Clasher

Clasher is the main ship and cannon of Paper Rings. The name Clasher is supposed to be the combination of Claire Tanjung and Asher Klein's names. The ship name was originally created by Bridget Ziesenheim hearing about Claire’s predicament with Asher.

HEAVY SPOILER ALERT 🚨

How They Met
Claire and Asher knew each other before the time period of when Paper Rings started. Claire describes him as a “troublemaker, a jokester, and basically everything she was taught not to be”. She clearly despises him in the beginning of the book, calling him ‘awful’ and wondering why she and Bridget even wanted to get associated with him and his friends. His opinion on her in the beginning of the book isn’t really made known, although after hanging out with her for a while he says in his perspective that he realized he ‘actually enjoyed spending time with her’.

They began to get to know each other while the were walking home after Asher confronted her about the letter and they realized they lived close.

Their Frenemyship
The plan to get Asher and Madelyn Brann together is what brought them together in the first place and started their frenemyship. They didn’t consider each other friends at that point, but they didn’t exactly consider each other to be complete enemies. For the sake of the plan, they had to act like friends, but Claire’s friends start doubting her and Asher’s relationship to be purely ‘acting’ like friends. Because of this, Claire begins questioning whether she likes Asher as a friend or possibly more, saying that although he was annoying, he was incredibly fun to be with and she liked the time they spent together.

Claire’s Crush Begins
Claire’s crush on Asher is made clearly known after the basketball incident, where Madelyn proclaims she ships them together. She denies it then, but later, over the weekend before she meets up with her friends, she admits that she likes him, saying,

“She absolutely, definitely liked him. And he made her blush a lot these days. And she thought he looked cute when his blue eyes twinkled. And he’d made it a habit to walk her home every other day, and play basketball with her on Wednesdays. And he, with his stupid smile and gorgeous blue eyes, made her heart flutter on a daily basis.”

Despite declaring this, she continues on to try and deny it to herself, continuously telling herself that he liked Madelyn.

On that same day, she proceeds to talk to her friends about it, with them being confident that Asher liked her.

The next time she saw Asher, her personality didn’t change because of her crush except the slightest bit. But when she sees him, her heart flutters and her stomach does mini tilt-a-whirls.

Their Friendship
Their friendship officially begins on the night of the party.

Claire has a mini panic attack after looking for Bridget for a while, collapsing in the corner. Asher finds her and after realizing she wasn’t okay, ditches his own party with her, both of them walking to Brookside Park and laying there underneath the stars. In a moment of exhaustion, Claire snuggles closer into Asher, who welcomes it, although he seems a bit off-put by it. Claire asks if they can be friends, and Asher says sure, but telling her she’d probably regret it in the morning.

According to Bridget the next morning, Asher carried her home, and even went as far to say he kissed the top of her head. Claire doesn’t believe anything except maybe the fact he carried her home, which makes her slightly giddy.

Needless to say, once Claire remembers what happened last night, she doesn’t regret it.

Asher’s Crush Begins
We don’t find out much about Asher’s crush or when it began, but we do know that he admitted it to himself during the moment in the party where they were snuggling. Claire finds that out after they make up in the rain at the park, the very place Asher’s crush began.

In his perspective, Asher’s opinion on Claire is expressed when he thinks,

“She was fun. Willing to do a lot of things and go for it, without a second thought. He loved how she laughed at a lot of things, have her own strong opinion and was passionate about the things she did. She was able to adjust to any situation, and knew exactly what to do in a lot of situations. And even when she didn’t, it was amazing how she pulled it off.”

Claire Admits It
Claire soon enough admits to Asher that she likes him during a heat of the moment argument. She blurts out that she likes him right after he tells her rudely that Madelyn was a lot better than she was, and to tell him why it was so awful for her to watch them. She then doesn’t give him any time to talk to her about it, walking away and back to her house. She at this point is confident he doesn’t like her back and is really upset about their argument.

Their Argument
Their argument was really all because Asher broke his promise to Claire of not telling Xavier about Bridget.

It may seem like a little thing at first, especially because it really was Bridget who told Asher to go ahead, but Claire knows that Asher has hinted at it before and was going to tell him eventually. Claire felt betrayed and hurt, especially because the guy who hurt her was him. She never wanted to talk to him again, but she ended up talking to him after being convinced by Bridget to talk to him.

Turns out it didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped, because they ended up arguing, both of them too guarded and stubborn to really apologize. Asher ends up saying rude things, causing Claire to admit she likes him. The argument ends up being one of their biggest ones yet, and one of the lowest points in their relationship.

Making Up
Crazy as it is, it is eventually Madelyn who convinces Claire that she should let Asher apologize to her and have an open-mind to it. Claire doesn’t want to at first, but eventually breaks down in front of Madelyn and agrees.

Asher eventually comes up to Claire in Brookside Park one day, apologizing to her. Here is where they had their first kiss ( see below ), and Asher apologizes profusely. Claire accepts his apology speech, and they proceed to laugh and have a bit of fun with each other. Slight tension is still there, but it is loosening, showing that they still need a bit of time to mend their relationship. During the whole time, it is raining heavily, but the second Claire accepts his apology and they talk, the rain lets up and the sun comes out.

At the end, Asher and Claire walk back to his house, both soaked and planning to hang out for the first time in a while.

First Kiss
Their first kiss happened during the grand apology scene ! Asher was the one who initiated it, saying “because now, I can do this” and kissing her. Claire, a bit surprised by the whole thing, describes it as “ It was soft, sweet, and chaste, but to Claire it was like a million years. The butterflies in her stomach erupted, her heart fluttering faster than a hummingbird, and everything seemed to slow, just for a second. The rain poured down on their backs, and they heard thunder in the background - but nothing at that point even mattered.”

Getting Together
They officially got together a little while after the whole situation started. For a bit, they were in an awkward in-between of friends and boyfriend and girlfriend.

Claire accidentally called Asher her boyfriend when he barge into her house with no warning again, saying “ Well I should at least know when you're coming over so I'm not literally sleeping, even if you're my boyfriend”. She instantly realizes what she said, and she’s completely stuck, not knowing what to say. It’s Asher who breaks the silence by asking her out in probably the cutest way possible.

” Claire Finley Tanjung, you are absolutely captivating. Right from the moment I saw you, I knew you were someone who had so much more beneath their outward personality. I've gotten to know you over the months we've spent, doing crazy things together even though we acted like we didn't want to. Things that a few months ago I wouldn't have ever thought you would've done. You're enchanting, absolutely gorgeous, on the inside and out. No matter what you think or say about yourself, to me you're always going to be perfect to me, even if you're in your pajamas and just woke up. You always brighten my day, even if you're not in the greatest mood in the world. You're magical, wonderful, incredible, and a bunch of other amazing words that I couldn't list all at once. You're my world, and I think - no, I know that I'm in love with you, and so - if you want, it'd be amazing if you'd go out with me.”

Claire accepted by initiating their second actual kiss, one that was more intimate than before.

Cute Moments
- in the beginning of the book, Asher tells her that she obviously isn’t completely unnoticeable because he noticed her.