Yennefer of Vengerberg (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ofvioleteyes) wrote2015-07-13 12:06 am
ofvioleteyes) wrote2015-07-13 12:06 am
app
OOC INFORMATION
Name: Macha
Contact: wildstorms @plurk
Other Characters:
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Yennefer
Age: 99 (physically looks to be her twenties)
Canon: The Witcher
Canon Point: The Witcher 3 - after "Royal Audience"
Character Information:
Yen's wiki page
A few links relating to the books that have a relative bit of Yen's character 1 2
Some details not completely covered:
Yennefer is a sorceress. Having been born between a half-elf and a human, as a child she was a hunchback and suffered from some other physical deformities. Her father was abusive towards both her and her mother due in no small part to her existence. Yennefer would not stay in this home forever as she was eventually moved into schooling for mages. Here is a place that she would also tend to inflicting harm upon herself and contemplating suicide. Her mentor, Tissia de Vries would strengthen her. "There is nothing more shameful then a sorceress in tears." With the aid of magic she, like many others talented in magic, was able to permanently alter her appearance thus resulting in the woman who is seen now. Similarly as a side-effect of the magic alterations she is utterly sterile, something she hates and has worked tirelessly to attempt to change through magical means. This has been a huge influence on her relationship with Ciri of whom she eventually calls her daughter. She's also been captured by the Wild Hunt and used as bait to attempt to lure Ciri out. Her soul/life was traded by Geralt who instead took her place in the Hunt.
Personality:
Yennefer is a woman who is often perceived as cold, a bit sarcastic and willing to go to any length to get to her desires. In some essence, these are true for her under the right circumstances. Her tongue has always found a way to come up with sly, witty, or sarcastic remarks. She's never been one to shy away from them. For her the frequent demeaning commentary she makes towards people or situations is a way to establish a safe and reasonable distance from others. She is not the kind of people who opens her arms wide open and throws her heart carelessly into the open for everyone else. She keeps herself guarded and works to maintain a certain imagery of herself around others. She is a professional. She is a sorceress. Yennefer is not going to allow herself to be so caught up in emotions that she feels like a child. Not when she certainly knows better in any situation. Not when she was raised to remember one key thing: There is nothing more shameful then a sorceress in tears.
She is someone whose always worked to gain a sense of power and control in countless situations. Much of her life has been spent working in politics, studies, gaining more power and often in ways that don't gain her the love and trust of her peers. She is unconventional in that sense. She prefers to have the knowledge and security that comes with an upper hand and the ability to choose who and what she can use to her advantage. She is prone to using people. That's the cold and hard truth of her. Countless times she will use people to advance herself or her goals. Even those whom she loves and holds dear there is a chance that she may still be using them to advance her own agenda. The difference in there is that those she does have an attachment to may someday have the truth. They may be eventually told or at least informed that she does need or wants to use them. Sometimes they may refuse or argue with her much like what happens between her and Geralt quite a bit.
She is not so cold and unfeeling that she is devoid of emotions. In fact, her exterior covers for the fact that when she does feel, when she does care for someone, she cares deeply and passionately. The best example may be her relationship with Ciri. When she takes Ciri in they clash a bit. Ciri doesn't like Yennefer and it isn't completely unfounded. The woman comes off as abrasive at times. She challenges people verbally. She doesn't back down. While those may earn respect from some the young Ciri didn't like it at all. Yet once Yennefer takes her in as her student the two begin to bond. Yennefer gives her a nickname "Owlette". She promises Ciri that once they start her training that they shall both be completely open and honest with each other. They may ask questions of each other and the other shall answer honestly. To be dishonest would be the end the training. Yennefer stays true to her words. She speaks of what is between her and Geralt when asked. She gives her advice on when to bed a man and even warns her that there is no foolproof way to make sure every time is enjoyable. Ciri is even one of the people in the world who can make her laugh. The relationship between those two develop into such a strong bond that eventually the nicknames are primarily forsaken. For Yennefer, a woman who cannot have a child and desperately wants one, Ciri becomes her daughter. A daughter, of whom she would go to any lengths for. She could and would bear the brunt of physical violence, shattered bones, if it meant keeping the other safe. She would steal or even go against the culture of a native land if it meant having a clue to aiding her "family".
There is one more person who can truly get past all that is the cold and sarcastic exterior that she holds up. Geralt. The man of whom her fate is tied to. It is true that her relationship with Geralt exists and has been a factor in her life for the past twenty-years. Yet in their relationship it has been a struggle. They butt heads, they banter, and their relationship started as what she describes as:
' "Longing." she answered gravely. "Regret. Hope. And fear. Yes, I do not think I have omitted anything' "
The relationship she holds with him has a strange effect on her. Due to the last wish he tied his fate to hers. An action that she believes foolish at first. She tells him that she is not sure she's worthy of being condemned to. She is used to being alone in a sense and now someone who she didn't truly know had tied their fates together. Yet despite their fates being tied together Geralt poses countless problems to her and can throw her normal behavior out of whack so to speak. Twenty years they've had a relationship that consists of loving moments, fights, break ups and Geralt's tendency to bed other women. A habit that she called him out on before including discussions of his relationship that he's had with her friend Triss. Geralt is one case where her tongue is still sharp frequently. She mocks him in the same ways she will other people. He's also one of the few people to exist that she can joke with. He's a person that gets her to occasionally shove aside her meticulously calculated ways, at least for a few moments. In that sense he also creates a sense of doubt. There have been chances when she had options. She had options to leave Geralt romantically and pursue someone who could offer her a better future. It's in the situation that arose between her choice of Geralt or Irstedd that there's one thing we see in Yennefer that we rarely do. She has no clue what to do. In other situations where she may be left without certainty or knowledge to know what was next she could use magic. She could figure out something or someway. On a rare occasion, a very rare one, there can come a time when she runs away from it. She did not stay and explain herself. She did not try and listen to them compete for her. She wanted nothing to do with it. It's a vastly different side from Yennefer that one doesn't see unless it seems that Geralt is present.
Yennefer does seem to follow a bit of a code when it comes to people and using them. Everyone deserves a bit of information here and there eventually. Even to those whom she may be mocking, insulting or using she does not lie outright to them forever. She certainly doesn't do it constantly. She can share information but it has to be the right time, the right place and the right person. Yet she can grow greatly irritated when someone attempts to press her for information when it is not an opportune moment. Her anger isn't always unleashed and when it is, it seems to be explosive. She rarely has had problems using her magic hand in hand with her anger. Explosive anger may in some cases be taken in more literal sense. A case of just how bad her anger can be would be an example with Geralt. When getting into an argument with him over their relationship she blasts him into a portal which drops him from the sky and down into a lake. If he continues to mock her anger (it's a player choice in game) she will snidely remark that she should have dropped him another two-hundred feet. There have been a few times when her anger also reaches a point where it's a cold anger which leaves people shaking in their boots. The kind of anger truly depends on what exactly she's angry about. Her explosive anger is more general. It's not directed at anything in particular in most cases. Her cold anger is reserved for those who would strike against her family. It falls in line with her willing to go to any lengths for her loved ones. In that vein her loved ones when the bridges are repaired and not burned can earn some level of patience and forgiveness. In the same scenario, if Geralt and Yennefer have been more open and honest (Read the player has affirmed love for her) she begrudgingly admits that she would rather not sleep in the bed littered with red hairs and would sooner take the cold floor. She suggests that they not mention the accursed bed all things considered.
Yennefer presents a strange level of both political prowess and eventually a disinterest in it. Unlike other mages she has no interest in The Lodge, reviving it or working with it. She has, however played adviser to kings in the past. She knows how to take advantage of a situation. She knows how to take charge. She believes that in the long run of things that the means can and will justify the end. It would explain why she is willing to go to lengths such as trying to take apart holy statues for a gem for a megascope, theft of a magical mask and putting countless in danger for the sake of one outcome. Her determination makes no room for respect of divinities that may or may not exist. She deal with reality. She deals with more logic then some may find comfortable. It makes her come off as brash, hard to be around as a person. It does make her valuable as an ally and there are those who are aware of that. Her stance on politics and ability to read situations has been enough to help some of her captors keep her alive. She is not easy swayed from her beliefs even by those of whom she may respect. Her determination and desire to find what she needs/desires does occasionally make her fickle and shift a lot. Even to those whom she may hate with all of her heart and soul, she can pretend to not hate their guts for a while. Usually. If it's for the benefit of knowledge, advancement, a tool which she needs, she can be formal and mostly polite. Mostly because there is a good chance she takes some subtle, hidden blows at the other person. Yennefer never does seem to quite put the sharp wits away.
She's a fairly innovative individual although most examples comes from her very adult life with Geralt. She expresses a desire of creativity and desire for something new, something different. She takes a certain level of enjoyment in trying new things and having the chance to think outside of the box. Perhaps that's one of the fun parts of being a sorceress. Magic creates a gateway to a variety of possibilities that not every other person has access to. That is how she works. The now, the possibilities of the present, are what's important. Being able to focus on solving the situation. Being able to create new and exciting ways to spice up the life, at least intimately, are worth the time of day. Unlike some people she does not prefer to focus on the past. It was in the past. Her past, in particular, is a subject she prefers to avoid at all costs. She doesn't admit to her youth because to her it has no significance on the present or future. Does it matter she is a forth elvish? That she was born with physical deformities? That she once hated herself and life so much she tried to die? To her those are the past. She overcame it. She became stronger. Better.
In the end of the day Yennefer is a person who often conveys herself as abrasive and sarcastic. Witty. She lets no one tie her down even when she's captive. She is her own person, she defines herself by her skills and abilities and not what she's done. Her motives are always focused on the progression of having the upper hand or securing safety and knowledge for her "family". She lets nothing stop her. She rarely budges for others unless she truly believes it's necessary. Even on those moments she does so without groveling. She does not sit and whimper or bow like a weak-minded fool. She is aware of her nature. She is aware that perhaps those who consider her an ally may have questionable tastes as it may not be worth "condemning" themselves to her company and ways. For her, the two people she calls family are the world to her even if she can't always properly express it. They are her light and loves of her life. She will go to any and all lengths for them. For their safety. For their future. She will go to countless lengths to try and resolve some of the woes of being a sorceress (like being sterile) even though she's had decades to attempt to accomplish it. She expresses herself with a level of pride and dignity that is unswayed. A tongue that will rarely silence or change her opinions for the sake of others feelings. She is a sorceress. She is a lover. She is a woman who has become a mother-figure. She is a woman who has endured abuse and torture only to come through it without breaking. Yennefer is strong and she will not be broken or defined through simple means.
Name: Macha
Contact: wildstorms @plurk
Other Characters:
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Yennefer
Age: 99 (physically looks to be her twenties)
Canon: The Witcher
Canon Point: The Witcher 3 - after "Royal Audience"
Character Information:
Yen's wiki page
A few links relating to the books that have a relative bit of Yen's character 1 2
Some details not completely covered:
Yennefer is a sorceress. Having been born between a half-elf and a human, as a child she was a hunchback and suffered from some other physical deformities. Her father was abusive towards both her and her mother due in no small part to her existence. Yennefer would not stay in this home forever as she was eventually moved into schooling for mages. Here is a place that she would also tend to inflicting harm upon herself and contemplating suicide. Her mentor, Tissia de Vries would strengthen her. "There is nothing more shameful then a sorceress in tears." With the aid of magic she, like many others talented in magic, was able to permanently alter her appearance thus resulting in the woman who is seen now. Similarly as a side-effect of the magic alterations she is utterly sterile, something she hates and has worked tirelessly to attempt to change through magical means. This has been a huge influence on her relationship with Ciri of whom she eventually calls her daughter. She's also been captured by the Wild Hunt and used as bait to attempt to lure Ciri out. Her soul/life was traded by Geralt who instead took her place in the Hunt.
Personality:
Yennefer is a woman who is often perceived as cold, a bit sarcastic and willing to go to any length to get to her desires. In some essence, these are true for her under the right circumstances. Her tongue has always found a way to come up with sly, witty, or sarcastic remarks. She's never been one to shy away from them. For her the frequent demeaning commentary she makes towards people or situations is a way to establish a safe and reasonable distance from others. She is not the kind of people who opens her arms wide open and throws her heart carelessly into the open for everyone else. She keeps herself guarded and works to maintain a certain imagery of herself around others. She is a professional. She is a sorceress. Yennefer is not going to allow herself to be so caught up in emotions that she feels like a child. Not when she certainly knows better in any situation. Not when she was raised to remember one key thing: There is nothing more shameful then a sorceress in tears.
She is someone whose always worked to gain a sense of power and control in countless situations. Much of her life has been spent working in politics, studies, gaining more power and often in ways that don't gain her the love and trust of her peers. She is unconventional in that sense. She prefers to have the knowledge and security that comes with an upper hand and the ability to choose who and what she can use to her advantage. She is prone to using people. That's the cold and hard truth of her. Countless times she will use people to advance herself or her goals. Even those whom she loves and holds dear there is a chance that she may still be using them to advance her own agenda. The difference in there is that those she does have an attachment to may someday have the truth. They may be eventually told or at least informed that she does need or wants to use them. Sometimes they may refuse or argue with her much like what happens between her and Geralt quite a bit.
She is not so cold and unfeeling that she is devoid of emotions. In fact, her exterior covers for the fact that when she does feel, when she does care for someone, she cares deeply and passionately. The best example may be her relationship with Ciri. When she takes Ciri in they clash a bit. Ciri doesn't like Yennefer and it isn't completely unfounded. The woman comes off as abrasive at times. She challenges people verbally. She doesn't back down. While those may earn respect from some the young Ciri didn't like it at all. Yet once Yennefer takes her in as her student the two begin to bond. Yennefer gives her a nickname "Owlette". She promises Ciri that once they start her training that they shall both be completely open and honest with each other. They may ask questions of each other and the other shall answer honestly. To be dishonest would be the end the training. Yennefer stays true to her words. She speaks of what is between her and Geralt when asked. She gives her advice on when to bed a man and even warns her that there is no foolproof way to make sure every time is enjoyable. Ciri is even one of the people in the world who can make her laugh. The relationship between those two develop into such a strong bond that eventually the nicknames are primarily forsaken. For Yennefer, a woman who cannot have a child and desperately wants one, Ciri becomes her daughter. A daughter, of whom she would go to any lengths for. She could and would bear the brunt of physical violence, shattered bones, if it meant keeping the other safe. She would steal or even go against the culture of a native land if it meant having a clue to aiding her "family".
There is one more person who can truly get past all that is the cold and sarcastic exterior that she holds up. Geralt. The man of whom her fate is tied to. It is true that her relationship with Geralt exists and has been a factor in her life for the past twenty-years. Yet in their relationship it has been a struggle. They butt heads, they banter, and their relationship started as what she describes as:
' "Longing." she answered gravely. "Regret. Hope. And fear. Yes, I do not think I have omitted anything' "
The relationship she holds with him has a strange effect on her. Due to the last wish he tied his fate to hers. An action that she believes foolish at first. She tells him that she is not sure she's worthy of being condemned to. She is used to being alone in a sense and now someone who she didn't truly know had tied their fates together. Yet despite their fates being tied together Geralt poses countless problems to her and can throw her normal behavior out of whack so to speak. Twenty years they've had a relationship that consists of loving moments, fights, break ups and Geralt's tendency to bed other women. A habit that she called him out on before including discussions of his relationship that he's had with her friend Triss. Geralt is one case where her tongue is still sharp frequently. She mocks him in the same ways she will other people. He's also one of the few people to exist that she can joke with. He's a person that gets her to occasionally shove aside her meticulously calculated ways, at least for a few moments. In that sense he also creates a sense of doubt. There have been chances when she had options. She had options to leave Geralt romantically and pursue someone who could offer her a better future. It's in the situation that arose between her choice of Geralt or Irstedd that there's one thing we see in Yennefer that we rarely do. She has no clue what to do. In other situations where she may be left without certainty or knowledge to know what was next she could use magic. She could figure out something or someway. On a rare occasion, a very rare one, there can come a time when she runs away from it. She did not stay and explain herself. She did not try and listen to them compete for her. She wanted nothing to do with it. It's a vastly different side from Yennefer that one doesn't see unless it seems that Geralt is present.
Yennefer does seem to follow a bit of a code when it comes to people and using them. Everyone deserves a bit of information here and there eventually. Even to those whom she may be mocking, insulting or using she does not lie outright to them forever. She certainly doesn't do it constantly. She can share information but it has to be the right time, the right place and the right person. Yet she can grow greatly irritated when someone attempts to press her for information when it is not an opportune moment. Her anger isn't always unleashed and when it is, it seems to be explosive. She rarely has had problems using her magic hand in hand with her anger. Explosive anger may in some cases be taken in more literal sense. A case of just how bad her anger can be would be an example with Geralt. When getting into an argument with him over their relationship she blasts him into a portal which drops him from the sky and down into a lake. If he continues to mock her anger (it's a player choice in game) she will snidely remark that she should have dropped him another two-hundred feet. There have been a few times when her anger also reaches a point where it's a cold anger which leaves people shaking in their boots. The kind of anger truly depends on what exactly she's angry about. Her explosive anger is more general. It's not directed at anything in particular in most cases. Her cold anger is reserved for those who would strike against her family. It falls in line with her willing to go to any lengths for her loved ones. In that vein her loved ones when the bridges are repaired and not burned can earn some level of patience and forgiveness. In the same scenario, if Geralt and Yennefer have been more open and honest (Read the player has affirmed love for her) she begrudgingly admits that she would rather not sleep in the bed littered with red hairs and would sooner take the cold floor. She suggests that they not mention the accursed bed all things considered.
Yennefer presents a strange level of both political prowess and eventually a disinterest in it. Unlike other mages she has no interest in The Lodge, reviving it or working with it. She has, however played adviser to kings in the past. She knows how to take advantage of a situation. She knows how to take charge. She believes that in the long run of things that the means can and will justify the end. It would explain why she is willing to go to lengths such as trying to take apart holy statues for a gem for a megascope, theft of a magical mask and putting countless in danger for the sake of one outcome. Her determination makes no room for respect of divinities that may or may not exist. She deal with reality. She deals with more logic then some may find comfortable. It makes her come off as brash, hard to be around as a person. It does make her valuable as an ally and there are those who are aware of that. Her stance on politics and ability to read situations has been enough to help some of her captors keep her alive. She is not easy swayed from her beliefs even by those of whom she may respect. Her determination and desire to find what she needs/desires does occasionally make her fickle and shift a lot. Even to those whom she may hate with all of her heart and soul, she can pretend to not hate their guts for a while. Usually. If it's for the benefit of knowledge, advancement, a tool which she needs, she can be formal and mostly polite. Mostly because there is a good chance she takes some subtle, hidden blows at the other person. Yennefer never does seem to quite put the sharp wits away.
She's a fairly innovative individual although most examples comes from her very adult life with Geralt. She expresses a desire of creativity and desire for something new, something different. She takes a certain level of enjoyment in trying new things and having the chance to think outside of the box. Perhaps that's one of the fun parts of being a sorceress. Magic creates a gateway to a variety of possibilities that not every other person has access to. That is how she works. The now, the possibilities of the present, are what's important. Being able to focus on solving the situation. Being able to create new and exciting ways to spice up the life, at least intimately, are worth the time of day. Unlike some people she does not prefer to focus on the past. It was in the past. Her past, in particular, is a subject she prefers to avoid at all costs. She doesn't admit to her youth because to her it has no significance on the present or future. Does it matter she is a forth elvish? That she was born with physical deformities? That she once hated herself and life so much she tried to die? To her those are the past. She overcame it. She became stronger. Better.
In the end of the day Yennefer is a person who often conveys herself as abrasive and sarcastic. Witty. She lets no one tie her down even when she's captive. She is her own person, she defines herself by her skills and abilities and not what she's done. Her motives are always focused on the progression of having the upper hand or securing safety and knowledge for her "family". She lets nothing stop her. She rarely budges for others unless she truly believes it's necessary. Even on those moments she does so without groveling. She does not sit and whimper or bow like a weak-minded fool. She is aware of her nature. She is aware that perhaps those who consider her an ally may have questionable tastes as it may not be worth "condemning" themselves to her company and ways. For her, the two people she calls family are the world to her even if she can't always properly express it. They are her light and loves of her life. She will go to any and all lengths for them. For their safety. For their future. She will go to countless lengths to try and resolve some of the woes of being a sorceress (like being sterile) even though she's had decades to attempt to accomplish it. She expresses herself with a level of pride and dignity that is unswayed. A tongue that will rarely silence or change her opinions for the sake of others feelings. She is a sorceress. She is a lover. She is a woman who has become a mother-figure. She is a woman who has endured abuse and torture only to come through it without breaking. Yennefer is strong and she will not be broken or defined through simple means.