Everyone should break Yennefer's heart at least once (Spoilers)

[Thomas999]

Everyone should break Yennefer's heart at least once (Spoilers)

One of the defining moments in my Witcher experience. The weariness in Geralt's eyes when he tells her that the magic of their relationship is gone for him, it's just perfect. Might have been more mature to actually explain why he wanted to put a final end to their relationship, but him stating with quiet, gentle certainty that it's over is still one of the few times I've felt as if he was taking charge of his own future and making decisions that he actually thought would help himself and others move forward.

Yennefer's moment of hurt confusion is sad, sure, but she's quick to either understand his true intention or resign herself to the new paradigm. The implication is clear enough. She'll get over it and move on somewhere down the line. And her agreeing to just sit with him as friends who know and care deeply about each other is icing on the cake. No more years of bitter estrangement between brief periods of bliss. It's time to recognize what's worth holding on to and what isn't, and be adults and do right by each other. Just lovely.

Also, Skellige is by far my favorite video game location of all time, it's so beautiful and charming and looks wonderfully cold. Screw Uma, even Ciri isn't worth going back to moldy ******* Velen for after this.

 

[cyberpunkforever]

everyone should what they want with their in game relationships, but yes, the facial expressions and acting in that scene is perfect
Yen never expected that answer

 

[Thomas999]

Well, sure. I don't mean that everyone should literally feel obliged to try this. Just that, considering you can have have multiple playthroughs, you don't lose the game in any sense by making this decision. Instead it's rewarded with a beautiful and mature character moment in a wonderful location. I don't want anyone to feel discouraged from going this way for fear of hurting Yennefer.

The quest before that scene is nice enough, but one of the things that really got me was her asking something along the lines of "How long have we been doing this? Fifteen, twenty years?"
I'd already resolved to try to put an end to them before that, but that line convinced me that it might be best for her too, even if she hates feeling rejected in the moment. Using the dispelling of the Genie's wish as an excuse to make another go of it would just be sad.

Next playthrough I'll screw her right there on the ship railing and balance will be restored anyway.

 

[Timlugia]

I actually felt relieved after rejecting her, knowing that Geralt finally put away some 20 years of tangled relationship behind, and free to be single or with Triss.

But interestingly, there is no obligation for Geralt to complete this quest to break up with Yen, one can simply tell Yen that Geralt wasn't interesting in Djnn, or skip the quest outright and find Uma.

 

[Guest 3847602]

To see that face I'd first have to make Geralt say "djinn's magic is gone for me" to a woman he have ~2 decades of history with and who "died" trying to save his life. Naaah... Plenty of other opportunities in the game for me to experience sad moments or to see distraught faces without being a total dick.

 

[Sunsibar]

Because I wanted to see every quest and outcome in this game, I naturally also did this. This quest made me feel so miserable, like I'd literally broke someone's heart. Not many quests in video games ever made me feel so strongly about something. This quest was very well made.

 

[Stebenev]

Hell no!

i could never do that to her and him actually, i actually forgot to meet her i skellige before going to velen and getting Uma, she was really sad when i meet her later at kings palace. Had to reload older save and ending up loosing 5 hours of play. Could not keeping on with the game after making Yen sad.

She is such an amazing character in game. And truly important to Gerald. I mean they have known each other for 20 years or so. their story is half of the Witcher game. Got my best ending in BaW when Yen arrives at Corvo Blanco and you can talk to her again.

 

[Spaghetter]

It was definitely a great scene. I did Triss for NG and Yen for NG+, best way to do it IMO (Not necessarily in that order, but to try each path)

 

[Kallelinski]

Everyone should give Yennefer a chance at least once.


._.



I think something died inside me, when I saw this scene. It felt like I grabbed her heart of her body and throw it down the mountain.

I love The Last Wish though, much better if you tell her that nothing changed for you too

 

[Thomas999]

You guys are such bleeding hearts

Geralt isn't actually responsible for Yennefer's happiness, he's responsible for his own. The two of them have been miserable "together" for so long, what's to say she won't ultimately also be better off with all that behind her? "We have such a long history it'd be a waste not to keep going, and I don't want to make her sad by breaking up" by themselves aren't very good reasons to continue a dysfunctional relationship. That's just throwing good years after bad ones and refusing to face your problems. Tear off the band-aid, suck the venom out, apply the painful-as-**** disinfectant and let the damn wound heal already, that's what I say.

Besides, she still has a century or two left in her. She'd have to move on eventually. By finally ending them, at least Geralt will have a few decades of not being chained in a passionate love-hate relationship with a woman who, frankly, he sucks at getting along with while the bards sing tragic ballads about his personal life. Yennefer pouting a bit and moping about for a little while isn't going to be the end of the world.

 

[Kallelinski]

You guys are such bleeding hearts

Geralt isn't actually responsible for Yennefer's happiness, he's responsible for his own.

Geralt was not once in his life happy until he met her (and Ciri). He cursed his life as witcher, his whole life for half a century and beyond.

The Lady of the Lake
Geralt, staring out the window, smiled at his own thoughts and dreams.

...

'Not at all. this job holds no interest to me. I will go into retirement.'
'Is that right!'
'I'm serious. no more being a witcher.'
There was a long silence, broken occasionally by the furious meows of the kittens as they scratched at each other in a game.
'No more being a witcher,' Yarpen Zigrin repeated. 'Ha! I don't know what to think about that, as old King Dezmod said when caught cheating at cards. But i have a very bad feeling. Dandelion, you have travelled with him and spent a lot of time at his side. Has he shown other symptoms of paranoia?'

...

'Quickly,' Yarpen said. 'Pour vodka into him, Dandelion, because he is talking like an old Schrader when he fell into the mine shaft on his head. Geralt, I know you've a deep temperament and a sensitive soul, but do not talk such crap, as you can see, Yennefer is not here, just us old wolves. Don't tell us old wolves stories of a witcher not needing a sword, the world is not like that. You are a witcher and you will need …'
'No, I won't,' Geralt gently denied. 'Perhaps this will surprise you old wolves, but I have come to the conclusion that it is foolish to piss in the wind. That it is foolish to stick my neck out for anyone. Even if that someone pays. An no, this is not an existential philosophy. Believe it, but suddenly, I have taken a tremendous affection for my own skin. I have come to the conclusion that it would be stupid to risk it in defence of others.'
'I noticed,' Dandelion nodded. 'On one hand, it is smart. On the other …'
'There is no other.'
'Yennefer and Ciri,' Yarpen asked after a little while, 'have something to do with your decision?'
'Much.'

The reason why he is still going on is Yennefer and Ciri. That's the only reason why he is still living.

The two of them have been miserable "together" for so long, what's to say she won't ultimately also be better off with all that behind her? "We have such a long history it'd be a waste not to keep going, and I don't want to make her sad by breaking up" by themselves aren't very good reasons to continue a dysfunctional relationship. That's just throwing good years after bad ones and refusing to face your problems. Tear off the band-aid, suck the venom out, apply the painful-as-**** disinfectant and let the damn wound heal already, that's what I say.

What miserable years? You mean the ones, when Geralt was nothing than fuzzing about how Yennefer did this or that? When people even started to tell him to stop talking about her? People around him begun to be annoyed by the amount of time he spent talking and thinking about Yennefer. That's what people do, when they can't stop thinking about someone for obvious reasons.

Hell, Geralt even started to call the woman he is having sex right now Yennefer ffs!

The Lady of the Lake
Fringilla was silent for a moment. She had not the slightest intention of telling the lodge that during the last two weeks the witcher had called her Yennefer twice – and at times, when she had every right to be called by her own name. However the lodge had a right to expect from her the truth. Sincerity. And some useful findings.

and by the amount of how much the other sorceresses know about Geralt, I might suspect Yennefer did the same with their friends.


Whenever they were together, they were happy. The whole world around them could have ended, it wouldn't have mattered for them then.

The only reason why their relationship didn't work was the reason a lot of relationships won't work even in real-life, they didn't really talk to each other and if they did, neither of them made compromises.

Geralt should have talked about that he wants free space from time to time instead of just leaving her behind. She told him that he will get used to it, the real reason was that she didn't want to risk his life all the time. She didn't want to lose him for mere orens, that's why he should do rather cheap jobs. She got enough money for 10 lifes anyway, why let him risk his all the time? This is even a topic in the new comic Curse of the Crows by Dark Horse Comic.

Geralt should have admit his feelings towards her like she already did. She opened her heart towards him and he did nothing.

Sword of Destiry
‘Yennefer…’
‘Be quiet! I gave you more than I’ve ever given any other man, you scoundrel. I don’t know, myself, why I gave it to you. And you… Oh, no, my dear. I’m not a slut or an elf-woman met by chance in the forest, who can be discarded in the morning, walked out on without being woken, with a posy of violets left on the table. Who can be made a mockery of. Beware! Utter a single word and you will regret it!’

She gave him everything, even things she thought she wasn't capable of, and he just couldn't handle it, because he didn't know how. It was overwhelming and instead of welcoming and replying to it, he ran away.


There is a whole chapter about whether he is even capable of loving someone, he doesn't want to admit that he still has feelings.

Sword of Destiny
‘I might have. But you would have taken it as… the Devil only knows what. And I am an unfeeling witcher and heartless professional. I risk my life. Not other people’s.’

At this point he still didn't know whether he is capable of doing what she already did.


and yet no matter what, he could never did to other women what he did to Yennefer:

Sword of Destiny
A little sacrifice, he thought, just a little sacrifice. For this will calm her, a hug, a kiss, calm caresses. She doesn’t want anything more. And even if she did, what of it? For a little sacrifice, a very little sacrifice, is beautiful and worth… Were she to want more… It would calm her. A quiet, calm, gentle act of love. And I… Why, it doesn’t matter, because Essi smells of verbena, not lilac and gooseberry, doesn’t have cool, electrifying skin. Essi’s hair is not a black tornado of gleaming curls, Essi’s eyes are gorgeous, soft, warm and cornflower blue; they don’t blaze with a cold, unemotional, deep violet. Essi will fall asleep afterwards, turn her head away, open her mouth slightly, Essi will not smile in triumph. For Essi…
Essi is not Yennefer.
And that is why I cannot. I cannot find that little sacrifice inside myself.

Because she is not Yennefer, he can't do it.


When he finally accepted his feelings, he finally realized what he had found in her. Not just a lover, but also himself, a human being with feelings just like Yennefer had. She just realized it sooner than him, that she isn't the monster she always believed, Geralt just needed more time to that.

Time of Contempt
‘These crabs,’ she interrupted, ‘were still creeping along the seabed this morning. Teleportation is a wonderful invention.’
‘Indeed,’ he concurred. ‘It ought to be made more widely available, don’t you think?’
‘We’re working on it. Come on, give me some. I’m hungry.’
‘I love you, Yen.’
‘I said drop the ostentation . . .’ she broke off, tossed her head, drew some black curls away from her cheek and opened her violet eyes wide. ‘Geralt! It’s the first time you’ve ever said that!’
‘It can’t be. You’re making fun of me.’
‘No, no I’m not. You used only to think it, but today you said it.’
‘Is there such a difference?’
‘A huge one.’
‘Yen . . .’
‘Don’t talk with your mouth full. I love you too. Haven’t I ever told you? Heavens, you’ll choke! Lift your arms up and I’ll thump you in the back. Take some deep breaths.’
‘Yen . . .’
‘Keep breathing, it’ll soon pass.’
‘Yen!’
‘Yes. I’m repaying sincerity with sincerity.’
‘Are you feeling all right?’
‘I was waiting,’ she said, squeezing lemon on the salmon. ‘It wouldn’t have been proper to react to a declaration made as a thought. I was waiting for the words. I was able to reply, so I replied. I feel wonderful.’

Geralt is Geralt because of her and vice versa. Sapkowski used and wrote her to help Geralt accept his human being and so did Yennefer.

Besides, she still has a century or two left in her. She'd have to move on eventually. By finally ending them, at least Geralt will have a few decades of not being chained in a passionate love-hate relationship with a woman who, frankly, he sucks at getting along with while the bards sing tragic ballads about his personal life. Yennefer pouting a bit and moping about for a little while isn't going to be the end of the world.

Technically she can live forever and no, I don't think she will ever love someone again like Geralt the same goes for Geralt. Both had lovers in the past, but both never felt anything for them until they have met.

 

[Thomas999]

Geralt was not once in his life happy until he met her (and Ciri). He cursed his life as witcher, his whole life for half a century and beyond.

The reason why he is still going on is Yennefer and Ciri. That's the only reason why he is still living.

What miserable years? You mean the ones, when Geralt was nothing than fuzzing about how Yennefer did this or that? When people even started to tell him to stop talking about her? People around him begun to be annoyed by the amount of time he spent talking and thinking about Yennefer. That's what people do, when they can't stop thinking about someone for obvious reasons.

Whenever they were together, they were happy. The whole world around them could have ended, it wouldn't have mattered for them then.

There's a whole lot of conjecture in your post, but the gist of my reply is this:

Having known Yennefer did not in any shape or form make Geralt happy. They had their moments of bliss, sure, but there were years of bitterness and loneliness and obsession between those moments, and that's just not a worthwhile relationship. And their "good" times involved a few months of sex and affection followed by weeks of driving each other nuts followed by one of them viciously betraying the other. Constantly thinking about someone you love who wronged your or whom you wronged is one of the most painful mindsets human beings are capable of, and Geralt and Yen put each other and themselves in that place for years at a time. Repeatedly. When I read that I didn't think "gosh, they're so in love", I thought "gosh, look how much they drag each other down, couldn't he have just asked the Djinn to spare her and let that be that?"

And aside from that, making a real effort to put that wreck of a romance actually behind them instead of hiding from it, as you say, doesn't mean giving up on each other as friends, and they can both have Ciri without being attached to each other as lovers. And aside from THAT, Geralt's prospects have changed radically since before he met Yennefer, independently of her influence. He's famous now, with a greatly expanded circle of friends and acquaintances, and several different places where he's quite popular, where he can retire to and live the kinds of lives he only dreamed of as a mopey young witcher. And finally letting go of Yennefer will help him do exactly that.

 

[Kallelinski]

Having known Yennefer did not in any shape or form make Geralt happy.

You say it as it were a fact without showing me that this didn't happen. Even at the doorstep to death they were happy, because they had each other. They were willing to die, because they made peace with each other and realized what they see in each other. The bath scene near the end of The Lady of the Lake, remember?

In Time of Contempt she even apologized for the first time, why? Because she learned that this is necessary in a relationship. They learned what it means to have a relationship and not just sex.

They had their moments of bliss, sure, but there were years of bitterness and loneliness and obsession between those moments, and that's just not a worthwhile relationship. And their "good" times involved a few months of sex and affection followed by weeks of driving each other nuts followed by one of them viciously betraying the other.

Sometimes they lived with each other for several months without any incident whatsoever, however that's not interesting, thus Sapkowski didn't write about that. It would have been just more of the same.

Just yesterday I saw an interview with him, where he said that many fantasy fans want more, more and more of the same, so the author writes 62-ish books of the same, even though it isn't interesting at all. He only wanted to write interesting stories and not dull ones, so he simply skipped the boring parts, the months and YEARS in which they lived happily. We don't have to read about those, because we know they had and have them.

And whenever Geralt tries to forget her, most of the time with another woman, he can't enjoy it, because it isn't with her. No matter what, he can't escape her since the first day he laid an eye on her.

Lytta Neyd, Triss, Fringilla, Essi and so on. He always says "...but she is not Yennefer", "...but she doesn't smell like lilac and gooseberries". He can't even enjoy anything else.


The books (AND games) showed you that they can and will live in harmony, because they learned to do so, because they wanted to do so. They wanted to overcome their problems, because for the other person. They didn't want to give up on each other after all.

It feels like you simply say, "No, it isn't."

 

[ImprovizoR]

I did that on my first playthrough because I had just finished replaying The Witcher 1 and 2 so I had my Geralt romance Triss as soon as he was able. When I went to Skellige it felt like an obvious choice to tell Yen that it's over. I didn't even know that romancing both would end up in both of them leaving Geralt but this being a Witcher game I suspected that romancing both characters would have negative consequences. On all other playthroughs I went with Yen. It's always a bit sad breaking Triss' heart, but Yen just feels like a better choice for Geralt. I never did a lone Geralt playthrough. I'm not sure that I could.

 

[Kallelinski]

I did that on my first playthrough because I had just finished replaying The Witcher 1 and 2 so I had my Geralt romance Triss as soon as he was able. When I went to Skellige it felt like an obvious choice to tell Yen that it's over. I didn't even know that romancing both would end up in both of them leaving Geralt but this being a Witcher game I suspected that romancing both characters would have negative consequences. On all other playthroughs I went with Yen. It's always a bit sad breaking Triss' heart, but Yen just feels like a better choice for Geralt. I never did a lone Geralt playthrough. I'm not sure that I could.

At least CDPR is consistent with how Geralt deals with other women, he always let them down afterwards without much talking. The way Geralt always treated women especially not Yennefer was always rather a dick-move. In the books he was with Fringilla

Spoiler

several months and when he learned the whereabouts of Yennefer, he wanted to go immediately, he didn't even dared to say goodbye to her, she stopped him before he could escape.

I also felt like an asshole after saying goodbye to Triss, I wished there was an option to just talk with Triss about this. To tell her that this is just a huge misunderstanding, the amnesia played a trick with me and so did she (she even admits using it to her advantage), but there isn't really one except the bits we got.

This isn't also the only incident when Geralt played with the heart of other women just to come back to Yennefer.

 

[Thomas999]

You say it as it were a fact without showing me that this didn't happen. Even at the doorstep to death they were happy, because they had each other. They were willing to die, because they made peace with each other and realized what they see in each other. The bath scene near the end of The Lady of the Lake, remember?

In Time of Contempt she even apologized for the first time, why? Because she learned that this is necessary in a relationship. They learned what it means to have a relationship and not just sex.

Sometimes they lived with each other for several months without any incident whatsoever, however that's not interesting, thus Sapkowski didn't write about that. It would have been just more of the same.

Just yesterday I saw an interview with him, where he said that many fantasy fans want more, more and more of the same, so the author writes 62-ish books of the same, even though it isn't interesting at all. He only wanted to write interesting stories and not dull ones, so he simply skipped the boring parts, the months and YEARS in which they lived happily. We don't have to read about those, because we know they had and have them.

And whenever Geralt tries to forget her, most of the time with another woman, he can't enjoy it, because it isn't with her. No matter what, he can't escape her since the first day he laid an eye on her.

Lytta Neyd, Triss, Fringilla, Essi and so on. He always says "...but she is not Yennefer", "...but she doesn't smell like lilac and gooseberries". He can't even enjoy anything else.


The books (AND games) showed you that they can and will live in harmony, because they learned to do so, because they wanted to do so. They wanted to overcome their problems, because for the other person. They didn't want to give up on each other after all.

It feels like you simply say, "No, it isn't."

The bath scene near the end of The Lady of the Lake had very little to do with Geralt and Yennefer. They were riding the high of finally having rescued Ciri, which was far more important to either of them than their relationship between each other. Feeling good and wanting to have a nice and cozy time before they died isn't indicative of the two of them suddenly having been perfectly set to live happily ever after in each others' arms. They essentially had the exact same moment at the end of The Last Wish(the short story), and it didn't exactly precede a lifetime of perfect marital bliss.

I'm sorry, but "they really really love each other and are capable of... well... at least a few months without incident... and she's learned to apologize... well, she did it that once..." just doesn't justify perpetuating a relationship 95% of which has just been the two of them moping about the countryside missing and resenting each other. At least not to me. Having had a years' worth of amnesia to objectively review his own history and redefine his priorities, it's entirely plausible for Geralt to decide that he and Yennefer just weren't a good thing in hindsight.

There's no such thing as "learning what it means to be in a relationship". Every relationship is complicated and personal and intimate and perpetually hard to finagle even without two strong personalities who struggle to get along most of the time, and there's no magical lesson in relationship dynamics that will suddenly turn it into smooth sailing forever after. Given their history, Yennefer and Geralt just don't seem to have great odds for making either of them happy or fulfilled on any lasting basis, and all the wanting and longing and apologies in the world won't change that.

Don't pretend I lack evidence for what I'm saying, you extrapolate from quotes that don't even remotely support the viability of their relationship to the extents you claim. We've apparently both read the books. I know what you're talking about when you mention something without an excerpt, and presumably vice versa. This isn't a debate club. When I say "years of moping about" or some-such you know exactly what I mean.

Why the author paid more attention to this or that isn't relevant, I've already acknowledged that Geralt and Yennefer had their good, brief periods of real bliss. I'm taking that into account.

Geralt isn't omniscient and cannot, at the points in the story where he makes those decisions, look forward to the epilogue and take a happy retirement with Yennefer for granted, and as such "the games show that they can and will live in harmony" can't inform his decision. All he knows is that they're capable of that... when isolated on a magical island, unable to leave and completely free from outside influences and interests. Trying the same thing in the real world surrounded by things and people and principles and politics they care about besides the relationship has never worked out for them before, and deciding to try that again instead of finally cutting his losses and trying to move on isn't a no-brainer by any means.

I'm not saying "No, it isn't", I have a Geralt/Yennefer playthrough as well. I just respect how miserable a bad relationship leaves you, and find that in Geralt's shoes I would take that misery very seriously when judging his and Yennefer's connection in hindsight, and whether or not to perpetuate it or put a stop to it for real.

 

[Samiel27]

I'm not saying "No, it isn't", I have a Geralt/Yennefer playthrough as well. I just respect how miserable a bad relationship leaves you, and find that in Geralt's shoes I would take that misery very seriously when judging his and Yennefer's connection in hindsight, and whether or not to perpetuate it or put a stop to it for real.

No thank you, do what you want with your game, but I didn't choose that option. Geralt wanted to settle down with Ciri and Yennefer so I chose that option. I chose what Geralt would have done according to canon; Geralt hates politics and big cities so settling down in Toussaint is just fine for him

.ride2::wisegirl::areukiddingme:

 

[Thomas999]

No thank you, do what you want with your game, but I didn't choose that option. Geralt wanted to settle down with Ciri and Yennefer so I chose that option. I chose what Geralt would have done according to canon; Geralt hates politics and big cities so settling down in Toussaint is just fine for him

.ride2::wisegirl::areukiddingme:

It's what your Geralt would do according to your canon, you mean, and even then presumably only in some of your playthroughs. Take your own advice. The game's Geralt isn't, by default, the same as the one in the novels either. You can't walk around a year without memories, taking in new impressions and forming new defining memories, then remember your history and still remain exactly the same person you were before you forgot it.

For example, nothing Geralt directly experiences in the books even comes close to the cluster**** of political schemes in Assassins of Kings and the disasters they cause. As such, a Geralt fresh out of AoK is likely to be far more wary of monarchs and ambitious sorceresses than he ever was in the books, or way more intent on holding on to the people he really can trust. On a purely national level he might be more fond of Temeria specifically too, thanks to Foltest and Roche. Maybe enough to meddle in politics on their behalf. Yaevinn might have poised him actively against the Scoiatel, and Iorveth might have made him way more sympathetic towards them. The Alvin/Jaques fiasco might influence how certain or confident he feels as Ciri's parental figure. The utter failure of Saskia's rebellion or Roche's attempts to cling to the Temeria he knew might influence how Geralt feels either way about grand causes in general. He would definitely feel much closer to Triss after spending so much time with her through his most vulnerable and impressionable stages. Same goes for Zoltan. Letho might have left him a bit more disillusioned about other witchers. The kikimore, the professor and Azar Javed's attack and Leo's death might color his feelings about Kaer Morhen as much as or even more than the memories of his long-ago training do.

In short, Witcher 3 Geralt can "canoncially" be whatever you feel like you can justify. Mine is definitely canonical too, he just learned different lessons than yours has over the course of the games.

And "Gee, I'd like to settle down in Toussaint with Yennefer. Sure hope she forgives me and that we have time to get better reacquainted and we figure everything out and I'm mysteriously summoned by Henrietta and she wants to give me some land once everything important is squared away. That'd be jolly." isn't actually a thought Geralt can have in the middle of the game, so using it to inform his decisions isn't really roleplaying.

 

[Kallelinski]

It's what your Geralt would do according to your canon

Nope, book canon. That's exactly what Geralt wanted to do, quit his life as witcher and live a quiet life with Yennefer and Ciri.

The Lady of the Lake

Geralt, staring out the window, smiled at his own thoughts and dreams.
'That darkness you speak of,' he said, 'is a state of spirit, not matter. To fight something you need to train something quite different than a witcher. It is time to start.'
'You will start to retrain? Is that what you were thinking?'
'Not at all. this job holds no interest to me. I will go into retirement.'
'Is that right!'
'I'm serious. no more being a witcher.'
There was a long silence, broken occasionally by the furious meows of the kittens as they scratched at each other in a game.
'No more being a witcher,' Yarpen Zigrin repeated. 'Ha! I don't know what to think about that, as old King Dezmod said when caught cheating at cards. But i have a very bad feeling. Dandelion, you have travelled with him and spent a lot of time at his side. Has he shown other symptoms of paranoia?'
'Okay, okay,' said Geralt with a stony face. 'No more jokes, as King Dezmod said when all of his guests at a feast began to go livid and croak. I have said all that I had to say. And now down to actions.'
He picked up his sword, which was hanging on the back of his chair.
'Here is your Sihil, Zoltan Chivay. I return it to you with gratitude and recognition. It has been useful. It has helped me. It has saved lives. And taken lives.'
'Witcher …' the dwarf raised his hands in a defensive gesture. 'The sword is yours. I did not lend it to you, I gave it to you. As a gift …'
'Hush, Chivay. I give you back your sword. I'll no longer need it.'
'Quickly,' Yarpen said. 'Pour vodka into him, Dandelion, because he is talking like an old Schrader when he fell into the mine shaft on his head. Geralt, I know you've a deep temperament and a sensitive soul, but do not talk such crap, as you can see, Yennefer is not here, just us old wolves. Don't tell us old wolves stories of a witcher not needing a sword, the world is not like that. You are a witcher and you will need …'
'No, I won't,' Geralt gently denied. 'Perhaps this will surprise you old wolves, but I have come to the conclusion that it is foolish to piss in the wind. That it is foolish to stick my
neck out for anyone. Even if that someone pays. An no, this is not an existential philosophy. Believe it, but suddenly, I have taken a tremendous affection for my own skin. I have come to the conclusion that it would be stupid to risk it in defence of others.'
'I noticed,' Dandelion nodded. 'On one hand, it is smart. On the other …'
'There is no other.'
'Yennefer and Ciri,' Yarpen asked after a little while, 'have something to do with your decision?'
'Much.'
'Then everything is clear,' Zoltan sighed. 'I have no clue how a master swordsman will adapt to normal life. But, try as I might, I cannot see you planting cabbages, although I do have respect for your choice … Innkeeper! This sword is a Mahakam Rune Sihil from the Rhundurina forge itself. It was a gift. If the recipient does not want it, then the one who gave it must take it back. Take it and hang it over your fireplace. Rename you inn to, "The Witcher's Sword". Then on winter nights we can tell stories about monsters and treasure, of bloody wars and bitter battles. Of death. Of deep love and unwavering friendship. About courage and honour and this sword will hang there, above the listeners and inspire the storyteller. Now pour me a drink, gentlemen, a glass of vodka, because I will continue and will be delivering profound truths and philosophies, including existential ones.'

Seriously at this point I don't really know where this "discussion" is suppose to lead.

You basically just say you should break Yennefer's heart, because I don't like her.

 

[Thomas999]

Nope, book canon. That's exactly what Geralt wanted to do, quit his life as witcher and live a quiet life with Yennefer and Ciri.

You basically just say you should break Yennefer's heart, because I don't like her.

Yes, and this is GAME Geralt we're talking about, six years, three games, one memory loss and recovery later. It's realistically impossible for him to be exactly the same person as he was, as I said, and so your "canon" Geralt is not in fact "canon" Geralt, he's "has changed as little as possible over the course of the games so as to best preserve his book self and relationships" Geralt. And I'm not saying you should do anything, I'm just pointing out the value of scenes such as the one after the nullification of the wish, and arguing that breaking it off with Yen is also a perfectly logical course of action for him after what they've been through, and that the game doesn't neglect those decisions as far as dramatic emphasis and character value goes either.

Why you have such a problem with that I can't imagine. You're the ones pretending that staying with Yennefer is the proper and canon ending, and that deviation from it betrays the characters.