I'm reading a trilogy a friend wrote and in the first book the two you expect to be in love don't go that direction. It was refreshing, but I'd have been disappointed if the female protag (main character) didn't end up with another guy. I'm not to the end though, and she may end up in some leadership role which in her society comes with a mandatory single life for some reason. As long as the character ends up happy, I guess I as a reader will be satisfied.
I actually LOVE bittersweet endings. I don't like when everything is resolved, everyone is happy, found love and have tons of babies.
We can only swallow but so much Princess Peach... Seriously why doesn't that bitch just get a gun? One bullet POW right in the eye then no more perverted Dragon kidnapping her...
There's a "game" (in quotes because it's more of an experience and experiment than a true video game) called "Hope: The Other Side of Adventure" that explores the damsel in distress trope common in video games ENTIRELY from the damsel's point of view. It's free to download and play and it's worth the effort of seeking out. Sheds real light onto what Peach must have felt, sitting alone in a castle waiting for Mario to come bouncing into view over the horizon... I suggest playing this "game" and comparing it to your heroine. If she mimics any of the behaviors the princess shows in this game, your heroine is a true Damsel in Distress and probably needs work. Quick tip: A woman becomes a Damsel when you can replace her with any object (magical item or otherwise) and not have the story change an ounce as a result. Truly objectifying a woman creates a Damsel. Make her a subject, not an object, and you should be fine.
Not surprising. There are lots of stories about powerful men who have submissive sex fantasies. Something to do with a desire to escape the responsibilities of leadership and all that. I don't know about anyone else, but to me a "damsel in distress" isn't just a woman being rescued by a man. She's helpless, passive - think Little Nell tied to the railroad tracks by Snidely Whiplash - and cannot continue to survive without the intercession by her powerful male protector. Lots of gender stereotypes in here, and it's the stereotypes that make this particular device so cloying. So, start by chipping away at the stereotypes rather than reversing them. She isn't completely helpless. Her distress isn't completely beyond control. Her antagonist isn't the embodiment of evil but acts from a rational base. Simply reversing the stereotype is really reinforcing the stereotype - the most macho one is the winner, brute strength tops intellect, etc, etc. And, BTW, I completely agree with @Cogito. As they say in Brooklyn, "Whaddaya'fraidof?"
