#trickstermoose67

[catawampuscorner]

I'm back on my Muppets LotR bullshit 💅✨

✨Patreon✨| Bluesky

@ahsoka1 @all-hallows-evie @onwardsandsideways @pentowrite-wingstofly @pyromanicdaydreamer @dangerousstrawberrypie @clonecyare @youngcheesecaketale @techissweet @ladykatakuri @freerunner4427 @weridgreenaurora @burning-quesadilla @constellation-savvy @chromia7567 @ahsokatano-thetogruta @my-flights-of-fantasy @darkangel4121 @zoeyserpentluck @theproblemwithstardust @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life  @ladysongmaster @yellowflicker09 @mmmdixie @needlefrost @queencousland101 @imrowanartist @bloom-domino-akrum @evergreen-lyricist ​​ @molly-mcgiftens @korribanarchive ​​  @victoryandlife​ @negative-ghostrider @screamingmadvoid @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom @zaya @darknight-brightstars @trickstermoose67 @arkred @theredshirtsarecoming @mis-mcgifstenn @elismor @coline7373 @nekotaetae @dangraccoon @mandogab @jediava @thatgreyjedi @ladykatakuri @droids-you-are-looking-for @saphirlefanz @u-got-lokid @zaya-mo @yellowflicker09 @jonathananubian @AhsokaTanoFan25 @razor0-0 @thatgreyjedi @the-bad-batch-baroness @nerd-ika @quinchronicles @trixie2023 @sunshinesdaydream @passionat3 @mmmdixie @chaicilatte @ardent-crow @aknightreaderr @orangez3st @ladylucksrogue

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Chuck your name in here if you want to be tagged!

[nixie-deangel]

Tagged by @aqua-fail <33

7 comfort movies 🎥 🍿!

1) The Mummy

2) The Equalizer

3) How To Train Your Dragon

4) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

5) Rocky Horror Picture Show

6) The Princess Bride

7) Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Tagging: @trickstermoose67, @triskhellion, @lucide-dreamer-dreams, @a-redharlequin, @mxopifex, @buying-the-space-farm, @fuinixe and anyone else who'd liked to do this!

[jayofolympus-writes]

11, 12, and 22 please! 💜💜

11. Recommend a fic with an unusual/original headcanon or characterisation that you loved

Oh god do I really have to choose just one? I'm gonna be a cheater and go for 3.

the Time is a Dangerous Enemy series by @tumbleweedtech for the interesting take on Aen Seidhe gender is a must read

Endless Forms Most Beautiful by @liaonyxrayne is a lovely trans!Geralt fic that I adored

A Bloom of Warmth by @round--robin is a beautiful take on Erland and how his age must weigh on him sometimes

12. Recommend some fanart of an uncommon character, place, or event

I will never not screech over this art of Gaetan by @piranhaincaps, and @zkretchy 's Kiyan makes my brain happy

22. Give kudos to someone who deserves recognition for their contributions to the fandom (event mod, server mod, creator of rec lists, etc.)

Oh, the list here is endless. @continentcakeshop, obviously, but I would like to call out @trickstermoose67, @winter-fir, and @lookoutrogue specifically for all the cheering, prompting, and constant energy they provide

[lyriumwolf]

Music Tag Game Rules: shuffle your on repeat playlist and post the first 10 tracks, then tag 10 people.

Oh this one is interesting, thank you for the tag @saritasoyyo

1. De Selby Part 2 - Hozier My favourite song right now

2. Bury A Friend - Billie Eilish

3. Lights Out - Cities Last Broadcast I listen to a lot of instrumental stuff when i am reading

4. Demons - Hayley Kiyoko This song makes me think about Anakin/ Vader

5. Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush All time favourite

6. Leviathan - Atrium Carceri Again Instrumental, makes me think of the outsider from the Dishonored games

7. Get Jinxed - League of Legends

8. Mark On You - The Mountain Goats This one screams Obi-Wan and Anakin for me

9. Mermaids - Florence and the Machine This song is on my repeat playlist for months now

10. Not Entirely Alone - The Narcissist Cookbook I don't know if you even can call this a song, but it is just so cool

That was fun, tagging @hedwig-dordt , @trickstermoose67 , @meadmeinthemiddle , @enareil

[liaonyxrayne]

Nine Lines Nine People

I was tagged by @justhereforeskel and @round--robin <3 !

Weirdly I don't have any art I'd be willing to share with at least 9 lines? I tend to start them and finish them, or start them and then agonize over them for months (and most of the ones I'm agonizing over aren't...shareable). But.... I *have* been writing. Star Wars fic.

A ripple in the Force became a soft blue shimmer, and Ben smiled as the ghost of his former Padawan emerged next to Yoda.  Anakin gave him a quiet smile, all things forgiven now, in death.  The kids had this now; the future was in their hands.  As the pyre slowly faded, Ben closed his eyes and reached out to the Force, ready to let go, to be done.  Not yet, the Force whispered.  Still wrong.  Must change.   It swirled around him, the Light and the Dark, visions of a future where the Sith rose again, where it wasn’t over - the Empire would just come back.   “I’m already dead,” Ben pointed out to the Force.  “Luke doesn’t need me.”

Tagging people...*NINE PEOPLE!?* Uh. @tumbleweedtech @frenchkey @trickstermoose67 @jayofolympus @piranhaincaps... I have run out of names (because I just woke up and I'm v. sleepy). Play if you want to!

[the-berf]

To my absolute surprise, the friends with BDSM benefits fic has turned into a bit of a monster (so many kinks to try, so much learning to do, so many awkward situations to laugh off/talk through). So while that's brewing away, have some Carmy suffering. Dedicated to @trickstermoose67 who is a well of inspiration and patience. And to another very very dear friend who (probably) does not yet know this blog is run by a fool they know.

Yet They Came

All the shouting, arguing and stress was exhausting. Stuck in the fridge, Carmy sank to the ground. He'd chased everyone away, Richie was right, he was just like his mother. Claire was gone, he'd abandoned Syd when he promised he wouldn't, everyone heard his not so little meltdown so probably half the kitchen staff will never return. Absentmindedly, he rubbed at his lip. After everything, he'd still fucked up. Syd had been right, he was a piece of shit.

There was the sound of some powertool or other but Carmy was only distantly aware of it. A hollow emptiness ate away at him, it weighed him so far down that he was almost weightless. Sparks were flashing through the crack of the door and while his eyes followed them, Carmy's brain was loud static. Maybe he should have been left in the fridge, let the rest of his body be as cold as his heart. It wasn't like The Bear needed him, not really. They had proven that in the space of one night.

The flashes were getting brighter and more frequent with sparks which burned out, so much like Carmy himself. His time to shine had been brief and he'd snuffed it out before anything could truly come of it. More sparks, there was a glow emanating from the lock. With a final clunk there was a bright flash and Carmy jerked back with rapid blinks, momentarily blinded by whatever the tool was.

Mind snapping back into his body, Carmy rose on creaky knees. He didn't want to think about how much it was going to cost to get the fridge door replaced. He didn't want to think about coming back the next day and looking the remaining staff in the eye. He didn't want to think about anything at all.

As expected, nobody was waiting from him on the other side except for the guy who freed him. He'd send an invoice and Carmy would settle the bill then. Watching him walk out, Carmy was left alone in the spotless kitchen. There was nothing left to do. They got it all done without him. Rather than anger at his own restaurant not needing him, Carmy felt a resigned acceptance. Deep down, he'd always known he wasn't needed by anyone or anything. But it would have been nice to be. Turning the lights off, he headed home.

The next day Marcus opened up as usual. But Carmy wasn't in at his usual time. Instead the others filtered in. Tina, Syd, Ebra, Sweeps, Richie. One by one they came and settled into the routine of morning prep. Nobody said anything about Carmy's absence even as they kept looking around.

As the lunch rush started kicking off, Nat came in looking flustered. She looked around the kitchen, stuck her head in the office then returned to the expo.

"Where is he?"

"We assumed he's taken a day off," Syd replied between calls. "Yesterday was pretty shit for him."

"He's not replying to texts. He's not here. So where the fuck is my brother?"

"Hey, Sug." Richie's voice had a soothing edge to it. "He's probably just feeling sorry for himself. Why don't I try and call him, have a bit of a man-to-man chat, yeah?"

Despite his words he looked a little wide eyed. Memories of Mikey still too fresh in their hearts. As the phone rang and rang without an answer, Richie bounced a little. Once the voicemail kicked in, he hung up. "Or we could just go to his place. He owes us all an apology."

Though not running, there was no denying the rush in their movements. Nat drove while Richie fiddled with the sleeve of his suit; he had half a mind to really rip into Carmy after all the shit he'd pulled the previous night.

Climbing the stairs, panic was taking over. By the time they got to the door, Richie banged with a closed fist.

"Open up, cousin!" He called loudly and banged on the door again.

The angry "what?" was both a relief to hear but also infuriating. If Carmy thought that kind of behaviour was okay, he had another think coming.

"At least he's not dead," Richie joked and Nat glared at him. "Sorry, too soon."

"Dick." Nat knocked a little more gently on the door. "Carmen, let us in please."

Noises from within the flat suggested Carmy was approaching the door at a slow shuffle, the odd bump and thump accompanied by a grunt. Through the closed door he growled "the fuck you want? Another round?"

"Carm, we were worried you hadn't come to work."

"Don't need to. I'm the boss."

"You're a little bitch," Riche snapped. His patience had worn thin. "Shouldn't have bothered coming to check on you. I was right, you're just like Donna."

The door wrenched open as Carmy near enough snarled. "Want to say that to my face?"

Except the desired effect was not reached. Sugar gasped as she stepped back, a hand over her mouth while Richie coughed out a laugh of disbelief. Standing in the doorway, Carmy was in ratty sleepwear which was fine. What wasn't fine was the blood smeared up his arm, across his forehead and in his hair where he'd obviously passed a hand through it. Even worse, his eyes were puffy and blinking rapidly where he squinted, except he was looking past them, not focused and gaze nowhere near either Nat or Richie.

"Carmy?" Nat reached out with shaking hands. It was only when she touched his arm that Carmy flinched, near enough violently and the hand that had been holding the door came into view. A badly wrapped dishcloth soaked in blood drew all attention. "What happened?"

"Nothing." A hand with blood crusted under his nails swiped at his face as Carmy tried to rub at his eyes before remembering he shouldn't. The long blinks and stare fixed vaguely on Richie's throat wasn't exactly encouraging.

Taking initiative, Richie raised a hand and waggled his fingers. There was no response. Flipping Carmy off had no effect either. Nor did doing the Macarena. Well, that one had Sugar looking at him like he was an insensitive asshole which...yeah, he was. As a last resort, Richie drew a hand back as if gearing up to slap Carmy. He stopped inches from his face and Carmy looked in the vague direction with a frown but didn't comment.

Nat cleared her throat. "Carmy, I'm coming in whether you like it or not. I need a drink of water."

Stepping aside, Carmy gestured vaguely towards the inside of his flat. "Help yourself. Just mind the remains of the coffee table."

Walking in on Nat's heels, Richie stuck his tongue out and scowled when Carmy didn't even look in his direction. But his attention was drawn to the coffee table, or rather, what was left of it. The glass top was shattered, most of the glass seemed to have been pushed to one side, there was a wet stain on the ground in the vague vicinity of the blood stain. Turning, Nat watched as Carmy stood near the closed door, not moving. She walked up to him, watching him blink rapidly as if just keeping his eyes open was agony.

"Carmy?" It made Carmy jump, he'd not realised Nat was so close. "What's going on? And don't say nothing."

The walls Carmy had been trying to hold up came crumbling down. His breathing turned rapid and shallow, hand running through his hair as he blinked away tears.

"I don't know. I don't fucking know!" Unmoored, he looked so lost until Nat wrapped him up in a tentative hug. All but folding into her, Carmy let out a small sob. "I can't fucking see. You shouldn't be here."

Gently, Nat rocked them, glancing over her shoulder at Richie for any kind of help. None was coming, neither of them were truly equipped to deal with such a thing. "I'm here because I want to be. Now, I'm going to lead you back to bed because I don't want you cutting your feet on the glass. Richie can help clear that up, can't you?"

As much as Richie wanted to protest, he nodded. Rather the broken glass and blood stains than a broken Carmy. Still, he kept an ear on the bedroom where Nat helped Carmy sit on the edge of the bed.

"Tell me what happened since last night."

Haltingly, Carmy began. Getting out of the fridge, his vision carrying the sparks from whatever tool he'd been set free with. Sleep coming for him eventually but he woke up to a headache in what he thought was the middle of the night. Except he couldn't see the streetlights, the TV was nothing more that a painful blur when he'd turned it on. The realisation that he couldn't see compounded by being so utterly alone. Even if he'd wanted to, his phone was impossible to use without being able to see it. Trying to find it, he'd tripped over the table, crashed through it and broke the glass. Knowing that nobody was coming, Carmy had tried to clean up as best he could, had no clue whether he'd succeeded or not.

"So what were you going to do?" Sugar asked softly. "If you thought nobody was coming, what did you think would happen?"

Carmy shrugged, twisting the bloodied dishcloth between uninjured fingers. "I don't know. It's not like The Bear needs me. You, Richie and Syd proved that last night. I just-" he trailed off with a hard sniff, "-thought you'd all forget about me and keep the place going."

The pained "Bear" from Nat was somewhat echoed by Richie as he barged into the room with a declaration of, "You're kind of impossible to forget, idiot. Now, did you say you stared at the pretty sparks and lights last night?"

Resigned to his not-to-be-forgotten fate, Carmy nodded and closed his eyes. They burned, felt like sand coated his eyelids, in short it was pain he couldn't really deal with. It was why he'd thrown his phone across the room, not when he realised he couldn't call someone but when he thought there was nobody that he could call. Yet Nat and Richie came anyway. Relief and guilt coursed through him but they seemed adamant in looking after him. Caving in, Carmy guiltily allowed the other two to take control of the situation. By the end of the evening he was on Richie's couch, eyes much less painful after being prescribed some drops and the reassurance that he'll be fine within a day or two.

Sure enough, the next day Carmy walked into The Bear, shoulders hunched as he braced for what was to come. He had a lot of apologies to issue.

[catawampuscorner]

Rex never has to wait too long to get his ARCs back lmao

✨Patreon✨| Commissions | Bluesky

@ahsoka1 @all-hallows-evie @onwardsandsideways @pentowrite-wingstofly @pyromanicdaydreamer @dangerousstrawberrypie @clonecyare @youngcheesecaketale @techissweet @ladykatakuri @freerunner4427 @weridgreenaurora @burning-quesadilla @constellation-savvy @chromia7567 @ahsokatano-thetogruta @my-flights-of-fantasy @darkangel4121 @zoeyserpentluck @theproblemwithstardust @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life  @ladysongmaster @yellowflicker09 @mmmdixie @needlefrost @queencousland101 @imrowanartist @bloom-domino-akrum @evergreen-lyricist ​​ @molly-mcgiftens @korribanarchive ​​  @victoryandlife​ @negative-ghostrider @screamingmadvoid @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom @zaya @darknight-brightstars @trickstermoose67 @arkred @theredshirtsarecoming @mis-mcgifstenn @elismor @coline7373 @nekotaetae @dangraccoon @mandogab @jediava @thatgreyjedi @ladykatakuri @droids-you-are-looking-for @saphirlefanz @u-got-lokid @zaya-mo @yellowflicker09 @jonathananubian @AhsokaTanoFan25 @razor0-0 @thatgreyjedi @the-bad-batch-baroness @nerd-ika @quinchronicles @trixie2023 @sunshinesdaydream

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Chuck your name in here if you want to be tagged!

[nixie-deangel]

Rules: shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten people.

tagged by @triskhellion also tagged by @trickstermoose67 <333

Rain by Rag'N'Bone Man

Before You Snap by Yonderboi

fine by Mike Shinoda

Crave You by Fighting Facilities

Texas Tea by Post Malone

Achilles, Come Down by Gang of Youths

Trauma by NF

Unknown (To You) by Jacob Banks

About Damn Time by Lizzo

Beautiful Crime by Tamer

Tagging: @asexual-fandom-queen, @tragicallyham, @veelawings, @phoenixspencer, @wernnaa, @renmackree, @eevylynn, @favoritedarkness, @inkspottedtea, @howlbrooklyn and whoever else would like to do this!

[continentcakeshop]

Cake Shop Winter Gift Exchange

Today's fic was written by @jaskiersvalley, a gift for @trickstermoose67! The fic is

Once Upon the South

Rated: M Pairings: Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher) Minor or Background Relationship(s)Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of RiviaGaetan/Letho z Gulety | Letho of Gulet

On one of his annual visits to Corvo Bianco, Lambert hears about someone who might be able to swear better than him. With nothing better to do, he embarks on a journey to prove he is the best at swearing on all of the continent.

[justhereforeskel]

Tagged by @valandhirwriter 💜 I honestly haven't written in forever, but @dreamingwitcher reminded me about the wild coffee shop AU I'd never finished, so I've been puttering at it again 💜🐺 > Eskel watched, fascinated, as Eric’s fingers nimbly directed the needles to create beautiful stitching. < I definitely don't have that many people to tag but I'll do my best! Tagging @round--robin @on-a-lucky-tide @trickstermoose67 @kueble @witcher-and-his-bard @dreamingwitcher @a-kind-of-merry-war @heartoferebor @blackberrywars As always, only if you want to! No pressure! 💜🐺

Oop. Got tagged by Professor @ink-and-dagger. Gotta turn in my homework.

RULES: Post the last sentence you wrote (fanfic / original / anything) and tag as many people as there are words in the sentence.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Silco and Sevika sharing a look. Finn continues, oblivious to the silent conversation happening in front of his eyes.

What could this be? 👀👀 Perhaps a TMSA teaser?

I'm not tagging that many people lol no way

No pressure tags: @ilikemymendarkandfictional @deny-the-issue @medic-simp @beardyladyqueen @juniper-sunny

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Hi Rawr, I've seen many posts floating around about season two of TWN. One positive thing has appeared on netflix: You can have an hour long video of the large fire in the main hall, with occasional music from s2 in it. It's like many of those fireplace videos, but I'm liking it a lot so thought I would share.

In the meantime, the way you write Eskel and tw3 Eskel are my canon Eskel and I adore him ❤

Ahh, Tricky, that sounds so nice! I'll have to look it up. I've been having helluva bad time with sleeping recently, so this might be the perfect white noise in the background. :3

Thank you! My Eskel (and Lambert, Coën, Geralt and Vesemir) will remain wholly unchanged. Fear not.

[tumbleweedtech]

Hello! For the WIP game I am curious about It should have been raining, could you tell us a little about that? ❤️

Hello my dear, you and @blackberrywars asked about this one (thank you both<3) so I'll answer you both here. It Should Have Been Raining is a Critical Role fic, spun up again with the assistance of my beloved @hungarianbee. It's Essek-centric, and it's me back on my bullshit. There's language issues. Cultural issues. And my thoughts on the Luxon and consecution. I really should attempt to write it, it's got a lot of thinky-ness in it. You can have the tiny bit I've written so far:

It should have been raining. The sun should’ve been bright in the sky. There should have been something to mark this day as the moment that Verin either fell from grace entirely, in a public scandal that would rock the Dens, or a final successful assassination that would bring an ignomious end to youngest souls of Den Thelyss. It was no surprise that they weren’t close, no matter how inseparable they had been in their youth. Verin would always know his brother’s face in a crowd, his damnable floating keeping them at a height. But it had been many long years since Verin recognized the man he grew up with. 

[thirstyforred]

Hiii friend, for the WIP asks can I ask about Father's Lies & Others? <3

hiii

i have a few things in this file, Father's Lies is a drabble series about how some of the Flaming Rose knights perceive their leader de Aldersberg. At this moment all drabbles are published, but if at some point I write more, I'm gonna just post them. Back in April I read and watched the entirety of Golden Kamuy and it did not leave me normal xD

Father's Lies sort of reflects the situation of soldiers from the 7th division in the manga, where they trust their leader, and almost see in him this fatherly figure, and in some cases, they're at peace with the fact that this trust will be abused because this man is focused on goals that actually do not involve them. So basically loads of daddy issues, maybe with some gay undertones 😅

Others is not a drabble but sorta an expansion of this whole situation, focusing just on Siegfried of Denelse and Ulrich (later the leader of Fallen Knights). Idk yet how shippy I want it to be, but Ulrich is tasked with 'corrupting' Siegfried so we will see where it will take me 😈

"Do it slowly." That were the Grandmaster's instructions. Spoken in the confidence of his office, away from the prying eyes and ears. However, not in complete secrecy, the summoning came loud for everyone to hear, so they knew that Ulrich was granted a private audience. All part of the plan. Easy to see, once one knew enough of the other parts. Edges of the puzzle coming together. "Make it so each and every one of his doubts is turned into righteous certainty. Siegfried is a smart youth…" Meaning he can be lied to, but only once. That one has to really make him believe in something, to the point that lies are no longer necessary.

[nixie-deangel]

thanks for the tag @partialtotheperiwinkleblue <3

Tagging: @renmackree, @aqua-fail, @lisellevelvet, @thedunesea, @wayfareramongthestars, @trickstermoose67, @inkspottedtea and whoever else would like to do this!

tagged by @aikinn !! thank you ! picrew game !

Make yourself! And your blorbo from your shows! Then tag some friends!!

tagging @fawndlyvenus @xxatlasxx @wildelydawn @istudyrainbows69 @efkaservicegirl and anyone else who wants to do this!

[wren-of-the-woods]

For the get to know you asks:

What are your top three/favourite songs from each of the TAD albums? ❤

Oh boy, trying to choose favorites out of TAD songs is always so hard! After much thought, here are my current top three per album as of this moment -- it tends to change week by week lol.

Love Run: 1: Not Yet/Love Run, 2: Shower Day, 3: Elsa's Song

The Horror and the Wild: 1: Farewell Wanderlust, 2: The Horror and the Wild, 3: Wild Blue Yonder

Ruin: 1: Drinking Song for the Socially Anxious, 2: The Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace, 3: Secret Worlds

Thank you for the ask!! This was very fun <333

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

Geraskier soulmate au with soul marks? 👀

OooOo, okay so right off the bat I’ll say that I don’t tend to go for soulmate AUs, so this is new territory for me!

I’m gonna establish this right away - soulmarks fucking hurt. Like, getting-a-tattoo hurt. Some people are better at dealing with it than others, but its generally accepted that if you need to take a day off to suffer through it then that’s fine. Some people have teeny tiny soul marks, some people have HUGE ones that take days to complete.

Jaskier’s soulmark is, predictably, enormous. It comes in when he’s 17 years old, back when he’s still a Viscount. It starts on his upper shoulder and being the cocky lil shit he is he initially thinks oh, this is fine. Spoiler alert: it is not fine. It takes two days for the burning to stop, and he finally leaves his room broken and exhausted. He refuses to show anyone - especially not his parents, who’re desperate to see it. Three days later, he’s vanished - no note, no anything - all that’s missing are a few items of clothing and his lute.

Geralt doesn’t have a soulmark. Witchers don’t have soulmarks, he’s told again and again. The mutations, the trials, the strain. And in any case - it’d be futile - Witchers live longer than humans but are also more likely to die in the field than humans. Geralt’s soulmark comes in anyway, on the same day he’s fighting a cockatrice. He doesn’t even register the pain of it under the slash of the cockatrice’s talons, and when he’s healed whatever it might have been is now just a mess of white-ish scar tissue.

So - everything occurs as usual. Geralt is alone, and becomes the Butcher of Blaviken. Jaskier bounces from place to place, seemingly at random, journeying alone (apart from his lute), as if looking for something. Their paths finally cross in Posada, and Jaskier throws himself at the witcher, attaches himself to him - even after their encounter with the elves that leaves him bruised and broken. 

They travel together, on and off. Its nearly a year since Jaskier sat himself at Geralt’s table in that tavern when the pair find themselves ambushed by rotfiends and are both caught in the sticky, explosive mess. Geralt has to virtually push Jaskier into the river, dunking him beneath the water and pulling off his shirt so he can be free of the rotfiend acid. Jaskier wriggles and protests but Geralt isn’t having any of it, and soon his shirt is discarded and Geralt sees - for the first time - the marks and lines crawling across Jaskier’s shoulders, down his back, snaking across one shoulder. It’s a soulmark, says Jaskier, and Geralt responds - Yes, I can see that. What is it? And Jaskier looks unsure, for once, and mumbles and stutters then finally - a map, he says, breaking Geralt’s gaze, a map that led me to you.