#there was like one scene i couldnt get to work and the whole thing sortve. collapsed like a souffle. ah well

[roughentumble]

🍦 🦅👐

hmmmm i dont see those patty-cake type hands on the list, so im going to answer this hand emoji 🤲 :3

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

HMMMmmm either "key to my heart" or "geralt and roachie"! everyone says geralt and roachie made them cry, but i always thought it was the sweetest, sappiest thing haha.

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

100% fly by the seat of my pants. occasionally i'll have an idea of something i definitely want to include(i wanted two big fight scenes for petals and pining, and roughly knew where i wanted them to go, but had no real concept of the story as a whole, so it was just like. We'll Get There When We Get There!)

it's the adhd haha, i've never written outlines, even for things everyone said Needed outlines. it's a skill that needs practice just like anything else, and i never have. my work would maybe be better if i ever put in the time to get better at it, but it's not what i enjoy doing, so i dont bother.

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

this isn’t a wip, as it’s at this point abandoned. there was one part i just...... couldn’t get to work in my head, and then my interest waned, you know how it goes. i may get back to it again one day, who knows! i have a bunch of abandoned projects on the cutting room floor that aren’t actually bad, i just couldnt get them off the ground. but anyway, since it may never see the light of day, here’s a rather long snippet of unnamed work(jaskier does not realize they’re dating), under a cut for the sake of everyone’s dashboards:

===

Being friends with Geralt of Rivia required something of a gentle touch.

Which isn't to say that he was some sort of wilting flower, or that he couldn't handle a blunt talking to, or jokes at his own expense, things of that nature. Just that he can be rather... reticent with his own feelings, and with overt familiarity. It takes a while for him to truly open up, and if you aren't careful when he does, he snaps back shut like a clam, takes forever and a day to get him to trust you enough to try again. A natural result, Jaskier laments, of his rather rough life. It makes sense, of course, but it still makes Jaskier's heart break when he sees Geralt pull away from a kind hand, or hesitate to return a friendly smile.

[something also about him being a man of action, so expressing his affections thru words is rare. he's not inept, its just an extra little bit he has to extend himself, and its not his natural reaction]

He also seems, on occasion, mystified by certain facets of human interaction. No one understands every intricacy of society, of course, there will always be some rule that doesn't make sense, or maybe something that's common in the region your grew up in and only there, so traveling leaves one floundering on how to interact. But Geralt, especially, Jaskier notes, seems to come up short on what's expected of him in what should be simple situations. Again, Jaskier attributes this to the rough life he's led, to his unorthodox childhood up on a mountain, surrounded by men who cared more about his capacity for violence than his ability to navigate social moors.

More's the pity.

All this to say, Jaskier is disinclined to push too much in any particular direction when it's obvious that Geralt is extending himself, emotionally. [all this to say, jaskier is generally inclined to let geralt get away with things??? idk, work on phrasing maybe.]

So when Geralt turns to him one night, tearing his eyes away from their little campfire to stare at him with a depth of intensity that leaves him feeling warm and nervous all at once, and says "Jaskier... you matter very much to me," as though he had to pry each syllable from his throat, [????idk i lost the thread of this sentence]

"Well, of course I feel the same, as you know you're very dear to--" he starts, but Geralt reaches over to grab his hand, cutting him off.

"No. I... you're /very/ important to me." He says insistently, eyes boring into Jaskier. It's clear he's trying to convey something very big, and very important, and Jaskier has no idea what it could be, other than what it sounds like on the surface-- Geralt and he are rather close friends.

But he looks very hopeful, and very sweet, and very vulnerable the way he clutches at Jaskier's hand, and Jaskier doesn't want to spook him off by questioning it too deeply, so he just accepts the little confession. Hopes the lump in his throat isn't too obvious when he responds in kind. Geralt's expression changes into something soft, obviously relieved that his friendship was reciprocated, and he gives Jaskier's hand a squeeze. Bumps their shoulders together affectionately. And then the subject is promptly dropped for the rest of the night, vulnerability over.

=============

Geralt had been doing that, even before the night around the campfire. Holding Jaskier's hand, being a little more loose with physical affection. Testing the waters, it seems, trying to find where the line it, but after that night he gets even handsier. And Jaskier can't complain, of course, Geralt must be touch-starved with the life he leads, and it's so sweet the way a hand finds it's way to the small of his back in a dense crowd, or the press of Geralt's leg against his when they sit near each other in a tavern, or rarely enough the weight of an affectionate, friendly kiss along his brow.

Geralt doesn't understand what is and isn't taken in a platonic manner, is all, Jaskier's sure. And this little olive branch of affection after so many years of trying to be his friend, trying to get him to open up and relax, isn't one Jaskier intends on throwing aside anytime soon. He's always been pretty liberal with affection himself, so really, it's fine. It makes something ache in his chest, to be so close to what he wants and yet so far-- but he wouldn't trade it for anything, when he sees that tentative little smile tugging at the corners of Geralt's lips.

===========

He is fairly thrown for a loop, though, the first time Geralt kisses him.

============

It's a small thing. Just a press of lips to his in the wee hours of the morning. Geralt's hand comes up, strokes a thumb along his cheekbone, and then he just... kisses him. pecks him right on the lips. Then he straightens, and goes back to sorting out his pack like he didn't just entirely topple Jaskier's world before the sun had fully risen.

Jaskier's entire face is red, and his mind races, because Geralt-- Geralt /kissed/ him, like it was nothing, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, gentle and affectionate and wonderful, and Jaskier must make some noise or something, because Geralt glances over his shoulder. "Is-- is that alright?" He asks, in reference to the kiss. He sounds a bit confused, maybe a bit nervous, and Jaskier sucks in a shaky breath, feeling infinitely frazzled. Geralt looks so innocent, kneeling there on the floor, like there was nothing out of the ordinary about what he just did.

And Jaskier can picture it, in his head, allowing Geralt to see his internal freak out, and explaining the differences in what sorts of affection you're supposed to show to different people, and what sort of signal he'd just sent, and the way Geralt-- poor, sweet Geralt-- would be so confused, and then disheartened, and then wouldn't try at all to be affectionate anymore, and Jaskier would lose the sudden closeness he'd gained, so instead he just... he says "Fine. It's-- I just didn't expect-- it's fine." Then he thinks 'fine' sounds judgemental, maybe, and amends it to "Nice."

His face is still burning red, must be, but Geralt relaxes at his reassurance. "Good." He says, smiles one of those smiles he's been showing more of recently, and gets back to packing like absolutely nothing is amiss.

==============

Slowly, Jaskier gets used to it. The first kiss was shocking, yes, but once he knows to expect it-- and now he's steeled himself against the emotional weight of it-- he rolls with it fairly easily, and it just becomes another part of their routine. Since Geralt started displaying his affection, it's been a slow but steady build

[something about how jaskier likes it, and doesnt want to scare him away, but also feels guilty taking advantage. since he rather enjoys it for a different reason he thinks, and for geralt /obviously/ its innocent.]

============

[no fucking clue on how to broach the morning wood thing.

idk how to, like, build the heat to make it plausible.

but i guess maybe put it here?]

============

The worst-- best-- no, worst, part is

it just keeps happening.

============

And so it becomes routine. They wake up hard, and it's only natural to help each other. Of course. And Geralt doesn't mean anything by it, so...

Jaskier compartmentalizes. Enjoys what he has.

This is completely fine.