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vrdantwind
"Hey, this is Claude! Pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. You can leave me a message here, and I'll get to it as soon as I can. Talk to you soon~."
vrdantwind"Hey, this is Claude! Pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. You can leave me a message here, and I'll get to it as soon as I can. Talk to you soon~."
3/3
Date: 2020-12-30 03:06 am (UTC)[It may say something about him that he reached that conclussion.]
no subject
Date: 2020-12-30 08:19 am (UTC)Also, she didn't! But believe me, she could have if she'd wanted to. Do you know she once laid out a renowned warrior a head taller than she was with one punch? She doesn't mess around, my mother. And I was a wild kid, so I aggravated her enough and often enough that I definitely saw plenty of her temper. She never laid me out flat, but I made her mad enough sometimes that I worried about it!
[Said warrior was actually a general, and Claude's mother the woman that warlike Almyra - even despite his homeland's xenophobia and contempt for those with Fodlan blood - knows as the Demon Queen, but Claude can't exactly give those details.]
But no, my parents loved me well enough, so no need for that kind of concern. But because they knew exactly the sort of problems and opposition I'd face as someone of mixed race in my homeland, they never exactly coddled me. They knew however harsh they were, the rest of the world would be harsher still. They made sure I was tough enough to endure and bounce back from just about anything. I wouldn't say we're particularly close, as a result, but I respect both the necessity of what they did and the obvious effectiveness of the results it got. Not to mention how strong they both are themselves. My parents are tough as teak.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-02 05:05 am (UTC)[The rest of the text takes a moment to arrive. It's hard to get a read from Claude sometimes - Jaskier is realizing how the guy plans his every word, knows exactly how much to say and how much not to, the court life of a duke obvious in every aspect of this pseudo-political play. And through text? It's worse. No facial expression to guide him.
He does believe Claude is a good guy, and he does believe in his dream. The picture he's presenting of his childhood, however, is unclear at best. Jaskier isn't sure he's in the mood to try to figure it out now, though, being in the middle of shopping as he is - which is an excuse not to admit how jealous he is of the loved him well enough and I respect them parts. So rolling with it for now it is, he can reread it and overanalyze it later.]
I'm glad to hear you found love in your parents while your childhood suffered from the bigotry problems we've discussed - they sound like honorable people I'd love to meet. I'm also happy to hear you got to be a wild kid even while in the middle of said problems! That's the only type of kid to be.
Is this where we compare anecdotes? I once put gold ink in my bath water because I wanted to look like my namesake.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-02 11:18 am (UTC)Gold ink? Talk about gilding the lily.
Okay, my best friend back home reacted weirdly to this story, so I'll preface it with the fact that I was totally fine and there's a trick to it that makes it not as bad as it sounds! Also, my mother thought it was a scream. Anyway, that said: my dad tied me to a horse once to help toughen me up.
[GEE, CLAUDE, I WONDER WHY HILDA WAS KIND OF HORRIFIED BY THAT STORY. The preface doesn't help!]
1/2
Date: 2021-01-02 08:49 pm (UTC)What.]
2/2
Date: 2021-01-02 08:58 pm (UTC)What really gets him, though, is Claude's attitude about the whole deal. Asshole parents he's heard about before, but Claude tells the story as if he was telling Jaskier about some silly prank he pulled on the servants. What the fuck is going on?]
Claude, I beg you - please tell me I'm misreading the tone of your message and you don't actually think this is a funny story to share so carefreely.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-03 09:19 am (UTC)But really, it is just a cultural difference thing. That's not unusual where I'm from. I'm what's unusual where I'm from. It might've been a little on the extreme side, but only because being half-Fodlan was going to mean double the challenges for me. Not every warrior back home has to be ready and able to take on any and every warrior of our people, because not every one of those warriors is going to hate him and be personally after him. I kind of did need to be ready for that sort of thing, though. And let's just say that the people who hated me back home weren't necessarily interested in playing fair, either. Like, you know, waiting for a kid to grow up before you try to kill him.
If tying a kid to a horse helps toughen him up in case a full-grown man decides to suddenly come at him with a blade the next week, it makes more sense to go to those kinds of extremes.
Although...I won't deny it might also have been to wear me out so I couldn't get in any more mischief for the day. Wouldn't be unlike my parents to kill two birds with one stone. And I was wild. Maybe I've been understating just how much.
tw for discussion of child abuse
Date: 2021-01-05 01:38 am (UTC)Right. This isn't Claude's fault. Like the witchers, he was taught this is what he should endure merely for being who he is. Fuck.]
Corporal punishment towards children isn't unheard of in my world. There definitely are parents that feel entitled to educate their offspring that way. It worries me, however, how easily you accept it.
There is a fine line between training and torture, my friend. You shouldn't endure such treatment because of who you are. I assure you princes also grow up with the threat of assassination over their shoulders yet they aren't tied to horses.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-06 07:41 am (UTC)Anyway...I would never say other kids deserve to be treated like that, or that it's a good practice. But it's not entirely unusual where I'm from, so I don't hold it against my parents for doing something that's considered kind of normal. I especially don't hold it against them because I feel like the results justified what I went through to reach them, if that makes sense.
I don't know for sure that everything I went through to toughen me up as a kid is why I'm standing here now; maybe I would have made it anyway. But I do know that I am standing here now, and that something - or multiple somethings - worked to get me here. I could wonder if I could get the same outcome with a different recipe, but - well, why? I can't go back and have things un-happen to me, even if I could narrow down what I needed and what I didn't. So instead, I'd rather assume that everything I've been through - even getting dragged by a horse - played a part in making sure I survived the challenges a lot of those hardships were meant to prepare me for.
I didn't mean to upset you, though. Maybe we should talk about something else...?
no subject
Date: 2021-01-09 01:46 am (UTC)And now he's trying to change the subject. Gosh, another thing in common with Geralt. Jaskier feels like screaming, but after thinking a bit about it, he realizes he has no choice but to give in. Claude is still keeping some political distance when it comes to certain subjects, and even if he wasn't, Jaskier knows how much it sucks to be poked over and over about the subject of shitty raising, so it must be ten times worse for Claude. Poking more now would be counterproductive.]
Don't think for a second that I believe you want to change the subject for me and not yourself. But you've helped me with my shopping and stroked my ego just right, so I'll let it pass today.
[He's still doing some shopping, so he sends a new picture: this time of the candy aisle at the market.]
Have you tried this "chocolate" yet? I had some on a pastry and it was like kissing a goddess.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-09 02:08 am (UTC)Still, if you're accepting the subject change for my sake, I'm grateful.
And I have had chocolate! It's definitely delicious. Personally, though, I enjoy sweets a decent amount, but I'm a bit more moderate about them than some people I know. A friend of mine would have lived on cake if she could've arranged it, but I prefer some variety.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-12 01:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-12 12:01 pm (UTC)But sadly, experimentation has to take a back seat to practicality. I don't have the coffers of a noble here, and I've been feeling the pinch. And I'm sure you're not made of money yourself. So I guess we can't just sample everything we're curious about, as tempting as it is...
no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-16 01:47 am (UTC)1/2
Date: 2021-01-18 03:51 pm (UTC)2/2
Date: 2021-01-18 03:51 pm (UTC)I hate you.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-19 12:20 am (UTC)I take it my choice wasn't good, huh?
no subject
Date: 2021-01-22 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-23 04:09 am (UTC)I guess it was an appropriate choice...for me, that is. As something for me to eat, and not you. Sorry! But it's not like I had any idea! Sriracha's not a spice I've ever heard of...
[Which is because it's a spice blend, not a spice in itself, but Claude will learn that later.]
no subject
Date: 2021-01-28 06:57 pm (UTC)I must say, however - impressive on your part to find your beloved spice even in a picture.