"yeah i knew that. no, to be precise, i was feeling it."
"if you just pass by here like this, something will change"
"something will change" camera reveals this is young xin saying this, when he was being carried on tan's back and went past lian. "irreversible, no. something."
xin from the present (well 1 year from the present) appears looking haggard asf. he says "however, so what? even if i felt it, what can i do?"
"no one told me." xin gets off the floor. "what weight those footsteps carry. someone else sat in the throne in place of me and my brother"
he shouts "we will take that life and reach the pure land" twin wtf are u talking abt. he continues "ha, and, is the annex a pure land? that can't be possible. that place is also just a new form of prison. the world allowed to me, then and now, this place, Zhou, is my whole front yard!" nurse he's out again (hes right tho)
" trying to escape from the Zhou family even though knowing full well it would fail. i wonder if he made an incomprehensible decision. because of your foolish decisions, sister miu lost her life, and lau said goodbye forever to his only family. lian fell into endless resentment and i have to shoulder all of this that my brother has started." lol he's blaming tan.. hes kinda right tho.
he continues shouting at imaginary tan "after plunging us all into suffering and pain, my brother, he ran away to his death all by himself!!" hey! not true, he killed miu too. he continues "now i know the truth. my brother is trash!!" GIRL LMFAOOOOOO
"whether or not one can rly escape the Zhou family, it didn't matter to my brother from the beginning. from the beginning, because you intended to pass all of this onto others, yes? to escape to death comfortably only for himself. the weight of the direct successor, trying to shift the blame for what you did onto me!!" he's lwk right but at the same time, idk tan went thru a lot too, he was willing to put himself at risk for xin's sake (ie, JUMPING off of the tower and breaking his leg).
xin continues his tweaker shit "yes, congratulations! everything went the way you wanted, brother. aitan broke from the shackles of suffering and became free. now i'm the only one left here. i have to shoulder everyone's desires and resentment!"
"stop. stop crying..." no idea if this is xin or some person off screen saying this. xin is being swallowed up by this black lake or smth. xin's shouting and panicking, "shut up! i said shut up!! come out! lian! you again!? stop playing these kinds of games! how long..."
then he thinks "nowhere there is no one on my side. no one. i can't believe it." also i want to point out that the words aren't even in panels they're just free floating text, which is kinda odd in comics i feel. it was cool, the first time we've seen this sort of style in sangyang, much less on a white background: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801371/#image
"oh my god. i'm alone..."
we flash to xin running away thru the forest. he thinks "lau! lau... you have to stay by my side. because there was a contract. because it's a duty! i just kept it away from my side for a moment. because i have never once let you go!!" TWIN YES YOU HAVE??? U LITERALLY ABANDONED HIM TO BE AT THE ANNEX. JS MAKING SHIT UP LMFAOOO.
xin's run all the way to the road. he sees that phone booth again. I WAS FUCKING RIGHT I KNEW IT WOULD showUP AGAINNNN.
xin goes inside the phonebooth, remembering how him and lau had placed a coin inside. he reaches inside, the coin is stil there. xin stares at it. https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801374/#image
he puts the coin into the slot and picks up the phone. he thinks "we can meet. you can come back."
so this chapter was yet another trip into xins psyche. we can see that he does in fact resent his brother, but really i think he's just tweaking out because he's so alone. prior to this, he at least had lian to talk to, but now that he knows the truth about her he feels entirely alone.
i think the real breaking point was his younger self saying "until when are you going to ruin my life?" not rly too sure abt the meaning of this. maybe younger xin is saying that present xin is even ruining the happy memories he had of his past self? idk id have to meditate on this a bit.
I WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABT THE PHONE BOOTH. (i got the use of it wrong but whatever.) i'm still trying to figure out the reason xin didn't end up calling lau even tho he was so alone. i'm guessing he was genuinely just too afraid to see lau again? just guessing tho.
also i find it interesting how the head family didn't try to gun down xins ass. either they know he's so weak atp that they dont even need to resort to force, or they realize that he's not even trying to run away. he just wants his guardian to be here with him.
either way i sense that we're getting close to the end of this flashback. i imagine we will see a little bit about how the tattoo plan was birthed. im rly curious abt whose idea it was. this flashback has rly served its main purpose so far, which i think is to get into xin's psyche. a large mystery of the series was what sort of person xin is, since the majority of the story was from lau's pov. thru season 3, we can see that xin is someone who is"
1) a tweaker 2) lonely 3) passive 4) resentful 5) a deflector
okay maybe some of those words are too harsh, but i feel that this season has rly not shown xin in a good light, which is a good thing ofc. season 1 set up xin as someone whos been hurt, and someone who we as the audience want to protect. season 2 kind of made xin like this weird ghost-like enigma, and downright scary and creepy at certain points, as evidenced by present xin only showing up at the finales of season 2. the rest was just flashbacks of teen xin, who was lwk the creepiest version of xin. then season 2 part 2 humanizes xin again. and season 3 actually goes into his thoughts and emotions. originally season 2 part 2 was just going to be part of season 3, which i can kind of understand why, since i think season 3 was all supposed to be abt humanizing xin.
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801375/ also this one is more of just a personal preference. im obsessed for panels that showa moment where a chara makes a choice that fucks up the rest of their life (see the fist in the air in ch 76 for example). i do wonder what could have happened if xin actually called lau in that moment. i don't imagine that the head family would be opposed to it, considering how i think they would be happy that the main heir and guardian are back together + i think they actually need the guardian for the xin's succession ritual(?), might be misremembering tho. so i really just think it was xin being way too afraid to confront lau again.
CHAPTER 85 SUMMARY/SPOILERS
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fyi this is another xin tweaking tf out chapter.
there's a disembodied voice saying something.
"yeah i knew that. no, to be precise, i was feeling it."
"if you just pass by here like this, something will change"
"something will change" camera reveals this is young xin saying this, when he was being carried on tan's back and went past lian. "irreversible, no. something."
xin from the present (well 1 year from the present) appears looking haggard asf. he says "however, so what? even if i felt it, what can i do?"
"no one told me." xin gets off the floor. "what weight those footsteps carry. someone else sat in the throne in place of me and my brother"
he shouts "we will take that life and reach the pure land" twin wtf are u talking abt. he continues "ha, and, is the annex a pure land? that can't be possible. that place is also just a new form of prison. the world allowed to me, then and now, this place, Zhou, is my whole front yard!"
nurse he's out again (hes right tho)
he continues "why, i have to handle this, don't I? where did it go wrong?" tan appears behind him (rly cool panels btw:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801323/ https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801333/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801349/#image)
"huh? say it. aitan" i think xin is the one saying this?
goated panel btw: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801357/#image
xin continues "i've always been curious. why my brother made that choice."
yet another goated panel: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801363/#image
" trying to escape from the Zhou family even though knowing full well it would fail. i wonder if he made an incomprehensible decision. because of your foolish decisions, sister miu lost her life, and lau said goodbye forever to his only family. lian fell into endless resentment and i have to shoulder all of this that my brother has started." lol he's blaming tan.. hes kinda right tho.
he continues shouting at imaginary tan "after plunging us all into suffering and pain, my brother, he ran away to his death all by himself!!" hey! not true, he killed miu too. he continues "now i know the truth. my brother is trash!!" GIRL LMFAOOOOOO
"whether or not one can rly escape the Zhou family, it didn't matter to my brother from the beginning. from the beginning, because you intended to pass all of this onto others, yes? to escape to death comfortably only for himself. the weight of the direct successor, trying to shift the blame for what you did onto me!!" he's lwk right but at the same time, idk tan went thru a lot too, he was willing to put himself at risk for xin's sake (ie, JUMPING off of the tower and breaking his leg).
xin continues his tweaker shit "yes, congratulations! everything went the way you wanted, brother. aitan broke from the shackles of suffering and became free. now i'm the only one left here. i have to shoulder everyone's desires and resentment!"
"stop. stop crying..." no idea if this is xin or some person off screen saying this.
xin is being swallowed up by this black lake or smth.
xin's shouting and panicking, "shut up! i said shut up!! come out! lian! you again!? stop playing these kinds of games! how long..."
xin is suddenly being choked by two hands. "until when until when-" https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801365/#image
camera pans to reveal its younger xin. cool panel btw: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801366/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801368/#image
younger xin says "until when are you going to ruin my life?"
xin is shocked (lwk hes giving lau here): https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801370/#image
then he thinks "nowhere there is no one on my side. no one. i can't believe it." also i want to point out that the words aren't even in panels they're just free floating text, which is kinda odd in comics i feel. it was cool, the first time we've seen this sort of style in sangyang, much less on a white background: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801371/#image
"oh my god. i'm alone..."
we flash to xin running away thru the forest. he thinks "lau! lau... you have to stay by my side. because there was a contract. because it's a duty! i just kept it away from my side for a moment. because i have never once let you go!!" TWIN YES YOU HAVE??? U LITERALLY ABANDONED HIM TO BE AT THE ANNEX. JS MAKING SHIT UP LMFAOOO.
xin's run all the way to the road. he sees that phone booth again. I WAS FUCKING RIGHT I KNEW IT WOULD showUP AGAINNNN.
This panel lwk reminds me of lau seeing the candy shop in ch 61: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801373/#image
xin goes inside the phonebooth, remembering how him and lau had placed a coin inside. he reaches inside, the coin is stil there. xin stares at it. https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801374/#image
he puts the coin into the slot and picks up the phone. he thinks "we can meet. you can come back."
"this dial. just press..." xin freezes. panel: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801375/#image
he drops the phone and sits down. the head family servant cars have pulled up now.
the servants get out and say "master, i came to pick you up."
"ruler, let's go back to the annex." panel: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801376/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801379/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801380/#image
they rly have him surrounded like hes a criminal im crying. END OF CHAPTER.
so this chapter was yet another trip into xins psyche. we can see that he does in fact resent his brother, but really i think he's just tweaking out because he's so alone. prior to this, he at least had lian to talk to, but now that he knows the truth about her he feels entirely alone.
i think the real breaking point was his younger self saying "until when are you going to ruin my life?" not rly too sure abt the meaning of this. maybe younger xin is saying that present xin is even ruining the happy memories he had of his past self? idk id have to meditate on this a bit.
I WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABT THE PHONE BOOTH. (i got the use of it wrong but whatever.) i'm still trying to figure out the reason xin didn't end up calling lau even tho he was so alone. i'm guessing he was genuinely just too afraid to see lau again? just guessing tho.
also i find it interesting how the head family didn't try to gun down xins ass. either they know he's so weak atp that they dont even need to resort to force, or they realize that he's not even trying to run away. he just wants his guardian to be here with him.
either way i sense that we're getting close to the end of this flashback. i imagine we will see a little bit about how the tattoo plan was birthed. im rly curious abt whose idea it was. this flashback has rly served its main purpose so far, which i think is to get into xin's psyche. a large mystery of the series was what sort of person xin is, since the majority of the story was from lau's pov. thru season 3, we can see that xin is someone who is"
1) a tweaker
2) lonely
3) passive
4) resentful
5) a deflector
okay maybe some of those words are too harsh, but i feel that this season has rly not shown xin in a good light, which is a good thing ofc. season 1 set up xin as someone whos been hurt, and someone who we as the audience want to protect. season 2 kind of made xin like this weird ghost-like enigma, and downright scary and creepy at certain points, as evidenced by present xin only showing up at the finales of season 2. the rest was just flashbacks of teen xin, who was lwk the creepiest version of xin. then season 2 part 2 humanizes xin again. and season 3 actually goes into his thoughts and emotions. originally season 2 part 2 was just going to be part of season 3, which i can kind of understand why, since i think season 3 was all supposed to be abt humanizing xin.
anyways good ch overall. my fav panels are:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801357/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801363/#image
rly good uses of negative space in both panels.
also i love this panel cuz it reminds me of lau from ch 61 when he saw the candy shop. https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801373/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60801375/
also this one is more of just a personal preference. im obsessed for panels that showa moment where a chara makes a choice that fucks up the rest of their life (see the fist in the air in ch 76 for example). i do wonder what could have happened if xin actually called lau in that moment. i don't imagine that the head family would be opposed to it, considering how i think they would be happy that the main heir and guardian are back together + i think they actually need the guardian for the xin's succession ritual(?), might be misremembering tho. so i really just think it was xin being way too afraid to confront lau again.