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my beautiful wife Yen

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funniest thing about the witcher is that decades on people still thing geralt is the main character

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Also posting this young man here for my birthday because I really like how he turned out! It's his first year on the path and he got a big scar and a cool story to tell

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i miss doing nothing but drawing eskel

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tip jar

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People love, love to bring up one-off moments of Yennefer at her worst. Yennefer who is mean, cold, haughty, angry, hurt, jealous, stand-offish.

It’s both funny and sad to me that people forget the rest. Yennefer, who ruins her expensive camlet dress without even realising it to save a woman having a miscarriage on the steps of Kaer Trolde. Yennefer, who gives the nervous young clerk Fabio Sachs the Younger such unexpected high praise that he blushes to the roots of his chestnut hair. Yennefer, who saves Giancardi’s family. Yennefer, who buys back Geralts swords without his knowledge - who has her own banker keep track of where he is looking for work, to make sure the region has a decent “Witcher fund”, even when they’re not together.

Yennefer, who on Skellige, earns the favour of Freyja, the patron goddess of motherhood; receives her grace, her diamond, her Brisingamen, because she is willing to endure more than the limits of human suffering for Ciri.

Yennefer has so many flaws: she’s a deeply broken, traumatised woman who’s prideful and knows how to play the ice queen. But if you don’t realise that Yennefer is also full of love for people around her, hidden kindness and compassion…you might want to read those stories again.

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A gift for the lovely @ghostinthelibrarywrites for their donation to @fandomtrumpshate 💜🐺

Poor Dandelion, those hose aren't going to fit anymore

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the lovers

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Jaskier gets a lute and a wifey (˵ ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°˵)ﾉ⌒♡*:･。.

Yennefer was so flustered she accepted Jaskier’s proposal without thinking (*/ω＼)

the lute has buttercups on it btw .❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

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they’re getting ready for pride Happy pride month everyone!

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grow up with me

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I just finished Time of Contempt for the third time and I am deep deep deep in my Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon feelings again. Now that know what’s coming and I understand her arc, I’m catching a lot more.

TW: mentions of sexual assault

Ciri’s descent, which we see a hint of at the end this book, her “corruption arc” is the story of what war, and what the associated abandonment and abuse of children, does to a society. It is a visceral story about how (as the saying goes) A child who is not embraced by the village, will burn it down to feel its warmth.

Probably the worst interview of Sapko that my eyes have had the displeasure to read was a guy who asked him basically (paraphrased) how could Ciri’s mind be so “weak” that she falls into murder and crime after everything she learned from Geralt.

And like BUDDY DID YOU NOT READ THE STORY? Wow ok.

Sapko is like…because that is real, look around you.

“Well, I suppose here my fantasy becomes very real and lifelike. What happened to Ciri happened to hundreds of teenagers, in that number some I knew.”

There is a narrative.

And when kids are all by themselves and repeatedly traumatized and threatened, they will turn where they need to for safety. Their minds and the way they process empathy and emotions will change as a result of related abuse.

And to me, that arc is very believable. And it is part of her rite of passage of ultimately choosing good and coming fully into her power, choosing the love and example of her found family (primarily Geralt and Yen but also Kaer Morhen and Dandelion). In this terrible interview (seriously someone let me interview the man I could do better) he says:

And – last not least – that’s me, the author, who has invented Ciri and her fate, who has invented the whole storyline, and the storyline required of Ciri to become a teenage killer. It was a stage in her rite de passage, the rite of passage.

It is an arc. And for me a very believable (if extremely painful one) First there is the “before”.

The story is very clear who Ciri is before she is alone without the protection of Yen and Geralt.

Her character is already established by Time of Contempt but the narrative still goes through the trouble of showing her deny the offer of destructive power.

As a little girl, (in Blood of Elves) Ciri risks herself to save Triss’s life when she and Geralt’s caravan is attacked. She doesn’t wait for someone else to help, she shields Triss with her body. (That made me feel some kinda way in retrospect let me tell ya)

In the same scene we see how tender hearted she is towards the elves plight and how she resolves not to be neutral.

Blood of Elves and Time of Contempt both show how she is just a little kid who wants parents (running away to see Geralt, writing him letters from Meliteles temple begging him to come see her, identifying fiercely as a witcher girl of Kaer Morhen, idolizing Yen)

But at the end of Time of Contempt, Ciri still makes two dramatic, narrative establishing decisions, that show what kind of person she is.

First is the refusal of power. The refusal of revenge.

In the desert, she taps into prohibited power (fire power) to save Little Horse. It begins to consume her, offering her dominion over the world. It is personified by Falka and it shows Ciri vengeance. It shows her her enemies. It shows her the people who killed her grandma and sacked Cintra. It shows her the black knight.

Ciri and vengeance is already a theme. We know she feels urges towards vengeance for the people who slaughtered her family. The only bad fight she’s had with Geralt was about that. (She says she wanted vengeance and he overreacts and has to follow her and comfort her and apologize. The narrative doesn’t let us hear what he says, it’s through Triss’s eyes, but it is heart wrenching)

And now she is being offered vengeance by showing her what it really looks like. People suffering and dying. And it’s asking hey little girl you want this? Because I can give it to you.

This power also shows her her loved ones.

At this point in the story, Ciri is alone, lost in a desert, and feels abandoned. And any kid that feels abandoned blames her parents. It makes her a very believable kid character. Im alone? Where are my parents?? They’ve abandoned me?? At least that’s what she says.

But when the power offers her the opportunity to take the hurt she is feeling and hurt them back she is horrified.

She shouts out loud that she relinquishes it. She relinquishes all the power and collapses.

She makes an incredibly important decision to refuse destructive vengeful power.

The second thing that happens to establish her character at this point in the saga is she is being pursued by people who want to kill her and/or turn her into Nilfgaard. She is running and trying to escape. She is armed and gets a clear shot at a pursuer but again, sees a human face, and can’t do it. She shows mercy because her empathy will not allow her to see a persons face and kill them.

She is very lucky to survive that encounter.

She is a good, decent, human being.

But the story doesn’t leave us there. It gives us an ominous hint of the oncoming storm.

To get out of a life threatening situation, she joins a gang called The Rats. The Rats are a group of heavily traumatized war orphans who have been abandoned, raped, and abused and have banded together to not be alone. They’ve become murderers and no longer feel empathy for those they harm, but rather they take pleasure at killing others. She sees the look in their faces and identifies it as evil.

They adopt her. They protect her. Suddenly she is ‘safe’. Suddenly she is with others like her (war orphans with heavy trauma). Suddenly she is no longer alone. She is being offered a new identity (her old identity will get her killed at this point) She is them.

They also sexually assault her. (Cycle of abuse. I had to fast forward those parts. I’m listening to the audio and I can’t do that again)

But by the end Ciri has a new family. It’s the only option to her for survival. She finally manages to kill someone and takes the name Falka.

And as the return reader, you already know just how horrific it’s gonna get before it gets better. The feelings of doom. Ooof.

There is so much coming and if you’ve already read it, the dread is real.

It takes worse torture and assault than you can possibly imagine for Ciri to become the “teenaged killer” the narrative demands.

Because above all Ciri is like Yen. She is a survivor. She is angry. She has impulses for vengeance when she is harmed. All of these things are normal and human and can be given healthy outlets in normal situations. But this is not a normal situation.

So yeah I love her so much and the feelings of doom I have going into the next book are hanging over me. Of course it makes the bloody vengeance at the end that much more satisfying. But yeah.

And just to be clear I don’t judge her at all for anything she does during this “corruption” arc. I just don’t. She is surviving and no one can make me hate her ever. I’m an irrational person when it comes to her. And the her growth, her arc is one of the most satisfying I’ve ever read.

Most of us may not be war orphans being pursued by half the world. But the parallels to being an unprotected teenaged girl in a world that wants to exploit you, chew you up, and spit you out, is something those of us who came from abusive homes can understand. It is ultimately very validating and inspiring.

So I’ll be skipping the worst parts on audio. Some of them I just can’t do again. But I’m still obsessed with this story and I love my girl.

Ok thanks for reading my Ciri feels.

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Kaer Morhen family moments I would have to draw if I had any artistic talent whatsoever

Vesemir leaves the little witchers inside the keep while he deals with the dead. One by one, they come out anyway and quietly help him collect medallions from the fallen wolves.

Little Geralt getting a ride on Vesemir's big black charger. Vesemir walks him round the castle grounds for like an hour.. Geralt talks about nothing but horses for days. Vesemir has created a monster.

Geralt teaching Ciri how to groom Roach, because Roach is "a good listener". It's therapeutic, and she can tell Roach about everyone she misses from Cintra. Scorpion sticks his head over the stall wall to investigate so she does him too.

Vesemir taking young Eskel with him to feed the goats and like, they're a resource to him, he uses them for milk and meat, but Eskel is just a kid and he wants to pet and play with them, and Vesemir just sort of lets him because it's the first time he's actually seen Eskel laugh.

Eskel showing Ciri how to bottle-feed Lil Bleater

Vesemir with a yowling, scrabbling Lambert in a headlock, trying to drag a brush through a matted mop of curls. There are grotty, bath-averse prepubescent boys, and then there's this asshole.

Lambert showing up to dinner with his hair nicely braided back off his face courtesy of Ciri, because he's sorry he was an arsehole about all her girly shit. He snaps at Geralt and Coen to fuck off you whoresons for looking at him sideways, and Triss gets a grumpy don't gimme that look, merigold, but he doesn't take the braids out.

Vesemir letting the wolf pups try to lift his sword. It weighs more than they do. They're just about managing it between them. This probably counts as teaching them teamwork, right?

Ciri gleefully waving Geralt's sword over her head, because she told him she could do it, she knew it wouldn't be too heavy. Geralt raises an eyebrow over Ciri's shoulder at Yennefer, who's holding the sword up with magic and only sort of trying to look a little bit guilty about it.

Vesemir draping his cloak over the dogpile of baby witchers fast asleep in front of the campfire, before he decides it's safe enough to take them back to Kaer Morhen.

Vesemir many decades later, draping a blanket over Geralt, asleep with his head tilted back against the couch and an illustrated bestiary open on his lap, and Ciri, asleep with her head on Geralt's shoulder.

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have a little yenskier valentine 💘💌

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the result of the last weeks' work

the first yennefer triss and philippa's outfits are redraws of my old college projects, they were more based on historical costume, so maybe they looks a bit weird. the third ciri's outfit was also for college, but i still like it. the rest are more or less interpretations of costumes from games

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This was a Yennefer commission inspired by a Pinterest post here she is imagine I also added a very cool caption here