The author, roofpigmu, had considered cutting Sharon's brief role near the end of the story out, but they changed their mind at the last moment.
The first act would have been about Molly deciding what movie to watch for Libby and her's first date before Ashley called and at the end they ended up missing the movie due to all the drama. The author admitted that this took a life of its own and ended up being the plot to First Date Jitters, a story that proceeds it, instead.
Write What You Know: According to the author, most of Ashley's homophobic dialogue was taken directly from things they've seen people say on Twitter / X and other social media sites. In those cases, they've seen that most of them cling to the same points and just repeat them over and over, no matter what you say to them.
Molly and Ashley were nearly as close to each other as Molly is with Libby in the series. That makes it just as much of a Gut Punch to the readers as it is to Molly when Ashley shows her true colors and Molly ends their friendship because of Ashley's bigotry.
In the Harris household, shows like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are forbidden to watch. While Ashley's mother watched the original She-Ra: Princess of Power when she was younger, her father didn't since he believed that it's a girl show and that boys can't enjoy girly things.
, a story that proceeds it, instead.