WHERE'S THE DAMAGE CONTROL ? // OPEN .

[EDMUND.]

The lodge was eerily quiet.

Only twenty minutes ago, the hallways had echoed with shouting, unfettered arguing and booming thuds against the wall. A dispute so acrimonious and frosty that nobody dared to involve themselves in the belligerent altercation between Blake and Eddie. He could often look sterner than his equable temperament would suggest, but today Eddie’s unrelenting, vicious streak had shown its ugly face.

His hands shook lightly as he stood rigidly in the lounge, dull yet bloodshot eyes staring vacantly into the crackling fireplace. Close to his chest, he held a glass of whiskey in his hand; Dutch courage was the only course of action for a man usually so courageous. But, Ed couldn’t help the fact that his heart slammed wildly against his chest. He was not remorseful for what he had done, only remorseful that he’d been confronted.

Chin tipped up ever-so-slightly, Eddie’s features as stoic as always. Keeping himself distant. Divorcing himself of all expression. Yet he was sick. He was so fucking sick that the pain ached through his bones and coursed through his veins. There was something wrong with Edmund Stirling-Moray, wasn’t there? He was a bastard. He was just like his father. Eddie took a slow and shaky sip from his drink as footsteps approached from behind, looking over his shoulder with his hollow and indifferent stare as he positioned the glass in his grasp. The chink against his glass from his wedding ring was sickening to him.

After all, Eddie had just destroyed his marriage.

// please wait for [member=9567]Noccy[/member] to reply before jumping into this thread, thank you !

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family:verdana; font-size: 7px;"][spoiler=tags :: updated 01/07]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
⋟ husband to blake moray // cheating on her with multiple people
⋟ 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]

[blake k.]

All she had done since the argument was think, in silence, while watching the twins sleep. Her eyes were red and her face wet as she had continued to cry even after the arguing was over. She wanted, needed, Ellie and Hayley. But they weren't around, it was just her. Though Blake now completely understood Ellie's "men ain't shit" attitude and she agreed with it. She wiped her tears and stood up, being quiet as she shut the door to the room the twins were asleep in and walked to the living area. He was there, how cute that he thought a little dutch courage would do anything for him.

Blake said nothing to him, instead she just slipped her rings - wedding and engagement - off her finger. She walked over to Eddie and took his hand, put the rings in his hand and closed his hand around them. She was angry, sure, but they had sentimental value and thus, he was given them back. "I don't want you around Charlotte or Thomas without someone else. Someone else I trust." She told him, her tone was calm although her voice may indicate she had been crying. Though she said it in a way that she wasn't in the mood to argue it.

"That goes for the unborn one too, if I even let you see that one." she muttered before adding "I'm not going to be your wife anymore. If there's some legal shit we need to do then we're doing it. But I'd assume not. So I'm just not your wife anymore" she told him, keeping herself calm and collected before turning and heading to exit the room. She would be Blake Kegan, she would be alone raising expectedly three kids, and she'd do it alone.

//this is ugly but yeet. Feel free to have someone like stop Blake btw like, even if its just to like comfort her or whatever

[spoiler=TAGS 3/4]
One taught me love — general
▪ Blake Moray (nee Kegan) | Blake, Blakie | open to nicknames
▪ AFAB | Identifies as Genderfluid | she/they
▪ 20 | Born July 26th | ages real time
▪ combat | member of Flintlock Lodge

One taught me patience — 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.
— minor injuries: n/a
— major injuries: n/a

And one taught me pain — important info
▪ Broad Australian accent
▪ She's either your mom, sister, or wife friend
▪ If you find a cat in the lodge it's probably somehow hers

Now, I'm so amazing — 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've loved and I've lost — relationships
▪ Ryan Kegan x Katherine Kegan
▪ Pansexual | Panromantic | Polyamorous
▪ Taken | Crushing on 1 | Maybe Crushing on no one
▪ Married to Edmund Moray | Became aware of his cheating
▪ Mother of Thomas Moray and Charlotte Moray

But that's not what I see — 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"]

— a stirling could try and fight their way out of the pattern set many generations before them. they could claw their way out, even, freddie liked to think. though freddie also liked to think that the pattern would find its way back to that man, grab them by the ankles, and drag them kicking and screaming back to where they belonged. he guessed for edmund, this was finally the time the man had fallen from grace.

even as smug as he momentarily felt deep down, he didn’t dare try and involve himself in whatever altercation was happening between eddie and his wife. only after the fighting had stopped, and a few minutes after, did he decide it was time to go and show his head. he had no idea what he would say, how he would even react to such an event, but curiosity always seemed to intrigue frederick.

“...i’m just not your wife anymore.” those were the only words he had managed to hear before watching blake exit from the room. he glanced between her and the doorway before eventually he dared to poke his head into the living room. sure enough, there ed was. he looked stoic and distant, yet certain tells in his features made him look so much softer than all the other times he’d seen him like this. for once, the big guy looked surprisingly small, even while looking so painfully put together.

he figured he would've enjoyed eddie's fall from grace a bit more than he actually did.

for a moment he felt surprisingly at a loss of words. usually he said the first thing that came to his head, blurting them out without care. it was hard to do that when there was almost nothing but radio static ringing in his head. blowing a long breath out, he turned his gaze away from ed. “it’s not the end of the world,” he eventually said, arguably one of the nicer things he had ever said to ed. guess even he wouldn’t beat the man while he was already down.

[EDMUND.]

It was Blake who had strided over, slipping her rings - Stirling heirlooms - off of her finger. So, here came the inevitable; Eddie was silent as he stared at her, gaze stoic and hollow whilst she took his hand to place the rings in. And then, came the hardest hit of all. She didn’t want him around his own children, not without close supervision. He wanted to argue that this was utterly unreasonable, argue relentlessly for those two children because they were his number one priority in life.

But, he was silent, soft blues watching Blake carefully as she continued to talk. The unborn one too, if he was even able to meet his future child. He slowly lowered his hand again as he pocketed the rings, jaw clenching so tightly that muscles twitched in his face. The things he loved the most would be the things that hurt the worst when he lost them. His beautiful children. He said nothing as Blake continued to talk, features hard and icy, but he knew with certainty that he wasn’t letting anyone stand in the way between him and his little ones, not even their own mother.

Eyes narrowed slowly at Blake as she began to speak of divorce. They were no longer married. As she turned and walked away, eyes burned with an apparent hatred. As if looks could kill. Slowly, he turned to look back towards the fireplace, head shaking slowly to himself before he took another sip of his drink. They could break up, they could argue tirelessly, hell she could do anything to him but God forbid anybody tell Edmund Stirling-Moray what he could and what he couldn’t do. Nobody would get in the way of him and his children.

❝ It’s not the end of the world. ❞ A voice that he did not want to hear trying to console him spoke, Ed sucking in a deep breath before looking over towards Freddie, frown riddling his features sternly. As if he was trying his hardest to hold himself together. ❝ Who said it was? ❞ He questioned with a very subtle wobble in his voice, head nodding slowly before looking back at the fire again. He shouldn’t have reacted so defensively, especially since this was probably one of the only times Fred had shown an ounce of decency towards him.

But, Eddie wasn’t done there. Slightly parted lips began to slowly twitch into a smile - a look so unfamiliar on his features - before he huffed a short breath of vacant laughter. And then, again, he turned to look back at Freddie, glass in his grasp tipping towards the younger Stirling before Ed asked curtly, ❝ How are you so sure about that? Do you even know what commitment feels like or is this just another joke to you? Because, I am not interested in your games right now, Frederick. ❞ Voice raised ever-so-slightly.

He hated to admit to himself that perhaps it did feel like the end of the world. But, Eddie shouldn’t have been surprised by this. Men like them could never be loved.

[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]

[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 wasn’t completely heartless. at least, the more he looked at himself, the more he figured that he wasn’t. if he were to actually let someone in, they could probably make the same conclusion. but he didn’t let anyone in. he walked around with all these walls built up, hiding the darker parts within. and you know what? that wasn’t heartless of him; if anything that was the most selfless thing he ever did. he knew he had the power to hurt others, brutally, selfishly -- yet he kept on the inside. he was nice outwardly towards strangers. few people knew who he truly was on the inside. few people deserved to know. but at the heart of it all, just because he was a monster didn’t mean he was heartless. did he not feel as deeply as others? maybe. though he still had feelings nonetheless.

sometimes he wished he could feel painfully numb instead. “who said it was?” sometimes he wished he didn’t feel anything at all. else he wouldn’t be looking over at edmund, after saying one of the nicest things he’d ever said to the man. he wouldn’t be trying to offer some sort of consolation when he hardly knew how. though the defensive reaction made him quick to want to leave the conversation then and there. edmund looked back at the fire; fred’s gaze lingered a moment longer before he tore it away. now was his best time to leave, yet feet still stayed planted on the ground. who said the world was ending, eddie? the fucking look in his eyes said it; the way his lips quivered as he tried so hard to keep it together said it. the other man was falling apart in front of his very own eyes and even still, he was unwilling to acknowledge it.

it only made him more defensive, lashing back at fred. the younger man, surprised, looked at ed with raised brows.

then, he huffed a short note of laughter, lowering his head. his shoulders trembled slightly with his short bout of amusement. “oh, fuck you, eddie,” he noted in a casual breath of air - mainly because he wasn’t sure how the hell he was supposed to react. mainly because he didn’t know for certain that ed’s words were a lie, either. he ran his tongue slowly between his teeth, shaking his head. “always thinking you’re so smart, yeah?” frederick didn’t know what commitment felt. at least, if he ever thought he felt it, then he was bolting out the door. edmund had that right, and he hated how the older made it sound like his lack of commitment was a bad thing. a

at least freddie would never know what it was like to have a broken heart. eddie couldn’t say the same.

“i don’t know what commitment feels like. you know what? i never will,” he started, the amused look in his eyes slowly fading. there was a certain anger in them, a fire in those depths as he bit back, “but at least i don’t try and live a goddamn lie like you do.” they were words that were meant to hurt, meant to get under eddie’s skin. the attempt at niceties was over and you know what? it was all eddie’s fault.

men like them weren’t meant to be loved; at least freddie knew that and didn’t try and live a goddamn lie. at least he didn’t try to be anything different. he shook his head, and then dared to take a few steps forward. he pointed an accusatory finger at his cousin. “i feel like you want the whole world to turn against you, ed. and you know what?” he stepped close enough to press the finger into ed’s chest, clenching his jaw before he said, words laced with venom, “i can’t wait to watch you crash and burn.”

[EDMUND.]

All Eddie could’ve done was accept Freddie’s rare words of compassion. It’d been one of the more genuine things said to him by the younger of the two, and perhaps it had been something that Eddie needed to hear at that moment. This world that he lived in was still turning; it wasn’t crashing and burning all around him. Not yet. But, Eddie couldn’t come to accept that Fred was probably right in saying so. Whilst the heartache was painful, Eddie could learn that life after loss was something he could deal with. After all, he’d brought this upon himself ultimately. He had been the one foolish enough to have a string of affairs in his riled up state of mind. Perhaps this was the most intricate form of self-destruction. One where he burned every bridge along the way.

Eddie was under a false impression that he could face the world alone when, in reality, he’d never really been on his own before.

❝ Oh, fuck you, Eddie. ❞ From that moment on, Eddie knew that this was not going to end well. Whilst Fred huffed a breath of laughter, seemingly bemused by Ed’s defensiveness, Eddie’s features were stern and unwavering. That brick wall he’d built around himself had only been reinforced in that moment; no amount of kindness could ever allow anyone in. ❝ Always thinking you’re so smart, yeah? ❞ Well, Fred didn’t deny Ed’s facts. Freddie couldn’t talk about commitment when he’d never felt it before. But, could Ed talk about commitment either when he betrayed the ultimate commitment of marriage?

Ed watched impassively, defensively, as Freddie began to spew biting words, enough to make Ed’s face twitch ever-so-slightly. Perhaps he’d been swept off along in a lie; he truly did believe for a minute there that he’d figured out what love meant to him. Instead, it seemed that the only him he was good for was to sabotage everything which brought him an ounce of joy. Fred was right; all Eddie did was try to live a lie. Try to escape from that Stirling curse. But, men like them couldn’t love. Men like them couldn’t be loved, either. Eddie should’ve known that from the very start, but he was sure to learn from his mistake.

The fire in Eddie’s eyes were watered down with each and every word which passed Freddie’s lips, until hollow eyes watched as Freddie stepped closer, his accusatory finger pointed his way. And then, the finger was jabbed against Ed’s chest, the leader unmoving as he listened carefully to the words then spoken to him. ❝ I can’t wait to watch you crash and burn. ❞ Eddie, too. Eddie, too. The concept seemed to be more of a relief than suffering, in his eyes anyway.

Eddie didn’t speak for a moment, instead visibly mulling over the words before eyes shifted off to the side, brow quirking ever-so-subtly. ❝ That’s a clever one, Freddie. Where’d you get that line from now? ❞ Words were demeaning and dismissive, Ed giving Freddie one last look before turning and beginning to walk away, not without pausing to slam an empty glass against the table (it was surprising that it didn’t crack from the force) as he left. He wanted to come across as blasé, but he refused to admit what the threat did to a heart now racing in his chest.

Edmund Stirling-Moray was destroying everything in his life.

[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]

[EVELYN STIRLING]

[table]