This story ended months ago! But I've finally gotten Ayato (!!!) and I don't want to leave this without any parting words, so here are some notes from my (now taken-down) personal notes book:

As you may (or may not) know, Whispers of A Butterfly is my spoiled youngest child. I wrote this before Ayato even came out—the moment I saw his face for the first time ever, I knew I had to write something for him. Whispers of A Butterfly took more than a year to write!

I like to think of it as my most "expensive" story. Not just because it features a world of crazy rich Inazumans lavished with luxury amid politics, but also because of its overall vibe and the character personalities. I wanted it to be a chill, fun story; the kind that you would read at the beach or on vacation. A lot of the time, I wrote it in airport boarding gates waiting for my flights. I attended weddings and strolled through luxury shopping districts to cop a feel of what kind of spoiled extravagance I wanted to capture here.

I wanted to be immersed in a world of Inazuma rich people and clan politics. In other words, Ayato's world. The writing style in WOAB is pompous, flowery, and almost formal, because it reflects on the personalities of our leads Ayato and F/N who are prideful and arrogant little rich pricks. Then we have Chisato who is loving but selfish—she serves as a foil to F/N, who is spiteful about love but selfless for her clan.

I'm glad to have a protagonist who is self-aware of how these traits make the side characters antagonize her, but understands the limitations of her status as the second-born. This can be seen in the way that she's in the crossfire of everyone's issues — Ayato leaving her as a kid because of his own personal problems, Chisato forcing her to ascend to get married, her parents arranging her marriage because someone else disgraced the family, and Inazuma hating her because of her lineage.

Moreover, the characters' emotions are represented through their clothes. I had a lot of fun with the fashion. Kimono (which is heavy) = stress, yukata (which is light) = easygoing. When a noble person wears more heavy layers, it means that they have heavier responsibilities and are thus worth more. F/N wears heavy clothes during difficult and pressuring moments, like the day she is engaged to Ayato, the party, and the cancelled wedding.

I think the best fictional character I can compare the Reader to is Amy March from Little Women (2019). I recommend watching her monologue scene: "Marriage is an economic proposition." & "I'm not a poet, I'm just a woman."

Thank you so much for reading Whispers of A Butterfly. I appreciate all of your comments, votes, and reads—thank you for giving this fic a chance. I had so much fun writing this and I hope it was fun to read this as well!

If you're interested in reading more of my Genshin Impact works, they are all found on my AO3 which is linked in my profile.

With love,
emefaerie