'Ashley does have her fans, but when I did a popularity poll on my patreon she came last out of the main characters 😓' <-- I'm actually shocked - Well. lol I'm not, given Ashley's only main you can't 'add to harem'. People want 'love/neat' ending. When things are more open-ended or complex, it tends to be less popular; but - that's *My* sweet spot~ (Love wife lore, btw - that's so awesome!! Ashley's in my top 3 -- with Scarlett and Hannah -- so she should be Proud!!)
It's funny (but also fitting - since Ash isn't about labels(SAME.)): if you showed Ashley and MC with zero context, I'm sure most would assume they're in a relationship/in love. So - what defines a 'relationship' beyond perception -- either by the people in it or the ones observing it? Not to get too philosophize 😝 But that's what makes me like Ashley's route so much -- beyond, what I previously mentioned. The idea of just - being in something that doesn't need to be a - 'thing'. There's no need to point at it and say: 'This is Mine.' It is; without societal performance.
'I figured most people would go for the threesome' <-- fair lol But I will say, the reason I did it is b/c I felt genuine chemistry between all three (1) and it felt like a beautiful example of non-monogamy, beyond just lust. Not just b/c it was hot. I genuinely liked 1-on-1 with MC/Ash; if there was no threesome, it would have been just as good.
Can I ask one more (slightly obsessed) question? Why was it Ashley preferred being called that instead of 'Ash' by MC? That felt - significant. When very close friend calls her 'Ash'. But I didn't want to put more there than what it was (I JUS WANNA BE - SPECIAAAAL XD)
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I tried to write each character to be unique and appeal to different people, so I'm really glad Ashley has resonated so well with you 😁 she is very much an exploration of "you don't need a label to make a relationship meaningful", or that's the kind of thing I'm aiming for at least!
(Bonus wife lore: she entirely made Violet & Sabrina, who were the most popular side characters on the poll!)
I was very pleased with how the threesome turned out, obviously it was planned but it just flowed very naturally :3
It is significant that Ashley wants to be called that by MC and the others! Back with Beth and her other friends she was the inexperienced one learning from them, but now starting uni she's more confident in herself and what she wants, and she kind of wants a different place in her new friend group. Not all of that would be a conscious decision of course, but that's the jist of what I was going for <3