#Witcher Yaevinn

[greenapplespider]

Isengrim and Dijkstra mail out some postcards from exile (click images for best quality)

[tennara-art]

[ormakona]

Yaevinn was an elf and a member of Toruviel's  Scoia'tael  commando later leading his own regiment in the vicinity of Vizima. 

[caffeinepoweredskull]

I have no idea if anyone remembers this guy— but this is another elf. He’s Yaevinn from the original Witcher game! I’m very excited for the witcher remake. I want to see how all of these old characters look, especially Yaevinn.

I was stoked to hear him mentioned in passing in tw3. It’s an encounter you can miss and his name is sadly brushed off very quickly. But it was a nice touch.

Ballpoint pen and sketchbook paper.

[minne-cerbinna]

Sometimes I am reminded of the fact that Iorveth just like canonically has very pretty eyes (or very pretty eye 😔).

In TW2, none of the men have eyelashes while the women do. As examples for the men, we have Geralt himself, Letho, Dandelion, and Roche:

And as examples for the women, Triss, Saskia, Sheala/Síle, Philippa, and Mottle.

However, Iorveth does have eyelashes on his in-game model:

This is unique to him, not an elven trait, because as we can see on Cedric, Ciaran, and Ele'yas, they don't have eyelashes like Iorveth does:

And it's not a fluke or graphical glitch on Iorveth, either, he consistently has them throughout the game:

He's just really pretty like that.

[here-comes-the-bard]

reading through old journal entries from yaevinn. first of all WOW bro is gay. secondly i hope y'all know i am imagining angst with a happy ending for him. finally gets closure and then lives with his partner and their dog in a cottage and writes letters to his friends. i like a happy ending for him.

[eelaine]

♡

[astrahannah]

Broke (me until a few days ago): Siegvinn is just Rorveth with a dash of religious guilt

Woke (me now): Maybe on surface. Really, Siegvinn is nothing like Rorveth

If you care about my rambling about a ship that I like too much for it having no freaking foundation (I mean they never talked IIRC), sorta about Rorveth, and comparison of the two, you can see below (spoilers for the first Witcher game and for the second (those being more minor, I didn't finish it yet))

Like, the similarities are obvious - on one side, a member of the Scoia'tael, on the other, an member of a faction opposing it. The representatives of the two sides Geralt can choose, them standing directly against each other.

Iorveth seems to have respect for Yaevinn (even if he finds him an idealist) and Roche and Siegfried seem to respect each other (based on the interaction in front of Loc Muinne).

But their attitudes towards their rival are so much different.

Roche and Iorveth are so much more intense. They are directly angered by the other's existence, want the other dead, they throw insults at each other... There's genuine hatred there. Sure, their factions are still important, but it's really personal.

Yaevinn and Siegfried? No personal vendetta Iorveth and Roche have. Like I said, they never talk on-screen. They've fought off-screen, but just as a part of their faction. Not even directly against one another, I think. It's not about Yaevinn for Siegfried, or vice versa. (it would make no sense vice versa, after all. Yaevinn is the leader of Wizima's Scoia'tael in the games, while Siegfried is just a run-of-the-mill member of the Order - that potentially changing at the very end of the game, only if Geralt takes the Order path) The most close they've gotten is standing next to each other as illusions on Geralt's path to fight de Aldersberg if he goes neutral.

Rorveth would be the more typical enemies-to-lovers story. They hate each other, but one day, it hits them that the line between love and hate is thin, and that they are feeling some desire for the other. Not even love at first, maybe. I think they could grow to love one other, but there'd be a good enemies-with-benefits stage between that.

That wouldn't happen with Siegvinn. They just don't feel that for each other. There's no intense hate to grow into something else. They hate the groups the other belongs to, not each other. They'd have to meet first, gain a personal connection, but even then, I don't think they could be like Iorveth and Roche. Their personalities just aren't like that. I've gone on the Order path (well, neutral till the hospital bank (edit - I forgot what the spot was, where you couldn't stay neutral. dunno why I thought it's a hospital) ordeal) and on Roche's path (but tbh I'm mainly on it bcs I wanted to meet Siegfried - my favorite character - on friendly terms. If not for that, I'd probably be on Iorveth's), so I mainly know how Roche and Siegfried differ, but I know Iorveth and Yaevinn are different too.

If a relationship was to grow between Yaevinn and Siegfried - now, I'll be taking inspiration from the two fics for it on ao3, but I think they have a point - it couldn't be through an intense tension turned lustful (even if we ignore Siegfried's vow of celibacy). It could be rather from feelings fostered through occasional wandering thoughts on the battlefield growing into some sort of a infatuation, that's not really sexual in nature, or - and this is my thought - I think it could most potentially happen with some sort of a truce happening between the Order and Scoia'tael in Vizima, with the two forced to negotiate instead of fighting, getting to know each other and starting to see the other as more than the stereotype of a Scoia'tael member/Order of the Flaming Rose member they have build in their heads.

Not that it's in allignment with canon, since Grandmaster Siegfried (important enough to negotiate with the opposing leader) and alive Yaevinn can't coexist. But the two as a couple aren't in any allignment with canon anyway.

They'd, of course, also be devastated to learn they're in love with the other, but for other reasons than Rorveth. With Rorveth, their "factions", as I've called it, would also play a role, but I feel like the personal would be the main source of the anguish. With Siegvinn, it's about the factions, and not hatred towards the other, but these feelings igniting a hate for themselves.

Siegfried vowed to help humans, loving a member of the Scoia'tael goes against that, and more importantly, vowed to be celibate. Loving, wanting at all goes against that. And I think he'd be horrified at it being a man, at that. As far as I know, being queer generally isn't illegal in the Witcher world, but it is frowned upon, especially in lower classes (if I recall right? feel free to correct me on that), and I think Siegfried couldn't really "afford" to be gay openly.

A paradox is that despite me saying this, I usually write his homosexuality as a side issue, with me writing a oneshot where he's actually semi-open about it, before his relationship with anyone (not published, none of my Witcher fics are)

Yaevinn, on the other hand, is rumored to having his lover killed by the Order. (at least the Witcher wiki says so, I never heard it in-game, but I'll believe it) In which case, he'd most likely feel awful for loving someone from the Order. I imagine it would make it even more like a betrayal than it already did, then loving a human would.

Both of them would try to repress these feelings, hating the fact they feel them, feeling like traitors to their cause, but with next to no hate towards the other man himself. Unlike Roche and Iorweth, who hate each other, Siegfried and Yaevinn hate what the other symbolizes.

And if they didn't manage to repress those feelings, I feel like it'd be less enemies to lovers, but forbidden love/star-crossed lovers sort of thing.

Which really summarizes it all. Rorweth - personal hate, enemis to lovers, Siegvinn - not personal, it's the fractions, forbidden love were the relationship to happen. That's what I've been running into the ground here.

Another difference is that Rorweth has more canon base, but that's a whole another thing. I honestly hope that they at least have Siegfried and Yaevinn interact in the planned remake. I don't want them to have a Roche/Iorweth sort of relationship, but I'd like to see them talk.

Really, there's this Rorveth fanart I have to thank here (https://www.tumblr.com/abi-kamikakushi/655332732248948736/rivals-for-witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo?source=share), without it, displaying Siegfried and Yaevinn having a discussion while the other two pairs fight (well, questionably for Rorveth), I wouldn't have had thought of this. And, it was cool to realize (and kinda embarrasing I didn't sooner) and think about, so I'm glad.

And I'm glad for anyone who managed to read this down to here, especially considering I've never seen a Siegvinn post on tumblr (the ship is not even called that! I made the name up, only I call it that. I never saw anyone else give it a name) and it has three fics on ao3 (one being a translation of one of the other two, so, technically, two fics). So, yeah, thanks if you got here, I'll cut it here😅

[cavaleiro-de-latinha]

It is so hard playing the witcher.

There's a switch in my head that just flipping

Mildly progressive (good)

Victmizing the north (bad)

Also Geralt seems to consistently support oppressors in making life worse for marginalized populations "tHe eLvEs keEp reSisTinG wHeN wE tRy to KilL tHem"

Not 100% sure, didn't read the books, but every non-human ally vanishes between games, even the fucking dragon lady, so my guess is that they were killed in the books.

[humble-althemist]

I wish I was capable of making gifs /or memes just so I could capture the absurd moment of watching netflix witcher s3 e5, trying to remember exactly when book yaevinn’s introduction was likely to be coming, then suddenly watching a sourceless arrow lodge itself into the neck of (redacted) and giddily nudging my also yaevinn-pilled friend to go “there he is! yaevinn shot that!”

like, the simultaneous pride at remembering the moment from a book i read years ago (when i have a famously shoddy memory), joy at seeing that moment on screen even though it easily could’ve been cut for time, and just.., so much relief at the fact that we didn’t actually see yaevinn behind that arrow, which means that probably, hopefully, netflick isn’t going to bring my sweet blorbo — who i think about much too much to ever be happy with a lauren hissrich interpretation of — into the show.

like, much as i’m enjoying this season, thank god. that was all the yaevinn representation I want or need from this show, and watching that moment was all I could have wanted in terms of an emotional ride.

[greenapplespider]

Some Yaevinn sketches ;p I have a very big fear that the Witcher 1 remake will dumb down the story to fit modern sensibilities, my only silver lining is that more tumblr girlies will see the allure of my second favorite elven terrorist

[tennara-art]

[chamotea]

Witcher 1

Yaevinn and Toruvel wip

[n0-n1c]

hi! i'm nicolas (nic for short), a self-taught artist from czechia 🇨🇿

my likes vary but art remains:

art goals for 2025

draw a short comic (at least a full page)

take part in three zines or similar projects

learn to combine ink and watercolor effectively

speed up digital drawing process

stretch goals (as in "it's a stretch")

record art timelapses

increase blog followers by order of magnitude

copy of my tag system page under cut (if you can't find it under the main header)

/tags

tired of endless scrolling? looking for a thing but the search function would deny its own mother? worry no more!

by technique

traditional art – typically touched up a bit digitally, most pictures taken with iphone

digital art – before you ask, i use photoshop cc 2015 & xp-pen tablet (star 03 i think, 10 inch)

mixed media – mostly older pictures, major digital coloring & editing

by fandom

tolkien – the lord of the rings, the hobbit, the silmarillion, whatever by jrrt. older pictures, the obsession subsided. temporarily. much fëanorian content

naruto – yeah. send asks to my main if you want a rant.

death note – symbolism

neon genesis evangelion – actually don’t talk to me about this one before you read my short fics (ao3 link)

attack on titan – huge design potential

doctor who – doo wee doo

good omens – older art

steven universe – only mcu crossover ocs (gemheart au)

gravity falls – unashamedly an old man fan

the witcher – hundreds of hours on the witcher game. yes, the first one. i spam igni, exploit the meteorite loophole to get swords without losing material, and follow the elf route because i always forget i can’t romance yaevinn.

fullmetal alchemist – (chimerahood au)

misc

gift art – pictures i intend to frame and throw at family members as gifts

nic art [main blog, opens in new link] – reblogs from here + messy stuff

[minne-cerbinna]

I think quite often of the optional little dialogue tree that one can get about Yaevinn in TW2 with an imported save if one sides with Iorveth, and particularly of just how Iorveth describes Yaevinn

The dialogue prompt "I once knew another Scoia'tael - Yaevinn." will lead to the following exchange:

GERALT: I once met another Scoia'tael leader.

IORVETH: Yaevinn. I knew him. He had beautiful dreams and desperately wanted me to share them. Asked the same of you, I heard.

GERALT: You know a lot about me.

IORVETH: I try to know as much as I can - about everyone.

They'll elaborate a little further in this dialogue about how they both agree with Yaevinn's reasons and the fact that Yaevinn "saw combat and killing as poetry" which Iorveth deems unrealistic because "war is prose, with no place for beauty" (how poetic).

But the interesting part to me is the statement that Yaevinn had "beautiful dreams" and how he was this grand idealist, because this seems to be in contradiction with Yaevinn's characterisation. In his novel appearance, he argues against Toruviel's idealism as he proposes shooting the unarmed messenger. In TW1, Geralt refers to him in his journal as being "disillusioned", as well as being "a cynic and a pragmatist", neither of which seem to hold with Iorveth's account. While this can be credited to the fact that it's possible that Iorveth's past-tense statement of "I knew him" means that he hasn't seen Yaevinn in some time rather than, or at least in addition to, the implied death. He has perhaps not seen him since the Second Northern War, where they were both in the Vrihedd brigade, and Yaevinn could have grown more cynical since the Scoia'tael were betrayed by Dol Blathanna, his earliest characterisation is that of the novel canon, and he does not present a particular idealism that would reflect the notion that he is a dreamer.

It can be taken as a choice of characterisation, because for all that Yaevinn is disillusioned, he does have his hopes and desires for the future and his plans at Vizima, just as Iorveth has his hopes for Saskia and Vergen. He has these dreams, even if he tenders them close to his chest and puts the practical aspects first before he allows himself to have this hope. And I think that is a really interesting interpretation, to have this juxtaposition, that he can be both disillusioned and a dreamer, and that he chose a scant few, Iorveth, and then Geralt, to share in those precious dreams.

The notion of Yaevinn having these "beautiful dreams" is also very pertinent to his TW1 characterisation, I think, because there are optional dialogues in which Yaevinn tells the accounts of how he once lived among humans and believed in assimilation, that the humans would accept the elves if given enough time, only to be persecuted and harassed at length until he finally accepted that there was no place for him there, that there could be no assimilation, only annihilation. And even though he knows it is a hopeless fight, he still proceeds onward. He knows his people are dying, and he knows that if they do not act quickly, they will be well and truly doomed to extinction, but he is still trying to fight. That is, in and of itself, an expression of a dream for a better future, even if he thinks it hopeless, or, as Iorveth criticises, unrealistic.

Serious character analysis aside, I think that the absolute funniest interpretation of this dialogue is that it is not to be taken literally about Yaevinn's idealism or lack thereof, but rather as a euphemism -- taking "beautiful dreams" as a euphemism for queer romantic interest; hence "he had beautiful dreams and desperately wanted me to share them" is something like "he likes men and asked me to be his lover", "I hear he asked the same of you" thenceforth meaning something like "were you also his lover/do you also like men" (and the response "you know a lot about me" therefore indicating that he is correct in his judgement). There's like a whole rebellion going on but Iorveth is just checking out his options, y'know.

[eelaine]

<33