And They All Lived "Happily" Ever After.

[achievementhunter]

Greetings, fellow soldiers.

[The feed opens up to a view from the very edge of the bridge. Slim legs dangling over the edge, at the very precipice of everything.

It's a nice day today. The water's sparkling. A light breeze has small waves kicking up on it's surface, barely distinguishable from the quality of the video format. Even so- it's pretty.]

It's been a while since our last game. I'm sure most of you are busy with the flurry of activity this month has sparked, however- indulge me for a few minutes.

Consider it a question, more than a game.

What would a 'happy ending' look like, to you?

Comments

[nojusticeonlyme]

AN END TO WHAT, EXACTLY?

[achievementhunter]

Everything. Your life. The universe as a whole.

The end of the story as you know it.

[havesomedeath]

Hm. Do you mean like... in general? Like a happy ending to life?

[achievementhunter]

However you want to interpret it, but yes.

[Let's go with that ideal.]

[Text]

[mostcolorfulepithets]

[Littlepip hesitated for a time before sending this.]

a world without anyone killing anyone else. a vibrant world filled with life and happiness and no drugs or torture or crime.

[Littlepip feels a little tired.]

[Text]

[achievementhunter]

[Chara, of course, checks the name of the sender.

They remember you.]

Pretty substandard, wouldn't you say? Not to mention impossible.

[Video]

[daughterofursa]

[She's attempting the video today... but has unwittingly reversed the camera so all that's really visible is a patch of grass. In the background is the sound of splashing and the occasional quack.]

You mean to a story?

[Video]

[achievementhunter]

A story, your life, the end of the world...

Your choice, Zuko.

[justribbing]

[ Kid you get the hell off the edge of that long drop before your mother sees this and has a heart attack.

The danger's probably some of the appeal, and Sans is too far to catch them if they did tip off the bridge.

Might be why he's finding himself shuffling in that direction (which is to say, going the wrong way in search of a shortcut). ]

happy ending, huh? hmmm.
the story's main conflict introduced three minutes into the slot is neatly wrapped up in 27 minutes or less, roll credits.
hey, if they feel like insinuating a sequel, maybe they throw a teaser at the end.
your turn, kiddo.

[achievementhunter]

[Oh here he comes, mister 'wreck all their fun'.

At least he has the decency to bother them via text only. For now.]

The protagonist wakes after 120 grueling minutes of hell to find out everything's been a vicious coma dream and they're actually just dying.

Or maybe that's just a silly answer to accompany an equally silly answer.

[freedom_engineer]

People learn from their mistakes and continue to push forward.

Life goes on.

I get back to my hangar and finally finish my exhaust system cleaning that I had to put on hold.

[achievementhunter]

Do they now?

Would you? Because I'm thinking not, Colin.

[timeflows]

An interesting question but I'm more concerned about where you've chosen to seat yourself.

[achievementhunter]

I am simply enjoying the view. It's quite lovely, don't you think?

[Even if they've already had a thousand instances where they could have jumped, and thousands more where they can.]

[miseris_socios]

[Ahaha. Hah. He does his best to keep his expression neutral, but...]

I don't think one exists. Not in real life, at least. Not for most people. It's just what people tell themselves to try to think they can be satisfied.

[achievementhunter]

[Oh goodie. Always nice to meet another existential nihilist; unfortunately for them both, Chara forgot to turn their empathy on this morning.

You know. Like every other morning in this place.]

I'm not asking for realism; just a bit of imaginative flair. Pretend, for a moment, that you are one of those people who tells themselves things in an attempt to feel satisfied.

[Video]

[tinyprotector]

Chara?

[Yukio can't help but look a little worried at the tone of their voice. Usually, when Chara talks like this, it means something is on their mind. He isn't sure if he's any good at helping, but he'll try.]

Um, I think a happy ending would be... everyone getting to be where they want to be. They can go home if they want or stay here if they want. All the shadows would be gone, and... we'd be safe, I guess.

[Video]

[achievementhunter]

[Ah, Yukio. They turn the camera back around for him, offer a pleasant smile unhindered by the large shadows beneath their eyes.]

Greetings.

I've had several responses at this point, but I must admit, yours is probably the one I'd be inclined to seek out. Everyone getting to be where they want to be. Not too unrealistic, but still shy of something we can reach out and take, don't you think?

[heroless]

[It's a nice view. Hilda does hope that Chara is being careful, though. There's barely any hesitation in her answer to the question.] A completely restored Lorule, shining and beautiful as it was at it's height. Of course such a thing would only be the start of a new beginning. A chapter ending so another can begin.

[achievementhunter]

[Of course they are. And if they aren't- well. No harm, no foul. They'd be back in a day or so.]

I don't believe you've spoken to me about Lorule. Is that your home world?

1/2

[heritrix]

[Rin sees this feed, that shot of the bridge, and she has to say she's appalled.

Can anyone use their phones like a video camera? The day after she'd posted to the network for volunteers, someone had also done something like this, but that had seemed like a very professional news broadcast. She'd assumed there was equipment and everything, and that video would be the exception, not the rule. WHY DO YOU NEED SO MANY THINGS IN A PHONE.]

[heritrix]

[She's tempted to ignore this mechanic on principle, but that makes her feel like she's losing to something. So Rin goes to bully the nearest person person she can find into teaching her how the video function works. Then she had to find as scenic of a location as the one Chara picked (edgy or not) to record her response, because why go through that if the castle's drab lighting is going to make you look terrible? Rin settles for the rooftop garden in the end, finding a place to sit in the grass and look at the sky, her phone in her lap.

The delay should have given her plenty of time to think of how she wanted to answer this question, but she didn't really have to. The words came to her easily the first time she heard the question, and nothing's changed upon playing it back a second time.]

I don't know. What matters is where you end up and how far you came, isn't it? Having fun, suffering... If I can look back on my life and be satisfied with the good and the bad, that would be alright. And in that case, I can't know unless I get there.

[hasitsthorns]

[ Rose knows what she wants her happy ending to be. Still, sometimes it can be... difficult to imagine it coming to fruition. So instead of answering, she responds with another question- ]

What if there is no happy ending?

[ Even if things were to end in a way that made her 'happy,' she'd be wholly undeserving of it. ]

[achievementhunter]

Oh, and the crowd goes wild! Bing bing, 500 for Rose!

[You are NOT the weakest link.]

Still, I'm not asking for reality. Just think of it as one of those wild, coma-induced fantasies on daytime television. Just some big lie your brain tells you right before you drop off for good.

What's the best case scenario?

[ishotyouuu]

[Ah. A loaded question. A loaded question which deserves an equally loaded answer.]

There's a saying in my world: "Call no man happy until he's dead." I think it was from that 300 movie? I dunno. Point is, you can't really predict a happy ending for yourself until it's time to... y'know. Close the book.

So... I'll find out whether my ending's happy or not when I die, I guess.

[Not that he's betting that'll ever happen.]

[Private]

[achievementhunter]

[Oh..?

Now that is an answer. Considering everyone's friendly, neighborhood skeleton keeps popping in when Chara least desires him, this conversation is going straight to private.]

Bingo.

Still, we can go deeper than that. What makes a death happy? Living to a ripe old age? Dying a victor? A last stand?

[C'mon, mister 'makes death for a living'. You've got to have a little more to this concept.]