L.A. Women, Ch. 8

[CoffeeMug]

L.A. Women, Ch. 8

This is a work of fantasy and the human imagination.

It was fight night in the small desert town of Borrego Springs in the early summer of 1973. Daniella was standing in her corner of the ring. Smoke hung in the air above her, caught in the dim fluorescent lights of the old gym. The gorgeous twentysomething of Colombian descent wore only a tiny pair of boxing gloves and an equally tin red bikini bottom, her body otherwise bare, proudly displayed in its strength and femininity. Her long brown hair, curly to the point of being frizzy, hung down below her shoulders. Her beautiful face was perfectly made up and it shone with life and passion, with her broad, full cheeks, petite nose, and her full, luscious lips. Her great, full breasts stood out firm from her chest, tipped by large areolae and long nipples, and her torso narrowed down to her flat stomach and then arced out into the full lines of her ass and hips. Below that were her strong, full thighs, her smooth calves, and her bare feet. Her arms were draped across the ropes and she was pivoting back and forth on the balls of her feet, her breasts swinging slowly as if in counterpoint to her hips, all energy and readiness to fight, as she stared hard at the woman across the ring from her. The gym they were in was old and basic, with only a few neon lights in the rafters above them and the most basic of stands for the crowd. For all that, the place was full, and those who were there had paid a hefty price for the chance to see these two women go at it: Daniella and Gwendolyn. Gwen was in the other corner, dressed the same as Dani except that her bikini bottoms were black rather than red. She was also a great beauty, and like Dani, the kind whom men and women alike turned to stare at when she entered the room. Her hair was jet black and cut shorter, stopping at her neckline, and it hung down straight. She was an inch or two shorter than Dani, and she was maybe five years older, and she also a great beauty, with a firm body that looked to be very strong. The talk was that she had been a tremendous fighter before she'd switched to management, and it seemed to Dani's eye that she had lost nothing to age. Her heritage was a mixture of Filipino and German, and she had a wide, full face and sparkling black eyes that seemed to stare right through you. She was a big-breasted woman too, although hers were a bit smaller than Dani's stellar mounds. They were still very firm, and her nipples were nearly black and enormous, seeming to cover the entire end of her breasts. She was still relatively lean and very well-formed overall, and it seemed like the faintest trace of her musculature shone through everywhere on her body, arms and shoulders, abs and legs. Her hips were a little narrower than Dani's but they looked powerful, and Dani knew that she would hit hard. Dani would just have to hit harder.

It was the night after Dani's girl Sarah had beaten up Gwen's girl Kate in a brutal, deeply personal fight the street. Dani and Gwen both managed young, beautiful women who fought for prize money and for female pride in front of the rich and powerful of Southern California. After months of tension--and insults and provocations from Gwendolyn's side--they had agreed to a fight in the ring here in Borrego Springs, outside of LA. But Gwen and Kate had gone out of their way to insult Sarah, and while Dani was out of town for a few hours, Sarah had gone and found Kate herself. The two women had brawled in the street, fist fighting and catfighting, and in the end Sarah had won. She'd beaten Kate badly and had taken everything the platinum blonde had to dish out, which was quite a lot. By the time Dani had gotten back from LA, Sarah was lying in bed in their hotel, being checked out by a doctor. She'd be out of action for a while, and she was a mess of swelling, bruising, bite marks, and cuts, but the doctor had assured them that Sarah would be back to her old self soon enough. The younger fighter had been worried that Dani would be mad that she'd ruined their big night, Dani's chance to take Gwen's business away from her, but Dani sat on the side of her bed and assured her that she understood why she'd done it. Gwen was a jealous bitch who was scared of being replaced by Dani, and Kate was just as worried about Sarah, and Dani knew very well what a woman like that could do. And she knew that when your status as a woman was challenged, you had to make an example of her.

And that's what Dani intended to do to Gwen. She demanded a meeting with Gwen and Steve Turnbull, the middle-aged man who had organized this fight in Borrego Springs and with whom Dani and Gwen both had worked in the past--and who had attracted the eye of both Sarah and Kate. It had been Steve who'd paid for the doctor who'd seen to Sarah, and he had visited Sarah privately after Dani had seen her. It was his network of friends (a surprising number of whom were women) who paid so well to watch these beautiful young women compete with each other. At the sit-down later that night, Gwen had been furious, as Dani had expected. Kate, her best woman, was in even rougher shape than Sarah and had been humiliated in public, so she had lost both income and status, which were really the only things she cared about. Gwen opened by accusing Sarah of jumping Kate; Dani replied that it had been a fair fight and that as far as she was concerned, the issue between the two girls was settled.

"My girls don't brawl in the street like cheap sluts," Gwen had said in response.

"It seems like they do," Dani had said. "They just don't win."

"Honey, I hope you're enjoying your five minutes in proper society, because I'm going to bury you and your girl down in the trash, and you're never getting up here again."

"You're jealous that I can take what you've got," Dani answered. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. "Except your creepy husband. You can keep him."

"I have a hot husband, a new house built by Ronald Mosely, and the right friends. I'm not some office worker who lives in an apartment and can't afford a real haircut. And has fat cheeks."

Dani's face went hot. The two women were glaring directly into each other's eyes, neither blinking. "At least my ass isn't sagging."

"My ass is firmer than yours. And your cow tits and fat face aren't going to age like you're expecting."

"Put on the gloves, slut," Dani replied, "and let's see what shape your face is in after I knock you around the ring all night."

"I don't have to prove anything for everyone to know that I'm better than you."

"Sounds like you're scared."

"You aren't a threat to me," Gwen said icily.

"Then put the gloves on and face me. Topless. Unless you're too old and your girls need the extra support."

That set it. The following night, Dani and Gwen would box in the ring that had been reserved for Sarah and Kate, in front of the same audience of the idle rich who'd gathered there to watch the younger women. Steve Turnbull assured them that the fight in the street had only increased his friends' desire to see this happen. They would use 6 ounce gloves, which would be absurdly small and offer minimal protection. The winner would be free to arrange fights with Steve Turnbull and his friends, and the loser would have to go away.

And then it was fight night. The two women had entered the ring wearing formal evening gowns with a slit up one leg and extreme decollete, Dani in red and Gwendolyn in black, and each of them took her time sashaying about the ring and showing off her dress, hair, and makeup. Both women looked absolutely spectacular and each knew it, knew that she looked ravishing and knew that her rival did as well. After they'd had enough time to show off, both women had been helped out of their dresses by their seconds, Dani with her girl Reagan and Gwen with the tall, big-boobed redhead. They slid their dresses down and kicked off their heels and stood wearing only their bikini bottoms. Topless, beautiful, each stood with her back arched, smiling viciously, proud breasts jutting forward and womanly hips pivoted just right, as the ref slipped on the undersized boxing gloves.

They had a proper ref, with a black bow tie and everything, as well as a ringside bell, and he dismissed the seconds and called the women forward to go over the rules. Dani and Gwen obeyed to a fault, coming all the way forward to the point their faces were only a few inches apart and their bare nipples were achingly close to brushing against each other. The stench of the other woman's perfume, very expensive, filled Dani's nostrils, and she hoped Gwen was equally revolted by hers. Their eyes were locked into each other and it was as if nothing else existed except their desire to punish each other. Still, dutifully, the ref went over the rules. They would have 2 minute rounds, unlimited, until someone was knocked out. No biting and no kicking, no hitting the opponent while she's down, no blows to the crotch, and no saves from the bell. No headbutting, but extended clinching and holding, and rabbit punching while doing so, as well as shoving, were all allowed. The penalty for breaking the rules would be that the other woman got a free shot to the face, no defense allowed. At the end, the ref asked if they had any questions, but neither woman responded, and he directed them back to their corners. He then addressed the audience and informed them of the stakes: the prize money for the fight itself and the right to work with Steve Turnbull and his friends to arrange matches in the future. Each woman's second inserted her mouthpiece and the first bell rang.

The boxers came out quickly and smartly and began circling in the middle of the ring. Dani threw a left jab, but Gwen knocked it aside and scored one of her own into Dani's face. The Latina stepped back one and circled and came back again, throwing another left jab and a right follow-up. The right hand struck home against Gwen's nose, and now it was her turn to back up and circle for a second. Both women reset and then threw more punches, being a bit careful, and prodded at each other's defense. The sweat was beginning to pop out on their skin and their free breasts swung just a little as they maneuvered around the ring. Dani skipped quickly to one side and nailed Gwen in the ribs with a good shot, making the raven-haired beauty retreat a little, holding her elbow down, and Dani followed her. She threw rights and lefts, trying to take advantage, but her opponent covered up and blocked everything with her gloves and forearms. Dani pushed her, though, and got her going back into a corner. Her back struck the post and Dani poured it on, moving down to her stomach and getting in a few good shots that made Gwen lunge forward and wrap her arms around Dani's neck. The two of them stumbled around the ring and Dani shoved her away, but the other woman was free of the corner now. Frustrated at how she'd gotten loose, Dani launched a wild right and paid for it with a counterpunch that got her in the pit of her stomach. The blow doubled her over and Gwen slammed an uppercut into her face, knocking her straight up, but the bell rang before she could do any more damage.

Both women went to their corners and, plopping down on their stools, accepted water from their seconds. Those gorgeous young ladies each encouraged their boxer, telling her to stay on the other bitch and punish her, and spritzed water on her chest and face, and then the ref signaled and they were up and at it again. They met in the center of the ring this time, and at the start, were still being cautious, gloves up defensively. Gwen threw a few jabs that didn't do anything and Dani responded with the same. They circled again, and Dani threw a left that missed and Gwen nailed her across the face with a left of her. As soon as she took the blow, however, Dani was throwing another left, lower, and she nailed Gwen in her big boob. And then it was anything goes. Both women exploded, throwing rights and lefts with no defense. Dani took two hard shots to her breasts and she nailed Gwen in the face with a straight right that got blood dribbling out of her nose. The buxom Latina got the raven-haired beauty against the ropes and pummeled her stomach, but her victim slipped through an uppercut to the face, backing her up, and then scored with punches to her breasts again and then a right and a left to the cheeks that sent her brown hair whipping through the air. Grunts and groans of pain and harsh breathing and their bare feet stamping about the ring. More punches and more misses, and then they planted their feet in the center of the ring and hit each other across the face, one after another, with no advantage and no defense. Aggressive, naked hitting, their gorgeous bodies, one a very light brown and one darker, turning and twisting in the violence. When the bell rang, both women were bleeding from the mouth and nose and they were breathing hard. Again they went to their corner, where the seconds washed them off and wiped away the blood, which just started flowing again, and then it was time to start over.

Dani was eager to get at it again, and Round 3 started just as violently as 2 had ended. Dani went straight at her and smashed Gwen in her boob, a downward punch that seemed to land right at the top of her huge black nipple. Gwendolyn moaned but she came right back with an uppercut into Daniella's slightly bigger boob, and it felt like it was flopping about her chest. Instinctively, Dani covered herself and she took a punch to her eye. Everything was whirling but Dani fought back anyway. She threw rights and lefts and some hit Gwen's gloves but some got through and thudded hard against her body. Through the pain and fatigue, Dani felt good at the hard thwack of leather against flesh. She was driving the other woman back now, but then she left herself open and Gwen got her over her right shoulder with a hard punch to the side of her head. Dani stumbled and suddenly Gwen threw her arm around Dani's neck and flung her into the corner. Dani hit the wooden post hard, sideways, and Gwen hit her in the side of her tit and then she pressed one glove against Dani's head and hit her repeatedly in the ribs and stomach. Dani took the shots and then she slipped by the other boxer and scooted down the ropes. She was hurting badly but she got free and righted herself, out in the center of the ring now and facing her opponent. Gwen came at her, smiling now, and they exchanged punches. Dani got her once in the face but Gwen hit her in the stomach and then across the cheek as she lurched forward. Dani stumbled and turtled up, leaning forward with her gloves over her face and her elbows down over her breasts. More punches landed against her gloves but nothing got through, and then the bell rang.

Dani went to her corner and sank gratefully to the chair. She and Gwen glared at each other as their seconds washed off the blood and wiped down their torsos. Dani could feel her face and chest bruising, and while she could see marks on the light brown skin of her opponent, she knew that she was the worse off. As the seconds ticked off, she stared at Gwen and thought about how the bitch had stood her up for their meeting in LA and the dishonest drawing of Sarah on the poster, making her look fat, and how she'd already started fighting dirty tonight, and when the ref called for them to ready, she felt it. Rising from her stool, she felt full of purpose, and when the bell rang, she strode forward aggressively and took control of the center of the ring. Gwen skirted around the outside, and as she got close to the corner, Dani rushed her, muscling her back into the post and pinning her there. She put her left glove against Gwen's face, pushing her head back, and with her right she punched away at her stomach and her tits, sending them bouncing around her chest. The black-haired woman moaned in frustration as she took the shots and she pushed on Dani with both gloves but Dani kept slugging away with her right, while with her left she rotated the glove so that the laces were against her face and she ground them against her mouth and nose. Finally, Gwen shoved up on Dani's left elbow with both hands and got the glove off her face. But Dani kept at it, hitting her with both hands now, punches into her stomach and ribs, and then when Gwen ducked down to protect herself, she slammed uppercuts into her face, a right and a left that sent the older woman slumping down in the corner. Gwen tried to catch herself on the ropes and Dani took advantage as she hung there for an instant and nailed her in the face with one more punch. That put Gwen down on her ass, leaning against the post. The ref pulled Dani away from her and started counting. Gwen was glaring up at Dani from the start of the count, and after just a few seconds she was on her hands and knees and then pulling herself up with use of the ropes. The ref made Dani back up all the way so that Gwen could get out of the corner and gestured for them to engage again. Gwen stayed defensive, circling away as Dani chased her. Eager to add on to the damage she'd done, Dani threw punches as she got close but the other woman slipped away each time. Finally, just as the bell rang, Dani clipped her across the face with a right cross and sent her back into the ropes.

As she went back to her corner for the break, Dani felt a lot better. And she looked better, too, she thought, eyeing her opponent as the other woman sank down onto her stool and gratefully accepted a mouthful of water. The redhead washed her face off and rubbed cold water on her chest and back, and as she watched her do it, Dani thought of all the punches she'd be landing on her in the next round. Dani's second did the same for her and dried her off, and then it was the start of Round 4. They met in the middle again, and Daniella was looking to resume punishing her. Aggressively, she launched looping rights and lefts, but Gwendolyn saw it coming and kept her gloves up in front of her face, making no effort to counter until the flurry was over. And then, just as Dani stopped to take in a deep breath and reset herself, Gwen slammed a punch into her left breast, nailing her right on her nipple. The punch had been travelling down and it felt like her nipple had been ripped off. And then before she could react, Dani took one in her stomach and then another into her right breast, an uppercut this time. Now she was hurting badly and she backed up. And Gwen came after her, throwing punches at her from all over. Dani took more shots to her face and her torso, and just as her back hit the ropes Gwen slammed a brutal uppercut into her chin. The next thing she knew, Dani was on the mat, looking up at the ref, while Gwen was standing just behind him, a wicked smile on her face. The ref was saying "3, 4" and Dani frantically started churning her legs to rise. She had to pull herself up by the ropes, but it seemed like the ref slowed his count so that she could make it up. And when she did, leaning back into the ropes still, panting and sweating and hurting all over, the ref checked her eyes briefly and, backing Gwen up as he had Dani in the previous round, signaled for them to start again. Dani was still hurting and Gwen was all over her. A left to the mouth and then rights and lefts to her body and then a right to the mouth again. Dani took them all and just tried to hold on but each slam of the leather against her felt like it was rocking her entire body. Another right to the face sent her straight back and she was in the corner now. Gwen rushed forward and as she did, Dani met her. She got her across the face with a left but Gwen kept coming, hitting her in the eye with a left and then slamming a right hand into the side of her huge breast, ripping the punch right across the front of her bosom, it felt like. Dani moaned in pain and reflexively covered herself, and she took yet another one into her mouth that sent her back into the post and then sliding down to the mat again. The bell rang, but the ref stood over her and started his count. She made it up by 8 and he sent both women to their corners.

This time, Dani just fell down onto the stool and then she leaned forward, elbows on her knees, her assets swinging freely under her. It felt like everything on the front of her body had been mashed with a meat tenderizer. Reagan poured water over her and rubbed her back and toweled her off and then, too soon, Dani was rising from her stool and facing off with Gwen again. Smiling, eager, the big-breasted fighter came at her, and Dani met her, sucking in a great chest full of air and tapping her gloves together. No dancing or circling this time. They met in the middle of the ring and went at it. Dark hair went flying and both women grunted with pain and exertion as they pounded away at each other. Dani took punches to her face, her chest, and her stomach, and she gave them back. Back and forth they went, feet planted, the audience cheering as they beat each other into a pulp. Finally, they just fell into each other's arms and pushed and struggled against each other in the center of the ring. Short punches to the ribs and the side of the face from each, their huge sweaty tits swelling up and sliding about as they shoved and stumbled around the ring. Each woman was bleeding freely and she left blood in the hair or on the shoulder of the other as they leaned on each other. Gwen stamped her foot down on Dani's, and the Latina returned the cheap shot. Finally, the bell rang and they went back to their corners, slowly, and sank down on their stools.

It was Round 6 and very little happened in the first half of the round. They had punched themselves out and now they were just shoving each other around the ring. Then, Dani got in two good shots on Gwen's boobs and took equally good shots to her own, and that set off an exchange of punches to the body. Dani got in a vicious uppercut to Gwen's tit, right on her huge black nipple, and as the raven-haired beauty went defensive, the Latina shoved her back into the ropes, and there Dani went to work on her stomach, nailing her with hard shots to the waistline of her very brief bikini bottoms that left Gwen bent halfway over when she was done. Dani wanted to clobber her across the face but she was gassed out, and the bell rang before she could capitalize on the opportunity.

Round 7 started slowly again. Both women were drenched in sweat, and their formerly beautiful hair was now plastered to their skin. They were both bent forward, glaring at each other, but they just circled, still breathing hard. They each threw a few tepid punches and kept circling. Half the round went by like this, but then Dani took a chance and with a wild right aimed at Gwen's left side. The other woman slipped aside and Dani, in her fatigue, lost her balance and went stumbling by. As she did, Gwen hit her in the face with her left and then just shoved her with her right and Dani started falling. She pitched into the ropes and Gwen shoved her again and she went all the way through the ropes and tumbled down to the floor of the gym. She landed hard and lay on her back, the fluorescent lights humming away above her. For some seconds, she stared up at them, and then she became aware that Gwen was arguing with the ref. Dani was watching them absently at first, and then she realized they were arguing about her. The ref was going to pull her back into the ring and Gwendolyn was saying that falling out of the ring should count as a knockout.

"Oh, fuck this," the Filipino-German beauty hissed, finally, tossing aside her mouth guard, and she went to her corner and told her second to take off her gloves. Dani knew what was coming and she went to the guy working the bell and told him to take her gloves off as she also spit out her mouth guard. She got the gloves off just as the other woman stepped through the ropes and hopped down to the floor with her. Both still wore their hand wraps and their bikini bottoms and nothing else. They were only a few feet apart, two bruised and bloodied women, and every inch of their bodies looked raw and battered: their big breasts, huge dark nipples rock hard, and their beautiful faces, eyes black and blood smeared around their noses and mouths, and flat stomachs, narrowing down to the lines above their bikinis. Both of them were covered in sweat and pain and still eager to get at the other, to beat the fight out of the other woman.

"Bring it, bitch," Dani said.

Gwen snarled at her and rushed forward and Dani met her with a right fist to the face. The blow sent her staggering back and Dani threw herself at her. She got Gwen by her black hair with her left hand and slammed punches up into her face with her right. One, two, three, and then Gwen got her left arm in the way and returned the punches with her right, her hard fist crushing Dani's huge breast against her ribs and then smashing up into her chin. The force of it knocked Dani loose and she let go of her hold and stumbled back into the ring apron. New streams of blood ran from the mouths of both women. Glaring up at her through her ruined hair, Gwen wiped the blood away and moved toward her. Dani was leaning back on the ring and Gwen slugged a right fist into the pit of her stomach. The Latina groaned miserably but she hit her back with a left to the face. They were fighting within reach of the audience and Dani locked eyes with a man in the front row and then she turned her attention back to the rich bitch. Her punch had turned Gwen around and Dani seized her from behind, both hands in her hair, and she drove her forward, bouncing her off the stairs that led up into the ring. Gwen hit her shoulder against the hard metal and went stumbling into the crowd. She landed on an obese man in a brown suit and just collapsed into him, her knees on the ground and her face down in his lap. Dani stood behind her and made a shrugging gesture to the audience and then she started punching Gwen in the back, over and over, making the smaller woman groan and shudder with each punch.

Finally, Dani's arm was just dead and she stopped punching and leaned back against the ringpost to catch her breath. Her brown hair was hanging in front of her face and with both hands she pushed it back and then, pulling it over her shoulder in both hands, she wrung a bit of sweat out of it. Then she just leaned against the ring and sucked in great deep breaths, her punished bosom rising and falling, and stared down at the other woman, who was just now pushing herself out of the fat man's lap and crawling along the ground. Dani watched her and then, as Gwen rose, she came upright off the ringpost and, seizing Gwen by the hair, pulled her up to her feet. They were now standing in the aisle that led back to the dressing rooms and Dani stood her upright and then let go of her hair. Gwen was trembling and she slowly raised her fists and Dani went off on her. One punch and another into her tits, targeting her huge nipples, and another and another, and Gwen was covering her prized assets and moaning. Dani stopped assaulting her chest now and, putting her left hand against the side of her head momentarily, she measured her up and slammed a right fist into Gwen's face. The mighty blow put her face down on the floor. Her smooth legs, the hemisphere of her pert ass, her back as smooth and well-formed as her legs, the sides of her breasts swelling out from under her torso, her black hair matted in tangles. Dani again braced herself, this time on the stands that lined the aisle, and caught her breath. As she rested, she couldn't help but notice that Gwendolyn, for all her cattiness, had been right about her ass, which was aging very well. It was obvious to her, staring down at the other woman, how that pert ass and strong hips could generate the power she'd been hitting Dani with. The Latina beauty could hear the audience scrambling and reforming behind her and she let them reassemble, even turning and giving them a twinkle and a smile through the bruising and swelling of her face, turning just right so that her spectacular ass and equally wonderful breasts could both be seen.

And when she'd let them all get a good look at her, victorious, she returned her attention to her victim. Gwen was pulling herself up from the ground, yet again, and Dani grabbed her by one arm and yanked her up and spun her around. She set her bare feet on the dirty ground and readied herself for one last shot. And then Gwen snapped her foot out and kicked her right between the legs. Her toes struck home and all the strength poured out of Daniella. She clutched at herself and took a step forward and that was all she could do. Bent over, eyes glassy, she could do nothing and Gwen took a step to the side and kicked her again, this time in her big breasts, and again her toes struck home. Dani was knocked backward and she fell on her back on the dirty floor of the gym. Somewhere in her brain she was telling herself to move but nothing was working. On the edge of her field of view she caught Reagan looking down at her, wearing a panicked expression that somehow to Dani made her face look even prettier. And coming up next to her at that moment was the tall redhead who was with Gwendolyn. And then the Filipino-German beauty was lowering herself and sitting astride the Colombian, and she hit her across the face with her hard wrapped fists, rights and lefts, knocking her back and forth until she went limp. Dani was finished.

[Drake8]

Maybe I reference George R. R. Martin too much, but this was like the Red Wedding for me, lol.

This episode isn't just a simple fight; it's another masterful example of a deep understanding of the psychology of female rivalry and domination. First, there's that fierce argument where both attack each other, directly damaging each other's egos and self-perception. Gwen tries to use her socioeconomic superiority to trample on Daniella. She knows she can't compete in terms of pure beauty, so she attacks on the basis of status; moreover, just as Kaira did back in the day, Gwen tries to turn Dani's incredible voluptuousness into a flaw, calling her fat: "cow tits and fat face". However, this time Daniella goes all out. She senses Gwen's envy and strikes back with the coolness of a girl who knows she's physically superior (along with the "creepy husband's" vicious attack, it's brutal to say that to another woman). So intense that I don't know how they didn't end up fighting right there.

And then, the most anticipated showdown arrives. The situation is perfect for Dani. She's putting it all on the line in a fight against an opponent who has infinitely more money, power, connections, and resources.
During the incredible fight, we have a masterclass in how to subvert readers expectations in this literary genre. It doesn't leave us with just a simple defeat; it leaves us with a sense of utter devastation because it made us savor Daniella's glory on two different occasions before leaving her limp and defeated on the ground. First, with the famous "psychological awakening" of the protagonist: A girl motivated by justice is invincible against a rival who fights only for ego or money. Abuse of power must be punished! CoffeeMug makes it clear that this isn't that kind of novel. Daniella isn't a traditional heroine from an adventure book, and she takes a tremendous beating in the next round.

Finally, the dramatic ending. Once again, the author plays with us through this role reversal: the protagonist loses just like the villain, causing the "good girl" to suffer the fate and punishment usually reserved for the arrogant antagonist. By having Dani lose in this way, the story moves away from the fairy tale and embraces a dark realism: premature exhibitionism come at a price, no matter who the protagonist of the story is.

I can't help but emphasize how the differences between the two during the fight reflect such distinct personality traits that we've seen throughout the novel:
Gwendolyn embodies the cold, calculating power and experience of the Los Angeles elite. She is cold, cunning, and extremely pragmatic. Unlike Dani, Gwen isn't interested in putting on a show or winning the audience's applause while she fights; she's interested in winning and maintaining her status at any cost. When she's at a disadvantage, she resorts to rule-bending or dirty tricks without batting an eye. With so many sources of information, I think she knew Dani is very hot-headed and reckless, and that her pride would prevent her from saying no to that fight outside the ring. Gwen deliberately takes the fight there, where she has a better chance of winning thanks to her dirty tricks and incredible kicks. Then, With her german coldness and capacity for suffering, she waits for the exact microsecond when Daniella's ego left her unguarded so she could destroy her in a flash. Once she has Dani at her mercy, she doesn't gloat and crushes her without mercy to secure the all-important victory

On the other hand, Daniella is noble, genuine, kind, and protective of her girls, which adds a layer of tenderness to her tough personality. But at the same time, she is vain, conceited, territorial, and deeply exhibitionistic. Daniella doesn't pretend to be a saint or try to hide her intentions; she is utterly authentic: when she has Gwen on the ground, she feels no compassion; she enjoys trampling on her rivals' pride and loves being adored. That is precisely what makes her such a magnetic character for the reader. She is neither a passive victim nor a pure heroine. She is a fascinating character not only because she is full of real human contradictions but also because her greatest strength is, at the same time, her downfall.

By attributing hubris to Daniella, the author elevates her to the status of the great heroes of mythology. Greek tragic heroes were not bad people; they were brave, noble, and defended their own, but they had a fatal flaw in their character (in Dani's case, her vanity and her need to show off her spectacular body). Tragedy strikes when that single flaw destroys all her virtues at the moment of truth. The fact that the protagonist is arrogant and makes a fatal mistake because she wants to show off makes her a much more human, complex, and fascinating character. She didn't lose because of a lack of strength or size (Curiously Ashley and Stacey were stronger, and yet Dani still beat them); she lost because of her own exhibitionist nature, struck by that very same incredible lower body that Dani had been gazing at and admiring with fascination just seconds earlier.

However, I also think that although Dani has obvious traits of arrogance and a natural tendency to show off, her need to impress millionaires stems from a desperate strategy to gain validation in the face of her rival's political power. That audience of millionaires isn't just scenery, it's the jury that validates her status. Gwendolyn doesn't need to lift a finger to be socially respected; she's already bought her status thanks to her husband, her new house built by a renowned architect (Ronald Mosely), and her connections to high society. How can Daniella compete against a woman who has it all, both economically and socially? Only with her biological and sexual superiority. By posing before them, she is trying to steal Gwen's clientele right under her nose. She's trying to tell the audience: "Look at my body, look at my breasts and my butt, I'm the real show; I'm the one worth your money, not her." The drama lies in the fact that her need to win that war for social and visual status was so great that she forgot the most basic rule of the ring: securing the physical outcome. Gwen, having nothing to prove to anyone regarding her status, was able to focus on the only thing that mattered in that moment: survival and a quick victory.

I can only congratulate you on that exceptional dark realism that permeates the entire universe of Mad Women and LA Women, where none of the women are total saints. Even though some are clearly better persons than others, they're all competitive, territorial, and out to trample on each other's pride. Congratulations on that great character design and the consistency throughout the story, it's the main reason why I'm so sad to see this come to an end. Some of the girls are so real that you want to keep learning more about them. It reminds me of The Count of Monte Cristo: characters so incredible that the novel's more than a thousand pages felt too few. I'll miss the excitement every time a new chapter came out and the passion I felt while reading it. But I'd better not say anything else... this story always has surprises in store. Thanks for another incredible chapter!

[Drake8]