~~ the ending that wasn't quite

[reenka]

The oddest things can spoil a story for me these days. A happy ending is one of those, I think. You know the deal: tied up loose ends, prickly emotions calmed, misunderstandings all cleared up, satisfaction guaranteed, etc.

It seems most stories operate either that way or its opposite: lives ruined, love lost, hopes dashed, people dead and/or drowned in depression, and no end in sight. That's kind of annoying also, and also frustrating 'cause unless it's a very good writer, if the characters' lives appear to be a waste, the process of reading the story is also easily enough a waste to me.

Then there's the third popular ending: bittersweet. Where some of the protagonist's wishes are granted and some not, in unexpected ways, and we get to feel sorrow and satisfaction in semi-equal measure. Some important things are lost, but the price paid makes the precious things that remain all that much more special, and the life-lessons usually learned all that much more poignant and lasting. This is a type of ending I enjoy, but it still doesn't fulfill me entirely.

Upon reflection, I feel a bit like a freak, because I'm starting to think that my favorite ending is also the most rare for a reason: because most people don't like it. I don't know, am I? My favorite is the open ending: where the future is uncertain, there are a tantalizing few dangling plot-threads, and characters are still in the process of living-- bitter and sweet and most of all not finalized, really. There are some conclusions reached, but they're clearly either temporary or uncertain in nature; it's clear that some major event is just around the corner, and we have no more idea of precisely what it is or how it'll play out than the characters do. The story had reached a stopping point but not really an end; there's no more 'significant' sadness or happiness than at any other point in the story, though often some emotional revelation had occurred that throws the rest into a new light.

Most of all, I've realized it's how I end most of my stories; in fact, I'm really hard-pressed to think of any fic I'd ended definitively, and if there was one, it's usually 'cause I wasn't writing it in a linear manner to start with and it's more of an allegory of some sort (so the ending is more like a punch-line than anything).

And... well... most peoples' responses to these fics tend to be either "write more" or "what happens next?" It seems like their natural inclination is to wait until the story arrives somewhere definitively, whereas my own natural inclination is to feel hemmed in and frustrated by just such a conclusion. And basically, I've just read through several H/D fics in quick succession (for the Big Bang Challenge, teehee), and the ending that left me happiest was also the most ambiguous one, much moreso than the clearly upbeat one. Though, all right, I have to admit that with H/D in specific, I just feel rather amused at the idea that things will be 'okay' for them anytime soon & probably ever. Suffer, my pretties, suffer!!1 I like wanting more and wondering what happens afterwards at the end, and I like feeling that sense of possibility and future just like with life itself, and when it comes down to it, I like painful hope-in-spite-of-everything more than I like happiness itself, perhaps. I think that hope lasts more.

... Yeah, it's not an accident that my favorite H/D fic was long `A Brief Interval Before the Resumption of Play', which can be read as a brilliant example of how to end ambiguously and well. Somehow, the idea that they'll keep actively tormenting each other no matter what (not as in apathy or flatline depression) seems as romantic as anything to me.

Comments

[cercaluna.livejournal.com]

Ambiguous endings = thumbs up. Except often they leave me wanting to write fanfic for them. What.

I like painful hope-in-spite-of-everything more than I like happiness itself, perhaps. I think that hope lasts more.

You are eloquent and right. ♥.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Me too actually! The wanting to write fanfic, I mean (if I like it a lot and our minds... match). I'm starting to think (wild theory time) that ambiguous endings appeal more to less rationalist, more, uh, intuitive wild-leapy people. Or something. Maybe.

<3 There's also the fact that plain happiness is usually boring, much like plain yogurt.

[literaryll.livejournal.com]

the idea that they'll keep actively tormenting each other no matter what (not as in apathy or flatline depression) seems as romantic as anything to me - don't have anything to add cause you always put things ten times more eloquently than I ever could but just wanted to say YES to that and I like open endings too :)

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Man, it seems to just... mess with a good thing when a fic has them 'get over it' and get all nice to each other and like, sensitive and shit. Like, you imagine then they have to move on to other people to be bastards too, and that thought makes my little shipper heart jealous ^^;;

[wobblygoblin.livejournal.com]

Try as I might, I cannot find a link to the aforementioned story, though it sounds delightful.

I agree and disagree (haHA, the ambiguity of it all) because it's relative to my mood at the time.

If my dog just died, I want a happy ending f'REALS.

If I'm miserable and my roommate comes waltzes in cooing over her boyfriend, by God I want a story with suffering.

But in a much broader sense I recognize my tendency to gravitate toward stories that, like you said, have reached a stopping point. (Though I tend to prefer a fun stopping point rather than an angst-bunny drama woe situation.)

If we want to get all deep and shit, there is never an end to a story--unless you count death; there is only a pause before the rest of the story continues. The problem with writing anything is knowing when to find a stopping point: writing about an entire life would take an entire life and really, I've got shopping and laundry to do.

I like stories that take me all the way to the stopping point and dump me off with a wave and a, "See you later, you freeloadin' hobo!"

I love being able to continue imagining what might happen to our intrepid heroes--especially when I become attached to the characters. Then I really don't want a nicely wrapped up ending with a pretty pink bow. It's a nasty shock, when somebody gives your imagination paper wings and they burst into flame when you get too close to the sun. I hated being spoon-fed, even as a baby. Let me think for myself, whydontcha.

So. *deposits two cents and leaves*

;)

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Yeah! That's exactly it, I hate being spoon-fed, hate having my imaginative bubble burst and all other such metaphors :> I think I was comparing an open-ended story with a very traditional A-B-C-and-then-it-was-all-over type story, sort of like a ride that was fun while it seemed like the, er, riders might not make it, but when they did it was just... enough to make you sorry they got to that point 'cause now they're boring. Or something.

Everyone has moods, of course-- I mean, often enough I don't want my brain bothered by any pesky 'thinking', so I'd just prefer it if nothing too jarring happened at the end one way or the other to ruin my buzz, heheh. But yeah, those angst-bunny stopping points can haunt you... I don't consider that a stopping point in the true sense since it forces the reader to obsessively wonder how the plucky heroes will escape this death-inducing trap this time, and so on. There should be some sort of clue, and of course it's much more enjoyable if it's a fun clue, then you get to have fun thinking of it :D

...I've never actually read fics to work out my anger issues-- I usually write when I get like that, heheh, probably because it's hard to know how to look for suffering that works for me. I don't like angst-woe-weep type suffering when I'm pissed but would be happy if a character was creatively tortured. Ahh, the delicate balance of it all :> :>

Man, that fic (by Audrey Hirsch) used to be online at the Potter Slash Archive (http://glassesreflect.net/authors/audrey.html), apparently she's rewriting it now, so it's only to be found at archive.org (http://web.archive.org/web/20030609152216/http://duowolf.crosswinds.net/fanfic/audreyth/audreyth.html). But that's better than nothing :>

[mark356.livejournal.com]

Hm. I'm something of a sucker for happy endings (and happy stories in general). But I agree with you that the ending has to fit the story, and the characters need to go where they were going to go. There are too many books and anime series where the story is going along nicely, and then suddenly, boom, there's a happy ending, all nastry stuff totally cleared up without recieving proper consideration. That's just not right! If you've brought anything up in the story, by the end, in my book, either it should be dealt with, or what may eventually happen should be pointed at.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I think most people are suckers for happy endings & stories, and those who aren't tend to go for angst and pain, etc-- that's why I feel rather like a freak since I was reading a happy ending and preferred the more ambiguous one instead. It's not so much that it has to fit (though that's true), as the story seems more interesting/captivating if there's pieces left to the imagination, if I'm made to think and question and wish at the end. Or at least, with H/D in particular, maybe I'm just too jaded for traditional happy endings, I don't know.

But yes, the plot threads should definitely be pointed at/dealt with somehow... to me, it's the difference between reaching a temporary and a 'final' solution. Especially in stories about human relationships, maybe I just don't see a final solution being possible these days.