I was completely satisfied, it’s perfect especially when you think about the characters’ individual journeys throughout the story (which I’ve talked about before with Rue and Mytho), but it feels like a lot of people just don’t like that Ahiru stays as a duck or it needs to ‘fixed’ or get a ‘better’ ending via her becoming human again (by outer forces, or Fakir) for her and Fakir to ‘be together’ when in personal opinion, it,,, defeats the whole point of the story sobs which I explain in more detail about Ahiru specifically here.

It gets me a lot also because Fakir and Ahiru,,, are together? As seen from the final post credit(?) scene (and ending song—the ending song is literally her as a duck relaxing before joining her partner). They’re peacefully and happily together for the rest of their days in their true forms—the flawed and weak human writer, and the empathetic and hopeful duck. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth if, after spending the whole series constantly degrading her true self as a duck (sometimes, even as normal human Ahiru) and then finally accepting and loving herself after helping EVERYONE without being human or Tutu, that she’d just be turned human again simply because to most,,, it’s more digestible for people to accept a happy ending if it’s between two humans, even though absolutely nothing changes in their dynamic or relationship. Just that she’s human, so it’s ’better’ and ‘happier’,,,

She doesn’t need to be a human to be happy and loved, nor does she need to be human to be ‘better’. Ahiru never really desired being the best of the best, a prima ballerina, herself. Her love for ballet was in its practice, and how it allowed her to connect and express her innate empathy for others—which she can obviously still do, and proved she could do more, as a duck. She literally saved everyone in Gold Crown including Mytho and Rue by doing ballet as a duck so she doesn’t need to be human for that. As for Pique and Lillie, whether their memories were erased or not, they can easily still talk to and befriend Ahiru like before (you can’t tell me they wouldn’t carry Ahiru in a basket while walking around Gold Crown, teasing her or ranting about little things dramatically). I’m sure that if they were told about Ahiru, they’d be so gushy and excitable like nothing changed. And Fakir loves her as she is. Out of anyone, he’d be the most content and happy just blissfully and quietly spending his days with her. He first opened up to her when she was a duck after all—he never needed her to be human in order to grow fond of and love her.