#it's free real estate for the plotbunnies

[auncyen]

I think one of the funniest things (...in a "hitting your funny bone" kind of way) that could happen post-game is

Siffrin faints suddenly while they're traveling. He's only out for a few seconds, he says he feels fine once he comes to, but no one's having it and they make him sit for a while and eat some of Bonnie's snacks while peppering him with some questions to try to figure out what might have caused it. He admits his head's feeling heavy, fuzzy, but it's starting to clear up, and he thought he got enough sleep, he ate breakfast, etc. It doesn't seem like he's hiding anything and while he still has concerning moments he's been getting better so they figure he might have just gotten less sleep than he thought or maybe went too long without eating (which the snack would have already helped with) so they just make sure to stop traveling a little earlier and let him rest.

And the next day Siffrin's fine! Better than fine. They seem in a genuine really good mood and they're making stupid puns with Isa at everything and they just seem...very comfortable in their skin. Which everyone is glad to see. They're getting better! The group is having a calm, peaceful moment around a campfire, Siffrin whittling a wood bird, when they pause mumbling, pause carving, and contemplate the bird. Mirabelle asks them what's on their mind.

"Oh. I just started thinking of my parents," Siffrin says. "I hope they're okay? I haven't seen them since..."

Their words trail off as they think about when they last saw them. And how after that, they couldn't remember 'last seeing them' at all. But they remember two distinct faces, blurred by time yes but there, and everyone else is watching as Siffrin's face grows pale and his eyes go wide until Isa suggests they put the whittling knife down, please, because both their hands are shaking.

"I remember...I remember? I--" They quickly say a name, and Odile's eyes widen.

"That's the island that disappeared. But--"

"I shouldn't be able to say it!" Siffrin says, and then says it twice more. "I shouldn't be able to say it, last time I tried saying it it killed me!"

This sets off a small eruption of "THEN WHY ARE YOU SAYING IT NOW, STOP" around the camp, and Siffrin quickly shuts his mouth, shuts down, ducking his face into the collar of his cloak.

"Sorry," Mirabelle says. "We're not mad at you, that just...that scared us. But just now, you...you didn't hurt yourself saying it, right?"

Siffrin shakes his head, but still seems upset, staying hunched into his cloak. The whittling project is completely forgotten, both bird and knife discarded on the ground as he wraps his arms around his legs.

"We're not mad," Isa tries to reassure them.

"'m a little mad," Bonnie says, because why is Siffrin going and yelling things that killed them once. That's just dumb.

Then Odile says the name of the island. "It's not a taboo word," she says, "but something's strange. I can think about the island now, too. Why is that? Siffrin," she says. Pauses.

They're trembling like a leaf, and she sighs.

"This isn't an accusation. But did you...use Wish Craft? I can't think of how else that kind of mental barrier could have been lifted."

"Not, not on purpose," Siffrin says. "I don't remember--but I must have, and not just on me--if you remember too--I used Wish Craft on you and I didn't even know and it could have gone wrong it could still go wrong I'm sorry 'm sorry sorry sorry,"

The rest of the night is spent between trying to calm Siffrin down. He's extremely upset because he doesn't even remember when he would have made the wish to try to remember exactly what he wished for, to be sure it's not going to go horribly wrong like the last big wish. He didn't like not having his memories, yes, but he was happy with the others and doesn't remember any wish, any ritual, but he can't see what other explanation there is. They get him to sleep and discuss what's happened a little more. Mirabelle and Isabeau remember knowing about the island too now; nothing's really changed for Bonnie. No one remembers Siffrin engaging in anything like a ritual besides his muttering while whittling, and while rituals can be subtle, Siffrin seemed so honestly upset that none of them doubt he wasn't trying to use Wish Craft. Which...begs the question of how he could have managed to accomplish lifting the memory suppression on the four/five of them (does Bonnie count?) now when from the sound of it he consciously tried to remember during the loops, when he would have been most desperate to remember, and failed. The only thing they figure out is Odile and Isabeau piecing together that the fainting episode the day before might have been when the Wish actually went into effect; they'd all felt something slightly strange right before Siffrin fainting, but concern for their friend's health had obviously taken priority. The effect of the Wish Craft might have hit Siffrin harder because there was more for them to remember, yet they hadn't consciously realized they could access those memories until something--likely the whittling--caused them to think back to their childhood.

The group had been headed to a harbor town. There they learn that it's not just them remembering the island. And it's not just memory, either. Sailors are practically bursting with excitement that an island lost years ago has suddenly reappeared.

At this point Odile and Isabeau are 100% convinced Siffrin's not responsible because yes he nearly broke the world once with Wish Craft but that was when the intent and ritual of his wish had gotten combined with the intent of all the Vaugardians, Siffrin alone and without a clear intention could not have accidentally Wished an island back. ...They just need to convince Siffrin that he's not going to turn into a final boss again, now. Also, everyone wants to know what is going on. So it looks like they're going to the island!

tl;dr I don't actually have a plot for this but like. Could you just imagine. The island isn't forgotten because it's actually gone, but because a large part of the population wished for it to be hidden/isolated from the rest of the world for whatever reason. Either the original Wish had an expiration date or circumstances changed enough to make the Wish lose its power (the people no longer wanting to be isolated). And just. post-game. Vaugarde having to have dealt with the King. And Siffrin having lived so long with their head and memory and life so heavily impacted by the Wish. Are just like "SO YOU COME BACK NOW?"

[panur]

just was thinking how cool it would have been for S2 witcher when Geralt gets told Jaskier is in danger to have a whole episode dedicate to making Geralt terrifying. I’m talking about him leaving normally, reassuring Ciri, thanking Nenneke...and the second he turns around his expression shifts.

cue an episode’s worth of Geralt going full witcher mode and going hunting for Jaskier, tracing his steps through Oxenfurt and leaving the kind of fear/paranoia Batman dreams of behind

I want this man to be lethal and relentless and terrifying, I'm talking witcher 1 game intro Geralt level of ‘this is very other and spoopy’,. Show us what makes Wtchers so uncomfortable for normal humans!

and then you can have the last bit with the reunion and the ‘fuck it’ at the end, Geralt going back to normal mode. it’d cinch it

it's free real estate prompt just tag me so i can read  

[wuxiaphoenix]

Plotbunny: Fixing Up Old Haunts

I’m not into restoration and construction, so I’d probably never do this... maybe someone has done this, but...

In a story, there may be more than one way to deal with a haunted house.

Some people dehaunt houses by goodwill, blessings, or unlicensed nuclear accelerators. But it’s possible that sometimes, none of these quite work. So if the house is still standing... it’s time to call in the Contractor.

No, not that kind of contract, stop panicking. There’s nothing infernal involved. There’s not even anything remotely supernatural involved... unless you consider the Power of the Oblivious Bystander.

I picture the Contractor (possibly also called the Renovator) as a kind of average guy in a paint-stained t-shirt and jeans. Hair maybe a bit thin, with the eyes of a man who’s Seen It All....

And chalked all of it up to the hangover.

The Contractor’s seen terrified families, no doubt. But more often he’s seen baffled pastors, exhausted scholars, and way, way too many lawyers and real estate agents trying to make the best of an unwise purchase or abandoned inheritances before the property taxes eat them alive.

Well, whatever. Time to get to work.

Creaky doors? Order some squeak-proof hinges.

Cold spots? Modernize the heating system. And insulate! Sheesh, too many places were built when they thought electricity would be free....

Moans and wails? Might look into a white noise system.

Flickering lights? Electrical systems check. Put in some surge protectors.

Hallucinations? Check for gas leaks.

Odd thumps, creaks, doors sticking or swinging without cause? Alright, we need to look at foundation and settling issues. And probably clear out the spiders down there....

Plants withering? Check the irrigation systems. Maybe see if there are some better-adapted local landscaping varieties. Heck, check with the local extension office. Odds are there’s some botany or landscaping undergrads rattling around looking for a class project. Free help!

...Okay, maybe not free, they run on soda, chips, and the occasional takeout. But cheap help.

(I can picture a specter eventually dissolving out of sheer frustration!)

I’m not sure you could make a whole book out of it. But as a short story or subplot... free to good home!

[inexplicifics]

Are you planning on doing anything with the gods/goddesses? I know the game has Godlings, but there’s free real estate in there for a plot bunny or five!

I have no plotbunnies for any divinities!

[mittensmorgul]

I recently read a fic on ao3 and it was funny and great and then I thought of a few major changes that would make it even more hilarious. Problem is, I don't know the etiquette here. Should I just go ahead and write my own version? Add a link to the original story and credit it as inspiration? It was based on a prompt so the idea isn't exclusively the author's I suppose. Anyway I'll only be borrowing the start scenario (which is the prompt) and there will be no other similarities. Please help

Hello there. I’m gonna start what I expect will be kind of a long essay by saying there is an awful lot to unpack here… Starting with the fact that there is a chasm of difference between taking inspiration from a prompt fill fic and imagining an entirely different scenario, and starting that from a mentality of “I can do better than you.” The first is at the root of all of human creativity. We all bounce off one another and take inspiration from each other, and the entire history of human storytelling is essentially one long conversation. But the second part of this historically leads to fisticuffs. No, really. Google “famous literary feuds” for all the reasons why.

It’s not so much a difference in practical terms, but in your approach and understanding here.

So this is why I saw this ask in my inbox late last night and decided I needed to go to sleep rather than trying to answer you right away. But now I have coffee, so let’s give this a try. :P

I’d start by asking what the source of the prompt was. Was it a tumblr post? A prompt from a prompt list? Even one of those “pick a pairing and a prompt and I’ll write a short ficlet” posts? If so, you’re probably free to use the prompt by going back to the original fic prompt list. People publish those as jumping off points to write fic, and they actively WANT people to use them this way.

If the prompt, however, was given to a specific author by someone, you might want to at least ask that author if it would be okay for you to write something of your own based on the prompt. And at least try not to frame it as “I can write something better than you did” when you ask. That’s just rude and demoralizing for the author who’s already published a fic for that prompt, you know?

I get fic ideas all the time from random places, but there’s a different etiquette for each of them.

Sometimes a random tumblr post will give me an idea, and I’ll go talk to the OP privately, both because it’s FUN to talk about someone’s wild headcanon with them, and because you’re approaching the person who had the initial idea with courtesy and in the spirit of collaboration, rather than from this place of “stealing their idea.” The first builds good fandom feelings, while the second tends to do the opposite. I have a couple of experiences here that will hopefully illustrate the difference.

A few years back, when Lizbob was running the Great Meta Scavenger Hunt during s12, it led to the creation of the Great Fic Writer Scavenger Hunt. The theory behind it was that any number of authors could take the same fic prompt based on a single trope paired with a single distinctive character trait and the results would all be entirely unique stories. The intent was to prove that just because an idea had been written before, it becomes a new story when written by someone else, you know? And it was TRUE.

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/the-great-fic-writer-scavenger-hunt/chrono

We had DOZENS of authors participate, and despite all writing “the same story” every week, NONE of the resulting stories were even remotely the same.

On the other hand, I posted an insomnia-inspired headcanon a few months ago, and within five minutes after posting it, my insomnia brain– with an assist from a more rational point of view thanks to lizbob– had taken that little notion and spun it out into long fic in my head. I went back to my original post to laugh at myself in a reblog, announcing that I was gonna write long fic of the thing and for people to stay tuned for more, but other folks had already reblogged the original with comments to the effect of, “Someone should write this fic!” The worst thing was that other authors were tagged into it. As if my highly specific headcanon was suddenly communal property. Because the implication behind it– whether it was the truth or not– felt like “I like this headcanon, but have decided that I don’t want the OP to actually write this story because I like XYZ author’s writing better.”

And I know that was not the intent of the folks who added those comments to my post, but as someone who actively writes fic for this fandom, it felt like a slap in the face.

Now if those same people had replied, “OP please write more of this!” or “What a cool idea!” or even if they’d come to me privately and said, “Hey this is a cool idea, do you mind if I use it to write a longer fic?” I would’ve been HAPPY about it.

Can you see the difference here, anon?

The result was a rather frustrating back and forth where I was told that because I posted the idea in public it was effectively free real estate for anyone else to squat on. I mean, isn’t that what we’re all doing with the source material we base all our fan creations on anyway? We don’t ask the Supernatural writers for permission to use their characters, their settings, their intellectual property to create our own stories and art, right?

But the difference here is apparently too subtle for some folks to grasp. The Supernatural writers aren’t part of our fandom community. And the culture within fandom operates on different rules. Fandom creators are not source creators, and yes we all collectively “steal” from the same source, but it sort of defies the underlying premise that fandom creators as a whole are operating on the same level to suggest that “stealing” from another fandom creator is the same thing.

From my understanding, the entire point of fandom creators doing what they do is to build a community together around the thing we all love. There is a way to do that in good faith, through collaboration and the free sharing of ideas and creations.

I hope this makes sense.

The result of all of that was that I set aside another project I’d been wanting to write and instead began spite writing my own headcanon post. It was like pulling teeth at first, because there was so much Bad Fandom Feeling attached to the concept that the words just didn’t want to come. It’s FINALLY flowing now, though (after several months of the aforementioned teeth-pulling), and is nearing 18k words. I’m hoping it’ll be done and ready to post by the end of March, so I can FINALLY go back to writing the thing I’d originally wanted to work on before this nonsense blew up.

I’ve also unfortunately been one of the authors tagged in on someone else’s headcanon post in the past. I know the folks who do this think it’s flattering, and they’re just excited about an idea and want to read more of it, but the correct etiquette is ALWAYS to approach the OP in PRIVATE before taking their idea and writing it yourself, or pointing another author in the direction of the post and suggesting they write it for you.

I can guarantee you that 99 times out of 100, the OP will actually be flattered you enjoyed their idea so much you want to read more of it if you frame it from a place of appreciation and excitement, rather than from a place of selfish entitlement or superiority.

I’ve talked about this before, but this is how I have always approached fic writing. I got my first idea for a long fic from the Valentine’s Day Collab fic that Winjennster ran back in 2015. I told her I had an idea based on her prompt that I wanted to write as a much longer fic than would fit into the 3k limit for the collab, and she told me to go forth and be fruitful with my words. Actually, I think her exact words were more like “HELL YES! YOU DO THAT!” or something, but the spirit was the same. :P

The next fic I wrote (Project Beyonce) was inspired by a series of tumblr crack posts about “what sort of tumblr blogs would each member of TFW run?” And I reblogged them with commentary about how this would make a hilarious fic, because they were that sort of “conversational thread” of crack headcanons where that sort of addition was more than welcome. Not to mention I was already on friendly terms with the other participants in the thread, so it wasn’t strange for me to zoom in out of the blue and announce I was writing fic inspired by those posts. Even though my fic was set in an AU, and the only commonality was the fact that Dean and Cas were on tumblr. Nothing else about my fic was even remotely similar to the canon crack headcanons from those posts, and I don’t think that anyone involved in the original threads was upset that I’d written fic based on Dean being Cas’s favorite tumblr anon…

My first DCBB (Revenge of the Subtext) was inspired by a crack post made by @nicelimabean. One single sentence about Jensen and Jared walking into a con dressed like Sam and Dean and covered in dirt and blood, and suddenly I had 80k of fic running through my head. I sat there and stared at her post for like five minutes and then went immediately to the chat bubbles to ask– nay, beg– to use her post as a fic prompt for the DCBB. We talked it over for a good long while, both of us growing more excited as the ideas spun out, and long story short, not only did I make a wonderful fandom friend, she ended up beta reading for me and being an ongoing source of encouragement and support in fandom. We even met in person at a con (!) and spent the weekend cackling about how everything felt like a reference to RotS (since at the time we were the only two people on the planet who’d read the fic or even knew what it was about, because DCBB rules of secrecy).

Since then, I’ve gotten ideas for fic from tumblr (and always asked the OP for permission to write their idea– like for fic such as Plotbunny which was based on the combination of ideas from @bluestar86 on a WONDERFUL way to confirm Dean’s bisexuality in canon and Lizbob’s long desire for an Easter Bunny episode, combined with the fact that Easter fell on April Fool’s Day last year… to ideas for The Terminal Job based on chats with @truebluecas about an airport AU WHICH I AM SO SORRY STROB I STILL HAVE IT ON MY LIST TO WRITE AND I SWEAR I WILL WRITE IT EVENTUALLY D:

I’ve also had the reverse happen, where someone read one of my fics and was inspired to write their own fic based on Revenge of the Subtext. They approached me in private with the idea and asked for my blessing to write it. Honestly, I was FLOORED that anyone would be inspired by my words like that, and eagerly encouraged them to write their idea. I’ve also had people give me fic ideas in comments on AO3, in chats both on tumblr and Discord, which turned into longer conversations and eventually more fic (or at the very least to ideas on my To Be Written list). But I always ALWAYS ask permission from the other person or people before writing their ideas. And I have NEVER been told that I was not permitted. People are usually PLEASED that their ideas are deemed worthy by another writer, you know? It’s exciting!

This also goes for art inspired by fic, but in a slightly different way. If someone (anyone!) was inspired to draw something based on something I wrote, I will UNIVERSALLY BE THRILLED that my words inspired someone’s creativity in a different medium. But the key here is it’s a different medium. Nobody ever has to ask permission to art my fic. But that’s not the same as wanting to rewrite my fic into a different story, you know?

Not to mention, collaborating and asking permission and sharing the enthusiasm for an idea or a story like this with others has the potential to boost ALL of your creations. You could build resentment in fandom from other creators, or you can all lift each other up. Starting from the standpoint of communal excitement can result in mutual promotion of each other’s works, you know? Do you want a built-in cheerleader for your work, to build connections in fandom that will eventually support ALL of your works? Then your approach to sharing ideas this way is the key that could potentially unlock that door, or conversely lock it behind you. Your choice, really.

Wait, what was I talking about again? OH right. The whole entire point of fandom. We’re all of us in this same boat, sailing the seas of our chosen Source Material together. You can use your creative abilities for Good, to build communities up, or you can be That Asshole who tries to build themselves up while effectively shading or demoralizing other fandom creators in the process.

So what I’m saying here isn’t necessarily about your desire to write something based on someone else’s idea, but more about the approach you take to it. It costs zero dollars to be polite about it and approach it from a direction of good will and joy in creating for the thing we all love together, you know?

[mer-birdman]

wip meme

rules of the meme: list all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on. this can be writing, art, vids, gifsets, whatever.

Tagged by @starsfadingbutilingeron!! Thank you so much! :3

So I’m gonna take ‘currently working on’ to mean ‘in-progress’, even if I haven’t necessarily gotten anything done on them in a while. And since I’ve posted some art WIPs recently on @birdmanart (art blog woooo) and don’t really have much fanfic to talk about, I’m gonna share some stuff about all those original stories I occasionally reference but never work on (haha)!

Mana’s Time

So the first of the original stories I have here is Mana’s Time (well, that’s the series name, I’m just gonna call it Mana), which is intended to be a five-book series but whoops I’ve only written the first chapter of book 1. (If you think that’s crazy, the first version that I started in 6th grade was planned for NINE books — yikes!)

It’s sort of portal fantasy genre, with the main protagonist (Issa McMayvern) being transported to a sort of high-fantasy ‘sister universe’ to Earth (also known as ‘Gaia’). While in this sister universe, known as ‘Mana’ (hey, title drop), she begins to discover latent magic abilities (i’m not creative okay) and how to use them, in the efforts to first find her way home and then later to help protect both Gaia and Mana from the invading forces of a demirealm that resides between them known as Ouros. 

Six of the eight or nine main characters (Issa, her human friends Elle and Ari, and their elven buddies Skiare, Vadyn, and Orran) are from the very first version, but everything else is pretty much new. When I first kind of wanted to write these, I was mainly inspired by the Avalon: Web of Magic series by Rachel Roberts (I was in 6th grade, okay? And they had really pretty illustrations), but I’ve been trying to branch away from that as I re-conceptualize the setting and plot. (Additionally, the portal between worlds is located in an empty lot overgrown with grass, because when I was younger I would pretend that those lots were actually portals to other worlds).

Wavelength

This one (started in 7th grade, and I haven’t even started the re-write yet, boo) was intended to be a trilogy. The entire concept is based around the idea of sort of sci-fi magic; the ability to ‘bend’ or manipulate different forms of energy and waves, so to speak.  I don’t have a lot of the plot planned out — just the barest sense — but it’s sort of similar to Avatar: The Last Airbender in that one of the biggest arcs is the two main characters (Piper and James) having to travel around while on the run in search of people who can teach them the different sorts of waves they need to learn (three each, so they make a complete set together). 

There’s definitely going to be secret organizations and probably some cool spy stuff, though I’m not sure whether I want it to be more steampunk-y or really full-on sci-fi technology. I’ll need to give it a real re-working sometime soon, haha!

Chronicle of the Watchers

Also intended to be a series or trilogy, I don’t actually have any structure for CotW planned, and yet it’s actually one of the more conceptualized plots in that I actually have some idea of the story arc for the first book (Runespeaker). I started it in 9th grade, and actually got about four chapters written of the first draft before I really decided to shift a bunch of things around, so I haven’t started the next iteration yet.

It takes place in a sort of D&D-esque fantasy realm, in that it’s medieval in some ways and advanced/socially aware in others (there’s public education and fair treatment of trans people, for instance). The story starts in the village of Aullkee, in the land of Rennin, where the main character Alexa and her two friends Mirian and Balthazar are preparing to finish their final year of schooling. A mysterious organization arrives to administer a test, and those who pass (Alexa, Mirian, and Balthazar, as well as their two classmates Aileeda and Dannin) are taken from their homes in the night and brought to the organization’s headquarters to be told that they are now initiates of the Watchers.

What is eventually discovered beyond what I’ve written is that the Watchers are an organization that spans multiple countries (Rennin, Sireani, Castrael, Jueresc, and Merren are the ones I’ve determined so far) and is dedicated to protecting magical and endangered creatures, with the most primary being dragons. There’s a whole mess of plot stuff that I haven’t quite untangled yet, but basically there is a being hunting down dragons for some reason and the not-quite-big-bad (who’s also Alexa’s mum, small world) is acting under that being’s commands, which isn’t discovered until later in the story.

I have a lot of small plotbunnies hopping around for this one, so feel especially free to ask questions about it!

Natural 20

This one (also maybe sort of intended to be a trilogy, apparently I have a habit) was conceptualized/started around NaNoWriMo 2016, but I didn’t get even a full chapter in because school, haha. 

It’s another portal fantasy design, but this one is basically where a group of friends are starting a D&D campaign, and somehow find themselves pulled into the campaign in the bodies of their characters, and have to now complete the quest they were on in order to find a way back home. The deeper they go, though, the more they discover that it wasn’t an accident, and there’s a much darker plot brewing behind the scenes. (additionally, the main character figures out that he’s trans, and there’s just some fun stuff all-around).

It’s an idea I’ve actually had for a while, but only started doing something with pretty recently.

Other Stories???

Court of Stars — sci-fi fantasy political intrigue in space with a badass nonbinary main character. Intended to deal with social issues and morality and fun stuff if I ever start writing it.

Heatless (trilogy) — the obligatory modern vampire story, but I’m trying to include more supernatural elements and hopefully make it a little less cliche with each new development. Basically, MC discovers that her best friend is a vampire, and then everything goes to shit and apparently all her friends are weird supernatural creatures??? There’s a lot of work to be done :P

The Zookeeper — somewhat dystopia fantasy set in a world where the only wild animals left are in ‘zoos’ and private estates, and trees can only be found in arboretums and libraries. The main character Cinna is enlisted to join an organization (I appear to be a fan of those) working for the proper treatment and freedom of animals. There’s gonna be some fun species hierarchy issues (humans, as they don’t have any special adaptations compared to some of the other ‘sentient’ beings, are kinda the bottom of the food chain), interesting settings, and one of the other main characters is selectively mute and nonbinary and ADORABLE (sorry, my opinion). Somehow, whenever I try to conceptualize the setting, I end up thinking of the abcities in Un Lun Dun (China Mieville) and the city Fork in Isobelle Carmody’s Gateway trilogy.

That’s all for now! :) I’m not gonna tag people, but feel free to pretend you were if you too want to blab about stuff in progress! ^^

[panur]

AU where Geralt gets his wish when he asks life to take Jaskier off his hands: Geralt gets isekai'd to an AU where Jaskier never met him and thus didn't spend 20 years cleaning his reputation and those of other witchers/nonhumans by extension

some headcanon highlights of this AU (feel free to use or discard):

this world is Awful, the way they treat Witchers in general (and Geralt in particular) is HELLA bad. Refused service and entrance in more than half the towns he enters and being paid poorly if he gets paid at all, people terrified and hateful towards him

He finds out Pavetta jumped off a tower after her mother had Duny killed (guess you're finally free of that child surprise, Geralt...)

Calanthe has become an unhinged warmonger having nothing to lose, particularly against elves, who are even more decimated than usual

Eskel was killed as result of witcher propaganda getting MUCH worse after the raise of the white flame + the whole Blaviken thing

Vesemir is a shadow of himself, living alone in Kaer Morhen, not having talked to anyone for years

Lambert moved permanently with the cat caravan and blames Geralt for Eskel's death

less witchers in general (with a lot having died or retired since continuing in the current conditions is unsustainable) means a lot more monsters, particularly Necrophages and Wraiths

Yen is disfigured and severally weakened/borderline disabled after getting majorly cursed from eating that infant dragon's heart + several botched attempts at making it better (maybe they can use the djinn to fix the timeline?)

#it's free real estate prompt just tag me so i can read

[panur]

Netflix should have done smth w the doppler that turns into jask in the books

you know if netflix hadn't been fucking cowards, instead of all the filler bs we got, we could have had a scene in ep 1 where they recycle the book story (eternal flame).... and have him turn into Jaskier.

could be exactly like the story where it's just a job and geralt lets it go and have ciri be like "who was that, geralt?" and geralt says nothing, that would've been cool! choose your own response!

just SHOW Geralt still thought about jask, in some way? and oh gods, Joey would have KILLED it, you know he would have!

hell, if you wanna stick w the evil doppler (which i hate but i gotta work with what we got) to get ciri and once it turns into Jaskier either geralt can't kill it and Ciri/X character has to do it and geralt has to see 'jaskier' die right in front of him (and then maybe we could have had a reaction when yen tells him he's in trouble??)

like COME on, it was right there! It cold have been a 5 minute scene!

#it's free real estate prompt just tag me so i can read

[panur]

Witcher!Jaskier Radskier AU

AU where the redenian crown needs to hire a witcher for witcher stuff and they hire witcher!Jask who of course looks something like

and Radovid has never, EVER wanted to suck someone's dick so bad in his life

Vizimir: Look at me. look at me in the eyes. I want you to promise you're not gonna fuck the mutant Radovid, already planning to get the witcher to fuck him so hard he'll feel it for a month: I promise I wont fuck the mutant : )

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[panur]

so yeah, we all know Radovid was seriously doing some eye fucking when looking at the bard in those episodes, and we have all seen and loved world famous post about how Jaskier dresses to hide his actual shape so i just smoosh these two together and give you this lovely mental image of both of them stumbling into the shed, and of course, there's very little light, Radovid's going mostly by feel here, and huh

bard feels pretty... firm, huh?

I mean makes sense, he travelled with a witcher for ages, he's probably not some dainty little thing but this feels kind of uhhhh unexpectedly buff?

and then Jaskier just picks him up and sits him on a barrel or something and OHOHOH OK??

all i'm saying is that Radovid came here with some expectations of how th night was gonna go and then got deRailed to Toussaint and back, learned something new about himself that day and it makes perfect sense he was ready to throw it all to go after Jaskier.

#it's free real estate prompt just tag me so i can read

[panur]

‘What a company I ended up with,’ Geralt continued, shaking his head. ‘Brothers in arms! A team of heroes! What have I done to deserve it? A poetaster with a lute. A king who abdicated to elope with the very same poetaster. A wild and lippy half-dryad, half-woman. A vampire, who’s about to notch up his fifth century. And a bloody Nilfgaardian who insists he isn’t a Nilfgaardian.’ ‘And leading the party is the Witcher, who suffers from pangs of conscience, impotence and the inability to take decisions,’ Regis finished calmly. ‘I suggest we travel incognito, to avoid arousing suspicion.’ ‘Or raising a laugh,’ Milva added. 'Also, I was a prince when I eloped.' Radovid added, quite primly. 'You're a king??' Cahir shouted, distraught.

― edited quote from Andrzej Sapkowski, Baptism of Fire

[panur]

I know we are all team 'Jaskier didn't know he was in love with geralt' and "it never went anywhere"

…but what if he did, and what if it did??

what if Jaskier knew he was in love with Geralt and what if they were having casual, 'platonic' sex (lying to themselves?)

WHAT IF BEFORE THE MOUNTAIN JASKIER WOULD HAVE LIKELY BEEN OK WITH ANY RELATIONSHIP WITH GERALT, EVEN IF HE'D HAD TO SHARE HIM WITH YEN??

But now he's not.

because let me tell you guys, I'm feeling a certain way (FOAMING THE MOUTH) about this idea of Geralt thinking they can eventually get back to that, that this is a momentary hiccup and eventually they'll be back where they left of and it's like

no not gonna happen because Jaskier is actually… over it? Like it or not, the mountain changed things and Jaskier is now really reconsidering what he wants for his future, and he still loves Geralt, sure, but not the way he did, and not for the price of his own misery. He's ready for a relationship where he'll finally be enough on his own.

So now Geralt has to watch him start smth with Radovid, and realize this time things are different, that this relationship is different and, that, well.

something ends, something begins.

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[panur]

OK BUT, how about post mountain but like- IMMEDIATELY post mountain, as in Geralt just finished yelling at Jaskier and Yen turns around and is like, "oh so that's what you want, okay then! FREE BARD IT IS."

cue Jask confusedly transitioning to being Yen's personal bard and barker. there's so much to go there, yen slowly thawing towards Jask, Jask gowing a spine after the whole thing with Geralt!

or- Yen takes the bard in the divorce and they're both better for it.

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[panur]

I... want a fic post mountain where Ciri and Geralt find jask early and they go to Nivellen’s as per the plan

and Jask has to see Geralt call this dude 'friend'

edit: PEOPLE IT HAPPENNED (but fee free to make more!

if somebody loved you, they'd tell you by now - Tallfroggie20 - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, The Witcher (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion Characters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Nivellen (The Witcher), Roach (The Witcher), Vereena (The Witcher) Additional Tags: Episode: s02e01 A Grain of Truth (The Witcher TV), Fix-It, Episode Fix-it, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, mostly hurt ngl, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruxae (The Witcher), Friendship, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, Jaskier | Dandelion Has Feelings, POV Jaskier | Dandelion, Emotionally Constipated Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Examining what it means to call someone a friend, Rated M for violence and swearing but it's not super graphic???, Based on a Tumblr Post, Geralt and Jaskier have Divorced Energy, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, post-mountain, Post-Episode: s01e06 Rare Species (The Witcher TV) Summary:

A muscle twitches in the witcher’s jaw. He clears his throat. “We recently… reunited. He and I used to travel together.”

“And the moment I can get out of this storm, we will cease ‘traveling together’ once more,” Jaskier says bitterly. Traveling together. Ha. Geralt makes it sound like they were nothing more than acquaintances on the road.

To him, Jaskier supposes it was. Unfortunately, Jaskier’s own heart and mind never received the memo.

Nivellen raises his brows, glancing between them. “Ah. I’ve… prodded something, haven’t I?”

“There is nothing between us to prod. There never was,” Jaskier insists. “Continue your game. I rather enjoy watching Geralt lose.”

-----

Or, Geralt had never called Jaskier a friend, not once in their twenty years traveling together. Now he returns to uproot Jaskier's life, Child Surprise in tow and mentions of an 'old friend' on his lips. It makes Jaskier want to scream.

[panur]

OK So, but what if after the combined trauma of countess de stael dumping him, almost dying from djinn and watching the love of his life his bestie fuck some crazy woman who threatened his bollocks, Jaskier isn't having the best time of his life, exactly?

and what if, he meets some random nobleman who's out to slum it out with the rest of them? jaskier's got some experience on the matter, having been one, and he's only too happy to take him carousing to the best places, introduce him to several parties and fellow creatives while spending this guy's coin?

Jaskier has a lovely winter, and is half in love with the guy, but alas, the fact he's (very badly) lying about his identity, that he's got no idea what he's doing and that he has more money than the redenian bank show this guy is prolly someone important and jaskier is kind of sick of heartache, so they end up parting in bittersweet but good terms after several weeks worth of affair.

and then, it's like 15 years later and Vespula is throwing his shit (and some that isn't even his!) all over the muddy streets and a very scary sexy sorceress is threatening him and he turns around AND WHO'S SATNDING THERE.

"comma prince" is gonna hit WAY different.

guys I'm dying imagining the whole drama of it, like, you can keep every single scene pretty much the same with them both pretending they don't know each other BUT IT ALL HITS SO MUCH MORE DIFFERENT, and now jaskier is the winter fling Radovid never got over and never thought he'd see again, and now Radovid is the one that got away but could have been something more if Jaskier had been less flighty and less guarded of his very tender heart, oh my GOD.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW 'EXTRAORDINARY THINGS' HITS SO MUCH MORE DIFFERENT FOR BOTH OF THEM NOW.

AND THE SHED…?????

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[panur]

no but seriously guys where is my "Radovid does make it out before bro gets killed and joins the team"

imagine this absolute wet cat of a man just arriving like "ohai jaskier < : 3" with two bags full of coin and a trail of hearts thick enough to drown in, and it's kind of like Geralt getting a bard 2.0.

Luckily Radovid is less horny than teenage Jaskier and has about 30% more self preservation and better boots, but he's also severely emotionally compromised, as he's very obviously ass over teakettle IN LOVE with his bard and thus will follow whatever crazy thing jaskier's gotten into, and geralt is like

"Just do it for the coin. You need the coin. You've done more for less coin."

and you can go as dark or light as you want!

like. since radovid made it before the assassination they can't kill the king as they don't have a good replacement and while Redenia is *technically* looking for the missing prince, Vizimir is 100% behind what he thinks is his brother having a hot girl summer and not trying at all.

or he does get killed and Radovid has to find out when the news finally trickle to him, but then he'd have Jaskier there with him ;A;

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