Dance, Forrest, Dance - Drabble
Forrest is smitten hard on a city girl that's stopped in a few times to get some ol' white lightening.
You: "You’re looking mighty hard at me Forrest, do I have something on my nose?" you tease.
Forrest: "No, I just...uh, was wondering if you'd...you know."
His brothers are watching intently, never seeing Forrest ask out a woman before.
You: "If you're suggesting we go out on the town, I'm only available if you can dance."
His brothers snort with laughter, knowing full well Forrest doesn't know how to dance. Furthermore, they were certain he'd rather get shot in the chest than dance.
Forrest: "Uh, alright..."
His brothers' jaws drop, uncertain if they heard correctly.
You: "So, you do dance?"
Forrest: "I didn't exactly say that..."
You: "I see, how about I come around end of the month? Maybe you'll learn by then? Ciao, darling." You say, wiggling your fingers at him as you leave.
Over the next few weeks, the Bondurant brothers are in for a treat. Each night, after the kitchen and bar closes, Forrest goes to his office and shuts the door. And then they hear the radio turn on and some kind of swing song plays, muffled by the door.
Jack can't resist, so one night he peeks through the keyhole and sees Forrest dancing with an invisible woman. Jack stifles his laugh and Howard pulls him away from the door.
Howard: "You want him to kill you? Leave him be, now. His heart's set on that damn woman."
Jack: "I don't think it's just his heart." He said, grinning ear from ear.
End of the month comes round and you find yourself on the dance floor with Forrest. He's driven into Richmond and he's dressed as best as he can be. Black trousers, white shirt and tie. And of course, his fedora hat.
He takes off his hat and you kiss his cheek. He grunts with approval and you head off to the club.
You: "Don't be nervous, even if you can't dance, we'll have plenty of fun." You say, giving him a wink.
He just nods and takes your hand, guiding you out to the dance floor. And as the music begins, he shocks your socks off. Or would it be your panties? 😈
Once the song is over, you give him a kiss on the lips. His kiss back is chaste and unexplorative. So you push your tongue past his lips, causing him to groan.
You: "That was impressive. Now take me back home and show me what else you can do." You purr in his ear.
He quickly puts his hat on and drags you off the dance floor to go give you some sweet Virginia honey.
27 notes
·
View notes
The Joker and the King - Part 2
THE FIRE IN HER EYES
A/N: This story is Part 2/2 of my contribution to the HPHM Cardverse AU by @ariparri You can find the first part of this story here.
The full moon stood high in the sky when sleep finally descended on the Court of Clubs.
After a night full of laughter, jests, and political debates, Orion welcomed the stillness. It was like the silence in his chambers had a ring of its own, a sound sweeter than the music of the bards could have ever hoped to be.
And yet, there was something that kept him from resting. Ever since the girl with the gold dust in her hair - the Daughter of the Sun, she called herself - had left him standing at the feast, Orion's mind kept returning to her. He was curious to learn more about her, but that wasn't all of it; the Free Folk had a mystery around them, a sense of adventure and freedom that Orion longed to taste, even if only for a night.
When he was sure that the guards outside his quarters wouldn't notice, Orion got rid of his stately robes and exchanged them for the most inconspicuous set of clothes he could find in his wardrobe. A smile flickered over his face as he opened the chest by the foot of his bed and took out what was resting inside. It was a lute, her shining corpus made from ebony and mother-of-pearl inlays. He ran his fingers along her slender neck like a lover would, and when he plucked one of the strings, the sound rang soft and clear.
Donning a dark cloak, Orion exited his chambers through a secret passage that led into the palace gardens. The air outside was sweet and fragrant, and he breathed it in almost greedily as he made his way to the mighty ring of oak trees marking the borders of his grounds. Orion scaled the walls with ease, as he had done countless times. From the top of the wall, he jumped into the trees, balanced along the broad branches, and dropped into the sleepy forest on the other side.
The canopy of trees blocked out the moon and stars, and Orion moved through the underbrush with only the light of the fireflies to guide his way. As his eyes and ears adjusted, the world around him came alive with the sounds of the night, like a mighty beast stirring in its sleep. Orion listened to the forest's nightly breathing, thinking about where he wanted to go. When he felt a familiar pull in his heart, he didn't hesitate to follow it; the woods had never led him astray.
He had walked for what felt like a long time, quietly humming to himself, when the sound of voices reached his ears. Through a gap in the trees, a flickering orange glow cut through the darkness. Finally spotting what he had come for, an almost childlike excitement rose in his chest.
In a wide clearing beyond the trees, just off the path Orion had been following, a ring of wooden caravans had been set up. A bonfire was burning in its centre, sending gleaming sparks dancing into the air. Around it, a group of people were sitting, their mingled voices and music from a fiddle floating through the night air.
Orion stood there for a while, watching as the Jokers moved about their camp, before gathering his courage and stepping from the shadows into the ring of light. As the first circus people spotted him, they fell silent. In the sudden stillness, Orion heard his own blood rushing in his ears.
"Greetings, my friends," he said to no one in particular.
"Greetings," the woman sitting closest to him said as she rose to her feet. Orion recognised her as the fire-eater from the feast. "Who are you?"
"I fear I got lost in the woods," Orion said evasively, feeling more than a dozen sets of eyes on him. "I saw your fire and was hoping for shelter from the night."
"If you know how to treat her right, the night ain't your enemy," the woman said. Her eyes came to rest on the lute strapped to Orion's back, and her features relaxed. "A minstrel, are you?"
Orion nodded. "I can pay for your hospitality with a song if you want me to."
The woman waved him off. "No need. Sit down, enjoy the wine." She raised a goblet that looked suspiciously like the ones they had in the palace. "We got some good ones to share tonight."
She waved Orion over, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he did as he was told and sat next to her. She introduced herself to Orion as Skye Parkin, the director's daughter, and he counted out the names of the other people around the fire. Her way of talking was curt to the point of bluntness, but Orion found it to be a refreshing change from the soft, sweet tones generally heard among his courtiers.
"I'm afraid I didn't catch your answer earlier. Where were you from, you said?" Skye asked him, the flash in her green eyes indicating that her question didn't come as unprompted as she made it sound.
Orion hoped Skye hadn’t seen the flash of guilt crossing his face. He put his words carefully. "When your heart is all you truly have for yourself, everywhere and nowhere becomes your home."
Skye watched him for a long moment, then shrugged and raised her cup to her lips. "Fine, keep your secrets. Your prerogative, really. Just don't try anything funny. The tiger's had his share tonight, but I daresay there's other beasts with a hunger in our camp."
Laughter branded up upon her words and Orion smiled along, even if he didn't get the joke. He was relieved when the attention of the Jokers slowly drifted away from him and back to their conversation. None of them seemed to have recognised him. He had taken care to shed the looks and bearings of a king and appear as a commoner, but he knew it was his missing crown that had really done the trick. People rarely took their time to look past its shining glory and at the face wearing it.
As time passed, Orion relaxed more and more chatting with Skye. He did his best to ask the questions he had about the Jokers' lives subtly, immediately drawing back when he sensed the mood of the fire-eater shifting. Most of them seemed to have tempers that flared as quickly as they would settle. It was a passionate way of expressing themselves, but, most importantly, it was an honest one.
When a man with sharp features and sandy-brown hair picked up a fiddle - the same one that had played during the performance earlier in the day - the camp suddenly seemed to come alive. Drawn by the lively melody, more people than Orion would have thought possible streamed from the shadows of their caravans to the campfire. That was when he saw her again.
The Daughter of the Sun was among the last people to join the fray. She had exchanged her golden costume for soft, comfortable clothes. The hems of her red skirt were gathered in a knot on one side of her knees, and around her hips, two rows of delicate gold chains with tiny, hammered coins were hanging. Her hair, which she had gathered into a ponytail, was still shimmering from stray bits of gold dust.
She was leaning against the side of a caravan, watching her friends dance. When a man with flaming red hair and muscly arms full of white scars and dark freckles approached her, her face split into a radiant smile. The pair began to dance, jumping, twisting and turning in time with the melody. When he picked her up by her hips and spun her around, her laughter rang clearly above the music.
Watching her dance and laugh, so different from how she had been at the palace, was mesmerising, so much so that Orion jumped when Skye addressed him.
"How about you play us a song next, minstrel? Or is that just dead weight you're carrying?" She nodded at the lute Orion had set into the grass.
Suddenly feeling nervous at the attention of so many artists on him, Orion picked up his instrument. His mind raced for what to play, but the only thing he could think of was a popular song he often heard the servants sing. It was popular throughout his realm, but perhaps that was exactly the problem; after the first few chords and words, he could already sense the Jokers’ interest dwindling.
"You'll have to excuse me," Orion told them apologetically. "I'm not used to playing for seasoned travellers like you. You must have heard this song a thousand times. Let me try something novel to you."
The song he picked next was a slow one. The melody was thoughtful and intricate, and the words fell slowly from his lips until their taste had settled in his mouth. It was a song about longing, freedom, and sacrifice, written by Orion himself back when he had first been crowned king. As he played, the way the Jokers watched him changed. They had been curious before, but nothing more; now they felt with him, his music weaving a web that caught and utterly entranced them.
When Orion had finished, there was silence around the campfire, more than a few staring into the flames or at the stars above them. Everything was silent, but when Skye cleared her throat and clapped her hand on his shoulder in approval, more and more smiles and appreciative nods were directed his way. Orion gratefully returned all of them.
"Are we at a funeral?" the man with the fiddle called out, setting his bow to the strings. "Let's celebrate!"
The happy music branded up and people began to dance again. Skye joined in with them, and Orion watched, lost in thought, until someone dropped onto the log on the other side of him. As he turned, he was surprised to find a set of strikingly blue eyes looking at him.
"You played beautifully," the woman said, the firelight refracting from a speck of gold on her cheekbone. Orion inclined his head in thanks.
"You are too kind, Daughter of the Sun."
"I see my reputation precedes me," she said with a smirk, "but I'm no Daughter of the Sun here. I'm just the same as anybody else."
"By what name do you go then?"
She chuckled, her sea-bright eyes sparkling with laughter. The fire blazing in them in the throne room had given way for a softer glow, warm like the fire of a hearth. Her cheeks were flushed from wine and heat as she tilted her head at him.
"For someone who gave us neither name nor home, you are a very curious man, minstrel."
Orion laughed softly at her words. "Well played, Joker. My name is Orion."
"Lizzie," she replied, letting him take her hand. He contemplated kissing the back of it, as was custom at court, but in an environment like this, the gesture would have felt misplaced. He resorted to shaking her hand instead. Her grip was strong and self-assured, her skin calloused from hard work and performing. Orion liked the feel of it.
"Your camp is most curious," he said after they had traded a bit of smalltalk. "I don't think I have ever seen the like. Would you mind showing me around?"
"I don't know," Lizzie replied, twirling the ends of her ponytail around her finger. There was a mischievous spark in her eyes. "I don't really like to be told what to do."
A shiver ran down Orion's spine as she repeated the words she had spat at him earlier in the day, but now her tone was different. She rose to her feet and looked at him expectantly. Her lips were curved into a smile, so Orion pushed his concerns aside and followed her towards the edge of the firelight. As they were about to pass it, the man who had played the fiddle left his seat to follow them.
"Lizzie!" he called out, touching her by her shoulder to stop her. He didn't give Orion so much as a glance. "How about a dance?"
Much to Orion's surprise, Lizzie rolled her eyes. "I'm busy, Ev."
The look the man she had called Ev gave Orion was anything but friendly. "What do you want with this stranger?"
"Showing him the hospitality he is due," she replied, anger flaring in her voice. When the man spoke a moment later, Orion had an idea why.
"We all know your hospitality goes," he scoffed, falling silent when Lizzie took a quick step towards him and set her index finger on his chest.
"Shut your mouth, or you'll wake tomorrow with your stupid fiddle shoved up your -"
"Let’s not let anger cloud this merry evening," Orion cut in hurriedly. He was curious to learn more about the Jokers' day-to-day life, but not at any cost. "You don't have to show me the camp."
"Oh, but I do," Lizzie said with flashing eyes. She took Orion by the hand and pulled him away, only dropping it when they were out of sight of the bonfire. The sound of the fiddle rose again, a lot angrier than before.
"You didn't have to do this," Orion said as Lizzie produced a lantern from underneath a caravan. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."
"Don't tell me what to do," she said without looking at him as she struck flint to the candle. "And I absolutely did."
"Won't your companion mind you showing me around?" Orion wondered out loud as he followed Lizzie through the rows of caravans.
"Forget about Ev. He's a jack and not one of the noble ones."
Orion shook his head. "I meant the one you danced with earlier."
As she got his meaning, Lizzie laughed out loud. "Oh, he's not my companion."
"You're not married then?"
"The only one I only belong to is myself. But no, he is neither my husband nor my companion. In fact, he is my brother."
Surprised, Orion stopped. "You're family?"
"We're all family. This is the family we chose." She tilted her head, light from the lantern licking over her face as she looked him up and down. "You could be our brother for the night as well, but something tells me that being my brother is not what is on your mind."
"You are mistaken then."
"I rarely am."
"But you are this time. What you’re insinuating… it’s not what I came for."
"Then what did you come for, minstrel?"
"Tales," he told her. "Freedom, mystery. A secret."
Her eyes hardened, even if only fractionally. "My secrets are my own."
Orion inclined his head. "Then it's not my place to ask for them."
She regarded him for a long moment, so long that Orion began to fear that she would send him away, but then she turned and nodded her head to one of the bigger caravans. "Let's start our tour over there, shall we?"
She showed Orion around her troupe's camp, explaining where and how they stored their props, the animals, and how they had figured out how to keep the tiger and the horses side by side without too many casualties. Whenever Orion didn't understand something she would laugh, but not unfriendly, answering his questions with patience and a ready tease on her lips.
There was something like music to the way Lizzie moved. Her motions were smooth and strong, yet elegant and fluent at the same time, with a rhythm of their own that Orion thought made watching her addictive. Even as she talked she rarely stood still, her feet shifting this way or that, her hands fluttering, touching him with fleeting gestures before dancing away again. Orion couldn't help but think that she seemed much more comfortable here than she had at court.
Eventually, Lizzie stopped and turned to him.
"Before we go any further, you must answer my question."
"I will do so to my best avail."
"What made you truly come here tonight?"
"I came because I was curious."
"Is that all we are to you? A curiosity?"
"I’d prefer to call it a mystery."
The thought seemed to amuse Lizzie. "And what would be so mysterious about us?"
This time, Orion didn't return her smile. "How someone who burned all bridges to write their story new can judge another book merely by its cover."
A flash of irritation crossed her face, but instead of voicing it, Lizzie contemplated his words. Orion held her gaze until she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"You're one strange minstrel, do you know that?"
"You may have mentioned it one or two times."
At that, she had to grin. "Because it's true. Not many a minstrel dares to wander the forest at night." A smirk formed on her face. "Not even the kings among them."
"Rumour has it that you snapped at a king tonight," Orion replied at her jest, and an almost bashful look crossed her face.
"I don't like gatherings of noble people much," she said and bit her lip. "And he didn't catch me in my best moment, either."
Orion was surprised to see the blush spread on her cheeks. "What do you mean?"
"He made me wait for my performance. Waiting is not a strong suit of mine."
A laugh fell from Orion's lips. "A Joker with stage fright?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's so funny about that?"
"Nothing. Excuse me. You'd just think that performing comes naturally to someone like you."
"It does. But performing and being at ease about it are two different things. Most of us aren't born as Jokers. We fashion ourselves by our own designs, so how could you expect all of us to be the same? No one is perfect." She laughed, but Orion thought it sounded sad. "And least of all us."
They had reached the edge of the camp. The bonfire was now far behind, and the cool darkness of the night surrounded them. The clearing stretched in front of them, moonlight and mist pooling on the grass. Orion cleared his throat.
"It's become quite dark. Do you wish to return to the fire?"
Lizzie laughed softly. "I don't need light to know my way."
She blew against the candle before setting the lantern on the ground. Her hand brushed his as she stepped past him and the silver glow of the moon washed over her. She walked out into the clearing, only stopping to cast a look over her shoulder.
"Come, King of Minstrels. Only those who don't fear the night can be taught the secrets of the sun."
14 notes
·
View notes
I make playlists sometimes.
Wifey said I should share them with writeups.
So, I’m going to start with the one I made for the Mighty Nein. I decided to go hard mode and not include any Autumn Orange (no matter how awesome they are), so these are purely picked and chosen out of music I know or was already in my purview. They are short because they are pretty carefully curated, and are also designed to be shuffled, so in no particular order.
The All-Powerful Nah
-*WARNING- spoilers for Critical Role Campaign 2 below the cut!*-
The Sun - Klingande Remix Radio Edit/ Parov Stelar, Graham Candy, Klingande ~ Quite simply, Jester. (”I’m gonna tell my mama, that I’m a traveler; I’m gonna follow the sun”)
Shackleton/ Adam Young ~ This song oozes Fjord energy so much I can’t picture the man without hearing this song in my head.
Atone & Bloom / Auvic, Caroline Kim ~ Caduceus, in general the punch of You Haven’t Seen Cleric Yet that he brought to the party. (”May I muse along the way?”)
Blossoms / Goopsteppa ~ The first time in the Blooming Grove.
Awake / Ok Goodnight ~ Yasha, particularly post Rumblecusp.
Doomed / Reliqa ~ Beauregard, in so many ways, in so many arcs. (”I’m about to march up to the playground, show the big kids what the runt is made of”)
Murky / Saint Mesa ~ Caleb, bottom to the top.
Third Eye / Florence + The Machine ~ Look, I gotta have a little flo+. As a treat. Also, I literally cannot listen to this song without thinking of Nott/Veth singing it to Caleb, and subsequently bawling. (”I’m the same, I’m the same, I’m trying to change”)
The Grand Bizarre / Beats Antique ~ Mollymauk, oh you funky carnie you.
Femina / Żywiołak ~ You know how every woman in the Mighty Nein is high strength and high damage powerhouses? Yes, that.
Wonderland / Caravan Palace ~ CHAOS CREW. Particularly Jester. The swing elements just smack of a girl raised in a bordello, while the lyrics lean Beau and Veth so hard.
Gloria Regali / Tommee Profitt, Fleurie ~ It’s trailer music. It’s somber and ominous. It’s Nonagon. (”Forever may you reign”)
Selkie / Entheogenic ~ While this song is heavily sampled from the movie Song of the Sea, to me in the M9 context, it evokes Fjord’s journey to becoming an Oath of the Open Sea paladin and what that means for his growth as a person.
Space Man / Eurielle, Ryan Louder ~ S H A D O W G A S T. (”I know a place where there is only you and me and stars...”)
Sunlit Grave / Saint Mesa ~ Glory Run Road. (Jester scries on Mollymauk after finding his grave empty.)
Tuleloits / Kerli ~ Caleb casting Widogast’s Transmogrification on Veth.
Instructions for Time Travel - Recue Remix / Robot Koch, Savannah Jo Lack, Recue ~ An overall perfect overture for Caleb Widogast in general.
After the Storm / Mumford & Sons ~ Yasha, liberated from Obann but in no way at peace with her freedom, the second time since joining the Nein she’d left captivity to find tragedy where she wasn’t able to stop it... and the gentle reassurances from the remaining Nein that she was not at fault, and she deserves her freedom and chance to do better.
I FEEL THINGS A LOT AND MUSIC IS VERY FEELS. Thanks for getting this far. I hope you enjoy. I’ll gladly take suggestions for additions into consideration.
4 notes
·
View notes