#rsat7d

It rlly sticks out to me when the rest of the F7 are trying to woo Red Shoes and each are using their personalities to try and win her over (Hans bakes, Jack gives her presents, Arthur shows off his strength, the triplets make inventions to help her); but Merlin? Love spell, straight away.

The others all figure that if she's not going to like them for their looks, then there are other things abt them that she'll fall for, but Merlin doesn't see himself as having anything to offer anymore- beyond magic (and even then, he plans to use it on her, not for her).

So when she does start liking him for who he is, he literally doesn't understand it- I think- until two moments:

First, when he has the whole conversation with himself (oh sweet boy u have the emotional intelligence of an egg)

Then when Magichard (hehe) straight up asks if he put her under a spell.

This line also always gets me cos THAT WAS HIS PLAN!! He was going to cast a spell, but in the end he didn't have to, because she ended up liking him for him!!

It could have just been 'a handsome Prince-wizard learns that real beauty is on the inside when the beautiful woman turns out to look different to how she appeared' but no!

"So you were the other guard watching the tower that night… you and green eyed, the famed last line of defense. I have to admit, the title sounds more impressive than what you showed" he said with an ironic snort.

"So it would seem. Though, if we’re being honest, you can’t be that flawless yourselves if you let one of your own be captured so shamefully."

He almost answered, but held himself back. The strain of keeping up the exchange had already sunk into his bones. Even so, he straightened as much as he could, refusing to show weakness.

"Your companion didn’t last long either, Snowdrop. Everyone makes mistakes. I suppose mine was underestimating someone fresh out of cavalry training."

She did not reply. Her gaze dipped briefly toward the fire, aware there was some truth in his words.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The fire crackled faintly, fading into embers.

"So… you’re planning an exchange" he said at last.

"At midday, just outside the Caves of Despair" she answered without hesitation. There was no point in hiding it; the orders had already been given.

A faint smile touched his lips, more weary than mocking.

"If all goes well, I hope you keep chasing me. It’ll be a pleasure to meet again."

She drew a slow breath and tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.

I had to do a poster along with my MA thesis (it was weird it felt like I was creating fan-art for my own essay) so here it is.

This is probably embarrassing but I genuinely made it centered around Red Shoes. Purely because I could not come up with anything else (concerning, I know..).

Here is the awkwardly long title:

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: To what extent does Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (2019) critique or reinforce dominant beauty norms and the male gaze, and how effective are its narrative and aesthetic strategies in challenging contemporary representations of identity and the body?