#heaven's official blessing volume two

[wutheringskies]

just finished volume 2 of tgcf and omfg. you know how generally the first books are soo good and the second book sucks?? well, this was the opposite (might be due to the arc difference)

(spoilers ahead)

the first book i found really too boring; but the ending of arc 1 in the mausoleum, followed immediately by the heavenly procession was great! the entire build up of the ghost city and new, interesting characters was amazing with Feng Xin and Mu Qing finally gaining more character - solid actions, solid dialogues, great tension!

the whole Hua lian flirting scene while dice rolling was so fun, too. I did feel the exposition of the Glided Banquet was a little too eh, but the morality questions it posed was interesting. I also love Shi Qingxuan and I loved the Lang Qinqiu's dialogue of never becoming like Xie Lian; and I loved how... terrible things were? With Qi Rong using Xie Lian's statue as foot rest, Hua Cheng's anger, it was all too fun.

I literally was equal parts annoyed, endeared and impressed by Xie Lian's 17 year old self but yeah, like it finally made me like Xie Lian a bit more; with all that family conflict and everything.

compared to how long it took me to want to start book 2, I'm really interested in diving straight into book 3!

also god i loved so many dialogues and scenes this time around ><

[imnotpoppunk]

I'll always be so obsessed with the part where Xie Lian is bracing himself for Hua Cheng finding out about the part of his life that he's most ashamed of. He knows how bad it was, how low he stooped, and truly believes that it would make him unlovable.

And then Hua Cheng kneels before him and reveals that yes, he already knows. He was there. He lived that nightmare with him.

And despite all of that, he still loves Xie Lian. Loved him then and loves him now.

Xie Lian's tears were so real and I could feel how cathartic it was for him to get that reassurance. I could feel his fear dissipate as he realized and WOW.

wow.

[the-lost-marauder]

obsessed with sqx’s relationship with gender so much, the way she was raised a daughter and doesn’t mind being a woman but his brother probably sees her in her female form and remembers a time when his brother was suffering and afflicted from a curse and hates to see it bc its a reminder of what he had to do to keep her safe

[sarumint]

if you can’t find the meaning in life, allow me to be that meaning

[youneedtolightenup]

i did an impulsive thing and bought xie lian and hua cheng nendodroids, but honestly they really make my tgcf shelf like 1000x better so like.....no regrets....kinda....

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

Finished volume eight and will never be okay again. What a beautiful story. A forever fave. 100/10

[schrodingers-hoarding-problem]

guess who now owns 6/8 of the english heaven official's blessing volumes? me!!

im so excited to start my reread (first one since i read the fan translation oh so long ago and im so excited)

[robsterskellington]

Thanks, everyone. I just get really curious about stuff like this. Okay, so:

If you'd like to explain why, please do!

Edit: Fuck, I forgot about the Untamed, I'm so sorry!! If I remember to do another poll later down the line, I'll add it. If you wanted to vote for that, I'm sincerely sorry.

(My personal rambling answer down below.)

I can't believe so many people voted lol.

At the time of making this poll, I have just finished reading Volume 3 of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and I can personally say that I already prefer the novels. Granted, the donghua had a fantastic depiction of what happened at the Lotus Pier, but Wen Chao's fate was far more brutal in the novel and I lived for it. I do love the manhua as well, my cousin's been showing me bits and pieces to make me laugh. I also know an official manga is coming soon, and I can't wait for that!

I still need the last two volumes and to read them, then I'll start reading The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, especially since it's rare for me to go into something completely blind. I'm unfortunately the kind of person who seeks spoilers when possible- whenever a new chapter of Bungou Stray Dogs comes out, I will hardly get off my phone or focus on anything else, just wanting to know what happens in that moment.

Even with Heaven Official's Blessing, I would get an inkling about something and spoil myself. It never ruined the story for me, I just don't like being surprised. However, even then, I was almost always caught off guard and would get incredibly emotional about certain things.

I'm grateful to those who voted. There's absolutely no reason to this, I just like knowing people's opinions about things that I happen to like because everyone's views are so vastly different and it fascinates me. Thank you all again!!

[siilverwiitch]

He spoke as he walked, "I rolled snake eyes earlier. Does that mean every time I roll a two, I can see you?" As soon as he asked the question, he realized his words implied a bit too much, as if he had dearly wanted to see Hua Cheng. But Hua Cheng replied, "No." Xie Lian felt a little awkward and scratched his cheek. "Oh. So that's not it. I was wrong, then." Hua Cheng, walking in front of him, said, "If you want to see me, it won't matter what you roll. I will appear."

(Heaven Official's Blessing Volume 2, pg. 198)

[unforth]

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A post shared by Aloha Comics (@alohacomics)

Small indie Press Aloha Comics has announced they have the license for the Tian Guan Ci Fu manhua-that-is-adapted-from-the-donghua and will release volume 1 fall 2024.

THIS IS NOT THE STAREMBER MANHUA.

SO most Western fans don't know, I think, that there are actually two TGCF manhua.

The first is the adaptation of the book with art by Starember. This is the one most Western fans are familiar with in my experience.

The second uses screen captures from the donghua and is solely a manhua version of the donghua (this is a common way of adapting a lot of donghua and anime, I used to get Japanese "manga" adaptations of anime in this format).

Anyway, this license from Aloha is of the second, not the first.

There are six volumes available based on the two existing donghua seasons.

Here's the listing for the Chinese version of what this English translation is for, to give folks more idea of what we're actually looking at in the Aloha license:

[sophia-sol]

tagged by @seaglassandeelgrass!

Tagging anyone who’s not yet done it but would like to claim I did in order to do the meme :)

[flowersdiceandlove]

Last night I wasn’t feeling good, so my mom—my wonderful, amazing mom who I love and am so lucky to have—offered to read some of Heaven Official’s Blessing to me. I’d just finished book 6 and hadn’t started 7, so she read the first chapter of book 7 to me. She has fun doing it. She reread about the first half of book 1 and a chapter here and there in the others volumes in the past, so this wasn’t the first time she’s done this. She’s unused to the Chinese names, and so I have to remind her who the characters are. Here is an incomplete list of how I remind her of the characters.

Xie Lian = the main character (luckily she knows this one by now)

Hua Cheng = the love interest (she got him mixed up with mu qing last night for some reason. Normally I don’t have to remind her)

Mu Qing = the sarcastic/condescending one

Feng Xin = the angry one

Pei Ming = he’s flirtatious (and with only that two word explanation of him, she read his line perfectly. Exactly how I imagined it)

When Fu Yao and Nan Feng were in it, I used Mu Qing and Feng Xin’s explanations respectively.

She messes up the pronunciation, but has finally remembered (at least most of the time) that “x” makes a “sh” sound and “q” a “tch” sound. She also has endless trouble with the gege = guh guh wanting to pronounce it jee jee. She also often says Xian Lian instead of Xie Lian and just can’t quite get Hua Cheng right. She really is trying though.

Also, also when it was revealed what the “giant” in the Kiln was, she was so shocked and her expression alone caused me to laugh for several minutes.

And, before you ask, yes, she likes HuaLian.

Two more things. 1) she absolutely loves the tremendous masculinity/Ju Yang euphemism, and it has become something I bring up to make her laugh. 2) she always forgets the word “fuck” is used in the books. Every. Single. Time. No matter how many times she reads it.

This post has not been intended as a roast to my mom. She’s amazing , and I love it when she reads this to me. It’s a little way we can spend time together and she can enjoy my interests with me. If anything this is me bragging about her awesomeness, sprinkled with comedy. Anyway, wish my mom luck on learning those Chinese names. They really are hard for her to learn. 😬🫤

[malsperanza]

Rereading Heaven Official's Blessing - spoilers here

I love rereading books, especially for the first time, when I see so many connections I missed on the first read. The first time you read a book, you're intent on discovering what happens next, worrying about the characters, and skipping past things you don't fully understand.

The first reread is all about looking at the structure, the patterns, the way things unfold, and learning more about character motivations. MXTX is a master at the meta, and she loves to seed innumerable hints and clues in her books, knowing they will not mean anything until the second reading. Plus, she lies like a rug and leaves out key info. This makes a first reread loads of fun.

Seven Seas edition, volume 1, p. 369:

At the end of the Banyue arc Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are finally alone in Puqi Shrine, and Xie Lian has let HC know that he knows who he is. Things are peaceful, and we finally get a sweet moment of flirting - which we have been hoping for through the whole volume. So is it any wonder that we completely miss the massive foreshadowing?

Xie Lian is unburdening some of his most private thoughts, memories of the past, and feelings about his history to this man he has just met. And HC is coming close to declaring why he is XL's devotee.

After a while, San Lang said quietly, "Something like saving the common people, it really doesn't matter how you do it. But, although brave, it's foolish." "Yeah," Xie Lian agreed. Hua Cheng continued, "Although foolish, it's brave." "..." "Xie Lian grinned. "Thanks." "You're welcome," Hua Cheng said. The two stared at the holey ceiling of Puqi Shrine in amiable silence, and Hua Cheng spoke up again after a while. "You know, Your Highness, we've only known each other for a few days. Is it all right for you to say so much to me?" "Well," Xie Lian huffed, "what's the problem? Whatever. Those who have known each other for decades can become strangers in a day. We met by chance, and we may part by chance. If we like each other, then we shall continue to meet; if we don't, then we shall part. At the end of the day, there's no banquet in the world that doesn't come to an end."

And now vol. 8, p. 118:

Xie Lian could no longer hold back the tears in his eyes, and they began to pour. As if he were hanging on to the last thread of his life, he pleaded, "You said ... you would never leave me." But Hua Cheng replied, "There is no banquet in this world that doesn't come to an end."

MXTX, you absolute fucking sadist.

The entirety of Xie Lian's little lighthearted comment, "Those who have known each other for decades can become strangers in a day. We met by chance, and we may part by chance" is the whole backstory of who HC is and is the absolutely most incorrect thing XL has ever said.

The space between vol. 1 and vol. 8 is so vast that there's no way to remember that HC is quoting XL when he is dying, which means that MXTX has built the necessity to reread into the book.

I'm also continuing to notice how often Hua Cheng is described as smiling, laughing, chuckling, snickering. If Xie Lian ever should happen to wonder whether he should laugh or cry, Hua Cheng has the answer.

[tgcfresources]

Master Post Links

Since the reddit post has outdated links and information, I wanted to provide people an easy way to find things instead of having to look through massive amounts of scrolling.

First I just want to say I'm new to this fandom, if there's any incorrect information or things missing feel free to message me on Discord or @ me at any of the TGCF discord's I'm on as I DO NOT check tumblr often. My Discord is .raphaela

Tags:

Official Art

Audio Drama

Sprites

Official Videos

Novel

Colored Novel Illustrations

B/W Novel Illustrations

Revised Uncensored Version

Discord Servers

Eternal Faith / Live Action

Manhua

Novel

As the novel as been official translated into several languages, I will NOT post links to read it here.

Novel Audiobooks

Link to Audiobooks: Link 1.

Revised Chinese Novel

There is currently no plans for 7S to translate this version as it was released as a webtoon AFTER the official novel translations.

Link to the Revised Chinese Version English Fan Translations and Faq.

If you would like to buy the Chinese revised version, follow this guide on how to purchase the novel on JJWXC books. Then use this guide on how to export the text for use on your preferred translator.

You can read the revised novel easily with SmoothReader, which now has a google chrome extension.

Manhua (Manga)

The English bilibili comics site shut down on February 29th and is no longer available. You can view the original Chinese Raw on the official bilibil site with a VPN. Guide on how to buy the original volumes here.

Currently there are 101 chapters, no word on when it will resume. HEAVEN OFFICIAL'S BLESSING IS ON LEHZIN!! (no new episodes, just publishing existing episodes... for now. First 4 Chapters free.) It's also on bato.to.

Donghua (Anime)

There are currently 2 seasons available.

Season 1

Audio: English, Mandarine. (Only the Bilibili website has Japanese Audio Available, you need to become a Big Fan to view them. The Official release DVD/Bluray also only had the two languages available. If you want Japanese audio you will need to buy the Japanese release from a proxy service website.)

Subtitles: English.

Official English DVD/Bluray available from a number of retailers.

Season 2

Audio: English, Japanese, Mandarine.

Subtitles: English.

Does not yet have an official English DVD/Bluray release.

Currently Available to view on Crunchyroll (US Only, VPN Works), Bilibili Website (Available with Japanese Audio, Season 1 only) & Bilibili Youtube (Season 1 only) Both requires you to have a VPN, only available in hongkong.

Placeholder Guide on how to pay for Big Fan on Bilibili Website.

It has since been removed from Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Season 3 has yet to be confirmed.

Audio Drama

It's getting VERY long - Post here

Live Action Adaptation Series

A live action Adaptation is in the works and will be called Eternal Faith. Filming was done in 2022, rumored to be released this year (2024), set to be 60 episodes, but nothing is confirmed.

Information taken from a number of sources, mostly the tgcf reddit faq and TGCF Discord servers.

[web-novel-polls]

Best (Web Novel) Hater Tournament

Last Updated: July 27th, 2024 - Please check the original post for updates

Submissions Closed - Masterpost here

[Plain Text: Submissions Closed /end pt]

Rules:

Must be from a web novel or adaptation

Can be a hater of any kind or just have the hater soul

Please submit one character per response (no limit overall)

Tournament Tag: #best hater tournament

Arthur Galvhan from Unlucky Clover

Submission: Legitimately nominating him because he's such a hateful piece of shit that his irrational hatred causes the apocalypse. That is simply an impressive amount of being an absolute asshole. 

Han Sooyoung from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Submission: She spent years hating on a web novel similar to her own through an anonymous account and hate reading the comments it's sole reader posted. Even after the novel came to life, she still kept criticizing its horrible writing and protagonist. 

Hua Cheng from Heaven Official’s Blessing 

Submission: Treats nearly everyone that isn't Xie Lian with derision

Wiki Link

Jiang Cheng from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission 1: Hates Wangxian's relationship. 

Submission 2: Dude devoted more than a decade of his life to hating on his dead kind-of-brother (it's complicated) how has he not been submitted already? bonus points for his actor's many faces of utter disgust in The Untamed 

Mod Propaganda: Haterism so bad you can start fandom discourse just by name-dropping him. 

Wiki Link

Jun Wu from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Submission: 

(Spoilers) Tossing his old pals into lava and then destroying an entire generation of gods wasn't enough! He also ground the old generation of gods up and made them into the foundation of the new Heavenly Realm, so everyone steps all over them whenever they're walking around. Also an over simplified explanation of the entire plot is basically Jun Wu hears one phrase that sets him off and decides to be a giant hater because of it, destroying a whole kingdom within like three to four years in the process. This guy is the epitome of "...and I took that personally."

Wiki Link

Lan Jingyi from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation 

Submission: jingyi hates su she so much even though they've never interacted before and then absolutely obliterates him verbally in front of almost every sect leader, what a legend

Lan Wangji from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / MDZS

Submission: Just because he's quiet doesn't mean he's not a hater. He gets his hate across economically. Jin Guangyao? Hated. Su She? Hated. Jiang Cheng? Don't even ask. Loathed entirely. Anyone else not in his immediate family (including problematic cancelled husband Wei Wuxian)? Not even worth his time. Bro even hates himself (sometimes) 

Mu Qing from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Submission: https://www.tumblr.com/bonesblubs/708661194148511744/inspiration 

Mod Propaganda: Mu Qing can split a tower bell in two yet can’t admit he wanted to be friends with someone he’s known for 800+ years without trying to immediately kill himself. Randomly started reciting a poem about his least favorite coworker’s dick just to fuck with him (Feng Xin). Said he’d kill a bride like Xie Lian if she was sent to him. 

Wiki Link

Shen Jiu / Original Shen Qingqiu from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving 

"Even if all of this could be redone from the beginning, in the end, the conclusion would remain the same. My heart is full of malice, my insides hatred and resentment. Today, Luo Binghe wishes for me to die horribly, and I only have myself to blame." - Shen Jiu, The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Volume 4: Chapter 24 (Reddit 1, 2)

Submission: Both the Shen Qingqius are haters just in very different ways 

Mod Propaganda: The Scum Villain that beefed with a 14-year-old out of jealousy & tried to kill him. 

Wiki Link

Shen Yuan/Qingqiu from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System 

Submission 1: He was an anti fan that literally got so mad at a novel he was reading that he died and then was transmigrated into the novel he hated (besides the main character) as the villain. The author of said novel also transmigrated and they formed a love/hate broship.

Submission 2: 

My man is the hater-est hater to ever hate, except like Kendrick Lamar. He hate-read a webnovel with over 20 million words, and left scathing commentary on every single chapter. Even the author Shang Qinghua, of the webnovel PIDW, which by subtext was very very popular, knew Shen Yuan (Peerless Cucumber) as the legendary anti-fan.  He hated it (everything except the protagonist Luo Binghe) so much that after reading the last chapter, he choked and died (...slight exaggeration). Shen Yuan also proceeded to transmigrate into the novel, make everyone fall in love with him, use the power of headpats and 'a smile from the cold beauty' to overturn the genre from harem-esqe to danmei, bending the protagonist. Tldr, the power of Shen Yuan's haterism turned Cool Edgy Awesomely Powerful Protagonist Luo Binghe to soggy wet clingy white lotus bing-bong Bingmei, and it's honestly better off this way <3 

Submission 3: he's an internet hater screenname Peerless Cucumber who hates this webnovel so much he dies and transmigrates into it to fix the entire plot and also he's left so many hate comments the author (fellow transmigrator) knows and remembers who he is after being in the webnovel world for decades. Dedication.

Su She from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / MDZS

“Stop thinking so highly of yourself. Who told you I cursed Jin Zixuan in order to frame you? Back then, I wasn’t working for Sect Leader at all. I cursed him simply because I wanted to!” ….Su She, “Those as arrogant as him--I’ll kill every single one who comes my way!” - Su She to Wei Wuxian, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, EXR, Chapter 104

No propaganda submitted

Mod Propaganda: Haterism so bad he straight up made a new sect. Cursed Jin Zixun. Has beef with a guy who barely knows he exists. 

Wiki Link

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know 

Submission: Second half of the novel YHJ in particular, hater energy unmatched! Righteous sects? fuck them up. His own sect? on eggshells. His best effort at not murdering someone is to start wiping his weapon with their clothes. General vibe of 'if anything happened to Venerable i'd kill everyone in this room and then myself AND SOMETHING JUST HAPPENED TO VENERABLE'. Anyway get their asses babe <3

Yu Ziyuan from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: I would not blame anyone who went through the first half of the story believing that Yu Ziyuan hated every single person she ever met because she talks shit about her husband, her son, her adopted son, and her daughter whenever she gets the chance to. Sometimes all at the same time. She projects so much raw hater energy that she psychologically scarred her son for life. 

Dealer's Choice

Qi Rong from Heaven Official’s Blessing

“Obviously, those things weren't within the realm of consideration for Qi Rong. He swore like there wasn't a single person in the Three Realms he didn't want cursed to death. He called Pei Ming a rotten manwhore, Little Pei a kiss-ass, Jun Wu a faker, Ling Wen a damned bitch, Lang Qianqiu a moron, Quan Yizhen dog shit, the Water Master blackhearted, the Wind Master a tramp–he probably didn't know Shi Qingxuan was actually a man.” - Heaven Official’s Blessing (Tumblr)

[bookswithsyd]

The Book That Broke Me | Heaven Official's Blessing

Coming into this volume, I received numerous comments wishing me luck… so that left me feeling great starting up my 340-something pages of Heaven Official’s Blessing book six. After finishing this volume, I can easily agree, this is one of the most heart wrenching entries in this series.

Barely getting into the book had me at the edge of my seat. Trekking up the mountain only to be crushed by an avalanche cause by Xie Lian’s bumbling former servants and awaken in a strange cave. Hua Cheng was acting so weird in this entire section, for a while, I worried that it wasn’t actually him. A lot of creepiness happens in these chapters and I was feeling like Hua Cheng was showing that he was actually this super crazy psycho stalker this whole time… take the thousands of statues and wall paintings as you will. The tension that was built up when Feng Xin and Mu Qing were dragging Xie Lian throughout the cave was so good. The feeling that Hua Cheng was going to catch them at any moment had me reading so fast.

A lot came out while inside the cave. Hua Cheng shockingly has been following Xie Lian for hundreds of years. The two junior officials that have been joining Xie Lian are actually Feng Xin and Mu Qing - I always thought that their actions reflected the older two’s and welp, this certainly explains why. And White No-Face is trying to make it to the kiln to increase their depleted power. With all the not-so-great things surfacing, we at least got the breakthrough with Hua Cheng and Xie Lian admitting they have feelings for each other!

Once we get to the kiln, and get a surprise first actual kiss, they jump hand in hand into the kiln. When Xie Lian ends up in the kiln without Hua Cheng and White No-Face standing in front of him, I was ready for an epic fight! Instead, I got poor Xie Lian getting re-traumatized by that mask before the start of arc 4!

Once again, we get flashbacks. This one is to right after the kingdom of Xianle has burned, Xie Lian is a banished god, and the group is on the run. Here is where all the deep-seated trauma comes in. This arc is rough and evokes a lot of feelings.

I felt even more annoyance towards the (former) king. As he gets more and more sick, he keeps silent. It’s not until he is coughing up blood that his wife says something and begs her son to get medicine so he doesn’t die! This annoyed me because instead of catching this early, he waits until a critical point and adds to much stress to Xie Lain and the others. At that point I was kinda hoping he would just die and that stress would be done with. He was so ungrateful for all Xie Lian was doing for them so I didn’t think he deserved Xie Lian pushing himself past his own morals in order to try and get his medicine.

Mu Qing leaving the group was rough to read. I knew he would leave eventually, but to have it be so abrupt was just a huge blow. The is only made worse by seeing him re-appear at the mountain and having to be the one to force Xie Lian off the mountain. The mountain seen had my mind swirling. When he found it and was finally seeing some sense of happiness for the first time in forever, that whole herd of Heavenly Officials think they can throw him out because they want the mountain instead. They were scared of him being stronger than them, I was trilled when Xie Lian destroyed all these martial gods with a stick! Then Mu Qing has to come around and ruin everything!

White No-Face picks a great time to show up, but at least we get to see that cute little ghost fire again, it’s just so cute how he tries to burn so bright for Xie Lian. The devotion is there! Even enough to transform him into a wrath just to protect Xie Lian. The temple scene single handedly broke me. Gathering a group of people to infect with a disease with only one cure, a cure that involves killing someone, so they will stab Xie Lian was possibly the most cruel thing I have seen. Breaking Xie Lian’s trust in people, proving that if pushed far enough, people will always do what they need to survive. My only question is, Xie Lian cannot die, so how can the stabbings count as a kill? I get that they are in a vital point and any normal mortal would die from it, but not Xie Lian.

This starts the downfall of his relationship with Feng Xin after White No-Face starts following him everywhere. Watching Xie Lian fall apart was hard. I hated watching him push Feng Xin away because of his fear of the friend leaving him first. I knew the dream that start was gonna come back in a more real way… Reading breakdown after breakdown mentally wore me down. After so many set backs and loses, waking up to find his parents bodies and him trying to hang himself was by far the second hardest scene to get through. Finding out this was how Rouye was made, yet is such a sweet and gentle spiritual weapon made me appreciate Rouye more.

Here we get a new Hua Cheng form with Wuming. The young solider dressed in black who will obey every order (for the most part) Xie Lian gives him. Those two go on their adventures to release the spirits of Human Face Disease. Seeing that Wuming was so dedicated to Xie Lian that he threw himself to the plague and destroyed himself in order to save Xie Lian. Proving that he will indeed die for his God. I need to know how strong his devotion for Xie Lian is because how can he, as a wrath, take out Human Face Disease?

The pain of seeing his last follower dying for him took a toll on him and Xie Lian begging to be banished in the same breath that Jun Wu welcomes him back to the Heavens proves that all this trauma is still dragging him down. I will say, from the very beginning of this series, I wanted to know the story behind the speed run of Xie Lian’s second banishment, and boy was I not disappointed in Xie Lian and Jun Wu taking this opportunity to fight each other once more.

Ending with Xie Lian’s terrible luck on full display and seeing the red flower and just seeming to know who it symbolizes was the perfect ending.