Q&A: Titles

Over the years, we’ve been asked a couple of times about how we came up with the titles for the series/what meaning they have. On April 8, 2012, Chaos asked on our forum and I wrote the answer below. There are possible semi-spoilers for the series in the answers, mostly in the themes. Q: Question from Chaos: I’ve been wanting to ask about the story titles for a while now. I’ve wondered about the meanings behind them, especially of the series name In the Company of Shadows and Evenfall. I can see the meaning behind Afterimage and Fade, or at least some of it. With what Sin goes through in book two and the early information we find out in book three, some of it is obvious while maybe some other meanings may be more elusive. I finally decided to look up the word “shadow” and garnered many results, some of which I hadn’t thought of. 1. darkened shape of something in light: a darkened shape on a surface that falls behind somebody or something blocking the light 2. darkness: relative darkness in a place that is being screened or blocked off from direct sunlight Part of the room was in shadow. 3. hint of something: a slight suggestion or hint of something 4. ominous gloom: a depressing or ominous gloom 5. threat: an ever-present threat or blight 6. dark area under eyes: a darkened area of skin under the eyes usually caused by fatigue 7. overshadowed state: a state in which somebody is always overshadowed by another person 8. somebody always following after another: somebody who constantly follows another person around wanting to be with the other person 9. person secretly trailing...

NSVIC: Ais’ Epic ICoS Dreams

This conversation took place on 10/21/2007. I was recounting two ICoS-related dreams I had in a row. I don’t feel like making it more coherent so it’s staying in the AIM convo format. PS: I included bits of the convo that was going on at the same time. We were writing one of the later Evenfall chapters at the time of this convo (probably in the late 40s). I deleted all the parts that included spoilers or were not entertaining or were just distracting. Which was basically all of it XD AIS AND HER EPIC ICOS DREAMS Ais (8:38:11 AM): man i just had two icos dreams in a row o_O Sonny (8:47:08 AM): o rly [stuff removed] Ais (9:02:40 AM): also so the dream… uhh how can i say it so it’s not a million paragraphs long… Ais (9:03:15 AM): well first of all i’m still not sure if it starred Kadin or Boyd as Kadin. i think, in dream sense, it was both or alternating Ais (9:04:21 AM): but to make a long story short, there was this school type building they were infiltrating. it looked just like a regular high school/community college/something but there was really important shit in there and some of the students didn’t know anything was up and others were being trained for the enemy i think Ais (9:04:47 AM): anyway it was this concerted effort with at least 5 people from… if it was boyd, they were from the agency. if it was kadin, they may have been from 53 Ais (9:05:25 AM): everyone knew everyone in the school so it was going to be super difficult getting inside without...

NSVIC/WMHB: Naming ICoS

This conversation must have occurred around December 3, 2006, which is the day we first started posting the story on AFFN/adultfanfiction.net. At the time we were having this conversation, I think we were also writing a chapter that might have later been edited out. In case you aren’t aware, we roleplayed the story but were often also talking at the same time. Each time one of us said “posted” or “replied” it’s because we wrote some part of the scene. I think we were probably writing the scene where Boyd/Ryan were having that heart-to-heart over a sandwich XD Anyway, Sonny was all gung ho about posting the story to AFFN and I thought he was crazy (why would anyone ever read it?) but said he could do whatever. So this is where he was talking about posting it to AFFN. Choosing icos’ title. A VERY SERIOUS AND WELL THOUGHT AFFAIR.  Sonny (9:44:07 PM): whats our pen name Sonny (9:44:12 PM): Mad Crew Sonny (9:44:13 PM): XD no Ais (9:44:17 PM): LOL Ais (9:44:22 PM): mad crew XD thatd be funny Ais (9:44:26 PM): you realize we also dont have a title Ais (9:44:27 PM): for the story Sonny (9:44:29 PM): oh Sonny (9:44:30 PM): well Sonny (9:44:33 PM): XD Sonny (9:44:38 PM): it can be um silence like shadows for now XD Ais (9:44:46 PM): noo Ais (9:44:47 PM): it has to be Ais (9:44:50 PM): something that fits better Sonny (9:44:50 PM): i like that title Ais (9:44:50 PM): XD Ais (9:44:54 PM): really? hmm Ais (9:45:00 PM): do you think it’s appropriate for the whole story though? Sonny (9:45:04 PM): idk Ais (9:45:26 PM): the answer you’re searching for is “NO” Ais (9:45:28 PM): XD Sonny (9:45:48 PM): idk...

NSVIC/WMHB: ICoS Conceived

The first mention of what would become ICoS – December 31, 2005 Behind a cut for length. If you were ever on our forum at our site, you might have seen this already. This is literally the conversation where ICoS was first conceived. We were on AIM one Saturday, and this happened. Back then, Sonny and I both wrote more fanfiction than anything, hence my first question to him. d9 was a roleplaying game we’d created, called District 9 (before that movie came out), based on a gay area of a city we made up named Neulan. Boyd came from there. Glimmer was a separate rpg we played online that was set up by friends and was a sci-fi/fantasy quest. Sin came from there. Sonny(2:44:14 PM): i want to write something but i cant think of any ideas Ais (2:44:26 PM): original or fan? Sonny(2:44:29 PM): hmmm Sonny(2:44:38 PM): i want to try original Ais (2:44:47 PM): different idea than one you’ve done before? Ais (2:44:52 PM): you had that baseball story you’d started Ais (2:44:55 PM): or planned to Sonny(2:44:56 PM): eh Sonny(2:45:01 PM): i want to start something newww Sonny(2:45:04 PM): you have to help meee Sonny(2:45:14 PM): you want to cowrite something? Ais (2:45:34 PM): sure ^_^ Sonny(2:45:48 PM): do you have any ideas youve been kicking around? Ais (2:46:00 PM): XD this is sorta how d9 started… i think we did a good job on that Ais (2:46:23 PM): umm…im not sure offhand. want it, what? realistic? fantasy? drama? sci-fi…? Sonny(2:46:42 PM): hmmm Sonny(2:46:49 PM): realistic would be easiest Sonny(2:46:50 PM): but Sonny(2:46:51 PM): i dont know Sonny(2:47:05 PM): this is the...

Q&A: April Chat recap

So, it took a few months but we finally have the recap of the chat we did back around April 2013 after ICoS ended. Contains spoilers for Fade epilogue, therefore, for the whole series! Questions and answers from the April 2013 chat with Sonny & Ais, regarding In the Company of Shadows and the end of Fade. The chat was done in celebration of getting over 100 members on the Sonny & Ais group on Goodreads.   Q: Will the series ever be published? A: We hope so but we don’t know when. We still have to figure out editing. We will likely self-publish at that point and advertise it on our newsletter/at the GR group/our various social media accounts so you’ll know if you’re watching any of them :) Q: How did Emilio and Zach get away? A: Luke Gerant helped them to escape the compound, and then Emilio contacted Chance who helped them to get to an underground medical center he utilizes for his own purposes. Q: So, what did the ‘yes’ mean in the epilogue? Are they going back or not? A: We planned it out both ways– Boyd and Sin running, and Boyd and Sin returning. The series was left open-ended like that because it not only lets people imagine the ending they like the most, but because there are also good arguments for why it might go different ways. In other words, either answer could be correct. Q: What do Sin and Boyd think about the government/Agency after all this? A: It’s different for both of them. For Sin, he still wants to protect...