This week I am busy editing Ribbons. At 70k it's shorter than the others and I keep hoping to find a thread (or ribbon) that I can tug on to reveal a new story waiting to be uncovered and developed. I'm only 50% through the first edit so there's still time.
There are plenty of quotable sections in the book, but this one struck me as worth sharing now.
Freya's ribbons were not added to celebrate success or joy. They tie her to past, present and future pain. They strengthen her. Lessons learned. The act of tugging on her hair to weave new colours into it quickly became a reassuring penance, and the result displays her individuality while providing a mask that obscures her true self from the world. Raven used make-up, Freya ribbons. It started when she first read the book. Lilith's hair in her favourite image was woven with snakes, like Medusa. Although the act seemed organic, unplanned and unconscious at the time, Freya is sure that between Ivan's tree and Lilith's snakes arose the inspiration for her own iconic look. The look she remembers Star criticising as not Goth enough.
Was that where her resentment of Star originated, that dull projection of Star's own self doubt onto Freya? It's hard to remember exactly. History is as tangled as the ribbons in her hair and many things were said and done that hardened the shell around her heart and allowed hate to flourish. The ribbons are a part of Freya now. So much so that when she rejoined with Deya the first thing she did was replace them. If she removes them will it heal or weaken her? She has no desire to find out, removing them would be akin to exposing herself to the world.
