the lady or the tiger?

[busaikko]

I'm looking for stories that end without resolution, like the classic "The Lady or the Tiger" (where the story ends when Our Hero opens a door, and thus the reader will never know if he got love or death). Anything that ends along the lines of, "And then Teyla walked through the gate THE END" or "And then John pushed the button THE END", that would be brilliant. I will read anything, unhappiness no problem, and any ship or gen or rating. Thank you!

Comments

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you've read it, but the ending of auburnnothenna's Judas Doesn't Answer (http://www.eternalvox.net/auburn/judasdoesn'tanswer.html) (McShep, ~75,700 words) feels like that to me...

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

less so, but a little bit (how are they going to do in Pegasus?):
The Temptation of Adam (http://rhihero-fic.livejournal.com/54909.html) by rhihero_fic (McShep, apocafic, ~9100 words)
Diplomatic Immunity (http://harriet-spy.livejournal.com/635228.html) (~4500 words) and untitled sequel snippet (http://harriet-spy.livejournal.com/669785.html) (~2100 words) by harriet_spy. (John/Teyla-ish...)

even less so, but left me very intrigued about how these versions of the various expeditions would make out:
Curiouser and Curiouser (http://gaiaanarchy.livejournal.com/43737.html) by gaiaanarchy (gen, inversion, ~4300 words)
Liminal (http://www.freaky.nu/glorious/010109b.htm) by Gloria Mundi (McShep and other pairings, post-WWII AU, ~57,700 words)

and oh, the McShep, will it all end badly (or not)? in:
Tannhauser Gate (http://trinityofone.livejournal.com/75513.html) by trinityofone (McShep-ish, ~2900 words)
John (http://khohen1.livejournal.com/648932.html) by kho (McShep-ish, ~3000 words)

and, well, it almost certainly will in:
The Seduction of Dr. Rodney McKay (http://community.livejournal.com/sga_santa/258197.html) by goddess47 (McShep, ~3300 words)

[skeddy-kat.livejournal.com]

Amen to this one. It is awesome and totally unsettling.

[jane-connor.livejournal.com]

Cairns (http://secretficplace.livejournal.com/596.html) by liketheriverrun, Gen. 'Chose your adventure' kind of fic, interactive and thus with unexpected results for reader.

Consequences (http://chaps1870.livejournal.com/78425.html) by chaps1870, Gen, G. Ambiguous ending indeed.

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

In that slightly creepycool way, yeah? :)

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

One more:
michelel72's Remorse (http://archiveofourown.org/works/31984) (gen, ~18,500 words) also has a nice -- well, for certain values of nice, perhaps effective would be more correct -- "What's actually going to happen? Will he actually find x and y when he goes looking, or really actually not?" feel at the end there...

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

seperis wrote four stories in The Atlantis Project AU: Arizona (http://seperis.illuminatedtext.com/sga/arizona.html), Borderlands (http://seperis.livejournal.com/344924.html#cutid2), Puerto Vallarta (http://seperis.illuminatedtext.com/sga/puertovallarta.html), Mexico City (http://seperis.illuminatedtext.com/sga/mexicocity.html). The last story ends ambiguously on a bit of a cliffhanger. I'm not sure if she intended to write more in the series or not, but anyway, the last story ends unresolved.

But that brings up a question... there are stories that end unresolved, and then there are stories that are unresolved because they have no written ending: do you want recs for any of those?

For example, there are at least two other Seperis series I can think of offhand that are like that, great AUs without endings: Crimes Against Humanity (http://seperis.illuminatedtext.com/sga/humanity.html) and The Rules of Attraction. (http://seperis.livejournal.com/tag/sga%3A%20the%20rules%20of%20attraction) But they weren't designed to end on an ambiguity or an unresolved cliffhanger. They just stop before they get to an ending.

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

(Psst, me, I liked the direction the assassin!John/Atlantis Project AU story was going -- potential heroic rescuey-things! -- in the first fifteen pages of abandoned sequel Panama, found at the end of the Mexico City DVD commentary (http://seperis.livejournal.com/345992.html) -- scroll down to "Panama, sequel to Arizona, Puerto Vallarta, and Mexico City")

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

A heartbreaker of a story that leaves its interpretation and conclusion up in the air: Reality (McKay/Sheppard, rated R) (http://community.livejournal.com/gblvr_lite/12990.html) by gblvr.

Close Enough by FabulaRasa (http://archiveofourown.org/works/60822), John/Rodney, NC17. What John says, what he does and what he thinks are all contradictory, so in the end it's hard to tell how he really feels.

"Mnemonic, or Four Ways John Sheppard Didn't Lose His Mind" by cupidsbow (http://cupidsbow.livejournal.com/203060.html) is four different scenarios, each ending with some measure of ambiguity.

Sequelae, by The Spike (http://community.livejournal.com/sga_flashfic/712183.html), John/Rodney iirc, R. Ends with John and Rodney setting out on an endeavor with no indication how it will end.

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

I always forget about Panama! Well, anyway, busaikko, if you stop with Mexico City it ends ambiguously. But you also have the option of seeing where it would have gone!

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

And as an interesting contrast, some of the things that did happen after they pushed the button/changed stuff -- which still leaves plenty unresolved, it turns out -- the thought-provoking Triptych (http://archiveofourown.org/works/54856) by mad_maudlin (gen, SG-1 Moebius/SGA the Siege non-AUs?, ~4800 words)

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

Hee, I tend to pimp Panama along with the other parts as it's listed right next to the other four in my file of "interesting WIPs I wish hadn't been abandoned" -- along with Rules of Attraction and Crimes, and Strangerverse and a few more by seperis and... :)

[busaikko]

Awesome, thank you! (Work is *done*, now to my reward! *hands you the popcorn*)

[busaikko]

Cool, yeah, I remember walking around a bit stunned the last time I read Mexico City. I should definitely reread!

I hadn't considered asking for unfinished WIPs, but you're so right, some of them totally fit the bill. Thank you!

[busaikko]

*downloads all the DVD commentaries* Yay!

[busaikko]

Awesome, thank you! I haven't read either, I think!

[busaikko]

The report is done, as is the hashing-out of all the problems with the author! Wild rumpus commencing in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... fic!

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

The Undone Years (http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com/23773.html) by vain_glorious (which I see you already read and liked once, but rereading is always good, right?)

[patk.livejournal.com]

I bet some of them are unfinished *because* they fit the bill and the author couldn't decide on the direction the story should take. *G*

[busaikko]

*nods nods* I have a fic like that myself. I only got through writing it by imagining how everything could turn out happily-ever-after, but of course that would lessen the original... so I'm not sure what to do there! *g*

[busaikko]

Vain Glorious has ripped my heart out on many occasions! I should definitely reread, thank you!

[busaikko]

Help, I cannot stop playing with the 'choose-your-own-adventure' story. It's wonderfully twisty!

[shibela.livejournal.com]

Psst... If you're going to read gblvr's "Reality," then you should check out the companion piece / AU scene (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5254), also by gblvr, and then the 2 Remixes done up: "Reality Organization (Chuang Chou's Dream Remix)" (http://community.livejournal.com/remixredux08/64780.html) by ekaterinn & "Shifting Reality (Best Imitation of Myself Remix)" (http://community.livejournal.com/remixredux08/76222.html) by kyuuketsukirui. IMO, they add depth & tragedy to the ending of the original, and not so much a conclusive ending as a 'what-really-happened?' kind of feel by the time you're done & pretty much forces the reader to choose the actual reality & ending based on their emotional response. I don't know what it says about me that I usually end up in a flood of tears because I always seem to choose the tragic interpretation, but.... ;) I definitely love all of them. :)

[shibela.livejournal.com]

Whoops! ETA (or should it be DTA?) author's name for 1st suggestion...


Unfinished pieces that leave the reader on tenterhooks:

"Entanglement Theory" (http://seperis.livejournal.com/tag/sga:+entanglement+theory) by seperis (McShep Pairing, post-ep Return 1 AU, John goes missing on a mission, will he ever be found? Will Rodney have to blow up more than five-sixths of the solar system to get him back?)

"Guardian" series (http://ediblewolfpeach.livejournal.com/tag/guardian) by very_rotten (No Pairings, de-aged kid!fic...Ronon has to take care of his now young teammates. Will they ever return to their original age? How long will it take? Will Ronon survive to see them attain that age? Will they survive to attain that age? What are the psychiatric sessions going to be like after & how long will they all be attending them?)

"Come Into Being" (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=3246) by Dharma (McShep Pairing... Atlantis has a consciousness & is very much exhausted by & concerned with all the pining that John & Rodney are doing & decides to interfere - more. Will the boys ever stop pining? Will Atlantis become a creepy threesome with the boys - unable to quit her voyeuring sisterly ways?)

"New Tricks" (http://alleonh.livejournal.com/3860.html) by alleonh (No Pairings, Animal AU. John's a dog & Jack is his owner. Ronon's a dog, too... Will Ronon survive the bust of the Wraith gang? If he does, will Jack have a new dog to keep John company?)

[skeddy-kat.livejournal.com]

In the very best of ways. Creepycool and "going over it in your head considering the ramifications/possible outcomes" ways. (Was that confusing? It sounded perfectly sensible in my head.)

[zoemathemata.livejournal.com]

Nothing of anything (http://snowglow1275.livejournal.com/18569.html#cutid1) by snowglow1275

I swear, I am STALKING this until there is a sequel!

[skaredykat.livejournal.com]

Exactly! (see, sounds perfectly sensible to me too)

[auburnnothenna.livejournal.com]

Have I got a rec for you! It has exactly the sort of last line you're talking about.

gottalovev's The One-Eyed Undertaker (http://gottalovev.livejournal.com/269364.html)

[busaikko]

Awesome, thank you so much!

[busaikko]

Great, thank you, that sounds right up my alley.

[busaikko]

HA-HA-HA, hooboy, yes, that was exactly what I was wanting! Thank you!

[danceswithgary]

Here's another open-ended one for John.

Signs of Life by GloriaMundi (viva_gloria)

[busaikko]

Awesome, thank you!