On the Ezra point. I actually agree with you. What you described is better. It's not what I planned on exploring from the start, so it's hard now to go back and take that angle. I do see in hindsight that people who might have liked Ezra how they are would take offense to Ezra seemingly losing 'his' sense of self.
I do apologize for that. It was not my intention to make it seem like Ezra shouldn't be a viable option if they didn't 'change'.
But Ezra's story was always written from the angle that this is secretly what Ezra really wants. And while they struggle to maintain it at arm's length, (Because of their ambition to be more like the MC) their deep desire is to fully change for the MC.
But on the flip side. Ezra is a good character and deserves their own chapter. So after the dust settles, if I feel like I have a good story for them, I'll write that as a true aside.