This idea will need some extra work to make it fit into The Merc Series Universe as on the surface it’s pretty vanilla. But my initial thought stuck with me and I think there’s a story here. Probably not a full novel but maybe a novella.
The idea is a story of three guys just getting out of college, early 20’s, and their friendship. They spend weekends hanging out, specifically Saturdays for grilling, hence the 1st pic. Probably set in the South, as opposed to New England, no worrying about snow.
I figure they all work at the same job/company in the same town too but each has a different position or specialty. None of them are the boss/supervisor of the others. The company they work for could be the way I tie it into The Merc Series Universe.
The story follows the life of these guys and their friendship over the years and what happens when one gets married, one has girlfriends (2nd pic) and still keep grilling together. The third guy stays single longer and slowly drifts away, then the guy with the girlfriend leaves, so it’s just the married guy left still doing the grilling.
I would do this approach if I wanted a more moody/somber vibe to the story. Or I could go in the opposite direction and everyone gets married and has a family. The friendships last.
Most likely I would do something in the middle. Something bad happens to the friend group and they have to struggle to overcome it. Figuring out what that ‘something’ is would be a big part in the story’s conflict and I think it would be something outside their control. Something that’s part of The Merc Series Universe and that disrupts their world. Which I do have several big events/incidents planned that could work.
