I just read the end and I don't know what to think - I am happy for them but I also feel like this ending is pure wish fulfillment whereas all the rest of the story has been grounded in reality and its problems.
Even the immediately preceding chapter where Yong admits that there may be deep underlying incompatibilities with his versus Lan's perception of the relationship and he questions what they both want or what they could both feasibly expect from each other given the circumstances - this was a very complex and nuanced and mature analysis that you usually don't see in yaoi's simple world. And then suddenly boom everything's ok?
Like others said, I feel like there's a good 5-10 chapters missing in between in order to get to this resolution, not even because of the war or the fire or lan's health but because we don't see Lan or Yong getting to the point mentally where they're like fuck it all, let's just be together. I would've loved to see that journey - or even a fast epiphany - where they each make that decision to go for it, I absolutely wish them a happy ending and so I am very happy that they got it, but from a storytelling perspective this seems out of nowhere and unsatisfying compared to the careful building of the story beforehand.
I wonder if the artist had originally decided on a depressing ending and was writing toward that. I feel like, given the immediately preceding chapters, a sad ending in this last chapter would not feel that rushed; it's the sudden turnaround without buildup that makes it seem so out of place to end right here. And then she changed her mind suddenly, but did not have time to extend the story or did not want to extend the story.
Heck, maybe the censorship played a role in the sense that maybe she previously thought she HAD to make a sad ending and so constructed the plot to fit that, but suddenly found out a loophole or something or the laws were becoming more lax and so she abruptly gave a happy ending? That makes some sense to me, in the same position I would surely seize that opportunity too.
In any case, I very much look forward to future chapters and I am also very interested in reading other of this artist's work, regardless whether it's yaoi or not. I read yaoi mostly out of indulgence, I find it hot or cute to see two guys together so that's that. But this story was not like that at all - certainly some parts were sexy or cutesy but overall this was a story-driven, not smut-driven, vehicle that would be equally compelling no matter what the genders of the characters or what genders the reader is attracted to.
I just read the end and I don't know what to think - I am happy for them but I also feel like this ending is pure wish fulfillment whereas all the rest of the story has been grounded in reality and its problems.
Even the immediately preceding chapter where Yong admits that there may be deep underlying incompatibilities with his versus Lan's perception of the relationship and he questions what they both want or what they could both feasibly expect from each other given the circumstances - this was a very complex and nuanced and mature analysis that you usually don't see in yaoi's simple world. And then suddenly boom everything's ok?
Like others said, I feel like there's a good 5-10 chapters missing in between in order to get to this resolution, not even because of the war or the fire or lan's health but because we don't see Lan or Yong getting to the point mentally where they're like fuck it all, let's just be together. I would've loved to see that journey - or even a fast epiphany - where they each make that decision to go for it, I absolutely wish them a happy ending and so I am very happy that they got it, but from a storytelling perspective this seems out of nowhere and unsatisfying compared to the careful building of the story beforehand.
I wonder if the artist had originally decided on a depressing ending and was writing toward that. I feel like, given the immediately preceding chapters, a sad ending in this last chapter would not feel that rushed; it's the sudden turnaround without buildup that makes it seem so out of place to end right here. And then she changed her mind suddenly, but did not have time to extend the story or did not want to extend the story.
Heck, maybe the censorship played a role in the sense that maybe she previously thought she HAD to make a sad ending and so constructed the plot to fit that, but suddenly found out a loophole or something or the laws were becoming more lax and so she abruptly gave a happy ending? That makes some sense to me, in the same position I would surely seize that opportunity too.
In any case, I very much look forward to future chapters and I am also very interested in reading other of this artist's work, regardless whether it's yaoi or not. I read yaoi mostly out of indulgence, I find it hot or cute to see two guys together so that's that. But this story was not like that at all - certainly some parts were sexy or cutesy but overall this was a story-driven, not smut-driven, vehicle that would be equally compelling no matter what the genders of the characters or what genders the reader is attracted to.