#emralt headcanons

[kapitan-hurma]

Emralt headcanon #678363:

In moments when Ciri loses her temper, Geralt notices a familiar harshness: her eyes grow sharper with a dangerous, predatory gleam, and lines crease her forehead and the bridge of her nose, just like her father’s. Geralt can’t tell whether it infuriates him or, conversely, endears him. He just has to somehow come to terms with the fact that Emhyr reminds him of Ciri much more often.

[kapitan-hurma]

Fortune teller (staring into the future): Goodness... what a destiny has fallen to your lot, my dear… Black, treacherous, it has ruined so many lives…

Geralt: Hm… I think I even know her name.

Fortune teller: her?

[kapitan-hurma]

No one asked, but… I’m going to start sharing some of my headcanons on Emralt because I think about it way too much.

1. When Geralt refuses to take money for bringing Ciri back, Emhyr cannot let him leave empty-handed and gives him a new horse.

“So, what will you name it?”

“Pff… Roach.”

“You already had a Roach.”

“All my horses are Roach, Emhyr.”

“You have no imagination, witcher. This is a purebred Nilfgaardian steed, and I will not allow you to give it such a wretched name. It needs something more elegant, something that reflects the might and grandeur of the Empire…”

Geralt thinks for a moment and then says something that practically guarantees him a painful death.

“Then I’ll name him Emhyr.”

The emperor’s eyes nearly pop out of his head.

“Have you completely lost your sense of fear?”

“You said it yourself — the might and grandeur of the Empire. Or do you not like your own name anymore?”

“…You know what? Perhaps it’s best if you stick to your traditions. Roach it is. I’d rather not think about the fact that you were planning to ride me in horse form.”

2. In bed, Emhyr uses exclusively Nilfgaardian, and he expects the same from Geralt. It’s a sort of attempt at “soft power,” a way to make that hostile language become associated for Geralt not with death, but with something pleasant. And it works. As soon as Emhyr starts talking to the witcher in that rough language, Geralt knows he’s in the mood to continue somewhere on a more horizontal level.

However, it has its side effects. Now even ministers’ reports about shortages of resources sound so melodious to Geralt that his pants suddenly start feeling a little tight.

3. Emhyr would demand reports from Geralt about how the search for Ciri was going. Not wanting to interrogate him at the palace every time, he insisted that the witcher send letters through couriers or leave them at outposts. Geralt, of course, wasn’t thrilled. Not only was he not particularly eloquent, but now he also had to deal with this nonsense on the emperor’s orders. So he would write him all sorts of crap like, “Lost a game of strip cards today. Seems I’m losing my touch,” or “Roach clearly ate something she shouldn’t have, so I’m riding to the accompaniment of some very unpleasant sounds,” just so Emhyr would leave him alone (he won’t).

Of course, Emhyr couldn’t let Geralt get away with that and would reply with all his usual biting sharpness. Eventually their correspondence turned into a contest of wit — basically a competition over who could roast the other more elegantly.

4. Their love language is gifts. They’re both emotionally reserved men, not particularly capable of tenderness. At first, Geralt would bring him trophies from slain monsters, but Emhyr didn’t appreciate having his desk covered in blood. In time, the witcher realized that a man like him — a conqueror — needed trophies of a different kind, and he began bringing Emhyr artifacts from the North or Skellige, from places where a Nilfgaardian soldier’s foot had never stepped.

Emhyr, in turn, did the same. He would send Geralt the finest wine, the best weapons, money, and horses — his love language is more functional and practical. In other words, he thinks about how the witcher might actually use those gifts to his advantage.

5. Emhyr enjoys testing Geralt’s body for its limits. The feeling of making an almost invulnerable witcher groan in pain does something incredible to his ego, making him feel all-powerful. This play with pain, where he controls the situation, excites him: whenever the witcher is due for a shave, Emhyr can’t resist drawing a little blood; his arsenal includes the full range of a true sadist: pulling hair, pressing on a fresh wound, tying him up, hitting him when he needs punishment, and things like that.

Geralt, on the other hand, cannot allow himself to hurt Emhyr, because he understands that the emperor, like any human, is fragile. So in bed he is always careful. He lets the emperor dominate and inflict pain, since physically he himself is not particularly demanding. His pain tolerance is high, and he would like, for a while, to let go of control and simply relax. For him, sex is about relaxation and pleasure. For Emhyr, it is about power. Geralt does not care about power, so he allows Emhyr to feel confident on his own territory. For him, it’s a curious experience, considering he’s used to being one of the strongest creatures in the world.

[kapitan-hurma]

Emralt headcanon #767453:

Emhyr is aging faster than Geralt, worrying he won’t live to see his empire reach its golden age. Meanwhile, Geralt suddenly realizes he’s willing to swallow his pride and beg his sorceress acquaintances for help just to grant Emhyr’s wish, even though he secretly adores the growing silver in the Emperor’s hair.

[kapitan-hurma]

Sudden headcanon: given his nature, Emhyr finds using names far too familiar. Thus, he refers to Geralt exclusively as Gwynbleidd (if not Witcher). And because it's the Elder Speech, he uses it as a way to assert ownership over him — even in such a thing as a name.

Sure, a moment comes when Geralt deserves to be called Geralt, but Emhyr is the one who chooses when.

[kapitan-hurma]

Romantic Emralt headcanon:

Emhyr started his expansion into the North just to chase down the witcher who’s been escaping him for a lifetime, all because he doesn’t know how to express his feelings differently.

[kapitan-hurma]

Emralt headcanon #7764357

Hanahaki AU: Geralt coughs up a feainnewedd for the first time and can’t figure out which elf has captured his heart, until he finally realizes the connection to the Sun, the reverence for the Elder Blood, and the fact that he is doomed.

[kapitan-hurma]

A silly idea that’ll probably never turn into a fic, but it’s too good to just let go (not sure, has this been done before?)

Emralt Beauty and the Beast AU, where Emhyr is a cursed hedgehog prince living in a castle that everyone avoids like the plague. Geralt is a traveling witcher who hears an intriguing legend from the local peasants and decides to ignore the unspoken taboo.

He breaks into and immediately finds himself a prisoner of the castle, unable to leave. His only way out is to try and break the curse. Emhyr, starved for human contact despite having lost his social graces, doesn't stop Geralt from trying, mostly because he’s certain the witcher will fail. The only rule is to never look at the hedgehog after sunset.

Geralt’s natural curiosity won’t let him rest, and he suspects the secret to the cure lies within that very rule. He sneaks into Emhyr’s chambers at night and, to his surprise, finds a vulnerable young man instead of a monster. The catch? Emhyr has spent so much time in his hedgehog skin that he no longer wants to be human, viewing his mortal self as nothing but a weakness.