I don’t want to spoil it but it mixes cuteness amd horror very effectively and, despite only lasting 12 episodes, it has a much better developed theme of friendship, ptsd, psychosis, and toxic positivity than some cartoons that go on for 8 seasons.
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Well, for the purpose of this line of thinking, yes it would be. I don’t think even a trans girl would fit the genre because everyone would be mad about the “bad representation” the tropes are and all that.
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People get so touchy about gender, seriously. Makes writing characters less fun!
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alright let me queue up my mains and secondaries from my current projects.
“must be female”
throws out 3/4s of the characters
“parents don’t love them”
throws out all but 2 of the remaining characters
Eliza, Suni, you stay because your parents are all dead. that counts, right?
“you are a teenager”
throws out remaining 2 characters
hm.
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It says nothing about species at least
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at least, YA is inclusionary of the angsty parentless super unique teenage girls of all species, even amoebas.
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Most ameboas don’t have loving parents, being split halves of the original ameboa…
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they’ll fit right in
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I’ve always wanted to draw a ‘There is an imposter among us’ moment with my cast and damnit do I know it won’t go down well but I’ll be damned if I said I didn’t find it absolutely hilarious.
Wait that was a joke I dunno if I wanna see cute things get stabbed oh god
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You get away with it best by having the one who would be “most likely accused” say it to shock and crack up the rest of them. Generally speaking bad jokes that could be labeled as problematic (but are still funny) are best voiced by the one who it could possibly harm.
If it’s true to life, someone would fuss them for being insensitive. The natural “preachy” counter-reaction should be along the lines of “Dude, chill. I’m secure in myself. That’s the goal everyone should be working towards.”
And it does fit a section of the population who feels hindered by all this being too careful around them. Others would still fall in-line with the PC stance, so you would get some flack for it.
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Reveal that one of your characters was secretly the egyptian god Bastest at the last minute for a perfect mind-screw!
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Alright, let’s take a look at my teen protags:
Margaret Lunamaris (17)
- Female - Yep
- Not like other girls - I guess goth blondes don’t exactly fit the norm?
- Strong and spirited - Determined as heck and not afraid to play pranks on teachers or students she’s not fond of.
- Your parents don’t love you - Only half-wrong. Loving dad, distanced from mom.
- Independent - Does live in school dorms with Ursula. Outside school, still lives with dad, not quite independent yet.
- Don’t need no man - Again, lives with dad.
- Ends up with one at the end - Well, yeah. I’ll give them that.
- Man fears her - The love interest has been her friend for ages, her antics don’t scare him. Other boys may find her attitude intimidating.
- Smarter than everyone - Not doing well academically, but is quite cunning.
- Man is hot - Your mileage may vary, he looks like a typical nerd.
- Man is ew - Again, said man is one of her friends. If anything she may admire (and/or be jealous of) how well he does in witch school.
- Respect meh - Eh, about as much respect there is between good teen friends.
- Token Minority - I don’t think anyone cares about political correctness at a witch school in a fantasy world.
- Teen Angst - Concerned about her future as a witch if she fails at school? Yep.
- No Adult Figures for Support - The school principal really does try to help, and her dad is supportive. Unfortunately, she’s desperate to prove herself worthy on her own terms.
-
Someone dies - Gravely injured? Oh yes. But no deaths as far as I remember.
17 - 21. Love Triangle Shenanigans - Nope.
22 - 27. Something explodes or comes back from the dead - Margaret has a knack for making things explode when she doesn’t want them to. No people go boom nor get resurrected (no necromancer witches at this school, apparently). - Villain is long-lost parent - Nope!
- Lose a limb/eye/hair - Do magical burns count?
-
Sanity gone - Sure gets dangerously close to that point.
31- 32. Are we the baddies? - Betray is an absolute no for her. Kill? Also no. Cheat? Does get desperate enough to try extreme measures to better use her magic. Lying? More like “hide certain details to look like she knows what she’s doing.” Good person? Doesn’t want to hurt anyone and does care deeply for certain people in her life. Ultimately, she wants to be a traveling witch that uses magic to help others. - Fight against evil - More like “fight against those who hurt her friends/people who didn’t deserve it.” Never fights any greater evils.
- Follow your dreams - The life of a traveling witch is quite desirable to her! Gets to go wherever she wants, help others with her own Talent, maybe even join her dad on his missions (he’s a traveling cleric)
- The Chosen One - Absolutely not.
- Dazzlingly Beautiful - Is pretty, but that’s my bias for goth aesthetics speaking.
Sebastian Argoste (15)
- Female - No.
- Not like other girls - Fits in well with other boys his age. Well, aside from the fire powers bit. Not a “popular kid”, but is considered cool and chill by his classmates. He has picked up a few skills from tagging along his dad on his investigations (which includes 2 murder mysteries and a few supernatural events)
- Strong and spirited - He’s outgoing, but not the bossy or loud type.
- Your parents don’t love you - VERY wrong. His mother was loving when she was alive. His dad is also loving and caring despite not being very expressive or emotional.
- Independent - Not really. He’s still a kid.
- Don’t need no man - Not really interested in girls or boys.
- Ends up with one at the end - Never shows romantic interest in others.
- Fear meh - Usually not someone to be afraid of, he’s a nice kid. His pyrokinesis can be devastating if he ever wants to hurt someone though.
- Smarter than everyone - He’s average, doesn’t think himself better (or worse) than others. That said, he can surprise others with how observant he can be (learning some investigation/detective skills from dad helps)
- Man is hot - See 6 and 7.
- Man is ew - Again, see 6 and 7.
- Respect meh - Doesn’t demand respect, rather to earn it.
- Token Minority - He’s half Puerto Rican (from mom’s side) and half Russian (from dad). The rest of the cast includes 2 Japanese-Americans (plus one native Japanese), a dark-skinned merman, one humanoid with black and white skin patterns, and a biracial sorcerer.
- Teen Angst - He’s confident in pursuing cooking in his future (especially pastries and desserts), but struggles to take a “leader” role when needed. There’s also fully accepting his powers, given the bad memories they carry.
- No Adult Figures for Support - He has one of the best dads in the story, that’s for sure.
-
Someone dies - His mom, sadly.
17 - 21. Love Triangle Shenanigans - No.
22 - 27. Something explodes or comes back from the dead - Pyrokinesis can make some things explode, yeah. No resurrection here! - Villain is long-lost parent - Nah.
- Lose a limb/eye/hair - He did get a lot of burns when an arsonist burned down their house as a child. Healed pretty well once his pyrokinesis kicked in.
-
Sanity gone - Getting caught in a house fire, seeing your mom die to save you, and gaining the same powers as the arsonist responsible for your mom’s death leaves nasty mental scars. Therapy has helped, but it comes up sometimes.
31- 32. Are we the baddies? - No, pretty much a good kid who just wants to make the best of his life. Seems to get tangled in some strange mysteries often though. - Fight against evil - Not interested in fighting evil, unless said evil puts his friends (or himself) in danger.
- Follow your dreams - Is content with being a simple pastry chef or chocolatier in the future.
- The Chosen One - Nope! That honor goes to Yura, secondary protagonist.
- Dazzlingly Beautiful - Considered “cute”, if a bit “delicate-looking”. Some female classmates think he’ll look very handsome as an adult.
Most of my other protagonist characters are either children or adults, some tropes could still apply though.
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It seems very 50-50 here
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Welp the fact that they have to be female nixes 2/4 of my current protags and one of the two remaining heroines is a cat, so we’ll just go with Skye.
🐸
Must be Female - Sure is!
Not like other girls - She likes reading (smutty romances) and science, but isn’t super into make-up and other “girly” stuff. But she doesn’t, like, put down other girls for liking that kinda stuff, so … Dunno?
Strong and spirited - In life, nah. In death, yeh.
Your parents don’t love you - Very wrong.
Independent - In life, nope. In death, okay sure.
Don’t need no man - Wrong. In life, she’s very dependent on her boyfriend. In death, she gets with a lady that she spends the whole story pining after.
Ends up with a dude at the end - Nope. Gay. 
Man fears her - Ehhhhh no. No one’s scared of her lol. She’s 5’2 and both times she fought someone to the death, she kinda died.
Smarter than Man - I mean, she’s book smart and in vet school. But I am a dumbass, and therefore all my characters are dumbasses.
Man must be hot - Okay yeah.
Definitely don’t like him - …Or her. Either way, nah. She knows what she likes.
He must respect you - Uhhhhh … her and her boyfriend’s relationship is … not good.
Token Minority friend - I don’t think any of her minority friends are there as tokens… Skye herself is a minority.
ANGST - I mean, she’‘s pretty angsty about being imprisoned in a decrepit necropolis for the rest of eternity, but I think that’s fair. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
No Adult Figures for Support - I mean. That was intentional on her boyfriend’s part to keep her reliant on him. Like I said, they’re relationship was not good. In death, she’s got good ol’ Orville as a father figure (And Crow as an eccentric uncle figure) to lend her an ear.
Someone dies - Does it count if it’s Skye that dies at the begining of the story? 
Another man - Make that another woman and, well, sure. 
Something/someone explodes - An entire city and everyone in it gets nuked at some point.
Return from the Dead Nope.
Villain is long-lost parent - Primary antagonist: Hell no. Plot twist dueter antagonist: Is revealed to be her boyfriend.
Lose a limb/eye/hair - She gets a burn scar all the way up an arm.
Mental Instability - Towards the end, she nearly succumbs to ghost depression and almost goes into a ghost coma. She gets better though.
Betraying and Killing People - She does a whole lot of lying to her friends in the first arc of the book. At the start, her goal is to return back to the realm of the living to her boyfriend and leave her ghosts friends and the monster-infested afterlife behind. Buuut over the course of the story she realizes she’s happier in the afterlife with her friends, and risks her life when she learns the necropolis is in peril.
Fight against evil - She doesn’t set out to do that in the first arc of the story, but it just kinda happens by the final arc.
Follow your dreams - Well, the book ain’t called “The Dark Between Dreams” for nothin’! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ She gets called a “Dreamer” [derogatory] by the antagonist a few times.
The Chosen One - Ehhhhhhh, well. Yes and no? There’s a material called live lux that incinerates any ghost that touches it (that’s how that one city got nuked). But there’s a verrrrry rare chance that a ghost will not perish. Instead, they’ll be marked by white scars and will get random abilities. Throughout all of the history of the afterlife, only five ghosts have been scarred (Skye, Vale, Webb, Blackburne, and Crow.)
Dazzlingly Beautiful - (Her girlfriend thinks so). I’m sure she’s someone’s cup of tea.
Verdict: ¯\_🥴_/¯ Prrrrobably not a typical YA protagonist?
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Not a typical YA book.
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I know Lightlark, THAT is Typical.
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I feel accomplished. c:
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The main character from my first novel To Fall for an Angel could qualify as Young Adult, but the story probably doesn’t (it covers some mature topics).
Ashley Azaria (16, turns 17 in chapter eight)
- Female: Yep.
- Not Like Other Girls: A Jewish albino girl born in Kiev and raised in Soviet Russia. Ashley’s kind of rare.
- Strong Spirited: Ashley wins most of her arguments through her polite, gentle, yet tenacious strength of will. Ashley’s strong spirit can become near-suicidal bravery when she challenges opponents she has no chance of defeating.
- Unloving Parents: Hah, no. Ashley’s parents placed their children’s safety and well being far above their own. One reason why Ashley and her young brother, Uric, were told to flee to Europe before the police arrived…Ashley learnt how to argue against authority from her parents…
- Independent: Not by choice. Ashley and her brother raised each other as their parents were always away working. Also, Ashley ran from Uric during their journey to Europe (she was too easy to find in a crowd, being a full albino), and she became a homeless street kid for a few months.
- No Man Required: So wrong. Ashley is well aware she would not have survived the unending bullying and torment at school without Uric’s support, and she would not have survived being smuggled / hunted through Romania and Hungary without Zorik’s protection.
- Fear Me!: More like fear Ashley’s new friends. For example, Zorik, her new partner, is a Israeli bounty hunter, a former Golani lieutenant, and the (soon to be) commander of Karen’s mercenaries (see previous entry). There’s also Yasmine, Zorik’s Bedouin ex-girlfriend, and Zorik’s only equal in combat.
- Smarter Than Thou: Not really.
- The Guys are Hot: Well, most of the female characters think Zorik matches the tall, dark, and handsome profile. He’s a 7-foot-2 slab of battle-honed muscle, with olive skin, and youthful yet weathered features. They will also testify that Zorik is a vicious destructive opponent, and a gentle loyal friend.
- He’s Icky: Ashley despises all bullies and thugs regardless of age, especially the smugglers who captured her (Richmond and Rau) and who are chasing her and Zorik (Rau and his Mafia team). Ashley also doesn’t like Zorik’s violent nature (responding to any perceived threat with lethal force), but she’s able to control it without much hassle.
- Respect Muh Authority: Ashley earns the respect of her companions, she doesn’t demand it.
- Token Minorities: That’s Ashley, and her new friends. Political Correctness is nowhere to be found.
- Teenage Angst: Ashley’s childhood did not allow for such luxuries.
- No Support: After meeting Zorik, even when Ashley thinks she is alone she’s not (the Bedouin are unrivalled trackers and masters of stealth).
- Bring Out Your Dead: Uric is shot and killed by one of Rau’s snipers, and Naida (another girl Ashley meets / befriends) is severely wounded by the same bullet.
- The Stranger at the Door: Ashley meets Zorik and Naida almost at the same time.
- The Agony of Choice: Ashley’s relationship with Zorik is intentional, she asks to become his girlfriend on her 17th birthday, although Ashley’s relationship with Naida is not. Well, the girls’ intimate kiss in a later chapter could be the start of their relationship, but it doesn’t become official until the second novel. Zorik doesn’t mind Ashley and Naida being close anyway. When surrounded by death you should take every opportunity to enjoy life ~ Zorik (in the girls’ kissing chapter).
- Being Useful: Naida does encounter and befriend Uric in a village market, protect him from street thugs (with some fire support from Karen’s mercenaries), and helps to reunite the siblings. Naida also challenges Yasmine when she thinks the unhinged assassin is threatening Ashley. She’s not though, that’s just Yasmine’s blunt nature.
- Love Over Sense: Kind of.
- Riding into the Sunset: The survivors of the story’s battles (Ashley, Nadia, Zorik, what’s left of Karen’s mercenaries) reunite in Be’er Sheva, Israel. Naida doesn’t join the mercenaries although, to reward her bravery and loyalty, Karen arranges for Naida to become an Israeli citizen (despite her being a Siberian Pagan) and buys her an apartment in the city.
- (-23) Boom: When Ashley and Zorik are captured by Rau’s men after a failed rescue attempt (in chapter one), Rau gives Ashley to his men for ‘entertainment’ as a means of breaking Zorik’s resistance to interrogation. Zorik responds by escaping his bonds, killing several guards abusing Ashley, and blowing up Rau’s safehouse (and a few more guards) to cover their retreat.
- (-26) It Was You!: No one is dumb enough to betray Ashley, or Zorik, or Karen or her mercenaries.
- Tis But a Scratch: When Zorik is badly wounded, no longer able to fight, Ashley cuts off her long plait of hair and gives it to Zorik as a protective (Pagan) ward. Ashley’s asking Naida’s gods to watch over her companion, calling in all available support.
- 404 Sanity Not Found: Ashley’s mind almost breaks a few times due to immense stress, trauma and grief, but most of her sanity is retained.
- Deadly Sins Bingo: Lie, sometimes. Betray, made that mistake once so ‘Never Again’. Kill, last option only. Cheat, not cheating if its not a secret. Good person, she hopes.
- Are We the [Good] Guys?: In their own way perhaps.
- Purge Evil: At the story’s end Ashley becomes the mercenaries’ moral compass, and helps them to hunt evil without becoming evil.
- Follow Your Dreams: Ashely never dreamed of being the honorary second-in-command of a mercenary army based in Be’er Sheva, of being the personal assistant to a billionaire heiress (Karen), or of being a millionaire (Karen always pays too much), but that’s how Ashely ended up.
- You Are the Messiah!: When Zorik first meets Ashley he gives her the nickname ‘Little Angel’, and gives her a pair of angelic sterling-silver wings on a leather necklace for her birthday. Also, Ashley’s parents chose her name because her birth was a symbol of hope…A beautiful healthy child born from the ashes of our people ~ Ashley’s parents (survivors of Auschwitz)…And that’s about it.
- Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall: Ashley is considered attractive by the other characters (the smart ones, anyway), but she’s not the most beautiful…Karen takes that title…
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I know you say that Zhorik is meant to be handsome but I can only visualize him like this
