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reversatility1 asked: Part (2): Because in both, Ann is literally looking *up* to Anne, but in the scene in 1.03 where they actually do kiss, Anne starts off kneeling in front on Ann (sort of a reversal of the “adoration” pose between them in 1.02) and then they are more or less level with each other when the kiss happens. Anyway, if you have more to say, it would be great :).

thank you so so so so much!! And thank you for your ask :) The first thing I wanna say is that I strongly believe that the “I’d love to paint you” scene is the scene where Anne Lister actually starts to develop romantic feelings for Ann Walker and from then on everything stops being just about the money. I’m gonna start talking about that scene and then at the end I’ll talk about the chaumiere scene.

This scene starts like all the scenes we’ve seen between them till now: Anne Lister is in control of the conversation, testing Ann Walker’s interest for her. Anne saying “Maybe one day you could paint me” is just Anne being the flirty little fucker she is lol I think she says it to see AW’s reaction, to see if anything has changed between them (especially after their last meeting where she basically told AW she wanted to kiss her) and with the “I’d love to paint you” she gets exactly the kind of answer she wants…

Just look at her face and how happy and relieved she is. AW’s “I’d love to paint you” is just a way of saying “nothing has changed because of what you said yesterday, I still admire you. I understand what is going on between us and I’m not scared of it”. Now AW knows what are AL’s intentions, she knows that there’s attraction between them and she knows they’re gonna kiss sooner or later, it’s gonna happen, they both know it will. And for the whole scene Ann Walker tries to make it happen, for the whole scene AW sends signals to AL that she wants to be kissed.

AL is perfectly in control till Ann Walker surprises her touching her arm, and the power between them shifts a little bit. It’s the first time that Ann Walker intentionally tries to take control of the situation. In that moment she’s the one leading the conversation, guiding it where she wants it, making physical contact, being sure to have AL’s attention, getting closer, Ann Walker is the one who makes a move (something she tried to do from the start with the “I’ll miss you” and “I wish you could come with us”.)

It’s interesting how Anne Walker tries to “emulate” what AL did with her the first time she [AL] visited.

^ In that scene, Ann Walker opens up about the tribe and about feeling insecure and vulnerable, AL touches her hand (making physical contact for the first time) and tries to be supportive and caring and it almost leads to them kissing. Now, Ann Walker does the exact same thing Anne Lister did:

While talking about London and the wedding, AL shows a little vulnerability and indecision, AW touches her arm and gives her advice, which again almost leads to them kissing. I love this little moment because it shows that AW knows exactly what she’s doing. The little pause she does before touching Anne, just looking at her, thinking about it for a split second, shows that what she’s doing is not an impulsive gesture, it is something she thought about. It’s clear that after their last time together AW thought about what AL said and wondered about her own feelings.

In this exact moment Anne feels a pull towards AW, she wants to kiss her because she wants to kiss, that’s it, there is no other motive behind it. She’s drawn to her like a magnet… Seducing little Miss Walker to get to her money? lol. What?

In this moment everything is a surprise for Anne Lister: AW being bold and touching her is a surprise, AW kindness and sweetness are a surprise, and what AL feels is a surprise too. This is one of those key scenes (I think) where you can clearly see why and how AL falls in love with AW and why AW is the right match for AL.

I believe they would have kissed if Catherine had not come in. Anne Walker wanted to be kissed and she made it very clear. The whole scene is Ann Walker sending signals to Anne Lister that she wants to be kissed, showing her that she’s not frightened, looking at AL’s lips the whole time, making physical contact, reassuring her about the wedding in London + all the things she says: “I’d love to paint you”, “It’s beautiful, Anne”, “I wish I wasn’t going”, “I’ll miss you”, “I wish you could come with us”. In the chaumiere scene AW clearly tells AL that she’s not frightened – “It doesn’t frighten me” – but here she is showing her that she’s not frightened.

About their physical positioning. Oh well, I love how the show plays with levels and with the visual image of one of them kneeling in front of the other. I think that, visually, it is really beautiful to watch, and the meaning that it carries just adds so much more to the scene. Kneeling is associated with reverence, respect, submission and obeisance, and just knowing this gives those scenes where one of them is sitting and the other one is kneeling more depth.

AL is the more experienced and confident one and the fact that she kneels down in front of AW to kiss her is a way of being on the same level as her, she’s giving AW a sort of “physical power” over her to make her [AW] feel as comfortable as possible. After all Anne Lister knows that for Ann Walker everything that’s happening is completely new, and she knows she has to be delicate and gentle with her. She kneels down and she basically starts worshipping Ann and her body. She takes Ann’s hands, she caresses her wrist, she gets closer, not kissing her yet but getting as close as possible, touching Ann’s cheek with her own.

This moment is beautiful (and my favorite one of this scene) because it’s the first time they’re this close. It’s the first real intimate contact they have, their bodies have never been this close. Ann can feel Anne’s skin on her skin, she can feel Anne’s breath on her neck, her perfume, her warmth. And I love how the camera shows us Ann’s reaction.

This is her moment. She’s realizing what sort of effect Anne Lister has on her and her body, and we can see it happening. Ann Walker trusts Anne Lister completely. AL sets the pace and AW abandons herself to her. AW lets her kiss her hand, the palm of her hand, her wrist. Every kiss is more intimate, the first kiss is the classic chivalrous gesture, the second one is more romantic, it’s like Anne’s placing her kiss in Ann’s hand to keep it there and cherish it, the third kiss on Ann’s wrist is more sexual, Anne has to move AW’s sleeve to kiss her there, showing more skin…

The “you implied that you wanted to kiss me” has a whole new meaning now. Anne Lister wants to kiss her everywhere, and she does, she kisses her everywhere before finally kissing her lips.

And again, just like kneeling in front of someone, kissing someone’s hand means showing them respect, admiration…devotion. And this is exactly what Anne Lister is doing, she’s kissing Ann Walker and at the same time she’s showing her how much she admires her and respects her.