hello anon!
it blows my mind too! i love stumbling on works that really match my own vision of them—makes if feel like they walked into the fic straight from the show or novel.

the thing i really love so much about these characters, is that they're so versitile. they can be written both soft/fluffy/light or harsh/dark/evil and it still works out somehow. and sure, sometimes we can stray quite far "out of character", with dynamics thrown out the window... but at the end of the day, we're all just having fun here, exploring and experimenting, so who really cares if it's "perfect"?

i understand that it's easy to compare your characterizations with others, i struggle with that too sometimes when i feel like something is "missing". but maybe it might be worth trying to identify why you think they are "too soft" in your story? and see if you can make any changes in your story to make them less so, if thats what you want.

idk if i'm helping at all, or if i'm just reading into it too much—but those were my thoughts when reading your message.

i feel like fanfic authors all have their own unique flair and take on them too. and best is to just focus on what you want to write and how you want to write them, to find your own voice and take on them. 💛