Hello fellow geraskier fanfic consumers! I am on the hunt for a fic that was on AO3, please help if you can! It was an absolutely incredible story I read years ago (I think even before season 2 came out), but have not been able to find since. It legitimately haunts me. If the following description rings a bell, please please please let me know! Thank you so much for the help, I’m desperate 😭
Geralt and Jaskier were romantically involved and somehow had the ability to communicate telepathically with each other (not the focus of the story, i unfortunately don’t remember the details). They were captured and held captive by some asshole, who played a “game” with them. He would go back and forth between the two, telling one of them about the next type of torture he would inflict before asking if they would like to endure the pain themselves, or pass it on the the other. I feel like the men were held on opposite sides of a prison/dungeon cell, and would have to watch the other suffer. They both wanted to save each other from the punishments, but I know there were at least a few times Jaskier chose to have Geralt take an injury instead of himself. The witcher would be able to better withstand it, would even encourage Jaskier to chose him (through the mental bond), but the bard still felt incredibly guilty. After an extended period of time, they were able to escape, though I don’t remember what happened afterwards.
I am telling you this fic was GENIUS. It was able to balance the love, self preservation, secret communication, and fury perfectly. If you have any ideas of what this story was called please let me know!🙏🙏🙏
the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.
capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.
now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.
and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.
and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.
and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".
it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"
it’s been almost a year now… is the bg3 fandom finally ready to talk about how gale’s “hubris” is the sole product of actively feeding his insecurities further and straight up denying him help & guidance when he was at his lowest and needed it most. it’s not one of his core traits and never was. he isn’t some closeted power hungry monster that is just waiting to be enabled. what he wants is admiration, recognition and acceptance. which is also what he sought from mystra before the orb disaster happened. he had no desire whatsoever to become a god himself or challenge her rule, he simply wanted to be seen as sufficient in her eyes (“to serve her better”). to be as equal as he could possibly be in a relationship with a literal deity. he has a deep passion for magic and knowledge that affects almost all areas of his life and enjoys the display thereof. he wants to be the smartest person in the room and enjoys when his work is recognized. he may be perceived as arrogant when it comes to his skill, but he IS NOT hubristic. it truly takes so little for him to be wholly content.
Proshipper = you're against censorship and harassment over fiction & curate your experience on the internet to have a healthy distance from things that make you uncomfortable
Antishipper = you're okay and even encourage harassment towards "freaks" and "weirdos" society deems acceptable to hurt
neck kisses that start gentle and flirty while you cook dinner together. neck kisses that start straying teasingly close to your sensitive spots, just enough to wake up your arousal. neck kisses when you make out later that night, hastily trailing up your collar to land a sharp nip to your jawline. neck kisses that leave bruises that your shirt will cover at work tomorrow. neck kisses when you're shuddering and squirming under them, cocky and scathing in the way they bite down hard on you because they like the pathetic way you gasp in response.
I was talking with a friend recently about how Thistle continues to wear his silly little jester outfits all the way into the present day even as the mad mage, and while I agree to an extent that he just likes the aesthetic I also think it might be something he feels like he has to do, because otherwise…
Thistle’s very dubious acquirement as a child was specifically so Freinag could have the aesthetics of an elven court member without the danger his advisors worried an adult would present. From his very first moments in the court, it was clear that making him a simple jester was because they feared what would happen if he was allowed to gain too much power (and independence…) And the thing is, I think Thistle knows that.
In the end, Delgal ends up asking Thistle to learn magic and become the court mage anyways after his father’s death. There’s no way there weren’t a lot of opinions about that from other people, especially his advisors, seeing as that was exactly what was feared could turn an amusing commodity into a dangerous threat. The fact that he was so secretive, too, about his investigations into the ruins I think might hint that he was aware of the optics of such a stunt.
But Thistle isn’t stupid. From his reaction here to the way the villagers look at him I’m sure he knows— whether from overhearing, being told directly, or simply picking up on the vibe— that they think he’s dangerous and scary simply for being an elf.
So, why keep the silly outfits, especially when he doesn’t seem to have any qualms with the villagers finding him scary now? Maybe he does just like wearing them. Or maybe… it’s a remnant of a desire the demon ate away a long time ago. Who is to say…
I can't stay away from tumblr because I like reading radfem and gender critical blogs (and also I live here unfortunately just by virtue of being a gay loser artist) and this is the most populated place for that kind of discussion, but holy shit it gets so bleak seeing just how easily radfems are strawmanned and how the most popular posts on this website are still so deeply entrenched in very cognitively dissonant thought built on misogyny and refuses to engage with any kind of opposition or critique.
I believe in healthy discourse and discussion! I want to hear people's arguments and insights and learn why people believe certain things! but one (very large, very popular) ideological side of this website is so fundamentally incurious and hostile towards changing their minds at all, and there's just such a lack of what could be a really productive public forum where feminist and progressive thought could be freely discussed, this being a women-dominated and same-sex attraction dominated website and all. especially because it's already so difficult to discuss those kinds of things in real life as the majority of people don't really care or relate to any of it.
I really wish I could just log off forever sometimes and never have to think about this again. alas, I quite like to think, and the internet is still the best way to find the community and the perspectives which I seek. born to participate in community and discussion of theory, forced to gaze upon a field of strawmen alone (⌣_⌣”)
I'm greyplatonic. I've been greyromantic, too. And I realized that being a grey aspec is lonely
I don't fit in with allos, so I go to aspec spaces, but I don't fit in with aspecs either. When the aro community in general talked about not having crushes, I felt left out as a greyro who had crushes. When the apl community in general talks about not loving their friends, I feel left out as a greyro who, very rarely, loves some of their friends.
So, I'm making this post for all aspecs who feel too aspec for the allos, and too allo for the aspecs. For aspecs who love too much for aspec communities, but not enough for allos.
For all aspecs who feel attraction. For aspecs whose attraction is abundant but weak, rare but very strong, and everything in between.
For all acespecs who have sex and arospecs who date and all other aspecs who engage in activities without attraction.
For all aspecs who worry that their attraction and existence inherently support oppressive social structures.
For all aspecs who have never seen someone else like them. For aspecs who feel invisible.
For aspecs who feel like they don't belong.
I'm making this post for all shades of grey aspecs, no matter how light or dark, to let them know that we belong.
female characters who are like "sorry, i'm not that smart, all i can do is be your sword and shield and defend you with my amazing combat prowess. i hope you are not bothered by the fact that i have little tactical ability and am limited to using my beastly strength to stand by your side and enact your will. it's ok if you're disappointed in me i am also disappointed in myself" and don't know that a slightly meatheaded loyal weaponwoman with a heart of gold is one of the sexiest things it is possible to be