Blood & Chlorophyll Ch. 25 - Reflection

Can you believe I've been writing Blood & Chlorophyll for almost a full year? It's crazy to think that we're so close to the end!

One thing that I've struggled with was how exactly to organize everything for these last few chapters. In my head, the main driving force of the last 6-7 chapters was going to be a mix of "Can they overcome the Dungeon?" but also, more importantly, "Can Roxy be trusted?" I'll admit, I think I could have done a better job of setting up this dynamic, but if nothing else, I think I did a really good job of it with chapters 24 and 25.

We've finally had some time to learn more about Roxy, about her hopes and dreams, and there's been a bit of room for her to exert her presence in the story. The more time I spend with her, the more I enjoy writing her, so hopefully it's been interesting seeing her grow and mesh with the group over time.

One thing I wanted to stress in this chapter is that Roxy is feeling extra contemplative as they prepare for the final delve. In the first part of this chapter, we see that through her conversation with Alicia. I think serves as a great follow-up to the conversation she had with Kat last night, but it certainly seems like she's got more on her mind than she's letting on, doesn't it?

However, Alicia isn't the one to push about those details, especially not when she's got the house all to herself for the first time in ages. A few different pieces finally came together in this chapter, and it's time for our two favorite monster lesbians to have another spat of spicy fun.

It's been a while since they've had this chance, and I'll admit I was really happy to give them this time together. One thing I've been stressing in the later chapters of this book is that they haven't gotten as much quality time together, and it was incredibly cathartic on my part to give them this little moment of peace and quiet. It's funny, when they first slept with each other way back after their first strip show, I had to spend quite a bit of time figuring out what they both were like, sexually. The story as a whole ended up being much less sexual than I intended, but I'm not upset about that. I think the spice I managed to fit in was perfectly enjoyable, and fit the vibe of the story really well.

Here, I wanted to stress the emotional attachment between the two, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's not a very long sex scene, but it's creative in its own way and it has a perfect ending. There's going to be a lot going on in the final chapter, so it was important to give their relationship a chance to breathe a bit here.

After we wrap up with the sexy times, however, it's time to jump over to Kat's POV. It's a bit of a shorter scene, but it's probably even more telling than our last few conversations we've had with Roxy.

Now, as much as I want to talk about my goals with this scene, I also don't want to spoil anything for the last chapter. With that in mind, I'll simply say that I'm really happy with this scene, and I think it perfectly portrays everything I want it to. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Roxy's behavior here is pretty confusing, and ideally it's got everyone a little tense as we prepare for our grand finale.

One thing that wasn't initially intended, but ended up working incredibly well, was the ending. Initially, I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to end the chapter, so I just wrote a quick ending with the intention of adding a bit more later. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the abrupt nature of what I'd written. One of my favorite things to do is to put my readers in the same headspace as my characters, and this was a great opportunity to do that. After all, Kat is so shaken by the encounter that she just curls up with Alicia and tries to force herself back to sleep. Isn't it kind of appropriate that the audience is forced to leave after such an emotionally charged event? Without any real chance to cool down and examine what happened?

I'm really happy with it.

But, with that all said, the stage is now set for our final chapter! What twists and turns await us on the final floor of the dungeon? Only time will tell!

Nyx <3