#and this fandom

[dramalove247]

Do we need a sad ending?

A 🐠Dori rambles post

Been thinking about @my-rose-tinted-glasses post for over a month. This originally started as a reply, but once it was clear I was overthinking and oversharing, I scrapped it. But definitely read the post for full context.

I can't stop thinking about expecting happy endings and how it impacts our emotional experience. I am sure Rose is right and someone actually staying dead would make us all a lot more scared. And I do think being confident it will end happy takes the suspense away. But at the end of the day, if it's done well, it hurts me.

I enjoyed Wicked Game for the fun soap opera it was and I did get some feelings during the journey. Sads were felt, but they just weren't big, and I was definitely immune to the fake death. Daou did a good job being a sad dino, so it wasn't the acting. It was the entire show. It just didn't heavily impact me.

For me, some stories just don't get their claws in me the same way. But right now, watching ITSAY, I am feeling every freaking emotion turned up to the max and I KNOW both seasons end happy. In this case, the lack of suspense may be the only thing getting me through it! To My Shore was so cruel that I had to ask about the ending so I could mentally prepare if that was going to end bad. I was also convinced a certain character in the MOST TRAGIC WEDDING EVER was alive. Without a body, there is no proof of death and I expected a miracle (we won't talk about how this messed with me in My Stand In... Kat was entertained by my delulu... I even doubted the proof... LOL! I didn't say I was smart). But even my certainty didn't stop me from crying a million tears watching that wedding and every scene that preceded and came after!!!! The writing and acting was SO PAINFUL.

The more I think about it as I write this, the more I have to admit that knowing it will end happy probably does tone the pain down a bit, at least in most cases. But that doesn't spare me from epic pain, it just might help me survive it. I get to hold onto that small glimmer that no matter how broken things are now for the characters, everything will be right in the world in the end. And when I know it ends sad... the reverse is also true... looking at you XNamping!!! Every fucking second of that story crushed me!!!!

So personally, I am good without the suspense that it might be a sad ending. I don't think that is the magic that makes something devastating to me. I'm not sure what is the magic recipe.... maybe I just need to take the story seriously to really feel it. Or maybe I need to want to feel it.... to want to go on that journey. Knowing it's HEA may have taken the edge off, but I can think of a long list of series I knew would end happy and managed to completely wreck me along the way. For me, the Wicked Game was a fun watch, but despite the the great acting and moments that did manage to hurt me, many of the punches missed me and I just don't think it's because of the predictable happy ending. In fact, having that character stay dead would have felt like a cheap shot.

On that note, I HATE a sad endings that feel cheap. I don't like sad endings, but there are many I have loved. They need to feel right. I have to feel that my mourning is justified and the ending somehow fits better than the happy ending I craved. I get so pissed when something ends tragically (or even just bittersweet) without feel necessary, earned, or the entire point of the journey. So if it's going to have a sad ending, I need to respect it. Convince me. Make me love it. Wicked Game had zero chance of doing that for me and if it had given me anything less than a HEA, I would have rioted.

Thank you Rose💜 for making these thoughts swirl around in my head until they spilled out. Sometimes overthinking is fun.

[buldakdealer]

5 years later and we’re back to the “mutual abuse” narrative btw

[chimericalgryphon]

Isen shouldn’t die… he should do drugs instead.

I know out of the main six it seems likely for Isen to be the one to die. This is often due to his sacrifice to save his friends being seen as the ultimate end to his ‘cowardice’ arc. However, I want to propose an alternative.

Isen should do drugs instead.

Blyke and Isen have always had a certain contrast in their personalities and their development. Blyke learning not to accelerate a situation by excessive violence. Learning that violence isn't the answer to settling an argument, especially when innocent people get hurt in the cross fire. This accumulates in his arc of not taking amps to beat John, because he sees there's value in not using violence to win a fight. But he still will fight to protect those he loves, because that is who he is as a person, and he won't compromise that by reducing himself down to some destructive power hungry high tier, and so he rejects the path the amplifier will take him down. Thus, he fights not just for his friends, but for his people. He won't hurt his people to save his friends, he'll find another way where only he gets hurt. Even if he'll get hurt over and over again. Now, I raise to you, Isen taking an amp. His arc has always been that sometimes, in order to avoid the path of most violence, violence is necessary. Where Blyke has always been impulsive and selfless, Isen as always been cautious and selfish. He cares so much for his friends, but his own need to avoid any form of confrontation sometimes gets them hurt. Isen avoids responsibility, but learns he has responsibility, not with the hierarchy, but in how he handles information. He puts his people above his own need to avoid confrontation by using his skills as a reporter to quench the chaos at Wellston. So Isen, in a moment of desperation to save his friends, takes an amp. Which forces him into a place of confrontation to protect his friends. To keep the fight going so they can continue to collect information and put out the threat of Ember, give the public the information they need. Amps are addictive and destructive, by their very nature they force the user into a position of commitment and responsibility. In taking an amplifier, Isen chooses a path of violence and confrontation. Because that's what's necessary to make a change and to protect his people. There's another layer to this. Blyke has always been hotheaded and impulsive. He throws himself into danger. Sometimes in situations where he can do more to protect his friends by stepping back and taking a peaceful approach. His rejection of amps hints at a more thoughtful approach to defending his friends. He rejects the amps so he can live another day as himself, as someone who can and will prioritise his friend's (and people's) safety (instead of addiction or winning an argument). Blyke takes a step back from his impulsiveness so he (and his friends) can take future steps forward. Isen's preservation instincts have always gotten in the way of him making real progress in protecting others. His need to be safe and put his comfort above other's have often gotten a lot of people hurt and caused unnecessary harm. Isen taking an amp, essentially destroying any sense of comfort and well-being he may ever have, would really bring Isen's selfless arc to a very interesting conclusion. Him jumping in, almost recklessly, to ensure he and his friends can continue fighting to take further steps forward in the future. This completes Blyke and Isen's arcs, that have them become more like the other in order to better provide for their people and friends. If I had to choose between Isen sacrificing himself for his friends, or sacrificing his sense of self for his friends, I'd choose the latter. Which means, I hope he takes an amplifier at some point in the story, especially instead of dying. This would also force the story to give Isen an arc that focuses on just him in the fallout of him taking amps. It could always work as a good segue into some development for Remi and Blyke who often put Isen in danger without much regard for his well-being or the long term consequences of if things don't work out for them.

In my opinion, Isen’s arc has never been about cowardice, it has always been about his tendency to be over-cautious which veers dangerously into selfishness. One of the first acts of bravery we see in the series is Isen charging in to save Remi’s life knowing there’s a good chance he won’t walk away alive. Later in the series, he is brave again when – in a moment of redemption for how he mishandled information earlier in the series – he exposes John’s secret to the school in an attempt to reduce the chaos causing so much harm among the lower tiers. This puts him in direct line of harm from John, something he was well aware of. Isen sacrificing his well-being, even risking his life, isn’t anything new. Isen taking an amp would allow us to see him in a new situation while closing off his cowardice/cautious arc. It would also provide a perfect opportunity to explore the symptoms of taking amplifiers and what it actually means to be addicted to them, something we know very little about.

Regardless, I do think a sacrifice would work, but I think it’d be a rather disappointing end to his character. Especially when other options could achieve the same outcome and offer a more interesting alternative. Not to mention, if anyone is going to die, Isen’s is the most predictable death.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Do you think it’d be more satisfying to see Isen die in a sacrifice scene for the benefit of his friends? Or would you rather see Isen live on and take amplifiers instead? I know this is a lot so thanks for reading it if you got this far.

[bilolli]

I think I'm gonna comment on each fanfic I read I can retrieve because yesterday night I came to a realization when ao3 emailed me with one of those notification of update for a fic. You artists and writers are my joy, really, every time I open the emails and find out that one of you updated a fic I literally smile like an idiot and jump around exited. Every time I open Tumblr for a casual scroll and see a new piece of art from one of you I stare at it hard and show it around.

Guys please, never stop creating things, I live for them.

[fanaticallyfleeky]

It’s once again time for my European ass to go to bed afraid to wake up tomorrow morning to absolute chaos

[ghuleshbabe]

I have so many fantastic asks in my inbox I am SHOOK 😭🖤

[ace-of-bajor]