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thelostgirl21 · 10 months

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A celebration of Joey Batey offering TV show writers a pure masterclass on how to write a queer character with a queer audience in mind.

Can I just say how much respect and appreciation I have for Joey, that he went above and beyond in term of queer representation, by bringing some much needed attention towards people on the aromantic spectrum, and making gender a complete romantic/sexual (and even queerplatonic) non-issue?

I mean, imagine that you are part of a show with a young and powerful canonically bisexual lead, Ciri, who is at an age where people might start exploring their own sexuality, slowly figuring out who and what they like, etc.

And suddenly, you're offered to also be playing another queer lead character, with a male love interest - while knowing it will be the very first time that the audience will be officially introduced to the idea of Jaskier being queer...

And, instead of going with the more familiar, and often expected:

"A man that's always been with women before, now finds himself romantically and sexually attracted to a man, and starts questioning his own sexual identity..." coming out story...

You find yourself with a unique opportunity to go a bit further, to explore more specific and lesser known LGBTQ+ themes, and to delightfully surprise your queer audience!

You can take a full dive into the wonderful world of Queerdom, by exploring a different - yet just as equally important and significant - coming out story!

i.e.

"A usually aromantic person, that has always experienced squishes, smushes, and possibly meshes before, finds himself experiencing a (sapio)romantic crush for the very first time, and starts questioning his romantic identity..."

Of course, a lot of people in the audience will probably miss this.

The monosexuals that have been conditioned to believe that gender must always play a role in how one experiences romantic and sexual human attraction - will likely be paying more attention to how Jaskier is showing an interest in a man.

People that are used to equating "falling in love" with "romantic attraction", might miss the significance and importance of Vespula specifically using the word crush to refer to Jaskier's current attraction towards Radovid.

People that typically see non-gender-related orientations as "mere preferences", or have simply never heard of them, might miss how Jaskier goes on and on about how "emotionally intelligent and insightful Radovid is" , with a look of vulnerability and wonder, putting emphasis on how different he feels about him.

People that were taught to see emotional relationships according to the "platonic vs romantic" binary - with a strict idea of what each means and implies - may not be familiar with what queerplatonic relationships are, and will interpret Jaskier saying that he loves Geralt "platonically" as meaning that he's not as deeply and strongly in love with him as one might usually expect a romantic partner to be.

They'll be unaware that there are committed life partners out there - that would go to the end of the world for each other and perhaps even share sexual intimacy together - that don't have any romantic feelings for each other whatsoever.

Romance does not mean "being in love", romance means "being in love in a romantic way".

And it is not the only way.

To aromantics and greyromantics - and even to romantic people that also have the capacity to fall in love in non-romantic ways, such as yours truly - queerplatonic and alterous relationships aren't "lesser than" romantic ones, they are different.

And Radovid... is different.

Radovid is no better, nor worse, than a hammer...

But he's a spoon.

He's a romantic connection that is completely new, exciting and intriguing to explore for Jaskier!

According to Joey Batey, as a sapioromantic panromantic pansexual, Jaskier finds himself developing a strong sapioromantic and sapiosexual connection with Radovid.

Jaskier is representing people that aren't romantically or sexually affected by a partner's gender in the way that they experience sexual atttraction, and people that experience a lot of tertiary attraction when falling in love, while very seldom ever being able to love others in a romantic way (sapioromantics / greyromantics... ).

Jaskier is a queer character that was truly created with a queer audience in mind!

He was created so that all of us that don't see or experience love according to the platonic vs romantic binary.

All of us that are hyperaware of those other forms of attraction (tertiary, aesthetic, sensual, etc.) that one can experience for another human being.

All of us that don't see or experience romance or sexuality as something that ties into their partner's gender.

Could finally see themselves in a character on screen.

Of course, you still need characters that experience their sexuality while feeling like the gender of their romantic and sexual partners matters - including those that love all genders... Desperately so!

First, because all members of the queer community matter and are equally as important and valuable. Rejoicing over Batey diving into lesser known and familiar representation doesn't mean that familiar and better known representation should not be encouraged and celebrated as well!

This is not a "there should be less gay character on TV to make room for more aromantics and asexuals instead" post.

This is a "we need queer identities people are less familiar with in addition to proper gay, lesbian and bisexual representation" post.

And second, because you still need characters that don't stray too much from the platonic v.s. romantic binary, too - and the usual social conventions tied to romance and sexuality - so that non-queer audiences can more easily connect, and empathize with, the queer community.

Because, when the existence of bisexuality already is something that monosexual people often have a hard time understanding, acknowledging, or even believing in...

Well, going:"By the way, I'll have you know that you can totally want to have sex with, live, and raise children with someone you've got platonic feelings for, too!"

You might accidentally lose them.

And if you try to explain that some people are unable to romantically connect with anyone, unless they get specifically attracted to their intellect (often combined with their aesthetic looks)!

That's likely going to be even worse!

And this is where Batey's pure genius comes to light.

Because he's just shown that you can find a beautiful and organic way to explore queerness more in depth - totally stepping away from the usual relationship conventions and specifically addressing your queer audience - simply by using a vocabulary that said queer audience will understand and connect with.

You can make it clear that the character is on the greyromantic spectrum, by having Vespula state that she's never ever seen him with a crush before!

You can put the emphasis on him being more specifically sapioromantic, by having him dreamily go on about how Jaskier perceives Radovid's intellect.

And, if Batey is to be believed - and he's been exploring the idea of Jaskier being queer since the very beginning of the show (without any clear response from the writers or producers regarding Jaskier's sexuality) - then, by making it clear that he loves Geralt platonically in Season 3, he's also allowing us to revisit all the scenes between Jaskier and Geralt from Season 1, while enjoying them through an aromantic lense.

Someone on the aromantic spectrum watching that scene might thus find themselves deeply connecting with the strong platonic squish (although it could also be a mesh) that Jaskier immediately experienced the very first time he saw Geralt...

You can see Jaskier as specifically believing himself to be Geralt's best friend in the whole wide world, and instinctively reading into Geralt allowing him to physically/sensually touch him (rubbing chamomile onto his lovely bottom) as him possibly desiring a queerplatonic connection with him also.

And, the scene where he's suggesting to Geralt that they could get away for a while, head to the coast together...

Where he mentions that life is too short not to do what pleases you, and admits that he's trying to work on what pleases him...

Look, the fact is that there's always been aromantic and greyromantic people experiencing tertiary forms of love and attractions for other people long before we had any words to put on those emotions, desires and needs.

So, it's rather easy to see Jaskier as someone that is experiencing a powerful alterous attraction for his best friend, and realizing that what pleases him the most, is the idea of them sharing a queerplatonic or alterous relationship together...

It makes sense to interpret what Jaskier is saying as him trying to express and articulate the love he feels for Geralt the best he can - implying that Geralt is what pleases him - while trying to ask Geralt if he also feels the same way...

Sadly, Geralt doesn't quite get it; likely because he's also romantically and sexually attracted to Yennefer and, when he loses her, instinctively throws all his own hurt and heartbreak at Jaskier - blaming him for everything that (he believes) lead to that loss!

And just because the break up Jaskier experienced wasn't a romantic one doesn't make it any less devastating.

Poor loving bard was making plans for them to continue to travel and enjoy their time together as the platonic boyfriends he believed them to be, and Geralt told him that all Jaskier had to offer him was a giant pile of shit that he kept shoveling his way!

There's been a lot of alterous and/or queeplatonic subtext since Season 1 (that could also read as romantic, but should never be used as evidence or proof of romance if we were talking about a real life partnership).

And, while I do acknowledge that queerbaiting has been messing with our ability to perceive and appreciate those relationships as such, I do think that, canonically establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic, at the very least, clearly addresses the reasons why Jaskier was behaving in such an amorous way with Geralt without being romantically in love with him.

For once, instead of mocking the queer audience for "having mistakenly read two same-gender close friends as being romantically attracted to each other" (while doing as much as they can to suggest romance to keep them hooked!), they are canonically establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic, with him experiencing his first romantic crush with Radovid.

The show's dialogue is telling people on the aromantic spectrum that "Yes, Jaskier is one of you. He gets squishes, meshes, lushes, and can desire a queerplatonic relationship with a best friend he's got strong platonic feelings for also."

You can speak to your queer audience, without fully risking alienating your non-queer audience, by simply using clues, and a language that your queer audience understands.

And I will forever be grateful to Joey Batey for having understood it, and having so skillfully managed it.

As someone who is ambiamorous, panalterous, panromantic, demisexual, and pansexual, all the nuances and details he brought to Jaskier's queerness was a pure delight, and spoke to me in a way that no TV show character has ever spoken to me before (except, perhaps, in "Sense8", but the whole show itself was about what it meant to love and be human, with main characters sharing a supernatural psychic bond making them more likely to open themselves to all the queer forms of love... whereas shows like "The Witcher" is of a more mainstream fantasy show).

I wish I had a way to contact him to tell him thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for breaking gender boundaries, and "platonic vs romantic" boundaries with Jaskier, and offering us a character that is one of the purest, most beautiful, and most perfectly balanced love song to queerness that one could have written and sung about!

Jaskier is a queer representation groundbreaking masterpiece on a show such as this.

That representation is as intelligent, insightful, and sharp as Prince Radovid himself.

And Extraordinarily Things said more about Jaskier's feelings, issues, and vulnerabilities than any piece of dialogue ever could have, and had me weeping my eyes out by the time Jaskier sang about how he finally felt like he was enough...

Well done Joey, you absolutely brilliant and deeply empathetic real-life bard and poet, well done...

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cherryjuicegf · 10 months

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He sees her last. After the blood and the gloom and the despair that plagued his sight, after the death and the wails and the pleas that teared at his chest, he sees her last.

Chaos, he thinks, has never looked more serene.

In another place, at another time, it would be beautiful.

Now Yennefer meets his eyes from across the hall and a sudden jolt shakes her whole and she runs, gods, she runs to him with such helplessness and relief that he knows he will welcome the most bruising hug, if it means it will keep her afloat. There is a weeping beauty in sadness, but not for her eyes. Never for her eyes.

As she buries her head in his shoulder, he feels her heart digging a hole in his chest. He holds her tight.

"Thank the gods," she whispers, as though to herself, "thank the gods you're alive."

In another place, at another time, he would make a joke, perhaps about the feeling not being mutual, just to steal a smile and a banter from her lips.

But he has no heart for that now. Not even for that.

He only has a chain clenched tight around his heart and gutting his voice in shame every time he opens his mouth to speak. "Yennefer, I–"

At once, she looks at him. "No words." As though she knows what he would say, as though she knows all he hasn't done, and mourns him anyway. She shakes her head, eyes huge and dark and pleading. "You can't stay here, it's dangerous. You have to go. You have to find Geralt."

"Yennefer, Yen– I know." His fingers dig into her arms and he can't bear to loosen his hold, he can't bear to let her go. Not yet. He smiles, soft. Leans to search for her eyes, for just a moment of peace in their turbulent current. "I just wanted to see my darling witch."

Yennefer stares at him for a moment, shoulders tense. Then, she huffs a laugh. Her expression softens, almost crumbles.

He feels her hands shaking where she holds him and the corners of her lips tremble as though with all the unspoken screams of the sea trapped into a single shell, wailing and weeping and waiting to be heard. He only wishes he had time to put her heart to his ear.

Her voice is quivering as she speaks. "I don't know where Ciri is," she says and it sounds like the complaint of a mother and a child crushed into one, like the world's cruelest crime, the earth's deepest regret, choked in swallowed tears. "I don't know where she is, I don't–"

She doesn't let her face break, as if she knows that when the bottle cracks, there will be no end or beginning, as if she knows he will only have to stay there, and hold her through it. And he cannot stay here between death's teeth.

She can't afford this too.

But he knows terror when he sees it in her eyes, for it is not frequent, and floods them with a different kind of darkness. It breaks his heart.

She looks at him for a moment deeply, in thought. Then she lets out a sharp breath. Quiet, exhausted. "Gods, Jaskier. I'm losing everything all over again. And then," she nods at him from tip to toe and laughs again, as though she finds it absurd, "here you are. Here you always are."

Maybe it sounds painful, because she winces.

Maybe she cannot bear looking at him, maybe in hope it will hurt less if she loses him. But Jaskier doesn't abandon her eyes, only stays there, because their violet melts just like then, just like that other time she was all bereft and scared and he got to see it, and knew. Yet again, a familiar kind of despair.

But, gods. What else could one make out of shared pain, except for love?

A tear flows down her cheek, and he wipes it away with his thumb before it shatters. He holds her face. "Hey. You are not in this fight alone." He swallows, voice thick, hand firm as though to caress the love on her skin and right into her. "Not anymore."

Oh, she has been alone for so long. So long that her first instinct is to disbelieve him, doubt him, squint. But it is only for a moment.

Because his thumb is still stroking her cheek clean of stray tears and her brows can only twitch in desperate acceptance as she slowly covers his hand with hers and leans into his touch, closes her eyes. Presses on, as though to memorize the shape of his palm when it's missing, as though asking of him to remember her shape.

Jaskier can't hear her, but feels her own voice in his head as he prays they don't become no more than a memory.

"We'll meet again." She looks at him again and now her voice is steadier.

It makes him smile. He will miss this. Offering a hand for her to lean into every now and then. Watching as she rises again, indelible.

A chuckle, as the curtain threatens to rise. "Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Besides," he speaks softer now, like a lullaby, like a confession, "I could never be done with the likes of you, Yennefer of Vengerberg."

A promise.

And Yennefer smiles, through the tears, and shakes her head. How strange, how comforting. To fight so hard for a purpose, and to know the purpose is willing, at last, to fight back for you.

With a deep sigh, she raises her head. And there she is again. Solid, seething, like a burning hill. "Don't leave Geralt alone."

"You know I won't." Then, pleading. "Be strong."

He knows she will be. It's mostly to remind himself.

Slowly, their hands drop away, and he hopes the warmth of her touch lingers on his hand for a while.

"Be brave," she replies, but she knows too. "I won't be there to save you this time." Jaskier huffs, mostly to hold back tears. "Well, then," she continues, and her voice is suddenly strained in a half-laugh, half-sob, an attempt perhaps, to seal the promise back. "Goodbye. Good luck–"

Only, she can't.

Her voice dies in her throat, and she presses her lips together, in refusal, in grief. Her eyes are wet again.

Jaskier lets out a silent gasp and shakes his head, pulling her close one last time, tighter than before. This is too much. He can't ask for too much. So he only lets her steal some breaths from his chest before he lets her go, and places a kiss on her head.

He feels her holding her breath, or his, as she pulls back and silently looks at him one last time.

And then, like a cord snapping in two, she turns around and walks outside the room. She doesn't look back.

And Jaskier watches numb. Her form disappears behind the walls and he stands wrecked, a sob threatening to rip his throat apart.

Broken, trembling, he smiles at her remaining memory, and decides to seal her promise himself. "Good riddance."

His voice echoes back to him in the empty hall.

#hiii insane hour again!! who's asleep #anyway i want the equivalent of goodbye good luck good riddance in part 2 and if i can't have it i will do it myself #also not to get meta on my own fic but you know. the promise of meeting again returning back to jaskier. you know #the witcher #yennskier #yennefer of vengerberg #jaskier #s3 spoilers #the witcher s3 #fic recs #chrysa writes #or tries to idk i'm tired

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artistsfuneral · 1 year

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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.

#the witcher #artistsfuneral about the witcher #geraskier #jaskier #geralt #geralt of rivia #ciri #cirilla fiona elen riannon #ciri of cintra #witcher coen #witcher

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inexplicifics · 28 days

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Hi!

I got a few questions but first:

I loved the new chapter of Flung to Catch a Star!! I’m glad all the new Witchers made it through. Geralt having a crush on Erland of Larvik is cute!! Secondly I’m enjoying how you keep us guessing about Emhyr’s thought process because he’s not a fool. It’s hard to tell if he’s thinks A, X, or Z thoughts. Also, I’m enjoying Cabir and Morvran! It’s fun seeing them learn from their time at Kaer Morhen.

So my questions are:

I was rereading With Tenderness and Nobleness, and I caught the brief mention of Erland and Arnaghad. I was wondering, were they romantic partners? I blame this on the fact when I read that line, I saw @irreconcilable differences” and not “irreconcilable philosophical differences”. I was curious so I had to ask. lol 😂

Secondly, if this isn’t spoilers for the last third of Flung to Catch a Stars, how much of a relationship do you see Ciri and Emhyr having?

I'm so glad you're enjoying Flung to Catch a Star! I'm having a lot of fun Baffling the poor boys.

I don't think I've defined on page whether Erland and Arnaghad were romantic partners. I've certainly read some very good fics with that premise. But they did split over irreconcilable philosophical differences over what the role of Witchers ought to be, and it was not a pretty split.

How much of a relationship to I see Ciri and Emhyr having...I think that's going to be explored later in the Progress fics, honestly. Though if Emhyr does something really boneheaded, the answer might just be "brief".

#questions answered #accidental warlord au #flung to catch a star

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thenightling · 6 months

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More thoughts on The Witcher

Ever since the Netflix TV series of The Witcher decided to reveal that Jaskier (Yas-key-er) the sidekick bard character, is bisexual, I've seen more complaints about Netflix making The Witcher Woke. Netflix... Making... The Witcher... Woke... Were you not paying attention? The Witcher was ALWAYS woke! First we have the elves, second class citizens who were previously wiped out during a totally-not-a-holocaust allegory. They very obviously serve as a metaphor for Jewish and Roma people. With some indigenous people forced from their own land by colonialism BLATANT symbolism. Having Yennefer (A sorceress who is part elf) played by a woman who is of mixed Indian racial background helps drive this intended allegory home. Ciri (Geralt's adopted daughter) is canonically not straight and becomes the first woman Witcher. But somehow there are "fans" who are pissed off at Jaskier being revealed as bisexual. By the way, to think Jaskier of The Witcher Netflix series is straight is to have no gaydar (I am using the term Gaydar to mean all potential flavors of Queerness). He had a break up song about Geralt in season 2! A full season before the show finally showed him writing a song for man he had a crush on and kissing the man. The character is pretty much The Witcher version of Freddie Mercury (right down to the vocal range).

#Witcher #The Witcher #Jaskier

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ghostinthelibrarywrites · 1 year

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Number 9: pressing face against other's neck to hide from the world + the number that's a tender kiss to the crown of someone's head.

Pairing: Eskel x Jaskier.

Thank you and pretty please ❤️

“I’m fine!” Jaskier says as Geralt and Eskel deposit him on the grimy little straw mattress that this inn considers a bed. “Really, I appreciate the three of you rushing gallantly to my rescue, but I had the situation well in hand.”

“Bardling, you just spent a week in a dungeon.” Yennefer looks unimpressed.

“A very nice dungeon,” Jaskier says. “It had a chamberpot! You don’t get amenities like that in most Northern dungeons. I need to get arrested in Nilfgaard more often.”

“No,” Geralt, Yennefer, and Eskel say at the same time.

“Are you hurt?” Eskel looks him over, a frown creasing his brow.

“A few bumps and bruises.” With a wince, Jaskier touches his bruised stomach. One of the soldiers who arrested him had a kick like a mule. “But compared to the last time I found myself arrested, it was a dream. The guards actually liked my singing!”

“Well, Nilfgaard is a notoriously uncultured country,” Yennefer says.

“Missed you too, you dreadful witch.”

Geralt gives her a tired look. “Yenn and I are going to go check on Ciri. Can you stop him from getting into trouble for an hour, Esk?”

“I’ll do my best.” Eskel nods gravely.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on leaving this bed anytime soon!” Jaskier calls after them. As the door closes behind them, he turns to Eskel. “Have they worked things out, then? They seem far chummier than when we all left Kaer Morhen. I hope so. Please don’t tell her I said this, but I’ve grown quite fond of Yennefer.”

Eskel watches him with worried golden eyes. “You sure you’re okay, songbird?”

Under that familiar gaze, Jaskier can feel his facade start to crack. With effort, he keeps his bright smile on his face. “Really, I’m fine. I knew you’d find me eventually.”

Except, he hadn’t, because he thought that Geralt and Yennefer were hiding in some remote corner of the Continent with Ciri and that Eskel was walking the Path. He hadn’t expected any of them to know that something had happened to him until it was far too late.

“And there was no torture.” Jaskier wiggles his uninjured fingers to demonstrate. “No burning, no beating, no breaking of fingers. Everyone was quite civil, actually.”

They’d been waiting for someone to come to interrogate Jaskier. Whether it was the fire fucker or some other sadistic bastard, Jaskier thankfully never learned. The waiting had almost been worse than pain.

“And the food was actually quite good.” Jaskier is starting to hear the strain in his own voice. “Have you ever had olives, Eskel? I was skeptical at first, but I’ll admit, they grew on—”

Eskel closes the distance between them in two strides and sinks down onto the mattress next to Jaskier, pulling him into his arms.

Half-heartedly, Jaskier tries to push him away. “Love, I probably reek. I just spent a week in a dungeon.”

“You don’t smell any worse than this damn mattress.” Eskel’s voice is a familiar, soothing rumble.

“The sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Jaskier laughs weakly and tucks his face into the curve of his lover’s throat. He smells like leather and horse and the slow, steady beat of his pulse is wonderfully familiar. Burrowing closer, Jaskier tries to block out the memory of the past week—the fear, the uncertainty, and the crushing loneliness.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it out this time,” he murmurs into Eskel’s skin. “I didn’t think anyone would know to look for me. I figured you wouldn’t know I was gone until the winter.”

“Yennefer heard a rumor and she and Geralt came to get me.”

Jaskier huffs a laugh. “Gods, does this mean I owe Yennefer my life again? Bring me back to the dungeon, Eskel, I can’t bear it.”

Eskel brushes a feather-light kiss across Jaskier’s forehead. “No.”

Jaskier tightens his grip on the front of Eskel’s shirt. “Horrible man.”

Eskel kisses him again, pressing his lips against Jaskier’s temple. “I told you when we left Kaer Morhen, if you needed me, I’d find you.”

Jaskier feels a lump rising in his throat and swallows it back. “That’s the second sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He starts laughing at his own joke, the sound odd and ragged.

Eskel kisses the shell of his ear. “You’re okay, songbird. I’ve got you.”

The laughter dies in Jaskier's throat and he closes his eyes, cuddling closer to Eskel, and lets himself think of nothing but strong arms around him and the familiar heartbeat under his cheek. That dark, dank dungeon with no company but the sound of his own singing is far away. Eskel is here and Jaskier is okay.

24 Touches Prompts

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 #twn #jaskel #eskel x jaskier #ghost's writing #prompt fills

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merlot-and-chardonnay · 4 months

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A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 21

Chapter 20.5

"Geralt!"

Tears in your eyes, choking back a sob, hoping beyond hope that this was not a dream, you run to the witcher, pulling him for a crushing embrace.

Geralt grunts, like he was in pain, making you loosen your hold on him.

"Easy, dove, easy," he says, "still not...fully recovered it."

"Sorry," you say, pulling back, not fighting the tears that spilled forth, "It's just...I've missed you Geralt, I've missed you so much. I...I've waiting for you for so long, I had given hope, I...Geralt, it's been years, why didn't you come for me sooner?"

"I tried, love, I really did," Geralt softly insists, "I...I did everything I could to get here, but so much has happened since last you were on the Continent and..."

"Jaskier told me," you say. "Jaskier's here?" "Yeah," you nod, "He made it here before you did. He told me what happened...on Thanedd. Well not exactly, he didn't give me all the details, surprising as that is. He said you got hurt, badly. And then I heard you were sighted in the North of Westeros, I was about to assume the worse."

Geralt nods, "I first tried to find a ship that could take me here," he explains, "but none would travel that route, something about pirates in this place called the Stepstones. So I sought out a mage, but each time I found one, they would refuse to portal me here saying that magic in this part of the world works differently and they didn't have the skills to overcome it."

"Yennefer managed to it seems," you say, making Geralt look up at you in shock, "Jaskier told me she was alive," you explain, "this whole time I thought she was dead. I'm glad she survived, and that she was able to help you. But...she wasn't able to help with your injuries?"

"That required the help of some Dryads," Geralt admits, "and the waters of Brokilon forest."

Your eyes widen, realizing now that the extent of Geralt's injuries were far worse then you had previously thought, "What happened in Thanedd, Geralt?" you ask. "It's a long story," he tells you, "what's important is I am here now...for you."

You nod, a fresh wave of tears spilling out again. You pull Geralt in for another hug, albeit a little gentler this time so as not to hurt him, "I've missed you Ger-bear. All I could think about was you."

"I've missed you too," Geralt says back, burying his face into your neck and breathing in your scent.

Sweet as ever, though the witcher had to do his best to ignore the faint traces of a scent of a certain morally reprehensible prince that still lingered on your dress.

"He's here isn't he?" Geralt asks you, once he pulls away, "in King's Landing." You don't say anything, but give a small nod. Geralt could see the terrified look in your eyes. He suspected what Daemon has been doing to you, but would not press for fear of you reliving whatever trauma that man had inflicted upon you during your captivity here.

"What of Ciri?" he asks. "She escaped years ago," you assure, "when my first escape plan failed, she managed to get on the last ship back to the Continent."

"and what of Aemma?" Geralt asks. "She's still here with me," you tell him, "the king has declared her true born, which makes her a Targaryen princess. He and...her father had also recently betrothed Aemma to the king's son. She is to wed when both children come of age."

Geralt stared in silence, seeing the look on your face which was one of concern and uncertainty, "I can't let that happen," you tell him, "princess Rhaenyra is still named Viserys' heir, but prince Aegon's grandfather I sense is planning on the seeing to it that the boy will be king next. If Aemma does marry Aegon, I fear she will be caught in between this political conflict. I fear it may end up costing her life, regardless of who will sit the Iron Throne in the end."

"...then we best get Aemma away from this place as soon as we can," Geralt states. "It won't be easy," you admit, "Aemma is part of the royal family now, she will be protected, even by her own mother."

"Have you a plan?" Geralt asks. "I'm working on it," you admit, "Me and Jaskier. We'll all leave...together this time."

In this moment, you and Geralt stare into each other's eyes. You missed looking into those golden eyes. It had been only hours ago that you had been lying on your back for a man you had come to fear and despise, but now here you were with the man you loved and had been waiting for.

You lean in, pressing your lips to his. He reciprocated and the kiss became more passionate.

It was this moment that the last four months had disappeared if only for a brief moment. They would surely return along with the trauma you've had to endure. But for now, you could feel it being put aside as you drink in the man before you.

The kiss deepen some more as you begin to feel Geralt up, straddling his lap and and ready to remove his tunic.

You needed this. You needed to drink Geralt in, if only to rid yourself of any traces of Daemon that still clung to you as a result from his possessive nature.

The emotions that consumed at this time, however, faded when you heard Geralt grunt out in pain.

The witcher groaned, followed by a sigh. You pull back slightly, noticing Geralt closed his eyes. You look down to see the bulge in his pants. He wanted this, but couldn't move around like he used to it seems, "Forgive me," he says, voice almost horse, "I'm...still having trouble moving without experiencing pain."

"...how long will this last?" you ask him.

"It waxes and wanes over time," the witcher admits, "but I was told this is something I may have to deal with for the rest of my life. It can be managed, but it will never go away, at least not completely."

"Will you still be able to take monster contracts?" you ask. "Maybe not as many as I used to," he answers, "but I can hold my own with a sword in hand."

You nod in understanding, leaning against Geralt so as to absorb his warmth and just be near him.

"Can I at least lay with you, if only just for a little while longer?"

Geralt nods, about to lean back, but you stop him, "I still want to feel you," you say, standing back to take off your dress, letting pool at your feet and leaving you in your small clothes. You then step closer to Geralt, pulling at the corners of his tunic. Geralt helps you take it off and he lays back on the bed, taking you with him. You rest your head against his chest, admiring the patch of hair there, rubbing against it. You missed this...you missed him, his smell, his rugged arms wrapped around you. You keep your eyes open for fear that if you closed them you would wake up and realize it was all just a dream.

"Where are your shoes?" you hear Geralt ask. You look at your feet and remembered why your shoes were missing, "I...really rather not talk about it," you sigh in admittance, "let's just say it involved the Law of Surprise, believe it or not."

"Hmm," was all Geralt said. You couldn't help but snort at that, "it's nice to know some things about you clearly haven't changed." You hear Geralt chuckle at your statement.

"I never did get to tell you," he says, breathing in your scent as he pressed his nose against your hair, "I love you too."

You fight back your tears at his declaration, memories coming back to your time at Kaer Morhen, when you first professed your love for the White Wolf, but had fallen asleep before he had a chance to say it back.

"We'll get out this Geralt," you say with determination, despite your voice coming out as a sob "neither gods, men, nor dragons will stop us this time."

You and Geralt lay in silence afterwards, you starting to doze off while Geralt stayed awake for a while longer.

You would never know how badly Geralt worked to get to where he was now, the blood, sweat, tears, and everything in between it took for him to finally get to you.

He pressed a kiss to your head while you slept.

He pulled you as close to him as possible without waking you up, if only to rid the fading scent of the Targaryen prince that still lingered on you.

There was also something else Geralt had sense. It was faint, and it was a sound that could've been missed by his witchers senses if it weren't quiet right now. The faint sound of a beating heart inside you; the same sound he had detected once before when you first came to Kaer Morhen when Aemma was still inside your womb.

The witcher sighed, having his suspicions, but he wasn't sure if he should break the news to you now or wait until the symptoms appear and you figure it out on your own. If he waited too long to tell you, it would be too late for you to make any decisions about it...but if he told you now, he wasn't sure if you would be able to handle the stress and trauma.

Geralt stared at the ceiling, sending a silent prayer, for once in his life, to whatever gods, if any, where up there to get you out of this situation before it was too late.

-------------------------

It was little less then an hour to day break by the time you waken from your little rest. You look up from where you had laid your head on Geralt's chest to see the man was sound asleep.

You didn't want to leave, but you needed to inform Jaskier that Geralt had finally arrived. Also if the servants will be coming to your room soon, and if they notice you were not there, if anyone managed to figure out you were nowhere in the Red Keep at this time, they would surely tell Daemon...and you didn't want to think about what sort of punishment the man would concoct for you if he found out.

You wake Geralt up briefly, placing a kiss to his lips and letting him know you had to return to the keep, but would come back to him tonight. Hopefully by then, you and Jaskier would have come up with an escape plan.

The witcher nodded, professing his love once again before your reluctant departure.

You sneak your way back to your room, suddenly feeling nauseated. The moment passes before you shake it off and walk out of the room to go see Jaskier.

The sun was rising at this point, which meant most would be up already to break their fast.

On your way there, you walk pass the nursery and hear wailing cries from the other side.

Having let curiosity get the better of you, you take a peak in to see Alicent doing her best to rock her daughter, who would not stop crying no matter how much effort the queen was putting in to calm the little princess down.

You were planning to walk away, but you saw the look on Alicent's face, like she was struggling. You felt pity for the young queen and walk inside.

"I can hold her if you want, your Grace," you say, startling Alicent, only to calm once more when she saw it was just you. "Forgive me" you say, "I uh, I could help but hear the uh, screaming from the other side."

"I appreciate the offer, but I can handle this," Alicent assures, though the look on her face told you otherwise.

You've been hearing things from the nursemaids that have been tending to Helaena, how the babe never seemed to calm whenever she was in her mother's arms. Alicent did everything she could to bond with her daughter, but the results have been all the same.

Studying her face some more, you could see it was more than just the struggle to raise her children. You recognize it as the same look you have seen on your own face when you looked into the mirror at Dragonstone.

Alicent Hightower may be married to a king and have servants weigh on her hand and foot, especially during the times she was carrying the king's children.

None of that changes the fact that Alicent was trapped; if her father wasn't around to serve on the small council, she would be essentially isolated, having no true allies at court, and even Rhaenyra, whom was once her best friend was estranged from the girl since the marriage.

It was normal for nobles to marry young and produce heirs, especially noble women, but sometimes you wonder if Alicent was maybe too young when she had wed Viserys, and too young to be a mother.

It made you realize how blessed you have been up until this point; if your own father wasn't too busy with the bottle, you wonder if he would've sought to it that you had been married at that age, essentially taking away the freedoms you have taken for granted all these years.

You place a hand on Helaena's back, which seemed to do the trick and calm the babe. Alicent looked up, like she was about to scold you, but the moment you saw her eyes, all you could was nothing but sweet relief.

No words were spoken, but you could see the queen offer a silent thank you in response.

In that moment, the wave of nausea hit you again, "excuse me, your Grace," you tell her, rushing out of the nursery before Alicent had a chance to response.

You empty the contents of your stomach somewhere in the hallway. You look around to see no one was in sight.

You feel panic wash over you; last time you felt this sick was when....

Tears fill your eyes as you lean back against the wall and slowly sink to the ground.

No, you shake your head, you didn't want to believe it. You didn't want to believe that the Rogue Prince could've done this to you again.

He had already trapped you first with Aemma and then with your forced secret marriage.

You could let him entrap you further with a second child.

Chapter 22

Masterlist

#hotd #geralt of rivia #ciri #daemon #the witcher #daemon targaryen #geralt #geralt x reader #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #aegon ii targaryen #helaena targaryen

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dftea · 4 months

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Follow me, Eurydice

Geralt is auctioned but Jaskier is there - hurt/comfort, geraskier/geraskefer/family of destiny

[read on ao3]

Geralt jolts awake, the tingle of magic itching at his skin. He is upright, barely, leaning against a cold pillar of stone with his wrists chained around it.

Around him, through a shimmering shield, he can hear a crowd of murmuring shadows, echoing strangely in the cavern surrounding him.

He reaches for the memory of how he came to be here, but it’s blurred in a thick fog, part magical and part related to the clot of blood he feels tugging at his hair. His bad leg is throbbing in protest, and he has a dozen half-healed injuries that speak of an intense and bloody fight.

The shield abruptly falls, and the cavern hushes, but it is still too bright, too loud. He doesn't remember taking a potion but he feels sensitive, disorientated.

“Who will start the bidding at one thousand crowns?”

Geralt thought the underground auction house was merely a rumour, but he should’ve known better than to doubt a story that spread so far and wide.

If Jaskier has taught him anything…

Jaskier.

Where is his bard?

The memories hit him sharply - the ambush on the road, the sheer numbers of them, telling Jaskier to leave him and not believing for a moment that he actually would.

Did he run for his life, like Geralt demanded? Was he another lot in this perverse auction? Or was he lying dead in the road, abandoned by the auctioneer’s mercenaries as not worth the effort?

He tries to look around, but the lights are blinding and he cannot get his bearings. The auctioneer is taking bids, but Geralt has lost track of how much these cretins think he’s worth. Of how much they think Ciri's location is worth.

He will die first, of that he is certain. A slow and painful death, but he endured the Trials as a mere human child - he can do this for his daughter, for his family.

If Jaskier is gone, it will make it easier to die.

“Who will give me–”

“Fifty thousand crowns.”

The voice is loud and resonant, cutting straight through the muttering and excitement - and Geralt would know that voice anywhere.

He’s going to kill him for this - after he's finished crushing him to his chest like a drowning man.

At least he’s alive to pull this stupid stunt.

Geralt tries to follow the sound, but he can only make out the silhouette of a ridiculous hat adorned with long feathers - the master bard is putting on a show for the crowned heads of the Continent, for the Emperor who hungers for his prize.

The auctioneer is momentarily stunned, not expecting such an escalation in the bidding, but he smoothly recovers.

“In coin, you understand, sir. The coin in your possession, tonight.”

“Oh, I am good for it,” Jaskier says, confidently, and Geralt doesn’t need to see him to know that he is giving the eye to every one of the competition. Impressing upon them the degree of their stupidity if they failed to account for him.

Geralt could kiss him. And then lightly shake him for a fool, for robbing whichever bank gave up that kind of money.

“Fifty-two thousand,” another voice calls - a mage, if Geralt isn’t mistaken, but he cannot place which one. Of course, the nobility hadn’t come themselves - it’s the surviving court mages and spymasters who are playing this game.

“Sixty thousand,” Jaskier says, easily.

Another silence, the soft jingling of coins in pouches. Trying to scrape together something to match that outrageous bid.

“Sixty-one?” comes a tentative venture, even as a hissed whisper tells the man to wait.

Jaskier scoffs. “Sixty-five.”

Geralt senses the defeat, the quick calculations regarding potential alliances - all dismissed. They have the money back in the palaces and vaults, but not here in this cavern, not tonight.

“Going once… going twice…”

Geralt feels the surging anger, the crackling of undischarged chaos - and whatever is holding it all at bay. An ancient dimeritium mine, perhaps.

The mages could probably break through its effects if they worked together - but they won’t, and they can’t burn their bridges to this place and its valuable treasures.

“Sold, to the Viscount de Lettenhove. If you will just bring your coffer, sir.”

The solid thud of a wooden chest hits a slab of rock, and Geralt hears the counting commence, by magic and by hand.

If he listens carefully, he can hear Jaskier humming, the gentle strumming of his lute. He vaguely recognises the song, he thinks, and that is likely the point. Jaskier is reminding him that he’s near, that he’s still able to breathe, to play.

“It is all verified genuine,” the auctioneer declares, clearly a little surprised. “You may remove the lot now.”

“And the auction house guarantee?” Jaskier says, a little sharply.

The auctioneer sighs, before reciting the words dully. “Not for ten years may the same lot pass through this house, dead or alive.”

“Quite right,” Jaskier says, and he’s clearly intimidating the other bidders again, heedless of their relative power.

The wind don’t cower to powerful men.

The bindings release, and it takes everything Geralt has not to collapse to the ground. Jaskier may be strong, but he can’t carry him out of there. They cannot afford to show any weakness to these predators and their masters.

The auction guards clear a path between him and his new owner, who he still can’t see all that clearly. Is he well? Favouring injuries? Everything within him longs to know.

Someone laughs in the crowd. “He’ll fall before you’re free, little bard. And then we’ll have him.”

Suddenly, Geralt feels something descend over him, very like a cloak. The light and sound is muffled again, and the crowd roars as if deprived of a spectacle.

“The lot will be concealed for ten minutes only,” the auctioneer intones. “After that, the auction will end and all participants may depart.”

Jaskier, apparently unperturbed, bows to his audience - and turns his back on Geralt. And he walks away, playing the same tune again and humming, not even glancing back over his shoulder.

Geralt stumbles after, concentrating on keeping his feet under him. He thinks it must have been some time since he was rested and fed, because his body would usually tolerate magic and deprivation better than this.

The tunnel is narrow ahead, and he bumps against the walls occasionally, keeping his eyes fixed on Jaskier. The bard is singing now, and Geralt finally recognises the Song of the Seven. Because Jaskier cannot help but prod the lions in their dens.

Every step feels like an eternity, but Jaskier doesn't speak to him, doesn’t run - he just swaggers onward, playing and singing as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

At first, he thinks he imagines the faint glow of light ahead, but as it grows, he recognises the silvery fall of moonlight. They are nearing the end, their escape.

He hopes Jaskier has a plan, because he isn’t sure he could fight a kitten right now.

Jaskier steps out into the full night, but still does not turn. He plays a few more notes, as Geralt doggedly follows, step after agonising step until he is just behind the bard.

A roar of sound rushes up the tunnel behind them, and Geralt feels the cloak of magic fall away.

Jaskier finally turns, his face lighting up as he sees Geralt, naked relief on his face and infusing his scent.

He steps forward, an embrace and a necessary intervention to stop Geralt falling to his knees.

Geralt hears the urgent whisper - “Yen, I have him.” - before the telltale light of a portal opens before them, lilacs and gooseberries spilling out into the clear night.

Jaskier drags him forward, all but carrying him, and Geralt feels Yen’s lips brush his cheek with the briefest touch.

But it does not stop there - another portal, and another, and yet another, each carrying a different scent and another dizzying, nauseating blow to Geralt’s self-control.

Finally, he stumbles into a room that radiates safety, Jaskier hauling him over to a bed he calls his own.

“--barely conscious, could hardly–”

“--risk with potions. I would need–”

“--promised she’ll be back before I could miss her, and she always–”

The fragments wash over him, and he allows his eyes to close.

When he opens them again, he finds himself propped up in bed, with Jaskier’s chest for a pillow and Ciri’s hands warming his, as she sleeps in the chair. Yennefer is busying herself by the table with Vesemir, sorting through various ingredients and tinctures, quietly debating what will and won’t work for whatever ails him.

A gentle kiss brushes against his ear. “Welcome back,” Jaskier murmurs.

His voice draws Yennefer and Vesemir’s attention away from their alchemy, and Ciri stirs at their movements. Geralt feels minutely scrutinised and overwhelmingly loved, which he doesn’t quite know what to do with.

“How…?” he rasps.

“Drink first,” Yennefer says, producing first water and then a series of potions in consultation with Vesemir, before he leaves to prepare…breakfast? Geralt has no idea what hour it is, what meal he should eat, or even what day or month.

The potions all taste awful, but he can feel them working within him, knitting him back together from the inside. Still, Yennefer hovers close by, sitting on the edge of the bed to watch over him.

Jaskier is back to humming, rocking him very gently, and Geralt can smell the stale fear, exhaustion, and guilt on his clothes.

He means to tell him that he did the right thing in running, that he was unbelievably stupid to come and rescue him, and that he’s glad to be home.

Instead, he says, “Sixty five thousand crowns.”

“We actually had sixty-seven,” Ciri pipes up, excitable in a way only a child could be when discussing the budget of a small kingdom. “So I think you were a bargain, really.”

“How?” he says, again, because he doesn’t know how to ask why?

“Oh, this and that,” Jaskier says, evasively, as if this were the kind of spare change one found in the bottom of a pack.

“I sold four manor houses,” Yennefer said, rolling her eyes at Jaskier, which slightly dulled the blow of four manor houses. “And I called in some favours of a financial nature.”

“Yen…” he says, though it comes out rough, his body fighting fatigue and foundering with it.

Her hand strokes over his arm, catching on a bandage, and he belatedly realises he’s bare-chested save for bandages. A great many bandages.

“Please. What need have I for manor houses when I have a winter holiday home in the mountains?” She gestures to the room, which Geralt’s brain sluggishly informs him is his bedroom at Kaer Morhen. Their bedroom.

“But Jaskier…” Ciri begins, then trails off.

Geralt can almost feel the intensity of the look Jaskier is shooting her from beside his ear, and he tries to turn his body to catch sight of his bard’s face.

But he really is too tired even for that small movement, and instead submits to drinking more water and some kind of bone broth that uncomfortably reminds him of recovering from the Trials.

“I think they kept you in some kind of cursed sleep for the past two weeks,” Yennefer says, with distaste. “Not a proper stasis, which is why your body has barely healed and you’ve lost so much strength - amateurs.”

That’s why it feels as if Jaskier is holding him up, why that familiar embrace feels so much more like support.

That, and the sum of sixty five thousand crowns smothering him.

“He’s brooding,” Yennefer teases, fondly, directing the remark over Geralt’s shoulder. “You’ll have to tell him.”

“When he’s better,” Jaskier says, firmly, trying to shut down the conversation again.

But that comment only worries Geralt more - what can’t he be told now, in his present state? Is he really so frail, or is Jaskier’s secret so terrible as to destroy him?

“He looks pretty upset now,” Ciri says, dubiously.

Jaskier sighs deeply, knowing when he’s outnumbered.

“I sold my title,” he says, blandly, as if talking about some cheap trinket. “The title, the holdings, my place in the succession for the Earldom. It’s not like I was doing anything with them anyway.”

Geralt knows very little about Jaskier’s noble life, but he knows enough to see that this is not some trivial thing. A noble title is currency, power and privilege. “I’m sorry, Jask.”

“Oh, really, Ferrant will be a much better Earl. Don’t get all emotional on me again.”

Geralt still can’t see Jaskier’s face, but he can see Yennefer and Ciri well enough. He’s missing something here.

“That…doesn’t add up,” he says, quietly. Even with the addition of the manor houses, he doesn't see how a minor Earldom in Redania could raise that kind of capital.

A quieter, more subdued sigh. “And Valdo Marx paid an extortionate sum for me never to play in a tournament or court again.”

Geralt cannot help his involuntary gasp, searching Yennefer and Ciri’s faces for the truth of it.

“You didn't.”

“Geralt, I don’t care about accolades half as much as Valdo does. I haven't entered a tournament in three years. No court will pay me after I just swiped you out from under their noses.”

“We got what we wanted,” Yennefer says, softly, her eyes boring into his to make him understand.

“And we wanted what we got,” Jaskier adds, quietly, pressing another kiss to Geralt’s ear and drawing his arms tighter around him.

“It’s too much,” Geralt whispers, brokenly. “I’m not–”

“If you dare say you’re not worth it,” Ciri says, sharply, “I’ll remind you of all the times you've told me never to say that or to even think it.”

They close in around him then, Yennefer and Ciri enfolding him in their arms, as Jaskier continues to hold him. His family, a fortress greater than any built of stone or silver.

He feels his breath hitch in his chest, even if the tears that should fall deserted him long ago.

“How did you know…I was there?”

“The auction house broadcast their finds–,” Yennefer begins, but Geralt shakes his head, trying to find the right words.

“After, with the spell?” He turns his head slightly towards Jaskier. “You knew I was there.”

To his surprise, Jaskier huffs out a laugh. “I’m supposed to say something grand here about true love and destiny and that sort of thing. But the truth is that I could hear it. I was playing so I could hear the echoes in the cavern - I knew there was a solid something blocking the sound behind me and I just hoped it was you.”

“That is appallingly clever, bard,” Yennefer says, clearly impressed.

“That was scarily complimentary, witch.”

“I love you. All of you.”

It takes him a moment to realise that he’s the one who’s spoken, but then they fold themselves around him again, closer. And he feels that perhaps he could be worthy of it.

#the witcher #the witcher fic #geraskefer #geraskier #hurt/comfort #family of destiny #dftea writes

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mysteriouslybluepirate · 10 months

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Why Characters Matter- Witcher S3 (Vol. 1)

Full spoilers for our four lead character arcs in S3 of The Witcher are below. I am going fully off of memory. I swear, I only have good things to say. (Especially my favorite idiot, he made me cry)

To me, character drives the heart of shows and I finally feel like Witcher has gained some of its heart back.

My biggest problem with Witcher Seasons 1-2 is that I felt like we had no reason to believe our core 4. They had almost no reason to hang out.

Why should I care about Geralt and Jaskier's friendship? Geralt fucking hates him! Jaskier has spent most of his life hated, disliked, or ignored. Hell, in season 2 Jaskier had better chemistry with Yen than Geralt did.

Why should I care about Yennifer/Geralt? I know it's going to happen, and honestly, they spend all of their on-screen time fucking! They never hang out as friends, or people trying to get to get to know each other?

This show took my every criticism and said 'Okay, bet'. It made me fall in love with these characters again. This is a really solid season of television with heart, better cinematography and writing.

NOW: For background. I've seen all of the show and played a bit of the game. I also went through a 'lore of Witcher' phase on YouTube analyzing the books. Add onto all that a full 2 years of my life reading fanfic (Geralt/Jaskier, Jaskier/Yen, Geralt/Yen, or all of them in a poly relationship). I am no expert in the series, but where the show failed me, I went to other forms of the story.

So when I say I care about these characters, I am not talking out of my ass. I am going to go character by character and explain why this season helped me care again.

Ciri: Season 2 she was just kind of there? Yeah, she was learning, but she was a plot device. Yen wanted her, the Witchers wanted her, etc. In Season 3 I finally see a girl desperate for connection and safety. She asks all three adults what she should be in life for advice because shes scared. ('I see a powerful ruler regardless of what you do', 'in the future, if you are queen you're life will be shit'. and 'I like who you are now, focus on that and what makes you happy')

She is also SO SMART. I love she tries to impress Geralt with her monster knowledge. That she is really giving it her all with Yen and magic. But she knows that she just can't fit in with the Sorceress, and feels that she's wasting her gifts with Geralt. I know how her story ends and it hurts me to know that her optimism might just get crushed. SHE'S A CHILD!!!!

Yennifer: I AM SO SORRY I DOUBTED YOU! She is the boss ass bitch, I love her, and I fully forgive her for her self-sabotaging in Season 2. She genuinely wants to try to repair shit with Geralt. GENUINELY APOLOGIZING. Starting slow, showing Geralt that she's not just trying to be friendly for a cheap fuck. They spend time together. She is at war trying to balance her circles of influence AND take care of a kid. When she talks to her old friends, I SEE that being vague and secretive is hurting her. BUT SHE HAS TO for her family.

This is the first time I looked at Yen and thought 'She loves him'. All the 'magic kiss slowmo' bullshit didn't work for me. But when she wrote out 'your friend Yennifer' I BELIEVED HER. She's also so funny? Her struggle wearing masks is so relatable, and her teaching Ciri is heartbreaking.

GERALT: I LOVE THIS FUCKING HIMBO. He's trying to balance opening up, running away from authorities, and being a decent role model for his kid.

HE APOLOGIZED! MULTIPLE TIMES! For all his shitty actions! He does it so casually and earnestly! To Jaskier, Yen and Ciri. I don't know where this development happened, but GOD, I love it. He opens up!!!! He smiles, he get's soft, and he gets scary when he needs to!

He went from 'uncaring baddass' to 'oh god, he's a socially awkward nerd'. I finally see a Geralt I recognize. He's smart, and skilled but still struggles with socializing and doing what is right.

EPISODE 5 OH MY GOD. I am so happy they split this series up so we can stew in the cliffhanger!!!

I was on the edge of my seat. Geralt and Yen trust each other so implicitly they're able to make plans on the fly!

Jaskier: He's my favorite. Always has been. (I can write a paper on him this season I swear)

I went into this season expecting him to be in maybe a few scenes, but NO. My man was relevant to the plot.

1.) PLEASE GO TO THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK AND LISTEN TO THE JASKIER ORCHESTRAL STUFF. It's so fucking fun! All plucky, and it sounds like you're going on an adventure and falling in love. 'Lessons in Smiling', 'He's a Spoon'.

2.) I FUCKING LOVED WHAT THEY DID WITH VALDO MARX. I was in no way spoiled, I didn't even know he'd show up. So I literally had to pause I squealed so loud. I wanted Jaskier to be treated well, and I wanted CANON Valdo Marx! I GOT BOTH! Also, All is Not As It Seems is a banger, but maybe overplayed. As Valdo deserves! You get the sense that Valdo is chasing trends and Jaskier fucking despises this man.

3.) THE ROMANTIC ARC. Now. I was spoiled that he'd get a love interest that was 'evil'. I fully expected a 'Douchebag convinces innocent protag they love them, only to double cross them'. This is how it starts. Jaskier catches on really quickly that he's probably going to get double-crossed.

Jaskier knows this is going to be a whole ordeal, so he tries to be as careful as possible. Seeming interested while keeping a distance. We can see Jaskier holding himself behind a mask, keeping the fun energy but watching Radovid in most scenes.

BUT. Jaskier is a romantic.

He knows this prince is bad news, he knows that. But something is keeping him stuck there. He sees his prince as someone to be suspicious of. A man who is willing to fake being drunk to hit on him. A prince who tries to be coy, and get Jaskier alone to talk. Who is usually there when Jaskier talks to his spy contacts. But...Well, we the audience has never seen how Jaskier acts around someone who genuinely likes him and who isn't afraid to show it.

Jaskier will follow a man who hates him for a good chunk of his life, writing songs about nature, love and heartbreak.

But in all this time he NEVER had someone to seriously listen to him. To see through his music, and lyrics, and look at the person he was.

So when this blonde prince sneaks away from an important party and admits that he's scared. And sings Jaskier one of his songs? Not a story written about adventure, or inuendo, or Geralt. No!

A song about how soft and kind love was because it let you be yourself with someone. How a person craves intimacy, even how music is written with untold words of love and kindness. How Jaskier finally feels complete in life! How Jaskier craves to be with someone, to be seen, even if it ends in heartbreak.

This prince finally SEES him...so.

Jaskier falls in love with Radovid of Redania.

Even if it's just for a night, even if it's just a crush. Jaskier can't help himself. He's the one to close the gap. To initiate the kiss. It's so GOOD.

Now. This is a man with bad intentions who is going to hurt Jaskier. I suspect that Jaskier fucking Radovid gave the 'enemy' enough time to kidnap Ciri. So.

Jaskier has always craved being seen by anyone who would listen. To be liked. To be loved. Here, on this one night, that craving was fully taken advantage of, (maybe)with a goal to hurt a person Jaskier cares about(Ciri, by leaving her alone). Even if it turns out that Radovid isn't involved, that he didn't mean for this, it would break Jaskier. Jaskier would close himself up, much like S1 Geralt, his heart wouldn't be safe with anyone. He will smile again. Dance and sing for adoring fans. But he'll never let someone dangerous in again.

I have always shipped Geralt/Jaskier, I really love reading it. I love angst/unrequited love. Hell, give it a week, and I'll read S3 fic. But this season I saw a Jaskier that didn't need Geralt anymore. Who had moved onto someone who at least seemed interested. Jaskier was simply a happy man doing what he loved. He was a weird Uncle teaching Ciri how to be human. I ADORE the scene where Geralt and Yen are talking and Ciri and Jaskier are secretly watching them. I finally feel like Jaskier is an accepted member of this family.

4.) Just seeing someone finally be comfortable in their own skin was so nice in this show. He's a funny, awkward, and sometimes charming guy. He's anxious ass all he'll, and scared and trying to rationalize the shit that's happened to him. He runs around doing stupid shit because he cares about his friends. He's not attached to Geralt's hip, and the audience gets a sense Jaskier has a life! I fucking love this man, and how he tries to seem brave around literal superhumans.

This season treated Jaskier, like how fandom on AO3 treated Jaskier, with respect, joy, and a plan to break his heart!

#the witcher netflix #the witcher season 3 #the witcher spoilers #cirilla of cintra #ciri #witcher cirilla #yennefer #geralt of rivia #witcher #jaskier #jaskier the bard #witcher season 3 #character analysis #the witcher s3

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bambirex · 8 months

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It's A Game We Play

Pairings: Geraskier, Yennskier, Radskier

Characters: Jaskier, Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, Radovid, original female characters, Essi Daven, Priscilla, Ciri of Cintra, Valdo Marx

Additional tags: inspired by Mamma Mia! (movies), crack, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, omega jaskier, alpha geralt, alpha yennefer, beta radovid, awkwardness, jaskier is a good parent, protective jaskier, weddings, found family, post mpreg, fluff and humor, alternate universe-modern setting

Rating: teen and up audiences

Word count: 2,390 words

Chapters: 1/?

Summary: Jaskier's daughter is about to marry the love of her life, and she decides she wants both her parents at her wedding. Only problem is that Jaskier has slept with a little too many people in his youth, so the identity of the other parent is a mystery. That does not stop the bride-to-be from inviting three potential daddy candidates and unleashing absolute chaos in the process.

Otherwise known as Jaskier's terrible horrible no good past decisions leading to terrible horrible no good outcomes. Also known as the Mamma Mia! AU nobody asked for, but I wrote it anyway.

Author's notes: It's time for some crack!!!!! What do you get when you have canonically slutty Jaskier, and add Bambi being a multishipper who loves chaos? That's right, you get a Mamma Mia!AU !! I'm planning on using the plot of the first movie pretty loosely. As in, I will probably not do scene-to -scene recreations, but take advantage of the general idea and the setting!

Feedback is super appreciated!!! Let's get the party started!

Read on Ao3

“I can’t believe this day has come.”

“Papa, it’s not my wedding yet. I’m just trying on dresses, remember?”

“Still,” Jaskier smiled, blinking against the sentimental tears in his eyes, “my child is getting married. She’s picking out her wedding dress, how am I supposed to cope with this?”

Amaryllis cooed and leaned up to kiss her father on the cheek. Jaskier immediately wound his arms around her, enveloping her in a crushing hug.

“You promised no crying until the ceremony,” Amaryllis reminded him. Jaskier chuckled against her hair.

“I’m failing, obviously.”

But who could blame him, Jaskier mused as Amaryllis finally managed to pull away. He let his daughter take his hand and lead him inside the saloon, her steps happy and prancing, so adorably enthusiastic. Amaryllis was his only child, his baby, his light in this world. Of course, he would become emotional (over and over again) over the fact she was soon to be a married woman. Amaryllis’s fiancée, well, soon-to-be-wife, Sara, was the sweetest thing. Jaskier loved and trusted her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t worry. He always did: he was a parent, that was what he was supposed to do. His child was facing a huge milestone in her life. Jaskier was filled with fear, hope, and a tremendous amount of pride at the same time. He was just overflowing with emotions, and they manifested in constant weeping, apparently.

He decided to try and shut off the waterworks at least while they introduced themselves to the seller. She was a cheerful middle-aged lady named Kate, who heartily congratulated Amaryllis on her upcoming marriage, then she gave a sympathetic hug to Jaskier as well.

“It’s a huge thing, one of the biggest days in our lives,” Kate chirped as she led them further inside the saloon. “Therefore, it has to be perfect. Any ideas on your dream dress, dear?”

“Not sure,” Amaryllis admitted. She still held onto Jaskier’s hand as she looked over the numerous racks and shelves. “My fiancée will have a strapless dress, and it would be nice to match with her, but I think sleeves are more my style?”

“You should pick whatever you’d feel comfortable in,” Jaskier reminded her softly. “You will look beautiful in everything, anyway.”

Amaryllis gave him a bright smile and a squeeze to his hand before she followed Kate into the jungle of dresses. Jaskier raked his eyes around with a sigh. Fluffy dresses and sleek suits hanged everywhere from floor to ceiling, in every shape and every size. They all looked so pretty. Jaskier’s chest tightened for a second before he decided to look away and check on his daughter instead.

Amaryllis was an absolute dream to shop with. Instead of turning into the stereotypical “bridezilla”, she was calm and collected, listening intently to everything Kate told her. Jaskier was immensely proud of her. He also knew that if he were in this situation, he would probably break down five minutes in.

While Amaryllis disappeared inside the fitting room to try on a couple dresses, Kate approached Jaskier with a smile.

“Beautiful girl,” she told him earnestly. Jaskier grinned, proudly puffing his chest out.

“Thank you.”

“Yours, right? I can tell by the eyes. Same set of beautiful baby blues.”

“Ah, you’re so kind. Yes, she’s my daughter.”

“Are you planning a big wedding?”

“Not that big. More people on her fiancée’s side.”

Saying that out loud tasted bitter on Jaskier’s tongue. He wished he could give his daughter an epic ceremony, but unfortunately, he wasn’t on good terms with his family. His parents divorced while he was still a child, and he has only rarely seen his father after that. He’s always had a stormy relationship with his mother as well. She was a very strict, traditional woman, whose pride was greatly hurt when her husband left her. That was probably why she got so angry when Jaskier told her at the ripe age of twenty-one that he has gotten pregnant and had no clue from who. She wanted Jaskier to fulfill that idyllic family picture that she did not manage, and seeing her own child fail at it, too, caused her to cut ties with him. The only relative that Jaskier could count on was his aunt, the only person who has supported him after he ended up alone, pregnant, and scared out of his mind. Her death devastated Jaskier, especially because she didn’t get to see Amaryllis’s birth. She has left his beloved nephew a lovely gift, though, the Dandelion Inn. Jaskier has spent most of his childhood on the small island his aunt lived at, and he really enjoyed staying over at the Inn, even when he was an adult. It was a friendly, warm little motel that felt more like his home than his actual house. He has also met his two best friends there, who have helped him through many hardships.

Jaskier now lived on the island with his daughter and managed the Dandelion Inn. It was idyllic in many ways, and not very idyllic in other ways. Jaskier knew that an unbonded, mate-less Omega would always be the hot topic of every gossip, especially one that got pregnant so young. He has gotten better at handling the acidic insults, but he wished he could have protected his daughter against them, and he wished he could have provided her with the big, happy family that she deserved.

He quickly waved away the sad memories as Amaryllis exited the fitting room. Jaskier gasped and clutched a hand over his heart, willing himself not to tear up again. As expected, Amaryllis looked beautiful in her mermaid- style dress. Her smile shone brighter than the gemstones on the hem when she twirled around.

“My God, you look beautiful,” Jaskier whispered in awe. Amaryllis ducked her head with a shy grin.

“I like it. I think I’m gonna try the high-low dress, too.”

She tried on four more dresses, and Jaskier told her she looked gorgeous in every single one of them. Amaryllis groaned as she plopped down next to him on a pouf.

“You always say I look beautiful in everything, Papa.”

“But that’s the truth! No matter what you’ll pick, you’ll be the most beautiful bride.”

Kate disappeared to find some accessories to go with the dresses. Amaryllis waited until she was out of sight, then she turned to Jaskier with a look that indicated she was about to say or ask something potentially uncomfortable. Jaskier knew that look too well. It was the same, head ducked down, nose twitching, jaw slightly wobbling face she gave him when she told him she accidentally broke his acoustic guitar, and when she presented as an Omega and had to ask her father about the birds and the bees. Jaskier braced himself with a sigh, and a free cupcake that he retrieved from the tray next to him.

“I was thinking about checking out the suits, too,” Amaryllis started, choosing her words obviously carefully. “But then I was like, I’d rather have a dress. It’s traditional, and I know we’re both free spirits, but I think I’d like a really traditional wedding, you know? An Omega girl in a big fluffy dress, her Omega father weeping into his tissue in the front row…”

“Hey, I won’t cry in the front row,” Jaskier objected with a huff, “I’ll cry while walking you down the aisle.”

Amaryllis cleared her throat. She fiddled with the tulle on her dress. The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the silence. Jaskier didn’t even dare to breathe.

“What’s wrong, honey?” He asked, scooting closer to her on the pouf. “I feel like you’re trying to tell me something.”

“Well,” Amaryllis squeaked, avoiding Jaskier’s eyes, “iwantmyotherparenttowalkmedowntheaisle.”

Jaskier blinked in utter confusion. Amaryllis turned an alarmingly bright red, which was only accentuated by her snow-white dress.

“What… what was that?”

“Papa.”

“You said it so fast I couldn’t make out a single word!”

“God,” Amaryllis sighed, grinding her teeth in embarrassment, “don’t be angry! Just… I… I said that I want my other father, or mother, I don’t know? To… to walk me down the aisle… you know, all traditional…”

Jaskier was very glad he was already sitting, otherwise he would have probably collapsed on the floor. He waited for Amaryllis to reveal it was just a joke. For several, uncomfortable moments, Amaryllis stared at Jaskier, chewing on her lip. Jaskier stared right back, his brain drawing a complete blank page.

“Honey…” Jaskier squeaked out, “you know exactly I don’t know who that is.”

“But, maybe there’s a chance we could find them?” Amaryllis asked hopefully. “I was thinking a lot about this, lately. I would be really happy if we managed to find out who it is, so they could be there, too. I don’t know… maybe you still have some phone numbers? A hunch? Anything? It’s just… it would be nice.”

Jaskier let out a deep sigh. It’s been literal years since Amaryllis has brought up this subject. With each passing year, as she has gotten older, it has gotten easier to explain: it was the worst when she was still a little child, not understanding why everyone had two parents while she only had her Papa. It was even worse with her overhearing all those nasty gossips about how Jaskier was such a lowlife Omega, sleeping with everyone and having bastard children. When she was a little older, Jaskier could give her a vague explanation on how her other parent left, and how they were unfortunately not coming back. Amaryllis was already a teenager when Jaskier eventually revealed the truth that he had absolutely no idea who the other parent was. He didn’t give her all the details about how he was definitely enjoying his youth. He was a pretty hedonistic young Omega who gladly shared his heats and non-heats with many, many… many people. He didn’t tell her about his short-lived, heartbreaking romances and everlasting loves that only lasted for about a week. She was a smart child, she managed to put the pieces together anyway.

So, Amaryllis stopped pushing for an answer a long time ago, accepting the explanation that Jaskier didn’t know. It felt like a bucket of icy water was poured straight over his head when she, twenty years old and ready to get married, brought this up again.

“Look,” Jaskier told her softly, reaching for her hand, “I know this is going to be your big day, and trust me, I would give my left arm to make sure everything could go exactly as you wanted, including a full set of parents if that’s what would make you happy, but unfortunately… I can’t give you that. I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Amaryllis squeezed his hand gently, “I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty. This isn’t your fault. I just… I guess I reminisced a little, and I daydreamed a little, and… when I imagine my big day… I see someone else there. With you.”

“Well,” Jaskier forced a grin onto his face, deciding to hide the sudden pain that flared up inside him with humor, like so many times before- the only way he managed to survive the heartbreak, the loneliness and the hopelessness he has felt through his life. That was the only way he could get through the pregnancy alone, that he could get through raising a child alone. The only way he could protect Amaryllis from feeling that pain.

“It seems like you’ll have to make do with your old, single father.”

“You’re not old,” Amaryllis reminded him with a laugh. “You had me when you were about my age. You’re still rockin’ and you’re still smokin’.”

“Such flattery. I assume the dress you want is really expensive, then?”

Amaryllis laughed and gave him a tight hug. Jaskier hid his face in her neck so she couldn’t see the way his smile faded.

Kate returned with the accessories amidst many apologies for going away for so long. She took Amaryllis with her again to try the jewelry with the dress so they could settle for the best option. There was an uncomfortable, churning sensation inside Jaskier’s stomach when he was left alone.

The last thing he expected was this. The idea that Amaryllis has been thinking about this again, that she might have felt sad over not having her other parent there shattered Jaskier. He never wanted to see his daughter sad, especially because of him. And sure, Amaryllis assured him it wasn’t his fault, but it kinda was, wasn’t it? If he wasn’t such a slut, sleeping with everyone who caught his fancy, this wouldn’t have happened. He could have committed to an actual relationship, bonded with a nice Alpha or Beta or maybe even another Omega, could have gotten married, and now Amaryllis would have a beautiful wedding with all her family there, because if Jaskier did that, his mother wouldn’t have disowned him, either. All he had to offer his daughter was his stupid self, a tiny inn, and a herd of goats that he also inherited from his aunt.

He looked into the golden-framed mirror on the wall and sighed at his reflection. He looked younger than his age, something he was very proud of, but when he looked closer, into his own eyes, he’s seen the burden of leaving his careless youth behind.

He spotted a veil on the hanger by the mirror. The ache in his chest amplified. He turned around, quickly checking that no one saw him, then he took the veil off the hanger. He turned it around in his hand, running his fingers over the thin lace. It felt heavy like lead as he put it on his head and checked his reflection again.

You could have had this, a voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like his mother reminded him, if you weren’t such a loose, immoral Omega.

Jaskier cursed and took the veil off, putting it back on the hanger as quickly as he managed. No, he would not let his guilt consume him. He needed to be strong for his daughter. This was about Amaryllis and her beautiful future, not about him and his tragic past.

Jaskier could only hope Amaryllis would forget about her mysterious other parent.

#geraskier #yennskier #radskier #a/b/o #jaskier #geralt of rivia #yennefer of vengerberg #radovid #omega jaskier #alpha geralt #alpha yennefer #beta radovid #the witcher fanfiction #the witcher fic #my fic #mamma mia au

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belgianfry · 5 months

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10 characters | 10 fandoms | 10 tags

pick 10 characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people!

was tagged by my beloved bestie @sidprescot ily <3

these are not in any particular order cause it's already hard enough to choose 10, i love everyone so much 😭

aragorn (lotr) my king, love himst forever and ever. rewired my brain, fucked me up fr, but in the best way. my first real obsession.

allison argent (teen wolf) i know it's teen wolf but allison??? she was everything to me. seriously hardcore crush on her. she is so !!!!! ah. love her to bits. babygirl who could kill me.

aloy (horizon video games) literally i love her and these games so so much. she's so good and kind and helpful.

jonas kahnwald (dark) but honestly this could've been martha too. the love i have for these two!!!!!!! they drive me wild. btw watch dark on netflix if you haven't yet.

geralt, yennefer & ciri (the witcher) i know i'm cheating but THEY'RE A FAMILY AND A PACKAGE DEAL i won't be responsible for breaking them up ok. my darling beloveds that i love dearly and matter to me a whole lot.

wynonna earp from the titular tv show. she!!!!!!! also huge crush but ugh she's so badass and cool. special mention to dolls also, my beloved.

nairobi (la casa de papel) MY QUEEN. no contest absolute fave on that show, she is everything. la puta ama <3

eleven (stranger things) it's so hard to choose one fave from this show but i think i'll have to go with the og badass. saving everyone over and over. must protect at all costs!!

hernando (sense8) his love story with lito was so important to me. they are so <33333 also he's super hot lbr.

nick nelson (heartstopper) my sunshine boy. i love him so much, so glad queer kids these days get to have him. truly the bestest.

@gwynbleidd @witch-and-her-witcher @valacirca @sarah-lance @ivashkovadrian @poetikat @heytheredeann @tailoredshirt

no pressure :D

#tag game

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thelostgirl21 · 9 months

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One of my favorite parts of the Radskier romance?

The emotional maturity and healthy relationship expectations of Prince King Radovid when it comes to Jaskier.

Romantic infatuation needs to be nurtured to be given a chance to grow to turn into actual romantic love.

And when someone has developed an emotionally intimate (and potentially queerplatonic) relationship with another person for over 20 years; and built themselves a family also involving that closest friend's romantic partner (Yennefer) and his Child of Suprise (Ciri), you should expect that romantic interest of yours to make that family their #1 priority.

You should find their ability to deeply commit to the ones they already love, and not suddenly lose interest in them as soon as they find someone shiny and new, as a very good sign.

Because it's extremely likely that - should the romantic infatuation you now experience evolve into genuine love - they won't grow tired of you, and/or lose interest in your relationship easily.

You'll become a part of their found family, too.

Sincerely, when I met the man I've now been with for 17 years, if he'd dropped his weekly D&D game nights with the friends he'd had since he was a kid to freaking date me, I'm pretty sure I would have broken things up with him right on the spot!

Actually, one of the first things we did, when we started dating, was meet each other's closest friends, to see if we'd be a good fit in each other's lives.

You often learn so much more about a romantic interest by watching how caring and devoted they are to those they've already emotionally bonded with, than by interacting with them all on your own.

Yes, you also need to take the time to build some intimacy; but your life together as a couple, if you ever reach that stage, is going to be filled with people sharing both your hearts and your time!

There's a difference between that romantic crush of yours making the effort to integrate you into their own lives, and making time for you so you can get to truly know each other and build a connection; and them suddenly neglecting their platonic and/or alterous relationships and no longer making them a priority in their lives because "Hey, look! I've got a romantic interest now!"

If they are neglecting the people they love because you suddenly showed up, I'd consider it deeply, deeply worrying.

17 years later, my partner still plays D&D once a week (and the boys are awesome friends to us both), I have my own personal tribe (my dance troupe) that I'm deeply close to, and one of the girls came to live with us for 2 weeks Sunday night, because she broke up with her boyfriend recently, needs a place to stay, I freaking love her to death, and we're family.

When I asked my partner if he was fine with her staying over and sharing our home, there was no hesitation on his part in saying "Yes".

We care for and support our family, regardless of who our friends are the closest to.

Because, obviously, there is no need for a romantic partner to grow as emotionally close and intimate to some of your best friends as you are. Ex: They don't need to know all of their secrets, listen to them for hours, and hold them in their arms to provide emotional support when they are going through a hard time the same way you would.

But there needs to be respect and support of those relationships. They need to allow you space and time for you to listen to them for hours, and hold them in your arms to provide emotional support when they are going through a tough time.

And vice versa.

When you are helping someone you love through a tough time, the last thing you need is to be worried about your romantic partner being jealous and resentful over the time you are giving others.

And sometimes, you find yourself connecting more strongly with some of their own friends on certain matters, and suddenly becoming their confidante, too. For example, my romantic partner is a monoamorous heteroromantic heterosexual, and I'm an ambiamorous panromantic demisexual pansexual.

When one of his best friends started questioning if he might be polyamorous, and needed someone to talk with to help him figure out his feelings and how best to approach the subject with his romantic partner, my partner immediately went "It's not that I don't want to support you or listen to you, it's just that I've a feeling you should be talking to my girlfriend about this. She'll be more likely to have some intimate understanding of what you're going through, and she's been professionally trained in counseling."

He's got great respect and acceptance of queer identities (wouldn't be in a romantic relationship with me if he didn't), but he gets utterly lost in them and all the definitions and concepts.

I, however, love discussing and exploring them. So, that best friend and I got to learn a lot about each other during our talks, discovered a lot of shared interests, and grew very close.

Actually, we realized that we were extremely alike in many ways, and that Frédérick (my partner) just might have a "type" of person he's more likely to build an emotional connection with, platonically or otherwise.

I'm also aunt and godmother to wonderful children I've got absolutely no blood relations to.

Found families matter at the very least as much, if not sometimes even more, than romantic partners.

And I believe that the way Jaskier is speaking about the people he loves, the lengths and the risks he is willing to go to in order to protect them, is deeply appealing to Radovid.

In Radovid's world, relationships are commodities to be used to gain influence or power.

You "love" what serves you and makes you more politically relevant and influential, and you can potentially drop them as soon as you find something (i.e. someone) that can bring you more influence or be more useful.

He's been forced to live in a toxic, dangerous, and downright deadly environment, filled with relationships based on lies and deceit, where he had no purpose, and was deeply unhappy.

And I think that he wants to have a chance to build a family of his own based on genuine emotional connections, and/or would be delighted to be given a chance to become part of Jaskier's own found family.

He asked "does the Witcher know how lucky he is to have you?" with a sense of wonder for what it must be like to have someone love you the way Jaskier loves, and to be free to love that person back.

Besides his affection for his brother, perhaps, there was nothing holding Radovid back from leaving the castle and the only life he'd ever known behind.

And truth is, I can't even say how healthy his relationship with his brother truly was.

Most of the time, Radovid was pretty much cheering Vizimir from the sidelines and feeding into his narcissism... But, at least, his brother being King gave him an illusion of safety, I think, until the "Hedwig incident" drove home that no one - not even the freaking Queen herself - was safe with Dijkstra and Philippa around.

In terms of his own emotional, psychological, and even physical well-being, Radovid had everything to gain by getting out of there and following Jaskier.

He could thus afford to "leave everything behind" to follow someone he'd met like 5 times in total in his life. In this context, Radovid truly was choosing himself as much as he was choosing Jaskier.

But Jaskier? He's got a family having made a permanent home in his heart, people that he loves, people that rely on him, and emotional connections that he'd give everything to protect.

And so, Radovid chose to help Jaskier keep his own heart safe, by offering to go help him find and protect his family. He wants to be there with and for him.

Radovid very much seems to understand that Jaskier's family means everything to him. He gets it. That's likely one of the reasons why he finds him so special and attractive in the first place.

Jaskier having a family to go to, and having built bonds of love and loyalty, is what makes it worth it for Radovid to leave everything behind for a potential partner that is healthy enough not to.

Jaskier's a freaking keeper, and that prince is smart enough to know one when he finds one!

And, by showing his full respect and support of Jaskier's other close relationships, Radovid is demonstrating that he'd likely be a good romantic partner to him as well.

Someone that would love all of him, including the parts of Jaskier that Radovid would have to share with others.

Perhaps that's why if it weren't for the writers themselves being a potential threat to their relationship, I could definitely see it work.

Of all the people in his life, Jaskier approached that relationship essentially telling Radovid: "This is who I am an what matters to me... The idea of fully settling down at court gives me urticaria; but I'd be willing to do it, at least for a time, if that kept my little niece and her adoptive parents - the people I love more than anything in the word - safe from threats. I'm not always in the mood for songs, or especially "entertaining" to have around. I've been broken hearted and hurt before, and have developed certain trust issues when it comes to relationships... I'm deeply loyal and devoted to those that have gained my trust and have grown very emotionally intimate with... I might lash out to protect my heart, but reassess in light of new evidence that the other person was hurting, too, and trying to keep their own head above water (or downright on their shoulders). I can forgive mistakes and still love regardless... Oh, and from that whole scene you witnessed with Vespula when we first met, I'm assuming that you've already deduced I sort of have a strong, adventurous approach to my sexuality, and am not exactly the monoamorous kind. Should we ever form a romantic couple, I can't guarantee I won't also have other sexual encounters with some of my dearest friends, but also potentially strangers."

And Radovid's like "Yup! That's the man for me, and I'd love to follow you out there in the world if you'll have me!"

So, it's hard for me not to feel at least a bit optimistic.

And, while Radovid obviously can no longer do that (follow him into the world, that is... At least, for now...), I think he might have a realistic enough approach to life and relationships that, should Jaskier try to offer him creative solutions to make it work as best they can in a world filled with uncertainties, he might be able to listen to his ideas, offer solutions of his own, and adapt.

They're two brilliantly empathetic queer boys in love... They've got it!

If they aim for anything conventional or traditional, they're screwed (and not in the fun way)!

If they make their own rules, and design the relationship to fit the way they love rather than how others would want them to love (i.e. pay no heed to what others say to sing, by going with their own needs instead) there's a world of possibilities for them to explore together.

They could have enough together, and be enough for each other.

And, from the way Radovid's been listening to everything Jaskier's been saying (and singing) since they met, and showing a concern for his own safety, well-being and happiness, given the opportunity, he just might be the one to surprise Jaskier and show some very creative thinking of his own.

Because when Radovid decided that what suited him in life was to help Jaskier protect his family, he immediately went into problem solving mode, was very effective, and showed resourcefulness (forget about baths! I need you to take my cloak and everything I have with fur to turn them into money that might help us on our journey).

He's like Jaskier's own Jaskier, in a sense.

"Look, I'm growing very attached to that guy, and if keeping his family safe is such a huge part of who he is, then I'm going with him to look after him!"

Can you imagine if Radovid had successfully gotten out of that castle, though?

You have Geralt ready to declare war on anyone that stands between him and his daughter.

Jaskier coming along to help rescue Ciri and look after Geralt.

And Radovid coming along to help rescue Ciri and look after Jaskier.

Geralt: This is Jaskier, my emotional support bard... and Radovid, my emotional support bard's emotional support Prince.

This is like Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster's intern, having her own intern.

Next thing you know...

Seriously though, each part of the season had such different vibes...

Season 3, part 1: Finally! Jaskier's been adopted into a forever home, and he's got people looking after him and openly appreciating him now! Was about time!

Season 3, part 2: JFC! Not again! *Heavy sigh* Can someone please, please adopt that ridiculous puppy of a Prince?! He needs a forever home and people to look after him, too!

So really, when it comes to how Radovid appears to be handling relationships, that freaking sense of entitlement and self-importance that would have him become a villain absolutely isn't there.

Book Radovid was a 13-year-old boy that was deeply upset that no one noticed him and his mother, and showed them the respect he believed they were owed!

He couldn't wait to show the world what he could do!

He was portrayed as an immature entitled brat to begin with!

This version of Radovid is the exact opposite.

He's like "Look, I'm just useless to the crown and terrible at politics, spying and being a prince... I just want to follow my heart and get out of here!"

He doesn't want the world to see or notice him, he's constantly hiding himself in window alcoves, corners, and trying to make himself as small as he can, for frak's sake!

He even introduced himself to Jaskier going "Ah, Radovid... Comma Prince", putting his Royal identity last.

At first, I thought it was done for humorous purposes, but it's quite telling, actually.

Being "Prince" is like some ball and chain he's been dragging behind him, weighting him down, rather than a source of pride and personal worth.

Having him magically turning into a villain would make absolutely no sense...

I'm not saying they won't do it. But the character's psychological foundations are miles away from the infamous "dark triad".

Will he allow Philippa and Dijkstra to do terrible things in his name? Perhaps. Stockholm syndrome might kick in, and he might find himself emotionally bonding with them to survive and make sense of a world that would otherwise drive him mad.

As someone that's been trauma bonded to a malignant narcissistic mother for almost 3 decades, I know how powerful Stockholm syndrome can be as a psychological protective mechanism.

But I can't fathom Radovid being inherently cruel or tyrannical.

Convincing himself that Dijkstra and Philippa really "like him" and are looking out for him and the Kingdom's best interests because of being unable to face how hopelessly fucked he is? Sure!

Now that he's been violently thrown into the spotlight and deprived of his usual safety mechanisms, Dijkstra and Philippa might capitalize on this by brainwashing him into perceiving them as "misunderstood", and the only people that have ever truly cared about him and/or respected him.

Survival instincts can be a bitch to fight at times and totally cloud your mind. The absence of cruelty becomes read as "kindness", and your ability to comply with their expectations becomes perceived as a way to "control" what happens to you. And thus, you wind up feeling like you have power over the actions of your abusers (the real threat) through your ability to constantly pacify them.

So yeah, if you want to use Stockholm syndrome to make him go against his very nature, and fall prey to the mind controlling skills of two very dangerous people, with very high sociopathic tendencies?

Yeah, that could realistically happen. And Jaskier would become the most dangerous adversary they would ever be facing in the whole freaking Continent.

Every platonic, alterous, or romantic friend or love interest of mine, that my mother didn't approve of and couldn't fully seduce and control, too, she would make sure to drive away.

My mother only ever tolerated the friends and lovers that fed her own ego and reinforced the level of influence she had on my environment and myself.

And it usually worked. I would be adopting her P.O.V. on my relationships, and breaking up with significant others to avoid risking to lose her approval.

Until I met someone that made me feel so unconditionally loved, respected, and emotionally safe - someone that was capable of loving me the way I was, resolve conflicts without seeking to dominate or control me, and always strove for "win-win" scenarios and balance between my needs and his - that her attempts to play the victim and "expose him as the true threat" to my happiness and well-being utterly failed.

Stockholm syndrome / trauma bonding can be broken by someone showing you that you'll have people that love you, support you, will believe you, and will be there to fight by your side should you be brave enough to oppose your aggressor(s) and attempt to break free from their control.

Your mind will start noticing their violence, and let you realise you've never been safe with them when you stop subconsciously believing that you have no way of ever truly escaping their influence, and the situation is hopeless.

So yeah, if Radovid believes everyone in the castle is under Dijkstra and Philippa's control, and there's no one he can trust to follow any order that would go against their will, he might comply, do what they want, and instinctively create a narrative in his mind that would give them the role of allies and protectors.

But Jaskier's one of the most influencial voices of the Continent. "Blood Origin" (that I absolutely loved, by the way... Don't know what so many people seemed to have against it...), was all about showing the power of stories, and the way they could be used to bring Empires down.

Jaskier could likely break their hold on Radovid, and put the power back in his hands, if it ever came down to it.

So, having Radovid become "dangerous" to others, by adopting Dijkstra and Philippa's P. O. V. without being psychologically able to fight their influence on his own until someone makes him snap out of it, and offers him better alternatives?

It's believable.

But him inherently being a genocidal maniac at his core? That would make zero sense. He's way too empathetic and caring about the emotional well-being of others for that.

Jaskier: "I need to find my family."

Radovid: "Here, let me give up my claim to the throne, sell my valuables, and come help you rescue those you love because you need my help, and I want to be there with you."

Yes... That's... That's what sociopaths do... And they weep over their dead guards' bodies while hiding in corners, especially when they're alone and have no one to put a show for.

That's how people start burning witches at the stake. Makes sense...

#Radovid #Jaskier #Radskier #Geraskier #My favorite romantic and queerplatonic ships on the show (respectively)#The Witcher #Good romantic interest Radovid #Deciding that what pleases him is to go help is boo rescue his found family...#And essentially wanting to become Jaskier's Jaskier on the road...#I was utterly heartbroken over poor Radovid being suddenly crowned King...#But I'm hoping that if there's one good thing that comes out of this...#It's that Jaskier will have enough ammunition to be COMPLETELY INSUFFERABLE to Valdo Marx next time they meet...#I'm the Redanian's Court only official travelling bard...#Yes the King of Redania has regularly been practicing his playing technique on both my instruments #If you catch my drift #He's already a virtuoso with one of them #And if you've ever heard him play the lute you know which one #He created the new “Royal Travelling Bard” title just for me #To help connect the Redanian Court to the rest of the Continent and share the King's love for his people with them #Including men women elves dwarves polymorphous...#My Posts #My Thoughts #Sapioromantic Jaskier #Panromantic Jaskier #Pansexual Jaskier #Pan Jaskier #Personal

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