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• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: Shu Amiguchi falls in love with Yuki Takamiya, the brusque, Tomboy delinquent. Even hearing that she put three guys in the hospital does nothing to quell his interest.
• Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad from Assassin's Creed meets his future wife in a trap she sprung to personally kill him in the first game. They fight again at the start of Bloodlines and she is a Defiant Captive the whole time as well as escaping him more than once. By the end they are fighting together. Yes, Maria made quite the impression on him, considering he married her after all that.
• Baldur's Gate III: Shadowheart practically swoons if she's in the party when you first meet Karlach.
• BioWare trots out this trope frequently: part of the reason Carth Onasi, Sky, Corso Riggs, Felix Iresso, Malavai Quinn, and Torian Cadera are smitten with the respective female PlayerCharacters is because they've seen how amazing the gals are in a brawl and openly admit it in the dialogue.
  • With Torian, it's even more justified, since he's a Mandalorian. In their culture, marriage and family are very Serious Business (even more so than the rest of galactic society) - a woman who can kick ass with you on the battlefield is the only kind that's worthy of settling down with and raising a new generation of warriors.
  • Mass Effect has Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, who is a possible romance option for a male Shepard. Some of the dialogue (if you use it) indicates that her fighting skills may be one of the reasons why Shepard finds her attractive. And female Shepard's own skills seems to be what Kaidan Alenko finds most attractive about her.
    • Given that your goal is to create a group of the deadliest people in the galaxy in Mass Effect 2, it is no surprise that around half your team is composed of them. This is one of the reasons why Thane is attracted to Fem!Shepard (if you chose him as a romance option): not only does she harbor feelings for him despite his disease, but she also can annihilate anything that threatens the galaxy (Paragon) or just annoys her (Renegade). Part of the reason any of the male characters are attracted to Shepard is because of how tough she is. With Garrus the relationship developed from their friendship but also the incredible amount of respect he had for her leadership skills and combat prowess.
  • Dragon Age has a few options:
    • Any of the female Warden's love interests count as this in Dragon Age: Origins, given how badass she can level up to be. Zevran doesn't mind "serving the whims of a deadly sex goddess." A happily married Alistair, during his cameo in the Awakening expansion, fondly notes that "I married an indestructible goddess."
    • Dragon Age II can turn any of the potential love interests into this for a female Hawke.
    • From the same game above, there is also Aveline, whom Donnic definitely thinks is attractive. Amusingly, it takes a long time for Donnic to get that Aveline's also interested because romance is the one place her backbone gives out.
    • Sera from Dragon Age: Inquisition has a thing for Qunari, and her train of thought visibly derails when she first meets a female Qunari Inquisitor. Also a case of Gameplay and Story Integration, as she can be romanced by female Inquisitors of any race - but a Qunari Inquisitor will have an easier time getting her approval through flirting than other races.
    • A male Inquisitor romancing Cassandra falls under this trope as well.
    • If your player character is a female Elf and you have chosen the Warrior class, there is an early interaction with Solas that reveals as much if you choose the Flirt option:
      Solas:You strengthen your body to deliver and withstand punishment. The muscles are an enjoyable side benefit.
      Lavellan: (choosing 'Side benefits?' option) You find the muscles enjoyable?
      Solas: I meant that you enjoyed having them, presumably.
      Lavellan: Oh.
      Solas: But… Yes. Since you asked.
• Dragon Quest IV: Kyril is rather infatuated with Alena, a hot-blooded, tomboyish princess who loves and excels at fighting.
• The boss monster Booga in Dragon Quest XI falls for Action Girl Jade, praising her for having the "flawlessly toned physique of a gigantes" before holding her captive. Jade is then forced to fight his girlfriend, a female Jockilles named Boodica.
• In Brütal Legend, the resistance leader's girlfriend shows up wounded and later refuses to tell the Player Character how she got hurt because he would stop her finishing the job. His response?
  Eddie: No, that's Lars. I like watching you fight.
• Invoked in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening when Dante meets Lady. She almost runs him over twice with her Cool Bike and even shoots a rocket (which he rides) at him, but his reaction is simply whooping with glee at the latter. And when she leaves the room, he declares "This just keeps getting better and better". He also shows immense excitement while fighting Lady later on and says "Oh, I love a fast woman". Given Dante's win quote against Morrigan in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is literally "Mmm, baby. I love it when a girl gets violent", this is hardly surprising.
• Final Fantasy IX alluded to this when Zidane is helping the princess escape. This is after he chased her around the castle, watched her jump off a tower and then swing to safety using a street decoration.
  "Wow, you're really athletic. I think I'm falling for you."
• Subdued example in Final Fantasy VII Remake, during the end of the game Cloud after fighting Rufus is dangling from a girder and is about to fall, when Tifa runs in and pulling off a badass slide catches Cloud Just in Time holding up his entire body weight with one arm. Cloud's usually stoic expression upon seeing Tifa save him goes from a wide-eyed "Holy shit!" to a warm smile.
• Some of the canon pairings in Fire Emblem also fall into this trope of a guy falling for a Lady of War or Action Girl character and finding her charming because of her strength. These girls are:
  • The pirate Briggid, the thunder mage Tailto and the swordwoman Ayra from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War as well as Ayra's daughter Larcei and her in-story Expy Radney;
  • Fir the myrmidon from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. In her supports with Noah it's explicitely mentioned that he fell for her when he met her in the arena;
  • Lady Lyndis of Caelin (Lyn), the swordwoman Karla who is Fir's mother and idol, for whom she took up the way of the sword, the Pegasus Knights Fiora and Farina, and the Dragon Lord Vaida from The Blazing Blade;
  • Marisa, Eirika, and Vanessa from The Sacred Stones.
  • Titania from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn is an interesting case: Boyd seems like he has a crush on her until he subverts it by saying she's like a mom to him, but she has some genuine Ship Tease with Rhys.
  • In Fire Emblem: Awakening, several prospect husbands of ladies like Sully, a female Avatar and other girls (be action girls, magic users, etc.) also swear by the trope.
  • In Fire Emblem Fates, Prince Xander is specifically stated to be one of these and it shows in some of his romantic supports: he rejects the Gold Digger Charlotte when she openly sucks up to him but is impressed when she protects him by ripping a monster with her bare hands, chose Peri as his subordinate when he saw her fighting potential in a joust, and proposed to Beruka like this:
    Beruka: Milord, I...I'm so happy to hear those words from you. But...is someone like me, an assassin, truly a worthy queen of Nohr?
    Xander: Of course. In fact, you are the perfect fit. Nohr needs a queen who is familiar with the dark side of life, not just the light. So tell me, Beruka—what do you say? I eagerly await your answer...
  • In Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, the Lady of War Mathilda's biggest admirer is her boyfriend Clive. He tells her clearly in their supports that her fighting skills "make his heart soar", encourages her to fight her hardest, and strives to be the best fighting partner possible for her.
    "Now go forth and tear the enemy apart like the beautiful war maiden you are."
• F-Zero X gives us Jody Summer and Mrs. Arrow. The former was the quite the Little Miss Badass in her youth ^note her accomplishments, listed here, would put many to shame and retained her merits as an adult. Jody is a highly capable fighter pilot, earning her the admiration and respect of her peers in the Galactic Space Federation (most of all, John Tanaka). Mrs. Arrow, on the other hand, may possibly be one of the best racers in the series, earning her the friendship of Super Arrow when he tried to resurrect the F-Zero League, a relationship that eventually resulted in him popping the question. GX implies that they don't just race together, but that she even assists Super Arrow in keeping the peace despite having no powers of her own.
• The King of Fighters:
  • One of the reasons why Sie Kensou likes Athena is that she's quite the Badass Adorable, according to his win quotes against her in XIII and XIV. He's also impressed by Leona's looks in XIII and by Luong's Heroic Seductress charms in XIV.
  • A good part of the Ship Tease between Ryo Sakazaki and King is based on him admiring her Lady of War fighting skills, which offers a contrast with his Big Brother Instinct towards Yuri.
  • Shen Woo is favorably impressed when Athena tells him to not hold back against her, says he hasn't had so much fun with a woman if he fights the aforementioned King, and straight up tells Vice and Mature "for some reason, crazy women like you really turn me on!" He's definitely one of these.
• In Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Zack asks Aqua on a date just minutes after she a) kicked his ass, and b) took on the God of the Dead and a copy of the Ice Titan single-handed. There's no way that's a coincidence.
• Possible with Owen in The Last of Us Part II in his relationship with Abby. While pretty much all women able to survive in the post-apocalyptic Crapsack World would count as tough and fit by the standards of real world society, Abby's character model is not only noticeably more muscular than most, but her exceptional burliness is mentioned in-universe by a number of characters. During her early courtship with Owen, her ability to give him a hand-up over an obstacle is met with pleasant surprise and admiration, and she mentions her bench-pressing record in a tone of clear pride. Her exceptional Action Girl status, in contrast to his current girlfriend Mel, may be a factor in his being unwilling to distance himself from Abby despite how much it upsets Mel ( culminating with him cheating on Mel with Abby)..
• League of Legends
  • Garen, hero of Demacia, seems to be attracted to Katarina, of the rival faction Noxus, because of her prowess on the battlefield. It's also very likely an in-joke to the fact that they both have similar methods of fighting, at least in the sense that their respective signature skills involve spinning their own bodies at intense speeds.
  • Rell gets incredibly flustered when she gets a look at the tall, strong Knight in Shining Armor Leona.
    "All right, Rell. Be cool. It's just a tall, super-strong armored lady..."
• Metal Gear series:
  • During the time Foxhound was stationed at Shadow Moses to provide security, Otacon seemed to have become very fond of Sniper Wolf.
  • Olga Gurlukovich in MGS2. Growing up as the daughter of a mercenary commander and becoming his second in command as an adult, and taking over as commander after his death certainly qualifies her as an action girl. And though we don't learn anything about her private life, at least one man must have felt drawn to her, having a kid and all.
• Erron Black of Mortal Kombat X:
  Erron Black: Girls with guns... Always hot.
  Sonya Blade: I'll shove 'em up your ass and fire.
  Erron Black: Almost always hot.
• Shao Kahn of all people in Mortal Kombat 11 has a thing for women with fiery spirit, and wants to add Cassie to his harem... much to her disgust.
  Shao Kahn: I like females with fire...
• One scenario in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 involves the Ouendan helping out Kaede, a former female pro-wrestler who marries the son of the owner of a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn). He seems quite happy with the arrangement, and quite distraught when his mother threatens to throw Kaede out on her ear if she doesn't get up to snuff as a ryokan hostess.
• The main character of The Space Bar seems to be one. He has the major hots for a dancer in the eponymous bar who's a member of a species where the females are the dominant and strongest sex. Further, if he tries to kiss her she'll knock him to the ground with an uppercut and he'll whistle after picking himself up and be even more interested in possibly asking her for a date (though his PDA AI talks him out of it).
• Downplayed in Tomb Raider (2013). Alex, the nerdy techie of the Endurance expedition, apparently had something of a crush on Lara very early on, long before the mess started and her development into an Action Girl, but after seeing this change in her personality himself, he began to worry that she wouldn't notice him. So, in a bewildering case of Love Makes You Stupid, he attempts to impress her by volunteering to go looking for tools on the shipwrecked Endurance alone to prove himself, which just gets him trapped though he does manage to pull off a Heroic Sacrifice against the cultists after apologising to Lara (who actually thought he was cute) for his foolishness.
• Persona:
  • In Persona 3, it's subtly implied that a strong woman, both physically and mentally, is Akihiko Sanada's type. His potential romance with the female protagonist in the Playstation Portable version initially buds from his admiration of her as a leader, he hits it off with Chie in Persona 4: Arena, and during a humorous event about finding "the one" in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, two of the P3 MC's dialogue options allude to this - one has him mention that his "dream girl" is one who can keep up with his rigorous training, and another has him react with surprise and joy that "buff girls" (the option being "find a buff girl") exist.
  • The protagonist can potentially be this in Persona 4. Of the seven^note technically eight, but two of the girls are mutually exclusive romantic interests, four are members of the Investigation team, and three of them get right out on the battlefield kicking Shadow ass alongside the protagonist. This trope is a little more prominent with Naoto Shirogane (a pistol-packing bifauxnen Kid Detective), though the romance branch sees the player encouraging her more feminine side), but is strongest with Chie Satonaka, the team's Tomboy with a Girly Streak. The player even has a choice to profess admiration/appreciation of her Big Eater habits if she takes them on a date for the second day of the Summer Festival.
• Lady of War Raquel from Wild ARMs 4 impresses everyone with either her looks or her BFS; while it's implied that she's not so pretty under her clothes, Arnaud doesn't mind, because he marries her.
• The Warcraft series has a few examples.
  • Durotan, Thrall's father, fell in love with his life mate Draka because of her indomidable warrior spirit. When he told her to stay behind in their village while he set out on a particularly dangerous mission, she punched him in the face hard enough for him to bleed for the insult. That just reminded him of how much he loved her.
  • One questline in World of Warcraft involves the player attempting to put together an arranged marriage in order to unite the Wildhammer Dwarf clans. At first, the groom-to-be, Keegan Firebeard, admits that the intended bride, Fanny Thundermar, is quite attractive by Dwarven standards, but he's still unsure. Then, Fanny gets captured by ogres, and Keegan decides to help in the efforts to rescue her, but by the time he arrives, Fanny had already beaten the living crap out of the three gigantic, fully-armed and armored ogres that were guarding her using only her bare hands, and was just waiting to be picked up. After that point, the wedding can't happen fast enough for Keegan.
• Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator probably parodies the trope with Ky Kiske's reaction to his Badass Adorable wife Dizzy's Instant Kill. As said move's power is unleashed (despite the character's desires) into a mushroom cloud explosion happening in the background... if Ky is her opponent, after the initial shock passes, he turns to her with can only be described as a smile and eyes sparkling with love. His reaction is portrayed as both hilarious and endearing.
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has several male hylian NPCs who can be found in the game's Gerudo Desert region, many of whom are there just for the opportunity to meet and hopefully date a Gerudo woman—who are basically an entire race of amazonian beauties.
• Sun-King Avad in Horizon Zero Dawn is revealed to have had a thing for Ersa, the posthumous captain of his Vanguard and sister of his current captain Erend, and specifically lists her being "strong, shrewd and capable" as reasons he was attracted to her. He also develops a crush on Aloy, who can call him out on the fact that he obviously sees her as a Replacement Goldfish to Ersa.
• Starbound: Koichi, a wispy, bookish Hylotl scholar, develops a crush on Nuru, a Floran master hunter capable of taking down truck-sized beetle monsters. While she's seemingly unaware of his feelings at first, they're shown having a romantic dinner in the epilogue. Bonus points for having a lot of historical conflict between their races to overcome, up to and including the near-genocide of the Hylotl. However, paying attention to some of the material in-game suggests that a lot of Hylotl have this kind of secret fascination with their former enemies.
• In the backstory of Them's Fightin' Herds, Blitzen was scornful of Velvet's fastidiousness and scrawny body- until she curbstomped him with ice magic far beyond the other reindeers' abilities. He actually fell in love with her while he was still lying in the dirt.
• In Fallout: New Vegas a male Courier can show attraction to badass NCR sniper Corporal Betsy explicitly saying in one dialogue he "Likes tough women". Betsy will shoot the player character down though saying he's "Sniffing up the wrong skirt" as she's a Butch Lesbian. A female Courier with high enough charisma and similar dialogue will have better success.
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!: Brawn Hilda Nurse Nina wants you to find her a husband, and gives you a list of potential suitors. The first two are initially very interested in dating her, but she wants a strong husband, so she makes you fight each of them to the death as a test of strength, which turns them off. The third suitor isn't interested in her, so she makes you kill him out of anger from being rejected. He stops the fight partway through, having changed his mind. To him, nothing says romantic like a girl trying to have you killed!
• Any of Rean's female romantic partners in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel are all of the Action Girl type though Laura would fit in the description the most thanks to being the most physical swordsman of the group.
• The Walking Dead: The Final Season: In the Violet romance route, Clementine can tell Violet "she kicked ass" with a huge grin on her face.

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