This Is The First Bit Of That Minicomic I Mentioned. I'm Calling It "The Crossroads" Which Is Definitely

This is the first bit of that minicomic I mentioned. I'm calling it "The Crossroads" which is definitely not unique but it's accurate. There's a lot of blood on that gate, and that Raven won't allow it to open now.

Yeah this was a break from editing. It's also a scene that doesn't fit in my trilogy, but that I wanted to show eventually either way. Also, I'm trying to work quicker so it's actually ever complete, so that's why I phoned it in slightly on the glass rendering - though I'm happy with how the raven bit turned out.

So I finished the first round of editing on the first book of my WIP trilogy. Absolutely relieved it's over - now on to the next thing! The second round of editing. So that's great.

Inseparable Duos

My current project is one I have been working on for years now, and though it's kind of large and deals with a lot of things and has a lot of themes and consistencies, one that I have been thinking a lot about recently is the concept of 'inseparable duos'. These are pairs of people who are so close that, no matter what happens, you assume they will still be together. On example in pop culture is Lorelai and Rory, in Gilmore Girls. They might have fights, they might not talk, but you know the whole time that they will make up - the characters in the show also assume they will make up. They're properly inseparable, after all. I've also seen Crowley and Aziraphale put into this category.

Some of this is genre specific, as well. A lighthearted story is more likely to support an inseparable duo, but a darker story that shows death and separation of families, etc. requires more character intentionality or interventions of fate for a duo to stay together. As an example on the lighthearted end, my story "Werewoof Undies" has a sort of variant of the 'inseparable duo' (the inseparable trio) in Max, Jake, and Ethan. They'll stick together no matter what - they're inseparable.

On the darker end of things, the protagonists of my current project (a trilogy that's almost to the editing stage) each book has a pair of protagonists that are an inseparable duo. The themes in the trilogy are darker and the events get to be grim, so there is threat of things like death separating a duo, but these duos are, by nature, inseparable. They won't let anything separate them, not even death.

Does anyone have any other examples of this, either in your own work or in pop culture? People who aren't just around each other for convenience or unless something comes between them, but two people (or more) that cannot be separated, no matter what?

"That looks kind of like a friend of mine – is it a bear?"

I've finished writing my current work in progress, and now it is time for editing. Which means that I once again am reminded why I always avoid editing

My current WIP (still editing. Yay.) is very tied to colors and visuals in a way that I have always thought it would be better suited to being a comic. However, I do not have the time to make it a comic. But it and all its offshoots have very strong color connotations that I think would be useful to see. For example, the unwritten prequel to my trilogy has a duo, Winston and Liam, who are represented by dark blue and fire orange, respectively. While these are literally present (Winston works with blue clock steel and Liam has heavy affiliations with firelight) these are also metaphorical, and show up in the themes of the story.

The dark blue is a kind of association with respect (think navy blue in officers' uniforms) and shadows (think underground organizations). At least, that's how I feel about it. And the interplay between those two is a big theme in the book, and Winston is on both sides at different times.

Fire orange is still affiliated with night, since fire is used as a light source, but also sunrise and sunset. I think of it representing passion, also. But also destruction. The interplay between passion and warmth vs. consuming fire is something Liam shows.

And each of the books has similar color associations. The one I am currently editing has primarily black and white associations, which I use to denote secrecy vs. openness and isolation vs. connection, and even influence vs. intentionally removing oneself from being influential. All of these things are things I would love to put in front of your eyes visually, and the way I have to get those colors in via a text-only medium has to strike a balance where it isn't just me constantly being like "that guy is associated with the color purple".