Toss a coin to your witcher's bestie (disaskier) wrote in pathways_log, @ 2021-04-20 02:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | the witcher: jaskier (nfx), tvd: caroline forbes |
Who: Jaskier, Caroline
What: Just having a nice chat at one of Caroline's events, doing some waltzing
When: Recently
Where: Some club somewhere in Vegas
Ratings/Warnings: PG? I think? Very low-key bullying mentions
Status: Complete!
Another day, another event. That was how Caroline liked it though. There was no better feeling than seeing an event she planned go off without a hitch. Well okay maybe there were a few better feelings but that wasn’t the point.
This particular event was full of people in the music industry. ‘Networking’ in the form of dancing and getting drunk. Caroline stood off to the side, eyes scanning the room to make sure everything was in order and everyone was enjoying themselves. That was when she spotted Jaskier also off to the side. Caroline made her way over to him, a large smile on her face.
“Not in a dancing mood?” she questioned, tucking her hair behind her ear.
It was a lovely party, as these scenes tended to go. He wasn't here for himself or his own gains, so he'd mostly let Elsa go off and chat with whoever she needed to. Every so often he made sure to make eye contact with her so that he could be there if she needed him.
Otherwise, he held onto his drink like a life raft and watched the people having fun. He looked relieved when Caroline came up to talk to him. "Thank you for the company," He replied, smiling at her, "It was getting rather chilly over here in this little corner. But... well, not really, no. The parties where I come from are all those boring, formal affairs where you do a lot of waltzing and ballroom dancing. I don't really know how to behave at one of these - though you did a lovely job, good on you!"
“Of course,” Caroline replied. She did like to make sure everyone was having a good time at her events. But more than that she just liked Jaskier in general.
“Ah,” Caroline commented. “I’ve hosted my fair share of those events too.” There were a lot of galas that required ballroom dancing. “I feel like it’s more rare to find someone that can waltz than it is to do,” she nodded at the dance floor which consisted of a lot gyrating.”This,” she finished. “It’s much more admirable.” The ballroom dancing that was.
"I was taught all kinds of completely gentlemanly things at boarding school," Jaskier admitted, still looking sheepish. "Including several kinds of ballroom dance. THAT wasn't entirely my scene either, but I think I understood the rules of engagement a bit better."
He shook his drink in the air at her and added, "Your refreshments are delightful, by the way. And I'm impressed at your range, you know. It's not everyone that can organize every imaginable sort of engagement and make it go off well."
“You went to boarding school?” Caroline asked. “Was it like how it is on TV?” she imagined a hell of a lot of scandals and sneaking into dorm rooms going on. But then when was real life ever like how it was on TV?
“Thanks,” Caroline beamed. It was her job, sure, but she still liked hearing the compliment. “I do what I can.”
Jaskier squinted a bit, visually displaying the fact that he was thinking about the way boarding schools were portrayed by the media. He wasn't sure he'd really seen much of that on TV, but he also hadn't watched much TV in general.
"Well... there really is a ton of mischief going on, because you tend to get bored fairly quickly otherwise. And I was constantly in trouble, mainly because I liked making up songs about people that frankly weren't all that complimentary."
He grinned at her, "But that's what you get when you try to bully someone over being named after a quite cheerful flower. Names aren't a choice, but being an asshat is."
“Ugh seriously?” Caroline was definitely one of the popular girls in high school. But she couldn’t stand bullying. She was pretty sure she had never been outright mean to anyone or picked on them either. At least she really hoped she didn’t. It was weird how people could do things without realizing sometimes.
“They totally deserved whatever songs you made up about them,” she concluded. Even if it had gotten him in trouble.
"Oh yes. Jaskier's polish for ... well I suppose we'd translate it to buttercup, though I have this sinking feeling like my parents actually wanted to name me after a dandelion. Either way, you know, it's a flower, and all of that patriarchy nonsense makes growing up male with a flower name a bit of an interesting time."
He nodded in agreement, though, "They did. I was expelled a few times, but I think even then."
Jaskier finished the last of his drink and set the empty glass off to the side, then held his hand out to her. "Do you want to go for a bit of a waltz? The music's wrong but I can pretend if you can."
His eyes briefly glanced in Elsa's direction, just touching base. She was still mingling, and he doubted he'd be missed yet.
Caroline was unable to keep the frustration off her face. Guys could be such dicks about the dumbest shit. She was so over all that toxic masculinity. “Did that like affect the way you feel about your name?” Caroline would hate that. She knew how things from childhood could affect people later on in their lives.
“Sure,” Caroline replied with a smile. “Though I’m not exactly trained in ballroom dancing. But I think I can handle the basics. If you lead me.”
"Oh, I think it might have for a little bit. It's hard to be completely unflappable in the face of all that bullying." Jaskier admitted, while taking Caroline's hand gently in his and pulling her in. He gave her a moment to get her arms settled into a more or less 'slow dancing' position, and then started leading her around in a slow circle.
"More than happy to lead! And you're quite good on your feet. It's probably not too far a stretch to learn that I often wasn't the person taking the lead in our dance lessons, so it's nice to get the chance now and again. But you know... I think that more than anything I've learned to just keep on walking forward. Or prancing forward with a guitar in your hand, or... you know. Keeping moving. I can't change my name, It's Buttercup and it always shall be. If I don't love it, who will?"
Caroline allowed Jaskier to lead her around the dance floor, easily keeping up with him. “Not a bad lesson,” Caroline agreed as they danced. Keep going forward could be applied in all aspects of life, as it should be.
“Well,” she said with a warm smile. “I love it too.”