Disclaimers for stories of all kinds

Original disclaimer:

If I have a female character that uses objects to help you know what she looks like such as lines like 'she has hair like wool and it's color is that of a black diamond,' and I say 'her eyes are like clouds, and shine like the sun as blue as the sky' this DOES NOT mean I am a man, sexist, etc.

I am not objectifying her, I am a woman, too, I am using references you can think of to help you visualize her because it's a BOOK.

You cannot see her. I need to help you visualize her. Using colors may not work because it's a specific shade I want to translate to your mind. I am not sexist, anti feminist, or self-inserting.

It is all METAPHORICAL to show you what the character looks like.

Rewritten disclaimer:

If I describe a female character using objects as comparisons, such as "her hair is like wool, the color of a black diamond," or "her eyes are like clouds, shining like the sun, as blue as the sky," this does not mean I am a man, sexist, or otherwise biased.

I am not objectifying her. These descriptions are meant to help you visualize her because this is a book.

Readers cannot see her, so I use references and imagery to convey specific shades, textures, or appearances.

This is purely for storytelling purposes.

I am not sexist, anti-feminist, or self-inserting.

Original Disclaimer:

If I am saying a character's skin color is like chocolate, this doesn't mean I'm racist. In the African-AMERICAN community, we use words like Chocolate to describe our skin such as caramel, chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate.

I am black/mixed with black. It is not racist to us. Maybe the British, but they have a lot of racism that makes this kind of comparison feel racist because being brown is seen as being a bad person in some racist areas.

Since Chocolate is well liked due to its taste, alongside caramel, and dark chocolate is associated with chocolate, we are not against this portrayal.

It also feels like adding problems for political purposes that didn't exist or trying to gauge angry engagement for clout or trying to input yourself into a because you have no understanding of. I have experienced myself casually and neutrally saying my skin color is caramel as a child.

It's all METAPHORICAL. Not LITERAL.

Rewritten Disclaimer:

If I describe a character's skin color as chocolate, this does not mean I am racist. In the African-American community, words like chocolate, caramel, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate are commonly used to describe skin tones. I am Black or mixed with Black, so this is not offensive in this context.

Some people, such as in parts of Britain, may perceive it differently due to local histories of racism, where brown skin is sometimes unfairly associated with negative traits.

Using chocolate or caramel as descriptors is positive because chocolate is well-liked and associated with richness and beauty.

This portrayal is not intended to create controversy or political conflict, and it is not an attempt to claim authority over causes I do not understand.

Original Disclaimer:

Right, let's begin with the basic basics of this.

I am not trying to say that this character, main or not, is good. This character is a bad person.

They're not meant to be likable, nor are they meant to be looked up to.

Your goal is to enjoy the story, find it interesting, and keep reading, but this character is a bad person.

This character's point of view is very biased and technically horrible. This character doesn't have a good opinion, and we will be dealing with third to first or to second person point of view.

Basically, this is an incredibly unreliable narrator where their thoughts, actions, and decisions, if they look bad, are bad. You have the ability to know for yourself whether or not it is bad or not.

Rewritten Disclaimer:

This character, main or not, is not meant to be good. They are bad people.

They are not intended to be likable or admired. Your goal is to enjoy the story and stay engaged, but this character’s perspective is biased and often terrible.

Their opinions are flawed, and their actions and decisions may be wrong or harmful. The story may shift between a third, first, or second person point of view, or may be in these points of view with the most risky being first person due to this character's evil personality.

This is an intentionally unreliable narrator. You, the reader, have the ability to judge for yourself what is right or wrong. It is meant to be obvious.

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These disclaimers can go in games, movies, films, captions as short form versions, comics, graphic novels, books, etc.

With a game, you can include a section solely for disclaimers and add these in.

Also have them automatically be read aloud but allow players to play as they go.

Make them short and concise for this very reason. Make them sound good & comforting, not robotic and quick but fully understandable and put them in an environmental setting like a television or radio.

The goal is to help readers not see a political statement in all of fiction, like "The writer must be evil because the character sucks as a person! I'm supposed to agree with anything the main character says!" Or "The writer said her skin is like chocolate, he's objectifying her!" When the writer is a woman.

Example:

The manic pixie dream girl was not to make women act like them or pressure them, that's insecurity projecting itself into a writer the reader never met. The reader wants to be like her to get a man, not the writer.

The manic pixie dream girl was a comedic device made to help readers be entertained by her shenanigans.

She wasn't even doing it for a man and was doing it before he came into the picture.

She's not for the male character, she may help him open up and be more fun while he helps her be more mature, but essentially, she's just a plot device used to help entertain the reader.

There are people like the manic pixie dream girl in real life, but even they said that while the relationships may not be permanent like most of them, they were doing it for fun, not for a man.

It's projecting your ideas onto a story which never had that intent. She's just in the story because she's fun to think of and fun to watch for the viewer and nothing more. Sometimes, it's solely for entertainment. Thus, these disclaimers are more for the overthinking reader.

Thus, there is a disclaimer for the writer who likes the manic pixie dream girl archetype:

The manic pixie dream girl is not meant to make women act like her or pressure them. That idea comes from projecting personal insecurities onto the writer. The reader may want to emulate her to attract a man, but that has nothing to do with the writer.

The manic pixie dream girl is a comedic device meant to entertain the reader with her antics. She was not acting for a man and existed before any male character entered the story. She is not for the male character.

While she may help him open up or be more playful and he may help her become more mature, her main purpose is to entertain the reader.

There are people like the manic pixie dream girl in real life. Even then, they often act for fun, not to impress a man, and most of these relationships are not permanent as many relationships do not last.

Any idea that she exists to influence a man is projecting onto a story that never intended it. She is in the story because she is fun to imagine and watch. These disclaimers are for readers who overthink her role.

Original Disclaimer:

Hey, this character is not, you know, the kind of trope where they exist just to help a white character. This does not mean that Black people should always be helping white people. I understand that Black people have historically been hurt by white people. Not always, but I recognize that this has happened. In this fictional story, however, these characters are friends. The situation involves a major conflict, like the world being at risk, and they simply do not want that to happen. It has nothing to do with reality. Both characters see a problem, and both want to solve it.

Rewritten Disclaimer:

The Black side character who helps the main character is not meant to reflect any real-world racial expectations or stereotypes. This is not the trope where Black characters exist solely to support white characters. In this story, these characters are friends facing a major conflict together, such as a threat to the world or a shared problem. Their cooperation comes from mutual concern and a desire to solve the issue, not from societal expectation or obligation. This is purely a fictional situation, and their actions are based on the story’s context, not reality.  

The reason for this disclaimer is because some people, and I'm black myself, but it's because some people will find it racist even for a black character to um help a white character primarily throughout the story.