Over it

[clevermanka]

Thanks, all, for the kind words during my meltdown yesterday. I  appreciate them. I'm feeling better and today's most difficult thing is going to be motivating myself to get to the gym because it's 34 fuckin' degrees.

mckitterick reports from Beijing that "Just Cared Too Much" played in the fancy restaurant he was eating at. He was also interviewed by a TV station and mentioned Chinese webnovels being made into series. The interviewer asked him which was his favorite, and instead of saying "I haven't seen enough to judge" or something, you know, diplomatic, he just blurted out the only one he's ever seen. Which is, of course, Guardian. He said the interviewer just smiled and nodded and I thought "yeah I bet she did." 

Found on Twitter:
I might ask for this print from Breeze Wong for a holiday or birthday gift because WOW
naye made me actually laugh out loud for real with this before I was even out of bed this morning (no context needed)

My final non-Hallows square on my bingo card is to post about an episode or scene and...can I talk about the ending a little bit? 

I like the ending. It hurts, oh how it hurts, but it's so beautifully constructed from at least episode three that I can't be mad at it. Current western media has a noticeable lack of well-constructed tragedies and this is such a gorgeous one that I can't hate it. No plot twists, no gotcha moments, just a slow build to a Pyrrhic victory that the show producers left justttttt open enough for plausible fix-its. ranalore posted about the last several episdoes a couple days ago, and just yes. All that. The way our beloved heroes hit the ground running after Zhao Yunlan gets back from the past and things just. don't. slow. down until they ... well, stop. And while I probably wouldn't have complained about a canon happy ending for the drama, I feel like, the way it was presented from the early episodes, it wouldn't have been as...idk, powerful? Guo Changcheng sorta being hinted as the lantern wick was a great red herring and made ZYL's sacrifice more believable because of course ZYL would throw himself on that grenade before letting anyone else do it.

And yes, the Bury Your Gays chafes, but the fact that they presented the ending the way they did, considering the Chinese Tragic Romance Tradition, lends a bit of weight to the fact that this is an Actual Romantic Love Story.

Also, I am an emotional sadomasochist.

Which is probably how I can laugh about my occasional emotional shitshow so there's that small blessing.


I was reminded by a comment over on cm.net that my old bellydance troupe was good. Like, Real Good. As in we were hired to perform at the Arab-American Medical Association's annual convention good. I don't miss all the things about that group. Our troupe leader was a great choreographer, but wow was she a piece of work. Damn we were good, though, and it's too bad it was all before we carried recording devices with us everywhere we went because I have zero performance video of any of it.

Comments

[trobadora]

[personal profile] mckitterick reports from Beijing that "Just Cared Too Much" played in the fancy restaurant he was eating at. He was also interviewed by a TV station and mentioned Chinese webnovels being made into series. The interviewer asked him which was his favorite, and instead of saying "I haven't seen enough to judge" or something, you know, diplomatic, he just blurted out the only one he's ever seen. Which is, of course, Guardian. He said the interviewer just smiled and nodded and I thought "yeah I bet she did."

OMG, that is The BEST.

Re: the ending, I don't think it's a Pyrrhic victory? There's no sense of futility at all; they do save the world. And Shen Wei even gets a reconciliation with his brother. I'd say there's a sense of achievement about it, which is part of why I love it so much. It's not the kind of tragedy where you go, ack, if only you hadn't! And yeah, on top of that the ending is open enough to remain hopeful - it refuses any kind of finality, and so mitigates the sadness. Because they WILL find each other again.

And I know some people are disappointed that Xiao-Guo as the wick didn't go anywhere, but to me, the ending is built up to foreshadowed so well, I really can't see the Xiao-Guo thing as anything but a red herring. (There's even a lantern in Zhao Yunlan's flat! And he has a lantern fruit as his lock screen!)

I was just saying to china_shop the other day that I really can't think of any other ending that would have been nearly as satisfying, even if it had been happier. And I still maintain that what I want most is not a different ending, but a second season where they do find each other again. ♥

And yes, the Bury Your Gays chafes, but the fact that they presented the ending the way they did, considering the Chinese Tragic Romance Tradition, lends a bit of weight to the fact that this is an Actual Romantic Love Story.

Yes! And also, the show utterly commits to the pairing, all the way through. It remains the focus, centre and heart. Not for a moment do we have to doubt that these two are ALL about each other, that nothing short of saving the world could tear them apart. They would never willingly leave each other, and the ending doubles down on that even after death, which is just, ♥ ♥ ♥

(Er. That was a lot of words. But I have a lot of feelings about the ending. SO many feelings, OMG.)

[clevermanka]

You're right--incorrect use of Pyrrhic, there.

I really can't think of any other ending that would have been nearly as satisfying, even if it had been happier
100% same.

what I want most is not a different ending, but a second season where they do find each other again
200% same.

nothing short of saving the world could tear them apart


Obviously I have SO many feelings OMG too.

[trobadora]

♥♥♥

[trobadora]

Btw, do you mind if I link to this post? I really love the ending meta.

[clevermanka]

Please, go ahead! Share the ending feels! \o/

[winter_blossom]

Happy to hear you're feeling better now!

I had a beautiful, heartfelt monologue about the ending planned out... But then Trobadora went and wrote it all down in her comment, so. I'll just second everything she said, I guess? XD

Also, I've said this before several times, but how come no one is writing the sequel that the epilogue so beautifully led up to? I mean, really, that was the first thing I searched for when I went on AO3 after finishing the drama and... Seven months later, still nothing! O_o (I have a literal epic planned out in my head for this: my sister and I spent hours plotting for it - we even recorded our conversation for later reference! - but we both have Very Important Exams this year and the next, so... *Weeps*)

...instead of saying "I haven't seen enough to judge" or something, you know, diplomatic, he just blurted out the only one he's ever seen. Which is, of course, Guardian. He said the interviewer just smiled and nodded and I thought "yeah I bet she did."

Ahaha this is so cute!?

It's really a shame that you don't have footage of your dancing days. I've never actually watched bellydancing before, would have loved to see it!

[clevermanka]

Right??? What a gorgeous comment. I feel honored to have it attached to a post of mine.

how come no one is writing the sequel that the epilogue so beautifully led up to
This is, actually, a(nother) project I'd like to tackle if Canadian Shack doesn't turn into a monster like Ghost Story. Right now I don't feel sufficiently confident to ackle the second season in Haixing with all the side characters and cultural stuff necessary. Which is why my first post-canon fix-it will take place in faux-Canada =D

[winter_blossom]

Can I just say that your Guardian Muse is my absolute favourite thing in the fandom these days? Like, everything it comes up with seems to speak to my fannish id on one level or the other O_o

And I'm surely not gonna be much (any) help, but I'll definitely be there to cheer you on in any and all future fic-writing endeavours!

[clevermanka]

That's such a fun and fantastic thing to hear, thank you. I'm so glad our ticky-boxes match up! \o/

Also, um...can you tell me if my comment above says "sufficiently confident to ackle" or "sufficiently confident to tackle" bc I corrected that typo when I saw it before you replied and I double-checked to make sure the edit worked, but now the edit doesn't even show as having happened and that is just WEIRD.

[winter_blossom]

It does say 'ackle,' still.

[clevermanka]

[trobadora]

This is, actually, a(nother) project I'd like to tackle

YES YES YES YES YES

*waves ALL the pom-poms*

[clevermanka]

Thank you for the cheers! I really want to, but hmmm that's a lot of research for specific, canon, world-building that I'm nervous about.

[trobadora]

I really want you to, too! A LOT.

So, uh, let me know if I can help?

[clevermanka]

Oh my gosh thank you, I'm feeling very Sally Field about my writing at the moment. *blush*

I will let you know! =D

[trobadora]

*waves more pom-poms*

[winter_blossom]

Jumping in here for a bit to say: in this case I don't think you have to worry overly much, because the drama itself was very vague about the worldbuilding, so many people have so many different headcanons - none of which can be proven or disproven - and this isn't supposed to even technically be RL China, so it'd be totally okay to aspire to creativity rather than accuracy, such as it is. (An unexpected advantage of haphazardly-developed, messy canons like in the drama version, lol)

[clevermanka]

That is good to remember, thank you.

[trobadora]

but how come no one is writing the sequel that the epilogue so beautifully led up to?

OMG, this, so much. I mean, I haven't written it yet either, but still! Why aren't there fifty different variations on that theme yet?! Fandom is letting me down. :p

[elizacake]

how come no one is writing the sequel that the epilogue so beautifully led up to?

ranalore's The Touch of Your Mouth gave us a start.

[winter_blossom]

I've read that one, of course (left a gushing comment and everything ^^). Really lovely fic, would happily read another 50k of what that last chapter hinted at <3

[elizacake]

I'm glad you'd found it because that's the only one I've seen that's a true resurrection.

The problem is that 50k wouldn't be Guardian fic, but an original novel. Which is not a problem per se ^^ but isn't what fic is about.

[asya_ana]

OH MY GOD this report from Beijing is HILARIOUS. I adore that he was blurt, "Guardian". <3

[clevermanka]

He's the type of person whose favorite X thing is whatever the latest X thing he experienced was. Which is sometimes adorable and other times makes me facepalm. Like, maybe see at least one other example of the genre before stating it as your favorite? Although I'm being kinda hypocritical since it's absolutely my favorite, and I've only seen two dramas (I'm holding off on Detective L until we can watch it together).

[naye]

Ahhh this interviewer in China going "wow Guardian is popular in America!". That's amazing.

And OMG that whole twitter thread with the Grindr AU (thanks, newspaper The Guardian) was a lot. I'm glad the quote could make you laugh as much as I did. ♥

[clevermanka]

Ahhh this interviewer in China going "wow Guardian is popular in America!"
Right? Like, the dude is there as the Director for one of the only academically-associated science fiction research centers in the world and...*waves hand*...this. happens. Gotta love it.

[china_shop]

And while I probably wouldn't have complained about a canon happy ending for the drama, I feel like, the way it was presented from the early episodes, it wouldn't have been as...idk, powerful?

Yesssss! It's so achy and good, and I love that their sacrifices are so very meaningful, and they both understand that -- for themselves and for each other!

I also wonder if there'd be less fannish activity for the show if it had had a happy ending. It really does invite alllll the fixits and smooshings and canon divergences. :D

(Have you considered linking this on sid_guardian, btw? :-)

[clevermanka]

I...had not? I didn't even think about it. Will do so, though! Thank you!

[china_shop]

♥ ♥ ♥

[ranalore]

If my post in any way inspired this eloquence and love, then the time I spent on it was WORTH IT. While I can understand the perspective of people who wish there'd be a happy ending, and who see GCC as the wick as a dropped thread, I continue to love the ending. It's just so cathartic, and for me, it definitely is a huge factor in my utter devotion. Because I feel it fully gives the characters over to us, if that makes sense, which it may not. Just, I've spent about the past ten years with fandoms imploding and feeling like they're being deliberately and maliciously broken by their creators (during one of the worst personal times of my life, and the two certainly fed each other). So, coming into a new fandom that is not only a closed canon, but a closed canon in which the two main characters both gave their lives to save the world, so there was an ending, but also met in the afterlife and made a promise to find each other again, so there was canon potential for a new beginning, in addition to all the fix-it possibilities...well. It really is a perfect story, in that way. Hope or sorrow—hope and sorrow—whatever direction I want to go in riffing on the ending, I'm not breaking anything. The tragedy has already happened. The story goes on.

[clevermanka]

I feel it fully gives the characters over to us
Yes, that makes absolute sense.

Hope or sorrow—hope and sorrow—whatever direction I want to go in riffing on the ending, I'm not breaking anything. The tragedy has already happened. The story goes on.
Well that's just flat-out gorgeous.

[trobadora]

The tragedy has already happened. The story goes on.

YES OMG THIS. Thank you for saying this so eloquently. ♥

[jo_lasalle]

I'm really glad you're feeling better. I didn't get to your previous post until you were already out of that particular slump, but ❤️❤️❤️

I love the thought of Just Cared Too Much JUST PLAYING AT A RESTAURANT. And I think your dude gave a fantastic answer to the interviewer! *^_^*

[clevermanka]

Thanks, bb! Emotions are the worst.

Part of me is like "are you sure it was that song?" but it's not like that song hasn't been played A LOT at home. I'm sure he knows it. =D

[khellekson]

OMG McKitterick! I love him just saying GUARDIAN. That is the absolute correct thing to say.

[clevermanka]

Right? I'm sure he didn't even hesitate. Oh, McKitterick.