So I took several months off, to put mental distance between me and the characters and to try to be able to return to them without driving myself insane.

And lemme tell you... it's made a huge goddamn world of difference. I'm only just now coming back to the world I've been tweaking for so long and it feels lighter, smoother being back. Good to be home. The way it should be.

Couple of things to put down, as always born by fear that I'll loose these updates and notes forever.

Bobby's hand? Cold iron. No other fucking associations but that. The kid's not of demon blood, fey blood or any other supernatural blood. Taylor and I had a long talk one night on the drive to his house about The Wanderer and it felt good to hear myself say it outloud. "He's Han Solo. He's just an everyday rogue, a normal scoundrel, a child of his time and no other. There's nothing fantastical about him except that, amongst a crew of fantastical folks, he's otherwise pretty friggin mundane compared to them. And that's what makes his story the most deserving."

As for the hand. It will burn with the Curse. Absolutely. Best thing I ever discovered was the pain that connects Bobby to Tisandra's welfare, completely and direly against his will. But the pain is a double-edged sword now. Because his hand is cold iron, it can possibly kill her. And her death has to be insured against him. That is to say, the Curse on that gauntlet is one that if any harm is visited on her, he will feel it tenfold. That if she dies, he dies with her. Still keeping the creeping pains of warning danger though. Because it works so well.

But Taylor helped me bridge something during that conversation. That before they leave for Earth, Bobby attacks/grips/burns his palm print on Kurlos's face, disfiguring and scarring the villain. It's a perfect piece of action, given that I've never wanted Kurlos to be given away at the beginning as a villain. He had to have sharp, unobtrusive features. Looks that would suggest innocence or loyalty to King Malacar. Only later did I want his treachery made manifest in his face.

But Bobby-burning-Kurlos's-face-with-the-cold-iron also works because it gives Kurlos reason enough to stay the fuck away from Bobby, and let the Dread Lanterns and, later, The Huntsman, to go about catching Tisandra and killing the greaser. It makes Bobby a threat to be reckoned with by all faerie. The man with a hand of death.

If I've said it before, it deserves repeating. The cold iron hand will later allow Bobby to wield a Custodian raygun, a weapon that no mortal or fey could ever hold without burning their hands. The only other character who might wield it would be Rossum. And no other.

And then Tisandra. Tisandra's gift is that of her people and her personality. Tisandra's magic manifests as Glamour magic. Strict illusion. This will be handy later in keeping them safe and keeping her unnoticed in the mundanity of Earth. She will grow to be the strongest character yet.

Facito aliquid operis, ut te semper diabolus inveniat occupatum.