how did bro go from this, https://www.mangago.zone/home/photo/44452966/ to this https://www.mangago.zone/home/photo/44015304/
pls put a trigger warning for his ugly ass face next time pls
HOW DARE YOU he is a cutie he sometimes might look a little rough and homeless but he’s gorgeous in my eyes （￣へ￣）
he’s a little ugly it’s okay to admit it pookie. but i was more so talking about his face in the last panel. absolute jumpscare.
to any new readers scrolling through the comments, TURN BACK NOW. don't read the comments that's how i got spoiled :( whatever doubts you have about reading this, throw them away. dive right into this right now it is SOOO GOOD.
season 2 (pt 1) was honestly so incredible. i scrolled back and saw some people complaining about the amount of backstories but honestly i don't mind them at all. i think they added a lot to the story and the plot. and frankly i think that this story is inherently tied to the past. if there was nothing tied to the past this story would be so boring, i'm sorry. the tattoo is not the main plot of the story, rather it is a device used to show the tensions within the zhou family culminating over thousands of years. its about how the effects of power and your own mistakes continue to warp you and the others around you well into the present. the story is ultimately about the zhou family and how their practices continue to wreck havoc on the mcs, INCLUDING the side characters. this is inherently tied to the past, there is simply no way for the author to get around it, a story revolving around the past is THE story the author wanted to tell.
also can i just say, i love the sheer amount of symbolism in this story. each heir-guardian seems to have something that symbolizes their relationship or a core moment of their life. it makes it very easy for understanding the characters and adds to character design by associating them with certain symbols. for fu rin it was the moment with the car door, where she has to choose between living life for her own joy for the first time, or choosing the path of "joy" as a guardian instead. for yajin it was the door and the clocks, where he's been so neglected and traumatized from his time alone that he constantly obsesses over mali potentially never coming back. i find it ironic that yajin says mali has some sort of ocd, when he himself also has something along those lines, which i would argue is even more destructive than mali's habits. for chen it is the candle which symbolizes the pact between an heir and guardian. the fact that alex chose chen of his own volition is honestly so sweet and adorable, and the candle works so well as a symbol of that. rather than their pact ceremony being in a dimly lit room, its outside with just an ordinary birthday candle. it just shows how in spite of how the story vilified them so far, they're actually just sweet ordinary guys. we all collectively agree that they're absolutely together right? because that candle scene was gayer than gay sex. completely unrelated, they remind me of josh and angel from the dirtiest high, my babiessss.
as for lian and wei, damn i expected this from lian. but i had no idea wei would be THIS involved. i feel so vindicated for being suspicious of her though. i am quite curious about what their symbols would be. for lian i'm guessing it would be a lotus, who knows what it would be for wei. maybe something related to the taxidermy animals? i still don't think lian is entirely a villain though, i think she cares too much about xin to outright want to murder him. maybe she's doing this on the head family's orders?
i love how this season focused more on the flaws of xin and lau. lau especially is far more vulnerable. for a guy who claims to be oh so tough and emotionless, he's literally the one who's cried the most the entire series. someone mentioned that this has a soft outside strong inside bottom tag, and i think it should also have a strong outside soft inside top tag. but i feel so bad for the guy, he took such a beating this season. in one day he got punched, broke his ribs, found out pretty much everyone he considered a friend was lying to him, gets the entire purpose of his life forcefully taken from him basically, and then got knocked out. PLEASE for the love of god ask fu rin how to teach you how to fight. lau really needs a training arc because i don't see how he could possibly stop the head family as he currently stands.
also, i get his actions from season 1 a lot more now. he had to grow up too soon due to being on his own. so as much as he rejects the attention from the one guy he truly loves, he deeply fears being lonely. and just when he was on the verge of figuring out that no amount of friendships he makes can replace the gaping hole of xin in his heart, he finds out that xin is the one orchestrating his friendships. i'd get pissed too what the fuck. maybe not react violently like lau does all of the time, but still. also i love the song the author made for lau to play. as zuzu said, i expected a more macho heavy metal style from him. but rather his guitar melody is slow, quiet, and delicate. it's really something, i can feel lau's loneliness just by listening to it.
the way xin was portrayed this season was so well done. i hate to use yet ANOTHER metaphor but he's like a ghost. despite not showing up until the end his presence permeates through all of the characters' interactions and his actions seem more mysterious. i quite liked his character already, but this season added a lot more depth to him. but with that, it also robbed me of my perception of him as my gorgeous pookie wookie angel. it doesn't feel forced though, it feels quite natural because we already got a hint of his weird behavior in season 1. it also keeps the story from falling into parts of the "damsel in distress" trope that i hate. xin actually has quite a bit of agency by the looks of it. if i had to guess he orchestrated at least part of this whole tattoo plan. and it seems he rejected chen's pleas for help as well. he was honestly really scathing this season, i find it ironic that he's the one saying lau spits out harsh words when xin NEVER misses a chance to bite back at lau when he's at his lowest. when he told lau "why'd you stop? did your hand break?" while lau was literally crying and choking him i audibly sighed. xin, honey, i love you but you can't keep getting away with this. but also despite his weird behavior it's still obvious he loves lau a lot, perhaps even because he loves lau a lot. to be honest though i'm still confused why he left him, or why he had lau join the band though.
season 1 makes you think the state of lau and xin's relationship is lau's fault for running away. but season 2 makes it clear that xin's manipulation and lies are also to blame. neither of them are fully to blame but they keep on hurting each other. its a pretty well written portrayal of a toxic relationship, and yet you can't help but want them to be happy together anyways. i really can't tell if i'm being delusional anymore but i think this will be a happy ending. xin please don't die!
holy yapper
At least you're self aware I guess
I was about to go down in tge comments
This took me out lmao I have done exactly this same thing only realized the extent of my yapping after I hit post
i yap too much abt this too dw girl also can i just say i love the way u write we got shakespeare over here vro omgg yes abt the symbols i didnt even catch the thing abt yajin having his own ocd ty for that also i agree abt the flashbacks, theyre like half of the story imo because like u mentioned the story is lwk abt the past. i do think they couldve shortened sm of the flashbacks esp yajin's but overall they fit the themes of the story. i agree lau absolutely needs a training arc but also i dont even know how him learning to punch would be able to defeat the head family they got guns vro
anyways to answer a few of ur questions abt teen xin: he was basically doomed to return to the annex after high school anyways (which u'll see the reasons for why in their childhood flashback). so im guessing that xin tried to distance himself from lau so lau wouldnt be as hurt later on when xin inevitably leaves, which u could see in some of the earlier flashbacks of s2. but that just left lau feeling lonely, second guessing their relationship, and lashing out at xin. so xin decides to go back to their usual closer relationship (which u can see in the beginning of their break up flashback) BUT he also recommends the school band to have lau join them (which u can see in the earlier flashback in s2). i think he realized that lau will be lonely without him, so he tried to get lau to have other friends so he doesnt feel as hurt when xin retreats into the annex. essentially everything he did was because he THOUGHT it would benefit lau in the long run, even if it means xin will never get to see lau again. but xin js does it in his creepy way, which also in his defense i dont think there was any other way to do it. lau wouldve probably never joined the band if he knew xin was the one who recommended him.
also as for their actual break up, im still not rly sure. i think thats one of the instances where xin actually feels hurt by what lau did. maybe in a "i used every possible way i could think of and ur still acting the same way, ig nothing will ever change" sort of way? also i think that was the first time lau actually got violent with xin, like u pointed out in ur album (ur reactions funny asf btw), its why he has nightmares abt choking xin in his sleep. lau before this point never actually got violent with xin, he just always punched the wall or smth behind him. but maybe xin realizing that lau literally wants to choke him out of anger was the final straw.. like u mentioned its a bit difficult to tell what xin is thinking, i think s3 will give us a bit more of his pov. also i dont wanna spoil too much but u'll start to understand his character a bit more thru their childhood flashbacks.
omg you saw my album that's a little embarrassing. i act like a little goober when i get too hooked into something. i'm glad you thought my reactions were funny though! and awww ty for the compliment about my writing i rly try. thanks for the explanation about their break up, the way xin was acting makes way more sense now. i definitely need to reread this at some point i feel like i missed so many hints and details the first time. i felt so smart for realizing the reason lau has nightmares about choking xin so i'm glad someone noticed it lolll. icl i was putting off reading their childhood arc because i wasn't ready to have my heart broken for the umpteenth time by this story. we already know how it ends after all... but your reply has given me the motivation i needed to finish this! my heart will probably curse me for this decision later but i think it will be worth it lol. thanks once again, and i'm glad i'm not the only yapper here lmaooo
holy hell, i think lau might have the largest schlong in bl https://www.mangago.zone/home/photo/44058947/ not gonna lie i didnt notice none of the main four made an appearance in episode 35. this part makes me kinda sad, it's like the author was forced to write it to appease the readers who would complain about the story being less romance focused. i feel like it was always sort of obvious it was that way though, its always been mystery drama with just hints of romance sprinkled in there.
i take back everything i said about him being hot earlier. it turns out he's a le*gue pl*yer. my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
LMAO
after that season 1 finale i need to take a break to jot down my thoughts before i continue the rest, but anyways THIS IS SERIOUSLY SO PEAK. the author must have sum sorta background in animation or film because the way they construct a scene... holy shit. they have a rly good awareness of space and overall flow and dynamic-ness within art. this author can even make toes move dynamically. my biggest gripe with manhwas is that their art feels very stiff. more manhwas need to be doing whatever this author is doing, seriously!
also it feels like the author doesnt waste any panels or dialogue. each piece is used to develop characters, add lore, further plot or show thematic symbolism. the season 1 finale being the greatest culmination of all of those qualities. seriously i don't think i've ever read a finale quite as good as that one. the tapestry showing what a guardian and heir are supposed to be, looming over the tatters of lau and xin's relationship. the whole black background of the manhwa being lau's shadow as he continues to run away in the present just as he did in the past. ITS ALL TOO GODD UGHHHHH
if you guys dont fw side characters, don't read this. me personally though, i love love LOVE the side characters. lian is so goofy and silly i love her, despite her edge of creepiness. wei... he's just hot i can't even lie, but maybe there's also some bad tension between him and lian? interesting. suna's funny as hell, even if she's a bitch. but i've always f-ed with bitchy characters anyways so its fine in my book. fu rin, the woman that u are... the world would be a better place if we had just 10 of u. yajin and mali are really funny to watch together and they're super adorable. even down to their dogs looking exactly like them. chen icl i just don't like him. and they keep mentioning alex but i forgot who that is icl.
i've been trying to stay out of the comment section as much as possible because of spoilers but as for who seems suspicious so far, definitely chen, suna, and mali. so chen's ordering around suna and suna talked to mali at some point? also my gut instincts telling me lian is suspicious as well. i mean from the beginning xin told lau not to tell her about the tattoo. also she mentioned that she doesn't have any fear of being eradicated by the head family unlike the other collateral lines so who knows. the author's definitely setting up something deeper with her. coupled with her occasional creepiness, id say its too early to let her off the hook. i can understand why the other collateral lines would do this, but since lian is of a different status why would she need to do any of this?
holy hell. i just reread this and my god i need to suck gyujik's nuts right now. gyujik please i'll be your bitch just please put out season 3 fasterrrr. i cant wait 2 more months i need ts nowww. anyways MASSIVE spoilers from here on out.
everything from the beginning was so clear, all of the hints were right there, we were just too blind to see them. i'm under the firm belief that this story was meant to be reread because dear god the sheer amount of hints and character details the author managed to pack into the first few chapters alone is incredible. this is literally how mysteries were meant to be made.
in the first chapter alone, the tension between lian, wei and xin was so obvious idk how i didn't sense it the first time i read it. lian saying "nahhh today's *your* day, remember?" to xin and then he looks up at lau, as if she's saying now its up to him to rope lau into their plan. "i'll take care of everything, so you just sit back and relax" lian and wei will handle the whole tattoo ordeal so xin should just sit tight in the meantime (also funny enough thats what wei says in the last chapter). lian saying "i found there's this bakery..." and its likely the same bakery wei has mali go to every night to drop off the tattoo designs. also just the way xin is looking at them the whole chapter, as if they share a secret. lau having nightmares of choking because thats the last thing he did to xin before they broke up 5 years ago. and thats just the first chapter alone, there's way more stuff i noticed but this is long enough as it is so i won't write it all down.
lian and wei in general are such enigmas. i still love u lian idc if u might be evil or a sadist. we've only seen one panel of lian as a kid, and frankly i just can't imagine wei as a kid. like he was probably just his current face photoshopped onto a tiny kid body. i refuse to believe he didnt come out of the womb with a fully developed jawline and glasses. but out of all of the side characters, im the most curious about their backstories. after all, they're from the first collateral line, so they likely had the closest relationship to the head family's bullshit. also the first collateral line in general seems to be the most brainwashed/evil. they're the ones who came up with the idea of trapping the head family heir in the first place.
anyways their relationship seems super interesting to me. wei obeys lian no matter what, but its obvious there is some sort of (maybe?) animosity from wei towards her. so im in the same boat as lau in asking this, but why does he let her have him by the balls? ik shes terrifying but how does he just let her do all ts to him, to the point where she literally gropes his pecs?? (unless he's into it then good for him ig). knowing this story it definitely has to do with childhood trauma lol. still, i rly want to believe their relationship isnt all that bad, but since we've only seen glimpses of wei's thoughts its hard to say for sure.
the thing i'm more interested in though, is how closely wei and lian are working with xin. are they doing this on xin's orders, or the head family's, or both? there has to be some degree of cooperation between them and the head family, seeing as how they're able to get into the annex. but lian still says she's doing it all for xin's sake. which... bitch how???? i rly find it hard to believe she doesn't know the dye is killing xin considering that he's been feverish and passing out for months. she even mentioned its the dye probably causing it. but maybe she doesn't know its lethal? idk anymore.
as for xin, he seems to have some agency to an extent. he's the one who burned the contract, he's the one who withheld key info from lau and he's the one who had lau go on this whole wild goose chase in the first place. as for why, my best guess is that this is all somehow his plan to destroy the head family for good. but then why would the head family sit by idly and let this happen? maybe this is all xin's 5d chess moves in response to the head family making him the new vessel for the ritual?
speaking of which, WHY TF DOES HE NEED LAU IN THE FIRST PLACE??? why have lau go on this wild goose chase at all. lau, i'm sorry but you're not the smartest fella out there. lau doesn't have any wealth or power after the rest of his family died out. the man sleeps on a couch and wears a wifebeater for crying out loud. and xin is aware of that, so why have lau do this at all? my best guess so far is that it has to do with lau's lineage. i mean the whole thing with his dad is super mysterious. is his dad even alive anymore?? i don't think his dad is entirely evil, i imagine he's going to be a grisha from aot type of character where he thinks he's doing things for the greater good to stop the head family.
speaking of their whole backstory... i have no words. i knew what would happen to tan and miu but i wasn't expecting to be bawling that hard. i blame you lebron's #1 pookie bear for goading me into reading this attack on my emotions. ik ur reading this. chapter 76 is one of the greatest chapters in any work of fiction ever created and i will stand by that statement. the sheer hope, dread, hatred and anguish i went through that chapter alone cannot be understated. literally worse than the 5 stages of grief. also might i just say, i need to kill the head family asap. their servants too, because how can they actually hear themselves say "they shall pay, your children shall bear the burden", as in they're literally trying to traumatize these two children by killing their only family and have the hoot spa to think they're in the right?! FUCK YOU AND YOUR GODDAMN TRADITIONS (╯°Д °)╯╧╧
kid xin and lau were so adorable but their flashback makes me so sad because they don't smile like they used to ╥﹏╥ we're truly in the trenches rn. also about kid xin, i'm glad the author went more into his creepiness. kid xin was creepy asf because he's literally never learned how to interact with human beings (other than his brother). i find it interesting how kid xin views the relationship between guardian and heir. he says that miu would never leave tan alone because he can't run and so she has to protect him. idk it seems sorta understandable why lau views their relationship as xin trapping him, even though thats not the case in the present. teen xin is also creepy as shit, but he learns to hide it from lau. ig his prefrontal cortex developed enough to where he developed the concept of shame. even crazier is that we actually see it develop in the flashbacks. in the alleyway flashback, xin is much more straightforward and clingy (probably not the right word but idk how else to describe it). in the flashbacks following that, he starts to prioritize lau's emotional wellbeing in the long run, so he starts to distance himself and that leads to their whole break up fiasco. now in the present, xin is oddly... not creepy at all?? ig maybe it was just the prefrontal cortex after all. everything he does that is manipulative is to ultimately save lau and he doesn't do any freaky stalker shit (not that he could follow lau even if he wanted to). he doesn't do anything to push lau's boundaries anymore, which idk it kinda makes me sad because i feel like he wouldn't be nearly as creepy as he was if he just grew up in a well adjusted environment.
i rly rly RLY don't like how the narrative keeps implying that xin will die. they keep comparing lau to a wolf, who are said to stay loyal to their mate even after they die. lau even says he will stay alone if his love dies. xin has seemed to self sacrificial so far, and machiavellian. he seems to have convinced himself that he's doing everything for the greater good, and this attitude is evident even at a young age. for example, the chapter where they're in the library, xin says that its fine that the gecko died because it would feed baby birds. the author's saying that xin's like the gecko. i don't like this game ╥﹏╥ i'm on my last tank of copium saying this but i don't think he will actually die, for the sole reason that it wouldn't be narratively compelling. like c'mon there's no way the author wouldn't even give them a chance to be happy together. from what i've seen this author loves subversions, so i rly don't think lau will just let xin die with no fight. honestly the sadist in me wants lau to sacrifice himself for xin instead of the other way around. that being said i also love crying because i'm gyujik's little masochistic whore so i'll take whatever ending the author throws our way ┗( T﹏T )┛
holy yappening... 1623 words. if only i could've written this much for my essay due last week. rip my grade. but it's fine, sangyang is more important. (i'm coping)
Crying,1623 words. Girl that’s a whole essay.
girl im so sorry for the late reply idk how this escaped me for so long i thought i already replied weeks ago anyways yes i totally agree, im also gyujiks cumslut atp.. i already got a job so i could buy ts legally
totally agree abt the rereads. ive reread this 4-5 times in full and each time i find new hints and details. like lian having stolen the 5th family's iron awl. or xin's drawer of things precious to him. the first chapter especially u mentioned, was so full of hints and tension between xin, lian and wei. especially there was the whole detail of lau leaving early thru the forest while lian and wei stayed in the morning. they could've had time to talk things over with xin and make sure the plan went underway.
i love love love lian too shes so terrifying but cute at the same time. "i refuse to believe wei didn't come out of the womb with a fully developed jawline and glasses" LMFAOOOO i totally agree tho we haven't even seen a shot of him as a kid so i truly can't imagine how he looked. i'm very curious about whether wei actually likes lian at all. like u said the story's hinted at him having some spitefulness towards her but overall it still seems like he obeys his orders. when lau asked him abt that he just smiled strangely so im assuming there is some backstory to why their relationship is the way it is. yeah the part abt her groping him still bothers me ngl i don't think he was into it poor guy
abt the whole dye situation. i feel like lian would know that its causing xin some sort of harm. she seems to care abt xin deeply, so i feel like she wouldve analyzed the dye's ingredients to see if it was harmful. and also like u said she was the one who clued lau in on the ingredients being whats causing xin harm. and yea hes literally been slowly dying for months at least get him a doctor girl
i also think this is all part of xins master plan to destroy the head family. xin seems too far in the know for it to not be. also considering how he deliberately hides information from lau and only drip feeds him, i do think he is using lau for this plan. for what exactly? i'm not sure. i think it having to do with his dad is a possible answer tho.
not the call out my fault for making u read peak vro sameee no matter how many times i reread it it feels like my heart fell out of my chest. we fr havent seen adult xin and lau smile all of season 2 ts makes me sad. just make my boys happy againnnn pls "ig his prefrontal cortext developed enough to where he developed to where he developed the concept of shame" lmfaoooooooo.
i might be snorting copium saying this but i agree that xin won't die. like u said i rly think it would be a bland ending if everything plays out like it does in the storybook. i rly can't think of how he could possibly survive tho cuz theres literally no cures for ts but regardless im excited to see what the author can cook up
anyways im so glad u love this story to the point i do. dw abt the yapping girl. i will not deny it is yapping but i also do ts even to my irls so rly dw abt it. this story is yap worthy