Happily Ever After or Everybody Dies!

Many a time I have been told by readers that I am the Devil, if I was in the Star Wars universe I would be a Sith, that what I do to my characters is the equivalent of kicking puppies, and many similar phrases.  I have gained a reputation for putting my characters through the wringer--especially my favorite characters.  Despite this, I adore the thought of eventually giving a happily ever after as a reward for all that the characters have endured.  Some of my more seasoned readers might disagree, but it is true.  In a way, I like to make my characters work for their happily ever after.

Here's the kicker.

What do you do when your characters have suffered so much, sacrificed so much, everyone has been screaming for them to get a happy ending since, oh, the second book?  The first half of the first book?  You originally intended to reward them in the end, you want to reward them, they've earned it, you want them to escape the bad and finally settle down for peace and happiness in the end...but there's this thought.  This beautiful poetic thought that just feels so right.  It just so happens that this thought is an extremely tragic ending--which perfectly fits their tragic story.  You want to give them the happy ending they've earned, but now you have this ending to their story that feels oh so right.

How do you handle that?  I've been wrestling with this decision for months now for one of my stories--no I will not tell you which one, and I will continue to be vague with characters and plot details for the sake of keeping which story it is under wraps.

So!  These characters earned a happy ending books ago, this indecisive author wants to give them a happy ending...but this tragic ending won't leave the author's thoughts, keeps worming its way into the author's brain when the ending is under consideration, and feels so right.  How should it be handled?

What if they're happy for a time?  It still ends tragically, but they get a space of time before then where they have everything they want, they get some peace, get to see their greatest goal achieved, and get to spend some time relishing and living in this happiness.  Then afterwards the tragedy occurs so that they can attempt to preserve a remnant their dream?

There's also the cop-out, the moment where the author was going to do the gutsy thing and kill off character A or B, then chickened out at the last moment and had them miraculously (but hopefully logically) survive.  Maybe with some loss, but not the ultimate loss (i.e. loss of beloved, life, self, etc.).

I personally don't want to result to this, because I want to be able to follow through with my threats of "I'm not afraid to kill off any character!"  I consider that a badge of pride and like how it makes my stories more unpredictable.  Oh, this fan fiction about Anakin and Luke Skywalker, you think they're safe because it's a fan fiction and they're the Skywalkers--WRONG!  Luke just died.

I'm not saying which fan fiction that is, either.

AngelDesaray fan fiction readers, be afraid...be very afraid.

Anyway, the point is that the cop-out (or fake out, whatever you want to call it) is an option, but in my opinion an undesirable one.

If the character has never considered living to an old age a possibility for themselves, if they've always expected an abrupt death at a semi-young age, does that lessen the tragedy of the moment?  Or does it make it more poetic in some way?  Is the tragic more justifiable if there seems to be no logical way they get out of their bad situation except through tragedy?  If they're at peace when the tragedy occurs, will it make it a little more bearable or fitting instead of inciting a riot because they were robbed of a happy ending?

Then of course I could just stick with an ultimate happy ending, though it's going to be a little tricky to pull off in a logical way.

I'll probably be struggling with this question until the moment of decision comes.  I'll finally reach the point in the story, tragedy or happily ever after, look back on everything I've written, and judge whether the happily ever after or the tragic fits what's been written.  Until then, I suppose this maddening back and forth will plague me every time I'm working on the plot of this project, and any other project where the tragic and the happy ending are equally alluring.

If I do go with the tragic ending, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be faced with a flood of angry readers.  I can see the furious messages now...