but what if I cant avoid having a girl in my story?
Not to worry, fellow fellow-fan!
We get that in a girl heavy canon like Homestuck, it can be awkward if not impossible to completely cut out the female cast. Of course you can include female characters where appropriate, but they should not be the focus of the work, and should only exist to further your main dude’s emotional journey.
Try not to have more than one woman in your fanwork though, and if you must, don’t have them waste the audience’s time by talking about anything except the male characters.
There are plenty of ways to acknowledge Homestuck’s women without letting them take undue narrative importance. Maybe Feferi has been kidnapped, and we follow Eridan’s rescue attempts? Or Rose is tragically murdered, and this gives Dave the motivation he needs to finally face Lord English? Or Jane is in over her head, but luckily Jake has mastered her teachings and can now step in to lead the Alpha Team to victory in the Betty Crocker Baking Championship?
If your recipient asks for John/Dirk, but you don’t want to just ignore Roxy as a canonical obstacle to John and Dirk’s true love, you could have John realize that she is a conniving, abusive bitch who everyone hates. That way she will quickly drop out of the story, and you can focus on Dirk patiently teaching John how to love again! Alternatively, Roxy can be the first to notice their simmering lust, after which she serves as a cheerful matchmaker! (This one is a difficult balance to pull off. Make sure not to let her have too much characterization or screen time; remember, the focus is on the dudes and HER job is to get them together—and maybe provide some comic relief along the way!) Or Roxy can die before the story begins, and when John learns she secretly gave birth to his child, he and Dirk must raise it together!
And say you aren’t writing romance, but you don’t want to disappoint any slash fans who might assume Dirk and Jake will end the story by having sex with each other. In the first scene, have them mention how attractive their respective girlfriends are, and that way no one will mistake their bromance for the sort of relationship that leads to open mouthed kissing. (If you change your mind about that later, refer to the previous paragraph’s suggestions.)
As you can see, there are all sorts of places for female characters, even in a challenge like Dudestuck!
These are just examples: you can swap out any lady/dude characters and these ideas will remain exactly as worthwhile!
