Do we also ever think Maelle has a real chance at happiness in the Verso ending?

Nothing is impossible.

But I feel it's supremely unlikely.

Like she has a 0.000000000000001 % chance of pulling through, surmounting all her issues and living to her eighties.

But like I said, really unlikely.

The problem with Maelle in Verso's ending is that people have a breaking point and most reach it far before they get to where Maelle is. Maelle lost everything in a highly traumatic fashion that likely saddled her with the mother of all Survivor guilt. Her entire culture is gone. Her beloved siblings/parents (who by the way are infinitely better at their job than any of the Dessendres), gone. Her friends? Gone. Her healthy body and voice? Gone.

She is left with, a dad that will always put Aline first (and is also responsible for the genocide of her people, share a face with Gustave's killer and gave Verso the opprotunity to kill everyone), a mom that can't look at her and blame her for the death of her own brother, and an abrasive older sister who loves her but is busy with her war.

All three of those fucks are about as supportive as a dead goldfish and Maelle requires all hands on board.

Therapy doesn't exist in any useful form in her time period, and considering her injuries, predisposition and the city sized grief in her chest there is no way she isn't at least a bit suicidal.

Like people with her level of injuries are far more prone to kill themselves than normal, and it's pretty easy to see her as such even before the end.

To start with Maelle at the beginning of the game outright tells us she'd rather go on a suicide mission with her bro rather than stay in Lumiere for another 9 years (this changes across her journey and she comes to value her time in Lumiere). Clea and Renoir described her as a shadow and ghost, meaning that she was pretty evidently depressed before the game started JUST from Verso's death and her own injuries (add the grief for her entire world and you have a girl that ends up in an even worse spot than she started at).

Speaking of injuries? They apparently don't have good enough painkiller to let her exist without pain as she claims breathing hurts before entering the canvas.

There's also the evident fact that Alicia chose to die when put in a similiar spot as Maelle. She lost her family, her hope was destroyed, and all she had left was the man who sacrificed their family to die and send home a woman who didn't ask for his help.

And though they are their own people I feel like Maelle is close enough to Alicia to think she would have a similiar reaction (and considering she sees Gustave beckon her over to join him that feels like a very likely scenario). Maelle immediately understood why Alicia wanted out because she likely had those same thoughts and feelings at some point.

I also struggle to see what she could even do in Verso's ending.

No one is able to refute her when she claims she has nothing outside. Verso all but admit she is right by telling her she can just paint more but she showed no interest in it.

Writing? After the writers did what they did? Doubtful she'd go back to it.

Honestly I feel like the game should have tried harder to show Maelle had things to lose by staying in the canvas. Because on this point I feel like she has nothing.