Characters and couples research

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6. Anti-patterns

Writing Ava as purely uptight/comedy relief. She is competent, organized, and terrified. The comedy and the terror are the same thing. If you get only the comedy, you have lost her.
Writing Sara's wildness without her grief. Sara is reckless because she has died and does not fully trust herself to care about her own survival. The recklessness is not personality. It is unresolved death.
Making the clone reveal the whole of Ava. Ava has a full life outside her clone identity. The clone wound is real and important, but she is also funny, brilliant, an excellent bureaucrat, and deeply committed to the people she chooses. She is not a metaphor for imposter syndrome. She is a specific person.
Writing the Legends as a distraction from the couple. The found family is load-bearing. Without them, Avalance loses its witness structure and its humor. A fic where Sara and Ava are alone against the world is missing the whole point of the Waverider.
Fast-forwarding past Ava's parents. The fake parents are always in the room even when not mentioned. Ava grew up believing she was someone she isn't, raised by people who technically didn't raise her. That doesn't go away.
Treating Sara's past as backstory. It is not backstory. The scars are on her body now. The nightmares happen tonight. The League is not finished. Lian Yu is not finished.

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Revision 1 · 2026-09-06T18:47:12.694Z