#and we have jaskier lore!!!!!!

[hannibard]

GERALT AND JASKIER ARE BACK BABY!!!!!!!

[doberbutts]

Okay well I watched the first episode of Blood Origin and honestly my thoughts are:

I just don't understand why people are so resistant to changes/new plotlines/some lore breaking of *recent* franchises but gobble it up when it's older. People telling an untold portion of a common tale is well established in storytelling culture. The first example that springs to mind is Lancelot, who straight up does not exist in original Authorian legend and was a FRENCH invention when the myth spread. Nowadays, most casual enjoyers of King Author stuff don't bat an eye to Lancelot's presence. Lancelot, who comes to mind, because Sapkowski writes said Lancelot to be in love with Ciri, and we're totally cool with *that* but not with changes to Sapkowski's work.

It's really telling that there's such a bigoted negative reaction to this because honestly? The black people so far have been BLACK black, darker than me, darker than even my black family sometimes. I'm enjoying seeing melanin in fantasy don't mind me. And the hair on the sisters is excellent, I'm liking the costuming, and I *really* like Eile.

The accents are kind of all over the place. Both as individual characters but also as the actors themselves. Sometimes Fjall goes from generic American accent to some form of fake Irish to ????european???? and back and it's distracting and weird. HOWEVER I do like the Irish and Welsh accents in high born kingdoms, because too often those accents are for commoners and poverty only, and this sort of turns the trope on its head.

I'm not sure how much I like the pan-Asian vibe I'm getting from some of the props and architecture. Some things look vaguely Chinese while others solidly Arabic while others a weird fusion of Indian and Korean and it's just odd to me. At first I thought it was because of clan structures but then I saw that it's just sort of everywhere. I have 0% Asian in me so I'm not really a good authority to speak on it but it's a weird vibe, a little Orientalist to my eyes. I'll freely admit that I like the aesthetic since I was raised pretty pan-African but I recognize that most continentally grouped cultures don't love that and it's mainly the black diaspora that's embraced it because we don't really have much of a choice.

I STILL feel that doing away with this short-season "but the episodes are an hour long!" nonsense would help pacing so much. Literally every time I thought the episode was going to come to an end, it's been roughly at the 20-25 min mark, which a standard TV episode would have been ANYWAY. So there's not really much point to having this be 4 hour-long episodes when it could be done better as 12-15 20 minute episodes... which would be the eqivilant of a short season while 24-32 is a more "standard" season (instead of 8 hour-long episodes). It gives you more time to flesh the characters and plotlines out while also allowing you the chance to trim some of the long-and-boring content people get tired of watching.

I really do feel bitter that the witcher tags continue to be people making racist and misogynistic memes instead of a fandom happily discussing a pretty strong first episode that introduced a billion fantasy characters of color. It really sucks that black people in fantasy is received so poorly when my inner 10 year old is happy to see people who look more like me having fun with the genre. I long for the day when I can exist in a fandom space and happily discuss my favorite black characters without having to justify their existence every 2 seconds.

Oof that CGI is pretty rough though. Which surprises me because the S2 CGI was not this rough so idk what happened here. That monster in the first episode is, uh, bad. And the background in the weird magicky place is also pretty, uh, bad.

I don't understand why the first witcher being an elf would piss Geralt off except maybe because that means Jaskier knows more about witchers than Geralt does? All of Geralt's iterations- the books, the games, the show, the comics- are pretty chill with elves as long as they're pretty chill with him. He only pursues certain elves and elf-blooded mixed race people when they pose a direct threat to him or his loved ones. Same as humans. So I don't really get that line at all unless, as said, it was more a "wow Geralt's gunna be pissed that I know this story and he doesn't"

[eskelsgirl]

What a lovely way to burn

Teaser Main pairing: Geralt/Jaskier, Eskel/Original Female character, Side pairings: Lambert/Aiden Tags: Liberties with Lore, canon what canon? Enemies to lovers -sort of kind of? post mountain break up, Nilfgaard is after Jaskier again, after barely escaping with his life and a mysterious companion Jaskier must find a way to Kaer Morhen to warn Geralt and his child surprise.

The tavern was packed, townsfolk coming in from the cold to enjoy a drink, hoping to warm themselves against the harsh weather. A man hid in the corner of the tavern, the hood of his cloak drawn up, covering his stolen clothes. He had to abandon his fancier clothes, which were stained with blood, a mix of his own and others. A plate of meager food was already scarfed down, and the man counted out the last of his coin. He needed more food, but he also needed to get out of Redanina. He was close to the Kaedwen border and needed more coins to achieve his goal. Cornflower blue eyes searched the room. His companion had left him some time ago looking for supplies and perhaps a guide. Just as the thought ‘she’s abdomen me’ comes across his mind, a woman joins him at his table. His companion.

“You need to sing,” she tells him in a hushed tone. The hood of her stolen cloak was down, and her long brown hair was revealed. “I can’t,” the man replies in a pained voice as if saying those few words had burned him. If I sing, they will know.” The woman reaches across the table, gently laying her hand atop his. “Jas- Julien, we need the coin. We will never pass the border without it, and the longer we stay, the more danger we will be in.” “Like you said, we are nearing winter. The townspeople have no coin to give.” Julien argues that, and yes, he did try to steal more than clothes from these people. He tries to stand up, but the woman’s grasp keeps him there; her delicate hand brushes his scared fingertips. “Kass, I can’t.” “Trust me,” Kass whispers and the ache in his hands lessens enough for him to play a song, maybe two, on the lute. “One song is all we will need.” With dread and understanding that his companion was right, Julien stands up, leaving the cloak with her, and grabs the lute. It’s not his lute, not the one Filavandrel gave him all those years ago. He waits for a lull in the crowd, a moment of near quiet to grab their attention. He doesn’t look like a bard anymore; he couldn’t rely on flash clothes or gimmicks for this one song. So, he had to pull deep to get what they needed. “I hear you alive,” He says in a raspy voice; he wrote it after the mountain and can’t help the memories that come with this song. “How disappointing

I've also survived, no thanks to you

Did I not bring you some glee

Mister, oh, look at me Now, I'll burn all the memories of you.”

While the man sang, his companion worked her magic, not enough to weaken Julien further but enough to keep the people generous. It helped that he was talented, to begin with, and the people were in desperate need of a distraction. Julien worked for the crowd, bringing them in with the chorus, and soon, coins were flying.

The woman tried not to connect with Julien during the song. She saw the emotion on his face; not even his facade could deceive her; they were too close. The sorrow the bard felt was too much, and while the song was not presented as a ‘sad’ song, Kass knew the truth. She knew how deeply the bard felt about his witcher.

Kass was right; one song was all they needed. It wasn’t much coin for two people to split, but Julien was used to less; he could make it stretch. Julien felt weak and lightheaded after his play. He felt a sharp pain on his side, and one of his wounds reopened. He didn’t remember doing anything too strenuous during his performance, so maybe Kass’s healing magic wasn’t as strong as they thought.

Julien stumbled back to the table, hand pressed on the wounded side. Thankfully, there was no blood, but it felt like there should be. Kass was at his side, throwing the cloak back over him and ushering him out of the tavern, their coin purses now heavier.

The nilfgaard horse they had also stolen was still there, and no stable hand in sight. The stall was not an ideal place to perform magic, and Kass had already spent too much energy on the brief healing she performed on Julien’s hands. But she feared internal bleeding.

[fangirleaconmigo]

How do you search Dandelion/Geralt fanfics on ao3? cause on that site Jaskier and Dandelion are one and the same thing

Hello! This is a very good question.

They are the same characters, but can feel distinctly different across formats, depending on what you focus in on. Here is a post I did that includes a link to my write up on differences and similarities across books and show for Geralt.

And sometimes, you are in the mood for a specific flavor. For me, if I'm in a book!Gerlion mood, I search Geralt/Jaskier-Dandelion ship tag, click on it, then filter for the books on the fandom tag.

Yes, people over-tag (I am sure I am considered one of the worst offenders) but it helps a lot.

I just brought up the Ship, and while there are 17, 168 fics for Geralt/Jaskier-Dandelion in the Wiedźmin The Witcher All Media Types fandom, there are only 2482 in the 'Wiedźmin  Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski. and 2302 in Video Games.

Are all two thousand some in those categories all properly tagged to the fandom? Probably not. But it narrows it waaaaaaaay down for you. Then I think you just go hunting.

Your ask made me realize that I need to tag my Gerlion fics Gerlion. I think if we all did that, it would help.

And speaking of my fics. For anyone interested, here is my general approach.

I have spent so much time in this fandom and across the formats that my witcher source brain is not even a stew across canons, it's a puree. I don't think I can separate them all out on a broader scale. My Geralt has experienced book Geralt creep for sure. It's all mushed together.

But if I can identify a specific lore in my fic that I can source to one of those sources, I'll tag it. If I mentioned Eskel's succubus or Aiden, then I tag games. If I reference a conversation from the books, I will tag that.

I am not saying this is correct, I am just saying it's what I do.

And if, when I'm writing, the Jaskier voice starts getting more and more arch and sarcastic I go, fuck, this one is Dandelion. lol And I'll put that in my summary or tags somewhere. But I need to go back and make sure I have Gerlion specifically in all of those.

But of course Posada Remix has all four characters, so that one is painstakingly characterized out so that they are all distinct.

So yeah, filter for the books, and some do tag Gerlion, but not all.

I don't know if that helped but hopefully so. Thanks for the ask!

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

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!

[xshimaeraxx]

I've seen many posts about people missing how common asks used to be so I have been trying to send about an ask a week. Now I send this ask first anytime I follow someone as I really don't want to bother anyone, so I'd love to know if you enjoy receiving asks and if so what kind of asks. Not having energy for asks or being comfortable with them is perfectly okay.

The categories I have in my ask notebook that I file under are in colour. Please feel free to make your response as long as you want or private (the asker cannot directly respond to private responses).

Self, Job/Work: please let me know what you are comfortable with from eh idk just ask it to nothing personal at all.

Baggishield/Tolkien, Dragon Age, Johnlock/Sherlock, ineffable spouses, other fandom: Please let me know what fandoms. I think my main fandoms and ships are Bagginshield/The Hobbit, Sherlock/Johnlock, Dragon Age Inquisition, {Pippin/Faramir Merry/Eowyn}/The Lord of the Rings and I dip my toes in a few that I currently can't remember but ships I don't engage with the canon of at all are: Good Omens but only for Crowley/Azirapheal, Stranger Things but only for Steve/Eddie , The Witcher but only for Geralt/Jaskier, and Ladybug and Cat Noir but only for Adrinette .

OC's, art/drawing, their writing, blog specific only

Story snippets ideas and prompts: Do you like receiving them?

Pets: I'd love to know all about them

Garden and Hobbies: What type of gardening and/or hobbies?

Like being tagged in things: If so what kinds of things?

*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer.

hello!!! yeah, i love receiving asks, lmao, & as for ur questions:

self, job/work: hmmm. im not rly comfy w any major questions ab my irl life (like stuff along the lines of “where specifically t do you live” (like im a brit, but if somewhere were to ask js where i live in the uk, i wldnt answer, as is common sense (imo) when it comes to the internet), “how old are you” “what is (are) your irl name(s)” etc. etc. - identifying stuff, basically), tho anythin’ else is pretty much on the table rn.

fandoms: oh, fandoms my beloved. my main fandoms atm (for both reading & writing, tho some r only reading while some r only writing, etc. etc.) are cuphead (i have way too much worldbuilding for this one au of mine that branches off into so many aus of the au, its genuinely gettin a lil crazy /pos /lh; i write fic for this one, aswell- in fact, its kinda my main writing-for fandom atm ^^), the hobbit (bagginshield my beloved i love you shjshsjehejs - i also dable vaguely in lotr (mainly gimli/legolas + parentshield tbh lmao) but its mostly js the hobbit for me), good omens (i love the ineffables i love s1 & s2 & HSJSHSJSHSJ i js love it like. all around. fuck gaimon tho, death of the author tyvmm), my hero academia/boku no hero academia (i dont engage w fandom much other then a few fanfic writers’ blogs here on tumblr & ao3 fanfic lmao XD; love the anime tho), harry potter (FUCK jkr, speaking as a brit myself none of us claim her, the transphobes can have her, we dont want her /lh - love the (good parts of) fanbase tho. ive actually made some rly good fic-writer friends thru it over on discord lmao), & ofc rise of the guardians!!! (fuckin love that thing, so sad there was never a second move :sadblob: love playin around w fanon/fandom lore tho, & i LOVE jackrabbit (bunnymund/jack) its my main ship in the fandom, tho im a multishipper so im also kinda partial to some other ones ofc)

ocs, art/drawing, writing, blog specific: not entirely sure what this one’s asking/if its actually a question, but imma answer it any lolol XD. anygays - ocs: i have a few cuphead ocs, but none of ‘em r self-inserts & all only rly exist bc of/for/to enhance/move forward the plot of my (main) cuphead au, tho ofc theyre still ocs - love ‘em like my children even if i dont love ‘em as much as i do the canon characters, snirk. art/drawing: i do draw, tho i rarely post any of my art, and one or two times i have its usually bc im js proud enough of it to want to share it, ehehe. writing: i write. so much fanfic. none of its posted, but i have so many wips i frankly dont know when any one of ‘em will be, sooo… shrug. blog specific: my blog isnt rly “specific”; its more js a place for me to enage w cool art & fics & such & reblog stuff i like on here as well as probably self-promo my own fics & such, as well as js a place to put my random ramblings in XD.

story snippets & prompts: oh, i love ‘em!! always nice 2 get a new burst of writing motivation ::D

pets: ohhh, cats. i love cats. had one for a while for around a good two years or so but after he injured his paw & we had 2 keep him inside for 3 weeks straight, the flightly lil bugger’s runaway. he (might’ve; still don’t know for sure whether it rly was him or not, but he apparently responded to his name from my mother’s accounts, so :shrug:) came back in the middle of the night a week or so ago now, but idtk whether he’s dead, alive, or js been taken in by some other family who thinks he’s a stray. :sigh:

gardening & hobbies: i don’t garden, and as for hobbies… not much, rly. i like writing fic, i like reading, i like going on (short, i have shite stamina) walks every other day or so, i like talkin w my few friends. like i said, not much. ::)

like being tagged in things: yes, i do! and as for what… anything, rly! tag games, fic wip games, askbox/ask games, im good w ‘em all! ::D

thx for the ask; have a good day/night/timezone!! ::>

[stingerpicnic]

Please please please tell us if/when the next update might be to (Un)Deserved Kindness? I'm obsessed and need to know more!

Will you have a breakaway scene with Lambert and Geralt? Or will they come into town for the festival so it all comes to ahead? Will Jaskier and Aiden get an invite to Kaer Morhen? Will Matilda make a saucy appearance? (I assume she's saucy after the conversation with Hughes!) Will the bonfire rage?

The public (me) want to know!

Mucho Gracias, Much Love etc.

Thanks for your enthusiasm! Honest at this point I'm always a little shocked that people are still finding and reading (Un)Deserved Kindness when it's been *checks notes* ...almost an entire calendar year since I last updated. Whoops.

But!! I am working on the next chapter right now. I don't know when it will be done since Aiden and Jaskier haven't wanted to talk to me in a while, but I am working on it. Slowly. I'm also working on a character study type thing for this AU's Treyse and his whole life because I accidentally made him interesting and sympathetic in my mind when I was trying to nail down some of the lore for how the Cat school has evolved over the years (lore which will tragically never see the light of day probably, but whatever) and now he plagues my thoughts like Cedric and Axel (but less, because I also accidentally made those two my most favorite characters and have pages of snippets and ideas about their relationship).

As of right now I don't have any plans for either Geralt or Lambert to show up on screen until the installment of the series that takes place in Kaer Morhen, if we ever even get there. (spoilers for that, so skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want to know:) And if we ever do get there in the future, it's going to be that Geralt is bring Jaskier there to keep him safe and (most importantly) away from all these Cats he's apparently made friends with under Geralt's nose (since there are NEVER Cats at Kaer Morhen and he's pretty sure Vesemir would throw one off the mountain if they even tried). However, I will tell you that in my notes that fic is currently titled Aiden part 2: Electric Boogaloo Kaer Morhen Edition. So you might be able to guess how that plan goes.

The bonfire will rage though!! But that's after I let Aiden bond with Ara some more and everyone makes their traditional flower crowns for the festival.

As a little gift for asking about the new chapter though, have a little snippet of what I currently have written:

“You’re dangerous,” Aiden says, instead of a hundred far more damning things that sit on the tip of his tongue. Things that humans wouldn’t understand. Especially not too nice, too kind ones like Jaskier.

Jaskier gasps and looks at Aiden with big, deliberately innocent looking eyes. “You wound me, sir. I’m naught but a simple bard. I’m as harmless as a fly.”

Aiden snorts. “As harmless as a siren, more like,” he says.

[crashdevlin]

Left in the Cold (A Witcher fic)

Author’s Note: Again, I'm very aware that not everyone likes the Witcher but this is what demanded my attention this week. TBLP and Permission Granted are being worked on right now though lol

This is a sequel to Opposites Don't Attract I took bits of lore from the show, the books, and the games and mixed them all up into a cohesive awesomeness...I switch between calling the bard 'Jaskier' and 'Dandelion' because he goes by Dandelion in the games/books, because he doesn't like people know he's a noble. No smut in this one, just lovely angst.

Summary:  Y/n doesn't think Geralt really wants her so she's leaving before she can be left.

Pairing: Geralt x Female Witcher!Reader, mentions of Geralt x Yennefer and Geralt x Triss Merigold

Word count: 3303

Story Warnings: angst... just mostly a lot of that shit lol

~~~~

“Here’s the other half, Madam Witcher,” the museum curator who hired you said, handing you a bag of gold Crowns.

“Not a ‘madam’ anything,” you disputed, tying the bag to your potions belt. “What are you going to do with all the fakes Lery sold you?”

“They might not be authentic artifacts, but it could be argued that they are very well-done art pieces.”

You shook your head. Humans. So greedy. “Is that how you’re gonna be getting your money’s worth? You’re gonna charge people to see a set of fake Elven ‘art’?”

“I won’t present it as authentic. Don’t worry about-”

“I don’t care enough to worry,” you interrupted. “You just be careful not to get the attention of the guard. Nilfgard doesn’t like frauds.”

The man nodded solemnly as you walked away and jumped easily up onto your horse, Daisy. You rode out of the East gate of Novigrad and started down the path, cutting across a field as you turned North. A flash of pink caught your attention and you slowed Daisy to a trot as another horse came up behind you.

You raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jaskier's fluffy pink hat. "What pink nightmare is that on your head, Dandelion?"

"It was a gift, thank you, from a very prominent Redanian Duke."

"Ah. Which of his daughters did you bed?"

"The youngest," he said nonchalantly. "But he legitimately liked my rhymes before he found out I had defiled his sweetest." You shook your head. At least the bard was consistent. "Where are you going?"

The way he asked the question made your eyebrows scrunch together. "I just finished a job in Novigrad. I was going to search for another contract in-"

"You're going North. Kagen is South."

You bristled slightly at the mention of the town where you left Geralt. "Why would I go to Kagen?"

"I just spoke to Geralt yesterday and he said that you were meeting him in-"

"I'm absolutely certain that Geralt has too much sense to be waiting around for me."

"Wait, did something happen?" Jaskier asked, reaching out to put a hand on your shoulder. "You can talk to me, Y/n."

"Remove your hand from my shoulder or I'll remove your hand from your wrist," you warned.

"Well, someone's touchy today." He pulled his hand back and sighed. "Why aren't you going to meet with Geralt?"

You rolled your eyes. "Why would I go meet with Geralt?"

"Now, I thought you two were together, at least in a physical sense. Highly compatible, right? He's a witcher; you're a witcher. You've got parts that match up nicely. Everyone in the tavern heard you in Lyria. I thought that was the start of something-"

"Gezras save me. Jaskier, shut up." You licked your bottom lip between your teeth and bit into it harshly as you debated the best way to get the bard to stifle his questions. "We are compatible. Of course we are. Physically, we're a perfect match. However...I am not a sorceress...which means I'm not his type...and he will be bored of me before a moon has gone and I am...just getting ahead of that. All right? Have I bared enough of my inner workings to you, Bard? Or shall I pull out a flask of liquor and tell you of my childhood and lack of emotional stability?" you finished, a defensive sarcasm on your words.

"If that's what you want to do, sure, but I get the feeling that's not what you want to do," he responded, making you roll your eyes. "So, you're just going to leave him waiting in Kagen?"

"I'm sure he'll figure out I'm not coming back before too long."

"Do you want me to tell him-"

"I don't want you involved. I don't want you to say a thing about this. I just want to go find a contract to get some coin and put a few more miles between me and the Butcher of Blaviken, all right?"

"Oh, come on. He hates being called that."

"Then revise your song," you snapped. You took a deep breath and adjusted your hold on Daisy's reins. You were losing control of your emotions. You were straying dangerously close back into Feline territory. "I'm going to go. Enjoy your...just farewell, Jaskier."

"And when you run into him again?" He adjusted his hat and patted his horse's head. "It's bound to happen. He was actively avoiding me for years and we still managed to cross paths. What will you do?"

You shrugged. "If he's alone, we'll have sex. If he's with one of the others, I'll go my own way. As I am doing now."

You couldn't keep up the conversation. Jaskier called out after you as your horse sped away down the path, but you didn't turn back. You could not go back to Kagen. You could not go back to Geralt.

You felt...deeply...horribly...terrifyingly. You felt in a way that Geralt of Rivia did not. You cared easily. You loved freely. You desired in a way that Geralt could never even begin to understand. You felt...which meant you could, and would, feel pain. You were left wide open to heartbreak. After analyzing everything, you were left with a single option: walk away. Walk away and leave the White Wolf a sweet memory.

~~~~

You stared at the stars, lying out on your bed roll waiting for sleep to take you. In the three weeks since you left Geralt in Kagen, you’d gone Northwest. Away from Temeria where Geralt was, away from Redania where the king seemed to have a vendetta forming against all nonhuman entities, away from Nilfgard and their dark armies. Tredam in Poviss was a safe, calm place. A witcher would likely be the craziest thing to enter the gates in years. Once you were there, you could take some coin and rent a small cabin for the winter. Hide a while with nothing but your meditation. Force your emotions down. Force your feelings away.

If you made it that far.

There was no sound of boots on frosted grass approaching you, but there was a smell and a sense of movement. You didn't have to ask. You didn't have to look. You knew before he'd rounded the tree closest to you who was approaching.

"You can come out now, Joel," you called, sitting up.

"Quite a bit further up North than I expected, sister," he said, quietly, walking around the tree to look down at you. He was tall with dark skin and his brilliant eyes shined in the dark just like yours did. Joel was a witcher, a Cat School graduate, your brother in every way but blood. You could see pain and anger on his face and it took no guessing to figure out why those emotions were there. He knew, just as well as you did, that you had abandoned him when you left the Caravan. When you saddled your horse in the dead of night and took off without a word almost twenty years before, you left him behind.

"I've been all over the Continent...and Skellige. This is the first time I've been North of Redania in years, actually." You licked your lips and leaned forward, eyes narrowing to take in more of the man. He was scarred, just as you were, but your scars were monsters claws embedded in your skin as constant reminder to move faster, be better, hunt harder...his looked to be knife wounds. The scar across his throat made your heart ache; someone had slashed him from ear to ear. But he'd obviously survived. Gods have pity on the one who tried to kill that Cat.

"Oh, I've heard." He nodded as he came to stand in front of you. "A giant in Skellige, wasn't it? And that trio of trolls in Temeria."

"Just to name a few, of course." You analyzed Joel as he rocked a bit on his feet in front of you. He was on edge. He was anxious. He was in fight mode already.

"Just to name the ones songs have been written about."

You rolled your eyes. Jaskier would need to be throttled. "The songs were...not my decision."

"I noticed, in the songs that weren't your decision...those songs of a White Wolf and a Stray Cat, you seem to denigrate our teachers. Have you spent the last twenty years talking shit about the people who saved you?"

"You can't sully the reputation of a school of assassins and mercenaries." His eyes cut away at the mention and his heart rate doubled for a few seconds. "Is that why you're here, Joel? Are you here to dispatch a naysayer? Here to kill a traitor to your school?"

He scoffed and shook his head. "No. Of course not. I'd never kill you over something like ideology."

"Then what are you going to kill me for?"

"A witcher always fulfills a contract," he said, quietly.

That shocked you. "And there's a price on my head?"

"A woman approached the Caravan. Well-dressed, human, obviously uncomfortable around nomads...but she came anyway." You swallowed as he shifted slightly to stand between you and your swords. "She said her name was Marchioness Taran Woudsly and-" Your eyes closed in silent exasperation at the name. You knew what this was about. "-she needed a witcher to take down the witcher who murdered her husband."

"I did not murder her husband," you argued. "I have not murdered a soul in over twenty years. I have killed monsters and I have killed in defense of my own life, but it has been since the Quadrell contract-" You shook your head and sighed. Joel didn't care. "Her husband was cursed, wolf-bitten. He was killing people because he refused to be locked away on the full moon. I had to kill him. I waited until the wolf took hold of him and then I took him down. I did my job as a witcher. That his wife would rather have sacrificed the peasants of their lands than chained her husband, that she would rather they die than her cursed spouse...that she thinks what I have done is murder but not what he did to those families...well, that's telling, isn't it?"

“She’s put a contract out on you. I’ve taken that contract. It is my job as a witcher to-”

You jumped up and looked into his eyes. “Your job as a witcher is not to murder people. Just because our teachers taught us that was the way, that doesn’t mean-”

“Fulfilling a contract is our job. Witchers do not back down from our obligations.”

“She has no right to see me dead, Joel!” you exclaimed. Your emotions were high. Your adrenaline pumping. You were in peak Cat School condition. "She has no right to force my brother to bear the weight of my-"

"Your brothers and sisters have been bearing the weight of your absence, why should I not bear the weight of your death?!" he snapped, hand moving to grab his steel.

"If you draw your blade on me, I will be forced to fight against you. Please, do not force my hand to-" His sword answered for him. You jumped back as he slashed at you. "Joel, don't do this!" you begged.

He gave no indication that your words even penetrated his mind. He continued to attack you as you rolled and dodged, trying desperately to reason with him as he ignored you. His blade slashed into your chest as you tried to avoid him and you screamed in pain as you fell haphazardly to your bedroll. Regret flashed across his face, but he raised his sword above his head anyway.

He had a contract to fulfill. He was going to go through to the end.

You drew a sign in the air and a pulse of energy burst from your hand, knocking him back. It gave you enough time to grab your own steel sword and raise it to him. "Brother, please. In the name of all that is good, don't do this!"

"Do you remember the Trial of Dreams?" he asked. His hands shaking caused his sword to quake above him. You nodded. You remembered your visions. You remembered the sickness and pain. "Did I ever tell you what I saw?"

"No, Joel. None of us wanted to talk after."

"I saw you," he whispered. "I saw you transform into a wolf." Your eyebrows came together. "You stopped being a cat and you became a wolf and I never understood what that vision meant until I heard that song. I never put it together that you left to become a wolf until I heard-"

"That’s not why I left! I can't change my medallion any more than you can! I left to change my life!" You stepped back and he stepped forward. "I didn't want to be a murderer anymore. I just wanted to kill monsters. The-the Wolf was right, but I wasn’t trying to be like him! I was just trying to find myself!"

"You changed. You left and you changed."

"And that’s why I couldn’t come home! That's why I've been alone for twenty years! That's why I've spent nineteen winters renting rooms in inns and taking small contracts to make coin to survive. I changed for the better and I knew our teachers wouldn't be able to see that!"

Your chest wound stung as you panted, blood leaking down the front of you.

"Should I pity you? Should I feel sympathy for your loneliness? You chose this!" He swung his sword and you caught the edge with your own.

"And you chose to take a contract on me!" You parried his sword and swung at him, stepping around and slashing at his back. "Because I left? Because I betrayed you? Because I walked away from Dyn Marv? Not because some noble asked you! This is personal, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" He twisted away and slashed at you. You parried again and knocked him back, readying to hit him with another Sign. He hit you first, a jet of flame emitting from his palm and burning your face. "You abandoned me!"

You covered your face with one hand and stumbled backward. He grabbed your shirt and pulled you closer, his sword at your throat. Both of you heard the sound of flesh being ripped by the blade of a Witcher's steel blade, but only one of you felt it.

Your eyes went wide and you looked down at the place where your sword was embedded in his chest. "I'm so sorry," you whispered. There was nothing else to say. He let out a few gasping breaths before he fell to your bedroll.

"I'm...more...sister."

Tears rolled down your cheeks as the pain of watching your brother die settled into your bleeding chest. You'd likely always feel guilty about this moment, but there was nothing you could have done. You tried to convince him. You tried to stop him. He refused. He wouldn't let both of you live.

You collapsed to the ground, eyes on Joel's lifeless body prone on your bedding. The pain in your chest was almost as bad as the pain in your heart, but you couldn't move to clean or bandage the deep gash. Your mutations would save you, or you would meet your brother on the other side.

Your blood loss made you cold, or maybe it was the sting of Northern air on blood-sticky skin. You shivered. Your teeth chattered. Your vision tunneled. The darkness took over.

~~~~

Warmth permeated the air and sunk into your body. Pain was gone. Cold was gone. Sadness and guilt remained. You could sense movement to your left, breathing and someone turning pages on a book. A smell of lilac and gooseberries filled the air.

"Shit," you whispered, opening your eyes. The canvas top of a tent greeted your vision. A fire crackled in the middle of the enclosed space. A raven-haired woman sat at a small desk on the opposite side of the tent from the cot you occupied, a book in front of her.

"Are all witchers so vulgar and uncultured? I thought it was just Geralt," she mused, not looking up from her book. You didn't respond. You weren't sure what to say to her. "There's a pitcher of water beside you...if you're thirsty."

You licked your lips as you sat up, looking down to see your bandaged chest. She must have put a healing salve on you, because you felt no sign of pain from it. "Th-thank you...ma'am."

"Don't pretend you don't know who I am and I won't do the same," she said, finally looking up. Her violet eyes caught yours and you swallowed thickly before looking away and reaching down to retrieve the offered water. "We're the stuff of bardic legend, aren't we? Ballads Dandelion has written about us...and Geralt. 'Wolven Storm' sounds so much prettier from Priscilla but I don't think I've ever heard her take on 'Made In Blood'. Do you think it's better than when Dandelion sings it?"

"I've never heard Jaskier's lover sing, so I cannot speak to it." You took a drink of water and sighed. "Yennefer of Vengerberg. If you've heard the song...why would you save me?"

"I should let a woman die simply because she's a rival for the romantic attentions of a man?" She sat back and tapped a finger against her perfect jawline. "I suppose a lesser woman would. Get you out of the way...help Geralt grieve once he's heard the news of your untimely passing. But that would be the lesser woman...and I am am anything but lesser." She stood and stepped closer.

"He wouldn't," you whispered, focusing on her black boots.

'Wouldn't what?"

"Grieve." You looked up. "Geralt barely knows me. He doesn't trust me. We have had...some time together but...I'm no more important to him than the whores he visits in every city he comes to."

Violet eyes searched your face. "Geralt is a man who does not form attachments lightly. So the attachments he does form are special. He's not attached to the whores, Cat."

"Who says he's attached to me?"

"Dandelion, for one," she started. "Ciri, for another." You swallowed down another drink of water and looked away again. You'd never even met Geralt's adopted daughter. How could she possibly know- "Geralt talks about you."

"To Dandelion, I understand, but to Ciri?"

"He trusts her."

"I'm sure he didn't talk about me to Ciri because I mean anything to him." You shook your head. "He's in love with you."

She rolled her eyes. "We were only ever together because Geralt made a wish to a genie," she argued.

"Are you insane?" You stood. "You're gorgeous, intelligent, powerful, men the world over fall at your feet. You honestly believe Geralt only loved you because of the wish?"

"Are you insane?" She flicked her hair off of her shoulder and looked away from you. "You're a witcher. You are more alike to Geralt than I could-"

"No. You're a sorceress," you exclaimed. "You are just as alike. You went through the same sort of-"

"No." She shook her head, ending the conversation. "Try to keep yourself warm, in the future."

You nodded. "Fine. Thank you for your...assistance, Yennefer."

"I won't help for free next time."

You stepped toward the entrance to the tent and pulled the cloth out of the way. "If you...see Geralt…"

"I haven't seen you, of course," she dismissed.

"Of course." You smiled tightly for a moment before walking out of the tent into the crisp Northern air.

[uiuishii]

If Yennefer organizes the Conclave and creates the Lodge I think they are making the hugest mistake yet. Vilgefortz and Philippa need to be important and not stolen by Yennefer. Indeed, Yennefer is a main character but in fact in the witcher world/lore these two have way more impact, political power and authority than her.

This fanfiction of Yen being a manipulative politician, jewel of Aretuza, is just ridiculous at this point. It's like they thought Yen was not important enough and decided to give her some characters lines/traits to make her more "complex". It just makes the other characters emptier.

I know that we only have informations about the Conclave yet but some screenshot could suggest than Yen would be the center of the Lodge. I'm waiting but, after Radovid x Jaskier, I think this is possible.

[thequietesthing]

THE WITCHER SEASON 3 VOLUME I - REVIEW

SPOILERS AHEAD

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

Okay so this season felt different than the previous two, maybe for the best. I am not that into the original witcher lore (books and games) that i’m that fixated on canon events so i’ll just judge what i’ve seen on screen.

Geralt: my darling mr. Cavill you are the brightest light in this show, I don't think that anyone will be able to understand and portrait Gerald better than you. Now said that, I don't think Geralt has been very Geralt-y this season (pls don't kill me for saying this). Yes, he should have changed by the power of love and family but they didn't show it. I assume that this magical transformation, that has started in season 2, should have continued and evolved in the 6 months in which Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri live together, of which we see incredibly little. Yes, the letters (very nice touch btw), yes the nice dinners together and Yen's grovelling but not very much on how this affects Geralt intrinsically. So we end up six months later that he is a mostly changed man, and good for him but I wish we could have seen more of a development. Also this season, now that we have finally placed all of our pieces on the board, inevitably focuses less on Geralt and his moods and adventures and more on the general plotting of the entire cast. Also they didn't give my man enough monsters to hunt (maybe the budget was cut seeing how many actors they had to pay). However I loved when he went to Annika's house and the moment when he recounted his childhood and the relationship with Visenna; I feel that in that moment the true talent and acting ability of Henry came through. I thoroughly enjoyed how uncomfortable he was at the mages ball; he's always so put together and firm that it was extremely funny seeing him a bit out of his depth. Anyway as long as it's played by Henry Cavill, Geralt will be always a 10/10 for me.

Yennefer: Contrary to common opinion I liked Yennefer last season. Yes she was selfish, yes she's willing to sacrifice Ciri and betray Geralt to get her magic back, but people don't seem to understand where she's coming from, and I think that a bit of explanation is given in this first part of the third season, through conversations that she both has with Ciri and Tissaia; this is not the place to write an entire apology of Yennefer but the core is this: to her, before, magic was everything; she was mistreated as a child, she never felt in control of her life, and the only way she found her way out of that was through her magic, of the power that she discovered within herself that helped her to finally stop feeling like a nuisance, to finally matter. Once she meet Ciri and she gets to know her however her priority shifts (as often happens with motherhood) and she finds out that she doesn't care whether she is powerful or not, as long as her child is safe. Now, with this out of the way, I loved Yennefer this season (as always). Anya Chalotra has grown so much into herself and her acting in these three seasons and it shows. Her relationship with Ciri is just beautiful (I was skeptical about it before because of the close age between the actresses but they embodied the mother-daughter bond perfectly), her and Geralt will never not be my favourite (I wish they had more scenes tho) and her and Jaskier are hilarious (also, more scenes pls!); but what I found very fascinating about Yennefer is the relationship she has with the other mages, of which we have always seen stunningly few. I found interesting the accusation Ciri moved to her when they were in that spa(?) to which Yennefer responds that that is the version of herself she "needs" to be around those people (strong, uncaring, playing the centuries old politics game of saying one thing and meaning another), and I really liked that because before Ciri was only "coddled" by witchers who are authentic and never had the need to play politics because they stay well away from them. Digression aside, Yennefer with other mages was really nice to watch, how she plays in the duality of who she is and who she needs to be and how she doesn't trust anyone between her peers, only Tissaia that has assumed a kind of a mother role for her. So, long story short, I love Yen and I always will.

Ciri: this poor girl has been through so much. Everyone wants her and she doesn't know what to do with herself. I felt like in this part of the season things just have been happening to her, rather than her having an active role (being dragged around the whole Continent like a package by a Witcher and a mage certainly didn't help) but it seems so me like her developing story and the general plot are going at two entirely different paces: she's still unsure of what to do, of her magical training, while the rest of the story feels almost like is at it's end and she's still there. Anyway, other than her most obvious relationships (Geralt and Yennefer) I liked her relationship with Jaskier this season; he's very protective of her and they act like he's a young uncle with his niece. Also I liked how her spending a lot of time with Yen and Geralt is starting to filter through her character, as she has become a sassy, brave, curious, know-it-all, but still she sometimes acts impulsively or foolishly as apt for her age.

Jaskier: We see him for more than 3 episodes! I would count this as a win already. I genuinely like Jaskier, I feel like he's always been the most relatable and funny character, and this season is no exception. I think Joey Batey is a comedic genius and his acting, and singing, skills are really unparalleled. I loved his journey with Radovid (who to be honest I didn't like at first, even though he is played by Hugh Skinner), they are very cute, especially their scene before the kiss, I was like awwww. Also Jaskier rivalry with Valdo Marxx is iconic, when they meet on the ship and he has a whole band backing him up and Jaskier only has Geralt and Ciri, it was really funny. Also finally Jaskier gets some well deserved love from Geralt, after 3 seasons he calls him "Jask" ♡.♡ (man, our standards are low)

Anyway, you'll forgive me but I'll give a rapid view of all the other characters because otherwise we'll be here all day.

Francesca's role this season has been practically null, other than making the final alliance with Nilfgaard she's going after Ciri (like everyone) and we did not see any repercussion or regret for the murder of hundreds of babies which had me like... ok.... Fringilla is freaking hilarious but I have also not understand her point in the story for now Cahir goes back to his murderous master after killing his elf friend, but I still like him; I think the actor is jumping through hoops trying to show us the duality of this character and how what he does actually affects him Emhyr, other than scheming and burning family pictures he seems to be doing nothing else (for now) Triss is the smartest in the freaking room, also the only one who cares about those poor girls! Everyone is like Ciri,Ciri all the time and she's like what about those poor vanished girls, I love her, but please don't let her have a romance with Istredd, who still after 3 season is going after that freaking Book of Monoliths; I hope that now that he's found it he will find peace and a good barber Tissaia and Vilgefortz I don't trust either of them, even though at the end of this part we find that is the latter and not Stregobor to have taken the girls, and if I'm honest until that scene I believed that "the woman with the funny voice" was Tissaia; also Vilgefortz is also leading on that poor Lydia... nope don't like the man Philippa Eilhart is a legend, didn't like her at first but she's smart as a whip and I think she's playing Dijkstra like a violin (also if they don't show the creation of the Lodge of Sorceresses I'll riot)

One more thing before I shut up, just a quick thought on the last episode: the idea was very well thought, to switch up the linearity of narration by including some back and forth between before and after as Yennefer and Geralt recount the night's event to each other and us (a bit Ocean's 11 style) but the execution.... I didn't particularly enjoy how it was done; maybe I need to see it again but while the change of camera angles through the same scenes helped (so that except for two moments maybe, we heard the same lines but the cameras were in different positions) it felt very repetitive and stagnant. The only positive thing was the music!! That fucking song is now stuck in my head forever: all is not *thud thud* as it seems *thud thud*, stuck all night in my head, anyway also very appropriate lyrics lol.

Ok, I think I'm done(?) I'm sure I've missed something but if it comes to mind I'll edit it in later

[bardcore-jaskier]

♡ Elder blood Jaskier headcanon ♡

(Edited post)

I actually had this headcanon for a while now, probably started tossing ideas around in my head a few days after I watched Blood Origin. Here is a special thank you to @melinoiaagesander for reminding me about it and inspiring me to do something about it as well. Seeing as I tend to be a very lazy person (executive dysfunction go brrr), I will not be writing a fanfiction unless the mood strikes and if that happens, I shall gladly fall victim to hyperfixation and shit out a 50 000 word masterpiece with very bad grammar. And no, if I do write it, I will not fix the grammar mistakes unless rereading it brings forth the fattest, most scrumptiously painful dose of cringe in my life.

So OK, here we go....

I think it is common knowledge (despite the few times I've seen posts from confused Witcher fans right after the mini series aired), that Ithlinne's prophecy was about Ciri, the Lion Cub of Cintra and the descendent of Elie & Fjall. However, thanks to a brief lapse in judgement on the production team's part, either because of the way it was shot and edited or the because of the way it was written, when Seanchaí recited the prophecy:

"The Lark's seed shall carry forth the first note of a song that ends all time, and one of her blood shall sing the last"

It came across as delightfully misleading to many of us, even if most of us quickly understood to whom Seanchaí was actually referring to. Still, my bleeding Jaskier stan heart has never felt more glee at the prospect of getting another little Netflix "oopsie" to play with! (The other one being that they forgot to age Jaskier in season 1 and then decided to not even bother for season 2)

Which is why I took my ritalin, rubbed my clammy, cold little fingers together like a cartoon villain and dug deep into the lore, to find a way to spin an intricate web of realistic and clever facts that would serve as my personal foundation for this exciting headcanon! Jaskier is another descendent of the Lark and her Witcher, he has elder blood coursing through his veins and is distantly related to Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon!

(If Netflix weren't a bunch of pussies and if a disgusting majority of the Witcher fandom weren't a bunch of gatekeeping, racist and homophobic Plot-Guardians, this could have been the coolest curveball ever! The adorable, frilly and fragile bumbling human of a bard, going from side-character to focal point.)

Let's lay down the groundwork:

(I AM SO GIDDY AAAAAHHH, somebody catch me, I think I'm gonna faint!!)

- While Witchers as we know them are sterile, Fjall is clearly not. Because his mutation process wasn't designed by a group of mages who spent a long time on optimizing the serum to better serve it's purpose. Fjall was an experimental prototype, created from desperation and a few rush-job elixirs, so his precious elf balls weren't tampered with.

- Elie and Fjall made love after Fjall's transformation, bringing the first child of elder blood into existence. Which happened ca 1200 years before the canon era that the main Witcher series is set in, meaning that Ciri has a shit ton of ancestors that predate her entire canonical family tree, all going unaccounted for.

- Jaskier, as we can obviously see, has visually not aged a single day since meeting Geralt in Posada at age 18-19 (don't quote me on this, finding a reliable info source is a nightmare). He traveled with Geralt on and off for approximately 20ish years, making him at least 40 in the Rare Species episode and at least a little bit over 40 in the Family episode of season 2. That alone has inspired hundreds if not thousands of headcanons about Jaskier not being entirely human, one of which is: Jaskier is part elf.

- And OH BOY, isn't that neat?!?!?! I mean, we see a talented young bard, whom everyone assumes to be human, whom Blood Origin's ending accidentally implied to be a descendent of another bard, an elven bard who lived 1200 years ago and had a child with an elven Witcher. That should be enough metaphorical fapping material for my brain, shouldn't it?

Not so fast....

What if instead of imagining that some long fossil type beat long dead ancestor, lost to history, somehow ended up siring a child into a family of Keracki Nobles (Lettenhove doesn't seem to appear on any map of the continent I could find, but several sources claim that it is a small Viscouncy located in Kerack).....I could instead put in some effort and figure out how to make things more interesting, how to make Jaskier's elder blood ancestor actually traceable and as an awesome bonus, make Jaskier's and Ciri's relation a little closer. Not by a lot, obviously, it wouldn't make sense, but just enough for a new dynamic for fanfiction writers to explore. Personally, the idea of it has the potential to heal my poor broken heart, I adore Jaskier so much, but the way the main 3 characters of the series have treated him until Yennefer finally grew a braincell makes me sad.

Geralt's shitty apology aside, Lambert's cranky "No" aside (yk what I'm talking about), Yarpen Zigrin's unfriendliness aside, I DID NOT enjoy the scenes in which Ciri interacted with Jaskier. This headcanon though? Oh man, if I only had enough juice in me to write something for AO3, spin some epic ass Jaskier-centric tale, sprinkle in some geraskier/yennskier/lambskier and tag it with fix-it? I would!

Back to business, this is Ciri's family tree, it has the royal family of Cintra, girlboss Calanthe is there, Ciri's mom Pavetta is there, her sick son of a bitch father too. As you can see, besides the unknown descendents of Elie and Fjall, elder blood has deep roots and it can all be traced back to these folks: Lara Dorren aep Shiadhal & Cregennan of Lod, as well as Cerro of Redania & King Vridank of Redania....however those two are of no importance to this post.

Instead of trying to squeeze Jaskier into the equation by picking some rando as far back in time as possible, I stumbled across a treasure when trying to go from the bottom up. That treasure being another direct descendent of Lara Dorren as well as Elie and Fjall, his name was Crispin!

See him there? He happens to be Queen Calanthe's grandmother's twin brother! Although his name box is blue and not red, unlike King Goidemar of Temeria, the line that leads us to him is dark red, which means he is of elder blood and bears the activator gene as well, just like his sister. Now, if one needs a sex partner with the green latent gene in order to awaken the dormant powers in this blood line (which although watered down, still is incestuous), then I am not sure how Jaskier could inherit the same powers as Ciri. I myself prefer to headcanon that since Lettenhove is in Kerack, the small Viscouncy is located near the borders of Brokilon and therefore the Pankratz family could easily have a few drops of mixed blood with one of the Brokilon nymphs.

I am not much of a biologist (despite getting good grades in it back in high school), but it does make sense to me that being at least a little bit mixed with nymph DNA could theoretically aid in strengthening Jaskier's elder blood & activator genes. Sort of like how dog breeders play God to make a better specimen for many different purposes. In Jaskier's ancestry case, I like to think that one of his forefathers got seduced by a Rusalka, found out that she used him to get pregnant and then stole the child from her and raised the kid alone, in doing so, introducing nymph DNA into the Pankratz lineage.

Back to Crispin

Crispin aep Amavet, turned out to have a rather convenient backstory!

Apparently, his mother, Anna Kameny, was married to Count Roger Kameny and less than a year before her twins were born, she had an affair with Prince Amavet of Temeria (Queen Calanthe's great grandfather and Ciri's 4x great grandfather).

So with Crispin and his twin sister Muriel the Delightful, both being children of Prince Amavet, making them illegitimate to Count Roger Kameny, their mother Anna had to fight in court three times so that her kids could inherit Roger's estate. Muriel was content with that, she didn't care that her real father was a Prince and didn't push to be recognized as Amavet's daughter. Kameny wealth and her beauty combined, she didn't have trouble finding a husband and leading a happy life.

Crispin on the other hand, knowing that he is of royal blood, proud of his elven heritage, wanted that relation validated. So he started wearing the Kameny coat of arms, which he had custom made to hint at who his real father is by adding burgundy to the Temerian lilies. This caused a MAJOR scandal, turns out his little stunt was illegal and he got his ass arrested. He payed a fine and swore to never repeat that mistake, but what did he do instead????

Yeah, he fucking did it again, enraging enemies and his own mother as well, who fought so hard for his "legality" for the Count title. After that, Crispin, as a massive "Fuck you" to everyone, joined a gang of mercenaries and referred to himself as Crispin aep Amavet. Time went by, battles were fought and eventually he just disappeared off of the face of the earth. People assumed that he died and they were glad about it...ain't that convenient?

For the sake of this headcanon, I think Crispin could have easily just gone into hiding, wandering the continent under a fake name and impregnating some Pankratz de Lettenhove lady in the process. Could have just been a one night stand and nobody would know, nobody would know that Jaskier is related to the Cintran crown, to Ciri herself, to Lara Dorren and finally to another bard, so much like himself, Ellie the Lark.

I fucking LOVE this headcanon to bits and pieces! There is so much here that one can play with! Like Jaskier's meeting with Seanchaí somehow triggering the dormant powers within him and what those powers would look like, I don't think the first sign of it would be a deadly scream. I like to think that his newly awakened chaos would somehow tie into his singing, there is so much potential here, so many ideas to explore!

In canon, Ciri is destined to destroy humanity and return the elves back to power, but Jaskier has already beat her to it a little, kick-starting the process by smuggling elves to Xin'trea.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Sorry for editing this post 5 times, I was still working on it while waiting for AVATAR to start at the Cinema and accidentally published it in panic when the lights went out. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope that this post can be of use to you if you decide to write a fanfic about/inspired by it! :3

(Please tag me if you do, I would love to read it! May your writing process be smooth, may your updates be frequent and may AO3 maintenance not impact your creativity!)

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[thehollowmen]

okay so i watched blood origin last night, and naturally there was shit I loved and shit I didn't. that's NOT what this post is about though. this post is elliotts conspiracy theories regarding our beloved bard, jaskier, aka dandelion, aka sandpiper, aka Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove.

(tldr at the bottom)

(and yes, all the names were necessary)

Now for my theories:

We know that Seanchai (The Narrator) approaches Jaskier wanting him to sing the tale of the seven, sparking the story into motion.

She tells the story, and while we only get bardic content at the beginning of Episode 1 and the end of Episode 4 (truly a crime), we get enough to know that something has made Jaskier special enough to be chosen for this.

Now it could be because of his popularity and fame - the main Witcher show has made it clear that our bard is very famous.

Or, and this is my personal theory, something links Jaskier to the seven.

The end of Episode 4 basically says that the child of Éile and Fjall will sing this song, which confuses Jaskier because wait he's the one singing the song?

NOW this means one of two things

Either Jaskier is a direct descendant of Éile and Fjall, (which, as much as I love Immortal!Jaskier, it's the more likely situation) and through his blood link to them, he is the "child"

Or, Jaskier is in fact the child of Éile and Fjall. Now there are a few problems with this theory, mainly including that Jaskier has no elfish features, something that is very prominent in the Blood Origin universe (the ears especially), and that Blood Origin is said to have been set at least one thousand years before the events of The Witcher

That all being said, I'm a massive part of the Immortal jaskier club, and I'm really excited to see how S3 links to the snippets of bardic lore we've been given by Blood Origin.

TL;DR:

Jaskier could be the kid of Fjall and Éile, but it's very unlikely. the more likely theory is that he's a direct descendant.

[greisekinderschar]

I have a crazy fan theory/headcanon,

Who says that Radovid in the show has to be Radovid 5/the Stern ( he isn't numbered when he is crowned) when it makes more sense that it could be based on this character, they both have red hair, they both have a brother named Vizimir (who is not numbered in the show if my memory serves) and they both seem cool with Witchers and I think the Bold is very fitting for the Netflix character from what we have seen

What about the timeline? well the show has made greater liberties with the timeline and worldbuilding than this and both the games and even the books have some timeline inconsistency within them and besides the whole Witcher story is framed as an unreliable narrator narrative anyway so who really knows

Yess, I have come across this theory and I sure find it interesting! I generally think the stern characterization will be somewhat irrelevant in the show as it was quite thin in the books to begin with. I only get into it bc the defenders of game lore (listen, I love the games but people have to calm down) appear to have the writers in a chokehold in some regards.

He will not be Philippa’s friend, that’s quite obvious, just as she will try to use and manipulate him, and that’s all that has to be taken from that lore. The rest is free real estate, honestly. I can definitely see this Radovid being Bold™️. Also, the entire point of the witch hunts etc. is to further underline the instrumentalization of racism in a society led by greed for power, that humanity is wretched either way and there is no happy end for anyone. Netflix!Radovid does not have this greed, he never wanted to be king. He just wanted to vibe. And he made clear in his first meeting with Jaskier that he does not share his brother’s sentiment regarding non-humans.

[my-jokes-are-my-armour]

Book Jaskier :

Straight. Known for his promiscuous behaviours and and hedonistic penchants. Say out loud that he can't stay with one ladie. Even engage with one he cheat on her. Ogles at Yennefer breast while someone threatens her to r.pe her and want to write a song about her tities. Mentions that he couldn't resist pinch a priestess bottom entering a temple. Has a scale of women's "beauty" and loveliness.

=> Jaskier is a fine lad, very funny 🥰

Season 1 Jaskier :

Hints of bisexuality. But has at least 4 relations with women. The countess of Stael whose he wants back to him naked. The ladie at the end of the banquet. The one mentioned at the banquet by the little noble man. And if we believe the Golden One song, he concluded with the two zerrikanian warriors, with whom he flirts badly during the episode. He implies that he has many affairs in a discussion. Lost count of angry husbands.

=> Jaskier is funny, right ? We love him 🥰

Season 2 Jaskier :

More hints of bisexuality or at least that he doesn't care much about gender or race. Tries to protect himself from a potential angry man because he may have had an affair with a lady related to him (before Rience reveals his intentions). Suggesting that he has so many that he doesn't even know which is the current one that the man could be angry for. Flash flirts with a bearded dwarven lady.

=> Jaskier is funny and emotional. We still love him 🥰

BO Jaskier :

Implies that he could bang himself and look at Seanchai like he is juging a product when they ask if they look better in female form.

=> He was the best thing in this trash show !

Season 3 Jaskier :

Is confirmed pansexual. Has an affair with a woman. Implies being in an orgie. Falls in love with a man. Love built on the discovery of the other's mind. Has two kisses on screen.

=> The man's kiss comes out of nowhere. Cliché representation. Promiscuous 🤮. This is an outrageous twist to the lore !

OK guys... Sure... They are obviously no bias at all. This is obviously the worst thing ever.

Also, just to be sure. Just the male love story is wrong, innit ?

But you know what, I have my bias too. It's called : I don't mind having an open pan Jaskier because his emotional journeys are what speak to me anyway ❤️

[writingmysanity]

Okay! So I have been tagged in this a few times- though I can’t seem to find the other one- so thank you Steffi! @seidenbrosnbros but also I have been tagged in another game that I don’t have the mental energy to make more than one post. Don’t ask me why my brain is screaming forbidden when I try so I am also going to do the challenge of “Last sentence tag game”

There were several of you that tagged me in this so, if you tagged me and I miss you, I am sorry. Thank you for tagging me @uniquedeerwitch @dicax-asina @astudyincontrasts @chaoticlicense !!

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

List of WIPs

When we were Gods- Eskel x Kit (reader)

The Conduit- series of series

Beneath the waves- Viktor x reader

Stolen hearts- Jayce x reader

Alone together- Silco x reader

Sanctuary- Viktor x reader

Favor- Viktor x reader

Mini series of Papa!Vik in #domesticationofaferalscientist

Mini series of Papa!Jayce

At the water's edge (I find you)- Eskel x Selkie!reader

Stitches- Viktor x Textile worker!reader

In the cards- Eskel x reader (tarot edition)

Chosen- Eskel x reader (arranged marriage)

Sing the song of freedom- Jaskier x reader (becoming the sandpiper)

Just the way series- Jaskier x reader

Duckling series- Geralt x Jaskier

On my wings- Dragon rider!Jayce x reader

Tall tails- Dragon!Viktor x wanderer!reader

My last sentence is:

“Mister Viktor really would like you,” she states softly, patting your hand, eyes brilliant and wide up at you- two mini oceans crashing in on themselves, waves of emotions being pushed and pulled by the tides. “If he would just open his mouth.'' She and Blitzcrank share a look, as if they know something you don't know. 

Favor (chapter 3)

Also! I've seen some posts going around (and I have reblogged at least one) where people are stating that they would love to hear the lore about any of their favorite fan fiction stories… So, if you have any questions about anything I have, currently being worked on or already done in my masterlist PLEASE do not hesitate to reach out. Nothing brings me greater joy than to talk with people about my work. Seriously.

I will be tagging: @insult-2-injury @queenxxxsupreme @thesleepy1 @thehistoriangirl @cosmos-coma @mariana-souza @cheeriecherrymain @silcoitus @astudyincontrasts @sherwood-forests

[bambirex]

The World Is Yours, If You Seek The Good: Chapter 15

Pairings: Geraskefer, Yennskier, Geraskier, Yenralt

Characters: Jaskier, Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt of Rivia, Ciri of Cintra, Lambert, original male characters, Rience, Yarpen Zigrin

Additional tags: implied/referenced abuse, forced pregnancy, mpreg, creature fic, fae Jaskier, creature Jaskier, creature Yennefer, captivity, enemies to friends to lovers, polyamory, found family, hurt/comfort, it starts out angsty but it will get better, completely made-up lore, fertility issues, completely made-up skills and powers, angst, angst with a happy ending, whump, Jaskier whump, Yennefer whump, Geralt whump, Ciri whump, blood, nightmares, injury, wound care, past rape/non-con, trauma, sexually inexperienced Yennefer, sexually inexperienced Jaskier, threesome- f/m/m, mild sexual content, violence

Rating: mature

Chapters: 15/20

Full word count: 46,898 words

Chapter word count: 3,452 words

Summary: Used and abused by humans, Jaskier and Yennefer believe they are alone and with no reason to trust anybody. That is, until they meet each other - and then, a couple of other strange misfits.

Chapter summary: Geralt sends Ciri, Jaskier and Yennefer away with an old friend to find a temporary safe place while he looks into the lurking threats. On the way, they run into a terrible surprise.

Author's notes: After about 5 chapters of found family sweetness, love confessions and bonding, it was time I grabbed everyone and sat you back on the angst train. I need to make things worse before they can be better again!

Read on Ao3

*

Geralt's chest felt heavy as he helped Jaskier, Yennefer and Ciri pack up. It became evident that his safe haven wasn't as safe as it used to be, anymore: Lambert informed him that the dwarves who helped Geralt keep an eye out for anything dangerous in the woods have seen soldiers lurking way too close to the forest around the hut. Ciri's vision also worried him. Maybe it meant that whoever wanted to get their hands on his daughter was coming closer and closer. Ciri was not safe anymore there, neither of them were. Geralt had gone through the possibility of moving somewhere else with Lambert before, but then he decided moving right then would've drawn attention to them. Now, they needed to act quick before Ciri's whereabouts were discovered.

"Where exactly are we going?" Ciri asked him, her eyes terrified. Geralt placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yarpen can hide you for a bit. We can buy some time before we can head to Kaer Morhen."

"Who's Yarpen?" Yennefer asked. She was pale, her hands shaking badly. Geralt has never seen her so scared.

"An old friend of mine. He has a group of mercenary dwarves out in the woods. He's been helping me from afar. It's okay, you can trust him."

Geralt decided to send Jaskier and Yennefer away with Ciri. He needed his entire family safe. It shattered his heart to think they would be away from him for a while, but that was the safest option they had. Lambert had to go do his own thing, and Yarpen was the second best man Geralt would trust with his loved ones. A dwarf wagon would probably draw less attention than a feral witcher, anyway.

He would stay behind to keep the soldiers at bay. Luckily, he could get rid of them before they managed to track down Ciri and the rest of his family.

"You'll join us soon, right?" Jaskier asked. He peered up at Geralt with worried eyes. "We don't want you to get hurt..."

"I'll be okay. Look, Yarpen is here."

Geralt went ahead to greet him. Yarpen jumped off the wagon, patting the flank of his horse before he shook Geralt's hand. He looked at the rest of them, his eyes narrowing when he saw Jaskier.

"Oi," he drawled, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Not gonna go into labor in my wagon, are ye?"

"Still have some time to go, what a polite greeting," Jaskier scoffed. Yarpen held his hands up.

"Aight, but if you do, don't expect me to help. I'll get you folks to a safe place but I'm not putting my hands between no fae's legs."

"You better not," Geralt told him pointedly. Yarpen chuckled.

"Yeah, that's your job, clearly. Are you fucking the drepima, too?"

"Yarpen!"

"Sorry, mate," Yarpen said, his voice softening. "Just trying to lighten the mood, alright?"

He reached out and gently patted Ciri's shoulder, offering her the warmest smile he could muster. Ciri smiled back weakly.

"Don't worry, girl. I won't let nothing happen to ye and yer friends."

"My family," Ciri corrected him softly. Geralt smiled at her proudly.

He turned to Yennefer who stared at the wagon in distrust. He took her hand into his gently. Yennefer immediately laced their fingers together, seeking comfort.

"It's gonna be okay," Geralt told her, "we'll get through this together."

"But you're staying behind," Yennefer reminded him with a sigh. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's what we have to do now. You need to gain some leverage over the soldiers. I'll take care of them."

He let go of Yennefer to pull Ciri into a hug. She buried her face in his chest, her arms tight around Geralt, desperately clinging to him.

"Promise me you won't get hurt," she whispered, her voice muffled with tears. "And that we won't get hurt either."

"I promise. We'll be back together in no time."

He pulled back to kiss Ciri on the forehead. He cupped her cheeks and gently wiped her tears off.

"Jaskier and Yennefer will keep you safe. And you will keep them safe in exchange. I believe in you, Ciri."

He turned back to Yennefer to kiss her on the lips, then kissed Jaskier. The fae made a soft whimper against his mouth.

"I really wanna believe you," Jaskier whispered through his tears, "that everything will be okay, but I'm scared."

"We all are," Geralt admitted. "But we need to take this step if we wanna get through this."

He went to his knees and kissed Jaskier's belly. He smiled when he felt a little kick.

He steeled himself as he watched Yennefer enter the wagon. She sent him one last, weak smile before she helped Jaskier up. Jaskier peered out the little window, his eyes full of tears as he looked at Geralt. Ciri was the last who climbed up. She lingered in the opening of the wagon. Geralt sent her a smile that he hoped was encouraging. Ciri returned it weakly.

Geralt only allowed himself to cry once the wagon was out of his sight and he was sure his family didn't see him. He was just as terrified and uncertain as them, but he needed to be strong for them - he needed to make sure no one he loved would get hurt.

--

The wagon was not very comfortable, and Yarpen's whistling was very off-key. The other two dwarves that traveled with them kept discussing something in their own language which Ciri didn't understand a word of. The whole situation did not help her nerves, even though she knew this truly was their best chance.

If that man from her visions was looking for her, then it was smarter to disappear from the map a little bit. The last thing she wanted was to put her family in danger. Her entire existence was the reason Cintra fell. She couldn't afford to lose any more people close to her because of her heritage.

She could only hope that Geralt would be alright, that he would manage to hold up that group of soldiers the dwarves saw, and that he would soon join them. Ciri didn't like the idea of her family missing any members.

Jaskier sang to her on the road, calming her nerves with his voice. It worked for a couple of hours, lulled her to a somewhat peaceful sleep right in Yennefer's lap before she woke again, nerves wrecking.

A whole day has passed on the road, and nothing happened. On one hand, it could have meant everything would be okay and they would reach their destination without a hitch, but Ciri also knew that often it was the most quiet before a storm.

They were well into the evening, the darkness descending down on them slowly, when Yennefer made a horrified sound. Ciri jumped. She followed Yennefer's eyes that stared out of the window of the cart, wide and terrified. Jaskier mumbled something under his nose, his voice stifled by the hand he had pressed over his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Ciri asked, scooting closer to them on the seat. Jaskier didn't reply, but Ciri noticed his breathing got quicker until he nearly hyperventilated. Ciri placed a hand on his back, trying to soothe him. Panic rose inside her own chest seeing him in such a state.

Yennefer practically leapt forward to knock on the wall of the driver's area. Yarpen turned back and opened the little window, confused.

"What are we doing here," Yennefer hissed. Her eyes turned from scared to murderous. "Why did you bring us here!?"

"Here? Where here? This is the area we need to get through to get to where we want!"

"There has to be another path!"

Ciri felt more and more at unease. Yennefer sounded about as mad as she did when she discovered Ciri lived with a witcher, back in the day, if not madder. Yarpen tried to explain to her that they couldn't find another path, but Yennefer wouldn't listen to him. She kept growling at him, her hands shaking with anger. Jaskier still breathed too quickly next to her.

"What is going on? Someone tell me, please!" Ciri pleaded. Her heart pounded like a hammer inside her chest.

"This... this is the place..." Jaskier whispered, his voice shaking badly. "The place where we... please, can we hurry up!?"

His voice went hysterical in the end. Ciri looked out the window. She saw a big, rich mansion with a metal fence. She let out a gasp as bits of her visions played in front of her eyes- metal bars, her family getting hurt, Geralt too far away. She saw the face of the man again. Cold chills ran down her spine.

"What is this place," she whispered, her entire body shaking. Yennefer finally looked at her.

"That's where we were kept," she told her, voice full of pain, "where we escaped from."

"Shit," Yarpen mumbled, "I didn't know, folks. Don't worry, they can't see inside the cart."

Ciri gripped onto the edge of her seat, trying to swallow her panic. The thought that the place her loved ones had to go through so much pain at was so close seized her heart. She didn't know what it meant that she's seen this place in her dreams, but she knew they needed to get away as quick as possible.

"Yarpen, we need to hurry!" She yelled. She reached for Jaskier and Yennefer's hands, both for their comfort and their own.

Yarpen opened his mouth to reply something, but he didn't get to finish his sentence as something knocked into the wagon hard enough to shake the entire thing. The horse neighed and bucked in distress, yanking the reins out of Yarpen's hands and running away into the night. Yarpen yelled after it, but the horse already disappeared in the darkness.

"What the fuck was that," Jaskier whispered. He clutched a protective hand over his belly as he tried to peer out the window. "What... Melitele!"

Ciri stifled a scream as she saw something grab one of Yarpen's dwarf friends and tear his head off in one quick movement. Yarpen yelled and jumped at whatever it was, but he was quickly thrown away.

"Stay in the wagon!" Yennefer ordered. Before Jaskier or Ciri could stop her, she jumped out.

"I have to help her!" Ciri yelled. Jaskier grabbed her arm, his eyes wide in panic.

"Ciri, no!"

Ciri shook off his arm and followed Yennefer. She unsheathed her sword. It was lucky she decided to take it with her, as she wasn't sure she would be able to control her powers enough to defend herself.

Her heart rattled inside her chest as she slowly walked around the wagon. She tried not to look at Yarpen's decapitated friend. She stepped on something. When she looked down, she saw the other dwarf, blood steadily oozing from the gash in his neck. His eyes were vacant, with no more life in them. Ciri swore under her breath.

Ciri needed some time to adjust her eyes to the dark, but she noticed Yennefer helping Yarpen sit up against a rock. He was alive, luckily, but his head wound looked terrible. He was unconscious.

"Yennefer, where did that thing go?"

Yennefer looked up at her voice.

"Ciri!" She hissed, "get back in the wagon! You're not safe out here!"

"Where did it go," Ciri repeated, ignoring what Yennefer said. "What the fuck was it!?"

"I don't know."

Yennefer rushed over to Ciri's side. She looked around, searching for whatever attacked them in the dark.

Ciri turned the other way to check their surroundings herself. The blood froze in her veins as she stared into the face of something - she wouldn't have called it a someone.

It looked vaguely human, with half of its face appearing the face of a man. The other side looked like it was burnt off, revealing his flesh, his eye on that side completely black. His mouth curled into a terrifying smirk, revealing sharp teeth.

Before Ciri had the chance to lift her sword, the creature knocked her down. He tore up her arm with sharp claws, making her yelp in pain.

Yennefer jumped into action, sending a burst of flame towards the thing. Instead of screaming in agony or jumping away, the creature opened its mouth and breathed fire towards Yennefer, fighting her back with the exact same weapon. Yennefer only managed to duck away in time before he burnt her face off.

The creature took advantage of Yennefer having her head down and grabbed her, throwing her out of the way. He stepped over Ciri and marched straight towards the wagon, where Jaskier was.

Ciri gasped and quickly jumped to her feet, rushing after him. He was too quick. He tore the door off and threw it away, crawling inside before Ciri managed to stop him.

Jaskier screamed and kicked out at him, but the creature didn't budge. It continued grinning as he sniffed the air, drool and blood dripping from his jaw.

"Pretty," he snarled as he sniffed at Jaskier's neck. The synella kicked at him again, trying to push him off, to no avail.

Ciri swung her sword through the air. She managed to cut the creature across his back. He let out a scream as he turned around and grabbed Ciri's sword. Ciri struggled to wrangle it out of his grasp, but he was too strong. The creature twisted the sword out of her hand and threw it away, rendering her defenseless.

Before he could open his mouth and breathe fire into her face, Yennefer flung herself out of the darkness and tackled him to the ground. The creature bit her hand, causing her blood to pour out. Yennefer took advantage of it and held her injured hand over his head. Her blood dripped into his face. The acidic poison burnt his exposed flesh, making him scream in agony.

Jaskier got out of the wagon and wrapped his arms around Ciri, trying to pull her away. The creature continued to wrestle with Yennefer, and he managed to throw her off. He stood back up, once again revealing his teeth.

He was terrifyingly strong. Ciri knew that Yennefer would have been able to defeat anyone with her powers, but this thing was too quick, too resilient. He always seemed to be one step ahead, already attacking before Yennefer could use her chaos.

Jaskier grabbed a stone and threw it at his head to try and distract him from hurting Yennefer again. The creature growled and moved towards Jaskier. Jaskier shoved Ciri away so she wouldn't get caught up in the attack.

The next few minutes were a blur. The creature knocked Jaskier down on the ground, hand gripping at his chest to keep him down. Jaskier fumbled with his hand on the grass. It started growing under the fae's touch, but the creature tore it away before the plants could twist around his neck. Whatever that thing was, it seemed almost impossible to defeat him.

Ciri crawled around in the grass, trying to find her sword. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Yennefer weakly stand from the ground. She was bruised and bloody all over, but her eyes were flaming when she noticed the creature was pinning Jaskier down.

Ciri couldn't find her sword. She swore under her breath as she stumbled through the mud on all fours, blind and desperate. The only thing she could think of was that she couldn't lose her family.

Yennefer and the creature fought each other again. Their fire scorched the grass as they shot at each other, Yennefer through her fingertips and the creature from its mouth. The flowers died where Yennefer's blood dripped, and crushed beneath both their legs as they did their deadly dance around each other.

Jaskier had trouble getting up from the ground, weighed down by his own stomach and an injury to his leg. The creature must have wounded him when he pinned him down.

Yarpen was still unconscious. Ciri wasn't completely sure he would even survive with that head wound. They were all running out of time, fighting an impossible battle against a mysterious danger.

The second Ciri finally found her sword, the weapon was kicked away again. She looked up and saw a couple men above her. One of them reached down and grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt.

She flailed around in their grasp, but they held her tight. She saw other men jump onto Yennefer, taking advantage of the fact she was too occupied with fighting the creature. They tackled her down and wrangled something around her neck, something that looked suspiciously like a collar. Ciri suddenly remembered the horrific stories Yennefer and Jaskier told her about the power suppressing collars. She realized Yennefer would be too disadvantaged now- and she was already weakened after the blows she suffered from the other creature.

Ciri watched in horror as Jaskier was also grabbed and collared. The strange creature looked battered, but its ugly snarl had a smug edge as he watched his fellow creatures getting captured.

"My, my," Ciri heard a voice, "we meet again."

It was a middle-aged man with hard eyes and a smug smirk. He stepped to Yennefer and hooked a finger under her chin. He lifted her face and tutted. Yennefer growled, but she couldn't do much with the collar dampening her skills, and her body so weakened.

"Not so feisty now, are we?"

The man grabbed a piece of Yennefer's hair and tore it out, causing her to hiss. He put it in his pocket with a chuckle.

"Where have you been wandering, you monster?"

His eyes fell to Jaskier who trembled in the men's grasp. His eyes were thunderous, though, when the man approached him.

"Long time no see, Treasure," he said. Ciri's eyes widened as she heard the nickname Jaskier has mentioned before. It was their old master, the terrible man they thought they would never have to see again.

"I see you two met my new friend, Rience. He's one of a kind, isn't he? He's a driatingex. Very famous for their speed and incredible senses, especially their sense of smell. They're trained specifically to sniff out whatever their owner asks them to. He hasn't exactly had luck tracking you down, Melitele knows where the fuck you disappeared to, but it seems like luck is finally on my side."

He shook his head at his former creatures.

"It was high time you returned to me."

"Leave them alone!"

The yell ripped out of Ciri, loud and angry. She trembled with sheer frustration in the men's grasps. Master blinked at her in surprise.

"And what is a child doing out here with my creatures? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

He laughed, and said something to his men that Ciri didn't hear. Her ears rang as her anger rose and rose. She felt her chaos fizzle under her skin as she watched her weakened, terrified family. She couldn't let them go back again, she couldn't let them be hurt again.

She closed her eyes and sought out the power within her like Yennefer taught her- and she let out a scream.

To her biggest horror, it didn't do a whole lot. Her chaos did come through, but not hard enough. The men around her stumbled, the surge of energy pushing them aside. It caused even Yennefer and Jaskier to lose their balance for a bit. Master also fell back on the ground. It was enough for a bit of distraction, but not enough to cause actual damage. Still, Ciri had to make do with what she had if she wanted to save her family.

Ciri leapt forward to try and free Jaskier and Yennefer, but she was caught by Rience and tackled down. His clawed hand was clamped over her mouth to prevent her from screaming again.

The men were back on their feet in an instant, grabbing Jaskier and Yennefer again. Master approached Ciri who was still struggling under Rience. His eyes had a morbid, disgusting glint of fascination in them.

"You are no ordinary child, it seems. What are you?" he whispered as he leant down. Ciri growled, then bit down on Rience's hand as hard as she could muster. The creature let out a yelp and his grip loosened.

Ciri managed to free her head, but before she could try and bring her chaos forward again, she felt a hard hit against the side of her head.

The pain seared up, and then the world went dark.