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greisekinderschar · 3 months

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Alright, guys, it’s been more than six months but it is time for a Radskier meta essay on why their storyline isn’t as badly written as many people say. (Includes spoilers)

Is it rushed? Yes. It’s a side-story of a side character and actually Jaskier’s first side-story on the show. Is it cliché? Yes. When I first watched the season I was terrified about where their story would be going, knowing what happened in the book and knowing how mainstream media treats queer storylines. (I did not know about Joey’s deep involvement in the writing until later.) But once I knew how it all ended, I was entirely sold. Of course, that’s a question of taste, Radovid just turned out to incorporate so many tropes I am obsessed with, but I am trying to say that compared to the overall writing of the show, their story is not particularly badly written, which blew me away considering it’s a queer storyline in a mainstream medieval fantasy show.

Yes, they gave Jaskier a queer story for the sake of having a queer story. That was another reason I was very anxious about it. But what they (read: Joey, and let’s be honest, Hugh too) made of it is so exciting to me.

Here’s the thing about them ageing up Radovid and making him Vizimir’s brother. I have seen people complaining that they could’ve introduced an OC instead of changing source material like that. But to me, the fact they chose Radovid makes it so much more than a queer storyline for the sake of having a queer storyline. He’s the prince and later the king of Redania. He is entangled in the greater scheme of things. He is /on/ the same chessboard as the main characters. Turning him into Vizimir’s brother rather than son is way less forced than introducing an OC to be Jaskier’s love interest. Because he is more than Jaskier’s love interest. He is the King of Redania, played by Dijkstra and Philippa. Also, he cannot be killed off.

As I already said because it’s obvious, their story is rushed. That’s just the fate of side stories in TV shows (that are not masterfully written, lbr). But to me at least it is amazing how much they managed to convey in these few scenes.

You have Jaskier’s role as a spy for the Redanian Intelligence. That begins his own side story where he has a role of his own, that has nothing to do with Geralt. He meets this guy who actually appreciates his music and openly flirts with him, showing that he is desirable, something new to the character of the comic relief (although he is the romancer but you know, we never saw it on screen, also this time he is being romanced). He is suspicious, because he knows the Intelligence is not to be trusted, and the Prince of Redania is kind of the enemy. But he is also Jaskier, and his interest is caught. Besides this interest, Radovid’s suggestion to bring Ciri to supposed safety is right up Jaskier’s alley, because he is one to rather avoid battles if possible. He ponders on whether it is a possibility.

Later, he uses this vague connection to Radovid to have some agency of his own. He negotiates with him about Rience without discussing it with Geralt. He’s following his own plan, checking out the possibilities. He’s like alright, this guy at least pretends to be into me, let’s see if I can put that to good use to help Geralt. He sweeps Radovid off his feet with his ballad, and then Radovid says things that blow Jaskier away. He speaks of his talents, of determination to get to know more about him, of how Geralt should be grateful for his loyalty and friendship. Jaskier, the comic relief, has never heard this before. He’s Weak and he’s Wanting™️. But he still knows that he is Jaskier, easily fooled by romance, and that there are great things at stake. At the same time, Geralt is also treating him with more respect to make the decisions harder on him. But Radovid stays on his mind, he doesn’t know what to make of it and discusses it with Vespula, and she knows. She sees what’s going on.

Then, Radovid shows up while he is looking after Ciri. He is still suspicious. But Radovid is different from the last time he saw him. He is scared and he is vulnerable, and Jaskier can see that the mask is gone, and that what lies beneath it is not a villain. He is still cautious, until Radovid sings him his own song and he cannot take it any longer. He is giving in, and he struggles still as he does, but he is Jaskier. He’s Weak and he’s Wanting™️.

The next morning, he is not surprised. Of course, stupid Jaskier got himself fooled by some pretty eyes once again. Of course such blatant desire and affection for him could have only been a lie. He never knew romance like this and he does not hesitate to believe it was simply not real.

But then, he finds Radovid surrounded by his dead guards, alone. The people he was supposedly scheming with left him behind, so he was not all that involved, maybe he really was their puppet. He’s scared and he’s full of regret, he’s a helpless prince in the middle of the outbreak of a war, but he’s telling Jaskier to not waste more time on him because he knows he fucked up beyond redemption. But he’s Jaskier. He has endless capacity for forgiveness. And now that their plans had failed and Radovid has no more reason to lure him in, he’s still begging for a second chance. He still wants to be with him. He wants to prove himself to him, even if that means leaving the court behind. Jaskier has other priorities right now and he’s still hurt, but if there is a chance that this affection he never knew before was real, he is taking it.

And Radovid? He’s the spoiled prince brat, underestimated by everyone (just like Jaskier), and he’s riding that wave, because he does not really care about state affairs. He likes Jaskier’s music, and when he sees him he thinks he’s hella fine. He has his fun and at the same time tries to show Philippa he’s capable of more than she thinks, but he was not expecting that Jaskier would blow him away like that. That he would challenge him (the Prince), that he would be honest with him, that he would see through his act and by doing that NOT underestimate him. Radovid is Vibing and he decides to enter Dijkstra’s and Philippa’s game until he realizes he Fucked Up with his arrogance and being a prince is actually worth shit. He knew everything going on in the castle is pretense, but he was not prepared for this level of violence. He is terrified when he meets Jaskier, and Jaskier is good to him. And, again, honest. Unlike anything he had known up to now, the courtly schemes that had only recently culminated to him being scared for his life. He is still a spoiled brat prince and wants to be with Jaskier very badly, so he Fucks Up again. It is that last mistake that makes him understand his faults. But when he sees that Jaskier still does not hate him, he is determined to fix it, and he will do anything. Fuck being a prince, I will leave everything I know behind to show this man that my feelings were true.

Jaskier changes this man’s entire life and Radovid is willing to do everything for him. Yes, the idea to just go off and find him WHEREVER was kind of idiotic, but that’s the beauty of these two. They are both smart and idiotic at the same time, and they let their actions be led mainly by emotions, which sometimes adds up to the idiocy of it all. But Jaskier has more experience, and Radovid learns from him how to be less selfish, he grows as a person through knowing him.

So yes, the love-betrayal-redemption story is hollywood cliché, but it fits the characters and leads to interesting character growth. And honestly, as a queer woman I enjoy seeing some queers having a cliché storyline in a mainstream media piece. Geralt and Yennefer had a similar story. It raises the queer love story to the level of the hetero story. They struggle and they suffer just as much as anyone else, and they have something that connects them, a story that has potential to be continued in an interesting way. They don’t just exist as the obligatory queers, and their storyline isn’t inherently queer either, to a point where it feels like they’re only queer so Jaskier’s love interest can be the gods forsaken King. (At the same time, the story has queer coded themes, like having to pretend to be someone else, but the way it is portrayed, it can be relatable to non-queers as well.) The cliché of it all does not feel more cliché than other storylines on the show (to me). Its not queered cliché, it’s just a story, and I love that.

Also, Joey and Hugh have actual chemistry. And - and no one really argues with that - immense talent that filled these few scenes with so many layers in the first place. We owe it to Hugh that Radovid is not just a romantic interest, but a layered, flawed character (although Hugh attributes it to the writing but he’s too modest).

The last thing I want to say is that I feel we are generally overly critical of queer storylines, which is not a bad thing per se, because we know how many harmful storylines there are, but I struggle to see how this one is harmful in any way. You have to relate them to the straight romances. The straights will just randomly smile at each other and then they will date, but no one complains about it being rushed.

I am obviously not saying everyone has to ship them, I genuinely do not care. I just think it’s unfair to drag their storyline when it is nothing but normal that they didn’t have enough time for an elaborate story, but they (meaning Joey and Hugh) put a lot of work into making it a good one regardless, an effort no one would have put into a straight love story, because they would not have had to.

#this turned out extremely long but cousin i had to get it out of my system #i already wrote a novel length fanfic about radovid but it was not enough #my opinions are my own make of them what you will #radskier #the witcher #the witcher meta #jaskier #radovid #twn #twn s3 spoilers #witcher #s: the witcher #otp: radskier #wiedzmin

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ratwavegamehouse · 8 months

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One of the games in my month-long Hidden Gems Sale (also known as the the I'm unemployed pity party) is Fear the Taste of Blood. It's an asymmetric game using playing cards and dice to tell a story inspired by classic movie monsters: towering aristocratic vampires, frightful werewolves, constructed creatures and invisible fiends.

Throughout play you’ll record the attacks of the monster, how the survivors try to fight back and deal with the horror they are facing.

By default the game plays 3; one player acting as The Survivors, one player acting as The Monster and one player acting as the Night they're going through. It accommodates plenty of different sizes though.

It's based on the rules of Beyond the Rift via Anyone Can Wear the Mask.

There are rules for creating your own setting, monster and survivors but the game also comes with three pre-written scenarios. I sourced the art from old public domain horror magazines and comics.

Werecat by Night is werebeast story at an ice skating competition, with the human form of the Werecat among the survivors.

In The Widower of Count Dracula an all queer cast, including Jonathan and Mina Harker's grown up child, faces down the late Dracula's lover in post war London.

Man-Made Phantom is a mashup of the Invisible Man and haunted house stories, as well The Old Dark House.

I played both Werecat by Night and Man-Made Phantom at GenCon (with an expanded cast of 5/6 players including me) and had a lot of fun both times. Our Werecat by Night ended with the figure skating judge burning the Werecat to death with a flower and then a troubled skater choosing to take the blame for the attacks.

Here's a video from Philippa Mort talking about the game some more and recommending it for dark and spooky nights.

youtube

So yeah you can get 20% off as part of the sale or bundle all the Hidden Gems together for $40. I'll try and do some posts about the rest that's on offer this month.

#ttrpg design #indie ttrpg #ttrpg #sale #for spooky season theres something special Fear the Taste of Blood wise coming up #i wonder if this is a game thats a hidden gem because of its specific aim or because I released it too soon after transgender Deathmatch Le #also its really funny to just look at your own back catalog and declare some things hidden gems #everyone should do it #Youtube

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kaori04 · 9 months

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@thelostgirl21 So I finished watching and getting back to you!

I felt really bad for Radovid by the end, but also excited, this is very interesting storyline that can go in many ways with a huge potential for development for both Radovid and Jaskier. I am especially happy that it provides a good opportunity for Jaskier to be someone else entirely except for his comic relief persona he performs for everybody else except Radovid, the only one who takes him seriously and is eager to get to know him on a deep level without dismissiveness other demonstrate his way. Same goes in the opposite direction too, as Radovid was never taken seriously too, not by his ignorant brother Visimir who is not delicate enough to understand Radovid's more tender nature, and not by masterminds Dijkstra and Philippa, who consider him only as an object of manipulation in their game of thrones and no worthy of real attention.

Radovid and Jaskier are two sensitive and deeply empathetic ppl who developed their own protective tools for dealing with harsh realities of the world they are in. Jaskier has his humor, while Radovid prefers just to be quiet to appear smarter/more knowledgeable than he is and he is also very careful with his words whenever he does speak. So while both are very reflective of the world around them and have a habit to read ppl around them, their coping mechanisms that usually help them to survive also come back to bite them in the ass when they encounter someone who is genuine in their attempts to build a sincere connection with them.

Radovid's secretive nature, his lack of spontaneuty makes him seem more dangerous than he is, like he has something to hide (didn't it fool us all before vol. 2), and it indeed prevents him from being open and honest. That inevitably leads to a scene like that in ep. 6, when his actions is very difficult to explain without assuming his bad faith, so Jaskier falls in this trap. And I actually think Jaskier believes Radovid is telling the truth, but circumstances are such that Jaskier cannot just relax and believe in the best, because if he is wrong and acts on it the results might be catastrophic, so he takes the safest route, even if it means hurting the man who had a potential to become the most important person in his life. Jaskier chooses others (Ciri and everyone else who would get hurt if she gets in the wrong hands) over himself, and yes, also sort of pushes Radovid under the bus too. But on the one hand there is the life of a young innocent girl he feels responsible for and the destiny of the continent, and on the other there are feelings of grown man who is the whole prince (and he isn't aware yet how dangerous his household is).

I don't want it to sound like I think Jaskier choose the best route of action, I think he could be far more delicate about it, imho no need to be rude and everything. And taking into the account how soft Jaskier is with everyone else who demonstrates him their vulnerability, it looked even out of character. But given the circumstances (very stressful) I can take that as a narrative device to create more drama and more conflict and prepare the grounds for more interesting and deeper exploration of both the characters. It will all depend on how the twn team will deal with that further.

#the witcher #jaskier #radovid #radskier #the witcher netflix #the witcher netflix spoilers #twn #twn spoilers #spoilers #american series

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leojurand · 6 months

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friend is reading the game of kings for the first time and she said she wanted to write fic of lymond and philippa hanging out and learning to get along. you know. GoK lymond and GoK philippa. haha... yeah... that would be sweet...

i just hope what happened to me doesn't happen to her (seeing lymond as an older brother figure for philippa until the end of pawn in frankincense hits her in the head like a comically large cartoon hammer)

#lymond #i think she'll have the same problems with the romance as i have #and on one hand i hope so so i have someone to discuss them with lol #otoh i want her to love everything and maybe she'll convince me to love it too if that happens 😭

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cardboardlife · 1 month

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Oh dear

#comic #comics #philippa rice #parenting

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veralevina15 · 1 year

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Radovid's chess monologue: devotion, betrayal and *lub-dub, lub-dub*

Today I’m going to explain to you the criminally overlooked Radovid’s chess monologue. That is not a comical crazy nonsense. That’s absolutely gorgeous speech about devotion, betrayal and *lub-dub lub-dub*.

Chekmate. They say that's the game of kings. That chess teaches one to think strategically. What a load of rubbish! Both sides have identical pieces, the rules stay invariably the same. How does this mirror real life?

Radovid, despite his young age, is a rather experienced ruler. He had to solve this most difficult puzzle called “politics” more than once. Politics is not chess, and here no one plays by the rules. Therefore, Radovid had very quickly accustomed himself to cold calculation, flexibility of mind and a certain amount of cynicism.

Witcher, do you know why I play chess?

Whatever the answer, Radovid ends the introductory part of the monologue and proceeds to the main one.

I play chess to reveal the game's secret. Blood thumps inside this chessmen. You need only listen - and you will hear. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub...A heart pumping with life. I take a pawn - and hear flesh being rent. I win a piece - and hear screams from the depths of its bowels. I want to break the chessmen open, squeeze the truth from them. Do you see what I mean?

This whole piece is one continuous metaphor. Let's look at it in more detail.

Blood thumps inside this chessmen. You need only listen - and you will hear. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub...

This is the most memorable moment, although Radovid only poetically compares the figures with people, and “lub-dub” is nothing more than an imitation of a heartbeat; a symbol of how noisy life is in a chess piece, if instead of it we imagine a living person, but on the political "board" of kings.

A heart pumping with life. I take a pawn - and hear flesh being rent. I win a piece - and hear screams from the depths of its bowels.

Through chess images, Radovid paints a picture of real political life with numerous deaths and sacrifices in the name of a certain goal. Dead flesh, death screams - this is what remains of the "pawns" that kings sweep away from their political board with a wave of their hands.

I play chess to reveal the game's secret.

Do you see what I mean?

What secret is he talking about? What is the "truth" that Radovid set out to squeeze out of chess? Perhaps these are the most difficult questions of the chess monologue. In order to fully understand them, you need to answer the king “No, I don't” and listen to Radovid’s further explanation.

You do not beacause you are not a king. Pawns see only the comrades at their sides and the foes across the field. The king has the differen view of the chessboard. His greatest foes surrounds him. His own chessmen might trap him. And that is check...and death. You see, witcher : сhess is a art of sacrificing your own pieces. Now do you see?

This is the key point of the monologue. Here is a real possibility in chess, when the king gets a checkmate only because he is blocked by his own pieces, and an analogy with royal power, when lieges betray their monarch. This is a clear allusion to a conspiracy against the king of Redania, arranged by the Temerians and Dijkstra (which is typical, none of the king's inner circle or from other Redanians, with the exception of a traitor soldier, is involved in the conspiracy. This makes one seriously doubt the veracity of Dijkstra's speeches and the journal entry that, they say, everyone would be happy about the death of the White Eagle).

The king is afraid of betrayal, because recently several rulers of the North have fallen victims of evil intentions: Demavend III, Foltest, and even earlier - his own father, Vizimir II, who was killed by Philippa Eilhart. Radovid is very afraid of repeating his fate. The situation is doubly aggravated by the war with Nilfgaard and the beginning of the Witch Hunt. The king is always on the alert, because he knows for sure: a lot of spiteful critics have divorced around, who in the most decisive way decided to throw him off the throne.

Thus, the “truth” that Radovid wants to squeeze out is the desire to obtain convincing evidence of the loyalty of his pawns, close associates and subjects (Geralt, Roche, etc.). Not without reason follows the explanation of the message about the king, locked in a trap by his own pawns.

His greatest foes surrounds him. His own chessmen might trap him. And that is check...and death.

He is absolutely right. Vernon Roche and Geralt are exactly those "pawns" that can lure the king into a deadly trap.

Another aspect of this monologue is reasonable sacrifices for the common good. In chess, one must be able to sacrifice one's pieces, as well as on the field of big politics - one's subjects (for example, Whoreson Junior). In the context of the infidelity of the lieges to their king, Radovid probably also takes into account the need to sacrifice unreliable pawns in time so that they do not harm the monarch. No wonder he orders to kill Geralt on the bridge of St. Gregory, because he suspects him of treason and barrier of all kinds. This is a fair assumption, given that on behalf of the witcher, the player can interfere with the plans of the king more than once.

You see, witcher: сhess is a art of sacrificing your own pieces.

It turns out that, on the one hand, chess doesn't mirror the real life (after all, no one plays by the rules in politics!), and on the other hand, how many figurative references can be found in chess to the real life of kings (and not only kings! ). Here is such a duality and depth. Perhaps, this is precisely the “secret” of chess for Radovid. Speaking more globally, chess in an incomprehensible way combines many different motives: ethics, metaphysics, music, mathematics, philosophy, and even love. The game is full of a bottomless amount of hidden meanings, and Radovid, as a talented chess player, understands and feels this very well.

And if we go back a little and answer the king's question "Yes, I do"?

Radovid: …I want to break the chessmen open, squeeze the truth from them. Do you see what I mean? Geralt: Yes, Sire, believe I do.

Radovid will react quite sharply to this.

You know shit. You're merely humoring me! I was not speaking literally.

These words of Radovid destroy any ridiculous assumption that the king, they say, in a fit of madness treats chess as if it were alive. And the king clearly does not tolerate any sycophancy. Perhaps it is for this reason that His Majesty will not give such a detailed explanation and will limit himself to only one phrase:

First hidden truth: a monarch is always surrounded by fools. Understand?

Around the monarch there are always a lot of sycophants who naively think that they are smarter and more cunning than their ruler and can easily deceive him. Radovid was surrounded by the ambitious sorceress Philippa Eilhart, who wanted to rule over Redania through obedient “pocket king”, and arrogant, blooming nobles, who did not respect the young heir.

At the end of the scene, Roche gives an extremely strange assessment of the king's speech:

Radovid's sinking ever deeper into madness, as I see it.

Also, an equally strange entry appears in the journal on behalf of Dandelion, where, among other things, it is indicated that

Geralt's meeting with Radovid confirmed the rumors circling around the king's mental state. The Redanian king was a dangerous madman trapped in his own world of disturbing visions

It is completely incomprehensible, on the basis of what Radovid's phrases we should have the impression that His Majesty is insane. If you listen to the king carefully, it is quite obvious that he says the right and logical things, in fact, describing his royal life, and the Eagle uses very beautiful images for this.

The words about the "mad king" looks like a deliberate denigration of Radovid. "Madness" is an inappropriate word to describe the state of mind of His Majesty, his pain and his anguish. But, of course, by the events of The Witcher 3, the king is on the verge of breaking, and a real abyss has opened up inside him. However, this is not about chess at all.

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alrightsnaps · 1 year

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I will never forgive the NERVE of Bridgerton making Penelope and her family important characters since S1. If it is simply because she knew them before her book/season then I hope Michael and Gareth will get the same treatment. (BTW I think Penelope and Colin will move in with Portia so she'll continue to be an important character)

it's fucking ridiculous and they can miss me with their “it’s because penelope was around since the beginning!” bullshit.

so fucking what?

what makes her more special than any other bridgerton spouse that merits two seasons of arcs for her AND HER FAMILY but no such treatment for kate, sophie etc? kate never got that for mary during her season never mind for two consecutive seasons before her story came up... hell, she didn't get that for herself!

meanwhile portia and her daughters have been part of the ensemble cast since day one. that's why i was mad at how they treated phoebe in s2 cause in her own season they had the most fucking irrelevant characters like prudence and philippa featuring in promo but couldn't bother with their remaining s1 star being in a poster with the matrons or eloise (never mind francesca cause she's obviously a ghost in this show lmao)

and as you said how come gareth doesn't get that treatment? his grandmother has a much more important role in the show compared to the books, her history with violet apparently goes way back but they somehow don't know her family? or why not give john and michael’s mothers the amount of screen time they've dedicated to the feathers so far? after all frannie is marrying john, they'll be part of the family (plot twist: watch them erase any stirling family members other than john and michael themselves). why not treat mary like an actual character instead of a prop rather than waste time on portia’s weird incestuous shenanigans ?

why is penelope the only bridgerton spouse that's treated as a character in her own right to the point that her family is framed as equally important as the bridgertons when they're no more than comic relief in the books?

#bridgerton asks #anti penelope featherington

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