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fandom snowflake challenge #01
challenge #1: in your own space, introduce yourself!
hi i’m deerna, a twenty-something queer gremlin who writes for a living and also for fun. i’ve tried to do the snowflake thing on pillowfort last year because i thought i was going to be more active on that platform, but then i started posting a little more often on dreamwidth so i thought of doing the challenge on here instead.
for challenge #01 i updated my intro/sticky post. i joined the witcher fandom a year ago and it doesn’t look like i’m going anywhere, so i added a paragraph about it. if you're wondering about it, the #a just death thing (like my main icon) is about dirk strider (homestuck epilogues).
if you want to know more about me you can also read my fandom recap and my writing recap from 2020, that i just posted. most of my personal posts are locked but i’m not fussy about adding people; just say hi under the sticky post so i know who you are.
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As far as I'm concerned, the Netflix show was really fun - but you're right in saying that it's just a little taste of the "real thing"! Especially because in both the books and the games Geralt and Jaskier's characterization is quite different (and many book/game fans have been vocal in their displeasure about that...)
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Although I'm good with Gen stuff too.
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Like your intro/sticky post. Very concise but inclusive. I came a little late to the learning of new languages game, but the last year, I've been plugging away at my Italian on Duolingo, and think I got a handle on it...until I listen to someone speak/read someone's written Italian and then I am barely getting by. :((( But, I do enjoy what I've learned so far. Hopefully by the time we're allowed to travel again, and I get to Italy in person, I'll have SOME idea what people are telling me. ♥ ♥
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Oh wow you're super brave to learn Italian, I always say that if it weren't my first language I wouldn't, not in a million years. It's not any harder than say, French or Spanish, but we have a lot of peculiarities re: pronunciation and dialects and slangs that change a lot according to the different geographical area the speaker is from, and ARGH.
Anyway. Duolingo is very nice to get a handle of the basics though! I'm using it to keep my Russian vocab fresh and to start figuring out Polish (help!!) but if you're feeling adventurous I suggest looking up people on youtube (for example I stumbled on Lucrezia's channel while I was looking for a completely different thing and it seems nice? She speaks slowly and she sometimes gives useful tips for being a tourist in the wild lol).
I really hope you get to come here! Italy is beautiful, and I don't say that just because I'm high key biased hehe. Thanks for saying hello <3
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Love the way you set up your fandom timeline, and this bit made me smile.
I'm impressed with your language learning.
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I'm so glad to see so many people interested in the witcher on dw!
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How can you not be interested in The Witcher?? I don't know how many times I have seen it now, must be around 10 or 12, maybe. I had my problems at first with the different timelines, but they give you enough clues you can figure it out easily once you have cottoned on.
Geralt is everything I want in a travelling hero, Jennifer is pretty awesome, and Jaskier is like a typical bard in D&D, who drives the DM nuts with his choices. The plot for every episode is engaging, as is the overall plot, the different timelines make it interesting, and the other characters are interesting as well. What's not to like?
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Right!? But clearly I haven't been looking into the right places, because I've interacted with fans here only in the few past days.
I'll be honest, I was scared about the show because my first medium for the franchise was the game and Geralt's voice actor was basically 89% of the experience for me. I remember watching the netflix trailers with the audio off bc I didn't want to hear what Cavill sounded like lmao. But I shouldn't have been worried, Henry is THE nerd when it comes to the games and he actually went out of his way to sound as gravelly and deep as game!Geralt. It's truly uncanny at times!
I don't understand people who complain about the timelines - if anything they give the show the precious characteristic of being rewatchable! You want to rewatch it so you get all the little hints!!! For a thing that has been dropped all at once on a platform where it's readily available, it's a feature, not a flaw!!!
Anyway I really reccommend give the books a go, even if they have their flaws - Geralt is even more charming in them. He's a bit of a loser but you can readily see his heart of gold from page one and it's super endearing. You might spoil yourself for the series though!
I would keep going but it's already long -- im not kidding when I say I would NEVER shut up about the witcher if asked dkjfgh
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I hear you about the voices. They are such a big part of a character for me that I always, always watch the original version of a show, with subtitles. Doesn't matter if the original language is Japanese, Turkish, Arabic, French, Chinese, Italian, or Korean. It's one reason I like Netflix so much; they always have this option available. And I love podfic where the reader gets the characters right, or gives them their own spin, with different inflections, speeds, etc. You can do so much with your voice, and I love it when someone does *_*
Henry Cavill plays/has played the games? That is awesome, because he knows what people might expect. A friend of mine said she liked the Eastern European feel of the games, which did not translate to the show for her. I didn't get a specific Eastern European feel from the show, but I didn't get standard American/UK fantasy vibes, either. I think it was just different enough to really feel like its own world, one of the things I like about it.
You are absolutely right about the timelines an the re-watchability. They did a good job with it, too, never too sneaky, or too obvious with the clues. And it adds something special, because it shows us, rather than tells us, how long the lifes of Witchers and Sorcerers really are. Not sure abou Jaskier and now Ciri, though, since they are supposed to be human, at least at the moment.
I think I might have a go at the books, when I can put away a little money for them. In the meantime, I am off to read more fanfic! Thanks again for the recs, they are great! :D
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And yesss voices. Dubbing is a lost art, unfortunately, but there's a few things that still work (case in point, the witcher games haha) (fun fact: the russian version of 'toss a coin' is delightful)
Henry is a HUGE fan of the franchise!! He played the witcher 3: wild hunt something like three or four times and he apparently had his manager bother the casting people to death, begging them to consider him for the role XDDD i don't think it's true but there's a joke going around where they say that they gave him the role to make him stop XD
The game feels Eastern Europe if you're a bit familiar with the look of European countryside I think! The show definitely felt other in a non-definable way, which I really enjoyed - but it didn't keep the same kind of humour, which is probably what felt missing. There's a definitive playfulness both in the games and in the books that netflix didn't manage to retain -- if you don't take Jaskier into account. Joey Batey really did a very good job, he managed to give a whole new shine to his character.
Yes! The non-linearity is also something that happens in the books a lot so really, they just kept it on brand. I've seen book people complain about it and I'm here like -- did we read the same thing? Fun fact: they forgot that Jaskier was supposed to age, which is why it's always Joey Batey to play him even if he's 18-27-42 years old respectively in the various scenes kdjfhg. We'll see how it goes!
I'm glad!!! Enjoy <3
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Well, now I have to go look up the Russian version, and my Cyrillic is very bad (read: practically non-existent). It's gonna be hilarious, I think^^
I am so spoiled when it comes to voice acting, because the main thing I am watching at the moment is Critical Role, "where a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons". They are very good with their voices, especially the Dungeon Master Matt Mercer, who does multiple different and distinct voices every session.
It's awesome that a fan gets to play a character he apparently likes very much, it makes me feel all warm and mushy inside for some reason :)
Well, I live about an hour or two from the Polish border, in Lepzig, Germany, it should bloody well feel familiar ;) Alas, I have never enjoyed gaming very much, too stressful with all the choosing and fighting you have to do, so I don't think I will experience it for myself any time soon.
Though you are doing a good job of pitching the books to me, I have to say. I really would like to know more about the atmosphere and humour of the books now, and how Jaskier's character differs on the show. Did they really just forget he is supposed to be different ages? That's really funny :DD I have read a good fic about it not long ago, lets see if I can find...
The Past Is Long
Edit: The Russian version was easy to find, no Cyrillic required^^ I also found German, Czech, Polish, and a few others. And suddenly I remember why I like listening to different languages, even if I don't understand a word they are saying. Another reason why dubbing really is no alternative for me. Though I also remember a show from the 50's I could only get in the German dub version, and it was astonishingly good. They had a lot of variety back then, different accents, and class markers, that kind of thing. It was kind of an eye-opening experience of what good dubbing can be like.
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Oh, I'm familiar with CR! I don't quite have the attention span for it but I loved Mercer as McCree in Overwatch haha. But yeah, it's becoming harder to find good dubbing now even if there's older stuff that is astonishingly good -- we have a very good italian localization of "The Nanny" for example, which was popular in the Nineties.
I reccommend catching up with the interviews, if you're into that kind of thing, because it's quite cute to watch Henry fangirl about it haha. He apparently stole every prop that wasn't nailed to the floor and spent an embarrassingly long time watching himself in the mirror going like "hehe I'm Geralt of Rivia" while in full costume. (So Relatable)
Honestly the best part about the games are the side quests, the story itself isn't anything to write home about - at least for tw3, I haven't played the others. Definitely familiar sights then! :D there's an expansion that is set in a country that is basically a mixture of Spain/France/Italy and it definitely felt like home. They did the homework!
I wouldn't want to build up expectations -- the books definitely show their age and their author, but there's some shockingly good stuff about them so I can't help but gush haha.
That's what they said! Although it might be a low-key reference to the polish tv show where Jaskier is half-elf, thus he ages more slowly? Who knows. I just know the fandom definitely ran with it -- "immortal jaskier" is a very popular tag. I haven't read that fic yet, bookmarking it for later! Thank you! :D
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Oh, I loved "The Nanny"! They did a re-readthrough of the first episode recently, it was fun (Pandemic Table Read). Fran Drescher's voice was very distinct back then^^
I found some interviews with Henry Cavill on YouTube, and you are right, he is adorable. Such a fanboy! And I love how he breaks apart the fight scene in Blaviken. I was very impressed when I first saw the scene, because it was all one shot, there was no wasted move, and you instantly knew the story they were telling just through their movements. Great storytelling! And then there is also Henry Cavill, being adorable with Simon Pegg
Gush away, I have no problem with books of a certain age. I loved Jack London and Karl May when I grew up, so no worries^^ Mind you, I wouldn't recommend them today, but sometimes you can't help what you get exposed to, especially as a child. I am glad they did their homework for the games, because getting the details right adds so much to any show, and also a game, I'd imagine.
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