There is a method behind the madness

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

This is probably my favorite part of the story.

( Points of interest... )

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

The easiest way to summarize this purpose of this story is to say "there wasn't enough kissing, so I added more kissing" :P

Series 3 contains the courtship between what is eventually the canon pairing, that of Archie and Lexie, but you wouldn't really know that just by watching it. I've actually watched it several times, and realized that, indeed, the problem is that there is no kissing, or any other convincing physical evidence that they are anywhere near a marriage proposal until it quite literally happens. And, though it was written that way for a reason (to capture a Cinderella aesthetic), it is ultimately disappointing, especially when you consider that these two characters had a major makeout session in Series 1 and a pretty hot kiss in Series 2. Series 3 was an exercise in wasted chemistry, and a frustrating one at that.

It took several rewatches of S3 to convince myself that it was worth keeping in my headcanon, and it was when I found the small moments that I realized just how valuable it is. It truly is those fleeting moments where their bond strengthens and deepens - the lingering looks and hugs and kisses on the cheek; the stark, high-stakes conversations they have about the future of the estate, as well as themselves.

Mix that sort of emotional bonding with the sizzling physical chemistry of the previous series and you have a smash hit of a ship, so that's what I did - I found those moments that would've benefited from a kiss and inserted it. Their running joke is that their timing is terrible, so that's the thread I went with, in an old-school five times fic, with four inappropriate moments and one very appropriate moment =) Because of the rich complexity of the canon, I'm breaking down my author's notes in separate posts for each scene.

( Let's begin, shall we? =) )

It can be summed up in this gifset:





But why say it with pictures when you can say it with 5,000 words instead? :D

( Far from the maddening crowd? Not quite... )

Give me Justine’s outright bitchiness any damn day of the week. At least then you know what you’re dealing with.