"I don't get it," Cirilla admits with a tilted head.
Jaskier, on the other hand, is in thrall. He keeps his eyes on the painting, but he still raises a finger and shakes it in Midge's direction. "Don't you dare compare this to the stains," he says with obvious disapproval.
"They're rocks. And look at the people in the back - this man is in despair yet still clinging to that other person, and the lion comes out of his chest - his feelings, mayhaps? Yes, yes. The rocks are all his struggles." He searches for the name of the painting and laughs. "The Accommodations of Desire? Ha! Someone was definitely struggling with some complex emotions."
Jaskier is living for this painting and Midge loves it. She gives Ciri a look and motions for the girl to walk with her so that Jaskier can look at it all he wants.
“I like surrealism, but I don’t always understand it either,” Midge says as the walk slowly through the gallery. “Do you have a favorite thing that you saw today?”
That is a very Geralt-like sound. “Yeah? Did the clothing seem familiar? From what I’ve seen of Jaskier’s outfits, it seemed spot on.” Ciri dresses more like a modern girl, probably because she’s young and more malleable when it comes to fashion taste. You reach a certain age where your style is your style and you don’t want to change it anymore.
“Quick!” Midge tells Ciri in a stage whisper and picks up her pace. “I think he’s spotted us!”
"I mean, yeah. But they're also like the paintings at home. The--" She frowns as she tries to remember the word. "--surreal? stuff. It was very strange."
Midge's prank makes Cirilla laugh and she picks up her pace, too. Jaskier doesn't take it well, he keeps complaining about it as he hurries up, too. Years of escaping from monsters and following Geralt mean he's in good shape when it comes to running, and soon he's catching up to them. Cirilla is a trained warrior and easily dodges him, so Jaskier decides to concentrate on Midge by wrapping his arms around her from behind.
There's a slight miscalculation, though: the museum floors are kinda slippery, he's not used to running on these fancy floor tiles. Which means he ends up falling and bringing Midge down with him. Oops?
Lots of portraits of nobles where she comes from. That tracks. “They’re thought-provoking, at least. Some people think that’s what art is supposed to be. Art means different things to different people.”
Midge giggles as Jaskier runs after them, trying not to be too loud in the quiet museum. Patrons are already starting to look at them. She can’t help but squeal when he grabs her, then cry out when they fall down.
“Stop!” She laughs. “You’re going to get us kicked out.”
Sure enough, a security guard is already approaching them.
Cirilla is laughing pretty hard, but Jaskier is pouting. "I'm getting us kicked out? You kidnapped my niece first!"
When they see the guard coming, Ciri rushes to help them up. Jaskier fixes his clothes and his hair before offering his most charming smile.
"Apologies, good sir, just a little accident. I promise you we shall be on our best behaviour." Noticing other patrons staring, Jaskier apologizes and bows for them too - although he throws a little wink as well, causing some women to blush and/or giggle.
“Romeo.” Midge then realizes that he doesn’t understand the reference. “It’s the romantic hero in one of Shakespeare’s plays. Usually a nickname for flirtatious men who attract a lot of attention.”
Cirilla laughs at the description, but Jaskier just gasps.
"Oh! I keep hearing about Shakespeare. I read Hamlet; it was pretty good." He tilts his head at Midge. "What book is Romeo from? He sounds like a fine fellow; I shall make it my next read."
He'll be kinda disappointed that it's actually incredibly tragic.
"Ah, if he's in the title, it'll be easy to remember. Thank you, dear." He thinks he can handle tragedies, and it's not completely untrue. But his brain has totally made a false idea of what it'll be like because of Midge's definition of a Romeo.
Jaskier opens his mouth and is about to complain about skipping the reading, but Ciri stops him just in time. "I am doing my reading! We've read 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland'. That one was weird. Kind of like the surreal paintings, but in words."
To be fair, she's been doing her reading. Literature is good. History and Geography, though? Ciri hopes Midge won't ask about those.
At the question, Jaskier checks the map. "We've done all the exhibitions, have we not? I believe we can leave, yeah." However, he freezes when he sees something else on the map. "A gift shop? It's right by the exit."
When they get there, Jaskier gasps and gets excited, almost putting his nose against the display.
"They're mini versions of the paintings!" Meaning the prints. He points at a bunch of them and continues to look around while the clerk puts the prints in an envelope, quickly falling in love with everything because it's art-themed.
After picking two notebooks with beautiful covers, Jaskier finds the ties and laughs as he grabs the Starry Night one. "It turns out that all this time, I should've been looking for good fashion here." He turns to Midge and Ciri. "Do my favorite ladies want anything? My treat."
“Thank you, darling,” she says to Jaskier and gives him a kiss as he pays. She turns to Ciri. “Nice choices. You’ll have to let me borrow that cardinal.”
On top of all his choices, Jaskier ends up adding a peacock brooch, because being subtle was never his thing.
While Jaskier pays, Ciri smiles at the compliment. "Thank you. Do you have more pretty jewelry? We could do an exchange," she says while putting the cardinal brooch on her dress. "Why the panther?" she asks with curiosity.
"Cirilla means swallow," Jaskier clarifies, which explains Ciri's choice. A cardinal isn't exactly the same, but hey, the bird theme is there.
“Sure,” Midge says, “you can come look at my stuff sometime. I chose the panther because it’s wild and sassy and underestimated at your peril. Like me.”
The explanation of Ciri’s name makes sense with her choice. Close enough.
“A peacock for you is obvious,” Midge tells Jaskier. “I debated getting that one, so I might borrow it. I guess you didn’t want to get a flower, Mr. Buttercup?”
She hasn’t forgotten that’s the meaning of his name.
Both Ciri and Jaskier laugh at her description. "Not bad, but I see you more like a swan. Elegant, beautiful, and people don't expect her to bite, but she does. Fiercely." Once he has his bag, he puts his free arm around her and kisses her cheek. "We could've been three birds."
As they make their way outside, Jaskier chuckles at the nickname. "There were many flowers, and those brooches were pretty as well - but none of those flowers held the meaning that buttercups do."
Ciri is looking around at all the businesses that surround them. "Should we get dessert?"
A smile crosses Midge’s face at Jaskier’s description of her as a swan. “I think that’s fitting. Also when I sing, it sounds like a honking noise.”
She slips her hand in his as they walk down the stairs outside. “Quite true, my poisonous bard.”
Midge turns to Ciri. “There’s a good diner near here, where you can eat dessert for lunch if you want.” Depends on how Jaskier feels about that, but he strikes Midge as the type that wouldn’t care if Ciri had pie for lunch every once in a while.
The honking joke also makes them both laugh. Ciri is very happy to confirm that Midge is as funny as Jaskier said.
"Let's take a pie home then!" Ciri says in a very cheerful tone, clearly loving the idea. "I've only tried apple so far," she adds, and Jaskier agrees with that while letting Midge guide them to the diner. "What other kinds are there?"
“Oh my God, so many,” Midge replies. “Cherry, blueberry, pumpkin, pecan, lemon meringue… More that I can’t think of right now.” So many pies, so little time.
The diner isn’t far. When the three of them arrive, they sit down in a booth and a waitress brings them menus. Midge orders some coffee.
“Pumpkin,” Midge confirms. “It’s usually served around Thanksgiving and is sweeter than it sounds.”
One of Midge’s hands rests briefly on Jaskier’s thigh before she decides that she ought to behave herself. It would be so easy to snuggle up against him here.
She’s nodding along to Jaskier’s very overly detailed description and smiles when Ciri interrupts him. “Not all of them. New York happens to be a hub for arts and culture.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Jaskier, on the other hand, is in thrall. He keeps his eyes on the painting, but he still raises a finger and shakes it in Midge's direction. "Don't you dare compare this to the stains," he says with obvious disapproval.
"They're rocks. And look at the people in the back - this man is in despair yet still clinging to that other person, and the lion comes out of his chest - his feelings, mayhaps? Yes, yes. The rocks are all his struggles." He searches for the name of the painting and laughs. "The Accommodations of Desire? Ha! Someone was definitely struggling with some complex emotions."
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“I like surrealism, but I don’t always understand it either,” Midge says as the walk slowly through the gallery. “Do you have a favorite thing that you saw today?”
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Of the paintings that decorated the castle, to be more specific.
When Jaskier realizes he was left alone, he runs after them. "Oi, oi! This is abandonment!"
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“Quick!” Midge tells Ciri in a stage whisper and picks up her pace. “I think he’s spotted us!”
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Midge's prank makes Cirilla laugh and she picks up her pace, too. Jaskier doesn't take it well, he keeps complaining about it as he hurries up, too. Years of escaping from monsters and following Geralt mean he's in good shape when it comes to running, and soon he's catching up to them. Cirilla is a trained warrior and easily dodges him, so Jaskier decides to concentrate on Midge by wrapping his arms around her from behind.
There's a slight miscalculation, though: the museum floors are kinda slippery, he's not used to running on these fancy floor tiles. Which means he ends up falling and bringing Midge down with him. Oops?
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Midge giggles as Jaskier runs after them, trying not to be too loud in the quiet museum. Patrons are already starting to look at them. She can’t help but squeal when he grabs her, then cry out when they fall down.
“Stop!” She laughs. “You’re going to get us kicked out.”
Sure enough, a security guard is already approaching them.
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When they see the guard coming, Ciri rushes to help them up. Jaskier fixes his clothes and his hair before offering his most charming smile.
"Apologies, good sir, just a little accident. I promise you we shall be on our best behaviour." Noticing other patrons staring, Jaskier apologizes and bows for them too - although he throws a little wink as well, causing some women to blush and/or giggle.
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Midge gives the guard her most dazzling smile and the man grumbles and tells them to knock it off before leaving.
Jaskier can’t go anywhere without turning on the charm, can he? “Let’s go, Romeo,” Midge says, putting her hand on his arm.
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He turns to Ciri with a questioning look, but she shakes her head. She didn't get it either.
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Sound familiar?
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"Oh! I keep hearing about Shakespeare. I read Hamlet; it was pretty good." He tilts his head at Midge. "What book is Romeo from? He sounds like a fine fellow; I shall make it my next read."
He'll be kinda disappointed that it's actually incredibly tragic.
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“I’m surprised you’re not reading Shakespeare in school,” Midge says to Ciri, “unless you’re not doing the readings, which, fair enough.”
Midge only read the assigned books that sounded interesting to her.
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Jaskier opens his mouth and is about to complain about skipping the reading, but Ciri stops him just in time. "I am doing my reading! We've read 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland'. That one was weird. Kind of like the surreal paintings, but in words."
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Midge smiles at Ciri, wondering if she’s just trying to be good so that she doesn’t get scolded. She can always tell Midge the truth later.
“Is there anything else that we want to see here or are you two hungry?”
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At the question, Jaskier checks the map. "We've done all the exhibitions, have we not? I believe we can leave, yeah." However, he freezes when he sees something else on the map. "A gift shop? It's right by the exit."
When they get there, Jaskier gasps and gets excited, almost putting his nose against the display.
"They're mini versions of the paintings!" Meaning the prints. He points at a bunch of them and continues to look around while the clerk puts the prints in an envelope, quickly falling in love with everything because it's art-themed.
After picking two notebooks with beautiful covers, Jaskier finds the ties and laughs as he grabs the Starry Night one. "It turns out that all this time, I should've been looking for good fashion here." He turns to Midge and Ciri. "Do my favorite ladies want anything? My treat."
Ciri chooses a scarf and the cardinal brooch.
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She picks out a panther brooch because she’s sassy, and a silk neckerchief.
“Thank you, darling,” she says to Jaskier and gives him a kiss as he pays. She turns to Ciri. “Nice choices. You’ll have to let me borrow that cardinal.”
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While Jaskier pays, Ciri smiles at the compliment. "Thank you. Do you have more pretty jewelry? We could do an exchange," she says while putting the cardinal brooch on her dress. "Why the panther?" she asks with curiosity.
"Cirilla means swallow," Jaskier clarifies, which explains Ciri's choice. A cardinal isn't exactly the same, but hey, the bird theme is there.
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The explanation of Ciri’s name makes sense with her choice. Close enough.
“A peacock for you is obvious,” Midge tells Jaskier. “I debated getting that one, so I might borrow it. I guess you didn’t want to get a flower, Mr. Buttercup?”
She hasn’t forgotten that’s the meaning of his name.
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As they make their way outside, Jaskier chuckles at the nickname. "There were many flowers, and those brooches were pretty as well - but none of those flowers held the meaning that buttercups do."
Ciri is looking around at all the businesses that surround them. "Should we get dessert?"
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She slips her hand in his as they walk down the stairs outside. “Quite true, my poisonous bard.”
Midge turns to Ciri. “There’s a good diner near here, where you can eat dessert for lunch if you want.” Depends on how Jaskier feels about that, but he strikes Midge as the type that wouldn’t care if Ciri had pie for lunch every once in a while.
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"Let's take a pie home then!" Ciri says in a very cheerful tone, clearly loving the idea. "I've only tried apple so far," she adds, and Jaskier agrees with that while letting Midge guide them to the diner. "What other kinds are there?"
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The diner isn’t far. When the three of them arrive, they sit down in a booth and a waitress brings them menus. Midge orders some coffee.
“Did you like the museum?” She asks both of them.
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Jaskier makes sure to sit next to Midge and keeps an arm behind her on the back of the booth. That means Ciri gets to guard his shopping bag.
"Oh, it was marvelous!" Jaskier replies and goes on a long description of everything he liked with lots of hand gestures.
Ciri rolls her eyes and interrupts him, which makes him pout. "It was very nice. Are all museums like that here?"
Aww I missed this response earlier
One of Midge’s hands rests briefly on Jaskier’s thigh before she decides that she ought to behave herself. It would be so easy to snuggle up against him here.
She’s nodding along to Jaskier’s very overly detailed description and smiles when Ciri interrupts him. “Not all of them. New York happens to be a hub for arts and culture.”