It's been awhile, Geralt x Jaskier enthusiasts, but here is your newest installment of...
Otherwise known as...
Things that sound like Geraskier fic writers made them up, but that are, in fact, book canon.
This time with commentary on the original Polish wording from @cherrypoison1889! Thanks, Cherry!
Today we're talking about dopplers, otherwise known as shape shifters, also called vexlings in the world of The Witcher. Dopplers are often used to expose the fact that Dandelion is a vulnerability for Geralt, that he loves him.
There are quite a few Geraskier fics that play with this trope. (I will give you a rec or two at the end of the post.)
It makes sense! Plus, the show used a doppler, (more on that later) so the concept is right there!
But does the concept of using a doppler to reveal Geralt's true feelings for Jaskier just exist in the fevered imagination of Geraskier fic writers?? Is this pure fanon? Or canon?
Well, you may have guessed (since I didn't write all this out for my health!)...
It is canon.
In The Witcher book, Sword of Destiny, we meet a doppler called Dudu, who turns into Dandelion (Jaskier) to protect himself from Geralt. He even has a few choice words to say about what he sees in Geralt's thoughts.
Want the details? Of course you do, you've read this far, why not?
When Geralt meets Dudu in this story, the doppler is in the form of a halfling called Dainty Biberveldt. Dudu has bonked Dainty on the head, stolen his shit, taken his form, and is running around Novigrad making business deals with his ill gotten gains.
Dainty wants his shit back from the doppler, but does not want to turn Dudu over to the city guards because Dainty is a decent person who knows that they will murder the doppler in an absolutely horrific way that I will not describe to you. Novigrad is rife with violent bigotry towards non humans, and dopplers in particular have been slaughtered to near extinction. They've been subject to genocide, basically, just because they creep people out. (I could write a thesis just on the way this short story handles themes of racism)
But anywho. That's how we get Geralt's involvement. Geralt is pitching in to get Dudu under control so they don't have to involve bigoted law enforcement. (We stan Dainty ACAB Biberveldt in this house)
This particular scene opens when Geralt has pursued the doppler into a crowded marketplace and has finally cornered him in a tent. Dandelion is elsewhere in the market, being a slut, so he is nowhere to be seen. When Geralt corners Dudu, they are alone, and the doppler panics. He can't get away. So, he decides to be crafty.
First, he turns into Geralt as a way to protect himself. The book describes Dudu changing into Geralt, down to the last detail. Now there are two identical witchers in the tent. Then Dudu speaks.
"Don't come any closer," the second witcher said huskily and smiled. "Don't come any nearer, Geralt. I won't let you lay your hands on me."
So now he looks just like Geralt and has his husky voice. Perhaps he is hoping Geralt will not be able to harm someone who looks like himself. Perhaps he just wants to be equal to him physically.
Either way, Geralt's self esteem is too low for the first one to work. Here is how Geralt responds to an exact copy of himself.
"What a hideous smile I have," thought Geralt, reaching for his sword. "What a hideous face I have. And how hideously I squint? So is that what I look like? Damn."
So, Geralt reaches for his sword immediately, and the only reaction he has for himself is disgust.
Here is where I asked Cherry for her thoughts. Is Geralt as mean to himself in the original Polish? Hideous is pretty strong a word! Here is what she said:
Cherrypoison1889: Geralt is indeed very harsh on himself, when he sees the doppler transform into him. In Polish, he uses the word "paskudne" to describe himself, which is literally hideous. However, he also calls his face "gęba" which is a more vulgar word for face, which in Polish is "Twarz". So he's even harsher on himself, I'd say.
Oh noooo. But just when you think Geralt's low self esteem is going to be a strategic advantage, it betrays him. Why? Because when Dudu says, you can't defeat me, because I am you and I know everything you know...
"I am you," the doppler repeated. "you will not gain an advantage over me. You cannot defeat me, because I am you!"
That is where Geralt starts to lose ground. Why? Because Geralt of Rivia says, no, you can't really copy me! Because you are a good person, and I'm a bad bad bad man. I kill people. I'm a killer. You cannot relate. You cannot even begin to understand the mind of a bad evil killer man like me.
"No," the witcher countered, "you are not. And do you know why? Because you're a poor, little, good-natured doppler. A doppler who, after all, could have killed Biberveldt and buried his body in the undergrowth, by so doing gaining total safety and utter certainty that he would not be unmasked, ever, by anybody....But you didn't kill him...Because you're a poor, little, good-natured doppler, whose close friends call him Dudu...you only know how to copy what is good in us, because you don't understand the bad in us."
Geralt isn't saying this to be strategic. He truly believes it! He knows Dudu has seen his thoughts! Listen to what he says next...
"you aren't capable of defying me, because I am what you are unable of copying (sic). You are absolutely aware of this, Dudu. Because you took over my thoughts for a moment."
So, Geralt is like, you saw what a mess it was in there. You know what a killer I am. You may as well give up now.
I thought 'took over my thoughts' was a little bit of an awkward phrasing, it almost implies thought control, when I feel like the context is thought reading, so I asked Cherry about that. She said:
Cherrypoison1889: As for the "taking thoughts over" bit, it is the same in Polish, I am afraid. the word Sapko uses is "przejąć" which means exactly that, although I assume that the "take over" in English was meant to be understood as "acquiring" although I can't be sure of that. It sure does sound a touch awkward.
But back to the story, Tellico (Dudu) has now been inside Geralt's head. So he knows that's absolute bullshit, even if Geralt doesn't. He has seen what is in Geralt's heart, which prompts him to take another shape.
Tellico straightened up abruptly. His face's features, still those of the Witcher, blurred and spread out, and his white hair curled and began to darken.
"You're right, Geralt," he said indistinctly, because his lips had begun to change shape. "I took over your thoughts. Only briefly, but it was sufficient. Do you know what I'm going to do now?"
Do you? Do you dear reader, know what he's going to do now? I'm going to let you make a guess.
The leather witcher jacket took on a glossy, cornflower blue colour. The doppler smiled, straightened his plum bonnet with its egret's feather, and tightened the strap of the lute slung over his shoulder, the lute which had been a sword a moment ago.
Well, if you've read the books up to this point, we all know who's form he has taken. Cornflower blue, egret's feather, lute....smart doppler.
"I'll tell you what I"m going to do, Witcher," he said, with the rippling laughter characteristic of Dandelion. "I'll go on my way, squeeze my way into the crowd and change quietly into any old body, even a beggar. Because I prefer being a beggar in Novigrad to being a doppler in the wilds."
He then has a powerful monologue about being subject to extermination and genocide. About hunger and fear and freezing to death. He makes a very touching plea to Geralt, asking the Witcher why he is denied the right of survival, granted to everyone else, just because he is a doppler. It is about a page and half long and I HIGHLY recommend people read Sword of Destiny, because this is good shit. He says he will stay in Novigrad.
"As a resident of Novigrad, I'll trade, weave wicker baskets, beg or steal; as one of you I'll do what one of you usually does...."
The Witcher said nothing.
Now, Dudu, in Dandelion's shape, having seen Geralt's thoughts, takes his gamble. And boy does he have guts. He tells Geralt about himself, about his supposed bad bad heart.
"Yes, as I said," Tellico continued calmly. "I'm going. And you, Geralt, will not even try to stop me. Because I, Geralt, knew your thoughts for a moment. Including the ones you don't want to admit to, the ones you even hide from yourself. Because to stop me you'd have to kill me. And the thought of killing me in cold blood fills you with disgust doesn't it?
The Witcher said nothing.
Tellico adjusted the strap of his lute again, turned away and walked towards the exit. He walked confidently, but Geralt saw him hunch his neck and shoulders in expectation of the whistle of a sword blade. He put his sword in his scabbard. The doppler stopped in mid-step and looked around.
"Farewell", Geralt, he said. "Thank you."
"Farewell, Dudu," the Witcher replied. "Good luck."
Dudu wins that one, quite handily.
The doppler turned away and headed towards the crowded bazaar, with Dandelion's sprightly, cheerful, swinging gait. Like Dandelion, he swung his left arm vigorously, and just like Dandelion he grinned at the wenches as he passed them.
As he walks away, Dudu even plays the lute and sings "exactly like Dandelion". Then he shouts back advice for Geralt to pass on to the bard.
"Pass that on to Dandelion, if you remember," he called. "And tell him that Winter is a lousy title. The ballad should be called The Eternal Fire. Farewell, Witcher."
Dudu has seen Geralt's thoughts EVEN THE ONES HE WILL NOT ADMIT TO EVEN THE ONES HE HIDES FROM HIMSELF, and his next choice was to turn into Dandelion.
Now, do I think that the author meant to imply that Geralt is trying to hide his love of Dandelion? No. Slim chance of that. However, it isn't like it's a secret that Geralt hates killing creatures who do no harm or who cannot fight back. So there is still something a bit fuzzy to me about the thoughts that Geralt hides from himself.
It is ripe territory for a Geralt x Dandelion enjoyer to exploit, cultivate, and use for their fics and headcanons.
I asked Cherry for her thoughts about this, about what Geralt's hidden thoughts are having read the original Polish, and she said this:
Cherrypoison1889:
I feel like Dudu used Geralt's self-loathing against him, in a way. As in, if Geralt were to kill Dudu-as-Dandy, he would admit to himself that he is a ruthless, horrible person, who kills "intelligent" beings, despite what he claims, which would also make him a hypocrite. And we know Geralt is a big softie, so he wouldn't do it anyway. I think changing into Dandy was an additional precaution, just an extra measure in case Dudu turned out to be wrong.
I really liked this story, I don't remember reading it back when I read the books (it was ages ago, so I might be wrong anyway). It's really funny, and Geralt is babbie. Darling boy, he just bought himself a new jacket and it got ruined in the frenzy...
Babbie Geralt, that's our darling.
It is sad that Geralt has so much self loathing that it didn't help Dudu to look like him, but it is very sweet that Dandelion is such a point of vulnerability for Geralt, and that Dudu had his number.
Dudu wins this round soundly. The story isn't over. I won't spoil it in case you guys want to read it. But it has a great ending. It is definitely one of my favorites.
I will just never get over how easily he gets the upper hand on Geralt here. Geralt of Rivia, legendary monster hunter, defeated by little Dudu because of his low self worth, his mushy heart, his solidarity with non humans, and his love of a slutty bard.
Now, recommendations.
The Doppler Effect, by @a-kind-of-merry-war This is the first doppler fic I read in the fandom and it has alll the delicious emotional drama, pining, and sexiness that you want from a fic like this. It is excellent.
Images of You, by @pherryt This one is a delightful 'continuation' of what happens in Sword of Destiny. After Dudu learns about Geralt's feelings, he essentially matchmakes Geralt and Dandelion eventually receiving a sexy thank-you of his own.
Them, by @gilligangoodfellow I feel like dopplers and Dudu in particular is so ripe for exploration in fic. So it is wonderful to see a fic like this. It's a short character study of Dudu as gender fluid, with the doppler coming out to Zoltan. Seriously, try it.
Alright, thanks for reading, folks!
For more Geralt and Dandelion "I can't believe it's not fanon..."stay tuned. I am organizing a master post with all of the posts I've done. So keep your eyes out. (in the mean time, most of them seem to show up in the tag, just not all of them)
And lastly, THANK YOU CHERRY! I love having a partner to do these posts with!!
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Podsumowanie 2023
Zaczęłam terapię psychodynamiczną na miejscu. Zrobiłam duży krok do przodu w terapii. Nie wszystko już jest albo czarne albo białe. Postawiłam na szczerość. Poznałam i polubiłam siebie. Zdystansowałam się do swoich przeżyć i domu rodzinnego. Od połowy roku nie mam już myśli samobójczych ani tym podobnych, a nawet bardzo polubiłam się ze swoim życiem. Zakończyłam terapię psychodynamiczną.
Do tego odważyłam się przyznać, że mam problem z lekami i trafiłam również na terapię uzależnień.
Brałam za dużo opio i rzygałam. Rzygałam w domu, w samochodzie, na uczelni… Spałam, nie ogarniałam.
Zaliczyłam mocną psychozę i trafiłam do szpitala na dwa okropne, dłużące się miechy. Zdiagnozowali mi schizofrenię. Było strasznie. Uciekałam, zapinali mnie w pasy, najdłużej w nich byłam 2 bite dni – paskudne przeżycie. Po wyjściu również przez jakiś czas było okropnie.
Oblałam też przez to drugi semestr studiów.
Uniknęłam nawrotu zaburzeń odżywiania (bo dostałam epizodu psychotycznego, ale mniejsza), lecz przeszłam na zdrową redukcję.
Zaczęłam regularnie brać leki, bo pierwszy raz w życiu mam je dobrze dobrane.
Ogólnie zadbałam o regularność i sumienność we wszystkim i o dziwo idzie jak z płatka. Trzymam się swoich planów. I zrealizowałam większość postanowień noworocznych: (1) Hello there na Tumblrze
Byłam na kursie z Pokojowego Patrolu. Bardzo mi nie podszedł.
Zrobiłam również Kurs szkolenia podstawowego ze Straży. 2 razy byłam na manewrach i 2 razy na osach.
Popracowałam troszkę jako listonosz i zaczęłam pracować sprzątając pokoje w agroturystyce.
Pożegnałam Pipi, najlepszą kurę domową.
Pożegnałam bliską mi osobę.
Spełniłam swoje dwa koncertowe marzenia – Jacka Bończyka i grandsona. Byłam również na koncercie Harrego Pottera Symfonicznie, Visual Concert, Muzyki z Gier oraz Michała Bajora.
Pare razy odwiedziłam teatr.
Byłam na Burleqsce i na Ballecie.
Z D. byliśmy trzy razy na strzelance, dwa razy na stand-upie, dwa razy w kinie i dwa razy w knajpie.
Wzięłam 3x w grzyby, żaden trip nie był przyjemny, a raz nawet miałam pierwszego bad tripa.
Uczestniczyłam w 5 biegach, w tym jednym OCR. 2 razy stanęłam na podium.
Zapisałam się na 3 różne zajęcia z jogi (vinsaya, balanse i aerial ❤ ), spróbowałam kick-boxingu i wpisałam się na roczny kurs High Heels.
Skoczyłam na szybki weekend do Zawoi.
Pojechałam na parę dni do domu, nad morze.
W końcu odwiedziłam A. i było kozacko.
Stuknął nam kolejny rok z D. i kolejny rok w nowym mieszkaniu.
Miałam świetne urodziny.
Adoptowaliśmy psa.
Otrzymałam rentę.
Cały rok (poza szpitalem) prowadziłam dzienniczki i jestem z nich megadumna. Pozwoliły rozbudować moją kreatywność, uporządkować codzienną rutynę i się jej trzymać oraz są świetnym wspomnieniem (czy chociażby ściągą do tego podsumowania ;)).
Obejrzałam 35 filmów, 8 seriali, a film roku to Dr. Strangelove, jak przestałem się martwić i pokochałem bombę
Przeczytałam 23 książki, a ta najlepsza to Zniewolone dzieciństwo.
A piosenka: Harnold :D
Podsumowując, ciężki, ale w ostatecznym rozrachunku bardzo dobry, rozwojowy rok.
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