XiĆ FÄi and Veinās Dual Powers
Vein and XiĆ FÄi hold the powers of Foresight and Hindsight ā
here's how I came to believe it.
Get ready for a lengthy postāthis is the first in a series. (30 mins read).
Have you heard of the dual power theory?
Let me explain this beautiful theory first caught by @miyamiwu
(GIFs and correlating posts can be found here and here).
For those who missed it, Vein and XiĆ FÄiās frames in the LULL Bridon arc credits feature VFX that spill into each otherās frames. As seen in her post, this does not happen with any of the other four characters, all of whom have confirmed powers.
We know that Link Click never does anything without a reason!Ā What does this mean, and why are these two characters highlighted over the others?
Well Miyamiwu threw it out there that maybe it correlates to them having a dual power. And that theory makes so much sense.
Where have we seen the use of dual powers? We've seen dual powers used before with Lu Guang and ChĆ©ng XiĒoshĆ, as well as with the siblings Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi. So, this isnāt something new. In fact, of the 7 confirmed characters with powers, 4 of them are in pairs. This makes it highly probable that two new complimenting characters who act as a duo are also connected in this way.
The symbolism is clear: the two share something deeper, just like the other powerful pairs. If four others can have dual powers, why not XiĆ FÄi and Vein, a pair so tightly connected both in contrasting personalities but equal and parallel in their relationship?
Now that I've explained this dual theory my goal was to figure out and prove which powers makes the most sense for either of the two to have.
To help me I've set up two cannon-bound rules that helped me find what it is.
Rule #1
Dual powers means the characters would either have parallel powers with complementary abilities or opposite powers that act as a counterbalance to each other.
Vein and XiĆ FÄi are constantly contrasting in these frames. Not only do the characters themselves contrast personality-wise, but their friendly dynamic complements each other. Given this dynamic, their powers would either need to complement or contrast with one another, or exist in the fine line between. It also goes to show that assuming Vein has smoke or immortal/resurrection powers would not work, because it needs a fitting connecting power.
Rule #2
Thereās no reason to assume Link Click's powers are elemental. Based on what we've seen, Powers are tied to photography, time travel, or something related to the body or the mind. Introducing elemental powers would, in my opinion, mess with the established lore.
Assuming XiĆ FÄi has light powers doesnāt quite fit, even if it aligns with Rule 1 about having a parallel or opposite. Similarly, the theory of XiĆ FÄi having fire powers falls short if Veinās doesn't seem like he would complement or contrast with that power in any way.
In my quest to narrow down the possible powers, I couldnāt help but find a loophole that had me wondering why XiĆ FÄi and Vein's eyes always glow so brightly, as if their power is constantly active. Even the other main characters' eyes dim when their powers aren't in use. This led me to a third ruleāmore hypothesis than canon-based, so your free to ignore itā
My biased Rule #3 - If both characterās power is one that stays on, it could be a passive or constant ability, always active but perhaps unnoticed until the right moment.
This rule genuinely backs you into a corner, but it only managed to put my last two remaining theories on a pedestal...
So, after digging myself into dozens of holes including loopholes to find potential powers that actually fit within a time-travel story, I finally hit on foresight and hindsightāand suddenly, everything clicked. Maybe its called link click because everything always clicks into place. hahaha....just pretend I'm funny.
These concepts not only make sense for both characters story arcs, but theyāre backed by existing theories and new evidence I've uncovered. Now, Iāll dive into each of their respective powers, explaining the why, how, and what that support my theory.
Vein:
"Immediate Foresight"
Memory that does not transcend time, but transcends a series of moments.
Veinās foresight works differently from Lu Guangāsāwhile Lu Guangās power transcends time, Veinās memory doesnāt carry over through each reset. I will stand by my belief that Vein didnāt know or recognize either Lu Guang or CXS before they were introduced to each other in episode 3ā otherwise he would have simply killed them both.
While it looks like Lu Guang is on the edge of having both foresight and hindsight, I'd like to argue his power is more akin to clairvoyance. The difference in these powers is significant, but different enough for it makes sense for characters to have such similar abilities. Let me explain further.
Vein's power is PREDICTIVE
Lu Guangs power is TRUTH
Foresight - Vein's power is about predicting what might happen, based on the present circumstances. Itās more about a sense of anticipation or intuitionāHe would know whatās likely to happen. The where and how is clear, while the why and when remains predictive until within that moment.
Clairvoyance - Lu Guangās power is about seeing specific details of the future, present, or past. He wouldnāt just predict what might happen; he has seen and experienced clearly both the past and future as if it were happening right in front of him. Itās about truthāthe direct and clear perception of events, like heās watching a film.Ā
Since the director mentioned that Lu Guang always stays within his own timeline, I don't believe their powers see different timelines or possible outcomes, but rather 'the timeline's current outcome' in varying levels of clarity.
This view of Foresight aligns with Vein's almost superhuman reflexes,
Next 3 GIFs by ydotome
I invite you to take a look at this scene until you REALLY understand it. On second glance there's something subtly off about the timing of Vein's reactions.
Study how swiftly Vein movesāit looks effortless. Too easy. Upon closer inspection, it even feels like Vein's own movements anticipate a frame or two before than the other even prepares to strike. Like he is one full moment ahead of each strike.
I have several frames here for example (this gif is originally 69 frames long)
While many anime characters can dodge like this, few do it with their eyes closed for three full swings without some kind of 'extra sense perception.' So I'm calling it evidence. Here Vein is showing complete confidence in his knowledge that he won't get hurt.Ā
Just the fact that he stands still with that smug ass little smile screams that he is in control of the situation.
I'm hypothesizing that Vein learns the truth of the moment only within that moment; everything before is predictive. The closer he is, the clearer the information becomes. In that instant, he can dodge every strike because their next move shifts from a probability to a complete certainty.Ā This gives him a sense of control and explains why he often looks so pleased.
I believe Vein is constantly downloading new information about his opponent and surroundings mid-battle, making him the perfect, constantly adapting adversary.
Vein is the embodiment of 'right place, right time,' and I doubt need to elaborate further. But I'll show some more GIFs instead.
This post is kinda long already but I also invite you to look into the Vein vs. Shao Yuanyuan fight as well. Because it feels like another use of his foresight abilities (Video link here)
and finally Vein's fatal limitation.
If too much is happening in too short a time, itās possible to slip through the cracks of his foresight. He may fail to react to an immediate danger simply because his attention is divided between too many things. While he might have the right information, he is still human. In a scenario like this, Vein could potentially be open for attack but never taken completely by surprise.
So why was Vein blindsided by his own death?
There could be better theories to this part specifically, but maybe Vein never saw the possibility of the attack coming, because Vein's death was never supposed to have happened. It was too fast, and everything he thought would happen changed too quickly. Simply because a more powerful third party had inserted themself into the situation. (From what I understand Lu Guang changed something in their timeline and Vein had never been killed before).
GIF from @shantechni
The REAL genuine fear shown when Vein is called by his real name, and during the heart attack show how caught off guard he was. His mind racing, dare I say it had little to do with the fact that he couldn't breathe, but that there was a flaw within his foresight. That he was finally unable to take control of his precious moment. He didn't know what was going on until it was too late to prevent it.
But there is nothing wrong with Vein's foresight, because he still figures it out. But at the moment of his realization, Vein's death is already in motionāan attack happening in real time without even touching him, its not something that he can run away from.
And it is this eye opening realization on the brink of death where Vein is given the answers he's looking for.
He knows his killer, he knows what happened... and all he can do is laugh at having been one-upped. It's all so very interestingāand he would love to see who plays the next piece in this game of chess.
Vein's death is now a certainty. His own tricks used against him.
And his final words,
āSo thatās how it isā¦ā
I'd like to slide in another extra piece of proof for my Foresight theory.
This is the 6th episode's cover art. I think its pretty self explanatory.
Screenshot @mysterialistic (posts relating to this sentence here, here, and this)
Thank you so much for bearing with me, but we're only halfway done!
I already cut this bad boy into two separate separate posts too!
Next up....
XiĆ FÄi:
"Hindsight"
The tragedy of only ever figuring it out in hindsight.
Power born from memories and a grief that transcends the present...
"Iāve made up my mind.
No matter how bizarre the truth,
Iāll find out what happened."
The idea of hindsight comes from it being the inverse of foresight, and fitting XiĆ FÄi's potential character development.Ā
I propose that he always had the power and it wasnāt 're-awakened' until Veinās death. With Veinās foresight gone, XiĆ FÄi's hindsight is born.
I think XiĆ FÄi always had the ability but was too young or traumatized to use it. His time at ChĆ©ng WÄimĆn's school raises questions. Thereās a solid theory that the school was full of children with powers. (here and here).
(if you look up this scene you'll see ChĆ©ng is mouthing something, and from there we never see young XiĆ FÄi's eyes again, as they remain cast in shadow).
There are a lot of inconsistencies with this new information, wasn't Felix only an exchange student for college?Ā What's with this scene?
What did "it's time," mean?
Here me out, what if XiĆ FÄi's memory was altered by ChĆ©ng WÄimĆn?
XiĆ FÄi seems unaware of what 'Bahati' was. He doesn't seem to know about the fire or the meaning of the word. If he remembered he could've helped them- or maybe warned them. But instead he was perfectly comfortable helping CXS question his previous boss, as well as Vein. Also how interesting is it, that he ended up working once in the same place that he went to school in at one point??
XiĆ FÄi feels like a character that follows the theme of returning back to the past. If not during the Bridon arc, that at least because we known off screen he's going to dedicate his life to finding out what happened to Vein.
Another thing that stood out to me during episode 3 was when (time stamp 14:30) when CXS said "Bahati" there was a magical sound effect. I study these Link click sound effects a lot and they're always happening. Mostly when someone notices something or when one could make the case that someone is subtly using their power. For example the sound effect shows up the most around Vein and Lu Guang. And its always the same sound effect. What if XiĆ FÄi remembers when the name is spoken, but anything related to CXS's father is a trigger word for a memory wipe on the subject?
Another piece of XiĆ FÄi's story. (Found by @joyokosuka, post here)
I want to believe Vein's interest in XiĆ FÄi has to do with their close connection and not just because there was a subliminal connection that comes with dual powers. If you believe in fate and all, which Iāll get into the next post. But I don't think either were actually aware of XiĆ FÄi's power, as it wouldn't have re-manifested until Vein's death.
It also makes sense, because XiĆ FÄi was open to powers existing.
XiĆ FÄi discovering his own past, and using his gift of hindsight would open up a whole can of worms for everyone.
The good and the bad, and the past that should've stayed buried.
I imagine XiĆ FÄi will be pretty upset when learning about the past and revisiting his memories before Veinās death. Itās going to destroy him if he figures out that Lu Guang and CXS were involved.
I could see him using his power in a way that might allow him to re-experience or analyze past events but not actually go back in time. He will constantly search and long for for what he missed out on.
And if not to attempt revengeā¦ then for closure.
XiĆ FÄi is taking up the gauntlet of an unwanted legacy for closure. How sad and ironic that Vein could've potentially been using his power along side him but XiĆ FÄi never realizes until the death of his counterpart.
XiĆ FÄi's power gives an ulterior meaning to what he told our mains.
ābut Iāll remember the time I spent with you guys foreverā
It's so haunting. Knowing he was backstabbed by his friends. This feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The tragedy of hindsight.
Now after explaining where Hindsight would fit into the plot, I'll share the rest of the evidence for why XiĆ FÄi's power is Hindsight, more than just because he is Vein's inverse/parallel.
In another post by @miyamiwu (Click here) beautiful theory by the way.
There was one thing she said that stood out to me.
She explained that āIn Mandarin Chinese, time is viewed in a vertical fashion. The past is above you, while the future is below you.ā
Because of this I asked my friend for an impromptu lesson in Mandarin, to help me analyze that the name å¤ę (XiĆ FÄi) can be linked to the idea of time.
Thank you so much to Yuqianqian šøš for dealing with my madness.
In Mandarin the past and future is viewed in a vertical fashion only through a spoken fashion.
Let me introduce you to āThe Four Mandarin Chinese Tonesā which are used to identify the TONE (shÄngdiĆ o) of a word. You use each tone to help you pitch your syllables. All Chinese words have tones.
First tone: a level and higher pitch
Second tone: rising, start from a lower pitch and end at a slightly higher pitch
Third tone: falling rising, start at a neutral tone then dip to a lower pitch before ending at a higher pitch
Fourth tone: falling, start the syllable at a slightly higher than neutral pitch then go quickly and strongly downwards
The reason the future is viewed downwards And past is viewed upwards is because they pitch upwards and downwards when you say it!
Fun fact you can figure out out which tone both the first and surname are in by using these diacritical marks.
Neutral tone - aĀ (no pitch)
So XiĆ (is the 4th falling tone) followed by FÄi (the 3rd falling/rising tone).Ā
Chinese people usually give their kid a 2 words name or 3 words name. If the words in a first name were both the same tone itās would be hard to pronounce.Ā
č°é³ is a literarily trick similar to how a writer can use homophones in English to symbolize something.Ā
č°é³ is when words can sound the exact same but be are spelled completely differently.Ā
āBy, bye, buyā
āTo, too, twoāĀ
āFlour, flowerā
āKnight, nightā
å¤ę XiĆ FÄiās name actually uses č°é³
å¤ is Pronounced XiĆ it means āsummerā
äø is also pronounced XiĆ it means ādownā
It changes meaning depending on the word next to it though, but other meanings of XiĆ still include; Downwards, Under, Below, Descend, Fall, Give birth too, Spate...
'Second of two parts'... guys is it obvious I ship Veinfei
äø is not typically not used anymore unless it refers to very specific instances of time, directions, or positions.
This play on words of XiĆ and the concept of äø ādownā works in tandem with the 4th tone. And brings us back to the original idea of āthe future being below you.ā It perfectly relates the idea of time to the name, while also holding symbolism. The future is below XiĆ FÄi.
Vein's name is first pointed out by @rainibao (here). That Veinās true name - č§ęŖå½± XiÄo WĆØiyĒng relates to the concept of the future!Ā
Iād like to add that ęŖ by itself does not mean future, but rather itās ęŖę„.
ęŖę„ - Future
ęŖ on its own means ānot yetāĀ
Both are falling tones.
Just in case I made this pretty confusing.
I gave XiĆ FÄi's name as proof to show that he is RELATED TO TIME and related to VEIN. Meanwhile every example of Vein points to downwards symbolism as well.
And even though XiĆ FÄi should represent Upwards symbolism, the fact that he also represents downward symbolism felt like it does help my case in relate to hindsight as well.
But either way, heres some pretty obvious Upwards symbolism for XiĆ FÄi too.
This is a post by miyamiwu (here) guys wtf I already ran out of image space
Here with the water
Lu Guang is drowning and falling downwards into the Future
Vein pulls XiĆ FÄi upwards above water into the past.
Once again it also references unwanted legacies left behind by Vein.
In the end we see the huanting idea of
Vein as a concept of life after death
Xia Fei as a concept life before deathĀ
And Lu Guang representing death itself
Thank you so much for listening to my theory! I feel like this theory has revolutionized the way I see these two. Feel free to contact me or disprove or add to my theory. I took like a whole weeks to make this.
Soon I will release the second part of my theory (yes I have more evidence). This time in relation to LiĆŗ XiÄo, how he fits into this entire equation, and what his other power may be. And what happens Post-Vein's death.
PT. 2 (TBA)
