The Unpopular Woman Love Post

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

It's pretty natural that some female characters do worse in fandom than others, right? And sometimes it's difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a place where you can fan these characters in peace, or fellow fans to fan them with. Not to mention trying to find fanworks about them. Experience says: It hard.

So, stealing the idea shamelessly from doyle_sb4's Women of Doctor Who celebration post, here is a love post for the unpopular female characters. Like in doyle_sb4's post, you start a thread with the character's name and their respective fandom in the subject line, after which people are free to share fic and vid recs, picspams, links to essays, defenses or simply thoughts of love about the character in question. Because unpopularity is a subjective thing most of the time, the character doesn't have to be somebody you know to be the fandom underdog for sure, but if the character also has a large number of fans it would be good to give some reasons about why they're hated and why it's wrong. Links to the character threads will be collected in this post.

Being a post for unpopular characters, this is a bashing free post. If you have any negative opinions about the characters discussed or the fandom rivals of the character of your choice, please keep them to yourself.

And now, knock yourselves out!

ETA: The character and the fandom should both be named in the subject line, I forgot to mention the fandom initially. Sorry about the inconvenience!

ETA 2: If you want to share you thoughts about a character who has a thread, please reply to the thread in question. General comments and threads for new characters go to the main post.

Threads:

Diana Fowley, X-Files (Vid rec, Fic Recs, Fic recs)
Jennifer Hailey, Stargate: SG1
Sakura, Naruto (Fic recs, Author rec)
Dawn Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Anastasia Dualla, Battlestar Galactica (Comic rec, Reasons why Dee is awesome)
Lana Lang, Smallville (Vid recs)
Maya Herrera, Heroes (Vid rec)
Relena Peacecraft, Gundam Wing (Fic recs)
Cally Henderson-Tyrol, Battlestar Galactica
Gwen Cooper, Torchwood
Jennifer Keller, Stargate: Atlantis (Community link, Fic recs, Fic recs)
Niki Sanders
Freya/Anise, Stargate: SG1 (Fic rec)
Maria Hill, Marvel Comics
Thirteen/Dr. Remy Hadley, House MD (Picspam links)
Bela Talbot, Supernatural (Fic rec, Fic)
Shiori Takatsuki, Revolutionary Girl Utena
Tifa Lockhart, Final Fantasy VII
Max Guevara, Dark Angel (Vid rec, Fic rec)
Elizabeth Swann, Pirates of the Caribbean (Author rec)
Cynthia Velasquez, Silent Hill 4
Allison Cameron, House MD (Meme rec)
Liz Sherman, Hellboy
Dr. Camille "Cam" Saroyan, Bones
Ruby, Supernatural
Chloe Sullivan, Smallville
Sakaki Ouka, Weiss Kreuz
Jo Harvelle, Supernatural
Inara Serra, Firefly (Fic Rec)
Lt. Colonel Hollis Mann, NCIS
Director Jenny Shepard, NCIS
Lilly Kane, Veronica Mars
Kate Austen, Lost
Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Teyla Emmagan, Stargate Atlantis (Link, vid rec)
Alex Drake, Ashes to Ashes
Anya Jenkins, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Fic recs)
Koriand'r, DC Comics
Sam Carter, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis
Ana Lucia, Lost
Padme Amidala, Star Wars
Arwen, The Lord of the Rings
Martha Jones, Doctor Who/Torchwood
Kennedy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Lois Lane, Smallville
Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter
Shmi Skywalker, Star Wars
Mai, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Fic links, Fic links & recs)
Keiko Yukimura, Yu Yu Hakusho
Orihime Inoue, Bleach
Yakumo Tatsuro, Shinzo
Sakuno Ryuzaki, The prince Of Tennis
Tenten, Naruto
Anzu Mazaki, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Temari, Naruto
Himawari, xxxHOLiC
Karen Kouzuki/Kallen Stadtfeld, Code Geass
Yuuki Miaka, Fushigi Yuugi
Meg Griffin, Family Guy
Elliot Reid, Scrubs
Princess Zelda, Legend of Zelda series/Brawl
Mizuki Kaho, Card Captor Sakura
Colette Brunel, Tales of Symphonia
Kaoru Kamiya AND Tomoe Yukishiro, Rurouni Kenshin
Ninian, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken
Katara, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Vid rec)
Naomi Hunter, Metal Gear Solid
Scheris Adjani, Scryed
Silk Spectre II/Laurie Juspeczyk, Watchmen
Jun the Swan, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
Hinata Hyuuga, Naruto
Momo Hinamori, Bleach
Miyako Inoue, Digimon 02
Misa Amane, Death Note
Juri Katou, Digimon Tamers
Asuka Tenjoin, Yu-Gi-Oh GX

Comments

Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[vivien]

I was... startled, actually, by the vehement opposition to Bela I saw and heard across the fandom. I was truly baffled by the reaction.

I mean, here was a woman who was a) smart, b) thriving in a male-dominated world, and c) confident/elegant/in control, and she is reviled by a lot of people who were delighted when she was killed off. She was a scoundrel and a thief and not a very nice person. She would have done absolutely anything to get out of her deal. But hey, I think I would have, too.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

I loved Bela! She was clever and competent and snarky.

Have you read Kiss me, son of God (http://bellatemple.livejournal.com/185623.html)? It's got a wonderful Bela in it.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[vivien]

I have not read it. I've had a little difficulty finding good Bela fic, although there are a few stories out there.

Also, omg hi, you wrote Take Up Serpents which remains one of my favorite fanfics ever. It's a small world sometimes on LJ.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

One complaint I saw a lot was that the boys were made stupid so that she could win, but with the way Dean and Sam were written that season I can't muster too much sympathy for them, and she didnt't deserve to die the way she did. Bela was an awesome character, and I wouldn't have minded at all if she had stuck around for longer.

Spelling correction

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

Didn't, even.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I don't think the boys were written stupid. Let's face it, Dean still outsmarted her because he's the co-lead. I think just having a character with some of the same traits as Dean, only one who was honest about certain things, pointed out flaws in Dean.

But honestly, I'm kind of surprised we were still supposed to like the Winchesters by the end of the season.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I hated that, because, I mean, I love Dean and Sam, but when were they ever not stupid.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

I always liked her, especially that trick she pulled with the Impala.

The angels should bring her back. She can be their person for more morally ambiguous things.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

I loved Bela :( I really want fic of her and the old Ruby and maybe Ellen and Jo hanging out and having kickass adventures, even though that doesn't really make sense.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[ryuutchi.livejournal.com]

ALL OF THEM TOGETHER DOING HUNTER-Y THINGS!

Even if Bela thinks hunters are all psychopaths. (Whatever happened to that commentary, anyway? She clearly had a beef with hunters.)

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I just finally watched S3 over the last few weeks. She deserved far better than what she got from both the show and the fandom. I'm especially fond of the scenes where she called Dean on his attitude. (Not quite as fond as I was of watching Ruby literally kick the *hem* out of Dean for about a minute and a half, but those are different kinds of class.)

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[girl-wonder.livejournal.com]

I totally loved Bela. I liked her more as we saw her develop more, but what struck me as so awesome was how smart she was. She was intelligent and didn't fall in love with Dean or Sam, didn't fall into bed with them as soon as meeting them, and in fact, had her own motivations.

I think that the fact that she's one of the few minor characters on the show that had motivations that were not entirely to help Dean and Sam made me love her all the more.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

I felt like she wasn't written quite as well as she should be, but I certainly liked her concept, and hated that she didn't get the sympathy she deserved at the end of S3.

Also that she and Dean never got to have hot caper!sex! That was a loss and a tragedy!

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[dotfic.livejournal.com]

she and Dean never got to have hot caper!sex! That was a loss and a tragedy!

I completely agree!

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[irony-rocks.livejournal.com]

BELLA ROCKED!

I adored her dynamic with Dean, which is probably where all the fandom animosity stemmed from. But she was smart, sexy, and I don't think I'll ever forgive the writers for not having the balls to go down the route they'd originally intended for her. She was a character worthy of redemption, and the PTB missed the boat on that entirely.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'll ever forgive the writers for not having the balls to go down the route they'd originally intended for her. She was a character worthy of redemption, and the PTB missed the boat on that entirely.

This. The fandom's worst excesses were embraced and encouraged.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

What had they originally intended for her?

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Man, I LOVE Bela and I still feel WHITE HOT RAGE at how BADLY the PTB handled her and how people slag off on her, as if the writing problems are the character's fault.

She was smart, she was the star of her own story, and she just wasn't that interested in the Winchesters' manpain, which made me like her even more.

I wish she'd stuck around to have a lot of hot angry sex with Dean where they'd both kind of hate themselves afterwards, but not be able to resist the next time anyway.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[some-stars.livejournal.com]

I was absolutely mad about Bela, so of course the show chewed her up and spat her out because THAT IS WHAT SPN DOES to women who are awesome. But god, she was so fresh and NEW and exciting and stirred things up and brought out new aspects of the boys and the wider universe and I just LOVED WATCHING HER, I wanted her onscreen all the time.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[dragovianknight.livejournal.com]

Oh gods, I adored Bela. She was smart and bitchy in the BEST way, and so many of the things fans hated her for they would have been totally awesome if they'd been done by Sam or Dean. Bela was pure win.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I loved Bela so much! I wish she'd got more screentime and, you know, not died. D:

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[dotfic.livejournal.com]

Yes! Thank you for starting a thread on her. I thought she brought something completely new to the SPN verse. She was neither a civilian to be protected, nor a hunter. She had her own agendas. She was snarky, smart, and self-assured.

One thing I really liked about her is how the actress managed to keep Bela on a fine line--the show never softened her too much and yet she wasn't 100% evil, she was pretty complicated and morally ambiguous. Not a supernatural being, not a human monster--but not good either. And that was interesting to see Sam and Dean deal with.

Also, she and Dean had marvelous chemistry. Yum.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[ciaan]

Bela was so cool. I felt so bad for her when she died. But even that she did with her class intact, standing up and facing the hounds rather than running.

This is what I wrote after the end of S3 about her. :(

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[loligo.livejournal.com]

Much as I like Ruby, I was kind of sorry to see her come back this season, because it spoiled all my daydreams of Bela & Ruby kicking ass and being slashy and escaping Hell together.

Re: Bela Talbot, Supernatural

[asgaja.livejournal.com]

I wish she would have gotten more screen time, there was so much unexplored potential in her character. I will admit part of me do hopes she will make a return as a demon. That would completely make my day!