#the witcher transcript

[vulpinesaint]

listen i am geralt of rivia hater number one but one thing i actually CANNOT stand is when the fandom mischaracterizes him. took one look at this man who speaks very straight-forwardly and matter-of-fact and is a little recalcitrant with his words sometimes and went "haha he communicates in grunts! man who only says 'hm'!" and then won't even write him to speak in full fucking sentences. hello???? hello???????? yes the netflix show was a bad influence on everybody because they were trying too hard to depict geralt as a stoic manly badass but we CANNOT let that distract us from the REAL thing to make fun of geralt for. which are his Constant Unprovoked Monologues

[wren-of-the-woods]

Part of this interview seems very relevant to today's insanity!

Transcript:

Interviewer: Your opening seen is so great. You've got this massive battle and you play against yourself in one part. How was doing that?

Joey: It was slightly bizzarre. To be honest, it was being shot over three days at four o' clock in the morning, and one of those characters I know how to play, and the other one is Minnie Driver. And so I was trying to just try and be Minnie Driver as best I could, but in the freezing cold and in the damp, and it was... I went into this sort of fugue state. I think I thought I was Minnie Driver for a good three days. But it was really fun.

Lenny: It was so cold you turned into Minnie Driver.

Joey: *laughs* Yeah, has that never happened to you?

Lenny: No. That's just you.

[spilledbutter]

Jaskier: Why did you save me from the Temerians?

Seanchai: I need you to sing a story back to life. We're related, you and I. You're a bard, I am a storyteller... of a sort.

Jaskier: I beg to differ! You-You are a timestopping, shapeshifting--probably going to eat me without salt, at some point--sort of storyteller. I'm just a man, with an admittedly fun hat. We're-we're not the same, you're more--

Seanchai: I slip between times, collecting forgotten stories. I bring them back to life when the world needs them.

Jaskier: Look, are you sure you've got the right man for this?

Seanchai: Of course I am. You're the Sandpiper. Smuggler of elves to safety.

Jaskier: The Sandpiper's a name, it's a title, I'm just a bard.

Seanchai: A bard the Scoia'tael risked attacking a Temerian army camp to save. They know you care for them, their struggle for justice.

Jaskier: I do.

[sunrisetune]

[ID: Screenshots from several series that have the same theme.

1st - A screenshot from 'The Witcher' Netflix show. Jaskier and Geralt are sitting together on a mountain, looking out. Jaskier says without looking over, "We could go to the coast."

2nd - From 'Killing Eve', focused on Villanelle walking through Roman ruins. She's turned to the side and saying to Eve offscreen, "I was thinking, we should go to Alaska."

3rd - From 'Our Flag Means Death', with Ed and Steve talking to each other. Edward's turned towards Steve and the camera, and he says enthusiastically, "We could go to China."

4th - From 'Good Omens 2', a close-up on Aziraphale's face as he's speaking with Crowley. He looks upset, and is saying, "-- to Heaven. I'll run it, you'll be my second in command."

5th (posted in the reply) - From NBC's show 'Hannibal', showing Hannibal talking with Will. He says, "We could disappear now."

6th - Part of the transcript from The Magnus Archives episode 154. It says - "Archivist: 'Uh, I, I don’t know. I don’t – know. But… maybe it’s worth it? The risk – y-you and me, together, getting out of here –' [Martin sniffs.] Archivist: '-- one way or another.' Martin. 'John.' (He sighs.) "

/End ID].

I think I've seen this film before and I didn't like the ending

[perseruna]

heyyyy do you have any details/sources for the ca*ill being a jackass thing? ngl i watch twn for yen and jaskier so i was already planning on continuing to season 4 but i'd love some reasons to be actively excited for the actor switch. but i haven't kept up on the behind-the-scenes stuff so i'm kinda lost on that front if you're up for sharing any of what you know!

okay guys buckle up this is THE anti henry cavill megathread xoxo

First of all him dating a teenager as a 33 year old fully grown man literally gross and disgusting.

Also as this quote implies they started dating a year prior and only went public when she was 19 so they supposedly started dating when she was 18.

His entire dating history is a MESS. Sure the women he dated are not him, but he chose to date them, I wouldn't even associate myself with people like these let alone be in a relationship with them. He dated the infamous transphobic TERF Gina Carano, albeit before her loud controversy, but I doubt her harmful views were any different back then. His current gf has a history of doing black face.

His "Me Too" comments.

His comments on the Me Too movement are literally so vile. If you don’t want to be called a rapist, just don’t rape women, it’s literally as simple as that. They’re even more foul because they’re promoting the idea that women lie about their abusive for fame, promoting that harmful rhetoric especially in our times is incredibly dangerous.

Now onto his on set behavior.

We can't talk about his set behavior without mentioning the deuxmoi set leak. Here's the transcript of it:

[Transcript:

There’s something I really really wanted to read to you guys--it has to do with why Henry Cavill left The Witcher. I know that was something that you guys were super interested in when it happened, and I just recently got this message. Somebody was like “Hey, do you want to know what really went down?” And I was like “Sure!” So let me just read it. It says:

“At the beginning of the show, Henry was good to work with. A lot of difficult demands that made people feel like he wasn’t a team player, but that’s not unusual for a really big star. Though in TV it truly usually doesn’t happen until the second season. But in season two and three something shifted and he became really impossible for women to work with, which is always a big problem, but even worse here because the showrunner is a woman. He would try to overrule her and try to get changes made last minute across the board without her knowledge, which, if you know anything about showrunning, is completely fucked. The showrunner has to sign off on every miniscule detail down to the buttons on a costume. Female writers and directors were suddenly being completely ignored on set, unable to do their jobs. Every department head was complaining. He started making comments—it wasn’t a sexual thing, he wasn’t grabbing anyone or being lewd, but it was disrespectful and toxic all the same.

“He is deeply addicted to video games, to the point where it was like working with any other addict. He was distracted, he was late, he was obsessive, and a lot of people think the misogyny came from gamer world. Video game bro language is not how you talk to coworkers, and he wouldn’t stop. Someone on the show compared it to watching someone get brainwashed by QAnon, like his whole personality shifted. Eventually his disrespect escalated. He would rewrite scenes without even alerting the other actors in the scenes until it was time to shoot. He decided that he didn’t want any romantic scenes at all—no kissing scenes, no shirtless scenes, et cetera. He wanted complete control of storylines but really had no idea of the limitations of TV, structure, budget, et cetera. He formed a weird alliance with one writer who was also a gamer, who eventually got fired after multiple HR complaints were made and after that writer left, Henry did anything he could to hold up production and cause problems.

“Eventually top brass at Netflix was tired of him costing them money with delays and HR investigations and the showrunner was asked to construct a potential exit for him. Netflix reached out to him personally and he was given one final warning, and violated that warning with an email he sent to the entire writing staff right after that meeting. That was it. It’s very disappointing.”

End transcript.]

Now believe me or not, but I know from a really good source that the leak was indeed real.

There's a lot of patterned behavior that tracks with what we know of him and his past controversies.

After that leak came out, there was a lot of people from different places coming to comment that ‘yes’ they’ve heard a very similar story adding a little bit more details of their own.

this quickly deleted tweet from one of the writers/producers:

there were rumors about him being an asshole to Anya specifically.

He went on record that he doesn't "understand" sex scenes. Which I know the sex discourse is rampant nowadays and each to their own, but he specifically signed up for a role that requires those scenes and then refused to do them and was allegedly nasty to Anya about it and with the way he talks about women...

Also it’s important to touch upon the “writer he had a weird alliance with” that man in question is Beau DeMayo of the recent fame of getting fired by Marvel from X-Men ‘97. He was previously allegedly fired from The Witcher for being emotionally and physically abusive. And he allegedly got fired from X-Men for being abusive as well. One of The Witcher writers tweeted this after Beau smeared them for “disliking the books” Beau was literally the first person to start that narrative.

The fact that it was HIS idea not to say lines of his dialogue in S1 and instead grunt. To the point that Joey had to take Henry’s lines and make it his own, so the plot would make sense, he talks about it in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Oyh0t117t0U&, and then once S2 press arrived Henry was talking about how he was trying to fight the big bad writers to give him more lines. Ridiculous.

Everyone is already pointing out that the cast looks so much happier without him, and it’s very true. Henry was never present on close to any BTS pics from filming the previous seasons, or on any cast dinners or birthdays. He wouldn't even do any shared interviews with the other three mains but only had solo interviews which to me was giving disrespectful like you're an ensemble you’re not the only lead here. It felt like he was above them to sit down and answer questions with them. When they were doing press junkets in Brazil and Poland Anya, Joey and Freya would always arrive together and leave together with that man leaving all the events early and by himself. And like people who post quotes from the cast about him being perfect from press junkets as “proof” are insane to me like Obviously they’re going to say nice things about him, not only they're newcomers, and he's an established industry name, but they’re doing PRESS for a show that he’s a STAR of (well, was lmao)

The fact that he never defended Anya from the racist trolls, even though most of them were HIS fans. Like she had to go through so much and that man couldn’t make a single comment about it as a leading man BUT he could make a whole IG post because people were being mean to his gf and calling her out for doing blackface.

And sure people might say that a lot of these are unverified sources, and I’d get it if it was a singular case, but there are a ton of these accounts that all match each other. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

[spoonietimelordy]

The ride of the witcher

transcription by me and @smolalienbee with modification made by @wren-of-the-woods

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that moves the trees

Ride witcher ride

For the child of destiny

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that moves the trees

Ride witcher ride

Bring the storm that sets her free

Sleepless under frozen suns

Treachery and chosen ones

Rise anew, the time has come

To take hold of the skies

Once betrayed, but not again

Steel restored onto his name

With silver coursing through his veins

And vengeance in his eyes

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that blows the trees

Ride witcher ride

For the child of destiny

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that moves the trees

Ride witcher ride

Bring the storm that sets her free

Twisted lies and sorcery

Make no match for destiny

You won’t rest till worlds collides

So stake your claim and choose a side

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that moves the trees

Ride witcher ride

For the child of destiny

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that moves the trees

Ride witcher ride

Bring the storm that sets her free

[Joey, with Polish singing in the background:]

Humans more monsters than creatures

Witcher more human than them

Butcher, white wolf or a saviour

No(/The?) witcher returns in the end

[background, Polish:]

Z ukrytego lasu

Przez góry[?] i ciemność

[?] ruszysz znów

Przez ogień i wodę

Nic cię nie zatrzyma

Dzikość bestii w tobie tkwi

[in Polish, repeating:]

Szumią lasy, lasy szumią

Szumią lasy, szumią 

Szumią lasy, lasy szumią

Szumią lasy, szumią 

[Joey:]

Come on!

[in Polish, repeating:]

Szumią lasy, lasy szumią

Szumią lasy, szumią 

Szumią lasy, lasy szumią

Szumią lasy, szumią 

[Joey:]

Ooooo[…]oooooh

[in Polish:]

Jego córka [?]

Więc rusza wiedźmin

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that moves the trees

Ride witcher ride

For the child of destiny

Ride witcher ride

With the wind that howls

It howls for thee

Oh, ride witcher ride

Don’t fear that wind, it howls for thee

Don’t fear that wind, it howls for thee

It howls for thee

[yennefxr]

Why Vilgefortz threw himself off a cliff (ft. Girlboss Yennefer)

TWN based spoiler heavy Vilgefortz ramble about subterfuge, Aretuza's destruction and his ultimate frenemy Yennefer. 

If you ask yourself ‘Why did Vilgefortz do that?’ or ‘How could Yennefer do this?’ This one’s for you. 

Vilgefortz throwing himself off a cliff in season one to the pearl-clutching horror of Witcher fans was actually kind of genius. The greatest sorcerer on the Continent loses a sword fight to Cahir of all people and as a result Vilgefortz is written off as a thoughtless, useless and ineffectual villain. 

It’s too far of a stretch to consider the central antagonist of the saga may have an ulterior motive and that the fight’s victor was total misdirection.

Cahir was always going to walk away unscathed for two reasons:

Cahir doesn’t know it yet but they’re coworkers and it’ll reflect badly on Vilgefortz if he fillets him. 

Cahir is the only person that knows the true identity of Ciri and this is invaluable information to both Emhyr and Vilgefortz for their respective elder blood schemes.

The fight was subterfuge and the outcome never mattered, what did matter was that Yennefer was there to witness it. 

Vilgefortz’s behaviour is overtly theatrical during this scene - he dramatically flies in, he’s throwing swords about the place, he’s doing flips, Christ he even has a gimmick involving an endless supply of swords. He could have severed the mind connection with Yennefer at any point but it was imperative she witnessed this performance. Why? 

In S2 Vilgefortz has essentially fucked his way to the top. He’s not exactly subtle and there are clues to his true motives throughout all of his scenes. For example:

  He tells a Nilfgaardian soldier he can’t save him today because he’s Team Aretuza right now (a cute throwback to him bashing that Northern Kingdom soldier’s head in at the end of S1).

He is openly conversing with Emhyr within Aretuza, most likely about elven baby slaughter.

And finally he is so obviously manipulating Tissaia that it’s almost criminal he didn’t look down the camera and wink. But I digress.

Vilgefortz’s theatrics return during Cahir’s fake execution (because yet again Cahir was never at risk). Our attention is firmly on Yennefer and Cahir’s Bonnie-and-Clyde style escape and not on how every northern royal or high ranking member of Aretuza saw Vilgefortz hand that axe to Yennefer before she went full renegade. This may not seem significant but Cahir has now miraculously survived two near-death experiences and both times Yennefer and Vilgefortz have been at the helm. 

For Vilgefortz to put Cahir’s neck on the line he would need to know exactly what Yennefer intended but so far they’ve interacted for maybe five minutes at most. So how much does he know about Yen? 

During his introduction in S1 he knew exactly how to locate her, her romantic past with Istredd and the strength of her bond with Tissaia. Using the latter he expertly manipulates her back to Aretuza and onto the battlefield with a few clever words. 

They strategised together at Sodden to coordinate the counterattack and in the process he let her take the lead, so he knows exactly how she operates in combat situations. 

By the end of season two he knows Yennefer is with Ciri and Geralt since he has been tracking Ciri from the moment she fled Cintra through Rience. He knows all about her family unit and what that means to her to have that connection. 

Vilgefortz has clearly been studying Yennefer since before he appeared on screen, but if that isn’t a convincing enough argument, he’s also a mind reader. He’s so adept at it in the books that he’s frequently shown as bored waiting for characters like Geralt and Ciri to catch their thoughts up with his conversation. 

Whilst not yet confirmed in the show, an audition transcript posted back in May 2022 on RI alludes to Vilgefortz being far worse than just a mindreader: 

Voice 1: I can tell you that whoever did this has grand plans. It’s a mind-control enchantment. Anyone’s head would be a tangled mess.  Voice 2: Mind control? To what end? Voice 1: I don’t know. But it’s damned powerful. It has elements of sorcery, druidic magic and there’s even some ancient elven in this spell. That’s the other thing. The subject must be part elven. Maybe a couple of generations removed, but still. Voice 1: Who would have the power to do something like this? Voice 2: I don’t know anyone with the knowledge to do something like this. It would take lifetimes to acquire these all these skills, but whoever he is, he has a variety of interests.

This scene is now confirmed to take place during episode 3 of Season 3 with one of these voices being Geralt. 

Vilgefortz knows in S3 through his own studies of elder blood that Yennefer will need help tempering the chaos within Ciri and he knows exactly where she will turn. Straight back to Aretuza and her own maternal figure Tissaia with whom he has conveniently allied himself with both politically and romantically.

We've seen in the trailer that Geralt is less than enthused by this but Yennefer is adamant it's the best thing for Ciri.

Vilgefortz will actively defend and encourage Yennefer’s return to Aretuza despite her reputation across the Continent as a traitor, because Ciri will fall right in his lap. And whilst it seems strange for Vilgefortz to defend Yen he’s actually done it before in this deleted scene with Stregobor.

Stregobor: There’s something unnatural in her Vilgefortz: And there’s something unnatural in how entrenched your protege is with Nilfgaard 

Vilgefortz could have commented on any of Stregobor’s antics but he deliberately chose to rebuke Istredd. Stregobor’s student and one time spy. It’s reminiscent of teachers arguing about their student’s behaviour. It’s small but Vilgefortz has planted that seed of connection between him and Yennefer and he has been doing so continuously. 

Stregobor is truly the boy who cried wolf after the Renfri debacle and as such the audience (and Aretuza) is totally unsympathetic to his protestations of a traitor being amongst them. He’s so adamant in his prejudice towards Yen that he blindly appeals to the real traitor, again emphasising how the lines between Yennefer and Vilgefortz are starting to blur. 

Stregobor is the first to identify the connection but TWN has not been shy in making parallels between Yennefer and Vilgefortz:

In S1:

Yennefer is strapped into a chair and forcibly sterilised. This never happens in the books and it is voyuersticly grisly in the show. Vilgefortz straps women into chairs and forcibly removes their wombs as part of his elder blood experiments in the books.

Yennefer stands at the top of Sodden Hill and scorches the Earth below. In the books Vilgefortz’s last stand at Stygga invokes a similar image. 

In S2:

Yennefer is the hero of Sodden. In the books, Vilgefortz is the hero of Sodden. Though in the show they can't seem to make up their minds.

And the piece de resistance is that Yennefer hunts Ciri across the Continent to sacrifice her for magical powers. In the books, (you already know where this is going)it’s Vilgefortz. 

Yennefer and Vilgefortz themselves even acknowledge their shared calculating natures during a terse discussion of the political fallout after Sodden.  

Possibly their most contentious connection is Tissaia.

Vilgefortz was justifiably criticised for being romantically involved with Tissaia but there’s zero consideration as to his motive entering that relationship. Putting aside Tissaia and Vilgefortz’s shared political aspirations and their similar ideology on what to do with girls who no longer serve their purpose (eelgate), we’re left with Yennefer. 

We know Vilgefortz has been manipulating both women and that he’s been watching them closely. He repeats Tissaia’s own words to Yennefer back to her like a mantra:

But to what end? Vilgefortz has nothing but contempt towards Tissaia and Yennefer’s relationship, and later Yennefer and Ciri’s bond. This is all a projection of his horrific mommy issues (more on that later) but here's an example of his feelings towards motherhood taken from Lady of the Lake: 

“I would have given you a reason for your crippled excuse of a maternal instinct. Although you’re dry and sterile as a stone, you’d not only have a daughter, but a granddaughter too. Or at least an excuse for a granddaughter."

Aretuza is the perfect hunting ground for Vilgefortz to find victims for his elder blood experiments. Students that don’t ascend are callously discarded, and coupled with the fact the girls have only been sent there as they have zero place in society and their families want them gone, they now fit the profile of ‘perfect victim’. Nobody’s that won’t be missed. If S3 follows the books then when Vilgefortz and Tissaia take control over Aretuza Tissaia will be promoted to Arch-Mistress meaning her protection of the girls slips as her her attention shifts elsewhere. Now Vilgefortz can play.

However there was a moment in S1 that makes me think he’s been set up an opposing force to Tissaia’s maternal nature since the beginning:

Vilgefortz has been snatching these girls from just beyond Tissaia’s reach. He is making a mockery of her role as rectoress and the motherly role she has adopted towards her girls. This has now been confirmed as true via RI.

What becomes of Vilgefortz’ victims is something Geralt will discover in S3 when he goes on the hunt for Rience’s master and discovers a grotesque monster consisting of girl body parts fused together by fire. Fun. 

Tissaia and Vilgefortz’s relationship was never simple - consider these motives and exactly why he is so intimately placed within Tissaia and Yen’s relationship. Vilgefortz has dug his claws deeps and intends to weaponise Tissaia’s demise against Yennefer to break her.

Now onto the coup, in a bid for redemption a politically motivated Yennefer will be directly responsible for organising the conclave of mages in S3. Whether she is directed to do so by Tissaia or Vilgefortz or through her own volition remains to be seen. We know there are ulterior motives regardless of who hosts.

 What’s particularly striking about this is that as Thanedd burns it completes Yennefer’s self fulfilling prophecy, as warned about over the seasons by Stregobor.

Stregobor is adamant Yennefer will lead Thanedd to ruin and compares her alleged actions to that of Falka during her rebellion in S2. Anything to reclaim power. He insists history will repeat itself and likely foreshadows his own death at Thanedd:

The question is will Stregobor uncover the true identity of Aretuza’s traitor or will he die clinging to the belief that Yennefer will betray them all?

Moving onto the aftermath of the Thanedd coup the tiny blink and you miss it interactions between Vilgefortz and Yen take form - the fight that never was, the power exchange in front of Kings, her return to Aretuza, and all the jarring similarities between them. Yen was never working with Nilfgaard, she was working with him. At least this is what Vilgefortz wants the Continent to believe and he’s been planting that seed since S1. Stregobor noticed it. The Northern Kings saw it. Geralt will see it. 

Now Yennefer is all alone and her relationships have been systematically destroyed. 

Aretuza is gone and Tissaia is dead. Geralt has only just forgiven Yen for trying to sacrifice Ciri in S2, what will his natural conclusion be when Yennefer takes them to Aretuza and lands them in front of Vilgefortz? The Lodge knows Yennefer is innocent but that doesn’t fit their narrative so her friends run with her being a traitor and are happy to let her die as one.

Yennefer is now on the run and the only path she has is directly back to Vilgefortz.

TWN may not delve as far into her isolation as the books did; there are hints that Geralt and Yennefer will face Vilgefortz together and honestly I would prefer that. Geralt’s acceptance that Yennefer betrayed him in the books never sat well with me so I would welcome that change in the show. 

So why has Vilgefortz done this to Yen? We begin to understand when Vilgefortz tries to recruit Geralt during Time of Contempt; he beguiles him with philosophy, immortality and concerning ideologies regarding women but Geralt simply doesn’t bite, until Vilgefortz hits too close to home.

"And there at the end of the world, I met a woman. A sorceress". "Be careful", whispered the Witcher, and his eyes narrowed. "Be careful that the similarities you are so desperately searching for don’t lead you too far".

Geralt rejects all of Vilgefortz’s attempts to find common ground with him and alluding to Yennefer is a step too far. Vilgefortz denies this connection and goes onto discuss how his preternatural rage stems from his mother’s rejection, the callousness of the Brotherhood and then back to the sorceress once more. 

“I left her. Because she was promiscuous, arrogant, spiteful, unfeeling and cold. Because it was impossible to dominate her, and her domination of me was humiliating…I left her, because she was like my mother. I suddenly understood what I felt for her was not love at all…a perverse need for suffering and atonement. What I felt for that woman was hate.”

Vilgefortz’s reason for becoming a mage was hatred - he has nothing but contempt for women and the magical Chapter. Yennefer is the embodiment of that hatred, from her own cold and spiteful demeanour and later her selfless maternal quest to save Ciri, she is the perfect target for his rage. He wants her to suffer and be humiliated as he was. 

Neither Vilgefortz or Yennefer were ever going to be satisfied sitting courtside at the beck and call of a King, in that respect and in many other ways they are similar. But their major difference is where that quest for power leads them and for Yennefer in TWN that leads her to attempting to sacrifice Ciri to regain what she lost. 

Yennefer gains far more when she meets Ciri - she finds connection, she finds a daughter, she finds everything she has been searching for. Her desire for power pales in significance to the point she would sacrifice her own life to save Ciri’s. She becomes utterly selfless and in doing so distinguishes herself from the Lodge and the antagonist she has been paralleled against from the second he appeared on screen. This is the Yennefer that will be tortured by Vilgefortz for months, but she accepts this as long as she can keep Ciri safe.

 I don’t necessarily agree with Yen’s actions in S2 but they’re not unfounded. The issue is the fandom at large has been drawn to caricatures of these characters that are the very antithesis of who they are. For a fandom that loudly professes their commitment to complicated women Yennefer was relegated to a love interest in S2 remarkably quickly. Fuck her complexity, she’s holding hands with a man now, therefore who cares what she did to Ciri. Let her be a little evil.

 It’s just such a dull reductionist take on Yen. 

Vilgefortz falls victim to this too - there’s zero exploration or even expectation of a motive which is tragic as the antagonist of the saga. It’s unusual how little traction Mahesh Jadu gets as a villain considering tumblr’s obsession with them but I imagine once Vilgefortz interacts with Geralt perception will change as it did with Yennefer after interacting with Jaskier, Istredd after meeting Geralt and I can only imagine the reception Phillipa will receive after interacting with Jaskier too. Is it an unfortunate pattern or is it just a coincidence that these characters only get traction after being blessed with meeting the golden white men of the franchise? I digress.

Vilgefortz and Yennefer are complicated characters who make zero attempt to coddle the audience but what they do do is contextualise each other. They are what the other hates most, and yet they’re mirror images. They deserve more than being reduced to lazy tropes and love interests and hopefully in S3 more people give both Anya and Mahesh the opportunity to show the depth and intrigue their characters can bring to the Witcher. 

[limerental]

He said this about it for those curious:

He also clearly said "we can't say more specifically or we will spoil it" so the idea that he 100% confirmed a multiverse theory is all from click bait articles or a misinterpretation of what was said

what you may be hearing about the “multiverse” explanations about the recast  is a false, click/ragebait article title 

  this is RI speculating, these arnt new interviews none of the interviews actually use the word “multiverse” This is about the unreliable narrator aspect of the story 

They’re still doing unreliable narrator and nothing will change my mind about this, even Tomek and the earlier article mention it several times, when they never actually mention ‘multiverses’, but mention multiple stories and storylines told by different people…, as in like Bards, and historians that would have had  different accounts of what happened 

they already kinda did this with blood origin it was clear that the story was biased to what  Éile experienced and that what we saw wasn’t 100% acuate to what actually happened, and changed greatly over the centurys  while the series might have been a snoozefest that took any liberties with the source material, the idea of storytellers and the writers of history having power is something that is explored in the books  

They do mention multiple worlds ONCE, but in relation to ‘multiple worlds with multiple stories’, whereas they mention multiple stories with multiple POVs multiple times. This is still the most likely scenario for me, this is about  characters like  Condwiramurs Tilly and  Nimue or similar original characters that will fill a similar role  

And yes, Tomek specifically mentions book 5. You know what else is specifically mentioned in book 5, and books beforehand as well? Multiple people telling the story, who would have different descriptions of Geralt!! I’m telling you, this is still what they’re doing, Im willing to bet my hardcover collection on it 

[uiuishii]

Ok I finished the... thing.

Listen, I know it's an adaptation, it's not suppose to be a transcription of the book (although they always say it will be). But there are huge problems.

I would say the one that shocked me the most is with women. Strong women. The reason reading the witcher was that fun and so inspiring. Here, these strong women are always dominated by a man. Geralt interrupts Yen, Dijsktra interrupts Philippa, Gallatin interrupts Francesca. There is always something like that (Radovid calling Philippa with sweet nickname like a boss of a fucking company with her secretary). I'm not dumb, I understand it's to show how women are treated badly in this terrible world and to justify the creation of the lodge. But the truth is, it's the case for random women not sorceresses. Sorceresses are the bosses of this fucking Continent. So why making them that weak? I remember reading about how they made kings shiver just by speaking, how they rule the country. And now you see a poor Philippa, at the corner of the table, who needs to whip Dijkstra to have power/a favor ? Philippa just have to glance at him and Dijkstra is on his knees. I swear this made me scream/laugh so hard.

This is for me the biggest issue. Of course there are many more: Cahir killing his friend and getting further and further of Book Cahir, Tissaia x Vilgefortz which makes Tissaia the exact opposite of her character, Margarita Laux-Antille A.K.A the sweetest sorceress slapping Ciri and being a bitch, Radovid being not Radovid (just call him another name please), Redania being isolated from the other countries for no reasons, Stregobor. Just Stregobor. And his Silent Hill monsters.

I watched the show with my polish friend and she was just sad seeing how it messed up with the book/the polish culture it is supposed to adapt.

I'm worried for part 2 but I will watch. Why ? I want to know how badly they mess with my favorite characters honestly. (Waiting for Tissaia and Philippa moments)

This is just my opinion by the way. If you enjoyed the show I'm glad you had a great time !

[astaldis]

Is The Witcher as Slavic as many claim?

Listen to what the author of the books says (minute 4:37-5:37)

Transcript

Interviewer: I was wondering if there's a Polish myth that you find particularly compelling and that you would like to tell us about?

Sapkowski: I don't think so. I've never, just not even the Polish but the Slavic mythology, for me it was just the same. It was Brothers Grimm, or Andersen, or America and the Six Nations, no difference. I'm not connected to any kind of mythology. Any kind of mythology is not influencing me to this extent that I consider it deeper (?). It's absolutely not the way.

(please correct me if there is a mistake in the transcript, some parts are a bit difficult to understand)

Maybe the strong focus on Slavic mythology and culture is more in the games than in the novels?

[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

[vulpinesaint]

i am such a wiki boy. every five minutes writing fanfic i am referencing something on a wiki. your one stop shop for information that would be slightly more difficult to find otherwise :)

[chubsette]

Have you ever seen The Witcher? If so, what do you think of Jaskier, the bard? Isn't he chubby coded? :D

[Transcript]

I saw like 2 episodes of The Witcher back in 2019 and then I just kind of dropped it haha. I remember thinking Jaskier was cute, I can tell you that! But I can't recall much else about him, sorry! Maybe I'll give the show another try and then I'll give you my veridict on chubby Jaskier

[spilledbutter]

i love this scene between scian and merwyn because merwyn is literally giving a speech about herself

[Scian enters, leading Fjall by a chain around his wrists. They are flanked by two of Eredin's guards.] [Merwyn notices Fjall entering over Avallac'h's shoulder and is immediately uninterested in their conversation.] Merwyn, dismissively, to Avallac'h: Leave us. [Scian leads Fjall and the soldiers up to Merwyn proudly. Merwyn has a soldier bring her Soulreaver. Scian stares at it longingly.] Merwyn, inspecting Soulreaver: Soulreaver. One of father's favorite prizes. Had this been another time, I'd have returned this to you. [Scian is shocked and lunges forward.] Scian: No-- Soldier: Stay there. [Fjall, confused, begins growling.] Merwyn: But these are new days. A bright future lays ahead; regretfully, not for you. [Merwyn flings Soulreaver onto the floor. Scian is held with a sword at her neck by one of the guard.] Merwyn: You're a sellsword and Ghost Tribe. So you see why I can't let you go. [Scian is shaking with rage, a muscle twitching in her jaw.] Scian: You… will honor our agreement. Merwyn, cockily: Honor? Well from the legends that I've read, your Ghost Tribe was honorable above all else. And yet here you are, a betrayer, sellin' out your fellow warriors for a bit of metal! A disgrace to your ancestors. Scian, murderously: I'll skin you alive. Merwyn: Take her to the square. Behead her with the sword she betrayed her friends for! Scian: I'll haunt you for eternity. [Scian is grabbed by the hair and pulled backwards with a sword at her throat. She does not flinch, continuing to stare at Merwyn.] Merwyn: And place her head on the city gates as a warning to malcontents. Scian: May your womb rot, and your name be forgotten. [Scian is turned around by a soldier and led away. Merwyn looks on, bewildered and hollow. She looks at the ground.]

[fangirleaconmigo]

There’s been a lot of talk of book accuracy in adaptation.

Here I am with the Whiskey with Witcher crew imagining how the The Witcher Netflix episode would go that featured Triss Merigold’s arc during Yarpen’s caravan.

Warning : we are very serious and mature adults.

@nicestmeangirl

Transcript:

Tim (off camera): todays episode is very important. You have explosive diarrhea. You gotta make it believable.

Des: You are a gorgeous, beautiful girl with adorable brown eyes and freckles, and also, you have explosive diarrhea. Congratulations.

Valerie: That’s honoring the source material.

Tim: (off camera)Yes.

Des: Source. Materialbitch.

Valerie: Source material can never change.

Des: Never. Never.

Valerie: It can do no wrong.

Des: book accurate. Book accurate diarrhea. Book accurate… (dissolves into unintelligible nonsense)

[graysongraysoff]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @boltlightning, sorry in advance for being such a downer haha ❤️

1. how many total works do you have on ao3? 245

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 190,993

3. what fandoms do you write for? most recently jujutsu kaisen and bungo stray dogs.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

your hands are red from holding tight.

in the wake of sukuna’s defeat, satoru says a final goodbye to the young sorcerer he raised.

the end.

collab with plot_twists

finally free from the prison realm, gojo finds megumi possessed by sukuna. he is focused on only one thing: saving the young boy he took in all those years ago.

exorcise my mind

collab with plot_twists

when megumi and tsumiki decide to clear out their parents’ old room and give it to him, satoru is touched by the gesture. when he tries to find sleep in the space, however, he finds that toji’s ghost still haunts him more than he’d like to admit.

shadow puppets

collab with plot_twists

a storm knocks out the fushiguros’ power, so gojo lights some candles and teaches them how to do some shadow puppets. megumi, however, summons more than just a shadow.

how to parent your pre-teen bad boy

collab with plot_twists

when gojo is called in to megumi’s school to meet with the principal, he isn’t sure how to go about dealing with his ward’s actions. after a bit of conversation, however, the two begin to understand more about each other.

5. do you respond to comments? almost always.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? idk angst is kind of the main thing i bring to the function so. i feel like it kind of depends on your mileage.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? idk, probably leave what’s heavy, an old-as-balls taz fic.

8. do you get hate on fics? no.

9. do you write smut? no.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written? i’ve done a couple. blood for your rude brawls is a romeo & juliet/witcher crossover, that’s probably the “craziest.”

11. have you had a fic stolen? / 12. have you had a fic translated? / 13. have you ever co-written a fic? 11 & 12 not that i know of, 13 yeah if you scroll back up to my top 5 fics by kudos you’ll find that 4 of them are collabs. really they’re like rp transcripts but if that ain’t co-writing then what is am i right.

14. what's your all-time favorite ship? sick to death of being asked about ships tbh. my favorite gen pair is bruce wayne and dick grayson though.

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i really want to write the second half of this danger days fic but it’s been almost ten years so.

16. what are your writing strengths? based on comments i’ve gotten it’s my ability to fit a lot of emotion into a small number of words.

17. what are your writing weaknesses? the fact that for some reason i’ve regressed really hard into comparing myself to others in the last couple years which has resulted in me not really wanting to write anymore.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i wouldn’t trust myself to do it right.

19. first fandom you wrote for? harry potter.

20. favorite fic you've written? i don’t know, it changes depending on the day. did you see how i’ve written 245 of them?

i don’t actually think any of my mutuals who still write fic haven’t already been tagged in this, but if i am mistaken please accept my apologies and consider this me tagging you.