Rose, After Being Cursed Long Ago, Came To Adapt To Her Unfortunate Circumstances. While Once Completely

Working on the color palate for them. But I'm not quite happy with it yet, so more work.

Heads up 7 up 

Thanks for the tag @wyked-ao3 !

A bit about Owen, he’s really good at treating people, but because of his upbringing and lack of common sense with most things, He has certain misgivings about people and their reactions to medications. This isn't helped by the strange company he keeps.

A screech of rage pulled him from his dreamless sleep. It sounded strange and garbled, but Tori wasn’t in the vicinity so there had to be another explanation for it. It was then that Owen remembered a key detail that he had up until now misplaced, Maren had been drugged for a significant time and while he didn’t know the type of drug used, there was always the unlikely possibility that it could have been something addictive. 

No pressure Tags: @renasdoodles @kuebiko-writing @laisley-writes @leahnardo-da-veggie ,

@creatrackers @somethingclevermahogony +Open tag

Pick 3 OCs and give them each a song

Thanks for the tag, @literally-just-zay

I was planning to just do three but it was pretty fun so I just did the whole squad.

MA- Time in a bottle (Jim Croce)

Above all else, MA loves the world and wants to cherish every moment in it.

Owen- Army Dreamers (Kate Bush)

I had trouble with this one, but it fits him best because he could have been so much more if he had been given proper care.

Ember- Gasoline (Halsey)

Ember wasn't always a piromaniac, but one too many blows to the head, and one failed burning execution changed many things about her.

Bonus!

Tori-Baker (Aimee Carty)

He is quite skilled and, in his own way, very good at his job. He just works with crazy people who are better than him in their fields.

Hati- Believer (Imagine Dragons)

A core concept of Hati is his ability to change the world based on his beliefs

Billy- Gotta Be A Reason (Alec Benjamin)

The centuries have not been kind to Billy, but he has to keep moving because who else will?

No pressure tagging: @kuebiko-writing @renasdoodles @davycoquette @flurrysahin ,

@somethingclevermahogony @creatrackers

POACHING TALENT

@flashfictionfridayofficial fff262 Run Far and Fast prompt

CW: horror, violence, and death

(I'm bad at tagging, so if there is anything I missed, please let me know.)

Summary: 437 was sent to guard an expedition party harvesting frozen crystals for the Cove. Things go awry when a creature attacks and kills the expedition, dragging an unconscious 437 deep into the tunnels. Once he wakes, 437 attempts to escape the maze, and whatever beast is so keen on getting ahold of him.

Slamming into one of the icy tunnel walls, 437 began forcing air into his lungs. How long had he been running? How far was this thing willing to chase him? 

He tried to calm his beating heart as memories of the earlier massacre crowded into his mind, crushing any attempts of his flickering reason to rationalize that thing. The fear festering in his bones was unnatural and unacceptable for someone of his age, but that didn't lessen its power. 

Sucking in more stale air, 437 knew that thing wouldn't let him rest long. After the first twelve hours of blind flight through the tunnels looking for anything familiar in the maze, he realized it was just toying with him like a cat chasing a bug. 

{Silus?}

His breath stopped short as the grainy voice echoed from further back in the tunnels, sweetly crooning his birth name. Panic flared in his mind again as his instinct to flee overtook his exhaustion. 

Unfortunately, his body wasn't quite in agreement with the decision to start moving again so suddenly. 437's attempt to pull himself away from the wall proved more challenging than he had expected, but the real trouble came when he felt his balance give out. 

Crashing to the floor, he lay in a sweating mess, trying to muster the strength to move his shaking limbs. He needed to get out, to feel the mountain breeze on his face again, to thaw out his freezing limbs, and to enjoy the warmth of food in his stomach.

  Precious seconds dragged on as 437 struggled with his fluttering consciousness. The longer he lay there, the more he wondered if the effort to survive was even worth it anymore when an itch at his throat reminded him of why he was so desperate to make it out of these caves. 

{It can all stop if you just do as you're told Silus. You're good at that, right?}

Too close. 437 scrambled to his feet, cursing as the little lead he had managed to gain was so effortlessly lost in a moment of weakness. 

Dropping another item behind him, 437 continued his uncoordinated dash down the tunnels, hoping  he could avoid another dead end. He was running out of distractions, and in the darkness of the tunnels, he felt his mind slipping down roads he'd long since abandoned. 

The Cove had used him for decades, and now this thing wanted him under its thumb. 279 had been right about them being pawns, but even with how poorly he had been treated in the past, he had no desire to switch his forced allegiance to whatever was so transfixed on him. So he focused on the same goal he'd clung to since he woke in the depths of the temple. He focused on running.

Tunnel after tunnel 437 ran, avoiding bodies and rubble until his eyes caught a familiar expedition uniform. It was torn and barely recognizable, but the blood was much fresher than the other bodies, and he recognized the brat's expression of horror as he passed by. 437 was getting close to the doors. If he was right at his pace, it would be just a bit further. 

Ignoring the screaming pain in his muscles, 437 followed a trail of more familiar bodies until he reached the temple doors. Slamming into them, he stared up in dismay at the solid wall before him. They had already been sealed again. 

{I told you there was no escape. Accept your fate, and become my vessel}

Cold fingers wrapped around his shoulders, pressing him to his knees as 437 breathed heavily, trying to process his wasted effort. The faint hope of food and the Mountain breeze were instantly lost as the impossible pressure on his shoulders held him firmly in place.

He still had his hunting knife. He'd seen the girl use it to the creature's frustration before, when he'd had hope that at least some of them could make it out. Clutching it in his hand, he hesitated for a moment before ultimately releasing the handle. He wouldn't do that, not even now.

Cold breath cascaded over him from above as the creature's mouth slowly began to encompass his head, obscuring his view. He knew what came next. He'd seen it do the same to some of the others before they’d been separated. Knowing didn’t exactly prepare him for the pain, but once the teeth scraped past his chin, he only felt them tear onto his skin for a brief moment before everything cut abruptly to black. 

…

The creature smiled, shimmering with hints of red as the pitiable vessel was processed. Null purred in satisfaction, it hadn't been sure using a corrupted vessel would work given its current alignment, but it seemed that its hypothesis had indeed been correct. Now, it at least stood a chance in the upcoming battle. 

Finnaly...

Normally, I wouldn't post something about my gaming, but I literally got over 3k words written because I forced myself to write something every time I died to this child...

It was a surprisingly effective method for circumventing my procrastination, but I think it is one I should use sparingly for my own sanity....

Character Profile Tag: Billy

Thanks for the tag @creatrackers I had a lot of fun with this one. Sorry I'm so late getting it finished.

Full name: Billy, Shepard of the Blue Moon

Age: 4045 yrs

Gender: male

Species: Forest Guardian

Appearance: Standing at around 5'10 when fully upright, Billy is a mass of foliage and wood in the shape of a man, he appears to have a large beard made of ferns and wears a bone mask over the top of his face showing a pair of deep purple eyes.

Occupation: (Formerly) Shepard of the Blue Moon Valley. (Current) An initially reluctant member of a certain rogue squad of misfits.

Family: Forest guardian's are formed when a prior guardian is about to die or reaches their 4th millennia. In the first and much rarer case, when a forest guardian is about to die through unnatural means, they can split their core and send it into the ground for a 100 years to preserve the natural power. After the time elapses another forest guardian is formed from the core which has by this point re-fused. In Billy's case his predecessors' core did not fuze back and formed two separate Forest Guardian's. So he has one sibling named Jade, but they had their own paths and did not meet often after reaching adulthood. As for found family he has been adopted into the main squad by MA who isn't one to take no for an answer when it comes to strays.

Best friend: He gets along with most of the main squad fairly well (baring Ember), but he has a stronger connection to Hati since the mechanic was instrumental in making his more effective means of re-vitalizing nature. In turn he helps to keep Hati's unstable inventions from falling apart.

Pets: He has no pets and he prefers the company of plants.

Describe their room: (Former) A thick forest with lush foliage and a balanced echo system, it was his pride and joy. (Current) The back of a 6 passenger roofless (Stollen) military vehicle that is one bump away from falling to pieces, the one perk being a flood light that he can use to help get some 'sun' on the smog covered battlefields.

Items in their bag/purse: Assorted seeds and a copy of a half burned political thriller that he picked up somewhere along the road.

Hobbies: horticulture, reading, and hunting down particularly noteworthy offenders to the natural order.

Favorite sport: shooting

Abilities/talents/powers: As a forest guardian he has the ability to accelerate the natural progression and evolution of plants and animals. He is also able to levi an amount of control over natural things even partially extending to the human body unlike most of his species that mainly have this power over plants or animals. He is a skilled marksmen, and amateur engineer thanks to his friendship with Hati.

Relationships: He isn't and has not been in a romantic relationship before. As a Forest Guardian he doesn't particularly have any dive for connection. He does enjoy his friendships with most of the squad more than he had expected he would, but never felt the need to pursue anything further.

Fears: burning alive, watching his forests burn, fire, not being a worthy predecessor, and his squad dying unnaturally.

Faults: He is Stubborn, and doesn't tell people about his problems usually leading to avoidable consequences.

Good points: He is loyal and considerate.

What they want more than anything else: To re-establish the forests that were devastated and to watch over his squad so that they can live full and happy lives (Even Ember).

No pressure tagging:

@renasdoodles @kuebiko-writing @davycoquette ,

@wyked-ao3 @somethingclevermahogony @boomiburst @lyutenw ,

+Open Tag

Questions to copy:

Full name: Age: Gender: Species: Appearance: Occupation: Family: Best friend: Pets: Describe their room: Items in their bag/purse: Hobbies: Favourite sport: Abilities/talents/powers: Relationships: Fears: Faults: Good points: What they want more than anything else:

Pills and Pain

I reach out my fingers, aware they are shaking,

My body is sore, and I'm worried it's breaking,

I glance at strange pills, and fear what I'm taking.

Is the pain in my legs really worth what I'm staking?

My body is sore. I fear it might shatter,

I sit in my bed, pills still on the platter.

The ache in my bones refuses to scatter,

My hesitation remains, but soon, it won't matter.

Another Cog

(A little study of Margaret before she calmed down)

One, two, punch.

Dodge, quick check behind, and repeat.

Blow after blow her fists contacted skin until they were bruised and bleeding.

This wasn't even her blasted job... she wasn't getting paid for this crap so why did she always end up babysitting fools?

'Just a small favor Mag, I'll put in a good word with the boss.'

The ever present promise of promotion always just a hair out of reach.

Raising her fist, Margaret bought it down like a hammer on one of her fallen assailants for good measure. Pulling back her arm with a hiss of pain, she examined her shaking fingers and found part of a tooth imbeded in her knuckle.

Standing to her feet Margaret kicked one of the attackers again for good measure and wiped some blood from her nose.

She needed a drink, or a smoke, probably both. The idiot she had been protecting wasn't around anyway, so after calling for an ambulance, she stepped out of the lobby in search of the nearest bar.

Halloween ask! Have you ever made a major change to a character's personality while editing?

Thank you so much for the ask!

Unfortunately, I tend to get very attached to my villain characters. That translates into me making major changes in their personalities, goals, and actions while editing. I make them better people and have to introduce worse people to fill the plot.

In an example, my original draft for a main bbeg was just, he's crazy flat out, zero redeeming qualities, punches babies and kicks kittens type of person, but then while going back over things I was like, but why is he crazy? Which spiraled into a whole situation, and now he's just doing what he has to so that people he cares about stay alive, and I really just want him to get help and make it through the horrors thay I have placed on his shoulders.

Bonus, I do end up with more interesting side characters for my brain to make separate stories for. (Not that I have the energy to write any of them down properly...)

What is the craziest thing any of your OC's has done? What motivated it?

Thank you so much for the ask Wyked!

I feel the need to mention that the story I am writing is a bit off the wall with most of the things that happen in it, but it makes me happy so I want to roll with it and see how things turn out.

To the quearion: I think that Luis probably holds that position, but since the thing he does is a very big spoiler for the story, I'll share another individual's dip in sanity.

A side character tech witch named Nickolas took on the roll of the Winter Holiday Man.

To give a bit of context, the tech witches learned of a significant power source many years ago, but due to the nature of that power they weren't able to locate the source even after wiping out the warlocks who were protecting it. They tried to take advantage of the imagination of the hiding power source by giving more credence to various holiday figures in an attempt to locate him.

Most of the tech witches assigned to their roles were purely doing what they had to and seriously hunting the fleeing child. Nicholas, on the other hand, became engrossed in his role and gradually descended into the persona he'd been given, abandoning his original directive. He does end up finding the child who was a teen at that point, but he couldn't bring himself to betray such an innocent and ended up helping him find someone whom he could trust, giving him hope for the future.

Legend of the Winter Holiday Man

The Winter Holiday Man lives in the frozen lands, making presents for all of the most patriotic boys and girls in the world.

On the coldest night of winter, he puts his bottomless bag on his belt and rides his flying bear around the world to deliver presents to all of the deserving people who believe in him.

So traitors beware lest he runs out of sulfur, and his flying bear grows hungry during their perilous treck.