A prince is a pauper, babe, without a chick to call his own

Considering it's International Women's Day (apparently, anyway), I've decided I'm going to share with you all my favourite fictional women, as a sort of celebratory hallmark of strong females. There are going to be quite a few lasses here, no doubt, so I hope I don't forget any of them. There's no way I could order these in terms of preference. They're all so great, so I'll just leave it as it is. I'm going to limit it to TV show characters and book characters, otherwise I could go on about films and their actresses for all eternity.

Name: Nina Myers
From: 24, seasons 1,2 and 3
Pictures: One (tying Teri up, shortly before she kills her), Two (Possibly at her coolest-looking, here), Three (Jack points a gun to her head. He doesn't even know Teri's dead at this point, so Nina's lucky really, 'cos he would have squeezed that trigger without a single ounce of apprehension), Four (promotional image for season one), Five (working with Tony)
Why I love her: She managed to convince Jack (and thus every single viewer, no doubt) that she was on his side, and managed to maintain her cover until the very end of season one. Considering she'd been working for Jack for a couple of years, and had been involved in a relationship with him, she did that pretty well. She is simply the epitome of feminine cool. She's tough and capable; she stands up to Tony and pulls rank on him whenever he starts getting antsy about Jack, which also shows that she can separate feelings (she was involved with Tony at the time) from her work; and she's also not afraid to stand up to her superiors, and totally ignore their orders in order to show her complete 'loyalty' to Jack. However, I constantly found myself feeling sorry for her. When Teri found out that Nina had been involved with Jack while he and Teri were on a break, you could feel the tension in that room between the two women. When Teri started making jibes about it, I wanted to run up and hug Nina. Then later, when that Alberta cow reminded her that you can "let them screw you, but don't let them screw you over", the look on Nina's face drew such sympathy from me. The thing is, I've no idea what her true feelings regarding the whole thing was. Considering she was a traitor for all those years, for all we know, the entire life she'd built up around her was all an act. Regardless, her betrayal cut me deep. I don't care about Jack or about the US government, but in that last minute of episode 23, at 2.30 in the morning, or whatever ridiculous time at which I was watching it, my heart pounded faster than ever before as the camera zoomed out to reveal who 'Yelena' really was. Now whenever I watch an episode of 24 with her in, my mouth goes dry and I get this overwhelming feeling of panic and worry, as I watch, helpless, knowing that her betrayal is now inevitable and there's nothing I can do to change it. She appeared in seasons 2 and 3, but as a character that is constantly shown to be 'bad' in those seasons, she's just not the same (and her hair was longer - it's much cooler when short). There's a great bit in season 3 where she has Jack tied to a chair, and kisses him to see if he can prove his point, but when he eventually kills her, I was able to cope. Just.

Name: Michelle Dessler-Almeida
From: 24, season 2,3,4 and 5

Pictures: One (in season two, she fancies the pants off of Tony. Despite the silly plot, at least it gives her an excuse to engage him in a secretive passionate kiss), Two (I really doubt she's enjoying her stint out in the field here, in season three, considering she gets kidnapped soon after), Three (and yet she still manages to take charge in Tony's absence - look at how everyone is looking to her), Four (season four promotional image. She wasn't in this season enough, quite frankly), Five (a lovely moment at home with hubby, just minutes before she gets killed by the bloody car bomb)

Why I love her: Well, season 2, she's got a new job at CTU, she's just starting to get along with her colleagues, she's got a lovely big crush on Tony, and she finds herself suddenly trying to save America from nuclear bombs. Anyone who does well under this kind of pressure deserves a commendation as it is. Okay, let's see what problems she and Tony have gone through. They had to save America/the world from various attempted terrorist attacks; Michelle had to continue working even after Tony got shot in the neck, then she had to work under quarantine in the hotel because of the high risk of her contracting the virus that had been let out; Michelle was then kidnapped and Tony had to betray government secrets to get her back, resulting in him going to prison for treason; when he was released from prison, he turned to alcoholism, resulting in Michelle leaving him; when Jack calls him in for help, he then discovers that Michelle has been seeing Bill Buchanan, even before they were divorced (but we later find out Bill is a lovely guy, and he lets Tony know that Michelle has still loved him all this time); then Tony gets kidnapped and Michelle finds herself in the same situation that got Tony put in prison several years beforehand - except she can't bring herself to do the same. It's alright, though - Jack and Curtis rescue Tony and he and Michelle are reunited and decide they will quit their job if it means they can be together. Then they bloody frickin' DIE. Well, Michelle does in the first few minutes of season 5, and Tony 'dies' later on in the season (when season 7 finally gets released next year, we will discover that he is in fact alive, and very very angry).
Now how's that for a sucky life? And yet love prevailed.
Michelle is beautiful; she is capable, even in the field, where she is not fully-trained to work; however emotional a day she is having, she can still just about keep herself together; and she has a sense of loyalty - just before she died, she and Tony had a small argument about going to help CTU. As soon as they heard the news about David Palmer being assassinated, she knew that CTU would need the resources she and Tony could provide, in order to deal with the situation; Tony didn't want to become involved with them again. It was his reluctance that meant he was not caught in the immediate bomb-blast that killed Michelle. I really would not have Michelle any other way. Well, except, y'know, alive still.

Name: Juliet Burke
From: LOST
Pictures: One (Jack starts off as her 'prisoner', but she makes him nice food, and - er - saves him from drowning), Two (Unfortunately, she cries a lot, because she's constantly hearing bad news or having nasty things happening to her. This is in Ben's kitchen. She threw a glass on the floor, and then collapsed on him. He looked very bemused.), Three (Ben, being the bastard that he is, has just shown her the corpse of her lover Goodwin, in order to inform her in no uncertain terms, of what happens to those men that 'take her away' from him. She starts crying again in a minute.), Four (I had to include this one because it has Charlotte in it as well. Juliet has accepted what C.S. Lewis and Daniel have informed her about Ben, much to Kate's chagrin; she wants a bit of revenge for being knocked out by Charlotte. So, Charlotte goes back in the The Tempest with Kate, while Jack and Juliet spend a little alone time. I love the expressions on their faces here: Charlotte's ready to mouth off against Kate, if it comes to a sarcasm battle, while Juliet's all calm and collected, despite the fact she's got a million dents in her head from her recent fight), Five (Ben has informed Juliet that if she lets Kate and Sawyer escape back to their island, he will let her finally go back home. So, determined to complete her task by whatever means necessary, Juliet kills Danny. Can you imagine if Miami-Juliet found herself in that situation? "I knew I shouldn't have gone to Portland!"), Six (this is when Ben first shows her her house in Otherville. What I don't understand is where was she sleeping for her first week spent on the island?! This scene is fairly awkward, but not as awkward as the one they later have, where she has dinner at Ben's.), Seven (Crying again. Even the best fertility doctor in the world can't save the pregnant women on the island, but that doesn't mean she should stop trying already.), Eight (She meets Goodwin for the first time, which seems to immediately cheer her up)
Why I love her: She is the epitome of epitome. She's like Michelle and Nina combined, but blonde. She's got Nina's edge, determination, and mystery (is she good, has she got Jack wrapped around her little finger, what is her ulterior motive?), but she's got Michelle's softness too, and emotional vulnerability. She's been used and manipulated, taken advantage of, and betrayed. It's no wonder she cries so much (I think she cried in at least three of her flashbacks in the latest episode, even when she was confronted by Harper about having an affair with the latter's husband). Words cannot describe the extent to which I love this woman. Feelings cannot describe it. She is extremely capable and will do literally anything to get off the island (like killing her own kind). She's gone through such a transformation since she arrived on the island, which is instantly obvious when we compare her present-tense scenes with her flashbacks; she's stronger, more ruthless, and doesn't let her emotions get to her so easily. Character development is very very important to me, and her arc shows how much change she has gone through. This would be my desert island character. Mainly because I know she'd be determined more than anything else to help me get back home.

Name: Nynaeve al'Meara
From: Wheel of Time book series
Picture: One (there isn't a lot of fanart, but this is one of the best pieces I've seen of her)
Why I love her: She's a good poster-girl for feminism. She's bossy; smart; doesn't take any nonsense from anyone (remember the scene where she shoved Elayne's head in a barrel of water when she got drunk?); she's the most powerful wielder of saidar there's been for many Ages; and she'd like nothing more than to give Rand and Mat a good, well-deserved switching, which I am all in favour of. For once, men are the subject of sexism, thanks to Nynaeve, as she continually complains about and proves how pathetic, hopeless and annoying they can be. She shows she's not just a cold bitch like the Red Ajah, though, as she quickly falls in love with the lovely lovely Lan al'Mandragoran, despite the fact he's Morraine's Warder. Her insane power and ability to heal means she performs various acts that had previously been thought to be now impossible; she healed Siuan, Leane and Logain, all of whom had been stilled, so that they were once again able to draw on the One Power; she defeated one of the Forsaken, Moghedien, in battle, making her the first to do so since the time of Lews Therin Telamon, and then imprisoned Moghedien in Elayne's latest contraption.
When she first discovered from Moirraine Sedai what her healing abilities were all about, her fear of her power increased, and so she could only draw on saidar when extremely angry. If that's not a character flaw, I don't know what is. This bloody woman's feats have made me cry tears of joy (and I don't cry easily), and because she wasn't available for me to hug, I had to hug the book instead. It was an impulsive action, without premeditation. She is my love.

Name: Lilah Morgan
From: Angel
Pictures: One (Having a drink. This is when we first meet her. She's mysterious, beautiful, and we don't yet know whose side she's on. You know what's even better? She turns out to be a bit of a femme fatale, in this episode, and we all know how much I love those lasses.), Two (Wesley has rescued her, and now she's with the Angel Investigations gang, much to Fred and Cordy's chagrin, as can be seen.), Three (Angel, possessed by a perverted old man, seduces Lilah in his office, and they almost end up having sex on his desk. Seriously, they would make the hottest pairing ever.), Four (she stars placing bets when Angel's in the fighting ring, and this is still in her first episode), Five (she manages to hold her own against Faith, even, despite being shoved up against a chain-link fence by her, and threatened. What does she say? One of the best lines ever: "Green ... is my favourite colour. I look good in diamonds and I love riding in limousines."
Why I love her: Like Nina, she's bad-ass, but with Lilah there's absolutely no question about it; we know she's evil almost straight from the start. She's ruthless and will let anyone take the fall for mistakes, even if she was the one who made them. She might find herself stuck in a fight, but she would never sacrifice herself for anyone else; all she cares about is her own survival. And yet, when she starts having one-night stands with Wesley, a slight change appears to come over her. Wesley doesn't think she's capable of loving anyone but herself, but even she seems surprised to find herself grateful of his efforts to save her. I like to think she did like him. Considering the ridiculous number of dealings she had with various demons, and how often she got into fights with Angel, as well as other dangerous situations, it's surprising really, that she survived for as long as she did. In the end, it was Cordy who killed her, or rather, Cordy possessed by the demon Jasmine, as a result of her brief stint in the realm of the Powers That Be. Now she resides for all eternity in the Wolfram and Hart branch that is situated in Hell. No jokes. Lawyers go to Hell.

And now that is it. There are plenty other female characters that I love, from various books, TV shows, films and so on, but these are the five key ones that really make me feel something. I'm aware that it is now Sunday, and thus technically no longer International Women's Day, but I'd only finished Nina's profile by 12:30 this morning and I wanted to go to bed, so that's why this is a little late. It shouldn't matter.

Share the love!

----------------
Now playing: Maroon 5 - This Love
via FoxyTunes