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I intended to make a thread about strong female characters. I think something many people forget or miss is how there's a lot of different ways to be strong, so a lot of "strong female characters" end up looking the same. Also, I wanted to brag a little. (Upswing. Weird mood. Move along.) And then a random thought came through with but why focus on females? Because "strong female characters" confuse so many people and are commonly so poorly done. But guys need to know they can be strong in other ways, toooooo. Okay, brain. Point taken.

So yeah! There's a lot of ways to be strong. Yes, part of it with characters is just strong characterization to make them seem real, but you can have strong characterization on a character who shouldn't be described as strong.

Strength isn't just physical power and an attitude. It's not just the person who can barrel through enemies. It's so much more.

My examples, still focusing mostly on females:

Kyra Lo'ora
Kyra is an example of the strength most people think of. She's... downright manly in all but her build, really. Physically strong, likes to fight, hangs out in bars sometimes, business-savvy when she feels like it, pretty in control of her sex life, etc. This doesn't make her a bad character. But this is not what all strong characters should be like. Strong does not inherently mean "masculine."


Laluli
At her baseline, Laluli's strength in her sweet, innocent charm. She's a bit of a weirdo, and she's okay with that, and she's so earnest in all she does that other people are usually pretty okay with it too. Her strength here is that she does not allow things to get her down.

What really makes Laluli strong is when she has someone to protect. There's a continuity with her where she's married and has a family, and has further gone on to be matron of a growing circus that started as just her weird little family doing shows to get by. She believes in the importance of making unified decisions with her husband, but does not simply defer to him if she disagrees. She acts with cheer and confidence; she does not boss anyone around, but is there to help them grow and improve, to offer guidance when appropriate (even though she's not exceptionally smart), and ultimately people are willing to cooperate with her. And though she is mostly a pacifist, if you hurt those she loves, she will make you regret it. She might help you understand why what you did was wrong, or she might just go ahead and knock your teeth out - whatever is appropriate. Basically, she has a lot of fairly traditional "feminine" strength.


Sarí Lin'oen
Somewhere in the middle is Sarí. She's a bit of an odd one just from the way she's developed. Originally, she was just my narrator to tell Kyra's background, but just in doing that she very quickly stood out as something special. Sarí is a fully capable warrior - she was the one who pushed Kyra to become as skilled as she is. But that is not how Sarí is strong. Her interest in combat does not extend beyond training Kyra and simple survival.

Sarí's strength is still mostly "feminine." (Quotes because it's the traditional view of it, but it is absolutely not restricted to females.) Her strength comes from her dedication to the service of those she cares about. In Kyra's case, she drove herself to become the best fighter she could just to give Kyra a good opponent to practice against. Since Kyra's exile, Sarí's dedication to her tribe has only developed deeper, to where she is the youngest member of the tribe who regularly helps make major decisions. Everyone knows they can count on her, because she will literally break herself before she lets anyone down. Most of what she does is to help keep the tribe organized, especially when it comes to skill development. It doesn't leave her with time to do much for herself, but it still leaves her fulfilled, and the organization of the tribe still allowed her to have children of her own who will be as well off as any other member. For her tribe, she can and will do anything.


Ashro Harbrook
I said not just women, so here's a man with a less common type of strength. There are a number of things about Ash that would get him derisively labeled as "girly," "weak," or otherwise "unmanly." He's pretty. He'd kiss a man as soon as a woman, and is asexual. He's relatively frail, additionally so from mild disabilities. He avoids combat as much as possible. He even dislikes responsibility. He's a charming, brilliant man though, and one who will absolutely do what he needs to in order to reach what he considers to be "right." His strength is perseverance (with a side of charm and kindness), driven by curiosity and the quest for knowledge and understanding.

One illustration was in an RP, he was being fined for unlawful building, and very quickly was not only released without having to give up so much as a coin, but left the folks in charge glad to have met him because of the connections he's managed to obtain. Between those connections and how Ash handled himself, the whole thing was convincing enough for my partner to say, "Charisma can be scary."


So what about you? I want to hear/read about your strong characters! I mostly want to hear about those with different sorts of strength from the usual, be they male, female, non-binary, or just something else entirely. I don't mind hearing about tough gals and action girls, though. :)
I tend not to really think about this kinda thing when building characters as I focus on "character" above all else but let me see... Hmm..

I don't have many female characters, but I don't believe any of them would ever be damsels or happy to be second to a man lol.

Luka is an ex military pilot, and only ex because she took part in an experimental project and she and her co-pilot got hurled through a wormhole, lost control of the ship and crash landed a loooong way from home. He was killed on impact, she struggled out of the wreckage and set about trying to rebuild her life.
She was 17.

Right now she's working as a pilot/engineer on a ship full of misfits and rather happy for it. She's an awkward person who constantly puts her foot in her mouth but has a heart of gold, but she's also VERY damn good at her job and like most of her species, could break your arm with little effort so yeah, probably fits under the "stereotypically strong female character" thing hahah.

But she's more than that, she's adorkable hahah. I really enjoy her actually. She amuses me because despite being this military trained pilot and soldier, she's still a young girl. She LIKES a chance to wear a pretty dress, she gets extremely offended when she's mistaken for a boy because of her build and short hair, she gets embarrassed when a guy she likes reciprocates her flirting and she likes to be told she's pretty (don't we all?)
Yes she can field strip a rifle, yes she can fight with a sword and kick your damn teeth in, but under all that training she's a teen girl who likes teen girl things, has a silly school girl crush on a celebrity she'll never meet, loves cheesy romance movies, reads trashy pulp romance stories, likes to believe there's a true love out there for everyone.

She's a sweetie. A sweetie that will not hesitate to kill you, but a sweetie all the same.

As for guys, hmmm...
I suppose it depends how you want to look at it.

A lot of my guys are pretty broken people, having gone through so much pain and awful. You could argue the fact they're still even vuagely functional is a sign of strength but i'm not sure they'd agree.

Armin is a good example of a character who's been through hell and back and actually not let it break him. He was 12 when most of his family were enslaved and forced to work in a sweatshop. He watched one of his father's die in front of him becuase he couldn't "work fast enough" and was shot as an example to the rest of them.
His liberation from that place after several years was no less traumatic. The mercenaries who saved them killed anyone who opposed them then locked the survivors in the building and set it alight. Armin remembers the screams.
He lost a leg in the chaos of that escape, an injury which still many years later causes him pain every so often.

Later he met the crew he's now with after a group of thugs took it into their heads to beat the snot out of him.
He was rescued by a woman he later discovered was actually a demi-god in his culture's religion and vowed to stand by her out of a sense of debt.
The fact he's probably in love with her is neither here nor there, shhh, he's trying to ignore it, it's utterly inappropriate to think that way about a demi-god!

But despite the trauma he's experienced and the awful things he's witnessed, he remains so optimistic, so cheerful, so kind and good. He's a pacifist and has remained such, he has not a single thought of revenge in his mind. He is a being full of such good and love and kindness and it's remarkable all things considered. His faith helps him, he believes his goddess has a plan and this is all part of that plan, he just has to retain faith that things will, ultimately, work out for the best.

His strength lies in his faith and his unfaltering kindness.
Zelphyr Topic Starter

Purple_monkfish wrote:
I tend not to really think about this kinda thing when building characters as I focus on "character" above all else but let me see... Hmm..
Nah, that's the way to do it. Really. :D

And it sounds like you have some neat characters!
RimCaster

Hmm I would say that all of my characters can be strong depending on circumstance.

I will go with one of my oldest characters.

Ragna is a chaos dragon, which already implies that she is stronger physically than normal person, she loves fighting casually, think it of stress reliever for her. She has a lot of potential, which meant lots of expectation from her clan since she was leaders daughter, she tried to fulfil them as best as she could although it ended miserably, she wasn't especially strong compared to her kin back then, heck she could use chaos magic for a one attack or activity before becoming fully depleted of energy.

That was until she met mentor figure which helped her for about 200 years.

She ended her training with him before her whole clan died out of disease.
Leaving her as a sole survivor of clan and with promise of making her parent's proud.

Shortly after a couple of magical beings took her under their wings and treated as their daughter, she loved them too.
So she pushed herself harder and trained often while not going overboard with it.

Ragna as daughter of magical beings is kind, sociable and cheerful and tries to see good in everyone, she won't stand aside watching innocent people get hurt, instead she would protect them and try to resolve it peacefully if that doesn't work, I assure you hit from her is painful. nonetheless she's merciful and will forgive not forget wrong doings.
She gets angry rarely although it is powerful, in your place I wouldn't want to reside in the same room with her when she's angry as they say 'Beware nice ones'

Ragna physical strength comes from years of hard work, before she got to the place she's now she must have spent countless hours practising basics and other things

Otherwise she's like your typical teenager, which likes to be complemented from time to time, wear nice dress, cook or simply hang out with friends.
The majority of my characters end up being female. When it comes to character design, my method is usually concept/ theme first. What will this characters overarching goal be? Gender is probably the most.. after thought aspect for me when it comes to character creation, which is probably why the physical description of my toons ends up being the last thing I work on. But in the end, I seem to always gravitate towards female characters (And whether thats some sort of comfort zone or what, I haven’t really figured out.)

Azilie is my longest active toon.
9iRoiAl.png I like to think of her as a strong female. Part of it is, yeah, she’s a soldier. Fighting is something she was raised for and to do, it stands to reason physical strength is important. But its the aspect of the character I do my best to not focus on. Being a soldier is a part of her, but it isn't all of her.

Her strength is more than her ability to swing a sword, it’s in her will and heart, the strength of her morals and how she sticks to her guns and beliefs. How she struggles with flaws, like doubt and loss, and how she overcomes that; On her own merit and with the mental strength to know when to seek help from others (which is a long, ongoing arc for her, lol).

She’s damaged, physically, emotionally, and mentally, but she hasn’t given up. And that strength has made for some incredible rps and ic relationships, as other characters friends, enemies, someones student or someones teacher.
Zelphyr Topic Starter

RimCaster wrote:
Hmm I would say that all of my characters can be strong depending on circumstance.
All the thumbs up. And forgiveness really does take so much strength.
Jenn wrote:
Her strength is more than her ability to swing a sword, it’s in her will and heart, the strength of her morals and how she sticks to her guns and beliefs. How she struggles with flaws, like doubt and loss, and how she overcomes that; On her own merit and with the mental strength to know when to seek help from others (which is a long, ongoing arc for her, lol).

She’s damaged, physically, emotionally, and mentally, but she hasn’t given up. And that strength has made for some incredible rps and ic relationships, as other characters friends, enemies, someones student or someones teacher.[/collapse]
Yiiiiisss. Now pardon me while I ogle the snazzy lines you posted with that. XD
Siira was my first character here on rpr. Her race is actually female dominated, the women are stronger than the men and have a much more stand offish attitude. The men tend to be more timid. I dont know how in depth the interest might run but I have a lot of interesting lore written for Voldarians that help to explain why they ended up this way. At least in the history texts.

a bit more detail *possible spoilers*
Siira is actually weaker than a normal female these days, but theres a reason for it. She crash landed on a planet and was the only survivor. The beasts there were terribly frightening things and eventually she found herself on the losing end of a pack of alien dog/bear like creatures (I'll spare you pointed details on the irrelevant) to her rescue came a man from a species her race were blood enemies of, and thought they had wiped out hundreds or thousands of years ago. After recovering she has several broken bones, scars, and her right eye is damaged beyond repair(at least at that time with no medical technology to help repair/replace it)

The short version of the story is after he helps her recover and she discover what he is (it's not blatently obvious....mostly) she still manages to fall in love and have a child with him (yes on this desolate planet they're abandoned on...again sparing some pointed details)

Ine day she wakes up and her mate is gone....no evidence of where he went or why. It's not long after that shes rescued by her own people and taken home. Of course when they discover they child is half [enemy race] they imprison here and take the child.


After being imprisoned by here people and her child taken away, she escapes and manages to survive alone in the vastness of space. But I think what truly made her strong was her will. In everything she does she is trying to unite her family again, and even in the rps I am in with her I find she has a habit of swallowing her weaknesses in diving right thou the problems she faces to reach her ultimate goal.

Idk if this is really what you were looking for but I've always loved Siiras story, hopefully you liked the short version too. :)
Hades_

I feel rather shy for posting in this, but I wanted to give it a go as a chance to really go gaga about some of my favourite characters that I write.

I write mostly female characters, but I have a few male and inbetween.

My favourite by far has always been the canon character Baiken, but I have somewhat taken his rather barren carbon form and molded him into something of my own after writing him for so long.

fbk6wJE.jpg

Baiken is a trans-gender/non-binary individual. He openly abandoned his femininity and chose a path of vengeance after his entire village was slaughtered by monsters or what he knows as Gears.
Since I started writing him about 7?? years ago, I have sense re-written his story into so many different universes. Even created "OC" type universes for him as well.
I really appreciate his strength as a character. He has PTSD, depression, suffers from alcoholism, and a minute lack of empathy. His strength lies in the fact that despite the living hell he has suffered, and all of his conditions and problems, he still goes out of his way to help others. To save others.
He doesn't care that his body doesn't match the gender he feels he is, and he doesn't conform himself to gender appearance rules. He is who he is, dresses how he feels most comfortable, and continues to move forward and live despite days when he doesn't want to do it anymore.

He's a character I pride my development for writing on as well, because he's one of the things that really helped me realize how strongly I love to do my best to try and understand the human brain. I love my beautiful pink son. <3

Anyway~
Seraphina (played by MercyInReach)

I feel like sharing Seraphina because she is one of my female characters who people could consider weak, a damsel, not 'strong'.

She is weak at several points. But that doesn't make her any less of a strong character. She has flaws, weak spots. She is very kind hearted, soft spoken, emotional, very moral, and struggles to stand up for herself. She'd rather sit, and cry, and curl up into a ball than get involved in the conflict. Does she sometimes have to get involved? Yes. Does she? Yes. But in general she would absoluately rather not. It takes her getting quite angry and upset for her to really yell, or fight back. She has even felt guilty about demons she had killed in order to save herself.

She is a strong character because she has a fully fledged personality, a backstory, ability and room for growth in areas she might need it. She's a strong character because she's somehow managed to live god knows how many years running away and escaping demons that are hunting her, but even if she wasn't able to, and was captured, she would still be a strong character.

She cries a lot, she's quiet, easily manipulated, and has needed to be saved before. But she's not a weak character.
I'm on my phone here apologies for any lazy input.

I have 3 characters that have really stuck with me and/or struck a cord that made me love being them. Now, what I mean by that is that every single character I make, be they completely 100% original, or from a game/book series, each one has a portion of my core personality, with several twists for added spice and flavour. However, they all have one trait in common, and that is some degree of misanthropy, or a general hate of humankind.

#1 on my list is my first OC I ever truly created, that Lucian SaDiablo. He is a pure-blooded lycanthrope born during the golden years of Ancient Greece, and can trace his curse to Lycaon himself, the progenitor of lycanthropy itself. He exhibits my more bestial side, namely my temper and loyalty. He also carries the part of me that is puppy-like and almost always ready to play and please.

#2 is Shinga, the Nephilim. He's a character that took me over 2 years to create and make just right. He emphasizes my more primal, base, and also somewhat addictive personality. As a being with the blood of an incubus, sex doesn't really mean anything for him other than a feast to partake in. But, he's got more on common with dragons in terms of personality, such as a deep fascination with magic and shiny things. Lastly, as a thief, he considers himself an honourable one, but, unlike Robin Hood, he keeps everything for himself and calls himself an "expert treasure seeker".

Now, last but certainly not least; #3, Acaelus Thorne, the Lord of Fire and master pyrokineticist. He wasn't born into his power right away. He earned it from his father in the man's dying days after a long, bloody campaign for his most current buyer, a robber-baron who was as ruthless as he was stern and just. Quite the enigmatic figure who always kept Thorne guessing and on his toes. Now, Thorne, he's still a bit of a mystery, as I haven't written a solid story with him yet, but he epitomizes my want for adventure, combat, and the drive to always seek that next horizon. He is the side of me that takes the rare risk, mouths off at inopportune times, and just generally doesn't give a damn.

Now, sorry if the writing is messy and that I haven't posted links, but like I said, I'm on my phone and I'm being lazy. I will fix everything tomorrow. If y'all have any questions about the characters listed above, feel free to shoot me a DM. Have a good night.

Lucian.

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