ABOUT

Most would dismiss AeCha off hand from the second they see her, skin marked with tattoos and shabby clothing. Her dead glare is enough for those who don't with a first glance. And for the few who dare to get close enough to speak to her, they often notice the tattooed words "thief, vandal" upon her collarbone.Life has been set up against her from the start, and she's learned to live with it, no matter how bitter it feels.Be it high collared clothing to hide the tattoos she can not cover, or various designs of her own making over those she can reach, every petty offence she has been captured for has been hidden. She still steals to keep herself fed, since the meager amount she earns from her one-woman shows rarely covers her survival.>>>

(TW: Parental abuse + Spousal abuse + SA + murder)September 1840
The minstrels of the Ya Clan invite a new baby girl into the world. Her babbling laughter and bright smile is by their clan's old saying a blessing of luck upon them, and thus they named her AeCha ("loving daughter".)Summer 1844
The namsadang troupe they travel with experience a sudden fire, losing both equipment and a horse-cart. They all have theories for how it happened, but no one has concrete answers.Winter 1844
The troupe yet again experiences misfortune. Their cart of food topples into a river as they cross, leaving them with scraps throughout the winter. AeCha's father begins speaking ill of his daughter, thinking she has brought them misfortune.Spring 1845
During a village visit, the troupe gets chased off by the local law officials on decree of a higher lord. AeCha's father burns his daughter's thigh with a hot poker, hoping to rid himself of whatever curse his child is.Spring 1846
The previous year has been wrought with bad luck. AeCha's father has begun drinking heavily to deal with the stress of it all. He has stopped striking his child, but his wife is well acquainted with his abuse and raised voice.Summer 1856
In the middle of the night while AeCha sleeps, her father stumbles drunkenly into her room, already having given his wife a beating. The bruised mother watches as he creeps into AeCha's bed, calming down as he cuddles close to his young child.Summer 1858
The abuse continues as it has, and AeCha is getting more and more used to the way her father touches her. Her eyes always beg for her mother's help, but she never raises a finger to assist her daughter, seeming almost content with the break it gives herself.Autumn 1858
There's a crash from outside the tentflap where AeCha is sleeping, stirring the girl from her slumber. She can hear her father shouting outside, her mother sobbing in despair. The tentflap opens to the smell of alcohol, as her father stumbles in towards her bed. AeCha feels frozen in fear as he lays a hand upon her breast, voice dripping with ominous venom as he cooes: "My darling AeCha. Time you became a real woman."
Instincts kick in as soon as her father reaches for his baji-malgi. AeCha kicks him straight in the nether region before rolling out of bed, her arms flailing for one of the swords her father uses in his sword swallowing act. She can hear her mother crying in the other end of the tent over her father's loud cursing. With her fingers tightly formed around the hilt of a sword, AeCha spins and stabs.A jolt runs through her as blood stains her face and hair, not even giving her the chance to blink. Her eyes focus in on her father, eyes wide in a mix of fury and horror, the sword sticking deep into his neck. Blood ran from his mouth, gargling painfully in his throat as he tried to make a sound. In a moment of her own survival's fury, AeCha screams, pulling the sword out just enough to plunge it back into his body. He stumbles and falls towards her, his heavy body crushing hers on the floor. Warm blood oozes from his wound, coating the young girl's shoulder as she pushes him off. But something has snapped. Years of abuse has reached the end of it's rope. AeCha draws the sword from her father's throat before continuing the frantic stabbing, cries of anguish escaping her throat until it feels sore.
"Y-you... You monster...."
Her mother's voice is meek behind her as AeCha rises to her feet. Warm blood is caked over her sleepware, her dark hair stained crimson.
"Y-you killed him! You monster!"
She turns towards her mother, eyes burning with rage and sadness as they land on the frail woman's battered face. Each step towards her sent shudders up her whole body until she was above her, the sword pointed straight to her throat."And you never stopped him."
It was the last words she spoke before running her mother through.
Her legs buckled beneath her, making her fall to her knees besides her mother's limp body. The fury within her ebbs out, leaving the girl sobbing on the floor of their tent, the sword still tightly in hand.Winter 1858
Her flesh gets tainted with her first criminal brand. 'Murderer' gets tattooed across her hand and the forearm, marking her for all to see.Spring 1859
With much effort and pain, AeCha covers the tattoo with a tattoo of a rose, symbolizing her new blossoming and new life.