Kick Ass Fems
Video game women are not just eye candy for lovely lesbians and straight guys, some of them have a soul underneath those curvaceous pixels. Below are some that deserve attention.
Merril from Dragon Age 2
Merril is not a femme fatale, she’s svelte and fragile looking, she’s got the sweetest Scottish accent, and she is filled with some serious contradictions. She comes across as naïve and adorably awkward, she’s sincere and girlish, but she practices blood magic and consorts with a demon who she is using to help restore a magical artifact important to her people. She is headstrong and willful, and she will do what it takes to accomplish her goal. Her people fear her for what she is doing and will have nothing to do with her, alone and unafraid she continues. She is equal parts tragic and hilarious, soft and unyielding, and she has got the best lines in the game.
Yuna from Final Fantasy X
Apparently I’m a sucker for this kind of girl because, like Merril, Yuna is sweet, self-effacing and powerful. She is bubbly and loving, and she would risk her life for the safety of her friends and her world. She will not allow anyone in her company to be down or pessimistic, however all of this surrounds a spine of steel. She leaves family, friends and safety, becomes an outlaw, and is completely dedicated to her quest even though she knows at the end of it is her death- this fact she keeps a secret, and when it is revealed she does not waver. She is impossible not to like.
Ashley Williams from Mass Effect
Ashley kicks butt. She is a soldier through and through. She’s brassy and funny and doesn’t attempt sexy but achieves it. She is close with her family, and has deep religious convictions, which I have not seen in a game, and it’s handled just right. Her faith is important to her, but she doesn’t force it on anyone and isn’t preachy, like the rest of her it is ingrained with who she is, and she doesn’t need your approval or understanding. Ashley is balanced, she’s a little xenophobic, but t’s great that she has flaws and sensitivity as well as ovaries of steel.
Nariko from Heavenly Sword
Fringe fans, Olivia voices and does mo-cap for this warrior woman. I love Nariko’s independence and strength. She is hated by her tribe, and has a adversarial relationship with her father who leads it. Her mother was killed giving birth to her; she was to be a savior to their tribe, but her vagina killed all that. Her father trains her anyway, and she grows up outcast, her father never being able to get over blaming Nariko for her mother’s death, his embarrassment for having a daughter and proclaiming his child would be the chosen one, and his shame for bringing death upon his tribe when the savior is not produced. Nariko takes the demon sword knowing it will kill her to save her tribe, to give her tribe the finger, and to make herself powerful. She is amazing and complex and HEROIC. Kai, the supporting female lead is also fantastic.
Morrigan from Dragon Age: Origins
Don’t fuck with Morrigan (unless you want some sort of god baby she will never let you see). This witch never loses, if a look won’t do it, her words will, if they fail then she throws in the boobs, and while you’re distracted she will zap you with some hokum. It is impossible to tell what she is thinking, and often it is unclear if she does. She is sarcastic, highly intelligent, driven, and unfathomable. She is complex, and you want to like her, but you never know if you can trust her. At some point she puts everyone in their place- she’s fantastic and voiced by Claudia Black. Check her out.
These women are women, they are sexualized as much as they want to be, they are in control, and unlike male characters they are allowed to care about things and have emotions outside of anger, and these emotions make them even stronger, even more focused. In these cases, books, comics, movies and TV shows should take notes on what women can be and are.
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