Radskier

Radskier is the slash ship between Jaskier and Radovid from The Witcher fandom.

Shaerrawedd
Frustrated with Dijkstra's failure to bring Princess Cirilla of Cintra to Redania for him to marry (a strategy that would have provided him with a rightful claim to Cintra, and made Redania the most powerful kingdom on the Continent) King Vizimir declares that he has decided to put his best and most trusted man on the job - his younger brother: Prince Radovid.

A displeased - yet resigned - Philippa thus reluctantly agrees to assist the Prince in his search for Ciri - as she feels that no one else but she and Dijkstra can be trusted with "babysitting" the King's "baby brother".

On her way to meeting with The Sandpiper, she stops by a tavern, and asks the Prince to wait for her there.

She then finds Jaskier in the middle of a heated argument with one of his lovers, Vespula, who has been throwing various objects down at him from the balcony of her apartment in the Town-square.

While Jaskier is attempting to argue with her that “it was just one time – admittedly with many different people – and it meant nothing!”, she throws down a pair of pants that the bard remarks aren’t even his, to which she responds “Do you think you were the only one having some fun on the side, you lying, wretched son of a devil?”, and gets even more irritated when he answers “Well…  yeah, kinda?”

Jaskier then attempts to pacify her saying ''“This is what we do, my sweet. We are creatives. Freethinkers. All is fair!”''

At that moment, Philippa chooses to make her presence known and, as she is attempting to intimidate the bard into handing them over Ciri, the argument with Vespula culminates with her throwing Jaskier’s beloved lute from her balcony as far as she can (much to Jaskier’s horror) …  with Radovid unexpectedly showing up and catching it before it shatters on the ground.

While Radovid tells Philippa that he left the tavern because he was "getting bored", the Prince quickly reveals himself to be a fan of Jaskier's work, confesses to having "long wanted to see [him] in person", and says that "Song of the Seven" is his favorite.

While quick to remark on the slight irony of Radovid's song choice, Jaskier nevertheless appears pleased by the compliment, and extends his hand towards the Prince while inviting him to introduce himself.

Upon realizing that he's standing in front of the Prince of Redania, Jaskier becomes immediately flustered - forgetting all proper knowledge of Royal etiquette while babbling and attempting to approximate a weird curtsy - under the very amused and charmed gaze of the Prince.

After apologizing for how long he's been holding onto Radovid's hand, Jaskier once again attempts to argue with Philippa that there's not much he can do to bring Ciri to them.

As she's about to issue yet more threats, Radovid interrupts her, and attempts to argue that having Ciri come to Redania - though a far from perfect solution - would be the "least bad option" to ensure the Princess' safety.

The moment he suggests that Jaskier could be their "royal bard", however, said bard is quick to dismiss the idea, arguing that "a staid life at court" isn't meant for him; thus prompting Radovid to answer "If your time at court's been staid, you've been doing it wrong."

The flirtatious nature of the exchange is not lost on Philippa, and, before they leave, she gives Jaskier a five days ultimatum to get results; threatening to "undo all the good" he's ever done as "The Sandpiper" if he doesn't get results (meaning they will massacre every single elf he's ever helped ferry to safety).

A few days later, a violent encounter with Rience and the Scoia'tael - where Jaskier has a bit of a near death experience (his lute, that Radovid had prevented from shattering earlier in the episode, ends up stopping an arrow from reaching him), a few of Yarpen Zigrin's men are either injured or killed, and Ciri is almost captured - Jaskier starts reconsidering the Prince's offer.

He thus secretly meets with Philippa and Radovid, and tells them that he now realizes how much danger the people he loves are in, and that Redania might stand the best chance at offering them protection. As Radovid suggests that they could escort Ciri back to Redania that very night, Jaskier answers "No, not yet", then tells them about Rience, and says that if they can get rid of him, they will have gained Geralt, Ciri, and his own trust.

After Jaskier leaves, Philippa notices Radovid's sigh of longing, and seemingly begins perceiving him as a potentially useful political tool.

Reunion
As Jaskier dreamily reflects on his and Radovid's last encounter, swooning over how intelligent, insightful, and different he is – visibly affected and intrigued by the feelings the Prince is inspiring him (while trying to explain them by comparing Geralt to a hammer, and Radovid to a spoon) – Vespula eventually tells Jaskier “you like him”, looking fondly amused by the whole situation.

When Jaskier answers ''“Who, Geralt? Yeah, I guess. Platonically, and occasionally with great effort, as one would a family goat,”; Vespula rolls her eyes at him, looking even more amused, before clarifying “I mean the spoon guy.”''

When Jaskier attempts to deny it, she insists, telling him ''“I’ve cursed you for chasing tails of every kind. Men, women, dwarves, elves, polymorphous…  […] But never have I ever seen you have a crush ”;'' thus implying that Jaskier, as a sapioromantic, could be finding himself experiencing genuine romantic attraction towards another person for the (or one of the) first time(s); and that, despite what their very first scene together would suggest, Vespula has not only been very much aware of Jaskier’s rather diverse and frequent sexual encounters for quite some time now, but also seems to be generally okay with them.

At least, the good-natured, affectionate, and supportive way she teases him about his feelings for Radovid suggests as much.

The fact that she says she's never ever seen him have a crush before also implies that Vespula and Jaskier aren't romantically involved - despite being emotionally and sexually intimate with each other - since one would assume that, should Jaskier have had romantic feelings for her, she would have seen him have a crush on someone (herself) before at some point, at the very least.

Quotes
"Does the witcher know how lucky he is to have you?"

- Radovid, Unbound

Songs

 * Extraordinary Things | Jaskier/Joey Batey ( on the show and the soundtrack )
 * & Radovid/Hugh Skinner ( on the show )
 * Jaskier's first song to Radovid. In an interview, Joey Batey explained that "...there was an awful lot of script rewrites and things like that. We deleted whole scenes in favour of songs. So I brought in a new song, and I said: 'Can we just cut all this dialogue, and I can just sing something?" in reference to this specific song.
 * The lyrics are:
 *  Keep your words on ice, Your gaze lights the fire, *
 * They say, "Keep on playing nice", But I have no desire*
 * Why waste our words, When lips were made for extraordinary things*
 * It's not a want, it's a need, It is paying no heed to what others say to sing*
 * The greatest songs are made up of unspoken words of love* Of them I have had enough, With you, I have enough  With you, I am enough, I am enough
 * Drop the sweet disguise, Your heart's beating too loud
 * The fairy tales and little lies can't drown out all the sound
 * So take this heart and break this heart, For extraordinary things
 * It's not a want, it's a need
 * It is paying no heed to what others say to sing
 * The greatest songs are made up of unspoken words of love
 * Of them I have had enough, With you, I have enough*
 * With you, I am enough, I am, I am enough*
 *  *Parts of the song that Jaskier is heard singing on the show. 
 * The lyrics appear to be an invitation - from Jaskier to Radovid - for the two of them to stop playing games with each other.  Either by staying quiet when they are stuck in a situation where they can't be truthful with one another (Keep your words on ice) and letting the sincerity in their eyes do the talking instead (Your gaze lights the fire), or even opting for other more physical forms of communication (Why waste our words, When lips were made for extraordinary things); being brave enough to disobey what Dijkstra and Philippa's intend for them (They say, "Keep on playing nice", But I have no desire); and/or downright ignoring them (It is paying no heed to what others say to sing).
 * In the second part of the song - that the show chose to cut probably because of time constraints - Jaskier appears to be telling Radovid that the Prince's feelings for him are too loud for Jaskier to be successfully fooled by all his little lies and pretenses (Your heart's beating too loud, The fairy tales and little lies can't drown out all the sound), and that he might as well stop pretending (Drop the sweet disguise), since he can already see right through him. There's also a sense that Jaskier might  be  expect  ing  things between them to have a bit of a rocky start - and for Radovid to break hi  s  heart at some point - but still remains hopeful and willing to take that risk  ;  because of what he might stand to gain in exchange (So take this heart and break this heart, For extraordinary things).
 * Radovid later sings the song back to Jaskier - deeply surprising and touching him - before the two of them share their very first kiss and make love in a shed. In essence, having Radovid sing the song back to Jaskier could be considered a way for him to express that he accepts Jaskier's invitation, desires the same thing, and is willing to attempt to be sincere and truthful with him, too, regardless of what his brother, Dijkstra, or Philippa may want from him.  It could also be one of the reasons why Radovid's perceived betrayal, when he went to see Ciri without having first gained Jaskier's permission to do so, appeared to hurt Jaskier so much.
 * In the second part of the song - that the show chose to cut probably because of time constraints - Jaskier appears to be telling Radovid that the Prince's feelings for him are too loud for Jaskier to be successfully fooled by all his little lies and pretenses (Your heart's beating too loud, The fairy tales and little lies can't drown out all the sound), and that he might as well stop pretending (Drop the sweet disguise), since he can already see right through him. There's also a sense that Jaskier might  be  expect  ing  things between them to have a bit of a rocky start - and for Radovid to break hi  s  heart at some point - but still remains hopeful and willing to take that risk  ;  because of what he might stand to gain in exchange (So take this heart and break this heart, For extraordinary things).
 * Radovid later sings the song back to Jaskier - deeply surprising and touching him - before the two of them share their very first kiss and make love in a shed. In essence, having Radovid sing the song back to Jaskier could be considered a way for him to express that he accepts Jaskier's invitation, desires the same thing, and is willing to attempt to be sincere and truthful with him, too, regardless of what his brother, Dijkstra, or Philippa may want from him.  It could also be one of the reasons why Radovid's perceived betrayal, when he went to see Ciri without having first gained Jaskier's permission to do so, appeared to hurt Jaskier so much.
 * Radovid later sings the song back to Jaskier - deeply surprising and touching him - before the two of them share their very first kiss and make love in a shed. In essence, having Radovid sing the song back to Jaskier could be considered a way for him to express that he accepts Jaskier's invitation, desires the same thing, and is willing to attempt to be sincere and truthful with him, too, regardless of what his brother, Dijkstra, or Philippa may want from him.  It could also be one of the reasons why Radovid's perceived betrayal, when he went to see Ciri without having first gained Jaskier's permission to do so, appeared to hurt Jaskier so much.
 * Radovid later sings the song back to Jaskier - deeply surprising and touching him - before the two of them share their very first kiss and make love in a shed. In essence, having Radovid sing the song back to Jaskier could be considered a way for him to express that he accepts Jaskier's invitation, desires the same thing, and is willing to attempt to be sincere and truthful with him, too, regardless of what his brother, Dijkstra, or Philippa may want from him.  It could also be one of the reasons why Radovid's perceived betrayal, when he went to see Ciri without having first gained Jaskier's permission to do so, appeared to hurt Jaskier so much.


 * A Little Sacrifice | Jaskier/Joey Batey ( on the show )
 * & Ciri/Freya Allan ( on the show and the soundtrack )
 * A song that Jaskier sings to Ciri as a lullaby to help her fall asleep (moments before Radovid attempts to knock on their cabin's door, with the following events leading to their very first kiss and night spent together).
 * The song is about a Prince (Radovid), living on land, and a Siren (Jaskier), living in the sea, that fall in love with each other. At first, the two of them  attempt to convince the other to make a "trade for surf", and a "swap for turf"; each pondering what they want most in life, and which one of them would cave in to follow the other (i.e. make a little sacrifice) first.  Eventually, the song reaches a point where the Prince is being confronted by a "twilight red horizon" that finally makes him see his place among the sirens, and believe trading foot for fin to be worth it!  The last chorus changes from "For if yer goal be Paradise, a life with your true love, Ponder all yer wants in life, and make A Little Sacrifice...." to "For if yer goal be Paradise, just give your love a firm nudge, if he sinks to darkest night, embrace his Little Sacrifice!"; perhaps referring to Radovid's attempt to leave his life at court to follow Jaskier, only for him to devastatingly sink on his very first attempt to swim, as his brother is violently murdered and he is made King against his will.
 * Ciri later sings the song to herself while lost and wandering the desert alone, for comfort.
 * Ciri later sings the song to herself while lost and wandering the desert alone, for comfort.
 * Ciri later sings the song to herself while lost and wandering the desert alone, for comfort.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION


 * TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Joey Batey has been deeply involved in the creation and the portrayal of the Radskier ship. "My number-one priority, which I said to her, was just to make sure that we were doing it right and that we did it sensitively with a care and a kinship, and I wanted to avoid all kinds of stereotyping, really.  So there was an awful lot of script rewrites and things like that. We deleted whole scenes in favour of songs. So I brought in a new song, and I said: 'Can we just cut all this dialogue, and I can just sing something?'"
 * When asked if the two characters might be singing together, Joey answered "I don't think [I could]. I think I would be too nervous to sing anywhere near Hugh. I think his talent would outshine mine and poor Jaskier, you know, poor Jaskier's ego would be burned if I ever tried to do that." However, according to Hugh, he did offer him a crash course on how to play the "mandolin" [note: he might have meant "lute"].