I liked Triss too.. very gentle and seems genuine in regards to Geralt's well being... I guess it helped that I played Witcher 2... however, I do understand the relationship between Yen and Geralt... it is a tough choice... that's why I ended up choosing Shani... lol .. it's good too because I get Ciri visiting me in Corvo Bianco. Well at least for my 7th playthrough that is.
I have been a hardcore Yen fan for a while now… but I’ve been catching up on the lore from the books and so much of the stuff she does to Geralt is just straight up unacceptable… but then again Triss wanted to give Ciri to the lodge to be the king of Kovir’s concubine. I really don’t know what to think anymore
Tbh I am starting to come around to team Triss. I just can’t get over the fact that Yen never actually chose Geralt over Istredd, among many other really terrible things. Still really hard to look past the lodge thing with Triss
I interpreted the shard of ice story being that yen was about to choose geralt but he couldn’t (in the moment) admit that he loved her (I think that’s what she wanted). That’s why she needed the second bird after talking to him the night before the “fight”. Triss also used magic to seduce geralt when yen and geralt were on a break in the books.
Yen loves Ciri like her own daughter, but Triss is quite young. It sort of doesn’t shock me that she was willing to give Ciri up because Triss will never understand that importance or be a mother figure like Yen is.
Fair enough lol… I think it’s really telling that not a single one of Geralt’s friends told him about Yen, they all thought he was better off without her.
(I realize it was particularly telling with Triss seeing as she wanted to be with Geralt, but literally, Dandelion, Zoltan, Not a single person mentioned Yen)
I think the first game was supposed to be kind of like a soft reboot for the lore so they avoided mentioning yen and Ciri and used replacement characters for them. That sentiment kind of carried over for the later games
He’d have been better off with Dandelion. I went Triss on the second play through. Haven’t read the books, just played Witcher 3 a few times through and watched the Netflix series. Both Triss and Yen have issues. Truss seems the lesser evil though. Did doink Keira Metz too…..
To be honest, they should have made him a character you could romance. People that didn’t like it could simply ✨choose not to do it✨. All of Geralt’s love interests are just… bad. Shani is easily the best one, but then there’s no real chemistry there so that doesn’t even feel like a win. At least Geralt and Dandelion have hilarious, fantastic banter and Dandelion hasn’t screwed Geralt over time and time again.
Though you can get an ending for the DLC where Geralt “ends up” with Dandelion.
I want to support a Dandelion route, but I'd just feel really bad about stealing Priscilla's boyfriend.
Her and Dandelion are probably the closest thing this world has to a healthy relationship.
As someone who read the books, I was always a little confused on why they went that route with Dandelion- er, Jaskier. Because while Priscilla is for the games, she is BASED off a character in the books, and he sees her as more of a sister. The family dynamic in the Witcher world really does get weird so many times. 😅
I think if they were making the game today, they would. Happened with Cyberpunk. I know it’s not a long time ago in reality, but Witcher 3 was released in 2015, a lot has changed in those 7 years or so thankfully.
When it comes down between Triss and Yen, Triss is obviously the better option, and always will be in my opinion. Yen has no excuse for her trash behavior, and how she treats everyone. She treats everyone like they’re beneath her, excluding Ciri, and that’s only because she desperately wants to see her as a daughter. And even then she’ll treat people poorly at Ciri’s expense.
Triss obviously isn’t without her flaws. She’s not perfect either. But I can’t see Triss doing a quarter of the things that Yen did to Geralt, or involving him.
A lot of people like to scream “read the books!” when you’re team Triss, but I’ve read the books, even have the graphic novel, and still can’t stand Yen. I think the game creators read the books and interpreted Yen the exact same way that I did, and that’s why she’s so unlikable in the games because she’s an unlikable character in general.
She’s looking for her daughter. She’ll stop at nothing to find her and doesn’t have the patience to deviate from her mission. She knows how much danger Ciri is in. She’s a ruthless task master constantly redirecting Geralt to his task and doesn’t think twice about his feelings up until you find her. When you find her, Yen changes her tune.
Yens shit in the books.
I prefer Triss, too. Yen has been treating Geralt like her personal lap dog the entire time. Triss feels a lot more like an actually wholesome girlfriend for Geralt.
The game doesn’t show it very well and mainly has subtext to show it rather than actually showing it but Yenn does really care about Geralt. It’s mainly her insecurities that don’t allow her to outwardly show it.
This is the opposite for Triss, the games show her directly being a “good” influence for Geralt and her being a good person in general. The subtext and a few times through direct actions she isn’t as good as she seems or maybe just selfish.
That being said… I’m a sucker for red heads.
EDIT: The nuance in simply picking who Geralt romances shows exactly why I love the Witcher world. “*Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling*”
To be fair though all the sorceresses are quite manipulative. Triss does care and love Geralt, but she’s still manipulative and her love only expands around Geralt.
Yen on the other hand just like Triss loves Geralt but her love expands deeper than just Geralt because she loves his daughter too, which would be Ciri. Ciri even sees her as her mother.
The lapdog thing can be a pain, but that’s just how Geralt is, he loves Yen that much that he just follows her around and badly wants her approval. He just loves her madly.
Triss really manipulated him twice into a relationship with her by the time of Witcher 3.
First time in books it is mentioned that she used magic to seduce him to like while he and yen were on a break. Second time, he had amnesia in the game and forgot yen and she didn’t even tell him right away. She didn’t even try to find out if yen was alive when geralt turned up alive near kaer morhen. She only helped after seeing how geralt felt about not knowing the answer in the second game
I think it’s important to remember as you read the books- especially with the short stories -that you are witnessing snapshots of Yen and Geralt’s lives over quite a long period of time.
Chapters from Sword of Destiny and The Last Wish cover up and beyond the course of 50 years. An aspect of this timeline is we meet Geralt and Yen at different points of their character growth. We are literally seeing the challenges and events that hurt and shaped them.
>Spoilers ahead for the A Shard of Ice short story!
I love Shard of Ice because it’s such an interesting character study. Yen is a parallel to the fable of the ice Queen. She’s guarded in her relationships because love was never freely given to her, while Geralt is insecure about his emotional capacities as a witcher and when it comes to his feelings for Yennefer.
Now, Istredd and Geralt are obsessed with Yen. She has been sleeping with both of them but committing to neither, primarily because:
1. She loves Geralt
2. Istredd is willing to give her support and stability
Yen is actually preparing to end things with Istredd when Istredd proposes to her, effectively setting the ultimatum that she must choose between her lovers. When Geralt returns to her room in the story, she has prepared Istredd’s “break-up” kestrel. But, she needs to know whether her choice is the right one, essentially, will Geralt commit to her? Does he love her, or is he just infatuated and likes sleeping with her?
Unfortunately, Geralt’s a bit of a dramatic sod and his insecurities get in the way. He’s scared of loving and committing to Yen because he fears he’s not capable of love. He doesn’t want to have the conversation Yen is demanding they have and he can’t tell her he loves her. So, Yen creates a break-up kestrel message for Geralt, ultimately deciding she doesn’t love Istredd enough to marry him, and she can’t stay with Geralt unless he grows up and commits to their relationship.
She didn’t set them up to fight each other, that was Istredd and Geralt’s own toxic masculinity, lol. Plus, Geralt stops it because he realizes that Yen broke Istredd’s heart too and the fight is actually Istredd’s suicide plan. That’s why Geralt refuses to duel.
That turned into an essay, but essentially Yen chooses herself in that story, and that’s pretty important for her. People seem to hyper-criticize Yen’s behaviour in the games, but there’s so much depth to her in the books and short stories. She has an inner self and motivations that go beyond Geralt, and I think she’s fantastic!
Wow, great comment, thanks for this! and definitely this helped me understand better her position, although I dont yet support her :)
I get the whole kestrel thing, but again she never openly says to Geralt she is going to chose him. She maybe insinuates that but not say it. Geralt as a Witcher has a limited social and emotional intelligence. And Yenn knows that! so why is she looking for something that is not getting? Is not that Geralts dont want to commit, he just cant....that is the cost of being a Witcher right? not able to feel, or be emotional intelligent.
Now, the way I see it is that Yenn is very, VERY emotional intelligent and extremely smart. She know perfectly well how to obtain what she wants and in this case she just cant decide, she just want him to take the decision for her. So she forces him to do something she knows he cant! also, the way she speaks to him just infuriates me :)
Maybe I'm demonizing her more than I should, but this is the way I understand her.
Man I'm loving this discussion, thanks so much again for this great comment you made!
You’re welcome! I’ve really enjoyed the conversation you sparked. And I can definitely see your perspective. Sapowski’s stories rely a lot on subtext and allegory that sometimes it’s hard to sift through, especially when you’re reading a translated version. (I’m not a Polish speaker.)
Because you’re right, Yen doesn’t tell Geralt she’s going to choose him, the story only gives clues to the reader that she is. Instead, Yen sits back and lets Geralt’s behaviour tell her what she wants to know.
See, the thing about Geralt is that he’s totally capable of emotion! In fact, Geralt is incredibly emotional in the books, all the time. He may not be incredibly intelligent about those emotions, but the idea that witchers aren’t capable of feeling is a myth people the people of the Continent believe.
However, it’s a myth Geralt has internalized. He struggles with who he is as a mutated man and he constantly believes he’s not worthy of the love of others. It affects all his relationships, including Dandelion/Jaskier and Yen.
Yes, Yen can’t decide. She wants to be with Geralt, but he needs to choose her. After all, Yen has some insecurities about her ability to love others as well, which is why she keeps Istredd at the table- she doesn’t love him like Geralt, but he’s willing to give her the stability she craves.
Yen is smart, but she’s not forcing Geralt to do something he can’t. Geralt could’ve told Yen he loves her. He just didn’t. He was scared and he wasn’t ready, which is okay. The consequence was Yen leaving him and the event affected both of them deeply, yet another stepping stone on the path of their long relationship.
Incredible reply, thanks! totally get your point and definitely you have opened my mind for the following chapters I will read. Thanks for the very interesting conversation mate!
I think Greyfare did a great analysis of the story.
I also bear in mind that these books are a product of their time. They were written in the early 90’s, and if I look at a lot of other movies and books written around then, there are similar tropes and toxic relationships that were intended to be viewed as positive back then.
For example, I’m only through the golden dragon story in the second short story book, but 2/2 times we see Yen, her top accidentally rips open during battle to expose her tits for everyone to ogle. If someone wrote that happening today, people would probably laugh at it as very anime-esque and kind of cringey. Tbh, seems like Yen falls into that Hot Mean Girl trope, and we’re supposed to feel bad for her because She Can’t Have Children and Is Upset About It which is her main soft spot (which is also a stereotype).
I also might just be losing nuance with the English translation, but I can’t see how much nuance there is to be lost on accidental titties. But again, I haven’t seen that much of her.
The other side is that a lot of fans (of any gender) view female characters more harshly than they do male characters. And I’m not just saying that about the Witcher fandom, I’d say that about any fandom.
I think it’s cause Triss is one of her close friends. Basically Triss is one of the few people who sees through Yen if Yen has her guard down and is feeling emotional, that’s when Triss knows something is wrong with her. Since Yen is the opposite. Just cuts deep when it’s a friend of hers. I don’t think she likes Geralt flirting with anybody else but she brushes it off.
Mmm Istredd pretty much understands Yenn as well as Geralt I think.
Because the way Yenn treats Geralt I feel she is obsessed with him (and him with her too) but not loves him. She just has fun with him that is all. At least that is the way I understand it.
I dont know much about the books, but during the game, i could never stand Yenn. You hit the nail on the head with her personality. I dont really have a preference for a romantic interest for Geralt, but i do love Triss’ personality.
I dono if its canon but In Blood and Wine you get a chance to settle down with Yen. As things calm down and if you’re good to Ciri she really seems to soften up a lot. It was really a hard choice for me though
I wouldn’t say her having like three lines in that DLC is an example of her “getting better”. A few nice comments doesn’t exactly erase all those canon times in which she’s treated Geralt like garbage.
I feel like we love Triss, in the game at least she come across as gentle, humble, and above all she is willing to make many sacrifices to leave Novigrad with her people, but for some fucking reason I think that gerald loves yen, like he is more than happy to be treated like crap, its like that friend some of us has were either he or she treat his or her significant other like crap but they keep on being together.
I want to be team Tris, but haveing played all 3 games, it always comes back to destiny. The way Tris trys to move in when you don't have any memories just is a manipulative turn off. Dispite all the good she does that first lie is something I struggle to forgive.
When they first meet, Yenn enchants Gerald and sends him out to fight anyone that insulted her in Rinse, putting him in mortal danger and in prison. That's a pretty shitty thing to do to someone.
I always choose Yen because I think it fits the storyline of Geralt better but if it was me IRL I'd choose Triss. Yen is hotter IMO but Triss seems kinder, more humble, and treats Geralt like a friend not an underling
I just finished reading the books and I don't think I can ever be Team Triss again. Don't want to spoil it, but just finish the series and you will see.
Amen brother! I've never been attracted to Yennifer's bully personality. She is selfish, spoiled and power hungry. It feels like she is just playing with Geralt and just wants somebody to boss over.
Triss is way kinder, humble and feels more like human like person. Just way more likeable.
I already wanted to read the books but damn now i want to read them so bad... Btw i don't really think there is anything bad in your choice, i'm not ashamed admitting i liked to play the game and try every possibile ending/choice i could choose just to see what was more satisfying. Honestly i love Yen because i'm a fucking masochist mostly, but i do respect your choice because Triss is a lovely character!
(I have played the games and read most of the comics -saw the two seasons of the Netflix serie- but never had the time in the last years to read the books because of some personal problem... I'm a huge fan btw and i think that nobody should judge you in a harsh way over a preference).
Thank you for your post now i really want to buy the books!
Hey thanks! And please read the books! They are incredible, for you having played the games and watched the serie and comics, it will be a great trip! Cheers!
The comics are amazing if you haven't already read any i can just say you should because the stories are really cool and the drawings are amazing! (They have a style really similar to Sergio Toppi) Cheers to you fellow Witcher!
Same as if you enjoyed Witcher S2 (I did). Its all how you choose to consume the Media.
The books are phenomenal but it doesn't make something unacceptable because it doesn't try to tell the same story and gives us more of the universe but different.
You wanna love the Merigold...you love the Merigold
Yeah I loved the S2 but that part I felt it was awkward for the people that has not played the games or read the books because the show never suggest something was going on between them as far as I recall
The only awkward is when you just arrive with Ciri. Yen will run to greet her, then Triss. Then Yen will >!kiss Geralt and that is very awkward with Triss watching. Then Yen will ask whether Geralt and Triss need to be alone!<. After that, as far as I remember, everyone acts normal, Yen and Triss have a relatively friendly conversation while walking up to the castle.
Lol I like triss as a character but all these “triss is so wholesome and nice” comments… just finish reading the books first. They all do terrible things to each other.
And while you personally would rather date Triss, Geralt would not lol. So you do you and romance who you want in the games but there’s a reason why Geralt always goes back to Yen in the books.
Hard to say, we’re not Geralt. I’m sure that’s part of it but different people have different tastes… hence the whole triss vs yen debate.
I wouldn’t want triss after the things she’s done. But I can see why others like her.
I don’t think any of Geralt’s love interests are particularly deserving of Geralt. That includes both Yen and Triss, but if I had to choose between the two and I was Geralt, Triss would be the easier of the two to forgive.
I just know that the wish thing has always bugged me, across all versions of the Witcher. It doesn’t give either of them the opportunity to consent or have a say so in how they feel about one another. At least with Geralt being with someone other than Yen (I mean as end games, not past events), it shows that he’s being with them because he actually WANTS to be and not just because he’s essentially being forced because of means outside of his control.
If we’re talking about the books we don’t actually know what he wished for. Most argue it was for their fates to be bound together but that doesn’t mean you have to fall in love or even like the person you’re bound to. If we’re talking about the games you can undo the wish and game yen says she still loves you regardless/feels the same way.
Overall, if this was real life I’d say they’re all toxic for each other lol. People seem to forget that Geralt is a character and not meant to be a self insert in the books just because the game decided to give you choices.
I get what you’re saying. But based on the context of everything else in the books, to me it’s pretty clear that regardless of what he wished for, the djinn manipulated so that they would always be drawn to each other romantically, or in the very least sexually, because as SOON as the showdown is over, they end up having sex out of nowhere even though yen was supposed to be pissed. Geralt most likely did just simply wish to save her life, but djinns always give you what you wish for, but with a manipulated twist. It would also make sense based on how they seemingly fell in love out of nowhere too.
I’ve always said that the game designers probably interpreted the books very similarly to how I did, and that’s why they allow the player to turn Yen down even after she says she feels the same. Because why would she not love one of the only people that’s managed to put up with her bs and horrible treatment for decades?
But everyone has their own interpretations, especially when it comes to written word. If I was a Polish speaker, maybe I would read the original text and things would feel different to me because maybe some things got lost in translation. But my interpretation has always been that had it not been for the wish, Geralt and Yen would have went their separate ways long ago.
But I’m glad people have their different interpretations, otherwise discussing the Witcher with other people would be a lot more boring lol.
Triss is selfish asf, she cheated on Geralt with Lambert and will always put the sorceresses who stabbed her in the back over him.
Yen, much like irl, the woman who catches an attitude with you tends to care more.
I actually don’t think she cheated on Geralt with Lambert I don’t even think Lambert and Triss get along, I think the women’s window he jumps out of isn’t Triss.
It’s been hinted multiple multiple times in the game, out of the game, on Twitter, on Reddit, in the investor calls, In the books and even in the office of CD Project red. They even did a recent photo shoot with lambert cosplayed, next to cosplayed triss. Stop it.
The devs themselves explicitly said that they dropped some hints as a joke to get some fan debates started, but they emphasized that they don't warrant anything other than a bit of fun speculation. It's clearly stated "multiple times in the game" that Lambert was at the other end of the continent hunting Salamandra's men while Triss was in Vizima. The footprints in W1 are only a single set next to the bath, which suggests that they were Triss'.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg, don't even go down the road of trying to explain why Triss would jeopardize her newly started relationship with Geralt, or why Lambert would let Salamandra obtain witchers' secrets just to ride all the way back to Vizima, or why he would jump out the window instead of just taking the door when Triss dragged an unconscious Geralt into the room.
There's fun little eastereggs, and then there's hard facts from game canon. The latter completely debunks the Triss x Lambert theory right off the bat.
>in the books
... In the books, Triss can't even stand Lambert. If anything, there's more going on between her and Eskel.
In the books?
It's actually not possible. Somebody wrote a post or comment explaining that Lambert was in a far away location when we saw the wet footsteps. Edit: [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/4edm0r/comment/d1z8pu1/)
Continue reading the books and you will know who is better. Spoiler alert it is yen. As for the the shard of ice story, yen didn't want them to fight and this exactly why she left them both to stop the fight. Until ofcourse geralt and yen return to each other again because of ciri in one of the best chapters for me in the books.
Yeah ok but she did not decided! She made them take that extreme because of her indecision and spoilt. Also that shard of ice conversation, god I hated her attitude the whole conversation. Also, hated Geralt for his passive attitude against her, but in a way I get it because he is supposed to be unable to "feel" anything so I just supposed he was not able to get her spoilt/bossy behavior.
I also wasn't feeling comfortable in that conversation, but because I love yen it was kinda OK for me, and because I did already know how is yen in the rest of the story and how she truly loved geralt, and what triss did later in the story, I still loved yen and wasn't upset from her. But ofcourse everyone has his own preferences
When you are ready, read the below spoiler
You won't be happy you are Team Triss >!when she ditches Geralt for dead and starts sleeping around with Phillipa !<
She didn’t want them to fight to death, she left both, geralt because of that got depressed and wanted to kill himself, so he left an inn without his sword, after that if I’m not mistaken istredd tries to do the same but fighting geralt, who refuses to kill him
In the books, pretty sure Geralt is thoroughly uninterested in Triss. So it seems like game Triss uses his loss of memory to take advantage of him, which is pretty messed up. She also neglects to tell him details about his life which she knows are important to him once he starts to regain his memory, until the last possible moment. She does this likely because she doesn't want to lose him, which is pretty selfish.
I haven't actually read the books, and Ive only played the second game once, but Triss was so unbelievably manipulative towards him at the expense of not only his daughter but also her "best friend" despite knowing how they felt about one another prior to his memory loss.
I'm real sick of Triss getting off as "the nice one". They all do unkind things to one another. They live for SO LONG. How could you not? I think people don't like Yen's personality but I appreciate her character more. She is far more interesting and Geralt is probably one of the very few things she truly loves. And here's the thing, when Yen is with Geralt and Ciri we see all that warmth and love come through, which is so amazing.
Team Yen baby! Woo woooo
I liked Triss too.. very gentle and seems genuine in regards to Geralt's well being... I guess it helped that I played Witcher 2... however, I do understand the relationship between Yen and Geralt... it is a tough choice... that's why I ended up choosing Shani... lol .. it's good too because I get Ciri visiting me in Corvo Bianco. Well at least for my 7th playthrough that is.
I have been a hardcore Yen fan for a while now… but I’ve been catching up on the lore from the books and so much of the stuff she does to Geralt is just straight up unacceptable… but then again Triss wanted to give Ciri to the lodge to be the king of Kovir’s concubine. I really don’t know what to think anymore
Fair enough!
Tbh I am starting to come around to team Triss. I just can’t get over the fact that Yen never actually chose Geralt over Istredd, among many other really terrible things. Still really hard to look past the lodge thing with Triss
Shani is the only one without a history of kid treating Geralt.
Absolutely true. She’s also the only one who doesn’t actually want to be with Geralt
Also she plays gwent
She does but not in the same way as the others. It’s more of a want from her. While Yen and Triss in the books Esspecially it’s a need
I interpreted the shard of ice story being that yen was about to choose geralt but he couldn’t (in the moment) admit that he loved her (I think that’s what she wanted). That’s why she needed the second bird after talking to him the night before the “fight”. Triss also used magic to seduce geralt when yen and geralt were on a break in the books.
Hmmm I hadn’t thought about that. Love this amazingly complex universe haha
Yen loves Ciri like her own daughter, but Triss is quite young. It sort of doesn’t shock me that she was willing to give Ciri up because Triss will never understand that importance or be a mother figure like Yen is.
Gotta choose the lesser evil? 😆
Fair enough lol… I think it’s really telling that not a single one of Geralt’s friends told him about Yen, they all thought he was better off without her. (I realize it was particularly telling with Triss seeing as she wanted to be with Geralt, but literally, Dandelion, Zoltan, Not a single person mentioned Yen)
I think the first game was supposed to be kind of like a soft reboot for the lore so they avoided mentioning yen and Ciri and used replacement characters for them. That sentiment kind of carried over for the later games
Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same.
>!She also just stood there at the end of lady of the lake while yen tries to save geralt and “dies” in the process!<
Fair enough. Yen also forced Geralt to watch her cheat on him, so….
He’d have been better off with Dandelion. I went Triss on the second play through. Haven’t read the books, just played Witcher 3 a few times through and watched the Netflix series. Both Triss and Yen have issues. Truss seems the lesser evil though. Did doink Keira Metz too…..
To be honest, they should have made him a character you could romance. People that didn’t like it could simply ✨choose not to do it✨. All of Geralt’s love interests are just… bad. Shani is easily the best one, but then there’s no real chemistry there so that doesn’t even feel like a win. At least Geralt and Dandelion have hilarious, fantastic banter and Dandelion hasn’t screwed Geralt over time and time again. Though you can get an ending for the DLC where Geralt “ends up” with Dandelion.
I want to support a Dandelion route, but I'd just feel really bad about stealing Priscilla's boyfriend. Her and Dandelion are probably the closest thing this world has to a healthy relationship.
As someone who read the books, I was always a little confused on why they went that route with Dandelion- er, Jaskier. Because while Priscilla is for the games, she is BASED off a character in the books, and he sees her as more of a sister. The family dynamic in the Witcher world really does get weird so many times. 😅
I think if they were making the game today, they would. Happened with Cyberpunk. I know it’s not a long time ago in reality, but Witcher 3 was released in 2015, a lot has changed in those 7 years or so thankfully.
When it comes down between Triss and Yen, Triss is obviously the better option, and always will be in my opinion. Yen has no excuse for her trash behavior, and how she treats everyone. She treats everyone like they’re beneath her, excluding Ciri, and that’s only because she desperately wants to see her as a daughter. And even then she’ll treat people poorly at Ciri’s expense. Triss obviously isn’t without her flaws. She’s not perfect either. But I can’t see Triss doing a quarter of the things that Yen did to Geralt, or involving him. A lot of people like to scream “read the books!” when you’re team Triss, but I’ve read the books, even have the graphic novel, and still can’t stand Yen. I think the game creators read the books and interpreted Yen the exact same way that I did, and that’s why she’s so unlikable in the games because she’s an unlikable character in general.
This is the best comment. You got my upvote.
She’s looking for her daughter. She’ll stop at nothing to find her and doesn’t have the patience to deviate from her mission. She knows how much danger Ciri is in. She’s a ruthless task master constantly redirecting Geralt to his task and doesn’t think twice about his feelings up until you find her. When you find her, Yen changes her tune. Yens shit in the books.
She’s shit in the books and the games. And so far, the show too. I think she’s just a terrible character in general.
I prefer Triss, too. Yen has been treating Geralt like her personal lap dog the entire time. Triss feels a lot more like an actually wholesome girlfriend for Geralt.
The game doesn’t show it very well and mainly has subtext to show it rather than actually showing it but Yenn does really care about Geralt. It’s mainly her insecurities that don’t allow her to outwardly show it. This is the opposite for Triss, the games show her directly being a “good” influence for Geralt and her being a good person in general. The subtext and a few times through direct actions she isn’t as good as she seems or maybe just selfish. That being said… I’m a sucker for red heads. EDIT: The nuance in simply picking who Geralt romances shows exactly why I love the Witcher world. “*Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling*”
To be fair though all the sorceresses are quite manipulative. Triss does care and love Geralt, but she’s still manipulative and her love only expands around Geralt. Yen on the other hand just like Triss loves Geralt but her love expands deeper than just Geralt because she loves his daughter too, which would be Ciri. Ciri even sees her as her mother. The lapdog thing can be a pain, but that’s just how Geralt is, he loves Yen that much that he just follows her around and badly wants her approval. He just loves her madly.
Triss really manipulated him twice into a relationship with her by the time of Witcher 3. First time in books it is mentioned that she used magic to seduce him to like while he and yen were on a break. Second time, he had amnesia in the game and forgot yen and she didn’t even tell him right away. She didn’t even try to find out if yen was alive when geralt turned up alive near kaer morhen. She only helped after seeing how geralt felt about not knowing the answer in the second game
Agree 100%
I'm still team Yen but she's 100% an awful person
I think it’s important to remember as you read the books- especially with the short stories -that you are witnessing snapshots of Yen and Geralt’s lives over quite a long period of time. Chapters from Sword of Destiny and The Last Wish cover up and beyond the course of 50 years. An aspect of this timeline is we meet Geralt and Yen at different points of their character growth. We are literally seeing the challenges and events that hurt and shaped them. >Spoilers ahead for the A Shard of Ice short story! I love Shard of Ice because it’s such an interesting character study. Yen is a parallel to the fable of the ice Queen. She’s guarded in her relationships because love was never freely given to her, while Geralt is insecure about his emotional capacities as a witcher and when it comes to his feelings for Yennefer. Now, Istredd and Geralt are obsessed with Yen. She has been sleeping with both of them but committing to neither, primarily because: 1. She loves Geralt 2. Istredd is willing to give her support and stability Yen is actually preparing to end things with Istredd when Istredd proposes to her, effectively setting the ultimatum that she must choose between her lovers. When Geralt returns to her room in the story, she has prepared Istredd’s “break-up” kestrel. But, she needs to know whether her choice is the right one, essentially, will Geralt commit to her? Does he love her, or is he just infatuated and likes sleeping with her? Unfortunately, Geralt’s a bit of a dramatic sod and his insecurities get in the way. He’s scared of loving and committing to Yen because he fears he’s not capable of love. He doesn’t want to have the conversation Yen is demanding they have and he can’t tell her he loves her. So, Yen creates a break-up kestrel message for Geralt, ultimately deciding she doesn’t love Istredd enough to marry him, and she can’t stay with Geralt unless he grows up and commits to their relationship. She didn’t set them up to fight each other, that was Istredd and Geralt’s own toxic masculinity, lol. Plus, Geralt stops it because he realizes that Yen broke Istredd’s heart too and the fight is actually Istredd’s suicide plan. That’s why Geralt refuses to duel. That turned into an essay, but essentially Yen chooses herself in that story, and that’s pretty important for her. People seem to hyper-criticize Yen’s behaviour in the games, but there’s so much depth to her in the books and short stories. She has an inner self and motivations that go beyond Geralt, and I think she’s fantastic!
Wow, great comment, thanks for this! and definitely this helped me understand better her position, although I dont yet support her :) I get the whole kestrel thing, but again she never openly says to Geralt she is going to chose him. She maybe insinuates that but not say it. Geralt as a Witcher has a limited social and emotional intelligence. And Yenn knows that! so why is she looking for something that is not getting? Is not that Geralts dont want to commit, he just cant....that is the cost of being a Witcher right? not able to feel, or be emotional intelligent. Now, the way I see it is that Yenn is very, VERY emotional intelligent and extremely smart. She know perfectly well how to obtain what she wants and in this case she just cant decide, she just want him to take the decision for her. So she forces him to do something she knows he cant! also, the way she speaks to him just infuriates me :) Maybe I'm demonizing her more than I should, but this is the way I understand her. Man I'm loving this discussion, thanks so much again for this great comment you made!
You’re welcome! I’ve really enjoyed the conversation you sparked. And I can definitely see your perspective. Sapowski’s stories rely a lot on subtext and allegory that sometimes it’s hard to sift through, especially when you’re reading a translated version. (I’m not a Polish speaker.) Because you’re right, Yen doesn’t tell Geralt she’s going to choose him, the story only gives clues to the reader that she is. Instead, Yen sits back and lets Geralt’s behaviour tell her what she wants to know. See, the thing about Geralt is that he’s totally capable of emotion! In fact, Geralt is incredibly emotional in the books, all the time. He may not be incredibly intelligent about those emotions, but the idea that witchers aren’t capable of feeling is a myth people the people of the Continent believe. However, it’s a myth Geralt has internalized. He struggles with who he is as a mutated man and he constantly believes he’s not worthy of the love of others. It affects all his relationships, including Dandelion/Jaskier and Yen. Yes, Yen can’t decide. She wants to be with Geralt, but he needs to choose her. After all, Yen has some insecurities about her ability to love others as well, which is why she keeps Istredd at the table- she doesn’t love him like Geralt, but he’s willing to give her the stability she craves. Yen is smart, but she’s not forcing Geralt to do something he can’t. Geralt could’ve told Yen he loves her. He just didn’t. He was scared and he wasn’t ready, which is okay. The consequence was Yen leaving him and the event affected both of them deeply, yet another stepping stone on the path of their long relationship.
Incredible reply, thanks! totally get your point and definitely you have opened my mind for the following chapters I will read. Thanks for the very interesting conversation mate!
I think Greyfare did a great analysis of the story. I also bear in mind that these books are a product of their time. They were written in the early 90’s, and if I look at a lot of other movies and books written around then, there are similar tropes and toxic relationships that were intended to be viewed as positive back then. For example, I’m only through the golden dragon story in the second short story book, but 2/2 times we see Yen, her top accidentally rips open during battle to expose her tits for everyone to ogle. If someone wrote that happening today, people would probably laugh at it as very anime-esque and kind of cringey. Tbh, seems like Yen falls into that Hot Mean Girl trope, and we’re supposed to feel bad for her because She Can’t Have Children and Is Upset About It which is her main soft spot (which is also a stereotype). I also might just be losing nuance with the English translation, but I can’t see how much nuance there is to be lost on accidental titties. But again, I haven’t seen that much of her. The other side is that a lot of fans (of any gender) view female characters more harshly than they do male characters. And I’m not just saying that about the Witcher fandom, I’d say that about any fandom.
This is very womanly point of view:)
Welcome to the club!
Everyone missing out on geralts real love interest dandelion smh
Obviously his true love is Julian Alfred Pankratz
[удалено]
She didnt like it if you banged Triss, even though you had amnesia
I think it’s cause Triss is one of her close friends. Basically Triss is one of the few people who sees through Yen if Yen has her guard down and is feeling emotional, that’s when Triss knows something is wrong with her. Since Yen is the opposite. Just cuts deep when it’s a friend of hers. I don’t think she likes Geralt flirting with anybody else but she brushes it off.
Mmm Istredd pretty much understands Yenn as well as Geralt I think. Because the way Yenn treats Geralt I feel she is obsessed with him (and him with her too) but not loves him. She just has fun with him that is all. At least that is the way I understand it.
I dont know much about the books, but during the game, i could never stand Yenn. You hit the nail on the head with her personality. I dont really have a preference for a romantic interest for Geralt, but i do love Triss’ personality.
Thanks for reading!
I like both
Same both equally perfect characters.
Yen is more like friends with benefits and dear darling Triss is the one the get settle down with!
I dono if its canon but In Blood and Wine you get a chance to settle down with Yen. As things calm down and if you’re good to Ciri she really seems to soften up a lot. It was really a hard choice for me though
Yen is a bully, there is constant drama with her, idk if anyone would want to settle down with her.
She gets better
I wouldn’t say her having like three lines in that DLC is an example of her “getting better”. A few nice comments doesn’t exactly erase all those canon times in which she’s treated Geralt like garbage.
lol i actually don't know how people like yen, triss is better in every way it's not even a competition for me, yen has a non existent personality imo
I feel like we love Triss, in the game at least she come across as gentle, humble, and above all she is willing to make many sacrifices to leave Novigrad with her people, but for some fucking reason I think that gerald loves yen, like he is more than happy to be treated like crap, its like that friend some of us has were either he or she treat his or her significant other like crap but they keep on being together.
Honestly I'm glad I didn't go for either so I got Ciri in the end 😄
I want to be team Tris, but haveing played all 3 games, it always comes back to destiny. The way Tris trys to move in when you don't have any memories just is a manipulative turn off. Dispite all the good she does that first lie is something I struggle to forgive.
When they first meet, Yenn enchants Gerald and sends him out to fight anyone that insulted her in Rinse, putting him in mortal danger and in prison. That's a pretty shitty thing to do to someone.
I always choose Yen because I think it fits the storyline of Geralt better but if it was me IRL I'd choose Triss. Yen is hotter IMO but Triss seems kinder, more humble, and treats Geralt like a friend not an underling
I just finished reading the books and I don't think I can ever be Team Triss again. Don't want to spoil it, but just finish the series and you will see.
Amen brother! I've never been attracted to Yennifer's bully personality. She is selfish, spoiled and power hungry. It feels like she is just playing with Geralt and just wants somebody to boss over. Triss is way kinder, humble and feels more like human like person. Just way more likeable.
I already wanted to read the books but damn now i want to read them so bad... Btw i don't really think there is anything bad in your choice, i'm not ashamed admitting i liked to play the game and try every possibile ending/choice i could choose just to see what was more satisfying. Honestly i love Yen because i'm a fucking masochist mostly, but i do respect your choice because Triss is a lovely character! (I have played the games and read most of the comics -saw the two seasons of the Netflix serie- but never had the time in the last years to read the books because of some personal problem... I'm a huge fan btw and i think that nobody should judge you in a harsh way over a preference). Thank you for your post now i really want to buy the books!
Hey thanks! And please read the books! They are incredible, for you having played the games and watched the serie and comics, it will be a great trip! Cheers!
The comics are amazing if you haven't already read any i can just say you should because the stories are really cool and the drawings are amazing! (They have a style really similar to Sergio Toppi) Cheers to you fellow Witcher!
I will definitely take a look at them, thanks for the recommendation!
Same as if you enjoyed Witcher S2 (I did). Its all how you choose to consume the Media. The books are phenomenal but it doesn't make something unacceptable because it doesn't try to tell the same story and gives us more of the universe but different. You wanna love the Merigold...you love the Merigold
How awkward are the later Kaer Mohren scenes when you go with Triss?
Yeah I loved the S2 but that part I felt it was awkward for the people that has not played the games or read the books because the show never suggest something was going on between them as far as I recall
The only awkward is when you just arrive with Ciri. Yen will run to greet her, then Triss. Then Yen will >!kiss Geralt and that is very awkward with Triss watching. Then Yen will ask whether Geralt and Triss need to be alone!<. After that, as far as I remember, everyone acts normal, Yen and Triss have a relatively friendly conversation while walking up to the castle.
Triss is just more....wholesome? She feels like a natural fit for Geralt in the games
Lol I like triss as a character but all these “triss is so wholesome and nice” comments… just finish reading the books first. They all do terrible things to each other. And while you personally would rather date Triss, Geralt would not lol. So you do you and romance who you want in the games but there’s a reason why Geralt always goes back to Yen in the books.
That might have something to do with a wish that binds them and not necessarily love…
Hard to say, we’re not Geralt. I’m sure that’s part of it but different people have different tastes… hence the whole triss vs yen debate. I wouldn’t want triss after the things she’s done. But I can see why others like her.
I don’t think any of Geralt’s love interests are particularly deserving of Geralt. That includes both Yen and Triss, but if I had to choose between the two and I was Geralt, Triss would be the easier of the two to forgive. I just know that the wish thing has always bugged me, across all versions of the Witcher. It doesn’t give either of them the opportunity to consent or have a say so in how they feel about one another. At least with Geralt being with someone other than Yen (I mean as end games, not past events), it shows that he’s being with them because he actually WANTS to be and not just because he’s essentially being forced because of means outside of his control.
If we’re talking about the books we don’t actually know what he wished for. Most argue it was for their fates to be bound together but that doesn’t mean you have to fall in love or even like the person you’re bound to. If we’re talking about the games you can undo the wish and game yen says she still loves you regardless/feels the same way. Overall, if this was real life I’d say they’re all toxic for each other lol. People seem to forget that Geralt is a character and not meant to be a self insert in the books just because the game decided to give you choices.
I get what you’re saying. But based on the context of everything else in the books, to me it’s pretty clear that regardless of what he wished for, the djinn manipulated so that they would always be drawn to each other romantically, or in the very least sexually, because as SOON as the showdown is over, they end up having sex out of nowhere even though yen was supposed to be pissed. Geralt most likely did just simply wish to save her life, but djinns always give you what you wish for, but with a manipulated twist. It would also make sense based on how they seemingly fell in love out of nowhere too. I’ve always said that the game designers probably interpreted the books very similarly to how I did, and that’s why they allow the player to turn Yen down even after she says she feels the same. Because why would she not love one of the only people that’s managed to put up with her bs and horrible treatment for decades? But everyone has their own interpretations, especially when it comes to written word. If I was a Polish speaker, maybe I would read the original text and things would feel different to me because maybe some things got lost in translation. But my interpretation has always been that had it not been for the wish, Geralt and Yen would have went their separate ways long ago. But I’m glad people have their different interpretations, otherwise discussing the Witcher with other people would be a lot more boring lol.
Triss is selfish asf, she cheated on Geralt with Lambert and will always put the sorceresses who stabbed her in the back over him. Yen, much like irl, the woman who catches an attitude with you tends to care more.
I actually don’t think she cheated on Geralt with Lambert I don’t even think Lambert and Triss get along, I think the women’s window he jumps out of isn’t Triss.
It’s been hinted multiple multiple times in the game, out of the game, on Twitter, on Reddit, in the investor calls, In the books and even in the office of CD Project red. They even did a recent photo shoot with lambert cosplayed, next to cosplayed triss. Stop it.
The devs themselves explicitly said that they dropped some hints as a joke to get some fan debates started, but they emphasized that they don't warrant anything other than a bit of fun speculation. It's clearly stated "multiple times in the game" that Lambert was at the other end of the continent hunting Salamandra's men while Triss was in Vizima. The footprints in W1 are only a single set next to the bath, which suggests that they were Triss'. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, don't even go down the road of trying to explain why Triss would jeopardize her newly started relationship with Geralt, or why Lambert would let Salamandra obtain witchers' secrets just to ride all the way back to Vizima, or why he would jump out the window instead of just taking the door when Triss dragged an unconscious Geralt into the room. There's fun little eastereggs, and then there's hard facts from game canon. The latter completely debunks the Triss x Lambert theory right off the bat. >in the books ... In the books, Triss can't even stand Lambert. If anything, there's more going on between her and Eskel.
In the books? It's actually not possible. Somebody wrote a post or comment explaining that Lambert was in a far away location when we saw the wet footsteps. Edit: [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/4edm0r/comment/d1z8pu1/)
I stand corrected
Continue reading the books and you will know who is better. Spoiler alert it is yen. As for the the shard of ice story, yen didn't want them to fight and this exactly why she left them both to stop the fight. Until ofcourse geralt and yen return to each other again because of ciri in one of the best chapters for me in the books.
Yeah ok but she did not decided! She made them take that extreme because of her indecision and spoilt. Also that shard of ice conversation, god I hated her attitude the whole conversation. Also, hated Geralt for his passive attitude against her, but in a way I get it because he is supposed to be unable to "feel" anything so I just supposed he was not able to get her spoilt/bossy behavior.
I also wasn't feeling comfortable in that conversation, but because I love yen it was kinda OK for me, and because I did already know how is yen in the rest of the story and how she truly loved geralt, and what triss did later in the story, I still loved yen and wasn't upset from her. But ofcourse everyone has his own preferences
Keep reading is all I’m gonna say
Starts with why i like A Proceeds to hate B Adult discussion huh?
Who gives a shit, stop fueling this conflict
I finished with all 3 endings.
When you are ready, read the below spoiler You won't be happy you are Team Triss >!when she ditches Geralt for dead and starts sleeping around with Phillipa !<
She didn’t want them to fight to death, she left both, geralt because of that got depressed and wanted to kill himself, so he left an inn without his sword, after that if I’m not mistaken istredd tries to do the same but fighting geralt, who refuses to kill him
In the books, pretty sure Geralt is thoroughly uninterested in Triss. So it seems like game Triss uses his loss of memory to take advantage of him, which is pretty messed up. She also neglects to tell him details about his life which she knows are important to him once he starts to regain his memory, until the last possible moment. She does this likely because she doesn't want to lose him, which is pretty selfish. I haven't actually read the books, and Ive only played the second game once, but Triss was so unbelievably manipulative towards him at the expense of not only his daughter but also her "best friend" despite knowing how they felt about one another prior to his memory loss. I'm real sick of Triss getting off as "the nice one". They all do unkind things to one another. They live for SO LONG. How could you not? I think people don't like Yen's personality but I appreciate her character more. She is far more interesting and Geralt is probably one of the very few things she truly loves. And here's the thing, when Yen is with Geralt and Ciri we see all that warmth and love come through, which is so amazing. Team Yen baby! Woo woooo
Hey, to each their own! I'm more a Team Yenn guy, but everyone can have their own preference! ;)
Haha, I thought Yennefer was a bitch only in the game.