thecapitol | (no subject)

Who| Enjolras, Joly, Others!
What| Reactions to a certain conversation between Venus and Courfeyrac in the arena.
Where| at a public viewing
When| Week 5, I do believe
Warnings/Notes| I don't think there are any yet!

Thus far, Joly's first of the public viewing parties as the guest of Enjolras had been...interesting...if he had to pick a polite word to toss at the cameras, the viewers, and anyone else who dared to ask him in public about his impressions of the entire thing. If asked privately, he would have had quite a different thing to say, but such thoughts were a luxury that he could not afford, even as the spectacle of death treated so callously made him want to be sick.

Enjolras's advice during the dream scenario they'd shared had served as a reminder though, and he had played his part well enough thus far, having decided, for the cameras, on an image to sell himself with (playing up the cadence of his mother's speech, dropping puns more frequently than at home, fussing with his clothing more than strictly necessary), which so far seemed to be working well enough, and was managing, with the help of a decent amount of alcohol, to get through everything so far. That was until Venus's mention of Enjolras as her Prince Charming,which set him to snort, which he quickly turned into a giggle, let them think he was a bit of an idiot if they wanted, and then Courfeyrac's question, which was enough to silence him as he glanced toward Enjolras, leaning forward a little, frankly rather curious as to what his friend was liable to do now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"None taken," the girl replied, though her reaction was not easy to read. "You might be shocked to learn it, monsieur, but had every intention of living in Paris before I was abducted to Panem. Instead of emigrating to France, I was forced to come here."

"Had you indeed? You, my dear mademoiselle, are certainly a lady of taste, as well as elegance." Joly grinned at that. "There IS nothing like Paris, truly. Something tells me you would have fit well there."

Her face had a dreamy glow when she spoke of Paris. "My mother hosts a salon, frequented by the most fashionable artists and intellectuals. She prefers the upperclasses. I would have gone to live in a garret to be the muse of some Bohemian or other. I would have painted and written poetry. I would have cut my hair."

Her eyes went dim then. "Instead, I am here."

"Cut your hair?" Joly asked her, considering Felicity for a moment, and squinting a bit. "Somehow, yes, I think that that would suit. And the garret. Ah, by far the most romantic place in Paris I might think of, despite what others might say."

She would, he thought, have done quite well in Paris, certainly. But instead.

"And I would have been a doctor, in another life, accompanied by those I cared for, simple, but happy. Instead, well. Here I am as well. It can be a hard thing."

"I wish to be liberated. I can't stand the idea of being confined by hair or corsets or dresses." Thus the trousers she wore proudly. She'd been ready to give up dresses ages ago but she'd never had that freedom in England. In Paris, she could reinvent herself. She could have been anybody.

"You would have made an excellent doctor, Monsieur." Strange that she'd never felt any sort of attachment to him when she'd read the novel. And yet, meeting him in person and finding him fleshed out, she found him both sympathetic and admirable. "And you shall be a better one here, I suspect."

"Well, fair enough." Joly notes, nodding. There is something,after all about women in trousers that smacks of a freedom that is intriguing, because it is still so much of a novelty to him. And seeing women in pants here has not yet made that seem commonplace yet. As far as her other reasons, well, he is nodding.

"Romantic." he comments, with a huge grin. "I've a friend who would have doubtlessly approved of such. And really, why should one not embrace those things that make them free? Quite good enough."

As far as being a doctor, well.

"I do hope to learn more now that I am here. Perhaps I can succeed, in time."

"A friend?" She asked him, obviously curious. "I should like to hear about this friend of yours sometime."

"Ah yes. Prouvaire was a poet, and well, they've certainly got the reputation for reason." Joly muses, a smile crossing his face as he thinks of Jehan now. "And was one of the bravest of us all, in the end."

"There are worse men to be compared to. I should like to be recalled for my bravery." She chose not to say anything about Prouvaire being poorly dressed, just in case Joly should think to insult her sense of fashion. She looked damn good, after all. "It is a shame I could not meet him. I admire commitment."

"I could see that of you, somehow." Joly studies her and smiles. "There is something bold in you, truly, among other qualities." Ah, no worries there, Felicity. Your clothes do not clash or come in horrifying color schemes. You are quite safe and stylish there.

"I think that he would have liked you as well."

This caused her to beam, looking suddenly quite proud and pleased with herself. "Your other friend would disagree, however. He seems to think me mad." She sent a sharp glance toward Enjolras.

"Does he so?" Joly glanced toward Enjolras too, and found himself sighing a bit. "Well. Enjolras can be...a bit of a porcupine, I fear. It may be that he met you whilst his quills were rather firmly sticking out. We ought to work on training him for these occasions better, really."

"He is a rather presumptuous man. He seems to view me as a woman first and as a person second. It's incredibly hypocritical." And it drove Felicity crazy. At least in Joly she seemed to have found someone in whom she could begin to confide her frustrations.

"I would have said before that he did not understand women so much." Joly mused, thoughtful as he considered it. "That is, he knew your fairer sex existed but I do not think that he knew of it as more than a vague concept. Perhaps, when met with the actual article, things got a bit confused. I should think here was a little different. There is the matter of his social life, after all, but..."

He shrugged a little. "It is no EXCUSE of course, but things are different at home. Unfairly so. He has, I suspect all of us do, a bit to overcome in those terms, still."

"It is a very antiquated way of thinking." Felicity grumbled. "But at least there are men of your era who are not blinded by the ideas of the past."

"Oh it is, at that. And I should think he has known women, if not at home, though we had them in spades, then here, who would challenge such a pattern of thought. Perhaps he simply needs more time, or we must let Venus beat such ideas into his head." It seemed that it might work, after all.

Felicity wasn't at all convinced that Venus held any genuine influence over Enjolras, but she managed to hold her tongue and not roll her eyes entirely. "I suppose so."

She looked back at the action on the screen and found it all rather uninteresting. Perhaps it was time for her to move on as well. "It has been a pleasure, Mister Joly." She thought to curtsy, but settling for a gentle nod.

Well, perhaps not yet. Joly was rather sure, in time, that it might be entirely possible for her to manage it after all. "It bears watching, I would suppose. And yes, the same to you." He agreed, nodding in return. He would have reached for her hand, to kiss it in farewell, but somehow that did not seem right, and so, for now, he allowed the moment to pass.