#Geraskier Big Bang | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghostinthelibrarywrites · 2 years

Note

for the domestic/relationship situation prompts: geraskier + 19? 🥺

19. Bingeing an entire season of trashy reality show in one sitting

“I don’t understand.” Geralt squints at the TV, where the first episode of the new season of Surviving Love is playing.

“What’s there not to understand?” Jaskier asks. “It’s sixteen beautiful people trapped together, trying to survive while also banging each other’s brains out in the hopes of finding their one true love. The whole idea is that they pair off as soon as possible and the couples all compete to see who can survive the longest on a desert island.”

“Island can’t be that deserted if there’s a camera crew following them around.” Geralt arches his eyebrow as a pretty redhead on the TV has a breakdown about needing to eat bugs for protein.

“You just need to suspend your disbelief for eight episodes or so.” Jaskier winces sympathetically. If he had to choose between starving and eating bugs, he’s honestly not sure which one he would choose.

For several moments, Geralt refrains from commentary, though his left eyebrow keeps twitching, like it often does when Jaskier is doing something that perplexes him so much that he finds himself beyond words. It’s one of Jaskier’s favorite expressions, not that he’s ever going to tell his boyfriend that. They both had a rough week—Geralt got stiffed on a big contract and Jaskier had to have not one, but two conversations with Valdo Marx—so they’re both in need of some TLC.

“Oh, good for her,” Jaskier says as the redhead from the bug breakdown begins making out with an attractive blond man. “She bagged the park ranger. He can probably catch something better than bugs for dinner.”

“Hm.” Geralt looks unimpressed.

Jaskier snuggles closer against his boyfriend’s side. “You know, I auditioned for this show years ago.”

That earns him an incredulous look. “You?”

“Don’t give me that look! It was before Pris and I made our first album. I needed a way to get our name out there.”

“You wouldn’t have survived a week.”

Jaskier drew back, gaping in outrage. “Excuse me?”

“Eight weeks without a shower and a toothbrush? Remember how much you whined when you followed me on that three day forktail hunt?”

“I was the picture of stoicism!”

Geralt is wearing that infuriating little half-smirk he wears whenever he thinks he’s being witty and clever, the fucker. “You were very stoic when you told me to leave you there to die when you stepped in forktail shit.”

“I was traumatized.” Jaskier whacks him lightly on the chest. On the screen, the redhead is tussling with another woman, screaming about betrayal. “And now we’ve missed something important! Go back!”

Geralt groans, but picks up the remote control.

***

Eight episodes later, the living room is dark and strewn with empty takeout containers as the theme music for Surviving Love plays from the screen.

“That was bullshit,” Geralt says.

Jaskier is actually a little surprised. He never really expected Geralt to like the show, but his boyfriend did sit through eight hours of it without much complaint after the first episode.

“Simon and Gretta should have won.” Moodily, Geralt takes a sip of his beer.

Jaskier blinks at him. “What?”

“The whole point is working together, right? Heidi and Jan didn’t really work together; she did all the work while he went off and played grab ass with Elin.

“Yeah.” Jaskier shakes his head, disappointed. “I don’t see them making it past the finale.”

“None of these couples are making it past the finale.”

“I don’t know.” Jaskier snuggles closer, propping his chin on Geralt’s shoulder. “If you can survive eight weeks together without showers or toothbrushes, you can survive anything.”

“Hm.” Geralt presses a kiss to his temple. “We could try it. Put our relationship to the test.”

“Don’t even think about it. I’ve cleaned harpy bites on your ass and picked kikimore intestines out of your hair and that was before we started dating. Our love has been proven thoroughly.”

“And I’ve been to your concerts.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Geralt turns off the TV. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I can see why it’s your favorite show.”

They sit in the darkness of their living room for a moment.

“You know, that was season sixteen,” Jaskier finally says. “There are fifteen other seasons we could go back and watch.”

Geralt turns the TV back on without hesitation. “Hm. If you want to.”

Jaskier grins as he pulls the blanket more securely around him. “You know, we could pretend not to know each other and audition for season seventeen. We would kill.”

“No.”

“Think of all the kitty treats we could buy Roach.”

Geralt pauses, considering. “What makes you think I’d pair up with you?”

Jaskier gasps. “Geralt! You knave!”

“What?” His boyfriend shrugs, looking very pleased with himself. “Roach only deserves the best treats. Gotta pair with someone who has a chance of winning.”

Jaskier splutters, outraged beyond words.

“Going to go get more ice cream,” Geralt rises to his feet.

Jaskier stares after him. “Fine! But we are having this conversation when you get back, mister!” He sulks for about thirty seconds before calling, “Can you bring me some ice cream?”

“Already got out the mint chocolate chip.”

“You’re the best. I love you so much that I’ll share the prize money when me and my partner on Surviving Love beat you and your harlot by a mile.”

In the decade they’ve known each other, Jaskier has never heard Geralt laugh so hard. He would be more offended, if he weren’t too busy laughing too.

***

Tag list: @kueble @mollymawkwrites @feral-jaskier @geraltrogerericduhautebellegarde @dawnofbards @thisislisa @tsukiwolf42 @mosaicscale @rockysstupidity @fontegagrilledcheese @kuripon @help-i-need-a-cool-username @julek @flowercrown-bard @eveljerome

#the witcher #geraskier #geralt x jaskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #prompt fills #ghost's writing

245 notes · View notes

xtarmanderx · 3 months

Text

WIP Tag Game

RULES: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Special shoutout to @tabbytabbytabby for the tag!

This is not the entire list. There are dozens more, but some are just screenshots of notes and some are vague ideas that I don’t remember and would need to read again. I’ve also got tons of ideas scattered in the notes on my phone, but I haven’t made docs for them. Sequel docs exist, too, but most of those aren’t fleshed out enough to be included here.

1. Need a Favor? BuckTommy

2. Sorry. Daddy? Sorry. Daddy? BuckTommy

3. Happy pride BuckTommy

4. Ryan gets a cat Ryan x Carson (Nancy Drew)

5. BuckTommy parents

6. BuckTommy crash

7. BuckTommyEddie

8. BuckTommy meet the friends

9. Shower Tevan

10. What’s in a name BuckTommy

11. Red eye back to you Carson x Ryan

12. Husks - Buddie

13. It’s all I’ve ever known Carson x Ryan

14. BuckTommy

15. Motocrossed Thiam

16. Rockstar Ryan fic Ryan x Carson

17. Ryan high Ryan x Carson

18. Lost in artifacts and cobwebs of the mind Ryan x Carson

19. The Raekoning Thiam

20. Season 4 Ryan/Carson snippets

21. Ryan x Carson Luce’s birth

22. Tony’s shirt Tony Stark x Stephen Strange

23. X-Men Thiam AU (Icarus)

24. Thiam Jatp

25. Avengers Thiam Big Bang

26. Nope Angel x OJ

27. Jaskier prisoner Geraskier

28. Jaskier nightmares Geraskier

29. This Means War (So Fire Away) Thiam

30. Nope 2 Angel x OJ

31. Harringrove fic

32. 5b rewrite with best frand Thiam

33. The Steady Fall of my Heart (Jurassic Park, Alan x Billy)

34. The Black Cauldron (Thiam)

35. The Crown Jewel - Jett

36. Aftershock Thiam

37. Jaskier/Geralt coffee shop au

38. Josh/Brett/Mason/Theo

39. Hercules (Thiam)

40. Treasure Planet Thiam

41. Josh/Brett/Liam - slaves to any semblance of touch

42. Long fic Jett

43. Thiam avatar

44. Good boys are golden boys (Sean x Garrett)

45. Static hearts Thiam

46. Thiam Prompt 7: Oh the Places We’ll Go

47. Smudges of black - discord Jett

48. Miam mating bites (Mason/Liam)

49. The Lies we Tell are Worth Dying For Thiam

50. Anastasia Thiam

51. Jump In Thiam

52. Thason slow burn (Theo/Mason)

53. When Worlds Collide (Asher x Henry, All American x Light as a Feather)

54. Making Waves - Jett

Tagging @snaeken @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme @extrasteps @equallyloyalandlethal @osirismind @raybyanothername @purplehoodiesandleatherjackets @theoceanismyinkwell and anyone else who wants to do this!

#wip game #Thiam #Jett #ryan x carson #bucktommy #Thason #Miam #other pairings #I got lazy with the tags lol

9 notes · View notes

coriesocks · 1 year

Text

currently...

Thank you for tagging me @magpiefngrl !

Current time: 09:40am

Current activity: Sitting in a zoom meeting (daily stand-up) 🥱

Currently thinking about: not work, like i should be. Mostly thinking about all the end of year school things i need to remember for my kids this week and next.

Current favourite song: hmm not sure. I've been listening to a lot of classical covers of other songs because when working or writing, i find it easier when there's no lyrics

Currently reading: I have Freya Marske's book, A Marvellous Light sitting on my bedside table ready to start, and on my phone, I'm reading the 4th fic in Starbrigid's epic Drarry series, The mirror of ecidyrue

Currently watching: Ted Lasso and Black Mirror

Current favourite character: I don't think I can pick one! Din Djarin, Clint Barton (comic clint, not movie clint!), Roy Kent, Buck (911)... so many more

Current wips: Main WIP is my Dinluke big bang fic which needs to be finished soon and i'm super stressing about it 😫😫😫 I also have a Geraskier WIP and a Kylux adjacents WIP that i think about finishing every so often. There are a load more sitting in scrivener, but these are the main 3!

Also starting to think about my orig again after some lovely chats with @magpiefngrl the other day that inspired me not to drop it, so I'll count that as a WIP too.

Tagging .. ummm I don't tumblr very often at the moment and i can't remember anyone's names or who is still active. let's try.. @quicksilvermaid @kangofu-cb @gingersnappish @l0vegl0wsinthedark @orangebutterfly13 @milarca @nerdherderette

#tag game

12 notes · View notes

a-case-of-the-ace · 7 months

Text

Fic writer interview :D

Thank you @eoinmcgonigal for the tag!!

Welp let's see how this goes. I've been doing the writing thing for a little over two years, I think? Time has flown and I have done... little.

How many works do you have on AO3? 21.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 57,611. None of which have reached over the 12,000 mark.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Something, Old, New, Broken and Blue at number 1, followed by Something Precious, a Bold Beginning, My Soul Says Ouch and Match Made in Vain. The top 3 are for Stranger Things, and the 4th and 5th are for Mafia: Definitive Edition. I reckon the top ones are at the top mainly because they're a bigger fandom.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do, I'm always so happy when I get them, but I worry I sound like a broken record. there's only so many ways to thank someone for reading and commenting, even though I'm overjoyed every time it happens.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Possibly Ready for Table for Doctor Who's The Two Doctors, since that doesn't end in a good spot for the main character, but the canon story has a good ending, so you know it's going to be ok. Probably Bon Appetit, for Mafia: DE, since it's a dark yandere cannabilism fic.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? That's a tough one, most of mine have happy endings. Possibly My Soul Says Ouch, since the characters spend so long pining over each other before getting together? Also my only polyam fic, (or at least where it's not just implied) so 50% extra love?

7. Do you write crossovers? I haven't, none have really occurred to me. I don't usually read them either, but if it's done well, I'll read it.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Not hate per se, but I did have one commenter who didn't like some things, and told me I could change things, and didn't need to stick to the canon. I quite liked my choices, though, and so did other kinder commenters. I do the fic for me, first and foremost.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not in anything I've posted, but I'm currently writing a Galavant fic that has some, for angst reasons. I did have a tad in A Bold Beginning, but I danced around the subject so much that I don't think it counts. I'm ace, which I don't think helps much, I'm basing most of it off of what I've read.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope. Wouldn't mind if someone did though.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope.

13. What’s your all-time favourite ship? Mega tough one. Good Omens got me into it, but I haven't read much of them. Stobotnik, since I only watched the films for them? Two/Jamie? I read a lot of Johnlock, but that was ages ago. Geraskier? I think I just binge a ship and return to it if I really liked it. Depends if the ship's small or big, I guess.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I had a mermaid!Tommy au I tried to get going for a long while, but kept getting stuck on logistics. An omegaverse mafia fic, an angsty guilt fic, and even a fic for Forever (TV show from 2014). Plus a bunch of ideas that hit while I was writing something else, and I'd lost the fixation by the time I finished. There's still a few sticky notes with ideas in my phone, from inspo at work. I think I get a lot more ideas than I manage to write :(

15. What are your writing strengths? Beginnings. I love nothing more than going "Bang! Here's what's happening." Otherwise, I dunno what my strengths might be. Writing in full sentences for the first draft?

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Hanging on to the motivation to finish a fic. Not using a variation of the phrase "All they could do was hope." Nearly put that in thrice in three chapters by mistake, I'm sure it's getting old. Motivation for sure though, I miss the days when I was writing tropey one-shots, at least they were one and done.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I haven't really had a need to do it, and would worry about formatting if I did. Closest I've had to this was a heavily accented character, but I didn't really know how to write an accent and so I didn't write it in. Not sure if I'd do it that way again, but it made it easier.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Mafia: Definitive Edition. Wrote my first fic in one of my last year 12 math classes. Also the fandom that made me switch from looking at tumblr on Pinterest to actually being on tumblr. There wasn't enough content, so I had to go searching, and then make my own.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? Really want to throw my hat into the ring on Wez/The Golden Youth, from Mad Max 2, but the only ideas I have for them are really long. Other ones I've considered writing include Forever, Red Dwarf, Sportarobbie from Lazytown, Johnny/Reg from SAS Rogue Heroes and Jude/Cardan from The Cruel Prince.

20. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? I'm really liking the Galavant fic I'm writing at the moment, mainly because it's shamelessly self-indulgent. Probably one of my Mafia fics, Chosen by the Life, Choking on my Love or Bring Me Home. It's been a while since I've read my own stuff, this has been a real trip down memory lane.

Desperately trying to remember people who write so I can tag them... I'm so bad at names, if I miss you I'm sorry. And I may not know you at all well so I apologise if you find this weird.

@feline-ranger @iiep-wop @lilies-in-a-vase @somethingaboutamagpie @ihni

#tag game

3 notes · View notes

medusapelagia · 8 months

Text

WIPs Tag Game

Thanks @rindecision and @lorifragolina for the tag

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

A lot of them are entries for events so I don't know how much I can tell but let's try this!

Put me together again (Steddie) Project XXX (St Reverse Big Bang) Project XXXA (St Reverse Big Bang 2) Whumpuary 2024 (Steddie) Rare Pair (secret pair!) 2nd version (Harringrove) Undercover (Geraskier)

my no pressure tags: @cranberrymoons, @just-my-latest-hyperfixation, @pearynice, @ghostdeb, @mojowitchcraft, @kallisto-k

#tag game #wips tag game

6 notes · View notes

lambden · 2 years

Text

🌟2022 AO3 WRAPPED!🌟

thanks to @peaktotheocean for this!

Works published: 49! more than I expected, but I published a lot of tumblr drabbles this year so that probably accounts for it

Word count: 124,134. jesus christ that is so many

Bookmarks: 738. nowhere near last year's but still unbelievably high for my average!!

Most popular by kudos: everyone LOVED this geraskier fic heartbreak & horseshit, seconded closely by this lambden fic haha... unless?

Most hits: same as above, heartbreak and horseshit SWEPT

Longest: at 17,032 words it's an AU I wrote for another fandom that was roughly inspired by ALOTO- the movie, not the show! if anyone here is for some reason into dead by daylight or wants to read about baseball ladies, here you go!

Shortest: this is barely a fic. a tidbit of fluffy eskel/jaskier

Most comments: by far it's my modern geralt/netflix jaskier fic somewhere out there, the response to that fic was beyond gratifying and overwhelming! i am working on a part two and it should be up before 2024 LMFAO

Fic that made me cry: I don't really cry at my own writing but this cahir/eskel space pirate/robot AU is one of my favourite things I wrote this year that touches on sadder themes

Fic that made me smile: i always have fun with the flash fic challenges and this fill I did where a peacock becomes enchanted with Geralt is probably my favourite from this year! I also really like this stranger things fic I wrote but this is a witcher blog so I'll try to keep it witcherly haha

Gifts: I know this probably means gifts FOR other people but my favourite gift from someone else was this sickfic, it carried me through the whole year to be honest 💖 otherwise, this Ciri & Letho secret agent AU was requested for a friend by a friend and it made me very happy to write!

Events: I wrote a few fics for the flash fic server, and also participated in the Yennefer Big Bang and the Witcher Fic Writers winter exchange. I had varying successes with these events, and I feel a little disheartened leaving this year with a bad taste in my mouth about some of what happened. But I am proud (or trying to be) of what I contributed and very grateful for all that I did receive, and for my dear friends who helped edit and cheer me on through uncertain times. Writing is just a fun hobby for me so next year I'm definitely not going to let the stress get to me the same way. (Also, because it was brought up by Cole, I'm seconding the desire for a Stranger Things flash fic server!)

Tagging: @faetxlity @jaskiersvalley and whoever else might like to complete this! consider yourself tagged

#ao3 wrapped #fic meme #god i wrote so much ???!!!!? HOW

12 notes · View notes

loki-is-my-kink-awakening · 2 years

Text

Inspiration Saturday

Thanks @cha-melodius for tagging me.

I really wanna share a moodboard for the Steddie Big Bang fic I'm working on, but I can't because it's a secret, sssshhh.

So, instead, here's three moodboards I'm using to inspire me for other things.

Priley Club AU for an Easter one-shot

Lokius with fem!Loki for @rins-love-wins

Geraskier QPR Hanahaki

Tagging @mimisempai @zara2148 @goofgoofdildo @mojowitchcraft @rauchendesgnu

#fic inspiration #geraskier #lokius #priley #the witcher #loki series #midnight mass #loki #mobius #geralt of rivia #jaskier #monsignor john pruitt #riley flynn #moodboard

11 notes · View notes

cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness · 2 years

Text

Thank you to @borealwrites for creating the Monster March prompt list, it was a lot of fun to participate and get to write more horror. This is a fill for day 10’s prompt, "Chthonic/Eldritch Abomination".

Geraskier victorian gothic romance with different first meeting. TW for Body Horror, Lovecraft, Cthulhu Mythos, angst and tragedy

Read on AO3

The front door of the mansion creaked loudly in the relative peace of the night. Geralt carefully stepped into the vestibule, silver sword in hand. The little moonlight filtering through the dirty windows highlighted the cobwebs and the layer of dust covering the statues, the paintings and the massive brass-framed mirror. The rug, once a luxurious burgundy, was moth-eaten and littered with vermin poop.

The door closed of its own whim behind him, the bang shaking his bones.

The Cat potion quickly took effect and his eyes adjusted to the dark. Three doors were connected to the vestibule. Geralt pushed the set of double doors that he knew would give to the central hall. He'd looked up the floor plans of the mansion beforehand to get an idea of what he was getting himself into, but now all he remembered was there was over a hundred rooms, and those plans didn’t include the secret passages and hidden rooms, which Geralt was sure this mansion was full of.

The central hall featured two staircases that led all the way up to the second floor. It was in the same sorry state than the vestibule, with the railing broken in multiple places, like something had fallen through. Geralt paused and listened intently.

Nothing.

This mansion was huge, and yet it wasn't creaking or groaning, no wind and no birds croaking outside. Nothing.

His medallion wasn't thrumming, yet the heavy air around him seemed to be breathing alongside him. He retrieved one of his devices from his satchel and turned it on. It hummed to life in his hand, the sonar like display starting to scan his surrounding. It'd beep to alert him if anything was detected, so he clipped it to his belt and continued forward.

Adjacent to the hall was a salon leading to a dome shaped two-storey ballroom. A few windows were broken, dead leaves crunching under his boots as he turned on himself to take in the big room. There was a pianoforte installed on the side to entertain the guests. The lid was propped up and, when Geralt approached to investigate, he noticed dark smears on the keyboard. He swiped some of it with his gloved index and smeared it with his thumb. It was like wet mucus, slimy and smelly. Some of it was also on the bench and on the floor.

He heard the faint splash of liquid hitting the floor behind him before his device beeped, and he turned around. Something was dripping from the balcony above him. He looked up. There was a shape darker than the shadows up there. He blinked and it was gone. No footsteps, but the air turned ice cold around him for a moment.

He was returning to the central hall to go to the second floor when he heard knocking coming from the kitchen area in the east wing. His device was still beeping in the direction of the balcony, but another bar appeared in the direction of the kitchen. Multiple entities, then. Geralt was glad he charged an hourly wage.

The foul stench of rot hit his nose when he reached the kitchen. It wasn't just rotten food. More noise came from the storage, and he quickly found the reason. A pair of rotfiends were playing with their food in it. He sent an Igni their way and quickly closed the door to protect himself from their explosion. He caught a movement from the corner of his eye as he did so, and when he did, who he assumed to be the same shadow from before was at the end of the corridor. He narrowed his eyes to see better but couldn't discern any particular shape in the shadow. It vanished through the wall before he could approach.

One thing at a time. He reopened the door and noticed another staircase leading down to the basement. The presence of rotfiends potentially meant corpses somewhere and he suspected the monsters had wandered from down below. He went downstairs.

The storage had more rotfiends he quickly took care of. He found a corpse tucked in a corner, almost completely eaten. He took a mental note to come back afterwards and retrieve it to give it a proper burial and ensure it wouldn't attract more monsters. Given the general macabre atmosphere of the mansion, he was sure it wouldn't be the only corpse he'd find tonight.

The trail of rotfiends led him to the root cellar next to the meat kitchen that hadn't been cleaned since its last use. One of the cabinets was smashed to the ground, revealing a passage in the stone wall. He walked in a grotto with turned soil and more rotfiends. The smell of death and decay was telling enough, dirt tombs still fresh. One of the corpses hadn’t been buried, facing him in a mimic of a sleeping pose. It might’ve been convincing if it hadn’t been for the milk white glaze of her pale eyes, her nightgown torn and partially soaked in coagulated blood.

Rich families always took things to the extreme out of boredom, didn't they? There was circulating rumours about the mansion, many of which Geralt was aware of. Old families carried a heavy history, and the Pankratz were no different. Their roots ran deep into the earth, so deep that along the way, one of them discovered an otherworldly species and mated with them. It was said the current generation of Pankratz were hybrids, not fully human, possessing abilities of the beyond. They were worshippers of the evil and rare were the ones who got to live long.

He had been an hour in here and he hadn't even made it through a complete floor yet, and he had five to go through. He was fairly sure he'd taken care of the rotfiends at least, and if not they'd be strays like the first ones he had encountered. What he wondered was why there was so many dead people down here. Sacrifices or victims? A narrow corridor led him to a nondescript door, not as decorated or fancy as the other ones he'd seen in here so far. He emerged on the other side in the back of a place of worship, some chapel he concluded after a quick glance. Whatever deity had been worshiped here was long gone. The place was is total disarray. Twin stone statues, once guarding each side of the altar, were laying in pieces through the broken wooden benches, destroyed beyond recognition. The paintings had been slashed with something blunt, the destruction brutal rather than precise. Someone here was angry.

The device at his belt beeped. A gust of cold wind disturbed his hair and raised goosebumps on his neck, making him turn around. The same shadow presence, taller than before. It extended even further, reaching the high ceiling like it was trying to intimidate him. Or readying itself to pounce, he realised at the same time the shadow bent and transformed into a large tendril as it dove for him. He crossed his wrists in front of him to sign Heliotrop right as it tried to pierce through him. The impact sent him backwards and he crashed into the altar.

Barely recovered, he was reaching for one of his bombs and throwing it at the shadow. The explosion didn't injure it as much as it forced it to remain corporal. He pushed himself to his feet and raised his sword in a wide arc as he dove forward, slashing through its middle before it could get away. With a wail that shook the ground, the shadow was split in half to reveal more goo-like shadow, but in it was an eye. No, not just one, but two, and then a forehead, a nose, a face slowly emerged from the gap. The face had no mouth but the blue eyes were screaming.

"What the fuck?" Geralt had been scrambling his mind for a monster that described what he was saying, but he was coming up short. He had no clue what he was dealing with. He hesitated, not sure of the nature of the human in the shadow. Were they trapped or controlling it?

The shadow was starting to reform again. The person had managed to extract their fingers from it, then their whole hand. It was reaching for Geralt.

What the hell was he getting himself into again? He thought, but he was already moving. He reached for the hand to try and help. Only the hand was much too powerful, and he was yanked into the darkness.

He woke up with a gasp. The sun was hitting his face, yet he didn't feel its warmth. He did a quick inspection of himself. He wasn't injured, he still had his swords, but he had no clue where he was. No, that wasn't true. He was back in the central hall, only it didn't seem like the same room. Everything was clean with no dust in sight. The creepy vibe was still present, with the portraits of men looking down at him as he got to his feet.

The most disconcerting was he couldn't smell anything. He couldn't even smell himself. The staircase rail, when he touched it, was solid.

He could still hear though. His activity detector was beeping alarmingly, the screen displaying red all over, so he turned it off. With it quieted down, he picked up something else. Somewhere up there, someone was singing and playing a string instrument.

" Because love does not exist here, in this garden, there's no feeling, and you say the words so often that I barely know the meaning."

On the second floor, the rug was a deep purple instead of the rotten mouldy mess he'd been half expecting. It padded Geralt's footsteps as he followed the sound through the long corridor of the west wing. Some of the doors were slightly ajar, but most of them were closed and Geralt didn't venture away from his destination.

" And when all the flowers are rotten and all the cannons shot, I'll scream, but you won't hear, " forget me not "."

He walked into a sunny music room, various instruments stored inside glass display cabinets except for the bigger ones. Geralt recognised a grand piano, similar to the one that was in the ballroom, and a cello, but most of them were unknown to him. It was a well-maintained collection, reminding him of his own collection of weapons.

A man was sitting in a plush chair in front of one of the bay windows, looking lost in thought. His fingers were expertly plucking the strings of the lute sitting on his lap. He didn't seem aware his hands were bloodied and painting his instrument in red. He'd been playing for a long, long time.

" And in years to come you'll wander to the place up on our hill. " He had a lovely voice.

The man didn't acknowledge Geralt's presence and he continued to play his lute. Geralt examined the music room from closer, noting how the colours of this room seemed so vibrant compared to the other ones he'd seen in this dimension. It was his safe room, where usually his problems seemed a little easier. Only something was eating at him, nibbling him raw from the inside.

Geralt remembered the look in his eyes, the way he'd grabbed him in a last desperate attempt to seek help. Or perhaps it had been a reflection of pale hope in the blue despair. He had to find the source of it all to help him. He reached with a gloved hand and strummed the bloodied strings.

The man gasped and looked up at him. "What—"

A shadowed form fell on the window at his back and shattered it, sending glass everywhere. It pulled the man in its grasp and pulled him through the window and into the void below. Geralt looked down, but couldn't see anything. He cursed and followed, ignoring the sting of the glass shards embedded in his face.

He landed into a roll to cushion his fall, crushing flowers underneath him. He was in one of the inner courtyards, dusk plunging the flower garden into an eerie golden stillness. He flicked off the leaf stuck in his hair.

He looked around and saw the same man sitting on a wooden bench near him. His hands were pressed to his face, his form hunched over. Geralt could hear his quiet sobs even as he approached. He sat beside him. He looked unkept, his hair greasy and clothing wrinkled, fingernails dirty. Much different than the first picture of the elegant artist.

"I'm so sorry," he kept repeating, "it's all my fault."

"What is?" Geralt asked more for himself than the man, but was surprised to see him startle. He removed his hands from his face and his cheeks were streaked with tears black as ink, his blue eyes swimming in darkness. He blinked and the ink slid further down and dripped on his white shirt.

"Who are you?" He hiccuped and wiped his hands on his trousers, but made no attempt at cleaning his face.

"My name is Geralt, I'm a witcher. I was sent to investigate the Pankratz Mansion."

"I'm Jaskier, the unfortunate owner." He sniffed and cleared his throat, his wet lashes sticking together. Geralt searched through his satchel for a fresh bandage and began to clean his tears, leaving his cheeks red. "Thank you."

Geralt offered him the bandage and he wiped his eyes, balling the soiled cloth in his fist afterwards.

"This alternate place, did you do it?"

"No. Well, yes. It's complicated."

"So it seems."

Jaskier had a joyless smile. "I fucked up, is what I did." His chin trembled, but he took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Let me show you."

Geralt noticed the shift from dusk to night, the moon shining bright in the dark sky. No, that wasn't the moon, he realised. There was an eye up there. More than one in fact, for what he assumed to be stars were in fact a myriad of eyes in various sizes and colours. They were looking down at them.

There was a burst of wind beside him, and Jaskier was gone from his seat. He'd simply vanished. Geralt got to his feet, looking around in alarm, when a smell hit him for the first time in this alternate, dream world. Earthy, mouldy scent of decay; sour stench of fear and herbal sweet smell of the monster. Geralt followed it back through the door leading to what he remembered to be the central hall, but instead he stepped in a bedroom. The smell was overwhelming in the stuffy air.

A girl was bedridden. She was young, or at least looked young to Geralt, lost in this giant bed. Her long blonde hair was soaked with sweat and sticking to her feverish forehead. Her complexion was ashy, large bloodshot blue eyes underlined with dark bags. A smudge of red clang to her mouth.

Jaskier, who was knelt by the bed, gently took her hand between his, kissed her knuckles. "Have you ever loved someone, Geralt, so much so that you wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice your life to save theirs?"

Geralt thought of Ciri, of his brothers, and he said, "Yes."

"Love comes with a price. I failed to identify my blindspot as I knelt here, watching my friend slowly being consumed by Death. All the promises I made as a child, refusing to fall in my parents' footsteps, I forgot them. None of it mattered anymore." Jaskier raised his head to look at Geralt. "She was dying and I knew how to stop it."

They weren't in a bedroom anymore. They were back in the chapel in the midst of its glory. The place was pristine, and the statues, grotesque to look at. They depicted deities that were meant to be long forgotten, cosmic gods born from fears and that responded to no one's bidding but to their own. If they did, there was always a price to pay, a sacrifice to be made.

Geralt could easily see the picture now.

Jaskier's friend was laying on the stone altar, only wearing a mint nightgown. To Geralt, she looked more like an offering than someone to be saved. Jaskier was in front of the altar, holding up an old book that radiated Chaos. He was calling out to a deity, speaking an alien language. The candles' flames in the chapel violently flickered for a moment. The next, they were throwing distorted shadows of invisible beings, walking between time and space. Geralt's discomfort grew as he could do nothing but watch the disaster unfold.

"I have called you by your True Name, Old One, and I command you to do my bidding," Jaskier finished his incantation, his breathing ragged. "Save Essi Daven."

The statues began to weep, the numerous sculpted eyes suddenly alive and moving in their sockets. Essi started to thrash on the altar, her weak arms flailing and almost hitting Jaskier in the face. She screamed, the sound ending in a wet gurgle as blood dribbled from her mouth. Her torso cracked with a dull sound, the bones giving under some otherworldly pressure.

"No, this isn't what I bid you to do," Jaskier sobbed. "I commanded you to save her life, you're killing her!"

"No." The voices echoed loudly in the church. Silence, save for Jaskier's trembling breath. "Her mortal vessel has no meaning, for she is to forever live in us."

"To what purpose, if I'm unable to cherish her presence?" Jaskier said, his heart dying with every word.

"We shall free you as well."

Geralt turned his head away, unable to withstand the sight, but the sounds and the screams were impossible to muffle.

"Enough. I've seen enough," he said, and the sounds stopped. The world pitched sideways and he found himself back in the decayed chapel of the present; a silent witness of the many horrors executed in it.

The shadow, the one that had been haunting him since he stepped foot in the mansion, hovered once more in front of him. It didn't attack him, and Geralt knew why. Instead it fell backwards, through the floor, only to leave a physical body in its place.

Geralt rushed to it, uncertain of what he was seeing. It was Jaskier, but instead of the humanoid appearance he'd seen him with in the other world, this one was sporting an extra leg and arm. His grey skin was rippled in places and stretched taunt in others, and naked as he was, Geralt found himself following the dark roads of veins easily visible underneath down his neck and across his breastbone before they disappeared under his chest hair.

"Jaskier?" Geralt pushed back his hair from his face. Something was moving under his eyelids. Jaskier opened his eyes and black tendrils scurried away, back into his head. He didn't seem to notice, focusing on the witcher instead.

"I thought I'd made you up," he softly said. He shifted with a groan and Geralt helped him up. He tripped over his additional leg and almost fell face first, but Geralt caught him in the nick of time.

"Easy. You've a bit more to work with now."

"I do." He let out a shuddering breath and took refuge in Geralt's arms, clinging to him. He was trembling, Geralt realised. He tucked him closer and led him out of the chapel and upstairs. It must've been late afternoon, judging by the red hue of the sunlight beaming through the giant windows in the main hall.

"Let's get you dressed first, mm?"

Jaskier sniffed and nodded, his extra hand curled in one of the belts crossing his chest. His walk was stiff, both from disuse and from getting used to a whole new leg. They made their way upstairs and to an unfamiliar bedroom, different than the one Geralt had seen. This one reminded him of the music room with a lute on a lounge chair and music sheets stacked on the coffee table next to it. The bed was unmade, the covers stained with black splotches of ink.

Geralt found clothes in the wardrobe and, instead of choosing for Jaskier, brought the whole lot on the bed. A bundle of frills, laces and silks. They had to make holes in the pretty fabric to fit the third limb, but soon Jaskier was decent. Geralt observed him as he dressed, getting familiar with the beat of his heart, slower than humans', and his scent that carried that same herbal sweet smell he'd already picked up on.

"For what seemed like eternity, I drifted in this mansion, barely aware of my own existence. Then you came along and brought me back to consciousness. I don't understand how, but I don't think I have enough words to express my gratitude. Which is a feat, coming from a poet."

Geralt huffed and crouched in front of him instead of trying to find a seat through all those frills and silks.

"You already knew how to come to yourself, I was but the trigger you needed to realise it. Your family, how much do you know about them?"

Jaskier worked his bottom lip, his expression darkening. “Too much. My parents weren’t good people, sought to use our soiled bloodline for dark purposes, but I refused to continue their bidding. My only attempt at exploiting my birthright served no purpose but to shed me of my humanity.”

“Your action, even if negative in hindsight, was rightfully justified. Love has many faces, it is beautiful just as it taints everything it touches. Forgive yourself for acting under its influence.”

Geralt patted his knee awkwardly. Comforting others had never been his strength. He was surprised when Jaskier leaned closer to press a kiss against his cheek, uncaring of the dried blood.

"Thank you,” Jaskier said, his voice small but sincere. Geralt nodded and got back on his feet to give Jaskier time to regain composure, a nervous flutter growing under his own ribs. “What happens now?"

"You need the help of magical experts who can understand your new self, which I’m not."

"No, you kill monsters… Why haven't you put that silver sword through me then?"

Geralt titled his head as he regarded him. “I kill monsters that are violent and wilfully kill people. As far as I’ve seen, you are neither.”

“I thank you for your faith in me, but there’s no telling I won’t become one of those. I don’t know what I’ve turned into.”

“Then we’ll find out together. For now, I still have a mansion to clear. Will its owner accompany me and show me more of its secrets?” That way, he could also observe him. To make sure he’d adapt well to his new body, of course. Nothing but pure professionalism on his part.

Jaskier smiled and followed him out of his bedroom. “You’re in for the best tour then. Have you visited the attic yet? There’s many interesting rooms to be discovered.”

#geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #lovecraftian #twn #the witcher #my writing #tempted to tag purple prose as well because there's a lot in this #monster march 2023

7 notes · View notes