I definitely think adding a level of second chance romance to the teacher timeline LJ3 would add another level of convolutedness to an already complicated story but I think one of the things I have the biggest trouble reconciling is Ellie’s characterization. To me sometimes Ellie is impulsive and violent and honest and sometimes she is tactical, precise, maybe even shrewd, sometimes I characterize her as she is incredibly self sacrificing and brave, sometimes she is self interested and distant and cares only abt herself. (In all honesty I think this is bc she has always been half Porter, half Jace). I think the easiest way to reconcile this difference is to make it a younger vs older Ellie characterization. To me, young Ellie is reckless and impulsive but also incredibly brave and loyal, she relies on strength and rage, a more classic barbarian and paladin, her strengths are that she fights very aggressive and powerful and always want to be the hero not in a self congratulatory way but bc she just thinks its the right thing to do, but she also is naive and impulsive and reckless & stubborn, maybe even careless. Whereas older Ellie i think is a much wiser and precise tactician, she could even pull from ranger and artificer skills (she’s always been the most technologically and mechanically gifted of the clones). I think it becomes a skill of her knowing how to pick her battles and know that every situation cannot eve solved by hitting it with Big Sword, but she also has become more jaded about the state of the world and beaten down by her lack of success in her goal (find her reincarnated boytoy and boybestfriend. Obviously). I think it would be fun if Ellie and J3 knew each other when they were younger, maybe teens or early adults. When other ppl are afraid or Ellie or distrust her and pile on her and think she can’t hack it, J3 would be next to her in an instant. And I totally think Ellie is the one who broke his heart when they were young, and he still comes crawling back to her (I don’t really blame her for this, imo she ran away from home to go to adventuring school against the wishes of her family and then something bad happens and she has to drop out & there’s all this guilt involved abt her leaving her family on bad terms and stuff, so things w him and her are Unresolved). So even tho this older Ellie is a little jaded and beat down and claims she doesn’t do attachments, I think J3 still sees her as a hero and has always been a little in love with the girl who would take the magic missile or the fireball for him. No one else wants to be paired w her for the mentorship program, and ellie is under the impression that he’s stuck with her, and that he resents her for that, but no. He chose her, he knows that if there’s anyone he wants by his side, it’s her.
(I also think a lot of Ellie’s story is abt her learning to be vulnerable again, her becoming that brave person, that champion of the people, the underdogs and the less fortunate, that j3 always saw in her. And I think this whole backstory is why she’s actually weirdly good with kids. She gets being an angry teen, that was her, but she’s also very honest & treats all their emotions and feelings w a lot of weight)
