#[ take a shot every time someone laughs uncomfortably in this scene i promise you you'll get fucked up ]

[wiltedthrone]

♡♛.  𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐘 & 𝐁𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐊𝐒 — 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘

Alright, so, the very first time we meet Audrey is a very uncomfortable scene to watch, for me at least, because she’s painted at this overbearing, shallow, annoying girlfriend. But there is SO MUCH to unpack in this scene that really shows a lot about Audrey’s character and I’m very excited to dig into this. *rubs hands together like a fly* It’s long so it’s going under a cut. It’s not edited bc I never proof read anything ever, so if there’s typos I swear I’m literate ok ok

I. BEFORE THE VKS ARRIVAL

Audrey, like many others, was very not peachy keen on the VKs coming to Auradon. But when Ben spoke to her about how upset his parents were about his proclamation and she saw how upset he was, she put aside her feelings and told him to follow his heart. She wanted to be a good girlfriend despite the fact she had mad anxiety about the VKs especially Mal coming to Auradon.

So Audrey was the third to sign the petition to stop the VKs from coming, which no one really knows if it’s a real petition or not, because they don’t even know if you can petition a royal decree, but it’s still kind of messed up considering Ben’s her boyfriend and he’s going to see that. 

Anyway Audrey also saw how much Ben had on his plate with the new kids coming, so she offered to help him with the welcoming committee. The ideas for the limo bringing them, snacks, the marching band, that was all her (even though she makes Doug put it together lmao).

II. THE VKS ARRIVE — AUDREY’S MASKS

This is my favorite part to dig into so here we go. Audrey is already not thrilled, but as Ben’s girlfriend she’s going to have to put on that mask. There are many instances where that mask slips and her insecurities and true feelings slip out, especially with Mal. When Ben and Mal start talking, you can see Audrey’s eyes dart back and forth to them and there’s a worried look on her face because here they are, very much having A Moment right in front of her salad and she can see that.

She’s very much threatened because hello, this girl is kind of flirting with her boyfriend and her boyfriend seems to be into it. She’s not just going to come right out and be like “Hey, um, are you flirting with my boyfriend?” Because that’s going to make her look insecure, which is what Audrey tries to cover up all the time. So she tries to put on her little polite Auradon princess smile and pretend that everything is okay.

If we’re sprinkling in some of those book influences—at this point Mal and Ben have dreamt of each other, Ben is starting to or has already fallen out of love with Audrey and I’m pretty sure that even though Audrey doesn’t know about the dreams, she can tell that things between her and Ben have changed. So she’s already insecure about her place in the relationship, especially since Ben, her boyfriend, could’ve chose, you know, literally any other villain kid besides the one whose mother tried to kill HER mother but haha coolcoolcool, she’s going to pretend it doesn’t terrify her because she wants to be a good girlfriend. But she’s still very much into Ben and is trying to hold on to something she might have already lost.

So instead of Audrey outright accusing Mal of anything, she jumps into that whole “Hey! Aren’t you Maleficent’s daughter?” speech because it’s going to put her back in the conversation and she’s kind of, in her own way, trying to appeal to Mal before shit goes down (or it could be her sneaky way of reminding Ben and Mal, hey um, this is the girl whose mother almost ruined my family, maybe DON’T flirt with her right in front of me????).

Audrey doesn’t share her feelings. She was raised to keep her mouth shut and not rock the boat. She especially can’t do that now when she’s supposed to be making an impression as Princess Audrey, girlfriend to Prince Ben. But god does her mask slip, especially when talking to Mal. You can see her real emotions start to come out as if she wants to say something but she’s remembering she can’t. Mal’s just starting to get under her skin and—

Ben claps—

—and just like that she’s back in Princess mode. She snaps like some kind of robot.

III. THE VKS ARRIVE — AUDREY BEING OBNOXIOUS & OVERBEARING

First things first, Audrey does the “annoying” things she does because

A) She’s trying to stake her claim, hi, hello Ben is her boyfriend

and

B) Hi, hello, she’s very insecure we established that.

But Audrey has a superiority inferiority complex and she knows how Ben isn’t going to put himself on a pedestal in front of the VKs so when he says, “I’m Ben” and she goes “Prince Benjamin, soon to be King!” she’s giving him the credit he won’t give himself because she’s proud of him???? And then when he introduces her as just Audrey, she’s quick to be like “Princess Audrey” and “his girlfriend” to stake that claim that hello, she is royalty and is a bad bitch, put some respect on her name and also Ben is her boyfriend, (which he wasn’t even going to mention) so, again, back off—which, doesn’t even work because immediately after that Evie is still all googly eyes over him so Audrey literally has to pull Ben back —

—as a reminder that hi, you’re still not a princess (which, from the POV of someone rooting for the VKs, it seems like a bitchy move for Audrey to point that out but she’s literally just stating facts) and Ben is still Audrey’s boyfriend. 

Then he and Mal basically eye fuck each other during their introductions and banter so like, THAT’S GREAT.

Then, when Audrey puts Ben’s arm around her (another PDA moment designed to show just how “in love” they are) he immediately shrugs her off like he’s uncomfortable to be around her, in front of these new kids, which is....ouch. How is she supposed to fend off these other girls from her boyfriend when he’s...not even acting like her boyfriend? And acting like he doesn’t like her? Or doesn’t acknowledge her as his girlfriend? And has those Moments with Mal?

But she saves face.

At this point, when Ben is about to offer himself yet again to be around for the VKs, there’s no way in hell Audrey is going to be okay with that after everything that’s just happened.

1) She already feels like Ben doesn’t like her and the things he does only make her feel more like that

2) Evie’s clearly into him

3) Him and Mal have this weird ass dynamic going on (flirting, they’re flirting)

Audrey’s about to crack. You can see it in the tight lipped smile. The shifting of her weight. The look in her eyes. So instead of cracking, she shifts back into Helpful Princess Mode.

So basically, from the very first day the VKs stepped on campus, Audrey was struggling to be seen and not fade into the background. She was fighting to keep Ben. She doesn’t even say anything rude, anything bitchy, anything unwarranted. She doesn’t put them down from being from Isle. She doesn’t say shit about Carlos having chocolate all over his face. Doesn’t make fun of their clothes. If you take her comment to Mal as a genuine thing, she was trying. She’s not some bitchy mean girl, she’s an insecure girl afraid of loses everything dearest to her. Afraid of making a mistake that costs her everything.

And she loses it all anyway. All her worst fears come true. She loses Ben, loses her friends, everyone pushes her to the background and forgets about her, Maleficent shows up and tries to take over Auradon. It doesn’t matter how hard she tries because she doesn’t win anyway.