Fern & Stark: How to Rescue an IMPOSSIBLE Relationship 

I disagree, she helps Stark a lot with his confidence and self esteem issues, and likewise he helps her when she has misunderstandings with Freiren. The two complement each other well, and bring out the best of each other

Fern is a lovely person and at the absolute worst a sort of bratty teen. Plenty of mature, functional and happy relationship having women are a bratty towards their significant others lmao.

They *both* need to grow up, but that's because _they are both still literally children_ in a lot of ways. IMHO, Fern is an amazingly good portrayal of a young girl who has just been forced by life to become an adult way too soon. She has had to put on the face of "the mature one" for most of her life, but inside part of her is still just a child. The problem is that she's never had an opportunity to just _be_ a child, like most children can, so she doesn't even really know what that means, or how to deal with that part of herself. On the other hand, Stark is a child who has never really been given the opportunity to grow up. He has not had a family or nurturing environment to support and encourage him, and reassure him that he actually does have value. His few role models have mostly been toxic or awkward introverts. He knows he _should_ be a good, proper, dependable adult, but he doesn't really know exactly what that is, or how to become one. So in many ways, the two of them are perfect for each other. Stark's outward immaturity gives Fern permission to interact with someone not as the mature adult she's always been forced to be, but more like the children that they both are, which is something she arguably needs to do in order to understand and develop that side of herself that she has been holding back all this time. On the other hand, Fern's outward maturity, kindness, and acceptance of Stark also gives him the needed permission and guidance to become more mature and confident in himself as well, and grow as a person. And at the end of the day, they are still both only teenagers, too. Being a little bit immature every once in a while is _normal_ and _healthy_ at that age, to be honest. I'd be a lot more worried if they weren't.

The subtext is that Fern is really bad at communicating her needs and understanding those of others. She is toxic, because she rarely attempts to see a matter of dispute from other perspectives. That's something for her to work on. Stark is kind of immature, I guess, in the sense that he's literally a child. Cowardly doesn't apply at all. His tendency to lack confidence doesn't manifest as cowardice, and he constantly addresses it by _choosing_ to be brave.

Like the other guy said, Stark isn't cowardly. In fact, he's as brave as Eisen. They both shook before going into battle, yet fought anyway

​@@nucleargandhi2709And he explicitly said he is trying to be brave because of Fern. Her words of encouragement the very first night are the foundations on which he builds his confidence.