#any and all other witchers depending on personal preference | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hanzajesthanza · 2 years ago

Text

anyone else prefer the saga? + why i love baptism of fire 🔥

[this post also posted on r/wiedzmin]

does anyone else prefer some of the titles in the saga to those of the short stories?

i’m not saying that i believe the novels of the saga are better than the short stories — no, i think the short stories are masterfully written and exemplify sapkowski’s technical skill as a writer, since everything has to be neatly wrapped up almost as quick as it started. the amount of theme-building and depthful side characters and conflicts he created in the short stories are impressive to me. sapkowski is better at writing short stories than at writing novels, as many have already said — and that's not insult to his novel-writing, either.

that being said, baptism of fire and tower of the swallow are my personal favorites in the series, i like them even more than the short stories — and i think, overall, the saga showcases pretty strong and compelling writing. that being said, the short stories are also amongst my favorites… for example, i would rank "something more" higher than blood of elves in terms of personal favorites... so, for me, it is not a clear division between "saga is better" or "short stories are better."

why I like the saga

i feel like sapkowski really got into the swing of novel-writing when it came to time of contempt and baptism of fire, as everything seemed to more strongly tie back to a central theme in these two books (see: the increase in the amount of title drops in TOC and BOF — everything is "a time of contempt" or "a baptism of fire") as when compared to blood of elves (the title relates to ciri's elder blood, elven-human relations, the exposition of the scoia'tael, the ruins of shaerrawedd... but it is not literally repeated over and over. i know for some, title drops are straight up annoying, i used to be in that camp, but now i've come to nerdily enjoy them. anyways...). i felt like all the scenes, events, characters, etc. during these two individual books related to one another perfectly, and i was never confused about how events were chronologically positioned with each other or how they would end up relating (which was-is a challenge for me with blood of elves, for instance).

blood of elves, for me, felt like it could have also have been a collection of short stories — as if sapkowski hadn’t fully shifted into “novel mode” with the witcher yet, each chapter (asides from chapters 1, 2 & 3) feel like their own "separate" story. yes, there is "blending" between the chapters, but it's not as masterful as in the later titles in the saga — it still feels like a stepping stone (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on how you look at it, perhaps readers need that transitory book to transfer them into the saga).

but time of contempt and baptism of fire? no, these could have only have ever been novels. sapkowski begins to exploit the form of the novel as he uses the chapter-by-chapter progression to build action in the way of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. the character development between ch. 1 and ch. 7 (or, for tower of the swallow, ch. 11, and for lady of the lake, ch. 12) feel like incredible lightning-fast, tiger-like bounds.

furthermore, i also felt like it was during the saga in which sapkowski (and i as the reader) began to see the world as “a world”, with geography and places that had distance from one another. and i appreciated how the world was built out procedurally, instead of with a map at the beginning of the book, an entire conlang to learn, and a stack of references to sift through, sapkowski just begins to hand us dates, names of months, phases of the moon, estimation of distance in furlongs and miles, names of rivers and geographical features… it feels extremely natural, and never forced. i am not studying for a test, damn it, i am reading a book for my entertainment, and i do not want any character telling me “this place, remember this place where this thing happened on this page of this book? that place?”. (this also contributes to re-readability of the books, in my opinion — try to re-read and piece all of the geographic and chronologic details together! it’s fun!)

let me get back to my larger point, which is my personal favorite book in the series and why.

why baptism of fire is my favorite

i think that baptism of fire, closely followed by tower of the swallow, is the strongest novel within the witcher saga for how the themes are compellingly echoed throughout the book, and for that reason, it is my personal favorite.

baptism of fire deals with the aftermath of thanedd, and as such, deals with the themes of sacrifice, penance, and paying off debts. it’s really just the falling action from time of contempt, which is why i understand that some dislike it — the characters just keep travelling, and travelling, and travelling! (maybe like geralt’s story to ciri in "sword of destiny"? “the cat walked, and walked, and walked…” “don’t think that i’ll fall asleep before he gets there!”)

for me, it is about the journey, not the destination — i found these travels to be very tightly woven, as the meandering of the characters and the additions of new characters all relate back to the core theme.

it is the classic hero’s descent into the underworld, into the topsy-turvy, upside-down land—and for this journey into the underworld, he will need a company of heroes to help guide him. but i find so clever about the setup of baptism of fire is how it subverts the trope.

(if time of contempt ch. 4 is "crossing the threshold," baptism of fire takes place in the "extraordinary world" and involves "meeting allies and enemies")

firstly, that this “underworld” is not a physically, literally separate world from the world of the witcher we have come to know. it is not an alternate dimension, another space and time — but it certainly feels like it, because this is WAR. how fitting for the “realistic fantasy” of the witcher, that the “underworld of evil dangers” is simply: a warzone, in which armies are clashing, in which people are mercilessly killed, refugees escape with empty eyes, and everything is on fire and smouldering. If you interpret it this way, that baptism of fire is the hero’s descent into an “other world”, it becomes such a powerful statement.

secondly, that our hero, geralt, does not know what to do and relies on his company for guidance. he’s not only injured and in a weakened state physically, but mentally and emotionally—geralt confuses a random girl for ciri in ch. 2 (soon to be echoed during his meeting with angoulême in the next book), his knee is paining him dearly, and he has no plan, completely thrown into the fire. he’s at his wit’s end, at the end of the world. it is not his strength, his cleverness, or any other heroic virtues which save him — it’s his friends.

speaking of his friends! thirdly, his company is not comprised of experts. this is not odysseus receiving counsel from his dead comrades, the other achaean heroes achilles and agamemnon in the underworld. asides from his long-time best friend dandelion, this team of heroes are newly-introduced strangers to geralt, and are an almost mind-bogglingly random, laughable assortment of—lovable, endearing—misfits, who do not fit in their assigned tropes or archetypes:

🏹🤰🏼 milva is stuck between her two identities of the ruthless killing of “milva” as known by the dryads of brokilon and the scoia’tael, and vulnerability of the human woman “maria,” challenged by the views of “what a woman should be” that she grew up with as a peasant girl of sodden. she is dealing with her pregnancy, which seemingly directly contradicts her life philosophy of dishing out death — instead of killing those around her, she has life developing inside her.

🌿🦇 regis is a vampire, but he does not touch blood. he has posed convincingly as a human for some time, and has devoted himself to humanity through healing. he is powerful, but also powerless (“to be able to sense the illness in the [girl’s] blood, but to be unable to cure it”). and on top of it, he is the wounded healer archetype, having struggled with addiction and having had quite a dark past characterized by "harm", now his life is characterized by "healing".

🦅⚰️ cahir, we have known for quite some time, but only in the previous novel did he receive a name — (and what a name, for now he keeps adamantly repeating it!) cahir, as dandelion notes in tower of the swallow, is the most peculiar member of the company, for it was he that kidnapped ciri at cintra, and thus geralt has great contempt for him when he first joins. cahir has been built up over the past two books as the representation of “nilfgaard” — a knight in black armor, burning eyes in the slits of his winged helmet, the knight or the bird of prey shrieks triumphantly! — but now, he is just a young man, bound in a coffin, terrified (ch. 2), and what’s more, say it with me — he is not nilfgaardian! especially by the end of the book, in which he fully renounces his loyalty to nilfgaard by fighting against nilfgaardian troops to save milva’s life.

so we have a woman who is not a woman, a vampire that is not a vampire, and a nilfgaardian that is not a nilfgaardian. similarly, we have a poet who is not writing rhymes in the safety of city walls, but is rather in the middle of a warzone (as milva says in ch. 2), and a witcher who is not slaying monsters but instead on a personal journey feeling deep soul-shaking emotions over his little girl. very provocative, very interesting! not only do they have an interesting setup as individual characters, and an entertaining dynamic as a group, even though they were really only introduced during this book — can you believe it? by the end of the book, it feels as if you’ve known them forever — but their characters inherently tie back to the core themes of the book, too.

milva, regis, and cahir, have all done something in their past they feel guilt for. milva led swathes of human men to their deaths, regis terrorized humans during his party days, cahir kidnapped ciri. similarly, geralt and dandelion also have something to feel guilty for. geralt, as a father, doesn’t know where ciri is and how to save her, when he promised they would never part again. dandelion, as geralt’s best friend, feels guilty that he could not help him during the thanedd coup, and now he is injured and has lost everything (see time of contempt ch. 5, when dandelion speaks with the dryad).

and the whole thesis of the book is that only together can they survive this hellhole, this warzone, and push forth to save — wait, what are they saving again?—

they are not saving the day, saving the entire world, going to topple nilfgaard itself (as geralt mocks in ch. 2) — no, the objective of their quest? the only thing which matters? ciri — a teenage girl, geralt’s daughter. yes, she is an extraordinary girl, yes, her bloodline is composed of the hen ichaer. but she is just a girl, at the end of the day, and the fact that the quest is her is a powerful statement about not only the characters, but about parenthood, childhood, girlhood…

it is true that ciri and yennefer’s stories take a back seat in this novel, with one dedicated yennefer point of view and scattered ciri point of view throughout — but i think this serves its purpose nicely.

in the case of ciri, her experiences tie back to the theme of debts and penance because she is, at the moment, committing the acts for which she will later seek penance. this demonstrates the cyclical nature of “doing wrong” and the human ability to err. tower of the swallow is moreso her time to shine and dominate the narrative as a character (which is why it is no coincidence that the plot gets a lot darker!)

in the case of yennefer, it is also true that in tower of the swallow she gets a dedicated chapter to her point of view, though she is mentioned and central to the plot in other chapters — and i think it works well, because she is such an independent figure. her character arc during baptism of fire is also about having erred in the past — during the lodge’s meeting on august 19th, it is revealed she had a hand in the breeding of royals like rabbits, and now regrets it — “damnit, how will i look the witcher in the eye?” — but now, in the present, she is only committed to ciri and ciri’s safety. she plays the role of a lodge member for the night, but thanks to fringilla and the oysters, she is out of there asap to embark on her own crazy, tooth-and-nail attempt to rescue ciri.

the themes of humility and sacrifice, as well as revenge and punishment, are more prominent in tower of the swallow than in baptism of fire — i was going to talk about tower of the swallow, but the post was already too long, maybe i will make another post in the future about how strong the theme-building is in that book, because i really love it. but as for now —

this is why i think baptism of fire is an especially strong novel:

the "flipping" of tropes, expectations, and archetypes to create interesting hypotheticals and messages. this echoes the strengths of the short stories, but takes it a step further to be not only provocative, but deep and nuanced in its own creation and development of characters and world.

the character development, especially for the main characters (baptism of fire geralt is my favorite geralt), and the introduction of new characters in the middle of the saga (ballsy move, but it really works)!

the heavy relation to the previous and next books in the series, while also being able to stand on its own as a novel because it is structured well.

themes of anti-war, friendship, and family are executed well, book has a good "message" (or "moral," as ciri says in "sword of destiny"). the world is a very dark and hopeless place, but there are good people within it, in order to survive, one must find friends and fight for not only yourself, but for the bonds you create!

worldbuilding is heavier than in previous books, but does not seem forced (there is discussion of geography as the company moves through the world), so it is immersive.

and, i just like it personally because it contains some of my favorite moments, characters, and places. such as the warzone with a battle raging in front of them and fire raging behind them in ch. 2, regis' cozy cottage (so atmospheric!) in ch. 3, the heartwarming and funny fish soup scene in ch. 5, and pretty much all of ch. 7 — regis explaining his past and philosophizing about the human psyche to an uneasy company, milva and geralt's emotional discussion, geralt being gifted his sihill from zoltan (the hero receives his sword! the quest has truly begun!), regis healing the girl from the camp, and the battle of the bridge!

what do you think? anyone out there like the saga, or one of the novels, more than the short stories? why or why not? and if so, what is your favorite book in the saga? if not, what is your favorite short story? i’m curious as to how “this was a better showcase of technical writing ability” interacts with “this is my personal favorite, because reasons!”

#the witcher books #the witcher #geralt of rivia #milva barring #emiel regis #cahir #dandelion #witcher #wiedźmin #chrzest ognia #baptism of fire #book: baptism of fire #c: milva #c: cahir #c: regis #analysis #i put this in lowercase for tumblr because i am familiar with code-switching. lol

43 notes · View notes

afantasycourt · 1 year ago

Text

independent multi muse rp account featuring a variety of muses from acotar, bridgerton, the witcher, marvel, and more. written by kel, 21+, she/her, uk based.

open starter tag

currently reading: fourth wing

rules & mules are under read more

MUSES.

bridgerton.

hyacinth bridgerton: florence hunt, danielle rose russell

sophie beckett: alexandra dowling

francesca bridgerton: ruby stokes, hannah dodd.

lucy abernathy: adelaide kane.

kate sharma: simone ashley.

daphne bridgerton: phoebe dynevor

edwina sharma: charithra chandran

penelope featherington: nicola coughlan

anthony bridgerton: johnathan bailey

benedict bridgerton: luke thompson

colin bridgerton: luke newton

violet ledger (bridgerton) - ruth gemmell, connie jenkins

lady danbury - arsema thomas

queen charlotte - india ria amarteifio

a court of thorns & roses.

nesta acheron - phoebe tonkin

elain archeron - lily james

feyre archeron - freya allan

rhysand - undecided

throne of glass.

yrene towers - zendaya

elide lochan - danielle campbell

aelin galathynius - skylar samuels

dorian havilliard - matthew daddario

rowan whitehorn - henry cavill

the witcher.

jaskier - joey batey

yennefer of vengerberg - anya chalotra

cirilla of cintra - freya allan

shadow & bone.

alina starkov - jessie li mei

stranger things.

chrissy cunningham - grace van dien

eddie munson - joseph quinn

nancy wheeler - natalia dyer

once upon a time.

emma swan - jennifer morrison

robyn mills - tiera skovbye

alice jones - rose reynolds

snow white - ginnifer goodwin

drizella/ivy tremaine - adelaide kane

the musketeers.

queen anne - alexandra dowling

constance - tamla kari

ninon de larroque - annabelle wallis

aramis - santiago cabrera

merlin/arthurian legends.

lancelot du lac - santiago cabrera

elaine of corbenic - undecided

lady morgana - katie mcgrath

guinevere - angel coulby

the chronicles of narnia.

lucy pevensie - georgie henley

susan pevensie - anna popplewell

wednesday.

wednesday addams - jenna ortega

enid sinclair - emma myers

downton abbey.

sybil crawley - jessica brown findlay

daisy mason - sophie mcshera

other.

hayley marshall - phoebe tonkin ( originals )

hope mikaelson - danielle rose russell ( legacies )

rebecca mikaelson - claire holt ( originals )

freya mikaelson - riley voelkel ( originals )

amy pond - karen gillan ( doctor who )

yasmin khan - mandip gill ( doctor who )

morgan stark - katherine langford (marvel)

bucky barnes - sebastian stan (marvel).

peggy carter - hayley atwell (marvel)

rebecca barnes - tbd (marvel)

RULES

RULE ONE/OOC INFORMATION Hi, my name is Kel, I'm over 21+ and use the pronouns she/her. Time zone is GMT.For now, my blog will run on a queue as I'm busy with some real life stuff. But sometimes, I may come online for an hour or two, depending on my mood. Blog is selective, private and mutual only. Also OC, multi fandom and multi-muse friendly too.

RULE TWO/THREADS AND REPLIES Replies can take a while to reply to, but I am not ignoring anyone. Please message if I haven't replied within a month.The best way to begin threads are through sending ask memes. I will also post open starters and maybe the occasional starter call. Not really a plotting person either; prefer to go with the flow.

RULE THREE/TRIGGERS I don't really have any triggers. That being said I will tag other people's triggers the best I can, and if I don't feel free to send a message and let me know. Don't send anon hate either. We all make mistakes and can't remember everything. Regarding shipping, I'm open to anything really. That being said, don't force any ships on any of my characters. I'll just unfollow/block if it continues to happen.

RULE FOUR/ETIQUETTE I do not tolerate any forms of hate. Racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia and any other forms of hate are not tolerated on this blog and I don't want to see any of it on the dash. It's an immediate hard block if I see anything. Respect each other, it's not that hard.

RULE FIVE/SHIPPING. Regarding shipping, I'm open to anything really. That being said, don't force any ships on any of my characters. I'll just unfollow/block if it continues to happen. I mostly ship for chemistry, but don't mind discussing ships beforehand if anyone wants to try anything out.

RULE SIX/SMUT AND MATURE THEMES Smut will not be featured on this blog. All other mature themes will be tagged accordingly and I'm pretty much open to anything except rape, incest etc.

CREDIT All gifs, icons etc on this blog do not belong to me. Credit goes to their rightful owners.

#pinned.#do not reblog.

8 notes · View notes

nohtora · 2 years ago

Text

NOELS ✷ SHE/THEY ✷ VIET-AUS ✷ 21+

hello hello welcome to my silly little blog where i draw on a highly irregular basis. you can call me noels ( see post ) ! i'm an interior architect most of the time but i like to do art as a hobby. expect mainly witcher books, black sails & other fantasy fanart ! find my other socials & shop links on my carrd linked below.

art tag / wip tag / carrd / ko-fi / more info under the cut

✷ FANDOMS ✷

▸ main fandoms : the witcher ( books + games ) & black sails. ▸ other fandoms : disco elysium, critical roles' mighty nein, rdr2, lord of the rings, la casa de papel, pushing daisies. note : i am not a fan of and am highly critical of n*tflix's witcher series, relevant posts will be tagged #twn critical. do not tag any of my witcher art as ships unless i have labelled it as such.

✷ PROJECTS ✷

▸ freedom in the dark : a black sails fanzine ( page artist ) ▸ as a crew : an ofmd charity fanzine ( page artist )

✷ FAQ ✷

▸ what programs / tools do you use ? i mainly work in adobe photoshop cc, using a huion kamvas 16 (2021) pen display. ( current brush ) ▸ can i use your work for my ___ ? – icon / banner : yes, as long as it is not someone else’s commission. ask if unsure. you must credit me in your bio / desc / pinned post. – phone / pc wallpaper : yes ofc, no need to ask ! – rp faceclaims / graphics : character-dependent, please check with me first. ▸ are you taking commissions ? no, my commissions are closed indefinitely for now. this is mainly due to my fulltime job taking up most of my time so i'd like to focus on personal art in the little spare time i have. for friends & mutuals, i am willing to take on limited commissions if i have some downtime – just ask ! ▸ do you take requests ? not at the moment, but i may from time to time ask for some. i don’t mind the occasional suggestion though ! ▸ do you do art trades ? mutuals preferred, but dm me ! it will ultimately depend on my current workload ▸ do you mind if i like/reblog a lot of your posts at once ? like / reblog spam to your heart’s content !! it doesn’t bother me at all :)

LAST UPDATED : 20 MAR 2024

#new pinned !#✷ MOBILE TAG NAVI ✷#nohtora art #nohtora wip #nohtora updates #answered #art asks #nt speaks #others' art #✷ ART BY FANDOMS ✷#the witcher #black sails #rdr2 #lcdp #disco elysium

35 notes · View notes

sleepsonfutons · 1 year ago

Text

Trope Game

Oooh thanks for the tag @mentallyinvernation!

Gonna go on and do this before it falls out of my squirrel brain lol. I'll go in for most any fic regardless of trope if it sounds interesting and fits the mood I'm in honestly, but I reckon there are some I prefer over others 🤔

Rules: How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 - don't care either way

+10 -> very enticed

nope -> if it's a hard no and you'd never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you'd insta click out of the fic if it wasn't tagged

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it's conditional.

Age gap: +2-3

Depends on the fic, but I've gotten sold on it in the Dreamling and Witcher fandoms by nature of the canonical ages of characters. In human au's though, if it ever involves an age gap with a minor that's a straight-up nope for me

Codependency: 0

It's not gonna turn me off from a fic cuz I don't mind a lil bit of that seasoning in my fic but I've got personal history with those dynamics so gotta be in the right mood for it and not gonna go looking for it

Obsession/Possessiveness, jealousy: +50

BRUH in my fic I am pure *grabby hands* for this shit!! They can't get enough of each other? Brilliant. They'll never give up looking/waiting for the other? Ded! You dare look at/come onto their partner?! Perfection!

Opposites (grumpy/sunshine etc): +♾️

something something opposites attract something! Legit, the whole world looking at them like "these two shouldn't go together" but they make each other the absolute happiest?!

Better bring a mop and bucket cuz I'm a fucking puddle on the floor

Enemies to lovers, Enemies with benefits: +1000

Peak, superb, amazing! No notes

Friends with benefits: +3

Nothing I seek out pointedly, but pair this up with Fake dating/relationship and +100 Delicious!

Sex to feelings: -2

It's fine, I won't NOT read something with this trope but it can take me out of the story a bit cuz it usually reads contrived to me/hits like 'fake news'. Heyo cynicism 😅

BUT if there's legit ANY kind of pre-sex tension between them and it's not just like "cold"/"random"/"no reason" sex to feelings, that's a solid +5. The sex just acts as the cincher to the awakening

Fake dating/relationship: +100

*shoves this trope into my mouth* bruh, like bruhhh! guhhhh some much juicy angst potential I legit can not get enough of!! especially when paired with some other choice tropes? An absolute delight~

Friends to lovers: +5

Depends on the friendship dynamic but usually solid stuff.

Found Family: +10

Finding your people is always a good time

Hurt/Comfort: +10000000

BEAUTIFUL AGONY! Bitter before the sweet! I will never get tired of this shiz

Love Triangle: 0

Not gonna seek it out, not gonna write it off, but to gotta echo @mentallyinvernation on this one:

However, if it's a love triangle that turns poly, I fucking love that shit. Especially if they're all being idiots about it.

Gonna be a solid +10 from me then~

Poly, open relationships: +20

Alright so, amongst others, We Meet Again by round_robin (Witcher) and Beautiful, Strange, and New by @moorishflower (Dreamling) absolutely solidified my undying LOVE of this trope! Just hngggggggg so much love to go around~

Mistaken/hidden identity: +8

Bring on the intrigue!! Def can depend on the setting and context, but usually I'm fully here for this one

Monsterfucking: +♾️

Honestly have yet to come across one of these that I've not been here for

Pregnancy: 0/nope.

SOOOO this one is like playing russian roulette for me on if it hits squick, trigger, or oh yeah...

Give me Improbable Reality (aka can-only-happen-in-fiction, omegaverse, metaphysical/dream) MLM pregnancy as a trope? We're good! Anything remotely close to probable reality? nope nope nope, especially transmasc pregnancy or anything using the w-word that rhymes with "tomb" >.< brains are great >.<

BUT mysterious/magical/accidental baby acquisition can be a hella entertaining trope

Second Chance: +5

I do love me a solid redemption arc

Slowburn: +1000

AHAHAHA MAKE ME SUFFER THE WAIT!!! all that building anticipation and tension? yeah, that's that good stuff

Soulmates: +10

Ooof yes I am a sucker for soulmate au's BUT not all of them are it for me. I'll def be inclined to give a fic a lookie see though if it has this tag~

Hmmmm who to no-pressure tag... @spockandthings @thranduilland @phinofthestorm @beauty-of-nyx @serenailith @lostelfwriting @arialerendeair @landwriter @delta-pavonis @aquabluejay @amielot @teejaystumbles @moorishflower

#fic tropes #tag game #ask sleepsonfutons

2 notes · View notes

charlesmoffat · 2 years ago

Text

WHY DO SOME VIDEOS GO VIRAL AND OTHERS DO NOT?

Case in point. Check out the following Unboxing Video of "The Silence in the Song" by Robb Wallace:

youtube

The video currently has 126 Likes and 1156 views, and I only posted it about 2 weeks ago.

That may not sound like a lot to some people, but for me that's a record for my small YouTube channel with only 203 subscribers.

It is already my 2nd most popular video, out of 101 videos I have posted thus far.

Meanwhile my least popular video, at the very bottom, is an Unboxing Video for Dan Fitzgerald's novel "Hollow Road" has a mere 5 views.

5 views.

And I assure you Dan Fitzgerald's book is not the problem.

youtube

Dan Fitzgerald's book has 47 ratings and a 4.6 rating on Amazon. So it is a reasonably popular book that came out in 2018.

Robb Wallace's book has 1 rating (5 stars) and came out in summer 2022. It hasn't had much time to get lots of reviews, not yet.

So Dan's book has been on the market longer and has a long list of reviews and positive ratings. Not including a review I did after I read his book (see https://youtu.be/I0iBTlq7brk ). So you would expect the videos featuring Dan's books to be more popular on the basis of having a more successful book with respect to reviews/etc.

But it doesn't.

So obviously the popularity of the author has nothing to do with the popularity of a video.

Popularity on YouTube supposedly comes down to the issue of algorithms. The number of people who Like, comment, subscribe and share a video. The higher the number of people who interact with a new video can cause it to temporarily go viral and become popular.

And it is, sometimes, seemingly random.

Thus a video about a popular book (Dan Fitzgerald's "Hollow Road" won't necessarily get a lot of views or attention.

Meanwhile a different popular book series might get a fair amount of attention (see my various videos about Sapkowski's Witcher series).

So it is all pretty much random.

This randomness due to algorithmic anomalies makes it all feel like a numbers game.

You can try to boost the numbers artificially by spending money on advertising your videos or posting your videos on 3rd party websites, but if you do that exactly the same with every video there's still no guarantee any of the videos will become a popularity success story.

Instead one of the the things I have encountered in the past is the idea that you have to just keep making videos, lots of them, and hopefully some of them eventually become popular and fuel more people subscribing and triggering the algorithms into getting more views for your channel.

Quality* + Quantity eventually leads to Popularity.

In other words keep slugging away at it until you hit a homerun. (Yeah, a baseball analogy!)

* Are my videos good quality? Depends upon your perspective. I don't use a script. I just speak from the heart about the books. Some viewers might prefer that book reviews/etc are scripted, but I personally believe that using a script makes the videos feel fake.

And fake reviews don't fly with readers, I like to think. Real honest reviews, complete with the warts and sometimes squirrels or rabbits appearing in my videos (I frequently talk about the books in my backyard), I hope leads to readers appreciating the level of honesty in my videos.

If I don't like a book I don't usually review it. It simply doesn't get a review. Almost all of my book reviews are positive. It is rare that I decide to talk about a book I dislike. To me if a book doesn't have any redeeming qualities then I don't even want to talk about it.

Browse my YouTube channel at:

https://youtube.com/@CharlesMoffatAuthor

#Youtube

4 notes · View notes

starwrittenfates · 18 days ago

Text

❝ Hatred and vengeance blinded me ... But I shall stand before them in humility. I shall remember the expression in their eyes. I hope the memory of those eyes will stop me making a similar mistake. ❞

↳ 𝙿𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙿𝚂 — Ciri/Avallac'h, Ciri/Cahir, Ciri/Cerys , Ciri/OC, etc.

↳ 𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 — Geralt, Yennefer, Dandelion, etc.

↳ NOTE: As the Lady of Space & Time, Ciri has the ability to crossover into any universe and time freely. She doesn't have to stick to the world of the Witcher.

THREADS || NAVIGATION || STUDY || VERSE 1 || VERSE 2 ||

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon

NAME MEANING: Cirilla = Swallow

NICKNAMES/TITLES: Ciri, Lion Cub of Cintra, Zireael, Swallow, Ashen One, Lady of Space and Time, The Lady of the Worlds, Lady of the Lake, Ciri of Vengerberg

AGE + DOB: 20s / May 1st, 1252

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female - She/Her

ORIENTATION: Bisexual

SPECIES: Human

OCCUPATION: Witcheress, Princess of Cintra

APPEARANCE.

FACECLAIM: Video Game & Freya Allan

HAIR COLOR: Ashen-Gray

EYE COLOR: Emerald-Green

SCARS:

OTHER REMARKABLE FEATURES:

BACKGROUND.

BIRTHPLACE: Skellige

CURRENT HOME: Verse Dependent

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Human/Cintran

LANGUAGES: Ellylon, Elder Speech, Common

PARENTS: Pavetta (Biological Mother, Deceased), Emhyr var Emreis (Biological Father), Geralt of Rivia (Adoptive Father), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Adoptive Mother)

SIBLINGS: N/A

SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None

CHILDREN: None

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS: Vesemir (Adoptive Grandfather), Eskel (Adoptive Uncle), Lambert (Adoptive Uncle), Lara Dorren (Ancestor), Calanthe Fiona Riannon (Grandmother)

NOTABLE RELATIONSHIPS: TBA

PSYCHOLOGY/MIND.

MYERS-BRIGGS: ESFP - The Entertainer

ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type 7 - The Enthusiast

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good

CHARACTER TRAITS: Adventureous, Compassionate, Witty, Stubborn,

LIKES: TBA

DISLIKES: TBA

ZODIAC: TBA

FEARS & PHOBIAS: TBA

WISHES & DREAMS: TBA

CHARACTER TROPES: Action Girl, Ambiguously Bi, Anti-Hero, Apocalypse Maiden, Badass Adorable, Benevolent Mage Ruler, Blemished Beauty, Blessed with Suck, Bratty Half-Pint, Break the Cutie, Changed My Mind Kid, Cheerful Child, The Chosen One, Covered in Scars, Cuddle Bug, Daddy's Girl, Deuteragonist, Dimensional Traveler, Distaff Counterpart, Doom Magnet, Dreaming of Things to Come, Dude Magnet, Eager Rookie, Embarrassing Nickname, Embarrassing Tattoo, Everyone Went to School Together, Faking the Dead, Flash Step, The Good Queen, Happily Adopted, The Heart, Heroic BSoD, Hiding the Handicap, I Just Want to Be Normal, Last of Her Kind, Little Miss Badass, Living MacGuffin, Mystical White Hair, New Parent Nomenclature Problem, New Powers as the Plot Demands, One-Man Army, One of the Boys, Oracular Urchin, Parental Abandonment, Person of Mass Destruction, The Pollyanna, Powerful and Helpless, Princess in Rags, Princess Protagonist, Red Baron, Royal Brat, Screw This I'm Outta Here!, She's All Grown Up, Tangled Family Tree, This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself, Tomboy with a Girly Streak, Took a Level in Badass, Took a Level in Jerkass, Traumatic Superpower Awakening, Unskilled but Strong,

SKILLS & ABILITIES.

Master Swordswoman

Master Acrobat

Hand-to-Hand Combat

Elder Blood (Blink & Dimension Travel)

PERSONALITY.

Ciri is impulsive and opportunistic. Much like her adoptive father, Geralt, she excels at thinking on her feet, without an immediate plan, living in the moment. Throughout the third game, Ciri is constantly switching between space and time, and while it tires her, she is quick to adapt to the various situations she is thrown in to. Ciri wants to do something. She reacts outward, when happy, angry or sad, and feels better after trashing a room to let out her frustrations; she prefers this instead of talking about her actual feelings. Geralt can cheer her up through physical games, like a snowball fight, to lighten her mood after a traumatic experience. Ciri rarely puts much thought behind her actions if they seem to work in the current moment, but she does have tendencies to think of a larger, more meaningful perspective. This is most prevalent in her final decision in the third game, where she gives herself momentum and impulsivity to put herself in a life threatening situation, and be motivated by the decision of thinking of her choice as a sacrifice for the entire world. Ciri matures throughout the story.

She is very idealistic, and very black and white in her thinking. Much of her confronting behavior comes from a low-order Te, making her seem controlling and abrasive in stressful situations. She largely keeps her vulnerability closely guarded, but opens up among trusted people. Many of her decisions are motivated by wanting to do the right thing, even though saving the world seems impossible at times. Ciri has a good heart, and is willing to sacrifice herself and put herself in danger to help other people she deems innocent and worthy of help – largely innocent villagers and children. Regarding people she does not respect, there is no such love, and Ciri has no qualms going against them. Ciri lacks nuance in her moral compass, especially when judging others for their behavior. At times, Fi and Te combines to an unwilling and unbending front, where Ciri refuses to consider other aspects, because she has assessed the situation and deemed it against her morals. She has arguments with Yennefer because Yennefer values the bigger picture over moral details, and Ciri refuses to put her feelings at low priority.Ciri doesn’t hesitate. She believes in action and bravery, putting yourself out there and sacrificing yourself for a good cause. She is also very competitive. “Free Spirit” is a very fitting descriptor of Ciri. She is fun-loving and opportunistic, but with survival instincts that aggressively defends her position. Ciri also has a strong sense of self and identity, mixing some idealization in a strong and free-spirited outlook on life.

BIOGRAPHY.

After the Witcher Geralt of Rivia lifted a curse from Duny, the Urcheon of Erlenwald, he demanded from Duny his wife Pavetta's firstborn child, a child he had but didn't know he had, due to the Law of Surprise. Six years to the day after the child's birth, Geralt went back to Cintra for her, but did not take her with him to Kaer Morhen at that time. In fact, he didn't even lay eyes on her and only spoke with Calanthe. The Queen divulged no information to him, not even the child's gender. This child was named Cirilla.

While she was still an infant, Ciri's parents were both lost in a storm at sea. They were presumed dead. She spent her youth in Cintra and the Skellige Islands, cared for by her grandmother. Ciri first met Geralt when she was lost in the forest of Brokilon. She was nearly taken by the dryads, who wished to make her one of their own. The Queen of the dryads, Eithné, unexpectedly let the girl choose her own future. Ciri chose Geralt, and wished to stay with him after they left Brokilon. However, the Witcher would not take her with him. Instead, he left her with the druid Mousesack who was working for Calanthe. Then came the slaughter of Cintra.

During the Nilfgaardian invasion of Cintra, Ciri was kidnapped by a Nilfgaardian knight named Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, though his identity was not known at the time. She managed to escape and wandered aimlessly for some time through Sodden until she was ultimately adopted by a merchant's family.

Coincidentally, Geralt had been helped by that same merchant and transported to his home. Thus, Ciri and Geralt were once again united. This time the Witcher took her with him to Kaer Morhen, where, under the supervision of Triss Merigold she underwent partial Witcher training, sans mutations, with Geralt, Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel and Coën. It was there that it was confirmed that Ciri was a source.

Geralt and Triss later took her to the Temple of Melitele in Ellander where she received instruction from Nenneke, and then from Yennefer, who began Ciri's magical training in earnest. As news of war began to spread, Ciri and Yennefer left Ellander for Gors Velen and ultimately Thanedd Island and Aretuza where the sorceress intended to enroll the girl as well as attend a conference of mages.

Things did not work out as planned though, not by a long shot. There was a coup during the conference and several individuals including Vilgefortz and Cahir tried to capture Ciri once again, and once again failed with the girl escaping through an unstable magical portal in Tor Lara. Because of the portal's nature, Ciri was simply ejected in mid-air over the Korath desert.

Unaware of where she was and without obvious recourse, the girl decided to make her way out of the wasteland by heading west. Unfortunately she wandered around in circles for some time before deciding to use the stars as a guide. She nearly died of exhaustion, dehydration and starvation. Luckily to her she met a unicorn whom she nicknamed Horsey that helped her out of the Frying Pan (a folk name for the deadly desert).

Ciri, who was still undergoing an emotional tribulation, then joined the Rats, a group of ne'er-do-wells she met when they were rescuing one of their members, under the name Falka. Bounty hunter Leo Bonhart was hired by Stefan Skellen to kill Ciri and by baron Casadei to capture her alive. Bonhart killed the Rats and cut off their heads after their deaths. He neither killed Ciri, nor brought her to baron Casadei, therefore not fullfilling his contracts. Bonhart imprisoned her for some time, beating her, mistreating and forcing her to kill in the arena at Claremont, which belonged to his cousin Houvenaghel.

Ciri managed to escape with the help of Neratin Ceka when Bonhart had taken her to the village of Unicorn on the eve of the equinox. He had gone to meet with Skellen and Rience and possibly negotiate some terms to release Ciri. Bonhart then killed Neratin Ceka, and Skellen seriously wounded Ciri, disfiguring her with an orion as she fled the village on her mare, Kelpie.

Later, she was found, near death by Vysogota of Corvo, who hid and healed at his hermitage in the Pereplut swamp. She stayed with Vysogotha until shortly after Saovine when she set off to find the Swallow's tower.

Together with Skellen and Rience, Bonhart tried to hunt her down on the order of Vilgefortz. Eventually, she escaped to Tor Zireael.

Being a twin tower to Tor Lara, Tor Zireael had a portal which led Cirilla to the world of the Aen Elle elves. There she was greeted by Avallac'h, an Aen Saevherne. He explained to her that she had to 'pay the debt' referring to the perceived loss to the Aen Elle when Lara Dorren took Cregennan of Lod as her lover. The elves believed that the latter had 'stolen' Elder Blood from them by marrying Lara. To atone for that 'crime' Avallac'h wanted Ciri to beget a child with Auberon Muircetach, the king of the Aen Elle. That being the only way Avallac'h would let her return to her own world. On their way to Tir ná Lia, the Aen Elle capital, they met Eredin and his Dearg Ruadhri. Ciri was initially quite infatuated with him - he realised that and tried to use it to control her. They also came across a pack of unicorns which appeared to be at war with Aen Elle.

In Tir na Lia Ciri finally met Auberon, who many times tries to conceive a child with her, however he could not - to him she was just a human, a being of no interest for an Aen Elle. Nevertheless he was very proud and refused to admit it. Eredin suggested using a 'potion' which would improve Auberon's performance and allow him to conceive a child with Cirilla. He also told her the truth (probably to gain her trust) - that Avallac'h would never let her go. Knowing this, Ciri found help with the unicorns where she also met Horsey/Ihuarraquax, by then fully grown. The unicorns explained that both Fox and Sparrowhawk had once possessed The Gate of the Worlds, a mystical power known only to those of the Elder Blood but they had lost it. Now they wanted these powers back and for that they needed Ciri. This could not be allowed, however and the unicorns explained to Cirilla how she should escape.

That same day Ciri once again visited Auberon only to find that he had drunk the 'potion' given to him by Eredin. Unknown to Sparrowhawk it happened to be too strong and killed Auberon. That night Ciri attempted to escape Tir na Lia and its barrier by using a boat and swimming with the river's current. She was stopped by Eredin who then revealed his true intentions, being the same as Avallac'h's. The two battled and Ciri proved victorious due to the elf's underestimation of her abilities - she wounded him and threw him into the river. Later on she mounted Kelpie and rode away from Tir na Lia. She met Horsey who offered his help (actually his being by Ciri's side was a part of her bargain with the other unicorns). They came across a huge pile of bones. To her horror, Ciri realised that the skulls had human teeth making them a pile of human bones. Ihuarraquax explained that it had been a human world until the elves led by Fox and Sparrowhawk arrived and killed them all - this also would be the fate of other worlds, including Ciri's own, should Avallac'h and Eredin succeed in once again harnessing the power of time and space. Nevertheless, Ihuarraquax and Ciri realised that they were being chased. Horsey urged Ciri to jump to another world - the only way to escape. She, however didn't know how. The unicorn became her guide and they jumped. This led to the manifestation of Ciri's strongest power, giving her the title of The Lady of the Worlds. That power allowed her to traverse space and time at will. Not being able to control it, however, Ciri had to journey through many different worlds to finally find her own.

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT

In the prologue, Geralt experiences a dream where he trains a younger Ciri at Kaer Morhen. However, the dream turns into a nightmare, as the Wild Hunt appears, freezing everyone, including Ciri, with Geralt helpless to act.

Having hidden in another world for over half a year the Wild Hunt found Ciri forcing her to flee. At some point Ciri discovered that Geralt had been captured by the Wild Hunt and managed to free him and send him to the forests outside of Kaer Morhen although he lost his memory in the process.

Several months later Ciri along with an elf called Avallac'h returned from another world ending up in Skellige where the Wild Hunt found and attacked them cursing Avallac'h and forcing Ciri to teleport away. This lead her to appear in Crookback Bog where she collapsed and was found by the Crones. The Crones intended to give her to the Wild Hunt however knew that she possessed Elder blood and could not decide whether to cut her up for her blood or not. Ciri realising this escaped and fled into the nearby forest, narrowly evading Imlerith. Traveling west into Velen, she encountered a young girl who was lost and rescued her as well as a local man from a werewolf. She was then taken to Crow's Perch and taken in by Philip Strenger (known as the Bloody Baron) who alongside with his men she befriended. During a race with Philip the two are attacked by a monster and Ciri was forced to use her powers to save him. However, Ciri realised that Wild Hunt would sense her powers so she left Crow's Perch and headed to Novigrad.

Ciri tracked down Dandelion to enlist his help in repairing a phylactery to lift the curse on Avallac'h, though she excluded the identity of her friend. Dandelion suggested going to Cyprian "Whoreson Junior" Willy. Willy later turned on them, capturing and torturing their friend Dudu. Ciri managed to rescue Dudu but her activities got the attention of the Temple Guard, who chased her towards Temple Isle. Just as an crossbowman took a shot at her, Ciri teleported herself to safety.

Ciri teleported all the way to Skellige, where she fell unconscious, dropping into a lake. Avallac'h found her and gave her to the safety of a native Skelliger, Skjall, and his family. When she came to, Ciri accepted the invitation to heal at the local sauna. But soon as she prepared to depart, the Wild Hunt descended on the village, forcing Ciri to flee once more. She found her way to Avallac'h, who was waiting with a boat. But upon seeing Skjall being cut down by a Red Rider, she attempted to turn back to help him, but Avallac'h stunned her with a sleeping spell and took her to the Isle of Mists to hide her from the Hunt.

Ciri was taken in by a company of seven dwarves, who were also stranded on the Isle. She is later found by Geralt, who had managed to lift the curse on Avallac'h, who gave him a magical firefly to lead him to the Isle. After gaining the trust of the dwarves, whose number had been reduced to five, Geralt is allowed to see Ciri. Seeing her prone form, he assumed her dead, until the firefly merges with her, stirring the young woman awake. Geralt and Ciri catch up on what happened to the latter. Ciri reveals Eredin's motive for pursuing her, explaining that the Aen Elle world faces annihilation, so the King of the Hunt seeks to use her to power the portal to allow his army to conquer the Continent, even at the risk of Ciri's life.

As they prepare to leave, they discover the dwarves had taken Geralt's boat and fled the Isle, before spotting the Wild Hunt's flagship, the Naglfar, in the distance, forcing Ciri to teleport them directly to Kaer Morhen. Upon arrival, Ciri is happily reunited with Vesemir, Yennefer and Triss.

However, the time for celebration was cut short, as the Hunt would soon assault the aging keep. Ciri was ordered to remain inside the keep while everyone else defended her. Triss provided Ciri with a magical amulet to call down a magical fireball. However, Ciri defies orders and goes to help Triss when she came under attack by Hunt warriors. She later assisted Eskel against Caranthir, before the Hunt general hears a war horn signalling him to retreat.

Ultimately, the Hunt breaches Kaer Morhen, freezing everyone except for Ciri and Vesemir. They are then attacked by Imlerith, allowing Eredin to finally get a hold of Ciri. But as he dragged her towards a portal, Vesemir breaks off from Imlerith and engages Eredin, forcing the elf to release Ciri. As Imlerith charged at the elderly witcher, Vesemir used Aard to push Ciri away as the large elf lifts him up by the throat. Surrounded by the Wild Hunt and with her mentor held hostage, Ciri dropped her sword in surrender. However, Vesemir stabbed Imlerith, prompted the general to snap his neck, killing him. In grief and anguish, Ciri unleashed a magical scream that affected the Hunt. Calanthir conjured a portal, which Imlerith fled through, but Eredin desperately stumbled towards Ciri. Calanthir recognized his king would die in the attempt and forcibly dragged Eredin through the portal. But Ciri's power had gone out of control, threatening to kill everyone in Kaer Morhen had not Avallac'h intervened and stopped her.

While cremating Vesemir, Ciri started to regret returning to Kaer Morhen, despite Geralt's attempts to calm her, as she snatched Vesemir's medallion off the pyre. Subsequently, Ciri tried to involve herself in a discussion between Geralt, Avallac'h, Yennefer and Triss over reassembling the Lodge of Sorceresses to fight the Hunt. She becomes angry that decisions are being made without her and departs their company.

A few days later, Ciri becomes disheartened that her training with Avallac'h hadn't be progressing well. Geralt can either cheer her up with a snowball fight or sour her with Lambert's famous home brew.

Ciri later stirs Geralt early in the morning, revealing she had discovered Imlerith was attending a sabbath on Bald Mountain in Velen, as would the Crones, though she hadn't told Avallac'h of her plans. Geralt can suggest visiting her biological father, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, in Vizima first or go to Bald Mountain immediately.

If Geralt and Ciri go to meet Emhyr, the latter addresses her by all her titles as nobles and soldiers kneel before her. He then presents the second half of Geralt's payment as thanks for finding his daughter. Whether Geralt accepts or not affects Ciri. Ciri then engages in private conversation with Emhyr but later stormed out, angry at his attempts to buy her.

A few weeks later, Geralt and Ciri arrive at Bald Mountain and are forced to contend with the local celebration, which ends in them being sent to a sylvan named Fugas for execution. After slaying the monster, Ciri plays a game of rock, paper, scissors, to decide who will face the Crones and who would slay Imlerith. Ciri lost the game and thus went to confront the Crones. She interrupts them while they were stirring a cauldron full of human remains, prompting them to transform from beautiful women into their true, hideous forms. Ciri managed to slay Brewess and Whispess but Weavess managed to escape with Vesemir's medallion.

Their mission a success, the pair head for Novigrad, where Ciri had a multitude of personal matters to take care of. With Geralt, she revisits all the people she had encountered in the city. She was also present when Geralt and Avallac'h bring Ge'els from the world of the Aen Elle to show him proof that Eredin murdered the previous Aen Elle king, Auberon Muircetach, so he'd stop supporting the regicide. Ge'els attempts to sow animosity between Ciri and Avallac'h, but it fails. Corinne Tilly, an oneiromancer, shows everyone through dreams of Eredin's regicide.

After Philippa Eilhart and Margarita Laux-Antille are gathered, they ask to meet with Ciri. If Geralt accompanies Ciri to the meeting, it undermines her confidence. The sorceresses extended an invitation for Ciri to join the Lodge as an equal partner.

The party then travels to Skellige to find an elven artifact called the Sunstone to lure Eredin into a trap. Ciri then expresses her desire to investigate Avallac'h secret laboratory in the isles, suspecting the elf to be hiding something from her. She goes ahead with Yennefer to await Geralt's arrival. After penetrating the laboratory, they find a genealogical chart of Elder Blood descendants; Avallac'h was studying all paths of Lara Dorren, even those thought extinct. They soon encounter a she-elf, claiming to be Avallac'h's lover, who proceeds to insult Ciri, calling her a degenernate half-breed and that Avallac'h despises that he needs her. Her words anger Ciri so much that she wants to tear up the lab. Geralt can support her and aid in the ransacking, cheering her up, or calm her down and fasten Lara Dorren's necklace around her neck, depressing her.

Once outside, Ciri asks to go to Hindersfjall to see Skjall, only to be told of his death. If Geralt refuses, it depresses her. If he agrees to accompany her, they either meet up later or teleport there. Upon arrival, Ciri learns that Skjall was never buried, instead thrown on a corpse heap. After finding his corpse and giving it a proper burial, they are accosted by a band of villagers, who take issue with their defiance against their elders' writ, as Skjall was dishonoured and his name stricken. Ciri threatens retaliation if Skjall's grave is disturbed and reveals Skjall's role in saving her from the Hunt, restoring his honor.

The party then sail to Undvik to spring the trap, with the Nilfgaardian fleet preventing the Naglfar from fleeing by sea and the sorceresses blocking their attempts to teleport. As the battle started, though advised to remain on shore, Ciri realized that Geralt and his Nilfgaardian detachment were frozen and decided to go out and assist. Avallac'h advised her to find Caranthir and break the jewel on his staff to lift the spell. After fighting through Hunt warriors and hounds did Ciri engage Caranthir, eventually destroying his staff, though the effort seemingly knocked her unconscious. Caranthir then attempted to grab Ciri, only for her to teleport away.

After Geralt mortally wounded Eredin, the elven king stated that Avallac'h had tricked them both, pitting them against each other while he made off with Ciri. When Geralt confronts Avallac'h as another Conjunction of the Spheres begins, but Avallac'h drops his sword proving that he did not betray them but was just following Ciri's wish to come here. Geralt then confronts Ciri who tells him that she has to go inside the portal to stop the White Frost. Depending on Geralt's interactions with her, Ciri may either survive or die stopping the White Frost.

#starwrittenfates muse bios #𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 ⟫ Lady of Space & Time (𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀)#long post

0 notes

wanderingwolfwitcher · 6 months ago

Text

Making his way into and through the Goblin Camp didn't prove too difficult for the cloaked, hooded Witcher... as it likely wouldn't have if he had chosen to do it the bloody way. Goblins were simple creatures, easy to cast the telepathic Axii Sign upon, so they would not even see him enter, would quickly forget he was ever there, or would see him as one of their own. Or manipulate them like puppets into opening gates and doors for him. There was no sense cutting his way inside yet, getting off on the wrong foot with a faction he was neither opposed to or aligned with. Though from what he had heard of her blood thirst from the Druids, perhaps the Drow Commander would respect such an act. Either way, the mutant would approach it diplomatically and non violently first, then adapt to whatever direction was required, depending on who he was dealing with. Get a read on her personality and aims, and act accordingly. He could not deny his curiosity, from what he had been told of her, and was not ready to simply give the Druids what they desired of him.

With his enhanced senses, it didn't take much or long to locate her place within the camp, her heartbeat pulsing in his ears... bringing him into her cavernous chamber, and coming to a stop near her position within the Shattered Sanctum, across from the table she stood at. Nightwarden Minthara, according to the Druids... she matched up to what he had been told. A striking, blueish-purplish hued beauty with white hair done up... a visible neck marking tattoo... armored up, well armed and battle ready. The Paladin's features locked in a seemingly perpetual, default hardened sternness. A devout follower of the Absolute, clashing with the Druids of the Grove. One of the countless conflicts occurring across the lands, of late. His viper eyes looked her over carefully and silently as he read her, before rising again to settle on her red pair. Not reaching for any of his weapons, he merely, casually folded his arms comfortably over his red and black, silver spiked and studded Witcher's armor, his deep, calm voice washing over her. Mutilated features smiling faintly and politely her way.

"So, you're the one calling the shots here. Name's Eskel, Witcher. Got a contract offer on all your heads from the Druids of the Emerald Grove. Thought I'd check out the other side of it, before committing to anything or not. See what you were about. Guildsman in me prefers to know all the options, first."

@spiderwarden

#spiderwarden

1 note · View note

lorddeath · 2 years ago

Text

we are back at it again, boyos - i know i posted something about this like, two years ago, but times have changed and so have my hyperfixations. : - )

hellooo. my name is katie, i’m 21+ yo, i work a fulltime job and i have five cats and a dog with my partner in crime and girlfriend. i do have 12 years of experience in the rp community both on and off tumblr (christ), and while i have tried to find a platform that suits my needs, i have come to the conclusion that tumblr is really the only place to find people like me, so i am opening up a ... roleplay partner call.

looking for:

someone to write ships/etc. with

someone who is willing to be friends outside of rp!

a buddy to throw hcs and ideas back and forth with all night rather than sleep (last part is kind of a joke but also isn’t 👀)

someone that is okay with/encourages playlists or pinterest boards for ships, characters, etc. and enjoys character development

putting preferences and fandom specifications under a read more!

my preferences:

i write in third person and tend to create para/novella style responses. fluent in english. no *action* writing, please.

smut’s cool. i enjoy writing it and do not need to fade to black, so if partners can be 18+, that would be fab.

i prefer to write over discord. willing to give my discord out to people who respond.

i am most comfortable writing canon/canon ships, however i do have a slew of ocs that i would not mind a) creating aus for and b) writing with other ocs or canon characters.

needing someone that is patient with replies - i am mentally ill af and my creative motivation waxes and wanes. i need as much room as possible to make sure that i can write a decent response to any active roleplays, and sometimes i can crank them out in minutes or days. it really just depends.

things/tropes that i want to write:

give me things like vampires, witches, werewolves - fantasy is HUGE for me right now!

friends to lovers

enemies to lovers

f/f, m/m, f/m !!

platonic love

doesn’t have to be fandom related, could just be oc/oc!

fandoms:

star wars (BIG HYPERFIXATION RN) - i am a huge prequels fan but i am willing to write pretty much any stage of the saga

characters i am willing to write: anakin skywalker, obi-wan kenobi, satine kryze, padme amidala, leia organa, han solo, poe dameron, myriad of different ocs. others upon request.

ships: obikin, obitine (!! a big one for me right now!) anidala, obidala, finnpoe, canon/oc.

dragon age - i have played all three games and am eagerly awaiting the next

characters i am willing to write: anders, solas, cullen rutherford, possibly alistair if i am in a certain mood, myriad of different ocs, others upon request.

ships: solavellan, anders/hawke (male or female), canon/oc.

mass effect - i have played the first two games, and i am 3/4s of the way through the 3rd

characters i am willing to write: garrus, thane, kaidan, liara, femshep, maleshep upon request, ocs.

ships: garrus/shepard, garrus/tali, thane/shepard, kaidan/shepard, liara/shepard.... y’know, any of the companions/shepard tbh.

fallout - i have played fallout new vegas, 4, and 76.

characters i am willing to write: this one is a bit of a smaller list but hancock is a favorite of mine. ocs are a thing here, too. i can try to write other canon characters upon request.

ships: available for discussion.

star trek - i have seen all of the nu!trek movies and most of the original series.

characters i am willing to write: leonard mccoy, montgomery scott, spock, ocs.

ships: spock/jim, jim/bones, spock/bones, canon/oc.

tertiary fandoms/series that i am well-versed in:

psycho pass

castlevania

netflix’s the witcher

good omens

example of my writing and shameless plug: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18647398?view_adult=true

if you have made it this far... COOL BEANS. thanks for being here! feel free to message me here on tungle dot hell if you are interested in any of the above. i am always willing to clarify or answer any questions.

thanks!

#RP Partner search #RP partner ad #looking for rp partner #star wars rp #dragon age rp #mass effect rp #fallout rp #star trek rp #obikin #anidala #obidala #finnpoe #solavellan #spirk #spones #: - )#come write wif me

100 notes · View notes

sinfulwrites · 3 years ago

Text

Blog introduction.

Welcome to my little sin bin! I’m sorry you found your way here.

As my name suggests, I am a writer, one of the 18+ variety. So there will be explicit content on this blog. Do not go any further if you are underage, period. This is not open for discussion.

About me: I’ve been writing since I was in middle school. I’m definitely no expert at the art, but one day I hope to be. The first fanfiction I ever wrote was about Sonic and Shadow. (yes, the hedgehogs…) when I was in elementary school. (So I guess I actually started then.) Nowadays I prefer anime like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Jujuitsu Kaisen, and Osomatsu-san. I’m also a big horror lover. I was obsessed with Saw, Wrong Turn, Chucky, and Hellraiser to name a few when I was in my pre-teen years. I’m 20 now, and while I still very much love horror, my palette has changed a bit. I’m also a big fan of the Pokémon games, having played every main line game and Mystery Dungeon released that I had access to. Yakuza is also a franchise on my top list of favorite games, up there with The Witcher 3 and The Last of Us.. My all time favorite video game, however, is Okami. Not all of my interests will be turned into some fanfics on this blog, but you can expect some of them to be here. It’s all in good fun on this blog. I am not in the mood to argue with anyone. Let’s all just have a good time here.

What to expect on this blog: I am a ship writer by default, but lately I have branched out into x reader content after getting use to it. I mostly write whatever ideas enter my brain, and some of my posts are to vent out personal insecurities. I write a lot of smut, but I do tons of other stuff like fluff, hurt/comfort, and angst. What I write is dependent on what is currently going through my mind, and thus is sporadic. I also do prompts. I also reblog other content, so this blog won't be exclusively my content.

Do’s:

Jojo’s bizarre adventure (Part 5 dominant, but the other parts too.)

Yakuza (Kiryu, Majima.)

Slashers (Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Thomas Hewitt, Bo Sinclair, Vincent Sinclair, Bubba Sawyer, Asa Emory, Jesse Chromeskull)

Requests are okay, but are open to rejection.

more tba...

Don’ts: Honestly, just ask. I’m very open about anything. If I want to do it, I will. If I don’t, I won’t. Just do not ask for anything skat related. That is my one hard no.

Masterlist

Have a request?

And that’s it! My interests change very infrequently, so the content on here may not be consistent, but that’s what tags are for right? Also, do not fear asking me anything indulgent. I do nothing but indulge myself on here. I’ve been on the internet for a long time, and seeing all the love and support for writers on this platform and others in recent years has finally inspired me to make an account. I hope you all enjoy what’s in this hell hole.

#writing #Welcome to the blog!#Let's be sinful together #babbling

130 notes · View notes

whump-whump-baby · 5 years ago

Text

So your Fictional Universe has Horses in it

Alternatively: People Ride Horses in Your Fic, and you’re Not Sure What to Do About It

horse rider/owner and baby writer here, throwing you an infodump that will maybe help with the whole ‘There’s a Horse in the Background here but I Don’t Know What to Do With it’ thing I sometimes see in writing!

Inside this infodump: Horse riding, horse care, horse tack (equipment), falling off a horse (and what usually gets injured), horse lingo, and behaviour.

1. Tame that beast (aka, riding the horse)

a couple things here: Getting on the horse, getting off, steering, etc

Honestly, I’m only including this part because I find that a lot of people skip past the whole ‘getting on the horse’ bit and I find it hilarious. It’s not a weird thing but it can be weird to describe. I get it!

Getting On

Experienced riders will always mount from the left side of the horse. It's a weird tradition that doesn’t really make sense anymore, but it’s still followed because most don’t really see a reason to change it. It supposedly dates back to medieval times and has something to do with where a sword would traditionally be hung on a person’s hip- mounting (Putting your foot in the stirrup, grabbing up high on the saddle, pulling yourself up and over while using your foot in the stirrup to help yourself) from the left means you wouldn’t accidentally poke your horse with your sheath. Not sure if this story has any validity to it, but we all still follow the left rule unless we’re specifically getting a horse used to mounting from the other side for whatever reason.

Getting off

I have a bone to pick with this. Nobody gets off their horse by swinging a leg in front of themselves, over the horse’s neck in front of them, and hopping down facing away from their horse. It’s not the safest bet to attempt because 1. It actually requires a lot of hip strength to swing your leg like that without kicking your poor horse in the neck, and 2. It doesn’t give you a legitimate way to hold onto your horse after dismounting, which is inherently unsafe. Even if you are in possession of The World’s Best Behaved Horse Ever, you always want to be holding onto the reins. Riders usually dismount by leaning forward, swinging a leg behind them and over the horse’s butt, pivoting sideways on their stomach, and sliding down off the horse- keeping a hand on the rein and one on the saddle to slow their descent. That way you always have a hand on your wild beast, who may decide at any given time that the nearby grass is more important than standing still for your dismount. Plus, swinging a leg like that is basically impossible in saddles that feature a saddle horn, like a western saddle.

It’s a little hard to see in this photo, but Geralt’s saddle definitely has some kind of high pommel to it- so he’d most likely dismount the normal way. It’s just easier!

If you tried to dismount like that in this western saddle you would definitely bruise something.

In this saddle (a Dressage saddle) you could probably pull it off.. but why?? All that struggle just to slide down on your butt and land funny, sprawled away from your horse. It’s just not worth it.

Steering and Etc.

Believe it or not, most steering movement actually comes from the rider’s weight in the saddle than their grip on the reins. If we’re looking at this from the realm of something like The Witcher (which is probably going to be my go-to media example because it’s still pretty recent) a relaxed turn is going to look like Geralt isn’t doing too much with his upper body, because he’d be weighting his seat bones in the saddle. Despite his saddle looking a little bulky, Roach could definitely feel it and respond accordingly- horses are pretty sensitive little friends and can feel most of what you’re doing up there, including looking down. (Protip, if you’re learning to ride horses, don’t look down- it’ll unbalance your upper body and make you pitch forward, unbalancing your horse and making yourself more likely to fall off)

A good way to have a character look experienced with riding is to describe someone relaxed but upright, shoulders back, hands closed but relaxed on the reins. They don’t have to be bolt upright, but at ease. A good way to describe a character with little to no riding experience would be to describe them as tense, probably hunching forward a little; hands too high or low and reins too long. See the lovely photos below:

A Dressage rider: she’s looking pretty evenly balanced, is sitting tall but not bolt upright, hands are low, elbows relaxed. Wonderful!

A Beginner: Absolutely no hate to beginners! We all have to start somewhere, But there’s definitely a difference in body language between this rider and our dressage rider. (Side note: PLEASE always wear a helmet on a horse, especially if you’re a beginner, good grief)

2. Horse Care

I don’t think too much needs to be said here, but there’s a couple things that are worth noting.

Grooming

Most horses love a good brushing. They’ll even lean into it if you find an itchy spot!

If your character has a ton of experience, grooming their horse makes a lovely backdrop for conversations. Riders usually brush their horses before and after riding, to remove dirt and mud and sweat. Manes and tails are brushed if you want to be detail oriented, and feet should always be picked out (A good chance for Character B to oogle Character A’s butt, if thats the kind of story you’re writing) to remove dirt and stones.

When Not Riding

Your furry partner-in-crime should be untacked and eating grass somewhere. Untacked means all gear removed and put away for the day- in stories like The Witcher, tied to a tree branch or a rest area in a halter is fine. As a horse person it wouldn’t make sense to leave their tack on all night- you’d leave it nearby, but not on them. If your characters are just pausing for a break or something, it’s totally ok- but done for the day? Nah. Let your pony be naked.

Injuries

Horses, like most prey animals, will hide injuries and illness until they physically can’t anymore. Small cuts and scrapes, dependent on where they are, will probably not give a physical response unless you manipulate them somehow (cleaning, applying antibiotics, etc). A horse may show discomfort by a number of signs, but if it really hurts your horse will probably shy away from your touch or may lash out at your hands to keep you from touching it. Signs of discomfort can be pinning their ears back against their head (aka Ow Ow OW, DON’T TOUCH IT, I’m UPSET) to straight up trying to run from you if they think you’re going to attempt to touch it (a more severe reaction for a more severe wound, like a deep cut/laceration/puncture etc). If a horse is in very dire straits you might get no reaction at all- your horse might be hanging its head low, not really responding to your voice or touch, appearing bleary eyed or dull eyed or sleepy. Generally that kind of severe behavior change is considered Very Very Bad and definitely grounds to call a vet for, especially if there’s no sign of physical injury.

3. Horse Tack (Equipment!)

Here’s a quick rundown of horse tack.

All these pieces make up the bridle, reins included.

*Side note- Bits are not cruel, and riders choosing to use them with their horses are not abusive. Bits are a tool riders use to communicate with their horses and there are hundreds of metal finishes, textures, shapes and sizes to fit a horse with a bit that makes them happy and keeps them comfortable. There are some horses who refuse to take bits, and their owners usually turn to a bitless bridle to keep them comfortable- however this is not “kinder” just because of the lack of bit. These bridles are just designed to exert gentle pressure to tell the horse to slow or stop instead of the gentle pressure on the bit. Different horses prefer different things, and none of these things are harmful to the horse if used properly and with care.

This is a diagram of a close contact or Hunter saddle, but the terminology generally applies to all different kinds of saddles. Girths are considered their own piece of tack and not as a part of the saddle.

Riders who are riding consistently usually at least wipe their tack down with a wet cloth after finishing with it for the day. Because tack is almost always leather, well cared for leather lasts a lot longer if cared for. This is also a great thing to have a character talk over in a fic- have them clean tack while having a hard conversation, or maybe show how quick and not-great of a job they do on their tack if they’re angry or trying to get away from another character closeby. Lots of opportunities! (If you really want to get detailed, cleaning usually looks like: a damp cloth to wipe dirt off and then rubbing a leather conditioner into the tack, which may smell lovely or a little weird depending on the brand)

4. Falling off

I see you, whump writers. (and I love you.)

So You Want your Character to Fall Off:

Falling off is rarely graceful. It can be caused by anything from an unexpected trip to your horse spooking at something, to a jump taken at the wrong spot/speed/angle... opportunities are endless. I have fallen off my horse at the walk because he startled at a dog and I slipped to the side, and I have fallen off over jumps, because my horse actively tried to get me off, or because I just wasn’t paying attention and Oops, how’d I get in the dirt? Generally if you’re looking for a reason for your character to fall off, they are endless. If the one at fault is the horse common reasons are the rider becoming unseated and slipping back/forward/sideways by the horse startling (at legitimately anything sometimes, depending on the horse.. let your imagination go wild!) changing speed or direction suddenly. All of these things will affect how your character comes off and how they’ll hit dirt with what body part. IE- pitching forward will probably land you on the top of your shoulders, if you’re lucky- if not, you’ll land on your head. Most people will land on the tops of their shoulders as the instinct to protect their head kicks in, but sometimes gravity is a bitch. It happens.

This is where experience comes in, too- Experienced riders will usually react quicker and will try to save themselves, either grabbing onto their horse’s mane or neck or even just keeping a death grip on the reins as adrenaline kicks in- all of which keeps your upper body higher than your lower and can lead to landing on your bum/side/feet instead of your head. Beginner or inexperienced riders might not react that quickly and end up landing roughly. This is not to say that more experienced riders will always come out less injured than beginners, but that experienced riders sense of self preservation will kick in faster frankly just because they’ve fallen off more. This is also why you see more beginners breaking arms in riding accidents- as you learn to ride you are taught (if you were taught like I was) to NEVER throw your arms out to catch yourself during a fall- it’s more likely that you will land on top of your straight arm and give yourself a wicked compound break. Your instinct changes from trying to save yourself to trying everything you can to staying in your saddle. Self preservation is a wonderful thing!

If Your Character is Sick/Already Injured:

The motion of the horse, even in walk, is going to make them feel worse- especially any injury to the lower stomach area. That’s where the body absorbs most of the motion from the horse’s gaits, especially in the hips/lower abdomen. So if Character A has a stab wound in his stomach and Character B has gotten them into the saddle to bring them to help.... Character A is gonna be in some pretty decent pain until they can dismount. For head injuries the same motion might make them dizzy or nauseous. But, good news! If your character slumps forward completely while keeping their arms on either side of the horse’s neck, they will probably manage to stay in the saddle for a decent amount of time. Their lower body and leg (hopefully still in the stirrups) will keep them in the saddle unless jostled out of it. (This, of course, only making sense if the saddle in question doesn’t have a horn, because otherwise your character won’t be able to slump forward far at all. )If they manage to slip off the horse in this position, they’re going to land head/chest/upper body first, especially if only semi-conscious due to previous injuries.

If dealing with any other injuries, getting on the horse might be nicer than walking but will definitely not keep anything still- any motion the horse makes will make the rider’s body move and jostle the injury, no matter where the injury is.

5. Wrapping it up: Horse Lingo and Behaviour

Horse terms are easy to find and but a google search away, but here’s some of the main terms:

Gaits: A horse’s movement. Walk, trot, canter and gallop with gallop being the fastest.

Aids: what riders use to communicate with the horse. This includes your hand (on the reins) your leg (squeezing to ask for gaits) and your voice.

(Riders talk to their horses! all the time. Even if just to say good boy/girl. Commonly we say things like hoooh, whoa, easy, no, etc. Sometimes just talking to your nervous horse helps calm them down)

Green horse: Inexperienced horse, usually new to being ridden, usually young.

Mare: Female Horse.

Stallion: Male horse, not neutered. Stallions can have a reputation for being hotheaded and sometimes hard to handle, but not all are like that.

Gelding: Male horse, neutered. Most people who have male horses will refer to them as geldings on paperwork.

Pony: a small horse. Not a baby horse. Just smaller.

Colt: Baby male.

Filly: Baby female.

You can probably use google for anything else without concern that you’re using a term that's unnatural.

Behaviour

My rule of thumb for writing behaviour is this: If it seems like a disney dog in a movie would do it........ it’s safe to say a horse wouldn’t. Writing a horse like a disney dog is too unnatural and will definitely make any horse people reading your story give an eye roll.

An example:

Your character has just dismounted their horse after a long ride.

A horse would: maybe sniff your pockets for treats (especially if you had some before you got on) stand next to you as you talked to someone, try to rub their head on you (scratches!! especially if they’re sweaty) maybe perk up at something in the distance if distracted enough

A horse would not: Shake their head at you, whinny at you, prance around and “smile” at you... roll their eyes at something you said... point like Lassie at something in the distance... etc.

Horses definitely have personalities! They can be affectionate and snuggly, nervous or brave, flighty or stoic... but they don’t emote the same way a cartoon character would. The best example i’ve seen of horse interaction in media would probably be the horses in Disney’s Brave. If you pay attention to the way horses interact with each other and react to events in the movie, it’s pretty spot on!

Follow your gut. You can still have a horse with a personality, but if it feels too cartoony, it probably is!

This is a great infographic that explains body language as well.

I hope this helps anyone who wants to include more horse interaction in their writing!

#writing #fiction #writeblr #writblr #whump #whumpblr #fanfiction #hopefully tagging this right!#photos are not mine

3K notes · View notes

specialagentlokitty · 3 years ago

Text

Lokittys random prompts!

“If I have to give up everything I am just to prove to you I love you, then I will.”

“I know you’ve been hurt, but I promise I’m not like that.” “That’s what they all say...” “then let me show it.”

“Just kill me! It would be far less painful then watching you be someone you’re not!”

“Would you destroy the world for me?” “No.” “Fair enough.” “I’d destroy the whole universe.”

“You’re dangerous.” “Unpredictable? Yes. Dangerous? Yeah you’re right.”

“You’re insane!” “Morally incorrect darling.”

“Need a hand?”

“Your power doesn’t make you any less human. Yes, it’s different, but you’re still the same person you’ve always been.”

“We were supposed to become heroes together...” “I know....” “you’re a villian...” “I know...”

“Would you kill me?” “Yes.” “Ouch.”

“I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not.”

“We were supposed to be together! Us against the world!” “I guess the world had other plans...”

“You can still make this right.”

“One day I’ll admit I love him/her/them. That day isn’t today.”

“It hurts me to see you like this.”

“I pray in a different life we can get along.”

“You did this!” “W..what?!” “You did this! She/he/they did this because of what you said!”

“You said I’d make a brilliant villain.” “I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

“I love you.” I know.” “And I’m sorry.” “I know.”

“Hold my hand.” “Why?” “Because I want to remember it one more time.”

“I’d know that smile anywhere.”

“We’re nothing but ghosts of our former selves.”

“Wanna go on a date?” “Not really, but I have time.”

“Fight me.” “I’m off to bed.” “Can I Come...?” “Of course idiot.”

“How many years has it been?” “I don’t know, lost count.”

“You, me, all you can eat buffet.” “Is this you trying to ask me out?”

“I love you, but you’re stupid.”

“All I ever wanted was you.”

“I chose the wrong path, I know that, but you still have time to make it right.”

“We miss you.” “I’m sorry...” “come home, please? It’s not too late.” “I can’t...”

“You’ve gone insane!” “I lost my sanity years ago!”

“This is a maximum security prison.” “I prefer to think of it has home. Give it a week and I’ll be out.”

“You can’t run!” “You’re right but I can slide!

“Werewolf?” “Yes, bones go crunch, fur grows, ears go pointing, howl at the moon, sound familiar?”

“Would you bite me?” “Depends on the situation.” “Kinky.”

“You can’t just pull a demons tail!” “Why?!”

“Punch me, I dare you.”

“I know you’ve been hurt, but I want to help.”

“Please take me home...”

“We’re all broken somehow.”

“You were supposed to protect me! But you hurt me!”

“You’re not my father.”

“Get lost prick!”

“I’ll buy you a million flowers if it’ll make you happy.” “I’d die.” “Aw.” “No, I’m allergic.” “Oh, a million rocks.”

“Relationships are weird.” “Are you sure it’s not just too?”

“You don’t scare me.” “I’m not trying to.”

“Hold me?” “That’s gross.”

“Kill me please.” “No thanks.” “Fine! I’ll ask someone else!” “Stop being dramatic!”

FANDOMS:

If you don’t see a fandom you would like me to write in here then please ask about it!

SHOWS/FILMS:

Supernatural

House MD

Lucifer FOX

The mentalist Greys anatomy

NCIS/NOLA

Criminal minds

Marvel

Buzzfeed unsolved

BBC Merlin

BBC Sherlock

The good doctor

Twilight

Brooklyn nine nine

The Witcher

Harry Potter

Greys anatomy

ANIME:

Tokyo ghoul

Attack on Titan

Naruto

Blue exorcist

Black butler

My hero academia

Haikyuu

Kuroko's basketball

Free!

Yuri on ice

Demon slayer

Noragami

Jujutsu Kaisen

GAMES:

Skyrim

MeChat

#lokittys prompts

21 notes · View notes

pillage-and-lute · 4 years ago

Text

Thicker Than Water (Part 1)

Post-mountain, heavy angst with a happy ending Geraskier, featuring platonic Yennskier and Yennalt. + immortal Jaskier and Ciri getting the family she deserves. PG-13? (Mentions of but no actual sex, brief mention of familial abuse, very very minor character death) This first bit is mostly just Jaskier’s sad reflections post-mountain.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Ao3 link HERE

{AN:This is me (an adhd person) writing Jaskier as adhd, based on my experiences, but my experiences with adhd are not universal, but some of you may recognize Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. Also, because it’s never explicitly stated in the fic, feel free to headcanon him however you like.}

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

Jaskier never got an apology after the mountain. He’d never gotten the rest of the story from the others either, but after everything it didn’t seem all that important. Maybe it never had been.

Twenty-two years.

It wasn’t so long, not when Jaskier knew he had an entire lonely eternity to look forward to. But to be fair, he hadn’t known that twenty-two years ago. He hadn’t even known it last week. It turns out having a very pleasurable liaison with a high priestess who had just so happened to be the mortal vessel for a minor goddess, has its perks. He’d seen her in a bar three nights ago and she’d bought him a cup of milk and asked him how immortality was going.

Of course, he’d thought she was joking. He was pretty heavily into his sixth? seventh? pint of the evening. It was strong stuff and she’d bought him milk to sober up. He just told her his skin care must be working and she explained that, yes, it was, his skin looked very nice, but no, that wasn’t why he still looked twenty-three.

Then a fan had bought him some rather nice gin and after that he doesn’t remember the evening. He hoped he’d bid the priestess goodbye.

He’d been drinking more lately. Jaskier had never actually had much of a head for drink, preferring to sip a light wine than down things more akin to paint thinner. Now, though, well. It was the mountain, wasn’t it? He’d never taken rejection well. Oh, sure, a potential lover turning him down was one thing, admittedly it stung, but he would never force unwanted affections, and he’d always had a mobile heart, ready to fall in love with someone new. Criticism on his music? That depended, the reasoned, encouraging criticism of a good professor was fine. Nothing else was. He poured his heart and soul into everything he sang, even if it was just a nonsense song or a ditty plucked out on the road. Having it criticized cut straight through him, especially by those he cared about.

The hurt ran deeper though. The youngest son of a minor noble, with two big, strong, fighting brothers and one sickly but pretty younger sister, Lotte, he’d always been a bit of an odd duck. His brothers had heckled him, but they hadn’t been home often. His father had beat him, but that pain at least was only physical. His mother ignored him. That had hurt. It still hurt, when he thought of it. Lancing through him like a knife of ice. And then Lotte, who had loved his stories and music, had died. A fever took her suddenly in the night and after that Lettenhove held no more light for him. So he left and his father was happy to see him go.

Some things you bring with you. His family had never given him any gifts, but left him with a lifetime of baggage. Their voices in his head telling him he was never good enough, a weakling, a burden. A shit shoveler.

Sometimes a much smaller voice, that sounded a little like Lotte piped up. He was good at music. He brought people joy. But it was so much weaker than the constant barrage of hate.

And now Geralt.

Jaskier wanted to believe that Geralt didn’t hate him, that twenty-two years of grunts and silences meant at least a glimmer of friendship. But how could it? Jaskier’s own family hadn’t wanted him, and here he was, forlorn that after he’d inflicted himself on Geralt for two decades he’d finally been thrown aside. Like the garbage he always had been. He tried not to let himself think about it too much, but somehow the thoughts always found him. Usually at the bottom of a bottle. Or three.

There were no doubts in his mind about Geralt. Jaskier could never believe Geralt a cruel man, not after years of watching him fight dreadful monsters for less coin than chimneysweeps earned. Years of him patiently bearing the worst of people and cleaning up their messes and saving lost baby birds. Jaksier never would have believed it, if not for the testimony of his own two eyes. Geralt had scooped the downy thing up in one massive hand and examined it with such tenderness in his honey-gold eyes that Jaskier wanted to cry. A part of him wished, if only for a moment, that he was the bird, to be cradled in a strong, gentle hand and be the focus of such attentive care. He didn’t wish to be the bird later, when it died. Lost, injured baby birds often do, and Jaskier had played a sad little tune as Geralt buried it carefully.

A man, a witcher, who buried and mourned a baby bird, was not bad. Not a monster or cruel, although sometimes a bit unkind.

At the bottom of bottles and pints Jaskier wanted to hate Geralt, wanted to think him a monster, a butcher, he even wrote it into his songs, a garroter. He couldn’t do it. He found plenty of room to hate himself though.

Every sore point in Geralt’s life, at least those within the last two decades, had indeed been Jaskier’s fault. The banquet? Jaskier had insisted, practically dragged Geralt into a messy political situation, even if it looked like a party on the surface. The djinn? He’d provoked a sleep deprived Geralt and then pouted like a child when his singing was mocked. For Melitele’s sake he’d called Geralt butcher when they’d met. He wondered sometimes why Geralt hadn’t left him to the tender mercies of the djinn. He knew why.

Because Geralt was kind. Not a gentleman, not with the talking to his horse, and the growling, and the (admittedly not that bad) smell. Not a gentleman, but a gentle man.

Geralt had been kind enough to put up with a troublesome bard. A bard who, young and green as he’d been in Posada, would have had his neck slit by bandits or thieves before his twentieth year. He’d pitied Jaskier and let him stick around, putting up with him as no one else had. Not his parents or his brothers, not Valdo, his first love, who’d subsequently cheated on him and laughed at his tears, not even his various dalliances put up with him. A night of pleasure was all he could offer, out the door (or window, or over the hedge) in the morning, lest he burden them with his presence too long and be stabbed by their rejection. Everyone had their breaking point though, and Geralt had reached his after twenty years, as well as a breakup, a dragon man, and Jaskier asking to run away together all within twenty-four hours.

That left Jaksier, lost in a forest with no money and only sad songs to sing, which don’t bring much coin in a world that already knows enough sorrow, two months after the dragon hunt.

Things were bad. For Jaskier and everyone else. He had no money for warm clothes or new boots, and winter was fast approaching. Nilfgaard’s soldiers were looking for him, they stormed everywhere, searching for the White Wolf and his charge, or anyone who might know something. Cintra had fallen, and it’s lioness with it, and Jaskier could only hope that the child surprise, whose name day banquets he’d missed not one, had met her destiny at last.

He hoped his destiny wasn’t skewered on the end of a Nilfgaardian blade.

He couldn’t go to Oxenfurt. They’d look for him there, and he had too many friends whose lives he would endanger as well. Here, on the road, he was anonymous. His fine clothes were dulled with dirt and wear, and his hair was longer, curling at the ends and bout his ears as it was wont to do when he went without a hair cut. He hadn’t shaved in a couple days either. Jaskier hoped he looked dashing, but he suspected he just looked scruffy.

He certainly didn’t look like the famous bard Jaskier, herald of the White Wolf, though, so perhaps it was all for the better.

And then, in the middle of a forest, with the first frosts of autumn on the ground, he met the amethyst eyes of a sorceress.

Fuck.

#geraskier #fanfiction #post-mountain fix it #not yet though #they haven't worked through their emotional trauma yet #tw: alcohol #adhd Jaskier #the witcher #geralt of rivia #geralt x jaskier

239 notes · View notes