bite the lightning — meeting [02/20] .

[EDMUND.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Josephine and William had since returned to Flintlock Lodge following their month-long reconnaissance of Bluestem Prairie. With blueprints of the town mapped out, battle tactics and inventory lists stolen, and Flintlock Lodge reinforced and ready to resist the cavalry, Eddie was certain that soon would mark the end of this fight. They had the upper hand here and Eddie had a good feeling about the group’s prospects of winning.

After this, the children could return from their refuge in Northstar District; Eddie would be able to be reunited with his children, with Henry and Ida, with Maxine. His heart picked up speed with the very thought. Stepping into the lounge, arms folded across his chest, Eddie stopped in front of the crackling fireplace as he waited for people to turn up for today’s important meeting.

[LI-SANG.]

[align=center]

pyrrhic has no family, not anymore, so the need to bring an end to this fight stems from nothing more than weariness and a desire for a peaceful afternoon.  he runs a hand through his messy hair as he enters the room, tense muscles relaxing ever so slightly as the warmth from the fireplace begins to weave through the many layers of his clothing.  he gazes at edmund, ever quiet as he picks out a chair in the far corner and curls into it in one swift motion.  a nod in greeting is all he offers for now before he tilts his head, gazing out at the rest of the room.

cosmyn

[COLT MADISON.]

[align=center][div style="width: 370px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.4; color: black;"]—  So - a meeting. Colt figured that this had something to do with the impending war; they'd been preparing for it for weeks, after all. He had very limited knowledge about what the war was about, really, because of how new he was - but that didn't matter. He wanted to help protect Flintlock, prove his loyalty and his worth. Was he... overcompensating, maybe, with his eagerness to fight? Maybe. But no one else needed to know that. The merc placed his arms behind his head as he walked into the lounge, gaze darting between the lodge members who had already showed. 'Seems I'm early.' He flopped down onto a couch, nodding towards Eddie. "Yo, cap'n," Colt would call out with a casual half-grin, ignoring the pang of guilt that he felt whenever he looked at Edmund.

[blake k.]

"Take a seat" she told Cade as the two of them walked into the room, letting him decide where they'd sit. As she sat down next to him, one hand went to rub her now seven-month belly - though it was smaller than her past two pregnancies - it was just as tiring. Eventually, she would probably just let Cade sit where ever but seeing as he was new still, she would sit with him mainly to make him more comfortable...and to keep people away.

"Is this gonna be a short meeting?" She asked Eddie, she wanted to know just exactly how long she got to sit down and just how long until she struggled to get the hell up. Though for now, she leaned back and every so often glanced towards Cade just to check on him. She was glad he got time to settle in without her four kids, though she hoped that that would change soon - she missed the little ones, even if the break had been nice. 

[spoiler=TAGS 2/12]
Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise — general
▪ Blake Adrian Kegan | Blake, Blakie | open to nicknames
▪ AFAB | Identifies as Genderfluid | she/they
▪ 23 | Born July 26th | ages real time
▪ combat | member of Flintlock Lodge

Tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised — physical
♦ Health: 100%
— They stand at 5'9" with semi-long wavy ginger hair. She has a rose tattoo and a few scars from past events. She's closer to an athletic build and is on the thinner side. She has an Australian accent as she's originally from Adelaide, Australia.
— minor injuries: n/a
— major injuries: n/a

Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it — important events
— 12/05/40 Lost her best friend, Alfie
— 7/26/40 Celebrated her 23rd birthday
— 5/31/40 Had Keiron and Louis; The "Hell Twins"
— 4/26/40 Thomas and Charlotte turned 2

Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it — personality
— I like to think Blake is a good example of the whole "strong, independent woman" thing even if she doesn't identify as a woman. She has a short temper and what I gently put as homicidal tendencies. She will gladly fight someone, regardless if they're bigger than her or not. However, she's also rather maternal and is more likely to protect a child than anything. Her maternal side has massively shown itself since the twins were born, though that leaves her more violent side to be overlooked or forgotten.
— Maternal, "Strong Independent Woman", Protective
— Violent, Homicidal Tendencies, Short Tempered

I'm headed straight for the castle — relationships
▪ Ryan Kegan x Katherine Kegan
▪ Pansexual | Panromantic | Polyamorous
▪ It's complicated | Crushing on one | Maybe Crushing on no one
    ↳ Involved with Danny Hargrove
▪ Ex-wife of Edmund Moray
    ↳ cheated on her
▪ Mother of Thomas, Charlotte (2yrs), Louis, and Keiron(7m) Moray
▪ Currently pregnant, due in April
▪ Took in Danny's son, Cade (8yrs)

They wanna make me their queen — interaction
— Physically very hard | Mentally intermediate
— Uses combound bow and arrows
— Also skilled in hand to hand combat
— No killing and ask before major injuries or major interactions
— To attack, [member=9567]Noccy[/member] & attack in #B34600
[/spoiler]

[freddie]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=; width: 400px; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 125%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; color: black"]

— freddie enjoyed the fact that will and joey were finally back. after all this time, fred could finally have a bit of fun around this blizzard wasteland. a few people to wreak havoc with - even if the havoc would be generally mild compared to all the adrenaline rushes they must've had sneaking around bluestem and getting the information they did. god. next time, freddie was going to weasel his way into going with them. he was not getting left here on his own. eyes wandered absently around the room as he waited for it all to start, taking in the people that had already made it there before him. wonder what all eddie had to say this time.

[spoiler=tags ― updated 08/31.][size=8pt]◜BASICS ┊ THE CURSES OF DIAMONDS AND RINGS ◞
‣  ❝ frederick flynn stirling ❞ | freddie, fred, freds | male [he/him] .
‣ 24 years old . | june 20th; gemini.
‣  currently the warlord of flintlock lodge

◜PERSONALITY: ESTP ┊ ONLY AT FIRST DID IT HAVE ITS APPEAL ◞
‣  boisterous . adaptable . athletic . articulate . brilliant . captivating . charismatic . charming . clever . confident . precise . youthful . loyal . amusing. aggressive . deceptive . proud . smooth . stubborn . traditional . argumentative . conceited . difficult . greedy . power-hungry . impatient .
↳ lover of beer and attention
↳ considers himself royalty

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ NOW YOU CAN'T TELL THE FALSE FROM THE REAL ◞
‣ five foot ten & one hundred and seventy five pounds ; reference .
↳ blonde hair kept short and neat
↳ muscular, toned build
↳ blue eyes , often alight with mischief , a deceitful smile

◜ FAMILY ┊ EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH TURNS TO GOLD ◞
‣  kelby stirling x lydia clarks | whereabouts unknown
‣ has a brother named william and two sisters named harriet and lucy
‣ large family; multiple cousins and other relatives

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ STATUES AND EMPIRES ARE ALL AT YOUR HANDS ◞
‣  bisexual ; monogamous | never had a serious relationship before
‣ current lover to mollie hawthorne
↳ no strings attached . sees her as a best friend . is terrified he has developed genuine feelings for her.

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ WHO CAN YOU TRUST ? ◞
‣  [ 9/10 ] physically  |  [ 9/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very difficult ] | difficulty w/ melees [ difficult ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ difficult ]
‣ [member=1512]elysian.[/member] | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .[/size][/spoiler]

[JOSEPHINE]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; font-size: 12px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: .6px; color: #494949;"]head held high and a small, smug grin on her face as she strolls into the lounge for her first meeting back in flintlock. there’s a big sense of pride in what she’d done in bluestem; josephine looks and feels revitalized. the power and praise she received from the mission is a drug to her. the strength she felt as she watched the life leave that man’s eyes in their exit and then coming home to be a hero and no crying kid? it’s almost like she’s back to normal.

as she looks around, joey sees many new faces but is relatively too into herself to try and meet them at the current moment. she glances at eddie as she sits down near freddie.  ” hope no one had any fun while i was gone, “ she chuckles a greeting at her near brother-in-law.

[spoiler=tags, updated 02/07/2021]◜BASICS ┊ [color=#990000]I HAD A DREAM◞
&. ❝ josephine elena van doren ❞ |  joey, hoey | female [ she/her ] .
&. 22 years old . | november first ; scorpio .
&. reaper of flintlock lodge .

◜PERSONALITY ┊ GOT EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED◞
&. impulsive . outgoing . femme fatale . flirtatious . seemingly emotionless . guarded . self-destructive . obsessive . hot headed . reckless . kleptomania tendencies . selfish . brat .  assertive . loyal to those close to her . intuitive . stubborn . passionate . self-preserving . quick . nosey . reliable . non-committal . determined . secretive . resentful . resourceful . distrusting .

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ NOT WHAT YOU THINK ◞
&.  five foot six & one hundred and seventeen pounds ; reference .
↳ blonde hair just past her collarbone, grows a dirtier blonde, lightening up as soon as any sun touches it .
↳ slim, muscular build. legs on the longer side .
↳ big blue/green doe eyes, light yet well-groomed eyebrows, full lips, dimples .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ AND IF I’M BEING HONEST ◞
&.  [ 8/10 ] physically  |  [ 9/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ medium ] | difficulty w/ melees [ hard ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ hard ]
↳ combat information .
&. attack in bold #990000 | [member=570]scully[/member] | PM for any major plots .
&. friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .

◜INVENTORY ┊ IT MIGHT’VE BEEN A NIGHTMARE◞
&. [ 2 ] weapons | [ 0 ] armor pieces | [ 0 ] consumables | [ 2 ] aid items | [ 1 ] misc .
↳ one combat knife .
↳ a three piece throwing knife set
↳ a bracelet from her late mother, each one of her sisters has a piece to the same set, their mother having the biggest piece

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT CARE◞
&. elizabeth van doren (npc) x malcolm van doren (npc) | second youngest of nine children .
↳ cassian van doren, eldest, flintlock .
↳ beau van doren, second eldest, unknown .
↳ range rover van doren, unknown & scarlett van doren, dead .
↳ auden van doren, unknown & tara van doren, dead .
↳ maxine van doren, just older than joey, flintlock .
↳ richard van doren, youngest, flintlock .
&. pansexual, panromantic ; mongamous  . | scared of commitment, however enjoys casual fun .
&. lover to william stirling
↳ reoccurring friends with benefits.
↳ parents to rosalie willa van doren, five months old .
&. lover to theodore knope
↳ partner in the badlands
&. crushing on cassidy van den bergh[/spoiler]

[EDMUND.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]❝ Yo, cap'n. ❞ Colt greeted as he made himself comfortable on the couch, Eddie nodding his head in greeting as he then uttered,  ❝ Colt. ❞ Slowly, arms crossed tightly across his chest, eyes darting across the lounge as the he watched the room fill up. Once it looked as if no one else would be attending the meeting, Eddie glanced at Tommy, his older brother tipping his head to look towards Josephine. ❝ Lotsa fun. Ya know, walking ‘round a mountain, doin’ chores, eat, sleep, repeat. ❞ He explained with raised brows until Eddie looked away to meet his ex-wife’s gaze.

❝ Hopefully not too long. ❞ Eddie notified Blake, his hands then falling to his sides to dig into his pockets before he looked back towards the crowd to begin the meeting. ❝ Right, so I won’t beat around the bush today. Josephine and William have returned from their reconnaissance trip with invaluable information which leads me to believe that we can end this war for once and for all. This began as an attempt to subdue the group when they were destroying the lives of fellow settlers in the prairie. A few settlers sought refuge with us, begging for us to bring that lawless group to their knees before they could harm anyone else, but then we were caught in the crossfire. ❞

Brows knitted together tightly, stoically, as he looked at each member at the meeting. ❝ We have lost a lot to them. We’ve lost good people, valuable supplies that we needed to get us through the winter. They compromised our safety and that is something I cannot and will not condone. Not here. We will fight in neutral grounds, a fair fight, and we will neutralise the group so that they are unable to destroy the lives of anyone else. We are ready for this. Go into this fight remembering everything we’ve lost, and how this is the justice that we deserve. ❞

He swallowed hard, monotonous voice lowering in pitch in order to hide the hurt in his voice. The brokenness that he felt because of the bastards that stole everything away from Edmund. ❝ So, this is what we will do. They store their weapons in a gunsmith in the centre of Alexandra. A lone standing building; you will recognise it by a hanging sign above the door. We will arrive in the prairie by nightfall, and two people will plant a grenade tripwire inside their little gunsmith in the early hours of the morning when all their people are asleep. When the sun rises and their patrols begin their early rounds, we will be ready, waiting for them to sound the alarm. But, once they go to collect their weapons, their weapons and ammunition will be destroyed and they will be forced to fight with nothing more than their limited ammo and personal protection weapons. ❞

❝ I expect most of you to fight for Flintlock Lodge. Blake, I’d like for you to stay behind and lead a group to start preparations in the infirmary for when we return. I cannot guarantee that all of you will return to Flintlock unscathed or— ❞ alive. It was something that he had to be realistic about. This would be one of the most difficult fights that Flintlock will have had to date, and so Edmund was gravely aware that some people would never return. He released a long exhalation through his nostrils, nodding slowly before lowering his head. ❝ This is the end.  Lets be sure we finish it right. ❞ He allowed the words to sink in for a moment, thinking about the life of normality that he so missed, the life that would return to him so soon… ❝ A’right. Go for dinner, now. ❞

As he dismissed the meeting, Eddie took a step closer as he glanced towards his ex-wife. ❝ Uh, Blake. ❞ He cleared his throat, frowning slightly as he then said, ❝ I’d like to talk to you, just for one second. ❞ He waited for her to near him, Eddie glancing over her features worriedly before he questioned just above a whisper, ❝ Are you all right? ❞ He’d noticed her general despondency over the past few weeks, enough to alarm Eddie somewhat. The fire in her eyes was lost and, whilst they were no longer married to one another, Eddie still cared about his people equally. ❝ I know that… it’s not been easy now that Alfie’s gone. You may not have him to talk to anymore nor — uh — Danny, but I’m still here for you, always. ❞ She could take it or leave it, but Eddie had still opened that line of communication, one that had been shut off for months.

// repost, SORRY I POSTED THIS IN THE WRONG MEETING

[blake k.]

She nodded when Eddie told her it wouldn't be long, granted it would take a while for her to get back up but that was alright. She'd likely just send Cade ahead so he could eat, but that's more due to her being too stubborn to ask for help getting up. She was too stubborn to ask for a lot of things though.

" Blake, I’d like for you to stay behind and lead a group to start preparations in the infirmary for when we return." "Not like I planned on going anyways" she commented, though she was more than okay with being given something to do. She wanted to go, yes, but she wasn't that stupid she had two kids that needed her right now anyways so staying back with Cade and anyone else who chose to stay behind was fine with her...and made the most sense.

Then when the meeting was finished and everyone was dismissed for dinner, Blake got up easier than she thought. But when Eddie asked to talk to her, she looked over to Cade and smiled "Go ahead and get some dinner, I'll be right behind you" she ushered before walking over to Eddie. Are you all right? "I'm fine." she wasn't but she wasn't going to admit that to him. She was fine. But he kept talking, bringing up Alfie and talking. Talking. Talking.

"I said I'm fucking fine, Edmund. Just-...just leave me alone" it sounded childish, but she didn't know what else to say. She knew she wasn't okay, but she wasn't going to admit it. So instead, she just turned around and walked to join Cade for dinner. She wasn't going to have this conversation not now not ever. She was okay. Fine.

[spoiler=TAGS 2/12]
Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise — general
▪ Blake Adrian Kegan | Blake, Blakie | open to nicknames
▪ AFAB | Identifies as Genderfluid | she/they
▪ 23 | Born July 26th | ages real time
▪ combat | member of Flintlock Lodge

Tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised — physical
♦ Health: 100%
— They stand at 5'9" with semi-long wavy ginger hair. She has a rose tattoo and a few scars from past events. She's closer to an athletic build and is on the thinner side. She has an Australian accent as she's originally from Adelaide, Australia.
— minor injuries: n/a
— major injuries: n/a

Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it — important events
— 12/05/40 Lost her best friend, Alfie
— 7/26/40 Celebrated her 23rd birthday
— 5/31/40 Had Keiron and Louis; The "Hell Twins"
— 4/26/40 Thomas and Charlotte turned 2

Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it — personality
— I like to think Blake is a good example of the whole "strong, independent woman" thing even if she doesn't identify as a woman. She has a short temper and what I gently put as homicidal tendencies. She will gladly fight someone, regardless if they're bigger than her or not. However, she's also rather maternal and is more likely to protect a child than anything. Her maternal side has massively shown itself since the twins were born, though that leaves her more violent side to be overlooked or forgotten.
— Maternal, "Strong Independent Woman", Protective
— Violent, Homicidal Tendencies, Short Tempered

I'm headed straight for the castle — relationships
▪ Ryan Kegan x Katherine Kegan
▪ Pansexual | Panromantic | Polyamorous
▪ It's complicated | Crushing on one | Maybe Crushing on no one
    ↳ Involved with Danny Hargrove
▪ Ex-wife of Edmund Moray
    ↳ cheated on her
▪ Mother of Thomas, Charlotte (2yrs), Louis, and Keiron(7m) Moray
▪ Currently pregnant, due in April
▪ Took in Danny's son, Cade (8yrs)

They wanna make me their queen — interaction
— Physically very hard | Mentally intermediate
— Uses combound bow and arrows
— Also skilled in hand to hand combat
— No killing and ask before major injuries or major interactions
— To attack, [member=9567]Noccy[/member] & attack in #B34600
[/spoiler]