Challenge Angstmongers Anonymous | Angst Challenge & Discussion Thread | Next up: Apology Letter Challenge!

I hope you are feeling much better, @devilinthedetails, and I have your sentences in the index!

Ooh, that is a good one! I have to agree, having the doomed lovers come from opposite sides of a conflict is such a timeless and heartbreaking trope; I don't think I'll ever tire of it.

Excellent, I have added your entry to the index!

lolll let the angst flow through you!

Aw yeah

DO IT!

*ahem* I mean, I am delighted to have helped introduce you to something new and would love to have you participate!

Don't be sorry! I've been meaning to come back here and respond to the question myself, but every time I do, I feel like I have nothing of substance to say while simultaneously having all the things to say! DRL is relentless and we're all dealing with it, so never feel bad about not replying to a discussion or challenge, etc. The great thing is that this thread isn't going anywhere, and neither are we.

And now, let's talk about those tropes/themes you listed! Because I think they resonate with a lot of us, myself included. And maybe part of why I gravitate toward stories centering around those feelings is that it helps validate so much of what I experience. It's not that I don't enjoy happier stories, but idk, most of the time the happy fantasy isn't enough for me because it isn't real, and it's never going to be my reality, and instead of finding comfort in reading the fantasy, I end up being frustrated and unsatisfied, if that makes any sense. So yeah, I'm definitely drawn to those same themes, whether because I've personally experienced them or because I can empathize with them.


As for my own answer to the question...

You know, I thought this topic would be an easy one to ramble on about, but when I actually try to narrow it down to some of my favorite angsty tropes... it's hard, guys. I guess I'll throw out "desperately craves affection" and "break their heart to save them" for now, because of how they both deal with the complexities of our relationships with others (whether platonic, romantic, familial, etc.) while exploring how vital contact and trust are, in addition to affection/love, and how those things can build us up or tear us down by turns. Plus, "break their heart to save them" has all that delicious dramatic irony going for it.

Okay, one more: slowly descending into darkness/evil. This one is probably a no-brainer considering my larger body of work. It's absolutely fascinating and terrible watching a character go through this process, and maybe some of that comes from that feeling of "how would I respond to this situation?" and "what am I truly capable of?" that a lot of us might experience with this trope.


Anyone else have a favorite angsty trope to share?

 

I have also been meaning to reply to this and also keep getting caught up in RL, but these last couple of posts caught my attention.

This made me think and I found it really interesting, because for me, it's the opposite. I don't generally like darker stories because RL is dark enough. As you said, the happy fantasy isn't real and it's never going to be. Also, I won't get too deep into it, but the older I get the more optimism and hope I lose and, quite frankly, there's not much I do believe in anymore. But, for me, happy endings and fluff are like...one of the few things I can still believe in. Like, yeah, they're not real in themselves but that capacity to imagine a better, brighter, more hopeful future? That's real. And sometimes - especially if everything looks bleak and hopeless and you're grasping at anything that gives you enough light and hope to get to the next day - sometimes that's enough.

And of course the above is all just my own opinions and thoughts and feelings! I just thought it was a really interesting point in a really interesting discussion.

And all that said, I do agree that angsty tropes can definitely resonate with us and be relatable through personal experience, catharsis, empathy, or whatever else we may be feeling. Sometimes you do just need the sad music/book/movie/fic/etc. Sometimes you want the pain and the darkness. Sometimes your tastes just run to angsty, darker stuff over happy endings. It's all totally valid. And that's the beauty of fiction; it can speak to every part of the human experience.

There's so many great tropes listed already! These are the ones that come to mind right now, and I don't know if they count as angst specifically, but some of my favorites are pining - especially mutual pining with miscommunication (as long as I know it turns out okay in the end ) - and self-esteem issues. I also don't know if these really count as 'angst tropes', or if they fall more under genres, but I'm a big lover of whump (as long as I know it turns out okay etc ) and hurt/comfort as well.

 

I'm really enjoying this discussion and find myself wracking my brain for favorite angsty tropes that haven't been brought up yet.

The doomed lovers one definitely resonates with me really strongly at times even though the bulk of my shipping is happy ending type stuff. I tend to enjoy AU's of those kinds of stories where they appear in the canon of the source material, since you often get a mix of fix-its, slightly happier outcomes that still twist the knife, and ones that absolutely make it all worse.

Loneliness and the loss/change of familiar places are also tropes that I seem to seek out even if it's unintentionally. The somewhat related theme of characters who are outsiders or even stigmatized for whatever reason is also one that seems to keep cropping up in my reading habits.

It's been really surprisingly hard to think of specific things for this, and I admire the folks who contributed so far for being able to articulate their angst faves so well.

 

Angsty things are coming from RL with all those wars raging on and extreme right political parties gaining influence everywhere. Also the fake information that's spread by those influencers and the disregard for nature. And sneaky persons trying to take over everywhere.

 

I'm not even going to touch the favorite trope aspect of this right now, because I still have adulting to do tonight and we all know how verbose I can be once I get started, but there's one common theme that's running through the disparate opinions here and that fascinates me and I want to point it out, so here goes:

This is pretty much me - which is interesting because I think I write more happy fics than otherwise, and while I read a fair amount of blatant angst, it's hardly the only thing I read. But yes, many overtly happy stories don't do much for me unless they're either a fairly happy take on serious theme or heavy on the comedy, because in my view too many fluffy stories are all fluff, no reality, and I can't relate to that, nor am I particularly interested in it.

I haven't read Anna Karenina, but I know its famous first line: “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Now, I'm not sure I buy this as an infallible universal theory, but as a general principle applied to fiction, I think there's a lot to it, and that's because conflict is at the heart of every story. And this is the common thread I'm seeing in the responses here.

This is absolutely a more commonly held opinion about escapism fare than Vi's and mine! Trust me, we know we're weirdos I wept steadily through the last third of The Book Thief (not a short book, either, so it was a lot of weeping), and it's one of my all time favorites. That's not everyone's idea of a good time, which is entirely fair. I do understand why so many people prefer the happiness and fluff, even if I'm not generally one of them. But the happiness and fluff also depends on the story having underlying conflict! I'm going to come back to this in just a minute, so hold that thought -

And here we have the middle ground, and an articulation of how conflict is essential to storytelling: "the best balance is where characters struggle - there's catharsis in going through those struggles alongside them - and then persevere through those struggles."

Because without conflict, there is no story. Conflict drives the narrative, spurs character development, keeps the reader invested in the eventual outcome, and makes the story relatable. And angst, in its purest form, is nothing more than conflict. I submit, therefore, that angst is the foundation of all storytelling; it's merely a matter of degree. Don't believe me? Here are some examples:

Cinderella: A neglected and abused young woman from a dysfunctional family searches for love against all odds.

The Wizard of Oz - Will a girl stranded far from home find a way to return to her family, or are they lost to her forever?

Anne of Green Gables - An unloved orphan has her hopes dashed yet again when it turns out that her new adoptive family only wanted a farmhand, not a daughter.

Pretty happy stories overall, aren't they? Yet look at the angst underpinning them: that's not even minor angst when you get right down to it. That's some existential stuff. But it's existential stuff that so many people relate to, one way or another: feeling overlooked, or lonely, or afraid; trying to regain something precious that was lost; looking for a place to belong; wanting to be valued for one's own sake; wanting to be loved. All of that is angst. The angst is what makes the story relatable, it's what moves the narrative along, it's what motivates the characters, it's what keeps the reader engaged, it's why the happy ending resonates. Without the foundation of angst, those (and all other) stories would be empty shells.

We're all angst fans, my friends. It's just that some of us like it as a garnish and some of us like it as a main course

 

Yay! I was thrilled to see you were able to write for this challenge, and got it finished before the deadline, too! You're in the index!



I've been recovering from an illness this past week, so I'm a bit behind on getting the next challenge sorted; hopefully I'll have that up for you guys sometime next week!

 

Hey there, angstmongers! We had an awesome turnout for our 50 Sentences challenge and a lot of great discussion about our favorite tropes and how conflict is essential to storytelling, and I hope to keep that momentum going with our next challenge...
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Angst Challenge #6

Dark Side Challenge​

For this challenge, you’re going to take a character – the precious cinnamon roll, the plucky comic relief, the noble hero, the purest sunshine child – and you’re going to turn them to the dark side! Whether you turn them to the dark side of the Force or just unleash their own darker nature is up to you, but there needs to be a turn and it needs to be for the worse. Stories can be canon compliant or AU or NSW, whatever floats your boat. You will have eight weeks to complete and post your challenge response.

Some additional guidelines:

• Your fic must be at least 750 words
• You may turn more than one character to the dark side, if you wish
  
• Bonus Challenge: If you don’t think you’ve punished your character(s) enough, try including these three words somewhere in your story: puncture, penance, and possess
• Entries are due Monday, August 19th, but you are always welcome to write for any of our challenges, even after the deadline has passed.

As always, the TOS apply! Happy writing, and may the angst be with you.

---

Challenge Index:

• Reap the Whirlwind by Raissa Baiard
• Precious by earlybird-obi-wan

~~

 

I'm trying to figure out how "Reginald Tha Sith" would work.
.... ahhh. The Cave that Luke entered. Of course.

 

Does the character necessarily have to be evil, or just significantly darker and angstier than their usual self?

 

They don't necessarily need to be full-on evil, but there should be a definite and lasting moral shift for the worse, something more serious than just having a bad day or being in an angsty mood. Hope that helps!

 

Thanks, that does help. And I think what I have in mind qualifies because I’m sending my most precious cinnamon roll out for revenge.

 

Excellent

 

How did I know that was coming

 

Time to Break the Cutie

 

Well, I did it. I wrote a story in which Kazuda "Precious Cinnamon Roll" Xiono is dark, bitter, angsty and out for vengeance on the First Order. May I present Reap the Whirlwind

 

That's what I'm talking about. So awesome to have our first response for the challenge; I've got you in the index!

We still have a little under three weeks until our "deadline"... any other takers? Do you have an idea you're working on? Are you completely stuck and don't know what to write? Tell us about your progress!

 

I'll just apologize.
I have a story. Honest. It's coming. Real life work has been brutal, and at the end of the day I'm just buggered. I've got two stories for two separate challenges half scratched onto a Google Doc.
Reginald Da Sith for here, and my Nurse Nellie story that was inspired by a Government Forms challenge but perhaps has floated off into being something else.

Both stories balked at trivial plot blockages and mental and physical exhaustion.

I'll get there.

 

I am working on an idea with Nu.