(Originally Posted Wednesday 8-7-24)
Selecting pics for Creativity Posts is always interesting at the beginning of the process as I try to figure out where to start.
Military, guns, and weapons are easy enough for The Merc Series and I do use those for CPs. CP 155 started this Summer ’24 Creativity Posts off after all. But I like to mix things up and find random pics, the more random the better I think, as this forces me to really think about how I can incorporate it into The Merc Series Universe of mercenaries, assassins, etc.
Which brings me to this CP, a chocolate cake. I knew instantly that I was selecting it as one because my initial thought was, ‘how the hell are you going to make a pic of a chocolate cake work Scott?’ And it came to me while I was still looking for other pics.
The chocolate cake is poisoned.
By the baker. (2nd pic)
The baker runs his own bakery full of delicious treats and has the skills of a world class baker/chef.
He’s also an assassin/poisoner.
I’ve several established female poisoners already but not many male poisoners so this would help him stand out more too.
I would have him be the stereotypical sweet but boring nice guy. Maybe single but I see him being married to a pretty wife and two kids and a dog and cat like borderline Hallmark family life/vibe.
There’s no secret drama in his family, life is good, he works at his bakery, which closes at 4pm, and he’s home for family dinner. His wife stays at home to take care of the house and volunteers for tons of things/events. The town loves them.
So, where’s the red flag?
Follow the money.
They have a great life and house but nothing like the 1%. They’re a solid upper middle class 2,500sq ft house. Average cars, etc. The bakery is busy.
But not that busy.
He keeps his lifestyle by doing assassination jobs where he sends special chocolate cakes to his targets.
There’s definitely a lot more to figure out with this but I can see this idea getting written as a story sooner than later.
