#renfri lesser evil

[katrinsupernova]

The Lesser Evil

Illustrations for The Witcher, the last wish

[stromuprisahat]

Genya's story could esily be re-written into Snow White. Renfri of Grishaverse with the King instead of the huntsman, if you will:

‘Geralt,’ she said, ‘I used to be a princess. I had everything I could dream of. Servants at my beck and call, dresses, shoes. Cambric knickers. Jewels and trinkets, ponies, goldfish in a pond. Dolls, and a doll’s house bigger than this room. That was my life until Stregobor and that whore Aridea ordered a huntsman to butcher me in the forest and bring back my heart and liver. Lovely, don’t you think?’ ‘No. I’m pleased you evaded the huntsman, Renfri.’ ‘Like shit I did. He took pity on me and let me go. After the son-of-a-bitch raped me and robbed me.’

Another change would be the Queen needs to keep the "Princess" around for some reason, only in much humiliated state.

And the Prince wouldn't save her with a kiss (Let's be honest- probably not his first thought.), but his wits concocting the antidote for the poison the Queen eventually uses on her.

It would also offer them something to bond over.

edit: The poison's made by Genya herself. Either intended for the Queen and stolen, or the Queen tricked her to make it as if for someone else and gave it to her secretly.

[nellieofthevalley]

Not quite killer frequency But I HAD TO DRAW RENFRI!

Shes my favorite character in the witcher, I hate how overlooked she is and Most of all I hate her book design. I definitely like her book representation the most, though so I wanted to kind of combine her show and Book looks!

Also most people draw her with VERY bright blue eyes when she’s described as having “ocean colored eyes”, and to me oceans are more of a dark blue or turquoise look- idk though maybe thats just me.

ANYWAY I wanna design yen next

Feel free to use in art with credit :))

[hanzajesthanza]

my favorite renfri bits from the graphic novel i wanted to tag on:

a closer look at her profile in the concept design (choppy uneven hair yes please!)

and this panel design, simple but fantastic

Love comic book Renfri's design so much. She's almost like I imagined her while reading the short story.

[mamuzzy]

The original book version of Witcher had a short story named The Lesser Evil.

I read it far too long time ago, but it was about how Geralt got the name of the Butcher of Blaviken.

A Wizard offers a job to Geralt to protect him from a "Monster", a cursed girl who is out for her life and killing her is a lesser evil choice. Because Geralt has values of not killing people, he refuses.

When he meets the girl, Renfri, she tells Geralt her life story, telling him why she pursues the wizard, and wants to hire Geralt to help to kill him, because the wizard is a "Monster" and killing him would be the lesser evil. Geralt refuses and try to talk down Renfri to take revenge but in the end it was futile, the girl try it anyway.

Geralt always had trouble with choosing sides, the topic of neutrality, staying out of people's businesses once he knew too much.

In the end, Geralt can't run away from choosing sides, because he wanted to do the right thing. He ends up killing Renfri and her band while the wizard lives.

The mob turns against Geralt and shun him, and while the guards don't arrest him, because he protected the wizard, they ask him never to return to this town.

I think a lot about this story.

[changenameno]

My Own (Chapter 1)

Summary:

Geralt finds himself once more on the path, gloomily looking at what lies ahead. And you? You had no one, no home and certainly no coin. Well that’d be something you had in common. No coin. You two are surely off to a great start… Pairing: Geralt of Rivia x Fem. Nymph Reader

Warnings: 18+, death, blood, cursing, angst, MDNI (there may be smut in the future)

Word count: 1.5K A/N: This is my first attempt writing something that I’d actually post. Have been afraid to do so, for a very, very long time. It’s not proofread, any mistakes are my own. Please be kind, comments/rebblogs are very appreciated…Thank you❤️✨

Shout-out to the lovely @livesinfantasyland not only for her beautiful crafted moodboards (which you should totally check out!) but also her kind words of encouragement! One moodboard of yours especially sparked my writing muse, called “Bathing with the Witcher”. Thank you soooo much! You truly are a sweetheart, and I hope you will like this…

!The Witcher characters and world are not mine!

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻 CHAPTER 1 Looking back you saw the castle ablaze with fire. Smoke spirals rising into the dark sky, only adding to the clouds above. Your home was burning to the ground before your very eyes and you could do nothing to save it.

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He grunted, reproachfully opening his yellow eyes. A new day was only just breaking, not even fully light yet. It had been another night on the road, without a job, without coin… Yesterday Geralt had tried selling the Kikimora to the alderman, who in turn had promised their mage would buy the beast. Turns out, Stregobor was just another weird wizard, talking nonsense about lesser evils. Then there had been Renfri, he didn’t actually think she’d leave Balviken but he wasn’t very prepared for the market fiasco either. Now he squinted at where his swords lay next to him. With the addition of a brooch attached to one them, it should serve as a reminder that something like that would never happen again. He slowly sat up, sore and still bloody. His thigh throbbed, there was a deep gash in his black breeches where Renfri had stabbed him. Vesemir would have scolded him for not taking care of his wound right away. Grunting once more, he got up and walked to where Roach was standing near a tree. She tried to nuzzle him and he let her, petting her sturdy neck then reaching into his saddlebags and grabbing a cloth and his least favourite potion. He didn’t bother sitting down, Geralt simply poured the liquid over the wound. “Rrgg f-fuck,” he grimaced. Once the excruciating pain had subsided a little, he wrapped the white cloth around his thigh, all the while breathing through his clenched teeth. Roach nickered softly, he turned his yellow eyes toward her and lifted one of his brows “Hey don’t be mean… I know I should’ve done that yesterday.” Suddenly his head whipped to the right, he had heard something on the other side of the clearing. Though he didn’t see anything yet, Geralt was sure that there was something or more likely someone behind that huge oak tree.  

                                                               Slowly and without making a sound he made his way over to his swords, picking the one closets to him and readying his fighting stance. His nostrils flared, the reason why he picked up the sword in the first place. That smell. Unnatural. A tinge of blood but also another very pleasant scent nearly overpowering his senses. He couldn’t pinpoint what exactly that scent was, but he’d never smelled anything like it. Though now that he was thinking about it more clearly, he remembered that he had smelled it before. It had been in the air, only a whiff but still the reason he woke up so early. That must mean whoever was hiding, had been there for some time now. Geralt lowered his sword, staring at the oak tree. Too tired and angry to come up with a refined plan he simply roared, “Show yourself!” With his luck, obviously nothing happened. Waiting a few more frustrating minutes, he finally made his way over to the oak tree. The dewy grass making his boots wet. As he reached the end of the clearing, he took step by soundless step around the thick tree trunk, once more sword at the ready. It was like watching a cat stalking its prey. Or so he thought. Before he could even lift his sword, a branch hit him square in the face and with such force, he stumbled backwards.

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It felt like your lungs were drowning, drowning in thick smoke. Even though the castle was dozens of miles behind you by now, it still felt like you couldn’t breathe. The cool night air doing nothing in aiding the battle of your burning lungs against your panic stricken system. They couldn’t get you. They couldn’t… Your mind supplied very unhelpfully, that they indeed could get you, because they had horses and were therefore a lot quicker than you. But you couldn’t stop. You had to get away, so you continued to stumble through the night. Then you heard it, the rumbling thunder of the rapidly approaching horses. “There she is! Quick, we’ve got her!” “Over here!!” The voices rang through the night. Before you could run any further, the riders of doom had circled you. Wide eyed and breathing heavily you looked around. Tall horses surrounding you, all of which were ridden by deadly armed men. There was no escape. Looking at the ground you saw a branch, so you swiftly picked it up. It was barely longer than your forearm, but still better than nothing. One of the man dismounted his horse chuckling, “Aaaw that’s adorable, we’ve got ourselves a fighter. But Princess don’t bother, we shall deliver you unharmed. Isn’t that right?” He laughed darkly and the other surrounding men joined in. Yet you refused to lower the branch, so he kept talking as if you were a scared little girl. Technically you were scared but surely you were no little girl.

His first mistake, dismounting his horse. His second, nearing you without drawing his weapon. And thirdly underestimating you. He couldn’t finish his next demeaning sentence before you hit him over the head with all the strength you could muster. A truly horrid scream and cracking sound followed, then his body hit the ground. Unmoving. One of the other men screamed: “That damned idiot, get her!!” You let yourself fall onto your knees, releasing the branch and putting both your palms on the ground. Digging your fingers into the dirt, you began to murmur, the only thing that could save you now. The men grew uneasy, as did the horses. “What is she doing?” “How should I know?” “Make her stop!!” Suddenly a piercing pain exploded on your right shoulder. An arrow had struck you. You whimpered but didn’t stop whispering. Then finally the ground began to shake. “What’s happening!?” The horses panicked and reared up, just as the first root shot up and knocked the three men closest to you off, of the back of their horses. The resounding thud as they hit nearby trees, let chaos further explode around you. Screams, shying horses, roots continuing to shoot from the ground, pain. It was deafening. And yet you didn’t hear anything, besides your own racing heart. Quickly you got up on wobbly feet, trying to breathe through the pain. With your left hand you struggled to get a hold of the arrow sticking out of your shoulder, but you only succeeded in breaking the shaft off. The resounding pain, made you howl loudly. “F-uck…”, you pressed out. Oddly enough right then everything had come to a halt. Spooked by what’d happed, all the horses had either run off on their own, or with more or less conscious riders still in the saddle. The remaining men strewn on the ground unmoving.

The roots now, nowhere to be seen, as if they hadn’t just been beating dozens of armed men unconscious. Only weirdly shaped holes in the ground, pointing to an unnatural maybe magically induced battle. You didn’t really care about that though. The most pressing matter was, getting away, so you steadied yourself and started walking as fast as you could manage. Because your shoulder blade throbbed with every step, you weren’t going very fast at all.

Still you soldiered on. And on… and on. Through the night. Numbed by exhaustion and the horror that came with your escape, you weren’t very aware of your surroundings. Just enough that you’d picked up the branch before you left, as a last defence against who knows what.

As you continued to stumble through the woods, the first ray of light penetrated the thick foliage overhead. So you came to a halt at the edge of a clearing, leaning against a huge oak tree and sinking to your knees. The exhaustion catching up, made you lay down on your left side to not further antagonize your injured shoulder.

You lay completely still, eyes closed, for about ten minutes only concentrating on your breath. Seconds before you could finally welcome the blessed unconsciousness of dreamland, a roar nearly made you jump out of your skin: “Show yourself!”

CHAPTER 2

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Taglist:

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[adarkrainbow]

The fairytale world of The Witcher

The Witcher is first and foremost a work of fantasy and as such, of course, when looking at the inspirations of Sapkowski, we have to look at fantasy works. For example the early worldbuilding and characters of The Witcher world bear the heavy mark of D&D (Jaskier is a cliche D&D Bard, the classification of elemental genies is traight out of D&D, there's the handlings of "druids", etc...), while the main character clearly has parallels with Moorcock's Elric (white-haired wanderer-warrior who knows magic and uses elixirs, drugs to maintain his fighting abilities, philosophizes a lot about the ending of an age and the future of humanity and the doom he is condemned to). However, The Witcher is also, primarily, a fairytale work.

[EDIT: So I am used to call Jaskier "Jaskier" but in English he is called Dandelion apparently... So know that when I talk of Jaskier, I'm talking about Dandelion]

And I am not just saying that in the way that almost all major fantasy works are inspired by fairytales, no. It tends to be lost on people due to how they usually know derived incarnations of this series, but The Witcher stories started out as full on fairytale rewrites. More precisely: subversives parodies of fairytales using dark humor, a gritty tone proper to dark fantasy, and fantasy tropes in general mixed with some folklore sprinkled here and there.

Of all the Witcher books, the first two are the ones where this logic is on full display, forming the core of each tale. If you ever missed it, here is a little list of the fairytale references in them. [Note: I am using the French translation so I might miss some stuff or write them strangely for those used to the English translations or the original Polish]

Book 1: The Last Wish

Many people might be surprised to learn that the first story, "The Witcher", is actually the parody of a specific fairytale. It might seem to be just a take on the vampire as it appears in Eastern European folklore, but in truth Sapkowski rewrote a tale that you probably do not know. Why? Because none of the "great" collectors or writers have it: it doesn't appear in Andersen, Grimm, Perrault, Aulnoy, Basile, Straparola, or whoever else you might name. It is however a fully classified fairytale-type that is VERY present and popular in Eastern Europe, hence why it appears in The Witcher: the Aarne-Thompson classified it as type 307, "The Princess in the Shroud/The Princess in the Coffin". The closest thing you'll find to a version of this in the "classical" corpus is a Danish fairytale that Andrew Lang placed in his Pink Fairy Book: The Princess in the Chest (and Paul Delarue centered his own French-specific classification of this type around the story "La Ramée and the Phantom"). In interviews the author explained he took "a Polish fairytale" where "the royal daughter transformed into a monster because of the incest of her parents, as a punishment", but I don't known which story prcisely he used.

The second story, A Grain of Truth, is much more obvious, as it is a farcical take on Beauty and the Beast (with some flavors of Undine in it).

The third story, The Lesser Evil, introduces the Curse of the Black Sun, which is the in-universe existence for the "maidens in the tower" and all these princesses that princes have to rescue from doorless buildings (interwoven with the figure of Lilith). The cases of Fialka and Bernika are obviously inspired by the tale of Rapunzel. However the real character of the story, Renfri, is The Witcher's dark take on Snow-White.

A Question of Price is a large mix. The storyline is actually a retelling of Hans My Hedgehog, but exploring the fairytale trope that in Witcher terms is called "the law of surprise" - the episode of someone in need striking a deal with a supernatural being for help, and unwillingly selling away their children (it is most famously illustrated by Grimm's "The Girl without Hands"). One of the "historical" illustrations of this trope in the Witcher universe is a version of Rumplestiltskin (queen Metinna and Rumplestelt). There's also references to great heroes that served as an example of such "fate-striken children" sold to a mysterious stranger - but if there's a cultural nod there, I didn't get it. Finally several fairytales are referred during the discussions: Baba-Yaga and Cinderella are briefly said to exist while "A Question of Price" takes place. And Pavetta's magic is not related to fairytales, but rather to the strange cultural motif of "puberty-induced or virginity-linked psychic powers" found from poltergeists to Carrie.

The fifth story, The Edge of the World, is the only one of the collection not dealing with fairytales. It is rather a tale mixing on one side rural folklore, farming superstitions, field spirits and harvest gods, with on the other an exploration of the fantasy trope of "disappearing elves".

The sixth story, The Last Wish, is all about wish-granting genies, with a strong influence from the tale "The Fisherman and the Jinni".

Book 2: Sword of Destiny

The first story, The Bounds of Reason, is not deconstructing a fairytale per se, but rather the entire myth of the dragon-slaying. You find references to many elements of said myth: "You must kill the dragon to claim the princess", the saint-knight figure interpreting dragons as pure evil, the band of dwarves famed for slaying a dragon seem to me a nod to The Hobbit. But mainly, we see that the tale begins as a subversion/expansion on the legend of Smok Wawelski, the Dragon of Wawel, known to some as the Dragon of Cracovia. There's also a mention of bridge-trolls (The Three Billy Goats Gruff).

The second story, A Shard of Ice, is not linked to fairytales per se, but uses a motif taken directly from The Snow Queen (and in-universe, the fairytale of the Snow Queen is said to be an embellished version of the Wild Hunt).

The third story, Eternal Flame, has no fairytale theme, it is just a pure fantasy story.

The fourth story, A Little Sacrifice, opens and closes on the in-universe love story that caused the story of The Little Mermaid to exist (turns out it is a ballad by Jaskier, the actual romance went much happier, though not smoother). Also, the under-sea city is explicitely compared to the city of Ys, which is a big legend of France.

With the fifth story, Sword of Destiny, we go back into a lot of fairytale nods (it helps that it is a direct sequel to "A Question of Price"). The "Last Forest" of Brokelion is a nod to Brocéliande, the legendary forest of Arthurian legends. Geralt tells Ciri the fable of the Fox and the Cat. Freixenet turns out to have been the inspiration for the fairytale of "The Wild Swans", which in-universe is a ridiculous exaggeration and mistelling of what truly happened.

The sixth story, "Something More", only is "fairytale-y" as it reuses the saw "surprise-child/law of destiny" elements already prepared and presented by A Question of Price and Sword of Destiny.

Afterward, from what I understood (I haven't read the third book onward), the fairytale elements are dropped to rather put focus on the exploration of the fantasy and folkloric elements - but it is always useful to know that it started out as basically a dark humor /dark fantasy take on fairytales.

[hanzajesthanza]

“When I cut my finger, I bleed. I also bleed every month. When I gorge myself, I get a stomachache, and when I get drunk, a hangover. When I'm happy, I sing, and when I'm sad, I curse. And when I hate someone, I kill them, and when... Agh, dammit, enough of this!”

Renfri, The Lesser Evil

i love how human the characters of the witcher are. condwiramurs gets a stomachache from eating too much. geralt got caught in the thanedd coup because he had to get up to pee. milva washes her hair and waits for it to dry.

of course, their realism, their humanism, does not solely pertain to the bodily functions and confines, but is reflected in their personalities, dialogue, relationships. their souls. but the realism and constraints of their bodies are often so mundane that it’s endearing, and makes me think about the phenomenon of life.

the characters have to eat when they’re hungry, sleep when they’re tired, wash when they’re filthy, rub their knee or feet when they ache, rest when they’re ill, dress warmly when it’s cold… they’re just like us. “haha i do that”

[dandelii0ns]

heyyyy geraskier nation how do we feel about. about them and “letter to an old poet” by boygenius because personally? personally? crash out every time actually

ive been mostly dragon age brainrotting/posting lately but ohhhh show geralt and jaskier you’re my favorite doomed yaoi

“I said I think that you're special

You told me once that I'm selfish.

And I kissed you hard in the dark

In the closet.”

Ohhh the things I think in my thinky brain. Like, obviously, first thing that comes to mind is the mountaintop squabble, yknow? A grieving, hurting bard, quietly asking Geralt if he wants to leave all of this behind, go to the coast for awhile, and then- ultimately getting so heavily shrugged off, despite years of being so horribly devoted to Geralt, just so the witcher can go fuck his wife and then have things go horribly wrong afterward. He says it, he shows it, Geralt is so special and Jaskier is- shoveling shit.

It’s such an easy connection to make, but also, Jaskier dragging Geralt to the ceremony in the first place- while he claims it’s for protection, and it mostly was, I’m sure, but also.. What if it was also just.. an attempt to let Geralt come into his world? Jaskier trying to let his favorite witcher stay in a warm bed with warm food and let him get off the road and instead protect his small fry from a court, yknow?

I also personally think that around this time might’ve also been when they first started messing around, if you believe they messed around at all before the heartbreak that is the mountain. Kissing him hard, in the dark, in the closet,, the bard lying with a witcher he knows doesn’t adore him the same way he adores him, but still doing it. Hard, and in the dark, and.. probably in a bedroll.

“You said my music is mellow

Maybe I'm just exhausted.

You think you're a good person

Because you won't punch me in the stomach.

And I love you

I don't know why

I just do.”

Obviously telling someone that their singing is like ordering a fillingless pie isn’t the same as telling them their music is mellow, but my point still stands. Geralt thinks he’s a good person- because there’s no lesser or greater evil, Geralt’s a good person, he’s great, evil is evil and he’s not subscribing to that bullshit, thanks. (I know it’s more Nuanced than that, especially in the books, but sadly we’re dealing with the absolute.. thing Geralt is in the show, adored or not)

Geralt did in fact punch Jaskier in the stomach. This is Jaskier consuming massive amounts of copium (/j) and definitely not also a throwback to the Renfri debacle and how he got the title “Butcher of Blaviken” which Jaskier oh so kindly called him before getting punched in the gut. I do also think that in this context that just meaning “because you won’t physically mistreat/neglect me” could be.. really interesting, especially under the lens of this being a slightly newer affair.

At the start of their friendship Geralt most likely did neglect/hurt Jaskier, but less in an evil “he likes kicking sad wet bards” way and in a “he wants this weird fucking bard who doesn’t really seem to respect his space and desires to fuck off, and also doesn’t really know how to deal with companionship/non-witchers” way. Think.. giving Jaskier the wrong herbs for certain aches, not noticing his boots giving out after not letting him ride their horse, shit like that.

Things he learned and then remedied, perhaps in excess, but things that definitely stick around- and Jaskier loves him, anyways, even if this all hurts. Even if this entire song is this aching, sensitive thing.

“But you're not special, you're evil

You don't get to tell me to calm down

You make me feel like an equal

But I'm better than you

And you should know that by now.”

This song? It feels like a more genuine, heart wrenching Burn, Butcher, Burn. Something not born out of righteous anger, but something much worse. Geralt isn’t special, he’s evil. He’s not choosing the lesser or the greater evil, he’s- just as bad, for simply refusing that moral decision and then.. taking it out on everyone else, on some level.

Also just Jaskier trying to lash out in the same way he did in the canon break up song, yknow? Just trying to hurt, get a reaction, because at this point anything is better than several years of this bullshit- so, Geralt isn’t special. He’s evil. If the fucker ever returns, he better not try and get him to simmer his damn emotions because they’re fair and righteous and- ohhh, I have so many feelings about this.

Especially with the idea of like.. Jaskier having never really shared this song, or if he did, it never really got as popular. It’s a tad too relatable, a tad too quiet, a soft little thing that hurts too much. Burn, Butcher, Burn has something in it that’ll help it spread like fucking wildfire, whereas this- well. Imagine how Jaskier feels when he’s hugged, when he’s taken from the cell after experiencing hell itself for the witcher he- calling back to previous lyrics- he still loves, and he doesn’t know why.

He’s better than him. He is, and he knows this now, standing in that damn cell, helping Geralt despite it all, he’s fucking better than anyone ever, actually, fuck you. But there was a time where he felt equal to someone he looked up to, someone he knew he could trust- he was a run-away Viscount’s son, a barely-legal bard in a poor bar when he met Geralt. There’s no fucking way that man ever felt equal to anyone ever, and yet- Geralt managed, with their time together, and now.. well, Jaskier’s always seen with some damn liquor, torture hardly acknowledged, trying to help get elves to safety and now a princess he blames himself for, trying to fucking- help the woman that had a hand in that damned night. He’s a better man than even he knew, and Geralt should know that by now- and I think Geralt does.

Geralt’s known since he went down that damn mountain all by himself, but now? While he gets to hold Jaskier in that cell, he knows Jaskier is better than he is. And maybe that’s one of the reasons why he’s so distant despite everything, that lack of closeness during those episodes were him trying to give Jaskier space. He just went through hell for him and Ciri, the two having not seen each other in years because Geralt had his head too far up his ass and Vesemir never taught him how to deal with feelings like that, dammit, or any at all. He wants to make things better, make it up to him, but.. oh, he just went through so damn much, and Geralt likes distance, so he gave the bard distance- not cold, uncaring distance, but distance all the same. The kind that comes with trusting him with his child, in the keep, with everything, with his need for help. He puts himself back in Jaskier’s hands, even if the bard doesn’t realize it fully.

“When you fell down the stairs

It looked like it hurt and I wasn't sorry.

I shoulda left you right there

With your hostages, my heart and my car keys.

You don't know me.”

An ever changing song, something private and close- little additions, as Jaskier grows and hurts and aches something awful. Still bitter, still hurting, feelings left unresolved- but still helping, anyways. He’s not sorry. Or, really, He- is, but not really for Geralt, but for everyone, as a whole. The dead witchers, those who are alive, the princess, hell- even Yennefer, all those damn hostages, victims of a destiny Geralt had claimed all on his own, it wasn’t fucking- Jaskier who made him claim the Law of Suprise, dammit. He’s tired of taking on that burden, and yet he always has. Not anymore, yet still, he helps.

Of course he does. He still tries to help, with a hurt hand and a stronger dependence on alcohol, suddenly and horribly uprooted and rehomed, most likely unwelcome back in Oxenfurt since he was Jail-broke. He’s not this sniveling, high brow cunt like everyone seemed to think- he’s still a bit of a damn coward, and he’s clumsy and completely out of it, but he’s not an idiot. He’s a spy of sorts, a smuggler of elves, he went to university for fucks sake- no one in that damn keep knows him, not even Geralt, and yet, he helps anyways.

“I wanna be happy

I'm ready

To walk into my room without looking for you.

I'll go up to the top of our building

And remember my dog when I see the full moon.”

I haven’t. Watched S3 yet, sadly, but I do kind of like to think about Radovid and like.. what little I know about the season here. He seems a lot more comfortable with himself, his queer identity, I’m fairly sure Geralt owns up to more of what happened, the whole gay arc with him and Radovid- Jaskier wants to be happy, and he’s ready to move on, but,,

I don’t think he can. Not permanently. He can sleep with Kings or whatever as much as he’d like, but at the end of the day, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri are all right there. He’ll never not look around and find them, and it’s not- a bad thing, it’s just.. incredibly sobering to think about, I’m sure.

It’s a little demeaning I know, lol, but I also like to think about if the two do end up lasting a little longer or like Jaskier ends up with anyone who isn’t Geralt, that while maybe he doesn’t actually visit the mountain again,, he goes to top of it anyways. He thinks about his dog, or really, his wolf. His witcher. And he always will, even with the most mundane things- such as full moons.

[geminipdf]

i've always been rather fustrated with 'a lesser evil' but this time around im interpreting it not as sapkowski's treaty on morality but a representation of how geralt interacts with the outside world within the framework of his own agency and his so-called neutrality which then keeps playing out and repeating in the rest of the story. maybe geralt and renfri are a case of an unstoppable force and an immovable object here or maybe geralt is an example of an individual functioning in a world he cannot control but is forced to navigate and interact with because the world doesn't let him stay detached no matter how hard he tries. well he still chooses to run and fight with renfri's guys instead of leaving the town. not sure how to word this correctly. i guess since he usually wants to refuse to engage with the grand narrative and is reluctant to join someone elses schemes he can only say yes or no to the things that come directly his way and renfri and her guys choose to come at him and so he has to defend himself and by association the rest of the town and the evil wizard.

[little-red-fool]

Reasons why I think Geralt is autistic (as an autistic person)

(Disclaimer, I know every autistic person experiences things differently but I’ll be mainly using specific examples for Geralt)(Also this might not be very well put together since I’m not used to making things like this so hopefully it’s at least semi-coherent)

Differences in communication and expression

Although he does talk sometimes, throughout the series Geralt’a verbal communication is generally limited and he keeps his sentences short and to the point.

Also since he often goes straight to the point he can come across as “blunt” or “rude” to other people, which is hinted at sometimes throughout the series.

He’s generally quite honest which is a trait found in a lot of autistic people.

He makes minimal facial expressions/his facial expressions are mostly very subtle (there are some exceptions such as when he seems angry).

Monotonous voice.

^^^ This paired with his minimal facial expressions makes him seem to have a flat effect which is common in people with autism.

The myth that Witchers supposedly don’t feel any emotions is similar to the myth that autistic people also supposedly don’t feel emotions.

Sensory differences

Geralt has a heightened sense of smell and hearing.

Social aspects

He prefers the company of animals to people, which is especially noticeable with his attachment to Roach and his reluctance to let anyone else touch her.

He struggles to make friends and become attached to people.

Geralt is often ostracised by others, partly due to their lack of understanding about Witchers which in turn makes them frightened of them or verbally/physically attack and shun them (a lot of autistic people are ostracised by neurotypicals, partly due to them having a misunderstanding of autism which can lead to a fear of autistic people, bullying, and ableism).

He finds it easier to connect with others who are “outcast” by wider society, such as Renfri and Yennefer.

Other notes

In the first episode of Season 1 several people comment that Geralt should buy new clothes since his seem somewhat worn-out—this could be because they’re his comfort clothes which would wear-out if he wears them a lot (although I may be looking too deep into it).

He hesitates to do things that he’s been told if he hasn’t been given a good reason as to why he should do it, and he’s reluctant to do things that he sees as unjust.

When it comes to morality he’s generally shown to think in black and white—a lot of people make reference to the “lesser” and “greater” evil and encourage Geralt to pick what they think is the “lesser” evil, however he sees them all as just evil and refuses to pick something he deems immoral.

This list isn’t finished but I couldn’t focus on rewatching the show because my attention span is too short to complete it but I might add some stuff in the future.

[thequeeninyellowlace]

This is still one of the best sword fights I have ever seen on film, and one of the best parts is how he wins, which you can see here: He cheats. Basically. He grabs her sword by the blade and just yanks it. Essentially, he uses his witcher healing to get an upper hand, even though she’s a human. He’ll get hurt, but not enough to do lasting harm.

He normally stays out of human affairs, and he doesn’t kill things that can speak, so he has to choose whether to fight a human the way they would have to fight and risk losing to her, or to fight like a Witcher and win, which means cheating and breaking his code, but preventing her from doing further harm.

You might say he chooses the lesser evil.

Henry Cavil as geralt of rivia in the witcher 2019

[lovecrimeagh]

liking both BCS and The Witcher is fun because you have that "lesser evil" and "neutrality" philosophy, and "would it kill you to say 'you look lovely'?" from the show, and Renfri. oh damn Renfri

really makes me think of so many matching aspects, wonder if anyone here has the same fandom combo😭

[nellieofthevalley]

Siggy and Renfri are two of my favorite OC x Canon ocs, my doomed tragic yuri. My silly lesbians. My evil girls. My fucking idiots💜

[dukeofdogs]

Geralt of Gwent

In this post I’ll be walking you through the magical thing that is the art of putting Geralt on various Gwent cards.

Let’s start with the “Geralt” named cards that you probably saw already. Here we have Geralt of Rivia (Marek Madej), Geralt: Professional (Dave Rapoza) and the five Witcher 3 signs: Geralt: Igni (Anna Podedworna), Geralt: Yrden (Anna Podedworna), Geralt: Aard (Bartłomiej Gaweł), Geralt: Axii (Manuel Castanon), Geralt: Quen (Oleksandr Kozachenko).

Now, on to the “obviously Geralt would be in these cards, but the cards are not named after him” category:

Our guy is seen looking at Roache’s shenanigans on the Roach (Anna Podedworna) card and enjoying a nice time with Dandelion in Sunset Wanderers (Anton Nazarenko).

One of my favorite cards (mechanic-wise) are Runewright and  Dulla kh'Amanni (Astor Alexander). Here we can observe the same scene of Geralt doing business with Dulla from two different places and considering that these two cards only work when they’re played together I think it makes these two art pieces even more amazing.

Now, here are the less obvious ones. These three cards are: Vanhemar (Chris Rallis), Olaf (Bartłomiej Gaweł) and Jutta an Dimun(Nemanja Stankovic). All three artworks portray scenes from Witcher 2 and Witcher 3. On the fisrt one Geralt is about to be executed by Vanhemar, on second he’s about to brawl with a bear and on third, you can see his shadow after defeating Jutta in a duel.

Here we have Renfri’s Gang (Toni Muntean), where we can see an illustration from The Lesser Evil short story.

In Siegfried of Denesle (Lorenzo Mastroianni) you can spot him in the crowd.

It wasn’t 100% confirmed that the guy on Pact (Zuzanna Kapuścińska) is Geralt, but we just assume it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ On Sly Seductress (Daniel Valaisis) you can see Geralt having some good time sleeping.

Last but not least is Beggar (Daniel Valaisis) where you can see a very handsome Geralt drawing (alongside other characters) made by the titular Beggar. This card contains another easter egg! In it’s premium version, you can see shadows of characters from Thronebreaker that are casually passing by the guy! See for yourself in this post.

[finleycannotdraw]

yes syanna deserves punishment but her stupid sister won't punish her. We know this from the dialogue with Dandelion in the ending where Dandelion visits Geralt. No one denies that syanna suffered a lot and undeservedly but she absolutely does not deserve to be forgiven for the crimes. and this is what happens in the 'good ending' syanna had psychopathic tendencies even before she was diagnosed with the curse. For those who choose Yennefer because of books, Syanna's death should be canonical. syanna is Renfri created for the dlc. What did Geralt with Renfri? Butchered her in the middle of Blaviken. He should do the same with syanna. She is my most hated character from the entire witcher universe. Dettlaff is not completely good character but psycho sisters are not better than him. the perfect ending for me would be with both sisters dead and alive Dettlaff. But I only had with syanna dying. Dett deserve a second chance just like Regis in the books

Okay, so, you’re making the issue black and white when it clearly isn’t. Syanna and Dettlaff were both hurt and made bad decisions, and I think Dettlaff deserves more sympathy than he’s given by the game and the fandom, but you’re arguing that.. Syanna is just the villain, straight up, full stop? Yes, what she did was inexcusable. But one of the main ideas in the witcher is that there is no lesser evil, it’s just people and their choices! That was the whole point of Renfri’s story!

Your comparison to Renfri disregards and disrespects the point of the character and the message of her death. Yes, Geralt kills her, but it was based on a decision at a moment’s notice and he regrets it later. He carries her brooch with him for over two decades! He was prompted to choose the lesser evil, but truly, it was just different evils. He did what he thought was best with the information he had! We all do this, every day! This happens with Syanna as well, because yes, they are parallel characters. One difference is that Syanna had power over Dettlaff, but Renfri never had power over Stregobor. Dettlaff and Stregobor are not parallels the same way Syanna and Renfri were written to be.

You said, “syanna had psychopathic tendencies even before she was diagnosed with the curse”. She wasn’t diagnosed with anything! She was born, and the time of her birth made everyone think that she was a monster. That’s not her fault! What are the “psychopathic tendencies” you’re talking about? Lack of caring about others? First of all, that’s insensitive, and second of all, she’s an insecurely attached rich princess who was thrown out of her home for reasons she had no control over. She doesn’t know how to be a person. That’s why I think she deserves to live and learn.

Also, what’s the point of bringing up Yennefer???

Same with Anna Henrietta! Why do you think she deserves to die? According to story canon, she’s a beloved leader! Toussaint is prosperous under her leadership! Yes, her priorities are skewed, and she should see that Syanna is punished, but she’s blinded by the fact that her sister is alive! Anarietta was not only one of the reasons for Syanna’s banishment, she was also hurt by the way their parents treated her! Her reaction to learning that Syanna is alive is completely reasonable, and wanting to protect her is too. At this rate I think the issue is yours and not the game’s.

You’re allowed to hate her. I’m not saying you shouldn’t. But none of this is broken up neatly into right/wrong, black/white, good/evil the way you seem to believe. Come back when you understand that people (and all stories about and portrayals thereof) are more complicated than that.