The reason I do like the ending is that we are Richard

This goes back to what I was messily trying to articulate about why I like all the exposition we get about Richard's life. And I agree.

I think the fact that we're told this fic was supposed to have a different ending has effected how we're thinking about it. It has effected how I think about it, anyway. When I first read China I didn't know the ending was tacked on, and I accepted the loose ends as deliberate. But when I realized the loose ends maybe weren't deliberate I started looking at everything more critically. It's one of those Watsonian vs. Doylist perspective issues.

The only thing I really wish is that Punk had made it so that the fic asked questions a little more clearly. Not much more clearly, just a little. If I felt like the fic presented me with a number of possibilities about what was going on - some of them more well defined than others - and none of them could be deemed conclusive, that would be ideal. As it is, I'm not sure if I'm even supposed to be confused.