what do you think no lady pirate should be without?
no I'm not talking about the expected such as under clothes and a sword.
i'm trying to think of small quirky things that build a good character.
sorry but i cannot give her name because that's a spoiler but she is a pirate Queen..
Ideas?
Aug '18Aug '18
...the same things as any pirate needs?
I have a feeling a pirate would be a little too busy stealing stuff and sailing around to care about meeting gendered expectations.
Literally the only thing I can think of is a sports bra to ensure proper back health 
You want her to be like a stereotype or a very fresh version? 'Cuz if it's the later, pretty much anything could work.
Now, if you want people to look at her and go "Oh, this is so pirate-ish" then there would be the way she speaks (http://www.yarr.org.uk/talk/4 I literaly googled "pirate talk"), most RL pirates (especially female captains) had strict codes of conduct inside their ships, she would like to drink rum and sing. Well, you get the picture.
@LordVincent: sports bra's are a bit modern for blunderland lol. ( but i'll make such she has a good fitting corset )
@laiscnogueira, splendid website thanks for that. i'm making her a pirate that stands above the rest , she is queen after all.
I'd say she'd have to be careful about keeping her hair out of her face! Maybe her hair would be cropped short, or maybe tied back. I'd think a pirate might not have access to a barber or hair dresser though so her hair would definitely be wild.
Battle scars are always good. Give pirate characters lots of scars. I love scars. Scars for pirates and criminals show experience and fearlessness.
A good seasoned weapon, too. She should be comfortable using pistols and blades alike, and maybe carry rope. Pirates need rope for all sorts of reasons.
Oh and pirates are dirty. Don't shy away from giving her a few smudges of dirt or gunpowder here and there!
Just a few tips for little pirate character details. I have pirate characters too so I got a lot of little tips.
very good advice thanks, i am giving her long hair so i will consider the best way to sort that. and the scars are interesting.
Remember, every scar has a story behind. What kind of stories her scars tell depends of what kind of pirate she is. A badass pirate will have scars from different reasons than a clumsy/unlucky pirate.
Just write a Male character and change the sex. She'll be a pirate. Someone like Francis Drake from FGO is basically just a genderbent of a male pirate. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fategrandorder/images/5/57/Drake1.png/revision/latest?cb=201511051917414
nice idea, but not this time around at least lol, I was thinking more of some object she should not be without.
I dunno about a lady pirate's items or outfits or whatever, ummm.. What I don't recommend is writing her as a male and then just making her a female at the last second. While, yeah, I guess you can do that, idk.. I can't put my finger on it, but I know something would be off. I personally like to seeing a female leader and having her gender affect her experiences because if it's the same journey that a man could've taken.. well, I'd have to wonder why the character had to be a woman to begin with.
There's also the usual "don't write a Mary Sue," I guess. Don't do that either lol make her flawed! Flaws and tradeoffs make characters interesting! Easy example, she could be great at looting, but she doesn't know when to stop!
This isn't so much advice on writing her, but you can always show her crewmates' thoughts about her. You can always use it as a reference of how to write her. Are there a few who see her as brilliant leader? Are there those that see her as inferior based on her gender? Coming up with and answering similar questions can help flesh her out more.
Good luck~
Oh, just thought of stuff. As an item, you can give her a piece of jewelry or something that she always wears, like a locket, or an anklet, earrings, things like that maybe. An old letter, an hourglass, a stopwatch, a specific article of clothing, there's a lot you could choose that's pirate themed.
i like the idea of the letter, it has a bit of mystery about her that could be put in a later story.
as for the writing it's already done, she is a very strong and at times cold character, who knows the rule of staying queen is get rid of anyone who remotely challenges her. I already have a character who is a male in a female role because i made blue fairy a cross dresser (it's just that sort of story!)
I would look to examples of pirate ladies from history. Mary Reed and Anne Bonnie come to mind. Onev thing they all have are backstories which involve escaping from something.
-- like an arranged marriage to a guy named Iron Dick.
I don't know if this is helpful, but my favorite lady pirate ever is Etta from the Livetrip Traders Trilogy. Soooooo badass
Five gigolos she stashes under the poop deck and aren't allowed to see the sun.
That would surely make her quirky.
A few ideas to get you started! Hope this helps!!
- A cool fake eye like Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York with a big face scar
- Two long dreads with cute Japanese phone charms hanging from them
- An absurdly large sun hat with holes in it
- Laser hoop earring
- Gigantic compas necklace with amber stones
- A tight cropped jacket with old style buttons
- A waist sash with blades on the ends
- A whip with a monkey handle
- A long coat and shorts
- Moccasins
- Ridiculously high boots
- A chunky arm band with a parrot on it
