#type;analysis

[thehiddenking]

this is a summary of the difference between book and show witcher

geralt: hypothetically, would you still be my travel companion if i were a worm?

dandelion: i would be your travel companion always, however, what is classified as a worm?

jaskier: would you love me if i was a worm.

geralt: hm... no.

[thehiddenking]

the way right wing grifters hold the witcher as this aggresively antiwoke "masculine" media makes me lose my SHIT. the novels are incredibly open, especially for its time, and theres so much talk about politics, and also god forbid, identity politics!! aaah!

geralt is literally othered in many ways, hes this gross, gangly thing who people are revolted by and religious zealots scoff at as a monster. (hm!) he's incredibly masculine in the sense he fights monsters, yes, but his best friend is a flamboyant feminine man who he spends all his time philosophizing with. he's not this stoic "i feel nothing graaah!" guy, he pretends he is neutral in conflicts despite being sooo biased in so many ways. he pretends he doesnt feel then proceeds to feel so much.

characters like Milva and angouleme are female characters who are "strong" and "independant" the worst things that a right wing grifter can have in a media!! characters like yennefer are incredibly cruel and "bitchy" women (the trope of jealous, mean girlfriends that right wing grifters love) who are humanized and treated like people - yen is bitchy because she needs to be. thats the world she lives in as a female sorceress. ciri is literally the most important person in the world in the witcher so why is it a big deal shes the protagainst of tw4 when shes literally the chosen one-type character?!

elihal is a crossdresser. ciri is bisexual. geralt's best friend is gender non conforming. triss is at least bicurious, and phillipa is a fucking lesbian. queer/gnc people have existed in the witcher for the longest damn time, female characters have always been important, why is the witcher what right wing dudebro gamers latch onto. do they see geralt, big hulking man who claims "he doesnt feel emotion" and take him at his word. did they not play the games or read any of the books. how do you come out of the witcher 3 and still think its completely apolitical.

(not saying the witcher is wholly unproblematic and the peak of representation just saying its far from apolitical)

(also iirc Andrzej Sapkowski makes a joke or something about the law and justice party in poland being bad, which is a conservative party... i cannot add more to this but it is from a Wera analysis video about the newest book)

[thehiddenking]

im fine im just thinking about how geralt is so dehumanized -- everyone thinks of him in such wildly different ways. people see him as a monster killer, a monster itself, the butcher, the white wolf, they see him as a moping brother, a loving father, a lost father, a scared man, a best friend, a strong hero, a failure, he sees himself as a disgusting monster whos trying to be human, he sees himself as an awful father who can't even find his daughter, a shitty lover, a shitty friend who isn't deserving of the people who love him. thinking about how geralt is everything and nothing at once, how people will remember him as the guy who killed the griffin bothering them, as a person who spared the innocent sentient monsters who aren't harming anyone, as a legend only heard of in ballads and poems. as a person and as a monster.

people project these ideas, true and false, onto him, and people make assumptions of what he must be like based off of these titles. and how he never got to choose who to be. it was chosen for him -- but he still tries to be a good man.

[thehiddenking]

Children of the City by Mili is one of my favorite songs, top 5 most definitely. Whilst it is impossible to fully understand it without knowing who Yan Vismok is, I do believe it is possible to enjoy the song enough to understand why it is that I hold this song so dearly. COTC is a song about the hopelessness that comes with the idea of "it is the way things are."

This song is about the rules of society and the exhaustion and hopelessness that comes with the very notion of rules like that existing. Whilst Yan Vismok focuses on the prescripts that he is forced to deliver, I believe all the lyrics can be related to the real world in some way.

Sleep for a total of 800 hours per day And then drink a liter of milk Warm-up before you go play Only eat, or write Or pull the trigger with your right hand Only thing that's left Is to work on following commands

Sleeping for 800 hours in one day is impossible, and it is worded like a Prescript. However, a common symptom of depression is sleeping too much. Drinking a liter of milk and going to play is something we are told as children as something that's good for us, and while that may be true, we are also predispositioned to listen to things and accept them as fact. "With your right hand" is specified because the fact that there are rules such as "using your left hand is evil" is another "rule of society" we were expected to follow mindlessly.

By the time you realize You'll be restrained to a desk And with your dreams on the floor, you comply Eyes chained to the test

This criticizes both office job culture and standardized testing. By the time you realize the world is unfair and this shouldn't be the way one should live, it's too late. You have given up on your dreams, you have given up on things you've yearned to do. You're hopeless, and cannot imagine a world without the rules of society.

In 30 minutes, find a groom or bride Bonus if brunette In 90 hours, spill their insides Paint your room picturesque

Whilst phrased like another Prescript, I believe this can also apply to the way that we are assumed to one day all be married to someone based on things like hair color or career. We are to get quickly married (30 minutes, for example) because that's what we are told to do. And soon we will hate them, because spending your forever with someone you do not know well will only lead to a fractured marriage.

Now it's time for another vendetta Going through the shelves Picking out my pre-written persona (ha-ah-ah) Children of the city sees only the neon stars Reflected upon the murky gutter sky Don't ask me why I desperately wish to be included in the city's night

Yan's line "Tell me how I can enjoy this nightmare" hits home here. His "vendetta" is him handing out prescripts, or contributing to being a cog in society, much to how we all enable a capitalistic nightmare that we cannot do anything about. All we can do is pick out a "pre-written persona", or a person who is happy to be here and continue living. We, as children of the city, see only the neon stars. Or fake things we are to "wish upon" with the concept of "wishing upon a star", and as already established, dreams mean nothing. The final two lines reflect how as people, we all want success in the world. But in finding success in capitalism, we are doomed to be but puppets in a society where the stars are fake and so are dreams. There is something to be said about pollution here too.

In four hundred thousand meters, turn right

This is said in a GPS-like tts voice. We are being directed by these rules of society, and we are to not question it.

Pick up a knife and stab a familiar warm body Learned to fight before I knew love or bitterness of coffee Snippy scissors cut down the strings I set myself free Only to figure out everything I chose was by proxy

We learn to hurt ourselves and not hurt others by burning out. We stab a familiar warm body, or our body, to cope with the exhaustion that day to day capitalism brings. We have learned to fight, to work for what we want before we are able to drink coffee (something that is often associated with things like overwork). When we try to "be free" by choosing passions, or opening your own business, you are still contributing to society as yet another cog.

As we suckled upon the nine millimeter pacifier Swallowing the fact that other than to expand We had no purpose As my ever-burning will to stay afloat backfires I now know I must be comfortable being Who I considered worthless

The nine millimeter pacifier is a 9mm gun. Burnout and exhaustion so painful, we have to "bite the bullet" and understand that we have no purpose existing as a puppet. We must be comfortable knowing we are the very people we look down on as "worthless cogs" because we are all made to serve those in powers.

Follow the city's ribbon To a heart nobody seems to listen It takes my heart being broken and broken again (broken and broken again) To know that I am the reason why (the reason why) The sufferings never end

Since we are all contributing to the very system that we find ourselves suicidal and burnt out by, we have to understand that we are the reason why our sufferings will never end. We cause more and more harm, and there's nothing we can do about it.

The chorus repeats, until-

Do not go home until you finish reading the value of E. 2.71 8281 8284 5904 5235 3602 8747 1352 6624 9775 7247 0936 9995 9574 9669 6762

My favorite number is Euler's Number for this very reason. I have... a very great affinity for it because it is the basis for a lot of math, and it is a number that expands infinitely. Google has also used it in marketing, which I find funny with the whole theme of this song being against companies like google. The idea of not being able to be free, or go home, until you finish reciting an infinite number is much how we are not allowed to be free from the corporations until we finish all our tasks, and our tasks are ever expanding. So we will never be free. We are told 63 numbers of E, which has a lot of meanings but I really don't know if that's relevant to the song or story of Ruina. I've done research into the numerology of 63 and it all kind of ended up only somewhat related.

Anyways. Like everyone else, I will continue reading the value of E until I die.

[thehiddenking]

thinking about geralt and his yellow eyes again, especially with the trope of yellow eyes for monsters and especially in relation to the Frankenstein's monster trope.

geralt with yellow eyes, an artifical "monster" hated by the humanity he was made to save. geralt, with inhuman yellow eyes, scorned and ostracized for something humans gave him. unlike frankenstein's monster, however, he loved, he lost and he fed his love, not his fear. he inspired love, he did not need to feed the fear that the title of witcher so brought.

geralt of rivia, with yellow eyes, piercing and uncanny, so close to human, yet so far- at least according to those who created and need him. ah, he had a friend, he had a love, he had a daughter. but yet, he was not human because you deem him so?

because he was given eyes, golden as dandelion and hair as pale as snow.

and so a monster, geralt is.

[thehiddenking]

sometimes i think about yan vismok and i feel so sick. i get him, truly, day in and out its go to work, its go to classes. its to make enough money to keep me afloat, and its find joy in things that wont bring any longterm pleasure. its being too busy to see my friends. its being too busy to make new ones. its being alone, exhausted.

and not being able to do anything that brings joy, and its hopelessly clawing through tasks impossible. work 7 hours, then go home and clean and cook, then find time for joy. its classes, then work, then classes. we may not have magical prescripts, but we have a script. what we are expected to be-- many times its impossible to be.

By the time you realize You'll be restrained to a desk And with your dreams on the floor, you comply Eyes chained to the test

By the time we are able to realize we are unhappy, there is nothing left but your work. To stay afloat. Not everyone can drop everything and live a life worth living. No, its a useless task for useless people like you and I.

Yan fought back, we try to, but everything is out of our control no matter how hard we try. No matter what I do, there will never be a true happiness because that cannot exist in this world (or in Yan's case, the city).

It takes my heart being broken and broken again (broken and broken again) To know that I am the reason why (the reason why) The sufferings never end

And really, its our fault we are miserable. My fault I'm miserable to an extent, I can't control it, but I could try. But that's tiring, I'm exhausted. So at the end of the day, I'm Yan Vismok in a city full of people as miserable as me.

Now it's time for another vendetta (hmm-mmm-mmm) Going through the shelves Picking out my pre-written persona (ha-ah-ah) Children of the city sees Only the neon stars Reflected upon the murky gutter sky Don't ask me why I desperately wish to be noticed by the city's night

I'm miserable, destined to always be miserable because I am not someone who was born lucky. I'm to be who people want me to be, and I must live with it.

I'll be able to go home -- be happy -- when I finish reading the values of E.

[thehiddenking]

i love yennefer, she is such an incredibly interesting character and one of my favorite female characters at the moment but OH MY GOD CDPR Yen is so fucking annoying about Triss Quite Literally taking advantage of Geralt's amnesia - do not tell me Yen didn't get around while she had her amnesia. we know how she is, and then blaming Geralt for being in a relationship under false pretenses... and then it's never fully resolved. she's victim blaming Geralt for something he had no idea about and it's exhausting to deal with that fallout. i really dont like the amnesia plotline as its handled (especially with how dandelion is written- see, yen and ciri) and i desperately wish it was written in a way where it was more... nuanced and not played for laughs??

it's more of a fault of the writing in tw3, which, while amazing, is not perfect. (again, dandelion?? really?? hes so gutted from the books, he just... is so empty compared to the personality in the games. you cant even tell him about the kaer morhen battle, because I KNOW he'd at least help geralt in some way, even if he cant be there physically. i was so sad when i went to go talk to him during the brothers in arms questline and there wasnt even a dialogue... dandelion's writing is for a whole different post.)

anyhow. yen... oh... when i get you cdpr... when i get you... shaking my fist at a cloud. i love yenalt so very much... in my head yennefer and geralt argue about it for months until dandelion (or ciri) (or hell, even regis LMAO) steps in as usual and tells them to talk to each other about it and yen apologizes. in my head.

i understand if this was a character flaw but the way she is written makes it seem like she is... just being "dramatic" and its played semi lightheartedly. i understand a character having flaws and doing things the writers dont agree with but awaaaa rlly?? no resolution?? to this conflict?? at all?? i guess my issue stems with the lack of resolution to her hypocrisy + such, and with their happy ending would it have been so hard for them to even like. bring it up. ah, whatever. im getting worked up over nothing.

[thehiddenking]

𝙒𝙄𝙏𝘾𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝘾𝙎 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏

An ever-updating Masterpost of all my (Cataliss Cybercytus') Witcher OCS.

ℌ𝔢𝔯 𝔏𝔞𝔡𝔶, 𝔎𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 ℭ𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔏𝔞 𝔐𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔥𝔞

❝ My destiny calls and I go, and the wild winds of fortune shall carry me onward ❞ Ciante, otherwise known as Her Lady, Knight Ciante of La Mancha* grew up on stories and fables of the North. Despite having been born in Ofir, her noble family thought it wise to teach her stories of knights and kings. Her favorite of them all was the tale of Don Quixote, and she found herself modelling herself after the man and legend. Obsessing over a distant land she feared she was never to visit, she filled her head with fantasies and practiced fencing to quell her taste for adventure. She, however, would find a chance to visit the lands she fantasized over once the tales of the Wild Hunt spread to Ofir. Her noble, rich family, sent out a small group of mages and researchers to study the foreign phenomenon. Ciante decided, that day, she would join them on their expedition to the North, to Skellige. Donning a set of Skellige heavy armor, she travels with her group of mages and researchers as their bodyguard whilst helping townfolk, refusing payment as a true knight does. All I am saying is, never let her visit Toussaint. She may never leave. *She is not actually a Knight, she just pretends to be.'

𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐬

They are a group of 3 friends who grew up in a small town just outside of Roggeven, Damali. Fishie, a godling who looked after the small fishing village, befriended two of the local village kids. Albedo and Aurum. They spent their life playing in the forest, or in the ocean. The three friends parted ways once they became of age, with Fishie making a wish that they would never be apart in their hearts. Little did she know, that would actually come to fruition, for better or for worse.

𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐦

❝ We can love, we can love - and the birds will sing our song in Halcyon ❞ Avem Aurum, small town bard turned big city performer grew up with his two friends, Fishie and Albedo. He dreamed of a life beyond their small life- and once he became of age, he decided to travel with the Birdcage Troupe, a group of performers who visited their town. He was recruited for his singing voice, and ability to play the lyre. Leaving behind his friends, the ones he loved more than anything, he decided to chase fame and fortune. With a tearful goodbye, he traveled from city to city, sleeping, drinking, gambling and stealing to his heart's content. The ever-hedonistic performer found himself in trouble again and again, only being saved by his troupemates.

𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞

Atra- the troupe leader, wears all black. crow themes the most serious of the group, atra is a performer and manager of the birdcage troupe. she sets a high standard for her group and they travel together during the spring/summer months to put on plays and performances. Aurum - musician and singer (lyre), wears all gold, canary themes the stupidest dumbest bastard ever. he sucks at his job but has a nice voice and can play his instruments, he's just always drunk or hungover. also gets himself into barfights often despite being a literal twig. Albus - musician and singer (lutist), wears all white, dove themes the youngest of the group, everyone babies albus a little despite her being pretty educated. a sort of loss of innocence but she's lost it already. Caelum- dancer and choreographer, wears all blue, bluejay themes a big guy, but despite his big hulking figure and skellige accent, he has a knack for dancing and performing poetry. he has a kind heart and probably decorates his beard with flowers. he braids albus' hair.

𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞

❝ Every sailor trades comfort for glory, every lover trades hope for betrayal - cause our Captain affords no distractions aboard, as we sail away from Port Damali. ❞ Fishie was always drawn to the ocean, and having watched the small town of Damali grow, she decided to become its protector and watcher. She spent most of her days in the water, playing with the local wildlife and helping the people as their guardian. Eventually, she befriended the local children and taught them how to fish. She was the reason Damali went from a village, barely prospering, to a fishing village known for their experienced sailors and their Port, Port Damali. When Albedo and Aurum moved away from Damali, she decided to dedicate her life to the sea. She wasn't alone, though. The kids she played with grew up and began their own careers in the fishing world. Fishie, not one to want to be left behind, decided to join her friends in their boating and found herself enjoying catching fish with her hands and singing sea shanties. While having to hide herself from foreign visitors (which they do not get too often) proves annoying, the people of Damali respect her and there's no rules at sea saying she cannot exist.

𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐨

❝ Aep cor me lode deith ess'viell, yn blath que me darienn; aen minne vain tegen a me yn toin av muireánn. ❞ Having grown up with a nonhuman, Albedo found himself instantly drawn to the stories of nonhumans. Something about them fascinated him greatly. Perhaps it's the fact that, unknown to him, he was partially elf. Perhaps it's the magic in him he is unaware he has, perhaps it has to do with their naturally inquisitive nature. Either way, Albedo left Damali once he turned eighteen, deciding to travel the world and write a book. The book was titled The Stories of the Other. It aimed to tell the story and history of non-humans. Witchers, Dwarves, Elves, it mattered not to the researcher. He just needed to know. He eventually found a travel companion in a red-headed female dwarf, Malenia. A traveling salesperson focusing on selling her whittled goods. His wish, more than anything, is to interview a Witcher one day. If only they were less prickly, and easier to talk to.

𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞

❝ Was I born with a hole in my heart? A fatal fault from the start? Tell me, it's inevitable I'd end up with scars. ❞ A/N: I use the name "Rowan" and use he/him pronouns before transition. She goes by Rose, and uses she/her pronouns in the current time. Rose was born Rowan of Flotsam to a poor merchant and his wife. Rowan was only a 2 years old when he was taken from his family via the Law of Surprise, and became a Cat-School Witcher. Acrobatics was always his strong suit, and he found himself excelling in anything to do with speed, flexibility and gymnastics. Rowan began his journey on the path at the age of 19 and quickly found it a bore, as his passions lied not with fighting monsters or being scorned by people. Despite his hate for his career, he continued to fight. He found being a Witcher similar to being a performer, he would put on a gruff persona, be stoic and quiet and be a spectacle for others. After 40 years on the path, he quit his job as a Witcher and began a new identity. Rose, a jester and performer. She joined a Circus under a new identity (and new gender, because Witchers can't be women...). She's much happier with this, and despite crossdressing only to hide her identity as a former Witcher, she found herself enjoying being a girl more than she expected.

𝐄𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

❝ My mama always said you can't cheat an honest man. It's not a lie, my love, if they believe you. So tell them anything, dear, and wrap them 'round your finger. Take them for what they've got before they leave you ❞ At a young age, Eustance knew she was supposed to be nothing. Her father, a Casino owner and gambler, her mother a sodden drunk. Her mother and father never loved her- who names their kid Eustance anyways? - but despite having grown up as a nothing, she was determined to be something. Her father eventually gambled away their little wealth, and she left them without looking back. Starting her life as a humble merchant and con-man, she'd swindle people out of their money with her ancient, magic artifacts. Eustance eventually found herself struggling, unable to keep up with the price of inns and taverns, and got desperate. She eventually bought a real magic artifact, a handheld mirror that would grant her wish. "I wish to be wealthy, rich, powerful. I was born to live a life of luxury and power, and this is what I get. I deserve more." The wish was heard by the Master of Mirrors himself, and during their negotations, Eustance vowed to serve O'Dimm permanently, selling his cursed items and goods as a traveling grifter. After all, someone like him needs a new type of entertainment eventually. She promises cures for illnesses, amulets to make you prettier, magic books that can make anyone a sorcerer. All a lie, a feeble, stupid lie. She also sells the chance to talk to O'Dimm, and make a deal, if you know how to ask for the Master of Mirrors. Flaunting a tattoo on the chest, the mark of her master, and a wooden spoon necklace, Eustance is a happy salesman.