The best Witcher waifu

Was she in fact a master manipulator in TW2? It was never clear to me how much she knew about the Lodge's involvement in some of the assassination plots.

Huh...I distinctly remember replying to this post but for some reason it's nowhere to be found.

Anyway...I'm pretty sure she didn't know much because by the beginning of TW2 she'd been kicked out of the Lodge for not being witch-thief sneaky enough. I thought she was more manipulative in TW1 (though that may just be because of the how the game was set up, tying Alvin to whomever you romanced).

LOL. Not how I played the game, but the sentiment is not unfamiliar to me. In my defense, I did imagine that Yennefer and Geralt would have enough to do separately to avoid getting on each others' nerves.

... they'd live in a farm. A farm! I give them a couple years.

I usually don't like it when fantasy characters settle down. Remember Tennyson's "Ulysses"? Ashley recited a fragment of it in ME1. That poem encapsulates my feelings on the matter perfectly.

So it's Lone Wolf for me. That said, Shani's best girl. If the choice is strictly Yennefer versus Triss, that's trickier. The former's the more developed and interesting character, but I prefer fun, down-to-earth, low drama love interests, not to mention I like the latter's epilogue better.

My canon Geralt "settles down" in Kovir with Triss. Their chemistry just seems happier, healthier and more stable, and that trumps epic love or romance in my mind, especially considering Geralt's and Yennefer's particular dynamic from the books which they haven't proved to have grown out of by Wild Hunt.

Besides, I'll always be more partial to a colder climate. And that scene on the mountaintop, after having wrestled the genie, if he tells Yennefer that his feelings have changed, and asks her to just stay and sit with him rather than leave in yet another bout of estranged awkwardness is probably the most beautiful and earnest moment in the game.

Geralt finally feels like he's stopped missing and blaming and chasing her, and is ready for both of them to start living their own lives in peace without that tether always uprooting things and causing tension.

And yeah, characters with as long and active lives as Geralt and either Yennefer or Triss cooped up on some farm for the rest of their existence? I'd give them a honeymoon period of wild sex and relaxation and recuperation after everything they've all been through, but there isn't a single one of the three who isn't liable to go stir-crazy within half a year, and two of them have a history of driving each other crazy after periods of bliss.

Another reason to prefer the Kovir ending. Both Geralt and Triss actually keep pursuing their professional interests and no doubt become valuable and respected citizens, things that are imperative for anyone to feel fulfilled and content with their lives in the long run. 

And frankly, after downing so many disgusting potions and killing any taste buds that might have survived the mutation process, I feel like Geralt would make shit wine. It'd probably be way too strong and bitter, totally overwhelming.  And people would tell him because everyone knows he's a bit of a pushover, and he'd get depressed and feel unworthy and start looking for monsters to kill again.

Just... no.

After reading Lady of the Lake (the fan translations) and having finished all the Witcher games.  I've come to the conclusion that the Witcher universe has actually put Geralt in the completely fantasy situation of having 3 genuine love interests, who incredulously all genuinely fall in love with him in return.  Finally, they all still remain in love with him despite knowing that Geralt has 2 other genuine lovers.  So after reading from the books and playing the games, I've managed to parse out exactly what is going on between Geralt and the 3 great loves of his life.  I've also managed to parse out what exactly these girls find in Geralt.  Each of these relationships has a different dynamic and each girl has a different sort of connection with Geralt (which in real life would never exist outside of 1 person).

Yennefer of Vengerberg:

Yennefer, following the novels and the games, is the "one" in Geralt's life.  She's THE love of his life and the girl who Geralt wants to be with the most.  The games suggest this could be the result of a Djinn's spell added unto already existing attraction.  Nevertheless, they have shared too many intimate moments together, including preparing to die alongside each other in a bathtub before they were spared by the emperor, that they cannot help but be in love.  The books reinforce the notion that Yennefer is the one who Geralt loves the most and whom Geralt has the most intense feelings of love multiple times.  She throws everything away and sets everything aside to be with Geralt.  Geralt in return ventures to risk life and limb without a second thought to be with her.  The books also reinforce the theme that Yennefer and Geralt are "meant to be" by essentially making them "father & mother" to their "daughter" Ciri.  This is as close to the Witcher universe hammering in our heads the message that these two are meant to be.  To Geralt, Yennefer seems to be the person whom he loves the most and cannot help but yearn to be with.  Finally out of all the 3, she seems to be the one who understands Geralt the most.  To Yennefer, Geralt seems to be the only one of her lovers who can bring her true happiness.

Triss Merigold:

Triss' relationship with Geralt is that he is the one who awakened feelings of true love within her for the first and perhaps only time.  Initially she was merely curious at Geralt's love with Yennefer and seduced him with a spell. She wanted to find out what it was like to be in love with Geralt.  She got her wish and after sleeping with a charmed Geralt, she wanted more and has been in love with Geralt ever since.  Initially she accepted that Geralt was to be with Yennefer in the books, and just settled for being unhappily in love with her friend's lover.  However, the games changed the equation.  Geralt's amnesia and Yennefer's seeming death gave Triss a chance to be with the love of her life.  Initially more cold and self-serving in Witcher 1, Triss nevertheless had an obvious deep attraction to Geralt to the point where she would go to greater lengths than her rival Shani.  Her hardened demeanor softened considerably after she ended up with Geralt during the events of Witcher 2, and their love blossomed to perhaps its strongest. Triss was the one who saw how unhealthy and how hard Geralt's relationship with Yennefer was, and being with Geralt in the books and games have developed her into a better person and helped her understood the feeling of love.  To Triss, Geralt is the love of her life and "the one who got away".  He's the one who she deeply wants to be with because he's the one who showed her what it was like to love someone else.  Her personality change from the books to Witcher 1 and from Witcher 1 to Witcher 2 showed us that she was developing as a person alongside her relationship with Geralt.  Depending on your choice, Witcher 3 at the lighthouse was the point where she came to full realization that she had finally won Geralt's true love.  Triss' attraction to Geralt seems to mirror Geralt's attraction to Yennefer. It doesn't really make sense, but it is clear that she has the strongest feelings for Geralt out of all Geralt's lovers.  To Geralt, Triss seems to be the only lover that can bring him true happiness.

Shani:

Shani met Geralt in the books and was infatuated with him as a teenager.  They went on an adventure and they slept together.  During the events of Witcher 1 she was rescued by an amnesiac Geralt and instantly rekindled her attraction for him.  Geralt was in essence someone who could ignite a spark within her and make her do illogical choices for him in terms of her lifestyle.  So much so that she competed fiercely for his affections during Witcher 1 against Triss Merigold, and depending on your choice they eventually wound up together.  Due to lifestyle differences and Shani being young and wanting to pursue her career, Geralt and her broke up leading up to Witcher 2. However, we get to see a clearer picture of their relationship in Witcher 3.  Despite them breaking up for career reasons, meeting up with Geralt in Witcher 3 again showed that Shani could not help but want to be with Geralt.  It is clear that Geralt still has feelings for Shani, unless you play him as a complete jerk, and Shani still has feelings for Geralt.  Knowing that a life with Geralt cannot offer her stability and is not compatible with her career in the medical world, Shani nevertheless has a side of her that wants to be with him.  Irrational as it may be, Geralt seems to bring her a special sort of excitement that she could never get with anyone else.  To Shani, Geralt seems to be the "bad boy" with whom it would be career ending to be with but with whom she cannot help but long for, as seen in Witcher 3 especially.  She is young and ambitious, and so she makes choices in Witcher 1/3 based on her career.  However it is clear that she is still very much in love with Geralt based on their shared experiences.  To Geralt, Shani seems to be the only one who can help him develop into a better person.  Not only her compassion but also that she is the most normal and stable of the 3 girls.  Geralt seems to find in Shani someone who he can not only protect but truly care for.  The other girls in his life all can protect themselves, but Geralt seems to interact/care for Shani in a unique way.  He seems to find that Shani is the only lover with whom he can develop into a more mature and complete human being.

Basically the game/books have created a situation where Geralt actually has 3 people who he genuinely loves and cares about.  All 3, knowing full well that Geralt has feelings for the other 2, love him back.  Although CDPR and the novels do not come to the ultimate conclusion of their fantasy love stories, which could never happen in real life, Geralt should end up with all 3 as lovers.  Even if he only settles down with 1, the other 2 will likely forever have feelings for him and him for them; feelings and experience like the ones he had with those 3 do not simply dissipate with time.  This image is pretty nice depicting what would likely happen if the 4 people's relationship is taken to its logical conclusion:

Triss because redhead love is best love! 😍

Oh yes, I've been meaning to ask. I only played W3 so I don't understand the bit between Yen and Geralt concerning the unicorn.

What do you mean? I know they used it as a love bed, whatever but am curious whether an incident gave Yen that idea or it's simply just her kind of fetish. I thought someone might have a better idea / info but I'll go by what I found in a search.

I cracked up while looking through her room in Skellige and seeing the unicorn there. Didn't realize it would be life-size.