#Sapioromantic Jaskier

[thelostgirl21]

A celebration of Joey Batey offering TV show writers a pure masterclass on how to write a queer character with a queer audience in mind.

Can I just say how much respect and appreciation I have for Joey, that he went above and beyond in term of queer representation, by bringing some much needed attention towards people on the aromantic spectrum, and making gender a complete romantic/sexual (and even queerplatonic) non-issue?

I mean, imagine that you are part of a show with a young and powerful canonically bisexual lead, Ciri, who is at an age where people might start exploring their own sexuality, slowly figuring out who and what they like, etc.

And suddenly, you're offered to also be playing another queer lead character, with a male love interest - while knowing it will be the very first time that the audience will be officially introduced to the idea of Jaskier being queer...

And, instead of going with the more familiar, and often expected:

"A man that's always been with women before, now finds himself romantically and sexually attracted to a man, and starts questioning his own sexual identity..." coming out story...

You find yourself with a unique opportunity to go a bit further, to explore more specific and lesser known LGBTQ+ themes, and to delightfully surprise your queer audience!

You can take a full dive into the wonderful world of Queerdom, by exploring a different - yet just as equally important and significant - coming out story!

i.e.

"A usually aromantic person, that has always experienced squishes, smushes, and possibly meshes before, finds himself experiencing a (sapio)romantic crush for the very first time, and starts questioning his romantic identity..."

Of course, a lot of people in the audience will probably miss this.

The monosexuals that have been conditioned to believe that gender must always play a role in how one experiences romantic and sexual human attraction - will likely be paying more attention to how Jaskier is showing an interest in a man.

People that are used to equating "falling in love" with "romantic attraction", might miss the significance and importance of Vespula specifically using the word crush to refer to Jaskier's current attraction towards Radovid.

People that typically see non-gender-related orientations as "mere preferences", or have simply never heard of them, might miss how Jaskier goes on and on about how "emotionally intelligent and insightful Radovid is" , with a look of vulnerability and wonder, putting emphasis on how different he feels about him.

People that were taught to see emotional relationships according to the "platonic vs romantic" binary - with a strict idea of what each means and implies - may not be familiar with what queerplatonic relationships are, and will interpret Jaskier saying that he loves Geralt "platonically" as meaning that he's not as deeply and strongly in love with him as one might usually expect a romantic partner to be.

They'll be unaware that there are committed life partners out there - that would go to the end of the world for each other and perhaps even share sexual intimacy together - that don't have any romantic feelings for each other whatsoever.

Romance does not mean "being in love", romance means "being in love in a romantic way".

And it is not the only way.

To aromantics and greyromantics - and even to romantic people that also have the capacity to fall in love in non-romantic ways, such as yours truly - queerplatonic and alterous relationships aren't "lesser than" romantic ones, they are different.

And Radovid... is different.

Radovid is no better, nor worse, than a hammer...

But he's a spoon.

He's a romantic connection that is completely new, exciting and intriguing to explore for Jaskier!

According to Joey Batey, as a sapioromantic panromantic pansexual, Jaskier finds himself developing a strong sapioromantic and sapiosexual connection with Radovid.

Jaskier is representing people that aren't romantically or sexually affected by a partner's gender in the way that they experience sexual atttraction, and people that experience a lot of tertiary attraction when falling in love, while very seldom ever being able to love others in a romantic way (sapioromantics / greyromantics... ).

Jaskier is a queer character that was truly created with a queer audience in mind!

He was created so that all of us that don't see or experience love according to the platonic vs romantic binary.

All of us that are hyperaware of those other forms of attraction (tertiary, aesthetic, sensual, etc.) that one can experience for another human being.

All of us that don't see or experience romance or sexuality as something that ties into their partner's gender.

Could finally see themselves in a character on screen.

Of course, you still need characters that experience their sexuality while feeling like the gender of their romantic and sexual partners matters - including those that love all genders... Desperately so!

First, because all members of the queer community matter and are equally as important and valuable. Rejoicing over Batey diving into lesser known and familiar representation doesn't mean that familiar and better known representation should not be encouraged and celebrated as well!

This is not a "there should be less gay character on TV to make room for more aromantics and asexuals instead" post.

This is a "we need queer identities people are less familiar with in addition to proper gay, lesbian and bisexual representation" post.

And second, because you still need characters that don't stray too much from the platonic v.s. romantic binary, too - and the usual social conventions tied to romance and sexuality - so that non-queer audiences can more easily connect, and empathize with, the queer community.

Because, when the existence of bisexuality already is something that monosexual people often have a hard time understanding, acknowledging, or even believing in...

Well, going:"By the way, I'll have you know that you can totally want to have sex with, live, and raise children with someone you've got platonic feelings for, too!"

You might accidentally lose them.

And if you try to explain that some people are unable to romantically connect with anyone, unless they get specifically attracted to their intellect (often combined with their aesthetic looks)!

That's likely going to be even worse!

And this is where Batey's pure genius comes to light.

Because he's just shown that you can find a beautiful and organic way to explore queerness more in depth - totally stepping away from the usual relationship conventions and specifically addressing your queer audience - simply by using a vocabulary that said queer audience will understand and connect with.

You can make it clear that the character is on the greyromantic spectrum, by having Vespula state that she's never ever seen him with a crush before!

You can put the emphasis on him being more specifically sapioromantic, by having him dreamily go on about how Jaskier perceives Radovid's intellect.

And, if Batey is to be believed - and he's been exploring the idea of Jaskier being queer since the very beginning of the show (without any clear response from the writers or producers regarding Jaskier's sexuality) - then, by making it clear that he loves Geralt platonically in Season 3, he's also allowing us to revisit all the scenes between Jaskier and Geralt from Season 1, while enjoying them through an aromantic lense.

Someone on the aromantic spectrum watching that scene might thus find themselves deeply connecting with the strong platonic squish (although it could also be a mesh) that Jaskier immediately experienced the very first time he saw Geralt...

You can see Jaskier as specifically believing himself to be Geralt's best friend in the whole wide world, and instinctively reading into Geralt allowing him to physically/sensually touch him (rubbing chamomile onto his lovely bottom) as him possibly desiring a queerplatonic connection with him also.

And, the scene where he's suggesting to Geralt that they could get away for a while, head to the coast together...

Where he mentions that life is too short not to do what pleases you, and admits that he's trying to work on what pleases him...

Look, the fact is that there's always been aromantic and greyromantic people experiencing tertiary forms of love and attractions for other people long before we had any words to put on those emotions, desires and needs.

So, it's rather easy to see Jaskier as someone that is experiencing a powerful alterous attraction for his best friend, and realizing that what pleases him the most, is the idea of them sharing a queerplatonic or alterous relationship together...

It makes sense to interpret what Jaskier is saying as him trying to express and articulate the love he feels for Geralt the best he can - implying that Geralt is what pleases him - while trying to ask Geralt if he also feels the same way...

Sadly, Geralt doesn't quite get it; likely because he's also romantically and sexually attracted to Yennefer and, when he loses her, instinctively throws all his own hurt and heartbreak at Jaskier - blaming him for everything that (he believes) lead to that loss!

And just because the break up Jaskier experienced wasn't a romantic one doesn't make it any less devastating.

Poor loving bard was making plans for them to continue to travel and enjoy their time together as the platonic boyfriends he believed them to be, and Geralt told him that all Jaskier had to offer him was a giant pile of shit that he kept shoveling his way!

There's been a lot of alterous and/or queeplatonic subtext since Season 1 (that could also read as romantic, but should never be used as evidence or proof of romance if we were talking about a real life partnership).

And, while I do acknowledge that queerbaiting has been messing with our ability to perceive and appreciate those relationships as such, I do think that, canonically establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic, at the very least, clearly addresses the reasons why Jaskier was behaving in such an amorous way with Geralt without being romantically in love with him.

For once, instead of mocking the queer audience for "having mistakenly read two same-gender close friends as being romantically attracted to each other" (while doing as much as they can to suggest romance to keep them hooked!), they are canonically establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic, with him experiencing his first romantic crush with Radovid.

The show's dialogue is telling people on the aromantic spectrum that "Yes, Jaskier is one of you. He gets squishes, meshes, lushes, and can desire a queerplatonic relationship with a best friend he's got strong platonic feelings for also."

You can speak to your queer audience, without fully risking alienating your non-queer audience, by simply using clues, and a language that your queer audience understands.

And I will forever be grateful to Joey Batey for having understood it, and having so skillfully managed it.

As someone who is ambiamorous, panalterous, panromantic, demisexual, and pansexual, all the nuances and details he brought to Jaskier's queerness was a pure delight, and spoke to me in a way that no TV show character has ever spoken to me before (except, perhaps, in "Sense8", but the whole show itself was about what it meant to love and be human, with main characters sharing a supernatural psychic bond making them more likely to open themselves to all the queer forms of love... whereas shows like "The Witcher" is of a more mainstream fantasy show).

I wish I had a way to contact him to tell him thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for breaking gender boundaries, and "platonic vs romantic" boundaries with Jaskier, and offering us a character that is one of the purest, most beautiful, and most perfectly balanced love song to queerness that one could have written and sung about!

Jaskier is a queer representation groundbreaking masterpiece on a show such as this.

That representation is as intelligent, insightful, and sharp as Prince Radovid himself.

And Extraordinarily Things said more about Jaskier's feelings, issues, and vulnerabilities than any piece of dialogue ever could have, and had me weeping my eyes out by the time Jaskier sang about how he finally felt like he was enough...

Well done Joey, you absolutely brilliant and deeply empathetic real-life bard and poet, well done...

[thelostgirl21]

"Officially, it's now become canon that Jaskier is queer, which had never really been explicitly said before in the past. Was that something you knew about your character from the beginning, from season one?

No, it wasn't. It's something I explored in my own exploration of the character but canonically, in the books, he is nothing but heterosexual, as far as my reading goes, and so I was doing my best to do that.

Lauren came to me just before season three, and was like, 'By the way, we'd like to explore this plot line'. I was nervous, but I wholeheartedly applaud Lauren for diving into that."

I'm not sure how to read that...

After the interview that he gave in Season 1:

I just became so sure that this was something that had been carefully planned with those writers, to the point I've been arguing with other people online that Cavill couldn't possibly have been upset about Jaskier's queerness (i.e. it couldn't have been one of the supposed "changes" that "made him leave"), since it had always been something that was going to happen, using the interview as proof...

But... It wasn't?!?!

Jaskier being queer is something that Joey Batey explored on his own, while DOING HIS BEST to attempt to make him hetero on the show like in the books?!?!?!

Did I read that correctly?!

[Jaskier being queer is] something I explored in my own exploration of the character but canonically, in the books, he is nothing but heterosexual, as far as my reading goes, and so I was doing my best to do that.

How faithfully have those words been reported (since its a written interview, not a recording), and is that what he is saying?!

Is Joey Batey really telling us:

"Yeah... So, I ended up being so caught up in my own exploration of Jaskier as being queer, that I accidentally made him canonically queer, despite my best efforts to hetero on the show... Oops!"

HOW HARD WERE YOU TRYING TO HETERO ON THE SHOW, JOEY?!?!

Go on, be honest!

How much hetero did you put into Jaskier?!

Joey Batey, attempting to do his best baking some hetero into his version of Jaskier:

You've heard of Queer Coding?

Now get ready for Hetero Queering!

i.e. When an actor puts so much queer into a canonically straight character, that they've no choice but to eventually go with it!

Joey, this is hilarious, and I freaking love you so much right now!

You've somehow succeeded where Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and so many other brave men before you failed...

I know it likely has to do with the show being on Netflix (a.k.a. The glorious home of "Sense8"), but still!

I'm sure this has been posted before, but this is a lovely 20-minute interview that made me very happy!

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

Do you know this queer character?

Jaskier is Sapioromantic and Pansexual, and uses he/him pronouns!

[my-jokes-are-my-armour]

I love Joey Batey. OK.

Source [x]

Also the guess :

Source [x]

[endiness]

joey on jaskier and radovid's relationship:

"I was very insistent that it was done in a way that was sensitive, that was not in any way kind of representative of bisexual erasure, and done in as romantically as any of the other romantic stories in the canon."

"It’s been really rewarding to see [his love life] told in a very visual way. [We] ensured that these romances are told truthfully — and sensitively and carefully, without resorting to stereotypes… Hopefully we’ve created something that is special, a sapioromantic and sapiosexual [connection] that is as flawed as any other relationship in this show."

[thelostgirl21]

Wait wait wait wait wait... Hold on...

I just sort of went on a rant yesterday regarding how "queer baiting" has been perversely conditioning the queer community to read every type of close emotionally (and sometimes physically and/or sexually) intimate friendships as "romance" - when you can 100% desire to have sex and experience a strong, lifelong commitment to a friend who *isn't* a romantic partner (by substituting actually freaking openly acknowledged romantic relationships by "friends that act with the intimacy of romantic partners but aren't together romantically and sexually" to "suggest romance" and keep queer audiences "hooked" on TV series).

And describing how I experience my own demisexuality in those terms:

Meanwhile, demisexual me, that can't sexually desire anyone unless I share deep bonds of trust and emotional intimacy with them (but not necessarily have any romantic desires for them), and thus has had a habit of more often seeking sexual intimacy with people I wasn't romantically attracted to (because it can sometime take a while for me to develop the kind of emotional connection I need with a romantic interest to find them sexually desirable as well)...

So... Are you telling me there's a word for that?

And that my sexual desires are often based on my ability to develop an alterous relationship with a friend?

(Note: my romantic relationships can eventually become as strong as an alterous one, it just takes a certain time to get there, and I'm not automatically sexually attracted to people I've got a primary romantic "crush" on.)

I would argue that Jaskier's relationship with Vespula isn't just sexual, though, and has alterous elements in there as well...

They seem to share a loving and committed non-exclusive form of friendship underneath all the sex, with Vespula struggling with him having the ability to experience sexual attraction towards multiple people that he's got no emotional bonds with.

The fact that he's got so much stuff at her place (I wonder if they live together... At least whenever he's in town since Jaskier hates the thought of "settling down" at court), and was confiding in her, suggests that he sees her as more than a "sex partner" that he wouldn't have any relationship with without the sex.

She's not a romantic (i.e. amorous) partner. But an alterous one? Maybe...

Then again, the initial attraction could have been sexual, and evolved into an alterous relationship over time.

That could also have been the case with Geralt (I've often thought that Jaskier might have been instantly sexually attracted to him, but that attraction fizzled when Geralt showed no sign of reciprocating).

And I find it interesting that you mention that both Jaskier's romantic and sexual attraction for Radovid stem from his intellectual connection, because I've really struggled with using the term "sapiosexual" in relation with Jaskier (despite Joey Batey's use of it in an interview).

My hesitation comes from the fact that sapiosexuals are gray-sexuals that can only become sexually attracted to someone based on their perceived intellect (in general).

i.e. They usually remain asexual until they meet someone whose intellect they are attracted to, at the very least (other forms of attraction, like aesthetic, might also come into play. But the intellectual attraction is the main component that triggers sexual attraction).

Jaskier, however, can most definitely sexually desire someone without connecting to their (I'm thinking especially emotional and relational) intellect.

So, there's a discrepancy there that bothers me, and might suggest that orientations such as "sapiosexuality", "demisexuality", etc. are "mere preferences", not valid orientations.

He very much fits the sapioromantic definition of being unable to be romantically attracted to someone without that intellectual attraction (Vespula says she's never seen him with a crush before, thus reinforcing that aspect on the show).

But sapiosexual?

Well, if we mean to say, by that, that Jaskier's sexual desires for Radovid stem from the way he's intellectually attracted to him (the romantic attraction and sexual attraction sort of blend into one), then yes, sorta...

I guess the connection itself could be read as "sapiosexual".

Like my being in a heterosexual relationship with my partner, but not being A heterosexual.

Like Jaskier himself isn't A sapiosexual.

A sapioromantic, panromantic, pansexual character, yes.

But a sapiosexual one? Not quite.

Perhaps that's what Batey meant in his interviews.

He called Jaskier's character A panromantic or pansexual (sexual identity) character.

But spoke about Jaskier and Radovid sharing a sapioromantic and sapiosexual connection (nature of that specific attraction).

Something they've chosen to address, on screen, as a sapioromantic experiencing his very first romantic "crush" on anyone.

Interesting... I hadn't considered it that way...

Something I really appreciate in s3 is how naturally the distinction between sexual, romantic, intellectual and alterous attractions was shown. Perfect exemple that you don't have to turn your characters into dictionaries to clearly convey different aspects of queerness.

Jaskier's relationship with Vespula, Radovid and Geralt are all showing different kinds of relationships and attractions. His relationships with Vespula is very much on the sexual attractions side while his relationships with Radovid is a mixed of sexual and romantic attractions which both stems from intellectual attraction. And then you've got Geralt which is a previously romantic/sexual attraction turned into an alterous one, and it's not seen as being a lesser kind of attraction, just a different one.

And all of this is not told to us but shown.

[bitterlybisexualbard]

Saw a take that apparently Joey Batey backed up that Jaskier is sapioromantic and pansexual and never fell in love or had a crush before Radovid and just... really? The same guy we were told “falls in love with whoever is in front of him” rather than just being after sex? That guy? The two are pretty mutually exclusive here. 

Either he was falling in love with these people and wasn’t a ‘womanizer’ stereotype so much as a hopeless romantic with a short attention span, or he literally kept seducing and fucking married or ‘chaste’ women (and men and others) he had nothing but physical attraction for while telling them he was in love with them and/or agreeing to monogamous romantic relationships with them that he already knew he didn’t want until meeting ‘the one’, which is pretty much THE stereotype of a womanizer regardless of his sexual or romantic orientation or your views on the morality of it all. I guess you could argue that he thought it was love at the time, but it still sounds pretty suspect given how often we know he follows the pattern.

There is nothing wrong with Radovid being different, the feeling being something Jaskier hasn’t felt before, or hasn’t felt that deeply. Relationships should feel different with different people, and sometimes feelings go deeper than in other relationships, and that doesn’t retroactively make the feelings in previous relationships invalid.

Also, one on-again-off-again girlfriend saying she never saw him have a crush before doesn’t mean he never had one, it just means she hasn’t seen it. Which... is a pretty odd choice given not long before that, she claimed to have thought they were in an exclusive relationship until she caught him sleeping around (even though she was too). We also have no real idea how long she’s known him or how often she sees him. It seems unlikely he was sleeping with her or even really associating with her when he was with the Countess, for instance.

Also, he literally follows it up by saying he has intense, passionate affairs in a manner which implies something at least a little beyond purely sexual relationships, which is, again, an odd choice if their point was he was just shagging around with no romantic feelings involved until meeting Radovid.

But by far my biggest bugbear is the claiming of ‘sapioromanticism’ as some kind of representation. Don’t drag queer-romantic people in this nonsense. Sapio ‘orientations’ are just dressed up ableism and classism with a lil racism thrown in. The common markers of intellect that get used for these ‘orientations’ are directly linked to those factors, and if you’re not talking about pre-determined definitions and markers of intellect then congrats, you’re attracted to people whose personality and understanding is compatible with yours like 90 fucking percent of people of all orientations. It’s like saying your only being interested in people who also like Star Trek or have similar political views to you is a fucking orientation

And really, if you went around saying you were sexually or romantically attracted specifically to stupid people no one would take you seriously. I have no idea why people think this is any different.

[vesemirsexual]

You’re so fucking right about the jaskier being “bi” shit. They’re looking for representation points so they just said sapiosexual sapioromantic (what the fuck???) and made fans follow the crumbs. He is not bi (according to Netflix, we all know the bard is queer). This is the studio either being homophobic or biphobic, or outright biphobic with the “he doesn’t like labels” bullshit again. We need to stop giving them credit they didn’t earn. And with radovid? Who makes minimal appearance in the book but is a complete maniac in the games? After jaskier became the sandpiper? Really?

I think what annoys me is it falls into a greater scheme of people either adoring something so much that they will defend it regardless of any flaws vs hating something so much that they will find any way possible for it to be problematic. I get being excited to be able to validate your ship or character headcanons, but this isn’t the way forward at all.

Realistically, I think we need to consider that:

• The most that TWN has broached so far is the bait-y “and musicians” speech and the haha funny woman dwarf with a beard

• If they’ve committed to a queer romance being on-screen, then they can’t really hide behind the “not saying words to placate more conservative audiences” because they’re going to be pissed regardless

• I’m actually a TAD fan but I’m really side eyeing Joey for those sapiosexual sapioromantic comments. As far as I’m aware (I could be wrong on this one), he’s a cishet man, and if you’re going to be playing a queer character, it really seems appropriate to do your research and approach it as respectfully as possible. The sapiosexual discussion has been rehashed every few years in the greater LGBT community, and as a general rule, it’s pretty agreed upon that it’s ableist and pseudo-intellectual at minimum, and at worse you have to question the ideas of intellectualism and what you consider to be an intellectual across different regions/cultures and where exactly the entire concept is going

• Everyone is really excited to celebrate Jaskier as bi/pan and giving them a pass by saying “oh, well regardless of what they call it, it’s implied/confirmed” - stop letting productions cop out of actually saying the damn words. You’re being breadcrumbed.

[thelostgirl21]

Source

Okay, but why am I having so many feels about the fact that Joey says that the most important person in Jaskier's life is his little Pocket Size Princess?

And that he's finally figured out what matters to him most, and it's the family he's built with Geralt, Yennefer & Ciri?

[thelostgirl21]

Because, I think the books say virtually nothing about him.

So, they could create their own character with Radovid, like the videogames did (because, from what I've heard, book fans can correct me if I'm wrong, there's little known about him in the source material other than "well, the king's son grew up and becomes known as" King Radovid the Stern")?

AND they needed a character that would find himself naturally strongly involved in the whole conflict and drama with the Redanian Intelligence just by nature of his birth, who would struggle to find his place in the world (the king's brother is just a "spare" with no power to make decisions, or role to play unless the King dies young, and no expectations for him to ever inherit the kingdom... While a son would be made to feel like an heir, and expected to become King some day) whose romantic connection with Jaskier would put both their lives in peril, and threaten to pull them apart, maybe?

So, Prince Radovid allows the writers to explore Jaskier in a situation where he'd experience a sense of torn loyalties, and the potential for a lack of objectivity and clouded judgment when it comes to whether or not Ciri should accept Redania's offer for protection.

I mean, could they have just decided that Radovid wouldn't exist, AT ALL? That he wouldn't be part of the intrigue?

That Prince Alberto, the brother of King Vizimir, would become the King of Redania some day, and ignore names in the whole Redanian line of succession from the books?

Sure! They could have invented a character from scratch rather than adapt the book character.

But then, you'd have an outcry of "Wait! There was no King Alberto in the books! After King Vizimir, it's King Radovid that inherited the throne!"

You don't say?!?!?!

And really, it's not like "child Prince Radovid" ever did anything to influence the book's plot other than existing in the background.

I think that the games have him go genocidal, but that's not something that ever happens in the original material. "He becomes king and is stern".

OK, that's fair. Can we make him an adult Prince that's just unhappy and purposeless in life, and give him some purpose in the story instead?

And use him to bring some more drama, twists and turns with Philippa and Dijkstra as an adult rather than as a child running around?

And turn the guy into a fully fleshed out character that brings something new to the storyline book fans would not have expected?

And advance Jaskier's character development and bring some angst, romance, and conflict to the decisions he might have to make to help his found family, so it'll be more heartbreaking?

And from Radovid's side, too?

Instead of the King just having a little boy in the background, why not transform Radovid into an already viable, fully grown option to take over the throne, should Dijkstra decide Vizimir is bad for the kingdom and needs to die sooner rather than later (for example) and want to put Radovid in his place.

I mean, Prince Radovid is obviously smarter, understands what's at stake with Ciri, is currently presented as a bit of a "softie", but could arguably be "hardened".

He has the potential to be an actual leader that could hold his own against the other kingdoms, and see through their strategies and schemes.

Instead of someone like Vizimir that is immature, and used to rely on others to do the actual work...

I say "used to", because he's starting to make decisions without informing Dijkstra, and that threaten to undo his efforts for the kingdom... He's starting to slip from his control, and becoming a problem...

Radovid would be harder to "control", but is someone that Dijkstra can reason with as they are both capable of seeing "the big picture".

Dijkstra is presented as having the ability to be a "team player", as long as he shares the same objectives for the Kingdom as the King.

If the King doesn't, heads might be chopped off.

Radovid being the King's brother means that he's been left to his own device and perceived as a useless (what is it Philippa said, "seed waster" or something?) whose job is to "look pretty" and get drunk.

So, he's had his whole life to observe "the game" and its rules being played from the sideline, analyse them, learn them, etc.

Highly empathetic people are often the "natural enemies" of sociopaths. They tend to be the people that will be less likely to fall prey to their schemes, and can often threaten to expose them and take the control away from them.

If he'd been a child, then he would have been groomed for the throne from the moment of his birth.

It's much more interesting, to advance the plot while respecting the line of succession (in names, at least) and avoiding a time jump, to have Radovid be the King's brother and someone that could be competent enough to take the throne and/or be a potential threat for Dijkstra and Philippa should they fail to "win him over" and ally with him.

A child ruler, forced to assume the throne at 12, because his father died since he was starting to do idiotic things Dijkstra didn't approve of, would have been a puppet.

An adult brother Prince, however, can present the Redanian Intelligence with both opportunity and challenge.

And, if him being roughly Jaskier's age gives much more importance to Jaskier as a character - allowing him to have a romance with a Prince and future King that has the potential to influence the fate of kingdoms...

Hey! I'm here for it!

And I don't get the whole "OMG! They aged up a child! That's creepy!" argument I see popping around, I really really don't.

Please stay away from all those trolls on YouTube that are trying to find excuses to oppose queer romance. They are giving the most inane arguments attempting to create controversy and suggest immorality where there is absolutely none.

I mean, I'm but a humble fanfiction writer, and the benefits of using a background character that does nothing in the books - other than eventually have it mention he succeeded his father - and have him be a brother with the power to currently challenge Dijkstra and Philippa, and have potential to act as an actual politician now, is very appealing from a storytelling perspective.

So, the idea that "they needed someone for Jaskier to fuck, so they took a child and aged him, the perverts!" is so far off the left field (or the right field, probably), to me, that I can't even fathom how someone came up with it, and how it gained some traction!

Radovid is not "an aged up child" , he's what used to be a fairly absent character in the books that they turned into a brother, and adapted him to make him useful to the narrative, as well as a contender for the throne, that can challenge more important and established characters in Redania.

I think it's a great idea, and I absolutely love the way they are portraying him.

My question is, if they wanted to give Jaskier a queer romance, why not write a new character? They’ve written plenty of original characters in the past. Why did they age up a literal child? That’s so creepy.

Poor Jaskier deserved a shiny new guy written just for him. The writers probably just gave up, I guess?

Sorry, Jask. You deserved better.

[kenobihater]

think i'm gonna put on the 25th anniversary concert in the background and just melt into the floor. my evening went from tragically despondent bc i just realized a beloved mutual deactivated to an absolute frantic flabbergasted manic posting spree about canon sapiosexual sapioromantic jaskier and jaskovid. radoskier. whatever the fuck their stupid ass ship name is gonna be.

[bardstune]

Name / Alias: INU Are you over 18?     Yes  /  No Is your muse over 18?   Yes  /  No When was your blog established? Few days ago.

– W R I T I N G –

Are you selective about who you write with? No (anyone)  /  Semi (most people) / Yes (some people)  /  Highly (few people - mutuals preferred) /  Private (mutuals only)

Are you selective about who you follow? No (anyone)  /  Semi (most people)  /  Yes (some people)  /  Highly (few people)

If your muse is canon, how much do you adhere to canon? Not at all  / A little  /  Some  / Mostly ( I’ve got Jaskier from the Show and Dandelion from the game and their names is how I’ll distinguish which is which. I’m also currently reading the books because of Quinn. )  /  Strictly /  Not Applicable

What post lengths do you write? One Liners  /  Single-Para  /  Multi-Para  /  Novella / All of the aforementioned

Do you use icons and/or GIFS? No  / Gifs  /  Icons  /  Yes / Sometimes

Do you write on other platforms? No  /  Yes ( Discord hi - Magic Daddy ™#4679 )

What level of plots do you write? Unplotted  /  Open-Ended Plots  /  Semi-Plotted /  Fully Plotted Epics /  All of the aforementioned

How quickly do you usually respond to threads? Very Slow (more than a month) / Slow (3-4 weeks)  /  Average (1-2 weeks)  /  Fast (less than one week)  /  Very Fast (less than three days)  /  It depends Side Note: This is very important. I have diagnosed ADHD, I used to take medication for it and I probably still should to be quite frank. I can be very fast with threads, and given my line of work I have a lot of downtime to be on tumblr. The flip side of this is the thread has to have my attention. There are times where I will lose interest, get overly distracted, or just get so excited for a different idea I’ll start 200+ threads with you and the ones that have my attention I will reply to. Sometimes I’ll need a little plotting or a reminder to reply to a thread, it’s very easy for me to miss that someone replied to something, it’s one of the reasons why communication and plotting is so very important to me. 

What types of themes do you like? Adventure / Romance / Fluff  /  Angst  / Smut /  Violence /  Tragedy (Not in a thread anyway I’ll write this for drabbles).  /  Domestic  /  Family   Side note 2: I am above the age of 18, I’m actually 25, but writing sex/smut/whatever you want to call it does make me uncomfortable. I also find it boring as hell in a thread so (back to the aforementioned side note) it’ll be a quick way for me to lose interest in a thread and drop it. I’ll write everything for it up until the actual act and then I’ll skip it all honestly. I’m completely happy with talking about how they fucked if it’s important to you but otherwise if you’re here lookin’ for the nasty, my bad boys.

WHAT GENRES DO YOU LIKE? ( Feel free to add! ) High Fantasy  /  Supernatural / Science Fiction  /  Historical  /  Horror /  Comedy  / Romantic  / Drama  / Action /  Adventure  /  Espionage / All of the aforementioned

Are there any themes you’re uncomfortable writing on your blog? (Not triggers) No  /  Yes  /  Sometimes Side note 3: See side note 2. Other then that incest, dub con, non con, suicide, I ain’t writing the real nasty shit but we can hint at it? Sexual assault happens, I just am not writing it. 

Do you have any triggers? How do you request it tagged? None here.

– S H I P P I N G –

What types of relationships are you open to? Romantic  /  Platonic  /  Familial / All of the aforementioned

What types of pre-established relationships are you open to? Romantic  /  Platonic  /  Familial / All of the aforementioned / I prefer plotting Side Note 4: All pre-established relationships, aside from things canon like Geralt and Jaskier being friends, has to be plotted. No one, not even me, can just assume our muses are banging. I believe the term for that would be god-modding. If it’s not canon, but you want it, my IM’s are open for mutals.

Do you have OTPs? No /  Chemistry Only  /  Yes

Do you have NOTPS? No  /  Yes  

What is your muse’s sexual orientation? Heterosexual  /  Heteroflexible  /  Bisexual  / Pansexual  /  Homoflexible  /  Homosexual / Demisexual /  Sapiosexual  /  ( Grey ) Asexual / Still trying to figure it out.

What is your muse’s romantic orientation? Heteroromantic  /  Heteroflexible  /  Biromantic  /  Homoflexible  /  Homoromantic   /  Panromantic /  Demiromantic /  Sapioromantic  / Aromantic / Still trying to figure it out.

Are you comfortable writing smut? No  /  Selectively /  Yes

How early in a relationship do you ship romantically? Autoship  / During plotting /  After a couple IC interactions  /  Several IC interactions / Slow burn   /  Plot dependent  /  Never   Side note 6: Our muses could just breath in each others direction and I’d ship it. I just usually don’t say anything unless we’re chatting outside of the thread. This is one of the things that makes plotting so much fun and I am a huge plotter. Obviously Geralt/Jaskier are OTP but I am open to anyone and anything so long as the muses get along. Sometimes it just happens quickly, you can see the chemistry in a few interacts or read a muses about and go yeah they’d bang them. But again, communication is key to a fun writing experience. I have social anxiety, bad, but I’m a very chatty person naturally when something excites me. If I get a few words out and you reply equally enthused--you’re in for a nightmare. I will commit to you like Jaskier does to Geralt. 

Are you open to toxic ships? No / Selectively  / Yes /  I am not sure.

Are you open to problematic ships? No /  Selectively /  Yes /  I am not sure. (I have no idea what this means)

Are you open to polyshipping? No /  Selectively  /  Yes /  I am not sure.

Are you an exclusive shipper? Never (Multi-Ship)  /  Sometimes  /  Yes * Each and every relationship falls in its own separated universe unless stated otherwise.

Does crack shipping ever happen? No  /  Yes

– T A G G I N G! –

tagged by: - tagging: @geminaeisims @ashenhaiir @hweitswulf @whitewolfofriviia

[endiness]

If anyone is interested, here are all of the spoilers and rumors so far about Radovid and Jaskier x Radovid and just everything relating to that. And also book!Radovid.

"Royal playboy and younger brother to King Vizimir, Radovid finds himself suddenly a man on the inside of the Redanian Intelligence. With his good looks and drunken charm, Radovid amazes with how incisive he can be in political affairs, but it’s all games until someone gets hurt."

Source: https://twitter.com/witchernetflix/status/1514605669667663872

~

Source: https://twitter.com/RedanianIntel/status/1669074435586834433

~

Episode 1: “Shaerrawedd” Meanwhile at the Redanian court, our bard Jaskier is involved in political plots and schemes, which leads him to his fateful meeting with Prince Radovid of Redania.

Episode 2: “Unbound” Back at the Redanian court, there’s still plotting, scheming and the development of Jaskier’s romance with Prince Radovid. The bard even sings a song to the prince.

Source: https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/06/15/spoilers-the-witcher-season-3-vol-1-episode-guide/

~

Transcript of Radovid's audition scene with Jaskier:

Jaskier: It’s been years since I’ve seen the princess. Also, ……. If I could help… Radovid: It’s nice, but nothing like you chose. What I wouldn’t give to hear you play halfway as … on that one. Jaskier: Oh, a fan? And someone who understands true artistry? How the instrument and the artist can elevate each other. Radovid: Yes, two things of beauty, made to be together. Jaskier: Precisely! Radovid: So here’s a thought: this poor princess has enemies everywhere and truth be told our kingdom’s not a bad place. It’s cold in winter and humid in summer. The cuisine, however, spectacular. And my brother’s not bad as far as my likes are concerned. Redania may not be perfect, but it’s her least bad option. And if you came to Redania, you could be our royal troubadour. Otherwise we might have to listen to that reedy voice of Valdo Marx. Just think about it, would you? Jaskier: I would. Radovid: We should be going. [Suggestive] Unless you’d like to show me how you play your instrument.

* Note: I've changed the names to reflect the proper characters/locations.

Source: https://redanianintelligence.com/2021/12/02/the-witcher-season-3-audition-tape-suggests-more-political-intrigue-involving-jaskier/

~

We know that this [audition] scene or a very close version of it made it into the show and that there are more moments of flirtation and chemistry between Radovid and Jaskier later on. The two men develop a romantic relationship over the course of the season. And later, Jaskier and Radovid finally kiss.

Source: https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/05/24/yes-what-many-thought-about-the-witcher-jaskier-is-true/

~

“Jaskier falls in love,” Schmidt Hissrich reveals. “And it’s with a character who fans will know [and] continues showing up in the books. So what happens this season between them will have ripple effects for a very long time.”

Batey relished digging into Jaskier’s new love story. “He’s having his hot girl summer,” Batey jokes. “It’s been really rewarding to see [his love life] told in a very visual way. [We] ensured that these romances are told truthfully — and sensitively and carefully, without resorting to stereotypes… Hopefully we’ve created something that is special, a sapioromantic and sapiosexual [connection] that is as flawed as any other relationship in this show.”

One other element in Jaskier’s life may just complicate his newfound love. As he’s “falling into an uncle role” for Ciri alongside parental figures Geralt and Yennefer, Jaskier is also pulled into the political machinations of the Continent.  

“He’s certainly a man of many trades, but I’m not sure he’s inherently built to be a spy,” Batey says. “Yet he’s found himself in a time of war, in turmoil, and is trying to do his best to do something good.”

Source: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/witcher-season-3-henry-cavill-interview

~

Joey Batey finally verified that his poet will indeed end up in a romantic entanglement with the new character. "Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich came to me long before we even saw some scripts and said, 'This is the direction we'd like to take Jaskier,'" Batey told SFX, calling the romance subplot "a more modern interpretation of the books." In a previous interview with Netflix's Tudum, Batey declared season 3 Jaskier's "hot girl summer," calling the romance "sapioromantic" (a term that refers to falling for someone's intellect regardless of gender) without actually citing the love interest character by name.

Speaking to SFX, Batey explained that he doesn't "think Jaskier really sees gender," but also implied that meeting Radovid throws the character for a loop from their very first encounter. "We see Radovid arriving," Batey said, and, "for the first time in a while, Jaskier can't work him out. That to him is the most intriguing prospect." He describes a moment of recognition between the pair: "You wear just as much of a mask as I do. I want to see who is going to lower their mask first."

Hissrich also spoke with the outlet, and explained that Jaskier's relationship with Radovid will be completely different than his connection with a character video game players will know, Vespula. "When we started in the writers' room this season, we had a question about Jaskier that was really fun to explore: Who is Jaskier when he is on his own, away from Geralt, Yen and Ciri?" Hissrich asked. "What that brought us to is Jaskier's first really serious relationship."

Hissrich continued: "We introduced a character from the books, Vespula — Jaskier's on-again-off-again lover, but then we used that dynamic to provide a contrast to what happens when Jaskier actually starts to have deeper feelings toward someone." That someone seems poised to be Radovid.

"My priority was ensuring it was done in a sensitive, caring way that avoided all kinds of stereotypes," he told SFX. "I was heavily involved in some of the script revisions in order to ensure a very safe, sexual, romantic connection with this person."

Source: https://www.slashfilm.com/1309204/the-witcher-joey-batey-confirms-jaskiers-romance-season-3/

~

Jaskier will be singing tunes here and there throughout the season. One of his sad love songs he will be singing to none other than his new love interest, Prince Radovid of Redania.

Source: https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/06/12/jaskier-song-lover-radovid-and-other-tunes-in-the-witcher-season-3/

~

Mentions of Radovid in the books:

Prince Radovid was a minor, Queen Hedwig had been devastated by the tragic death of her husband - the aristocracy, terrified, had become stupid, and was disunited and divided into factions.

— Baptism of Fire

“I know [Calante] had wedding plans for Ciri, to join her with young Tancred Thyssen of Kovir or perhaps to the Redanian prince, Radovid, I don’t know exactly.”

— The Tower of Swallows

'Long live His Holiness!' A few voices came from the crowd, obviously bribes. Novigrad's hierarch Cyrus Englekind Hemmelfart rose and blessed the people and the army with his outstretched hands, while irreverently covering Queen Hedwig and young Radovid with the skirts of his robe.

Nobody shouts, "Long live Radovid", thought the prince covered by the hierarch's fat ass. No one even looks at me. No one is screaming in honour of my mother. No one remembers my poor father. Even today, at a day of triumph, which he so richly deserved. After all, that's why he was murdered.

He felt a gaze on his neck. Delicate like someone he did not know - or knew, but only in his dreams. Something that was soft like a brush of a woman's warm lips. He turned his head. He discovered the dark unfathomable eyes of Philippa Eilhart fixed on him.

Wait, thought the prince, looking away. Just wait.

No one could predict or guess then that this boy of thirteen years, which at that time was a person without any relevance in a country ruled by the Regency Council and by Dijkstra, would become king. A king who, after he paid all the insults that had been given to his mother and him, would go down in history with the name Radovid the Stern.

— Lady of the Lake

[thelostgirl21]

I'm not sure what you mean by that...

I'm pansexual, but, like I recently explained to some cishet boys with very little understanding of pansexuality, I've been in a stable relationship with the same man for 17 years now.

And, since I pretty much consider him to be the love of my life, I'm sort of hoping I'll never be given the chance to date people of other gender identities in the future.

That would mean I'd no longer be with him, and that's not a scenario I enjoy.

I don't need to have sex with people of other genders to show, prove, or celebrate that I'm pansexual.

At times in my life, I have been with different genders at the same time, since I'm demisexual, and whenever I wasn't in a romantic relationship, I could have multiple sexual partners for whom I had alterous feelings (some are still some of the closest and greatest friends I have, and I still have and alterous love for them).

And, as an ambiamorous individual, I've also had polyamorous relationships before.

Pansexual is mspec, since our sexual partner can be of any gender, but a lot of us don't differentiate between genders, either, when it comes to our choice of partner.

If you mean that it's nice to see Jaskier's pansexuality (the orientations that Joey gave in interviews for the character, thus far, are: panromantic, pansexual, and sapioromantic, with the connection that he shares with Radovid also originating from a sapiosexual desires) featured visually on the show, and you have a special request for a gifset where he's seen with Vespula as well, it would be my pleasure!

But, I don't see how gifsets that specifically focus on ONE of his relationships, rather than show him with more than a single gender, are in any way or form contributing to bi erasure!

Especially not on Tumblr, where I doubt queer fans that have been losing their shit ever since he was confirmed mspec are likely to forget that our boy can sexually be into people regardless of gender!

So yeah, I'll gladly do a gifset of him flirting with those gorgeous huntress with the sexy neck in Season 1, him flirting with that lovely dwarf lady in Season 2, him being very into "himself" on Blood Origins, etc. if that would bring you some joy to celebrate Jaskier's fluidity in sexually moving between genders and species.

I just disapprove of the phrasing "let's not do bi/pan erasure", suggesting that a gifset only featuring his gay relationship with Radovid, for example, would be contributing to bisexual erasure.

Unless I've been interpreting your statement wrong?

hey y’all

jaskier is mspec

where’s all the gifsets please

let’s not do bi/pan erasure

[thelostgirl21]

Prince Radovid and Jaskier's Lute Heart...

Prince Radovid catching Jaskier's heart after it's been thrown away, preventing it from being irreparably shattered to pieces...

Prince Radovid holding onto Jaskier's heart for a little while longer, instead of returning it right away...

Prince Radovid pleading with Jaskier to share the song in his heart...

Prince Radovid quietly following Jaskier's heart, wherever it may lead them...

Prince Radovid attentively listening to Jaskier's heart...

Prince Radovid softly asking if he can borrow Jaskier's heart...

Jaskier briefly hesitating, yet choosing to trust Prince Radovid with his heart...

Prince Radovid gently caressing the strings of Jaskier's heart, while bashfully adding his own voice and touch to the song it carries...

Prince Radovid gently holding Jaskier's heart, anxiously hoping for an answer...

Prince Radovid being loved by all of Jaskier's heart (after having touched his heart so often)...

Bonus: Jaskier's heart being hit by cupid's arrow, shortly after having met Prince Radovid (then bearing love's mark for the rest of the season), thus making Jaskier reconsider the Prince's offer to keep him and his found family safe by having them move to the Redanian Court.

Geralt retrieving Jaskier's wounded heart - making sure to safely return it to him before it gets trampled on the ground post battle - rather than leaving it behind...

[Also, in the comments of my Radskier YouTube video, someone (that kindly left a delightful review ❤️) pointed out to me that, if Radovid hadn't caught Jaskier's lute, then he likely wouldn't have had the time to get it replaced before that battle...

Meaning that, instead of just experiencing the shock of the impact, and maybe being painfully poked through his thick leather coat by the tip of the arrow that completely went through the lute and came out the other side...

Well, Jaskier would have been hit by that arrow with nothing to protect him, and possibly killed, while he was busy trying to save lives...

Thus, by saving Jaskier's lute, Radovid might have unwittingly saved Jaskier himself...]

[thelostgirl21]

Jaskier, The voice of the Continent,

meets

Radovid, The Voice of the Fandom...

Seriously, it's like they decided to have a character fall in love with Jaskier, and finally tell him everything we wish someone would have told him since the beginning of watching this show...

You gorgeous, loyal, empathetic, caring, devoted sapioromantic pansexual bard with a heart of gold and the voice of a freaking angel, that sees others as they are, and brings out the best in them often at your own expanse...

It was high time someone finally saw you, too - caught a glimpse of the pain and weariness you carry in your heart (yet keep downplaying and brushing aside, afraid that others would be made to feel bad about it and stop enjoying having you around to keep them entertained if they paid too much attention to it) - and took the time to remind you that you are, indeed, enough...

Radovid kept insisting for a song...

And you gave him one...

Not a song singing his own praises - with the goal or making him more sympathetic or famous to an audience (so that the world could see him and care about him the way you do)...

Not one asking him for what he yearns for, while being frustrated and heartbroken over him apparently being so set on self-sabotaging that he's unable to return the love of those that do love him...

No, for once, you decided that you were done "entertaining others", and singing about what you think they want you to sing...

Instead, you chose to sing a song about what you need and yearn for in life...

And he learned it...

Jaskier sang to him before he left the palace, and Radovid freaking learned Jaskier's song by heart, after having attentively listened to every note and every word he sang only once...

How's that for a pie without filling?

They somehow managed to turn that new ship into a whole freaking Cruise Line in just 4 episodes!

Don't get me wrong, I do love Geralt and genuinely think he was attempting to push Jaskier away out of both self-hatred and a desire to protect others from himself in Season 1... But the things he said, and the way he used to treat Jaskier, still hurt him, affected his sense of self-worth, and left some scars.

I'm therefore not drawing comparisons to bash on Geralt and Jaskier's own relationship, but because I love the healing opportunities that Radovid's hopefully genuine romantic interest in Jaskier are providing.

i.e. They better not pull some sick twist on us, by having Radovid be revealed as a cruel, scheming villain that took advantage of Jaskier's goodness, feelings, and needs for his own gain; because I've a feeling heads would be found in boxes!

Just let him have his big gay spoon, alright? Or little spoon! But I kinda want Jaskier to be the one spooned with someone firmly holding onto him with no intention of ever sending him away right now, so...

Also, what's the new name of that ship, Jaskovid? I'll go with Jaskovid...

I also found it very interesting, from a LGBTQ+ representation standpoint, that they are seemingly going the route of a polyamourous pansexual character that might be somewhere on the gray-romantic spectrum.

i.e. That Jaskier would specifically need to experience a sapioromantic connection - be attracted attracted to one's wits and insightfulness - in order for him to experience any desire to enter a romantic relationship with them.

Will Jaskier remain polyamorous, both romantically and sexually, should Radovid himself be monoamorously romantically/sexually exclusive, and the two of them choose to fully commit to their romantic connection?

I guess we'll have to see!

But I still thought it was a very nice nuance to bring to the character.

And I could see this going many different and equally interesting ways!

Jaskier could enter a deeply committed romantic and sexual relationship with Radovid, with one, or the two of them, remaining romantically and sexually non-exclusive (ex: one of my polyamorous friends has a main romantic/sexual partner that they live and share their lives with, and another one that they regularly go on romantic dates with, but without the need for them to build their lives together, or see each other as often).

Jaskier could enter a deeply committed romantic and sexual relationship with Radovid, with one, or the two of them, staying romantically exclusive, but enjoying sexual polyamory with lovers that they have no committed romantic connection to.

Jaskier could be revealed as being more ambiamorous than polyamorous, and be completely comfortable and happy being in a romantically and sexually exclusive relationship with a monoamorous partner.

As an ambiamorous panromantic demi-pansexual myself, I've personally discovered that, while I'm comfortable being in a romantic polyamorous relationship, sharing an exclusive romantic and sexual relationship doesn't feel forced, nor like I have to make any efforts and deprive myself of anything I enjoy, if I so happen to be romantically and sexually attracted to a person that isn't polyamorous.

It's like my monoamorous v.s. polyamorous instincts are naturally determined by the preferences of my romantic partner.

i.e. In the absence of any romantic connection to my sexual partners (that I do need to share a strong emotional bond with, however), however, I'm sexually polyamorous.

If the sexual desires occur in the context of a romantic connection with a monoamorous partner, I genuinely stop experiencing any sense of romantic and/or sexual attraction towards anyone else than that partner.

If the sexual desires occur in the context of a romantic connection with a polyamorous partner, however, then it's like my heart and my body will naturally remain open to forming multiple committed partnerships with other people, often with one of those romantic/sexual partnership being perceived as a domestic/life partner.

So, with Jaskier, it's perfectly possible that he might lose all interest in ever romantically and/or sexually having relationships with anyone other than Radovid, should Radovid be revealed as a being a romantically and sexually monoamorous individual himself.

Just like he could be polyamorously romantic and sexual all the way, and being unable to offer Radovid any exclusivity (which wouldn't make the romantic connection they share any less real, deep, nor valuable).

Whatever path that relationship takes, however, as long as the love and empathy between them remains genuine and real, I'll be extremely happy!