"I’m not a sniveling whiny little Cry-Buffy. I’m the nastiest girl in Sunnydale history. I take crap from no one. . . . Back off, Polygrip! You think you're bad, all mean and haunty, picking on poor pathetic Cordy? Well, get ready to haul your wrinkly translucent ass out of this place, because lady, the bitch is back."

I recently asked Jossverse fans who their favorite female character was. The answer, overwhelmingly was, Cordelia Chase.
"Well, duh"
-Honestly right off the top of my head, it has to be Cordelia. She never wanted the visions that were thrust upon her, she didn't get a choice. But she didn't complain. She took them, she used them to guide Angel in his mission, even at the expense of her own life. That is the greatest good I think of. She was so strong that even when they were killing her, she didn't show the slightest weakness to anyone. Which is a double edged sword since her friends could have helped her. Even on BTVS, when she walks in on a clearly upset Buffy, she offers a ride. She probably had the most character growth of the females.
-Cordelia: she's so FIERCE in the she can fight without powers, and she never feels inferior, she has self confidence to continue on :) She worked to get her dress, too, that kind of broke my heart.
-It's interesting how almost everyone goes straight to Cordelia, seeing as how she's one of the few main characters in Buffy and Angel that doesn't really ever get any super powers. (Besides the visions, but they were useless when it came to fighting.) I think that's what makes her so strong. Buffy is supposed to be this feminist icon of female empowerment because she can kick the ass of everyone around her, but that's all she has. She's always the strongest, fastest, practically indestructible, but mentally she's a very weak. One of my biggest frustrations with being a girl is that I can't kick the ass of the people around me. I mean, I could go to a gym and work out and learn how to fight and all that, of course, but I never had raw power handed to me on a silver platter. Buffy did, and she still whimps out all the time. Can't kill Angel, runs away to be anne, wants to stay dead and leave her friends to fend for themselves. Cordelia, on the other hand, is just like the rest of us. She's this weak little girl who can't fight at all, but she never allows herself to become a victim. While Buffy's continued challenges wear her down, Cordy faces every setback or threat with more strength then the last. Cordelia faces down the same monsters buffy does with only willpower and confidence, imagine what she could have done if she had been the chosen one.
-I agree. That's why I always think that Cordelia is much stronger than Buffy.
Cordelia could have walked away several times. And minus the beginning when she tried to get rid of the visions, she embraced it. And what she sees is, in my opinion, worse than anything Buffy has. She sees and feels and knows the suffering of the people in her visions and yet she still embraces it. Even before that in Sunnydale, Xander had cheated on her, Buffy and the rest were bitches to her, she had lost all of her money and was working a job she hated. She no longer had any reasons to stay a part of the group, but she still helped.
And what she became was this warm, loving, strong female. Definitely one of the greatest role models of the show.
"Those guys are better off squashed, I truly think, but somewhere in that moment of panic a decision got made and I don't want something like that to happen to my friends, or -- and I can't stress this enough -- me."

"And what? I'm not soothing? I can be soothing. I could soothe your ass off, pal."
"Actually, I'm feeling superior because I have an arrow pointed at your jugular. And the irony of using a phallic shaped weapon? Not lost on me."

"It stays with you forever. No matter what they tell you, none of that rust and blood and grime comes out. I mean, you can dry clean till judgment day, you are living with those stains."

"You know, it occurs to me that we've never really had the opportunity to talk... woman to woman... with you locked up. Let's see...what can we talk about? I know! How about the ethics of boyfriend stealing?"

"So very funny. Any minute I'm sure to laugh!"
I'm from Sunnydale. We have our own Hellmouth! I think I know a vampire when I ... am... alone with him in his fortress like home, and I you know I think I'm just feeling a little light-headed from hunger. I'm just wacky! And kidding!
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