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#geralt of rivia series
fic-finders · 1 year
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FINALS WEEK!!!!!
Okay everyone the upcoming week is my last week of the semester. Im sorry I haven’t been active but just one more week and I will be back to posting regularly.
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gwentbleidd · 11 months
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still my favorite thing about all this is that joey batey really woke up one day, said 'hell yeah queer jaskier' and made thousands of people SO mad
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Winter's King 1
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No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.
Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, cheating, violence, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Summary: You are a maid to the Duke of Debray, a lord of the Summer Kingdom. That is, until the king of Winter appears with his particular air of coldness. (Medieval AU)
Characters: Geralt of Rivia
Note: this one came out of no where.
As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.
Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.
I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖
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It’s uncharacteristically grim on the plains of Debray. Rains pelt the tall green grasses, flattening them in a slanted downpour that dims the horizon. Clouds blot out the daylight and lend to atmosphere of unease in the warring lands. 
Behind the castle walls, one can forget about the bloodshed staining the counties red, though it is all the dukes and his audience can speak of. The lords that bluster through those gates, sometimes at the toll of morning, some in the black swathes of night. You can’t count them all, you can name even fewer, but they come anon and leave just as brusquely. 
A peel of thunder shakes the land and a dark line limns the curve of the horizon. What appears first as a storm cloud advances quickly through the fields, appearing more clearly to the naked eye, distant nonetheless. Men. Another party fast on the approach. 
The alarm goes up at a man’s holler. Ethred, man at the gate hollers to the other men in mail. Niam peers out from the vantage of the tower and calls back down. A hush falls and bodies scurry all around, metal clinking and boots crunching. There’s something amiss. Something you can’t quite place. 
You turn away from the window, the steam rising from the basin in your hand swirling around your head. You carry on down the corridor, wool skirts around cautious steps as you balance the swaying water in the vessel. You approach the lady’s door and give it a rap with your knee. Merinda, another handmaid, opens it from within. 
You enter without a word and place the basin on the vanity table. The duke’s daughter preens herself with a painted fan, fluttering her lashes at her reflection as her curls spill down her long back. She tilts her head this way and that. She snaps the fan shut and puts it down, touching her soft brown cheeks with a devilish grin. 
“Do you know what father mentioned last eve?” Jazlene asks with a vain flutter of her lashes. 
“What did he mention?” Her mother, Lady Rezlyn prompts lazily as she plucks another cherry from a dish heaped in fruit. 
“A husband,” the daughter grins coyly at herself, “it is well due, isn’t it, mother? Who do you think it might be? Lord Gai, perhaps? He is young still.” 
“Perhaps the Earl of Mesafin,” her mother taunts back to a disgusted gasp. 
“Do not,” Jazlene pouts, “I could never... I am much too pretty for that haggard beast.” 
“Well, then, who might you have, precious?” Rezlyn goads. 
There is a clamour in the hall that keeps the younger of the woman from answering. She rolls her eyes and darkly glare at the door. You peer back behind your shoulder as a wail goes up carrying her father’s name; ‘Lord Dustan!’ 
“What is all that?” Jazlene whines, “as if it isn’t enough with the rain and the winds. It is summer!” 
“It’s always summer in Debray, darling,” Rezlyn scoffs, “otherwise I’d have never married your father. Pray you don’t hook yourself a winter lord.” 
You peek over your shoulder as you stand near the door, in your vigil, awaiting your next order. You face the ladies again as the elder continues to feast and the younger fusses over her thick brows. You scrunch your lips back and forth, a habit that often has your jaw aching. 
Jazlene turns to narrow her eyes at you, “what is it then? What has you making faces?” 
You bow your head, appeasing her ego, “my lady, there were men coming. A party approaching from the north.” 
“There are always men,” she shakes her head, “who was it then? Anyone I should wear silk for?” 
Her mother laughs, “I warn you, daughter, that trite tongue will not endear any husband.” 
“I do not know, lady,” you answer. 
“Ugh, useless, must I work as my own handmaid?” Jazlene tisks, “come, pin my hair. Merinda find me a gown. Mother... wipe the dribble from your chin.” 
“Eh, watch yourself,” Lady Rezlyn rises and wipes her lips with her sleeve. She wears muslin in a dark shade of burgundy, embroidered with little copper finches. “Or hope you marry above me before you lash that tongue at me.” 
Jazlene merely trills with laughter. You take the pins and work at twisting her fine curls into place. Merinda brings to her a dress of teal satin and is promptly shooed away, “something pink. It brings out my bosom.” 
You ignore her bawdy jest as her mother harrumphs. You work in quiet tandem with the other handmaid. You add a touch of paint to the lady’s cheeks and kohl around her eyes. You tint her lips with pigment and she pushes out her lips at the mirror. You help Merinda dress her, pulling the noble daughter’s corset tight enough to leave her lightheaded. 
The pair of ladies, elder and younger, leave the chamber with you at their skirt tails. They sweep through the corridors with chins up. They are queens in their own minds. Their fine dresses and sparkling gems are untouched by the disparity of war. The lives lost are squares on a game board, tawdry talk for men in their studies. 
“Lord Dustan,” Lady Rezlyn mimics the earlier call for the lord of the castle, “my husband. Dear, dear husband!” 
The women go to the banister and look down upon the great hall as the flurry continues below. You and Merinda loom behind, not daring to stand at a level with the pompous nobles. You have never volunteered yourself for their impetuous lashings. 
“Woman!” Dustan booms back up, “do not trouble me now.” 
“Oh, has another lord come? Perhaps a suitor for our lovely daughter--” 
“Cease!” The duke demands hotly, “now is not the time for womanly games.” 
“Tell me it true, husband, she will be an old maid before you find a suiting son-in-law--” 
“Go away to your chambers. Now. The men who come are not to be trifled with and you lot do trifle overly much!” 
“Bah! Oh do not be so uncouth!” Rezlyn decries. 
“Father, please, is it a husband?” 
“Go before I send my guards up to put you away like thieves in a dungeon. Hear me when I warn you that this does not concern you. Not as yet,” Dustan snarls, “you would spoil this war with your puny concerns.” 
“Ugh,” his wife puts her hand to her forehead, “he does tax me. All I ask of him is to take care of us, daughter. As any husband should.” 
“I should have your lips sewn shut!” Dustan rebukes hotly, “be gone before I find a tailor.” 
The women share an aghast look. The turn back to flutter away in their skirts. You and Merinda follow them to the drawing room, closing them in as they fall onto the velvet cushions. Jazlene reclines dramatically on the chaise as her mouth mopes on a sofa. 
“Shall I be alone forever, mother?” Jazlene snivels, “why won’t he let me marry?” 
“He only wants to find the right man, that is all, darling,” Rezlyn coaxes. “He is overprotective and that is good for it means he will find a husband for you with a similar bearing.” 
“Such sweet words cannot convince me. He punishes me. When all my lady friends have wed and borne a whelp or two, I remain with the dust and stone.” 
“Do not be theatrical,” Rezlyn girds, “you are silly.” 
“I am not silly, mother. I am afraid. I am twenty and three and I have no suitor. I have only a war butchering any man who might have my hand. Why must this go on? Why must I suffer for the gripes of stubborn kings.” 
“We cannot fear. This war will be won and you will have a knight for a husband. Isn’t that better? To have a warrior you can be proud of than some bookish lord in his tower?” Rezlyn stands and moves to sit with her daughter, petting her as she cooes, “oh my beautiful, no man can resist you. You will see.” 
⚔️
Some hours pass with the restless women, pacing and chattering, about careless things beyond marriage and war. Like needlework and a banquet that should be had upon the truce. Would that the day would come sooner. 
You and Merinda stifle yawns that pass between you. The act is contagious as you stand in the tedium of the wealthy and wait for a duty to be called upon you. The hours you spend watching the women preen and swoon make you envy the stable boys and the shit shovelers. 
The noise beyond those walls continues. You heard the moat open and the clopping hooves of horses, even the clatter of carts. The voices had since hushed but footfalls carried back and forth. The wordless activity betrays an air of impatience, almost of nervousness. As the ladies within mirror the sentiment. 
Finally, as the windows darken and the candles burn brighter, a knock shakes the door. The ladies snap their heads around. Merinda is asleep on her feet as you move first. You open to a man in grey and black waits on the other side. He is not Lord Dustan’s. 
“The duchess and her daughter,” he garbles through a mouth that sounds full of salt. 
You dip your head and look to the ladies in question. There is a tension, of unease, of unknowing, of excitement turned to dread. This is not as it has been. There is not call to the dinner table. There is no buoyant introduction of a lord Dustan met as a young scamp. There is silence and fear. Has someone died? Has a battle been lost? 
The women emerge and greet the man with niceties and tight-lipped simpers. He does not pay them heed as you and Merinda exchange looks. You trail after the ladies but the man stops. He turns back, a hand on the pommel at his waist, and sneers, a furrow in his brow. 
“One of ya,” he grits. 
Jazlene says your name. She must’ve noticed Merinda swaying on her feet. If she even cares so much about a maid. You keep your head down and follow as they press on. Down the corridor and around the duke’s study, recently deemed his war room. You’ve never been within. It is not the domain of women. 
The grey and black soldier thumps on the door. Mother and daughter clasp hands. Even they can sense the unusual frigidity. The door opens from within. It is Lord Dustan. He wears a serious look on his lined face. The ladies are beckoned in and the soldier nudges you after them as you hesitate. 
Lanterns light the space from the desk at the rear of the chamber. The large table draped in maps, wooden horses, and little wooden pucks stands central on a thick rug. A figure stands behind it, head down as his burly and broad silhouette seems to sop up the shadows. 
The ladies follow the duke to stand across from the man. His head is down as he slides a horse along a road on the map. He stops it and grips it tight. He looks up and the lantern light dances on his features. You suck in a breath, as the rest do, stunned by his appearance. 
His hair is white, his eyes are a goldish yellow, pupils deep pools of black, and his square jaw is just as thick as the rest of him. You have never seen a man like him before, but you have heard of one. Of him. King Geralt of Rivia. 
You stand in similar confusion to the ladies. Their silent confoundment is broken by Duke Dustan as he nears the table. He sniffs and presses his fingers to the table top. 
“Your highness, my wife, Lady Rezlyn, and my daughter, Lady Jazlene,” he introduces. 
The women glance at each other then curtsy to the white king. He watches them dully. You fold your hands, taking it in curiously. It is rather something to witness the scene. You are so unimportant as to not be a part of it. 
“Your highness,” the recite, “it is...” 
“An honour,” Dustan finishes for them, “of course it is. We fondly welcome you and your allyship. We hope that we will be essential in ending this war. In helping you attain the peace you have so valiantly fought for--” 
The king raises his hand to silence the lord. You can’t help but quork your head. Allyship? But King Geralt, he is of Rivia, he is of the hinterland, he is the one who invaded the summer country and bid it his own. He is the foe. That is what they told you. 
“Enough...” the king speaks in a silty tone that scrapes in his throat. His eyes wander over the women and narrow. You wince as your own meet his golden irises and you shy away, putting your chin to your chest. That’s a mistake. “...words.” He slaps his hand down, “you do not win wars with words.” 
“Yes, your highness, you are correct. I know it well. It is why I invited you here. It is the very reason I made my entreaty. You have my men, they will win this war for you.” 
The king is hardly impressed by the fact. He looks back to the table and moves the horse further before turning it back. He knocks it over and stands completely straight. 
“And the daughter of Debray, your highness. To have a wife of summer’s blood, men will bend the knee. If you show them you do not mean to eradicate but to join with them,” Dustan moves to stand closer to his daughter, “isn’t she a fine queen for a fine kingdom?” 
Jazlene swoons and falls against her father. She’s fainted. Rezlyn grabs onto her other shoulder and you peek up at the chaotic scene. You come forward to help, snatching a pillow from the single couch, and you place it under Jazlene’s head as they lay her down on the floor. 
A shadow shifts as Dustan and Rezlyn fuss over their daughter, fanning and calling to her. You look up as darkness clusters over you. You see the king staring down at the scene. No, not them. He staring at you. Before he can reprimand you, you put your head down. 
You must quit that lest you find yourself at the wrong end of a switch. 
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Winter's King Masterlist
Summary: You are a maid to the Duke of Debray, a lord of the Summer Kingdom. That is, until the king of Winter appears with his particular air of coldness. (Medieval AU)
Status: In Progress
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
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finleycannotdraw · 1 year
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reading the witcher books after watching the netflix series is such a slap to the face (positive) mostly because of how much sweeter geralt is to everyone but also just because of. everything. I’m mostly talking about how he treats dandelion (jaskier) because the show did them dirty
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(all from the last wish and sword of destiny)
netflix geralt: jaskier we aren’t friends >:(
book geralt, absolutely unprompted: ah yes, my dear friend dandelion
and ALSO his dynamic with ciri is absolutely GOLD
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(-sword of destiny) like. god I’m liable to get emotional, geralt, stop being sweet
I don’t have pictures but his relationship with yennefer is also so much better in the books and get this
the geraskier mountain divorce didn’t happen
tl;dr if you liked the netflix series (or even if you didn’t) you should definitely check out the books. the characters are so much more developed and the writing style is gorgeous. I’ve read three of them since getting the series last week.
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space-glasgow · 1 year
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friendship ended with the witcher now the hexer is my best friend
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multiverseofseries · 27 days
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The Witcher season 4 is in production, And they are already planning the fifth season to bring this epic series to a fitting conclusion.
'The Witcher' has officially been renewed for a fifth and final season. Netflix announced the start of production on the Liam Hemsworth-led season 4, confirming it will shoot back to back with season 5.
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pedroam-bang · 2 months
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The Witcher (2019)
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podcastenthusiast · 1 year
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"Here should be safe to set up camp," Geralt says, scanning the treeline with his eyes in that odd witcher way. Like he's seeing much more than a mere mortal could.
"Thank the gods," sighs Jaskier, who's been really starting to regret skiving off those physical fitness courses at Oxenfurt.
"Get a fire started while I tend to Roach."
"Oh Geralt, I'd love to, I would. Truly it's colder than a sorceress' shapely—"
"Jaskier."
"Well, as they say: you can lead a bard to timber, but you can't make him—"
"Just do it, Jaskier."
"I don't know how! All right? I've never built a fire in the middle of nowhere before! It's not one of the seven liberal arts, and I much prefer my fires stoked by comely barmaids in taverns."
Geralt looks at him for a long moment. It's a complicated look—frustration and amusement and a hint of regret. Mostly it's a look that says Jaskier is an idiot for joining him on the Path.
"Right," Geralt says slowly. He begins building the campfire himself.
"I imagine they teach wilderness survival to baby witchers at witcher school."
Geralt looks at him again and there's something different in his expression. The ghost of a smile? Jaskier doesn't quite know how to read it.
"Kaer Morhen," he says. "And yeah. Something like that."
"Oh?" Jaskier has to rein in his enthusiasm, his curious questions. Geralt so rarely reveals anything personal about himself or his past. Not that Jaskier has been forthcoming in that regard either. They live in the moment, day by day, but some context would help his creative process.
Besides all that, he genuinely wants to get to know Geralt a little better.
"Vesemir took me out into the forest one day. Gave me a knife and left me there for a month."
There is no bitterness in his words. If anything, the witcher sounds...almost fond. Nostalgic. Proud of his younger self for overcoming the challenges his mentors set before him.
It takes a moment for the true meaning of that to sink in and, once it does, Jaskier is horrified. His own parents weren't great, but even they would never simply abandon him.
"He just— like as a test— what—?"
"Real eloquent, bard. I doubt he had any choice. Probably wasn't even supposed to give me anything."
"How old were you?" he demands, unsure if any answer will make this revelation less abhorrent.
"Six? Seven? Maybe eight. I don't know." Geralt makes a gesture with his fingers and the pile of wood beneath his hand sparks with flame. "Not old enough to have learned Igni yet."
He can picture it, too, so vividly. Curse his dammed artist's imagination. Geralt, just a kid, alone and scared and definitely cold—because no one bothered to teach him how to start a fire.
"Stop it," the witcher snaps.
"What?"
"Looking at me like that. I'm fine. I was fine back then. Wasn't so bad at all compared to the Grasses. Vesemir came back for me like he said he would. I survived the trial—no, I didn't just survive; I exceeded all expectations, which is why they..." The witcher trails off. Takes a breath.
All of that... It's quite a lot of words for Geralt. Honest words, even.
It's his job to talk, to sing, to commit the most painful and difficult experiences to beautiful poetic verse. But Jaskier doesn't know what to say to his friend right now. Surely he has to say something.
"Geralt..."
"Don't waste your pity. Save it for the ones who didn't make it through. I did."
"Okay," the bard replies, careful and tentative. He isn't a brave man, nor a particularly kind one. But Jaskier considers himself an honest fellow so he adds, "Just because you made it through, you know, that doesn't mean what happened to you was all right, Geralt. Children aren't supposed to be left alone to fend for themselves."
The witcher laughs—a humorless, wretched sound. He doesn't say anything at all to that. Which is okay, really; Jaskier just needed him to hear it.
There is a long silence. The fire crackles. Jaskier absently strums his lute.
"You're gonna write a ballad about this, aren't you," Geralt says after a while.
"No!" Maybe. Yes. He won't perform it.
"Hm."
The fire crackles.
Quite out of the blue, Geralt tells him, "I befriended a wolf back then."
"What? You're joking!"
"Witchers don't have a sense of humor. Common knowledge."
"Common misconception. Most people are just stupid. No, hang on, stop distracting me—You had a pet wolf?!"
"Not a pet," the witcher corrects, smiling faintly. "Fangtooth was her own wolf."
"Fangtooth?" Jaskier repeats, struggling to contain his amusement. "Not Roach?"
"No."
"Forgive me, but that's adorable."
"I was just a child. I wanted to stay with her in the wilderness. Be a wolf, too. Or a knight." He shakes his head dismissively. Silly childish dreams.
"But you didn't," Jaskier says. And feels stupid for saying something so obvious.
"Too late for that," Geralt replies without reproach. "I was already a witcher."
"As a child, I wanted to run away and join the circus," the bard offers.
"Of course you did."
They're quiet for a moment then. Comfortable, shared silence. Just the sounds of birds and forest creatures, and Roach contentedly eating grass. The fire crackles.
"Geralt, will you teach me to light a fire? Without witcher magic, obviously, since I don't have any."
"Why?"
"Because...well, because I could be a more useful traveling companion. Like Fangtooth must've been."
"...Fine," Geralt agrees after some thought.
It is a skill he will be very grateful to have on freezing nights in the coming years, especially whenever the witcher is too injured or ill from those dreadful potions to help set up camp. He will try not to think of the child Geralt once was, subjected to horrific tests of his ability to survive all on his own.
Except he hadn't been on his own back then, not completely. And he isn't alone anymore, either.
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witchers x maleficent!/fae!reader
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summary: how witcher characters would react to someone having maleficent type horns/wings and magic
notes: got this out just in time for the new season phew
warnings: gn!reader, lambert the middle schooler, jaskier's composing
tagged: @majesticwren @obsessiveformiyatwins @levithestripper @lu-in-the-library @sunndust (msg me to be added!)
based on this request | masterlist | requests are OPEN!
Geralt
He’s mostly just praying that fate isn’t throwing another curveball at him
Sureeee he’ll spend time with you!! (his fingers are crossed and he’s praying let them be normal let them be normal
Will end up totally accepting you, but he doesn’t love the attention that comes from being a witcher in the company of a fae
He secretly adores your wings
Jaskier
Immediately in song-writing mood
Will make up things about your life to fabricate contents for his ballads
Won’t treat you very different from his other ~weird~ friends
Loves loves loves the attention that comes with it (read: basks in it like the sun)
Yennefer
Yen is fascinated
The academic in her wants to tell her colleagues
And the girl who was all alone and abandoned in her absolutely adores you
You’d do good to make sure that she’s on your side, or she might sell you out
Definitely wants a piece of your magic either way
Ciri
Poor ciri
Eugh she just wants some friends
That don’t die…
She loves your horns and wings
Definitely adores you for also being *different* and having your own magic thing going on
Eskel
He adores your wings
If there is a wing care routing, please let this man do it
Otherwise, he might invent a conditioner-potion for your wings
Don’t scare him in the beginning though, or you may get stabbed
Lambert
Has the reaction of a seventh-grader
Might literally go woahhhhhh
Big hater, but not against you
Will protect you, but will also ask you if you can carry stuff with your horns constantly
Yeah becoming a christmas tree-esque creature may be a con
Coen
Coen honestly just enjoys a helping hand
Your magic will in fact be contributing to his work
Tbf he also makes sure you don’t get killed by angry farmers
The whole thing starts off as a symbiotic relationship but will turn into a friendship (if not more hehe)
Vesemir
Bro does not trust you
Thots and prayers girldude
Oh you have horns and wings? LIKE A MONSTER??
Unless one of his witchers (read:children) introduces you to him, he may attempt murder
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kittenofdoomage · 5 months
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Awakening (Ao3 Link)
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Summary: Y/N’s always been an obedient daughter and sister, but one foraging trip into the deepest part of the woods changes everything for her.
Pairing: Alpha!Werewolf!Geralt Of Rivia x fem!reader
Word Count: 53615
Chapters: 16 (fully posted and complete)
Warnings: mild assault, dubious consent, corruption, angst, mentions of suicide, biting, jealousy/fighting over a mate, public masturbation, public nudity, voyeurism, heat/rut, possessive behavior, werewolves, size kink, praise kink, smut, pregnancy, A/B/O themes (including mating, biting, knotting, breeding kink), non-canon elements (witchers are not infertile, they’re just a different breed of werewolf), some time-period-level sexism towards women, use of “little one” as a pet name. Please let me know if there are additional warnings I have missed.
LINK TO FIC
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fic-finders · 2 years
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Sorry I haven’t been active lately. I have about a month and a half left of this semester and my classes posted the study guide for the finals. So I been studying a lot on top of my regular homework.
I’m so tired bro. I literally slept for 24 hours yesterday (one of my professors had an accident and class was canceled) I can’t wait for this to end and can have energy to do things I enjoy again.
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Winter's King 20
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No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.
Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, cheating, violence, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Summary: You are a maid to the Duke of Debray, a lord of the Summer Kingdom. That is, until the king of Winter appears with his particular air of coldness. (Medieval AU)
Characters: Geralt of Rivia
Note: Have a good day.
As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.
Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.
I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖
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The crackling of the fire grows clearer as the tides of sleep swirl and still. Your eyelids part to the flicker of the hearth, a figured limned in the rustic haze, looming over you, lifting you, moving you with ease. You stir and fidget, pressing a hand to the firm wall against your arm. The woolly tunic scratches against your palm as you feel the pulsing of a heartbeat beneath.  
You look up at the square jaw of your accoster. King Geralt lays you on the mattress, your disposed clothes cleared away from the corner. He's gentle as he sets your head on the pillow, caressing your cheek and your hip as he draws away. He stands, looking down on you as his fingers curl and extend, a hot breath rushing from his nostrils. 
You watch him as the the world sharpens around you and a flow rolls over you like cold water. You push yourself up on your elbows as the king's eyes rove your figure beneath the thin shift. He sways and brushes his hand over his chest, letting out a deep rumble. 
You want to say something. Anything. Just a word to break the fragile tension between you. You can't get a single noise out. He stares down at you with his gold eyes, like coins shining, forged in flame. 
He sits on the edge of the bed, snug to you as he rests his hand on the other side of you, tenting his arm over you. His other crawls along your shoulder and down to your wrist, walking back up again. His fingertips spread goose prickles along your flesh as you lay frozen in his fiery exploration. 
The haze of the fireplace, the gleam of his eyes, and the dregs of your drowsiness make you doubt the realness of it all. Are you dreaming still? Everything is so much more than it should be. His heat, his touch, the way you can feel his need radiating from him. 
You fall flat, staring at him, entranced by him. He brings his calloused palm to cradle your face. You gasp and latch onto his wrist.He lets his fingers flutter away and turns his arm, looking down at your grasp on him, cautious but firm. You see how his cheek strains and he sits up, grazing his other hand over yours.  
He covers your hand with both of his and draws it up. He unveils it like some precious treasure and kisses each knuckle. You shake as each brush of his lips tingles through you. He pulls back and keeps hold of you, lowering your hand between you. 
"You fear me," he says, "you fear what I want from you." His voice is low and sonorous, "I want nothing from you. I only want you, my summer maid." He inhales deeply and lets it out with a quaver as you feel the tremor in him, "my treasure." 
Your eyes sting and tears soften the lines in your vision. You shake your head, a knot in your throat, a pinch in your chest. He brings your hand flat to one of yours and twines his thick fingers between yours. The difference is drastic, a reflection of your status. He is all-powerful and you are a speck in the wind. 
"I have worn a heavy crown, I have raised an army, I have bled in battle, and not of it can compare to this, my treasure. You are my greatest achievement. By fates, I found you. I thought that I was destined to sit the throne, to unite these peoples, to hold it all in my hand," he squeezes, "but this is all I need have in my grasp. This is what called me to your southern plains. All of it for you. I have won it and so quickly as you bid me, I would give it up." 
Your lashes flick as your heart swells. He cannot mean it. Not any of it. You are only a maid. 
"You have your fear, little maid, and I have mine. They are one and the same," he gazes down at you, eyes wrought in layers of pain, sadness, and longing, like the sediment of the earth, worn and weathered through the years. "I fear myself all the same as you. I have withheld myself for as long as I can and yet I feel myself dwindling. I feel the rope fraying." 
You sniff and shake your head, "your highness..." you croak and your voice seems to crackle in the air, "Queen Jazlene--" 
"Do not speak her name. I beg of you. Treasure, I beg. I will beg you anon." 
He keeps hold of you and shifts off the bed. He brings himself to his knees at the side of the bed, clinging to you as he once more kisses your hand. As you lay helpless to him. 
"Do not fear me. How can you when I only mean to worship you," he rasps. "As any treasure, I only mean to prize you, to hold you dear, to keep you from those who would steal you away. To keep you for my own. Treasure, you are mine, all mine. By rights, I, King Geralt of Rivia and the Hinterlands, claim you. No other shall have you. Upon my life, I could not bear it." 
You close your eyes, ice trickling into your veins at his declaration. He is king, he is the almighty, and you are his. You are sworn to serve and by rights of marriage, you are bound to him. Even if it wrong, even it transcends the vow he spoke to another, a king may bend the laws as serve his purposes. A maid may only obey. 
"You have forsaken me," you whisper. 
He kneels in silence, lowering his head to rest on your hand. You lay in tableau, strangled and solemn, as he prostrates himself at your side. As a mourner might do for some tragic corpse. Is that not what this is? Grief for the treachery of it all. 
"I belong to you," he speaks at last, rising as he releases you. Your eyes roll open and pinpoint on him.  
He turns away and pulls at his tunic, stripping it from his broad shoulders, revealing a back ridged with muscles. He drops it on the seat of a chair and sits in another. He is patient as he unbinds the straps of his boots and removes each in turn, placing them neatly aside. He undresses piece by piece, rapt in the task of his dissembling. 
He remains only in his braies, the short garment ending at the top of his thick thighs. His stomach is as thick as the rest of his, muscles wrapping around his arms and chest, fur like the very wolf he's sewn into his cloak. He approaches the bed and you steel yourself for him. 
He lifts himself over you, hovering just above, his hands above your shoulders as he holds himself on his knees, straddling as he once did in the moonlight of your unconscious. He peers down and breathes a scalding plume upon you. You shiver and meet his eyes, unable to repress the wash of terror that comes over you. 
He pushes himself to the other side of you, folding his arm to fall upon his side. His other stretches over your stomach as he nestles against your side. He lays on his shoulder, facing you, and his nose brushes your temple. You clutch a fold of the blankets in your hand as his traces the shape of your side, playing with the seam of your shift. 
His touch creeps over your stomach and his lips dance on your cheek. He exhales your name into your ear and his hand cups one side of your chest. A whimper escapes your throat as your nipple hardens, poking him as he fondles you. He is gentle but diligent, eager as he explores your body, as if you are another map to be conquered. 
He trails up to your neck and his thumb draws a line along your throat. You feel his gaze but cannot face it. It burns hotter than the heart. He touches jaw and chin, as if he's never seen anything like you; cheekbones, nose, forehead, as if he is an artist moulding a statue.  
He presses his straight nose to your cheek and drapes his arm around you once more. He embraces you from the side. He tucks his fingers under you and you bring your hand to his thick forearm, feeling the soft hair along it. You claps onto him and shudder at the ceiling. 
"You will not always fear me," he whispers, "when you see the world for what it is, when you see me truly, you will feel as I do." He snarls as he leans his weight into you. "You cannot fight fate, my treasure. Even a king cannot bid what is written by destiny." 
You let every ounce of strength drain from you. You sink into the mattress, surrendering to his will. Whatever he might do, whatever he might demand of you, you will give in. That is your duty. 
He purrs as his own body relaxes, "I only wish to feel you, little maid. My soul needs yours close." He closes his eyes and bows his head to rest against yours. You shut your eyes once more but know you will not rest.  
You are afraid. You are terrified. All your life you've served but this is more than you've ever been asked. The peril is all yours. A king would never face the same atonement as a maid. 
⚔️
The king enshrines you in his warmth. You examine the white strands of his hair as you lay in his arms. Your gaze wanders further to his rounded muscle, the unmatched strength woven in his body. His statue matches the intangible authority attached to his very being. He is power incarnate. 
You feel smaller as you lay beside him. The night passes, as it will not matter water. Time marches on like the very army that invaded your homeland at the behest of the man now clinging to you. Just a maid. Just a deceiver. 
You turn your eyes past the king's sleeping form. His rumbling snores underline the soft crackle of embers breaking down. You cannot remove the danger buried deep in your chest. Memories only drive it deeper and deeper. 
Your remember when Jazlene was only a girl. You've known her through every year of her life. You've seen her grow from cradle to crown. She might be flawed, she might be selfish and rotten and mean, but she is still that life you watch round the duchess' stomach when you were but yourself a child. She is still a living being. 
There was a time when she did not obsess over jewels and silks and bottle. When you both were just young and naive. When she counted and you hid, then switched places. When you revealed yourself form behind your hands and she giggled in amazement. That time is gone and you only see doom ahead of you. 
You can't lay there any longer. 
You move the king's arm off of you and sit up. You put your back to him and bend over your lap. How you could melt to a puddle like the icy outside those castle walls. How you might wilt away like a flower without shade. 
You do not dare leave the bed. Your emotions cannot overrule the man behind you. You flinch as he quiets and his snoring turns to a long groan. A tickle crawls up your back as he touches you. He pinches the fabric, tugging it as if to get your attention. 
"Are you well, treasure?" He asks with grit in his throat. 
"It is morning," you say, though the shutters block out the day, "shall I fetch you something to break your fast?" 
He sighs and his hand fists the back of your shift. He pulls until you twist to look at him. He props himself on one elbow, holding his head as he looks at you. His expression is not as stony as it usually is. He is not the statuesque king, he is just a man, entirely vulnerable in nothing more than a piece of cloth. 
"I don't want you to be maid this day," he touches your hip, his eyes dipping to watch his hand. "I want to... show you something. I want you to know this land. Once you do, you will know me." 
"As you wish, your highness." 
His brows lower and he pushes himself up, sitting against the pillows, "it doesn't need be. What do you wish, treasure? Tell me and I will grant it?" 
You push up one shoulder, "I wish for nothing. A maid does not..." 
"Not a maid," he insists again, "you, what do you wish?" 
You lower your head and turn back to the chamber, "I would see your land. Show me then what I have not already seen." 
His forceful breath uneases you. He is disappointed, though you say exactly what you should. What he should want. You will heed his desire, he only need declare it. 
"Very well," he jostles the bed as he moves to sit beside you, "you will need to dress warmly. I will have gloves and a hat. Some boots," his arm is snug to yours, " 
"Thank you, your highness," you utter. 
"No, Geralt. My name is Geralt." 
Your chest racks and your shoulders feel as if there are pins stuck in the joint. Your lips part then clamp together. You try to muster your voice but it catches like phlegm. You nearly choke. 
"Will you say it?" He asks gently. 
You turn to glance at him. It feels next to blasphemy. You blink and he reaches to frame your face with his large hand. 
"To hear my name on your lips would me like a sacred melody. Please, treasure, just for me, you can say it," he pleads. 
You take a breath through your nose and let it out in a wisp, "Geralt." 
He smiles and his thumb runs along your chin to your lower lip, "again." 
"Geralt," you say louder and he toys with your lip, his golden eyes narrowing on it, hungering for it as if a starving man looking upon a fine citrus. 
"Again," he commands once more. 
"Ger--" 
You cannot finish is name as he covers your mouth with his. He smothers you in his need, pulling you against him, snaring you in his arms. He brings you over him as he falls onto his back, moaning as he delights in the taste of you, nibbling at your bottom lip. He hums and draws away as you breathless stare down at him. 
"I have never known paradise, not in the hinter or the summer, but I find it here," he growls, "upon my very chest, in my very arms. If only it could be forever." 
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write-ur-wrongs · 6 months
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Stayaway
In an attempt to get out of funk, here is a very short, not edited, written-directly-into-tumblr, song-inspired grealt x reader fic. Inspired by Stayaway by MUNA (the best band in the world, begging y'all to listen to their music you will be forever changed!!).
*********
"Come on! I know you're home, I followed you!"
The bard was yelling and banging on your door incessantly and you knew you had to answer eventually. The bastard followed you home after all, he knows where you live.
"I'm not home!" you shouted back, delusional.
"Y/N! I may be a fool but I'm not stupid," he replied, and you could hear the familiar smile pulling at his lips, "Now open up! The door and your heart!"
"Jask," you sighed, laughing despite yourself at his poetic antics, "go away!"
"No! I miss you!"
"I'm not home!" you tried again, will wavering.
"Y/N!" he pleaded, and you swore you could hear half that cursed smile pull down into a pout.
You rested your forehead against the door and bit your lip, debating. All the while, your hand betrayed you, reached for the doorknob and turned it open.
Before you knew it, you were face to face with an old friend and while the sight of him filled you with joy, you were also flooded with other, less welcome feelings of remembrance.
"Y/N!" he exclaimed, pushing himself into your home and saving you from dwelling on the heavy memories that tried to creep up over you. "You're home, what are the odds?"
"Hilarious as always, Jaskier," you said, closing the door behind him. "What brings you to my little hamlet?"
"Fate, chance, what have you," he said, his cheery demeanor working overtime to cover for his abject curiosity, "The sea called and I had to answer. You know how it is."
"I do, do I?"
"Don't you? I mean you just disappeared... I assumed something called and you, you know, answered?" His tone stayed light, the practiced levity of someone who's spent years buttering people up for information all while staying neutral.
"I guess..." you bit your cheek, busying yourself by playing hostess, and pouring you both a glass of wine, "things changed and I thought, 'hell, why not change too?'"
"Fair enough... oh thank you."
"Of course," you said, taking a sip of wine yourself before guiding you both towards your couch, "but seriously Jaskier, why are you here?"
"Seriously? I was just passing through on my way to Oxenfurt when I saw a familiar face. A face I thought I'd never see again..."
You looked up from your glass then, but immediately regretted it when you met the bard's earnest gaze.
"Yennefer thought she saw you in Novigrad a while back but then... nothing. We thought you were gone for good."
"Jaskier, come on," you pleaded, praying he wouldn't elaborate on who 'we' entailed, while another, less disciplined part of you hoped for the opposite. Maybe if you knew he missed you, maybe if you knew he was looking for you... maybe you could let yourself be found.
No!
"Don't shake your head at me, Y/N. You disappear from the city, you quit your job, no one has seen you at the pub, the library - anywhere!"
"I- I know... but Jask," you stammered, trying to start three sentences at once and fumbling them all.
"I mean, you loved your job, didn't you? And what about us?" he asked, voice cracking slightly. "Gods, was the breakup that bad?"
"The thing is, Jask," you sputtered between large sips of wine, "It wasn't. It was easy, actually. He did what he always does when we fight; scowl, shut down, turn away, and then take it out on our friends. The break was clean."
"If it was so clean, then why did you leave?"
"It's the rest of it! The, the staying away that was, is impossible. If I had stayed and kept going it out with you guys, we'd drink and dance and I'd wonder where he is. Or one moment I'd be at the library studying and the next, Yen be asking me about the breakup and trying to 'cheer' me up by bringing up the good times and next thing you know? I'm answering the door for him when he rolls back into town injured and brooding. I couldn't stand it! I- I couldn't risk it."
"That's -"
"Pathetic? I know."
"No! No, but if there were so many good times, so many reasons to go back then why not-"
"Damn it, Jaskier! This is why I had to leave." You said, gesturing between the two of you before dropping your hand on your lap with a smack. "If I let him back in, then he's not the man who broke my heart anymore. Not the one who told me I was overemotional for being worried when he'd disappear for months. Suddenly everything is fine... until it's not and I'm hurt and alone again."
You felt tears begin to prick the back of your eyes and shoved the heel of your palms into them to force them down.
"Hey... Y/N," Jaskier said, gently pulling your hands away from your eyes and taking them in his. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
"It's okay," you said, giving your friends hands a squeeze and looking up to the ceiling, letting your tears fall for a moment, "I'm okay."
"Y/N..."
"Oh alright, but I'll be okay," you amended, laughing at yourself lightly and wiping the tears away. "Jaskier, don't look so sad. I just need time, space, distance... I will be fine."
Your words had little effect on your friend though, who seemed to grow more anxious and sad with every passing moment. You quirked your brow at him and shoved his shoulder playfully, trying to break the mood.
"Jaskier, will you relax?" you asked, desperate to get him to smile now. You really had missed Jaskier and now that he was here, you realized how much you wanted him to stick around.
"Y/N, I'm really sorry." He whispered, refusing to meet your gaze.
You were about to try another lighthearted quip when you heard a knock at your door. Not someone knocking, just a knock. One quick but deliberate rap.
"Who...?" you heard yourself asking, even though you only ever knew one person who knocked on doors like that.
"Y/N, I'm so so sorry," Jaskier kept repeating. "I really didn't know. I never would have told him if I'd known."
Your mouth was bone dry but you couldn't get your hand to reach for your glass of wine. You just kept staring at Jaskier, watching him babble.
"I'll go tell him to leave, Y/N, I'm so sorry," you heard him say, his voice barely registering over the ringing in your ears.
You felt him get up off the couch, your blurred vision registering the now empty spot on the couch only after you heard your door be pulled open.
Every fiber of your being was on fire. You were frozen. You wanted to throw yourself on the floor. You wanted to run to him.
"Y/N..." you heard him say. Fuck he sounded sad. You wanted to hold him, tell him it'll be okay. You wanted to slam the door in his face. You forgive him. You'll never forgive yourself.
Against your better judgement, you felt yourself to turn look towards the front door and your breath caught when you saw him.
Gods above, you thought, he should have stayed away.
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simplymanuela · 2 years
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That’s what friends do. They come back.
The Witcher (2019—)
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silverflameataraxia · 21 days
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