Women I Have Loved (many fandoms, many characters)
Title: Women I Have Loved
Fandom (s): FMA, BSG, Superman, House, LotR
Word count: 841
Notes: Okay, queenzulu pointed out that girls don't get enough love in fandom, so this is my own love letter to awesome female characters. Five characters. Five unconnected ficlets. There may be more of these coming, but these are the first five.
i. Hawkeye (FMA)
She is many things, all the time (daughter, lover, woman, soldier), but she is always herself. There are those who envy that, she knows, the comfort she has in her own skin. It was not easy for her to find that balance between the parts of her, to know that every time she pulls a trigger, that's the soldier, every time she feeds Hayate, that's the woman, every time she visits her father's grave, that's the daughter. But the truth is so simple she can rely on it, solid and steady beneath her feet. That she is simply all of these things, all the time; that they are simply who she is, each one blending into the other.
ii. Roslin (BSG)
There is something growing in her that she does not understand.
She has never been pregnant (though there have been a few close calls). She thinks that this must be like that, except darker, scarier. My body is not my own. When she sees herself in the mirror, she looks no different, and sometimes, that feels more terrifying than if it were visible on her skin, and sometimes, that's the only thing that gets her through each day.
It is hardening her, too, she realizes, even as it is softening her. Teaching her not to fear her strength as it eats its way through her internal organs. She is saying what needs to be said, making the hard decisions she knows she needs to make, and leaning on herself more than anyone else. She knows that she is dying. She is beginning to accept it.
Maybe that's why she can keep this Fleet limping toward Earth.
iii. Lois (Superman)
Lois has learned over her life that she'd much rather be respected than liked, and that respect as a reporter has almost nothing to do with being nice. It suits her just fine, being the bitch, and she even likes it most of the time. She likes that there are people out there who are afraid of her (because they should be afraid of her), that there are people out there who are jealous of the fact that she's willing to do what it takes to get the story (because they're too chickenshit to do it themselves), that there are people out there who look at her and say, "Damn, she's a good reporter," (because she is).
She has learned that she likes who she is, likes what she does, and that she'll never apologize for either of those things. (Because that would be really stupid.)
iv. Cuddy (House)
Lisa was ten when she decided to become a doctor, after getting her tonsils out and developing the biggest crush on Dr. Michaels, who had gentle rough fingers and a warm smile. She doesn't remember much of the moment she realized that she wanted to become a doctor, but she can remember the moment she told her mother.
It was after a dinner, sunlight sharp over her mother's shoulder as she washed the dishes. She can remember the way her mother turned, the look of surprise and fierce pride on her face.
"Oh, honey," she said, holding Lisa's face in her hands. "You can be a doctor, but you have to want it. It won't be easy, and there will people who will be fighting you every step of the way, but if you want it bad enough, you can do it."
At the time, it had scared her, the intensity on her mother's face, the warning in her voice, but Lisa had nodded (with some hesitation), and said, "I want to be a doctor."
She didn't really understand what her mother meant until much later.
v. Eowyn (LotR)
Éowyn has always heard the stories of the shieldmaidens.
From her brother in the fields, during the summer. Stories of valor and bravery and skill. Stories of the women who rode to war with the men, side by side, refusing to stay behind. Stories told to her as Éomer taught her to fight, a sword in her hand, a shield on her arm.
From her mother at her bedside, during the winter. Stories of victory, of love. Stories of the women who loved their fathers too deeply to let their names go dishonored, who always triumphed. Stories to warm her through the chill, curled up under layers of blankets, dreaming of battles fought and won.
From Grima in the halls of her uncle, during the years of his sickness. Stories of loneliness, or despair. Stories of women who spurned the gods, only to be punished for it. Stories told to her as she tried to pull away, revulsion as he reached out to touch her skin.
She has always heard the stories of the shieldmaidens, of their triumphs, their struggle, has always wanted to be like them, to have a chance to show her own strength, her own courage.
But as she plunges her sword into the helmet of the Witch-King, she does not think of that at all.
Fandom (s): FMA, BSG, Superman, House, LotR
Word count: 841
Notes: Okay, queenzulu pointed out that girls don't get enough love in fandom, so this is my own love letter to awesome female characters. Five characters. Five unconnected ficlets. There may be more of these coming, but these are the first five.
i. Hawkeye (FMA)
She is many things, all the time (daughter, lover, woman, soldier), but she is always herself. There are those who envy that, she knows, the comfort she has in her own skin. It was not easy for her to find that balance between the parts of her, to know that every time she pulls a trigger, that's the soldier, every time she feeds Hayate, that's the woman, every time she visits her father's grave, that's the daughter. But the truth is so simple she can rely on it, solid and steady beneath her feet. That she is simply all of these things, all the time; that they are simply who she is, each one blending into the other.
ii. Roslin (BSG)
There is something growing in her that she does not understand.
She has never been pregnant (though there have been a few close calls). She thinks that this must be like that, except darker, scarier. My body is not my own. When she sees herself in the mirror, she looks no different, and sometimes, that feels more terrifying than if it were visible on her skin, and sometimes, that's the only thing that gets her through each day.
It is hardening her, too, she realizes, even as it is softening her. Teaching her not to fear her strength as it eats its way through her internal organs. She is saying what needs to be said, making the hard decisions she knows she needs to make, and leaning on herself more than anyone else. She knows that she is dying. She is beginning to accept it.
Maybe that's why she can keep this Fleet limping toward Earth.
iii. Lois (Superman)
Lois has learned over her life that she'd much rather be respected than liked, and that respect as a reporter has almost nothing to do with being nice. It suits her just fine, being the bitch, and she even likes it most of the time. She likes that there are people out there who are afraid of her (because they should be afraid of her), that there are people out there who are jealous of the fact that she's willing to do what it takes to get the story (because they're too chickenshit to do it themselves), that there are people out there who look at her and say, "Damn, she's a good reporter," (because she is).
She has learned that she likes who she is, likes what she does, and that she'll never apologize for either of those things. (Because that would be really stupid.)
iv. Cuddy (House)
Lisa was ten when she decided to become a doctor, after getting her tonsils out and developing the biggest crush on Dr. Michaels, who had gentle rough fingers and a warm smile. She doesn't remember much of the moment she realized that she wanted to become a doctor, but she can remember the moment she told her mother.
It was after a dinner, sunlight sharp over her mother's shoulder as she washed the dishes. She can remember the way her mother turned, the look of surprise and fierce pride on her face.
"Oh, honey," she said, holding Lisa's face in her hands. "You can be a doctor, but you have to want it. It won't be easy, and there will people who will be fighting you every step of the way, but if you want it bad enough, you can do it."
At the time, it had scared her, the intensity on her mother's face, the warning in her voice, but Lisa had nodded (with some hesitation), and said, "I want to be a doctor."
She didn't really understand what her mother meant until much later.
v. Eowyn (LotR)
Éowyn has always heard the stories of the shieldmaidens.
From her brother in the fields, during the summer. Stories of valor and bravery and skill. Stories of the women who rode to war with the men, side by side, refusing to stay behind. Stories told to her as Éomer taught her to fight, a sword in her hand, a shield on her arm.
From her mother at her bedside, during the winter. Stories of victory, of love. Stories of the women who loved their fathers too deeply to let their names go dishonored, who always triumphed. Stories to warm her through the chill, curled up under layers of blankets, dreaming of battles fought and won.
From Grima in the halls of her uncle, during the years of his sickness. Stories of loneliness, or despair. Stories of women who spurned the gods, only to be punished for it. Stories told to her as she tried to pull away, revulsion as he reached out to touch her skin.
She has always heard the stories of the shieldmaidens, of their triumphs, their struggle, has always wanted to be like them, to have a chance to show her own strength, her own courage.
But as she plunges her sword into the helmet of the Witch-King, she does not think of that at all.