( when we met, innocent ) ⸺ open

[aspen]

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she could picture alder now, tall and golden and brooding, that familiar crease between his brows and that squint in his cognac gaze as he regarded her. "don't sell yourself to some fascist group demanding you follow their every will and desire until you become some domesticated sheeple, aspie." ever the rebel without a cause, her closest brother was perpetually dedicated to the idealism of freedom, with little regard to the value it's opposite, safety, seemed to offer. truthfully, aspen wasn't entirely convinced he believed the words he huffed so often, but he was designed to fight a system, and organized living seemed like the easiest to attack.


still, aspen knew he'd probably be fairly ashamed of her for disregarding his words of wisdom and joining the lodge. but she craved stability, she craved a home, and after hawthorn, she knew she couldn't ever feel at home in the cabin without him. so she'd gone in search of a new home, and found a carbon copy of the one she'd left behind. bigger, with more people, and not just one nuclear family, but it was a home enough. they'd let her join, brad alongside her, and she'd stuffed her bag onto a bunk, taken a tour of the building, and found herself parked squarely on a couch, brad sprawled across her.


without the layers of clothing, and the knit hat, she looked less like a homeless boy and more like a woman with a more lumberjack-esque fashion sense. white shirt beneath a plaid button down undone, aged jeans, mismatched socks. her face, at the very least, is more visible, and more feminine than one might initially guess. button nose, almond eyes, a face that was decent enough without makeup. brows could use filling in, lashes a coating in mascara, lips a stain of red— but with her features on display, blonde locks tucked behind pierced ears, she at the very least looks like a woman. not that looking all that feminine was ever much of a priority to her growing up.


the sun in sinking, the flames are crackling, and after boredly observing the build and decor of the room she's in, she clears her throat loud enough to make it clear she's looking for attention. [color=#4a4e54]"so, how 'bout this weather we're havin'?" she's blabbing, filling the air with silence because she craves connection. she'd grown up with seven people in a two bedroom cabin; silence was foreign to her, and she wasn't a fan.


( aspen is That Guy in the elevator pursuing shitty small talk )

[freddie]

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— if aspen wanted attention, then frederick was certainly her guy. it wasn’t so much that he loved giving attention to others, making them feel adored and glorified -- rather, it was freddie himself that wanted to be adored by many, glorified and held on the highest pedestal in everyone’s hearts. it wasn’t easy to do without giving some attention first. it was almost sad how far he’d go in order to have someone’s attention. appreciate him for the attention-whore that he was, not the means he often went by to get it.

he had been in the kitchen, absently looking around in the cupboards when aspen asked about the weather. what he was looking for, he didn’t quite know. what he did know, though, was that he was quick to make his way over towards the living area, eyeing her and her dog. he grinned and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. honestly, her attempt at conversation, her gentle babble-- it was goddamn adorable, freddie couldn’t deny it. “i’ve heard it gets better in the summer. even then, my hopes aren’t that high. i wasn’t made for this weather.” he lowered his gaze over towards brad, raising a brow.

”where did you two come from?” hopefully somewhere warmer; the idea that he had to go down this mountain and then travel for days just to swim was enough of a let-down. maybe she was built for this kind of weather. either way, he figured it wasn’t the worst way to get to know aspen; she was a new face. a beautiful face. a face that he wouldn’t mind looking over at him, paying attention to him. god, he sounded almost desperate at that point for everyone to notice him-- maybe he was.


//yikes sorry for this post

[aspen]

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she'd put out a theoretical call to social action, and from the kitchen emerged a man to accept it. tall, smiling, and attractive enough to make dark eyes widen in surprise at the very sight. you don't get men like that in barrow. sure, the variety of men she'd interacted with in her life who weren't related to her tended to be tall and attractive, but thus far, the lodge seemed to have a different variety. men who didn't look like they'd never heard of a razor, and men who had priorities beyond getting resources. she supposed it had to do with the fact that the lodge, though chilly, was survivable; barrow actively tried to kill it's residents.


he muses about warmer weather, and she cracks a grin at that, unable to help herself. [color=#4a4e54]"this pretty much is summer back home." she says simply, tucking her legs under herself before rubbing brad's face, minding to get the spots between the folds of his skin. he lets out a puff of air, sinking lower into his seat and dozing off. [color=#4a4e54]"way north of here, what used to be northern alaska. it's, like, freezing out there," she mused, glancing back to the blue eyed man. [color=#4a4e54]"honestly, i'm just excited to see how thawed out this place gets. maybe i can finally learn to swim." she knows the basics, she'd fallen into lakes enough to scramble out, but the prospect of actually getting out into water and swim for a reason other than to save her own life? that was the reason she came so far south as a place like the lodge, instead of staying out in the tundras.

[EDMUND.]

Eddie was not one for conversation, at least not anymore. Once upon a time, though expressed on an outwardly expressionless face, eyes would glimmer a spark of confidence and charisma, and spoken words hinted at a subtle mischief. The young man that Eddie had once been had since died, replaced by an evident somberness, eyes so stern yet vacant, as if he no longer had reason to feel a thing at all. Dulled down by the woes of life, Eddie was not one for conversation anymore.

Instead, he strode into the lounge, head low as he heard a conversation between Freddie and Aspen take place. He stopped by the window, peering out at the sun which was slowly setting below the milky white horizon, until beginning to make his way to the bar cart to pour himself a drink. ❝ Alaska, ‘ey? ❞ Eddie eventually piped up, taking a sip as he turned to finally address the conversation.

❝ What brought you to Flintlock then? ❞ Words weren’t intentionally curt, Ed freezing before asking, ❝ Do you drink? ❞ He nodded his head towards the bottle of brandy as he warmed his own glass up with cupped hands, before glancing at Fred. ❝ Brandy? ❞ Offering to pour him a drink by no means meant that they were on good terms, Eddie would make it clear as he stared at his cousin with a subtle frown.

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family:verdana; font-size: 7px;"][spoiler=tags :: updated 03/06]basics.
⋟ edmund theodore stirling-moray // ed, eddie, moray
⋟ goes by the name edmund moray
⋟ male // he/him
⋟ twenty four // ages real time // born seventh august
⋟ captain of flintlock lodge // formerly a traveler with his family
⋟ mob boss of the stirling crime family
⋟ joined FL two years ago

appearance.
⋟ faceclaim - finn cole
⋟ voice claim - finn cole
⋟ 5'9ft // stocky, well-built frame
⋟ muted blue eyes and dirty blonde hair
⋟ physical health - 100% // current injuries: n/a
⋟ mental health - 60% // depression and deluded thoughts

personality.
⋟ quiet in nature but confident in himself
⋟ completely fearless, almost foolishly so
⋟ insensitive and callous // cares for very few
⋟ very calm and calculative // always planning in his head
⋟ disciplined and practices good self-control
⋟ very flirtatious and persuasive // overly lustful
⋟ aloof and untrustworthy // jealous and deceitful
⋟ tactful and knows how to get what he wants
⋟ can be very nasty when he wants to be
⋟ but can also be very protective and faithful too
⋟ has a strong set of morals // has the quality of honor

relationships.
⋟ alfred stirling x leonora moray // both deceased
⋟ three older brothers // alfonso, thomas & franklin
⋟ the fifth stirling-moray brother, dominik, was killed
⋟ two younger half-siblings // henry & ida
⋟ bisexual but he stays silent about homosexual activity
⋟ ex-husband to blake kegan // was caught cheating
⋟ father of thomas moray and charlotte moray

interaction.
⋟ storage // playlist // pinterest
⋟ physically: very hard // mentally: hard
⋟ father taught him how to kill at a young age
⋟ insensitive towards injuring or killing others // will do so without hesitation
⋟ mentally, he is slowly becoming undone from stress, grief and guilt
⋟ often found guarding the lodge with a rifle
[/spoiler]

[freddie]

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— she had such beautiful brown eyes. it was an absent thought fred kept to himself, trying not to grin more as those eyes widened slightly. if he knew that aspen would give him these looks that only boosted his ego even more, he would’ve shown up even sooner. fred was hardly one to turn down a chance at conversation; if anything, he actively sought conversation out on most days. affection- and attention-craving both were good words to describe the dirty blonde. as aspen cracked a smile and began to talk, he thought to himself that this was the beginning of a very nice friendship.

if he didn’t ruin it with constant flirtation first.

he scrunched his face up subtly as she talked about how freezing it was back at home, huffing an amused breath to himself at his own distaste for the cold. flintlock didn’t seem like the ideal place to learn to swim, but the dirty blonde still raised his brows, interested. eddie joined in, a far less lively side of the conversation than fred’s constant grins and expressions as aspen talked. not everyone could be a great conversationalist. plus, where he didn’t fit in at conversations, he made up with it by offering booze. brandy? his eyes lingered on the man’s subtle frown before nodding his head, lips twitching into a smile. it didn't quite meet the eyes. “you know i can never turn down a drink. thanks.”

attention turned back to aspen. “have you ever been to a beach before?” he stepped closer towards the empty space on the couch, not waiting for a confirmation before he sat down next to her. “there’s a couple groups that live on the coast. we should go there some time.” he grinned then, adding, “i’ve always wanted to learn how to surf, yeah? i think i’d be good at it.” plus somewhere in his head, “surfer” equaled “chick magnet” -- but he’d spare her the details.

he looked towards the dog sprawled across her lap, leaning closer towards the two, holding a hand out as if to pet the dozed-off pooch. “is he friendly?”

was it obvious how purposefully he close he got to her throughout their conversation?