So here are my headcanons, because I refuse to believe that our ball of sunshine has an expiration date...
So, I know Lauren said that Jaskier not aging in the show was just a filming mistake, something they simply forgot to do and on a completely logical level I am fully aware that in canon Jaskier is completely human, 100%. And I also know that they're not gonna change it, no matter how much some of us may wish they did (Although why not? They already strayed so far from the books and made so many changes, might as well go the extra mile)
Realistic-ish headcanons:
- Jaskier is part elf, perhaps quarter elf like Yennefer, it is an entirely justifiable headcanon, theoretically, Jaskier's human father could have married a half elf commoner woman (who may or may not have had the pointy tips on her ears cut off with a knife to avoid human prejudice)
- Jaskier has a fae ancestor, somewhere many many generations back in his ancestry, so his entire family is suspiciously long lived but nobody cares because Lettenhove isn't politically important and therefore doesn't catch the attention of the prejudiced Nobles farther up the royal court chain.
- Jaskier unintentionally drinks the same elixir mages/sorcerers drink to prolong their life. I read that chaos wielders don't have naturally long lifespans, they semi-regularly drink an elixir with mandrake roots in it to slow the aging process. According to Witcher Wiki, you can only buy mandrake root in Lindenvale and my headcanon is that Jaskier experiments with many different tea blends to see which one is more effective for soothing his throat after singing. So at the age of 29-30, he wanders into Lindenvale and buys some dried mandrake to make a tea, after one sip he felt more rejuvenated than ever and since that day, mandrake root tea has become his number one go-to, he drinks it as often as he can.
More fanfic centric, less canon possible headcanons:
- Jaskier is a Dryad. (Yayyy trans Jaskier headcanon) Since Lettenhove is so tiny, it isn't even on the Witcher continent map, but a simple Google search says that it is Located somewhere in Kerack. Kerack borders with Brokilon, so it's kind of a nifty little loophole for fanfic writers to use and place Lettenhove somewhere near the forests where Dryads live.
And while most Dryads treat any man that enters their realm as a mere sperm donor, Witcher Wiki does also mention that some Dryads can form emotional relationships and fall in love with humans and/or elves, but in the end, all Dryad born offspring is AFAB. So imagine this, Jaskier's father falls in love with a Dryad, she falls in love with him, they have Jaskier, Jaskier notices early on that he feels like a boy and his rich Viscount father hires a mage to help Jaskier transition early.
- Jaskier is a higher vampire, higher vampires are a HIGHLY secretive society, even in canon, part of the reason why even Witchers have so little information about them is because they prefer to hide in plain sight and are ridiculously good at it. Jaskier doesn't age, has no self-preservation instincts, doesn't buy a horse and yet still keeps up with Geralt on foot for 20 years. Jaskier's personality isn't fake, he doesn't act like someone else, it's all him, but his clumsiness is a little bit of an act, he also purposefully avoids physical fights, it comes across as fear of getting hurt but in reality it's because he's afraid of appearing too strong and exposing himself. Lettenhove doesn't appear on maps, because it doesn't exist legally, it's just a castle hidden in the woods, a safe place for higher vampires, kinda like Kaer Morhen is for Witchers, Jaskier's parents just happen to be the ones who run it.
So! This was the last of the prompts for @thepassifloradiscord Fluff Bingo Card nr 3, this time for Getting engaged!
Written around midnight and posted as soon as I woke up, so sorry if my spelling and grammar is a little funky but I'm running out of time xD
Please enjoy our boys! <3
On Ao3 here
Witchers don’t get nervous, Geralt tells himself, fiddling with the flower Jaskier gave him, absolutely feeling nervous. The day had been perfect, just the two of them on the road, but Jaskier was… different.
Good different, but a way that made him ache with anticipation. The bard is planning something, Geralt can tell. It’s in the way he keeps smiling secretly to himself, keeps checking his pockets, the way he gave Geralt a flower and kissed his cheek, like he gave him his entire heart to hold- yes, Geralt is a little nervous.
He feels like he is being courted. Wooed. And it's working, despite already being thoroughly lost on the man. Every time Jaskier reaches for him, it's like when he first finally acknowledged this thing he was feeling for Jaskier, and let himself respond to it.
Roach is pulling at the reins next to him, finding him an absolute bore when he doesn't let her graze by the road side. Technically, they are on their way somewhere, but there is also absolutely no hurry.
He walks next to her, and when she realizes Geralt will not give in, she sighs. Big heavy sigh. She hangs out too much with the bard.
"So dramatic." He tells her with a smile, and she agrees, letting her ears droop and drags her legs behind her.
"What did I do?" Jaskier asks from in front of them, turning to look at Geralt. Fuck he is so beautiful.
"Wasn't talking to you." Geralt tells him, and pats his dramatic mare on the neck, only to see his dramatic bard fake swooning.
"Oh, no, he loves me less than his horse! Oh woe me!"
There is only one reply to that, so Geralt hums and rolls his eyes. This is not a discussion he will have with both of them present, or things are going to go sideways really quick.
There is a set up resting spot by the side of the road, a few travelers there already, but Jaskier frowns at them and shakes his head and leads them on. He doesn't say why, but the way he takes hold of Geralt's hand, their fingers laced together, palm pressed against palm, it doesn't matter.
All is well as long as Jaskier holds his hand.
Yes, Geralt is a sap. He can admit it in the safety of his own mind. No witches here to read it anyway.
They walk until Jaskier seems to find what they are looking for. A small, overgrown trail takes them to an old burnt out house. The only remenants of what once were is the cornerstones and the wild but beautiful garden.
Jaskier smiles and leads them towards a big old apple tree. Before Geralt lets him unpack Roach however, there are some things to confirm. Like the witcher he is, Geralt walks around the house, flower behind his ear and ready to draw his sword should his medallion make the smallest vibration. But it seems clear. Just the singing birds and the whooshing of leaves.
"Finished?" Jaskier asks, hands at his sides. Geralt nods. "You don't remember clearing out this area only two springs ago?"
....Did he? Maybe he did.
"You got 20 Orens and a gwent card." Jaskier reminds him, and oh yes, alright, Geralt remembers. He got an excellent archer card from that one, that he traded with Lambert as soon as he met him.
"Now come join me. Oh, and maybe take off Roach's saddle, we're going to be here for a while."
"We are?" Geralt asks with an amused smirk.
"Oh yes." Jaskier agrees and looks away with a blush, touching his pocket again. It makes Geralt curious out of his mind, but he won't ask.
Together they set up the tent and a picnic blanket Jaskier somehow smuggled into their packs. The wine had been saving is also brought up, and from his own bag, Jaskier produces a kind of cookie with jam and some honey for the stale bread Geralt picks up from one of the saddle bags.
It's early summer still, too early still for the heat to become troublesome, but late enough for flowers to spring forth everywhere and the apple tree to bloom.
They eat their make shift dinner in relative silence, which is unusual for Jaskier, but he looks lost in thought. Geralt doesn't push, just enjoys listening to Roach snorting, the birds singing, the gentle humming of Jaskier as he absently chews on a piece of bread.
When Jaskier attempts to chew on the cork from the wine bottle, Geralt intercepts his hand, grabbing his wrist.
"Alright. Spit it out."
Jaskier tenses up, his every feature reads how nervous he suddenly is.
"What?"
"You almost ate a cork. What is distracting you this much?"
Only now does Jaskier notice that it indeed is a cork in his hand, and he lets it go with a frown.
"I... Hmm." Jaskier says, and that infuriating blush is back again, and he can't seem to meet Geralt's eyes. "I have a surprise for you?"
Jaskier dives towards his bag again, digging until he can find a little wooden box with some fabric sticking out.
When he opens it and shows it to Geralt, the witcher can't help but gasp.
"Grapes? This time a year?"
"You have no idea how much I paid for these." Jaskier agrees. "Come. Put your head in my lap."
Jaskier leans back on the apple tree, Geralt resting his head on Jaskier's thighs. It is comfortable. Familiar. Every now and then, Jaskier pops a grape into his mouth, plays with his hair, and then finally picks up a poetry book and reads it out loud.
It is a love poem, of course. They have been, for the past weeks. Jaskier's free hand is resting on Geralt's chest, fingers tracing the worn fabric of his tunic.
"Geralt?" Jaskier asks after a while, and Geralt realizes he has closed his eyes.
"Hmm?" He doesn't open them. Too comfortable.
"There is... I have something I want to ask you."
The bard's hand is still on his chest now, the book put down and the grapes gone. It's just them, and the way that Jaskier is looking down at him.
"Ugh, no, this is such a weird angle, sorry, here."
Jaskier helps him sit up, making room for him to lean against the tree. Their knees knock together and Jaskier takes a hold of his hand again.
"You know I am a viscount, right?" Geralt nods. "It doesn't mean much in the end, but it does make loving me a little more... serious."
"I know this. I still want you." Geralt reassures him, tightening his grip. "If you'll have me."
"My sister is married now, and she has taken over our estate. I am a man free to love again." Jaskier says shakily, before letting his free hand slide into his pocket and dig out a little pouch. "Which brings me to this."
Oh.
Wait. Hang on.
"I love you, Geralt, you must know." Their eyes finally meet, and they turn to face each other properly. "You make each day worth waking to, each step worth taking if it is by your side."
Geralt's heart is doing something weird, it is beating hard as if he is in a fight, his hand suddenly feels damp against Jaskier's, and witchers are not supposed to be nervous, but things are about to irrevocably change.
"Geralt of Rivia, you are the best and the worst thing that ever happened to me. I have nothing to offer you but my hand, but if you would take it, you would make me the happiest man in the world."
For a long moment, Geralt doesn't know what to say. He looks at Jaskier's hopeful eyes, his hands growing even more clammy.
"What?" He manages finally, and Jaskier chuckles.
"Guess you haven't been proposed to too often." He jokes, and oh, it is really happening. "Geralt. Will you marry me? I have talked to my sister's adviser and he says that-"
"I will. I do. I-" Geralt interrupts. He doesn't know what to say, what to do, his hands are shaking with some kind of adrenaline, worse than that first time he pushed himself into kissing Jaskier. The bard's hands comes up to hold his face, to cradle his jaw, and their foreheads press together.
"You want to?" Jaskier breathes, smile spreading on his lips.
"I want nothing else. Anything that will tie me to you. Everything." Geralt whispers, closing his eyes when Jaskier is kissing him, soft, happy pecks that makes him laugh.
"So not marrying me for my title then?" Jaskier jokes.
"Fuck your title." Geralt growls, leaning in to kiss him again and Jaskier chuckles.
"I got you a ring..." Jaskier says finally, leaning back, a blush climbing from his ear to his chest. He fiddles with the little pouch, untying it and revealing a golden ring on a chain. "Figured you are not a ring person, but I wanted you to have this."
"Help me put it on?" Geralt asks, turning his back and lifting up his hair so that Jaskier can reach. His warm arms are around him, reaching around, and then he feels him fiddle with the clasp at his neck.
The chain is a little shorter than the one for his medallion, but not by much. It hangs over his heart, and Geralt presses his hand to it, Jaskier's arms wrapping around his waist as he leans against his back.
"I love you, witcher mine." Jaskier whispers.
"I love you, poet of my heart." Geralt whispers back.
Alright, maybe he is a sap outside his head sometimes too. It is worth it however, when Jaskier holds him closer and kisses him behind his ear.
"I was so nervous you wouldn't want this." Jaskier admits after a while.
"I'm a greedy man, Julek." Geralt murmurs back. "Everything you offer, I will accept. Always."
"Help me put on my ring too?" Jaskier says shakily, letting go of Geralt only so he can turn back and bring out the other ring that was in the pouch. More finger sized this time, with more elven inscriptions.
Geralt holds Jaskier's hand in both of his, slowly putting the ring on his ring finger. When he is done, he presses feather light kisses to each of Jaskier's fingertips.
They sit on their blanket for a long time. Until the light fades, they feed each other what is left of the sweets, until hands start to wander and it is time to go inside the tent and touch, feel, love each other in every way they can.
They fall asleep in each other's arms, Jaskier's ring clad hand resting over Geralt's heart, next to a ring with elven script, just one word.
♡ Challenge for Netflix: stop treating Jaskier as comedic relief ♡
(I made this post piggyback riding off of my last one, like a part two if you will.)
Ok, so you know how Jaskier always seems to get into trouble? And either Geralt and as of season 2, now Yennefer as well, always seem be rescuing him? Even Jaskier himself made a joke about it to our beloved witch.
- "You don't get to play damsel in distress. That's my job."
Sadly, it paints a little bit of an unflattering picture of him to the audience, making many of us wonder (well, not on this side of Tumblr, we know he is a badass motherfucker) about how he survives whenever he is not by a strong witcher's/sorceress's side.
Have you considered though....
That the entire series is written and shot from the POV of ridiculously powerful individuals and Geralt in particular, being the main character of both the books, games & the series, has an extreme savior complex, more so bordering on a martyr complex.
In the Netflix Witcher series and unlike the books: Geralt's friendship with Jaskier started off rocky until he begrudgingly accepted that he can not get rid of the bard, eventually becoming a little fond of him, appreciating Jaskier's loyalty above every other quality Jaskier has, which makes Jaskier easy to trust. (However it is still apparent that their friendship is a little, if not a lot, one-sided)
Obviously Geralt doesn't want Jaskier's death or severe injury on his conscience, which is why he jumps in every time he senses danger, to save him before anything bad happens.
We as the audience only see Netflix's or rather Lauren's version of the story about a scorned hero who has a fragile, trouble magnet, human friend he feels responsible for. When in reality, the only few instances Jaskier wouldn't have survived without outside help were a) the Djinn, b) Rience, c) the opening scenes of Blood Origin.
Other than that, Jaskier is actually a VERY competent person! Alas, not much of that competence was shown on screen, we got mere crumbs of it to be honest. Like how despite being a flowery pacifist, he is braver than most + apparently he is a beefcake too. At 18/19 years old, he wasn't scared of approaching a witcher who at the time, was rumored to be a murderer. He always finds a way to stay lighthearted during the most dire of situations, always getting right back up with a smile or a snide comment after every traumatic experience, as if it never happened. (Is he like immune to PTSD or something? Nothing brings him down.) He even managed to start an elf smuggling operation for fuck's sake!
During the finale episode of season 2, many seasoned witchers died in battle at the hands of Voleth Mier, his chances of surviving were beyond slim. Any other normal human being would have dropped that damn jasper and ran for their life, but not Jaskier! No sir! He crawled his way towards Geralt under a wooden table, as monsters and witchers alike dropped to their deaths around him, all to help his friend!
In the books, Dandelion is presented to us as a smooth talker, able to get himself in and out of almost any kind of trouble with words + charisma alone. He is an Oxenfurt professor, has worked for the Redanian intelligence, he has connections all over the continent.
And I really hope that we will get to see all of that in future seasons, I hope that Geralt's attitude towards him changes, I hope that Jaskier gets the respect he deserves! Because after season 2, I am going to keep watching the series only for Jaskier alone. Also Yennefer. I do not much like Geralt and Ciri in the live adaptation at the moment.
- What makes this whole thing so funny and exciting to me is that Yennefer used to think that Jaskier was just some annoying sing songy twit before. While Jaskier's dramatic arse used to consider Yennefer an enemy until she saved him from Rience XD XD XD
- I adored the everliving FUCK out of their scenes together in season 2! Their dynamic is so fucking good! AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!
- Yennskier, the ship we didn't know we needed, but definitely deserved! Their chemistry is so fucking perfect and their dynamic works so well!
- Personally I think that this ship is actually, currently, THE healthiest and most wholesome one of all my Jaskier ships! At least as of season 2! (Even if Geraskier remains as my OTP)
- In Oxenfurt, when Jaskier and Yennefer got to know eachother better without Geralt's presence to distract them both, ever since they saw the real, raw and vulnerable sides of eachother and became friends, I couldn't help but notice how absolutely toothrottingly perfect they are together!
- Legit, and I kid you not! I can't picture Yennefer and Jaskier having anything other than that deep kind of connection where you know that you are loved, appreciated and adored, despite all your flaws. The kind of love where you know you're not alone, that this person is your family and will always have your back no matter what.
- Yennefer, despite being one of the most powerful sorceresses on the entire continent, treats Jaskier as an equal by the time Ciri gets possessed. (Bro, like even Geralt doesn't do that! Jaskier is his friend, sure, but I've never seen Geralt treating him as an equal.)
- Yennefer and Jaskier have a mutual respect for eachother, they trust eachother, they enjoy eachother's company. All of those things are A CRUCIAL part of having a solid foundation to build a honest, sturdy, long-lasting and happy relationship upon.
- From compatibility POV, they work together a lot better than Geralt and Yennefer did. With Jaskier, there are no djinn related consent issues, there wouldn't be any communication issues and he would probably be a positive influence on Yennefer's mental health.
- Whereas her relationship with Geralt was quite frankly chaotic, explosive, sometimes even toxic. It was built upon a shaky foundation of lust, djinn magic and exchanged favors. Like c'mon, their time together as an on-and-off couple mostly consisted of having kinky unicorn sex, trauma dumping, dealing with magical, gorey and insanely dangerous situations, then talking about said situations until they have a fight! Leaving eachother every time in the end because they can't seem to make it work long-term. They're incompatible because in canon, the only thing that finally made them stick together for good, was an orphaned girl in need of protection. It's not right, kind of like parents who are postponing their divorce until their daughter grows up :/
- Jaskier on the other hand, despite his magic-less ordinary humanity has a hilariously witty, optimistic, stupidly brave, highly empathetic, loyal and supportive personality. Yennefer would have an understanding partner who loves her, cherishes her, acceptc her for who she is without judgement nor pity. A partner who would make it his life's mission to help her see the good things this world has to offer, to make her happy because she deserves it!
- Damn it all, they both have been through enough, they both deserve a break. They actually GET eachother. I can already feel a drabble forming in my brain, set a week or so after the whole Voleth Mier shebang, Jaskier is struggling with PTSD and nightmares about Rience, Yennefer is struggling with guilt and shame because she put Ciri in danger. So while Geralt is too busy with Ciri's training to be there for Jaskier and he feels too betrayed to be in Yennefer's company, neither Yen nor Jask have anyone to turn to in Kaer Morhen, except eachother. Three months confined to a witcher keep together? Now that is a LOT of time to spend with someone you can be openly vulnerable around, bond with, heal and share joy with, unexpectedly falling in love....
- Yennefer too is an extremely good match for Jaskier, it's almost uncanny how much she completes him! Jaskier would finally have an understanding and loving partner who truly saw him when others didn't bother. And Yennefer liked what she saw, the familiar face of a simple human bard who offered kindness and compassion to strangers even if it could kill him. She saw courage, honesty, forgiveness and so much good, a collection of rare qualities she had never thought could exist within one single person all at once. After Voleth Mier, all that goodness was given to her so freely, it is still being given to her everyday, so she knows a treasure when it looks her right in the eyes with such easy warmth. She would make it her life's mission to cling onto him with everything she's got, to love and cherish him the way he deserves, to protect the only person she deems worthy of holding her heart!
- They have a lot in common too. From both having a knack for fashion, both being mischievous little shits at heart and both having high standards when it comes to personal hygiene. To also having similar tastes in both alcohol, humor, luxury and entertainment.....if Yennefer's kinky orgy party and Jaskier's reputation as the biggest slut on the continent is anything to go by.
- Speaking of sex, both of them having a high libido and exceptional skills in bed aside, they're fucking GORGEOUS people! Why wouldn't they find eachother attractive?
- Yennefer is basically a Goddess, beauty personified! She is elegant and breathtaking, everyone knows it.
- However, since a majority of the Witcher fandom usually dismisses Jaskier in favor of simping for Geralt, I can, I must and I WILL gush about how pretty Jaskier is! Cuz clearly some of them bitches be blind, Yennefer is one lucky witch!
- Jaskier is like only 1,5 inches shorter than his grouchy snowman friend. Meaning he is tall as all hell and he definitely isn't lacking in the muscle department either, that bard is jacked yo. His voice is soothing and his vocabulary is extensive enough to make the most experienced of whores blush from pillow talk. He has VERY soft looking hair and he has one of the most angelic fucking faces I've ever seen. His eyes are the clearest shade of blue and his expressions + mannerisms are absolutely adorable! Ok, I'm done gushing, onto the next point....
- Unlike Jaskier, I don't think I have a dummy thick enough of a vocabulary to express how much dopamine Yennskier fanfics give me, more specifically when their husband and wife act from Oxenfurt becomes an inside joke for them, leaving the rest of Kaer Morhen's inhabitants confused as fuck.
- Geralt getting a bit jealous? His brothers wondering when that could have happened? Ciri feeling bamboozled as well?
- It's all shits and giggles until somebody giggles and shits. It won't take long until their inside joke is no longer a joke. They already bicker like a married couple anyway XD
- I can not help but also headcanon Jaskier as not fully human. It would be sad if he up and died on his dear immortal wife. I don't necessarily picture him having chaos or other powers in this scenario, but when I do, I think that they would discover them together on accident.
I actually had this headcanon for a while now, probably started tossing ideas around in my head a few days after I watched Blood Origin. Here is a special thank you to @melinoiaagesander for reminding me about it and inspiring me to do something about it as well. Seeing as I tend to be a very lazy person (executive dysfunction go brrr), I will not be writing a fanfiction unless the mood strikes and if that happens, I shall gladly fall victim to hyperfixation and shit out a 50 000 word masterpiece with very bad grammar. And no, if I do write it, I will not fix the grammar mistakes unless rereading it brings forth the fattest, most scrumptiously painful dose of cringe in my life.
So OK, here we go....
I think it is common knowledge (despite the few times I've seen posts from confused Witcher fans right after the mini series aired), that Ithlinne's prophecy was about Ciri, the Lion Cub of Cintra and the descendent of Elie & Fjall. However, thanks to a brief lapse in judgement on the production team's part, either because of the way it was shot and edited or the because of the way it was written, when Seanchaí recited the prophecy:
"The Lark's seed shall carry forth the first note of a song that ends all time, and one of her blood shall sing the last"
It came across as delightfully misleading to many of us, even if most of us quickly understood to whom Seanchaí was actually referring to. Still, my bleeding Jaskier stan heart has never felt more glee at the prospect of getting another little Netflix "oopsie" to play with! (The other one being that they forgot to age Jaskier in season 1 and then decided to not even bother for season 2)
Which is why I took my ritalin, rubbed my clammy, cold little fingers together like a cartoon villain and dug deep into the lore, to find a way to spin an intricate web of realistic and clever facts that would serve as my personal foundation for this exciting headcanon! Jaskier is another descendent of the Lark and her Witcher, he has elder blood coursing through his veins and is distantly related to Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon!
(If Netflix weren't a bunch of pussies and if a disgusting majority of the Witcher fandom weren't a bunch of gatekeeping, racist and homophobic Plot-Guardians, this could have been the coolest curveball ever! The adorable, frilly and fragile bumbling human of a bard, going from side-character to focal point.)
Let's lay down the groundwork:
(I AM SO GIDDY AAAAAHHH, somebody catch me, I think I'm gonna faint!!)
- While Witchers as we know them are sterile, Fjall is clearly not. Because his mutation process wasn't designed by a group of mages who spent a long time on optimizing the serum to better serve it's purpose. Fjall was an experimental prototype, created from desperation and a few rush-job elixirs, so his precious elf balls weren't tampered with.
- Elie and Fjall made love after Fjall's transformation, bringing the first child of elder blood into existence. Which happened ca 1200 years before the canon era that the main Witcher series is set in, meaning that Ciri has a shit ton of ancestors that predate her entire canonical family tree, all going unaccounted for.
- Jaskier, as we can obviously see, has visually not aged a single day since meeting Geralt in Posada at age 18-19 (don't quote me on this, finding a reliable info source is a nightmare). He traveled with Geralt on and off for approximately 20ish years, making him at least 40 in the Rare Species episode and at least a little bit over 40 in the Family episode of season 2. That alone has inspired hundreds if not thousands of headcanons about Jaskier not being entirely human, one of which is: Jaskier is part elf.
- And OH BOY, isn't that neat?!?!?! I mean, we see a talented young bard, whom everyone assumes to be human, whom Blood Origin's ending accidentally implied to be a descendent of another bard, an elven bard who lived 1200 years ago and had a child with an elven Witcher. That should be enough metaphorical fapping material for my brain, shouldn't it?
Not so fast....
What if instead of imagining that some long fossil type beat long dead ancestor, lost to history, somehow ended up siring a child into a family of Keracki Nobles (Lettenhove doesn't seem to appear on any map of the continent I could find, but several sources claim that it is a small Viscouncy located in Kerack).....I could instead put in some effort and figure out how to make things more interesting, how to make Jaskier's elder blood ancestor actually traceable and as an awesome bonus, make Jaskier's and Ciri's relation a little closer. Not by a lot, obviously, it wouldn't make sense, but just enough for a new dynamic for fanfiction writers to explore. Personally, the idea of it has the potential to heal my poor broken heart, I adore Jaskier so much, but the way the main 3 characters of the series have treated him until Yennefer finally grew a braincell makes me sad.
Geralt's shitty apology aside, Lambert's cranky "No" aside (yk what I'm talking about), Yarpen Zigrin's unfriendliness aside, I DID NOT enjoy the scenes in which Ciri interacted with Jaskier. This headcanon though? Oh man, if I only had enough juice in me to write something for AO3, spin some epic ass Jaskier-centric tale, sprinkle in some geraskier/yennskier/lambskier and tag it with fix-it? I would!
Back to business, this is Ciri's family tree, it has the royal family of Cintra, girlboss Calanthe is there, Ciri's mom Pavetta is there, her sick son of a bitch father too. As you can see, besides the unknown descendents of Elie and Fjall, elder blood has deep roots and it can all be traced back to these folks: Lara Dorren aep Shiadhal & Cregennan of Lod, as well as Cerro of Redania & King Vridank of Redania....however those two are of no importance to this post.
Instead of trying to squeeze Jaskier into the equation by picking some rando as far back in time as possible, I stumbled across a treasure when trying to go from the bottom up. That treasure being another direct descendent of Lara Dorren as well as Elie and Fjall, his name was Crispin!
See him there? He happens to be Queen Calanthe's grandmother's twin brother! Although his name box is blue and not red, unlike King Goidemar of Temeria, the line that leads us to him is dark red, which means he is of elder blood and bears the activator gene as well, just like his sister. Now, if one needs a sex partner with the green latent gene in order to awaken the dormant powers in this blood line (which although watered down, still is incestuous), then I am not sure how Jaskier could inherit the same powers as Ciri. I myself prefer to headcanon that since Lettenhove is in Kerack, the small Viscouncy is located near the borders of Brokilon and therefore the Pankratz family could easily have a few drops of mixed blood with one of the Brokilon nymphs.
I am not much of a biologist (despite getting good grades in it back in high school), but it does make sense to me that being at least a little bit mixed with nymph DNA could theoretically aid in strengthening Jaskier's elder blood & activator genes. Sort of like how dog breeders play God to make a better specimen for many different purposes. In Jaskier's ancestry case, I like to think that one of his forefathers got seduced by a Rusalka, found out that she used him to get pregnant and then stole the child from her and raised the kid alone, in doing so, introducing nymph DNA into the Pankratz lineage.
Back to Crispin
Crispin aep Amavet, turned out to have a rather convenient backstory!
Apparently, his mother, Anna Kameny, was married to Count Roger Kameny and less than a year before her twins were born, she had an affair with Prince Amavet of Temeria (Queen Calanthe's great grandfather and Ciri's 4x great grandfather).
So with Crispin and his twin sister Muriel the Delightful, both being children of Prince Amavet, making them illegitimate to Count Roger Kameny, their mother Anna had to fight in court three times so that her kids could inherit Roger's estate. Muriel was content with that, she didn't care that her real father was a Prince and didn't push to be recognized as Amavet's daughter. Kameny wealth and her beauty combined, she didn't have trouble finding a husband and leading a happy life.
Crispin on the other hand, knowing that he is of royal blood, proud of his elven heritage, wanted that relation validated. So he started wearing the Kameny coat of arms, which he had custom made to hint at who his real father is by adding burgundy to the Temerian lilies. This caused a MAJOR scandal, turns out his little stunt was illegal and he got his ass arrested. He payed a fine and swore to never repeat that mistake, but what did he do instead????
Yeah, he fucking did it again, enraging enemies and his own mother as well, who fought so hard for his "legality" for the Count title. After that, Crispin, as a massive "Fuck you" to everyone, joined a gang of mercenaries and referred to himself as Crispin aep Amavet. Time went by, battles were fought and eventually he just disappeared off of the face of the earth. People assumed that he died and they were glad about it...ain't that convenient?
For the sake of this headcanon, I think Crispin could have easily just gone into hiding, wandering the continent under a fake name and impregnating some Pankratz de Lettenhove lady in the process. Could have just been a one night stand and nobody would know, nobody would know that Jaskier is related to the Cintran crown, to Ciri herself, to Lara Dorren and finally to another bard, so much like himself, Ellie the Lark.
I fucking LOVE this headcanon to bits and pieces! There is so much here that one can play with! Like Jaskier's meeting with Seanchaí somehow triggering the dormant powers within him and what those powers would look like, I don't think the first sign of it would be a deadly scream. I like to think that his newly awakened chaos would somehow tie into his singing, there is so much potential here, so many ideas to explore!
In canon, Ciri is destined to destroy humanity and return the elves back to power, but Jaskier has already beat her to it a little, kick-starting the process by smuggling elves to Xin'trea.
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Sorry for editing this post 5 times, I was still working on it while waiting for AVATAR to start at the Cinema and accidentally published it in panic when the lights went out. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope that this post can be of use to you if you decide to write a fanfic about/inspired by it! :3
(Please tag me if you do, I would love to read it! May your writing process be smooth, may your updates be frequent and may AO3 maintenance not impact your creativity!)
