The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the largest fantasy and most revered from the last decade. Before that game and the Netflix show, though, The Witcher was just a book series, with one fan drawing on them in a stellar Triss Merigold cosplay.
Triss Merigold is a recurring character in both the video games and the novels, but her depictions in each are slightly different. The Witcher games fix some of her book flaws, for instance, being absolutely obsessed with Geralt in the books, but being much more independent in the games. Other details from the book are not present entirely, like Triss' appearance. During the Battle of Sodden Hill, as a young sorceress, Triss was critically wounded, her hair being burnt off and her chest becoming scarred, the latter detail of which is never seen in the games.
Recently, sladkoslava uploaded her incredible book-accurate Triss cosplay to Instagram. In a powerful pair of photos, sladkoslava's cosplay emphasizes the scars on Triss' chest, the skin looking damaged and weathered. Sladkoslava's attention to detail across the board is tremendous, from replicating Triss' hairstyle and color, to the freckles and necklace. The exposure of Triss' scars combined with her facial expression evoke both Triss' vulnerability and trauma, but also her power too, truly capturing the heart of the character, something only the the best Witcher cosplays can do.
This is not sladkoslava's first time cosplaying Triss or The Witcher series for that matter. In the past, they have portrayed Triss in her iconic blue and yellow outfit as seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, as well as an interpretative holiday-inspired cosplay, more prominently featuring red and green. Besides Triss, sladkoslava has also cosplayed Cirilla Riannon, or Ciri, on numerous occasions and has even dabbled as Yennefer of Vengerberg. It is clear that she is quite the fan of some of The Witcher's strongest mages, considering the frequency that she cosplays them.
Sladkoslava's cosplay by capturing the book Triss and not the video game one, provides a refreshing glimpse at the character. Further, the cosplay raises the obvious question about why Triss' design changed from the books to the games. While the video game made many tweaks to her character that ultimately were for the better, the details about Triss' burning and the physically lingering effects of it are a compelling detail that would have been great for the game character as well. Either way, whether Triss is going to the Vegelbud ball, or preparing to see her Witcher, she is definitely a great character to cosplay.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.