The hate that some people give to Elsa in the 1883 fandom is insane when she is one of the main characters AND the narrator of the series. And the hate is always the same and I am going to address it with what will hopefully be simple answers:
- Elsa's accent IS a Tennessee accent. I have seen so many complaints about her accent despite the fact that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Tennesseans) were her vocal coaches. Elsa has a Middle Tennessee accent. Her draw is very akin to how people speak there especially with the older generations/those in rural areas. Yes, it doesn't match her parents, but accents are also regional. Not everyone has the same accents as their parents. Is it consistent? Not always, BUT it does match with someone covering up their southern accent. We see an example of this when Elsa scolds John for not speaking "proper" in episode two.
- Elsa is allowed to love both Ennis AND Sam. There was a very clear time jump between Ennis's death and Sam coming into Elsa's life. Being a teenager, Elsa shouldn't be expected to mourn forever, especially with how short her romance with Ennis was.
- Elsa sees freedom in Sam. It is made very clear that Margaret planned on arranging a marriage match for Elsa once they settled in Oregon. Margaret does not change her opinion on the matter once Ennis dies. Being a "widow" at eighteen during this time period, Elsa would have been expected to remarry as quickly as possible. Elsa knows that she is expected to have a suitor arranged for her once they settle and she knows she will lose the freedom she has found as a cowboy. Time is quite frankly counting down quickly for her and she knows this. Meeting Sam, she connects with him very quickly, and it shouldn't be shocking as to why. Sam sees her as an equal and Elsa sees this. He is her path to keeping her freedom. A marriage to him is a marriage of choice. Something she knows will be out of her hands if she arrives to where they settle unmarried.
I can continue with a part two in deeper detail if anyone wants.
I always thought of mothers like nervous chickens, too worried about their clutch to ever hunt for a worm. In my mind, my mother was a BANKER, hoarding my freedom like money. I never once thought of her as a woman with DESIRES and DREAMS and PASSION, though passion is the thing that made me. I lie awake at night and my dreams for this life BURN INSIDE ME as if I'd walked to the campfire and tried to eat it. I watched my mother and I felt FOOLISH for thinking the notion of eating fire was mine alone. IT WAS HERS FIRST. Then she gave it to me. I watched her ride and I didn't see my mother. I saw a woman. And the woman was MAGNIFICENT.
You use that word in front of my child again... (WHISPERS) I'm gonna stab you with this fսcking fork. Yes, ma'am. Half a steak is fine. Say, "Thank you". Thank you.
Please write an 1883 Sam x Elsa fanfic. There’s nothing out there for those two. They’re my favorite.
Ohh I would love two I adore those two! I’ll add it to my writing queue for the weekend! [Sorry it’s been longer!]
Thank you! I was gutted by the ending. I didn’t quite understand it though. Did Sam die as well or is he just a memory? Part of me chooses to believe he died so they’re at least together in heaven. Thank you again!
I think from what I got from it lived and possibly had children later in life because there is a man named Martin in Yellowstone who was played by the same actor I saw it as a descendent of his. But would you like it as a what if she never died? Or perhaps to stay canon still, one or both of them thinks about the life they would have lived if she didn’t die?
Or if you’re not too busy or don’t mind, maybe one of both. I can imagine Sam picturing what his life with Elsa would have been like being quite beautiful as well.
I'll add both to my writing queue because both sound like fun prompts! 😊
So I did a mix of the two in one. I hope you enjoy it! And while sticking to canon, the two still meet again!
Masterlist
They say when someone dies, their life flashes before their eyes, yet the life that should have happened, flashed before Elsa’s. She saw the life she and Sam should’ve had. Yet, in the end the two do get the reunion they deserve.
Warnings: References of Blood, Death, Sexual Content [nothing graphic just mentioning it], Childbirth, Slight Angst
They say when someone dies, their life flashes before their eyes, yet the life that should have happened, flashed before mine. I saw the life I should’ve had with my beloved Sam.
Elsa felt cold as she lay against her father’s chest, cradled like he used to cradle her as a baby. The father and daughter quickly looked up when a twig snapped, and a woman slowly approached. She held her hands up to show she was unarmed, pointed to the arrow in Elsa’s hip, and then pointed to herself. Clearly, she did not speak English, but she wanted to help. Carefully inching toward the father and daughter, she crouched to get a better look.
“Please, save my little girl.” James Dutton sniffled. He, in ordinary circumstances, was a strong man, but as his daughter bled out in his arms, he felt himself crumble. He silently watched as the woman reached into a pouch she carried and pulled out some herbs and cloth. When she began to pull the arrow out, Elsa felt the pain overtake her, and she blacked out.
When she came to again, she was lying on furs next to a warm fire. She was alone for but a moment when the flap of the dwelling opened. Her eyes met familiar dark brown eyes and a relieved smile.
“Lightning with the Yellow Hair.” He whispered before rushing to her side. She felt safe in his arms and realized how much she missed him as he held her close, brushing her blonde hair from her face before leaning down to kiss her. “I was worried. Your father found me and told me you were injured. It took me nearly seven days to reach you. I am just glad you are alive.” He whispered as he cradled her to his chest.
It had been a few months, and Elsa was still slowly recovering. There was a jagged scar on her hip, and it still ached terribly. But she was alive, and she was reunited with Sam. That was what mattered. He found her lying in the meadow, humming to herself with a smile.
“There you are. What are you doing out here?” He asked as she grabbed his hand, pulling him to lie beside her.
“Looking at the stars and enjoying the quiet.” She whispered as he smiled lovingly at her. Leaning toward her and brushing his lips against hers as his fingers danced across her flushed cheeks. It was a dance his fingers had mastered the past few months. Entwined in each other’s embrace, the two made love under the stars. If someone had told Elsa this would be how her life would have been all those months ago on the train, she would have laughed, but this was the life she longed for. The freedom to be her true self and to find a love that didn’t try to cage her in. Sam helped tear down the walls. He helped destroy the gilded cage of the life that could’ve been. With him, she was more than Elsa Dutton. She was Lightning with the Yellow Hair, and she was the wife of a warrior. He held her close as his hand caressed the bump that was more evident in the last few weeks. The two were expecting their first child, and Elsa never thought she would want to be a mother. She always saw children as another thing in life that would trap her in a life she didn’t want, but with Sam, it felt right. She knew he would take an equal role in raising their child. He was already so excited, whispering sweet nothings to their unborn child in his native tongue, something she found so soothing.
Elsa watched silently as her husband rocked their daughter in his arms and sang to her. She was their second child, their son now four and a miniature version of his father, with his father’s dark hair, but her nose and his eyes were a beautiful honey color. James Samuel was a quiet child. He did not cry often, something Elsa’s mother said was the complete opposite of what she had been. But Leah Margaret was the opposite. She liked to let the world know she had a voice. From her first breath on, she was not afraid to let her voice be heard. At times, it seemed the only two people who could soothe her cries were her father and grandfather. Her mother told her it was god’s way of letting her know how it felt to have such a rebellious daughter. But Elsa would not change a thing about her daughter. She was a free spirit, the daughter of Lightning with the Yellow Hair, and a great Comanche warrior and would grow to be a strong woman like her mother and grandmother. As for James, he would grow to be a strong warrior like his father.
As I felt the life leaving my body, I saw the life I should’ve had with my beloved Sam. It was a solace to the feeling of emptiness and longing in my heart, knowing I would never hold my husband in my arms, nor the children we could have had. But that happiness is something I know I will find one day. When the flowers bloom, we will find each other. And true to his promise, I found my beloved Sam again when the flowers bloomed. He lived life as a warrior, and he died as a warrior. But do not weep. We do not mourn what could’ve been, because lightning does not mourn. We might not have lived the life we should’ve, but we will have the happiness we deserve in the afterlife.
James Dutton stood over the two lone graves in Paradise Valley. Two markers side by side, his daughter and his son-in-law. Together once more, he knew they were at peace, and that put him at ease. He knew his daughter was finally free to ride to her heart’s content, to be as free as the wind. The way she was born to be. Her life might have been short to some, but he knew she lived and loved fiercely, which was enough for him.
