[Rivals Rapture]

Recently I’ve received a lot of feedback across my various contact points about people either being super into Katie winning in my recent story Parent-Teacher Confluence , or conversely, wishing Riya, the hero of the tale, would have one.

Now Katie was a bigot, so it’s probably a little more difficult to cheer her on. But as this is a question I’ve had debated on almost all of my stories, I was wondering what the rest of you feel in general.

Do you prefer stories where the hero wins? Or where the villain does?

[Ginny38]

Why not take a poll and see whether there's enough difference of opinion to care?

[goliadmike]

Personally, I like bad girls kicking ass, but you might want to think about fleshing out more full characters.  Let's say maybe not good vs. evil, but woman vs. woman.  Maybe make Riya a pushy helicopter mom or her son a social outcast due to his spectacular grades.  I could see a kid like that coming home from school with a black eye.  Riya could go up to the school and confront Katie about it, only to find out the teacher thought Riya's son might of, kind of, deserved it while not officially endorsing violence.  Katie could give a few examples of Riya's son making fun of the slower kids, or putting down the state...the story did take place in Texas and everyone knows "Don't mess with Texas."

I guess what I'm trying to say in a long winded blathering sort of way is give the antagonist just as much fullness and history as the protagonist.  Your story was a good read.  I loved the final moments of the fight.  I think it would have been spectacular if the line between good and bad would have been blurred a little.  That would eliminate the good character wining or losing question.   

GM 

[Rivals Rapture]

Personally, I like bad girls kicking ass, but you might want to think about fleshing out more full characters.  Let's say maybe not good vs. evil, but woman vs. woman.  Maybe make Riya a pushy helicopter mom or her son a social outcast due to his spectacular grades.  I could see a kid like that coming home from school with a black eye.  Riya could go up to the school and confront Katie about it, only to find out the teacher thought Riya's son might of, kind of, deserved it while not officially endorsing violence.  Katie could give a few examples of Riya's son making fun of the slower kids, or putting down the state...the story did take place in Texas and everyone knows "Don't mess with Texas."

I guess what I'm trying to say in a long winded blathering sort of way is give the antagonist just as much fullness and history as the protagonist.  Your story was a good read.  I loved the final moments of the fight.  I think it would have been spectacular if the line between good and bad would have been blurred a little.  That would eliminate the good character wining or losing question.   

GM

Thank you so much for the feedback  , and I do certainly try to flesh out my characters. And I'll certainly try to keep that kind of equal-scales take you suggested in my stories going forward. But in this tale, the calling by the requester was for racial animous and insults. Outright racism. They even gave me a list of racial slurs to use. I'm not sure I am willing to write a racist character as anything other than an obvious villain.

But I did add in that Katie's husband left her with another Indian woman, which to me, was an attempt to give her some cause, even if it was clearly misguided cause.

[goliadmike]

"But I did add in that Katie's husband left her with another Indian woman, which to me, was an attempt to give her some cause, even if it was clearly misguided cause."

Dang it!  I must have missed that little gem it would go a long way in why Katie fought so hard to prove she was the better woman.  I also forgot about the commission thing which might have limited what you could do with the story.  Good job on the story!

GM

[daz]

Well, I love the idea of the good girl fighting for justice, redemption and any form of honour and the losing badly in a one sided beating against the bad girl.  The bad girl can be a supervillianess, a bully, a foreign menace (historical)  or just a homewrecker.   The more despicable. the bad girl is and the more unfair the fight is the better. 

[billdozer152]

Onesided humiliating fistfight where the villain wins.

[HeyCassandra]

I don't have a major stake in how a fight plays out, as long as it is not completely onesided.  I rather enjoy good hard fights and typically I root for the one who has a bigger stake in the fight.

Easy for me though, if the motivations of the 'hero' are shallow or weak, I want her wrecked and devastated.  If she has better motivations than the 'villain', I want that girl left humiliated and trembling.

[Ginny38]

I like "interesting" stories, ones where the principals have a reason for combat (prize money, ego, right a wrong, revenge, etc) rather than just "two girls walked into a bar and a fight broke out". (NOT that "two girls walked in..." may not be a great fight, but I like to be invested in the characters and know WHY they got into it.)

I'm pretty sure others may not feel the same way - and prefer to read a great fight story without worrying about the "why" of it. (To each his/her own).

To your question, I often like to see the villainess win a fight - usually because I think there could/would/should be a rematch which the "good girl" wins - for reference you can watch just about any James Bond movie (for example) and see the bad guy win the first encounter, but Bond prevails in the end. It's become almost a movie chiche for that to happen... it builds suspense and heightens interest.

Call me a sucker (but please, not in writing!) but that's how I LIKE my stories - if given a choice. But I read a LOT of the stories on FCF and as long as they're well written I don't have a problem with any of them. The writers have a right to present their work as THEY prefer to show it and I respect that.

[lifeofriley]

I like the bad girls winning imho or putting up such a good fight the good girl can barely call it a win.

[Rivals Rapture]

I want that girl left humiliated and trembling.

Lots of great responses here, and though I won't comment on all of them, I just wanted to say -- this particular comment was hot. 

[WriteThisWay]

Being a bigot, or some other kind of villain, doesn't make someone a lesser fighter. While it should factor into the equation of a story, especially if there's a multi-part story arc, it shouldn't be the deciding factor. In the story in question, I was pleasantly surprised to see Katie win after being so dominant for most of the fight. She was the aggressor, she did the most damage, and honestly the way the story was written she needed to be the winner. It would be nice to see someone (not Riya) take her down a few pegs, maybe after a few more fights, but only if you want to continue with the character.

[lifeofriley]

i would love to see katie kick some butt again. maybe riya comes back to get revenge only to end up beaten again to her shock.

[NIU11]

A close fight where they both inflict some pain.

[LoveSexyJobbers]

With me being the 110% Beauty vs Beast Pro Wrestling fan with the Beauty or Beauties getting DEMOLISHED from start to preferably extended pin finish , my vote goes to the villain / villainess 110% of the time , the Pro Wrestling world is fantasy , it is where fans can cheer for the heels in a healthy fun way , real life , Wonder Woman vs 4 Henchmen , go Wonder Woman , kick their butts and put those scumbags in prison where they belong , in Pro Wrestling , Wonder Woman vs 4 henchmen , Go Henchmen , destroy Wonder Woman before a closed circuit crowd / do what you want to the helpless heroine and in the end , pin her arrogantly with different poses over & over