Butterflies: Solidarity—Author's Rant

My reviewers have been curiously silent lately (current total review count is 366, so still short for the next round of bonus content) but I felt like talking about this gem I'm working on anyway.

Yes, the spin-off has finally started. I need something different to write about to keep my skills ever sharpening, but I can't seem to focus on the stories I already have going. So, I've started this one to fulfil a long-since promise to myself.

My first straight-up lesbian centred story. Only, not the type you tend to find out there, where two females go at it like rabbits. No, these are the lesbians you meet at a coffee shop, these are the lesbians you see comparing notes on a book they read. But there is so much more going on here, so much that sets Solidarity apart from the main storyline.

First off, for those that remember. The Wolf summoning contract was decided on pretty late in the game, compared to what I'm used to. So I wasn't able to write Aya's character true to this fact. This has been corrected in Solidarity.

The true depths of Aya's depression, this is far more prevalent in the spin-off. Along with a far more carefully selected reaction to new situations.

Aya finally comes to terms with why any relationship with anyone but Chouji would never work out: she isn't really attracted to guys. I also explore what this means for her, coming to terms with her not fitting society's norms, and how that impacts the story itself.

Another major difference is her innate distrust of people actually impacting her relationships—something I can't claim in the first fifteen chapters of Butterflies.

But mostly, it's the collection of all these little things leading Aya to be more authentic to her situation, and how the world tries to deal with that. If you are curious, please understand that there is far more political intrigue, far more dark themes in connection with Anbu Ops, and Aya is still on a journey to discover her sexuality. This is not meant for the immature, in any sense of the word. There is a lot of killing, a lot of gore, a lot of sexual references, and in later chapters, there will be some pretty intense sexual scenes. Not smut, mind you, or even erotica. This will be a lot more like walking in on two females making love, in a natural and comfortable way.

In short. Aya, in this story, is a real lesbian. The kind that lesbians can read about and identify with (hopefully, since I've never actually published anything for and by lesbians).

Sorry for the rant, if you were expecting something utterly epic. But this is just something I wanted to talk about.