forum I need some advice with a story.

Started Feb 05 by @gay_corgi group

tune

So, I'm working on this idea where I put some of my characters into this cube in space, and just sort of trap them there. They know why they're there and there's a perfectly logical explanation but it would take too long to explain here. Essentially, I need to figure out which version of the plot to go with. In one of them, everyone dies, and in the other, things mostly turn out okay. I was wondering if anyone could help me decide?

Plot 1:
-They are in a psychological experiment but don’t know it
-Cedar is slowly going insane
-Redwood's PTSD is getting worse
-Ash is the only one who knows how to help Redwood
-Ash eventually snaps under the pressure of helping Redwood
-Shea desperately tries to keep everyone calm (and fails)
-Juniper has depersonalization/derealization disorder
-Cedar ends up killing Shea
-He then gets killed for it
-Redwood kills himself
-Ash and Juniper die somehow
-EVERYONE IS DEAD

Plot 2:
-They are in a psychological experiment but don’t know it
-Cedar is slowly going insane
-Redwood's PTSD is slowly getting better
-Ash is the only one who knows how to help Redwood
-Ash eventually snaps under the pressure of helping Red
-Shea desperately tries to keep everyone calm (and fails)
-Juni has depersonalization/derealization disorder
-Cedar ends up killing Shea
-He gets put in actual prison
-Everyone is terrified
-Things eventually get better though

They have some similar main points, but are also VERY different. If anyone could help I'd really appreciate it!

may i ask why you’re writing this story? i find that a lot of my stories fall into two categories— venting or comforting. you can probably guess, but venting usually ends pretty dour or open ended, and comforting usually ends with some amount of hope and with some sort of resolution, even if it barely counts as a resolution.

It's an idea I had to try putting my characters into a separate story that could work in a podcast format- sort of like an AU but for my own characters. It's not really venting or comforting, but I do want it to be pretty dark and sad.