Apr 03, 2026
ok this was a banger
I don't think I can give my usual end of story thesis because it'd just be glazing for the most part but there are a few things I suppose I can bitch about. I've gone over the names so I won't repeat it again, but the Friend 1 2 3 thing made me think it's part of the bit. Still not a fan, but that makes it more tolerable.
Additionally, this kind of felt like a story involving famous people, but the romance subplot kind of fell off to the wayside in favor of family drama and anime fans getting the rights they don't deserve. The whole shtick with Roxy and Prince was cute and funny, but the way it paid off was kind of... meh? It was hilarious that Ahmer was the one to find out about their identities when Ruqsana was like "wait a moment.... nah surely not" over and over again, but idk. THIS is the part where I would've liked a bit more spice. It almost felt as though it was pushed aside, along with the spotlight part of the romance, so the main story could happen. Even the romantic payoff was a footnote compared to Ahmer getting his not anime.
tbh felt like the Ahmer show. ft. Ruqsana. She's a pretty cute, interesting character, but she went from listening to her parents to listening to Ahmer? It would've been nice for her to take the initiative rather than cry and then be like 'oh ok' once he showed up to tell her 'ok but what if we don't'. I thought her small rebellions would be THE big payoff, especially with how much spotlight Ahmer had gotten, but from the fall of the anti-west squad (for now) to the thing that made their parents change their minds, it was all Ahmer.
With that said, I'm GLAD that the misunderstandings and influencer drama shit was glossed over. I still feel like especially Ruqsana was almost nonchalant about it when it was such a source of distress earlier, but it is what it is.
Ok bitching over. I REALLY enjoyed the humor. This is easily the funniest story I've read from this prompt and is funnier than anything I've found on the current romcom contest. I especially liked how the humor did not detract from serious moments or legitimate grievances from the characters. Instead, it actually worked to emphasize them through satire. I felt for Ruqsana when she had to reject a boy she liked because of her parents much like I felt for Ahmer when he felt so cornered that he almost cut himself off his family because they refused to support him. Both of them were seen as items not only by their family, but the world at large. The story never slammed me in the face by saying SEE, THEY'RE PPL TOO but I appreciated the small things like their literal assault getting turned into a meme. While subtle, I also liked the social commentary sprinkled throughout. It pulled no punches but never felt as though you were making fun of everyone which is very hard to pull off.
The SSSquad was great, and I like how they give 0 fucks about Ahmer's identity or the drama in general. They're pretty flat characters, but it's by design, and it honestly doesn't bother me. With all the shit going on I wasn't expecting a dissertation about how they ended up with terminal brainrot.
Ammar was a gremlin and I'm all here for it, and he takes after his mom more than that. SPEAKING OF, Suhail is best boy and this is canon. If bro had been born 1000 years before the world as we know it would not be the same. I feel like Ruqsana's family is a lot more actually threatening and serious, which was part of why I expected her to make the big move. I guess that's why they show up less?
I'd 100% be down for a continuation, but the story seems pretty conclusive. More romance would've been nice, but it is what it is. Roxy and Prince and Ahmer and Ruqsana had pretty nice chemistry. I really like that they have their different flavors of wit, are smart in their own ways. My headcanon is that Aslanistan will also become a legitimate powerhouse animation wise because I say so dammit 
But yeah, I really enjoyed this. I'll be sticking around in case you post anything else 
