#they wouldn't worry abt it with the other companions but

[bhaalsdeepbat]

durge and astarion having a little fight in my dadstarion fic and thinking about how personal he'd take it if durge left the kids with minsc bc they were so afraid he'd dump them somewhere

[messycunt]

hucow trey<3

He is the most helpful boy on the farm! Always helping in the kitchen if and when he can. Keeping the rowdy boys of his bard in order to the best of his ability, helping with cleanup after a local show when him and his handler stay behind for awhile. Trey is definitely not the big prize winner amongst the beautys on Night Raven Farms, but he's certainly a prize for any handler to have:)

...So why can't you just 'relive' him? You tell him how he's so good, so why can't he have your attention now?

Trey really tries to be patient when it comes to his milking rituals, but he can only handle so much before he bends you over the fence and does as he pleases. You can't cry and beg your way out of this one, "I'll get in trouble if your milk doesn't make it back up to the house:(" You say..yeah, well you should've thought about that before you came prancing around and gave the usually relaxed Hucow blueballs.

-🌸

I’ll flesh out the hucow AU more later but for now keep in mind we're goin off hentai logic so just try not to think abt it too much, kay?

hcs + a blurb, not proof read

cw: Male lactation, afab reader, hybrids(hucows), noncon(groping and frottage), not proof read :P

You're not Trey's handler and honestly? you're pretty sure he doesn't even have one so you’re the closest thing he has to a caretaker. Not as if that would come as a surprise, he's so much more well behaved then certain other members of his barn(ehem ehem Ace and Deuce) the constant supervision probably isn't necessary. Probably.

It’s more so like you’re around to make sure he doesn’t work himself to death, though he insists that he’s more than capable of carrying his work load.

He's big and caring with a lush deep brown-green hide and a pair of noticeably stubby horns.

His sweet demeanor and helpful nature mean he'd make for a more than worthwhile companion and you would happily take him off of NRF's hands, uh, if you had the money that is… and if he was for sale to begin with

Too bad those circumstances are never going to aline :( but at least you get to spend time with him AND get payed :)

Not being a show cow means that he doesn’t have to worry about the stress that some of the prize bucks like Vil or delicate steers like Riddle do.

He does however help out with almost every physical job that there is to be done around the farm as well as at local shows and markets

Other than assisting with his milkings or helping him with washing and brushing out his tail and just being there to make sure he doesn’t pull something you don’t really do much, not that watching him carry out bales of hay dripping in sweat or giving him full body massages during down time are things you would get bored of.

Sneaking peeks of him out of the corner of your eye when you think he isn't looking(he is) is something you admittedly feel guilty for, but maybe you wouldn't if you were paying enough attention to notice him sneaking similar glances of your figure.

You’d be surprised at the effect that a half buttoned flannel and some daisy dukes or even a pair of overalls could have on him.

All of the little things you do drive him up the fucking wall

You’re either making his life hell on purpose or you really are a hapless airhead.

Hugging him close enough to press both of your chests together when complimenting him on the pastries he had given you to snack on that morning, cream moving from your face to his as you placed a kiss on his cheek in thanks, letting him rest his head against your lap during the both of your mandatory lunch break instead of letting him continue on working like he planned to.

You care so much about him it's cute! If only he could repay your kindness with equally innocent intentions.

But back to the milking thing…..

It took some getting used to at first, from a mental standpoint you were anticipating it to be a nerve-racking task for both parties involved.

Trey was unexpectedly calm the first time, for having someone who was basically a complete stranger clumsily knead and pull at his chest gingerly in delicate preparation before setting the suction of the milking machine several levels too high anyway(his nipples were sore for days!)

His milk has a subtly smooth buttery taste and is perfect for pairing with pastries or making creams to go in coffees and teas,,, not that you’d know this ofc.. not like you would try sneaking a few sips after one of your weekly milkings or anything.

You felt eyes boring holes into you from behind as you set aside the third full milk canister of the day. Trey had been acting strange lately. Not making eye contact or engaging with you. He wasn’t ignoring you, not necessarily, but the most you would get out of him was a grunt before continuing on without so much as a word. Maybe it was something you said? Or you crossed an invisible boundary of some kind? You had made that mistake before; accidentally using a moisturizer that belonged to one of the blue ribbon show bulls, earning a thorough chewing out from him. Who knew farm animals cared so much about their skin care routines and what was his stuff doing in the main house anyways?

A pair of heavy hands on your hips and a head resting on your shoulder dragged you out of your thoughts. “Ah, Trey you startled me silly” the jump of your exaggerated delayed reaction almost knocked over one of the milk cans. Attempting to balance out the new weight on your back before bending down lower to set the tin back up you felt something hefty, hard and hot pressed against you from behind. That explains it. “Hey if that’s the, uh, if that’s the problem you’ve been dealing with we don’t have to do anymore work for the day! We should get you to the breeding stables and pick back up tomorrow yeah? Or have Ace and Deuce pick up where we left off instead.” One of the hands slipped down to roughly tug your shorts down the other ripped your top off of your body. You let out a sound akin to a pathetic dog whimper. “I’ll be fine. I wouldn’t want to burden them by taking a half day when I don’t need to. Not when I have a grade A heifer to fuck right here and now, all to myself too. I’m real lucky huh?”

How he was able to speak so casually of such things was beyond you and being as completely thrown off as you were made formulating an adequate response harder than it logically should have been. Your bewildered state gave him enough space and time to manipulate your body to his liking. Back arched to his liking and bare tits pressed against the cool sheet metal of the milking room wall putting up a fight didn’t even cross your mind. You had witnessed him throw around things three to five times your size with ease enough times to know that whatever fight you could put up was not going to stop him. “Trey sweetie” the pet name burned on your tongue “I'll get in trouble if your milk doesn't make it back up to the house. Just let me do that first and then I promise to help you out alright?” He went right back to ignoring you.

The wet head of his dick pressed against your panties as he rubbed his shaft up and down against the lone thin piece of fabric protecting your most delicate parts from him. You groan in annoyance and swallow the drool pooling in your mouth. If he couldn’t take ‘maybe later’ for an answer he definitely was not going to like the sound of ‘no’.

Blinking away tears you reared back and prepared yourself to take the biggest dick you had ever had the displeasure of being abused by.

You never did get to take that milk to the main house.

11.28.22 - more

[suguwuus]

Could you write conner x daughter of hades. She has to comfort him about his nightmares about Luke after getting back from the Argo 2 mission.

ok so maybe i lied abt posting the mphfpc au first. also ?? was a bit confused w the ask but i made it work. reader is nico and hazel's sibling and yeah you'll figure it out. also i think it's more focused on reader than connor WAAAAHH sorry !! being a hades kid already has enough baggage so

wc: 1.8k words

contains: heavily hinted trauma/ptsd

You couldn't sleep. You just couldn't. Even with the warmth of another body pressing onto you, even with his boyish scent mixed with a hint of citrus, even with the assurance of every breath he took, and the breaths that tickled your side, you couldn't find it in you to want to sleep.

If you closed your eyes you'd see bloodshed and gnashing teeth and the flash of bronze. If you listened to anything other than your or his breathing you'd hear roars, of either the raging wind or the hordes of monsters in front of you, or the screams of your companions.

If you looked to the side you'd start picturing red eyes watching you through the window, hungrily waiting for you to let your guard down. If you looked to the other side you'd see your brother Nico's empty bed. You knew it was his, even though he hadn't left a trace.

You wondered how he was doing, but that made a lump grow in your throat and your eyes started to sting and something ugly burned in the pit of your stomach. Fuck! Why did you agree to go on that stupid quest anyway? Quest...no, it wasn't a quest. It was a mistake, that's what it was. A mistake that led you into being separated from your half-siblings—who knows where they are or what they're doing, definitely not you; or if they were still alive—no. No, you told yourself firmly. You would've felt it if it happened. And you have not felt anything. You refused to even entertain the thought.

Your mind started to cloud with worry. Even though you couldn't remember much, the feeling was still there. Nico's eyes genuinely looked like those of a cornered animal; it was the first time you'd ever seen him like that. And then after that, you were on the shores of Long Island, battered and bruised and barely coherent. It was a bad ambush and Nico had shadow traveled you back to camp.

You didn't want to think about him. Because you'd end up crying, and you didn't like crying. And you didn't want to end up crying about everything else, like the burden on your shoulders and possible survivor's guilt, the weight Nico and Hazel would be carrying right now, the responsibility, the lack of your siblings' whereabouts, the primordial deity Gaea waking up...

Fuck. You were spiraling again. In the literal sense of the word, your head wasn't spinning, but it did feel quite loud.

You bit your lip. It's here again.

You didn't want to move. You were afraid you'd explode if you did. Your fingertips tingled. Electricity tickled at the callouses, calling for the hilt of a blade, the surface of a stone to throw, the sinew of a bowstring, the shaft of a spear, even the trigger of a gun.

It's the bloodlust and jitters you'd been feeling these past few weeks, when traveling with Nico, defending the Argo II when attacks struck or yourself when you were out alone. And it didn't help much now, now that you were thinking about all these things and sleep deprived, dehydrated, hungry, and possibly delirious. You were afraid that if you got up and moved your body like how a puppeteer would work his marionette you wouldn't be satisfied with anything until you were able to destroy something completely.

The ugly feeling in your stomach was close to bubbling over the brim. You had parted your lips to sigh, but nothing came out. A jolt of horror went through you. Were you turning into a shadow?

You did the first thing you could do to ground yourself—squeeze Connor's arm which was draped over your body.

He grunted in his sleep and stirred, but didn't wake. You couldn't turn your head to look at him.

This time, when you sighed, you heard your shaky breath. That calmed you down a bit. But Connor moved again beside you, and this time you could hear a faint whisper come out of his mouth.

When you finally look over at him, he's clammy. Sweat is beading at his temples and his brows are furrowed. It takes you a second to snap out of it, a second and the feeling of his hand twitch against your midriff.

"No. I won't..." He's mumbling things, and you wonder whether you should wake him up or not. You've seen and heard of incidents where demigods are woken up in the middle of their nightmares and it springs them into action, triggering their battle skills and having them attack the person who woke them up. Then again, you weren't afraid of that happening with him.

Oh, so now you trusted him enough to think that he wouldn't attack you on instinct?

But then again, no matter what happened when you woke him up, you'd forgive any reaction, violent or not. After all, you yourself stayed up to avoid your own bad dreams.

You didn't want to see him thrash around and you didn't want him to suffer in his dreams for any longer. And you didn't care if it risked your face to wake him up. So you give his arm a little shake.

He doesn't wake, so you do it harder. You use your voice this time. "Connor." It sounds hoarse. It breaks through the silence like a jagged blade.

He stirs again, and you can see his irises move under his eyelids. He blinks awake a few moments later, arms moving confusedly as if he was still, quite literally, half asleep.

When his gaze landed on you, he flinched, but then he realized it was you, so he turned away, embarrassed. Clapping a hand over his mouth, he almost fell off the bed, swinging his legs over the edge.

"I-I can't...oh, Y/N, I'm sorry, sweetie, shit, was I keeping you up?" He looks over his shoulder at you and you slowly shake your head, not sure how to respond to him.

"You were having a bad dream," You explained. "Did I do you a favor or...?"

Connor stayed silent. He put his elbows on his thighs and bent over, cradling his head in his hands. "I don't understand, I don't understand, why did he show up again, I thought—shit." He murmured a string of Greek curses.

Carefully, you scooted over to him. You put a shaking hand on his shoulder. "Do you...uhm..."

"It's...Luke." His voice was strained, like he forced himself to utter the name. The name of his older half-brother who taught him all the best tricks, taught him how to swim, showed him all the best hiding spots in camp, explained all the best ways to pickpocket someone, and also betrayed the camp years ago, becoming the vessel of Kronos, the god who took part in causing the Second Titan War.

You didn't really know much about him. But you could tell that he meant a lot to Connor and Travis. And you could only imagine their pain having to take over Cabin 11 for someone who now had gold eyes and was leading an army to his previous (and their) home.

Connor was shaking his head, and you awkwardly rubbed his shoulder. "I don't want him to come back, I thought I was done with that. He's dead," he said loudly, and for a second you thought he was telling it to himself and not you.

"Gods, I don't want him to come back. I miss him, yeah, no shit, but I don't want him back, I have my own big brother—"

"One that isn't a douchebag, yeah," You blurted out without thinking. You were too groggy to care about his reaction, but to your great surprise, his shoulders trembled with a small laugh.

He sighed and turned to face you. His bottom lip looked red and bitten, the skin punctured, and there were marks on his forehead where he must've dug his nails into. But he was smiling softly, with trembling lips. Smiling like you were the only thing that mattered to him at that moment.

He opened his arms, and when you didn't move closer, remaining curled up on the other edge of the bed like that, he was the one who scooted over, attaching himself to your body as a source of comfort.

He heaved a sigh and murmured something you couldn't understand, but you followed his lead and wrapped an arm around him, too. You would never get over how warm he was, especially in contrast to how naturally cold you were.

Eventually you ended up with both your arms around him, one hand in his hair, the other patting his back. You trusted yourself enough to finally close your eyes. The darkness wasn't so bad when you could feel Connor in your embrace.

You could still feel his brows which were knit together, his tense shoulders and his pursed lips. And yet you were willing to hold him like this until he was all better.

"I'm here," you whispered. "It's alright. It was just a dream. Luke is..." You paused, running your hand through his hair. You were never good with words. "He's not here. He's never coming back anymore, you're safe." Your breath almost got caught in your throat. In the general sense, that was an obvious lie, but you hoped he understood what you meant.

"It's just me, Connor. It's okay."

You felt him bite his lip again, but then eventually he released his balled fists and hugged you back, finally relaxing. The both of you adjusted so you were leaning against pillows propped up, and when Connor finally sat up from pressing his face into you there were lines on his face and he was a bit flushed.

You stared at him, taking in his features and his slight frown. "Are...you okay?" You asked tentatively. He nodded, looking down. You could see his eyelashes were wet. His breath still trembled, but only for a moment. The best you could do was give him a supportive squeeze.

"Thanks." There was a rustle as he pulled the blanket over the both of you, getting back into a comfortable position. "Thank you, for...yeah. I'll try not to think about it." He leaned on the wall and laced his fingers through yours, sighing against your neck. "What would I do without you?"

When you didn't answer, unsure of what to respond with, he chuckled lightly and kissed your cheek. "It's a rhetorical question. I love you."

[elvhenmage]

i finally finished bg3 for the first time and am now wondering what your thoughts are on the ending/epilogue.

i kind of got lucky because i romanced gale (which gave him and my tav exactly the ending i was hoping for) and my tav's best friends were wyll and karlach so their joint epilogue ending was cool as well. but beyond that, i feel a little empty :( i could say lae'zel also kind of got closure for me, but astarion just had to run off screaming because the sun hurts him now and the others didn't even say anything. the moment before you head out for battle where all your allies say one last thing about you honestly felt more emotional to me than the moment you last see your companions.

i think a little celebration at the end where you could talk to the characters one last time would be cool but i wish we at least got DAI-style narration over pictures, just to know how everyone is doing (and i feel like that wouldn't be too hard to make?). it's like i got ripped out of the story at its storm-like climax and not at the "clouds parted, sun out: we get to finally go to sleep without worries" ending i'm used to in pretty much all media. idk if it's just me though.

NO IT IS NOT JUST YOU…. man i had so much to say abt this when i first beat the game but apparently i put it NOWHERE except into my best friend’s brain. so lemme see what i can say.

i also got the karlach and wyll in avernus ending and i rly liked it, that felt like a solid ending. nicely wrapped up their quest lines. but that was rly it?? nothing happened with shadowheart, the only thing i remember is her commenting that we’d be seen as heroes in baldur’s gate if we stayed. i had to convince lae’zel not to run off on me because i didn’t free orpheus, and i was mostly satisfied with that bc it seems like it opened her up to truly find her own path in life. i fucked up gale’s bc i didn’t really process the mystra deal so i told him to leave that damn crown in the water, and he kinda went “i guess that’s for the best” and that was like, the end of it.

so chronologically i ‘finished’ gale, lae’zel, and shadowheart, and then i got the astarion scene where he runs off because of the sun before karlach and wyll’s final scene. my literal love interest was in so much sudden pain that he had to flee the scene, and i didn’t get a single dialogue option to respond with? nothing but one companion making a smart mouthed and/or indifferent comment? and i couldn’t go after him bc that was immediately followed up by karlach’s final scene (which only had wyll and halsin present, for some reason). yeah you could say i was unhappy LMAO and that’s not even to mention his actual epilogue which - spoilers - is maybe two minutes of dialogue in an unknown location that doesn’t even discuss his hasty exit and feels barely more than a chat between friends. and now even THAT’S bugged 😭

anyway i think you’re so so right, i absolutely think we needed a final companion get together like in dai. they literally in the end dialogues talk about going to a tavern or something and i think had we gotten that instead of the disjointed scene on the shoreline it could’ve felt more conclusive and satisfying, bc it did feel very abrupt overall

also i think there was actually meant to be epilogue slides at some point? that could be a rumor though idk but that would’ve been nice too bc as it stands the only companions that i have any knowledge about post-game are astarion, wyll, and karlach. three out of nine people i had recruited. it’s weird! it’s disappointing! i came out of my first time beating the game mostly underwhelmed because act three felt so messy to get through and there wasn’t much of a payoff. i definitely see why so many people don’t finish act three…

anyway i’m typing all this in a car rn so i hope it makes sense but tldr you are not alone!! the ending/epilogue was largely unsatisfying for me as well 😔

[hibernationsuit-remade]

for good, companions, exit, future + toby!!! :3

For Good: Is there anyone in your OC's life who had an undeniable positive impact on who they are as a person? How did knowing this person improve your OC's life?

KLARA <3 I'd make a "i can fix him" joke but it's more of a "I can teach him to appreciate himself" skdkfkfkn He's selfless but also he's very self-conscious, and having someone who actually teaches him to put himself first (due to Klara's own social circle, she's somewhat a specialist in this) :')) Also they love and support each other sm :'))))

Companions: Is your OC part of an adventuring group? A band of travelers? A guild, a team, a crew? What's the group dynamic, and how does your OC feel about their companions?

Omggg I've wanted to talk about Toby & the canon Unreliable crew for so long but i'll keep it short this time bc i'm v tired rn andbjfjffkfxk

I'd say they have a very good group dynamic where while everyone is different and have their own views on the situation, they still work together & help each other out, and become friends :) They have small little parties and events and just hang out freely a lot :3

Tobias still feels weird about having a leadership position so "soon" after what happened on his last jon, he tries to minimize his decision-making by keeping Unreliable's business quite "democratic" and asking the crew's opinions before doing literally anything that may affect the crew or other people hehehe

I'd say he's really...grateful that these people decided to join him and actually thought that he's suitable for this role 😭 And while everyone goes their own way after Tartaris they still keep in touch :'))

Exit: Has your OC ever had someone important leave their life in a way that was unremarkable, unintentional, or clumsy? How do they feel about it? Is there any chance they'll meet again?

A really good friend from his childhood! Nothing bad happened except they might have lost each others' contact info after going to university and thus kinda...lost each other :')

Tobias was sad abt it at first and worried he wouldn't find any new friends but he did! So they kinda forgot each other at some point sjdjdjfjjf

As for meeting again, that's a good question bc I have no idea yet ehehe

Future answered here 🥺

oc asks: relationship edition

[wishicouldpostfromsecondaryblogs]

@zeebee823 THAT'S SUCH A COOL IDEA I HAD TO WRITE IT OUT IMMEDIATELY (along with geralt finding out abt Sandpiper even if he's too drunk to fully process lmao)

Also more Aves stuff here

"There are so many good ballads to make here," Jaskier sighs happily, looking over at the ruckus the other Witchers are making as they fight for the last bone on the table. "The pack of Wolves, reunited at last, denning down together for the season."

"Hm," Geralt says, equally as happily, enjoying the length of Jaskier stretched out on him. They may still be unusually hesitant around each other, kissing like trembling teenagers rather than decade-old friends falling into something new and wonderful, but at least they way they touch each other still has the same familiarity as before.

"Barring one Cat and one Griffin, though," Yen says, her need for accuracy winning out over the drunken sleep she was about to succumb to. She smacks weakly at Jaskier's feet in her lap, face scrunching up adorably in irritation, and Geralt leans over and kisses her for it.

What neither of them are expecting, though, is Jaskier choking on his drink at her sudden input and tensing up in their laps. Geralt turns to him sharply, Jaskier waving away his concern as he asks, "Did- did you just say Griffin?"

"Yes," Geralt replies, frowning at the way Jaskier grimaces at the affirmation. "Coën is a Griffin witcher. What-"

"Ah, fuck," Jaskier says, stumbling out of their embrace to his feet. "Shit, gotta talk to him."

Yen laughs at the look on Geralt's face as his drunken brain registers that Jaskier is now no longer in his lap. "Aw, is the puppy dog sad that his little birdie left him?"

"Fuck off," Geralt mutters as he helps her up, both of them stumbling after where Jaskier had disappeared. The bard had always been mind-boggingly fast when he was drunk. "I missed him, alright?"

Yen snickers and they lean on each other as Geralt tracks Jaskier's scent through the halls to Coën's room. After a few moments of admiring the stars outside, Geralt actually stops to think about it and grows more and more mystified by Jaskier's behaviour as they walk, curiously wondering what on earth had Jaskier acting like that.

The bard pacing outside the room when they approach, muttering and mumbling to himself under his breath, nervously pulling at his clothes every few seconds.

"COËN!" Geralt shouts, then hiccups. This way Jaskier won't have to worry for much longer. Yen helpfully kicks the door for them. "COËN!"

"Meletile above, Geralt, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Coën snaps as he jerks. open the door. Geralt wrinkles his nose at the smell coming from inside, then wrinkles it further when Remus waves cheerfully at him from the bed, half-naked. "Are you all drunk?"

"You're drunk," Yen shoots back intelligently, and Geralt nods in support. Coën looks at him with an expression seeming to question his choice of companions and also his sanity, then jumps in shock when Jaskier suddenly grabs him by the arms and turns him around.

"Coën! I am so sorry, I really didn't know you existed, promise!" He exclaims, looking beseechingly at the flabbergasted Griffin. "Really, I thought there was no one from your school left, I swear, or else we wouldn't have, wouldn't even have thought about it."

"Wh-what?" Coën says, looking towards the two of them for an explanation and also leaning slightly away from Jaskier. "What is he talking about?"

Geralt and Yen shrug at him- they've started doing things in sync nowadays, which makes him feel sort of gooey inside- and Coën rolls his eyes in exasperation and turns back to the bard. "Jaskier, what?"

Jaskier sighs in distress and pulls a hand down his own face. "Look, I- what do you know of the Aves?"

Geralt frowns. "The branch of the Resistance that helps the non-humans round the Continent?"

"Damn good at what they do, too," Remus says, lazily walking up and plastering himself to Coën's back. "Kind people, them. What about the Aves, bard?"

"Ah, well," Jaskier says, pasting on a smile and bowing to them all. "Sandpiper of the Aves, at your service."

Geralt feels his mouth drop open as he turns to look at Jaskier, even as Yen cheers drunkenly. "What?"

"You're the Sandpiper?" Coën says disbelievingly. Jaskier reaches into his jacket and produces a sandpiper feather with a wink and a smile.

"Fucking hell, Geralt," Remus says, impressed. "What on earth did you do to snag a catch like this?"

Jaskier ducks his head and blushes, pleased, eyes flickering to Geralt to see his reaction.

Geralt is still busy processing this new information that explains so much but also raises a million more questions- but stops everything to smile at Jaskier at the question, as mushily as his face will allow, tipping his head onto Yen's. "I have no fucking clue. I'm still trying every day to be good enough for him."

"How much did you drink?"

"He's amazing!" Yen cheers, which makes Jaskier go from a lip wobble to barely holding back tears, and makes Remus walk up and gently pry the bottles from their hands.

"It's an extremely noble thing that you and your team are doing, yes, but what on earth does that does this have to me being a Griffin, Jaskier?" Coën asks patiently, redirecting the bard's attention back to him.

"Right! Right- Geralt, Yen, I love you but please shut up for a bit now. So, here's the thing- when we first started the Aves, we needed a stronghold for the- well, everything, I guess. Papers, important people, a place to drink. But there isn't really a place that's, uh, free of soldiers or spies, right? So then I remembered that Geralt mentioned that the Griffin's keep was in Korvir, which is the one place far enough from Nilfgaard and Redania and Cintra to be safe. So we-"

Geralt raises his head from Yen's to stare indignantly at Jaskier, "You remember that, but you couldn't remember that I told you to get the peaches I liked from Oxenfurt seven years in a row?"

"Kind of- shut up, Geralt- tracked it down in the mountains- and got it repaired."

Yen opens her eyes to join Geralt in the indignant staring. "You could track down an abandoned Witcher's Keep in the mountains, but you got so lost in the fort today that four separate witchers couldn't find you?"

"Will you please shut up, Yen."

"Wait, wait," Coën interrupts, waving his hands about. He looks adequately like someone who was dragged from his lover's embrace to confront three drunks in the hallway and told his old home had been taken over by his brother's lover, who was also a key member of the Aves. Geralt, personally, has decided that he's going to process it all later. "Are you telling me that you... repaired the Griffin Keep? And people are living there now?"

"Well, yes, we had contacts in the area who owed us a favour," Jaskier says, shifting nervously. "And don't worry! We made sure the remains of the witchers trapped inside got a proper burial, and I made sure we could rescue as much of the place as we could, and-"

"Jaskier, Jaskier, it's fine," Coën says, letting out a laugh of disbelief and holding his hands out. "I'm not- I'm not mad, it's just a lot to take in. Are you serious?"

Jaskier nods.

"Damn. Fucking hell, can I see it?"

Jaskier perks up immediately. "Of course! It's your old home, you don't even need to ask." He scrambles through his pockets until he produces a xenovox from somewhere and flicks it open. "Alessandra! Alessandra, wake up, dear."

The xenovox light flickers on and a scratchy voice comes through, irritated and groggy from sleep. "Jaskier, you dick, it's fucking past midnight, what do you want?"

"I've met a Griffin witcher."

The line goes silent for a while. "Well, fuck," The woman says finally, "Are they mad?"

"No," Coën says, shaking his head and stepping forward to take the xenovox. "But I would like to see my home, if it's all the same to you."

"Of course!" The stranger says, sounding as earnest as Jaskier had, if still half-asleep. There's the sound of bedsheets being thrown aside and a loud crash. "One moment, I'll just track the xenovox and open a portal for you all immediately."

Geralt groans loudly. Jaskier shoots him an unimpressed look. "No one's making you come, you know."

"Shut up. I'm coming with."

"I'm not," Yen announces. "I will throw up if I do. I am gonna- hic- go to bed. Goodnight, assholes."

"Goodnight," They chorus to her as she goes, Remus risking his hand as he ruffles her hair when she passes, an unfortunate habit of his that they've all been violently subjected to.

A portal opens before Yen can kill him, luckily, and Jaskier and Coën slip through immediately. Remus cheerfully claps a hand on his back and dodges a fireball and does the same.

Fuck portals.

Jaskier's there on the other side, though- letting Geralt fall into his arms with a laugh and holding him close until the dizziness passes. Geralt nuzzles into his neck and snuffs, breathing in his scent slowly until he feels like he can stand without embarassing every witcher to ever live.

"Better, love?" Jaskier whispers. Geralt nods and stays in the hug a moment longer before straightening up and looking around.

His eyes widen.

It's a Witcher's Keep- just like Kaer Morhen used to be when he was a child; torches lighting up the grey stones to brown, heavy tapestries and cloth draped over the walls, well-worn tables and armchairs in the centre and books and papers and weapons all scattered across them. There's people running about, children and adults alike, scampering to clean up the mess and staring at the four of them with wide eyes.

It's so different. Unscathed from violence. Geralt hadn't realized how many grief-filled memories the Wolf Keep held in the blood spattered on its stones until he'd walked in here.

Remus seems to be thinking the same, if his awed melancholy is anything to go by. Coën is crying silently beside them, eyes darting around the whole place intently, like it would disappear if he blinked. He's trembling too, and Geralt let's go of Jaskier so he can half-hug his brother in comfort.

A woman walks towards them from the end of the hallway with a determined air around her and holding herself with authority, looking like she was about to charge into battle any second. The people scattered around the room fall into place behind her in a tangled jumble, staring at them and whispering amongst themselves.

"Master Griffin," Alessandra says in a clear, strong voice as she reaches them, meeting Coën's eyes unflinchingly. "If you hold any grudge against us being here, if in any way you think it a slight against your brothers and sisters, then just say the word, and I promise we will leave your Keep immediately."

Coën visibly gathers himself back together and puts his hand on his shoulder with a bark of laughter. "Madam, please. My brothers and sisters would have been honoured to house the members of a noble cause such as your own in our halls. Of course you can stay. You all can."

A huge cheer goes up in the halls, tension visibly breaking, and Jaskier throws himself onto Coën with a whoop, hugging him so tight that Geralt hears his joints crack.

"Why the fuck did we get stuck with the fucking assholes and not Coën's instructors? Fucking unfair," Remus grumbles to him, and Geralt hums in amusement.

"Your maintenance of the place is beautiful," Coën praises enthusiastically. "Better than even when we lived here. You've truly done a spectacular job here, my fair lady. Now, come! Let's see the rest of it!"

Alessandra stares at Coën with wide eyes, looking slightly teary and very overwhelmed. "Dammit, Jaskier," She hisses wetly, smacking the bard without looking away from where Coën is leading the children further into the Keep. "What the fuck? Why did you wake me up to supernaturally beautiful men complimenting me in the middle of the fucking night? I fucking hate you."

Remus laughs and pats her sympathetically on the arm, before pulling her along to where everyone was going. "Trust me, it doesn't get any easier in the daylight. Why don't we get you sent back to bed, sprout, you look like you're about to drop."

"Come on!" Jaskier suddenly pops up in front of Geralt as he goes to follow, and he barely stops himself from backhanding his lover to the ground. "No one's really here apart from the chaos children and the people who can't leave, but let me show you around!"

"You call this no one?" Geralt says amusedly, gesturing to the two-score crowd of people now surrounding Coën and Remus and chattering at them as they walk off.

"Yes, there's usually more when we all meet up- us Aves need a break too, once in a while," Jaskier says, towing him away in the opposite direction. "Let me show you my room!"

Ten minutes later, they are extremely lost.

"Why did I trust you again?" Geralt asks, scrunching up his face. The alcohol is wearing off a bit now, the buzzing in his head less loud, and he has enough of himself back to feel more or less exasperatedly fond of Jaskier's horrible navigation sense.

"Oh, hush, you," Jaskier chides, opening random doors and peeking inside. "I know this hall, it has the unicorn tapestry on the left side, which means- aha! Welcome, Geralt, to my humble abode."

Geralt walks in and is immediately assaulted by the pleasantly musky scent of the warm room, with hints of Jaskier's perfume in the background. "Nice room."

Jaskier preens. "Thank you, darling. I transferred most of my stuff from my Oxenfurt room here when we all jumped ship, and it made it quite homely, if I do say so myself. Ah, don't- be careful with those papers, they're important!"

Geralt skims them, shifting the delicate pages to the side. They're names- rows on rows of people whom the Aves have rescued, persecuted for something or the other, as well as maps and intensive sketches of webs of people allied and at war. "Jaskier."

"Yes?"

Geralt looks him up and down with new eyes, trying to spot the leader of the Aves in his old companion's frame. "You did all of this?"

"Yes, well," Jaskier smiles softer, walking up next to him. "I'm well aware of the privileges I had when I was back at Oxenfurt, as did the others. And we- after the- the Tree-" He swallows hard, visibly fighting back tears. Geralt pulls him close and rubs his fingers gently. "After that, Geralt, I- I had to do something with all that extra leeway. I had to."

"It's amazing," Geralt says, voice full of emotion. He kisses Jaskier. "You're amazing."

Jaskier ducks his head and blushes again, blotchy red high on his cheeks. He's tipsy as well- not going off into fictional grand tales or bragging. "Oh, shut your gab, it wasn't much. All I did was pester my friends into research and help a few families get to where they needed to go. Everyone else did the rest."

"You shut up," Geralt says, kissing his cheeks. "Doesn't look like the Aves would have existed without you, Jaskier. And even your part requires an incredible amount of bravery, that shit isn't as easy as people say it is."

"Don't I know it," Jaskier huffs. "Thank you, Geralt."

Geralt hums, nuzzling into Jaskier's neck. He hesitates as something occurs to him, but the alcohol loosens his tongue before he can stop himself, "... Have I been holding you back, all these years?"

Jaskier snorts. "Did you see a war waging these past years for me to be a part of the Resistance for? Do you think I secretly wanted to be a spy in the courts of the spoiled nobles all these years rather than go on our wonderful, fun adventures? I chose to follow you, you dumb lump of coal. Hell, if anything, the sheer amount of horrors I've seen you take down without breaking a sweat helped harden my nerves enough for me to do this whole thing in the first place."

Geralt sniffs and wraps his hands around Jaskier, mollified.

"And it... hurt, thinking of you," Jaskier admits, and Geralt presses an apologetic kiss under his ear. "But, Meletile, Geralt, you have no idea how many times we had a close call and I would be so fucking scared, because I was responsible for people now and if anything happened it would be on me. And then I'd run my fingers through my midnight scarf and it would feel like you were there next to me, and that I could do it."

Geralt presses in closer and makes a note to dye some more clothing for Jaskier when he gets the time. "I'm here for real now."

"You are," Jaskier says fondly. "And I wasn't expecting it to get this big, you know? But then more and more people joined in, and next thing you know, I'm an urban legend."

Geralt hums happily. "Good. You deserve to be a story too."

Jaskier laughs, loud and delighted. "Geralt! That is the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. Oh, come here, you."

They kiss for a good long while.

"You're the Sandpiper," Geralt says again when they stop for breath. He can see it now, actually- a version of Jaskier made of the little skills he'd picked up through the years; haggling and persuading and running and comforting and hiding and cunning. He tries not to, but ends up pouting a bit, petulantly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not the easiest thing to confess to without sounding like a lunatic?" Jaskier raises an eyebrow. "Yen only knows because she found me as the Sandpiper while the idiot was on the run. But regardless, I was gearing up to tell you anyway. Probably would have told you in a week. Or three."

Geralt hums and kisses him again. "I have so many fucking questions for you, by the way. About how the fuck you managed to take over a lost Witcher's Keep, for one, when you can't even stitch our clothes well enough after all these years."

"My stitches are perfectly fine, you boor," Jaskier replies heatedly, kissing him back. "Both of us just have extremely active lifestyles that end with them tearing again and again."

Geralt hums mockingly and Jaskier huffs and shoves him onto the bed. He climbs in after, eyes twinkling. "Now. We seem to have gotten ourselves a perfectly empty hallway all to ourselves, with no one around to hear us. Up for some fun, darling?"

Geralt moans teasingly and puts his hands up to grasp the bedpost. "Yes, Sandpiper," He replies in the same tone Jaskier calls him the White Wolf and Jaskier throws his head back to laugh and then pounces.

[strawberrybabydog]

YOOO death is one of my special interests too. Death and cats. Anyways did you know spotted hyenas can consume an entire buffalo in under an hour and have been known to form packs up to 100 members strong? They also laugh in different tones depending on their positions in said pack and their cubs sleep together but in dens that adult members of the pack can't access. HYENAS ARE COOL. Anyways I really wanna hear more abt cadaver dogs? I used to want to train sled dogs as a career and I want to know about the corpse snoofers. -Jiggly

(2/2) I KNOW I JUST SENT YOU THAT MESSAGE BUT I JUST SAW. I have been struggling with my Canid(possible) Kin type because I just don't like dogs irl. Like they're fine and used to be a major special interest of mine but I'm a very different person now so I've always felt like "I can't be a dog I don't like dogs". Please don't worry though i do like you. Possibly the only dog I wouldn't be allergic to. -Jiggly

~♡~

i didnt know any of that about hyenas. a whole buffalo?? the whole thing? thats crazy!!! hungry doggies :0) tbh i dunno if ive ever even seen a hyena pup either, only adults i think. thank u for sharing ur hyena facts with me!!! every time i meet a wild canine alterhuman im always like... e_e ehehe!! hi pls be friend ♡

cadaver dogs are a bit hard to find info on, the western world has this "death creepy, death bad, sweep death under carpet never talk about death" sort of mentality and that sadly applies to careers in death (even the nonhuman ones!!) - i'm hoping to buy a book on cadaver dog training soon enough. i doubt i can apply most of it to my own training, and even if i dont end up in a career of training i'd still love to know about cadaver dogs. sled dogs are fun too - my delusional companion is a siberian husky who's terrified of all things that move fast, but i know he'd love sledding if he could :0)

tbh -- i really only "dislike" biodogs in general because a lot of them are stinky to me, and i prefer biocat's soft hair to touch. theyre sensory processing disorder things. i also am not at all fond of most small breeds. but... i do love playing with biodogs around my size, even as a "human." but -- you dont need to like your species. think about it this way: no alterhuman likes being physically human! this isnt to say you are a canine 100% - i just mean it's not necessary & im sure tons of other alterhumabs struggle with their own species as well!

[yomiurinikei]

(Crawls out of my thousand year rest) Can you do Kokoro and Iroha bonding fluff? Not romantic platonic please ;; If you don't wanna do this request I don't mind though!!

hi jennifer!!! these are shorter bc low inspo! sorry abt that bro, i hope u still like these!! there's still 22 bullet points, so i hope it's enough??

~*~Kokoroha platonic hcs!

•kokoro, watching iroha exist: damn girl you live like this??

•kokoro has a sense of right vs wrong and cares abt people bc she's not a ableist stereotype, so she cares abt iroha!

•and she's worried abt her, seeing how she interacts with others;;

•so! kokoro decides to try and talk with iroha

•iroha understandably wouldn't respond very well to "hey the way u act rn is probably gonna fuck u up in the future" so kokoro goes a different route!

•she just goes to hang out with iroha! bc she thinks that it'd be nice to b friends with iroha :)

•if this is in game, then iroha is fucking "ahaha of course i'd love to hang out!! :)" while internally abt to scream bc she thinks kokoro worked out she's a void and wants to kill her

•so they begin to hangout!

•feat. kokoro subtly introducing iroha to situations where she's forced to choose between something that'll definitely help only her, or something that may help herself and others, which she explains as "i want u to answer so i can see if they'll be good for my patients to answer!"

•iroha just rolls with it!!!

•as time goes on, kokoro, in the process of trying to help iroha, starts to better understand some parts of emotion she wasn't quite getting

•and... that's when she realizes she hasn't been going around helping iroha in the best way possible, but she genuinely cares abt the painter now, as a friend, so she comes clean

•iroha is upset!!! and rightfully so

•but after having some time to cool down, she realizes that kokoro really just does want what's best for her, and is genuinely trying to help,,,

•so! she talks things over with kokoro, and says they can still b friends as long as it's actual friendship this time

•and that's how kokoro and iroha became friends!

•they work together to help the other better understand emotions - iroha helps kokoro with hers, and kokoro helps iroha with navigating others

•theyre prone to just having days where they'll sit in one of their dorms and work on they're respective talents, just silently painting/working on a new study

•kokoro is there to help iroha be brave enough to make the right decision when it's hard, as well as respect others and not accidentally hurt them

•and iroha helps kokoro not hurt herself/not be brought down by other people's cruel words regarding kokoros alexthymia

•overall they're just there to help the other grow and develop, and as a companion!!!

•and yes, iroha has painted a busy-working kokoro many times before