#em's rambles

Minors DNI

This goes without saying but I am writing for an 18+ subject and I will be covering topics that aren't appropriate for minors. Nor do I feel comfortable interacting with minors in general, again I am 27 and this is a boundary I will enforce. This fandom already has a problem with minors consuming content and I will not cater to the issue.

Do's and Don't's for Requests!

My askbox will primarily remain open for conversations but I might not always be taking requests at that time, make sure to check the status in the bio of my blog before sending in requests! I reserve the right to deny a request if I feel uncomfortable with the idea or feel as if I can't meet the expectation. Depending on the reason for the denial I might answer it with an explanation or just outright delete it from my inbox. This is definitely not my first rodeo with taking requests and I am a person behind the screen at the end of the day. Try to keep requests as basic as possible! We all have our own ideas of our versions of MC or even our own OC's. I am a firm believer in inclusivity when it comes with requests and if an ask is super detailed it will leave a lot of people out from enjoying the "X Reader" style of writing I'm accustomed to. Not to mention it's a personal ick for me to scroll through "x reader" tags and find "x OC" content instead. This being said however, I can swing vague ideas of MCs, such as Flirty!Reader, Mute!Reader, Black!Reader, etc. This also goes without saying too, TFC is a constantly evolving story with an amazing creator who gives us lore drops routinely. I do my best to keep up with the AMA's and lore snippets but I will definitely write something OOC/something already talked about in a lore piece I missed. Have mercy on my old soul! Because of the nature of TFC I will be covering "Dead Dove" topics that include but are not limited to gore, violence, traumas/abuse, self harm, death, sexual assault/sex in general. I WILL tag these works accordingly at the beginning of the post as well as in the tags so you can filter them accordingly. Please notify me if I missed a tag or potential trigger! Below will be a full list of trigger tags that I will update as I post: #tw selfharm, #tw experimentation, #tw blood, #tw voyeurism

Rules For My Askbox

I'm really lax when it comes to conversations, my only real rule for sending in mail would be to be respectful of myself as well as others/the community. I present myself as very positive and kind but I also play competitive games with my mic on, so I will punch below the belt if need be. I'll also tie in my right to just delete messages in my inbox with no follow-ups if things get out of hand or if a topic is just unapproachable.

I'm also an adult and have a life outside of these four digital corners so I might not always be able to get to my inbox consistently, I am doing this for my love for TFC and writing in general after all.

Enjoy my Shop!

First things first, Claire is not a manic pixie dream girl (in my opinion). Does that mean she's well-written? No. But, she serves an important narrative purpose in terms of Carmy's arc.

Claire as Carmy's Past

Claire is the classic childhood crush archetype. She knows his family, his friends, and the name of the restaurant he wants to open without any intervention from him. She doesn't need to be introduced like a regular girlfriend would. Claire perfectly slots into Carmy's life with zero resistance. She doesn't have to get to know him because she already knows him. Despite this, Carmy still struggles to understand their relationship. He still sees her as the girl he had a crush on rather than the woman he is dating.

Despite being the protagonist- Carmy is incredibly static. He finishes season 2 as he started it and spends season 3 regressing. Every other character has changed, even the restaurant itself has evolved. Carmy is still in the beef.

Claire as the fixer

Claire works in the medical field. When she tells the story of how she became interested in medicine Carmy assumes she wanted to learn to "fix things" when in reality she wanted to "understand how it works". This is Carmy projecting onto Claire, he continues to do it in season 3, referring to her as "peace". Carmy sees Claire as his out, the person who is finally going to fix him.

When he dates her in season 2 and things still fall apart, he lashes out, not because she didn't fix him, but because he thinks he is unfixable.

Claire as wish fulfillment

During Carmy's seven-minute monologue in season 1, he laments about not going to parties, not having girlfriends, and not having friends in high school. While no one else in the series sees Carmy as any different for not reaching these milestones, Carmy sees himself as "broken" for not meeting them. These wounds follow him into his adult life, and he sees his relationship with Claire as a way to remedy that.

The party scene stands out to me. It frames Claire and Carmy's relationship in a juvenile light. Claire invites Carmy to a house party where he gets mistaken for someone else. He rolls with it and suddenly he's the funny life of the party that he so badly wants to be. The party ends with the police being called and they run off like teenagers.

Claire is also his childhood crush. She's the girl he always wanted to go out with but never had the balls to ask. Dating her as an adult heals his bruised teenage ego.

Claire and work-life balance

Claire works a high-stress job as does Carmy. Interestingly enough, she can still maintain a work-life balance while he can't. Claire leaves her work at work, has friends she doesn't work with, goes to parties, and has time to date. Carmy struggles to juggle managing a restaurant with the talking stage of a relationship. He constantly thinks about work and the only people he has in his life are people he met through The Bear.

This is another instance of Carmy seeing Claire as an out. It's also a moment where he is comparing himself to Claire. He sees her as this amazing person who saves lives but still has time for herself and wonders why he can't do that. This leads to their downfall as a couple, comparison is the thief of joy.

Closing thoughts

While I don't love Claire and Carmy as a relationship, I do see her narrative significance in the show. She is one of the many forces trying to drag him back to his past life and the only way for Carmy to progress is to not end up with her.

Also hot take I guess: I don't think she needs to be a multi-dimensional character to have an important role in the story. I'd rather the limited time be used on the other characters in the cast rather than fleshing her out.