#she sees that he's not just a lost little farmboy anymore and is coming into his own | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

imtryingmybeskar · 3 years

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So I'm sure we have all seen Pedro in the overalls today and my beautiful friend suggested a farmboy fic and I couldn't rest until I made it a reality.

*Disclaimers* I know nothing about farming, nor am I from the US. I imagined him as having a softer version of the Whiskey accent.

18+ only! You know the drill. 3.9k words.

The first time you saw him he was striding along the dusty road to your farmhouse, the sun at his back, his shadow stretching long ahead of him. Only someone looking for work and out of luck with it would be approaching at this late hour. From your perch at your bedroom window, you could look down and see the fatigue in the set of his shoulders, the dejection in the bow of his head. As he neared he stopped and dropped his pack to the ground before attempting to make himself presentable - raking his hand through his dark hair before setting his cap back on, dusting the legs of his overalls free of as much of the dirt of the road as he could, and finally straightening his back, righting his posture to make himself look strong, tall, not as hard up as he was. His rap at the door came as you were nearly at the bottom of the stairs and your dog, who had been peacefully sleeping at his approach finally woke and defended in a storm of paws and tail and barking.

"Hey! No!" you told her, and she quietened down and stayed where you told her to, in the line of sight from the doorway but no immediate threat to anyone on the other side. Opening the door you were greeted by the sight of a not-so-young-anymore man. Despite his efforts to clean himself up, his arms were streaked with grime and sweat and you could see the stains of his exertion under his arms and at his neck. His head remained bowed as he began to speak and you got the feeling he had replayed this spiel many times recently.

"Ma'am, I'm very sorry to trouble you. I'm here to see if you are lookin' to take on anyone at the farm at this time?" His voice was deep and rich with an enticing southern twang, sweet as honey whiskey.

"What kind of work can you do?" His eyes raised to your face and the hope you saw in their soft, dark depths almost melted you. As if he hadn't even gotten this far along with anyone for a very long time.

"Just about anything," he answered. "I can drive - harvesters, tractors. I can take care of all kinds of animals, muck 'em out, feed 'em. I've helped birth 'em too, though I know that time is passed for this year. I can sow and harvest by hand too if that's needed. And I can mend things, fences, roofs, you name it." Looking at him appraisingly, your curiosity got the better of you.

"Why are you on foot? Must have travelled an awful long way to get all the way out here." He looked down again, presenting you with the brim of his cap to look at instead and shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"I uh...I lost my own farm. Not too long ago. Sold everything I had to try and keep it afloat. Even my car."

"So, if I were to take you on-" his head snapped up eagerly again. "IF" you emphasised, "Would you be needing a place to stay as well?"

"If you had anywhere that could accommodate me, I would be most grateful for that, yes Ma'am."

"I want you to know that I've been out here on my own for a time. I know how to take care of myself. And I'm sure you heard and can see Tank behind me there." He was nodding as you spoke.

"I don't want no trouble. Just a job and a roof over my head." You eyed him for a few seconds more before stepping back from the door to let him in. He entered gingerly, staring around wide eyed as if he hadn't been inside a house for a long time.

"You hungry?"

"No...I mean, I don't wanna impose-"

"No imposition. If you're gonna work for me, you need feeding. Come with me." The dog whined a little as you approached, and you stroked her head. "Come!" you commanded the dog and she raced away ahead of you. Checking to see the man was following, you led him past the stairs and through the living area to the back. Here you had a small extension set up, with a bathroom and shower and a small room with a sofa which opened out into a bed, ostensibly for guests, though you hadn't had any for years. "You can get yourself cleaned up here. Any clothes you want to wash, you can do in the morning. There's no door to this room, so the only privacy you'll get is in the bathroom I'm afraid."

"This is...fantastic," he said in a low tone. "I've slept outside for a week or more, so this is just...Thank you ma'am," he finished, humbly. You left him to it and went to prepare him a plate of leftovers. When he finally emerged, scrubbed and fresh half an hour later, you bid him sit at the table and presented him with it. Without all that dirt streaking him and without his cap on you could finally see how good he looked and you had to tear your eyes away from the fullness of his lips before you went too far down that rabbit hole. The man was clearly desperate, hanging on to the shreds of the dignity of his old life by his fingertips. There was no way you were going to make him feel like he owed you anything by taking him in. You left him be until you heard him hum with satiated pleasure about ten minutes later.

"Better?" you asked.

"Better," he smiled.

"I see you've made a friend," you said wryly, gesturing to the large hairy head currently resting on one of his feet. You trusted your gut about this man, you didn't imagine him to be anything than he had said he was. But you had to be cautious for obvious reasons. The dog, however, had proved to be a truly excellent judge of character in the past and it warmed you to see her take to him so readily.

"I think I may have bribed my way into her affections. Chicken," he clarified.

"That'll do it," you smiled. He insisted on washing his own plate and then there was an awkward silence between you for a time as he stood in your living room, not really knowing what to do with himself. "Hey, you can sit and watch TV with me, or you can hit your bed if you want. I won't be offended either way."

"I...I think I will go to bed. I'm kinda lookin' forward to it."

"I can understand that," you said as you handed him pillows, blankets and fresh sheets to make it up with. "Just so you know, the dog sleeps down here too. She shouldn't wake you. And help yourself to water in the night, coffee in the morning. Whatever you want."

"Thank you," he said again, his eyes catching yours and looking happier than you had seen them thus far. "Goodnight."

The man worked like a machine. Having lived this life for many years, you were accustomed to being up before dawn, but he beat you to it the next morning, greeting you with a soft "Good morning," and handing you a cup of coffee that he had prepared. He kept up a pace all day, and you moved around each other around the farm, lifting your hands or voices in greeting when you passed. You couldn't help but notice how the soft cotton of his shirt creaked at the seams when he moved his broad shoulders, nor how deft his hands were at every task he set them to. The dog had begun to follow him everywhere and you found yourself liking that too, despite the mild sting of betrayal. He came in to help with lunch and after he washed up, set to chopping salad and buttering bread.

"This is gonna sound weird, but erm...your dog...she ain't partly deaf or anything is she?"

"No, why?"

"Its just, she comes when I whistle, but not when I call."

"Ohhh," you said, realisation hitting you like a wave. "Yeah, well, last night I might not have told you her proper name. I er...I wanted to make her seem a little more intimidating than she is. Just in case, you know. Hence Tank. Though she ruined that when she drooled all over your shoes." He gave a small chuckle, his eyes sparkling.

"So what is her name?"

"Cookie." At this, you heard the tell tale sound of Cookie's claws on the kitchen tiles. "Good girl," you threw over your shoulder at her.

"Well, that suits her a lot better'n Tank. She's so friendly."

"Only to the good ones. You should have seen her with the last man that came in here. She knew he was a wrong 'un. Took me a while to catch on, but I get there in the end." You turned your head to find him looking at you with sympathy and a touch of anger. "Like I said, I can take care of myself," you added and moved on with your day. In his first week staying with you he managed to do most of the little jobs that had been irritating, but not bad enough to address. The tap in the kitchen no longer dripped. All of the fencing was entirely without holes for the first time in forever. The roof of the chicken coop was renewed. You decided to celebrate by breaking out some beers in the evening and sat with him on your porch, watching the sky slowly turn from gold to apricot to scarlet. Once he had started to feel less awkward around you, you found him to be good company - intelligent and curious and with a good sense of humour and even your silences were now companionable, especially a few beers in.

"Need to plant some more things in the garden," he grunted, slurring a little. "Maybe some beets and some radishes?"

"That sounds good," you agreed, "but for tonight, just switch off a bit. Enjoy the beer and the view. You've more than earned it."

"Oh, I'm enjoyin' the view alright," he said. There was something low and sinful in his voice that made you turn your head to him in astonishment and definite interest, but as you did, his eyes grew wide and he started to splutter. "Oh God, I apologise. I haven't had a beer in months and I guess my tolerance ain't what it was. I...I didn't mean to offend. I didn't mean to say that."

"Didn't you?"

"No, I-I'm sorry." Putting your beer down, you came to stand in front of him, placing your hands on his knees and running them up his thighs.

"Are you sure you didn't mean it?" And suddenly the realisation of your own drunkenness came crashing around you. What were you thinking? You couldn't take advantage of him like this. He had nowhere else to go and he had said he wasn't interested. You straightened abruptly. "No, I'm sorry. This is wrong. I'm...I'm going to bed." And you did so, walking swiftly away before he could see the redness of your face.

The next morning, your coffee lay on the counter and you could see him outside the house pottering around. Berating yourself for an idiot for ruining the good feelings you had built up between you, you went about your own tasks in a crotchety mood. He didn't come in for lunch either, and you began to get a little worried about him. Deciding to tackle the problem head on, you brought him out a Tupperware with some food and some water. Eventually you found him in the barn, measuring some of the beams. He hadn't noticed you come in and you stood and openly stared for a moment at the sight of him with no shirt on under his overalls. It was pretty warm in here - you were starting to feel the effects yourself. His back was broad and muscular and his shoulder muscles rolled as you watched him reach up to measure something above him.

"Er...hi," you ventured, a little shyly. He whirled to face you, looking as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. "I'm sorry to bother you, I just thought you might want some lunch." You deposited it on the hay bale closest to you and carried on, keeping your voice light, "And to say that I'm sorry about yesterday. You said no and I shouldn't have pushed it. I don't want you thinking you have to do anything like that to stay here!"

"Thank you," he said softly as he made his way over to you. "But..I said no because we had both been drinkin' and because I didn't wanna take advantage of anythin' I wasn't bein' offered freely and honestly." His eyes raked over your face, black and piercing in the half light inside the barn. He was so close to you, you could smell the lemon scent of his soap and the musky smell of him underneath. There was a sheen of sweat across his chest and before you could stop yourself or think too deeply about what you were doing, your hands were upon him, feeling the taut, strong muscles of his pectorals. You bit your lip a little as you raised your eyes to his.

"You're not taking advantage," you whispered. "I want this." That was all the invitation he needed to crash his lips upon yours with a fervent desire. His big hands circled your waist and roved your back as his tongue begged entrance at your mouth. Your own hand moved down his overalls to where he was starting to bulge, massaging his length and making him moan into your mouth.

"Christ, I...I've not been with anyone for so long. That feels so good, don't stop." You heeded him, but also brought one of his hands from around your back to your breast where he began to knead it intensely and he groaned again, in between peppering your mouth and neck with kisses. "Fuck, you're so pretty. I thought so from th' first moment I saw you. I didn't know how to say..." For someone usually so reticent, he was on a roll now he had your tit in his hand and you were palming him through his overalls.

You snaked your hands up his body again and undid his overalls, letting them fall and pool around his feet where they landed. His body was gorgeous, broad and muscular with a little fuzz over his chest and running down his stomach. You ran your hands all over it, feeling the slickness of the sweat beading through his hair under your hands and feeling your own body begin to heat and respond in earnest, your clit throbbing a little between your legs. He kicked off his boots, and took off his socks and overalls in one swoop before taking you back in his arms and kissing you ardently again. His hand slid up your shirt and hiked it up, the sweat at your back making it stick to you a little. You broke the kiss to hurl it from your head and away, closely followed by your bra.

"Oh fuck baby, your tits are so beautiful. Lemmie taste you." He got on his knees in front of you and did just that, taking your nipple in his mouth and sucking on it harshly whilst rubbing your other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Exhaling a moan of pleasure, you tangled your fingers into his dark waves and pulled him even closer, feeling his smile against your chest as his free hand undid the buttons on your jeans. You could feel the wetness in your underwear now, the telltale stripe of moisture under your cunt as he coaxed that sweet feeling all through your veins with his tongue and fingers on your nipple.

"I want you to fuck me," you gasped. "Need you to fuck me hard."

"Oh don't you worry, baby, I'm gonna take good care of you," he murmured against your skin as he pulled the material down your legs. "Fuck, you're so wet already. I can see it on your panties. I wanna taste you there too. Can I?" His big dark eyes looked up at you with pleading and what you would have called innocence had he not already been flicking his tongue back over your nipple, making you squirm and huff with the pleasurable tickle of it. In reply you pulled the rest of your clothes away from you, but before he could reach his prize you took his jaw in your hand and brought his head up to look at you. He was instantly attentive and alert, looking slightly worried, as If you might have changed your mind in the few seconds it had taken for you to remove your clothes.

"You can taste me, if I can taste you afterwards," you offered.

"Hell yeah you can," he muttered appreciatively as he got to his feet and lifted you on to a haybale. The straw poked you roughly and mercilessly, but you forgot about that when he leaned over you and kissed you deeply again. "Gonna make you feel real good, honey," he promised again before kissing a path downward. He hooked your legs over his biceps and ran his forearms up to your breasts, teasing your nipples again before diving right in to lick warm, wide stripes from your cunt to your clit. It had been so long since anyone had been intimate with you, your head felt dizzy and overwhelmed, but he took it to another level with the enthusiasm he brought to the task. He lapped at you and what you were leaking as if he were a man starved, pushing his face into you, so you could feel his patchy stubble rub against your inner thighs, and sucking gently on your clit. It took an embarrassingly short time before your breaths came stunted and your voice rose in a wail of pleasure as he drove you to your peak, the red hot lava of it flowing from your core throughout your body. He ripped a second from you when he pushed two thick fingers inside and curled them wonderfully to strike against that part inside you that you yourself could never reach. His eyes glittered with lust as you came down from your high and you swore you could come again just from the look he was giving you from between your legs. He kissed your inner thighs and wiped his mouth as he came in for another kiss, your taste all over his tongue and lips.

"Your turn." you announced breathlessly, as you got down from the bale on shaky legs. Not breaking eye contact, you knelt in front of him, the straw on the floor not much of a cushion for your knees. He moaned loudly as you raked your nails down his side, catching them on the waistband of his underwear and pulling them down, allowing his cock to spring free and bob up toward his stomach. You had felt that he was well endowed, but seeing him was something else entirely and you couldn't help the hum of appreciation that escaped you before you leaned forward kissed the reddened tip, his precum brushing over your lips. You looked up at him as you licked it off and could see his breaths coming heavy and wild, his shoulders and chest heaving in anticipation. His hands came around to tangle in your hair as you licked a swirl over his tip before taking it in your mouth and sucking gently whilst moving down his shaft.

"Fuck, baby. You're so good. C-can I move?" You brought your hands around to the firmness of his ass and moved him forward a little to give him permission and saw his head roll back in pleasure. He seemed to not want to hurt you and fucked your mouth much more gently than you thought he would. Your head bobbed further and further down his shaft until he was striking the back of it, making you gag a little. Raising yourself back off, you pumped him with your hand while swirling your tongue over his tender head. When you brought your other hand to cradle his balls he trembled a little under your touch. "Honey, I do not want you to stop, but if you don't I won't be able to fuck you before I come." You removed your mouth from him slowly, hollowing your cheeks and sucking hard as you progressed.

He helped you to your feet and reached down to stroke your clit again while he kissed your lips, the taste of you both mingling in your mouths. Turning your back to him you bent over the hay bale, presenting yourself to him and you heard a guttural sound of arousal behind you before the head of his cock was notching at your entrance and pushing in all at once, stretching you and making you whimper as he bent over your back and kissed your shoulder. "Are you ok, baby?" he muttered. "Does this feel good?"

"Yes," you whispered. "Now fuck me hard."

He bit down a little on the meat of your shoulder and whispered a low "Yes, Ma'am," before standing fully and beginning to piston his hips into you with forceful, firm strokes, his cock pushing further within you each time. It was overwhelming and even more so when he pushed down on your back further so that he was fucking down into you and sliding over your spot with each thrust. The change in pitch of your gasping moans and the wetness that you could suddenly feel around the tops of your thighs encouraged him to fuck you even harder, his cock swelling as he got close to his release and filling you up beautifully. "Like that, honey? Right there?" he grunted as you started to feel yourself lose control around him.

"Yes, there, please, don't stop, please," you begged. He captured your arms and pulled you further back toward him, and suddenly he was striking something white hot and golden inside and you were gone, your cunt pulsating around him and flooding him with you. Your head was so dizzied that you only noticed he had pulled you flush against his sweat-sticky chest when his arms were around you, grasping greedily at your breasts and the hot breath of his rich, deep voice was beside your ear.

"Where-"

"inside." He drove into you half a dozen more times before he cried your name aloud and you felt him pulsate strongly within you, jettisoning his spend into you with groans muffled against your shoulder. As he withdrew, he held you up gently before turning you and lying you on the bale he had just taken you over, coming to lie down beside you with his big eyes searching your face and his big calloused hands stroking the soft skin of your belly. The sweet summer sun was slanting over his face, turning his black eyes amber in its glow and you felt a welcome twinge in your heart as you took his face in your hand and kissed him.

#m x f reader #farmboy #farmboy smut #pedro pascal smut

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ruffboijuliaburnsides · 4 years

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voiceless jaskier au (pt 7)

Chapter 4 is, with this, complete and shortly will be on AO3! And also possibly my longest chapter. YAY!

In which I actually let Jaskier have a Not Shitty Day (and Geralt has a much more shitty day)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) Now on AO3

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Geralt was, perhaps unsurprisingly, not back yet when Jaskier woke up, surrounded by the papers that held everything he'd purged the night before. He sat and stared blankly at the detritus of his hurt and anger, feeling hollowed out and weary.

Hollowed out and weary, but not like he was going to get lost in the mist again, which brought on a feeling of something like relief. He got out of bed and pulled fresh(ish) clothes on, being careful not to disturb any of the papers as he did. That was the thing, he was angry still, and he thought he had every right to be. Geralt didn't get to be overwhelmingly attentive one moment and then just refuse to listen to him the next, especially before running off to maybe get himself killed without thinking about how Jaskier would survive.

No, Jaskier thought with an admittedly bitter-tasting sort of pride, the papers would stay. He couldn't yell at Geralt, but as emotionally raw as he felt glancing over the things he'd written, maybe it would get through to Geralt and he'd look next time. And the time after that. And every time Jaskier was trying so hard to reach out of the silent pit he'd fallen into to connect to another goddamn person.

That decided, clothed and with a clean face from scrubbing in the washbasin, Jaskier considered his options. He could swear up and down to the innkeeper that the witcher would be back to pay for any meals he might have while staying alone, but the fact was that most people would be dubious of a witcher's guarantee to come back. Especially given how quickly he left, for the next town over. Jaskier could, instead, set up in the main room or the town square with his lute and play, and hope for some generosity from the townsfolk. The problem was that without his voice, he was limited to only the sound of his lute itself. Which, admittedly, was fantastic, but wasn't likely to earn him much of anything. Instrumental music was for banquets and noble halls, before the night moved on to more energetic entertainment. People in a little place like this looked to a bard for entertainment with jigs, melodramatic ballads, tales of adventure, and songs about maidens fucking farmboys. Jaskier could play a mean jig, but for the rest... well.

And anyway, doing that would mean actually playing, and thinking about it still made something twist up in his stomach.

No, not today, he thought, and snagged his tablet before heading to the door. Today, he would hope that the innkeeper or one of his neighbors would take pity on him and give him some sort of small job to do in exchange for food or a little bit of money. It wasn't something Jaskier was looking forward to, silently begging for the chance to do menial labor, but it wasn't like he had many options.

The innkeeper did have a few unskilled tasks that he usually had his daughter do alone, but he seemed to be perfectly happy to let Jaskier help with them in exchange for food, even giving him breakfast before setting him to work.

"That witcher of yours left you here without coin for food?" he'd asked, eyes narrowed, when Jaskier approached him. Jaskier shrugged, spreading his hands dramatically, trying to play it off as sort of a 'witchers, am I right?' situation. The innkeeper shook his head, grumbling. "Damn thoughtless creature," he'd said, and ushered Jaskier into a seat near the kitchen. Jaskier wanted to protest, to speak up in Geralt's defense, mention how careful Geralt had been up to this point, but once he was seated and eating porridge and sausage, he had to admit he didn't disagree.

Geralt had been damn thoughtless, and Jaskier was still fucking angry.

The chores were hardly complicated, even for him. Washing breakfast dishes, helping boil water for laundry (which he was allowed to drop his own dirty clothes into, and pointedly did not bring Geralt's down for), helping hang the laundry to dry. Not exactly easy, nor the sorts of chores he'd ever had to do growing up, but it was something to pass the time, and made him at least feel useful for the first time since the djinn. The innkeeper's daughter was seventeen, sharp as a whip, and named Hanna. She kept up a steady, if not constant, commentary throughout the day, giving her thoughts on what she wanted from life, how well (or poorly) Jaskier was doing at following her directions, and various gossip and theories about passing townsfolk that they could see from the back yard of the inn. She got him to laugh more than once with her sharp commentary, and he felt if they could've had a proper conversation he would've enjoyed her even more. She even shared her lunch with him, half a small loaf of bread, a chunk of cheese, and an apple that she imperiously demanded he slice for them, which made him laugh yet again.

(She'd started singing at one point, in the absent way people did when they were doing a familiar task, and he'd faltered in his movements hanging the laundry on the line, his hands frozen in the process of pinning someone's chemise up. He'd forgotten until that moment, despite not being able to answer her as she chatted, that he couldn't sing anymore. It hit him like a punch to the chest and for a long moment he felt like he couldn't breathe. Hanna hadn't said anything, but she must have noticed, and she resumed talking about the exploits of her friend Maja instead of her song, and didn't sing again. Jaskier felt guilty and grateful in equal measure for that.)

It was a good day, probably the first good day he'd had in... how long had it been, two weeks? Longer? The first good day since even before the lake, though he'd hoped briefly when he found Geralt that his day was getting better. More the fool him. But this day of feeling useful and not pitied was what he needed and Jaskier was very relaxed (if already sore and sweaty) by the time the late afternoon sun was warming him as he weeded the kitchen garden alone, Hanna having gone in to help start supper.

Or he was relaxed until the door to the kitchen was thrown open with a loud bang, and he briefly was grateful for his enforced silence because he can tell he would've just screeched embarrassingly otherwise. Geralt of fucking Rivia was the culprit, looking tensed for a fight. Jaskier barely had time to wonder what could possibly have gone so wrong while he was outside that Geralt was looking like that when Geralt's eyes locked on him, kneeling in the dirt with his shirtsleeves rolled up and a weed in his hand, and the tension seemed to bleed out of him. Not that anyone but Jaskier or maybe another witcher would've noticed, as little changed, but the feeling that Geralt was readying himself for a dust up dissipated.

Jaskier obviously couldn't say anything, but that was very far from anything he expected to happen, and he raised an eyebrow, not otherwise moving.

"Excuse me," Hanna's voice came from behind Geralt in the kitchen. "If you don't mind, sir witcher, we're busy in here. Go out or come in, but don't just stand there all in the way!"

Geralt half-turned with a startled frown, and Jaskier couldn't imagine the scathing look the girl must've been giving him that prompted him to simply grunt out a quiet "Sorry," before stepping outside, closing the door behind him.

Jaskier almost laughed at the disconcerted expression on Geralt's face in the wake of whatever look Hanna had subjected him to, before remembering why he was out here in the first place. Instead, he pressed his lips in a line, his good mood already fled in favor of lingering anger and resentment, and pointedly looked down and resumed weeding. Geralt walked closer and it occurred to Jaskier that he'd left his tablet upstairs after going to fetch his laundry, because he didn't want to risk it getting lost or stepped on, and Hanna hadn't needed it to get on just fine with him. Whatever conversation he had with Geralt right now was, by nature, going to be extremely one-sided, as Jaskier both couldn't talk to him and wasn't speaking to him.

Geralt stopped at the edge of the garden plot, a few feet away from where Jaskier was kneeling, and just... stood there. Jaskier'd intended to just let him stew until he felt like speaking up, but eventually the silent looming got to Jaskier, and he left off the weeding to sit back on his heels and spread his arms. What?

"You weren't there," Geralt rumbled, an inscrutable and alien (to Jaskier, anyway, which was actually pretty strange) expression on his face. Jaskier frowned slightly, then pushed himself to his feet and brushed his hands off on his trousers, eyes never leaving Geralt's face, and the expression he didn't recognize.

"You weren't there," Geralt repeats after a few beats of silence, clearly struggling to get words out. "There was all the paper talking about how angry you were, and your lute was there, and the wax tablets were there, and it didn't smell like you'd been there for hours."

Oh. Jaskier's shield around his heart cracks a little bit. The big idiot had been scared. Of something having happened to him, maybe, or of him having left, or something Jaskier can't think of, but the point was that Geralt was scared and had flipped out because of it, stormed the kitchen and threw open the backdoor to make sure Jaskier was there. There was "mad at him" and there was "being an ass to him", so Jaskier softened and reached out a hand to put on one of the arms Geralt had crossed protectively in front of his chest. A soft little exhalation escaped Geralt's lips, and Jaskier thought honestly if he was the sort of person who cried, Geralt might be crying from relief now. Jaskier had wanted Geralt to know and understand how angry he'd been last night, but he'd never really meant to scare or hurt him, so it was his turn to apologize. Not for being mad, he refused to apologize for that sort of thing, but for scaring him.

Jaskier looped his arm through Geralt's, dirt and sweat and all, and tugged him back towards the door. Geralt let himself be led, not taking his eyes off Jaskier as they moved. Jaskier waved and smiled apologetically to Hanna and her mother as they cut quickly through the kitchen, and saw the disdainfully disappointed look the innkeeper shot Geralt as they passed, and then it was upstairs and into their room. The pages that had been scattered on every surface were more or less in a pile on the bed, like Geralt had grabbed each one of them, read it, then grabbed the next and the next, before dropping them and racing out to find him. Which... was probably what had happened.

The giant idiot.

Jaskier unlinked their arms to move the papers, dropping them to the side of the bed carelessly, because frankly they didn't matter now that they'd been read, herded Geralt to the bed and pushed him to sit down, and then retrieved his tablet from the side table, rubbing his hands on his trousers again to keep any dirt from getting ground into the wax.

You're an idiot, was the first thing Jaskier wrote, turned around to show Geralt with fond exasperation. Geralt opened his mouth to respond and Jaskier held a finger up to stop him, adding more under it. And an ass. Geralt huffed, frustrated, and scowled slightly.

"Jaskier."

Oh, fine, he'd go faster and stop just listing things that Geralt, patently and provably, was. I'm angry, not stupid. What did you think happened?

"I don't know," Geralt grumbled with a faint grimace, not looking up at Jaskier's face. "The papers were ripped out of your journal. The messages seemed... desperate."

Jaskier sighed and sat on the bed next to Geralt, tucking one leg up under him, and smoothed the wax before starting in on a longish message.

You didn't look when I had a message to show you. This is my voice right now. I can't shout. Maybe throw it at your head but it might break. And you didn't think about how I would pay for anything, which was what I was trying to ask you. But you didn't look. You can't not look, Geralt. His handwriting wasn't great, admittedly, especially writing smaller, but it was readable when he held it out to Geralt.

"Hm," Geralt handed the tablet back, and Jaskier started smoothing the wax again. "I'm... sorry. It was thoughtless. You could've gotten hurt." He sounded sincere to Jaskier's ears, if a bit reluctant. Jaskier knew Geralt struggled to talk about his own feelings, let alone his fears. Jaskier had never known Geralt to talk about his fears, and while he hadn't said so explicitly, the fear that Jaskier could've gotten hurt, and it would've been Geralt's fault, seemed like an obvious jump from what he'd said. And really, it made sense. Geralt considered what happened to Jaskier's voice his fault. It would be him failing Jaskier again if anything but a truly spectacular meltdown and some laundry had happened while Geralt had been gone.

Jaskier bumped his shoulder up against Geralt's as he wrote, Geralt leaning in a little to watch the letters forming, and Jaskier's breath almost hitched from the smell of him so close in his space (even the sweat and horse that permeated him). Forgiven if you never do it again. Promise?

"I promise," Geralt responded even before Jaskier finished writing, solemn as anything. "I'll always look. If it needs to wait, I'll say. But I promise I'll look."

Jaskier patted Geralt's knee in acceptance and smiled. Good. Dinner. He stood, then stopped on his way to the door to quickly add, I earned dinner tonight. You can pay for baths. He showed Geralt and gave him a smug, cheeky grin, and Geralt's eyes flicked from the tablet to his face and met his eyes without response for just a moment too long to be entirely comfortable. Then the moment passed, and Geralt pushed himself to his feet.

"All right," he agreed. "You look like you've been rolling in the mud all day, you could use one." He chuckled at Jaskier's indignant expression and got a smack upside the head with the tablet as they made their way back downstairs.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) Now on AO3

#the witcher #geraskier #geralt #jaskier #fic #my fic #voiceless jaskier au

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prankprincess123 · 4 years

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Star Wars is, always has been, and always will be my main fandom, but I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch any of the Rise of Skywalker trailers, for the same reason that I've only been able to watch Last Jedi the one time I saw it in theaters.

The sequel Trilogy just doesn't feel like Star Wars to me, not the way that even Rogue One and Solo do. Star Wars is supposed to be a fairytale where you can see the end from the beginning, it's just the twists in the middle that are the mystery. It's supposed to be a story about knights and royalty and lovable rogues, where you know they'll all become a family and live happily ever after, even if it takes a while to get there. It's not supposed to be a story where the heroes loose everything again as soon as they found their happy ending.

Even in Rogue One where everyone dies, they still die as the heroes and as a family, not split up, fighting against eachother and compromising their beliefs as the original trio do. And the PT fits this mold too, because these tragedies are only the middle of the story, and we knew that. The only death of our main heroes in the PT was Padme, who died a hero holding fast to her values and being killed as she brought two more heroes into the galaxy, Obi-wan and Anakin both continue on their journeys through Rebels and the OT, and all other material in that time and die as heroes as well in the end.

The ST just doesn't have that feel of continuity that binds the rest of Star Wars together both in story and tone. It doesn't have that spark of magic and hope that everything else has. It doesn't have the same 'I can do that and be a hero too!' mood, because can our original trio even be considered true heroes anymore in these new movies? And if their success and family can both fall apart so easily by the time less than 20y have passed what hope is there for those of us who aren't as strong as they are?

Even at the darkest points of the EU, the twins and Han always had eachother, their values and they always had the undeniable faith that everything would end happily. When Han and Leia's children were constantly being kidnapped and several of Luke's apprentices were falling to the darkside, they had eachother and they had hope no matter how bleak the situation. Even when Leia felt her 16yo youngest son die, she still had hope because she could sense the rest of her family still alive, and knew he had died a hero and that his death wouldn't be in vain. Even when Jacen Solo became Darth Cadeus, killed his aunt Mara Jade Skywalker and drew Tahiri Veila to the darkside with him, there was still hope because the rest of the family still had eachother and the knowledge that the dark side is not permanent. In the post-OT EU alone the Skywalker family goes through a million times more crap than they do in the post-OT Disney canon, and yet they never allow it to break their family or their hope.

Through the disasters that are the Clone Wars and the Emipre we see all these found families that are sticking together no matter what happens. We see a Clone Trooper meeting a sassy little Padawan and deciding that he's her big brother now, and following her to the ends of the galaxy to protect her even as the rest of their family is forced to hunt them, because they have to hope that the darkness will fade and the light return. We see a broken former padawan and a rebellious young pilot coming together and creating a hodgepodge family of anyone and everyone who needs them, sticking together and never giving up hope that those who are lost can be found. We see strangers thrown together by life or death circumstances becoming a family in less than a week and dying together, with hope still in their hearts because their cause will still survive. We see a man who has lost everyone he loves protecting a little boy from afar because he still holds out hope that this child and his sister can fix the wrongs of previous generations. We see a rebel princess, a farmboy knight, and a scoundrel pilot who don't just hope for the best, they don't simply hope they're a family that loves eachother, they don't simply hope they'll all survive, they don't simply hope that evil will be defeated, they KNOW.

We see a fairytale where everything will work out because the characters hold on to light and hope so desperately that no force can pry it from them. We see something that gives us inspiration to never give those things up ourselves. But the ST took that hope away from our heroes, it took away that family, and gave us a new type of story for the new generation, where the heroes fail despite everything they do, and where families fall apart despite the bonds that brought them together. They lost this hope and family in an effort to connect with a generation of broken families who constantly question their morals, and gave us new heroes in the same place as our world is now instead of the light that makes it Star Wars.

In all truth I have no big problems with the Sequel Trilogy other than that it lost the magic. Visually its stunning, the storlines are compelling, the bonds ring true, and the heroes are phenomenal and real (though 'Darth Tantrum' is absolutely pathetic, and I can't manage to see how anyone can consider a 30yo emo manchild anything other than such) Objectively The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi, and in all likelihood Rise Of Skywalker are amazing movies by almost all accounts. But in trying too hard to be relevant to our time they lost the reason that Star Wars has been relevant since it's beginning. They lost the magic, the hope and the light. Because of this, I stand by my beliefs that the cursed Christmas Special and things like the Ewok Aventures shorts are more Star Wars than the Sequel Trilogy, simply because despite all their flaws they still had the magic of family and hope and light that makes Star Wars Star Wars.

#long rant #long ramble #long reads #movie analysis #star wars #star wars prequels #star wars the clone wars #star wars rebels #star wars rogue one #star wars sequel trilogy #star wars eu #star wars ewoks #star wars christmas

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real-jaune-isms · 4 years

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RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 13 (Finale) Rundown

It’s been a month or two since the finale aired, and honestly I needed that time to organize my thoughts on it and what I think may happen next. And I was busy becoming an art major. That too. Oh, and a little thing called COVID-19.

So our season finale begins with one of the fights we had most been looking forward to, JNR and Oscar vs Neo. Jaune wants to avoid a fight and tells her to surrender since she’s outnumbered, but Neo is too confident in her capabilities and just draws her parasol blade. So Nora and Ren start shooting at her to no effect and rush in for melee combat. Also ineffective at first, she just dodges and blocks and counters. Even Ren’s new grapple line blades do next to nothing, she just does a split to dodge under his flying kick. Oscar runs in to attack with his cane, but she counters and flips him into the air with the lamp getting knocked off his belt and being in the air between them. Both thrust their sticks to try and catch it, but Oscar gets it first and sticks his landing. Neo just starts slashing at him as he backs away, and Jaune steps between them to repel her with his shield’s gravity Dust burst. One thing you notice pretty quickly about the fight is how casually Neo seems to be taking it, taunting her opponents the whole time by making faces and being theatrical with her every move. It’s maddening, but it’s the attitude we came to expect from her after Volumes 2 and 3. Teamwork seems the best move, so Nora launches Ren through the air at the ice cream demon while Oscar holds her legs so she can’t move out of the way. Too bad her Semblance is still pretty OP and Ren just shatters an apparently fake Neo. They check down the corridors for any sign of her but instead see Atlesian soldiers who chase after them on Ironwood’s orders.

Back to the battle of the seasons, Penny flies at Cinder with a high speed punch that sends her back into the hallway but she just catches it and uses her Grimm arm to toss her around a bit. Winter attacks with a flock of tiny Nevermore summons before charging in herself with a sword slash, though both do little to phase the nimble Maiden. She summons two glass swords of her own to fight back, and seems to have the advantage. She even takes the time to lecture Winter on how Atlas’s elite hoard so much power in the hopes of maintaining it forever, and how that just starves the rest of the world. It seems like she really means it once starved her, and she refuses to starve again. Some hints of what may have been her tragic backstory here, which I would be very interested to learn in greater detail even if it absolutely won’t redeem her character from the cruel and insane devil she is. I just want to see how she got to this point, where this lust for power came from. It’s certainly ironic that she’s complaining about other people hoarding power when she’s going around stealing Maiden powers all for herself when those were literally made to be divided among four people. Penny re-enters the fight with her swords on strings, but Cinder’s reflexes are apparently on the level of Ultra Instinct since she’s able to dodge and block all her spinning blades AS WELL as Winter’s attacks once she draws her second sword and joins in again. The two are at least able to avoid getting hit in return, but the whole is just going nowhere fast even if they’re blocking her way back into Fria’s room. So Cinder lashes out and flies at them with all her might, grabbing them both by the neck and rocketing through the other wall of the medical room... to reveal this secret room was not in a subbasement as we may have assumed but the top floor of a skyscraper. Now they’re all in the open air and Winter is the odd one out since... y’know, she can’t fly. She doesn’t make things better for herself by stabbing Cinder’s hand and making her drop the Specialist. With only one person to worry about now, Cinder tosses Penny away and kicks a flaming sword her way. Penny catches it, but didn’t expect it to explode and knock her back some more. The two have a floating standoff with Cinder becoming increasingly frustrated and calling Penny a toy, as if she’s Tom Hanks in 1995. But her attention is brought elsewhere as she’s hit by a blast of ice. In one of the most badass sights this Volume has offered, Winter is flying on the back of a summoned Manticore. The 2v1 fight resumes in this airborne setting, and Cinder has a harder time dodging and countering their speedy strikes while also focusing her powers on staying in flight. But when she and Winter charge at each other, her sword is unfortunately able to cut through the summon and leave Winter in a freefall. As if to add vindictive insult to injury, she also shoots a fireball at the Schnee that takes down her Aura. Satisfied with her work, Cinder flies back to the building while Penny is left with the choice of following her and dutifully protecting the Maiden powers or saving Winter. She makes the right choice, and saves her friend. Winter thinks she should have just been left to die, that she matters less than the mission. But Penny disagrees.

Back with JNRO, they’re still running from the Atlas soldiers. Whatever scuffle Oscar had with Neo before the others came along is now wearing on him and he begins to fall behind. In all the rushing through the labyrinth of hallways, he gets separated from the group. Just as he’s lost hope of rejoining the others and the guards are just around the corner, the farmboi gets pulled into an empty room and kept quiet via a hand over his mouth by... Nora? A very silent and smiling Nora... A Nora who suddenly lunges at him with a lace parasol... okay this is clearly not Nora. This is clearly Neo in a very cruel and deceptive disguise, as made clear by her eyes changing to the usual pink and brown when Oscar fortunately dodges out of the way of her attack and back into the hallway. Worse still, she swiped the Lamp from him in the heat of the moment, and the little devil makes a break for it. Jaune is looking for Oscar, but finds Neora instead, and she just dodges around him and springboards off his shield. Then... things get rough. She runs into Ren next... while looking like Nora. He still shoots at her as she barrels towards him but she just blocks with her parasol as she is want to do. When he meets her halfway and takes a jumping slash at her... she twists the knife in; changing her eyes back from her own determined mismatched pink and brown to Nora’s scared and confused turquoise. In that split second of seeing his beloved’s face staring at him with such fear, Ren hesitates and stops the attack, so she hits him in the face and trips him to the floor before running away some more. Jaune is still on her tail and runs past his dazed and shellshocked teammate. When he rounds the corner Neo had just headed down however, he only finds more Atlas soldiers firing at him. The real Nora comes running from gods know where and the three head back the way they came. Nora checks over her shoulder to see if they’re still being followed, but what’s more interesting is that Ren can be seen crying as he brings up the rear. Obviously he’s quite upset with how easily Neo could get him to hesitate just by posing as Nora and playing on his feelings for her. She probably didn’t realize just how complicated the Renora relationship is, but it worked perfectly in her favor. Ren’s tried to set aside his feelings but they’ve now dramatically affected his capacity to do his job. Like it or not, he HAS to talk about it or else everything is gonna implode. And of course, when we cut to see the armored soldiers chasing our heroes there’s also a more formally uniformed female officer in the back who goes sauntering off in the other direction. That was a very speedy costume change, you little sugar gremlin. Anyway, she got away with the Lamp. That’s no good.

What’s even less good is that we cut back to a temporarily black screen and the harsh wrenching sound of tearing metal. Turns out its the POV of Fria as she blinks back into consciousness and sees the satisfied face of Cinder as she starts a monologue about how the elder woman’s time is up. Fria admits she has been waiting for a good long while, but she can’t remember what or whom for. Cinder confidently informs her it was for this very moment. For her~ But as she goes for the Reverse Flash kill with her Grimm hand, the Winter Maiden shows off one of the reasons she’s survived this long. A good strong grip on Cinder’s wrist stopping her before she can make contact and keeping the Fall Maiden from getting any further. The hungry wolf won’t be gobbling up Granny tonight, deary. Faced with the tired but steadfast face of a woman who has likely lived and fought several times longer than Cinder has been alive, accented by the blue flame of her Maiden magic, the evil woman pulls back. But she’s persistent, and tries a glass dagger instead. That goes even worse, as a pulse of magic sends her flying backwards. With more magic on display than any Maiden we’ve seen before, Fria summons a cyclone of pure cold air and ice around herself and starts floating in the middle of it. Cinder’s Grimm fingers start to freeze (since they don’t have Aura like the rest of her body and thus get no protection from the cold, thank you for setting that concept up in episode 3 Weiss!) so she has to back away further. That becomes a full temporary retreat out of the room when the coldnado sends a pod door at her and the intensity only keeps increasing. Much like Professor Xavier in Logan, Fria is already very old and isn’t in the most stable state of mind anymore, so she loses control of the tempest and it busts a hole in the roof. Penny and Winter land a short distance away and marvel at the majestic chaos. Winter claims this is the power of a fully realized Maiden, which makes me wonder if Raven was able to do something similar or if it takes decades to unlock this kind of mastery. Winter tries to get in closer and reach Fria, but the blizzard winds are enough to destroy the material of her glove and leave her fingers red with chill. Something has to be done, but after the beating she took she’s in no shape to do it. So Penny jumps in instead, much to Winter’s dismay.

Continuing the hopscotch course of dismal vibes, we go back to JNRO as they’re hiding in the training room and Oscar is apologizing for having lost the lamp. Jaune tries to reassure him, but Ren is even more pessimistic. He doesn’t think they were ready to even become Huntsmen and Huntresses which is just so painful to hear. Nora of course disagrees, but Ren has a harsh rebuttal: if they’re ready and capable, then why don’t they have any of the relic they’re supposed to be protecting? Why haven’t they succeeded in their most important mission? Oscar seems even more hurt by this reminder, and Jaune puts on his serious leader voice to tell Ren that’s enough. I would half agree with Ren, and unfortunately its a half that blames him. It’s not that the team wasn’t ready for this, it’s that HE wasn’t EMOTIONALLY ready for this. Like I said before, Neo took advantage of his emotional state to make him hesitate and overwhelm him. Their moping is interrupted by Pietro and Maria chiming in over their Scrolls. Was there any doubt that a genius like Dr. Polendina would be able to undo Ironwood’s communication shutdown?? We see Yang and Blake for the first time this episode as they shoot at Atlas robots and head for an airship, one which Maria is getting ready to pilot as their getaway vehicle. Nora informs her of their current hiding place, but the soldiers happen to close in at that moment and the three hide behind Jaune’s hard-light extended shield... wait. Three?? OH NO WE LOST THE BABY!!!! It would seem Oscar ran off on his own to try and fix things, and he insists they leave without him.

Back to the impending ice age, Penny is slowly making her way through the blizzard. Her foot gets frozen to the ground, but she hits the boot jets and it busts out again. There in the eye of the storm she finds Fria, and the android approaches carefully before gently touching her ankle to get her attention. The fire in the old lady’s eye dies down and she notices Penny. Penny is a of course a sweet and thoughtful girl and rather than demanding Fria stop the storm she just asks if she’s okay. Fria most certainly does not seem to feel okay, again mentioning that she had a job to do. She clarifies that she was supposed to protect the power of the Winter Maiden until the time came for her to pass them on. Penny notices the machines are broken and buried in a wall of ice, so the more safe transfer method is no longer possible. Fria laments that she may have taken longer to be ready for passing the powers along than she should have, but promises she’s ready now. She knows that means dying, that’s one thing she still remembers quite well. The elderly Maiden quiets the cyclone and floats down to collapse in Penny’s arms. Not gone yet, just weary, and hoping to learn the name of the sweet young lady who’s helping her like this. Penny gives her name, and now Fria asks the million lien question: Since Penny is suddenly showing up now after Fria’s only interactions being with Winter for so long... does that mean Penny is the One? The poor little android doesn’t know what to say to that, and for damn good reason. She knows Winter is supposed to be the one to get the Maiden powers, but she also knows Winter would use those powers to obey Ironwood’s cruel plans for Atlas and Mantle. If she takes the powers, she can make sure that doesn’t happen AND that they don’t fall into Cinder’s hands. But that would also mean betraying her boss and her orders, betraying her friend Winter. So what is she gonna do, what she’s been told to do or what she feels is right? This is the culmination of the struggle she’s been wrestling with the entire volume, nay her character’s entire existence! She is a creation of Atlas, but she is also a girl with a heart and soul of her own. Such a tragic clash of motivations!

Speaking of motivations clashing, we cut down to Ironwood in the Atlas vault. He hears the hum of the elevator approaching and assumes it’s Winter coming to report Fria’s demise and her own acquisition of the Winter Maiden powers, and thus begins apologizing for making her perform such a morally dubious act. Instead he finds Oscar, posing rather seriously with Ozpin’s his cane and fixing James with his best look of fed up disapproval. With such a formal air about him, James has every reason to suspect Oz is back at the helm and asks which of the two he has the pleasure of addressing. It’s just Oscar though, but Oscar is plenty on his own. James thankfully doesn’t yet know that Oscar has lost the Lamp and thinks he just chose not to bring it down here with him, acknowledging that he isn’t very trustworthy right now. Oscar is a farmer to his very roots and wants to help the trust between our heroes and the Atlas forces regrow. He believes they can all come together again. But James is stuck in a guarded state of mind and thinks Oscar came to fight for his cause. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Oscar admits that he feels scared, and whenever he does he holds the cane and it helps calm him down, likely due to its significance to those who came before him. But he puts the cane away as a sign that he will face his fear without that aid, that he will be brave. James just thinks that’s another dig at him, that Oscar is calling him scared. Oscar reminds him that EVERYONE is scared right now, for good reason, and that fear is not something to be ashamed of, that it just gives us a chance to show the content of our character by how we handle the fear. James just snaps at him, says that it’s easy for Oscar to spout such platitudes when he doesn’t have to make life changing decisions for the sake of a Kingdom. As he starts circling around the poor farmboi and backing him towards a dead end ledge, he insists that no matter what labels they put on him he was RIGHT. He was right about what would happen if he opened his heart and trusted others, that all his worst fears came true because he went against his gut and did what the kids told him he should. Except he is absolutely NOT right. Things were going far more smoothly for him once he started trusting Robyn and told her and the council about the trouble he had to deal with, and despite the obviously concerning setback of Watts shutting down Mantle’s heat they handled that situation with very little trouble. It was only once Cinder popped in to sew doubt and paranoia back into his mind that it all spiraled out of control, and that was entirely his fault. If Cinder hadn’t stepped in, they might have found the Seer in Watts’ bag and killed it immediately instead of it interrupting a tense conversation. Robyn now knowing what the Tower is for would mean construction could resume without shipments getting stolen, and perhaps they could have negotiated a way to divide up the materials so the wall could get fixed too. Just spit balling here, what could have been. But no, it all went belly up and Jimmy is only fanning the flames. Oscar tries to remind him that his current plan of abandoning Mantle will be betraying an entire city of thousands to die alone in the cold, but James is having none of it. It’s an excellent philosophical puzzle to try and work through, but the way he sees it none of that matters compared to preventing Salem’s victory. He thinks he’s the only one who can see the big picture, who is making his moves with the intention of changing the final result no matter the cost.

But that’s what’s so dangerous about that mindset. People he writes off as small minded and soft, like Robyn, the council, and even Oscar (possibly by extension even Ozpin)... they’re the good people who think first and foremost about preventing tragedy and loss in the moment, who refuse to budge on their morals of protecting the innocent and will never trade lives. It’s the same kind of difference seen in Superman vs the Elite. Team RWBY and their friends don’t believe in necessary sacrifices for the greater good, but Ironwood has become singlemindedly focused on stopping Salem, likely out of the guilt and humiliation of being so helpless against her back in Volume 3. This is a chance to reclaim his honor, and he thinks of little else. That’s how I see it anyway. Oscar calls James out, saying this mindset makes him just as dangerous as Salem herself. But I guess that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he insists Oscar refer to him as General. Only his friends may call him James, and it seems our good good boy has lost that status. Not that he seems to expect Oscar will have much chance to show him that due respect any time soon, because he pulls out his pistol and SHOOTS THE INNOCENT FOURTEEN YEAR OLD BOY OFF A LEDGE TO FALL TO HIS DEATH!!!! Ironwood has officially made the transition from misguided good guy to full on villain.

As if there wasn’t enough tension and bad news, we go back to Penny who is still unsure how to answer Fria’s question. What is the right choice to make, the best choice for everyone’s sake? She has no idea. But she had better decide fast, because Cinder crashes through the ice wall and screeches that the powers belong to none but her. Unfortunately for our vicious villain, her Gum Gum stretchy arm comes with a weakness to blades and gets sliced off by a suddenly appearing Winter. Cinder reacts with the appropriate amount of bloody terror and pain that you would expect of someone conscious for an amputation. Winter surveys the room and realizes Fria isn’t long for this world so time is of the essence, but doesn’t have much longer to ponder that before Cinder enters a bloodlust rage. See, apparently whatever monster makeover Salem gave her in the wake of Volume 3 included the ability to regrow her Grimm limb, though it sounds like the process is terribly painful for her and may not have even been something she was expecting to have happen. Regardless, she wants revenge and starts lashing out by summoning blade after blade to throw at Winter. The Specialist manages to block most of them and they turn to dust on impact, but it’s a brutal onslaught that she has to face without any Aura, and one cuts her left arm enough to draw blood, though since it’s burning glass it also seems to cauterize the wound immediately. Let me take another moment to praise the talents of Jessica Nigri. This scene in particular required her to do a lot of screaming and screeching as Cinder, and that cannot be easy on the throat. So the fact that she pulls off those deep dark emotions so well is worthy of respect and sympathy in equal measure. Okay, back to the action. Fria lies on the floor and closes her eyes, passing away peacefully all things considered. Penny holds her hand in her final moments, and a blue glow passes from elder to younger woman. We go back to Oscar for a moment or two, but I’ll tackle his last couple scenes in bulk in just a minute. Winter is getting tossed around, and her hair has been pulled free of its bun to add to her disheveled look... and our overwhelming thirst for her. Battle battered or not, she’s looking like a real snack with her hair down. Cinder stalks toward her to continue the beating and possibly deal the killing blow, but is distracted by a snowflake flying past her face. Well that’s interesting... And then it becomes many snowflakes, a veritable flurry kicking up. She turns around with some legit fear and concern on her face, and her worries are confirmed. Penny’s eyes glow and flare up with a fierce green fire as she stands resolute as the new Winter Maiden. She seems ready to use her new powers to fight Cinder despite only just getting them, and clearly has some manner of control already if she was able to start generating snow already. And this does settle another matter of fan speculation, if she qualifies as a candidate for the powers. Welp, now we know. According to the guidelines set by Oz’s bestowing of the original powers and how he explains their transfer process back in Volume 3, you just have to be a young woman below a certain age (or else they probably would have given Amber’s power to Glynda) and have a soul to receive the power from the last user’s. I guess Penny’s blue fairy has come and said she is a real girl in all the ways that count. Her soul is unique and separate from her dad’s, even though he used his old man aura to create her. And she does in fact have a soul and is considered a legit person even though she’s got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts. Cinder is of course outraged that this “toy” was bestowed the powers she came all this way to steal, and gets ready to fight her, but is distracted by Weiss entering the upper observation room and yelling her sister’s name in concern and fear. Cinder probably has a confused and annoyed moment of “I thought I killed you back at Haven...” She gets ready to kill the little Schnee brat for piling on further interruptions to her plan, but that too goes out the window when she notices Ruby had accompanied her partner down to find their Atlesian allies, and likewise Ruby notices her. Ruby does not hesitate for a second and without needing any time to get into the right head-space blasts off a wave of Silver Eyed energy to essentially Solar Flare the whole room.

Now we can go back to Oscar and his dramatic descent. The shot from Ironwood took out his Aura, and he seems like he’s resigned himself to death once he hits the bottom of this pit. As he closes his eyes, they glow for a moment and he hears a voice that’s been absent the entire Volume. Ozpin. He only says Oscar’s name, or at least that’s all we hear, but the boi seems to regain his determination and tries to reach his cane again. He holds it with both hands, extends it, then holds down the lever on the side. Guess a single squeeze was all it took to pop out the cane part under normal circumstances... But now the gears inside the hilt start really turning, and glowing, and it becomes a flashlight as well as a cane. Well, that’s all that seems to happen at first. With a spin and a jab, Oscar thrusts the tip of the cane downward just as he reaches the bottom of the pit. There’s a momentary flash of green lightning around him then... fade to black.

And now we come to what seems to be the epilogue/wrap up of the episode and the Volume itself. And it begins how the show began, with a voice over narration. Not from Salem though, it’s our first motivational speech from Ozpin in a year. He talks about how fear is the only feeling in this world that is universal across every living thing, yet for how common it is we constantly underestimate how powerful it can be. We experience the fear of making close connections and growing to care for others, because that can lead to a loss which we also fear. We fear failure a great deal, I know I definitely do. And those fears only get stronger the more people depend on us to help them with the decisions we make. But Ozpin reminds us that fear itself is not something to worry about or even, dare I say it, fear. The real concern is how we act when we are afraid, who we become. Can we be proud of that version of ourselves, forgive them for what they do under duress? Will you understand why they felt the need to do the things they did? Will you even recognize them as the same person you normally strive to be, or will you look in the mirror and see the enemy you should have feared from the very start? We all find the answer to that eventually.

Now on to what actually happens in these last few scenes, the fitting content to go with Ozpin’s speech. Oscar is falling through the sky towards the ground waaaaay down in Mantle. Guess his attack with the can was strong enough to bust a hole in the bottom of Atlas... straight into the Vault chamber... hope nobody else finds that. Back in the icy former hospital room, Ruby falls to her knees from the exhaustion of using her Silver Eyes. She and Weiss notice a freshly burned hole in the ceiling, as Cinder apparently avoided getting damaged by the SEW blast and escaped. Weiss rushes to check on Winter and see how badly she’s hurt, but all her sister has for her is an accusation. She still doesn’t know what Team RWBY did to get a warrant for their arrests, but she knows it was the catalyst for all of this. Meanwhile Ruby looks to see how Penny is doing, and the ginger girl’s eyes lose their fire as she meets her friend’s gaze, only to gain regret and fear as she turns back around to kneel by Fria’s side. The Winter Maiden is dead, long live the Winter Maiden. But Penny can only mourn the loss of a good person’s life, she takes no satisfaction in being the one to carry on her legacy. Winter actually does reassure her a bit, saying that some part of Fria will always live on in Penny now. We cut down to the blood stained tundra as Atlas police arrive to arrest Qrow and Robyn, who is only now regaining consciousness. Qrow puts up no fight, and it looks like neither will Robyn. Cinder is seen flying above Atlas Academy and screams with rage and hatred, even getting a bit of a dragon vibe in it by having fire erupt from her mouth. I was glad she was the one shown when Ozpin talked about fear of failure, because she did indeed fail. We don’t know how, but JNR make it to the airship pad and onto the getaway ship where the Bees and elderly people are waiting. They take off and of course question the meeting lacking the presence of Oscar and the Lamp, and JNR can only look sad in response. From one sad ship to another, we see Qrow and Robyn aboard a prison airship in cuffs, and Qrow is holding Clover’s bloodstained lucky badge. Despite the last interaction the three shared being a fight, Robyn shows sympathy to his mourning and puts a hand on his shoulders. Can’t wait to see if the two of them try to break out of jail next Volume~ As they fly up to the city in the sky backdropped by the eastern sunrise, a large dark cloud approaches from the west accented by flashes of red lightning. Back to Oscar, he clips the cane to his back and closes his eyes for a few seconds to concentrate and steel his composure. Back to the ice room again, Winter says the girls should surrender to Ironwood. Weiss is heartbroken, you can hear it in her voice, but she has to disobey her sister’s wishes, they simply cannot comply with his cruel plans. Winter seemed to expect that answer, and instead urges them to flee, but Weiss doesn’t want to do that either because it would mean leaving Winter behind while she’s so badly injured. Her big sister insists it simply isn’t like that, this is her giving them a head start before she calls for reinforcements to hunt them down. Weiss is disheartened, but reaffirms the lesson Winter had shared with her earlier in the Volume, they booth have to make decisions for the sake of their own futures that might take them down separating paths. The getaway ship arrives and hovers just outside the first hole Cinder had made in the wall, and Yang greets the group. She’s very relieved to see everyone is okay, but soon finds a lot more happened than she expected. Ruby affirms that they need to head out while they still can, and Weiss gives her sister one more glance before departing. Ruby and Penny also share a look, and Penny decides she will be leaving too. Guess she’s decided once and for all she won’t be helping Ironwood. Winter seems concerned by this development, but realizes she has no right to object or stop her after everything the two of them had talked about since the dinner party. On the airship everyone seems very dour and grim, and Penny looks at her own hand as if asking herself if she had the right to make the choices she did when she is just an Atlas robot. But Ruby and Weiss both lean on her shoulders to reassure her and make sure she knows they are happy she came with them and they believe she did the right thing. That seems to calm her down, and Pietro looks happy to see she has such good friends. On an Atlas rooftop, Cinder is quite satisfied to see Neo deliver the Lamp to her, and takes it without a single word or gratitude. Neo doesn’t like that, I guess even Roman would praise her for a job evilly done. She’s probably starting to realize Cinder is just using her to further her own plans. Speaking of unfortunate realizations, Ironwood gets a message from Winter that simply says “It’s gone”. We’re unsure if she means the Lamp or the Winter Maiden powers. Considering what her job was meant to be, it’s likely the latter. Ironwood takes that news poorly and screams with rage. I too screamed with rage, because we next see that Arthur Watts is actually still alive and just in a jail cell, nursing a black eye and smiling ominously at the mysterious black clouds we saw rolling in.

Oscar seems to have been playing some Halo 3 recently, because he throws up a bubble shield to cushion his badass superhero landing on the ground. Not just any ground though, he seems to be within the crater where Atlas once was before Ozpin lifted it into the sky. The same crater that has apparently become the main Dust mines for the Kingdom. Perhaps next Volume will give us a closer look at just how awful these mines really are. But let’s address what Oscar has actually done here. He had no Aura after getting shot by Ironwood, so that was not his Semblance. That energy bubble he used to shield himself when busting through the bottom of the pit and cushioning his hitting the ground, that had to be Magic. He’s unlocking more of Oz’s old powers, the union of souls is progressing. But he’s still in control, Oscar is still there. He just has more of Ozpin’s memories and abilities now and used them to save himself, as if the old souls are merging into his existing one as opposed to his new soul fading away into the collective. Maybe the process will be different this time around? Regardless, Ozpin’s voice is back in his head and ready to apologize for everything he put him through. But all Oscar wants to hear right now is what their next step will be to save Atlas. As we cut back up to RWBY and friends flying away from the city, we see that it will indeed need saving very very soon. Transmissions are coming in over the radio of multiple incoming hostiles, to a degree that seems impossible to believe. Our view shifts to the dark storm itself, and a shape begins to emerge from the black and red. A GIANT. FLYING. GRIMM. WHALE! With hundreds of Nevermore, Manticores, and Sphinxes flying around it looking as big as flies by comparison. I have personally dubbed this species the Mobius, and this particular specimen has earned the nickname of Monstro. I can’t imagine there ever being more than one of this thing though, so Monstro will be the only one. He has wings, but what seems to keep him in the air is several large chunks of Gravity Dust embedded in his belly and on top of his head. We pan up over his massive glowing forehead to see the Queen herself riding into battle. Salem has come to Atlas, and she’s wearing a badass (and kind of sexy) new dress to celebrate the occasion. There are grey arm bands on the longer sleeves that look like they’re made of bones, complete with jagged spikes, and a new broach to be the centerpiece between exposed shoulders and a noticeably bigger boob window. The unique aesthetic is aided by more red lines down the curves of her figure. The words “step on me” easily come to my mind, but that may just say something about me in particular. Regardless, she smirks at the camera and it is clear she is here to fuck some shit up.

We’ll have to wait 6 months to see how our heroes deal with that though. Cannot wait. Oh, and it must be noted that the new song for the credits “Fear” is very good, and we can see that another song on the soundtrack called “Until the End” was actually written by Casey Lee Williams as opposed to her dad. Good for her!! If only I could remember which song it was...

#rwby reviews #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #lie ren #oscar pine #neopolitan #penny polendina #winter schnee #cinder fall #fria the winter maiden #general ironwood #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #Salem #monstro the grimm whale #mobius grimm

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taeray · 6 years

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I’ve seen Star Wars The Last Jedi twice now. Here’s my thoughts. Sorry it’s long, but I just have to give the glowy character review that’s been nagging at me.

Some people don’t like seeing so much Kylo Ren, but I don’t mind it actually. He’s an accessory to Rey’s story. We get to see unequivocally why he is who he is and then see him choose the dark side even when he has the chance to leave it behind. In my opinion, the question of who he is and what he wants seems answered now. He is Kylo Ren. He doesn’t want to be Ben Solo anymore. Sure he killed Snoke, but after seeing how Snoke emotionally manipulates him, berating one moment and then praising him the next, Ren turning on Snoke made perfect sense. Snoke did not win Ren’s loyalty with any need, he beat Ben Solo into submission by playing on his fears and feelings of inadequacy. That kind of emotional abuse usually yields one of two outcomes: stockholm syndrome level loyalty or unadulterated hatred. Ren turning on Snoke was inevitable. Rey just presented someone new for Kylo Ren to latch onto and focus all his need for validation. The moment she didn’t give him that he turned on her and was ready to blast her out of the sky and kill everyone she’s ever cared about.

I believe Ben Solo is dead. Kylo Ren killed him, along with his past, just as he intended.

Onto the next polarizing character: Luke Skywalker. He might not have been exactly what people were expecting, but I actually found him to be pretty believable. He’s not a hopeful farmboy anymore. He is an old man now; an old man who fought so hard to save his father, who tried so hard to continue the ways of the Jedi, lost his nephew to the dark side which is almost worse than losing him to death, inadvertently ruined his sister and best friend’s marriage, and inadvertently brought about the death of his best friend at the hands of his nephew.

Luke. Skywalker. HATES. HIMSELF. He blames himself for every bad thing that has happened to his family since Ben Solo turned to the dark side. And so he ran away. Just like Obi Wan did, just like Yoda did, just like Han Solo did. He gave up the fight, just like all of these strong men in his life did. It’s no wonder after seeing their examples that he finally gave in himself. He went to the island to die. Rey helped save him.

As for Rey. I don’t believe she’s out of character. She’s a good person. This is a girl, who when told Finn lied to her about not being part of the resistance, didn’t even blink. She just asked him not to leave. Many a person would have locked onto the lie and been done with him after that. But not Rey. She loves deeply, forgives easily, and she gives people many chances. When she found out that maybe, just maybe, Keylo Ren could see that a mistake was made and that he could come home, she gave that hope a chance.

And she didn’t do it for herself. She did it for Ben Solo, whose pain she got to feel herself. She also knew how deeply Luke was hurting. She could heal that hurt by bringing him back. Even more she hoped he could help save the rebels, people who saved her life and were taking care of Finn. Anyone who tries to boil it down to a crush on Kylo Ren is missing so many layers to her choice to try and save him. It doesn’t matter if the fans saw him as irredeemable, Rey needed to try for the sake of so many people other than herself.

As for Poe, I loved his arc. We had no real clue as to who Poe Dameron was after The Force Awakens. He had what, maybe ten minutes of screen time and it was almost never just Poe. No one can say he was out of character. Just out of fanon character. I personally loved seeing Leia teaching Poe, and the only way to teach him is to show moments of failure. The perfect student who does nothing wrong is not a character who needs their story told. It makes for a boring tale. Poe got a ton of screen time trying, failing, and learning from the Princess herself, clearly being groomed to take her place one day. If Poe did everything he was told and simply executed Leia’s orders, we wouldn’t have needed to see so much of him. Not to mention there is a massive leap to make between being a soldier and being a leader. Leia was groomed from a young age to be a leader since she was a princess. Poe has clearly been a soldier from a young age, but now it’s time for him to get out of the headspace of soldier and into the headspace of leader. Two very very different jobs.

That leads me to address Holdo and her choice not to tell Poe her plan. She obviously confided in those she trusted because they were executing her orders. It’s not like she was fueling the transports herself or even walking around the ship giving those orders to the grunts. She was giving the orders to people on the bridge and those orders were then being passed down the chain. She just didn’t confide in Poe, because being a soldier means following orders and he did not follow Leia’s orders. He was in the hot seat, had just been demoted for refusing to listen to his commanding officer. He was being punished. He had been removed from the circle of those who needed to know. Following her lead was a chance to prove that he could follow orders. Pretty normal military protocol. He failed to just follow orders for a second time, and Leia not only sided against him for it, she stunned his butt. I found that to be a wonderful progression for Poe and in the end he learned the lesson he needed to learn.

On the other side, the story of Finn is one of my favorites. He proves time and time and time again what a good man he is. I don’t care what some say, his wasn’t a tale of learning to be unselfish. That guy doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. His tale is one completely solidifying him as the hero, the man, the best dude in the movie. Was he going to run from the rebel ship? Yes, but not for himself. Not by a long shot. He was going to make himself look like a jerk so he could protect Rey, his best friend and the person he would literally face his deepest fear for. Only Rey could make him go back to the First Order in The Force Awakens. His story in The Last Jedi shows him going back and facing the First Order for something other than Rey, proving there is more there than a potential love interest storyline. The moment Rose mentioned the tracker, Finn was ready to go to Snoke’s ship to shut it down. He didn’t have to be asked.

He’s just an amazingly good man. He is the moral compass of the movies, and he does not have to spend time with any potential love interest to further his character development.

Plus he’s just so darn loveable that anyone that spends more than five minutes with him begins to adore him. He’s the hot girl of the movies.

As for Rose, I love her. She’s loyal, she’s emotional, she’s capable, she’s strong, but she’s not exactly a fighter. Rose is everything women should want to see in a strong female character that is not stereotypically strong. I didn’t find her writing cheesy or corny and I don’t care if her character encroaches on any ships. She is a wonderful addition to the cast and I’m excited to see what will happen with her next.

All in all, The Last Jedi was amazing in my opinion. I enjoyed The Force Awakens, but The Last Jedi has already sucked me into seeing it twice in theaters and I’m pretty sure I need to see it at least one more time. I think it really showcases who the main characters are (Poe, Rey, and Finn), and gave each of them a chance for some storyline away from each other and the shipping wars going on in the fandom. Each one of them grew a little bit in the short time they were apart, and now they are ready to be the faces of the new rebellion. People in the universe aren’t going to be looking to the Skywalkers anymore, they’re going to be looking to the military commander, the jedi, and the heart of the rebellion to save them.

Bonus moments that made me squee:

-Poe and BB-8′s multiple romcom reunions where they run into each other’s arms scenes

-Poe being immediately bambuzzled at the thought of Finn being naked

-Adorable Finn and Rey experiencing new places and things (Finn at the casino and Rey with the rain)

-”If you see Finn tell him–yeah tell him that.”

-BB-8 being the true badass of the movie, his father R2D2 would be so proud

-Luke being the true, dramatic hoe we love and not only force projecting himself halfway across the galaxy, but force projecting himself in a new outfit, with a clean haircut, and then brushing fake dirt off his fake shoulder

-Leia proving once and for all that not only is she force sensitive, but she is possibly one of the most badass force users to ever live

-Women EVERYWHERE! Women in tie fighters, women working the computer consoles, women saving the day and destroying dreadnoughts, women with blasters ready to make their final stand. Just women women women in Star Wars, kicking butts and taking names. It was absolutely beautiful.

-Star Wars cementing the fact that even if a bad guy and his fascist bs seems like a joke, he can still be insanely dangerous when he gets people to follow him

-Rey and Kylo Ren wailing on Snoke’s dudes. That lightsaber fight was absolutely amazing and beautiful and so well choreographed.

-FINN AND REY’S HUG! BEST MOMENT OF THE MOVIE!

#star wars spoilers #the last jedi spoilers #finn #rey #poe dameron #leia skywalker #luke skywalker #kylo ren

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takaraphoenix · 7 years

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Voltron Season 4 Rant!

Beware, the following will contain spoilers about season 4 of Voltron! So don't keep reading if you don't wanna be spoilered!

So, I'm tempted to say I just binge watched Voltron “season 4”. But there'd be two lies in that statement.

I can not consider watching 2 hours of anything a “binge watch”. Even of cartoons, I have more intense casual watches, really. If you invest less time than you'd do on a movie, then it ain't a binge.

And by all intends and purposes, this was not season 4. This was season 3B.

Especially after watching it, I am even more set that they should have never released season 3A in August. They should have kept it and aired all 13 episodes of season 3 in October, as had been the original plan. Why they split it is completely beyond me. Particularly since it was just two months early. If we'd have the original release date be in say January, then yes, airing half of it in August would have been a nice break from the too long hiatus. But because of two lousy months?

This season would have benefited from being aired as one season. Because 3A was... lacking. A lot. I literally wrote an entire rant about how it was lacking. And some of the problems were actually well-fixed in this “season”. To have all 13 episodes together would have improved the experience as a whole.

Now, lemme get into the season!

What they're doing with Keith makes me mad? Like? First they make him the Black Paladin and leader even though he's not qualified to be a leader, he's not emotionally ready to be a leader and he doesn't want to be a leader. And now they just... remove him from the plot by essentially making him abandon Voltron? I get that what he was doing with the Blade was definitely more important than the showpony-ing the others did, but when he went on a mission while the others needed him on an actual mission, it was basically a dick-move and would have barely been tolerable if he had still been the Red Paladin, but for the leader to leave his team hanging in favor of a mission that literally anyone could have attended, because the Blade has a lot of people at hand... I didn't like that they made him act that way. I like that Shiro became the Black Paladin again through that, but I just can't believe Keith would deliberately let them hang like that and then just... leave completely.

So, yeah, I entered this 'season' with grumpiness after that first episode.

But holy shit, that second episode was so emotionally loaded. I'm so glad Pidge found her brother again. It was due-time, really. And they conned me into actually believing it was Matt's grave there, for a while. Like. Damn. Really well written and their reunion was so sweet.

And having Matt with the team was just... adorable. // Random thing: I've been contemplating Matt/Allura for a while now and it made me stupidly happy that he was instantly into her?

Also: KALTENECKER IS BACK. Also made me stupidly happy, because I love that they have a cow and after she didn't appear at all last season – and how does one hide a cow – I thought they'd have gotten rid of her. But Coran and Allura trying to introduce themselves to Kaltenecker might just be the cutest, dumbest, most adorable thing in this show yet? And farmboy!Lance is a definite giant yes from me, by the way. So is traumatized!Allura and traumatized!Coran. If you're unfamiliar with the human oddity of drinking other creature's milk, it must freak you out a lot. Brilliant.

Though Matt and Pidge being nerd-siblings is a close second when it comes ot most adorable thing. Oh gods, I've been grinning like a maniac the entire time as Pidge showed Matt around the castle, because it was just so sweet and such an emotional pay-off to Pidge's sub-plot. And Matt just fanboying about anything his little sister does is just so incredibly awesome.

Though... The glasses-thing made me furious. Like. Matt needed the glasses... and then the Garrison... fixed his eyes and he gave his specifically for his eyes prescribed glasses to Katie, who then just... wore them. If your eye-sight sucks and you need glasses, then they will not be just wearable for other people. I always assumed they just had regular glass as lenses and were part of the costume but Pidge grew so used to wearing them that she kept them – which I understand, I developed a certain fondness for mine real quick too and don't know if I'd be comfortable without them anymore. But that she just kept her brother's actual glasses that were for his eye-sight and casually wears them even though she didn't need any glasses at all before that – and even if, the chances that she'd need the same prescription as Matt is ridiculously low – it... it infuriates me as a person who does wear glasses and like... knows how they work? I mean? How do you not know how glasses work?

The “Voltron Show!” episode however was just really very exhausting.

For one, I truly don't like that Coran is just that comic-relief. I mean, comic-relief is good, but I'd like to see more of Coran than just “the guy who sweats a looot of slick and that's funny” and now “the idiot who actually buys brain-empowering seeds and uses them” without anyone really noticing that he's going completely crazy and is not Coran anymore. This was pathetic on his character but also on the rest of the team who took way too long to catch up with this shit.

Not to mention that I really can't relate to them putting on silly shows instead of saving the damn galaxy. Like. Sure. Promoting themselves and going to visit other planets is important, but the way they did it in the first two seasons was far better than “Voltron on Ice”. What the heck.

Though, I mean. Lance. On the rope. All the yes to that.

Okay, though. Other thing. The Galra-plot has completely lost me at this point. Lotor is actually Haggar's son. How... does he not know that she's his mom? That Haggar and Honerva are the same person? How do they act like petty prince and distant adviser he doesn't care about. The Galra sub-plot is literally making less and less sense with every episode involving it. From the random “Ooops, he has a son who was banished but we don't really explain why or where he was”, to the “And now, as he has barely been the enemy for half a season, we re-banish him again”, with the incredibly retconned feeling “Zarkon and Haggar were married all along but neither remembers”, including the “Me and my generals seem to be real close and that team is actually really cool but I’ma kill one of them without batting an eyelash”, all the way to “And now Lotor’s ready to join Voltron”... I'm sorry, but that is just getting weirder and more messy by the day. It doesn't seem the least bit consistent and more like they're winging it from episode to episode...

Now, to round it all up, let me get back to what had been bothering me the most about Voltron since... season 2 now. And what still bothers me the most about the season.

You literally only have seven main characters. How do you not manage to treat them equally?

Look. I know I complained about season 2 that it was turning into the Keith Show and that, while season 3 went a bit more balanced, still gave Keith the most spotlight – not to say that I don't want him to get spotlight, but I want the others to get ome spotlight too. And I sure as shit didn't mean to completely remove Keith for nearly the entire season. What the heck was that. Not to mention, “Oh, the Paladins are really very special and the lions don't pick anyone”, even though they do. They switch so easily around now that Keith abandoning the team doesn't even cause any problems because all of a sudden Shiro has his connection with the Black Lion back because it's convenient.

Shiro is a close second when it comes to importance and getting screen-time, but a real plot... he doesn’t get that much either. I had expected season 4 to give us some PTSD support sub-plot for him after he was captured and tortured again. I also start subscribing to the fan theory that Shiro isn’t Shiro, because he doesn’t... act like Shiro anymore.

This season at least had pay-off for Pidge, who at least also had her sub-plot.

Allura, occasionally, weights in a bit more.

Coran only gets the spotlight to be a ridiculous comic-relief.

But Lance and Hunk are pathetically underrated and underused.

Last season, Lance at least had the emotional thing of focusing more on his insecurities for like an episode, but even that didn't get an entire episode to be focused on, or have like the team care about it.

This season, both Lance and Hunk just had some throw-away random lines to be funny. They did absolutely nothing that had emotional attachment or importance or made them anything more than cardboard-cut-outs standing in the background to fill the empty space.

And four seasons in, that's getting really pathetic, for the writers.

Lance, at least, has his occasionally hinted-at self-worth issues, but it's due time he gets at the very least one episode to fully focus on them and on him. Maybe his psychological issues affecting him in a way that makes the team notice and be there for him. Particularly this season where they literally did nothing much aside from touring the galaxy, there would have been time to have an emotionally heavy episode, or anything, to focus on Lance.

But with Hunk it's even worse. He doesn't even have that. He had his cooking that got a bit attention at the mall-episode. He had the connection to Balmera that didn't get enough attention either. Heck, now that Rax and Shay returned for brief shots this season, he didn't even hug either of them. Hunk is by all interpretations a background character and it makes me actually angry because you literally only have seven main characters, how do you not manage to balance them enough to give them at least an illusion of equal attention? It's getting ridiculous.

Honestly, if the next season doesn't give Hunk and Lance actual sub-plots and more depth, this show is really going to drive itself against a wall.

I was also missing the team-dynamics. While Matt and Pidge got their interactions, all the other characters didn’t really. There... were no bonding momendts. No big emotional pay-offs. Klance had such cute moments in the first three seasons, now... they were barely even on the screen together. With the lion-switching of last season, I really-really- really expected to have a lot of Klance bonding over their lions this season.

The friendships between all the Paladins came way too short.

Yet by all intends and purposes, this was not a season. This was season 3B and it should have been released together with season 3A, because as one arc, there would have been more pay-off for what 3A sat up. Not to mention that 6 episodes is just plainly pathetic and doesn't qualify as a season.

#Voltron #Voltron Legendary Defender #Season 4 #Voltron season 4 Spoilers #TV Rant #Fandom Rant #Langst #we need more Langst like seriously #I need more Hunk #I need more Lance #what the fuck writers #Klance #I want my Klance #Where did it GO this season?!

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akamaru01 · 7 years

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Just watched the season finale of RWBY Vol 4 so I’ll drop a few thoughts of mine below the cut

tldr; GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW

Edit: Wow I am making this a lot longer than I intended to but I’ll keep going

So first of all, this was very much an exposition season, but personally I am 100% okay with that. It’s very reminiscent of Vol 1, actually, which makes sense considering this is the start of a new... arc I guess? New piece of the story. Whatever. So anyway, personally I believe it was handled very well. There was plenty of action to keep up the energy, but not so much that it left no time to tell the stories they wanted to tell. And boy were those stories great. I want to pick apart each of the main groups one at a time.

First of all, Ruby Team RNJR. So after the loss of Pyrrha, Penny, and in a way Yang, these four banded together to try and make things better, not giving up in the face of adversity. Jaune continues his training, and seems to have even become a stronger tactician, which we saw he had a potential talent for back in Vol 1 fighting the Deathstalker. His physical abilities are still being worked on, but he’s shown to continue getting better at a steady pace. However, he is shown to still be grieving, as shown after Qrow explains the story of the Maidens to them. We finally learned about Ren and Nora’s origin, and first of all those little kids were adorable as hell. And that Nuckelavee Grim is horrifying and I love it. So this origin also shows Ren going from a bubbly little kid to the stoic person he is today, after a tragedy like that who can blame him? While Nora, who grew up as a sad kid, after meeting Ren and gaining a friend was able to become the super energetic ball of energy she is without fear. But when the same Grimm came back, Ren LOST IT and I thought it was beautiful and heart breaking. This monster stole his life, and all that passion and fire in Ren boiled to the surface, his rage blinding him and only Nora was able to calm him down so he could refocus and face his demon with composure. Finally, we come to Ruby. Although she played an important part in the season, in her group she was very much not the main point of focus. But after the battle with Tryion, and Qrow explaining the religion of Remnant and the 4 powers, Ruby learns who she pissed off, but they all decide to continue the journey regardless. And then the next morning they realize Qrow is poisoned, so now Ruby has to deal with the possibility of someone else close to her dying, but resolves to not let it stop her. Through the course of the season, she leads Team RNJR on their journey through Anima, getting occasional advice from the other 3 regarding the area and direction.

Next up, Weiss. She’s come a long way from Vol 1. And now we confirm that her father is indeed a manipulative asshole, and we now know she has a devil of a little brother. Also a fantastic butler who is a much better father than Jacques. In the beginning of the season, she does not resist her father’s plans, regardless of her own feelings towards them, showing she was still afraid of him and his anger. However, during the reception, she is surrounded by ‘nobles’ who talk shit about Beacon and the Faunus. After everything she’s experienced and seen, she finds the courage to retaliate at all of them, angry that they would talk so poorly about other living beings. I loved this moment, because it shows her showing her development from Vol 1, and that she will no longer stand for such horribleness. After awakening her summoning power and causing a ruckus with a Boarbatusk put down by Ironwood, she is grounded by her father and berated for being ‘primitive’ by her brother. Her lashing out also caused Jacques to name Whitley his new heir. Soon after, Weiss decides on a new plan. She will no longer live under her father’s thumb, and will leave Atlas to find her friends and help people like a true Huntress. The end of Vol 4 shows her bribing a pilot to let her stowaway in the cargo hold before the plan to shut down Atlas completely is put into place.

Blake, after coming to the decision that anyone she is close to will be harmed by the White Fang like Yang was, leaves for her home in Menagerie. Of course, Sun being Sun he followed after her. Blake being Blake, she is initially annoyed at his insistence to go where she goes, and continues to be annoyed at him for most of the season. However, he is a friend, and has never been to Menagerie, and he’s already there, so she takes him with her. She explains that Menagerie may be a haven for Faunus, but it’s also almost like a prison, a place for Faunus to go so regular humans don’t have to interact with them. Menagerie isn’t even a kingdom. We find out her father was the previous leader of the White Fang and current chief of Menagerie, essentially making Blake a noble. I love this because it adds on to the duality between Blake and Weiss. Two nobles of very different backgrounds and upbringings, initially hostile to each other but over time become best friends. Kali quickly takes a liking to Sun, as he is basically a dork who clearly cares for Blake,even though he’s not always bright. Ghira dislikes him for the same actions. After chasing down a White Fang spy and battling one of Blake’s old friends, a battle where Sun got hurt, Blake remembers why she left in the first place. She yells at Sun for following her, and only wants to try to live in peace so that no one else can get hurt. However, Sun retaliates, telling her that he chose to fight, and so did Yang, and neither of them blame her for their injuries. Her problems don’t have to be her own anymore, because she has friends, and with this and the information that Adam is going after Haven Academy, they decide to head for Mistral to fight. This talk was very important, as Blake has said before that all she does is run away, and has in the past constantly tried to do things herself, usually with mixed or negative results.

Yang, after losing her arm, is in a state of emptiness and loss. She is shown to not be very active, and rather emotionless. Even when a new arm arrives for her, she refuses to try it, still traumatized by the battle with Adam. After a talk with Taiyang, Port, and Oobleck, she is feeling better, but not quite there. However, she hears the 3 of them talking about Taiyang going after Ruby, but he has to look after Yang. This, possibly coupled with her desire to help her sister, gives her the strength to try the arm. She begins sparring with Taiyang in an attempt to regain strength, get used to the arm, and learn about herself. She was still not completely okay for a time, but Taiyang told her the truth she needed to hear. She was reckless. She relied on her semblance and so never bother with defense, which is what led to her defeat. This explanation of her weakness allowed her to grow stronger not only physically, but mentally, with the knowledge of being better than before to prevent such an event in the future. So, with some more rest and recuperation, and a slick new paint job for the arm, she decided to go after Ruby in Mistral.

Oscar was a simple farmboy, now going crazy with a voice in his head telling him to leave home and fight evil. I loved how realistic Oscar’s reactions were to this. Freaking out, denial, saying he’s crazy, but overtime he knew it was all real. And so off he goes on this journey, finds Qrow, and gets his cane. I am excited to see more of what he does in the future.

And so finally we come to Salem. Holy shit. There was a couple of times where Cinder was shown to be TERRIFIED of her, which makes sense, and it makes me wonder about her origin and how she got her, and how truly loyal she is to the cause, or is she just afraid like Roman was? One thing’s for sure, she hates the hell out of Ruby and has mastered the Maiden powers so I imagine some shit’s gonna go down with her next season. Maiden vs Silver Eyes. Also I’m still holding onto the theory that it’s possible Ruby is the summer maiden but I won’t make any conclusions on that just yet.

And finally, to the more technical aspects. I love the new look, it is fucking amazing. I wasn’t sure about it way way back when the first teaser image of the new renders were shown but I quickly fell in love with it. The music was on fucking point and I would have to go back to every episode to comment on all of it but form the finale at least I can say I noticed 2 great scores. Slowed down and instrumental versions of both Boop and Cold and they were fantastic.

Okay that’s all from me and it took like 2 hours and I think I lost track of my original intentions somewhere along the line but whatever

And I know no one will read this but fuck it I made it already too late to care about that now

#rwby #rooster teeth #rwby vol 4 #rwby spoilers

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carterashofficial · 7 years

Text

@shimmer-like-agirl this was inspired by your fic with Corso going to pick up his very drunk captain from a seedy part of Nar Shaddaa

“I don’t do that anymore.” Carmadda snarled. She shoved Jarn away. “And you know that.”

He ran a hand through his hair, getting it perfectly messy. “Aw Baby, come on. I need it.”

“Fuck off.” Carmadda signaled for another shot. “And get out of Jak’s bar before he comes for you himself.”

Jarn sighed, smirking. “Looking out for me, Cari? I knew you still had a soft spot for me.” He gave her his best orphaned-puppy-eyes. “Please? I need the money.”

She knocked back the shot. “I’ll shoot your other ball off if you don’t leave me alone.”

“That’s a rumor. I still got both.”

“I’m the one who shot you. And leave me alone.”

He leaned in close enough for her to smell the same cheap cologne he still wore. “Baby, you’re a better racer than your dear dad, and- Aaaaahhhh.” Jarn moaned in pain as Carmadda slammed his head down on the bar. “Please, Cari,” he begged earnestly. “Please. You were my last resort. Braaga’s said I have until tomorrow or he’s sending some bounty hunters after me.” He flicked his eyes to her. “Please.”

Carmadda released the back of his coat and stepped away. “Get out. Now.”

“If you... change-your-mind.” He pressed crumpled flimsiplast into her hand before hauling it out of Jak’s Cantina.

She reached over the bar and helped herself to the whiskey. She took the bottle to an empty booth in the corner, catching Risha’s eye and shaking her head to not be disturbed.

Corso watched Carmadda from over his pazzak cards.

She had her head in her hands, face hidden and a good amount of drink missing from the bottle.

“You betting, Farmboy?”

“Only the captain can call me that,” he responded absentmindedly.

“Hey!” Risha’s fingers snapped in his face. “Bet or fold.”

Carmadda wiped at her face and looked up, eyes pink and cheeks glittering from tears. She stood and headed towards the door, fists shoved in pockets as she weaved through the crowd.

“I fold.” Corso dropped his cards. “Captain’s got a bad look on her face. I’m goin’ to follow her.”

Risha groaned as she gathered up the cards. “She left?”

“Yup.”

“Drunk?”

“Think so.”

“Oh, great.” Risha pulled her coat on and followed Corso to the door. “I got a bad feeling about this.”

Carmadda snapped the flight goggles on and kicked the speeder into gear. Her jacket was buttoned up tight, engine revving under her, and the racer on her left was eyeing her figure.

Just like Malastair.

Jarn grinned confidently. “I know you got this.”

“I know I’m keeping whatever credits you don’t owe. Let’s call it my cut.”

He pouted. “Baby-”

“Call me that one more time and you’ll never have any.”

That got a smirk. “I don’t remember you being so immune to my charms.”

Carmadda adjusted the handlebars, refusing to look at him. “Maybe you’re out of practice. Cheated with any dancers lately?”

“Ouch.” He placed a hand over his heart, then caught sight of someone and the confident smile re-emerged. “Grune! How’s it going?”

She glanced over her shoulder and keenly eyed the Black Sun Lieutenant Jarn was greeting.

So you’re back with them, huh?

Grune the Zabrak was heavily tattooed and scarred. Some of his horns were missing; their replacements cybernetic. Strapped to his hips were a pair of nasty looking railguns with worn grips. He walked over to Carmadda after he caught her studying him. “Hey Doll. Like what you see?”

“If you were any more mechanical I could fly you like this speeder.”

“As long as you ride me like it too. Jarnie here says you’re the best pilot he’s met from the upper levels.” Grune’s lips parted in a smile, giving Carmadda a good view of very pointy metal teeth. “I don’t know what you’re used to, but down here, we race quick and dirty. Nothings off limits.”

“Good. I hate rules.”

“Best of luck, Doll. I got my bets on you.”

Liar. You’re betting on the Black Sun guy on my left.

Carmadda tightened her grip on the handlebars. Recording droids appeared, lurking over the racer’s left shoulders.

An astromech rolled out in front of the three speeders, a flag clutched in each extendable arm. It raised the red one.

She revved the engine, nerves on fire and arms relaxed.

The droid waved the green flag.

Carmadda gunned the engine and roared past the droid, aiming the speeder upwards. She wove in and out of traffic, close enough that if she stuck out an elbow, she could scratch it on a hull.

The wind screamed in her ears.

She slammed on the brakes and spun right, shooting towards the air vents they were racing through.

One of the speeder bikes behind her started firing. Her recording droid chickened out of it’s job and planted itself on her shoulder.

Another bolt shot past her.

Let’s play it that way.

She entered the vent system and forced the speeder right. Her shoulder banged against the corner as she accelerated down the tube.

Fuck, that’s going to leave a mark.

The recording droid vibrated on her shoulder, climbing down her coat to hide from whatever was behind her.

Carmadda twisted in her seat for a moment and spat out a couple curses. Both speeders were behind her, and one was-

She whirled back around and threw the speeder into overdrive, careening past side vents and access holes as the missile gained on her.

Three, two- Now!

The bike screeched in protest as she cut the engine and forced it left.

Heat radiated across her back as the missile shot past.

Carmadda started the engine back up and accelerated down the vent, the other two still behind her after her mad rush at full speed through the vents.

The recording probe climbed up into her collar, nestling against the fabric and metal plating chilling her skin.

She took the tubes slower, watching the turns.

A blaster bolt sailed over her shoulder right where the droid had been.

Fuck you, Jarn, this wasn’t on my to-do list for today.

Seriously, Modda? Street racing?

Risha watched the vidscreen leaning against a small mountain of crates, frowning. The ginger guy, Jarn, had flirted with her for all of thirty seconds before she introduced her fist to his jaw. He, and the rest of the men, had left her alone after that.

“That almost hit her!” Corso growled. “Look at them, shootin’ at a lady!”

“These boys aren’t gentlemen, Corso.” Risha narrowed her eyes. “That’s not- Oh shit.”

Corso blanched next to her. “She’s goin’ to fall.”

Carmadda’s speeder had bucked at a direct hit from one of her competitor’s blasters, and the captain had been thrown off her speeder and through a hole in the tubing.

The only thing that was currently being shown from her recording droid was part of her neck and her jacket’s upturned collar.

“Modda...” Risha didn’t finish her sentence.

The view changed as Carmadda’s droid crawled out of her jacket, giving them a better look at her predicatment.

“Oh no.” Risha felt the blood drain from her face.

Corso looked about three seconds away from shooting someone and stealing their ride.

Carmadda was danging from a hanging piece of the torn tubing. Far below was a lane of traffic, lights slinking along above blackness. But her expression chilled RIsha to the bone.

Carmadda wasn’t even near scared. Acceptance was in her eyes, and resignation, determination, and a rebellious glint...

“NO!” Risha screamed as Carmadda let go.

She fumbled on her belt and aimed the liquid cable launcher at the top of the tube.

The hook caught.

Carmadda flew upward, boots thudding against the tube’s bottom as she landed. She straddled the speeder bike and restarted the engine. The engine whined as she pushed it faster.

I’m coming, you two.

She sped past one of the other racers. He was lying in a crumpled pile of limbs, his recording probe broadcasting an emergency signal.

She flipped left and right, cutting corners as close as she dared...

I ssssseeeee you.

Carmadda aimed the cable launcher at the racer’s back. She fired.

The woman went stiff and started thrashing, trying to dislodge the claw attached to her back. Her speeder slowed as Carmadda used it to haul hers forward.

Carmadda’s droid burrowed back under her collar.

The woman drew a vibroblade and sliced the cable.

Carmadda reached over and tore at the engine, the heat burning through her gloves as she felt around for-

Got it.

Carmadda ripped the acceleration cables out and rocked away from a jab of the vibroblade.

The racer tried for her steering mechanisms.

Carmadda glanced forward and hit on brakes.

The other racer didn’t.

She crashed sideways into the wall, leaving a deep dent behind. Her vibroblade clattered away, too bent to be of any use.

Carmadda tore past her, zooming through the vents until she was back out in the fresh air. She piloted back to the start point, heart racing and hands shaking as she crossed the finish line and tore off the goggles.

“CAPTAIN!” Corso shouted. He looked equal parts pissed and relieved as Risha held him back, her face stern.

Carmadda swung off her bike and glared at Jarn. “We good?”

He looked livid. “YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO WIN, CARI! I BET AGAINST YOU!”

“You what?” Carmadda asked icily.

“I BET AGAINST YOU! I KNOW HOW YOU FLY, YOU WEREN’T GOING TO WIN! YOU DRANK HALF A BOTTLE OF BOOZE, GIRL, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DRUNK!”

She socked Jarn in the mouth. “You made me race in this fucking doozy and you didn’t even bet on me?”

“You’re were just learning how to fly when I left! I didn’t think...”

Carmadda grabbed him by his perfectly messy hair and yanked him down to eye level. “Do you want me to give you a matching set of scars on the other half of your face?”

“No!” Jarn froze and sent a panicked grin over to Grune. “So um... Cari, Baby, since you just lost me a couple hundred thousand credits-”

“You deserve it.” She pushed him away. “Go lie your way out of it like you always do. And don’t you ever call me again.”

He smiled spitefully. “I think your dad would be proud. His little girl’s all better than him.”

“Oh, no, no, no...” Risha’s voice echoed in Carmadda ears, strong arms holding her back as she fought to get to Jarn.

“YOU BASTARD. HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TRY AND MANIPULATE ME LIKE THAT. FARMBOY, LET ME GO OR I’M GOING TO INTRODUCE YOUR FACE TO MY BOOT.”

“Calm down, Captain, he’s tryin’ to piss you off.”

“LET ME GO!”

He released her.

Carmadda stormed towards Jarn in a blaze of fury.

He tried to back up.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed her fist into his nose.

“Cari-”

Punch in the gut.

“I-”

Kneed in the groin.

“Baby,” he rasped.

Carmadda knelt and smiled spitefully. “I’d continue, but I want there to be something for me to shoot next time I see you. Have a nice life, Jarn, and good luck with Grune over there and the bounty hunters.” She dusted off her knees and headed back to Corso and Risha.

They didn’t look happy with her.

“Captain, that was stupid. You almost died!”

“Karras, that was stupid. You almost died,” Mama chastised Dad, trying to hide her smile under her hand.

Carmadda pushed the thought away. “Didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“You’re gettin’ it anyway! What if you fell or it exploded and... Captain, I’m talkin’ to you!” Corso shouted after her.

Risha’s voice followed his. “Modda, stop walking away!”

Dad swung me up onto his shoulders and spun around. “Hylbs, stop walking away! I didn’t get to kiss you yet!”

“GROSS!” I cackled as Dad raced after Mama.

“I need a drink.” Carmadda waved at them and started the swoop bike up again. “See you back on the ship.

“It’s just a short race, Slugger.” Dad knelt and looked me in the eyes, Mama’s arms around me, her fingers gripping my shoulders just a little too tight. She was nervous, and I was too. I had a bad feeling. “See you at the finish line.”

The wind made her eyes water as she flew towards the lower levels, pushing the bike faster than she should’ve towards the darkness at the bottom of Coruscant. She pretended all the tears were from the air rushing past.

Mama was screaming for him at the explosion. I was waiting for Dad to get up and stumble away. He never did.

She hit the brakes and yanked the handlebars up, leaving the bad memories in her wake. The engine sputtered briefly at the hairpin turn.

Slowly the little recording droid crawled out of her collar and perched on her shoulder, vibrating contently.

At least someone’s happy.

Carmadda smirked bitterly at the thought.

#swtor #Carmadda Shade #Corso Riggs #Risha Drayen #Jarn the Ex

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miax1119 · 6 years

Text

Land Girls Fanfiction

Update no.3

Twist of fate – not finished Based upon season 2 and 3. Main characters: Esther, Fred, Vernon Storey, Joyce, Martin, Mrs. Gulliver, Iris ”The baby´s gone!” ”You lost it” Esther shook her head Vernon looked shocked at her “No child should be made that way, no child!” “But we were blessed…we could have been a family” Esther didn’t know what kind of sick fantasy Vernon had until now: “I want you to leave, now” “you should have come to me Esther. I could have helped” “I don’t want your help. I want you to stay away from me and my family” Rage was building inside her while Vernon looked like a hurt little puppy. He reached out to touch her hand, but she was fast to pull it away while a tear escaped her eye. She didn’t feel sorry for him. This man had taken advantage of her when she needed help the most. She was sad because of what she had been forced to do. To kill a child. To risk her life on the account of this product. Yes she was glad Martin had his operation. But this could have been avoided. Fred had come up with the money. She could have been spared for this. “He was mine too” Vernon accused her, she could see it in his eyes, rage building inside, and she was glad. Finely she´d got that smirk off his face. Now he felt hurt like her. And she felt satisfied “It´s gone!... gone!... so there´s no reason for you to stay… Get out” Vernon felt shattered and learned forwards towards Esther seeking comfort but his vulnerability was her force and she felt a fire growing inside her “GET OUT!” she yelled. He felt defeated, but understood he had no business here anymore. The hurt and the pain as he bent forward reaching for his hat. Deep inside he hoped she would reach out for him, hold him and comfort him. He had lost two sons to the war, now he felt like he had lost another one. But she didn’t – she was trying hard to control her tears and her own sorrow. With steps of hopelessness Vernon left the kitchen and Esther let go of her tears.. she was hurting inside and out.. After a few minutes she decided the only way to forget was to get back on the horse. She might as well start dinner though she didn’t have a clue what to cook. But just to get her mind of things she went through the kitchen cabinets looking for her good scale and making a mess around her, just like the mess inside her. She was kneeling on the floor sorting through pots and pans noising. It hurt in her abdomen but she was glad it did, she deserved the pain for what she had done. Fred came home from his visit to Condover and found her kneeling on the floor “Esther?” “I know and I´m sorry the place is like a pigsty, but I´m trying my best” She said tearfully “You should be resting “ “Look dinners going to be late” She said standing up holding on to the kitchen table tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t know what we´re gonna have yet” The words almost got caught in her throat “My good scales are missing” She turned around facing Fred while leaning her back on the table afraid her legs might give in, she felt defeated and vulnerable “there no things left in the right place!” She rubbed her stomach not knowing if she was talking about the kitchen or the baby no longer there. Fred embraced her “Oh come on, come here” He rubbed her shoulder and shushed her. “It´s going to be alright… I´m here for you” “But what have I done Fred?” “She cried into his shoulder “you did what you had to do” Outside Martin was listening to their conversation. He wasn’t sure what they were talking about but he had an idea. His mother was going to have a baby but was it Fred who was the father? Martin felt frustrated and not knowing what to do he left with a bad conscience. He had left the house the minute Vernon put a foot in the kitchen. He hated that man. Esther got to bed and Joyce took over the cooking. Martin had been spending time with Danny, Conny´s friend, from her dark past. Martin was sure he was better off getting away from the place.

Martin pent the following day with Danny and in the afternoon he went home to pack a few thing – he was leaving for good. Martin didn’t come home that night and Esther was beside her self. She and Fred talked about how much Martin had grown in the few years they had been there. He was not a little boy any more. “I might as well ask him to be my farmboy – he´s old enough” Ester smiled at Fred “I think he would like that. The next day Esther put on her good coat and went to town to look for Martin. She wasn’t feeling completely on top. The nausea still hadn’t left her, and she was still feeling a bit hard and swollen around her abdomen. But Hetty Foster did say It would take some time to recuperate. Esther approached three ladies and Mrs. Gulliver standing near the church talking. “Ladies I wondered if you´d seen my Martin?” The four ladies looked at Esther like she was a lower being judging her from bottom to top “Well look what the cat dragged in” “I beg you pardon” “Oh mrs. Butler, rest her soul, always said that no good would come from you and Mr. Finch living under the same roof!” Gulliver stood proud while Esther felt enraged “Like Batseba in a pigsty!” “Fred has always been a gentleman to me” “You´re pregnant with his child” Gulliver said distastefully while the three other ladies smirked at each other. They loved a good story and this was the best they had head in ages. “No I am NOT!” “Well you say that, but your HUSBAND may say differently – if he comes home” Esther was furious and felt like punching each and every one of them in the nose. They were judging her looking at her like she was infested with plague. “You leave my Stanley out of this” “It is my Christian duty to tell him” “you would think he had been through enough” Esther felt the tears in her throat – she was getting defensive instead of just ignoring the accusations. But two days ago she was pregnant, and her body still thought she was pregnant, and she wasn’t thinking clearly “Surely he needs to know what he is coming home to” Gulliver continued “Don’t you agree boy?” she asked Martin who was approaching Esther from behind. He had been sent to town for some food for Danny but hearing his mother’s voice from a distance made him turn around and see what was going on. Esther turned around feeling a bit lightheaded and very surprised to see her son standing right behind her. “You have the brace neck to stand there and lie, your own son said you were sick in the mornings” Martin sensed his mother discomfort and understood she was been attacked by Gulliver and her pack so he straightened his back ”I´m sure he said no such thing” Esther replied Gulliver pointed her long bony finger at Martin and then at Esther “Tell her what you told me!” “I didn’t say anything” “What?” “You´re the one making things up” Martin noticed the surprised expression on Gulliver’s face being called a liar by Martin in the presence of the three other ladies - Gulliver was outraged. Martin took a step forward in front of his mother to shield her from Gullivers accusations and Esther put her arm through Martins standing together and feeling strong “I would ask you as one Christian woman to another to keep you poisonous beak out of my business” Esther raised her voice and Martin took another step forward while saying “or you´ll regret it!” Gulliver was surprised but also retaining herself unsure on the young man “Are you threatening me? Is he threatening me?” she asked while pointing her bony finger back and forth between Esther and Martin. Martin stepped very close to Gulliver “What do you think?” Gulliver took a step backwards. She had gone too far and she actually realized Martin wasn’t a little boy any more – he was a young man and she feared his intentions for a moment. “Nothing but troubles the pair of you” she said while leaving. The three other ladies took their leave too. Esther closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths. She hadn’t been ready for this kind of attack. She thought once the baby was gone, so would Gullivers nasty eyes. But she had been wrong. She was tired but also relieved Martin was at her side. “They had it coming” Martin said. Esther wasn’t feeling well. She was out of breath and her stomach hurt. “Why mom?” Esther closed her eyes trying to control her breathing “Please don’t ask me Martin” “I need to know” Martin forced upon her. He wanted answers and Esther knew she couldn’t keep the truth away from him anymore. So she took a deep breath “Without the operation you would have gone blind” Martin looked down already he felt guilt “I couldn’t get the money… “ There was a long pause “The only option I had ….” She couldn’t get the words over her lips and bent her head in shame her voice failing her. Martin bit his lower lip – his mom had sacrificed herself for him. He knew now. This was never about cheat or love – it was about a mother’s love and how far she would go for him – he had been wrong about her and he regretted his behavior towards her of late. “ I´ll take you home” She tried to look him in the eye but couldn’t. She was afraid what he was thinking of her. He offered her his arm to hold on to giving her a compassionate smile and she was grateful. They went home. She made them a cup of tea and the sat on the steps outside the house. Esther look a long breath of the afternoon air closing her eyes and believing everythin could be alright. “Danny will be waiting for me now” Martin looked at her closed eyes. “I said I would go with him” “Right” Esther felt concern building inside her chest. But she had to let him go if that´s what he really wanted. “So, you´re not going to stop me?” “Well you´re not a boy anymore, are you?” A silent “no” passed Martins lips” “you must make your own decisions… “ Martin was looked into his cup and Esther sensed Martins uneasiness “Though - Fred will need a man to work around the place” “Will he?” “With Billy away fighting, yeah” “I suppose…” Martin said “If you were to stay” Martin nodded and smiled. He really would like to stay close to his mom “I could do that”. He looked at his mother seeking some sort of answer – would she be glad if he stayed? “I think you could” she gave him a little smile and that was his answer; she would like to have him around too. . She stood up and brushed his hair as she went inside. “Mom – I just wanted to say” “Let´s not talk about it again, ay” Martin felt reassured - he was back to normal with his mom. Connie was married to her Henry and moved off to be the vicar’s wife. Joyce stayed on the farm while her husband John went into service again and Iris and Martin could keep up their friendship. There was only five years of age difference between them. Who knew what could happen. Fred had become more than just a friend to Esther – they had shared something not many men and women do if not married. But little did Esther know that the child she thought had gone was still there. Abortion in those days seldom resulted in a successful removal of the child. And this Fred knew. His sister had been through the same – she almost bled to death - the child not gone – and she was sent away until the baby was born.

Two weeks went by. It was early one morning. Esther was preparing breakfast but went to the sink suddenly feeling very queasy. Joyce walked into the kitchen “Are you alright Esther?” she put an arm around Esther’s shoulders. “I´m not sure” quickly Esther reached for the bucket under the sink and Joyce held the bucket while Esther threw up. When she was done Joyce guided Esther to take a seat.. Esther held her head in her hands: “Esther - you alright?” “I´m not sure” “Have you been sick for long?” “It hasn’t stopped since…” She looked scared at Joyce “Have you been to the doctor?” “No” Fred walked in ”What´s going on in here?” Esther walked into the living room “Nothing” she replied. Fred look confused at Joyce and went into the living room but Esther went upstairs. She didn’t want Fred to know she still was pregnant. He had warned her about this and she thought she knew better. She could have died. She was so sick a couple of weeks back. How could this be possible? The baby was gone how could it be back? She didn’t know what to think – was the baby not gone? A tear ran down Esther’s cheek. Fred had a nagging feeling of Esther’s condition. He had been waiting for it. He hoped he was wrong though.

Two more weeks went by. Esther tried to hide her morning sickness and it wasn’t as bad anymore. How far along could she be? Martin had his operation in the spring – now it was late summer. She was getting close to five months. It was early in the evening. She was taking a walk around the farm and stopped at the gates to the fields. She was leaning on the gate overlooking the pasture when suddenly she felt a flutter in her abdomen. She gasped and put both her hands on her stomach. The fluttering bobbles continued and a small smile. Frank was on his way to the house when he saw Esther by the gate looking down, both hands on her stomach. He approached her slowly not wanting to startle her. “Fine evening… enjoying the sunset?” Esther quickly let down her hands. “Yeah, just needed some fresh air” Frank joined her on the gate “it´s a fine view” “Yes it is” She looked miles away. Frank looked at her “The view this way is not bad either” She looked at him a bit skeptic “why would you say that?” “Because you´re glowing” he looked down at her stomach. She didn’t like it. She felt exposed and pulled her cardigan around herself, but she couldn’t deny the shortage of fabric – she simply was getting bigger by the day. “You know?” “Mrs. Gulliver has been asking weird questions for a while about you and Fred. It didn’t hit me until I saw you standing here… with your hands on your…” Esther looked away: “She´s been spreading poisonous lies for months” She felt rage building inside her. “Only - they are not lies…are they?” Frank asked. Esther looked bewildered at him. “You think Fred and me?” She paused Frank looked down at her “Well the proof is there – isn’t it?” Her eyes didn’t leave his but her hands went for her stomach. Tears welling up she turned her back on him “Does Fred know?” Frank asked “I´m not sure” “It´s getting hard to miss” he smiled Esther turned around “Is it that obvious?” Frank looked towards the pasture “Well…” She nodded and looked down. “I better be getting back” “Fred is a good man” She halted and slightly turned her head “Yes, he is” “He´ll take good care of you… and the baby” “Yeah…” She headed towards the house.

Summer was ending and autumn was finding its way to pasture farm. Esther was on her way to town when Vernon Storey caught up with her. She was wearing her land girls trousers and sweater cause she had been working in the barn all morning milking. “Morning Mrs. Reeves” he greeted her she tried to ignore him, but Vernon Storey was not a man who let anyone ignore him and especially not the woman of his desires. “You look very nice” he smiled “I wondered if I might buy you a drink?” “No!” She kept walking Vernon was getting impatient and he took hold of her wrist “Please just stop Esther” She stopped but looked at him furiously. “Let go of me!” “Please I just want to talk” “I have nothing left to say to you” Vernon was far superior in strength and he pushed her against the tree just a few inches away from them. He pressed himself against her and the weight from him and the force of the tree in her back made her moan slightly and her free hand went to her stomach to protect it. Vernon’s intention was a stolen kiss but her groan and her figure as he felt around her waistline made him stop and look down at her with concern and his gaze fell upon her protective hand on her stomach. His right hand felt her round and firm stomach underneath the thick sweater, she was after all nearly six months pregnant. He looked confused and she keyed the moment and pushed him away from her. “Get your hands of me” “you´re still pregnant?... but you said it was gone” “It was… so I thought” “Oh Esther – I…” he didn’t get to say anymore cause Fred was approaching from behind. He´d seen the scene unfold from afar and hurried on. “Esther, what´s going on here? I thought you were resting at home?” Esther didn’t get Fred’s point and looked at him a little confused. When Fred reached Esther he placed his hand behind her right elbow. “Come on I better take you home.. Out of my way Vernon!” Esther complied Fred’s word but Vernon wasn’t done “you and I are not finished Esther” “Oh I´m sure Mrs. Reeves doesn’t know what you mean” Fred replied “Oh she knows” Vernon pointed his finger towards Esthers stomach “She is carrying my child!” Fred put his arm firmly around Esthers shoulder and the other hand on her stomach “Oh you mean this? – nah you must be mistaken. This here is mine – isn’t it Esther?” Fred gave her a little squeeze: “Yeah” was all she could get out. Vernon stepped forward “That child is mine!” Fred leaned towards Vernon: “You just keep yourself away from her – she wants nothing to do with you – you hear?!” Vernon snorted “you haven’t heard the last from me” And then he turned around and left. “Are you alright?” Fred asked concerned Esther closed her eyes for a moment “yeah, yeah I think so.. I´m off to town” “I´ll make you company. Don’t want Vernon creeping up on you again” Esther was thankful. She didn’t know what to expect from Vernon. Outside the pub they ran into Mrs. Gulliver… “Well now – if it isn’t Bathsheba and David” She looks with tastelessness at them both. “Just keep out of my way” Esther barks at her. Fred follows her and they head on home. “How are we going to deal with that snake Fred?” Fred put an arm around her shoulder which didn’t escape Gulliver’s eye from afar. “We´ll stick together – you´re not alone in this” Esther looked at Fred with great compassion “How did I come to deserve your friendship Fred?” “You live under my roof – we go together well you and I” He smiled “Yes, we do”

Winter came and so did the snow. She was eight months pregnant and having a hard time. She wasn’t a spring chicken and she had been experiencing twinges in her back the last couple of days. Fred had forbidden her any access to the outside work. She was working under his roof now, as his housekeeper and no longer a Land Girl. Joyce had become matron of the Land girls in Helmstead overseeing the work of Iris and a new girl Patsy age 24, her husband of to war, and a few others. Winter was cold and a blizzard had covered the entire country in deep beautiful snow. Martin was a fine young man who had become Fred’s and Frank’s number one farm boy and left school. Esther felt old with a big teenage boy of sixteen though she wasn’t more than 41. The years had been hard and the past three and a half years of war were taking their toll. Stanley had joined the war from day one and went missing within four months. He had been in POW camp for three years. The odds of him returning were slim to none and when the war would end Esther and Martin didn’t have a place to go. So in a way Esther was glad she no longer was a Land Girl, but Fred’s housekeeper. It meant she and Martin could stay for as long as they needed.

Supplies had been a little low and Esther needed flour for baking. She could send Martin out for some, but Fred, Frank and Martin were all working in the barn, securing the roof from the heavy snow. The girls were busy mending the animals and Esther enjoyed the silence in the house, sometimes knitting in front of the fire thinking of the changes to come. But she couldn’t make do without flour. The nearest neighbor was Mr. Storey. She had no intention of going there, and the next best thing was Mrs. Gulliver. The thought wasn’t intriguing but it was the next best thing to spare her from a longer trip to town in this bad weather.

The walk was difficult. Her back was aching. She tried to cover herself, but her coat couldn’t cover her protruding stomach. Good thing this would be over within a month she thought. She´d never felt so embarrassed or ashamed in her life as she had done during this pregnancy. The shame was the worst. She had been unfaithful to her husband and the proof was directly in eyesight.

She knocked on Mrs. Gulliver’s door and was surprised to see Vernon Storey sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea. She didn’t look at him. She didn’t dare. “I´m sorry, I didn’t know you had visitors. I was just wondering if you could spare three cups of flour?” “Of cause Mrs. Reeves, or is it Mrs. Finch yet” she said with a smirk “Please have a seat, you must be tired from the walk, and I´ll get it for you” Esther took a seat. She would have to endure Mrs. Gullivers insults while in her house but she couldn’t wait to get out. Vernon looked at Esther with great compassion “How´s the baby Mrs. Reeves?” he asked softly. Carefully she looked at him “The baby´s fine, thank you” “Well that’s good to hear” he smiled. “Well it would seem I too have spent all my fluor, but fear not, I have some in the back. Have a cup of tea Mrs. Reeves, I´ll be right back” Gulliver headed out the back and Vernon observed Esther as she leaned back on the kitchen stool a hand to her back. It was hurting like hell. “Are you in any discomfort Esther?” she closed her eyes for a moment and rubbed her back. “It´s just some twinges – it was a difficult walk” She went to get some more tea and poured herself and took a sip standing by the warm stove. Vernon came to stand close to her and began to rub her lower back. She would have protested, but it felt so damn good. The baby felt Esther relax and kicked hard against her lung. It took her breath away and she inhaled sharply a bit and placed her hands of her big stomach. Vernon couldn’t help it; he placed his hand there too and felt a strong kick. “Oh my, what a strong boy” he smiled and Esther looked at him with great despair. He kept on rubbing her back. He remembered his late wife, whom gave him three strong boys. When she was in labour she had appreciated a good back rub and he looked at Esther surprised “Are you in labour Esther?” “No, I should think not” she took a step away from him. Mrs. Gulliver was eavesdropping from the room next door. She had seen then standing very close, Vernon’s back towards Gulliver, so her presence wasn’t known. Why would he care so much for Mrs. Reeves? Clearly she had chosen another man. Why would he be so interested? What was it about this woman that no man could keep his hands from her. “You look very fine Esther” He smiled again. She tried to cover herself with her coat but to no good. “Please don’t look at me like that” “Like what Esther?” He took a step towards her as she took a step back “Can´t I admire what´s mine?” “IT´S NOT YOURS!” She hissed He took another step and she was back up against the table “I seem to remember putting it there” he reached out to touch her stomach. Gulliver covered her mouth with surprise – so this was Vernon´s child, not Fred´s. What sort of loose woman was this? “Please stay away from me” He believed he had been a tolerant man and he was running out of patience. But just as he was about to touch her, she buckled over and groaned heavily. “Oh, oh no” she looked down and saw water on the floor. Her water had broken. She reached out for Vernon as a contraction hit her. Quickly he had an arm around her waist while the other held her hand. “Well it seems I was right. Been through three of these already with my wife” Gulliver heard the action and came running out “What on earth – what have we here?” “Mrs. Reeves´s gone into labour, she needs to lay down” “No, No” Esther protested “I can´t have it here. I need Fred” “Mr. Storey will get both Fred and the doctor – but you´re not going anywhere Mrs. Reeves” The contraction passed and Esther took a breath. “It´s too soon. The baby´s coming to soon. I need the doctor” Vernon took of her coat and whispered silently as he did “No it´s nearly on time Esther – don’t you remember?” She looked at him with disbelief “You kept record?” He looked at her with no anger simply regret “Well, I was looking very much forward to this little lad” He placed his hand on her stomach and graced it carefully. Gulliver was fixing a lot of water filled pots on the stove but listened with big ears. So this was Vernon’s child. Esther started panting again as she felt another contraction wash over her. Vernon rubbed her back to ease her pain while Gulliver watched thinking about what to do. Where to put Esther and how to send for help. But Vernon jumped ahead of her: “Right, this will be a quick delivery. Mrs. Gulliver you go get Fred at the farm – he´s a the barn – and tell him to get Dr. Channing on the way – where can Esther lay down?” “You don’t mean you´ll stay here and deliver the baby Mr. Storey?” “Well how many babies have you had? Not to mention deliver Mrs. Gulliver? I´ve been there to welcome all three of my boys, and I see this everyday with the livestock – so you go get help and I´ll stay here with Esther! You just make sure those pots are filled with hot water and the fire going in the stove, then I can manage until the doctor arrives” Mrs. Gulliver didn’t know what to say – a famer acting midwife. But Mr. Storey was a resolute man she didn’t dare argue against. “My bedroom is in here – she can get comfortable in here. There are newspaper beside the bed – I´ll put them under the sheet” She found extra sheets and towels and looked at the scene from the door. Esther was holding on to the bed eyes closed panting for breath. Vernon was by her side rubbing and stroking her back telling her she was doing well. Esther’s forehead covered in sweat as she was placing her weight from one foot to another. “Just keep breathing with it Esther – that´s right - breath out and then in – tell me when you want to lay down – I´ll help you” Mrs. Gulliver was convinced Vernon had the situation under control and hurried off the Pasture farm.

The house was quiet only Esthers breathing could be heard and Vernons low voice. “Let´s get you out of this dress love and onto the bed” He wanted to help her unbottom her dress but was cut off “Don´t you dare touch me! Just stay away from me!” “You can´t do this alone Esther – This baby is coming fast – the others won’t be here in time – but I’m here for you. “And look where it got me the last time you were there for me” She cried a bit “Martin got the operation he needed - Isn´t that what´s important?” “And you got what you wanted! Right? And what about me? What did I get? The shame!” She cried but was overruled by a new contraction. She was almost on her knees. She felt the need to bear down and all of a sudden she looked terrified at Vernon “The baby´s coming, it´s coming” Vernon took a hold around her waist and quickly guided her onto the bed. “No time for modesty” He said as he gently but firmly removed her stockings and so on. Esther was resting against the headboard eyes closed. “You must let me have a look Esther” But she didn’t want him there. He wasn’t supposed to be here at all. Why had it all gone so wrong? But a new contraction hit her and she was forced to work together with mother nature and separated her legs holding on to her own knees pushing forward. “That´s more like it – good girl – the head is almost out – so give it a rest a bit – we don’t want him coming to fast” Esther fell back on the pillows “I can´t do this – I can´t breathe” Vernon got up and helped her of her dress when a new contraction hit. “That´s it – the head is born – now breathe slowly – and when you feel the pressure to push just give it all you got” Esther was covered in sweat and shaking from the exhaustion. She felt a new pressure and took hold of her knees and pushed. “A little more – little more – and here it is” Vernon was one big smile. He rubbed the baby in a towel and a fine cry could be heard all over the house. Esther fell back exhausted “Let me see it – what is it?” Vernon held the little crying bundle and looked at it with great love “It´s a little girl – We got a little girl” He handed her over to Esther. “Oh my, what a beautiful little thing” She smiled down at her daughter. “Beautiful like her mother” Esther groaned with discomfort and Vernons hand pressed down on her abdomen to help deliver the afterbirth. It came out in one piece and Vernon packed it away in a newpaper. And then the house was filled with a great fuss as Dr.Channing entered the kitchen closely followed by Fred and Gulliver and Joyce. Dr. Channing took a look at Vernons blody hands “Is everything alright” “Everything is fine doctor – Esther and the baby are resting – it all went like clockwork” Dr. Channing disappeared into the bedroom together with Joyce and Gulliver. Vernon washed his hands and Fred was left like one big question mark. “You have a little girl Fred” Vernon said with his back to Fred. “What?” Vernon turned around drying his hands “It is a girl… you have a little girl” Fred’s smile grew from ear to ear “Really? A little girl” then he stopped dead serious and put out his hand to Vernon “Thanks Vernon – I’m not sure I could have done what you did” Vernon smirked but took Fred’s hand “Well, I have welcomed all my children into this world…” He looked at Fred with a stern look “beside – it was Esther who did all the work – I just welcomed the girl” Fred knew this must have been hard for Vernon. After all – this was his child – not Fred’s. The doctor came back into the kitchen “Well done Mr. Storey. You did good in there. The baby is fine and healthy and the mother doing well…” “Thank you doctor” Dr. Channing turned towards Fred “You can go see her now – and congratulation – you have a daughter” “Thanks doc” Fred went in to the bedroom and Gulliver shook his hand on her way out. “Congratulation Fred She´s beautiful little angel” Fred sat down on the bed next to Esther. They were alone and the door closed. He looked at Esther with great love and compassion and at the little bundle in her arms, already fast asleep. “Why didn’t you tell me you were having back pains this morning?” “I didn’t want to alarm you – besides – I didn’t think she would come for another month” Esther smiled at Fred “But now she´s here – and she´s ours” Fred extended his hand and Esther took it. “Does this mean you´ll stay with me Esther?” “Why shouldn’t I – if you´ll have me? –have us?” “I just thought with Vernon and all” “Vernon isn’t her father – you are Fred” “Just on paper” “An in my heart Fred – You´ve taken care of me and Martin for four years. If you´ll have us, you got us” Fred kissed her hand “Thank you Esther” “Care to hold your daughter Fred?” Fred carefully held the new little girl and Esther looked at them with a smile. Things were going to be okay. Esther couldn’t go home straight away and Gulliver insisted on her staying. “This girl is born in my house and it is my Christian duty to make sure both mother and daughter are taken care off. You stay here Esther and tomorrow Esther and your little girl can go home” She told Fred. Esther was sleeping with the little girl in her arms. Fred looked at the two of them. “I´ll be happy to stay and help out” “No you just go and make arrangements for their return.. I´ll promise to take good care of them” Gulliver seemed almost nice and Fred went over to Esther to say goodbye. He touched her cheek and she woke up a bit. “I´m going home to make arrangement for your arrival tomorrow. Mrs. Gulliver will take good care of you… Will you be alright here?” Esther nodded “Yeah I think so” She smiled at him and took his hand. He kissed her fingers. “I´ll see you tomorrow” Mrs. Gulliver was tidying the room “aren’t you going to kiss the woman whom just gave birth to your daughter Mr. Finch.. Though you´re not legally wed, I won´t mind. You deserve it” She continued tidying the room. Esther and Fred look a bit uncomfortable but Fred bent down and stopped just an inch from Esthers lips waiting for her approval. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes and Fred gave her a soft kiss – their first kiss. Mrs. Gulliver kept a discrete eye on them. Fred looked into Esthers beautiful blue eyes, her hair loose and curly. She looked beautiful. “I´ll see you tomorrow” “yeah” He brushed the lightbrown hair of the newborn girl. “Take care of your mom, eh” And then he left. It was dark outside and Fred was glad he had the truck to get home.

The house was quiet. Esther was holding her sleeping girl when Gulliver entered with a cup of the and bread.

“Here you go dear. You must gather some strength”

“Thank you… will you hold the baby?”

Gulliver was a little taken aback but accepted the baby into her arms.

“Oh my – what a little angel…”

Esther smiled “you look good with a baby in your arms”

A single tear slided down Gullivers cheek. “We never did have any children – Clarence and I.. I failed as a wife”

Esther put down her cup “Oh please don’t say that. we don’t descide our fortune. Me and Stanley only had Martin – we tried for years – and the he finely came… but only him.. I can´t believe I have a little girl – in my age”

Gulliver looked at Esther “Mr. Storey seemed to presume he had some part in your little girl”

Esther looked down “Well then you know it all”

“I don’t know why” Gulliver took a seat at the end of the bed

“Did he force himself on you Esther?”

“No” She still couldn’t look Gulliver in the eye

“It was an arrangement – Martin needed his operation – and I didn’t have the money – so… Vernon Storey gave me the money” She took a sip of her cup

“In return of the sins of the flesh – How could he?” Gulliver shook her head

“Yes, Vernon got what he wanted – Martin got what he needed – and I.. I got…her”

Esther looked at the bundle in Gullivers arms. Gulliver didn’t know what to say. She had been a hard judge. Too hard maybe.

“Well I better go clean the kitchen – Mr. Storey left quite a mess… here you go” She handed Esther the little girl in exchange for her cup and plate. She helped Esther get comfortable and left the room. She would sleep on the sofa in the living room next door, to be of any assistance to Esther.

#land girls #fanfic

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