Concept #3: Time Goes On, And Even As He Sings Sombre Ballads Everywhere He Goes, Jaskier Also Makes

concept #3: Time goes on, and even as he sings sombre ballads everywhere he goes, Jaskier also makes it a point to actively stay out of Geralt’s path. It isn’t easy, especially after knowing his presence so well after years of travelling together (where there used to be times when he could step onto a dirt road after months apart, and somehow still find his way back to the Witcher, no matter where he was or how far apart they were) but he pulls it off.

People stop knowing him as the Witcher’s companion, and just know him as a travelling bard.

He travels from town to town, village to village, city to city - and they listen to his songs but refuse to remember them; the heartbreak in every word just too much for them to commit to memory. He then leaves every tavern, every inn, every pub - feeling in his bones how his worship dwindles day by day, and how soon no one will sing for him, and how then he will simply fade from being.

He thinks. He hopes.

He goes to bed with a wry smile and a heaviness in his body (age, he presumes, catching up to him) wondering if tonight will be the night - only to wake up the next morning because there’s still some worship left out there, and still some song left for him to sing. So he does. He continues. He travels, and he sings. And day by day he slowly weakens - because, you see, that’s just the way brokenhearted deities go.

But then, there will be times. Incredibly odd and extremely rare days. When he’ll be walking and suddenly stop in his steps; or he’ll be sleeping and awake with a start in the dead of night - and he will feel that familiar tug in his chest, that used to lead him to a certain someone who used to matter so dearly to him.

Who still matters so dearly to him.

And Jaskier will know that it’s time for him to make a run for it. To pick up his pace. Whatever he needs to do to get out of dodge before Geralt gets too close. Because he just can’t, you see. He just.. won’t. He’s not ready, and he doesn’t think he ever will be. He’ll put as much distance between them as he possibly can, leaving nothing but the faintest memory of ever having existed behind him. After all, travelling bards were a fairly common thing, so most places wouldn’t even give much thought to his comings and goings, let alone care enough to tell a Witcher about him if they should ask.

And he doubts Geralt would ask. Why would he?

So he’ll slip out of rooms in the dead of night, or avoid the next town he had been hoping to stop at, and keep walking until his knees ached and his feet hurt. If he has the coin for it, he’ll ask for a horse; he rarely has the coin for it, these days. He’ll keep going until his chest stops aching, until it no longer feels as if his body is split in two; part of him longing to turn around, the other determined to keep moving onward. He’ll make the next town, or even further, if he can. He’ll find a tavern. He’ll sing some songs. He’ll make enough to eat before going further on his way.

But sometimes, the ache - the tug - persists, and Jaskier knows this means that Geralt has not stopped. He knows this means that Geralt is still moving forward, ever closer. Too close for comfort. And though Jaskier knows he needs to keep moving to avoid him, he also knows his weakened bones would not be able to outrun a Witcher and his horse.

And so, it is during these times, that Jaskier will reluctantly pick up his lute, take a deep breath, then pasting a smile on his face, he’ll pluck out a fanciful tune and sing heroic songs - about a white-haired, golden-eyed Witcher - who saves damsels and fights monsters wherever he goes.

The townsfolk will laugh, and they will sing along.

And Jaskier will feel their worship bring new strength into his bones, new life into his lungs, and awaken the blood running through his veins. He’ll sing, and dance, and feel more alive than ever.

And he’ll hate every minute of it.

Because now he knows that there will be more days ahead of him. More weeks, more months to endure. More life and more time for him to waste away once he leaves this place. More nights to spend hoping that each night will be the night he finally fades from existence.

And even moreso, he’ll hate every minute because every note he sings to earn those minutes, is a reminder of every minute he used to spend with…

.…with Geralt.

And it hurts. It hurts to remember. It hurts to realise he’ll never have that again.

So when all is said and done, he’ll take the coin he’s made and make a run for it. Chest aching and heart pounding. He’ll hope the townsfolk somehow forget him once he’s gone. And he’ll hope that they somehow forget his music as well.

He’ll hope they’ll forget the songs; that they stop singing once he’s out of town. He’ll hope this is the last time he’ll be forced to do this - using his worship to prolong the inevitable. It was wrong, and it wasn’t very deity-like behavior.

But most of all, he’ll hope that this time… he finally outruns Geralt of Rivia.

For the very last time. Every time. Because he just doesn’t know how much longer he can run.

More Posts from Kestrel-cat and Others

kestrel-cat

3 weeks ago

"You know what I hate?" The Champion asked to no one in particular as he watched over the slow boiling pot of stew.

"Uh... Not having enough spices?" The Captain asked from his seat at the table.

Wild gave a nod. "Not what I was going for, but yes."

"Then what do you hate, Champ?" Wars asked while glancing over to the Vet. Legend was currently trying to stack his fork and knife on top of each other to no avail.

"How do I put this?" Wild tapped his chin in thought.

"As bluntly as you can." Hyrule chimed in.

"Fair enough. Why are certain clothes locked to certain people? It's fucking cloth." Wild complained with a laugh.

At first Wars was going to chide Wild for the language, but... He just couldn't. Wild had a point here.

"FINALLY!" Wind's loud voice startled Wars a bit as the Sailor had been awfully quiet in his seat. "Tetra and I both hate that stupid shit. What do you mean I can't wear heels? I'm trying to feel tall, and Tetra hates heels, and so somebody has to wear them."

"Tell me about it." Wild started. "Zelda let me try on one of her old royal dresses, don't ask how they survived a hundred years, and somebody had issues with that."

The Captain just laughed. Damn those social rules indeed. Wild in a dress wasn't something he was expecting to hear about today, but it was something that he could picture.

And the Champion would rock that dress.

"Heh, I've been thinking those rules were stupid since I knew they existed. So, since I was nine." Time joined the conversation. "I didn't even know what the big deal was back then."

"I'd ask how, but I'm afraid the answer would be too confusing." Twilight said.

"Oh, not at all, I was raised by forest spirits and a giant tree." The Old Man nonchalantly explained. "They didn't have concepts like "male" and "female." So imagine my confusion."

A claim that he made often but never elaborated on. Everyone, besides the Captain and Wind, thought it was a lie or a ruse.

Warriors just laughed, he couldn't help it.

"Oh little Mask and his insisting that he's a tree." Wars felt everyone's eyes turn to him.

Time laughed loudly. "You made that corporals life hell."

"I did not have time for that guy's bullshit. We are in the middle of a fucking war, if the kid says he's a tree then he's a fucking tree." Wars started to lose his composure from all of his laughing.

"What do you mean by "he's a tree"?" Sky asked while scratching his head.

"Again, I was raised by forest spirits." Time explain. "You lot, besides two, think this a lie. It's not."

"Time, your life profoundly confuses me." Sky said. "So they assigned you a tree?"

Time nodded.

"Instead of anything else?"

Another nod.

"Not like a boy tree? Just a tree?"

Another nod. "Two trees, to be exact. But yes."

"Two trees?"

"Maple and oak, to be exact."

Wars just watch the conversation with a grin. Oh, poor Sky. He must be feeling the same confusion that he and the Sailor had during the war.

"I feel so understood." Rulie said with the widest smile imaginable. "I'm just a Fae." He shrugged as the others turned to face him. "Not the legend kind of Fae. I was raised by Fairies."

"Well, now you can be a Fae tree. How lovely." Time stated with a laugh.

"What kinda tree?"

"Hmmm, you and the Captain both have the same one. Pine, and you can have maple too. As a treat."

"A Fae pine and maple tree. Nice."

"Are we just gonna brush over the fact that Wars already has a tree identity?" Legend asked.

"I do too!" Wind but in. "Take a guess, it's so obvious."

"Uh...Palm tree?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Correct!"

"What tree am I then?" Wild asked while seasoning a few cuts of meat.

"Willow." Time and Warriors both spoke at the same time.

"Damn, that was fast."

"You had this conversation before, hadn't you?" Sky asked while keeping his gaze locked to Wars. "So tell us our trees."

"Oh, alright, I'll try to remember all the specifics. It's been a while." Time laughed while tapping his fingers on the table.

"It all reminds me of the Minish. They have leaves instead of trees, though." Four, who had been quietly observing this whole time, finally spoke up.

"Oh, the Kokiri had leaves too. That's a whole other thing."

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kestrel-cat

7 months ago

me coming to your blog to give you a boop. (you cannot hide from me)

me when you boop me:

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kestrel-cat

3 weeks ago

Sky sees an unfamiliar foe and clearly goes through the standard Zelda Enemy Weakpoint Checklist.

1. Try to slash it.

2. Try to hit it from behind.

3. Try an item.

4. Go for the eye.

Meanwhile Twilight?

5. YEET

Art by @linkeduniverse

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kestrel-cat

5 years ago

Fandoms are for noticing all the Funny Background Events, because single readers cannot possibly find all of them on their own.

A Boy and his Goldfish

So I think we all remember the goldfish. This guy here:

That Gil manages to catch

Hold onto during the whole scene

Maneuver around

And even shield from the explosion.

But what I noticed recently while collecting my outfit reference was this little gem right here:

Yeah. That’s a fishbowl in the corner. But it could have been there before you say? Well…

Zoing is afraid of it. So it’s new. Gil kept the goldfish from TPU, the dork.

Bonus:

“Get Bigger Tub.” ….For mutant goldfish, perhaps?

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kestrel-cat

4 years ago

In the vein of those Din and Luke meet on Tatooine before they live the Star Wars?

I propose that Din is the ~sweetheart from back home story Luke tells people if they ask about that kind of thing, you know?

Nineteen year-old Luke who gets tossed into the deep end whe he joins the Rebellion, right?

Farm boy from Tatooine in a starfighter squadron filled with people like Wedge and Janson.

And all the hurry up and wait that happens, and a card game that springs up between missions. Some late night somewhere - Hoth, maybe - and it was just a little too much to toss and turn all night in the bunks, maybe tale a stroll through base. Stop by the hangar because someone’s always there - weather lie this you can bet someone’s fixing something or adapting it to make it work in these conditons, and anyway, anyway.

Hell of a lot better than being stuck with your own thoughts you know backwards and front.

Keep reading

Things Marinette Dupain-Cheng has contingency plans for:

Adrien Agreste is a serial killer

Adrien Agreste is a secret robot

Adrien Agreste is a Fae who wants to steal her soul

Adrien Agreste is the harbinger of an alien invasion

Things Marinette Dupain-Cheng does not have a contingency plan for:

Adrien Agreste says he loves her back

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kestrel-cat

4 years ago

Magical Girl AU

Agatha

Powers: Jäger cards. Her ancestors only bound willing spirits to cards, but every single one of them found a few new willing spirits, so now there’s a thousand or so cards hanging around. Agatha usually takes a selection and leaves the rest in an iron bound chest. This is nicer than it sounds – when the Jägers are together they can move between cards and she often comes back to find them all wearing different hats.

She lends them out sometimes, too, but only to people she really trusts.

Mascots: Castle and Beast, in their dingbot forms. When they power up they take on something close to their train and castle forms.

The first time Castle powered up there was a lot of “wait… really a castle? as in a building? did you just bend reality to move all those streets over and place yourself in the middle of this city?”

Violetta

Powers: Her powers are clothing based with her mascots providing different outfits with different powers as needed. The most commonly worn is the purple invisibility dress.

Mascots: Tarvek and Anevka. Anevka is a porcelain doll and Tarvek is a teddy bear, but the really high end and fashionably dressed kind. He has a button in his ear with Violetta’s symbol on it.

When they power up enough they can appear mostly human – but their eyes stay glass.

Zeetha

Powers: Magic swords.

Mascot: Her powers come direct from a goddess so she doesn’t have one.

Bang: She’s not… really a magical girl. But she has the willingness to stab, even if it’s with ordinary knives, a stolen Jäger card (Vole), and a really strong aesthetic.