Clair Writes

controversial opinion, but characters are so much more interesting when you are able to forget about shipping them for a moment and actually appreciate their unrelated personal plot/arc. if the most interesting thing you can think of about a character is the ship you like them with, then I don't think you actually like that character very much

from the bottom of my heart: just because something makes you uncomfortable doesn't mean it shouldn't be allowed to exist

i think it's a little disturbing that some people's responses to a fictional character's actions are like "oh i wouldn't do/like that". oh well okay but that isn't you? that's someone else. so like instead of trying to understand why The Character would do/like such a thing, their first reaction is to think of themselves? it feels like a giant gap in empathy to not be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes even for pretend idk

I can smell the poison in my goblet but I lowkey don't even care anymore

Creating an OC who's fucked up because of their parents might seem harmless at first, but unless you're very careful about avoiding certain topics, at some point you're going to have to think about what their parents actually did to make them so fucked up, and now your OC's fucked up parents are also your OCs.

when the author describes someone dying and you can just tell they’ve never actually died by the way it’s written

I so wish AO3 had spate tags for main and supporting characters to mitigate this. People would still tag everyone as main to try and get more eyes on their story, but it would really cut down on this. Same for ship tags.

my book is tailor made for the very niche audience of anyone who wants to read it

some fandom disagreements are like "I see your point but I think this other aspect of the narrative is more significant," and some are like "I don't think you can read."

"I'm lying to you but this sentence is technically the truth without context" is such a good trope. Like yes the way that I am spinning these words forms a lies but if you squint I'm actually not lying.

the curse is lifted! you are no a beast no more! congratulations! but you'll never forget the way they looked at you, will you.

I actually do think it’s better for abusers and abusive characters to realize the harm their past actions caused and seek to do better than be literally or metaphorically executed for their crimes

Shoutouts to characters that don't know the facade isn't their real self. Shoutouts to characters who put up a front so long ago that they have now forgotten it's all an act. Shoutouts to characters who no longer know who they are because they think they're being sincere. Shoutouts to performers so good they fool even themselves. Shoutouts to characters who fall for their own lies.