Cute. I appreciate that they got together in the end but I think it would’ve been a lot stronger if they hadn’t. Just melancholy over the girl who’s gone, who you can never see again even though you finally realized you’ve loved her all along. That kinda story.

But the Christmas miracle ending was alright i guess. Did kinda feel like it came out of nowhere and it wasn’t earned. But meh. They
had all that good angst brewing and then they kinda ruined it with the reunion. Nice kiss tho.

Not everything has to have a happy ending. Not everything should.

I have very mixed feelings about this.

last edited at Jul 24, 2022 12:24AM

i love this artist

Cute. I appreciate that they got together in the end but I think it would’ve been a lot stronger if they hadn’t. Just melancholy over the girl who’s gone, who you can never see again even though you finally realized you’ve loved her all along. That kinda story.

But the Christmas miracle ending was alright i guess. Did kinda feel like it came out of nowhere and it wasn’t earned. But meh. They
had all that good angst brewing and then they kinda ruined it with the reunion. Nice kiss tho.

Not everything has to have a happy ending. Not everything should.

I have very mixed feelings about this.

I have thoughts about this because it speaks to a part of me that I often have trouble accurately vocalizing, bc it feels so contradictory.

Reason being: I 100% agree with you that some stories are more meaningful or benefit more from having tragic or at least not happy endings. I often imagine and find myself wishing for version of stories where things did go wrong, where things didn't work out in the end and the protagonist just failed or gave up.
An example would be smth like Hello Melancholic where Minato just never finds it in herself to actually join the band, where she just gives up.

And it weirds me out because I love happy endings and every time i see a tragic one I feel empty and unfulfilled xD And yet i some part of me still wants to see the version with the bad ending, despite how hollow it'll inevitably make me feel.
To the point to where i sometimes wish authors would write alternative "bad ending" scenarios, just so i can have my cake and eat it too xD

wow didnt expect that ending because some of Sal Jiang's work is absolutely brutal.

Yeah, I was definitely afraid we'd get a "Oh, wow, I'm so happy I got to see you again, Kaori! Anyway, meet my girlfriend..."

OMG same. So glad I was wrong.

Also same lol. Up until that hug and declaration of (persisting) love I could not relax

Ohmygod I was expecting something sad bc this artist likes to make wild stories but I'm so glad it ended on a good note.

wow didnt expect that ending because some of Sal Jiang's work is absolutely brutal.

Yeah, I was definitely afraid we'd get a "Oh, wow, I'm so happy I got to see you again, Kaori! Anyway, meet my girlfriend..."

OMG same. So glad I was wrong.

Also same lol. Up until that hug and declaration of (persisting) love I could not relax

Lol, same, I thought she was going to be like, meet my wife and daughter, having FULLY moved on with no way back and Kaori'd just have to swallow her feelings. FULLY and happy it ended this way, my shoulders were starting to hunch from the tension as it was winding down, lol.

Merry Christmas, and a happy Mariah Carey to all!

wow didnt expect that ending because some of Sal Jiang's work is absolutely brutal.

Yeah, I was definitely afraid we'd get a "Oh, wow, I'm so happy I got to see you again, Kaori! Anyway, meet my girlfriend..."

I read a het oneshot recently that had an ending like this where the guy returns to the place he grew up and runs into the old crush he never had the guts to confess to who is now married with a child. For extra pain the child asks who the guy is and the woman responds with something like "A friend I had a crush on a long time ago".

Yeah, I'm glad this went for a more cheerful ending instead.

Thank god for mariah carey yuri

wow didnt expect that ending because some of Sal Jiang's work is absolutely brutal.

Yeah, I was definitely afraid we'd get a "Oh, wow, I'm so happy I got to see you again, Kaori! Anyway, meet my girlfriend..."

Honestly, I was actually hoping it would go that way. The protagonist was insufferable and a last minute change of heart didn't change that. Lina should had just moved on.

wow didnt expect that ending because some of Sal Jiang's work is absolutely brutal.

Yeah, I was definitely afraid we'd get a "Oh, wow, I'm so happy I got to see you again, Kaori! Anyway, meet my girlfriend..."

OMG same. So glad I was wrong.

Also same lol. Up until that hug and declaration of (persisting) love I could not relax

Yeah this entire story made me nervous.

i'm happy that there's a happy ending i was about to lowkey break down in tears

Same. SAL's works often have a lot of depression and some dark endings, and I was really hoping this against the odds would be a surprise happy ending from the author. It's really nice that it ended on such a light note in my opinion.

Just wanna see the rest of SAL's Black and White uploaded.
Nothing comes close to watching Junko and Kayo bash and fcuk the living suitcases out of each other ( ◜‿◝ )♡

I would've thoroughly enjoyed it if MC suffered more from her homophobia especially since it was internalized. Even at the last minute, she still couldn't imagine Lina having a girlfriend while away. If instead Lina introduced her to a girlfriend right after MC's "even if you get a boyfriend, I still want you," that would've been a golden moment since apparently if Lina did have a gf, she wouldn't have wanted her anymore.

last edited at Jul 24, 2022 10:09AM

Merry Christmas

mariah carey was the mvp fr

"Mount Yurigami" >_>

christmas in july, whoo!

This story was OK

This story in particular took my heart, shook it, squeezed it till it popped, shredded it, spread the pieces on my family's doorstep, LOVINGLY picked it up and nursed it back to good health. Despite the ending I probably would have been fine crying had it been tragic tho

While I agree with some other posters that a sad ending would've been more in keeping with this oneshot's melancholy mood and theme of regret over past mistakes, in Sal Jiang's defense I think that's actually the point. The ending is explicitly framed as a (literally Christmas) miracle, and the entire idea of a miracle is that it's a radical rupture of the "ordinary" course of events: in this case, giving Kaori the happy ending she does not really deserve.

last edited at Jul 27, 2022 3:13AM

why do i want to listen to christmas music now

Ohh my god that was the best. The start was kinda slow I feel like but the end was just great

The ending is explicitly framed as a (literally Christmas) miracle, and the entire idea f a miracle is that it's a radical rupture of the "ordinary" course of events: in this case, giving Kaori the happy ending she does not really deserve.

That’s a really good point, it does read better that way.

Thank god for mariah carey yuri

Mariah Carey: gay icon?

Everyone should probably follow Sal Jiang on Instagram to get the Real Experience. She does a lot of guitar streams for some reason.

Just wanna see the rest of SAL's Black and White uploaded.
Nothing comes close to watching Junko and Kayo bash and fcuk the living suitcases out of each other ( ◜‿◝ )♡

It got an official license, so it probably won't be worked on. It'll be out this fall though

Ah, Christmas in July