#essi and dandelion and the coast and the ballad and

[karen-kurobara]

Some moments of the book "Sword of Destiny" that I want to highlight - Geralt worries that Jaskier will not be scared during a hunt.

Brief warning of No spoilers.

This second book, titled "The Sword of Destiny", ends at the same narrative point as the first season of the Netflix adaptation, so this post doesn't contain spoilers for the main plot of The Witcher. Instead, I will highlight scenes from the book that were not adapted for television.

Still, I want to give a extra warning that if you are reading the book, or intend to read it, this is because the following post contains minor spoilers for the "A little Sacrifice" story.

Having said that…

In the second book of The Witcher saga, "The Sword of Destiny", we can find the story titled "A little sacrifice", which unfortunately was not adapted yet to the Netflix series, however it is important to mention that Lauren S. Hissrich (showrunner of The Witcher Netflix series) has mentioned on twitter her intention to present this story on screen.

This whole story is pure gold, as it has many small moments that show how much Geralt and Jaskier care about each other on a hunt.

Let's go in order and highlight the feelings that each of these moments evokes.

Context.

Putting us a little in context, Geralt has to carry out of a job on the coast, specifically in an area that is at risk of flooding due to the rise and fall of the tide, so anyone who goes there has limited time.

Jaskier of course accompanies the witcher, under the excuse of getting information for a ballad and incidentally finding a gift for a friend (a second female bard named Essi, I love her).

So both, bard and witcher, are attentive to anything they can find, Geralt looks for clues to carry out the hunt and Jaskier looks for something beautiful while they reflect about the life, when the first moment occurs:

Jaskier sees a skull and gets scared.

I find it a bit cute that Jaskier behaves like a child, his attention jumps from one thing to another for everything around him, but the moment he gets scared, the first thing he does is call Geralt. Geralt of course reacts immediately but expects the worst even if it ends up being a false alarm.

The story continues, and they keep talking and reflecting (something they do a lot in this chapter), and without missing a beat...

Geralt sees a corpse and avoids it so Jaskier doesn't get scared again.

What I like about this part is that Geralt is not the typical "Geralt -I-don't-care-about-Jaskier's-discomfort-during-a-hunt-because-he-decided-to-follow-me- of Rivia"

We could say that Geralt just doesn't want to listen to the diatribe that Jaskier would undoubtedly unleash.

But I like to think that Geralt really does care about Jaskier's comfort, 'cause we know from the first book that the bard dislikes violence and death to the point where he gets quite upset (practically a panic attack), a fact that Geralt undoubtedly knows.

Now, let's take a short time jump to the of battle's moment.

Jaskier asks Geralt to hold his hand and they run away from the battle.

At the moment of maximum tension, Geralt and Jaskier are outnumbered, the tide is rising and the enemies keep coming. The only option is to flee, but Jaskier won't leave without Geralt.

It is important to mention that in this part Jaskier didn't run away, instead waited until he and Geralt were able to flee, although everything goes to hell after this.

Geralt tells Jaskier to run away while he holds off an entire enemy army with all the odds against him.

As we see, Geralt says that he will contain the monsters so that Dandelion can flee, although Geralt himself knows that he has no chance of winning.

This fact, that Geralt stays behind while the others get to safety, is really something that is repeated on several occasions under different circumstances (and that later I will do a recapitulation of all these moments)

I won't talk about how these two managed to get out of this situation, my intention above all is to highlight the dynamic that Geralt and Jaskier had during the hunt.

We can summarize this in a couple of points:

Geralt is annoyed that Jaskier follows him to dangerous jobs, but he doesn't blame him directly to his face.

Geralt is somewhat worried that Jaskier isn't anxious or scared during a job.

Geralt also prioritizes the safety of Jaskier (and civilians in general), deciding to sacrifice stay behind in each battle, but Jaskier does not abandon him so easy.

Jaskier insists on taking his hand and run away together (although I think this is not the general rule, who knows, I hope to be able to read more interactions like these in the books that I still have yet to read.)

I don't understand how there aren't more people talking about this whole scene, maybe because it's something extensive but I love seeing how these two are during a hunt (something we never really saw in the Netflix adaptation, the closest we got was the hunt for the "demon", a Silvan in reality, and his eventual kidnapping by the elves).

Finally, a brief apology for any grammatical errors that I have made, English is not my first language and I' m still practicing

#the witcher books #geralt book #geralt #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #sword of destiny #A little sacrifice

[xdandelionxbloomx]

Y'ALL DIDN'T WARN ME THAT THE WITCHER BOOKS WERE GONNA HURT SO MUCH

#personal #fndnsnnd #essi and dandelion and the coast and the ballad and #*crying unintelligibly*

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

Okay but like... since it's book canon that Jaskier/Dandelion hates Valdo Marx because he called him "talentless" and said he panders to the taste of the masses... I wonder if there were any times where Essi stood up to him to defend Jaskier

#essi: can i write a ballad about how much he sucks? jaskier: no poppet just leave that to me #essi: fine #jaskier #dandelion #valdo marx #essi daven #mine #the witcher #witcher #i mean... #essi lived on the coast and Cidaris is a coastal nation-state #so who knows if she's tried to go toe-to-toe with the Troubadour of Cidaris

[abluescarfonwaston]

I cant stop thinking about A Little Sacrifice..... please send help

*Tosses you that poor mermaid who deserved better than the town mayor in the hope she keeps you from drowning* It’s not possible to stop thinking about that short story. I’m very sorry. Here let me help. *Shoves you under*

It’s not possible to stop thinking about how Dandelion uses that tale to write The Little Mermaid. A story written by a gay man in real life. A story where the mermaid is unable to tell the man she gave every up for that she loves him and eventually turns to sea foam when he loves another.

It’s not possible to stop thinking about how in the start they talk about love requiring little sacrifices and how Geralt and Dandelion make them for each other. Because they love each other. Because in those first two books they are perhaps the only kind of love we see that doesn’t Destroy the people involved. (How Yennefer’s love is essentially a Curse for both Geralt and her- how True love transforms the beast back into a man as she kills him in A Grain Of Truth despite him not wanting to be changed back)

How Dandelion sets Essi and Geralt up like a good friend when he realizes they like each other. How he tells Geralt that he’s a normal person. That he should move on from Yennefer and Love someone normal like Essi. Someone who doesn’t treat him like dirt and make him feel like a monster. A mutant. A freak.

How, despite showing no jealously, it seems that he is the mermaid. Unable to speak his love. But Essi is the one who turns to foam.

Don’t think about how Dandelion is apparently the right size to wear Geralts clothing without comment. Or how they sleep in the same bed enough it’s not even noteworthy. It is in fact so common that Geralt groans about Dandelion being chatty in bed when he wants to sleep. 

Don’t think about how Dandelion picks Essi up and spins her around in his arms. How he is strong enough to do that. How much he loves poppet. His little sister.

How he carries her from the city in those same arms and buries her.

Don’t think about how Dandelion pulls Geralt to land. Screaming at him to ‘grab my hand’ and he does. Of course he does.

And don’t think about the song about a certain bard and a certain Witcher falling in love on the coast. And how nothing- not even death - could separate them.

And how he never played it. Not once.

Because it wasn’t really about Essi Daven.

And the mermaid cannot speak its love.

And really. Really don’t think about that werewolf. Ravenous and hungry. How it heard Dandelion, listened, and then went on its way. How at the end of the series Geralt, the man that death follows after, dies.

How death tells him her job is just to take his hand and lead him into the fog. So no one goes alone.

Don’t think about how Dandelion was ready to walk into the fog with him. Hand in hand all the way back in Posada.

Don’t think about how he carried Essi dead or dying - body ravaged by smallpox in his arms. Perhaps near unrecognizable with the disease. Ready to go with her too.

How, despite everything in our tale Dandelion survives.

Because death follows after Geralt. But she won’t touch Dandelion.

Love requires sacrifice. And perhaps the worst thing is to be the one left behind after the other is gone.

How ballads are meant to be felt - not believed. But all stories must have a grain of truth.

So he writes a song about a Witcher and a Bard and how not even death could overcome their love.

And he never sings it. Not for anyone.

Love requires sacrifice. And I will love you even after you are gone.

#the witcher #the witcher books #spoilers #a little sacrifice #dandelion #meta #essi daven #geralt #jaskier #you see this? This is why messages build up in my inbox #how did you know my exact button to push #is it cause people keep pushing this button and it keeps working #seriously brain please

[abluescarfonwaston]

Did someone ask for a quick and angsty immortal jaskier prompt? "It was supposed to be the music," he whispered, voice breaking. Heart breaking. "The songs. I wanted my songs to be remembered forever. I never wanted this."

Why would you do this to me anon. i’m already crying over the fact dandelion outlives everyone he loves. Major Character Death Warning. Obviously. Literally everyone dies. Uuuh also this kinda turns into Lambert/Jaskier at the end but like. They’re both Centuries old so nothing Happens.

When the wasting sickness swept through Lettenhove it killed his Mother and his Father and his Sisters and left him untouched. 

He was ten and the world was over. Except he kept waking up in the morning.

At thirteen a girl at Oxenfurt, Essi Daven, played her Lute in the commons and sang and had the most beautiful cornflower blue eyes. And for the first time in years he sang a duet with her and suddenly he was a bard and he had a little sister again. 

Maybe the world hadn’t ended. Maybe it finally restart.

At seventeen he met a man with white hair and seemly as many scars on his body as his heart and fell in love. Because Bards fell in love easily and he was impossibly easy to love.

The witcher plead for his life. Plead for them to let the bard go.

“No. Both of us or neither.” He was done outliving those he loved. At seventeen he was already done with that. “You kill him and let me go and i’ll destroy your mountain. Kill every last one of you in revenge.”

He’d leave behind a song. The one he’d written as a child and had swept the town more devastating than even the scarlet fever had been. It would live on past him. He would be remembered. The people he loved would be too. Toss a coin to your Witcher. The people he loved immortalized in song.

It wasn’t supposed to make him immortal.

“Give it a rest Jaskier.” Danity snapped. “It’s not you that has to be afraid of anything. No one ever touches a troubadour. For unfathomable reasons you’re inviolable.”

He’d still feared then. Chappelle could have had him killed. He was pretty sure he could die. Mostly he feared the pain. Or dying alone.

“When an old woman gets tired of life she walks into the woods without a weapon. The results are guaranteed.” He’d told Geralt when he’d moaned about how the world was changing and -more importantly- that he had no work.

Remember how I don’t even carry a knife when I follow you out on an adventure? No weapons at all. Ever. Just me and my lute.

He’d brushed death. A thousand times he’d almost met her. He followed Geralt- who was prophesied to always have death follow after him. You’d think at some point they’d meet.

Essi and Geralt fell in love on the coast. He wrote a ballad for them. About how their love was so powerful not even death could come between them.

He never played it. Not to anyone. He didn’t think it was actually about Essi and Geralt.

When rash appeared on Essi’s face in Vizima during the quarantine his hands shook.

“Not her.” He’d screamed at the gods. They didn’t exist of course. If they had then they’d abandoned them all long ago. “Not her.”

“Jaskier?” She shivered violently. “I don’t want to be burned.”

“You won’t be. You’re going to be fine.” He promised. Clutching her hand. “Promise Poppet. You’re going to be fine.”

The cremation fires blazed outside.

“I want to be buried in the woods. With my lute and-” She hurled mostly into the bucket. “My necklace. Please Jaskier.”

“Course Poppet. When you’re old and grey I will bury you out in the forest.”

“Thank you.” She clutched the little pearl. “For giving me him. I love him.”

“I never saw him happier than when he was with you Poppet.”

“What about when he was with you?”

“Oh come now.” He shifted her in his arms and moved the bucket a little further away. “You know me. I’m insufferable.”

“I love you Jaskier.” She cried as she shivered with less and less energy.

“I love you too Poppet.”

He carried her from the city. Into the forest. Her heart stopped beating before they arrived. He dug her grave and buried her with her lute and her pearl necklace.

With the pearl he’d given to her as a birthday gift. From him and Geralt.

When Regis passed it felt absurd. Humans weren’t supposed to outlive goddamn vampires in their fifth fucking century.

And then there was Geralt. Died in Yennefer’s arms along with her.

“It was supposed to be me.” He told no one as Ciri led their bodies out to the lake. “I was supposed to die with him.” Love so great not even death can part us.

But the story was never really about him was it?

Nenneke had a garden full of plants that grew under a crystal skylight. They didn’t grow anywhere else in the world anymore.

He’d asked Geralt about it. She’d said something about the sun and how it was changing. Apparently Geralt had asked why they all didn’t live under crystal skylights then, if it was so deadly.

“It’s already too late for us.” She’d said.

She talked liked the world was ending but the world ended all the time. And he still woke up in the morning.

Zoltan’s beard turned grey. He supposed he should have been thankful that Zoltan got to turn grey. It was better than most of the people he’d loved.

“How’s your fucking hair still Gold. You’re supposed to be getting old too!”

“I dye it.” He lied with a roll of the eyes. He’d stopped dying it years ago.

That winter he buried Zoltan too.

Golden eyes stared at him in confusion. “You look just like.” He started. His thin hair was grey. His wolf medallion gleamed in the sunlight that streaked into the bar.

“You’re one of the last Witchers i think.” He told him as the waves crashed outside. “Might even be the last.”

“Fucking hope so.” He sat down across from him and stole his beer. “Shitty job and a shitty life.” He squinted at him- which Jaskier knew was entirely unnecessary. He just forgotten to adjust his eyes. “What’s your name bard?”

“Dandelion.” He answered. It had been for the last century. “Yours?”

“Lambert.” He downed the drink. “You really think i’m the last? That worth a song? One of my brothers had a lot of songs.”

“Yes I suppose he did.” He waved for another drink. “And look what it got him.”

“Died surrounded by people who loved him.”

“Are you sure you know what a pogrom is?”

That got him a sharp toothy grin.

“I could write you a song but-” He was tired of burying people he loved.

“But?”

“I’m cursed you see.” It was definitely a curse these days. “I’ll live until the last of my songs is forgotten. I really don’t need anymore material.”

Lambert leaned forward curiously. “Doesn’t sound like a curse.”

“You don’t think it sounds like a curse?” He sneered. Lambert’s face faltered. “To outlive everyone you love?”

Lambert paused. Thinking. “Write me a song then. Play it just for me. So if my song’s the last we’ll go together.”

“And what’s my payment for this song?”

“Company.” Lambert’s grey eyes glittered. “You look like you need it.”

“Not as much as you. I bet you talk to your horse.”

“Well i know you do pretty boy. Heard you in the stable.”

He leaned back on the bench. “So what’s a Witcher do in a world without monsters?”

He shrugged. “Fish mostly.”

“I can do that. Once almost snagged a catfish the size of you. Got a djinn instead. Very bad deal honestly.”

“You expect me to believe that? I know about Bards and Ballads and how you’re all rotten liars.”

“Don’t forget about fisherman and their tales.”

The boat leaked worse than an old drunkard but it was small enough and the lake calm enough that it didn’t make him sick.

“I could just kill you. Curse probably can’t fix decapitation.” Lambert offered with his stick in the water. He claimed were bombs they could use instead if they got desperate. Or bored.

He smiled and shook his head. “Give it a try.”

Lambert raised an eyebrow but pulled a silver blade from it’s sheath.

His pole reeled and the boat tilted to the side, plunging him and the sword into the water.

He laughed as the attempted to drag the monstrous fish to the boat. Lambert cursed and climbed in. Yanking at the rod until the line snapped and they fell back into the boat in a painful pile. Laughing.

He didn’t remember the last time he’d laughed.

“Sing me a song bard.” Lambert would request from under his floppy sun brimmed hat. “No else up here but me.”

“There’s an entire stone keep on the hill.”

“No ones lived there in centuries. No one can hear you up here but me.”

He frowned at the ruins on the hill. Lambert kicked him.

He grinned and for the first time in decades - sang.

Maybe. Maybe the world hadn’t ended. Maybe it had finally restart.

“What was this place called?” He asked as they wandered through the crumbled ruin, covered in moss and ivy.

“Kaer Morhen.” He said like the words hurt him.

They hurt him too. He laughed.

He laughed some more.

He couldn’t stop laughing until Lambert smacked him hard enough to see stars.

“I never got to come here. Geralt.” He caught the flinch but moved past it. “Never trusted me enough to even let me know which country it was in.”

“So you were his bard.”

He nodded as Lambert kicked a stone apart. “He was right not to tell me of course. But.” It still hurt that his best friend hadn’t trusted him with his home. He’d taken Yennefer here. But not him. Never him.

He didn’t deserve Geralt’s trust. A thief, a liar, a spy, a bard. It still hurt.

“Well a wolf finally took you here. Is it everything you fucking dreamed?”

He took it in. “Nah. It’s rubbish.”

Lambert smirked. “Yeah. At least that hasn’t changed.”

“You’re hairs getting grey bard.”

“What?” He nearly leaped into the water in his haste to look.

Grey strands streaked his beard.

“Thank you.” He cried. “Thank you.”

“Still owe me that song Dandy.”

He wrote Lambert a lot of songs. Performed for an audience of one.

“Are you really okay with the fact no one will ever hear them? I mean what’s the point in being immortalized in song if-”

“Yeah. Didn’t give a shit about the songs.”

“Hey!” He protested. Kicking him where he lounged in front of the fire. “They’re good songs!”

He grunted in fake pain. Wiggled out of range. “Did Geralt ever tell you why he liked having you around?”

“My charming personality I assume.”

Lambert snorted.

He sat down on the floor and poke him. “Don’t fall asleep. Tell me why you think he did.”

“No one tells Witchers bedtime stories.”

“Oh.” Lambert was halfway to sleep already. “Would you like one?”

“Yeah.”

“What you think happens after?” They were huddled together. Old and grey as a storm raged outside. “We die.”

“I gave up on gods when i was a child.”

“So did i.”

“Then.” He paused. Listened to the howl. “Whatever’s next at least neither of us is going alone.”

Lambert squeezed his bony hand. “What’s the chance we see them again?”

“Hm.” He pretended to consider. “Well we’re definitely going to hell so-”

“Like anyone we gave a shit about wouldn’t be.”

“Point.”

He closed his golden eyes. “Hey Dandy.”

“Yeah?”

“Sing me out.”

“It’d be my pleasure.”

And quite singing filled the drafty cabin until the song stopped.

The world ended.

And at long last no one woke up in the morning.

#geraskier #Jaskier x Lambert #Immortal Jaskier #jaskier #Essi Daven #canon deaths #play me out Dandelion #Let's go together #also Anon I specifically Requested NO IMMORTAL JASKIER CAUSE IT NOW BREAKS MY HEART #damnit #hope this breaks your heart you bastard #thanks for the prompt #someone send me fluff #writing