#geralt is the best dad

[winters-mistress]

Cuddle pile

It's cold. It's so fucking cold that Ciri thinks she may honestly ask the gods to take her to the next world, because nothing can be as cold as this. She's got two pairs of leggings on, two pairs of socks, one of Geralt's tunics, her pair of gloves that Eskel had found for her, and she's buried underneath several blankets. Yet, she's so cold. She's so fucking cold.

The door opens, she can hear the squeak of the hinges. Footsteps come towards her, she can tell by the gait that it's Geralt, he's trying to be quiet, but he knows she's awake.

"Ciri?" she peaks out of her cocoon of blankets, one eye blinking up at him. His lip twitches, and he reaches towards her. "Cone here, it's too cold for you to be here alone. Especially with the fire refusing to catch."

She realises that the fireplace and the torches are dead. How many times has somebody came in and tried to warm her, only for the wind to blow it out?

Her thoughts distract her enough that Geralts breath upon her cheeks startle her, but she doesn't jump when his arks finally pick her up, blanket cocoon and all.

She makes a questioning noise, but never says no to Geralt giving her a hug. She's carried like a baby out of her room, out of the wing, down two flights of stairs, down another corridor, a third set of stairs, before they end up at the kitchens.

She makes a confused noise. It can't be breakfast time yet, the keep is pitch black to her puny human eyes.

"Why're we here?" she asks, rubbing her tired eyes.

"It's too cold, even for us. Gotta rest." Geralt says. Ciri blinks at him.

All in all, the witchers are good when it comes to her sleeping. When her nights are plagued with the horrors of her past and future, and she wakes up screaming with wet cheeks, the witchers let her sleep in whenever her rest finally turns peaceful and dark. They allow her afternoon naps after training and chores are done, and send her to bed when she stumbles into the dining hall with dark circles under her eyes. Early nights and late starts aren't punished, and as long as training and chores are completed at some point in the day, the witchers don't particularly care when it happens. Hell, shes been wrapped up like a baby by Lambert of all people when they had determined she needed a sleep.

Which is why it shouldn't be surprising when he turns the last corner and finds five Witchers laying a couple feet away from the cracking fireplace underneath the stew pot. They've got blankets and pillows and furs, and look rather comfortable. Laying all over each other, looking rather like a puppy pile. Even Aiden joins in with the snuggling.

"Pups." Vesemir rumbles when he sees them both. Geralt puts her on the floor, kneeling down next to her.

"Come here, girl, get comfortable. Gonna be making camp here for a couple'a days." Coën clarifies when he sees her confused face. Ciri blinks, but nods. These things make sense, and she's seen all the men here hug, but admittedly, this is the first cuddle pile she's been privy to.

She turns upon her side, feeling Geralt curl behind her, trapping her in with his arms, wrapping her in another blanket. She hums, wrapping her hand over his, before Eskel pulls them both close, and she smiles, closing her eyes, feeling the warmth seep into her.

And tonight, she will sleep sweetly indeed.

[carrottheluvmachine]

Geralt: What's the first rule of cooking? 4 year old Ciri: Don't put your hands in your butt! Geralt: .... Ciri: ....? Geralt: Correct.

[nullio]

Geralt accidentally developing Dad Humor, even when he wasn't actively invested in or looking for Ciri- it just happens by rule of the universe

like this,

Jaskier falls from a tree, off a small ledge, down a short hill

Jask: Geraaaalt, I've hurt my leg!

Geralt: sigh, fine. Let me look

...hmm...

Geralt: we'll have to amputate

Jaskier: GERALT

-one more-

Jaskier: EUGH- Geralt! There's a nasty bug on my pillow

Geralt: let me see...ah, it's a brain sucker

Jask: brain sucker?!

Geralt: yes, don't worry

*he flips over and lies down again*

Geralt: it starved

please please please, Geralt dad humor

[jay-arts-t]

geralt teaching ciri qwent

Definitely also going to render this one

[voidyyzz]

Grrrghhh i got a The Witcher modern au fic idea I can't use rn so I'm throwing it at yall

(Sorry Adventure Forward moots and oomfs the Witcher brainrot is too strong)

Geralt and Yennefer are Ciri's parental figures, Geralt having adopted her with Yennefer being around long enough for Ciri to get attached. Geralt and Yennefer don't love eachother in *that* way, but they're still close and Yen is fine with being seen as Ciri's "mom". Ciri has assumed the entire time that Geralt and Yen are together which is why she decided Yen would be her new mom, and both Geralt and Yen haven't told her the truth yet since they believe she's too young right now to know.

Though, having to hide it from her might become a bit more difficult, since Geralt has begun to catch feelings for one of the local independent musicians new to town, going by the stage name of Dandelion...

[toapoet]

i know geralt is like token grumpy guy but what if he was also like…the “free dad hugs” guy at pride. ??

[sorahinari]

Rewatching some scenes from Netflix's Witcher... And I can only think of Ciri, returning to Kaer Mohren upset, tired, scared after a very difficult hunt she almost failed. Jaskier confronting her in he room, and comforting her, singing her to sleep. Only for Geralt rushing back, frantic, worried for his daughter to find them asleep together while hugging.... It is so tempting to write it as a short one-shot... HMMMMMM-

[youaremysunshine-court]

When the only adoption service on the continent is the White Wolf

[hanzajesthanza]

[dumbass-duo-showdown]

BEST DAD BATTLE: DAD MANSION BREAK IN/SECOND CHANCE ROUND 2

[winters-mistress]

The Tenderness of a Wolf

Normally, Ciri wakes up in cold sweats, shaking from the memories of the fire and the smoke and the feeling of Lazlo's body slumping over her, of the feeling of Calanthe's blood underneath her fingernails, of Eist kissing her forehead before he went to war, or of Mouseack's poor body mutilated somewhere as somebody wears his face like a child wears a mask just before the winter frost.

She normally cries when she wakes up, her body so exhausted from her dreams but her fear keeping her from reliving those horrible few weeks, when her heart and her home were taken from her. Normally, she will compose herself and wipe her face clean and cover it in ice cold water to soften the puffiness of her cheeks and rejoin her new family of burly mutated men who have gruff voices and big muscles yet tender hearts she's only now beginning to see.

But today is not like those days. Today she wakes up and the first thing that happens if not a cascade of salty water flowing warn down her cheeks, it's a coughing fit so hard that it shakes her entire body, loud and barking and sore on her already ravaged throat, tasting the horrible bitter thick fluid that flies put of her chest in thick yellowish-green slug shapes, her chest and ears cracking with every motion.

She's too hot and she's too cold at the same time, her body burning from the inside yet the air around her is so cold she wants to burrow into the heat behind her. Her head hurts and she's confused and her temples pound and there's weight against her ribs and she doesn't understand what's happening and she coughs and coughs and coughs and she can't breathe and-

"Shh, cub." A low voice rumbles in her ear. It takes her a stupidly long time to realise who it is and why he's there.

It's Geralt. Of course it's Geralt. He had stuck by her the whole night when all of the witchers had noticed how her skin had started to pale and her body body begin to sweat despite the freezing cold temperatures of the keep, when Vesemir had placed a hand to her forehead when she had refused her favourite dinner of venison steaks with crispy, salted potatoes with winter greens and sweet roasted carrots, and had promptly sent her to bed with hot tea and a shit ton of water. He hadnt liked the sound of her cough, and when they all sensed her breathing begin to be more laboured with her congestion, all the wolves had agreed to lay off her chores and training when her breathing began to crackle and her chedks beginning to redden.

That had been last night, and her fever and chills and cough had apparently only gotten worse since then.

And of course, through it all, the famed white wolf had never left her side.

He does some sort of Axii, she can barely recognise the hand symbol when her bleary eyes open and try their best to focus on his hand. Her breathing eases and her coughing stops, and suddenly there's a smooth, crooked, hollowed stick in her mouth.

She trusts Geralt, Ciri loves him, so she drinks whatever he deems safe and sighs with relief when it lessens the tightening in her chest and the pressure in her ears. Her eyes flutter closed again, and he places a hand on her forehead.

"Still burning up." He mumbles. "In and out all night."

Is he talking to her, or is someone else in the room? Is Vesemir in the chair next to her bed, the great protector of all his pups, that now includes her? Is it Eskel, with his knowledge of things medical and scientific. Or is it Lamb? Who could be gathering ideas for a concoction to make her feel better? Is it anyone, does it matter?

"Mmm." She tries to speak, but she can only make a vague squeaking sound that cracks in the middle. Good gods, she sounds rediculous with her throat and nose so congested as they are now, but all she manages to do is roll over and push her face into Geralt's chest, whining in misery. She feels so sick, sicker than ever before, and just wants to feel better.

She opens her mouth, ready to beg for water, but for all of his accusations of telepathy in the past, it is Geralt who reads her mind now, as he gently -oh so gently, the physicans were never so gentle with her as a child, fearing the lioness' wrath should anything happen to her cub- lifts her with him, pressing her against his chest as they both sit up. She sags against him, lips parting again.

Her body aches all over, in a way it hadnt ever done when she had ran the killer or trained until her muscles screamed. He seems to read her mind again, resting all her weight on his chest, and that combined with his arms that dwarf her little body, brings tears to her eyes as he brings another cup to her lips. This time it is water, and she gulps greedily until it's all gone, opening up to beg silently for more again.

Ciri downs three glasses before her stomach hurts, and he says nothing as she belches slightly as her stomach accustomed itself with having something inside.

Good gods, she's never felt so sick before. Not in the skelligan snowstorms, not anywhere. Her stomach aches, her head pounds, her throat hurts, breathing is a struggle, and she reaches back to touch Geralt, to make sure he's still there despite the fact she's laying against him.

He humms for her, voice blessedly soft. "You've slept in an our for a day and a half, managed to get some broth down you early this morning. Kept up a mightily impressive fever."

She blinks, too many words for her to comprehend, and swallows thickly again. He takes hos opportunity, pouring thick, sweet fluid into her mouth, and Ciri had no choice but to swallow it down.

The effect is almost immediate. Her chest feels lighter, her breathing easier, her eyes become heavy, and she sags into his arms.

"Sleep, little one. I'll be here when you wake up."

[inathousandpoems]

as a book purist I have to say that gerlion is superior to geraskier <3

[nullio]

If The Witcher season 3 has a scene with Ciri directly calling Geralt "Dad" either deliberately or as an accident

My eyes will piss tears

[jay-arts-t]

Sometimes I just like to think about what it could've been if Geralt had gotten Ciri right after Pavetta and Duny died. If Calanthe was so weighed down by grief she realizes she can't take care of Ciri. So she orders Moussack to go find Geralt to collect Ciri. Imagining Geralt in a random tavern somewhere in Temeria, slowly making his way up to Kaer Morhen for the winter as autumn is approaching. Him having a gut feeling he should head up early, he thinks it's because something is wrong with Vesemir so he's anxious to make it through. But Roach needs to rest and well, it wouldn't hurt to get some extra supplies for the winter. Certainly wouldn't hurt to get some extra booze so he has relief from Lambert's grating voice on his ears. Besides, he and Eskel can stay up late and drink to their hearts content up in his room like they used to sneak around when they were teens.

Then out of the blue he sees Moussack, and dread fills his entire body. He doesn't keep up with news outside of what Dandelion tells him. So when Moussack is telling him Calanthe is summoning him he's thinking "oh fuck, she's changed her mind and is going to execute me."

But Moussack reassures him he's not going to be harmed. Calanthe is asking for him because of his child surprise. And now Geralt is really worried. What happened to them? Are they okay? Are they hurt? Did they die? They're only a few months old, there's so much that could've gone wrong. So he agrees to go with Moussack.

Calanthe looks a mess when Geralt sees her. Eist is by her side as always, trying to comfort her. Pavetta and Duny are nowhere in sight and it's making Geralt extremely antsy. Calanthe tells him the news, her voice is hoarse from all the crying she's been doing. Geralt sympathizes with them, gives them his condolences. And then that's when he realizes "oh. OH. OH NO". Sure enough Calanthe tells him she can't take care of herself, how could she care for a baby. Geralt refutes telling her "they're your grandchild, I don't want to rip them away-" and Calanthe tells him then it's a girl. And for a split second his brain gives the helpful thought of "oh I have a daughter" and Geralt is having an internal meltdown right there in the throne room. But he can't refuse. His entire basis for not coming back and claiming her is because she has a family who cares about her. But now that family is saying that they can't care for her, not because they don't love her, but because they do. So Geralt agrees to take her.

The first time he meets her he is entirely captivated by how small and precious she is. The moment he holds her he feels overwhelmed with such a fierce protectiveness and he can't help but absolutely adore her. He is trying so hard to stay stoic and unemotional but the moment he's alone with Ciri back in that old tavern he'd been at he just holds her and smiles. If he'd been a normal man, he probably would've burst into tears by how happy he was. (he did later once she got settled into Kaer Morhen, when he and Eskel did end up drinking up in his room. They're talking about the usual things, and then he looked over to her in her makeshift crib and just started bawling. Eskel freaks out and asks him what's wrong and he replies "I just love her so much."... Yes Eskel teared up.)

Then he has to go through the lovely moments of "how the fuck do you raise a baby" which Vesemir watches with so much amusement. Geralt raided most of Kaer Morhen's library and Nenneke's office for books about parenting. (Kaer Morhen has none, unsurprisingly.) He eventually asks Eskel to go to Oxenfurt and grab Dandelion and any books about parenting, childhood development, psychology and women's health he can find. (He is DREADING eventually having The Talk with Ciri but he won't be unprepared.) Dandelion is completely awestruck with Kaer Morhen of course however, nothing shocks him more than seeing Geralt looking bone tired with a 5 month old baby wailing in his arms, trying to soothe her.

"uh... What ya got there, Geralt?"

"H e l p."

Where's Yennefer? What about Yennefer?? Geralt is hesitant at first to even tell Yennefer he has a kid. But she sends him a letter one day, asking him where he is now that it's coming up on spring. (Ciri's first bday!!! Yay!!!! Also oh gods planning a birthday?!?!?!?? That's a thing??????) So he does tell her, and she understandably to her character demands to see this child surprise. So again, sends Eskel on out (pls Geralt, he's your childhood best friend, not your errand boy.) to go get Yennefer. Yennefer storms through the main hall, not even acknowledging Lambert and Vesemir, and right up to Geralt. How did she manage to find her way through the halls without ever being there before? Geralt doesn't know and he's scared by it. Yennefer spots Ciri, who's doing her tummy time. To which she's very fussy about and gives the nastiest glares an almost 1 year old can to her father. Yennefer is absolutely gobsmacked that Geralt was being genuine. She points to Ciri, then to Geralt, then back to Ciri, to Geralt.

"YOU?????? HOW????"

"I'm really bad at making jokes."

Yennefer adores Ciri, but Ciri is a little skeptical of her. Who is this strange woman????? Where is her dad?????? Where's her other dad (Dandelion)???? How dare she smell nice and be warm???? Ugh as if she'd let her feed her!!! No way! Yennefer is always completely drenched with baby food whenever she attempts to feed Ciri. Geralt tries so hard not to laugh at her. Ciri is absolutely seething by the end of it and is only contained when Geralt picks her up and holds her securely. Then it's like little devil Ciri never existed, she's all smiles and babbling happily to her dad. Yennefer gets really disheartened over it. Late at night she ends up crying over it, thinking it wouldn't matter if she was able to have kids or not; Ciri proves she'd be a horrible mother anyway. Geralt doesn't know what to say at first, but he knows it's not true. Yennefer is trying her best, it's just that Ciri is really fussy. She even fusses sometimes when Dandelion holds her. He tries to comfort Yen, and ends up deciding the best thing to do is hold her and tell her that she's doing amazing. He doesn't think she believes him because she's still got a very somber look on her face the next day. She becomes reluctant to take up care of Ciri because of the incident. Well about after the third day of this Ciri gets fussy again. Geralt is taking a well deserved nap day. He's back in his room snoozing away. Yennefer and Dandelion are with Ciri in the library, one of the warmest places in the keep. Dandelion wipes his hands of the ink that stains them and picks her up and checks if she's soiled. She isn't, so he asks if she's hungry. She thrashes around in his hold and turns in search of Yennefer and starts grabbing towards her. So Dandelion hands her over to Yen. The moment Ciri's resting against Yennefer she settles down.

"huh, guess she just wanted her mommy." Dandelion comments and Yennefer starts crying. (Dandelion's face morphed from aww to OH FUCK)

The bigger Ciri gets the more rambunctious and energetic. Geralt couldn't be prouder that they're all raising her to be genuine to herself and that they've broken the generational trauma. Vesemir pats Geralt on the shoulder one day and tells him "I'm proud of you, Wolf" and damn, if that doesn't make him want to cry. He doesn't of course, only meeting Ciri made him cry from joy. And oh how she gives Lambert a run for his money. It's hilarious to see a 60-something year old argue with a 4 year old. They get into the most stupid arguments too. "blue is better than red!" Or "I'm taller than you" which is the most absurd because it's always Ciri who starts it. Geralt thinks it's because Lambert is the shortest besides Vesemir. But Vesemir has only become short due to his old age, and Ciri already gives him a hard time for that. ("Why are you so fat and old? Aren't you a Witcher like Daddy?" She said once and Vesemir just paused and looked at her like "why would you say that to me". She burst into a giggle fit at his crushed expression.)

The argument will always, without fail, go:

C: I'm taller than you.

L: no you're not? I'm 5'11!

C: well I'm 8 feet tall!!!!

L: more like 2 feet tall!

C: NO! SEE

Then she'll stand on the chair so she towers over Lambert.

L: fine well I'm older.

C: no??? My birthday is first

L: NO ITS NOT?

C: YEAH IT IS

L: NO APRIL IS BEFORE MAY. AND IM 67, YOU'RE 4

C: uhhhhh I hate to break it to you, but no you're not. You've been lied to your whole life.

L: W H AT WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE????

C: uhmmmmm god.

Then when Coën finally meets one of the Wolves and comes up to Kaer Morhen he's shocked to see someone so young. At the time Ciri was around 7. She calls him ugly and walks away to the stables. Coën is just left flabbergasted while Lambert and Eskel are laughing their asses off. Geralt apologizes to him, while trying to hold in his laughter. Coën becomes like an older brother to Ciri, and he gets on her good side by helping her prank Lambert.

When Ciri hits 12 she does get her period, and Geralt is like "OH GOD OH FUCK HOW DO I TALK TO HER ABOUT THIS I DONT WANT TO MAKE IT-" and Yennefer walks into the room and goes "I told her, we're good."

Then comes the "boy talk" Where Ciri brought up that a character in a romance book was attractive and Geralt went into "No one is good enough for my baby girl" dad mode and brashly announced "you're not allowed to date boys until you're 21."

Yennefer slaps him on the arm and Ciri looks at him almost offended.

"jokes on you I don't even know if I LIKE boys. Maybe I just like this character's personality." She replies sassily. Geralt cannot argue with that logic. (And yes 2 months later, she goes on a day trip with Yen and talks to a girl her age. She comes back and Geralt asks her how it went and she says "I definitely like girls." And walks up to her room to take a nap. Geralt celebrates as soon as she leaves "YES!!! I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SOME BRUTE MESSING WITH MY DAUGHTER FUCK YEAH" Yennefer reminds him that some women are just as bad and he crumples to the floor in agony. Now he has to worry about brutish women hurting his daughter.)

Essentially, I just love that Geralt has a daughter, and that he's so proud of her and loves her so much. Their relationship is just so 🥹❤️ I adore them.

[fandom-trash-and-hyperfixations]

Those tags!!! I know this so deeply. My mom, far from perfect, tried so hard to give us a good life and sometimes I said things I didn't mean. With my dad, who loved me, but I didn't see often, I would never! I did not act out, always did chores and what I was told, because I was never sure he loved me enough to keep me if I acted out. Oof the poor boy is probably thinking about this fight every day, wishing he could fix it.

I love your art soooo much-it gives me life!! 🥰🥰🥰

I have a question about Milek and Jaskier! Milek says they fought before Jask went missing-what did they fight about? Did Milek say something he shouldn’t have? 👀😢 is there ANGST?

Also does Geralt know Mileks plush friend is called Roach? Because surely that’s a clue that Milek is his…(I love this universe so much)!!🥹❤️❤️❤️

[MASTERPOST] That was the last conversation they had before Milek stormed out - and when he came back, Jaskier was. gone. The thing is, Jaskier knows what Milek is interested in (and he is not even wrong about that, Milek has an interest in medicine, and helping people, and I think when they met he was Shanis biggest fan) and I think Jaskier is aware that some of the conflict does have its roots in Milek not wanting to leave him, even if they get really heated and ugly in their arguments. Milek shouldn't feel like he has to care for him, or have to protect him and at times I think Jaskier feels quite ashamed, which leads him to being way too unrelenting at times - especially if he thinks he's doing something to protect Milek.

[thedemonofcat]

At the park, Jaskier runs into his ex from college, and it’s awful! Geralt is somehow even hotter, funnier, and sweeter than he remembers. And he’s got a fucking child, which probably means there’s a partner somewhere around here.

Jaskier tries his best to be polite and nice—especially to Geralt’s kid—but he can feel Geralt’s eyes burning holes in his skull.

All at once, Jaskier is reminded that it’s HIS fault they broke up. He was too needy and annoying and eccentric. Too much.

***

Geralt runs into his ex from college, and it’s awful! Jaskier is somehow even more beautiful, kind, and witty than he remembers. And he probably doesn’t have the baggage that a divorced, single dad like Geralt has.

Geralt tries not to openly stare, but it’s hard. Jaskier is captivating. Especially when he’s being so good with Geralt’s kid.

All at once, Geralt is reminded that it’s HIS fault they broke up. He was too taciturn and moody and downright mean at times. Not at all the kind of person Jaskier deserves.

"Let me guess, you ran into Jaskier?" Yennefer asked, her tone laced with dry amusement. She was Geralt’s ex-wife and Ciri’s mother, but despite their romantic history, they’d remained close friends. Their relationship had never quite worked out, but the bond was still there.

"How did you know?" Geralt asked, genuinely curious. Yennefer always seemed to have an uncanny ability to read him like an open book. It was a skill that left him both impressed and a little unsettled at times.

"You only ever get that look when Jaskier’s involved," Yennefer replied, raising an eyebrow. "You had it for an entire month when one of his songs went viral."

Geralt groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Is it that obvious?" he muttered.

"You mean the fact that you look like a kicked puppy?" Yennefer crossed her arms, smirking. "Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. So, what happened? Did you two talk? Awkward small talk? Did you at least tell him how devastatingly handsome he still is?"

Geralt shot her a half-hearted glare. "No, I didn’t mention that."

Yennefer rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should’ve. Then you wouldn’t be standing here sulking like some lovesick teenager."