(no subject)

[skygiants]

ceitfianna asked me for my top five badass ladies in anime, in books, and in general. I will have you know that these decisions were EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. Too many badass ladies, too little time!

1. Cha Song Joo, Capital Scandal



What is this floofy dress and amazing hat, you say?

This is the floofy dress and amazing hat of REVOLUTION.



Cha Song Joo is basically the reason that I started watching kdramas. BY DAY, the most beautiful, stylish courtesan in Seoul; BY NIGHT, totally hardcore revolutionary assassin who rides around on a motorcycle taking out corrupt officials. With sidelines in swing dancing, swordfighting, and setting up her friends on hilarious rom-com-style bets for fun. I defy anyone to see Cha Song Joo in action and not fall into instant and passionate love. And by 'in action', I basically mean 'doing anything,' whether it's murdering a rapist or sipping tea at a cafe. Because everything she does is badass. Everything.

2. Olivier Mira Armstrong, Fullmetal Alchemist



I was waffling and waffling over which FMA lady to put here, because there are so many exceedingly badass ones and it is no secret that I love them all - Riza! Izumi! Lan Fan! - and then I was like, "okay, self, which of these ladies would you be most terrified to actually stand in a room with?"



MAJOR GENERAL OLIVIER MIRA ARMSTRONG WINS EVERY CONTEST HANDS DOWN. When she leaves her fortress, enemy nations are like "okay, guys, let's risk an attack! THE NORTHERN WALL IS GONE." (Of course they lose, because aside from being one hundred percent badass in her own right, she's also an excellent leader who has trained her men to be almost as badass as she is. Almost.)

Olivier Armstrong has my vote for Fuhrer.

3. Eowyn, The Lord of the Rings



I'm not a Lord of the Rings fangirl particularly, or at least not compared to many; I mean, the books and the movies will always have a place in my heart, and I do love them, but there are a lot of things that I love as much or more. But I've been tracing back through my memories, and Eowyn, I am pretty sure, was the very first fictional badass lady of my heart - and not only is she totally hardcore, but she explicitly gets to do something that no man can. Looking back, I am so incredibly glad that I had Eowyn's iconic moment of glory to absorb when I was nine and discovering the world of epic fantasy. It made a difference.

(Also, the root of my love for cross-dressed-girl plotlines? MAYBE.)

4. Helen Haras-Uquara, The Homeward Bounders



This is such a terrible cover. And you basically can't see Helen at all. But anyway: HELEN. I love Diana Wynne Jones more than words can say, but very few of her characters fall into what I would call the badass category - it's just a function of the way she writes. Helen Haras-Uquara is a notable exception. I mean, yes, she is another one of the cranky stubborn know-it-all girls that DWJ (and I) love. She's also a twelve-year-old who's destined to unite her terrifying world by herself, fully capable of surviving by herself in the desert when banished, and, did I mention, possessed of a LASER ARM? Also, the scene where she and Jamie escape from the cannibals is pretty much the most badass thing ever.

5. Toph Bei Fong, Avatar: The Last Airbender



This was another impossible choice from another show full of awesome ladies. It was so close that up until this morning, I was pretty sure I was listing Mai. But in the end Toph has to win, because the tiny blind earthbender is so extremely badass that the Ember Island Players can't even conceive of how to represent her unless she looks like this:



Bonus Nonfictional Extra: Queen Elizabeth I



When I was a little kid, and - in hindsight - kind of starved for awesome female role models, I had this habit of glomming onto badass historical lady rulers. I read up everything I could about Hatshepsut and Eleanor of Aquitaine, but Elizabeth I was my first and greatest love. I had the "heart and stomach of a king" speech memorized. There are pictures of Tiny Becca costumed in a ruff and hoop skirt (ironically, probably the one regal moment in my life to date. No, you do not get to see them.) And while obviously as a grown-up person I am slightly more capable of recognizing Elizabeth as a complex historical personage rather than an icon, I still get totally starry-eyed about her, and I am not ashamed.

I AM PUTTING THIS UP NOW BEFORE I THINK OF SIX MORE.