#and not shit talked cirie the whole time

[sophfandoms53]

It’s the fact that the legend that is Cirie isn’t even being taken out by some huge strategic move that was concocted to outplay her social game and rip the rug out from under her but instead she’s being taken out by two men who’s only game moves have been winning practically every competition since jury started with no real strategy behind them and Fucking Bowie Jane

[vulpinesaint]

since i am out of school and witcherposting often again i thought i would let the crowd know that i am updating my little (very large) kaer morhen fic again :) we're in the final few chapters i prommy... these emotionally damaged people are all learning to care about each other so deeply... love each other even... beautiful world...

[shy-urban-hobbit]

28 + Geraskier!

Here you are Nonnie! Some Geraskier angst/ fluff for 28 - "I care about you."

Jaskier had always been there, taking care of Geralt. But who takes care of the caretaker?

“You alright?”

That did it. After being cast aside on a mountain, tortured, imprisoned, the whole Voleth Meir thing and everything in-between, it was those two words leaving Geralt’s mouth that caused Jaskier to break.

He wrapped his arms around his torso, hugging himself as he cried. Geralt stared like a startled deer before he sat next to him on the half rotted bed and hesitantly gathered the bard to his chest.

“Jaskier?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Jaskier pulled away slightly, attempting a smile which only looked more like a grimace as tears continued to fall, “No idea what that was. I’ll be fine in a second.”

“Jaskier.” Slightly more forceful this time

“I’m fine, Geralt. You don’t have to humour the human and pretend to care about my petty grievances. I don’t see any of you lot crying about it because you’ve had a bad day.”

A decades old memory stirred: A young Geralt, eavesdropping on Vesemir and an old Bear Witcher who had needed a place to stay for the winter. He couldn’t remember the details of the conversation but he remembers an unfamiliar, rumbling bartitone asking “And who takes care of the caretaker?”

Jaskier had always been there. Patching up Geralt’s wounds, making sure he was well fed and well rested (and well paid) after a hunt, knowing exactly how to pull him out of his own head when he started feeling a little too melancholy. Even after everything on the mountain, Jaskier had helped Geralt without a moments hesitation.

And Geralt had....

“Who takes care of the caretaker?”

He tightened his hold on the bard, “Not pretending Jask, if something’s upset you enough for...this, then I want to know.”

Jaskier gave a watery laugh, “Holy Hell, Ciri really has turned you into a dad hasn’t she? Mr. Witcher’s-don’t-talk-about-feelings.”

“You’re deflecting.”

He felt Jaskier slump against him, “It’s nothing. These few months have just been a bit much.”

It was testament to how much his bard had changed. When they first met, the "nothing” would have been Jaskier scuffing his new boots. Now it was being heavily involved in aiding Elven refugees, spending an entire night holding his own against a fire mage alone and then everything at the Keep with barely space to breath in-between. Geralt would have been impressed if he wasn’t so terrified on Jaskier’s behalf.

Jaskier gave an exaggerated sigh as he finished, “Phew! Sorry to suddenly dump all of that on you. It’s not like everyone else here hasn’t been through worse.”

Geralt felt himself tense at those words, which in turn caused Jaskier to tense.

“Uh, Geralt?”

“The fuck Jaskier. You’re acting as if all of that was a stroll through the fucking woods.”

Jaskier lowered his head, “I’m sorry.”

“No. That’s not what I-” Geralt sighed through his nose, “I’m doing this wrong. I’m trying to say I – that’s not nothing, Jaskier.”

Jaskier tilted his head in a slightly birdlike manner with a “Huh?”

“I’ve known experienced soldiers who have cracked under less than that. You shouldn’t have had to carry all that alone and I’m sorry you felt that you had to.”

Jaskier gave a slightly bitter laugh, “Shit shoveller, remember? I...I didn’t want to push you away again by adding to everything.”

“No, Jaskier. I pushed you away and I never should have fucking done that.” He gently took both of Jaskier’s now healed hands in his, “Please don’t keep stuff like this from me again. I care about you too much for you to suffer like that.”

“Good riddle that: How much is too much?” Jaskier asked, trying to sound lighter than he felt in an attempt to joke his way out of the awkward tension which was now building. He expected Geralt to give one of his usual grunts, maybe a three words quip if he was lucky.

What he wasn’t expecting was Geralt’s lips to land quickly and lightly on his. Jaskier would have been convinced he’d imagined it if it wasn’t for the fact that Geralt was still close enough that they were nose to nose.

“That a suitable answer to your riddle?” Geralt asked, gaze flitting between Jaskier’s mouth and eyes.

“Hmmm, close but not quite. You’re on the right track though.” Jaskier murmured before initiating the first of many longer, firmer kisses.

[bluedillylee]

Hexer episode 6

Don’t you hate when you’re trying to dramatically storm off and then some stupid monster interrupts you? Poor Pavetta 😅

oh you know mousesack is the coolest dude here cause his beard is the biggest. He’s got a little ra ra rasputin vibe going on

oh damn did she get poisoned I thought she just fainted sorry girl I wasn’t judging u for fainting from the puppet. We all been there.

hahaha Geralt telling them not to drain her blood with leeches.

Ah Calanthe wants Geralt to come kill Duny for her. I fucking wish that creep got killed. I’m pretty sure that little worm survives the end of the book series now that I think about it 😤 dammit Geralt 😩

aw shit everything between Calanthe and Pavetta just hurts. All the ways that Pavetta is just totally abandoned by her mother in service to the kingdom it’s like she was groomed to be the perfect victim for Duny/Emhyr to take advantage of. She’s starved for love and desperately wants someone to think she matters. I feel like we get to see so little of Pavetta, she’s barely a character in the books and we didn’t get a lot in the Netflix show. I’m excited to see what else happens this episode with her.

Huh so she doesn’t suspect about Duny yet she thinks a creature is prowling the castle? In the books wasn’t that Duny and Pavetta having sex? oh I love how how clever Calanthe is in this. She gathers all this info on Geralt and then does all she can to set herself up to look like the most reasonable side I love it. It’s such a great way to show her political performance skills in just a few minutes to the audience. She’s keeping the child of surprise claim hidden from Geralt and trying to make sure he’ll kill Duny by telling him he has a monster form. Everything she does is very clever here and I love it

Pavetta doing magic is so funny. Go girl make that witcher so constipated.

ok well I was going to say that no woman likes hearing a man say another woman’s name but this one seems to be into it? Damn and she’s very patriotic do it for cintra!

hold on now I just got the ick actually Geralt thought that was Yennefer the whole time. You ever get so caught up it watching a beautiful woman unbutton her dress that you forget they’re depicting an assault? Err yikes 😬

damn now with Pavetta talking to him I feel like it’s created such an interesting and complex situation. Inadvertently Pavetta ‘magically’ drugged Geralt someone else came along and took advantage of him in that vulnerable position. Pavetta only did that to Geralt because magically sleep spelling the people around her in the only control she has in her fucked up situation.

like it’s messed up but it’s interesting to think about. I kinda wish I were a writer just because I feel like there’s stuff to dig into there but words are not my medium. Idk I am rotating these two in my mind.

ooo yes show your contempt for him Geralt heh heh

god this dude is full of shit ‘I don’t remember now’ bullshit you planned it

you fucked her to strengthen your claim- 😤🤬😬 I’m evil now I’m entering the story Pavetta I’m going to woo you so so niceys don’t even worry about that that bonefire over-there that smells like hedgehog I’ve got chocolate and animal crossing on god well get you some therapy Come live with me it’ll be awesome.

Hmmm this is different from the books with virgins not being able to do magic. I remember ciri having a conversation with Yennefer and being worried about being a virgin effecting her magical ability but yen telling her that was silly

Pavetta is so lonely all Duny has to do is the bare minimum for her to feel like she’s in love.

Calanthe is so fascinating. A terrible mother a brilliant queen. Smart yet has a temper that can undermine her.

Geralt’s advice is interesting. It’s smart quick thinking but also it fails to think long term which are what Duny/Emhyr’s goals actually are.

also love that his advice was ur a hottie get married

noooo don’t seat Geralt next to creepy lady

wooo eist and Calanthe are getting married yay

omg the creep wants to talk to Geralt about it. Who tf is this aurora lady the creepyness is off the charts

wow hedgehog Duny looks terrible

the only thing wrong with the Pavetta scream scene is that they could have gone harder on the telanova sort of vibe to it. There should have been more scene transitions and wipes.

hahaha Calanthe is the lion of cintra with hair like that

always this interesting push/pull dynamic with Calanthe and Geralt she tells him she’ll keep him in her heart but also confirms that witchers can’t ask anything of kings. I feel like I can’t quite be sure if it’s real or not. Maybe in spite of herself Calanthe does feel a connection with Geralt (not necessarily romantic or even something that would stop her from using him but something you know)

Duny just could let him go without one last jab huh? This is fate

Episode 6: Calanthe link to the episode

[winters-mistress]

The Tenderness of a Wolf

Normally, Ciri wakes up in cold sweats, shaking from the memories of the fire and the smoke and the feeling of Lazlo's body slumping over her, of the feeling of Calanthe's blood underneath her fingernails, of Eist kissing her forehead before he went to war, or of Mouseack's poor body mutilated somewhere as somebody wears his face like a child wears a mask just before the winter frost.

She normally cries when she wakes up, her body so exhausted from her dreams but her fear keeping her from reliving those horrible few weeks, when her heart and her home were taken from her. Normally, she will compose herself and wipe her face clean and cover it in ice cold water to soften the puffiness of her cheeks and rejoin her new family of burly mutated men who have gruff voices and big muscles yet tender hearts she's only now beginning to see.

But today is not like those days. Today she wakes up and the first thing that happens if not a cascade of salty water flowing warn down her cheeks, it's a coughing fit so hard that it shakes her entire body, loud and barking and sore on her already ravaged throat, tasting the horrible bitter thick fluid that flies put of her chest in thick yellowish-green slug shapes, her chest and ears cracking with every motion.

She's too hot and she's too cold at the same time, her body burning from the inside yet the air around her is so cold she wants to burrow into the heat behind her. Her head hurts and she's confused and her temples pound and there's weight against her ribs and she doesn't understand what's happening and she coughs and coughs and coughs and she can't breathe and-

"Shh, cub." A low voice rumbles in her ear. It takes her a stupidly long time to realise who it is and why he's there.

It's Geralt. Of course it's Geralt. He had stuck by her the whole night when all of the witchers had noticed how her skin had started to pale and her body body begin to sweat despite the freezing cold temperatures of the keep, when Vesemir had placed a hand to her forehead when she had refused her favourite dinner of venison steaks with crispy, salted potatoes with winter greens and sweet roasted carrots, and had promptly sent her to bed with hot tea and a shit ton of water. He hadnt liked the sound of her cough, and when they all sensed her breathing begin to be more laboured with her congestion, all the wolves had agreed to lay off her chores and training when her breathing began to crackle and her chedks beginning to redden.

That had been last night, and her fever and chills and cough had apparently only gotten worse since then.

And of course, through it all, the famed white wolf had never left her side.

He does some sort of Axii, she can barely recognise the hand symbol when her bleary eyes open and try their best to focus on his hand. Her breathing eases and her coughing stops, and suddenly there's a smooth, crooked, hollowed stick in her mouth.

She trusts Geralt, Ciri loves him, so she drinks whatever he deems safe and sighs with relief when it lessens the tightening in her chest and the pressure in her ears. Her eyes flutter closed again, and he places a hand on her forehead.

"Still burning up." He mumbles. "In and out all night."

Is he talking to her, or is someone else in the room? Is Vesemir in the chair next to her bed, the great protector of all his pups, that now includes her? Is it Eskel, with his knowledge of things medical and scientific. Or is it Lamb? Who could be gathering ideas for a concoction to make her feel better? Is it anyone, does it matter?

"Mmm." She tries to speak, but she can only make a vague squeaking sound that cracks in the middle. Good gods, she sounds rediculous with her throat and nose so congested as they are now, but all she manages to do is roll over and push her face into Geralt's chest, whining in misery. She feels so sick, sicker than ever before, and just wants to feel better.

She opens her mouth, ready to beg for water, but for all of his accusations of telepathy in the past, it is Geralt who reads her mind now, as he gently -oh so gently, the physicans were never so gentle with her as a child, fearing the lioness' wrath should anything happen to her cub- lifts her with him, pressing her against his chest as they both sit up. She sags against him, lips parting again.

Her body aches all over, in a way it hadnt ever done when she had ran the killer or trained until her muscles screamed. He seems to read her mind again, resting all her weight on his chest, and that combined with his arms that dwarf her little body, brings tears to her eyes as he brings another cup to her lips. This time it is water, and she gulps greedily until it's all gone, opening up to beg silently for more again.

Ciri downs three glasses before her stomach hurts, and he says nothing as she belches slightly as her stomach accustomed itself with having something inside.

Good gods, she's never felt so sick before. Not in the skelligan snowstorms, not anywhere. Her stomach aches, her head pounds, her throat hurts, breathing is a struggle, and she reaches back to touch Geralt, to make sure he's still there despite the fact she's laying against him.

He humms for her, voice blessedly soft. "You've slept in an our for a day and a half, managed to get some broth down you early this morning. Kept up a mightily impressive fever."

She blinks, too many words for her to comprehend, and swallows thickly again. He takes hos opportunity, pouring thick, sweet fluid into her mouth, and Ciri had no choice but to swallow it down.

The effect is almost immediate. Her chest feels lighter, her breathing easier, her eyes become heavy, and she sags into his arms.

"Sleep, little one. I'll be here when you wake up."

[merlot-and-chardonnay]

A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 13

Chapter 12.5

Just so there's no confusion, when the reader and company arrive at King's Landing, Viserys is married to Alicent, and Alicent would be 5 or 6 months pregnant with Aegon at this point in time.

"I should have Caraxes burn those pointy eared bastards for their insolence," Daemon sneers once on the saddle. "Don't you dare," you scold, "the elves are already persecuted enough as it is for because of the shape of their ears. You'll only contribute to lessening their numbers."

"They had us bound, and were willing to kill a defenseless woman and her child, along with the girl. Why would you defend them?"

"Don't speak of things you know nothing of," you snap, "they have their reasons for being the way they are. Not that you would understand, you've never been in their position. You don't know what they've been through."

Daemon gave you a confused look, like this concept was completely foreign to him.

"I forget how overly kind you can be sometimes," he admits, "take care that someone doesn't take advantage of it someday." "Yeah, SOMEone," you mutter sarcastically, thinking about the irony of the situation. Daemon didn't seem to pick up on that cue.

"What did you even say to them?" the prince asks.

"...I bluffed," you decide to tell him, "I let them believe your death would be avenged should they strike you down."

Daemon chuckled a bit; knowing his brother, it would never have come to that. "A clever little Lark you are-" "Just so we're clear, I didn't do this for you," you interrupt, "I did it so they would spare Aemma and Ciri."

Daemon glared at you, but decided to accept it as he would've done anything to protect his daughter as well.

"You alright, Ciri?" you ask the girl, to which she nods; Ciri had started to wonder if some the elves of that group once lived in Cintra before her grandmother had sent soldiers to drive them out and put their heads on spikes. The guilt was gnawing at her at this point as she had lived her whole life in a castle before this, blissfully unaware of her grandmother's hatred of this race and the harm it had caused.

As the dragon took off into the skies, the elves became smaller until they disappeared from view. Although you were feeling relief that you and the girls were spared the fate of arrows through your chests and heads, you could still feel your heart race for what was to come in King's Landing.

Before long the land began to disappear and was replace by a vast expanse of water. The Continent was behind you now. The next time you saw land again would on the shores of Westeros.

--------------time skip to King's Landing-----------------

"So what is King's Landing like?" Ciri asks as they got closer to land. "Have you ever been to Novigrad Ciri?" you ask her.

"No," the girl shakes her head. "Well, we'd better off there then this den of vipers," you say to her, "just stick close to me when we get to the Red Keep. And let me do the talking."

Ciri was about to protest, but then Caraxes dipped down across Blackwater Bay and the came up over the buildings of King's Landing.

Ciri looked down in awe, as people from down below stared up at the sight before them; while it wasn't uncommon to see a dragon flying over the city, it had been a while since anyone in King's Landing had seen Caraxes flying over.

The dragon passes over the Red Keep and finally makes it to the Dragon pit.

Once Caraxes landed, Daemon dismounted, helping you down, followed by Ciri. The Dragon Keepers arrive and greet the prince, some looking at you and Ciri rather strangely, especially when they saw Aemma in your arms with her silver blonde hair being the most striking thing about her.

"Good to be back, isn't it?" Daemon says as he places a hand on your back and leads you to the keep.

"Yeah, certainly is," you mutter, keeping Aemma close you, "the stench of shit could be smelled even before we made it to Blackwater Bay. Sure prefer that to the smell of fresh snow and freshly brewed ale at Kaer Morhen."

Before Daemon could retaliate, Ser Harrold Westerling approached, two guards at each side, "His Grace awaits in the throne room," he announces, looking at you to see the babe in your arms, "gods be good," mutters before addressing the prince further, "this way."

You, Daemon, and Ciri follow, but the guards stop Ciri. "The girl is with me," you tell them. The guards look to Daemon, who nods in approval, and they lower their defenses.

"Does any of this feel familiar to you?" you whisper to Ciri.

"In some ways," Ciri admits, remembering the castle she grew up in back in Cintra, "we didn't have a dragon pit though. And it wasn't quite as warm there as it is here."

"Remember what I said before," you say to the girl, "whatever is about to be said, you can't refute it. For Aemma's sake, Ciri. Do you understand?" "I...think so," Ciri says, having a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about what was going to happen.

Inside the Throne Room sat King Viserys on the Iron Throne; by his side was Otto and on his other side, to your surprise, was Alicent who was dressed in red. You take notice of the young Hightower woman's swollen stomach.

Next to Alicent was Rhaenyra, who seemed relieved the moment she saw you.

Accompanying were others members of the Small Council: Grand Maester Mellos, Lord Corlys, and Lord Lyonel.

You keep your gaze down, having taken notice of the rather hard and intense look you were receiving from Otto; Alicent too was looking at you rather crossly, but not to the extent that her father was giving.

Daemon was first to approach, "Your Grace," he greets with a light bow.

Viserys said nothing, but turned his gaze to you, or more specifically to Aemma, "so it is true," the king speaks, "you fathered a child with my daughter's bard."

"You sound surprised," Daemon notices.

"Not at all," Viserys refutes, seemingly out of contempt, "I had only hoped that if the day came that you were to bring your offspring to court, it would've been with your lady wife and not some..." he looks at you, slowly recanting what he was about to say, "paramour."  

Daemon scoffed a little at that, "I'm not even sure a child could grow in such hostile environs." "Have you ever even tried?" Viserys glares at his brother before turning you, "you, step forward."

You were hesitant to do as he said. "The king has given you a command," Otto states with authority and rather impatiently. "Yes, I heard him," you snap, before recanting, "I mean, of course, your Grace. I will do just that at once."

You take a few steps forward. Viserys stands up and approaches you. "Let me take a look," he says. You pulls the shawl back a bit so the king could take a good look at his niece. "The resemblance is uncanny," Viserys states, "it would be impossible to refute. Has she been given a name?"

"...her name is Aemma, your Grace," you say. Viserys' eyes widen at this, and some of the lords exchange looks as well.

"You named her after the late Queen?" "I may not have known her as well as you have," you tell him, "but her death, the way it was carried out, I must admit, left a considerable impact on me. I thought by naming my daughter thus, it would keep her memory alive."

No one had noticed, but Rhaenyra felt a tear about to slip out, but she fought it back and kept her composure.

Viserys too was internally moved by this, the guilt of losing his wife slowly coming back, but as king he too had to keep his semi-stoic composure for the sake of his image.    

Alicent approaches, standing by the king's side "It is a good name," she states, "a good name for a strong girl, especially one who's been through so much already before she was even born. The both of you in fact."

You look up expectedly at the king, "Ah yes, we all heard what happened shortly thereafter," he explains, "I can't imagine what it must have felt, being abducted against your will and forced on by a horde of lecherous sell swords. Whatever could the likes of them want with a woman with child?"

"Clearly, brother, they meant to turn my child into one of them," Daemon speaks up.

"Well then," Corlys speaks up, "we can thank the gods that the prince has brought the Lady (y/n) and her daughter back safely."

Ciri's eyes widen by this. She knew this was all a lie, that you weren't taken against your will, and the witchers certainly never forced themselves on you. Especially not Geralt, who had cared for both you and Aemma since you came to the witchers' keep all those months ago. She wanted to refute it, tell the entire council that none of those things was true, but she also knew if did, then the king and council would accuse you of lying just to gain sympathy.

So the girl had no choice but to keep her mouth shut.

"Brought back safely indeed," Otto scoffs, "that is if she even was taken against her will at all." "You dare question the integrity of Lady (y/n)'s account?" Daemon glares at the Hand. "The lady has yet to even give account at all," Otto points out.

Viserys turned to you, "what say you?" he asks, "is what my brother said about your sudden departure true?"

You look down, not wanting to lie, but knowing telling the truth would only ostracize Aemma even more so then she could possibly be, "I was taken to Kaer Morhen when Aemma was maybe five months growing in my womb," you say, "I...I remained there for the remainder of my pregnancy and after I gave birth to her. There was a sorceress there who helped me during my labors and the witchers, they....they..."

You feel the tears well up, threatening to spill, not from having to lie, but also from the fact that you were taken indeed taken against your will, just not by Geralt and his brethren.

You start to sniffle thinking about it.

"Do you believe her now," Daemon steps up, placing a comforting hand on your back, "she is clearly in distress from this whole ordeal, there is no need to put her through it any further."

"Even if this account is indeed true, how are we to know of the true father of the child that lays in her arms," Otto scoffs, "For all we know, she may not have even been with child when she was taken, and one of those...butchers could've planted their seed inside her and the child is a product of their vile acts."

"That is not likely, Lord Hand," you wipe your tears away, glaring at Otto whom you knew was well aware that Aemma is Daemon's child, "it is known on the Continent that witchers are sterile. The mutagenic alchemy that was used to create them has also taken away their ability to produce children."

"I can corroborate on such facts, your Grace," Maester Mellos interjects, "some of my followers have traveled to the Continent prior to studying in the Citadel. There are dozens of accounts on these so called witchers that span for nearly centuries. It appears there has never been one that was born, but were created by rather dark and unnatural magics. Deadly as well, as very few have appeared to survive the process."

"I've heard those tales as well during my travels to the Skellige isles," Corlys adds, "three out of ten boys, it is said. And all unable to produce offspring of their own afterwards."

"Well then, by all accounts, it would appear (y/n) and my brother have spoken the truth" Viserys speaks, "now, if there are no further disputes over my...niece's parentage, I see no reason why she and her mother should not stay here and be cared for." 

Rhaenyra approached you and the king, "I wish to meet my cousin," she announces. Viserys nods and stands aside to allow the princess to meet Aemma. Alicent gave Rhaenyra a small smile, but it seemed to only be answered by a cold shoulder on Rhaenyra's part.

"May I?" the princess asks. You lower the shawl again so she could meet Aemma.

"The blood of the dragon does indeed run in her veins," the princess states, "it's a shame she was born under such cruel circumstances."

"It's not true!" Ciri blurts out, unable to stand the lies anymore, and getting everyone's attention, "none of this is true. (y/n) was taken against her will, but not by the witchers. She was taken here by this man," she points an accusing finger at Daemon.

"Who is this girl?" Viserys asks. "Her name is Ciri, your Grace," you answer, "she's...my ward. I-" "I found the girl at the keep of the witchers," Daemon explains, "she had been staying there for some time before (y/n) was brought there. It didn't seem...right to leave her there alone."

"Sounds to me the poor girl has been through worse then what the lady troubadour has," Lyonel states.

"Those deviants," Mellos says, "they truly know no morals or character."

"No, that's not true! They're good people!" Ciri insists, "if it weren't for the White Wolf, I would've perished in Cintra or have been captured by the armies of Nilfgaard!"

Now that got the attention of everyone in the room.

Rhaenyra broke the silence when she approached Ciri, "and what would Nilfgaard want with you?" she asks.

Ciri knew the barrel of ale has been opened right now; there was no closing it at this point.

"I'm not just some girl," Ciri states, briefly glaring at Daemon before continuing,

"I'm...I am princess Cirilla of Cintra. And I am here because I had sworn to protect Aemma at all costs."

Chapter 14

Masterlist

[stromuprisahat]

Slightly incoherent The Witcher S02 rant

(Finished and posted two years later with no Starbucks involved...)

They’re trying so hard to be The Next Game of Thrones, they’re erasing everything that makes The Witcher special. Things are changed unnecessarily, *new* *original* storylines added- much simpler and inferior to source material.

There’s a lack of ~variety~ of dangers. Different kinds, different degrees... It’s all life-threatening, fatal. The writers forgot some things can be dangerous only thanks to specific circumstances. Leshy in the woods can be just that- monster living in witchers’ keep’s backyard, not some weird parasite trying to murder or transform all the witchers.

Another trend I've noticed is "No rest for the heroes.". Characters aren't allowed to have a place and/or time to develop without preasure. The most peaceful part of Ciri's story got turned into parade of incompetent, inconsiderate idiots. It’s the same issue I had with first season of Shadow and Bone, where MC's studies and integration into new enviroment got struck out. Both were lacking "action". Both got cut short and re-written to be more "eventful". In both cases the story AND characters suffered. Characters aren’t developed, they become changed. Netflix seems to have a pattern, and- considering second season of S&B- doesn’t learn from its previous terrible results.

Another huge issue is pacing. The whole season feels like it happened in a week, when Blood of Elves took more than a season of the year.

“I know someone...” As it turned out, we all do.

When we’re at things I hate, there’s the trend of connecting EVERYTHING. You have a minor part to fill? Give it to one of already existing characters to make their path more eventful and memorable. What happened to random soldier, corpse no. 54 or anonymous inkeeper in shithole MC’s just passing through? You don't constantly cross ways with the same three people! Make the world real by houndreds of faces you'll never see again! It’s like the creators didn’t notice this is a TV show, not a video game, where you have to animate every different feature, so more NPC with the same faces are to be expected.

I also dislike the trend of giving some storylines to one-off side characters or making new things up just to make them important enough to keep them around (Istredd, Dara, Stregobor). Why can't you accept some people appear, fuck up your life and you never see them again? Are they pushed to keep some actors around?

The books are mostly following Geralt’s and Ciri’s story, but not exclusively. Show offers a chance to add more background politics, wider picture. Instead they bait us with well-known, already beloved characters that get reduced to something they’re not. I’ve made a separate post about Francesca Findababair, but they didn’t treat Philippa any better. Instead of a badass, crucial for the plot, the intelligence behind Redanian Intelligence, she’s just an owl. Dijkstra’s messanger to keep in touch with some sad little elf kid.

Voleth Mier disaster

There isn’t more genric evil creature in fantasy than “demon”. Then they call it “Mother of Evil”? She’s feeding on fear? I’m starting to suspect someone in the writing room has some serious mommy issues. ... and no imagination.

Apparently Blood of Elves without a final boss fight is too boring to adapt faithfully. There’s no time to increase the stakes gradually. Every season needs to end with a BANG!

Shared dreams? Why is there the need to connect everything even more to make it MORE important and SPECIAL and INTERESTING?

Vesemir and the rest of Kaer Morons

Why the fuck is Coën Wolf, not Griffin? Remember how I talked about unnecessary changes? Why bother keeping names, when everything else is different?

Eskel didn’t deserve this shit. The writers are counting on our pre-existing knowledge of his relationship with Geralt, so his death has at least some impact. Zero effort on their part, merely one (1) flashback. The Wolf funeral is plain stupid, while supposed to look "cool". a.) There isn't many witchers, they tend to die on the Path. b.) I'm sure the mutations just make the witchers tastier. No side effects. c.) Eskel was a fucking tree. Did the wolves just use him as a fancy chewing toy?

Lambs is a dick, but a dick, who loves his family. Not a bully picking on young traumatized girls.

Vesemir’s probably the second worst, considering the whole mischaracterization mess. They’ve changed friendly grandpa into "Let us use Ciri to make more witchers". Not OOC at all.

The writers also kinda missed the whole point of only four witchers living in the gigantic keep, but never mind that...

Why do they bother looking for new stories, when they just grind it into homogenic crap corresponding with The Pattern™?

Since when are witchers training in temples? (So much for neutrality...) And where's the chubby Slavic panímáma? Melitele's tample was about healing and herbs, not magic, that's Yennefer's storyline. Yes, it matters. It completely changes the perspective.

Since there’s no emotional build-up for anything, creators went for low-haging fruit. But Roach had to die for more reasons. Aside from the obvious (Horses aren’t immortal and we can’t kill the bard.), it’s the perfect way to get Geralt on gorgeous black Friesian. Y'no, because other horses are never so cool. And the Hero™ can't ride just some chestnut these days... Don't get me wrong, I love Friesians since I was a child, but this trend is beyond annoying.

Why change 14th of the hill? That’s Triss’ storyline and passing it on Yennefer served absolutely nothing.

Then we have Rience, who is for some reason super powerful- not only he doesn't have a problem drawing from fire, he can teleport to witcher's keep? Place full of magic, the very same one that's hard to find and he's never been to? Compare with game!plot, where Lambert’s dimetrium bombs messed with Yennefer’s magic enough for her not to be able to call someone.

There should be a list of banned words, or words and phrases that are often overused: power, protect, save, curse(d), fault, ~ needs you. ~I~ need you., Together. *meaningful pause*, You can fight this., glowy eyes = evil, suicidal self-sacrifice, not perfect but real, family, I beliiiiieve in you., force, darkness...

Sorry, but using a quote from one of the strongest moments of Blood of Elves in completely different situation will NOT give you extra points. Quite contrary. This is how you ruin one of he best parts of the books- by holding a sword to your SO's (who's been through some serious shit) neck.

Honorable mention of Emhyr var AnotherDumbVillain, for publicly proclaiming Ciri’s his daughter ...now the whole Nilfgaard knows what he wants. Stupid and the easiest way to let his enemies’ spies know just HOW much is she valuable.

Things I liked about this season: Tris and Ciri's meeting, Vereena, Yenneskíer chemistry

If there’s one thing second season of The Witcher taught me, it’s “Keep your expectations low, you’re gonna be let down anyway.”.

[vesemirsexual]

how do you defend yennefer cheating on geralt multiple times/would you consider that abusive?? /gen

Unless I’m forgetting something major, I can only think of one time that Yennefer cheated on Geralt? That time being sleeping with Istredd shortly after being with Geralt.

Cheating bad, obviously. I think that there’s multiple things to take away from that entire situation though:

• This is post-Geralt walking out on living with her in Vengerberg with only a note/flowers and disappearing (We’ve been over the issues with that whole situation, different post).

• Istredd is the one who (from memory) supported her through the following four years, where regardless of how you feel about the lead up to it, must’ve been pretty hurtful and startling.

• I’m given the impression that sex with Istredd was goodbye sex and he threw her off by proposing.

• Yennefer literally made (1) kestrel to break up with Istredd. She made it very clear that if Geralt was willing to be open/honest and admit he loved her, that she wanted to be with him. Geralt retreated into his typical woe-is-me sulk, and reverted to the old “Witchers don’t have emotions” spiels. Yennefer realises that it’s not happening, and breaks up with both of them.

Obviously, an all around shit situation with plenty of blame on all parties, and for me really highlights the pre-Ciri era of their relationship, and how Sapkowski was trying to show us that they genuinely loved each other but still were not in a place where they could make it work.

I guess cheating could be considered abusive, depending on who you talked to? Realistically though, she proceed to 1) intend to permanently cut things off with Istredd and 2) openly communicated her expectations at that point, and ended the relationship with Geralt when it was clear he wasn’t at a place where he could meet them. For an all round shit situation, honestly probably the best way to proceed.

[iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid]

Radovid from the show and Radovid from the game are not the same character

they are both based on a paragraph of information from the book that mentions that there is a character named Radovid that will be king in the future - that it

ahhh okay, i do need to add the witcher books to my tbr pile soon. regardless! i am still so obsessed with the angst potential here. either show radovid is on his way to becoming what he is in the game (which, like, i've only played a portion of the witcher 3 so far so my knowledge is limited, but boy howdy it sure seems like things are lining up that way) or, OR, the show is an alternate universe in which radovid has the potential to become what he is in the game, but maybe things could pan out differently. maybe he can make a few better choices this time around. maybe those better choices are inspired by jaskier. who knows!

i'm just burning with the vaguest of possible fic ideas here for the show post-season-3. like, radovid's just watched his brother die and he's struggling to rule a country he never expected to (and never WANTED to) rule in the first place. he misses his brother and he misses jaskier and he's traumatized from the attack on aratuza and he can't focus on any of that because he has shit to do, and then he finds out that his advisor, his brother's advisor, is the one who killed his brother and caused all of this, and now he's not just in mourning and a little heartsick, he's fucking furious, and god! it's so easy to take that out on phillippa and then project it onto sorcerers everywhere! it's so easy to hate sorcerers and elves and the whole stupid war and just kick them all out of the castle and then the country and lock up the doors and wait until this whole thing ends! it's so easy!

but then you have jaskier, who's neck deep in this war between his work as the sandpiper and the fact that the people he loves most in the world are at the center of all of it, and, like, i don't know man! does jaskier catch wind of the king of redania being murdered and his brother being crowned king? does he get a chance to intervene early? does he not find out any of this until he starts hearing about hate crimes against elves and mages in redania? what happens then? i don't know! but i know it will hurt me!

maybe. okay run with me on this one. maybe a few months after everything jaskier hears bits and pieces about what's going on in redania. maybe he gets a few exaggerated stories and can't tell what's real and what isn't: radovid's banned all magic users and nonhumans from the capital, radovid himself is hosting mass burnings at the stake for any mages caught within city limits, they say he gouged his former advisor's eyes out in vengeance for his brother, etc, etc, and jaskier's like. okay back up. this isn't the radovid i know. i need to go talk to him. but he can't send letters when they're on the run, and how could radovid answer anyway without knowing where they are? so jaskier convinces yen or ciri to portal him directly into the castle. and maybe some shenanigans ensue. this is where things get really vague in my head and why i haven't written it yet, but maybe....? maybe something goes wrong with the magic? maybe they end up both portalled somewhere else and have to, like, fight for their lives while also dealing with this massive rift in ideals that's suddenly opened up between them. bonus points for jaskier being a worried mess over not knowing how to get back to ciri the entire time. idk man there's something juicy here i just gotta figure out how to shape it

[thecloudstan]

I’ll be honest, I never got why people got so angry over the ending for remake, and the same thing seems to be getting repeated for rebirth. I personally thought it was interesting for both, but again I thought maybe I only think that because I don’t have the same emotional attachment as the old fans do. To me having the directors go in a different direction from the original is better because it provides a story different from the original so I won’t know everything that happens. Everyone complains about the time shenanigans, but I don’t really get why? It’s a lot more interesting than a frame by frame remaster, and I would’ve thought that even old fans would agree because they would want a fresh take.

Again, I didn’t play the original, but from what I know and have seen of it it wasn’t perfect. It didn’t have as much complexity as the newer one does, I feel. For example, Sephiroth- while he was more mysterious and appeared less- also didn’t feel human. He didn’t feel like a hero. He was just this guy you spent maybe half an hour with who was super strong, then he goes crazy and you don’t feel like you gained much insight into who he was before the insanity. In Rebirth, he felt painfully human. His little smiles, him not liking his picture being taken but still doing it because of Cloud, Tifa, and the villagers, the look of pure hurt and agony when he couldn’t save a nameless trooper… it just made it that much worse when you find him in the library, his voice trembling then eventually breaking off into sobs… then in the reactor when you can see four different emotions cross his face before he reveals Jenova…

I’m by no means an emotional person and don’t tend to get emotional over video games, but that whole thing with Sephiroth nearly made me tear up (the only other instance of that happening was getting the bad ending in Witcher 3 when Ciri dies) and literally every other time Sephiroth showed up I just had to pause and sigh, because the change from the damaged but fundamentally good person he was into this mad man hurt so much worse. Hell I didn’t even feel this attached to him in Reunion/Crisis Core and that’s when his character was supposed to be peak human. I mean I still empathized with him, don’t get me wrong, but not to this degree.

And- getting back on track (sorry I have too many feelings about this poor man)- Shinra and all the people in it also feel so much more fleshed out and complex. President Shinra’s cruelty and ruthlessness is highlighted better in remake, Hojo is peak crazy but now you can fully appreciate his insanity, Rufus- well, I think we’ve talked enough about him, but he is infinitely more interesting and complex for a multitude of reasons- and even down to the normal people in the company. The troopers were adorable and showed the everyday folk are who work for Shinra, and how they’re also just people. That whole thing where you have to collect all the troops for the parade and you see their relationships with each other then later have to protect your own squad when you’re fighting to get to the ship, and even the Turks and what they’re doing when they’re not on duty (Rude in the bald club, Elena practically crying into her drink at the bar feeling like a disappointment, etc.) Everything just felt so real. So it kind of annoys me when people start picking the game apart and constantly repeating the mantra that the original was better. It really feels like some of them let nostalgia cloud their perception.

I understand but can't go far enough to criticize the original for these things. It's easy to talk shit about it in the year 2024, and I don't mean you specifically, I mean this generally.

This is a nearly 30 year old game on a console capable of a fraction what the PS5 is. Even with the truncated narratives, it achieved what it did across a sprawling three discs. The devs have said that a lot had to remain on the cutting room floor for time and budget reasons, for system limitations, and I'm sure they would've told these stories more exhaustively had they the ability. FF7 original is a Playstation one game. It's a singular gaming experience. The Remake series is going to take about a decade from start to finish. I don't like to compare them because...it's quite frankly unfair. I adored the original and think it's perfect how it is-a product of its time. I am okay with that. I never wanted a one-to-one remake because FF7 was visionary for its time and remake should at least ATTEMPT to have the same impact. And even speaking on what you pointed out as flaws, they may seem thin by comparison, but those little polygons gave rise to everything we see in Remake/Rebirth. They've informed these fully fleshed out versions of these characters that we get to enjoy now. Not only Sephiroth being able to be more humanized. It's really the glint in his eyes, the realness of his (and others') facial expressions that's different. Or rather, that's ADDED. They didn't even accomplish this as well in Advent Children or Crisis Core (TOTALLY agree with you on that, 100%). But his manner of speaking, his moments of laughter, his teasing...that's all lifted directly from the original. If the Remake series failed to build on what was in the original, THAT is when I'd have many angry notes. The benefit of hindsight shouldn't be wasted. They also added Myrna in Barret's trial, background on how Red came to be in Hojo's possession in the first place, and LITERALLY ALL OF THE GONGAGA INCIDENT. None of these things were in the original game, but it's not a notch against the original game, in my opinion. The game's popularity gave rise to sequels and a desire by fans to know infinitely more about the characters and their world.

I am having a blast with the Remake content and have no real tangible complaints. Nothing really worth waxing poetic about, at least. I just wish everyone on both sides would learn to relax...old fans are kinda cut from one of two cloths. They've been the ones gunning for a remake but also the ones complaining a lot about it. This is a game that literally could not please everyone. I've been defending FF7 for almost 30 years. If people are mad, they can stay that way. I'm exhausted of the conversation and just trying to have fun. Every complaint anyone could ever have about FF7 I've already heard. I've heard it forever and ever ad nauseum for god knows how long. I cannot be shocked. I just kinda shrug and am like...girl go play something else then 😂 leave us alone!

[fangirleaconmigo]

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

Thank you Cas! First, let me fangirl over your art. Holy Jesus it’s gorgeous. I love your Regis, your Ciri, and how you compose scenes that really convey a feeling. Also I’m so happy you got into Arcane. Holy shit that one of Mel 😍 and Caitvi??

Ok for ask. Ummmm I think I will mention a couple of my less read pieces that I still reread.

Belonging my Lambert x Aiden piece. (13,875 words) I poured all of my “longing to find a family where you fit” into Aiden. It’s like therapy for me rereading fics like this.

It’s Hard to Be the Bard a Jaskier x Eskel piece. (7228 words). I tried to capture the way fame can objectify or dehumanize someone and how that allows Jaskier to empathize with witchers. And I like to read it still. (I write things I need to read.)

I Know the Kindest Thing (8,104 words) Geralt, Lambert and Eskel are higher vampires who decided to get a human roommate for food. They send Lambert out to lure one back to their mansion. But it turns out that the human bard he brings back is ill and too small to safely feed from. Somehow they have a pet human now. I like this one because it’s funny but it has that grain of heart and dollop of found family. You get the whole experience reading it.

And I have to mention To the Dark I Said Pour (2835 words) because I probably reread this one the most. Geraskier. Geralt is a long haul truck driver. With long stretches on the road away from his family, and with no one to keep him company but his loyal dog Roach, he has to brave most of his life completely alone. Then one day, just as he is passing the city of Oxenfurt, he turns on the radio and hears a voice.

Thanks again! ♥️♥️

[colgatebluemintygel]

i love that you included video games in your literary rec and i would love to know what other games you recommend??? what are your favs??? <3

froggie if there is one person on this earth fighting for video games to be considered as valid literary objects it is me <333 without further ado:

disco elysium - The Game of all time. i could write a thesis on it! two. three!

hades - you can reuinite ******** and ********* !!!!!!!!!!!! masterclass in balancing story, character, and gameplay. POLYAMORY !!!!!!!!!!!!

last of us part 2 - hhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. shook me to the absolute core.....................

umurangi generation - v powerful metaphors for colonisation, made by a māori developer so you just Know i was losing my mind the entire time

stardew valley - needs no introduction <3 my forevergirl

the sims - we r in a toxic relationship and have been since i was 7. i say i hate you and slam the door in the sims' face and proceed to talk shit about it, and then 6 months later i'm back and we have a 3 day affair, and then i toss it to the side again xx rinse n repeat

the outer wilds - space anthropologist simulator. so surprisingly philosophical. genuine masterpiece.

night in the woods - HhhhhhhhhhHHHHHH. the score! the visuals! the story! i played it just after i dropped out of art school and moved home, so it hit extra hard. perfect balance of darkness and whimsy that i lavvvvvv. generally i will enjoy anything set in the rust belt (lookin @ u kentucky route zero). haunting! and mystery! which, in the end, feed into a very human story. (mae also feels v sirius coded to me)

assassin's creed odyssey - i'm being so serious. the writing is so terrible in places (the whole prologue had me internally screaming and not in a good way) but i want to fuck kassandra so much that it makes me silly

life is strange - extremely formative in my queer awakening (i was obsessed with trying to romance victoria)

the witcher 3 - i almost didn't include this because my feelings for this game have shifted quite significantly over the years and, these days, i have kind of mixed feelings towards it. but it is an old favourite and i would feel remiss not to include it. i still LOVE the folklore elements and ciri is my forevergirl <3333

also, shout out 2 bloodborne which i am too weak to play myself. the aesthetics and story and mythos tho........ ghhh. not unlike crack to me

[gunkreads]

I did end up finishing Baptism of Fire this week. I kinda... don't have much to say about it (future gunk here: don't believe his lies). I've gotten to the point with the Witcher series where it's very reliant on reader buy-in. I'd almost say this is a natural consequence of the concept of "a series", but this feels different.

The following phrasing tends toward the negative a lot. That tone doesn't reflect my feelings on the book; I liked it quite a bit. I just think the negative tone kind of illustrates my point better. Also I'm kind of a hater so it's my natural writing voice.

I think a lot of book series tend to evolve and come into their own, so to speak, as they progress (that feels inane to even say). The Witcher is, on the surface, no different--it really does continue to move along the tracks it sets for itself in the short stories and earlier books. It starts to add curves and bumps to those tracks, though, in that it starts to feel like the author (slash translator, for me) is kind of side-eyeing you for a reaction to any given story beat, then seeing that it didn't make you quit reading and tweaking the gears behind the curtain a little.

It's like it's a subtle satire of the concept of reader investment. Instead of using buy-in as a tool to facilitate progressively moving toward a unique ideal of the author's, as I find most stories do, it seems to use buy-in as a go-ahead to redefine that "unique ideal". This is a bad explanation. I'm trying really hard to put it into words. It's not that the series is wishy-washy or disrespectful of your time--it's both clear and concise--but it definitely seems like it's constantly asking you to reassess its structure from top to bottom.

If I had to really reach for a solid explanation, I'd say this is best represented by the traveling sequences. In Baptism of Fire, the story that Geralt lives is completely stagnant in relation to his goals as a person. He's trying to find Ciri. He makes, and I cannot stress this enough, literally zero progress. He's just fuckin' walkin' places. He makes some friends, loses some friends, makes more friends, finds the ones he lost... etc. The parts of the book focused on him are about assessing who he is as a character and how his goals are misaligned with the methods he believes he has to use to achieve them--namely, that he can't find Ciri alone. He has to go through like a hundred revelations and a couple quasi-apotheoses before actually getting the guts to ask his incredibly loyal friends and companions for help. It's almost funny, and it's a very fun example of how deep emotional change could happen in an old and very, very, deeply sad guy, but it necessarily takes a long fucking time!

This constant feeling of stumbling forward on a treadmill really leaves me feeling like Sapkowski & translator are asking me to put the book down and write an essay about Geralt's character. Which I guess I'm doing, so... Andrzej, one point for you, I fucking guess.

For real though, this book series feels like it's toeing the line of what can be called "pretension". Is it pretentious to insert tone into your book that makes the reader feel like they're being asked to deeply analyze a character? I'd say yeah, it probably is, and I love that shit, but... there is a lot to say about Geralt! He's not devoid of meaning! He just doesn't have THAT much meat to him.

I can still wholeheartedly recommend the Witcher books to anyone who loves gritty low fantasy--it's pretty close to being a paragon of the genre--and I do think Baptism of Fire was probably the most fun book in the series so far, but I really wanted to talk about this weird feeling I had the whole time while reading it.

I also might be hallucinating.

[aeide-thea]

watched witcher 3x03 and it really is just like. this show continues to lurch wildly from scene to unconnected scene. which could work if they were written and costumed and acted well enough that each vignette was compelling in its own right, so that you wanted to keep watching even though nothing quite hangs together or makes sense yet? but they really. aren't.

and they keep introducing all these bit characters, i guess in an attempt to convey that geralt has History and Connections, but it's just feeling to me like, why are we foregrounding all these interactions that should have been background. did i really need to learn all these names.

also i continue to feel like ciri is just. too old. like fundamentally you can't take the naïveté and petulance of a child, or teenager at most, and paste them unaltered onto a twenty-something and expect to garner the same level of sympathy for her! also like. minor point but if they're on the run would she really be religiously applying her clumpy little maybelline every morning. she looks more overtly made up than most of the adult characters on the show, and like, i know we're in fantasyland and not any actual specific historical time period but it does feel distractingly anachronistic to me nonetheless.

also like. you're really asking me to believe that surly taciturn traumatized geralt would open up to this random 'friend of his mother's' about his childhood. like. i get that, again, we're attempting to establish that Geralt Has History, but like. you can't just have him infodump without any consideration of what he's like or who he's talking to??? like—i understand that we basically gave up on any notion of consistent characterization for him, or even a clear throughline to an evolving characterization, after s1, but. why is he opening up to this random druidess as if she were yennefer. what is happening.

like do i want to see jaskier's big gay romance (which based on radovid's beleaguered-weasel characterization so far i cannot imagine doing anything but going up in flames in the back half of the season??? like, clearly radovid is going to fuck them over the second he's caught in a political bind, the only question imo is whether jaskier also fucks them over)? yes. but is the rest of this worth sitting through? extremely debatable.

did love vespula's dress, ditto jaskier's costuming. also yennefer's struggle to balance who she knows how to be in an aretuzan context vs who she wants to be for ciri (and for herself?) was compelling (although, again, i'm really struggling to buy the idea of her as mother to ciri when the two actresses have, like, a seven-year age difference. like i get that it's found family and not literal but. it just doesn't ring true, i'm sorry). but on the whole this really was just. a jumble.

also emhyr is just not icily intimidating enough. like he's supposed to be this always-five-steps-ahead omnipotent manipulator or whatever, as i understand it, but even setting other versions of canon aside, this version of the story needs him to be that! and instead he's like. a potatoface in a molded plastic breastplate. action figure villain.

also okay this really is the last thing but. what is up with all this 'the evil mages all have their faces grotesquely burnt off' shit. can we not do better by real live people with facial differences than that.

[kuwdora]

My 3x07 The Witcher Netflix Ciri Reactions. I love Ciri. I love ALL versions of Ciri across the canons. For TWN I’m in love with how much Freya got to bring her best to these Korath desert scenes.

Under a cut cause I'm rambling for another 1k cause it's Ciri. my brain might be soggy right now but goddamnit I have CIRI FEELINGS.

This was like 36 minutes of Ciri all at once! God. those scenes in the book were so much and overall I’m very happy with how they translated it to the screen. I mean… there’s still plenty of WTF moments. Why were there unicorn balls?? Why were they in the background of so many shots??? They were so big. And obvious. I couldn’t look away. Unicorn balls.

Throughout the episode I appreciated hearing Ciri’s thoughts spoken as dialogue. Talking to herself as she is thinking about what Geralt would say about her dislocated shoulder. About what Vesemir said about the Korath desert being the frying pan of the Continent. She makes a reference to some advice Coen gave her about morning dew on rocks. This is her family she thinks of, that she’s holding onto amidst her isolation. It's great.

When she’s trudging through the desert at night singing A Little Sacrifice I got worked up. It was a nice touch to have her sing the song that Jaskier’d been singing to her back in the cottage. But then they had to do the memory-flashback sequence of Happy Family Times from earlier in the season while she was singing?? I love this pain so much.

She starts to lose it after she realizes she spent the whole day and night going in a fucking circle. Ciri becoming increasingly feral!! Mad with dehydration and desperation!! I have been waiting for these moments for years!!

I fucking adored the way they shot Falka appearing in the background throughout the episode. Observing silently until Ciri was desperate enough for her to show up (but not reveal herself yet). Ciri bends down to suck up those lizard eggs and bam, Falka’s dark cloak in the distance. Ominous. I fucking love this shit.

Then begins the Ghosts of Ciri’s Past. The main thing I took away from this episode is how only the dead ghosts have speaking lines. Ciri’s memory about her current family is always conveyed through dialogue or flashbacks, or the in that vision of a possible future for them in pain.

Pavetta shows up. It’s a joy and relief to Ciri until Pavetta starts telling Ciri how her family’s abandoned her. Just gaslighting the shit out of her. Stoking Ciri’s rage. Ciri just beating the shit out of a snake and eating it even though it makes her sick. Hard too have a healthy outlet in the middle of a desert. Illusions are not great therapists. I. love. this. so muuuuch.

I really love the sequence where Ciri wakes up in the tavern with Falka. The whole discussion about future possibilities and women’s rage and breaking the system is delicious. I really want the show to go hard and follow through with this explicit examination of women embracing their rage and having catharsis with it. And still come back to the core of Ciri's love for her family after all the bullshit she’s gonna be going through.

On my first and second viewing of this episode I’m still so excited... but I know the way the books go and I know how the showrunners and producers have flattened so many other things. For reasons that I understand and reasons that make me want to stab things. So I don’t want to hope so much. Cause I know I'mma get disappointed when they simplify or change other things that will make me go “what the ever living fuck?” again and again. I know better than to hope.

But anyway. FALKA. I love the actress they’ve cast for her, and this dialogue I’m just really impressed with this:

Falka: Honestly, it was the system that failed me the most.

What a killer line. And then I also really love this exchange, too:

Ciri: I think I have the power to change things. Falka: You’re not the first person to feel that way….not the first… But you, my friend… you could be the last.

Delicious possibilities. Ciri's a little distracted with the whole surviving a desert thing to be able to think through the meaning of that.

Ciri and Little Horse wandering through the desert. Unicorn balls. That’s all I got. No, that’s not fair. I did like all the monster encounters. Ciri stabbing the shit out of the giant arachna thing with it’s own carapace. The rage. The fucking rage. She’s so feral and I’m HERE FOR IT.

Calanthe shows up as another illusion/ghost. I’m still sad at the changes they made to Calanthe for the show. I feel like it was just a strange choice to make her character a racist for whatever narrative reason. So Ciri has something she can rail against and deride her grandmother’s reign, so she could eventually be the one to do things Differently? This is just all my book feelings here, I know. Calanthe was good and just and….not a racist?? Just another example of the show doing strange things to change certain things and ignore the other socio-political things that are morally complex that are actually in the books.

But anyway I do like that this is still another piece of Ciri’s past. The dead continues to gaslight the shit out of her. I love the actress that plays Calanthe. Freya’s despair and anger and the way the helplessness is just coiled hot around her!! Punching rocks and eating snakes. It’s so good! The emotional build of this episode! I fucking love it.

Ciri’s other conversation with Falka is also getting to me and I'm still kind of 👀 about it, but in a good way, I think? Except I'm still trying to hedge my feelings.

Falka: You know you’re powerful. Is that another thing we have in common? I always had a talent for attracting friends. I should have been queen. But when my father denied me my royal destiny, I decided to rally the common folk. And with their help, I took back what was rightfully mine in the only way I knew would send an unforgettable message. Blood and fire. Ciri: I’ve heard that story. Falka: Fitting, since in the end they tied me to a stake and burned me alive. Ciri: You’re Falka. The stories say you were a demon. A cursed elven monster. Falka: Stories created to convince naughty children to do their chores. In the end, it was much easier to cut my ears into points and let myself be what they accused me of being.

Mmm, yeah I find that delicious. Wonderful delivery by the actress playing Falka. Freya’s shock and indignation was excellent.

Little Horse’s injury and Ciri drawing upon fire magic to help seal the unicorn’s wound. Falka telling Ciri to embrace her power. Yesss!!

The horrific vision time!! Geralt and Yen and Jaskier in pain and agony! I’ve been excited for this sequence, too! Actually I wasn’t that impressed. Not that it’s bad CGI or anything. But I thought it could have been more gory. But I love Freya’s acting here so I’m just grooving with her pain anyway.

Ciri making that choice to relinquish her powers because she doesn’t want to give them up. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I love Ciri. SO MUCH.

previously on kuwdora watches twn season 3: 3x06 - Ciri reactions 3x01 - 3x05 reactions

[aro-tarot]

Just finished vol. 2 of The Witcher s3, and ah, this season has been so good! 

And now I will proceed to probably ramble with spoilers:

First off, our bard is still shoveling things into his mouth.

I am so happy to see Milva! She’s my favorite book character, and I already love her here. She brought a laugh out of me, and of course, she’s a badass. Then Jaskier with the whole there’s this weird energy between you two. Then the song bit out of Geralt’s death. Oh, I am exciting for the hansa. Let’s gooo. lol.

How Radskier left off. Like, knew Radovid would become king, but ah, he was trying to leave! He wants to be with Jaskier and help him, and now he can’t! Ahhhh! Will need to go and read some fanfics. Maybe write one. I still have that one plot I was reworking for my first The Witcher fanfic that would work nicely.

And going off what Yennefer says, it looks like Geralt is still going to struggle with pain in his leg while fighting. I remember back in s1 seeing people hope that stayed in, and it looks like it.

Ciri’s dark arc is coming.

I was happy to see more of Radovid and Jaskier in e7 since when I watched e6 during the fan event, I was like, “Nice. Jaskier standing up for himself. He’s finally getting that self-worth.” Which I’ve reblogged posts and have talked about it a bit on here. With like s2 and like Jaskier in s3 and how people treat him and how he’s seeing himself. But then I was also like, “That was over quickly. I know that we needed to get to all the shit going down, but before the title card and that’s it?” And it turned out that was not it. Jaskier still isn’t just going to take him back. He’s hurt. There was a maybe because obvi Radovid needs to make it up to him and actually show that he’s not lying. And of course, now he’s trapped. He was going to give it all up. I’m really curious to see how that’s going to go down. And obvi Radovid is just going to be manipulated. He’s never been useful, and he finally found how he could and the person he could be with if the other forgave him, and that’s all been taken from him. Oh, I know while we all wait for the next season, the fanfics are going to be good.

Jaskier saying his family.

I’m still processing things. Obvi my brain is just like: Jaskier! Milva! Family! So good! This season was just so good!

And like, other random things in there. 

I have some other things I need to paint first, get some of that done, but after that, or at least getting a good chunk of that done or make it clear I have time to do more than I need to for that, I’m definitely doing some fanart lol