Deconstruction an Action Girl.

Hello,tropers:

I'm currently writing/drawing a series of post-apocalyptic action Graphic Novels with supernatural elements.In this setting,a massive gang have been taking over and rather successfully (at first) installed a sense of order in the city it's happening.

Well,one of that story's main characters is a female Super-Soldier with a Lovecraftian Superpower and PTSD over the wars that led up to her group being the ruling clan of the city. She is all but stated to be the most Badass character in this World of Badass.

So,I was looking to prompt discussion and idea exchange on how you would go about deconstructing such a character (I have my own plans regarding her character arc though) without making her a Faux Action Girl in the process.

Remember that a deconstruction is not a Darker and Edgier take on a trope, but instead a look at the consequences such a trope would bring in real life.

Here are some things to consider for starters:

• How does her PTSD affect her in her regular life and during combat, and how do people react to her episodes of PTSD?
• How are super soldiers and people with Lovecraftian Superpowers treated in this world? If such things are treated with fear, your character will probably be ostracized by a lot of people. How does this affect her own psyche, especially when you take her PTSD into account?

I'll start with writing something that many a writer here would write to you: why the fjord are you so set on it being a deconstruction?

Because really, while deconstructions of various things can be interesting, in the end it's simply something that should happen as you write if the story or some of its elements go in a certain direction, rather than being something you aim for. And right now, on this forum, I am certain that at least some people see conscious attempts to write a deconstruction regardless of the suitability of it for the purposes of the story as a mark of ... ineptitude, even. So it would probably help your case if you could explain why exactly is it that you feel the need to make it into a deconstruction.

That said, the easiest and probably most convenient way to go at it—as far as I know, because the exact circumstances of your character in her story might change it but I do not have those so I am reduced to guessing—would be to take the "character is not taken seriously because of her sex, and her achievements are ascribed to her powers instead" approach, with those who dare actually talk to her giving either subtle or blatant hints that as far as they see it she should be grateful for her powers because without them, as a woman, she would have been nothing. Considering her PTSD, the nigh-universal lack of even attempts to understand her and what she's going through would most likely sit on her mind, and any mistakes she'd made in the past and any failures of hers—regardless of whether they were caused by something she did or merely unfortunate situations in which something went wrong without her input—would keep on hitting her much harder than they would have otherwise. As time passes, it would isolate them from anyone else, and possibly shift her perception of herself as one of them into "well, there's me, and there's them, I'm different than them". With the increasing isolation and the people around her not trying to understand her, they'd decide that she is getting conceited with powers she, in their minds, did not have to give anything for nor work for, and would start ascribing motives to her actions; they wouldn't attack her openly, of course, as they'd fear her more than they'd hate her, but for someone with PTSD complete lack of human contact that isn't hateful glares can be quite devastating, one way or another (she could break, or she could slip and start breaking their spines).

Okay, for your deconstruction of a Action Girl

Let's see the symptoms of PTSD: Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in how a person thinks and feels, and increased arousal.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Y'all have really cool ideas;Helps me see what other paths there is for her development

To answer Kazeto; I wanted her to deconstruct aspects of being badass or an action girl,both for the sake of my own curiosity,and because the big Central Theme of that story is "Might Makes Right"; it felt appropriate to have some of my character arcs explore and play with the notion of badass or "tougher than the rest of them" in various ways.

I guess that would be my reason. Also,your ideas actually are quite close with what I was going for.

edited 22nd Aug '16 10:27:09 PM by FujinKeima

To give some extra context (mostly answering Dragonfire) ;

• Since she is isolated from the rest of her group and hardly ever talks to anyone else (except her boss,her fellow elites and her pet rat),let alone about her issues,nobody really knows she's depressed.Her boss is one of the two only people in her group who isn't cold or a jerkass to her,but he keeps pushing her into missions and has no idea about her PTSD (or any of her problems,even the blatant misogynistic comments she gets from the mooks).She has nightmares about her war experiences and she hates reminiscing.She spends most of her time with her rat either ruminating or training.She's pretty unstable (seen in how she blocks out her feelings when fighting by painting her face with her blood ),but is also pretty good at hiding it most of the time.

• In this setting,a superpower is something everyone has the potential of getting (and indeed,later in the story,most citizens gain access to an ability) but is still relatively rare. The powers are usually on the creepy side,but hers is especially lovecraftian in nature, so most people respond with disgust,even though that power puts her through a lot of physical pain.She only uses it if angry enough.It obviously makes her feel even more isolated from everyone else.

edited 22nd Aug '16 11:45:42 PM by FujinKeima