everyone else on the continent: suffering, miserable, exhausted
the toussaint gang:
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Sweden
seen from United States

seen from Russia

seen from Italy
seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States

seen from China

seen from Italy
seen from Germany

seen from United States

seen from United Kingdom

seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from United States
everyone else on the continent: suffering, miserable, exhausted
the toussaint gang:
the trip to toussaint had been long and , admittedly , a bit boring . the knights were only good company insofar as they spoke so much on their lands , and little of the matters geralt was interested in . he had learned everything he could from them on the beast he had come to investigate and rid from beauclair , and yet he still felt as if he knew nothing at all . regardless , he could look past all that . toussaint was a very pleasant place to be . he hadn’t believed he would ever be back in his life , though , nor welcomed with such open arms .
even reading the notice boards were much calmer . not a single person had done so much as stare at him since he had arrived , and he intended on keeping it that way … or he did , until he felt such a pair of eyes on him . after finishing his sentence ( on a contract which , admittedly , was less of a contract and more of a request for menial assistance ) , he stepped away , glancing about to find just who was looking at him and why .
aneria he knew her instantly . how could he forget her , when she had so quickly and so searingly left such an impact on him ? an evening and a night he had known her , and yet she always crept back into his mind . had every so often since . he blinked , but she still didn’t disappear the way he almost expected her to .
so he did the only thing he could think of to do . he stepped back , turned , and headed toward her , trying to take in everything at once . how much she had changed , how she had ended up here , as though he could guess it from a long look . when he reached her , he could only say the first thing that came to mind . ❛ … i wasn’t expecting to see you here . ❜
@vaenefica is getting a new one .
“It was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
THE ENEMIES ARE DEAD , destroyed by a display of scorching biotics , a shockwave of painful blue , and garrus gives himself a moment to breathe and reload his rifle before he responds to her offhand quip . the air SMELLS like it does after a significant use of biotic abilities , the scent something neon , poignant , sharp enough to make him crinkle his nose . the turian chuffs . ❝ well . you’re right about that . that was . . . pretty impressive . maybe you’re a better fit for the normandy than we thought . ❞ his mandibles flicker — — a turian smile . ❝ let’s keep going . ❞
@vaenefica asked : it was late at night , but aneria sleeps soundly at geralt's desk . her head rested on her arms , books mounted haphazardly on top of one another upon its surface . she fell asleep in her attempt to stay awake while she awaited geralt's return .
he returned late . he knew he was returning late that he had gotten caught up for a couple hours too long . nothing that had endangered his life just a small detour to a village a good half an hour’s ride away so that he could look for a particularly tricky ingredient he had been missing for months now . perhaps years .
whatever was the case , he wasn’t returning at an ideal time . the moon was already nearly in the center of the sky by the time he finally made it back to his estate , into the home , into his room . but the sight wasn’t anything he was expecting . of course he had expected aneria to be here . just not quite at his desk , of all places .
he could tell by her steady breathing that she was asleep . that alone softened him . quiet , he made his way to her , sliding his arm slowly around her back and leaning down , white hair falling on the desk next to her head , and pressing his lips to the back of her head . ❛ aneria . ❜ a soft murmur . he shook her , very gently . enough to stir her awake , but not startle her . another little kiss above her ear , and then a little nuzzle of his nose into those dark strands . ❛ aneria . why aren’t you in bed ? mm ? come on . let’s get you in bed . i’m back now . ❜
aneria sits there across the room from geralt, contently reading a book. she peeks up at him, discreetly, and a warm smile touches her lips before eyes flutter back to the pages. please. they are cute. 🥺
at this point , geralt’s healed enough that he’s able to sit up and fix his bandages himself . he’s in the middle of yanking the gauze apart with his teeth when he feels her eyes on him . he’s just as discreet , turning his ducked head to glance toward her out of the corner of his eye , dropping the gauze from his mouth like he’s been caught . a moment , a sniff , and he turns away again . there’s a soft smile at the corner of his lips . they are cute . 🥺
@vaenefica asked: ❛ what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into ? ❜ meme !
from the haze of white candle smoke &. t̲h̲e̲ ̲ ̲ ̲h̲e̲a̲v̲y̲ ̲ ̲ ̲s̲c̲e̲n̲t̲ ̲ ̲ ̲o̲f̲ ̲ ̲ ̲a̲c̲r̲i̲d̲ ̲ ̲ ̲p̲l̲a̲n̲t̲ ̲ ̲ ̲m̲i̲x̲t̲u̲r̲e̲s̲ &. hyacinth perfume came the sound of howl’s voice, despondent &. perhaps even a bit desperate. ❛ can’t you see ? ❜ as the smoke cleared, it became clear that he sat on his calves on the floor of the front room, settled just shy of the bottom of the stairs, his arms &. hands preoccupied with the steaming stems &. extremely scorched skull that he was now trying to blow out, before it spread too terribly. he hated questions about his failures. ❛ this skull just seems not to wish to cooperate with me ! i keep trying, and it just keeps r̲e̲s̲i̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g̲. ❜ he glanced to her now, steeling himself for another question or two, or five, perhaps. why, why, why : it always seemed to be why . ❛ don't stare, p̲l̲e̲a̲s̲e̲ ! i'm going through a terrible time, aneria. ❜
@vaenefica: ❝ are you hurt? did they hurt you? ❞ [ 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴 “𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙼𝙴 𝙱𝚄𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙽’𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙳𝙰𝚁𝙴 𝚃𝙾𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙼” 𝙳𝚈𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙸𝙲𝚂 ] ––– ciri
𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 with the unexpected exertion, ciri shakes her head. the dust is brushed out of her clothes, before her hands rise to busy themselves with fixing the hair that fell out of her braid, untying the leather band to let it fall, only to brush through it with her fingers and gather it in a loose bun. besides a few scratches and possibly a bruise on the side of her hip, she remains unscathed.
❛ ‘m fine, ❜ ciri adds reassuringly, giving the witch, too, a thorough one-over. ❛ did they get you ? drunk bastards ... ❜ a hitherto somewhat peaceful journey turned sour in the glow of the setting sun bleeding unto the road, with a group of drunkards seemingly underestimating two women on the path.
“you want a better story. who wouldn’t?” / @vaenefica : richard siken ( closed )
𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 power than geralt’s ever cared to recognise . the way they mold and shape the thoughts and physicalities of the world around them — shaving sides and shaping edges until it fits just right . fight and flee all you want , but you cannot change a stubborn man . that requires patience , planning — ample time coercing minds and playing with ideas . it’s why he stays so far from politics . tries to , anyways . he never appreciates the observation . opinions make for a dice roll in promise , but assumptions leave little to be salvaged . a double - edged sword / meant to tear . one end : and they’re wrong . a guess hitting spectre dust — it plunges deep and heavy in your gut . you’re left wondering what had them ever feeling such a way . you live on being too careful of reasons concocted by your own mind , or insecure of never living up to those wishes . the other edge , and the observation slices you open for the world to see . neither are desirable to a witcher .
but he had slipped , earned the comment , and tenses his jaw in midst of his ramifications . geralt looks at the woman with narrowed eyes , evading the rhetoric like it’s personally wronged him . ❛ few , but i don’t doubt they exist . ❜ he tells the witch instead . though he knows he isn’t the hardest to read — not with anyone who knows what to look for — he lays the line of question with his statement : ❛ who’s to say i’m not one of them ? ❜