Obsessed with the idea of Extraordinary Things being a back and forth between Jaskier and Radovid, with Jaskier trying to draw him out in the first verse, and Radovid finally answering him in the second.
Cause like, with Radovid, Jaskier meets someone who he can't fully read properly. He knows there's something under the front of a drunken, bumbling prince, but he doesn't know him well enough yet to be certain as to what.
So, he tests the waters a bit. throws out a line to see if Radovid will take it—and he does. A little bit. But it's so interesting to me, because it doesn't just feel like Jaskier is trying to nail down Radovid's truth in this verse; it feels like he's injecting elements of his own mask into it, as well.
"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."
This is Jaskier's read of Radovid as he knows him so far: a man hiding more complex wants beneath the veneer of a drunken party boy. But it's also Jaskier admitting that he knows this about Radovid because he wears the exact same mask himself.
Much like how Jaskier and Ciri speak through Geralt and Yennefer in order to process their own feelings about them later in the season, Jaskier sings through himself in order to comprehend who Radovid is. Jaskier is using the performative persona he's crafted for himself in an attempt to coax Radovid out of his.
All of it leads into the main intention of this song: "The greatest songs are made up of unspoken words of love. Of them, I've had enough. with you, I am enough." I am tired of having to put up a front. I want to be understood. I think you understand me. Prove me right.
And Radovid sees what Jaskier is doing. He comments on Jaskier's ability to see people for who they are and not who they pretend to be. But there's still more he wants to understand. This still feels like a game, in a way.
It's only after Radovid sees the brutality of Dijkstra and Philippa up close, watches them orchestrate the assassination of the queen and threaten to incriminate him if he doesn't fall in line, that he then grasps the vulnerability in Jaskier's lyrics. Jaskier is also caught between multiple conflicting desires, that of his loyalty to Geralt/Yen/Ciri, and that of his work as the Sandpiper & how said work is backed by his continued commitment to Redanian Intelligence. That internal conflict and the desire to escape it is also highlighted in the song's first verse ("they say keep on playing nice, but i have no desire"). Only after all of this, when true fear begins to take over and the game stops being fun, does Radovid truly begin to truly understand Jaskier.
And so, he seeks him out. And he responds.
“Drop the sweet disguise, your heart’s beating too loud. The fairytales and little lies can’t drown out all the sound.” You were right. I do understand you. I know what you really want, because we're the same. You can’t hide it behind a façade of a song and a story and a persona.
“Take this heart and break this heart for extraordinary things.” I don't know what will become of this, or us. I still don't fully know if we can trust each other. But no one has ever seen me in the way that you have.
It's not a want, it's a need. With you, I am enough.
122 notes
·
View notes
The Witcher Headcanon (Modern AU) - OST
Jaskier loves music. He loves music so much, he made it his career. He's made a name for himself and his band, and he is really passionate about his music.
So of course music is an important part of his daily life. Yennefer and Geralt can always tell how he's feeling based on what he's listening to. Like when he gets dumped by his girlfriend of the week.
Yennefer opens his bedroom door, hearing his Sad Playlist consisting of sad 80's songs including Until I Find You Again and Should Have Known Better by Richard Marx, Against All Odds and Since You've Been Gone by Phil Collins (Genesis), I'll Be Over You by Toto, Every Time You Go by Paul Young, Missing You by John Waite, and Here I Go Again by Whitesnake. "Let me guess, (name) dumped you.."
And while he uses music to realx, cope, etc. he also just likes to have fun with it.
And he wants to share that fun with his friends, because why wouldn't they want to have their own personal sound tracks for their day? So he waits for opportunities to use music to make things more interesting, like:
Writing a song using nothing but the annoyed text messages Yen sends him, then singing it to her.
That particular experiment led to him using the mean messages Valdo Marx left on his social media posts to write a hit album that went on to win him several awards. Valdo had been frothing at the mouth p*ssed. It had been the ultimate insult.
Every time Geralt gets annoyed with him and tells him to f**k off, Jaskier gets his guitar and follows Geralt around singing I'm Gonna Be(500 Miles) by The Proclaimers, his Northern accent (which he usually tries to hide) on full blast. There is nowhere safe when he does this. Not even the bathroom. Geralt was onced forced to listen to Jaskier stand outside the bathroom door, singing while he took a sh*t. Yennefer thought it was as funny as h*ll. Geralt, not so much.
Jaskier has a wide variety of 80's music (because that is Geralt's favorite) that he uses to annoy entertain Geralt and Yennefer with throughout the day. But sometimes, he uses the same song for a certain type of situation.
Like when Geralt and Yennefer are having a romantic moment. They can be in the kitchen, on the couch, in the hallway...anywhere, and Jaskeir will immediately fire up the old school stereo, pop in a cassette, and play Glory of Love by Peter Cetera, or Now and Forever by Richard Marx
Geralt: *annoyed and slighly embarrassed* Hm.
And may all the gods forbid that Geralt be caught smiling at Yennefer when she's not looking because Jaskier WILL play The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson.
If he catches Yennefer doing it to Geralt, he's immediately singing I Want You by Savage Garden, or Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. It embarrasses the ever living f**k out of her, especially when he does it in public because he has to make a scene. And when he starts singing, people start gathering.
If he really wants to embarrass Yennefer, he starts singing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, AND does the dance.
Sometimes he gets Ciri in on it. Like when they burst into Geralt's room on a Saturday morning, jump on the bed and start singing The Best Day Ever.
If they really want to annoy Geralt, they start following him around singing Crazy Frog. Anytime, anywhere, Jaskier and Ciri give eachother The Look, and it's on. Geralt's body just instantly goes into flight mode the minute Jaskier starts making the motorcycle noises. Running is ineffective because they just follow him, doing the little dance.
Jaskier knows exactly which songs to put on when Geralt is having a hard time saying what he wants to say. The man is sometimes just not good with words, and 'Hmm' and 'Hm' can only go so far. So, Jaskier is always ready for those moments.
He carries an oldschool boombox and a small collection of tapes. They can be anywhere. In the car, in the house, walking down the street and Jaskier will f***ing pop up out of nowhere with his music.
The first time he did it, Geralt was in Roach, driving Yennefer somewhere, and the 'Hmm's weren't cutting it, and suddenly there was a little 'click' from the back and Because I Love You by Stevie B started playing.
Geralt glanced in the rearview mirror and Jaskier was there, sitting on the back seat with a huge grin, giving him a thumbs up and mouthing "I got you, bestie!" Geralt considered driving into the nearest concrete wall while Yennefer just smiled and asked Jaskier to turn it up.
She didn't think it was as funny when her and Geralt were walking around the mall, holding hands, and Geralt just so happened to spot Jaskeir coming towards them with his boombox, and it was suddenly a case of 'Making my way down town, walking fast'.
Jaskier starts playing Uptown Girl by Billy Joel, and now it's 'walking faster....', as people start looking at them, and the next thing they know Yennefer and Geralt are running through the mall, with Jaskier running after them, holding his boombox over his head.
Everytime Geralt was locked in his room, trying to deal with something alone, Jaskier would put his little cassette player outside his bedroom door and play supportive songs like I Will Be Here For You by Michael W. Smith and Never Surrender by Corey Hart. And he would play it over and over until Geralt decided to come out. Of course Geralt always grumbled that he was only coming out so Jaskier would turn it off. It definitley wasn't because the song made him feel better.
When Jaskier wants to make them laugh themselves onto the floor, he will put on Cotton Eye Joe and do the dance. If they are in public and the song starts playing, he start dancing. It's funny when it happens at a club or bar. Not funny when it happens in the middle of the grocery store.
Need to hype himself or Geralt up before they do something that will cause Yen to have to go get her box of "dumbass" band-aids? They will both be standing there singing Big Balls by AC/DC at the tops of their lungs.
If Geralt and Yennefer had a fight, you bet your a** Jaskier has sat down on the couch with his guitar and started loudly singing Richard Marx's Right Here Waiting For You, or Take This Heart.
If they even start arguing in front of him, Jaskier is putting on Hold My Hand by Michael Jackson.
They once p*ssed each other off so bad one night that they refused to be in the same room together. So of course Jaskier goes into the livingroom, turns on the stereo, cranks up the volume, and puts on Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx.
When Geralt and Yennefer both stick their heads out of their isolation chambers, they see Jaskier standing in the dark in the livingroom, slowly waving his lighter over his head like he's at some kind of concert, and for some reason it's hilarious and they both just start laughing their a**es off.
When Yennefer and Geralt got 'divorced', Jaskier gave Geralt a cassette with One More Try by Tommy T on it, and made him drive them to Yennefer's house in Vengerberg. Then he shoved Yen into Roach. They had to sit there, the song playing on repeat, with Jaskier holding on to them so they couldn't get away. He made them stay there until they made up.
He had a big fight with Geralt once, and the Witcher was holed up in Roach, refusing to speak to him. Yennefer looked out the window to see Jaskier standing next to Roach, holding up his boombox and alternately playing Hard To Say I'm Sorry by Chicago and If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher. In the rain.
Yennefer had yelled at Geralt in his head Gods, Geralt, make up with him already! Look at him! The poor, sweet little b**tard is standing out there looking like a heartbroken teenager that's just stepped out of an old 80's afterschool special!
Jaskier even once gave Yennefer a surprise epic homecoming. She'd been gone for a whole week, and Geralt had been practically languishing. He'd spent the whole week, drifing aimlessly around the house or draped dramatically over the couch.
Geralt had been waiting for Yennefer in the driveway when she'd gotten back, and the second she'd stepped out of the car, Geralt had her in his arms. And at that moment, Jaskier had thrown open the second story window and leaned out, holding his boombox and blasting Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship.
Geralt couldn't even be mad. The timing had been perfect, and so had the song. Although he had been a little bit embarrassed when the neighbors had come out to see what all the fuss was about.
They'ed started clapping and whistling, and someone had tossed him a can of beer. And that had started a small impromptu welcome home block party.
61 notes
·
View notes