#ESPECIALLY if Jaskier doesn't know

[spielzeugkaiser]

I love your art soooo much-it gives me life!! 🥰🥰🥰

I have a question about Milek and Jaskier! Milek says they fought before Jask went missing-what did they fight about? Did Milek say something he shouldn’t have? 👀😢 is there ANGST?

Also does Geralt know Mileks plush friend is called Roach? Because surely that’s a clue that Milek is his…(I love this universe so much)!!🥹❤️❤️❤️

[MASTERPOST] That was the last conversation they had before Milek stormed out - and when he came back, Jaskier was. gone. The thing is, Jaskier knows what Milek is interested in (and he is not even wrong about that, Milek has an interest in medicine, and helping people, and I think when they met he was Shanis biggest fan) and I think Jaskier is aware that some of the conflict does have its roots in Milek not wanting to leave him, even if they get really heated and ugly in their arguments. Milek shouldn't feel like he has to care for him, or have to protect him and at times I think Jaskier feels quite ashamed, which leads him to being way too unrelenting at times - especially if he thinks he's doing something to protect Milek.

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 75

After being yelled at on the mountain, Jaskier stumbles and tumbles his way down the perilous path down, all the while being half-blinded by his own tears. He makes it to town and decides to wait. Geralt will realize it was all a mistake and come to find him and apologize. It'll take a few days, but Jaskier can wait. He'll play for some coin, and buy himself something nice to distract himself from the heartbreak. It's been four days. Jaskier has a room at an inn, two beds, in case Geralt doesn't want to sleep in the same bed with him like they used to. Jaskier plays every night. Everyone keeps requesting his songs about Geralt, but he redirects them easily enough. The only problem is he ran out of non-Geralt songs after the second day. Even ones that don't mention him, Jaskier can't bring himself to play, because he knows that he wrote them about Geralt. It's been a week. Jaskier has his room at the same inn. He still plays for coin, but he's been forced to play his songs about Geralt, as nobody wants to hear the same songs for a week straight, so he had to diversify. Jaskier is worried Geralt might've gotten hurt. Hopefully with his witcher healing, he'll be here in no time. It's been two weeks. Jaskier has his room at the inn. He's decided to take a break from playing for a bit, lest he get boring for the crowds. He's begun really exploring the town, and he's even met one of his frequent listeners out in town, got his name - Pietr - And was introduced to his wife as "The song guy". It was nice hearing compliments about his work from them both, even if it did remind him of the nights Geralt would talk in-depth about Jaskier's songcycles with him. He misses those nights. He hopes Geralt heals up from whatever injury he must've gotten and gets here soon so they can continue having those. It's been two months. Jaskier has changed to a one-bed room. Geralt is taking forever, he can deal with sharing a bed with Jaskier when he gets here. Jaskier plays every few nights, he has regular listeners now. He's tried writing new songs, but every time he puts quill to parchment, he starts crying. Really wish he'd stop doing that. It's been four months. Jaskier has changed his room again, now in a room with a single small bed, just for one person. It'd be physically impossible to even attempt sharing it with Geralt, unless they laid on top of each other, and even then, Geralt's feet would poke out. Jaskier can only assume Geralt went after Yennefer before him. As always. Jaskier isn't sure why it came as a surprise when he first figured it out. Or why it still hurt enough to make him bawl into a glass of alcohol. He should've known from the beginning. At least he'll be next, he thinks moments before passing out drunk. It's been six months. Jaskier is beginning to worry Geralt may have died. Surely he would've come by now. Jaskier's head still whips around to look at the door every time it opens. He still peeks into every stable and prays he'll see Roach. He still asks the blacksmith if he's done any work with swords recently. One especially mortifying moment was the time he asked a brothel if they had seen Geralt's description, only for the women to all tut sadly and tell him that if he had to look at brothels to try and find his missing husband, he must've not been good enough for Jaskier to begin with. Jaskier leaves without even clearing up the misconception, because it was still a no. Geralt was still not here.

It's been eight months. Jaskier has the same room, but has begun to dwindle in popularity. At least in the "giving money to" department. He thought he could at least expect Pietr, but he ran into him in the market the other day and Pietr had no idea who he was. Jaskier must really be that forgettable, despite all his attempts his whole life to not be. Jaskier must've just overexaggerated what he meant to someone again. Jaskier has scaled the mountain again, all by himself. Either he finds signs of Geralt, dead or alive, or he dies in some rockslide accident and nobody misses him. He finds no signs of Geralt, however. Not a thing. Geralt left the mountain, that was for sure. Jaskier sat on the very same rock, and cried thinking of the very same coast, but this time he was alone. It's been ten months. Jaskier spends his days and nights either drinking or crying. He's only written one new song, one about someone's love dying before they ever get to tell them how they feel. He's never sung it, though. For a performance or in private. He's stopped playing altogether. He has no idea what to do with the rest of his life. As sad and pitiful and pathetic as he thinks himself when he says it, his life was Geralt. Following him for twenty years, writing songs about him, spreading word about him, making a name for himself as "The White Wolf's bard." It's been a year. Jaskier bought himself a small hovel in the village. He'd been there far too long to keep using the inn. He has a small flower garden. He spends most of his time tending it. Jaskier heard a villager say their penpal's village was recently saved by the White Wolf himself, and Jaskier freezes, standing still and gaping at the two women chatting. They begin to realize Jaskier's eavesdropping and move to talk inside their home. Oh. So Geralt lived. He just truly didn't come for Jaskier. Jaskier throws the last song he wrote for Geralt into the fire. Geralt isn't dead. But Geralt probably wishes Jaskier was. Jaskier stays inside his home long enough for his garden to get overrun with weeds and pests. He only leaves his home when one day, there's incessant knocking on his door. He opens it to find Yennefer. Great. She grabs his arm, summons a portal behind her, and shOVES him in. She sits him down in a chair in a kitchen, comments on how terrible he looks, and then leaves upstairs. After a few moments, Yennefer drags Geralt in, even though Geralt is clearly trying his best not to enter the room. Lovely. As if Jaskier didn't already feel like the bane of Geralt's existence. Yennefer finally sits Geralt down, and explains to them that it was just as she thought. They were bespelled. Geralt has been having lapses of memory and odd sudden urges for about a year now. He'd forget people he spoke to, towns he'd go in, and suddenly go off his routes or paths with intense need to go on a detour he could never talk himself out of. Geralt can hardly listen to her, he's just stuck staring at Jaskier with awe. Jaskier's alive. Jaskier's alive. Ever since the mountain, Geralt has been visiting the towns around the mountain, praying to find his bard again, only for everybody in the towns to not have seen anyone meeting his description. It was only two months in that he combed the entire mountain, both hoping and dreading to find Jaskier's body. He found nothing. No signs of his bard. And with nobody ever seeing him enter the village, it's almost as if he just... disappeared. Yennefer explains that anytime Geralt asked someone of Jaskier, the person would forget everything they knew about him. Any time Geralt almost made contact with Jaskier, his mind would suddenly tug him into a new direction. it seems to have been born into existence the day they had their fight on the mountain. Specifically when Geralt asked for life to take Jaskier off his hands.

[artistsfuneral]

As much as I love geraskier I also really enjoy the idea of Geralt accidentally becoming Jaskier's parental figure, especially if we broaden the age gap and make Jaskier maybe 14-15 years old when he first meets Geralt.

Which is, considering that Pavettas betrothal happened on her 15th birthday, not so far reached. Maybe Jaskier is just a very book-smart kid and graduated from Oxenfurt a bit earlier. That certainly would make every self-confident teenager cocky enough to believe they are now an 'adult' and can do what they want. (Traveling the world as a bard.)

And he's a smart one, resourceful if he has to be, so things are going fine. But not great. And then- And then he meets a witcher and Geralt looks like everything he's not, like he knows stuff, things Jaskier doesn't know because he's book-smart but not travel-smart. So maybe if he can befriend this old man he can learn those things.

And Geralt is just suddenly confronted with a child. A kid who thinks he's old enough to be on his own, but doesn't even know hoe to make a proper fire or shelter or what water sources are safe or how to forage or-

He can't just leave that kid!

[catscraftsandcommentary]

If you were in @inexplicifics Accidental Warlord AU for a day (or several), what would you do?

Because I'm curious and want to know.

I would probably:

Hug as many witchers as possible, especially the ones old enough to be remember the Path before Ard Carraigh

Double especially Eskel, the man works way too damn hard

Have long talks with Vesemir about philosophy of government and society, because I think his take on it would be FASCINATING

Ask Jaskier to teach me "Ode to Witchers" and "Ciri's Goose Trick" plus maybe some other songs

Boop Geralt on the nose. Possibly while hugging him

Bake HUNDREDS of cookies with Julita (and Melina and Zofia if they wanted), then use those cookies to bribe as many witchers as possible into a giant cuddle pile. Possibly in the library for story time and/or with Jaskier for music!

Go pester the Cranes and make stuff with them - maybe kitchen gadgets? (A dough scoop for the literal HUNDREDS OF COOKIES I'll be making with Julita, for example...)

Teach Lambert to swear in classical Latin, assuming he doesn't already know how (also teach him why those words/phrases are so insulting)

Ask Milena to teach me fancy hairstyles. Offer to paint her nails in return!

Update: someone should introduce Kaer Morhen to new card games. I particularly think Cards Against Humanity Kaer Morhen would be a big hit.

[thedemonofcat]

According to legend, a selkie will fall in love with whoever possesses their cloak. What the legend fails to mention, however, is that the cloak must be willingly given.

Right now, Jaskier is in a state of panic. He’s lost his cloak—not just any cloak, but his selkie cloak. As best as he can figure, it must have gone missing after the mountain, lost in his haste.

He isn't sure if he misplaced it or if someone stole it. With no other options, Jaskier turns to Geralt for help, knowing this means revealing to the witcher that he’s a selkie. He's almost surprised at how quickly Geralt agrees to assist, especially after everything that happened on the mountain.

What Jaskier doesn't know is that Geralt is hiding a significant secret. He has Jaskier’s cloak. Geralt didn't steal it; it simply ended up among his belongings, mixed in with Jaskier’s things after they left. Jaskier had always left his stuff lying around, and Geralt noticed it slipped in with his own gear. Besides, Geralt had always known Jaskier was a selkie—no ordinary human would smell like the sea.

Geralt fully intends to return the cloak; he could never be so cruel as to trap Jaskier. But the longer they spend searching for it, the longer Geralt gets to keep Jaskier by his side.

[wren-of-the-woods]

Hello! Thank you so much for what you do- could I please have some recs for geraskier fics where geralt is the one pining harder?

Here you go!! I wasn't sure how to categorize who was pining harder in all of these (since our boys are masters of longing lol) but these are all stories where Geralt loves Jaskier very much, and I highly enjoyed them all!

~

favorite by @asweetprologue (Rated G, 5.8k)

Jaskier gets Geralt a gift, and it makes Geralt realize he doesn't know enough about what Jaskier likes. He forms a plan to figure it out.

i’ll kiss you slow by @paintedcrayons (Rated T, 4.9k)

Geralt is not being creepy. He’s not. He’s just looking out for his friend (with a questionable choices in lovers). Lately, Geralt has started to notice the way people treat Jaskier’s affection like a means to an end. They kiss him only to move to the next step, dance with him as pretense to get him into their beds. He would like nothing more than to kiss Jaskier for the sake of it. (He does.)

time and time again by @samstree (Rated G, 5.2k)

Marriage proposals, through the years.

The Best Laid Plans by @dhwty-writes (Rated T, 5.5k)

Geralt is in love with Jaskier. In order to finally get him to admit his feelings, he devises a ten step plan with Lambert, Eskel and Vesemir.

A Friend in the Wild by @samstree (Rated G, 1.6k)

In which Geralt acquires a tiny friend who wouldn't stop following him.

Weak and Wanting by @sociallyawkward--fics (Rated T, 36k)

Geralt had thought that inviting Jaskier to Kaer Morhen after all these years would be a good thing. What he didn't plan on was his brothers deciding to have a little fun with their situation. Lambert and Eskel really needed to stop meddling in things they didn't understand, especially when it came to his bard.

Tell It With Your Heart by @bambirex (Rated G, 2.5k)

While Jaskier always says what's on his mind, Geralt works a little differently. That doesn't mean he cannot tell Jaskier how he feels - he just does that without words.

Repeat After Me by @onwardorange (Rated G, 7.3k)

All it takes is (nearly) three years, two meddlesome brothers, and one exasperated sorceress to get Geralt to admit his feelings for Jaskier.

Love Me Better, Send A Letter by @rebrandedbard (Rated T, 12.5k)

Geralt and Julian have been exchanging letters since participating in an inter-school pen pal program in high school, and Geralt has been pining away for Julian for over a decade since meeting by chance one faithful day in Posada. Between work and Ciri, he hasn't had much time for travelling, but he and Julian still exchange their letters faithfully. Finally, Julian's equally busy life coincides with Geralt's long enough for a short visit, and Geralt has the chance to finally introduce Ciri to the man she knows only on paper. Things would be perfect ... if Julian's visit didn't fall within the week of the concert of Ciri's favorite musician, Jaskier.

Music is no solution by @thecrownprincessbride (Rated T, 4.3k)

Jaskier has self-doubts, and Geralt is there for him.

A Careless Omission by @samstree (Rated T, 5.4k)

Jaskier reveals he has a type. Geralt behaves strangely.

Highway Angel (To the Dark I Said Pour and Forgot to Say When) by @fangirleaconmigo T, 2.8k

Geralt is a long haul truck driver. With long stretches on the road away from his family, and with no one to keep him company but his loyal dog Roach, he has to brave most of his life completely alone. Then one day, just as he is passing the city of Oxenfurt, he turns on the radio and hears a voice.

zero for ten by @yaelathewordsmith (Rated T, 10.4k)

The blue-eyed boy on the school's cricket team seems determined to bowl Geralt out. The worst part is, he isn't even fucking trying. * Or, the ten times Jaskier held Geralt's heart in his hands without knowing, and how Geralt grew to want him to keep it.

~

(You can find my other reclists here!)

[geekwarriorgoddess]

Fanfic promt:

Geralt falls hard and fast for Jaskier. And he's furious. Nearly 100 years and he's never been such a fool. Even how he loves Yen doesn't make him this stupid. The DOTING. I mean, he let's Jas pet roach, and Travel with him, and bathe with him, and rub lotion on his bum. Lotion. On his bum. What a sap he's become. It's embarrassing. Of course everyone knows about it, he's just grateful no one (especially Jaskier) has been cruel enough to mention it.

Basically: Geralt thinks he's acting like a fool in love, but literally no one but Eskel and Yen know about it. He thinks Jas is being kind, but actually Jas just doesn't even believe they're friends most of the time. Geralt is too stoic for feelings

[theundeadelf]

I had a much more elaborate post planned but oh god everything about Jaskier in Season 3 is so hysterical right now??

I've known that they were probably confirming his bisexuality for over a year - ever since the audition tapes for a "male royal who flirts with Jaskier" were leaked. The fact that it's a whole romance is excellent, but the theory that Jaskier's chemistry with Geralt (and Yennefer as well honestly) led the showrunners to make this change has me absolutely howling.

Oh, you want Jaskier to have a complicated relationship with a man who has long [blond] hair and he writes a sad love song about him? You want him to have an on-off relationship with a beautiful woman? We've got you! (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

I will always have a soft spot for Jaskier and Geralt especially. But as fun as it is to speculate in fanon, ultimately I knew it wasn't happening. I think the very best we can hope for in that direction is an acknowledgement of one-sided feelings, and to me, having Jaskier acknowledged as queer or bi - that he "doesn't see gender" - is way beyond my wildest dreams already.

I really want to know more about Radovid and Vespula! Will Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri ever find out that their bard has caught feelings?? Will Jaskier ever have to choose his family over his newfound love? They've drastically changed Radovid for the show - what implications will that have??

(Basically can it be June 29th already???)

[endiness]

this interview with freya in s1:

[Freya Allan] especially has one fellow cast member she wants to work with in mind: Geralt’s best friend, the bard, and this series’ comedy relief Jaskier (Joey Batey). “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Allan cautioned before painting one of her dream scenes. “If we’ve got Geralt and Yennefer and they’re kind of arguing. And then you’ve got us just being there being like, ‘Cool.'”

+ this s3 interview with joey though:

"It's just great, quite honestly, because I've known Freya for five years and we've had very, very… no screen time together. We've been on set together and seen each other off set, and this is the first time we've been able to explore their relationship, and we wanted to make sure it felt special and kind of "grown up." Jaskier doesn't patronize her. He's not the type of person who wants to be a big brother. They meet as equals, and working with Freya is pure pleasure. We had one scene together – I think it was one of our first scenes together – that was very intimate and quiet and full of love. And at the end we really had tears in our eyes and cried. And it just shows how much we've wanted this bond for so long."

[oonoturna]

HEAVY HARD hurt GERASKIER prompt -Geralt believes Rience when he says that Jaskier betrayed him and gave Kaer Morhen and Ciri's location. (FREE TO USE)

Prompt: after Rience and Jaskier's torture take Ciri to Kaer Morhen. Jaskier is still injured, but Rience puts a spell on him, which prevents others from seeing his real state, with injuries. Geralt hears from Yennefer about the bard's meeting with Rience, but she doesn't go into detail about everything. But then, Rience finds the fortress and searches for Ciri, attacking everyone. He finds Jaskier and Geralt, and says something (he's cunning and manipulative) that he assumes that the bard who told him about the location… and that he just offered some coins for it, and that Jaskier wanted to get revenge on Geralt for the mountain . (Rience gets the information from someone or reads it from Jaskier's mind, the writer can decide, including the information about the location of the fortress, I haven't decided on that yet). Yennefer manages to attack Rience who runs away, but says she will return now that she knows where Cirilla is. With that, Geralt confronts Jaskier about what Rience said… Jaskier begins to defend himself, but his mental and physical state begin to hinder him in his explanation. Geralt ends up pressing the bard against a pillar (remember here that he is already injured from both torture and Violet Meir and has had no time to heal or any chance to get treatment), and Geralt starts yelling at Jaskier about betrayal, about him not thinking about a child (Ciri), about him having betrayed him for a petty and vile reason, etc. Use your imagination here. I think of something that reaches the point where Jaskier starts to believe in all of this due to his state of mental weakness. Geralt decides they need to leave the fortress, leaving Jaskier behind. Being left behind again makes Jaskier even worse… and he goes into an even worse state of denial and self-hatred. Jaskier feels that he himself actually told about Ciri's location and the fortress and that he betrayed Geralt… alone in Kaer Morhen, Rience appears again and confronts the bard again about where they are… But among the conversation, Rience begins mocking Jaskier and removes the spell to show the marks he left on his body… he begins to torture the bard again, even psychologically. Yennefer, already in doubt, as she didn't believe that the bard had told Rience anything before saving him, opens a portal from where she is with Geralt to the fortress… where she finds Rience hurting Jaskier… She rescues the bard who is already dying and without Rience's spell that hid his injuries. Yen takes the bard to where she was with Geralt… that's when the witcher sees Jaskier's real state… and when Yennefer tells him what she heard from Rience while he was torturing Jaskier… that it was easy to manipulate Geralt about the bard, because after all, he never trusted Jaskier and never considered him a friend or someone he should protect. Jaskier is in an even more critical state due to his injuries and Geralt begs Yennefer to heal him. Yennefer: I'm trying, trying! But look at him! My magic needs his body to respond to heal! But he has old wounds, his body has not healed from them, he is very weak! It's not reacting. Jaskier then goes into cardiac arrest, right before Geralt's eyes. Detail: Jaskier in front lying on the ground, motionless… Yennefer trying to revive him… he's not breathing… but Geralt can still see the marks of his own fingers on Jaskier's neck, the moment he pushed him in the pilaster and said he didn't consider him anything. That he was wrong to trust a bard, accustomed to frivolities… especially a bard like him, who would trade anyone for a new lute. That he should have gotten rid of him sooner, before he came to destroy the only important thing in his life… Ciri. Yes, I want drama! Sadness, I want excitement! aahahahahaha

[suzukiblu]

For your ask game, what’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?

. . . god I don't even know, man, that's a LOT of things, hahaha. And like, that answer definitely changes depending on the day/year/phase of the moon. So you're getting a couple answers here! Also I'm gonna keep this mostly to DC and only include finished fics, because me picking between WIPs would take a thousand years and also probably kill us all, lol (ignore the fact that a couple of these fics have sequels in-progress right now, STILL COUNTS OKAY??).

everything happens for a reason. sometimes that reason is that you are stupid and make bad decisions. is one of the funniest fucking things I've ever written, full stop. Lex is SO fun to write, seriously, I could write him all fucking DAY.

I'm really proud of blondes really do have more fun, both because of how much it seems to have affected/touched people who read it and because I think it was my first experience with writing gender euphoria as a major thing and writing, like, an actual explicit trans narrative? Like, I definitely wrote genderfuckery and implications and metaphors before that and probably even some trans characters, arguably, but that's the first story I really remember deliberately just making about being TRANS. And also holy shit, man, did I ever love writing gender euphoria for the first time, especially because I'd mostly only seen gender DYSphoria as a focal point in other stories and it just didn't/doesn't resonate with me the same way. I'm not trans because everything else makes me miserable, I'm trans because that's what makes me HAPPY. I don't remember if I was intentionally thinking that at the time, but that's the story I wanted to write for that one.

one day this will all be yours and you found me when no one else was looking are both concepts I love and found really cathartic to write and was very pleased to finish. I love that they're sort of "families of choice" fics about, like, actual BIOLOGICAL families (like, in the context of the fics, anyway), which probably sounds weird but is a concept I'm sort of painfully fascinated by--like, about the fact that you CAN choose your family, obviously, but sometimes you're lucky enough to find out that you had someone worth choosing already and just didn't necessarily know it, or to both grow into people who CAN choose each other even if you had problems or lashed out due to outside traumas or didn't always understand each other. That's, like, very personally relevant and meaningful to me, the idea that maybe the thing that got all fucked-up and the choices you made when you didn't fully understand the consequences of them can still be worked through and repaired and made into something new and better.

Also, special mention because this one is back a few fandoms but zero humble on it: best friends means you get what you deserve is just really, really good, and I did GOOD on it, hah. I took a three-word prompt/concept and turned it into 17k of "hey, doesn't this make more sense for why this character is the way he is, and isn't this what the main character actually wanted??" in genre-savvy explanation of why the sidekick character might stick around for the antisocial asshole hero and seem perfectly happy to base their life largely around them no matter how said hero treats them, and then I made the Consequences(tm) happen to Jaskier and Geralt, both bad AND good. I am just SO dang proud of that one, UGH I love it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ FRIENDSHIP, AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF.

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 60

For completing an especially hard contract, Geralt is given a present from the fae. "Your perfect love", they call it. When Jaskier is shoved toward him, Geralt wishes he could say he was surprised. Geralt quickly gains his shock back, however, when upon his bard speaking, he finds he has been completely drained of his personality. Jaskier speaks as concisely and directly as possible, with no embellishment or flowering of his words - Hell, he doesn't even speak with emotion or tone in his voice. Geralt demands to know what they've done to Jaskier, only for the fae to teleport them out. Geralt goes from mage to mage, sorcerer to sorcerer, healer to healer, priest to priest, hoping desperately that someone, anyone, can revert Jaskier back to himself. Jaskier no longer sings. He barely talks. He doesn't wander off, or dance in place, or reach out to Geralt. His eyes have even dulled in color, now a blank gray, always looking hazy and glossed over. Nobody can heal Jaskier. Or so it seeems! I love happy endings SO two options (or any you come up with but you know what I mean) Option 1: Geralt marches back to the Fae's woods and demands they speak to him, as they've disrespected him by not giving him his prize for completing their contract those months ago. When they bring him in, affronted at the idea of what he is implying, they are shocked when he berates them for at least a full hour over how much he loves the traits his bard once had that they had thought he found annoying. "So you never gave me my perfect love." He finishes. They all converse for a moment, before nodding. "It seems we underestimated you, Witcher. We apologize for the misconception." And thank the gods, Jaskier slumps in place and looks to Geralt with bright blue eyes. "Geralt? Wh- What's going on?" Only to then be kicked out of the fae realm again. Oh well. At least Jaskier was cured. Option 2: TRUE LOVE'S KISS BABBYYYYYYYYYY

[artistsfuneral]

Crushes

"Oh my," Jaskier chuckles quietly from where he's sitting across from Geralt in one of the big chairs by the hearth. Immediately alert - because Jaskier is never quiet about anything - Geralt looks up at the bard. He follows his friend's gaze to Coen and Ciri at the other end of the great hall. They're doing nothing out of the ordinary as far as he can tell; The griffin is outwardly relaxed, listening to Ciri's enthusiastic chattering with an idle smile on his lips.

Grunting in hope of an explanation, Geralt returns his focus on Jaskier who seems to be beaming with a mix of glee and something other the witcher can't point. "It seems," Jaskier answers the unasked question with his voice hushed, "that our favorite princess is harboring a little crush."

He doesn't know what to feel as his head whips around back to his daughter and one of his closest friends. Denial at first, because surely Jaskier is wrong about this. There's no way it's true, right? Followed by the horrible possibility of Jaskier being correct about it. Geralt gulps audibly.

Judging by the way Coen suddenly looks paler than before, the griffin has very much listened in on their conversation and is now rethinking his life choices. Good, Geralt says to himself. Ciri stays blissfully unaware.

"Now, now, don't look so shocked, Papa Wolf." Said shock might be the only thing keeping Geralt from knocking Jaskier off his seat for the usage of the forbidden nickname. "It's a perfectly normal thing for a young girl to develop a crush or two. And I mean look at Coen-dear, he's quite a catch, isn't he? Tall, pretty, well-mannered and kind. I can't say I'm surprised," Jaskier goes on, either just as blissfully unaware or gracefully ignoring that Coen could hear every single whispered word.

"How can you be so sure? It's not like she ever said anything," Geralt argues in the hopes of being able to hold onto his denial. (He denies that too.) Jaskier hides a laugh, "Of course she wouldn't say anything, especially not to her Dad. It is fairly obvious though, I'm afraid. Isn't she spending more time with him than usually? She's constantly chattering him up, trying to figure out his likes, dislikes and special interests. Tries really hard to impress him during these conversations and training. Look at her, the way she's beaming every time Coen-dear smiles at her. It's adorable."

Geralt still doesn't know how to feel about all of this. The worst part of it is, that the bard is making a horrible lot of sense. Geralt - who just started to enjoy his fatherhood - is in no way prepared for this, he realizes. "But isn't he too-" old? He doesn't finish the sentence.

The bard returns his concerned look with a soft smile. "Of course, but that's completely normal too. She just realized for the first time that Coen-dear is a great man. He is incredibly talented in the same skills she wants to learn, he is kind to her and rather good-looking. It's the perfect combination for a crush." Geralt is almost afraid to hear the answer of his next question, "What do we do?" Across the hall Coen visibly straightens, mentally preparing himself to jump out of the next window. Meanwhile Jaskier looks at Geralt like he just bit into a broom. "Do? We're doing absolutely nothing. It's a crush. It'll go away in a few weeks. As long as Coen-dear doesn't do anything stupid." The last part Jaskier voices with a sharp edge, definitely addressed to the griffin. "If he simply acts like he normally does, nothing will happen and we can peacefully watch Ciri blush and stumble over herself. Geralt, my dear, I didn't tell you so you can make a battle plan. I just thought it was adorable and wanted to share that with you."

Nothing happens for a moment and then Geralt and Coen visibly deflate with relief. Across the hall, little Ciri places her hands on her hips and huffs at the griffin. "Are you even listening to me?" She asks, lips forming a royal pout that worked like magic back in Cintra. In Kaer Morhen it's not different. "Of course, princess, please go on." The smile on Coen's face is warm and adoring. Maybe, one day - he decides silently - when Ciri is all grown up and a witcher undoubtedly much stronger than him, he will tease her about her crush. For now he just lets her be a kid.

Jaskier grins knowingly and waves his hand in the air, addressing Geralt once more. "If that's been a shock to you, just wait a year or two for her first rebellion. I bet 100 crowns she'll fall for Lambert."

No, Geralt thinks. Not if Lambert is conveniently locked up in the basement.

[solcorvidae]

Modern Witcher AU: My Headcanons (part 2 of ?)

Jaskier was put in a ton of winter sports as a kid. He knows how to ski and ice skate very well. He can snowboard but prefers skiing.

Geralt, on the other hand, never learned to skate. He and Eskel have not been able to find skates that fit their boot size since they were teenagers.

Geralt likes yard work more than other household chores. He likes maintaining the garden and arranging a nice living space to hangout in and Jaskier is very appreciative.

Jaskier is usually super busy in the winter months. He attends get togethers, dinners, parties, etc. Geralt does the opposite. He and his family head home for some time to relax and catch up with one another after being on the road. They don’t often do big activities or social events, mostly staying in the house with each other for the duration of their stay.

Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert shared a room until Geralt started to get into his teen years. Their childhood room had a bunk bed for the two oldest boys and a single bed for Lambert. Lambert eventually took over Vesemir’s office and it was converted to his new room. Now, they each have normal bed frames that sit on the floor.

Geralt wears a dark brown, felt, pinch front cowboy hat. He is very attuned to the etiquette and superstitious beliefs around wearing one.

Eskel and Jaskier are the same height (6’0)

Geralt is 6’3 but often people assume he’s shorter. He slouches when he sits and tries to take up as little metaphorical space in the room as he can. When he stands up, his posture is straight as a board and this adds to the surprise many people feel when they see how tall he really is.

Eskel is the opposite. He has a large but warm and inviting presence when he enters a room. He makes himself known and takes up a lot of space with his big personality. People often assume he must be taller than he really is and are often surprised when they stand next to him and see eye to eye.

Lambert is 5’11 and bitter about it.

Eskel has textured, somewhat oily skin but shockingly left his acne struggles in his teen years.

Geralt was blessed with little to no acne most of his life—including as a teenager.

Lambert hasn’t quite grown out of it and still gets the occasional (relatively mild) blemish. They usually appear when his disposable razor starts to get dull and begins to irritate the skin--Geralt tries to get him to invest in a safety razor, to no avail.

All three boys share a bathroom at Vesemir's house and Vesemir has his own tiny ensuite bathroom. He doesn't care if they trash their own space as long as it doesn't start growing mysterious molds…

Everyone having different hair colours (especially Geralt) meant that it was difficult to blame each other for hair left in the bottom of the tub/sink. But oh did Lambert try.

They are banned from using Vesemir's bathroom unless they absolutely have to. The shower however, is non negotiable. It is off limits altogether.

The only exception to this rule is when any of the boys are sick. When one of them is ill, Vesemir sets them up on the floor with blankets and a pillow so they don't have to keep running to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It also helps that he can keep an eye on them and monitor if they start getting worse or need to go to urgent care—Eskel was particularly bad for lying about not being sick for a long time.

As a child Geralt would wake up every night in the middle of the night from the dead of sleep and be afraid to fall back asleep on his own. He always climbed to the top bunk where Eskel slept and he felt safe. If Eskel wasn't there or he didn't want to wake him, Geralt would walk to Vesemir's room to fall asleep in his dads bed where he felt just as safe. It took him a long time to grow out of this habit.

Even though his boys are all grown up, Vesemir would never turn them away from any sort of "childish" comfort, especially when they're going through a particularly hard time. If they ever needed a hug or wanted to fall asleep in his room, all they had to do was ask.

[Modern AU Headcanon Masterpost]

[starfirewildheart]

Chapter 11

Geralt looked out the window at the still falling snow in the presunrise hours. The colors seemed more beautiful today than he ever remembered. He heard Naurel start to move and went to her. Sitting beside her on the bed he leaned in for a soft kiss. “How do you feel?” The new lovers had spent the rest of the day and the entire night in his room exploring each other.

She stretched and smiled up at him, eyes still sleepy. “Wonderful.”

“Not sore? I didn’t hurt you did I?” His strength always concerned him when touching humans but especially with her because he’d lost himself in the pleasure a few times.

“Sore in some places but nothing bad.” Running her hand over his arm, “Stop worrying love. You didn’t hurt me, I promise.” He relaxed a bit and she sat up pressing another kiss to his mouth. “Are you ok? You’re up early.”

“Aye, perfect,” he smiled. “As much as I would love to stay up here for a month you need food and water to replenish and we should give your body some time to rest.”

She pouted at him but the grumbling in her stomach made her realize he was right, as usual. “Fine, if we have to.” She got up and started getting dressed still blushing softly as he watched her.

Down in the dining hall, a few of the witchers were already having their breakfast when they arrived. Geralt got their food and led her to a table where Ciri, Coen, Jaskier, and Lambert set. Once they were seated she suddenly became nervous. They, well she, hadn’t been very quiet last night. What If they heard her? Geralt placed his hand on her thigh having picked up on her increased heart rate and she wrapped her own arm around his bigger one almost hugging it to her. She picked at her porridge, thankful when a conversation started.

“What’s the training agenda for today?” Geralt asked Ciri.

“Lambert said something about a training platform for witchers,” she answered proudly.

Lambert had the good sense to sort of cringe knowing that Geralt would likely not approve. “I just thought it would be a good way to learn some defense. If you think it’s a bad idea we can do something else.”

Ciri’s huff didn’t go unnoticed but Geralt acted like he didn’t hear her. “She’s chosen you and Coen to do her training. I won’t get in the way of that. Naurel and I will be practicing today.” He looked down the table at Ciri, “Please be careful. The course is made for a witcher who’s more advanced in their training. When they fall and break a limb or split their skull we can put them in the laboratory and give them elixirs to heal them. You do not have that ability.”

“Gonna practice with the straw people again?” Lambert teased Naurel.

“Probably,” she nodded. “I’m sure it’s sort of like practicing with you though, the straw just doesn't talk back and crack stupid jokes.”

Coen spits his water across the table laughing. “Good one!”

Naurel reached over and shook his hand with a huge grin on her face. “Thank you.” Having started to relax a bit more she loosened the death grip she had no Geralt’s arm some and started eating. “What are you doing up so early Jaskier? You usually sleep till midday.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he eyed her.

“Oh no, are you still hurting?” she asked, concerned for her friend.

“A bit but that’s not why I couldn’t sleep.”

“The cold?” Geralt asked as he took a bite of bread.

“My room is next to yours and you,” he looked at Naurel, “Are not quiet my dear. And you,” he pointed at Geralt, “How do you go so long?!” Ciri started giggling and the other witchers joined in teasing them and moaning mockingly.

Naurel’s face flamed red as she buried her face against Geralt’s shoulder. Geralt however just laughed good-naturedly at their friends. He’d intended for them to all know that she belonged to him. Last night left no doubt. After a few minutes of teasing Vesemir and Eskel came in. He’d heard them teasing the pair and was laughing too. “Enough,” he rumbled. “You’re just jealous because your brother is making those noises with his girl and not by himself.”

Geralt gave a grateful look to the old witcher before lifting Naurel’s head off his shoulder and kissing her softly. It wasn’t lost on him the Eskel went to an empty table and didn’t join them. She finally spoke again to ask Vesemir a question. “What is the cooking schedule here?”

“Each person takes a day cooking all three meals,” he told her.

“I would like a turn if that’s agreeable. I feel like I need to be contributing in some way.”

“Yes! Of course! Please! It has to be better than Lambert’s” Came several replies from all the witchers. She laughed.

“You don’t have to but If you want to, it would be most welcome,” Vesemir told her.

“I’d love to,” she beamed. “Someone let me know when it’s my turn.”

“Tomorrow,” they all said in unison. She laughed and continued talking before heading out to work on her sword training.

 

It was getting late in the afternoon when Geralt saw Lambert and Coen approaching with a bloody, frustrated Ciri in tow. They all sat near him watching Naurel hit the straw dummy. He looked over at Ciri, “Going to survive?”

“I’ll get it tomorrow,” she frowned as she rolled her shoulder. Stupid human body and its human limitations.

“You beat the strawman yet?” Lambert teased Naurel.

“Why don’t you spar with her and find out?” Geralt suggested.

Naurel and Lambert said “Huh?” at the same time.

“Spar with her, not you?” Lambert verified.

“Yes, I will coach her, nothing more,” Geralt nodded.

“Come on little girl,” Lambert said excitedly, grabbing his sword.

Naurel was looking at Geralt like he had grown another head as he approached her. “He’s going to kill me!” she whispered.

“Do you trust me?”

“Do you have to ask?”

“Start out with the blocking moves I showed you. When I want you to switch to offensive strikes I will call them out.” He kissed her head, “You can do this.”

“Yea,” she shook her head no at the same time causing him to chuckle. “Just remember if he kills me we can not do a repeat of last night witcher.” All of them laughed, damn witcher hearing.

Naurel did everything exactly how Geralt had shown her and made her practice on the dummy a thousand times and to her surprise, she managed to block all of his attacks. He’d been easy at first but by the end, there was some force behind his blows. “Strikes,” Geralt called out. “Keep your form, your arms are dropping.”

“Fuck you,” Eskel roared and launched an attack.

Geralt shoved Naurel to the ground away from them so that she wasn’t hit. Both men landed punches and kicks hard enough to draw blood instantly. Witchers fighting was scary to watch especially when you were in love with one of them. She felt the tears spilling down her face as Ciri ran to her and helped her to her feet.

The other witchers finally got the two separated after several attempts. Coen noticed that Eskel’s eyes were black indicating he’d taken an elixer before coming outside. He’d planned this attack. Distracted by his thoughts Eskel was able to shake free and storm Geralt again whose arms were still being restrained. No one had time to react as Eskel kicked Geralt as hard as he could between the legs with his elixir enhanced strength. Everyone let Geralt go and tackled Eskel to the ground. Geralt fell forward, curled over unable to catch his breath, and finally threw up in the snow.

Naurel and Ciri ran to him trying to help him however they could. Naurel grabbed a handful of clean snow and wiped his face and neck until he was able to catch his breath. She had to balance herself when he leaned all his weight on her pressing her face against her neck. “Shhh, love try to breathe,” she encouraged rubbing his back.

At this point, Vesemir had come out and ordered them to take Eskel to the dining hall before kneeling beside Geralt. “Wolf,” he placed his hand on his back feeling how hard he was still trembling. “We need to get you inside so I can tend to you. It’s going to hurt when we stand you up but it has to be done.

Geralt nodded because he couldn’t speak and felt strong arms around him lifting him up. He was sure his balls had ruptured, it felt like they had been hit was an anvil. Unable to hide the grimace as he was moved he griped Vesemir and Coen’s shoulders in a bruising grip. He was grateful that they went no farther than the dining hall because he didn’t think he could have stood much more even letting out a whimper when he was lowered down on some furs that had been placed near the fire.

Jaskier moved Ciri out of the line of sight to give Geralt some privacy as they laid his head in Naurel’s lap and stripped him. He had to be restrained while he was examined for damage but thankful after a few potions and elixirs he was no longer fighting them. Naurel dipped a cloth in a bowl of water and wiped his sweaty brow and face unable to do anything else to help while Vesemir and Coen worked. Once Geralt was treated and covered with a blanket Vesemir said something to him that was too soft for Naurel to hear before standing. Geralt turned with a pained grunt and wrapped his arms around Naurel’s waist hugging her as he rested his head on her.

Vesemir was livid when he stormed across the room to Eskel. The yelling echoed through the room like screams off a mountainside but Naurel didn’t think Eskel looked repentant at all. She smiled as Ciri came and curled against her side close to Geralt and ran her fingers through his hair offering comfort the only way she knew how as well. The yelling went on for over an hour before Eskel was sent to his room for the night because Vesemir was too angry not to hurt him during punishment at the moment. Eventually, everyone scattered about talking softly or going to their rooms. Thankfully Geralt had calmed enough to meditate and help his healing.

Wolf and flame tag list

@kneelforloki

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@warriormirkwood

@mollymal

@secretdreamlandmentality

@salvawhxres 

@dizzybee03

[whatspastisprologue-blr]

Because 2 of my biggest hyperfixations are Interview with the Vampire and The Amazing Devil, here we go....

"Little Miss Why So" is, to me, based on my interpretation of the song, very much applies to Loustat in S1. To me, Madeleine is singing from the perspective of someone who is very depressed and who has a partner who is trying to cure her by, basically, loving her out of it. This is, to me, confirmed by the few lines that Joey sings, as though if he does enough good things for her, if he just shows her how much he loves her, she'll snap out of it. (And it doesn't work and they split up.)

I've been thinking about it a lot but especially in relation to the animation in S2E7 that depicts Lestat constantly doing things to make Louis happy/cure him of depression, while it doesn't work and Rue Royale gets more and more dilapidated until they can't even see each other over the mountain of newspapers, books, and other things. (I am completely sympathetic to Louis, btw, but I also know how scary and helpless it is to love someone and want to help them but you can't.)

Throughout LMWS, Madeleine lists all the things Joey's character has said or done and she sounds so exhausted, and there's this repeated "he said", and then she starts going into a mantra of sorts: "It's so boring, it's so boring, it's so boring....." And she caps it off with "et cetera" like she's just too bored to keep going but she could if she wanted to.

There's a few parts I want to call out specifically:

"I don't know how to reach you when you get like this. I've been waiting for you to come home."

This is Lestat's frustration, basically. He keeps trying to reach Louis and nothing is working. Even when Louis is home, physically, he's not present (I've seen great meta about Louis having a disassociative disorder). Special mention here to the line, "It's daylight again and you look like I've failed you." Lestat is a provider; it's something that he takes pride in and enjoys, whether it's his human family eating food that he hunted, or how he sent money and gifts to his human family after becoming a vampire, or the things he buys for Louis and Claudia.

"If I'm good, will you come back?"/"Stop asking why I'm sad, just know it's enough to know I'm sad." Madeleine and Joey are literally singing over each other here, singing at the same time. Their characters are speaking past each other. They're not listening to each other. Joey's character just wants to know how to fix her, what he has to do to get her to come back for him. Madeleine's character is just exhausted from having to provide reasons why she feels the way she does. Worse, her character continues (as though quoting Joey's), "Yeah, but why?" He's still asking her. He's not leaving her alone about it because he's obsessed with figuring out the problem so he can solve it. And it's driving her away.

"Why don't you just tell them all to fuck off, love, and be mine?" ("Them" probably being "those wankers that you serve all night".) For Lestat, "them"/"those wankers" is probably all of Louis's human connections.

As others have pointed out, "The Rockrose and the Thistle", another of TAD's songs, is a good example of how to love someone through depression instead of trying to love them out of it (too bad Lestat couldn't have heard it back then).

And while I could probably relate several other songs from The Amazing Devil to Interview with the Vampire, I'll just leave ya'll with this line from "Battle Cries": "This isn't a breakup, dear heart, it's a season finale!"

(Also, if you've listened to Little Miss Why So and you think that Joey sounds like Jaskier from Netflix's The Witcher, that's because it is! The Amazing Devil has 3 albums out, in case you want to hear more of his and Madeleine's phenomenal voices. Now, off you go, to be spellbound by these beautiful lovely Fae creatures!)