#i love when Julian is blunt to someone corrupt

[bounce-a-coin-off-your-witcher]

Secrets of Midnight: Babes in the Woods

In which our love interests meet for the first time and their fates become irrevocably entangled...

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Geralt smelled him and heard him long before the clumsy, foppish boy came into view. He was trembling in the chill of early autumn and his eyes were as panic-stricken and tearful as a lost fawn’s. The cursed Count softened for an instant but only for an instant. Only until he smelled the boy on the wind, strongly this time, and he recognized the de Lettenhove blood pumping underneath his pale skin. 

The boy, for he was barely a man if he was still attending the nearby university, was limping; he favored his non-dominant foot strongly and he hissed through his teeth whenever his foot snagged on a root or fallen branch. 

You could use this, some small part of his mind suggested. It was a dark thought, something truly evil in a way that Geralt had never considered being evil before, and the ex-Count grimaced. You could pay that sorry Redanian traitor back for his treatment of you. This is the opportunity of a lifetime; you could ruin the Viscount’s son, ruin his family’s reputation, and still be none the worse off for your efforts. What does it matter, Geralt? You’re already banished from court.

So, with the Angel on his shoulder mysteriously absent and his conscience sufficiently tamped down into silence, Geralt stepped into view of the young man. 

“Who goes there?” the ex-Count asked, glaring down his nose at the wounded student. 

“J-Julian, Milord,” the boy answered. His eyes were the brightest shade of blue Geralt had ever seen. His heart skipped a beat in his chest and he lost his breath for a single, heart-rending second; the Count had never been so caught up in the glory of one solitary color before. Is this what God had felt like when he held his finished work in his hands for the first time? Had he been as lost to Julian as Geralt currently was? The boy cocked his head to the side and his blue fawn-eyes pierced the Count in a new and terrifying way. 

“What brings you here?” he managed to ask.

“My friends have - ah!” he’d tried to gesture in the direction of his friends but he’d lost his balance and his weight had shifted atop his ankle again. He hissed through his teeth and dropped to a crouch, stabilizing the limb with both hands while he breathed through the pain. 

So Julian had experienced pain before and he’d learned to cope with it. Curious.

“Let’s get you laid down,” Geralt suggested, “And then you can tell me how you came to be lost on the lands of my estate.”

Geralt carried the young man all the way back to his crumbling manor house and marveled at how light Julian felt in his arms. Was he really so slight or was it another side effect of his monstrous curse? The enhanced senses he had adjusted to already, but improved strength? That was decidedly new. When the odd pair finally reached the house and pushed their way through the front door, Geralt made his guest comfortable. He laid Julian down on a chaise lounge before the sitting room fire and placed a bolster cushion beneath his injured ankle. “May I feel you for a sprain, Julian?”

“Are you a doctor?” the smiling boy inquired, reclining back to rest his head against the gold silk pillows. Sitting there in front of the fire, the apples of his cheeks glowing pink from exertion and nervous excitement, his brown hair mussed and shining in the low light, his sparkling blue eyes boring into Geralt’s...the boy might have truly been a portrait of Cupid brought to life. “Can you diagnose what ails me?”

Geralt eased into a more romantic mode of conversation, grateful for the easy opportunity to flirt; he hadn’t been well-known for his way with women at court. He prodded and poked and felt across the bones and tendons of Julian’s ankle, recognizing a sprain when he felt one. It was an easy fix, just bed rest and elevation for a few days until the muscles healed up.  “You’ve sprained your ankle, Julian. I wouldn’t suggest taking a walk in the woods at twilight anytime soon.”

The young man startled and his eyelashes fluttered sweetly. “But Milord, I must return to my dorm! My friends will wonder what’s become of me.”

“Where were your friends when I came upon you?” the Count questioned, laying a thick woolen blanket across Julian’s lap. The boy blushed brightly yet again and Geralt marked it as another success. 

“They spun me around a few times and all ran off in different directions. I was dizzy, of course, and I tried to follow Paul, but he was long gone by then. When Stephan called for me I went to follow his voice and tripped, twisting my ankle terribly. After that there was no keeping up; the sun was starting to set and I was beginning to grow worried for my safety when you rescued me. Thank you, by the way. You have a lovely home.”

“No need to lie to me, little fawn,” Geralt chuckled darkly. He stood from his place beside the settee and paced before the fire, gesturing around as he spoke. “I know exactly how rundown this place looks, Julian, I was a great Count once. The curtains here are moldy, the tapestries are moth-eaten and holey, and the mattresses have rotten all to Hell. This is the only hearth in the manor that I’ve gotten fully cleaned so far; I apologize for the mess. I was moved here rather suddenly, you see, and haven’t had the time to fix everything up yet.”

“Moved? As in, you did not choose to move but were translocated nonetheless?”

“To be blunt, little fawn, I was banished,” the Count drawled. He shot a quick glare in Julian’s direction and the young man withered beneath it. What had he done to anger his host in such a way? Was he safe here any longer? Should he try to run? If he did run, would he make it any farther than the doorway? The edge of the dirty elf-made carpet? Then the glare dropped away for a split second, revealing a flash of genuine pain and confusion, “Someone else at court wanted my job. They cursed me and hid me away from the world in order to take my place. They coveted power so much that they threw my entire life away without a second thought.”

“Oh, you poor thing!” Julian cried, holding his arms out towards his host. The confused Count stopped his pacing and turned to face the teary-eyed young noble. “Come here, Your Grace, and let me give you a hug.”

“That...wouldn’t be appropriate,” Geralt frowned. Julian deflated and let his arms drop back to his sides. His hands moved to fidget in his lap and he flushed yet again, embarrassed. 

“My apologies, Your Grace.”

The older man steeled himself for what he had to do. Julian seemed like a nice boy, a perfectly pleasant nobleman all things considered, but this wasn’t just about Julian. This was about a corrupt family with incredible and unchecked power, running around at court and pulling the King’s strings, uncaring of the consequences beyond their own fortunes. Geralt had to teach them a lesson.

He slid back to a kneeling position beside the couch and took one of Julian’s busy hands into his own. He brushed his lips against the back of the young man’s knuckles and whispered softly, the way blue-blooded men had been speaking to empty-headed young women for hundreds of years, letting the skin of his lips tickle against the back of Julian’s hand with every syllable, “Take your rest here for the night, little fawn. I wouldn’t dream of letting any further harm come to you.”

And the boy did exactly as Geralt had intended: he fainted dead away.

[gayregis]

im at that stage of fatigue from the day where i’m so tired the fanfiction is writing itself in my mind theough dialogue but i’m too insanely tired to sit down and write it all out and i work a shift in the morning too so i dont even have time ... so ill forget everything come morning

[[MORE]]

psych, ima try to outline it rn

this is after a little sacrifice and also after season of storms and takes place in cidaris (im not clear on if kerack is the capital so season of storms dealt with the proper king of cidaris or if it was just a local kingship but im hcing that cidaris is also a capital city as well as the region/nation).

this is geralt and dandelion going to the grape festival mentioned in a little sacrifice btw

main goal for this is to basically give dandelion more depth and address his identity issues and backstory and just how his character is in general

valdo marx (as far as i am headcanoning in terms of appearance right now) is of course , also a twink and they have similar builds but valdo isnt as skinny as dandelion because he has access to three full meals every day. he has dark brown hair and green eyes, and i might give him the same hair and beard as dandelion from tw3 just to spite cdpr. he used to sport green/purple doublets as an independent artist, but now as the reaident troubadour of cidaris, he’s adopted their emblatic colors (blue and white) and wears a doublet with a sash of these colors. he doesn’t have poofy sleeves, instead he has these ruffs and like... bellbottom sleeves. also this method of embellishing clothes that i learned from a glamour video (it’s @ 4:30ish) called slashing is applicable to his outfits. i think he veers away from tights unlike dandelion, so he wears more breeches than anything. he doesn’t have detailed embroidery like dandelion, but rather patterned/quilted areas with silver and some small pearls added for decoration in these sections as well.

so geralt and valdo have to be placed together somehow in a conversation. basically he wants to #expose dandelion for being a fraud... but he’s not doing it out of Pure Evil, he’s (vaguely) kind of like the lodge of sorceresses in which it’s like, he is only wanting things to be done his way because really he thinks it’s the best way to do things. he’s really a victim of academia, he would be someone that supports the fact that instruments are like $1,000 each.

basically he and dandelion were classmates at oxenfurt and at first hit it off very well and shared notes and thoughts and sexual partners and all was splendid. but they got competitive and valdo HATES that dandelion does NOT come from a family known for music or any kind of art. basically dandelion is a novus homo, but in the world of music, and valdo comes from an established family which has been musically inclined for generations. he feels that ppl like dandelion just wanna go to oxenfurt for shits and giggles and dont take this opportunity seriously because theyre too blinded by their own arrogance to actually learn anything. and he may be right in regards to a lot of other children of wealthy noble families that attend oxenfurt. but dandelion’s case was different and this he does not like to admit. also he hates how dandelion is... inclined to... a life of debauchery... because he feels he perpetuates stereotypes of artists being good for nothing penniless drunkards and lechers, and makes it harder for Real Professionals from Actual Lineage to get a job. also he has a disdain for how dandelion really wanted to travel and admired the “musicians of the world” that never attended some fancy college, and again valdo sees this as him not appreciating the opportunity he was given, because all you ever need to interact with is this little 1 mile by 1 mile square of oxenfurt, and not even the whole city, just the college. also when valdo tells all this to geralt he goes give him a judgemental up and down look like... “julian loves meeting, writing about, and... ahem... fraternizing with... all kinds of ... people.” (he was gonna say “trash,” but geralt has swords and cats eyes, so valdo swallowed that last word). ALSO ALSO valdo thinks dandelion is further destroying the sanctity of academic places like oxenfurt by training good for nothings from other nobody families, like essi daven, who was actually from a noble family but one not too rich because it was kind of distant from the ruling family. and since she threw a fit they let her do her own thing instead of marrying her off.

also valdo is like “julian— ahem, ... ‘dandelion,’ as you know him... i don’t know why he uses that absurd little nickname,” because he just finds the idea of a pseudonym stupid (since hes from a famous musical family of course he wants to highlight his lineage). and again he dislikes how dandelion is Corrupting Others by not only mentoring essi at oxenfurt, but training her in an “unorthodox fashion,” ie they just duet and talk shit about random stuff and he advises her weird things like “get a cool fake name so all the girls have something to scream as you go on stage”

as they interact with each other, valdo and dandelion actually are kind of opposite of dandelion and essi. they dont throw ANY snide remarks and keep it all under wraps with just pleased smiles and then as soon as theyre out of earshot (a long way for bards) theyre like “i am going to take the replacement strings of my lute and choke the lights out of that tone-deaf idiot” ... geralt is like 😳 to see aggression in dandelion and hes a bit intimidated at first but then is like Bro Are you Fucking Okay ????? Because its so unnatural for dandelion to be Actually Upset about something and not be ok within half a day

scene where dandelion is staring at the mirror and geralt is like you have been staring at the mirror for a long time, even by your standards... dandelion is like “i have to change something... geralt, look at me. look at me. (says it again bc geralt didnt look up the first time). if you could change one thing about my face, what would it be?” and geralts obviously like “nothing.” and dandelions like dont be fucking difficult just tell me i need to know i need your opinion and geralt is like that IS my opinion i sincerely like your face the way it is. something something blah blah blah tenderness geralt says smth like dandelion you have a lot of loyal fans okay...... and hes trying to refer to himself but he doesnt wanna say it aloud

i think something about dandelion talking about who he was (basically referring to “julian” in the 3rd person) and just very uncharacteristically self-loathing but them he pops back into his little arrogant self ... basically he covers that everyone Fucking Laughed at him for wanting to sing but he did it and now he’s the best and also, sexy. in this whole scene (same scene as last bullet point) he is also saying that he needs to “prove himself” and geralt is just like What More Can You Do, You Are Literally Famous... but dandelion is just pensive about it

also he says something like “theres two versions of me... julian with a dream who nobody knows, and dandelion who’s famous and loved.” and geralts like “theres three.” “three?” “there’s also dandelion, the one i know, who, it doesn’t matter if he’s famous or what, because i just like him and enjoy his company.” BECAUSE i dont know how not to be blunt and not hit my readers over the head with what i wanted to get across. geralt is a blunt man however so i think its acceptable to do this

basically this fic is “dandelion can have little a OOCness for character development”

tbh its not too ooc (hopefully) bc hes not like downright depressed, hes just pensive, like he is when hes trying to think of a good title or rhymes and nothing is working. nothing is working! hes frustrated!!!

i have nooooo idea how to resolve this conflict ive introduced. i think valdo and dandelion have to sing a duet together and it is like skating on thin ice with sharks underneath . MAYBE valdo gets possessed by,, something? not a demon bc IVE HAD ENOUGH GOETIA AFTER SEASON OF STORMS but you know An Entity, and dandelion is like wow this is an improvement!! and geralts like no it isnt, now i have to exorcise this fucker

also throughout this i think that the king and queen of cidaris (maintaining that kerack isnt the capital and is just another kingship within the nation) looooveveeveveeee dandelion and his presence and are like oh dandelion you are always welcome in our court :) which also totally pisses valdo off because its like dandelion came into his work/home and fucked both of his bosses and is trying to steal their loyalty through Sexual Appeal. which. may ring true. but dandelion does stuff for fun and not for manipulation soooo valdo is a little wrong in thinking dandelion is manipulating them. and this also adds to valdos resentment of dandelion for being so promiscuous and also writing about his love affairs bc he feels it detracts from The Art...

basically this fic is also me telling academia and ppl who feel art should be limited to a certain crowd to go stuff it cause no one cares and creativity and learning is only human of anyone. also an excuse to give dandelion character depth and also an excuse to break how geralt is always the gloomy one and dandelion has to cheer him up, i think though they do have their strong personalities, relationships should ideally go both ways in terms of emotional support so it shows geralt has the capacity to support a dandelion with festering anger and personal identity problems. also a way for geralt to learn a little abt dandelions backstory without learning/spoiling the fact that hes a v*scount and actually noble and wealthy (they just refer to his family as being wealthy enough to pay for oxenfurt which is significant but not astounding)

[heroesandvillainsofmbti]

ENFP: Ezri Dax, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ENFP – the Champion, the Energizer, the Discoverer

Jadzia took a couple seasons to settle into her personality, as she had been newly joined to the Dax symbiont. Ezri never wanted to be a host, so when the symbiont passed to her after Jadzia’s death, she had to adjust on the fly. My typing is based on the one year we have with her, but I feel like even through the mess of her emergency joining with an ancient creature, the real Ezri makes a good showing.

Dominant Function: (Ne) Extraverted Intuition, “The Hiking Trails”

Ezri works as a counselor, and her approach is very different from Trek’s most famous counselor. While Troi used Fe to empathize and draw people out, Ezri uses Ne to speak conceptually about psychological topics and help her patients make useful cognitive connections. She diagnoses the root of Garak’s claustrophobia by talking it out with him and hitting on a sudden insight that ties it all together. She solves the murder mystery at her family’s home in a similar manner.

When she’s treating Nog for his PSTD, she gives him lots of space, allowing him to live in his holosuite fantasy for a while if that’s what he needs. She extrapolates from small pieces of evidence the psychological profile of a serial killer, concluding that it’s an embittered Vulcan. Ezri also uses her dreams as a way to interpret how she’s really feeling about Julian, walking herself through the imagery to discern what it means in relation to her waking life.

It’s this approach to her life and work that feels very much core to Ezri, outside of any influence the Dax symbiont and her previous hosts have on her, so I feel it’s safe to say this cements her as an Ne-dom both before and after joining.

Once she is joined, though, her Ne-dom goes haywire. Ezri never intended to be joined, and now she has all these new ideas interrupting her train of thought. She gets lost and distracted and scatterbrained. Pronouns are particularly difficult for her, and she finds herself engaging in new and random activities—like standing on her head or drinking raktajino—that she isn’t completely conscious of doing.

Still, Ezri rolls with it. She’s the only Trill around when the Dax symbiont takes a turn for the worse, but she could have said no. Instead, she jumps in. She takes leave of her original assignment, meets Sisko just as he’s about to head out on a quest, and joins. Then she ends up on DS9, and decides to make a go of things there. She gets promoted, counsels the dysfunctional crew on the station, and follows the new paths her unexpected change of life has brought her.

Auxiliary Function: (Fi) Introverted Feeling, “The Deep Well”

Ezri has a hard hill to climb convincing everyone she’s not just a copy of Jadzia. She is her own person, but it’s difficult to know who that person is with eight other personalities speaking up inside her. She’s deeply insecure and uncertain of herself, and sensitive to criticism, especially the fiery tongue-lashing Garak unleashes on her. She’s repeatedly offended that no one believes she’s a counselor.

She takes a while to confess her feelings for Julian, because it’s a complicated situation, and her own feelings may be mixed up with others’.

While investigating a serial killer, Ezri summons one of her previous hosts, Joran—also a serial killer. He helps her track the suspect down, but he also tempts her with nihilism and violence. Ezri resists, keeping true to her own sense of self. When she un-summons Joran at the end of the investigation, she recites a chant to reintegrate him into the symbiont, ending with one confident word: “Ezri.”

Tertiary Function: (Te) Extraverted Thinking, “The Workshop”

When Worf goes missing and no search mission is ordered, Ezri takes matters into her own hands and strikes out to find him herself. Her methods are still a little messy—as an Ne-dom, she literally goes with the flow, letting her runabout float through the Badlands in hopes of replicating Worf’s trajectory—but she persists until she succeeds. As Sisko says, “She’s a Dax. Sometimes they don’t think, they just do.”

As Ezri gains more confidence, she’s able to speak with greater authority, both as a counselor and as her own person. She talks back to the smug Vulcan baseball team captain, plays a vital role in the crew’s holosuite caper, and takes the initiative in her relationship with Julian. And she gives one convicting speech to Worf about what he needs to do with the Klingon Empire.

Inferior Function: (Si) Introverted Sensing, “The Study”

After her sudden joining, Ezri finds herself out of place in her own body. She gets space-sick now, and she switches from right-handed to left-handed. Even her tastes change—she drinks raktajino all of a sudden, which she used to hate.

And still does. Maybe. She’s not sure.

Ezri struggles to sort out her new memories and discern what belongs where and to whom. She visits the temple where Jadzia was killed, and remarks that you never get used to the feeling of dying. She visits home, a place she escaped from years ago, and realizes that she is even less a part of her family now as a Dax than she was before as a Tigan.

Ezri doesn’t share Worf’s nostalgia or Jadiza’s affinity for Klingon culture. When Worf asks her advice for how to deal with the corruption in the Empire’s leadership, Ezri’s blunt. Maybe the Empire is too old and broken to continue, and it just needs to die. This judgment hits the Si-dom Worf hard, but he’s galvanized by Ezri’s perspective to give the Empire a dramatic new start.

Ezri tries to set healthy boundaries between herself and Worf, but she feels compelled to go rescue him when he disappears. They end up sleeping together, a violation of Trill ethics that puts her in danger of slipping back into the life of a previous host. Afterwards, when she understands Worf is trying to restart his relationship with Jadzia, she politely puts up the boundaries again.

Besides, she’s realized she has feelings for someone new. Again, Ezri has to be careful that she’s not just rekindling a romance from Jadzia’s old life. This includes Quark, whom she also has to let down gently. But for Julian, her attraction is genuine.

It’s the start of something new that, one day hopefully in the far future, will get passed on as good memories to the next Dax host. Ezri only gets a year to try out her new identity before DS9 ends, but she has a lot of potential. She certainly pulls off a fancy flip using Emony’s gymnastics skills during the Niner’s baseball game. As Julian’s previous love interest, the perceptive Sareena, observes of her: “The day she realizes she’s more than the sum of her parts, she’s really going to be something.”