< atton revisited > The information page for Atton has been fully revised and updated with the new map!
< updated calendar > The Fortuna calendar has been updated in the "Other" lore section! This includes a document which displays the calendar for you to see, making it much easier to understand.
< moving map > The first functional map has been released in the News section! This map is also interactive, allowing you to drag and drop between points in order to determine distances. This is the first iteration, and there's more and better to come!
< first annual awards > The results for the First Annual Fortuna Year-End Awards have been posted! Go and take a look at who the finalists were, and who took home the big prizes!
< new default skin > Our new skin has passed the beta test, and is now the new Default for the forums! If you have any issues with this skin, send a PM or Discord to Mellie.
< human lore update > Humans have been updated with TWENTY-FIVE subraces/subcultures which add numerous options, and a little extra lore and flavour.
< magic lore update > Magical Lore has been enhanced with the addition of a post on Magical Education. From Beginner to Expert, this is how you learn the spells.
< a change to member groups > Member groups are now based on storyline! You can change your displayed storyline by editing the settings in your profile.
Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
Was Simon eager to please? Err... not normally, he would admit. He would blame the whole crazy day for how he was acting right now, and it was as good an excuse as any. He wanted to help Endless, though for some reason he was weirdly nervous about him remembering whatever happened.
Endless seemed maybe a little hesitant at first and Simon realized he was probably still really tired and maybe right now wasn't the best time to make him do stuff... Endless however said that he didn't mind helping, and asked what to do. Simon grabbed another flower, dried and hanging by the window, and passed it backward to Endless before turning to give him instructions. When he looked at Endless though he paused and smiled, putting his hands on the other boy's shoulders and probably staring too intently right at his face. "Your eyes are doing the thing," he said quietly, as though that completely explained everything which, to him, it did.
He had been thinking about this earlier, but then had gotten distracted and completely forgot until now that it was happening - with the moons rising Endless's eyes caught the light from the window and glowed a brilliant silver. It was amazing. Though Endless hadn't seemed to think so the last time he was here. He said he'd had bad experiences with people seeing it and thinking it was weird or scary or whatever, but Simon couldn't imagine why. It was beautiful. Was he distracted again? Yes, yes he was.
Post by Endless Laeretti on Jan 24, 2017 21:16:18 GMT -7
Simon handed him a dried out flower absently once Endless was in reach, surely prepared to tell him what exactly to do with it, but when he turned to face him there were no words that came. Instead, Simon placed his hands very deliberately onto Endless's shoulders, staring at him with a smile on his face, and Endless was rooted for a moment.
Wh-wh-what is this??? his mind oh so helpfully supplied, and his face was probably reddening. Simon's arms... on his shoulders... staring into his eyes.... his eyes that were doing the thing.
Endless blinked. Oh.
Suddenly able to move again, Endless raised one hand to cover his mouth and cheeks in embarrassment, listening as Simon had a giggle at his expense. "Jeez, way to make me think something was wrong..." he muttered. A lie. He hadn't at all thought something was wrong. He had just been getting his hopes up about something stupid is all. But Simon didn't need to know that. "H-had me worried there for a second..."
He coughed and gently removed Simon's hand, moving towards the counter and managing to chuckle. "I mean I guess we have a pair of flashlights for making the potion, right?" he stated, noting how he could see more brightly now wherever he was looking. "So what do I do with this?"
Simon's heart ramped up a bit when Endless flushed and if his gaze dropped from the boy's eyes to his cheeks and then down to his lips, it did so completely without Simon's permission but not against his will. He absently licked at his bottom lip and his thoughts were quickly devolving and he could feel distinctly where his hands rested on the other boy's shoulders and it would be so easy right now, so easy to close the distance between them and damn the consequences, but thankfully (or maybe not so thankfully?) the moment was broken before he could act on those thoughts.
Endless covered his mouth and the movement of his hand pulled Simon back to the present and out of his brief insanity (could feelings count as insanity? He certainly thought so), and he realized how close they were and exactly how this would look to someone and he felt his own cheeks flush and he chuckled nervously. Endless joked about making him think something was wrong and Simon ran a hand through his hair in the way he often did and tried to convince himself it wasn't disappointment he heard beneath the words - just wishful thinking.
Endless moved out from under Simon's hand which he realized only at that moment was actually still on his shoulder, and Simon had to take a few breaths and stare up at the ceiling for a moment once Endless turned his back. He ran his hand down his face and groaned internally at himself and even at Endless but mostly at whatever this feeling was because he had never had this problem before with someone, ever, and it was going to drive him crazy.
Endless made a joke about his flashlight eyes and Simon turned back to him, determined to move on and pretend that he hadn't been literal milliseconds away from kissing the other boy. Nope, and he definitely wasn't going to dwell on it or think about it while he and Endless made this potion either. Endless asked what to do with the flower and Simon pushed himself back into work mode. "Remove the petals and put them in the bowl with the other ones, and then crush them together until they make a paste, and then mix in some water and boil it." Simon meanwhile grabbed a few dried mushrooms from a basket under the work bench and started using what looked like a small file or grater to grate them into almost a powder into a wooden bowl. The repetitive motion should have been good to take his mind off things but mostly it just meant that he could do it with very little thought and instead he dwelled on it even more. "Do you think Tehodis would want a potion too? Or if she would want to remember?"
Post by Endless Laeretti on Jan 28, 2017 17:59:47 GMT -7
Simon went about giving Endless the instructions for what he was supposed to do with the flower, but there was something... well, maybe "off" would describe it? The air felt almost awkward now. Not quite actually, but like they were edging that line. Simon's instructions, after their little separation, had been quick and succinct. He was speaking perfectly normally, of course, but at the same time his instructions were somewhat lacking in his usual sort of verbal flair. It reminded Endless of earlier, when he had gone into strict business mode when working on helping Tehodis. Endless had thought that that was just because the situation was an emergency. This wasn't quite so urgent.
Endless, for a moment, started wondering if he'd done something wrong, or if maybe he'd looked a little too eager when Simon had his hands on his shoulders a moment ago and maybe that had weirded him out or something, and-
He shook his head. There was no point on dwelling on worst case scenarios. Simon probably just got like this when he made any potion. Endless just stuck to following his instructions dutifully, trying to keep focused on that, but was distracted when Simon asked his next question.
Endless paused in his task, turning to face Simon with a surprised look on his face. To be honest, he hadn't actually considered that very much... the topic of memory always seemed like a delicate one to Tehodis, something she always seemed to want to pursue and yet shied away from. He furrowed his brow in thought. "I think... maybe it'd be best to just ask her when she comes back. I don't really know what she'd want to do. Maybe if she saw that I remembered, she would want to, too. Or maybe she'll want nothing to do with it..."
Endless considered for a moment what a potential burden that could be. To get the memories back, and know what he and Tehodis had been through, only for her to not what to remember it at all. Potentially heavy memories that Endless would have to carry around on his own. It didn't change his mind at all - he still wanted to know, no matter what. But it would really suck if that ended up happening.
"I guess, for now, we just focus on a batch for me."
The surprise on Endless's face mirrored Simon's own surprise when he had first thought about it and wondered why he hadn't thought of it sooner. He suggested they ask her when she got back as he didn't know if she would want it or not. Simon nodded along. Memories were tricky because you could base your entire life on a memory, or the absence of one, and then if you found out the memory was different than you thought it was or if something was revealed that you had forgotten, it could completely change the foundation of your life.
Endless suggested just focusing on the batch for him and while Simon was a fan of being prepared and under normal circumstances might have wanted to make both batches now to save preparation time later, if Tehodis ended up not wanting to remember it would be a waste of a memory potion and while he did grow most of his rare ingredients in his garden he didn't like just throwing them away like that. There was a reason he usually charged so much for potions, and there was also a reason why there weren't just thousands of people who made potions as well as Simon did - it was hard and the ingredients were fickle and... uh... there was a thought process here and it was basically that he didn't want to waste the potion.
"Sounds like a plan," he replied, grabbing some sort of root from a basket on one of his many shelves. "Wait a second, if you really don't remember what happened with you and Tehodis, how can you be so sure you didn't sleep with her? Who knows what could have happened during your mysteriously meaningful time together," he joked, but to be fair it was a great point. If he didn't remember what happened, how could he say for certain?
Post by Endless Laeretti on Jan 29, 2017 12:13:29 GMT -7
Endless could have killed Simon.
Really?
Simon's remark had clearly meant to be teasing, joking, carrying an obvious intent to lighten the mood. But the look he gave Endless was still somewhat suggestive in nature, as if he was thinking that it really was possible, and Endless just. Could not deal. He groaned and dropped what he was working on, letting the ingredients sit in the bowl as he clapped his hands over his face, covering his eyes exasperatedly. It was only teasing, it was only a joke, but...
Simon was never gonna let it die unless Endless really just shot it down completely, would he?
"Simon," he said, sounding tired. "I definitely, definitely, definitely, one hundred percent, did not sleep with Tehodis. I... She..." Sighing, he dropped his hands from his face, his glowing eyes narrowed somewhat as he looked elsewhere, his lips almost stuck in a pout. His pale face was reddening again. "I'm not really... compatible, with her..."
He really hoped Simon would get the hint. He didn't want to have to say it. There was just something so mortifying about saying it out loud.
Simon was pretty sure he was a horrible person. For a lot of reasons, really, but right now it was because he still liked the way that Endless looked so adorably uncomfortable, maybe embarrassed, and he thought a good person would probably feel bad about thinking he looked really cute when he was like this. Maybe a good person would apologize for making a joke about something that Endless didn't seem to appreciate. Simon had done his good deed for the day though and he felt like saving someone's life was bound to balance out a little bit of not feeling sorry for making Endless blush again. He was less into it when Endless spoke though and his tone sounded less fun and more done. For a split second while he was talking, Simon wondered if Endless had ever slept with anyone, and if not maybe that was why he was so against the idea of his first time potentially being during the time he couldn't remember.
Endless didn't exactly dispel the thought that he might be inexperienced in bed, but he definitely, definitely was convinced he didn't sleep with Tehodis. Simon would be lying if he didn't suspect what came next, but he had been hoping for it so much and simultaneously trying not to get his hopes up by explaining away his suspicions, so when Endless awkwardly explained he wasn't compatible with her Simon knew what he meant, or at least assumed he knew what he meant, and he could see that Endless was far too uncomfortable to say anything more concrete out loud.
Simon was elated of course, because this tenuous confirmation gave him a chance, though also maybe not if he kept exasperating Endless like that. He smiled just a little and nodded to himself. "That's cool, I'm into guys too," he replied with a bit of a nonchalant shrug, and turned back to his workbench to start chopping up the root he still held in his hands. "Once you've got the mixture boiling the mushroom is ready to be added, but only when it's boiling ok?" He glanced over at Endless and flashed a quick smile before returning to cutting the root into thin slices. Was his heart racing a little? Yes, but he was happy with the way that went, overall. Actually, it made Simon feel a lot better too, and he was able to get past the nagging feelings that were all jumbled up in his stomach and instead just focus on hanging out with Endless and making this potion.
Post by Endless Laeretti on Jan 30, 2017 9:01:30 GMT -7
"That's cool, I'm into guys too."
Endless had never thought that hearing such simple words, spoken in such a simple, casual way, could affect him so strongly. But here he was. The moment those words had slipped out of Simon's mouth with such ease, as though he didn't give a damn who knew it (and he probably didn't), Endless felt like his heart had somehow managed to quicken and freeze all at once. He wasn't so sure how that was possible, but that's definitely what he was feeling. He felt like he was about to start sweating, he felt nervous, and also, a part of him suddenly felt elated. Over the moons. Relieved.
Perhaps he was actually, finally willing to acknowledge that he might not have been so full of wishful thinking as he'd been worried he was this whole time. Maybe he hadn't been reading too much into all those little interactions they'd had over their last couple of visits. Maybe Endless actually had a chance with him.
He coughed and tried to resume his work as though nothing had just happened, listening to Simon's instructions, and after swallowing a bit he nodded. "Cool," he said, his voice an octave higher than usual and sounding like it was on the verge of cracking. "That's... cool."
He sort of let it stay ambiguous on whether or not he was referring to Simon's statement, or his directions. He followed this by dropping the mushroom into the boiling mixture he had going a moment later, leaving it as anyone's guess.
And, mentally, he was slamming his face into a wall because all he could think to say to Simon dropping some very good news onto his ears was an awkward 'cool'. Endless wondered why he sucked so much.
Endless's response earned a soft chuckle and a fond smile from Simon as he was slicing the root, though he didn't look up. He was giving him some space, as much as he could anyway with both of them at the same worktable. When Endless had the mixture boiling and put the mushroom into it Simon took the sliced root and added it at well, then walked over to one wall and started rifling through baskets. A few had fallen over from the cursed amulet being destroyed and all, and when he found what he was looking for he saw that a bowl on a higher shelf had fallen over and spilled its contents into the basket he needed. The basket contained dried water hyssop flowers, the final ingredient to the potion, but the bowl had contained a syrupy liquid made from a tree sap whose uses were unfortunately more along the lines of psychedelics - most often for recreational use but also used in love potions or basically any potion to make someone more suggestive. Essentially, something he definitely didn't want to put in the potion for Endless. The flowers were all contaminated.
"Shit," he hissed. He ran his hand through his hair and looked up to the ceiling in exasperation, allowing a moment of frustration before sighing and grabbing a jacket that was laying on the ground near his firewood. It was the middle of winter, but maybe if he was lucky he could find some by the marsh further in the woods. "The last ingredient is contaminated," he explained as he put his jacket on. "I know you were tired earlier, but if you're up for an evening adventure I'll have to go out and see if I can find more water hyssop and you're welcome to join. Or you could stay here, of course. It's pretty cold out."
Post by Endless Laeretti on Feb 4, 2017 19:24:34 GMT -7
Simon's quiet curse drew Endless's attention away from his monotonous stirring task (and from the thoughts running through his head about Simon's newly-discovered gender preferences, which definitely didn't matter to Endless at all, nope). He blinked confusedly as Simon hastily threw his jacket on and then explained that they were going to need to find some new water hyssop. Endless didn't really know what that was, but if it was an ingredient for the potion then that made it important.
"No, it's fine, I can come with," he replied, setting his work aside. "Four eyes are better than two if we're looking for something. I might be able to help us out with the snow, too," he said. He ignored the fact that Simon pointed out that he was tired. Sure, using his power to sweep the snow off the ground would probably just tire him out more, but he wanted to be useful. Simon was doing this for free, after all. With any luck, there wouldn't be much snow to dig through wherever they needed to look though; it had seemed to finish falling sometime this morning, and the piles outside weren't too incredibly deep.
"Is that okay to just leave alone for a bit though?" he asked, casting his attention back to his bowl while he busied himself tightening his scarf.
The skin OTHERWORLD was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
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