WORTH IT // OPEN

[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"]

— of course fred wouldn’t let anyone forget that it was his birthday. to be surprised he had even managed to make it this long wouldn’t be too far of a reach. it was surely a mystery at this point- and a mystery worth celebrating in freddie’s eyes. though he didn’t seem too interested in the idea of a party with streamers and cake - him getting absolutely shitfaced later was a given - he did seem interested in getting plenty of attention through the day. that included constantly inviting others outside for his own game of baseball.

fred was probably just too dangerous with a bat in hand. twirling the bat around, he stood as he waited for others to come and participate at the makeshift diamond near the lodge. getting in a batting stance, he told an npc with the ball,“throw it! i’ll get a warmup in.” the npc seemed reluctant - and almost fearful - before tossing the worn baseball over. with a quick swing, bat and ball colliding, he watched as it went soaring throat the air -- over towards a few people approaching. purposefully? possibly. or just an amusing incident as he called - a bit too late - “hey, heads up!”

even on his birthday he still managed to be unbearable.

[paisley m.]

She flinched almost as soon as she heard the call, knowing someone would get hit with the ball and her luck was always terrible with such odds. But it seemed for once the odds were in her favor, she wasn't hit. Instead, she glared and walked towards those Freddie was playing baseball with. She was the daughter from a big loud Italian family from Boston, their work she could not deny nor agree was illegal, and of course, she grew up playing baseball.

"I'd say you throw like a girl, but I throw better than you're sorry ass" she laughed, jogging over to where the pitcher stood "Get lost, scram, go play outfield maybe you can catch better than you can throw" she shooed, looking over to Freddie with a smirk. "Alright, Freddie, wanna make a bet before I strike ya out?" she winked "or I suppose you could pick ya birthday present but, either way you're getting out". Her and Freddie had a few things in common - they both agreed they were attractive and cute, would answer with a smirk, and an "of course I am".

She was a pretty girl with peach-colored hair who stayed out of everything but knew so much. She'd flirt to get what she wanted or smile and say what she knew someone wanted to hear, but she was very much someone who nobody knew about. Her accent may give away that she was from Boston, sure, but nobody knew she was Italian, that she was part of some illegal shit via her father and half-siblings that her mother tried to keep her from. Instead, she got roped in, learned to cook, keep up her guard, and of course...that she had a wicked arm.

"Also if someone could give me a cap or somethin'? Would sure as hell make striking Freddie out easier"

[STIRLING.]

#1b2763[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"]Now, Freddie had a good idea for his birthday but if it was William’s birthday, he’d be playing this game whilst shitfaced. Who said that a baseball game couldn’t turn into a drinking game? Anything could be a drinking game if they tried hard enough. But, the drinking would have to wait ‘til later and, for now, they’d play baseball. Personally, William was amazing at baseball. He believed so, anyway. He was fiercely competitive and he could hit the ball on the screws - it basically meant that he was a professional and even some days better than a professional.

With his ego through the roof, William refused to accept that he may not be as perfect as he believed with such certainty but, regardless, he decided that he wanted to compete against his brother today. Nothing better than some good ol’ sibling rivalry, right? William stood out in the field as the opposing team’s centre fielder, hands on his waist as he wandered back and forth for the game to begin. Unsurprisingly, with the snow mostly melted and the sun out, William decided that the lodge deserved to see his bare torso, the shirt having been left behind in the lodge as he went out to play. Casually, eyes searched around to see whether anybody had noticed him.

Maybe he worried that all of the attention would be focused on his little brother today. Rightfully so, William supposed, but the thought alone still made him feel uneasy.

With playfully competitive eyes narrowing, he watched as his brother readied himself for a batting warmup. It was worth beginning to rile Freddie up; anything for a more interesting game. ❝ Hey batter batter batter batter a-saawing batter. ❞ He sang monotonously in an attempt to throw Freddie off, shoulders slumping as he casually watched the ball ping off the bat and soar through the air. ❝ Not bad. ❞ William commented with a hum before watching Penny wander over.

She took over from the pitcher, William raising a brow as she then proceeded to… Oh, was she [i]flirting[/i]? William began to smirk playfully, leaning over to the side to peer around Penny’s frame to look at Freddie with a knowing look on his face. Then, silently, with his two pointer fingers, he drew around Fred and Penny within a shape of a heart before casually whistling. God, he was great at ruining a ❛ moment ❜, if he could even call it a moment. If anything, it was nothing but a distraction from the game. 

[JOSEPHINE]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; font-size: 12px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: .6px; color: #494949;"]she’s never been a sports person. she’ll work out, but organized sports were never her thing. funny, considering she’s competitive, but not a team player. that was probably the problem, joey needs to have all the recognition and glory. so, when freddie invited people to join him for a celebratory baseball game for his birthday, she was less than thrilled about the activity but wanted to stop by, wish him a happy birthday, they did get along pretty well after all.

even though the temperature continues to climb, finally, joey is still swimming in whatever sweaters she can find. she hates the way she currently looks, leading to even more resentment to who she believes did it to her; even though she’s just as much at fault. scapegoating at its finest. her hands are pulled up in her sleeves, gripping the excess fabric with crossed arms. she arrives to the field just as a ball shanks way off, flying in her general direction. joey makes a bit of a show, jumping out of the way almost on freddie’s cue to pay attention. her initial, irrational, thought is that this is edmund’s threat about the missing woman actually coming to fruition. it takes her a minute to recover herself, how could that even work? even with the unlikelihood, it’s too close for comfort.

“ what the hell was that, fred!? “ she yells with an airy chuckle, “ [color=#990000]hitting your guests isn’t a good look, “ she adds, just trying to give him a little shit. a small smile is on her lips as she settles in a place to watch, sitting a few meters away. then penny takes up the pitching position and offers a bet. this makes joey perk up, eyebrows raised as she watches them. the girl is either very confident or is interested in freddie. joey didn’t blame her if it’s the latter, but she’s now interested and nosey.

[spoiler=tags, updated 06/15/2020]◜BASICS ┊ [color=#990000]I HAD A DREAM◞
&. ❝ josephine elena van doren ❞ |  joey, joy, hoey | female [ she/her ] .
&. 21 years old . | november first ; scorpio .
&. forager 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
↳ one german short-haired pointer puppy, demetri
↳ one english setter puppy, robin
↳ 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 .
&. pregnant ; second trimester . [/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"]

— he looked towards joey at her light jokes, starting to grin. “can’t i get away with it just this once?” as far as fred was concerned, on his birthday, anything went. the idea that he could possibly get in trouble for any of his actions today seemed impossible to him.

“you’ve got a lot of talk, penny.” absently swinging the bat around in one hand, he raised his brows. “i never strike out. if anything i almost always hit a home run. or at least get to second base.” it wasn’t completely safe to say that he was still talking about baseball at that point - though the double-meaning didn’t seem to go past him, a certain smug gleam in his eyes that spoke far beyond the sport itself. couldn’t the birthday boy get away with at least a few innuendos sprinkled in here and there?

a bet was up his alley, though. something gleamed in his eyes as he pondered over exactly what he could want from her. “alright. if i win, i get to cut that hair of yours- however i like.” if she put so much effort into her hair, wouldn’t it be too fun for fred to take the opportunity to chop it all up? "and what if you win?"

turning his gaze towards will in the background, he tried not to sneer at the heart william drew in the air. he knew what his brother was trying to do; get under his skin, distract him enough that he would be too flustered to swing straight. if anything, it only tempted him to try and knock the man’s teeth out with his next swing. gesturing to will with the bat, he waved his hand dismissively. “go sit down in the stands, benchwarmer. and for fuck’s sake, put a shirt on.” of course the two brothers would get competitive; who could blame them when will was obviously such a narcissistic shit? c’mon will; let freddie have his day without everyone else staring at will’s goddamn bare torso.

setting himself up to bat, he pointed the bat towards joey this time - god, he really needed to stop pointing the bat at everyone - as he said, “this one’s for you, jo.” oh, wasn’t he just saying that to get some attention now? he couldn’t particularly deny that, either, as he stood ready to bat.

[STIRLING.]

#1b2763[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Originally, things were going absolutely fantastic for William. There was something about victory which brought him the greatest satisfaction, even if it was only the small victories in life. Like the look on Freddie’s face, for instance, was priceless, earning a smug grin from William as he watched the way Freddie resisted to react for as long as he could. ❝ Go sit down in the stands, benchwarmer. And for fuck’s sake, put a shirt on. ❞ Uh huh - William would consider that a win in his books.

❝ Why? Am I putting you off? ❞ That was kind of the point, Freds. William was nonchalant as he questioned, taking a small step back before quirking his brows at him knowingly. Between the two brothers, there appeared to be some kind unspoken language between the both of them and now...? It was hard to miss that subtle competitive gleam in their eyes. If Freddie wanted to win then Will was going to make him work for it.

But, as quickly as that heightened sense of victory stroked the ego which just needed to be left alone, Joey’s appearance was quick to drag William back down again. Seriously? At first, he hoped she’d take notice of him, his baby blue eyes elusively darting over towards her in the hopes that he’d catch her staring. Drooling, fumbling over him like love-struck teenagers would do.

His top lip twitched for a moment before he looked away again. Rude. She had no right to disregard him entirely and, added to that, she started acting all cute and coquettish around his brother instead. He narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly, glancing around before turning back to look towards his brother. ❝ Let’s get this game started then! ❞ He called his brother away from her casually, choosing to ignore Joey entirely as he jogged into position. After all, there was no need to feel envy when she’d run back to him eventually. It’d only drag him into a bad state of mind which, honestly, he didn’t particularly care too much for.

Plus, if she was trying to put the two brothers up against each other, there would be no way William would react. Provoking a dangerous man into a fight whilst he was also dangerous would be nothing more than a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, Freddie knew where he stood with William; he wouldn’t do anything to piss William off. Instead, craning his head from side to side, William waited for the game to begin, taking no notice of Joey standing nearby as she didn't give him the time of day - it’d only be time before she would begin to miss his attention and come running back, one hundred percent guaranteed.

[paisley m.]

"Oh trust me, Freddie, you're not even gonna get close to second base" the peach color haired girl replied rather matter-of-factly, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it while she spoke. She had certainly picked up on the double meanings, whether they were implied or not. Though with the bet brought up, what he chose was certainly not what she imagined he'd think of but her face immediately went sour. "No way in hell are you gettin' close to my hair! I got brothers I know damn well not to trust boys near my hair" she huffed, her Boston Italian accent really showing through as she spoke.

She didn't even know what she wanted if she did strike him out, she was so caught off guard by him wanting to mess up her hair that she couldn't remember whatever it was she had thought up. But she did eventually think up something, which made her smirk at the thought "If I get you out...you have to do whatever I say for a whole day" she told him rather proud that she thought of such a simple and rather overused wager.

But instead, she looked over between Will and Joey before looking back to Freddie. Now it was time to, at least she hoped, to strike him out. After stretching her arms and getting ready, she looked to the birthday boy "Hope you're ready" she sang before letting herself pitch the ball the best and only way she knew how. Once the ball left her hands she moved her hand to pull any hair out of her face to see if he hit it or not.

[JOSEPHINE]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; font-size: 12px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: .6px; color: #494949;"]shit, the idea of having a haircut entirely decided by someone like fred is a lot on the line. joey’s glad she’s not in penny’s shoes, plus, joey has to root for freddie considering it’s his birthday. hopefully he won’t go too wild if he wins, that could be a real commitment to a bet, but she assumes they enjoyed the high stakes, probably wouldn’t be that interesting to watch, so maybe joey doesn’t care as much as she originally thought. as well, considering the current state of her relationships with some big names in flintlock, joey should probably keep her mouth shut about any jokes and shit thrown at william, but freddie calling him a benchwarmer made her laugh. she can barely stop herself, trying to stifle it but not doing super hot, so her hands clamp around her mouth, then allowing herself to giggle.

her hands shifted, cupping the sides of her face to act like she’s flattered. “ better make it good, then freds, i’m not a fan of losers. “ she calls, hoping to rattle him a little more and to, hopefully, irritate will some.

[spoiler=tags, updated 06/15/2020]◜BASICS ┊ [color=#990000]I HAD A DREAM◞
&. ❝ josephine elena van doren ❞ |  joey, joy, hoey | female [ she/her ] .
&. 21 years old . | november first ; scorpio .
&. forager 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
↳ one german short-haired pointer puppy, demetri
↳ one english setter puppy, robin
↳ 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 .
&. pregnant ; second trimester . [/spoiler]