#to have someone kill for him at such a young age

[dragons-stories-hoard]

Okay but I don't think it should be day one of Merlin being in Camelot, cause then frankly nothing is stopping Morgana from going all game of thrones on Uther and Arther.

Might I suggest, they come back when they're kids? Hear me out. Morgana may have been messed up and evil but even she wasn't going around killing squishy baby-faced ten year Olds. So she's going to hesitate at trying to kill Arthur because he's a child, and vice versa for Arthur and co seeing Morgana. Plus none of them have the strength (in body or magic) to start challenging Uther for the throne so they can instigate chamge, but theres time where they cant change much but they can think and plan for the future. So they have time to deal with their feelings at seeing old enemies again but they're friends still. (None realize they aren't the only one who time traveled). Maybe it's soon after Morgana moved to Camelot, so her sudden anger at Uther and temper can be attributed to a grieving child.

Arthur and Gwen both know how Morgana turns evil so they're looking out for signs of her magic and hey look at that she's being given sleeping draughts even as a young child. And they realize Uther would still kill this baby-faced Morgana if he knew, and they know how her fear of him turned her to hate everyone. They see their friend as a scared grieving child and want to change her fate. So they start trying to assure her without directly letting her know about the magic. Meanwhile Morgana is seeing Arthur stand up to his father on her behalf, and promising her he will protect her even from Uther if he has to. And she can't remember if he'd done that before, thinks maybe she forgot in all her fear and anger. And she has time to realize she may have had reason to fear but she never did give Gwen and Arthur a chance to be good. She was the one who turned on them first.

MEANWHILE Merlin has much better control of his magic because he already has so much knowledge of the old religion and it's language from the previous life. He works harder on controlling and improving his magic and skills from a young age. He is determined to fight fate and save everyone so he needs to be better stronger more knowledgeable. He starts taking trips to the druids under the guise of "taking goods from the village to trade" (he does trade but keeps the fact that it's with druids to himself and maybe Will since he'd want to come with his friend sometimes). He learns from books and people he had no chance to learn from before, building on his knowledge. He looks into death magic and high priestesses, knowing Nimueh will eventually target him and Arthur and Gaius and his mother. He thinks ahead to ways to keep Lancelots sacrifice from happening or even ways to bring someone back from the veil without tearing it if he must. He thinks of Elyan and looks into ways to heal unhealable wounds, thinks of Morgana and plans to kill Morgause before she can put the spell on the kingdom and use Morgana as the center. He looks up obscure poisons and remedies, looks for Protective enchantments and healing spells he can layer into the knights armor and clothes the second he sees them again. He takes time to hunt down traffickers and cage fighting rings to destroy them before Lancelot or Gwaine ever have a chance to be forced into fights to the death again. He looks for rumors of the last dragonlord so he can free Kilgarrah and hatch Aithusa without Leon ever having to be revived from the flames.

Due to his frequent travels, whichever of the wandering knights try to find their young friend early think they got the wrong village whenever they arrive in Ealdor. (Gwen Arthur and Morgana are the only ones who went before amd they don't exactly have a reasonable excuse to go there to see their friend now. They have to wait).

I bet Elyan was first to try to find Merlin early. He was closest and he started his travels pretty early, thinks he can suggest Merlin start the apprenticeship sooner but he can't seem to find Merlins village (he found it but Merlin was away learning death magic or whatever). However this time on his travels Elyan stays in touch with his family, returns occasionally to help with the forge, tries to talk his sister out of getting a job at the castle to her confusion (she's stubborn and by then is determined to stop Morgana from turning evil due to fear so she does not take this well).

Leon sees Uthers reign, remembers Arthur's and how much better it was amd how much happier he had been with all of Arthur's changes, and he starts subtly backing Arthur more. Talking Arthur's suggestions up to Uther, giving Arthur support earlier. He's Arthur's knight before Uthers this time around and he is disgusted by some of Uthers choices having seen the consequences. Having seen a better way of living.

Percival keeps hearing rumors of the fabled Emrys being alive, making moves, accessing powerful magics. He lives near and was partially raised by druids, so he hears these whispers and with future insight is able to piece together Arthur is the OAFK. He starts training.

Lancelot honestly knows the least of them (he died first man) so he's just gonna show up to Camelot earlier than before and do his best to support his friends and keep Arthur and Merlin alive.

Gwaine saw the sorcerer saving Camelots troops in that final battle, and he never had strong opinions about magic before but now he thinks about it and realizes if they allowed magic it would save so many lives. Hell, it would remove so many enemies. And he's always had a rather pushy relationship with Arthur so he can manage to nudge him towards being okay with magic without crossing the line and making Arthur think he's gonna commit treason. Plus he'd love to see young awkward child Merlin (sadly he also arrives in Ealdor while Merlin is away, probably learning to shape-shift or smt).

So when Merlin finally realizes it's time to head to Camelot, he tells his mother he wishes to apprentice with his uncle to learn medicine (she felt he was able to hide his gifts this time and didn't feel the need to send him away to protect him). He arrives amd when all the knights of the round table end up arriving much sooner than before he assumes it's ripple effects of all the stuff he'd been doing with the druids and his self imposed quests. Leon, Gwen, Arthur and Morgana just assume they did something to affect some policy of Uthers so they shrug off any changes as well. I think Lancelot is the only one who's really confused/concerned with all the shifts because it's making it harder for him to help Merlin dammit.

I think Gwaine, Percival, Leon and Elyan never got the chance to find out about Merlins magic but the others did so everyone is working off different levels of knowledge and it's chaos cause they all assume they know more than everyone else.

Merlin is so used to working alone he's hiding his magic from everyone and he's losing so much sleep trying to deal with threats before they come near his people but the others are GOING NEAR THE THREATS ITS FINE. At least they're more prone to believe him this time and less fond of >insert villain of the week<

The others are remembering almost these threats like "Jesus Christ how did this get solved last time?" Everyone is trying to keep Merlin from drinking the poisoned chalice, Leon is ready to go searching for the flower himself or go with Arthur or hell, even ready to sneak into the dungeons to talk to Arthur to get the flower for Merlin himself (everyone is a lot angrier at Uther for his refusal to allow anyone to get the flower to save Merlin despite him not knowing its anything but a simple task, even Morgana who is hesitant/still kinda mad at Merlin is pissed) (this makes her think on Merlins POV more because frankly if she was scared to reveal her magic, of course Merlin would be. He had even less protections, Uther was okay with allowing him to die when he thought Merlin had saved his son AGAIN.) So maybe she is a bit sympathetic to the man who killed her. Who was once her friend. Because she's seeing how much bullshit he had to deal with in keeping Arthur alive and now she knows he has magic she's realizing he was the one protecting her and Arthur and the kingdom long before she knew about her own magic. Because how else did these things get solved when it wasn't Arthur or herself (she is the first to put together just how much Merlin did for all of them tbh).

One of them walks in on Edwin (idk if that was his name the cure all ills guy) attacking Merlin and helps dispatch him while Merlin is unconscious and it scares the hell out of Merlin that they fought a sorcerer when he was out of commission, while whoever came in wad terrified at seeing/hearing Merlin Crack his skull on the wall from Edwin throwing him and seeing him lying there. They see how much danger Merlin was/is putting himself in to protect them and it scares them.

Merlin is definitely losing sleep trying to stay ahead of all the threats and his friends who keep HEADIMG TOWARDS DANGER so like. He's exhausted and his friends are seeing how tired amd clumsy he is with new eyes once they know he's the one dispatching threats when they're not looking.

Also frankly all of them are hit hard with seeing their friends so young, seeing them before everything happened. And they're all definitely way more emotional about it and I feel like as the youngest they're all so protective of this baby faced Merlin because gods above he was so small and youthful and energetic how was he ever this skinny? (It's jarring for Percival especially he didn't meet Merlin until he'd been a fighting magical threats to Camelot for a few years, and if he thought Merlin was small before he's downright concerned now). (Doesn't help Merlin is worse at taking care of himself this time) (Merlin is as cheery as he was in early seasons because hey this is when shit was easy, and the moral dilemmas were way less intense and he gets to see all his friends and Morgana isn't evil and he can protect them all this is great! He loves spending time with them when hes not working or protecting them and he will make the most of this time). (The rest of them are like wtf because they are comparing baby Merlin to end season Merlin and realizing somewhere along the way he lost that cheer and enthusiasm and they're like we gotta protect the small and they are all working themselves into protective flurries over Merlin and being so nice to him).

Not gonna write a full fic but had to get my thoughts out. This is a fun au and it would be fascinating to keep track of who knows what amd when people come back and how everyone tries to deal with threat of the week or when they each even realize "oh shit that person tried to kill me!" Cause I guarantee they didn't realize some of the threats were threats the first time around.

I think it would be insanely funny if after Arthur’s death everyone returns back in time to the place they were the day Merlin arrived in Camelot. But like, everyone thinks they are the only ones who has returned. We see it all from Merlin’s pov, who’s traumatised and wondering why the fuck Arthur is so much sweeter to him this time around and keeps saying ‘thank you’. He wonders why Lancelot shows up earlier, why all of a sudden Gwaine is there three years too early, saying he got hurt in a tavern bawl and needs a physician. He wonders why Leon keeps pretending like he didn’t just accidentally see Merlin do magic. Why Gwen keeps giving him these knowing looks. And why Morgana doesn’t seem as afraid as she used to when she was figuring out that she had magic. Everyone is trying their best to change history for the better, thinking they are alone with this duty... and then one day when uther is dead and they are sitting around the round table, merlin steps forward and is like: ‘I need to confess that I have magic, but also that I have returned from the future.’ And everyone just whips around and is like ‘YOU TOO??!’ And then they realise that they’ve all returned and wasted their time thinking they were alone.

[fatkish]

hashiras reacting to a little girl reader about 8 years old who is a street fighter and has faced people much bigger than her and possibly killed them (like the case of akaza/hakuji) and has developed combat skills at a young age and a tough personality (like toph from atla)

Hashiras x Child Fighter Reader

Your parents had been killed when you were an infant. The area you live in is well know for having demons. Your parents lived outside the village and had hidden you when the demon attacked. Since no one was really willing or financially able to care for you, you took care of yourself. You traveled often, going from one village to the next, as a means of survival. During your travels, you had come across various people who knew some kind of martial art and you copied what you saw.

Being on your own, you often had to defend yourself from people and demons. After fighting with demons, you always had some kind of injury. Eventually one night, you fought a demon who managed to cut one of your eyes. Leaving you blind in one eye. After that, you quickly learned self defense and became quiet skilled at using your opponent’s strength against them. When you learned that demons were weak to sunlight and wisteria, you began carrying a wisteria paste around with you. The paste was made from ground up wisteria flowers and leaves. Every time you fought a demon, you’d coat your hands in the paste and use a small knife to stab the demon with. Once stabbed, you’d dig your fingers into the wound on the demon.

You didn’t particularly go looking for demons. You just defended yourself whenever you came across one. That’s how you ended up meeting one of the Hashira. Shinazugawa had been on a mission, he had gone to a small village that was said to have multiple demons. Something that you didn’t know, was that you needed glasses. With only one eye that’s very blurry, you’re very defensive. You’ve adopted a ‘fight first, ask questions later’ kind of attitude. Whenever anyone who seemed hostile touched you, you would quickly throw them over your shoulder and proceed to attack since you couldn’t tell whether someone was human or demon.

Sanemi was on the trail of a demon when he came across you. Seeing a seemingly defenseless little human kid all alone in a forest at night, Sanemi knew he had to protect you. He however, went about it the wrong way. He walked up to you and grabbed you by the shoulder rather roughly and was about to speak when your little hands wrapped around his wrist and suddenly he was on his back looking up at you. He growled and was about to speak again before you started attacking him and trying to stab him. During your scuffle, the demon Sanemi was chasing decided to attack him while he was focused on you. However, Sanemi quickly subdued you and cut of the demons head as it leapt towards him.

Now here Sanemi was with his knee on your back holding you down as you thrashed about trying to escape. “You little brat! Stop fighting already! You’re safe now!” He shouted. Still you continued to struggle forcing Sanemi to have to knock you unconscious. When the Kakushi came, they decided to bring you to the butterfly mansion to treat any wounds you had. When you woke up, you wandered around before coming across Shinobu. When you were unconscious, Shinobu checked you over and found the Wisteria paste you used against demons. She was intrigued by your ingenuity and wanted to ask about it. When she spoke to you, she realized that you needed glasses and gave you an eye exam.

After some time, you became Shinobu’s Tsuguko. You picked things up very quickly and wore a mask that both covered your blind eye and held a prescription lense for your other eye. The mask only covers your forehead, eyes and ends near your nose. Unlike Shinobu, you use a spear to fight. The spear is always coated in wisteria poison that Shinobu taught you to make. You often train with the other Hashira since your fighting style is mostly defensive and they find it a challenge to break through your defenses. Despite your blind spots, you’re very accurate when defending yourself. This is what the Hashira’s thoughts on you are.

Tengen: the little squirt has some rather flashy moves. For someone so small, they really know how to use their opponent’s strength against them. I wish they’d let me design their mask. It’s too plain. But overall they’re a good kid

Obanai: their fighting style is interesting and they are quite skilled for their age. Whenever we spar, they always seem to deflect or redirect my attacks. They’re still young but they do show some promise and potential.

Sanemi: that brat? Man they’re a pain in my ass. Ever since Tengen learned about my first interaction with them he always makes fun of me. The kids got some skill but I’ve still won most of our matches. (Has a soft spot for the kid and won’t ever admit it)

Muichiro: who? Oh the child? They remind me of a clam. They have a good defense but once you figure out how to get past it, it’s rather easy to take them down.

Giyuu: they’re nice. They talk to me often and they always offer to eat or have tea with me. They are rather strong and we often train together. They call me big brother. I don’t know why, but I enjoy it.

Gyomei: such a sorrowful yet sweet child. Having to overcome difficulty after difficulty. It saddens me that someone so young has had to grow up so quickly. Despite their challenges and setbacks they haven’t given up, and I respect them for that. Recently they asked if they could call me their father. They told me that they don’t remember their father and that they see me as fatherly figure. It brought me to tears and I graciously accepted. Now they call me Papa Mei.

Shinobu: they are a very bright child. They previously had never received any proper training and only copied and learned from the things they saw. I’ve thought them Insect breathing and they’ve adapted it to fit them. I’m very proud of them.

Mitsuri: they are so cute and sweet. Whenever we hang out, they always offer to cook with me. Whenever we eat, they always make sure that I’ve eaten and have had my fill. They even offered me their food. They are so sweet. They were even impressed by my strength and told me that they wanted to be just like me. I love them so much.

Kyojuro: ah such a strong spirited child. Their technique is amazing and they’ve clearly trained quite hard. Whenever they visit, they often spend time with Senjuro. They get along quite well and have helped my younger brother train. They started calling me big brother so it seems I now have a second younger sibling. I am quite impressed with them and look forward to watching them grow.

[mixelation]

i want to post something so here's some async. takes place after minato ambushes tori in her hotel

it's little disjointed because some of the scene were written ages ago, and i definitely want to smooth over and flesh some of it out. also there's a [...] break which is where kushina tells minato he is an idiot in various ways and gives him advice. however i have not written it yet

xXx

Minato went home and collapsed onto his futon, a huge smile on his face. That had been fun. It was nice, to face off against someone when the fate of Konoha didn’t hang in the balance. Like, yes, Reina had come closer to killing him than anyone had since that incident with Kushina and the Kyuubi, but also if she’d succeeded, it wasn’t like he’d be losing ground for Konoha or something. Minato was good, but he wasn’t so arrogant as to think he was irreplaceable to Konoha. 

She didn’t even try to kill me, Minato thought, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. That’s progress, right?

He’d figured she’d definitely have something up her sleeve when he showed up again, which is why he’d gone in kunai first. He’d had no idea what that would be, and he’d been excited for the surprise. All the fuinjutsu he’d found from Reina was insane looking and unique to her. He’d had no way to predict how she thought or what she was even capable of. If he’d hesitated again this time, she would have had that barrier up around her before he’d be able to do anything about it, and then who knew what sort of things she’d be able to do from the safety of her little bubble. 

Maybe I should have let her try, Minato thought, his stomach doing a giddy little flip at the idea. That’s what a good friendly spar was about, wasn’t it? It wasn’t about winning. It was about testing yourself against someone else, and letting them test out their own techniques against you. 

Minato did like winning, though, especially when his opponent was someone he actually had to try against. He had felt good in the moment, to have seen her trap and snuck around it. 

But he’d… somehow, after reviewing what had happened in his head, he felt a little guilty. He remembered how fast Reina’s heartbeat had been the whole time he’d had her pinned, how she’d been distrustful even after he’d used his most people-pleaser voice to promise he didn’t want to hurt her. 

Had he scared her? Maybe. He hadn’t really thought about it, when it was happening. He’d just spent weeks thinking about her face, how confident she’d been in her own victory. He’d forgotten how nervous civilians were around ninja. He could barely wrap his head around the idea that someone like Reina might be just as nervous about ninja as the next civilian. 

He’d wanted to ask more questions about her… experiments, or whatever she was doing. But he could tell she was upset despite him using his most charming smile, and so he’d left her. 

Minato’s plan, then, was to give Reina a week or so to calm down while he ran a couple of missions. He’d stop by the Yamanaka flower shop and get some advice on what type of flower he could give to a young woman he wanted to be kindling a friendship with. He had never needed to know it for any of his roles as a shinobi, but Minato knew kunoichi all got trained in flower language, and so he’d often hear women complaining or gossiping about faux-pas their boyfriends made. He’d gotten his fairshare of bouquets from admirers and then had Kushina decode them for him, a flirty little game they used to play before… well. 

Minato had no idea if Reina would know anything about flowers, but he wanted something pretty without accidentally telling her I love you passionately forever please marry me also you smell bad or something. 

As the days passed, however, Minato couldn’t help but check in on where her Hiraishin moved. He gave markers to teammates all the time temporarily, and Jiraiya usually had one on him, but… 

It was kind of exciting, to know where Reina was. He had so many questions about her, about how she saw the world and where she was going. Being able to concentrate briefly and see that she’d moved a few kilometers gave him no answers, and yet made him feel like he was learning something about her. 

And then, before he could ask anyone about flowers, one day Minato realized that the mark he had attached to Reina hadn’t moved in a while. This wasn’t unusual. There were a lot of reasons someone wouldn’t move around a lot, like sleep or sitting around for some reason. But he’d checked in on her a couple times a day, and she hadn’t moved in a very long time. Even if she was hunched over a new seal to kill him for hours at a time, she’d at least get up and move around eventually. 

Could she maybe not move? Had she been captured? Minato, to his own surprise, found himself worried. She was his project. And she was deadly clever, but she was still just a soft little civilian. 

Minato teleported to the marker. Instead of dropping in on Reina, he found himself in the middle of the air. His own marker trembled in the wind in front of him. This wasn’t at all what he had expected. 

Gravity worked faster than his brain. Minato was falling. The ground was so, so far away. It took him a couple seconds to realize what had happened, and he was lucky he was so high in the air, because he had time to think to teleport again. 

Hirashin kept the user’s momentum. Minato crashed painfully into the ground, hundreds of kilometers away in a Fire Country forest. His arm slammed down to break his fall, and pain seared through him on impact. 

She fractured my arm, Minato thought dully, sitting on the ground and staring down at his injured arm. His heart pounded in his chest, his blood flooded with adrenaline. 

The marker he’d gone to was definitely the one he’d stuck on Reina, because he’d been monitoring her. He’d followed her path. But it… she’d somehow removed it from her body and stuck it to sealing paper, and then hung the paper over the cliff. He… he had no idea how she’d done that. It wasn’t supposed to be possible for other people to remove his markers. 

Usually when he teleported to a marker sight-unseen, he was better prepared for surprises. He normally would have reacted faster. But “floating in the middle of the air” had been so far out of what he thought was possible right up until that moment, that he’d simply been unable to process it. 

His stomach squeezed oddly, making his toes curl in his sandals. 

Minato teleported back to the marker. Because he knew what to expect this time, he was able to keep his wits about him. He took two milliseconds to assess the situation: the paper with the mark hung by a fishing line, which in turn hung from a scraggly tree that had the misfortune of growing out from a tiny outcrop of rocks on a cliffside. The fishing line was over a meter long; he had no chance of grabbing hold of the tree, and without something to propel him sideways, he had no way to make contact with the cliff and use chakra to stop his fall. 

Minato grabbed the paper out of the air and teleported back to the forest, all before he’d built up enough momentum to injure himself on the landing this time. 

[...]

It took him over a week to find Reina again, partially because he took a mission in the middle of his hunt. Curly hair wasn’t common, and people noticed young women traveling alone, so her movements through towns weren’t hard to track, but he did have to do a ton of interviews. 

He was slowed down briefly where she appeared to wander off down a little-used road and switch to camping. Minato was as good a tracker as the next jounin, but it wasn’t his specialty, and he sort of had to rewire his gut instincts to follow Reina. She wasn’t a ninja and she didn’t cover for herself the way a ninja would. She didn’t travel through trees, and her average speed was extremely low.

He didn’t approach her immediately when he found her in a tent set up a little ways off the road. He had, after all, promised her flowers. Flowers would also maybe soften the blow of her fury if she tried to kill him again… maybe. 

Did he want her to try killing him again? It did seem a bit exciting, but he also did truly want to just talk to her. 

Spring hadn’t quite hit the northern countries yet, but Minato knew things further south were likely to already be starting. He teleported through a few places deep in the southern Fire Country forests before he finally found a squat little tree, heavy with dark pink flowers. He pulled off a whole branch since, assuming he could charm Reina into not attempting to him again, he wanted to see her do something with its chakra, and more tree meant more chakra. They were azaleas, he was pretty sure. That seemed pretty safe and generic. 

Maybe she can help me with senjutsu, Minato thought absently, teleporting back to where he’d left a marker just outside of Reina’s camp. 

She did jump to her feet immediately when he stepped into the clearing. But there was no deadly trap, and she didn’t look upset. 

“Wow, you are persistent,” she said. “Did you actually bring me flowers?”

She stared at the branch in his hands, nonplussed. 

“You broke my arm,” Minato said brightly. 

Reina lifted the gaze from the flower to his face, her eyebrows raised. 

“Er, it’s okay,” Minato said. He shuffled his feet nervously. “I talked to my… female friend, and she pointed out that I probably shouldn’t have… marked you. If I wanted to be friends. Sorry.”

“...apology accepted,” Reina said slowly. “Sorry I tried to kill you again. Are those rhododendrons?”

She held out her hands, and Minato passed the branch over. 

“I think they’re azaleas?” Minato said.

“Rhododendrons are poisonous,” Reina said, a huge smile passing over her face as she turned the branch over in her hands. 

Cute, Minato thought, unbidden. This was followed by: Wait, what?

[cigsaftersuh]

૮ overstayed welcome ྀིა .ᐟ

before you’d even said a word, his eyes softened at the sight of you stepping inside, tote bag slung over your shoulder, and your expression a mix of worry and quiet determination. jaehyun barely had the chance to react before you knelt beside him, gently brushing your fingers along his cheek. the tenderness in your touch sent a shiver through him.

“jae...” you said softly, voice laced with concern. “you okay?”

his throat tightened as he stared at you, his emotions threatening to spill over. but before he could answer, his focus shifted, his eyes darting toward your bag. “how did you get here?” he blurted out of concern, his voice hoarse. “you didn’t walk, did you? the hike... did you eat enough? was it okay?”

the rapid-fire questions caught you off guard, but they made your heart swell. even when he was hurting, he couldn’t stop worrying about you.

you placed the tote bag on the floor, pulling out a small container. “jungwoo dropped me off,” you reassured him, smiling softly. “and yes, everything was great. mark and jaemin were fun to hang out with… oh, and i saved this for you.”

you held out the neatly packed container, its contents a small assortment of sandwiches and fruit. “i figured you might want something sweet.”

jaehyun stared at it, his heart aching at the thought that even while you were out enjoying yourself, you’d thought of him. he reached for the container, his fingers brushing over yours. he swallowed hard, his thumb tracing over your ring as if it held all the reassurance he needed.

“you didn’t have to do that,” he murmured, his voice cracking slightly.

“i wanted to,” you replied simply, your eyes meeting his.

before he could say anything else, the muffled voices from the living room grew louder, cutting into the fragile peace you’d brought with you. your brow furrowed as you glanced toward the hallway. “is that...”

“jia,” jaehyun confirmed bitterly, his jaw tightening.

you sighed, your concern for him deepening. “i thought she’d be gone by now.”

jaehyun’s lips pressed into a thin line. “i wish she was.”

as if on cue, aunt jia’s sharp voice carried into the hallway, growing louder as she approached. “...and it’s not just about age. it’s about maturity, responsibility. they’re both too young to even understand what marriage is.”

your hand instinctively moved to jaehyun’s shoulder, a silent reassurance, but your heart sank when jia’s silhouette appeared in the doorway. her gaze landed on you almost immediately, her expression shifting into one of mock surprise.

“oh, look who decided to show up,” she sneered, crossing her arms. “i was just telling everyone how irresponsible it is to jump into something so serious at such a young age. but i suppose i shouldn’t be surprised. you’ve always been... impulsive.”

jaehyun stiffened beside you, his body going rigid as her words sliced through the air. “stop,” he said quietly, his voice strained.

but jia wasn’t done. she stepped further into the hallway, her tone dripping with disdain. “i mean, really, what do you even know about commitment? you’ve barely had time to figure out who you are, let alone how to build a life with someone else. it’s reckless, and frankly, embarrassing.”

your cheeks burned at the insult, but before you could respond, jaehyun stood abruptly, positioning himself slightly in front of you. “that’s enough,” he said firmly, his voice shaking with anger.

jia raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “i’m just being honest, jaehyun. someone has to say it. you’ve trapped yourselves in something you can’t handle, and it’s only a matter of time before it all falls apart.”

her words hung in the air like a dark cloud, and jaehyun’s hand clenched at his side. but when he glanced back at you, his resolve faltered. you were still kneeling, your eyes wide with hurt, and it killed him to see you bearing the brunt of jia’s venom.

“she’s wrong,” jaehyun said quietly, his voice breaking as he crouched down to your level. he cupped your face in his hands, his thumb brushing away a tear you hadn’t even realized had fallen. “she doesn’t know us. she doesn’t know you.”

your lips trembled, but you managed to give him a small nod. “jae...”

“i’m sorry,” he whispered, his forehead resting against yours. “i’m sorry you had to hear that.”

the moment was tender, but it was short-lived. jia let out an exaggerated sigh, clearly unimpressed by the display. “this is exactly what i’m talking about,” she said, gesturing toward the two of you. “you’re too caught up in your little bubble to see reality. love isn’t enough to make a marriage work. it takes more than that, and you’re both too immature to handle it.”

jaehyun’s parents appeared behind her, their expressions a mix of frustration and exhaustion. “jia, that’s enough,” his father said, his tone firm. “you’ve said more than enough.”

but jia ignored him, her attention fixed on you now. “if you really cared about him,” she said coldly, “you’d know when to let him go. he deserves someone who’s ready for this, not someone playing house.”

your breath caught in your throat, her words cutting deep. but before you could respond, jaehyun stood again, this time turning fully toward her.

“don’t you dare talk to her like that,” he said, his voice low and steady, though his hands trembled at his sides. “you don’t know anything about us, and you sure as hell don’t have the right to judge her.”

jia scoffed, rolling her eyes. “you’re proving my point, jaehyun. you’re too emotional, too naive. you’re both setting yourselves up for failure.”

“enough,” his mother said sharply, stepping forward. “jia, you’ve overstayed your welcome. it’s time for you to leave.”

the tension in the hallway was suffocating, but when jaehyun turned back to you, his eyes softened. he reached for your hand, intertwining your fingers with his. “i’m sorry,” he murmured again, his voice barely audible.

the silence following his words seemed to reverberate through the hallway. jaehyun’s gaze remained locked on yours, searching for reassurance, for something to anchor him amidst the chaos.

but jia was relentless. she crossed her arms, her lips curling into a disdainful smile. “of course, you’re sorry. why wouldn’t you be? it’s all your fault you’re in this situation right now.”

jaehyun’s grip on your hand tightened, and you could feel the tension coursing through him. “stop it,” he said, his voice breaking under the weight of his emotions. “you’ve said enough.”

but jia only shook her head. “i’m saying what no one else will. you think this is love? this is a mistake, jaehyun. you’re setting yourselves up for a life full of regret.” her gaze shifted to you, sharp and unforgiving. “and you — do you even realize the pressure you’re putting on him? or are you too caught up in your little fairytale to care?”

you opened your mouth to respond, but jaehyun stepped forward, shielding you with his body.

“don’t,” he said, his voice low but firm. “don’t talk to her like that. she’s done nothing to deserve this, and you know it.”

jia let out a bitter laugh, throwing her hands up in mock exasperation. “oh, please. she’s done plenty. she’s dragged you into this mess, and you’re too blind to see it. she’s holding you back—”

“enough!”

the word rang out louder than anyone expected, and all eyes turned to jaehyun’s mother. her expression was sharp, her patience clearly worn thin. “jia, that is enough. you’ve crossed every line tonight, and i won’t allow you to continue tearing apart what jaehyun and y/n have built.”

jia looked incredulous, her mouth opening as if to argue, but jaehyun’s father stepped in before she could. “you’ve overstayed your welcome,” he said firmly. “it’s time for you to leave, jia. now.”

for a moment, jia seemed stunned into silence. but then she let out a huff, her expression hardening once again. “fine,” she said, as she turned on her heel, her shoes clicking loudly against the floor as she walked toward the door.

but before she reached it, she stopped, glancing back over her shoulder. her gaze landed on jaehyun one last time. “you’ll thank me someday,” she said coldly, “when you finally wake up and realize what a mistake this all was.”

the door slammed shut behind her, and the silence that followed was deafening.

jaehyun let out a shaky breath, his shoulders slumping as the weight of the confrontation finally caught up to him. you stepped closer, wrapping your arms around him without a second thought. he melted into your embrace, his head resting against your shoulder as he let out a quiet, shuddering sigh.

“i’m sorry,” he murmured, his voice muffled against your skin. “i’m so sorry you had to hear that.”

you pulled back just enough to look at him, cupping his face gently. “don’t apologize,” you whispered. “none of this is your fault.”

“but i should’ve stopped her,” jaehyun said quietly, his fingers brushing against your wrist. “i should’ve said something sooner.”

“jae,” you murmured softly. “you don’t owe her anything. you’ve already proven how much you care. don’t let her words get to you. she doesn’t know us.”

he searched your gaze, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. “but what if she’s right?” he whispered, the vulnerability in his voice breaking your heart. “what if i’ve trapped you in something we’re not ready for? what if—”

“stop,” you said, your tone firm but gentle. “don’t do that. don’t let her get in your head.” you brushed your thumb over his cheek, wiping away a tear that had escaped. “you didn’t trap me, jaehyun. i chose this. i chose you.”

“i always will”

he closed his eyes, leaning into your touch as if it was the only thing keeping him grounded. “you’re too good for this,” he murmured, his voice barely audible. “too good for me.”

you shook your head, a soft, bittersweet smile tugging at your lips. “you’re wrong. we’re good for each other, jae. don’t let anyone make you doubt that.”

the sincerity in your voice seemed to cut through the haze of doubt clouding his mind. he took a deep breath, his hands moving to rest on your waist as he held you close. “i don’t deserve you,” he said quietly, his lips brushing against your temple.

“stop saying that,” you replied, resting your forehead against his. “you deserve all the love in the world, jaehyun. don’t let her take that away from you.”

his arms tightened around you, and for the first time that evening, he allowed himself to believe you. to believe in you, in the strength of your love, in the life you were building together — no matter what anyone else had to say about it.

from the other side of the room, his parents exchanged a glance, their expressions softening at the sight of the two of you. his father placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder, silently reassuring her as they watched their son finally find a moment of peace, a complete contrast from the pain of jia’s visit.

prev. 𐙚 next

ㅡ my forever only.

with love,

© cigsaftersuh

ʚ taglist - open ɞ

@cstarry @hyuckleberriii @beacauseimmaya @jeongjaeleftbicep @lesuneczka @cryingforjae @ctrlstar @youaremysecretworld @douqhnxtss @dearlyminhyung @jaemnationnn @jaeyunluvbot @nonverdolly @dudekiss3r

[lipstickchainsaw]

Act 3 mostly left behind the elements of the show that I was most interested in, and had the most to say about, but I do want to talk about episode 7, which was fucking gorgeous and extremely well done.

I've seen people say that the good timeline Ekko and Heimerdinger find themselves in is the result of Vi dying, as if this timeline is a Wonderful Life view to paint Vi as the 'real' jinx, but I don't think this makes sense (for one, I don't think this episode gives us a new perspective on Vi, and Vi isn't the one seeing this, so it isn't giving her a new perspective on herself, either).

No, the point of Ekko's half of this episode is to give him a new perspective on Jinx, by showing him who Powder could have been. Last season, he was the most prominent person to argue that Powder was dead, and that only Jinx remained within the girl he was once friends with. This is not an unreasonable position for him to hold, given that she's killed a bunch of his friends in the Firelights over the course of his resistance to Silco's regime.

But this girl he meets here is not Jinx, and when he sees her, he initially reacts with the same hostility he would to the one from his timeline. Even when he figures out that he's in a different timeline, he isn't able to get over that, to stop projecting the image of Jinx onto this young woman who's done nothing wrong and suddenly sees her boyfriend acting so cold and distant to her.

This culminates in him asking the (really insensitive regardless) question of whether she was the reason Vi died. He has so internalised the view of Powder as Jinx/as a jinx that anything having gone wrong must have been her.

But she shoots back that, really, that's on him way more than it is on her. It's downplayed in season 1, but Ekko is the one behind the inciting incident of the show. To wit, he rips Jayce off, charging him double for the stuff he's buying, and then sends his friends to rob the guy's place, little rascal that he is. It was a fun little prank for a kid to play on some rich idiot who could just bounce back from that anyway, right?

And then everything went horribly wrong! Ekko lost his mentor, his closest friends, one of whom came back different, as his home was turned into a twisted parody of itself, and he had to find himself a sanctuary from which to launch a resistance movement.

We're naturally drawn to compare this Powder and our Jinx, but I think the subtler difference here is between the two Ekkos. It doesn't get a ton of emphasis, but we see from the way the people around him respond to him that this Ekko was very different, too. He hasn't had to grow up way too fast, and take up way too many responsibilities for someone his age. He hasn't become as angry as the Ekko we know, hasn't had cause to rage against the many injustices of a system stacked against him on both sides.

This Ekko is a relaxed, content, brilliant and recognised for it, genius little inventor, with a beautiful girlfriend who loves and supports him in his endeavours, and a wider family looking out for him to prepare him to step into a wider world of great possibility.

The way he conceptualises himself, as a resistance leader, a fighter and a protector, a boy saviour, he isn't ontologically any of these things. He isn't condemned by fate to step into those roles, doesn't become them out of some innate characteristics he just has. He is that way because circumstances forced him to become that.

And the same is true for Powder, for Jinx. She isn't inherently a jinx, regardless of what anyone including she herself may believe. She isn't the manifestation of misfortune for all, and he knows this. When he took her down in S1e7, and Jinx showed the suicidal Powder inside of her, he recognised this, and it's what stopped him from killing her then (even if she tried to blow him up.)

Even in that episode, she confronts him about this, calling him 'the boy saviour' in a tone that's halfway to an accusation. 'Why didn't you save me?' is what she halfway chokes out, where was her saviour (much in the same tone she'd use for herself when announcing herself as 'your big fat hero', because she wasn't able to believe in that concept either)?

Neither of them was able to address the matter then, because Ekko was still reasonably upset about the people she killed, and Jinx was dealing with a lot of complicated feelings she was expressing with violence, but it's his time here, with this Powder that gets him to reconsider.

'I've never seen you give up on anything,' and all that.

It helps that he meets a different Jinx who is, with some effort, willing to let herself be saved without trying to kill the person saving her.

(And not to be too down on our Jinx, Vi's death clearly hit this Powder hard, and she never quite built up the confidence to pursue her own ideas as a result.)

[thefirstlioveyou]

My interpretation of lonnie and will's (+ jonathan's) relationship from what we get from the show:

Lonnie is a neglectful and manipulative father above all, this is what the show tells us. He is a terrible father and person.

Lonnie wants to fix Will and change him. He forces him to play baseball and get into things he doesn't like to make sure he grows up to be a "real man." Joyce knows Lonnie believes he's a queer, a fag. There is no indication that he said it to Will's face, HOWEVER this doesn't make it any less worse. Lonnie still has homophobic opinions about his own son and is trying to "fix" him.

Then we get to the Jonathan and Will scene. Jonathan is trying to distract Will from their parents fighting. When Jonathan brings up Lonnie, Will just seems... Indifferent about him. He doesn't tense up or begin to show fear. He literally asks Jonathan "he isn't coming, is he?" with disappointment. In Billy's childhood memory playing baseball with his father, he literally tells him to leave him alone and runs away. (the parallels are indeed there, but are there to show different situations. billy fears his father because his father is explicitly cruel to him. will is clueless to his father's behavior because his father's cruel intentions are communicated differently through manipulation and control.)

He's indifferent because Will is manipulated by the false hope Lonnie may be giving him. Lonnie does this to Jonathan as well but he sees through it. He knows Lonnie already.

Will is holding onto hope Lonnie may show up more as a father. He wants more time with him. But what he doesn't know is the time Lonnie spends with him, he's actively trying to change him. Will goes with whatever he says because he's young and that's the type of person Will is. He doesn't stand up for himself and goes with whatever is being presented to him.

Jonathan points this out.

He makes Will aware of what Lonnie is actually trying to do. He's making it clear Lonnie isn't trying to be a father to him and spend time with him, he's trying to fix him and make him 'normal.'

Based on Will's body language and choice of words when talking about Lonnie, it seems to me he knows a different Lonnie than Jonathan does. Lonnie would pretend to be someone else to him and mask his true intentions.

Are there implications of physical abuse?

In a way? To me, Lonnie was physically aggressive in a playful but controlling way. In his eyes, it's playing. But he gets to choose when they play with no regard for what Jonathan wants. Lonnie masks it as playful behavior when in reality it's him wanting control and power over someone else. It still hurts Jonathan though. I don't know what to classify this as exactly, but it's wrong It's about the fact there is no consent.

Another example of Lonnie wanting control: Lonnie forces Jonathan to kill an animal with a gun, traumatizing him for a good while, in attempt to make him more of a man. Lonnie gets Will to play baseball to make him more of a man. There is a huge difference obviously, and it could do with their age. Lonnie has a more subtle approach with Will than Jonathan. Will could've eventually been in Jonathan's position if Lonnie had stayed.

From what we are given, between the two siblings, Jonathan was the one that got more shit from Lonnie. It possibly has to do with age and their personalities clashing. Jonathan protected Will from it and made sure Will learnt to not listen to Lonnie at an earlier age than he did.

About the trunk: In my honest opinion, looking back at it, he could have been looking for bags. The more I think about it, it'd just ODD to open a scene with implication he was kidnapped and stuck in the trunk, and not even touch on it and leave it there. Just speaking from a writing perspective. That's a VERY heavy subject to bring in just like that and to treat it like whatever. It's weird to just CASUALLY imply he kidnapped his son like nothing, but the writers want us to actually know Lonnie forces Will to play baseball above anything else. And then just never imply anything else similar to kidnap ever again. It feels off and inconsistent. So I can't fully see the interpretation that Jonathan was looking for Will's body in his trunk. I get why some could come to that conclusion but there's just not enough evidence to support that he would do that.

To me it seems more logical that he believed Will was staying there, especially with the scene between the two. Jonathan sees Will is indifferent to Lonnie. He knows Will's easily manipulated. He plays baseball because that's what Lonnie wants, he'd probably stay at Lonnie's for the same reason.

Will shows no indication of physical abuse unless we're talking about the trauma he has from the UD and possession. Outside of that, he shows more signs he was emotionally abused. This is something we know. We know he's experienced bullying and possibly knows what Lonnie thinks of him, because we know Will can tell when someone think he's different. He's internalized it. The bullying, the UD, and the way people think of him -- it all made him feel like one big mistake.

There are indications of **physical** abuse in other characters in the show and they are quite in your face. From the top of my head, you've got Billy's aggressive behavior, El taking her clothes off in front of the boys, her trauma response from being hid in Mike's closet.

ST and TFS does not hesitate to show us physical abuse on children. They will show us what we need to know. We aren't shown that with Lonnie. The show emphasizes his neglect and need to control/take.

Our first introduction to Lonnie is through Joyce. This is important. They have to tell us exactly what we need to know about Lonnie with little words. And from her description, he sounds like a deadbeat of a homophobic father who is critical over his children. Joyce even says he has nothing to do with it. It doesn't cross her mind that Lonnie could play a role in Will's disappearance because he is an absent father. I think she would have a different mindset if Lonnie was this vicious physical abuser. But no. She sees him as a deadbeat, because that's what he is

When Joyce tells Lonnie to leave after figuring out Lonnie was just there for the money, she goes on a rant on how he was never there. That's what she chooses to bring up. That's what the writers want to emphasize over anything else. His absence. His controlling behavior. His lying and manipulation. This is what makes Lonnie a bad father.

Lonnie is very manipulative, controlling and neglectful. I don't think physically abusive fits in the most. This show in particular will tell you when a father is very physically abusive and bring that to light through several instances (ex: billy's dad). They will show signs a child was physical abused.

Will still struggled in his home. It was a broken home. He wasn't accepted by his father, whether Lonnie made it clear or Will could just tell. His parents fought. Lonnie was never there for him or rarely was. He was abandoned by him. But I do not think Will is fearful of him. I don't think Lonnie is to Will is how Neil is to Billy (Which doesn't make him any less of a bad father! Just different). He's indifferent because Lonnie (from what we can infer) presented himself in a certain/different way to him. Jonathan shows more distaste and anger towards Lonnie because he knows his real intentions.

Now, S5 can obviously introduce something. I bet there is more to Lonnie and the Byers. But this is just how I see it based on everything we're given. Please do not attack me. I am not a fucking Lonnie stan. This is just an analysis.

[melodyatlas]

long time no work on the list of prompts given by @profandomhopper i still love all of them sm, eventually i will get to all of them lmao <333

this one isnt gonna be a real fic cause i’ll get way too bogged down in making it so detailed and expansive bc i love love love reverse robins so much- but lets ramble on about this a little, yeah?

tim is only there the night dick’s parents die because he’s stalking bruce a little bit (look, he’s past the revenge part of his red hood era, but he and bruce still aren’t on good terms and there’s smthn about bruce taking jason to the fucking circus of all things that tim can’t just ignore. so hes there. for research.)

so tim is there solo, watching bruce, and he walks past a young dick grayson before the show, catching his eye. maybe its because he’s wearing a coat even though its still closer to summer weather than fall, maybe its the pretty, unnatural white streak in tims hair, or the long scars on his cheeks- whatever it is, dick can’t look away, and tim has always been /very/ good at knowing when he’s being watched

so tim notices dick right back, and is intrigued by this kid in full acrobatic get-up, and yeah, he could let the moment pass, keep walking, follow bruce and jason into the tent they just disappeared into- but he was raised in certain social circles, knows how to make small talk- and he was batmans partner, knows how to talk to kids and put them at ease in hard situations

so he stops and talks to the kid. finds out dick is nervous. not about the acts he’ll perform in show- no, hes been training for this for years- he’s as comfortable up on the bars and tightropes as he is on the ground- but about how big the crowd is, how he’s only just started joining his parents for real performances, and gotham is the biggest city theyve been to since he started.

tim gets dick to tell him about his favorite part of the act- a quadruple front flip- and he tells dick to try to imagine hes just practicing during the performance, don’t look or think past all the lights, just let the sound wash over him and focus on his own heartbeat. theres not going to be anyone else in the tent, just him and his parents.

he sets dick at ease, and before they part ways, dick tells him that he wont imagine theres no one else there, that instead he’ll imagine its just tim there. that he’ll do the flip for him. it earns him a ruffle of his hair as they part ways, and if tim makes sure his seat has a good view of both bruce and the aerial part of the show, then thats no one’s business but his.

none of them expected the tragedy of that night.

tim certainly didn’t expect bruce to take dick in- or even for dick to remember his interaction with tim that night, past all the trauma of losing his parents like that.

but dick does remember. and over the years he makes it a point to remind tim that /hes/ the first bat dick met. even if tim doesn’t consider himself a bat at all.

tims still quite estranged from most of them for the first few years that dick is with them, but as soon as dick picks the robin moniker and is on patrols, tim finds that he has a shadow quite often. no. shadow isnt the right word for it. shadows are silent, often overlooked. robin is not silent, and impossible to overlook- constantly butting into tim’s business as the red hood, even more annoying than jason was when he was trying to get tim to “see reason” about going back into the fold. jason was the one who ended up seeing reason there though, and eventually realized that the fractures between tim and bruce weren’t going to be fixed no matter how much meddling he did

jason could be convinced that while the bats cant kill, the red hood did actually need to. it was necessary to tim’s goal of controlling crime- but dick was never going to be convinced. and he was young enough and optimistic enough, that tim couldn’t keep having that argument with him like he did with jason. something about dick just made tim want to protect him. protect his world view.

so on the nights when robin trails after the red hood, he goes a little softer, and it fuels dick’s obsession with tim, knowing that the red hood wont kill in front of him, knowing he’s the only one of the bats to evoke that gentleness from tim after his resurrection

it becomes a Thing as dick gets older. he spends more time trailing after tim- he says its because tim wont kill in front of him, and he’s just doing his part to keep the deaths from piling up, but he and tim both know theres a deeper reason. that dick just likes to be around him. that /tim/ just likes when dicks around.

then dick almost dies, the court of owls trying to take him, maybe, and tim ends up slaughtering the perpetrators with no mercy.

tim does not go to see dick at the manor while hes recovering.

dick does not take kindly to this.

as soon as hes physically able to sneak out, he does, makes his way to tim’s main base of operations and confronts him about killing a bunch of people for him, and in the argument dick yells out a confession- that he loves tim. that he’s kind of always loved tim- since that first meeting way back when he was just a little kid.

tim says it was just a childhood infatuation dick held too long- that dick’ll get over it, that he would have already if he hadnt spent all these years following tim around

an “I don’t want to get over it” from dick, before he’s pressed up against tim

and tim- he should probably make dick stop. age gap aside, if bruce finds out about this itll reignite all their issues with one another. dick tries his best to make it hard to think about bruce or any potential consequences though, and soon enough tim does succumb to it

the red hood may have a certain reputation, but /tim/ has never been about working solo- he’s always been about human connection, and playing the part of red hood makes him forget that sometimes, so he falls into what it feels like with dick. but only as tim. he doesn’t let it affect the red hood. but dick doesn’t care, /tim/ is the part he wanted anyway, they can keep fighting about what tim does as red hood so long as dick and tim are together.

[normalbrothers]

TOMMY: The war is done! Shut the door on it like I did.

[dukeofthomas]

I'm so mad that so far the only good robin!jason content i've ever found is his original run. Everything i've seen since has just been making him out to be the Angry Bad Problem Child and victim blaming him for dying. How is it that the only fucking good characterization of him is 20 issues from the 1980s

[rouge-the-bat]

"i need to know if this character is an adult or not so i know if i can selfship with them!" ...my dude you clearly are already attracted to them ??? like. gurl theyre FICTIONAL. do whatever the fuck you want god damn.

self ship with them with them aged up. or with an imaginary version of you aged down. or just hc whatever gd age you want for them whether or not it ends up being canon (or its already stated in canon but doesnt match ur view of them). or selfship yourself with them through a character in canon. you can literally just see your fictional other as aging with you. who fucking cares. its fiction. the specifics of the relationship is whatever the hell you make it.

its literally so sad to see people being afraid to just SELF SHIP because they dont know if its potentially ~problematic~ depending on stuff they can easily just rule out of their own view of canon 💀 canon is your sandbox you can tear down the castle and build it anew however to your liking

[sydmarch]

anyway this is what i was actually trying to find. fucking thinking about this.

[teethbomb]

Five nifhts te rbolox

[oldestenemy]

Thinking about Duncan Grimwater again.

Thinking about the wizard letting that fight play out.

About letting him win, landing in the commons, and using dungeon recall to go back, showing up behind him.

Thinking about "Did you really think with everything I've been through, that I would go down that easily?"

[boysborntodie]

I think that Johnnyboy’s potential to complicated and messy is criminally untapped in fanon. Ponyboy ‘fucking sucks at feelings, both his own and of others, and can be a bitch’ Curtis and Johnny ‘imperfect victim with shit self-esteem’ Cade would definitely have their ups and downs

[gotmyass2marz]

oh i Bet she isnt even dead .

[snakes-and-fluff]

Yukari from Persona 3 & Mahiru from Milgram - both are judged way more harshly than if they were guys. Yukari is one of the best-written characters I've ever seen and Mahiru in no way deserved that T1 Guilty people were making up wild stories about what might have happened based on nothing.

You can’t win as a woman in fiction. Be too positive, you become a Mary Sue, have flaws and those flaws are why almost nobody likes you. Be moderate, you have wet-cabbage personality, be exuberant, you are an unrealistic example. Have strong morals, and you’re badly developed, be morally corrupt and you’re hated with such vigour fans will send hate mail to the actress who plays the character. Be kind and soft and in love, you’re a representation of sexism, be cruel, harsh and cold and you’re just a bitch. Be a complex, realistic, ambiguous character, and either your flaws or your positive traits will be ignored or blown out of proportion and into oblivion. There is no winning for female characters.