I think that what bothers me in the end is the whole emotional detachtment thing, where the "villainess/bitch/girlfriend" ends up getting powerful and not giving a shit about him anymore, even though sometimes the only reason she got powerful was because of him in the first place. I mean…it’s awfully exciting but leaves me very unsatisfied in the end.
I understand that, although I don’t have the same reaction. Where she is a villainess/bitch, there’s no reason for her to be grateful. Former girlfriends often end up at villainess/bitches, so that’s the same. I think the girlfriends in my stories often are sympathetic or grateful, but , hey, what can they do? Transfering superpowers around is much easier for the writer than for a character.
I suppose the reason many readers feel unsatisfied or uneasy with my unhappy endings is that they are identifying/empathizing with the male character and don’t like the feeling of loss of power. I can’t fault you for that.
Here’s a question. Do you think Jilly Milly had a happy ending or an unhappy ending?