie and questioned Archie about the plan.
The ending was so romantic and molly also confirmed he had made the right choice! I do wonder what he would have asked molly when he tried to speak to her and how much he did wonder about Katrina or if it was just the surprise of seeing her and the way things ended between them. In the end it does seem to make him certain.
I do wish the writers had explored the Katrina got to me first / 2nd best aspect more and Archie could of explained more about how his feelings for Lexie grew.