Okay but. Geralt with auditory processing issues.
The mutations wreck havok on the senses. Sure, they make his hearing range incredible, but they donāt help with the processing, and heās constantly hearing everything at once. Itās worse for Geralt than the other witchers because heās had the Grasses twice. (Or because heās autistic, duh.)
Itās half the reason he communicates so much with grunts, because most of the time heās only got half of what the other person said and he just lets them interpret his grunts however they want.
And sure, heās heard Jaskier sing so many times in taverns and courts and his songs are catchy enough, but heās never actually managed to catch the lyrics. Itās just all gibberish to him. As soon as thereās the lute, and noise, and theyāre in a city or a town so thereās people around, he just doesnāt understand any of it. It doesnāt make his āfillingless pieā comment any less insensitive, but it does give it some context.
Every winter the other witchers will make comments about the songs theyāve heard on the Path, about this or that adventure, and Geralt is just like. That. Thatās what the song was about. Oh. Eskel isnāt great at auditory processing either but heāll ask the bards to play over and over until heās got most of it, and since theyāre songs about witchers, the bards usually comply. Itās nice to hear good news of his brother. Then heāll tease Geralt mercilessly all winter about it. Thatās the only reason Geralt even knows so much of what Jaskier sings.
However, he likes hearing snatches of song while Jaskierās composing, when theyāre camping out in the open or in a forest and there isnāt too much noise around. Then he can actually understand the words, sometimes.
Heās very, very good at pretending he can hear just fine, and heās been doing for so long, but he does feel a little guilty about making Jaskier think he doesnāt like his music. He just doesnāt know how to explain, doesnāt think Jaskier could get it, because no one ever has. Then while theyāre all in Kaer Morhen after the mess with Voleth Meir, the other witchers start asking Jaskier to sing, even though he doesnāt have a lute. Theyāre all completely quiet during his performances, and every time Ciri or Yen or anyone makes a noise and they miss a line, Eskel will ask Jaskier to start over. (Eskel isnāt dead, obviously.)
And one day Geralt finds Jaskier hunched over a desk, with a pile of parchment beside him and his notebook open in front of him, frantically copying something.
āWhat are you doing?ā he asks.
āIām making copies of my songs,ā Jaskier answers. āIāve actually published the whole songbook in Oxenfurt, you know, but we canāt get it here, and Eskel said that having the lyrics would help, so Iām trying to make enough for everyone.ā
Geraltās mind is boggled because yes, having the lyrics written down would help immensely but he would never have thought to ask, let alone that Jaskier might actually be willing to write them down for him, and whatās that about a songbook? He almost just grunts and leaves him to it, but he remembers that he promised himself to at least try to communicate better with Jaskier after the mountain, so he asks in a very small voice, āCan I have one?ā
And Jaskierās jaw hangs slack for a moment before he coughs and hands him a stack of parchment. āI wasnāt sure youād want it,ā he mutters almost to himself.
āI always want to know what youāre singing,ā Geralt says.
Jaskierās eyes are wide and shining when he hugs Geralt, and his voice cracks a little. āI wish Iād realized sooner that you couldnāt hear it.ā
That night he sings his entire song cycle a capella in front of the fire, his eyes boring into Geralt the entire time, as Geralt follows the lyrics along for the first time.
And Jaskierās songs are really fucking good, actually. Geralt is hardly an expert, but he can see the way he bends and stretches language to make it flow and how he weaves the stories together and he can feel the love in how Jaskier sings about him, about them, andā
Is that what heās been missing this whole time?
Brought to you by: the long-ass time it took me to get into The Amazing Devilās wonderful music because I couldnāt fucking hear the words until I sat down and listened to every song while following along with the written lyrics.
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