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#guide jaskier
thelostgirl21 · 10 months
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A celebration of Joey Batey offering TV show writers a pure masterclass on how to write a queer character with a queer audience in mind.
Can I just say how much respect and appreciation I have for Joey, that he went above and beyond in term of queer representation, by bringing some much needed attention towards people on the aromantic spectrum, and making gender a complete romantic/sexual (and even queerplatonic) non-issue?
I mean, imagine that you are part of a show with a young and powerful canonically bisexual lead, Ciri, who is at an age where people might start exploring their own sexuality, slowly figuring out who and what they like, etc.
And suddenly, you're offered to also be playing another queer lead character, with a male love interest - while knowing it will be the very first time that the audience will be officially introduced to the idea of Jaskier being queer...
And, instead of going with the more familiar, and often expected:
"A man that's always been with women before, now finds himself romantically and sexually attracted to a man, and starts questioning his own sexual identity..." coming out story...
You find yourself with a unique opportunity to go a bit further, to explore more specific and lesser known LGBTQ+ themes, and to delightfully surprise your queer audience!
You can take a full dive into the wonderful world of Queerdom, by exploring a different - yet just as equally important and significant - coming out story!
i.e.
"A usually aromantic person, that has always experienced squishes, smushes, and possibly meshes before, finds himself experiencing a (sapio)romantic crush for the very first time, and starts questioning his romantic identity..."
Of course, a lot of people in the audience will probably miss this.
The monosexuals that have been conditioned to believe that gender must always play a role in how one experiences romantic and sexual human attraction - will likely be paying more attention to how Jaskier is showing an interest in a man.
People that are used to equating "falling in love" with "romantic attraction", might miss the significance and importance of Vespula specifically using the word crush to refer to Jaskier's current attraction towards Radovid.
People that typically see non-gender-related orientations as "mere preferences", or have simply never heard of them, might miss how Jaskier goes on and on about how "emotionally intelligent and insightful Radovid is" , with a look of vulnerability and wonder, putting emphasis on how different he feels about him.
People that were taught to see emotional relationships according to the "platonic vs romantic" binary - with a strict idea of what each means and implies - may not be familiar with what queerplatonic relationships are, and will interpret Jaskier saying that he loves Geralt "platonically" as meaning that he's not as deeply and strongly in love with him as one might usually expect a romantic partner to be.
They'll be unaware that there are committed life partners out there - that would go to the end of the world for each other and perhaps even share sexual intimacy together - that don't have any romantic feelings for each other whatsoever.
Romance does not mean "being in love", romance means "being in love in a romantic way".
And it is not the only way.
To aromantics and greyromantics - and even to romantic people that also have the capacity to fall in love in non-romantic ways, such as yours truly - queerplatonic and alterous relationships aren't "lesser than" romantic ones, they are different.
And Radovid... is different.
Radovid is no better, nor worse, than a hammer...
But he's a spoon.
He's a romantic connection that is completely new, exciting and intriguing to explore for Jaskier!
According to Joey Batey, as a sapioromantic panromantic pansexual, Jaskier finds himself developing a strong sapioromantic and sapiosexual connection with Radovid.
Jaskier is representing people that aren't romantically or sexually affected by a partner's gender in the way that they experience sexual atttraction, and people that experience a lot of tertiary attraction when falling in love, while very seldom ever being able to love others in a romantic way (sapioromantics / greyromantics... ).
Jaskier is a queer character that was truly created with a queer audience in mind!
He was created so that all of us that don't see or experience love according to the platonic vs romantic binary.
All of us that are hyperaware of those other forms of attraction (tertiary, aesthetic, sensual, etc.) that one can experience for another human being.
All of us that don't see or experience romance or sexuality as something that ties into their partner's gender.
Could finally see themselves in a character on screen.
Of course, you still need characters that experience their sexuality while feeling like the gender of their romantic and sexual partners matters - including those that love all genders... Desperately so!
First, because all members of the queer community matter and are equally as important and valuable. Rejoicing over Batey diving into lesser known and familiar representation doesn't mean that familiar and better known representation should not be encouraged and celebrated as well!
This is not a "there should be less gay character on TV to make room for more aromantics and asexuals instead" post.
This is a "we need queer identities people are less familiar with in addition to proper gay, lesbian and bisexual representation" post.
And second, because you still need characters that don't stray too much from the platonic v.s. romantic binary, too - and the usual social conventions tied to romance and sexuality - so that non-queer audiences can more easily connect, and empathize with, the queer community.
Because, when the existence of bisexuality already is something that monosexual people often have a hard time understanding, acknowledging, or even believing in...
Well, going:"By the way, I'll have you know that you can totally want to have sex with, live, and raise children with someone you've got platonic feelings for, too!"
You might accidentally lose them.
And if you try to explain that some people are unable to romantically connect with anyone, unless they get specifically attracted to their intellect (often combined with their aesthetic looks)!
That's likely going to be even worse!
And this is where Batey's pure genius comes to light.
Because he's just shown that you can find a beautiful and organic way to explore queerness more in depth - totally stepping away from the usual relationship conventions and specifically addressing your queer audience - simply by using a vocabulary that said queer audience will understand and connect with.
You can make it clear that the character is on the greyromantic spectrum, by having Vespula state that she's never ever seen him with a crush before!
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You can put the emphasis on him being more specifically sapioromantic, by having him dreamily go on about how Jaskier perceives Radovid's intellect.
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And, if Batey is to be believed - and he's been exploring the idea of Jaskier being queer since the very beginning of the show (without any clear response from the writers or producers regarding Jaskier's sexuality) - then, by making it clear that he loves Geralt platonically in Season 3, he's also allowing us to revisit all the scenes between Jaskier and Geralt from Season 1, while enjoying them through an aromantic lense.
Someone on the aromantic spectrum watching that scene might thus find themselves deeply connecting with the strong platonic squish (although it could also be a mesh) that Jaskier immediately experienced the very first time he saw Geralt...
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You can see Jaskier as specifically believing himself to be Geralt's best friend in the whole wide world, and instinctively reading into Geralt allowing him to physically/sensually touch him (rubbing chamomile onto his lovely bottom) as him possibly desiring a queerplatonic connection with him also.
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And, the scene where he's suggesting to Geralt that they could get away for a while, head to the coast together...
Where he mentions that life is too short not to do what pleases you, and admits that he's trying to work on what pleases him...
Look, the fact is that there's always been aromantic and greyromantic people experiencing tertiary forms of love and attractions for other people long before we had any words to put on those emotions, desires and needs.
So, it's rather easy to see Jaskier as someone that is experiencing a powerful alterous attraction for his best friend, and realizing that what pleases him the most, is the idea of them sharing a queerplatonic or alterous relationship together...
It makes sense to interpret what Jaskier is saying as him trying to express and articulate the love he feels for Geralt the best he can - implying that Geralt is what pleases him - while trying to ask Geralt if he also feels the same way...
Sadly, Geralt doesn't quite get it; likely because he's also romantically and sexually attracted to Yennefer and, when he loses her, instinctively throws all his own hurt and heartbreak at Jaskier - blaming him for everything that (he believes) lead to that loss!
And just because the break up Jaskier experienced wasn't a romantic one doesn't make it any less devastating.
Poor loving bard was making plans for them to continue to travel and enjoy their time together as the platonic boyfriends he believed them to be, and Geralt told him that all Jaskier had to offer him was a giant pile of shit that he kept shoveling his way!
There's been a lot of alterous and/or queeplatonic subtext since Season 1 (that could also read as romantic, but should never be used as evidence or proof of romance if we were talking about a real life partnership).
And, while I do acknowledge that queerbaiting has been messing with our ability to perceive and appreciate those relationships as such, I do think that, canonically establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic, at the very least, clearly addresses the reasons why Jaskier was behaving in such an amorous way with Geralt without being romantically in love with him.
For once, instead of mocking the queer audience for "having mistakenly read two same-gender close friends as being romantically attracted to each other" (while doing as much as they can to suggest romance to keep them hooked!), they are canonically establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic, with him experiencing his first romantic crush with Radovid.
The show's dialogue is telling people on the aromantic spectrum that "Yes, Jaskier is one of you. He gets squishes, meshes, lushes, and can desire a queerplatonic relationship with a best friend he's got strong platonic feelings for also."
You can speak to your queer audience, without fully risking alienating your non-queer audience, by simply using clues, and a language that your queer audience understands.
And I will forever be grateful to Joey Batey for having understood it, and having so skillfully managed it.
As someone who is ambiamorous, panalterous, panromantic, demisexual, and pansexual, all the nuances and details he brought to Jaskier's queerness was a pure delight, and spoke to me in a way that no TV show character has ever spoken to me before (except, perhaps, in "Sense8", but the whole show itself was about what it meant to love and be human, with main characters sharing a supernatural psychic bond making them more likely to open themselves to all the queer forms of love... whereas shows like "The Witcher" is of a more mainstream fantasy show).
I wish I had a way to contact him to tell him thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for breaking gender boundaries, and "platonic vs romantic" boundaries with Jaskier, and offering us a character that is one of the purest, most beautiful, and most perfectly balanced love song to queerness that one could have written and sung about!
Jaskier is a queer representation groundbreaking masterpiece on a show such as this.
That representation is as intelligent, insightful, and sharp as Prince Radovid himself.
And Extraordinarily Things said more about Jaskier's feelings, issues, and vulnerabilities than any piece of dialogue ever could have, and had me weeping my eyes out by the time Jaskier sang about how he finally felt like he was enough...
Well done Joey, you absolutely brilliant and deeply empathetic real-life bard and poet, well done...
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0dde11eth · 5 months
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Geralts determined to teach jaskier to survive in the wild. (He leaves the bard alone for hours at a time. This is vital)
Geralt: you can tell directions from the Sun
Jaskier: *immediately looks at the sun, blinds himself momentarily and cusses geralt out for 20 minutes, because its clearly geralts fault jaskier looked At the sun.*
***post rant***
Geralt: ok now the sun rises in the east and lowers in the west
Jaskier: wait, is this you telling me that you are you a flat earther?
Geralt: *eyes visibly twitching*
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annmarcus63 · 1 year
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"Those guys were a bunch of rockheaded jerks."
"Yeah" Geralt agrees with a soft laugh.
"Can you believe them? they're shit at Gwent and I wasn't even cheating"
"Mmm-hmm"
"I swear. You wound me, darling, I'm a hone-"
"Show me your sleeves then.”
"Ha, yeah, no, you only want to undress me."
"Sure." says Geralt with a hint of a smile. Knowing full well that Jaskier was in fact cheating at Gwent.
"They thought we were together. Homophobic morons."
"Yeah"
"But we're not."
"Yeah"
Jaskier laughs nervously.
"Yeah, but the kiss sold it, really." Geralt doesn't say anything.
"What was the kiss for, darling." Geralt growls and march forward with Roach.
Jaskier laughs and trots after him.
"You're an excellent kisser, I must say. I didn't know you have such a long tongue."
"SHUT UP, JASKIER"
"I think we should rehearse it for next time."
"There will not be a next time." if witchers could blush Jaskier would find red dots on Geralt cheeks.
"You even nipped my lip; I really really like it."  
Geralt wants to crawl under earth but he knows Jaskier would follow him there too.
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No because jaskier making jokes about geralt dying as a coping mechanism for them BOTH like the reason they work together and have lasted so long is because geralt NEEDS that lightness and the jokes and the downplaying how bad it is bc otherwise he gets too in his head he NEEDS jaskier to come in a joke about milking his death for at least three songs (and one epic poem) because they both know deep down that geralt dying would change jaskier as a person forever and so jaskier joking about it (IF geralt dies) is a way for both of them to take heart because geralt knows that jaskier just has this complete faith in him and THAT’S why jaskier makes the jokes because the alternative to jokes is too horrifying to even consider
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dapandapod · 5 months
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so
im playing a game, Kena bridge of spirits, literally just started, but this thought gripped me and I am making it your probem.
so (now on Ao3)
Jaskier is a spirit guide, his focus is his instrument. His job is to let spirits heal and move on, and Geralt is a spirit, but Geralt doesn’t know. The grief he carries from Blaviken festers in him, and he is unable to let go of the past, and Jaskier senses it. (also this is not meant to be mcd lol but Geralt is a spirit now). So Jaskier follows him, in Geralt's words, pesters him, forces him to work through his past, and Jaskier deals with what the festering manifests around them.
On the mountain, geralt lashes out, and jaskier is stuck up there to clean up the mess of the mountain, who is now grown dangerous, because of Geralt's outburst. When Geralt finally gets his head out of his ass, he realizes Jaskier never came down, and he has to go back up there and confront his past.
And maybe, like in Frozen, a shard of Geralt's pain hit Jaskier, and he is weakened. Until that shard is gone, he is unable to entirely cleanse the mountain and safely leave. And so, he becomes one with the rot, one with the pain. For Geralt to free Jaskier, he has to get up the mountain, that is now filled with shadows of both of their pasts; the abuse and the loss and the hurt and the loneliness they both carry.
When Geralt finally gets to Jaskier, he sees the bard is deeply entangled with it, the pulse of his pain is leaking into the ground, and Geralt sees the shadow of himself lash out, to fracture his hurt. His medallion is vibrating, he has never seen anything like this, but he has to fight through it, and make Jaskier wake up from whatever this is.
And Jaskier does wake, just enough to see Geralt succumb to his own shadows.
Geralt doesn't know really what jaskier is, just know that weird things happen around him,
so when Jaskier lifts his necklace, a crystal shaped like a tuning fork, and the air shimmers blue, and Geralt’s medallion vibrates, all goes black.
Eventually, Geralt awakens, and Jaskier is standing a safe distance away, with little spirits swarmed around his feet, clinging to his shoulders, and he is smiling at them.
Geralt has to acknowledge what Jaskier's task was, and what Jaskier risked, for him.
Eventually, Geralt awakens, not as a guide, but as a guardian, because now, because of the shard that jaskier carries, his shard, he can see what jaskier sees.
He sees the spirits, he sees the pain, and he finally sees himself.
They set out to find a little girl in Cintra, who is hurt and grief and pain, and so strong she can shake the foundation of the world.
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Developed the absolute worst migraine at work today, the kind that makes your limbs shake and your body shut down, so I got home from a full day at work at 4:00pm and immediately stripped my uniform off and crashed in my bed, still covered in train grease and promptly passed out
Woke up at 7:00pm and it’s now 7:30pm and I feel like I’m in the fucking twilight zone, like, for example, the nap was so misplaced and intergalactically heavy that I woke up thinking I was Jaskier and that I was in an inn and had to travel soon with Geralt off to God-knows-where
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fandom-happy · 8 months
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Sicktember 2023 - Day 11: Beginner’s guide to faking sick
Summary: Geralt refuses to rest when he’s injured, so Jaskier takes matters into his own hands and forces him to.
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tielmamon · 2 months
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finally finished that wip
"So...Geralt seemed awfully crossed when we left. You don't happen to know anything about that, do you?" Jaskier huffs, a bit anxious. He had seen how Geralt looked at the both of them when Yen first asked him to accompany her as her vicount husband.
A little side mission really, nothing too high stakes. Just a bit of drinking, a bit of noble charming, one quick trip to the Lord's chambers to steal back a relic that Yen claims to be rightfully hers. Simple enough right?
But somehow, Geralt seemingly thinks this little mission was as dangerous as a basilisk on the rampage and loudly protested against it. Yen, being Yen simply snorted and went about dressing Jaskier as the perfect Vicount decked in black and gold. The entire time, Geralt's eyes never left his person, a constant glare simmering alongside something else Jaskier cant quite name.
"Don't worry about him."
"I'm me. I can't not worry about Geralt. What if he's upset at me for pretending to be your husband? Oh gods, that would be fucking ironic-" Jaskier feels a gentle hand cup the side of his face, guiding him to face his witchy friend. She smiles wickedly.
"I promise you, he has no ire towards you. If anything, he's plotting against me, the idiot." Yen gives his cheek a reassuring pat before snaking her arm between his.
"But enough about him. It's just you and me tonight, dear husband."
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gemstone-roses · 6 months
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I've got you
Geralt x Reader
Summary: geralt comforts you in the middle of the night.
Warnings: general anxiety themes, anxiety attack, fear, bit of sad, crying. Fluff. Bit of Size kink if you squint (whoops) can't help myself can I.
Huge hurt/comfort vibes, I need it okay.
Note: I'm having a bad week okay,🫠 reblogs and comments much appreciated ❤️ reminder this blog is 18 plus and so are all my works, including the sfw ones.
Hope this helps someone if they need it 🖤
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Flames dance in front of you. The heat from the fire the three of you had made at your camp that night had stopped feeling warm a while ago.
Jaskier slept soundly in his sleeping bag by a tree, the dense forest you found yourselves in provided more than enough safety for you to rest for the night.
And of course, geralt too.
He sits opposite you, legs spread wide, hands falling in-between them. He's keeping watch for any danger.
You wrap your arms around yourself. Habit, when you feel like this.
You'd felt it coming when you woke this morning. It starts in your throat, your chest.
Jaskier struggled to get on his horse this morning.
Usually you'd make a sarcastic comment at his expense, earning an eye roll from him and a small chuckle from geralt.
Today you stayed quiet. You knew irritation would lace your words without actually meaning it.
Leaves rustle beside you as the witcher moves from his spot and sits back down on the log you were sitting on.
Geralts thighs touched yours, he was so big it couldn't be helped.
The slight touch comforted you though.
"I can hear your heart racing over the noise of the fire"
Of course he could.
"oh, sorry?" You say softly.
You feel your chest tighten, you try to swallow but your mouth is dry.
Geralts brows furrow, he's heard your sharp intake of breath, your heart picking up.
"fuck" he whispers, getting up.
You startle slightly when you feel two hands on your thigh, geralt kneeling in front of you. His Amber eyes laced with concern for you.
"Y/n" he says gently, giving your thigh a squeeze.
"Look at me sweetheart" he continues. He gently grasps your chin and turns it towards him.
Tears pool in your eyes as his gaze feels like it's seeing right through you.
"You need to breathe, okay?breathe with me y/n" he reaches for your hand, places it on his chest.
Your hand trembles, you squeeze your eyes shut, trying to focus on him. One of his hands holding yours on his chest, the other is still holding your face.
"Keep looking at me, good, it's okay, that's it , your safe, ive got you". He soothes, caressing your cheek as he speaks.
The tears pooled in your eyes spill free
"Geralt" you choke out
"I know" he swipes your tears away, his calloused hands still gentle.
"Just keep breathing with me, hm?" He keeps stroking your face, until he feels your racing heart calm slightly.
You stay like that for what feels like hours. His touch not leaving you. Your still trembling slightly.
"Im s-
"Don't" he pushes up from the floor , wrapping his arms around you and leaning down to place a kiss to your head.
"Come" he says offering his hand
You take it, standing up
"Let me hold you tonight, hm?" He brings your hand up to his lips and places a feather light kiss to it.
You nod, and geralt wraps his huge arm around you as he guides you to his sleep bag.
"I've got you" he whispers, pulling you tighter into his embrace.
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samstree · 1 year
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The bandage comes off, and Geralt sees the scar for the first time in a mirror on Jaskier’s desk. His face is blurry in the reflection, but the jagged, angry thing is unmistakable, running across his left eye and reaching the middle of his cheek. A souvenir, from the cockatrice’s claw.
“Fitting look,” Geralt murmurs, “for a monster.”
Perhaps it’s the lingering ache in his body, the discomfort of the half-healed scar, or the blood loss he hasn’t quite recovered from, but the sentence slips out. Geralt didn’t mean for it to happen—he’s learned not to in Jaskier’s presence, even if he whispers the truth in the darkest corners of his mind.
“Do you know what I’d do to those who dare to use that word on you?” Jaskier warns, taking Geralt’s arm and guiding him back to the bed. He towers over Geralt like this, lips pressed into a thin line. “The barkeep the other day? Ran off with a broken nose. That rude Baron at court? The old sod no longer has a court. Some dirt came out. He got chased out of his own land and left penniless, last I heard.” He recounts patiently, voice flat. “A student of mine attempted a cheeky joke once. He was near crying when he left my office. If not, the thirty-page additional essay on the history of nonhumans would have done it.”
Jaskier holds himself tall and proud, the stone-cold protectiveness behind his eyes an impenetrable wall. Geralt suddenly feels a little scared. Just a little bit, but enough for him to fall in love all over again.
“Hmm.” Geralt looks up, catching Jaskier’s piercing eyes. “What punishment shall I receive, then?”
Jaskier only studies him, squinting hard. The serious expression makes Geralt think he is about to get another lecture on not putting himself down, and he silently braces for it. An angry dressing-down from Jaskier is no joke. The teenage boy at Oxenfurt had no idea what hit him.
But Geralt’s breath catches when Jaskier lifts his chin with one finger. A gentle kiss lands on his eyebrow, right where the claw mark begins.
The scar tissue tingles under Jaskier’s soft lips, oversensitive but not painful. Geralt closes his eyes as Jaskier trails down, peppering small kisses on his eyelid, and then along the shape of the scar. When their lips meet, the kiss remains chaste. Jaskier simply kisses him softly, again, and again, until Geralt is breathless with emotions.
Jaskier pulls away after what feels like a lifetime, humming contently. He still observes Geralt with a defiant look.
“There. Fitting punishment,” he whispers, “for you.”
Jaskier’s finger slips away, and Geralt is left woozy for a long time. The scar now feels too tender, but for completely different reasons.
It must still be the blood loss, he reckons.
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viking-raider · 9 months
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A Witcher's Soul
Summary: When tragedy strikes, Geralt of Rivia seeks comfort in the arms of one woman.
Pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Reader
Word Count: 2.7k
Warning: PG - Abandonment Issues, Child Abandonment, Fluff Parental Loss, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Memories, Bathing, Love Confession, Soft!Geralt, Character's Death
Inspiration: This scene from Season Three of the Witcher! 😭
Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy this! Line divider by @FIREFLY-GRAPHICS!
If you would like to get notifications for my writing! Just follow my Tag List blog, @VIKING-RAIDER-TAGLIST and turn on the notifications for it! It’s that easy!
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Geralt rode Roach hard, only deviating from his path to guide the powerful black horse around a tree or rock. He gripped the worn brown reins tightly, feeling them cut into the top of his bare hands as he urged Roach to move faster, foam already starting to gather around his bit. The Witcher's mind raced, desperately trying to push down the power of the news he received from a good friend, while trying to help someone he'd found on the job. He struggled for a few days, trying to push it down, telling himself it didn't hurt.
She had left him almost a century ago, at this point.
Witchers had no emotions, he told himself, as a means to drive them back. It didn't work however, the emotions continued to smash into him.
So, he left in the dead of night, not a word to Anika, Otto, or even Jaskier, of where he was going or why. Though, he was sure Anika would know why. Geralt covered almost a whole league by the end of morning, cutting through the forest outside of Murivel, until he reached a modest clearing and an even more modest, three-room hut constructed in the middle of it, a stone and clay well on the left side, the bucket swaying softly in the breeze.
Roach came to a hard stop, hooves cutting deep grooves in the grassy earth, with Geralt wasting no time in dismounting the stallion and stomping across the yard to the front door. His sore and broken heart rose up with hope that it would swing open and the face of the one he was seeking would appear, to greet him. But, the door didn't open to him, instead he was greeted another way.
“Geralt!” A soft and confused voice called out.
He swung around on his boot heels, his golden eyes zeroing in on you as you stood just passed the tree-line, a basket of herbs and mushrooms balanced on your hip, as you regarded the Witcher. You hadn't seen Geralt in over a year, since he decided he needed to go to Cintra to make sure Ciri was safe from the sea of black and gold he'd seen on the Amell Pass. After the Dragon Hunt. You had heard the thunder of the new Roach's hooves coming up the path to your home, while you were gathering in the forest, and came to see who it was. You were surprised to see Geralt in general, but you were worried by how rushed he seemed.
“Geralt, what's amiss?” You asked, coming to close the gap between you. “Are you well?” You inquired, seeing the unusually deep crease between his brow and across his forehead, and how his complexion was paler, almost matching his hair.
Geralt took a deep breath through his nose, lips pressed together for a moment, working up the strength to speak. “I need you.” He finally rasped, his expression breaking into something soft and vulnerable.
“You rode all the way from wherever, just for time with me?” You smirked, tisking.
“Please.” Geralt replied, reaching out to grasp your free hand and squeezing it, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles, his expression breaking even more.
You frowned at him, all jest dying inside of you, seeing his wall fall before you and the pain he was being crushed underneath. “Let's go inside.” You whispered softly, tilting your head towards your door.
Nodding, Geralt reached out for your basket, but shaking your head and swatting it away gently, you pushed the front door open and put your hand on his arm, guiding him inside. You set your basket on a large table and turned towards the just as large fireplace, grabbing wood from the dog grate and tossed it in. Building it back up, sparks flying up the chimney. You moved to Geralt, who stood motionless beside the table, taking his hand and guided him over to the chair at the head of the table, gently coaxing him to sit down, then knelt before him. Grabbing the heel of his boot and his calf, you tugged the muddy, black leather off and set it underneath the table, followed by its twin. There was dust and mud covering his black clothing. You brushed your palm over his knee and thigh, casting some of it off, before standing up again and starting for the next room, only to have Geralt grasp your wrist and pull you into his lap. His arms wrapped around your shoulders as he buried his face into your chest, and breathed deep.
You frowned at him, sympathetically brushing your fingers through his hair and pulling it free of its usual tie, his white strands cascading over his shoulders. You nosed the top of his head, caressing the back of his hair and squeezing his bicep, still confused as to why he was there and what was ailing him so much.
“Geralt.” You whispered into his strands. “Tell me, what's happened?” You asked, your fingertips brushing the back of his neck. “Did you not make it to Ciri in time? Has something happened to her or Jaskier?” You inquired, licking your lips as your heart thundered against his forehead. “I noticed that isn't the Roach you had the last time you were here.” You pointed out, remembering the sweet Chestnut you used to feed and brush, when Geralt stayed with you, but now there was a sturdy black stallion standing in your dooryard.
He shook his head and cleared his throat. “No, they're both fine.” He rasped, turning his head to rest his temple against your collarbone. “As for the last Roach, she was killed by a Chernobog, a few months ago.” He added, softly.
“Oh, I'm so sorry.” You cooed, tucking his hair behind his ear. “Then, what's the matter with my Wolf?”
He was still and quiet again, for a long time, his fingers restlessly toying with the strings at the back of your bodice, before suddenly standing with you still in his arms, and turning to sit you on the chair in his place. He went out the door, rounding the house to the well and dropped the bucket to the bottom. You watched Geralt come back inside with each bucket, holding it in one hand, like it was the weight of one of his swords. Pausing in the open doorway and giving you a hard stare every time, as if he expected to find you moved off the chair or vanished completely. Only then, did he go to your large cauldron, dumping the full bucket in and returning back outside for another.
“Are you going to tell me, what's the matter, Geralt?” You asked, your concern only mounting with his bizarre behavior and irregular moodiness.
“Nothing.” He grunted harshly, setting the cauldron over the fire to boil.
“That's a lie.” You answered, just as sharply, being one of the few people on the Continent brave enough to talk back to the White Wolf in such a manner; other than Jaskier and Ciri. “You wouldn't have come from the bum fuck of Nilfgaard to see me, if something wasn't bothering you.” You insisted, glaring at his back.
Geralt ignored you, heading towards the back rooms of your home and leaving you more worried and annoyed at his behavior. He came back a few minutes later with no shirt on, and your suspicions on his task were answered. Despite what the people of the great Continent thought of Geralt of Rivia, he did not in fact like smelling of death, blood and horse. When he stopped for the winter at Kaer Morhen or with you, he bathed regularly. He just found it more a nuisance to do so while on the Trail, since the next Contract or sleeping rough would only dirty him up again.
Pulling the roiling cauldron off the fire, Geralt carried it to the large, soaking tub you boosted in your bathroom. He filled it almost to the brim, before adding in Lavender and Sage bath salts to the steaming water. A fragrant haze filled the room as he tugged his pants off and tossed them over a chair in the corner. He strode out of the bathroom, returning to you, still sitting where he'd left you. He took your hand and helped you stand, untying the strings of your bodice and tugging down your dress, so it pooled around your feet, before slipping his arm under your knees and an arm around your shoulders, scooping you up against his chest.
You sighed softly, wrapping your arms around his neck, while he carried you to the bathroom. “I missed you.” You whispered into his ear, as he stepped into the tub, lowering you both into it.
“And I, you.” Geralt replied, holding you in his lap and resting back. “Ciri and Jaskier are well, by the way.” He said, his fingertips stroking the skin of your side, beneath the water. “Ciri is being watched over by Yennefer, who's helping her try and control her magic and Jaskier was with Anika, last I left him.”
“Anika?” You frowned, tilting your head back against his shoulder. “Why is Julian with Anika? If he's well.”
Geralt's thick, scarred arms squeezed around you, almost painfully, making you squirm in his lap. “You remember my mother.” He mumbled, barely audible. “Visenna.” He said so quietly, you had to strain to hear it.
“Yes, I recall you telling me of her, a few years after we met.” You murmured, seeing the strained expression on his face. “And that you'd seen her at Sodden Hill. She healed you, after the ghoul bite.”
“I remember bits of my life with my Ma.” He rasped, his grasp on you loosening, but he still held you close to him. “She smelled like embers, from keeping our measly fires alive during the long nights.” He told you, the crease between his golden eyes slowly vanishing as he went back to that time, tapping into that abandoned little boy, he had never grown out of, but skillfully concealed from those he didn't cherish. “We were quite poor, even though she was skilled as a healer. So, she-” He paused, his voice thickening and his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
You looked up at him, seeing the redness in the whites of his eyes and the unshed tears threatening on his lashes. It frightened you to see the Witcher like this. In the fifteen years you'd known him, you'd seen him in many states, but you had never seen Geralt cry. Reaching up, you cupped his scruffy cheek in your hand and thumbed a droplet away, pressing your lips to his jawline.
“She would use her magic to create the most elaborate meals that we couldn't afford.” He continued, tilting his head into your hand. “There was—I would have done anything to make her smile. And yet,” He voice broke again, this time with more than just hurt and abandonment, but with resentment. “The day she left me, she was sick. She needed some water, so I went to get her some, and when I came back to the road...she was gone.” He croaked, pushing his jaw forward and shaking his head, trying to deny the burn of more tears.
His fingertips pressed into the skin of your side and back. “I called for her.” He said weakly, his golden eyes off in the distance. “But she was gone.” He whimpered, the tears finally winning out, dripping off his jaw and into your hair and the bath water.
You squeezed your eyes shut, pressing your forehead to his neck and hugging your arms around his torso. You had known Visenna had abandoned Geralt. He had told you that bluntly not long after you had met. The torture of her leaving him there, to be taken away to Kaer Morhen, where he'd suffered such agony in his transformation into a Witcher, at just five years old, coupled with the pain he never got over with his mother.
You wondered how Geralt had survived at all.
But no, Geralt was strong, even from a young age.
“She's dead.”
You pulled out of your thoughts, shocked. “She's dead?”
“She was giving aid to some villager and was mistaken as an Elf.” Geralt told you, bringing a hand out of the water to wipe it over his face. “They beat her severely and she later died, at the Temple of Mourning, where Anika was. Which is how I found out.”
“I'm so sorry, Geralt.” You cooed, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, connecting the dots to his arrival. “I hope the two of you were able to make some sort of easement between you, when you last met.”
Geralt pressed his lips together and buried his face into your hair, his throat too tight to speak in the moment. He considered how he and Visenna last met, in the forest outside of Sodden Hill, as he laid feverish and hallucinating from a Ghoul bite to the leg. After saving a poor Merchant, who was trying to bury the dead from a camp Nilfgaard had attacked. At first, she had tried to conceal her identity from him, pretending to be Renfri, Yennefer and finally, you, before he managed to discover who it really was. Triggered by her belief that, People linked by Destiny, will always find each other.
He asked her what she thought of his eyes. Demanding to know, if she knew what they did to improve a Witcher's eyes. Telling her that it didn't always work. She had begged him to stop. Calling him by his name, only for Geralt to reject her right to do so, like she had rejected him. He had begged to know if she knew how many boys actually made it through the Trials. Tears filled both of their eyes as they stared at each other in the darkness.
In the end, his Ma had left him, again, fading into the night, trying to convince him she was just a dream and he would never get the answer he wanted.
So, had he made peace with his mother abandoning him, forcing him on the Path of the Witcher?
No. Geralt decided in the end, he had not.
The only thing Geralt did know was he wanted you. You were the first person he had thought of, upon finding out about his mother's death. Wanting to feel you against him and needing the comfort only you were able to provide. You shifted out of Geralt's lap, moving around him, while reaching over the side of the tub, grabbing the small cup that sat on the foot board there. Dipping it into the water and gently pouring it over Geralt's silvery-white strands, you set aside and took up a round, solid bar of honey and chamomile scented soap, using it to work his hair into a rich lather. Geralt moaned, feeling your fingers massage his scalp, resting forward to prop his elbows on his bent knees, eyes falling shut.
“I love you.” He murmured, quietly.
You stopped, resting your hands on his broad shoulders. “You've never said that before.” You said, looking around at him, mouth softly agape.
“No?” Geralt rasped, cocking a brow over his shoulder at you.
“Not once, in all these years.” You assured him, your hand gently massaging the scarred muscle of his neck.
He turned to you, causing the cooling water to slosh over the edge. “Then, I have a great deal of making up to do.” He cooed, reaching out to cup your face in his rough palm. “Because I do. I love you. Out of everyone, besides perhaps Jaskier and Vesemir, you know me better than anyone, and no one has ever taken better care of me than you have.” He told you, his face betraying the emotions a Witcher truly had, but guarded for their most treasured person, and not those of an abandoned child, rather those of a man in love.
“I love you too, Geralt.” You assured him, turning your head to kiss his hand. “And I will always care for you, me bleidd.” You whispered, picking up the cup to continue washing his hair.
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0dde11eth · 9 days
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Geralt: You got lost coming up to our hotel room?
Jaskier: Everywhere looks the same!
Geralt: you gotta learn to track better. Learn to Notice the subtle differences, like the numbers on the doors
Jaskier: -_-
Geralt: you're lucky you're pretty
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wannastayugly · 3 months
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I wanna thank everyone who interacted with the How to Keep Your Travel Companion Alive and Well post 💗 And if you liked that one, you'll probably like to know I'm working on another guide - Jaskier's, currently called How to Deal with Witchers. Here's a wip of a page about boobies 💕
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write-ur-wrongs · 5 months
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Stayaway
In an attempt to get out of funk, here is a very short, not edited, written-directly-into-tumblr, song-inspired grealt x reader fic. Inspired by Stayaway by MUNA (the best band in the world, begging y'all to listen to their music you will be forever changed!!).
*********
"Come on! I know you're home, I followed you!"
The bard was yelling and banging on your door incessantly and you knew you had to answer eventually. The bastard followed you home after all, he knows where you live.
"I'm not home!" you shouted back, delusional.
"Y/N! I may be a fool but I'm not stupid," he replied, and you could hear the familiar smile pulling at his lips, "Now open up! The door and your heart!"
"Jask," you sighed, laughing despite yourself at his poetic antics, "go away!"
"No! I miss you!"
"I'm not home!" you tried again, will wavering.
"Y/N!" he pleaded, and you swore you could hear half that cursed smile pull down into a pout.
You rested your forehead against the door and bit your lip, debating. All the while, your hand betrayed you, reached for the doorknob and turned it open.
Before you knew it, you were face to face with an old friend and while the sight of him filled you with joy, you were also flooded with other, less welcome feelings of remembrance.
"Y/N!" he exclaimed, pushing himself into your home and saving you from dwelling on the heavy memories that tried to creep up over you. "You're home, what are the odds?"
"Hilarious as always, Jaskier," you said, closing the door behind him. "What brings you to my little hamlet?"
"Fate, chance, what have you," he said, his cheery demeanor working overtime to cover for his abject curiosity, "The sea called and I had to answer. You know how it is."
"I do, do I?"
"Don't you? I mean you just disappeared... I assumed something called and you, you know, answered?" His tone stayed light, the practiced levity of someone who's spent years buttering people up for information all while staying neutral.
"I guess..." you bit your cheek, busying yourself by playing hostess, and pouring you both a glass of wine, "things changed and I thought, 'hell, why not change too?'"
"Fair enough... oh thank you."
"Of course," you said, taking a sip of wine yourself before guiding you both towards your couch, "but seriously Jaskier, why are you here?"
"Seriously? I was just passing through on my way to Oxenfurt when I saw a familiar face. A face I thought I'd never see again..."
You looked up from your glass then, but immediately regretted it when you met the bard's earnest gaze.
"Yennefer thought she saw you in Novigrad a while back but then... nothing. We thought you were gone for good."
"Jaskier, come on," you pleaded, praying he wouldn't elaborate on who 'we' entailed, while another, less disciplined part of you hoped for the opposite. Maybe if you knew he missed you, maybe if you knew he was looking for you... maybe you could let yourself be found.
No!
"Don't shake your head at me, Y/N. You disappear from the city, you quit your job, no one has seen you at the pub, the library - anywhere!"
"I- I know... but Jask," you stammered, trying to start three sentences at once and fumbling them all.
"I mean, you loved your job, didn't you? And what about us?" he asked, voice cracking slightly. "Gods, was the breakup that bad?"
"The thing is, Jask," you sputtered between large sips of wine, "It wasn't. It was easy, actually. He did what he always does when we fight; scowl, shut down, turn away, and then take it out on our friends. The break was clean."
"If it was so clean, then why did you leave?"
"It's the rest of it! The, the staying away that was, is impossible. If I had stayed and kept going it out with you guys, we'd drink and dance and I'd wonder where he is. Or one moment I'd be at the library studying and the next, Yen be asking me about the breakup and trying to 'cheer' me up by bringing up the good times and next thing you know? I'm answering the door for him when he rolls back into town injured and brooding. I couldn't stand it! I- I couldn't risk it."
"That's -"
"Pathetic? I know."
"No! No, but if there were so many good times, so many reasons to go back then why not-"
"Damn it, Jaskier! This is why I had to leave." You said, gesturing between the two of you before dropping your hand on your lap with a smack. "If I let him back in, then he's not the man who broke my heart anymore. Not the one who told me I was overemotional for being worried when he'd disappear for months. Suddenly everything is fine... until it's not and I'm hurt and alone again."
You felt tears begin to prick the back of your eyes and shoved the heel of your palms into them to force them down.
"Hey... Y/N," Jaskier said, gently pulling your hands away from your eyes and taking them in his. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
"It's okay," you said, giving your friends hands a squeeze and looking up to the ceiling, letting your tears fall for a moment, "I'm okay."
"Y/N..."
"Oh alright, but I'll be okay," you amended, laughing at yourself lightly and wiping the tears away. "Jaskier, don't look so sad. I just need time, space, distance... I will be fine."
Your words had little effect on your friend though, who seemed to grow more anxious and sad with every passing moment. You quirked your brow at him and shoved his shoulder playfully, trying to break the mood.
"Jaskier, will you relax?" you asked, desperate to get him to smile now. You really had missed Jaskier and now that he was here, you realized how much you wanted him to stick around.
"Y/N, I'm really sorry." He whispered, refusing to meet your gaze.
You were about to try another lighthearted quip when you heard a knock at your door. Not someone knocking, just a knock. One quick but deliberate rap.
"Who...?" you heard yourself asking, even though you only ever knew one person who knocked on doors like that.
"Y/N, I'm so so sorry," Jaskier kept repeating. "I really didn't know. I never would have told him if I'd known."
Your mouth was bone dry but you couldn't get your hand to reach for your glass of wine. You just kept staring at Jaskier, watching him babble.
"I'll go tell him to leave, Y/N, I'm so sorry," you heard him say, his voice barely registering over the ringing in your ears.
You felt him get up off the couch, your blurred vision registering the now empty spot on the couch only after you heard your door be pulled open.
Every fiber of your being was on fire. You were frozen. You wanted to throw yourself on the floor. You wanted to run to him.
"Y/N..." you heard him say. Fuck he sounded sad. You wanted to hold him, tell him it'll be okay. You wanted to slam the door in his face. You forgive him. You'll never forgive yourself.
Against your better judgement, you felt yourself to turn look towards the front door and your breath caught when you saw him.
Gods above, you thought, he should have stayed away.
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queenxxxsupreme · 9 months
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Benevolent Creatures (Jaskier x siren!reader)
A/N: Hi babes!!! I will be posting a little something shortly to just explain a couple things but nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this!
Warnings: nothing outside of canon for the Witcher Netflix
Word Count: 4.5k
“Where is Jaskier leading us, Geralt?” Cirilla asked quietly. Geralt looked over his shoulder to where she sat atop Roach.
“I don’t know.” He answered.
Just ahead of them was Jaskier. He strummed his lute as he walked down a narrow path of moss-covered stones.
Ciri’s eyes flickered to her right. Something scurried beneath the underbrush.
“How much longer until we get to wherever it is you’re taking us, Jaskier?” Geralt stepped over a tree root, then guided Roach by the reins over it.
“Not long at all.” The bard spoke over his shoulder. “We’re nearly there.”
“And where exactly is there?” Ciri raised her eyebrows. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“You’ll see.”
Geralt didn't like how silent everything was. There were no crickets, no frogs, no birds. There was no sign of life anywhere in the swamp.
Roach huffed and whinnied, jerking her head back. Her ears flickered back and forth as if she too was trying to find some sort of sound.
“Shh, girl.” Geralt signed axii, calming her down.
“What’s wrong with her?” Ciri furrowed her brow.
The witcher looked to his Child Surprise, then returned his gaze ahead.
“She knows something isn’t right.” He pulled back a branch from a black willow tree that dangled in the path.
Just a few moments later, the walkway opened up to reveal a pool of water. A wooden bridge that seemed to be decaying crossed over the water and led the way to a small wooden structure on the other side of the pool.
The wooden structure— which appeared to be a home —sat up on wooden stilts four feet off the ground. The front porch wrapped entirely around the home. Green moss and vines of all sorts grew along the sides of the structure, appearing as though it was being engulfed in greenery.
“Jaskier!” Geralt hissed. “What are we doing here?”
“Relax, Geralt.”
As he climbed the stairs to the house, Jaskier straightened out his jerkin and tucked his hair behind his ears. But he decided that having his hair behind his ears wasn’t a good idea and made him appear as though he was trying too hard. So he shook his head out to give himself a bit of a roughened look.
Letting out a breath, Jaskier raised his hand to knock on the door. Before his hand even touched the door, it was pulled open.
You stood just inside your home, a soft smile on your lips.
Without so much as a second thought, the bard embraced you in a firm hug. His arms wrapped around your waist and then around your shoulders. He buried his nose in your hair, inhaling your intoxicatingly sweet scent.
You kissed his neck since that was all you could reach, your fingers grasping his jerkin.
Jaskier pulled away so that he could properly kiss you. His hand found your chin, tilting your head up.
You smiled against his lips. Your hands came up to hold onto either side of his face. The sound of his heart beating quickly filled your ears. It was a familiar sound you always longed to hear.
He pulled away first, blue eyes finding yours.
“You smell odd.” You furrowed your eyebrows as you looked up at him, brushing your thumb across his stubbly cheek.
You couldn’t quite place what he smelled like, but it wasn’t his usual scent. There was someone else laced with him, someone’s scent that made the hair on your neck stand on end.
“Well, I haven’t properly bathed in days— thanks to a series of unfortunate events.”
You opened your mouth to speak, ready to offer him a bath, but you heard movement to your right. You turned your head, eyes landing on the witcher and the child Jaskier had been traveling with.
You could sense her Chaos, the powerful aura radiating off of the girl. But she wasn’t what concerned you.
The white haired witcher carried twin swords on his back. A part of you wondered if they were the same swords he had decades ago. The same swords he used to try to murder you with. The same ones that he used to kill your sister.
A scar on your forearm burned from the sight of the swords. Instinctively, you placed your hand over the scar.
You took a step away from Jaskier, brows drawing together.
“Julian, what is the meaning of this?”
Geralt’s nose scrunched as he realized who you were. Your voice was far too familiar to forget. His medallion trembled, causing him to place his hand over it. The wrinkle between his brow deepened with frustration.
Without any explanation to the girl, he reached an arm out to guide Ciri behind him.
The simple action made you even more tense and unsure of the situation. He was preparing to fight you.
A growl began to vibrate in your chest, animalistic and primal.
“What the fuck, Jaskier!” Geralt demanded, drawing a sword from his back.
As you growled once more, dagger-like claws grew from what had once been human nails on your hands.
The bard came to stand between you both, holding his hands out to either of you.
“No, no! There will be no fighting!”
“Witcher.” You spoke through your teeth.
“What is she?” Ciri asked quietly, her question directed to Geralt.
“Siren.” Geralt let out a breath. He didn’t want to let on that he was worried. Should you choose to do so, you could very easily incapacitate him and slaughter Ciri and Jaskier. “Jaskier, why the fuck have you brought us here?”
“We will be safe here for a little while, Geralt! At least until we can get some sort of plan figured out.”
Your eyes shot to the bard, unaware of his intentions. Never had he brought anyone to your home.
“Ciri will not be staying here.” Geralt told him, yellow eyes finding yours.
Your lip curled up into a snarl. Human teeth were replaced with what looked like dozens of sharp canines.
“Alright, darling.” Jaskier turned to face you, reaching out to place a hand on your arm. You turned and stormed into your home before he could put his hand on you.
“Don’t you dare touch me!”
Jaskier followed quickly behind you.
“Y/N, I don’t—,”
“You brought a witcher here to my home, Julian! And now I cannot stay here!” You spun around to face him. Your chest ached with betrayal.
“My love, my dear heart. Geralt isn’t here to cause you any harm.”
“You can’t see into his mind.” You shook your head, walking away from him once more. “He’s already made his decision and decided my fate.”
“He’s probably made that decision based on what he knows of other beings like you, but my heart, you aren’t like them.” Jaskier took your hand to stop you from moving away from him. “You are different. All you need to do is show him.”
You looked up at him, searching his blue eyes for a few moments.
Gods, you had missed those blue eyes so much.
“I won’t beg a man for my life, Julian.”
You pulled your hands out of his and turned to walk away again. This time, you only made it a few steps before he spoke.
“I’ve told you stories of Geralt before, my sweet. You’ve heard the ballads of our journeys. I am so, so sorry that I brought them here to your home.” His eyes fell down to his hands momentarily. “I wouldn’t have done it if I had any other choice, dear heart. That girl out there, she’s in danger and this is the only place that I know she is safe. And Geralt trusts me, he trusts my judgment enough to allow me to bring her here…. So I-I suppose all I am asking is that you just please, please my love, my heart, trust me as well.”
You looked past him to the front door that was left open. The witcher still stood at the bottom of the stairs that led to the porch.
Your stomach twisted with the idea of letting him into your home, into what was perhaps the only safe place you had left. After what had happened the last time you encountered the witcher, the mighty Butcher of Blaviken, you didn’t even want to be in the same providence as him.
“I do trust you, Julian.” You murmured.
Jaskier kissed your knuckles and then your lips, smiling at you.
“I owe you one.”
“You owe me more than that.” You raised your brows as he took a step away from you.
“Indeed I do.”
***
While Jaskier talked with Geralt and Ciri outside, you busied yourself with straightening a few things in your home.
There was a small stack of books that had grown on the kitchen table. You picked them up and crossed the room to the wall of bookshelves on the opposite side of the room.
“I didn’t think sirens were capable of appearing….” Ciri trailed off as she walked into your home. “Human.”
“They aren’t.” You placed the last book on the shelf. “Sirens are only capable of looking like sirens.”
“But you said she was a siren.” She looked over to Geralt.
“It’s…. complicated, Ciri.”
You crossed your arms, eyes set on Geralt.
“Because something is complicated, you refuse to explain it to her?”
The witcher gritted his teeth together.
“You are standing before what is perhaps the last Nixe on the Continent, Ciri.” Geralt held your gaze. “They were nearly hunted to extinction at the beginning of the century.”
“Why?”
“Because they are extremely dangerous. Far more than the sirens you’ve seen from Skellige.”
You tilted your chin up, trying your damnedest to remain calm and collected while the witcher spoke of the truth he knew.
“Every creature must hunt for their food.” You said. “A lion hunts for its food just the same as a fawn. Doesn’t mean the lion should be killed.”
“Your kind turned into a problem when you began slaughtering hundreds of humans purely for entertainment.”
The tension in the air was thick and uncomfortable as neither you nor the witcher backed down from the glaring contest.
Jaskier clapped his hands together, making you look in his direction.
“Alright! Geralt, let’s go outside.”
“Come on, Ciri—,”
“No, she stays here.” Jaskier pointed to Ciri.
Geralt’s eyes shot over to the bard.
“I am not leaving her here with—,”
“Yes, you are.” Jaskier grabbed Geralt’s arm. “If Y/N wanted to spill blood today, she would have done so already. You know that. Now, outside! Come on!”
You watched as Jaskier ushered Geralt out of your home and closed the door behind himself.
Ciri looked around your home for a couple moments before her green eyes flickered to you.
“How long have you known Jaskier?”
“A while.”
“Geralt said you were dangerous.” Ciri’s blue eyes looked you over. “You don’t look dangerous.”
You wore an off white dress that brushed the floor as you walked. There was a slit up one side of the skirt that came just above mid-thigh. Over the dress was a dark green underbust corset. You wore no shoes, finding the material irritating and the restriction caused by them unbearable. Brown leather bracelets encircled both of your wrists and ankles.
You twisted a ring on one of your fingers as you moved towards the kitchen table.
“Come have a seat, child.”
She sat down across from you, curious to hear what you had to say.
“My kind…. We are very similar to sirens found on the coasts. We both are only women, and we both can produce what you know of as a siren song. But only sirens can fly, and only nixes can shapeshift.”
“That’s how you are able to appear human? By shapeshifting?”
“Yes.” You nodded, rubbing your arm absentmindedly. “Centuries ago, nixes existed just as any other creature. I suppose you could say we are dangerous, but humans are dangerous as well.”
“How are you dangerous?” Ciri tilted her head to the side a little.
“Just as sirens do, nixes hunt humans.”
The girl shifted in her spot, her eyes falling to the deer mandible on the table.
“Don’t worry, child.” You reached over to offer her a comforting hand, but at the last minute, you decided against it. You returned your hand to your lap. “Julian wouldn’t have allowed you here if I was like that.”
“Nixes…. What did Geralt mean when he said nixes kill for entertainment?”
You let out a soft breath.
“Nixes and humans are very similar, dear. Humans kill for pleasure too. They start wars, they slaughter their neighbors…. But my kind, we had a few slip ups where we went too far…. And there was no going back. For that very reason, we were hunted to near extinction.”
The front door opened and automatically, you stood up. It was only Jaskier, who offered you a gentle smile.
“Ah, sorry about that, ladies.”
“Where’s Geralt?” Ciri asked.
“He had to take Roach into town to be stabled.l since Y/N doesn’t have a stable she could stay in.”
“I have no need for a horse.” You reminded him. “They tend to have a strong dislike for my kind.”
You sat back down in your chair as Jaskier came to stand next to your chair.
“I apologize for his behavior, my sweet.” He placed a hand upon your arm and leaned down to kiss your head.
“There’s no reason for you to apologize for the ways of another man.”
“I hope Ciri isn’t giving you any hassle.”
The girl wrinkled her nose at Jaskier.
“None at all.” You smiled, shaking your head softly. “She’s just curious.”
***
Jaskier took Geralt away from the house in hopes that maybe you wouldn’t hear their conversation. But the witcher wasn’t keen on putting space between himself and the monster that had been left with his Child Surprise.
“I will not go any further, Jaskier.” Geralt spoke firmly, stopping his tracks just a few feet from the porch.
“Geralt, you—,”
“You led us straight to a fucking siren, Jaskier.”
“You don’t understand, Geralt! Ciri is safer here than she is anywhere else!”
“She’d be safer in a wyvern’s nest than here.”
“In all our years, Geralt, we’ve come across plenty of monsters that weren't actually monsters. Y/N is one of those–,”
“I promise you, Jaskier, she isn’t what you think.”
“But she is, Geralt!” A smile came to Jaskier’s face. “I’ve known her for seven years, and I swear to you she is one of the kindest, most gentle beings I have ever met. And-And I cannot have you holding such a harmful bias against someone I love!”
Geralt shook his head, rubbing his brow.
“You said the same thing about the blacksmith’s daughter in Caingorn last month.”
Jaskier shook his head and waved his hands dismissively.
“No, no, Geralt. Love isn’t black and white my friend! It’s shades of gray. Y/N— She is my one true love. The one my heart yearns for every bleeding second of the day. The one I long for when I am away. The one that causes a fire in my–,”
“Does she know your love isn’t black and white?”
“Yes! She does! And she is welcoming to my love.”
The witcher raised his brows. Jaskier let out a sigh, brushing his hair back.
“Geralt, please. She’s someone important to me. I love her and I trust her with my life. Yes, in the past she has hurt people…. But what matters is that she isn’t that anymore.”
Geralt shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes flickering to the house.
He wanted to trust Jaskier, but sometimes the bard’s judgment could be distracted by the presence of an attractive being.
“The first time I feel that Ciri’s life is in danger, we are leaving.”
“Thank you, Geralt!” Jaskier embraced him in a tight hug. “And I will speak with Y/N about her…. Hospitality. Though I’m sure showing up on her doorstep was quite the surprise. Y/N isn’t keen on strangers, but she is a sweetheart once you get to know her.”
The witcher grumbled, disagreeing with his friend.
***
With two satchels over his shoulders, Geralt made his way into the house. His eyes flickered around the room in search of Ciri. He spotted his Child Surprise sitting at the table with you and Jaskier.
Jaskier’s chair was pulled rather close to yours, his arm wrapped around yours and your fingers laced together.
For a split second, Geralt saw you smiling as you spoke to Ciri. But then your eyes flickered over to the White Wolf and in the same instant, the smile fell from your lips.
“It’s getting late.” He spoke, placing the bags down beside the table. “Jaskier mentioned a guest room where Ciri could rest.”
“Just down the hall.” You nodded once.
Ciri’s stomach growled with hunger. She smiled sheepishly, bringing her hand up to her stomach.
You and the witcher were the only two to hear thanks to your enhanced hearing.
“My apologies, child. I wasn’t aware I’d be having company.” You frowned, feeling a bit guilty that you didn’t have the proper food for her.
“In the morning, I will go into town and gather what supplies we will need.” Jaskier volunteered.
You stood to your feet and moved around your home, picking up a netted bag.
“Where are you going, Y/N?” Jaskier’s eyes followed you.
“I can’t have her going to bed with an empty stomach.” You gestured to her. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. For the meantime, start a fire in the hearth, please.”
As the front door closed behind you, Ciri looked at Geralt.
“I quite like her.”
He grunted and rolled his eyes.
“You shouldn’t be so quick to pass judgements.”
“Same could be said for you.”
Geralt turned his head to look at the bard, who moved away from the table to start a fire in the hearth.
***
After a small dinner consisting of fish cooked over the fire, you found yourself sitting alongside the young girl as she asked you questions.
“Are Nixes from a specific area?”
“We can inhabit any water source. Lakes, rivers, ponds, seas.”
“And swamps?”
You smiled a little, nodding your head.
“Yes, even swamps.”
“Where are you from?”
You looked over to her for a few moments, trying to think of a good answer.
“When you’ve lived as long as I have, child, you don’t keep track of something so trivial.”
She nodded her head and fell silent for a little while.
“I think it is a good time for bed.” Geralt stood to his feet.
“Y/N, have you got anything Ciri can change into?” Jaskier asked. “At least until her clothes can be washed tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course. But I do think she could use a bath before changing into clean clothes, don’t you think so, dear?”
“A bath would be lovely.” Ciri nodded her head enthusiastically. The poor girl was smudge with dirt and grime. Her greasy hair was pulled back into a braid and she smelled less than pleasant. A bath would be the perfect way to finish the night.  
“There’s a pool of water not too far away–,”
“It’s getting dark outside.” Geralt interjected, causing himself to be at the other end of your glare once more. “There are things outside that could harm Ciri.”
“I can keep her safe, witcher.”
Geralt locked his jaw.
“Geralt.” Jaskier said his name as if to encourage him to let you take the young girl out.
“Fine. Ten minutes.”
You nodded once, a wordless agreement.
***
You sat on the edge of the pool of water. One foot was dipped into the water. You leaned back on your hands, your eyes flickering around the edge of the woods.
While the princess bathed, you sat guard.
Crickets, cicadas, and frogs made a beautiful and tranquil sound that resonated through the woods. Every now and then, something would splash as it broke into the water on the other side of the pool. Ciri would jump and turn in the direction of the noise. You would tell her that it was a bullfrog or a fish breaching the surface, and you may have lied a little bit to her whenever the noise came from an alligator. The animals had no interest in coming close to you, so the girl was safe.
“Y/N? Can I ask you something?” Ciri brushed her wet hair over one shoulder. You gave her a nod in reply. “Geralt is usually a very good judge of character…. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so hostile towards someone within the first few moments of meeting them.”
You turned your head to watch a black and white ringed snake slither along the top of the water and away from yourself and Ciri.
“This isn’t my first encounter with him.” Your eyes flickered back to her. “The Continent is unfortunately far too small for those of us unfazed by time.”
“I take it you don’t like each other.”
There was a long pause as you gazed at her, tempted to tell her all the gory details of the first time you ran into the infamous Butcher himself.
“He killed my sister.” Your voice fell to a quiet murmur.
“I…. I’m sorry for your loss.
You sat up, brushing the dirt off of your palms.
“She was the reason for her own demise in the end. Witchers rarely give my kind a second chance. The White Haired One saw us as more than just beasts. He gave my sister and myself a second chance. She could not control her urges.”
“Urges?”
You nodded lightly, reaching your hand out to skim the surface of the water.
“Every monster craves something. Most act on their hunger, slaughtering entire villages to satisfy their cravings. Some act on the pain that rests inside them. They destroy whatever they can get their hands on in an effort to get others to feel the same pain they do.”
“And what is it you do?” Ciri tilted her head to the side just a little.
“Survive.”
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thedemonofcat · 6 months
Text
Whenever Geralt and Jaskier make their way to Lettenhove, it's a tradition for them to pay a visit to the Pankratz family estate. Upon arrival, they are promptly guided to a room where they prepare for a meeting with the Earl and Countess, who happen to be Jaskier's parents. Geralt swiftly tidies up and changes into more formal attire.
Subsequently, Geralt finds himself in an awkward position, seated on a bench while a team of servants attends to Jaskier, dressing him in a manner befitting a true Viscount.
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