Why the Ocean Means So Much in High Tides and Clara and Valerie’s Story
High Tides creator Fernanda reveals why the ocean has always been central to Clara and Valerie’s WLW story, from the very first scene she imagined.
Long before High Tides became a growing visual world around Clara and Valerie, the ocean was already there. For creator Fernanda, it was part of the very first image she imagined and has since become closely connected to the freedom, uncertainty and change running through the couple’s story.
That original scene is remarkably simple. Valerie is surfing while Clara stands on the beach with her camera, taking photographs of her, with neither woman yet carrying all the history that would eventually become part of High Tides.
“I’d save the very first scene I imagined when I started writing High Tides.”
Looking back now, Fernanda sees much more in that image than she did when she first created it. Valerie is out on the water completely in her element, Clara is watching from the shore, and the ocean surrounds a moment when everything in their future is still possible.
“The ocean was there before I really knew what High Tides was going to become.”
As Clara and Valerie’s lives developed, many of the qualities Fernanda associates with the ocean began to reflect their story too. It can represent freedom and danger, stillness and chaos, while remaining something powerful that changes constantly and cannot always be controlled.
Those ideas have particular resonance for characters who have faced experiences they could not simply prevent or undo. Clara’s health problems changed her relationship with her own body, while Valerie’s accident reminded readers how suddenly the ordinary life they had become invested in could be disrupted.
Yet the ocean is not only connected to difficult moments. It is also part of the atmosphere surrounding Clara and Valerie, appearing alongside the quieter side of their relationship and helping give the visual world of High Tides its recognisable identity.
Fernanda has spoken about followers reaching the point where they already know the ocean and recognise the atmosphere of the world she has created. That familiarity means a new image can feel less like introducing somewhere new and more like allowing people to return to a place they already associate with these characters.
The original beach scene therefore carries even more meaning now because Fernanda can look backwards and see elements of the entire story contained within it. There have been bigger, happier and more painful moments since, but if everything else disappeared, this is the one she would choose to keep.
“Maybe the ocean knew before I did. That’s why it was always going to be High Tides.”
Follow High Tides and creator Fernanda through Neural Afterglow on Instagram and watch the latest Clara and Valerie videos on YouTube. You can also read High Tides on Wattpad and find more LGBTQ+ AI storytelling through SoapLandTV’s AI & Entertainment section.
