What does your female lead do that's different from how female leads are usually portrayed? (How does she break away from the mold)

Stargazer31 2024-01-10 12:06:03 UTC #21

Carmilla is a perky goth who's accidentally shacked up with 4 famous monsters. She also likes 80s arcade games and hash browns

https://m.tapas.io/series/Haunted-Housemates/info

MK_Wizard 2024-01-10 12:23:08 UTC #22

Well... if we're looking at how females are portrayed now, she's engaged to be married instead of being single and staying that way and she's not a tomboy. She's very feminine and sexy. But she takes her job seriously.

Rai_Muffin 2024-01-10 12:55:57 UTC #23

I wrote one of my characters, Rose as a critique on traditional feminity.
Giving her a traditionally feminine body (large bust, hips, long flowing hair), as well as stereotypically girly hobbies (romance novels, tea drinking etc),
but the most abrasive, masculine personality possible.
The kind of person who will doll herself up in a pretty dress because she wants to, but will break off your arm and wear it as a trophy if you make a pass at her.
It's why her name feels apt; a beautiful flower that is likely to make you bleed if you grab it wrong (though it was initially named after my sister, so the connection is accidental).
I'm also forbidden from drawing her crying, blushing or in a sexual way, or the next panel would be drawn in my own blood, though I have an exception planned for the crying and blushing thing.

A lot of her more bitchy traits will get evened out over time as she reflects on how she treats other people,
but ultimately hers is a story about seeking respect despite how she looks and not compromising who she is to fit a stereotype.

I also tried to buck a trend by having a close male friend from childhood who she doesn't get romantic with; her relationship with Keanu was written to by a plutonic symbiosis, with his cooler head stopping her wilder tendencies while her assertiveness gets his lazy ass moving if he's holding back.

Leyelle 2024-01-10 16:08:29 UTC #24

That's a fair point, there are a lot of situations in which women, or people in general, need help to be rescued and it's totally okay to realize you need help and can't just rescue yourself always. I think the important thing is balance, so that being helpless isn't all there is to the character.

@KevinRejinders It's virtually impossible for your character to share NO tropes whatsoever with any of the stereotypes, the point is more how they diverge. I.E. Alicia is shy and passive, which is a trope, but she also has tendencies that move beyond the shy-girl trope. 1. she's not a 'good' model person sort of shy girl (she's actually a bit of a lush with kind of a bad attitude) 2. And she has a level of depth of emotional understanding that I feel like is rare for the 'shy girl.' She does try to believe the best in people, but she can also see reasons behind their emotions that lead her to not just settle for being whiny and whimper-y when they hurt her feelings.

So if Kyara is a bit talented and tomboyish, that isn't a problem, it's more about what individualities does she have that make her a character of her own, or help her to lean away from an arch-type and become her own person.

Leyelle 2024-01-10 16:11:22 UTC #25

I agree, as if all black women just have to be intense and aggressive! there are a number of black women in "Lion Proof" as it's about an afro-haircare brand, but they all have different personalities, because they're PEOPLE not tropes.

kyupol 2024-01-10 17:10:15 UTC #26

Claudita isn't like how redheads are usually portrayed. She's not loud, aggressive or short tempered (unless provoked by callousness or cruelty). And she isn't fire magic user.

BoomerZ 2024-01-10 17:17:26 UTC #27

I would say what makes Baul different is she literally doesn't care about much as she doesn't have to. She is so completely overpowered to make most encounters trivial. But her being overpowered in not the point of the story. The story is about the relationship of a supernatural creature and a normal 20 something dude, Gavin. So you see the daily interactions of life and how this type of relationship would actually take place. She isn't quirky or weird, or have random weird ways of acting. She acts like someone that knows what she is. I tried very hard to make everyone as real as possible, no sterotypes.

Leyelle 2024-02-04 13:29:05 UTC #28

One thing I also think makes Alicia different, though not exactly in a good way, is that she is preeeetty (extremely) messy. Not anime girl with a dirty room messy, but, I'm too depressed to shower or wash my hair messy. She often doesn't wear makeup, not because she's confident, but because she's either to depressed to care or try, or too anxious to be able to keep her hands steady. Also she's not a cliche tomboy who doesn't care about fashion, but has really really poor fashion sense, so we still get to have that trope moment where her bf/crush styles her in a way that's actually pretty (more than once, with different bfs)

(Art by Mariel Leister)

Leyelle 2024-02-07 17:39:48 UTC #29

Just a bit of a teaser now, with more detail when the series comes out, but Kimberly is the only Melanesian female lead I've ever seen anywhere:

Also lets be honest, weird girls aren't a sort of lead i see very often.

Sissiarte 2024-02-08 23:29:42 UTC #30

I think the main thing about Nínua is that she could be considered a "strong female character" but she is also flawed. And she has some traits that might be considered unattractive on a woman (she is loud, sometimes harsh) she speaks her mind and is very stubborn. And these traits are usually viewed as worse in a female character than in a male one, while they aren't always inherently bad. I try to break gender norms with most characters in Orbital Decay, mainly in presentation. And she presents pretty masculine, while Eadam (her brother) presents more feminine. I have sometimes people thinking Ní is a boy and Eadam a girl. But that's okay, the point is to make people think about their biases. Check it out if it sounds like something that interests you! Thanks <3

Leyelle 2024-02-09 00:27:05 UTC #31

orbital decay is a really unique name

Leyelle 2024-02-09 01:37:26 UTC #32

I mean this face: need i say more?

Glofernwolfe 2024-02-09 02:48:04 UTC #33

There are many things about Zov'ha that are different from typical female leads, but there may be similarities. She's very tall and muscular for one, but she still has an hour-glass fogure. She's not shy, she's brave. She's athletic. She's reserved, but has a very very very very short temper.

Also, she has fur. Yup. On her cheeks and on her body. Not a lot like a furry, just really fine.

And dimly glowing body tattoos. Permanent ones.

KevinReijnders 2024-02-09 09:59:16 UTC #34

I honestly think Kyara and Zov'ha could be very good friends, maybe starting out as (friendly) rivals

Glofernwolfe 2024-02-09 21:47:54 UTC #35

Yeah I think they totally would get along well!

When Zov'ha meets someone new she never judges. She takes her time to get to know that person, but she has trust issues for sure. So she won't trust anyone easily. That being said, if Kyara is friendly, helpful to others, and not "a bad person", Zov'ha would probably love to hang out.

We can go beat up some machines (if grandma isn't looking) or thrash some raiders

KevinReijnders 2024-02-09 23:13:16 UTC #36

Oh I think Kyara will pass that test no problem haha.
Plus, she can be a bit of an energetic whirlwind, so she'll drag Zov'ha along no problem!

You'd see they'd be beating up machines in no time! And old Nan would be none the wiser

Sissiarte 2024-02-09 23:26:23 UTC #37

Thank you so much! <3

Leyelle 2024-02-29 02:12:56 UTC #38

So my female lead from "Hushabye Prince" is very much a princess in her design, but this is intentional, to show the outward way she fits a princess ideal, but it's sort of a facade. This idea is also kind of shown through her physical appearance, blond hair and green eyes, but because of her Melanesian and African American blood, she's still a black girl, curly hair, and dark skin, despite light hair and eyes, which pulls her out of the beauty standard and into a realm lots of people would consider odd, and fail to recognize as a princess.

Leyelle 2024-03-24 13:08:13 UTC #39

Also despite being a pretty princessy girl stylistically, the female lead of Hushabye Prince has some pretty odd hobbies. I can't spoil what they are, but they definitely aren't ladylike. (no they're not inappropriate)

Leyelle 2024-04-10 01:45:23 UTC #40

Not my female lead, but one of the main female characters, Mrs. Moon appears in most ways to be a total "girl boss" which might be considered a cliche, but that doesn't mean she isn't feminine. She loves pretty clothes, pretty things (I mean, she runs an art and literature magazine) and she's known for her painted nails. She's a very feminine person, in a way her disdain of the masculine is part of her form of villainy, but she is still very feminine.

I can hear Mrs. Moon approaching, her high heels clicking loudly against the tile, even as Mrs. King’s footsteps fade out.

“Is that someone from the museum?” Mrs. Moon asks curiously with a glance in the purple suit’s direction.

“No…from The Foundation…” I say slowly.

“My goodness, she’s a snappy dresser,” Mrs Moon laughs putting her arm through mine, “I’d kill for that suit. But you look so cunning yourself in this dress. I’ve never seen it before. Did my little prince buy it for you?”

“No,” I breathe trying not to blush. “This is one not atrocious dress I managed to pick out myself. I think that might be a new record.”

Mrs. Moon chuckles at that, patting my hand. “Ahh, I just asked because it looked like his taste. He always likes it when you wear styles like this you know. Its drape is a bit like the cocktail dress.”