'''Basic Trope''': A character goes through hardships, but end up happy as a result.
* '''Straight''': [[TheHero Hiro]] and his TrueCompanions have gone through perilous times due to their battle against Emperor Evulz and his minions, but in the end, it was WorthIt.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** Hiro and his crew have survived severe catastrophes, oppressive regimes, monstrous villains, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking minor setbacks]] just to change the CrapsackWorld; in the end, it paid off so well that even the villains' casualties come BackFromTheDead and everyone lives HappilyEverAfter.
** SurprisinglyHappyEnding
* '''Downplayed''': A sweeter BittersweetEnding.
* '''Justified''':
** Having accomplished whatever goal he set out to accomplish, the hero has that if nothing else.
** All the mishaps were a [[SecretTest Test Of Faith]] set up by St. Peter for Hiro's possible admittance into heaven.
* '''Inverted''':
** EarnYourBadEnding [[note]]That trope applies only to video games while EarnYourHappyEnding applies to all media.[[/note]]
** For non-games, a SuddenDownerEnding.
** The main characters spend the whole story taking the easy way out of decisions and living in luxury, but in the end it all comes crashing down on them and leads to a DownerEnding.
** Evulz is a VillainProtagonist who repeatedly KickTheDog and betrays everyone, so what's the DownerEnding to him because of his bad decisions ended up seeming like LaserGuidedKarma at it's finest, and he becomes an AssholeVictim for the viewers.
* '''Subverted''': DiabolusExMachina. All that hard work the heroes went through to get a happy ending, and just when things look like they're gonna be alright, a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere appears and kills everyone.
** Alternatively, a DeusExMachina hands them a happy ending preventing them from having to actually earn it.
* '''Double Subverted''': DeusExMachina. A BoltOfDivineRetribution kills the space flea stone dead and then brings everyone BackFromTheDead.
* '''Parodied''': Everything is bleak and helpless, until a Deus Ex Machina shows up and makes everything better within the last five seconds, causing the heroes to forget everything bad that has happened to them.
* '''Zig Zagged''': Hiro endures trials and tribulations, and in the end he gets his good ending. [[TheLancer Lance]] does the same, but gets completely shafted. Space Flea kills the background cast and gets a good ending. Bob does absolutely ''nothing'' and gets the happiest conclusion of anyone.
* '''Averted''':
** There is NoEnding, happy or otherwise.
** The heroes don't have to earn their happy ending.
* '''Enforced''':
** The author wants to create a positive story wherein determination allows the characters to save the world.
** Alternatively, the author believes that a story without conflict and hardships makes a boring story.
* '''Lampshaded''': "We may have been damaged, and we may have lost many things, but look where it got us."
* '''Invoked''': A God or other deity takes an interest in Hiro and decides to put him through numerous obstacles, rewarding him when he pulls through it all.
* '''Exploited''': ???
* '''Defied''': [[TheLancer Lance]], the SourSupporter, isn't happy about going through their perilous journey.
-->'''Lance''': It was worth it? It was worth it?! "It was worth it" my ass! Do you realize what happened to us along the way?! The city is a wreck, all of us have gone through the worst pain and suffering imaginable, some people have ''died'', and all you can do is say it's worth it?! It's not! I can't believe [[TheDragAlong you dragged me along in this stupid journey]] just for all of this unnecessary hell! I'd rather be dead than celebrate this pointless victory! Enjoy your stupid "rewards" that will probably last for a while before another hardship gets here, but as far as I'm concerned, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I'm out!]]
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???
* '''Deconstructed''': Hiro and his friends return from the war against Emperor Evulz, but are [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror so shell-shocked and battle-scarred]] that the end of the story borders more on BittersweetEnding, at best. At [[DownerEnding worst]], they are left wondering in paranoia if their peace and prosperity will last forever.
* '''Reconstructed''': Hiro and his friends didn't come out of the battle against Emperor Evulz unscathed, so their ending [[BittersweetEnding isn't entirely happy]]. As such, their experience has not only [[CharacterDevelopment shaped them for the better]], but they decide to keep alive the stories of their adventures so history won't repeat itself.
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Back to EarnYourHappyEnding.
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???
%%* '''Played For Drama''': ???