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justme315 · 8 months ago

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Caught 2/3

! WARNING !

Fear of giants, angst?,, broken trust, unintentional fearplay, panic, curse words, a character being religious

First part:

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"Wait! Nate please-" Hunter yelled out as his friend began to run in the opposite direction from him. His speed was unusual, much faster than it would normally be. He moved rather chaotically, as a scared kitten does when man appear.

It wasn't even surprising that Hunter didn't have to try hard to close the distance between himself and Nate. One step and their distance was maximally minimalized.

Nate was startled at that realization. His body moved against his will, cold sweat flowed his body, eyes as wide as they never were, skin turning pale. It was so easy for Hunter to get to him. It was so easy for him to just grab him. To hurt him. To kill him.

This whole situation could have been well handled if it was only the human who was panicking. Sadly, in this case it was not only the smaller being being terrified. Nate was just as scared as..

The giant.

Hunter mumbled certain words, not really making any sense. He was closer to Nate but his movements were just as chaotic and unnatural as the humans.

His body was trembling, the marks under his eyes revealed that he just stopped crying but it seem as if he was about to burst into tears once again.

As he put down his enourmous feet just a few feet (human ones) behind Nate the humans world collapsed.

Literally.

The human lost his balance and landed on his knees as the ground beneath him shook. His breath quickened, eyes became foggy from tears building in them, his heart raced just as his mind did.

He quickly tried to stand back up but was meet with his best friends shaky voice.

"Nate- Please calm down -" the giant spoke in his uneven speech, trying to calm down the situation between the two boys. Nate turned around only to face a gigantic face, many, many feet above him.

His legs became unsteady. His eyes were wide with horror. He took a small step back and as soon as he did he began running again.

This time though there was no way out.

The giant rushed his enourmous hands down. He kneeled and in less than a secound his freaking as-big-as-a-damn-house palms stopped Nates escape route.

"Nate, freaking hell just listen to me for a minute!" Hunter yelled out. It wasn't supposed to sound this angrily or harshly, he just didn't know what to do. He knew his words were useless but he needed to get his friend to listen to him. He thought he had lost him forever but the boy followed him to the forest so maybe there was a way to make their friendship last..

Well, anything Hunter thought was against the truth. I mean, he had a tiny tiny man, terrified of him, trapped between his palms. If Nate wanted to do anything with him after finding out the secret it was all long gone by now.

The sudden yell that Hunter made, made Nate stop in his trucks. He stood there, unmoving, only his body trembling making any movement whatsoever.

"Nate for Gods sake, please just stop running and listen to me" Hunter signed as he looked down at his friend. It was just now as he realized how terrified the human must have been. His eyes slightly soften and he looked down with pity and shame.

"Damn, Nate.." he whispered, moving his hand away slightly "I didn't mean to scare you, please don't freak out"

Nate looked up at his giant, his face still full of disbelief and fear, yet somehow.. empty. He looked drained. Like he lost all emotion, all energy, all his stupid positivity.

He just kinda stared.

His face showed fear, so did his body, but his eyes revealed dissapointment. Furthermore, they revealed a heartless expression.

Hunter knew thoese eyes. He saw them in so many peoples expressions. He saw Nate looking like that at others. He knew what those eyes said:

I lost trust in you.

Hunters eyes became foggy and blurry. Tears began to built in them. He kept this a secret so this wouldn't have happened! Why the fuck did it happen?!

Hunter moved his hands back, giving Nate plenty of space. He totally expected the boy to start running again but he just stared. It was even worse if we're being honest.

Nates heart raced but it wasn't half as fast as his thoughts. What stopped all of that was his eyes going black. He blinked but it didn't dissapear. His body felt heavy. This situation was overwhelming. He wanted all that gripped him to the reality gone. Because all that held him there was just.. the thought that Hunter had lied to him.

Before he could process what was happening he fell down, feeling his body touch the harsh ground. He lost all his strength in a second. He fainted? But he was still partially conscious.

Well, at last for a few more secounds.

The harsh ground was replaced with warm, soft, enourmous hands of the giant. The last thing he heard before totally going blank was Hunters yelling.

"Hang on du-.. ! I'll ge-.... -lp...!"

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Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Sorry that this part is short but it leads to the final part!

#g/t #giant/tiny #gt related #giant tiny #gt community #g/t concept #g/t writing #gt #g/t related #g/t angst #justme315 stories #gianttiny #gentle giant #giant #g/t artist #g/t community #g/t fandom #g/t fluff

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steveharrington · 3 months ago

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alright it’s the next day and i’m sober now so here’s what i liked and disliked about the gg finale

well i liked very little. BUT as a chair hater im kind of obsessed with the fact that they got married specifically so blair wouldn’t have to testify against chuck—i think that’s genuinely so fitting that their wedding was rushed and their marriage was spurred on essentially as part of a scheme (suggested by jack fuckin bass of all people) because like yeah. of course they got married to achieve a goal, specifically for chuck. that’s the only thing that makes sense, considering they’ve spent the last 5 years constantly coming up with reasons why they can’t actually be together. i truly believe they would never have gotten married and would have kept delaying it forevermore if doing so hadn’t benefited chuck directly. it’s never just about love or romance with chuck and blair even to the last second

also did like dan’s narration for the reveal! the reveal is stupid we all know this but if it HAS to be dan i enjoyed the way they explained it and that the narration switches from kristen bell (i did scream a bit seeing her on screen) to penn badgley like that was fun. and i liked the emphasis on moments from s1 where dan was fucked over by being on the outside like losing the dartmouth usher position to nate with the matching narration where he talks about how you can only be part of the UES if you have a birthright “a birthright i didn’t have and my greatest achievements would never earn me” like yes baby. you could never win in this system. so fuck it he had to get creative as you ALL KNOW i stand by dan humphrey.

it’s kind of a logistical mess but him confirming that jenny knew he was gg the entire time is kind of cute like i love my humphrey siblings. it makes no sense! but i love the thought of them doing this together

ummm what else did i like …. hmmm …… i guess i liked that rufus and lily had one explicitly Nice Moment for a brief second just to establish that there’s no more animosity ……. or whatever

okay that’s it now for everything i hated. this was by far The Most rushed episode of television i’ve ever seen. i feel like they wrote this episode in ten minutes. the way chuck being a fuckin fugitive takes up the entire first half of the episode and then gets explained away by them saying “it actually all worked out!” oh okay well how convenient? same thing with the fallout of dan being gg…..a literal five minute conversation about the biggest reveal of the show that affected all of them personally and serena says “well i was upset…but then i realized im fine with it” OH OKAY? great. perfect.

the way they felt compelled to pair everyone up at the last second. for AGES i’ve known that lily ends up with william and ive wondered how on earth they’re going to explain that…oh and the answer is that they dont! shes just suddenly with him! same with GEORGINA AND JACK? please someone save me from this fucking hellscape i’m trapped in. dan humphrey voice what happened to phillip? the only person to end up alone is nate which is really funny because i think nate is like the most capable of having a genuine romantic relationship at this point in the show……but whatever. he’s going to be Mayor of New York City. sure. ok

let me talk about blair for a second. let me please talk about blair for a second. blair ends this show….wrapped up in a storyline about chuck. having her dream wedding compromised for chuck. telling him “oh it’s fine i already got my dream wedding!” when we know that the louis wedding ended horribly and it was like traumatizing for blair and she wanted more. once the wedding is out of the way the only other bit of blair plot we get is her being the only one like truly mad at dan for being gg and AGAIN being told by chuck “it’s fine don’t even be mad” and being told by dan “the whole time i had more power than you” then the conversation just kind of ends.

blair waldorf is not a character who would end her series being told how to think or feel by the men around her, nor should the show try to convince us that dan was ultimately this powerful puppet master who was above her this entire time, taking her agency, then throwing that into her face with a little smirk. it’s a grossly misogynistic concept. it also unravels five prior seasons of genuinely good writing where we built up the most important dynamic of the show TO ME: blair and dan

for the first five seasons of the show, they are each the best representations of their respective worlds. blair is The upper east side queen—she is old money, she schemes and manipulates to get what she wants, she has access to every luxury or amenity she could ever want. dan is (by the narrative’s reality, explicitly stated many times) cut off from the UES world because he is not wealthy and he does not have an esteemed family name. he works hard in school only to lose opportunities to classmates ranked below him with better family names, he can’t afford to take serena out for a fancy dinner, he tries to consistently do the right thing and finds manipulating people to be wrong.

watching dan and blair interact from their first ever meeting in 1.02 is like. captivating. watching them judge each other and try to understand each other and the genuine fondness that they have for each other when they do get to that place of understanding, even as early as 1x04, is very special. both characters are learning and developing and having their worldviews change when they interact. their relationship is formed on a foundation of genuine respect and affection they have for each other—wealth or lack of it has nothing to do with dan and blair falling in love. they fall in love because they match each other intellectually, they’re passionate about the same movies and books and art, they emotionally support each other, and the fact that they’re from these different worlds doesn’t deter them, because they understand each others worlds better by being together.

and if the writers don’t want them together romantically at the end, sure. fine whatever. but to end dan and blair’s carefully built, slowly developed, amazing arc of development with blair telling serena “don’t be with dan, he’s not one of us” just undoes all of it. yanks blair back five years right back into season one episode two when they first met. and the sole reason is so she can end up with chuck—they have to justify why she would abruptly leave this supportive genuine relationship, so they have to make dan and blair not understand each other again. suddenly. after their understanding of each other was the best thing to come from this show.

and when we break blair and dan up for the sake of chair, that leaves dan single. so by gg writer logic, dan has to be with someone, so let’s have him get back together with serena despite the SEASONS worth of again very well written demonstrations of why they do not work together romantically. but oh…if dan and serena are together, of course their parents can’t be together. so let’s break up rufus and lily after SEASONS of one of the best, most romantic and passionate slow burns i’ve ever seen so lily can end up with the guy who like almost killed her.

the hatred i have for chair is so deep because i genuinely think the insistence on making them endgame had a domino effect that ruined every other relationship in this show. it’s crazy. like ive never seen anything like it on tv before—torpedoing ALL of the well written and developed relationships that the writers and actors worked so hard on. at the literal last second. for chuck bass.

fml!

#sorry for yapping and party rocking etc #should be noted i watched the finale over the course of like 5 hours #bc i had my friends over to watch it and we kept pausing to talk #gossip girl posting

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winterinhimring · 1 month ago

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Actually. Better question. What do you think Nate Ford would do if he found out about the Robin Incident with Joker? Because I think he would have A Reaction.

Oh, now that would be fascinating, because you're completely right, Nate would have A Reaction, but he would also be up against the closest thing to an equal opposite that I think he's ever met. To paraphrase another post I made about Leverage, the scary thing about Nate is that he doesn't need to kill. If Nate wants you to die, he will build a gallows and hang a noose. And then you'll walk onto the gallows. You'll put your head in the noose. And you'll pull the lever.

The Joker could and would find all Nate's unhealed emotional wounds and tear them right back open, but the thing is, I think Nate is the kind of man who would use that. We've seen him use himself as bait before. He'd let the Joker focus on him while his team worked in the background to peel away all the Joker's associates, and probably to coordinate with Batman.

Then we hit the part of the story where it gets really interesting, because the rules of the two genres collide. The Joker, fundamentally, is the manipulator who has no vulnerabilities. He doesn't care for anyone or anything. He has no regrets. He's the man who wants to watch the world burn. But Nate, Nate is the man who knows how to con anyone. To Nate, every man really does have his price, be that emotional or monetary or intellectual. Nate, fundamentally, is the manipulator who always finds a vulnerability.

I think the story could go one of two ways from here. One is where Nate actually manages to find the one thing that the Joker does care about. Nate lets the Joker tear through all his walls, open all his wounds, and he does it because all the time, he's watching his opponent, and he's learning. And then when the Joker thinks he has his enemy broken and at his mercy, he springs the trap, and the Joker...the Joker shatters, mind broken to the point where he'll never even bother trying to escape Arkham again. (Whatever his vulnerability is, it must be completely irrational. It's gotta be something so stupid and so random that no sane person could ever conceivably care about it. I don't know what it is because I'm not Nate Ford. (Maybe his vulnerability is the knowledge that there are no innocents. Maybe Nate tells him, because part of Nate believes, that those people he killed would have made more chaos and suffered more if they'd lived. Maybe Nate shows him how, by his actions, he's actually made Gotham and Batman thrive by giving them a single enemy to fight. Maybe that's how he breaks.))

The other way is where Eliot, this time supported by his team and with the Joker's manipulations focussed on someone else, sees what is happening, sees that Nate isn't going to be able to win because they've finally found the mark who just doesn't have a vulnerability and literally will never stop hurting and killing innocents just for the fun of it while he's alive, and just. Shoots the Joker.

#leverage #dc #crossover #nate ford #the joker #eliot spencer #asked and answered #sunflowergardens-world #my writing #fanfic

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antispopausandstuff · 9 months ago

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i understand the audience at large wanting more fantasy-diverse casts in high fantasy shows ( largely looking at SPOP and the anti community here ), but even if the designers really didn't want to do that, their designs still could've been interesting by having an actually diverse cast.

like, look at pokemon. there's thousands amongst thousands of human characters, yet at least 90% of them look distinct and have features, colors, and clothing that make them stand out from their specific group(s). sure, there's patterns, but that's bound to happen with how many they make.

or, for lesser known media, kipo and hilda are shows with good character designs, human and creature alike.

even with low budgets ( which was p obvious in the show, i don't know why people still say it has a 'beautiful art style' when it's very generic ), it's not impossible to have good, simple, effective designs.

and! the concept art for SPOP had better designs! if you look up the concept art for adora's princess prom dress ( i don't have too many issues with it, i'm just someone who likes a little flair ), she has her hair down in most of the sketches and i'm p sure one of them is the dream outfit ( which means that they've had this design for ages and just didn't use it until s5, for some reason ).

and the SPOP bible just has a better look for adora, catra, and glimmer, imo, especially adora. her hair is so cute! and the outfit was the original with minor changes, so people who shame the original for 'sexualizing minors' ( they're adults, idiots, and they were never in compromising situations for no reason ) can shut their trap cuz nate literally did the same thing. by the looks of the designs, if i had to guess, they were older as well, at least 18 and up.

so, i don't believe that a lower budget means that they have to have a generic style or designs, esp since the show does have the occasional nice one ( young teen catra, lonnie, shadow weaver imo, mara, light hope ).

i don't know if i'm recalling this correctly, but i feel like one of the reasons mara is a good design to me is cuz she has a different nose.

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manic-sapphic · 7 months ago

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i'd just like to comment on the last frame of these spop stills~

ahhh i posted this as part of a series of stills but looking closer at the expression on catra's face in the last one and considering the next line is just her asking "what are you going to do with me?"

she's not clueless to this kinda vague talk where there's truly unsettling malicious intent being left in the shadows, if you will.

so yeah, the look on her face after prime calls her out for being just as emotional and "weak" as all the princess etherians she was just attempting some smooth shit talking on for their own feelings (and literally tho imo, she only tried that cause glimmer just blew up her spot in the most devastating way possible during their weird dinner w prime, telling him everything he needed to know bout using the heart and cancelling out the one advantage catra had been able to pose to him for why he needed her alive too when she saved glimmer's own neck by poppin out from behind the rubble in "destiny pt 2")

not tryna hate on glimmer tho, and i don't think catra woulda either. i definitely think she understood why glimmer caved so quick, even tho it screwed catra over.

but effectively, my point is, looking at her face in that last still when he basically confirms to her that he sees her of little more value than any other non-weaponized 'emotional' etherian but "still has big plans for her" like... it's kinda no wonder why she did what she does in corridors.

cause tbh, i think she knew she was already fucked dude. like, no two ways about it, she was trapped on the flagship of a megalomaniac creep who-knows-where in space w no way to leave. and she'd soon learn prime also had an affinity for "purification" through torture (reflected in the same idea he tells glimmer about wanting the heart cause "the weeds must be burned away so new life can flourish" it's what he attempts doing to the minds of his individual subjects basically ugh that guy just makes me feel so ill) and if adora came there, all it would mean was that catra would have to watch her suffer, too. and yeah. she just wasn't down w that ugh i just love her so much good grief.. like thank you nate & all the other writers/creators - but also damnit why tho? what did i do?? but also thank you? it's confusing lmao~

#spop #catra #spop prime #catra's an always got ur back guy #yeah she's the real type ok

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independent-fics · 1 year ago

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Leverage OT3 Casual Touches

(Cont.)

This is mainly for @werewolfsmile and anyone else who wants to shout into the void with me about this ot3!

So far season 4 started off strong with lots of little ot3 moments I’ve been clocking on my latest rewatch. Today I watched “The Office Job” through “The Gold Job” and wanted to recap. Ngl it isn’t much…

Still good things but it was a lot of what we already see which is still beautiful. But mainly it was a lot of leaning, being in each others spaces, and a lot of the handshake. (For the purposes of this post I’m skipping “The Girls Night Out Job” and “The Boys Night Out Job” simply because those two are a whole other beast of ot3 moments that I would like to gif separately and also not a lot of touching (besides the handshake in the boys night) which is what we’re focusing on here.)

“The Office Job” is my favorite comfort episode of Leverage. Everything about is pure gold. Despite Hardison and Eliot arguing the whole time about a sandwich they still manage to pull together in the end and have one of the funniest moments in the episode which is of course topped off by the handshake. Once again mainly in each other’s spaces or leaning this episode.

“The Lonely Hearts Job” also such a great episode of basically the ot3 parent trapping Nate and Sophie and Eliot out here doing the absolute most showing he knows his team in the end of the episode.

As for casual touches a lot with Eliot and Parker (I feel like there’s always more with Eliot and Parker in trying to find more with Eliot and Hardison but mainly they just always lean in each others spaces and orbit each other, compared to Eliot and Parker which sometimes have a similar but different dynamic due to comparing how Parker in the beginning of the series was very adverse to touch. Not from Hardison and Eliot now though:)).

This scene starts out with them with a gap but they gradually get closer (I know this can happen when scenes are reshot. As I always say though let me read the subtext how I want. They were further apart then they got closer soooo)

My favorite thing is the shoulder bumping as they’re walking out. All I have to say.

Here they’re betting whoever gets the highest bid gets a steak which is super cute later because Eliot loses and puts up a fight about making it but then totally has heart eyes and smiles when he “loses” that argument too. Why wouldn’t he make his boyfriend a steak. There’s also a later scene I totally forgot to gif when they’re getting the guy flirting with Sophie out of the way and he calls Hardison (who’s in character) an idiot and I know Eliot did not need to take him down as hard as he did all I have to say.

And once again we have the leaning in each others spaces, shoulder touching, and once again the handshake. None of the other bachelors were standing this close on stage just saying.

Then we have “The Gold Job” where Parker literally gets up to sit next to Eliot? Wonderful. But then there’s some shoving but for context the whole scene was kinda tense because Hardison was running his first con. But then right before the camera changes Eliot moves closer!!!

But then they end up further apart again which I’m assuming may be due to reshoots.

Just generally the comfort between all of them gets me in these scenes. They’ve come a lot way and even though the beginning of season four I feel like shows this a lot more I’m still glad I’m finding scenes with their casual touches as I’m finishing out season 4.

That’s all I have for tonight :D I’m finishing up season 4 tomorrow so I’m sure I’ll be adding to this later.

Hope you like my gifs :) haven’t gifed in so long but I’m happy I’m learning again. Quality still needs work though.

Bonus:

Here’s a bonus gif of Eliot looking like he’s blowing a kiss in the button cam footage in “The Office Job” because I thought it was funny. This is once again getting added to my “why didn’t I notice this before” list. I just wanna know for whom Eliot. :)

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smok3r7 · 1 year ago

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Is Leaving Even An Option?

Joel x F!reader

Explicit, 18+

Four: Relief

Series Masterlist & Main Masterlist - My Ao3

Summary: Your days have become one in the same, even with the terrifying reality of death right outside the walls of Jackson. You never thought you’d be in the situation you’ve been stuck in for seven years now, the daily abuse you endure has become an expectation. You take whatever your husband throws at you, literally and figuratively, because you’ve been trained to believe this is normal. But a new man, Joel, moves next door and happens to be friendly towards you, this causes your husband’s anger to worsen. Your mind starts a gruesome war with itself - can you leave him or do you stay until the inevitable happens?

Chapter Summary: The same night you meet Joel, Nate becomes aggressive and does something way out of the norm. This causes you to reach out for help to your new neighbor, Joel. How does asking for help change your life?

Word count: 4.5k

⚠️Warnings: fear of husband, running and hiding from him, mentions of rape (no description), mentions of beating, self-hatred

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“Go away!” You scream as you sprint to the dark gray bedroom door and slam it behind you, locking it immediately. The jar of pickles you had is now shattered somewhere on the stairs from you dropping them when you heard Nate get up from his recliner to follow you.

“You bitch!” He slurs as he starts to pound the other side of the door with both hands. You back up to the bathroom connected to the room and slam the door shut, locking it too, then jump in the porcelain bathtub, lay on your side, and you start to cry, muffling it with the fabric of your sleeve. You can still hear him hitting the door and his now muffled voice, still yelling about something you can’t make out.

How did you end up here? How did you become so weak? Why don’t you stick up for yourself more?

The sound of the bedroom door breaking sends a terrifying chill through your cold body, and holy shit, you think to yourself, he’s gonna kill me. “C'mere you whore,” he hiccups now on the other side of the bathroom door and slowly knocks on it, then he drunkenly sings, “Ooh Mrs.Rossi, come out come out, wherever you are.”

Your mind is racing as he continues to slowly knock, taunting and playing with you, and you almost wish he would lay his hands on you instead of this mental torture he loved so goddamn much. You would rather take his hands over his words any day, because the wounds left on your skin can heal. His words, however, leave an imprint on your soul like a steaming hot brand on cattle - it’s there forever.

The knocking abruptly stops, you sit up with your knees in your chest as you wrap your arms around your bent legs, and you look towards the white door, seeing the shadow of his feet through the sliver between the floor and the door. “I said,” his tone changes to a serious one, “Come here, my dear Mrs.Rossi.” A beat goes by and you stay silent, even holding your breath, trying to make yourself disappear like a magician doing his rabbit in the hat trick.

A sense of desperation forms in your core and flows through your blood, you wish you could ask for help, but you’re inevitably fucked.

Still no noise has come from either of you, eyes zoned in for any kind of movement. You then watch how his shadow stumbles away from the door, and you finally let out that breath that’s been trapped in your lungs for what felt like hours. You don’t dare move out of the tub, because the smallest noise could bring him right back to torture you and, to be honest, you’re not sure if you’ll make it out of this beating.

Flipping your right wrist over to look at your watch - well, Rosa’s, one of her personal items you grabbed - and you put together that an hour has gone by with you in the bathroom, an hour since the last time you heard any sort of noise from Nate. He’s gotta be passed out by now, you think to yourself, trying to make yourself believe it, but you decide to wait another hour, just to be safe, because if he is sleeping, you can run over to Maria’s for the rest of the night and deal with Nate tomorrow when he’s sober.

While you wait and stare at the little black hands on your dainty silver watch to move to the nine and twelve, nine PM is all you need to anxiously wait for. You are in disbelief about how your life has come to this; you hiding in the bathtub in the bathroom you share with your husband, from your husband.

The overwhelming feeling of loneliness and self-hatred starts to slowly consume you from the inside out, because you used to be an expert about seeing through men and their evil twisted lies. However, for some irrational reason, you were and still kind of are, blind when it comes to Nate. Even though he hurts the hell out of you, in more ways than one, he knows exactly how to lasso you and pull you back into his warm arms.

It’s pretty infuriating and ironic how he is the reason for your pain and yet, he’s the one who helps to make you feel better, for the small time being. Shit, it’s honestly pathetic that you keep allowing it to happen, there’s absolutely no reason why you should still be married to him; you don’t have kids, you’re not dependent on him anymore, and lastly, Maria and Tommy told you that they would let you stay with them until there was a home available.

Tommy was actually the one who pulled you aside not too long after Maria put the pieces together last year and he had gotten extremely emotional when he said, “I put Nate on patrol with Daniel. I’m so sorry for all that you’ve been dealing with by yourself, I am disgusted with myself for not having noticed. I want you to know my loyalty stays with you, a million times over. Please don’t hesitate to come to me or Maria for help, okay, sweetheart?”

You couldn’t believe that Tommy, who had been Nate’s right hand man since the beginning of Jackson, had written Nate off entirely and favored you in this matter. It gave you some sense of hope for something good to happen, but in the end, you’re still here a year later, in the same situation, but now you hold your own a little better.

The sudden urge to pee hits you and brings you back down to earth. Fuck, you glance away from the silver faucet you were staring at, and as you flip your wrist again, your eyes widen as you notice the hand's location, ten fifty-three PM stares back at you like a hawk eyeing its prey.

Please please, you repeat in your head as you carefully put your hands on either side of the edge of the tub and push yourself on your feet, and both your knees pop, echoing through the silent, tiled bathroom. You curse to yourself as you step onto the white bath rug, praying that he doesn't hear you. All you have to do is unlock the door, open it quietly, and get downstairs then sprint out the front door. Should be easy, right?

You tiptoe to the door and unlock it, wrapping your shaky hand around the cold knob, taking a deep breather for a moment to spark a bit of confidence in yourself to sneak past him, wherever he is. Your heart is beating rapidly, enough where you think it might leap out of your chest, your stomach doing flips, making you jittery.

With your hand still on the knob, you slowly turn it with your free hand on the door itself to keep it quiet. The pleading in your head is still there as you silently and slowly push the white door open. Before you fully open the only thing keeping you alive, the first thing your eyes notice is the gray door that leads to the hallway from your bedroom, and the bottom half of it has been kicked in.

Seeing this makes you swallow heavily - this has never happened before so you really don’t know what’s in store for you. You quietly push the door just a little bit more and as you step out onto the navy plush carpet, you turn your head to the left and you’re greeted with Nate eyes wide open, his tall statue-like figure sitting on the edge of the king size mattress you share.

You’re frozen in your tracks. Both your hands drop to your side, your breathing starts to become erratic, your chest heaving up and down, and sweat beads start to form on your skin. No fucking way, you panic, how is he still up?

“There she is.”

—

Hold on, hold on! You hear Ellie on the other side of the oak door. You’re back standing on the cream porch you had been on hours earlier, but instead of being here to show them the new home, you’re now there for any source of help.

The door swings open, “Who the he-“ Ellie starts but as soon as she sees you standing opposite to her, she stops. All you’re dressed in is a black tank top, plaid sleep shorts, and a pair of gray socks that are soaked from the snow when you walked over. You stay silent as you watch Ellie’s eyes gaze at your bruised and broken body, you don’t doubt that she knows what went down.

“Fuck, um- come on in, please, please,” she rapidly tells you and welcomes you inside the home that is almost identical to yours, without that distinct gloomy, unsettling aurora floating around. It’s actually an incredibly welcoming feeling that wraps around you as soon as you step foot inside.

“Here,” Ellie runs over to the closet across the room and grabs a smaller blanket out of it, “wrap this around you, go sit down, and I’ll go grab Joel.” Still not having said anything, you reach your arm out to take the blanket she has offered and you nod your head.

Your body is on autopilot as you drag your frozen wet feet across the hardwood floor to the open living room and plop your heavy feeling body on the tan colored couch, wrapping the blanket around your shoulders and bringing your knees to your chest, curling into your comfort position.

Joel. Joel. Joel. He’s all you desperately crave at this moment, and even though you don’t know a thing about this man, you still desire him and his comforting atmosphere. You’re so out of it that you don’t even hear Ellie run upstairs or the noise of Joel’s heavy footsteps sprinting down the steps to quickly aid you.

Suddenly the shape of Joel’s body is in front of you, then he shrinks down to sit on the wooden table, his gaze now meeting yours, and you watch as his beautiful eyes are full of concern, darting all over your meek body, making you tighten your arms more.

“You’re staying here for a little bit, sugar,” Joel states, trying to keep his anger from taking over from seeing you like this. Hearing him say that with such ease and honest concern causes you to finally let go of all the tears and anger you’ve been holding onto for all these years.

“Than- Yo- I-” you sob between words, trying to say anything but you simply can’t make anything out. Shh, Joel hops off the table and sits down on the cushion next to yours, softly grabs your trembling body and pulls you to sit in his lap as he cradles you like a newborn baby.

You’re violently weeping into his chest as he slowly rocks and shushes you. The way he holds you in his safe arms makes you feel more loved than ever before.

You’re not sure how much time has gone by but you have stopped sobbing, though tears continue to roll down your cheek, your face still. “You don’t have to tell me now,” Joel’s voice makes your body vibrate as he speaks, “But I wanna know what happened.”

The way his voice sounds, you can tell he is aggravated but upset by seeing you hurt. You’ve been staring at his chest, the way his dark blue T-shirt clings to his body, you’ve memorized the pattern of his breaths and yours matched with his. But now that he’s asked and with such clarity, you figure that you have to tell him. It’s the least you could possibly do right now with him and Ellie being nothing but helpful.

Slowly, you lift your face to look at him and you notice that he’s already gazing down at you with the same whiskey eyes that make you swoon just by looking. The shame you’ve been experiencing flies away in a second just by seeing how much he truly cares. It’s not like Nate’s face when you initially met him, no, this is different.

“Okay,” your voice hoarse from the yelling and crying, you sit up still in his lap, “um, so-” You’re trying to find the right words to really showcase what happened to you tonight. “I got home and he was waiting for me, he’d drunk the rest of the bottle and started to chase me upstairs. I locked myself in the bathroom for, like, three hours, and you’d think he’d be passed the fuck out right?”

You’re starting to become loud and hysterical, your hands are now animated as you talk with them because you have so much to try to get out, but you can’t really communicate it all. Joel is just listening and watching how worked up you’re getting, his arms still latched around your body but it’s not like a possessive hold, more of a let me take care of you kind of grasp.

“Well, apparently I was wrong, because as I walk out the bathroom, I am immediately met with Nate just staring at me sitting on the bed. And I just freeze, like a fucking deer in headlights. Dumbass. If I woulda ran I wouldn’t be bruised to hell, no black eye, no hair ripped out.” You wait for a beat before you finish your story, “And I wouldn’t have been raped either.” The last part comes out in a defeated sigh, but you never shy away from his eye contact.

He’s stunned into silence, his eyes glossy, a tear breaking away from his eye and rolling onto his cheek, one that slides down and gets lost in his messy beard. You bring your hand to his lined face and wipe away the stain from the tear, and the two of you stay like that for the rest of the early morning before anyone else is awake in Jackson.

—

It’s been about six months since you ran over to the safety of Joel’s house, and for all intents and purposes, you’ve been living there since. The only times you go back to your shell of a home is when Nate is out on patrol, but you don’t even stay there, you only grab a couple necessities like clothes and toiletries. Nate really believes that you’re staying with Maria and Tommy - he has no clue that you’re only a couple of yards away from him and you’re gonna keep it that way for a little while longer.

Ellie now has come to help you at the stables alongside the three sisters, who gracefully accepted Ellie into the group, and you couldn’t be more at peace about it. Joel has been by your side whenever he can, but not in the sense of trying to keep an eye on you. It’s more for your safety and the fact that you told him that you feel safe and loved when he’s around.

You’ve finally been able to live peacefully. You haven’t had to deal with any Nate drama, no new physical or emotional pain, and you haven’t had to walk on eggshells anymore. Truly, you feel more secure than ever in the last two decades, and it’s all because of Joel.

“I think Tommy and Maria are coming over for dinner tonight,” Ellie tells you as she continues to brush her horse, Shimmer. You smile over to her, “what do you think they’re gonna make?” She takes a second to really think about her answer, she suddenly stops brushing and excitedly goes, “I think Tommy is making his famous chili. Joel had brought up to me that it was his absolute favorite meal, well, whenever Tommy cooked.”

“That sounds delicious,” you laugh as you finish the last of the hay so Jinny can grab it and put it with the others. “Oh my god you have no idea!” Andrea yells from outside the barn, you turn your body and give her a confused face. “Wait, so you’ve had it but I never have?” You question playfully putting your hand on your hip and popping it out.

The girls chuckle at your stance and they start to talk about how they had to beg Maria for him to make it, since the ingredients can be hard to come by a lot of the time. Somehow the three sisters got him to make it a couple years ago and they say he hasn’t made it since then, so they also believe that he’s making it tonight.

“Alright ladies, I’ll believe you. However, if you’re all wrong,” you take a second to think about what playful punishment to give them, a little smirk grows, “you all have to switch jobs for a week.”

The four girls all groan in unison, fine, but Ellie is quick to say, “that won’t be happening.” She winks at you and you chuckle as you shake your head. These girls have your whole heart.

—

“Let’s go, old lady! I’m starving,” Ellie drags out the last sentence as you lock up the barn for the night, the rest of the day went smoothly. “Girl, if you don’t wait a fuckin second-” you banter back while laughing. You turn around finally and you see Ellie making a snowball that she fires at you, and hits you right in the thigh.

You slowly lift your head with a sharp grin, “Oh, you’re so in for it now!” She has the biggest smile, from ear to ear, as you bend down to grab a clump of dense snow you hear her yell, “You gotta catch me first!”

You laugh, oh, just wait, because little does she know that you’re actually quick on your feet. It’s how you survived so long alone before Jackson, when you had no choice but to be quick, especially considering you never stayed in one place for too long.

After making a ball out of the cold white snow, you pick your head up and scan for Ellie. You spot her running down Main Street just past the Tipsy Bison, and you knew you could catch up to her in a second but you have another idea. There’s a shortcut to your neighborhood behind the grocery store next to the stables, so you decide to take that path and you’ll meet her just after Maria and Tommy’s house.

You take off towards the snow covered concrete path with the singular snowball in one hand and your set of keys in the other. The cold breeze hits your face with a stinging sensation, but right now you really don’t care, you’re actually having fun and there will be no consequences to you simply enjoying yourself. So you ignore the aching of your feet, the coldness of your face, and the stiffness of your knees all because you can finally do what you please.

You’re just about to Spruce St. and you see Ellie walking past the secret pathway and you smirk, perfect. You stop your moving feet and wind your arm back as you whip the ball of snow at her figure, she’s too busy looking behind her to even notice you’re only about fifteen feet away from her. The snowball hits her directly on her shoulder and she quickly turns her head in your direction, “How the fuck?”

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” You wink as you walk up to her and put your arm around her shoulder, you both start to laugh as you make your way to the beautiful navy blue house for the night.

—

“Knock, knock!” You hear Maria come in, followed by Tommy and his greeting. You’re currently upstairs finishing up your hair, just something simple to keep it out of your face. “I’ll be right down!” You yell, putting in the small golden hoops that you still have from Rosa, and you smile as you look at yourself in the full length mirror on the backside of your bedroom door. Joel told you that there was a guest bedroom that you could stay in until everything worked itself out, and he didn’t care or mind how long that took.

You stare at your reflection with awe, the light blue jeans hug your curves perfectly, and the green flannel Joel gifted you hangs open so your black T-shirt fits your upper body comfortably with a little bit of cleavage. It’s nothing crazy, but you look like yourself again. The woman you were before Nate - shit, before the apocalypse even, even the weight you had lost because of him is now coming back, and damn, you look astonishing.

As you take one more full look at yourself, and it hits you that you’re not covered in bruises or blood, a small gloss covers your eyes but you quickly wave it away. No, not tonight, it’s a good night, you repeat. Because it truly is; you’re actually happy and not playing it up for visitors. This is real, your emotions are raw and real.

“Old lady, c’mon!” Ellie yells from the bottom of the steps, and you yell back to her as you take one last look at yourself. Hell yeah, you mumble with a nod to yourself, putting your fingers on the silver handle, shaking off whatever jitters you have, and pull the door open. The sound of people talking fills your ears as you enter the hallway, closing the door behind you, the stairs are lit by the lanterns hanging on the wall.

This feels like an actual home.

As you reach the hardwood floor at the bottom of the steps you're met by Joel’s figure, about five feet away from you, stopping your feet to gaze at him. He looks beautiful, his hair is wet from the shower but combed back, and you’re taken back when you notice his shirt - it’s the same green one that he gave you.

You raise your hand to point at his chest, making you now only inches away from touching him, your other hand now on your hip, “Miller, are you trying to copy my style?”

“Darlin’, I invented this style,” he chuckles at you with such admiration in his eyes, now stepping closer, letting your hand palm his chest. Yet again, it feels like you two are the only ones in the world, the only two souls left alone just dancing around each other like flames in a fire.

The sound of Tommy clearing his throat shakes the two of you out of the trance, your hand still on Joel’s chest as you turn your head towards the kitchen and you see Tommy with a smirk on his face as he says, “Dinner’s ready.”

“Be right there!” Both you and Joel chirp at the same time, causing both of you to flip your faces back to one another and you both just start to laugh, so much that the top of your head falls into his chest and his lips lay a gentle kiss on your head.

“Ladies first,” he mumbles into your hair as he moves his hand to guide you towards the kitchen. You smile, lift your head back up to meet his gaze, and all you see is pure love. You want so badly to kiss him and feel that passion that you desperately miss, but you don’t because you still have this weird loyalty to Nate, all because you’re still married.

Some part of you won’t allow the happiness you know you’d receive and deserve from being with Joel, because even though your husband is an absolute monster, marriage still has meaning to you. Marriage isn’t just something you cheat on - your mom instilled this in you after Roy because she never wanted you to end up like her.

“Okay,” you say with a cheesy smile. You feel drunk off of him, off the smell of his sweat mixed with body wash, and his looks have you feeling butterflies erupt from your belly again. Your feet start to mindlessly walk away from him towards the sound of people having fun towards the kitchen, and he’s planted in the same spot as he eyes you up and down as you walk past Tommy, giving him a smile.

As you pass Tommy, you’re met with Maria at the stove stirring what you can only imagine is, indeed, Tommy’s famous chili. Ellie mutters it at the same time you think it, and you turn your head to see her sitting at the dining room table with a shit eating grin on her face.

“I told youuuu,” she sings to you as you walk over to sit next to her at the wooden table. You give a glance to her and she sticks her tongue out at you, which you reflect back to her with a laugh. Ellie starts to laugh with you as Maria brings the big pot to the table and sets it on top of a heat resistant mat, the strong smell of delicious chili fills your nose as Maria sets across from you.

By now, Tommy and Joel have walked in the dining room and sat down in the wooden chairs, Joel at the head of the table next to you, and Tommy sitting next to Maria across from Ellie. You couldn’t feel more at home than you do right now, this just feels like it’s meant to be, like all what you have been through is worth it since you’re here now.

“Dig in, sugar,” Joel softly says to you with a gentle smile, the warm feeling starting to grow in your belly again just from his words, and you grin as you grab the ladle and fill your bowl. “Thank you, Tommy,” you state as you take a spoonful of chili in your mouth. This has got to be the best meal you’ve had in god knows how many years.

He says a quick thank you as everyone else gets a bowl of the yummy chili, and you can’t help but feel insanely happy and relaxed at this new lifestyle you have. It truly is the most beautiful experience you’ve had in awhile, and you can’t believe that you have been actually happy.

The thought of Nate hasn’t popped in your head in weeks, and you couldn’t be anymore grateful about that.

Tags: @evyiione @southernbe @pedrosfanny @oscarissac2099

#joel miller #joel miller x f!reader #Is Leaving Even An Option #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfic #joel miller series #read warnings before reading #dark story

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oxventure-writing-prompts · 29 days ago

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silly guys island, day 4 (28/4/25) - population: 10

(added delacy, nate, edie, garnet, and silas!)

unfortunately not much in this post is about them, it took them a little bit of time to actually start interacting with people - but they're there i promise!!

read below cut!

he's thinking about prudence again, but the combination of the heart in the window and the fact he's using the mirror just makes it look like he's fallen in love with himself lmao

oh!!! that was fast!!! i'm telling you, this island is speedrunning itself lol, two marriages and a baby on the way within a week!

but wait, that's not the only big thing that happened today...

please excuse the noises in the video, the little squeal near the end is red seeing delacy and nate stood next to each other (mind you, they hadn't met yet on the island, this was pure coincidence - between this and literally everything else so far on this island we're convinced these miis have the souls of the characters trapped in them /j)

anyway, on a calmer note - some assorted things from around the island, because between a baby and a marriage we were a bit too shocked to remember to take many pictures lol

first off, the clothing shop had a cat outfit, so i did what had to be done and gave merilwen her wildshape :)

delacy also had the magical girl dream, we love you roast lamb man

dobilwen sleeping like weirdos (affectionate) after both having dreams

and lastly, adding monster hunters de jour meant finally having enough female miis to have access to mii news! so i was able to go back and get something i thought was funny, given mike's egbert costume is mostly a hat lol

other things i couldn't include for lack of photo space:

flying disc between dob and egbert, with such powerful shots as the "dob shot", "dob tornado", and "super dob extreme" lmao

dob "ababab"-ing in his apartment. this is the first time either of us has seen a mii with a vocal stim (red has been playing on the same island for years, and i've had a few different islands). why are the souls of the characters trapped in these miis

dobilwen tahiti holiday :)

nate working in the pawn shop and absolutely rocking the uniform, i wish i could have that as an actual outfit to give to him

prubert marital dispute less than a minute after returning from their honeymoon

"random question: if nate were a food, what woul he be?" / "delacy is actually kind of like some barbecued meat." -dob, to corazón during a café meeting

~ Purple

#silly guys island #mod purple #not a prompt #oxventure #edie valentine #delacy deadlands #nate janssen #silas flint #garnet munro #waiting in line

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lineycantdance · 1 year ago

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AwaE's "Tale of the Magical Island" play

In the the sixth episode of Season 2 of Anne with an E entitled "I Protest Against Any Absolute Conclusion," the community of Avonlea comes together to put on the annual Christmas Pantomime. In this meta, I offer my analysis of this story within a story.

Not only does the plot of the panto draw heavily upon the story of Adam and Eve, but in my interpretation, it also allegorically serves as a way for Avonlea to use the medium of the theatre to process and come to grips with the threat that the grifters posed to their "magical island" community.

First, a brief synopsis of the play:

The opening number introduces the audience to an agrarian community residing on a "Magic Fantastical Island." Our hero, a farm boy, encounters a Fairy Princess who, seeing The Boy's hard work and goodness, bestows upon him a Golden Apple Tree which he vows to faithfully protect. A Dame happens upon the Golden Apple Tree and asks The Boy to hand her one of its fruits, but he refuses. When the Dame steals an apple, the Devil Lobster appears accompanied by a catchy tune. Things seem bleak when the Devil Lobster gets ahold of one of the apples, but a Prince on a noble steed arrives to vanquish the evil foe. However, the Devil Lobster thwarts the Prince by crushing his sword in his claws. As stormy skies swirl overhead, The Boy digs a large Black Hole with his trusty shovel and tricks the Devil Lobster into falling in. The hole swallows up the Devil Lobster, the day is saved, and they all lived happily ever after!

The Panto as Allegory for the Grifter Arc:

Ultimately, this play tells a simple story in which good triumphs over evil with a moral about resisting temptation and the perils of greed.

I would like to call attention to the fact that the apples are painted gold. Like their edenic counterpart, they symbolize sin and temptation, but in the context of this allegory, they also represent the enticing prospect of finding gold in Avonlea.

One of the Prince's lines suggests that if the Devil Lobster got his hands on the golden apples, it would bring spoil and rot upon the town's land ("You think you can turn our land into rot?/ I'm the unconquerable prince, lest you forgot!"). This parallels the threat that the mining operation posed to Avonlea—digging up the earth in the hopes of finding gold would have defiled the land and brought environmental destruction to the small farming town.

The Devil Lobster is defeated by falling into the Black Hole—this bears a striking resemblance to how Mr. Dunlop was ultimately caught by the townsfolk in S2E3 after he fell down the mining shaft at Nate's dig site.

It's significant that The Boy is the one who digs the hole to stop the Devil Lobster. The Boy represents the every child, and more specifically, the youth of Avonlea. While the adults of the town were easily swindled by Nate and Mr. Dunlop's gold scheme, it was children, specifically Anne, Diana, and to some extent Jerry, who were able to see through the grifters' ruse, put all the pieces together, and try to stop them from getting away with their scheme.

The version of events rendered in the play puts a more heroic spin on the role The Boy plays in thwarting the evildoer. He actively sets a trap for the Devil Lobster using the pivotal prop—a shovel—to do so. Since a shovel is a tool of excavation, this reflects how the excavation site Nate initially used to stage his con became a trap and holding place for Dunlop when their ruse came crashing down.

In reality, our child heroes were not so active nor successful in thwarting Nate and Dunlop. Only Dunlop was captured whereas Nate got away with the money. After their sleuthing in Charlottetown, Anne and Diana tried to warn the Barrys about what they'd discovered, but Diana's mother wouldn't hear any of it. Anne told Marilla who thankfully believed her, but by then it was too late, and the two literally got tied up. Meanwhile, Jerry had his own moment of realization, finally recognizing the boarders as the thieves who mugged him and stole his money in the finale of season 1. He tried to throw a punch at Nate, but got beat up again and fell unconscious. Mr. Dunlop only fell into the hole, not by any of the children's doing, but because he and Nate turned against each other.

The play credits the children as the real heroes in the story and offers a happier ending than the real version of events in which the community is still reeling from the financial blow of the con, lingering distrust—especially of outsiders—and feelings of regret and shame. In particular, we see how Marilla blames herself for inviting the boarders into their community and how the fallout of the the con hits the Barrys especially hard, manifesting as marital conflict between Diana's parents. The play's happier version of events helps the town process the ordeal they've gone through and imparts a moral they learned from the experience.

Each Character's Role in the Panto:

Anne as The Boy: Like the show itself, Anne is the protagonist of the play, our plucky hero. Her stepping into the role of The Boy was foreshadowed with her trip to Carmody earlier in the episode during which she dressed up like a boy. It's also fitting that Anne plays this part since she was the one who put all the clues together about the boarders' true intentions. The fact that Anne replaces Josie in the lead role of the play, as well as Matthew's last-minute substitution for Billy as the Owl, signifies that Anne and the Cuthberts are forces of progressive change in Avonlea.

Diana as the Fairy Princess: Most characters, including Anne, see Diana as the angelic image of a proper lady. She's generous, sweet, beautiful, and comes from a wealthy family. Like her Fairy Princess counterpart who awards The Boy for his hard work, Diana sees Anne's virtues even when others don't, and overall is a supportive and generous friend.

Matthew as the Owl: Matthew stepping into this role is foreshadowed in his flashback with his brother Michael in which a young Matthew can be seen whittling an owl figurine. Owls are associated with wisdom and true sight. This is a fitting choice for a narrator character in a play and also suits Matthew who demonstrates real wisdom.

Mr. Lynde as the Devil Lobster: In S2E2, a townsperson remarks that Mr. Lynde shows no moderation whatsoever as he piles his plate full of sweets. The Devil Lobster is the embodiment of greed and avarice and proclaims that he is "simply shimmering with sin." Tamatoa who? I only know the Devil Lobster! Also, it's clear that Rachel is super into seeing her husband acting a bit naughty and decided to have some fun with this casting choice.

The minister as the Fair Dame: Seeing the minister in drag is played for comedic effect. The Dame plays the part of Eve taking the apple from the Garden of Eden. While the minister was skeptical about the gold testing business, he did not dissuade the town's eagerness for material riches and therefore also shares responsibility for inviting avarice into Avonlea.

Mr. Phillips as the "Unconquerable" Prince: This is also played for laughs as it demonstrates Mr. Phillip's inflated sense of ego. He envisions himself as a gallant hero when in reality, he is anything but. The Prince is ineffectual at fighting off the Devil Lobster and runs away like a coward, much like how the adults and authority figures of Avonlea were completely bamboozled by the grifters.

Rachel Lynde as Queen Victoria: Perhaps a narcissistic casting choice on the part of Rachel, but let's be real, she was the artistic director behind this whole production and knocked it out of the park. Pop off, queen!

I hope you enjoyed this discussion of the "play within a play" in S2E6 of Anne with and E. This is probably my favorite episode in the whole series due to its many wholesome moments, especially Jerry giving Anne his Christmas card, Gilbert and Bash coming over to the Cuthbert's for Christmas dinner, and Matthew overcoming his stage fright. 10/10 would recommend. Of course the Christmas episode absolutely slaps!

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