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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!
Post by Cherry Milerand on Oct 4, 2017 14:52:32 GMT -7
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We all have our limits...
Cherry would love to have said that her response to Leigh's question, about the next step, would have been a smart, somewhat teasing reply, ordering Leigh into the work area so that they could get started on the clothes. To continue to play coy and light up Leigh's senses with the anticipation of what was to come later.
Cherry did not, in fact, do that. Instead, Leigh's lips near Cherry's ear had been the last straw, and whatever plans Cherry had had to keep playing with Leigh some more and build up that anticipation, well. She found herself thinking "fuck it" and throwing them out the window.
The towel that had just been secured onto Leigh's body was quickly ripped away once more, Cherry's hands found Leigh's cheeks between her palms, and their lips were suddenly being pressed together feverishly, Leigh responding immediately and dominantly. They backed out of the washroom, Leigh lifting Cherry up and Cherry happily assisting by clinging to the taller woman, and as soon as Leigh had found the bed, well...
Things got interesting.
The evening found the two women in quieter, more relaxed spirits. Satisfied, Cherry would guess with a small smile on her lips as she deftly worked a needle through some fabric. Once the more immediate and pressing concerns of their mutual desires had finally been handled (and after a short nap), Cherry was finally in the mood to get back to work. She'd dressed herself again, and seen to it that Leigh at least put on some loose pants so as to be less distracting, and had started taking the other woman's measurements.
She allowed Leigh to more or less take it easy at this point, the half-tide elf (Cherry had learned) relaxing easily enough on her bed while Cherry finished her stitching.
"I'm just about done with the base layer," she called over to her, smiling. "We'll make sure it fits you right before I add the leathers." She had already explained to Leigh that she wanted to make her clothes that were both functional and good-looking, but without seeming out of place on a pirate vessel. Something that would be easily washable but also tear-resistant and durable. Tough, but pretty. Like you, she'd said to Leigh, earlier.
There would be more after that. A strong belt. A badass-looking jacket. A shirt that would almost have the look of something like silk, but which would actually pack the durability of Midnight Spider's Thread (trade secret: the fabric was made from Midnight Spider's Thread. Don't ask how Cherry got it). Boots, of course, to complete the ensemble. Leigh already had a good pair (one of the only pieces of clothing she had arrived with that weren't in a state of disrepair), but Cherry figured it still didn't hurt to get something new and improved.
She wondered if Leigh was only humoring her at this point by letting her do this, or if she was on some level actually interested in the new clothes. Cherry supposed it didn't matter; either way, Leigh was here right now because she wanted to be, despite already having gotten her "treat" a little early. Cherry glanced over at her again. "So... feel like telling me a bit about your crew? I think we've well established at this point that I'm not gonna rat you out to anybody." There was another giggle there. The amount of implied knowledge Leigh had already given her by now was enough that Cherry might as well have known the details, right?
Tags: Leigh Haskell OOC Notes: Between the time-skip and the imagined actions that took place before and after, I did take a lot of liberties with this post. So do please let me know if you need me to redo this one entirely, I'm willing!
Post by Leigh Haskell on Oct 7, 2017 11:41:54 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Everything had gone differently than Leigh might have expected, or imagined when she first met Cherry in Vieri - and that certainly wasn't a bad thing. No, in fact (though Leigh wouldn't say so out loud) it had probably been the best thing she'd had, at least since Amelia. There was no part of Cherry that was unsure about herself, or what she wanted, and Leigh hadn't needed to help her through new feelings, which was refreshing. With noble women Leigh was a guide, with Kali and some of the other pirates it was something fun or something procedural, with Cherry it was... Intimacy? Yes, that was the word. A word Leigh would always avoid, but sometimes couldn't quite help but feel.
That was probably why she was speaking so easily to Cherry, too. She was typically more guarded, using sarcasm and name-calling to conceal the truth about herself. And yet, laying in bed and watching Cherry do her work she felt almost domestic, and though she knew it couldn't last, she also knew she could damn well enjoy it for however many more hours she would get it.
"I d'no," Leigh smiled - yes, actually smiled - at Cherry, her tone tinged with a kinder brand of sarcasm, "You might just be really bad at your job." But she rolled over anyways, shifting to face Cherry more directly as she lay on her stomach. Her blunted hand tucked into her opposite elbow, while the other, fuller hand met her chin, pensive.
"There's a lot of them these days. Just keeps being more, too. We're the last of our kind, which means we're less a ship and more of a fleet," She couldn't remember being this candid before, it was strange, "I've got my allies among them, 'course. There's Colossus, big orc guy with a heart of gold but a love for smashing faces. Kali and Nicole, both new, but I'd say they're in my corner. Kali's a weirdo, Sadaana worshipper, so you know that shit's strange. Nicole is ex-military. Got fucked-- or rather didn't get fucked by Woodrow, so he got her D.D. from her job and put in jail, so she jumped into the revenge boat, too...
"And there's Mal. He's... Annoying," She said this with a slight laugh in her voice, Mal was likely her only actual friend, but there was really few other ways to describe him, "Good at breaking out and in. Active in the mattress scene. You know, we even have a seamstress on board. He could learn a thing or two from you though, Teapot. I like the jacket."
Post by Cherry Milerand on Oct 21, 2017 22:03:13 GMT -7
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The Law is Gross
Cherry listened attentively while her fingers continued to work with practiced ease, practically on auto-pilot. She liked seeing Leigh smile, liked hearing her laugh. When she'd met the woman earlier in the day, she'd been a sourpuss. When she'd warmed her up and brought her home, she'd seemed as though she was carrying a deep sadness. But now? Now it was like she was well and truly relaxed at last, and just enjoying herself. Cherry gave a silent inner cheer that she'd managed to have that effect on Leigh. What was she if not a people person, after all?
Her own smile dropped a bit though at what Leigh described. At first it sounded impressive; not a pirate ship but a pirate fleet? That had to be tremendous. And majestic! But as Leigh described some of her crew mates, Cherry was reminded that not all pirates chose to become pirates because they had to, or because it was the hand that life gave them. Some, like this Kali person for example, might have just been plain old bad people. Maybe that was a quick assumption to make, but hey, Cherry had never met a Sadaana-worshiper that anyone would describe as a 'good person'. And though Cherry was committed to avoiding judging others too heavily, it was still troubling to think about how many such bad people might be present in a fleet. The other troubling thing, though, was what Leigh said in explanation of someone named Nicole. This one was once again a reminder of exactly what Cherry had thought earlier; some people just got dealt really shitty hands by life, and that had apparently been the case with Nicole.
But Woodrow? Really? Cherry knew better than to automatically believe that famous people always lived up to their public image, but still... that was a bit surprising. To think the man in charge of the law would do something so underhanded because he didn't get what he wanted out of a woman. It didn't get much more despicable than that. Of course, Cherry was also more or less just taking Leigh's word for it on all of this, but unlike with Woodrow, Cherry had at least met Leigh. It was a lot easier to take someone's measure and figure out if you found them trustworthy if you actually spoke to them, and the only impressions Cherry had of Woodrow up until today were his flowery public speeches.
Leigh continued to move on, though, talking first about a Mal, and then their ship's tailor. Cherry's smirk returned at Leigh's closing remark, and the Lamini woman got to her feet to stroll over to the bed, carrying what she had so far of the pants she was working on.
"Well they sound like quite the colorful bunch," she remarked, casually draping the pants over Leigh's outstretched legs. She eyeballed the lengths of the pant legs, moving the material around as she spoke. "You've all got your circumstances, looks like. Kinda pissed about what you just said about Woodrow though; if that's the kind of guy who's spearheading the law on the sea, well, it's no small wonder there are pirates like you around. Eugh. But, more importantly than that."
Cherry moved a pant leg to now sit beside Leigh's leg, stretching the fabric vertically to ensure it matched the width of Leigh's thigh. She glanced up after confirming her measurements, and gave Leigh a coy smile. "I'm glad you like the jacket. Which means I better not hear you calling me bad at my job again," she joked, adding a tap to Leigh's nose for good measure. "Would be a shame if the jacket suddenly unraveled, oh noooooo."
She giggled as she straightened up and carried her work back to her table, setting it out in preparation for the leather-lining phase. She'd be perfectly happy to keep joking with Leigh, but a part of her was still kinda curious; she hoped Leigh might elaborate more on Woodrow. Honestly at this point, any further reason to root for Leigh over the law was welcome. Maybe Cherry just needed an excuse to not think herself terrible for cozying up with a criminal.
Post by Leigh Haskell on Oct 26, 2017 9:28:31 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Leigh hadn't realized until Cherry spoke Woodrow's name herself that it was a stupid thing to mention. Sure, on the ship they could bad-talk the Lord Asshole as much as they pleased without someone so much as batting an eye. Outside of the Grail's vengeful crew was a different story, however, and she knew that. She was usually more tight-lipped about the exterminator of the seas when traveling alone, so when Cherry didn't question Leigh's depiction of the scoundrel, she was even more impressed by the little lamini. Sure, she didn't jump on board heart and soul, but she seemed to at least trust what Leigh was saying. Somewhat.
Leigh would have wanted to dwell on it a bit longer, but Cherry was an expert in the art of distraction. She had sauntered over to measure something against Leigh's body, and the pirate definitely didn't want to think about Woodrow while a beautiful woman was pressing against her leg. She had to admit that if their ship's tailor was as sweet as Cherry (and a woman), she probably wouldn't have needed Cherry's assistance. In that world, she'd be getting her clothes fixed daily. It was a good thing he wasn't, she smiled as Cherry tapped a finger to her nose, or else she would have missed out on this.
Cherry's measuring and teasing was short-lived unfortunately, and she left Leigh's skin a little colder as she removed herself to her worktable. Watching Cherry work, and seeing how Leigh's description had changed nothing in their back-and-forth, Leigh was content... But also curious. What made Cherry so trusting?
"Most people who hear the bad news about our Lord and savior Markus Woodrow don't buy it," She mentioned, laying down on the bed so that her head hung off the end to watch Cherry upside down, "You don't have to spare my feelings about it."
Post by Cherry Milerand on Nov 8, 2017 14:52:01 GMT -7
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Nobles Are Often a Pretty Picture
So it seemed Leigh was interested in talking further on it, if only due to Cherry's reaction. The lamini woman hummed thoughtfully in response to Leigh's words as she worked at stitching in the leather linings, tossing a glance and a smile Leigh's way.
"Well I don't have much a reason to distrust you now, do I?" That answer, of course, probably wasn't quite sufficient, so after another few stitches, Cherry elaborated, her eyes back on her work as she spoke. "I don't know Markus Woodrow. I know of him, of course, like pretty much anyone does. I know about his various exploits and daring-do's, and all the renown. And I've heard his flowery speeches when he's made diplomatic visits to my neck of the woods. Or when I've been in Submiere. But that doesn't mean I know him, ya know? And if you knew my background, you'd know I'm no stranger to the dealings of nobles and noble families and how they operate. Most of the time, there's a pretty big disconnect between how they act in public and how they actually behave."
She paused in her stitching a moment, worrying at her lip as she thought of her parents. They'd... eventually done the right thing. And they had done her a nice favor by not having her culled at birth, at least. But they had also still sent her away to preserve their public image for pretty much all of Cherry's young life. And her parents aside, the rest of the pretty little family had been all for her extermination.
She shrugged. She was the heir now, so joke's on them.
"I guess I just don't see it as so hard to swallow. That Woodrow could actually be a bad guy is disappointing, absolutely, but I'm the last person who'll deny the possibility. And unlike with Woodrow, I have met you. You didn't come here looking to turn some innocent bystander into a pirate sympathizer, especially considering how you acted when we first met." She giggled at that, finally looking up from her work again to give Leigh a cheeky smirk. "So I don't see why you'd have any reason to make something like that up. We were already getting along just fine without that being spoken, right? So right now, I have a lot more reason to trust you than to trust him."
After one more brief pause, she added: "And besides, Woodrow has never called on La Cherie to tailor some clothes for him, despite numerous occasions. What kind of monster, am I right?"
Post by Leigh Haskell on Dec 3, 2017 8:15:26 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] She offered Cherry the customary 'ha' sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a scoff to acknowledge the joke, and shook her head somewhat in disbelief at how cavalierly Cherry denigrated someone so completely worshipped by the rest of the world. In truth, though, she was more focused on what Cherry had said before: And if you knew my background... It gave Leigh an implication that she just couldn't shake. She normally didn't give a shit about the history of her trysts, and would merely listen obediently if they decided to share their troubles. She also didn't care much for the histories of her fellow crewmembers, knowing the pain caring about them could cause. With Cherry on the other hand, she... Well, she didn't like using the word, but she liked the little green teapot. Which meant that being direct was different, not caring was impossible, and she wanted to appear a specific way to other woman.
It was complicated, and Leigh should have taken the complexity as a sign to get out while she still could.
Instead, Leigh rolled right side up again, pushing off the edge of the bed with one hand and its opposite elbow to stop her lazing, and take up wandering instead. She moved through the things of Cherry's space, pretending she cared about the pattern on a vase as she deadpanned, "It's a downright injustice, is what it is." She ran her hand over a dresser, only somewhat feeling like she was defiling the piece of furniture just by being in its presence, and thought of the best way to ask her questions without appearing nosy. Eventually, she decided, "You're something else, Teapot. Your folks teach you to be this good?"
Post by Cherry Milerand on Jan 4, 2018 7:35:15 GMT -7
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Well now who's fishing for answers?
Cherry took Leigh's token participation in her joke as a good enough sign that the pirate didn't find her flippant attitude towards Woodrow odd. She'd definitely seemed... perhaps a little perplexed at it, considering she asked about it at all, and Cherry had admittedly been a little concerned that Leigh wouldn't believe her answer. That she'd assume Cherry was just saying things Leigh wanted to hear. So it was at least a bit relieving that Leigh didn't appear too bothered. Cherry liked being believed at any given time, but especially when she was telling the truth.
And then Leigh asked an off-handed question that had Cherry pausing in her work for a moment. Or, well, Leigh probably wanted it to seem off-handed... but Cherry was certainly wise beyond her youthful looks, and she found herself wondering if Leigh, perchance, actually wanted to learn about her. She had to hide a smirk. Even after loosening up considerably, the other woman had definitely been a bit aloof. She'd avoided telling Cherry too much when answering her questions (or, at least she had up until the Woodrow story), like she was trying to keep this all as casual as possible. And yet now here she was asking something of her own, something that wasn't related to the two of them as a topic, but was specific to just Cherry.
Sheeeee wanted to knoooooow about Cherryyyyyyyy~
Well! Far be it from her to decline such a cute sense of curiosity.
"I wouldn't say so," she answered with her usual whimsical lilt, her hands back to their busy work. "Not to say they're lousy, but. Well, lemme tell you a thing about female Lamini, especially those born in noble families. We don't usually live to see our first birthdays. We're infertile, completely useless for passing along our bloodline to any partner, even those who can make a child non-sexually. And you know, Lamini are almost always in positions of fame, power, part of old families, blah blah blah old money and hoity toity rich nonsense. So, naturally, their response when a lady type is born with the good ol' lamini skin? Put 'em down, like any decent scumbag would. It's only sensible, right?"
Despite the biting sarcasm of her message, Cherry's tone never drifted into one of genuine anger or resentment. She'd already long made her peace with the events that could have befallen her. She'd processed, she'd gotten over it, she'd moved on, and now she was better for it. It was pretty easy to joke about it for that reason. She hummed thoughtfully on a particular stitching before continuing.
"But luckily for me, my parents were just decent enough that they didn't want to kill me when I was born. So instead, they chucked me off here to Niseca to live with my human grandparents. And then I got to grow up watching them get older and older while I barely aged at all, isn't that just fun? Gotta hand it to dear old mum and dad though, they managed to make things right eventually. It only took until my mom was in her elderly years, of course, but better late than never, right? So they put me back in the family and said to hell with what the elders would say, and all is hunky dory. And that's how Cherry became the heiress to the wealthiest family in Liesdro. Crazy, right? And the thing is, I'd maybe actually want it more if I hadn't already spent my life up until then building my own fortune with my own hands. So it felt a little empty, but the gesture was nice."
Finally, she paused again and returned her gaze to Leigh for the first time in a short while. Her smile caused her eyes to crinkle at the edges, a mischievous one that seemed to suggest she'd just let Leigh in on some big joke she'd just played on someone. "I guess I got to be 'good', as you put it, by just not copying the example of the crappy people around me, y'know? Anyway, that's probably a lot more than you asked for, but you kinda seemed like you wanted to know."
Post by Leigh Haskell on Jan 4, 2018 16:48:39 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Leigh couldn't admit to much familiarity with Lamini culture. Malscure was a long ways by sea, and the oceans around there tended to be rough sailing, what with all the magic hurtling around. Sure, the lamini weren't all down south, but they certainly hadn't crossed her path before. That meant all of this information was a surprise to her: Cherry's own experience, and the rest of it.
"Moann's piss," She managed. She had, at some point, returned to the bed and slouched back down on it. She sat there now with her elbows on her knees, her head shaking in disbelief. Rich people were right fucked, weren't they? So concerned with legacy that they'd straight kill their kids? For what? One less mouth to feed? As if they were hand to mouth. Leigh knew what that was really like. She had grown up poor, had lived poor, was still poor, and knew what sacrifices were, what they meant, and when you had to make them... From this side of things, it sure didn't look like these lamini pieces of shit were making sacrifices. They were making decisions.
And yet, here was where Cherry ended up. Comfortably wealthy (independently so, mostly), successful, happy. Where was Leigh? Not so peachy keen. Miserable, in comparison. They both had a crap deal, and maybe Leigh had always assumed that was the explanation for everything. But what if-- Cherry has two hands, She reminded herself, Only so far you can get when people see your stump and think 'thief'. The thought wasn't wrong.
"You'd never guess you come from such a tragic background, teapot," Leigh had finally processed everything and raised her eyes back to the beautiful woman sitting there. Teal was a nice colour on a girl. Shame Cherry would be one of the few to wear it. Lucky Leigh had gotten to wear her. Cherry's presence was easily enough to temper the anger Leigh had felt bubble on the softer girl's behalf. In fact, it was enough to turn her own pleasant spin on Cherry's tragedy (not that the girl needed it), "And it don't even look like you're hiding 'hind that smile. You just actually, genuinely don't give a fuck. That's pretty badass."
Post by Cherry Milerand on Jan 11, 2018 5:22:59 GMT -7
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My Mysterious Bedfellow
Cherry almost, almost put a slightly sad smile out. Not, like, because of the situation or the story she'd told, she'd long since finished processing those feelings. But rather for the clear edge of sympathy Leigh had for it, once she'd heard the little story. Even if Cherry was done with it, the fact that retelling it could put someone else in that head space, even if only briefly, was enough to remind her that her background was a little sad. She tried not to dwell.
But the sad smile wouldn't show itself, not when Leigh followed it up with something that was, coming from a woman like her? An incredible compliment. Clearly Leigh had picked up on Cherry's lack of distress over the whole shebang, and she called the girl badass for it. It made Cherry's grin widen and her teeth press into her bottom lip a bit in joy.
"It is pretty badass, isn't it?" she asked with a mock superior tone, one hand delicately placed at her chest as her eyes closed. "Sometimes I amaze even myself!" She let herself have a little giggle over it, and then opened her eyes again, returning her attention to Leigh. Her smile and eyes both softened into something much more akin to sincere gratitude, and she dropped both hands to her lap. "Once upon a time, you know, I wouldn't have been so easygoing about it. Heck, there were some nights I let myself cry my eyes out over it. But you can only do so much crying before you get tired of that and decide it's time to start doing, you know? Which is why Cherry's Tragic Past has done a good job of staying there. Always remembered, but never ruling me, you know?"
If Cherry had yet had the opportunity to probe deeper into Leigh's background (with answers willingly given), she might have chosen her words just a bit differently. Sure, from where she was sitting she could tell that something in the other woman's past was doubtlessly eating at her - that was generally the sort of reason people tended to not like their birthdays, right? But she couldn't have known just how deeply such feelings ran. Still though. She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe the words were also something Leigh needed to hear.
Post by Leigh Haskell on Jan 12, 2018 11:41:54 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Cherry's words felt a little like an accusation to Leigh. Before them, she had compared herself to Cherry silently, felt a little unworthy, but had gotten over it for the sake of the genuinely good time was having. Now... Well, it felt like Cherry was comparing the two of them, and it was making Leigh defensive.
Sure, Cherry's circumstances of birth had given her a shit hand, but good had come of it. Her parents didn't kill her. Hell, they even came around and brought Cherry back into the family. She was a damn heiress, so sure, she'd had to make herself -- but she'd had support. What the hell would the teapot have done if she had been accused of a crime she didn't commit? How would she be acting now if her first love had set her up for that crime? Cherry had it easy compared to Leigh, and now that Cherry was basically saying it as far as Leigh was concerned, it was easy to be angry about it.
Really -- what good had ever come out of Leigh's life? She'd had to leave her home behind, her family, all because of some pieces of shit who weren't even related to her. She'd lost her hand. Her hand. Then she'd lost more. A whole crew, her heart once again. If Leigh's folks saw her again-- wouldn't they kill her? There'd be no forgiveness like in Cherry's family. She'd ruined their lives, probably. They knew her as a thief, and if they didn't care about that they sure would care about how she'd abandoned them.
Cherry might have known what pain was, but she didn't know how fucking vast the ocean of it could be, so these little affirmations were just worthless crap.
"I'm sure it's plenty easy to say that now," Leigh muttered darkly as she stood and started picking up her old clothes from the floor. She didn't want to blow up on Cherry, she was trying really hard not to, but her buttons had been firmly pressed. She just needed to get out of here before this memory was all fucked over like so many others.
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