#rafael luna

A cool thing about rwrb is our protagonist.

Alex is the protagonist of a royal romcom, when in reality, it should be… June.

June is your typical romcom protagonist. She’s Bridget Jones, Jane Nichols, etc. Even Kat Stratford to some degree. She’s a feminist and a romantic, she’s a journalist (!!! The job of literally 80% of romcom protagonists), she’s not super extroverted but knows how to have a good time, she has some family problems and personal problems that aren’t completely overwhelming, she’s smart and strong and soft and has dreams. She’s well-read, feminine, she likes romance. That’s romcom protagonist 101!!

Of course some protagonists deviate from this, many aren’t romantic and aren’t looking for love (but neither is June! She doesn’t expect it and she’s still not fully over Evan, and she’s romantic but nowhere near as much as Henry. I think she likes the idea of love and wants that for herself but thinks she’s too busy for it for now, and has a more realistic vision of it), many are more similar to Alex than June, yes, but out of the two siblings, June is the one who is the expected romcom protagonist.

Of course the reader knows since the start it’s Alex, but June is the one that should be, following standard romcom knowledge.

A young woman, a journalist, who looks though but is actually soft, incredibly smart, who is fun but needs to let her inhibitions loose sometimes, caring, with worries she doesn’t tell most people about, who doesn’t think love is there for her, at least yet.

Specially because Henry do is the standard love interest. Really romantic, kind of brooding, handsome, smart, tall, sarcastic at times, literally royal.

It should be June and Henry. Everything points to it! A journalist and a prince, it basically writes itself. Even the rest of the world thinks so. June and Henry dancing. June and Henry fake dating. It should be them.

But it’s not. It’s Alex.

Alex, who is also Bridget Jones and does resembles some protagonists but is also uniquely him. Alex who is smart and handsome and everyone wants him. Golden boy. Extrovert. Likes crowds and attention, can be a little annoying, incredibly insecure, makes lists, has adhd, can’t pass as white (remember June can), has big ambitions. He could be a protagonist, but let’s be honest. Alex would be a side character or a love interest.

Rwrb breaks expectations several times. First, with the roles characters should have. Alex shouldn’t be the protagonist of a royal romcom, but he is. June shouldn’t be a side character, but she is. Nora should be Alex’s bff and either 1) still be a little into him or 2) have no feelings anymore and they hang out all the time, but she doesn’t do either (she’s not only Alex’s bff, but also June’s. She has the same amount of relationship with both of them, and she’s interested in June. She’s also bisexual, when one expects her to be straight).

The second way it breaks expectations is within the roles. Alex is the mc so he should be funny and lovable, which he is, but he’s also nerdy and really insecure and repressed and anxious, and has more depth a romcom protagonist usually has, for such a light-hearted book. Henry is the love interest so he should be romantic, sarcastic, effortlessly handsome, which he is, but he’s also an introvert, scared, depressed, grief stricken, neurotic, unabashedly gay, nerdy. Bea is a side character so she should be funny and lovable, which she is, but she also has a history of addiction connected to her’s and Henry’s grief. Philip should be annoying and one-dimensional, and he do is annoying but he also starts trying eventually and has a history behind himself. Rafael Luna as a cool mentor figure, but he has a raw story that has been haunting him that he hasn’t told yet. None of the characters fit inside their roles, they’re too big for them.

june claremont-diaz

rafael luna

agent cash

stepdaddy leo

liam (shoutout to bf spencer too)

onscreen catherine

waspy hunter (eh)

queen mary

cornettos (and glasses)

silk kimonos

star wars references

wimbledon

powerpoints

official courtship photos

henry’s j-14 spread

“you are the thistle in the tender and sensitive arse crack of my life” (obvs)

“cornbread knows what i have done, and he is here to make me atone”

bigger bisexual spirals

longer grief talks

more emails (feat. queer couples in history)

“fucking eyelashes”

“your song” by elton john

“dear thisbe, i wish there weren’t a wall. love, pryamus”

“i want you—” “then fucking have me.”

“two homes side by side”

“AN INCOMPLETE LIST: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HRH PRINCE HENRY OF WALES”

“sería una mentira, porque no sería él”

“history, huh?” t-shirts

“i love him on purpose”

“the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable”

“‘Can I expect a joint Christmas present from you and the prince this year?’ ‘Actually,’ Alex swerves.”

“‘Let’s circle back to you,’ he says. ‘Don’t think I didn’t notice you changing the subject.’”

“‘What’s the deal there?’ ‘There’s no deal,’ Alex says. Henry is… a person I know.”

“He’s a looker, huh?”

“Yeah, I mean, if you’re into, like, fairy-tale princes.”

“Is anyone not?”

“I’m not.”

“Luna arches an eyebrow. ‘Right.’”

“Just thinking about last summer… I have this really vivid memory of you basically making a Prince Henry voodoo doll on your desk… Or was it a dartboard with a photo of his face on it?”

“I had a magazine with his face on it at my desk, once, because I was in it and he happened to be on the cover.”

“You stared at it for an hour.”

…

“What is your point?”

“I think it’s interesting… How fast the times they are a-changin.’’”

Oh wow, I haven’t done this for a while! But I actually wrote today and @circledwithaheart tagged me so here we go:

"We all know why we're here," Raf says, tapping a dancer on the shoulder. "This season, I'll be directing a new take on Swan Lake."

Alex watches Raf as he walks, watches him study the other dancers through his horn-rimmed glasses, his heartbeat ratcheting up in his throat. He wills Raf to look at him. Instead, he catches Henry's eye in the mirror and hurriedly looks away.

"All the principal roles will be performed by men," Raf continues, as if this is news to any of the members of the Company. The announcement was made weeks ago. Nora, Alex's roommate (and best friend), got so fed up with listening to Alex talk about how much he wanted a part, she started charging him $5 every time he mentioned Raf's name. "And one dancer will take on the roles of both the White Swan and the Black Swan."

Raf's close enough now that Alex can smell his cologne. He studies Alex, his face inscrutable, before passing him and tapping Eli, the dancer behind Alex on the shoulder. Disappointment burns hot in Alex's chest. Maybe he's been a little distracted this morning, but he certainly deserves this part more than fucking Eli.

Raf returns to the center of the studio, nodding to Christine, who claps her hands, signaling for them all to stop their warm-up.

"If I tapped you on the shoulder, please go to your rehearsals today as scheduled. Everyone else, I'll see you in Studio 1 at 3 for your next round of auditions." With that, Raf strides out of the room, leaving a mix of emotions in his wake.