Hey Rawr. I saw your post about tagging the Lamberts. I’m a big proponent of tagging correctly, and I want to do that. but I’m honestly not sure how I’d do that.
I base my characters (esp the ones who have been on the show) on what I extrapolate from after reading the books. I use video game lore if it helps the story I want to tell. I use show lore if it helps the story I want to tell.
Even the characters who appear on the show become a blend for me, that can be a little different depending on the story I tell. I draw more in characteristic A or B or C more depending on what I’m trying to create.
The core of them usually has more to do with how I see them reacting that trauma or what it is I think they want or what they fear.
I don’t think I can really classify them at this point, most of the time, which one they come from.
With Lambert, which, we don’t know exactly what he’ll look like yet, I assume they will scar him and Witcher him up, the main difference people seem to pull out at this point is his hair.
I could tag red or brown haired Lambert. And I know I may need to. For example, after the show comes out, my Eskel will be unrecognizable to anyone who comes to AO3 straight from the show no matter what they do to Basil with makeup it won’t be even remotely approaching what I write.
But a bit at a loss as to how to do any of this, beyond tagging their physical characteristics.
Tl:dr I really draw from everything at once. And of course you don’t have to reply to my musing. Just thinking it through.
This is something I've struggled with myself.
We really won't know what they are (and how they're characterised) until they come out. However, if we go by Geralt's example, we know they will be significantly different (and given how little book lore there is, and that game Eskel and Lambert are CDPR property, the differences will be quite staggering, e.g. they won't be able to use the Deidre storyline for Eskel, and Lambert's traumatic past is also under the same umbrella, unless careful negotiations have been done). This in itself will make them different characters.
Personally, I've recently changed all my works over to "The Witcher (Video Game)" unless they involve Jaskier as a starting point, because I *know* he is the single character that I use Netflix fanon for (those stories are still currently The Witcher - All Media Types), although I'm changing that in all future works towards book or game Dandelion. The two remaining stories I'm unsure about are "Sonnet X" and "Sleeping Sun", which I may either delete or change to "The Witcher (TV)" because Geralt is Netflix leaning.
If the majority of the lore and characters fit under Netflix fanon, then it should be tagged with The Witcher (TV). If it's a genuine mix (e.g. I'm thinking of your Eskel's Angel work, which is gameverse Eskel/other Witchers, and Dandelion is a mix of Jaskier and game Dandelion, with more Jaskier from my perspective), it's The Witcher - All Media Types.
I think it will become clearer when it airs, but it's more a pre-emptive plea as the works start to trickle in.
