#CLICK THE READ MORE TO READ ALL OF IT

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

HOT, SINGLE, UNSTUDIED SPONGES. 3000 NAUTICAL MILES AWAY. Come sail the distance and read Tiger Tiger!

[ghostofthepresent]

Why I think Shiguang can be canonically read as romantic

(I will only be using the donghua for reference, so no Studio Lan retweeting those fanarts (lmao) nor those especially gay manhwa panels (lmao x2) nor even the songs ("chase you to the end of the world, just to say your name once more" my beloved).

It's important to start off by saying that I'm aware Director Li said they ended up not making Lu Guang a girl because they didn't want romance to be seen as a must in Shiguang's relationship by the audience (and because he feels that "bros can have a good heart-to-heart connection with each other"). In my opinion that was a great move since it allows more freedom with how they write them than they'd have otherwise. I also think viewing Shiguang as queerplatonic is a great read too and it doesn't diminish their love for each other nor the importance of their relationship at all.

With that said, despite Director Li's words, there's been things that had me going 🤨 as someone who likes to adhere to canon relationships and read into the writer's intentions, so I wanted to share why I personally see them as romantic.

EPISODE 2

We've all seen this coming, right? Most obvious parallel ever, and in the second episode no less. We all know the similarities between both relationships, so I will just touch on those I consider the most important ones.

Lin Zhen and Yu Xia have gone to college together, and since then decided to start a business of their own - named after a mix of their names. They've been shown as being really close and having no romantic relationships. Lin Zhen also says that Yu Xia's happiness is her own, and then it's shown to us that she's gone through years of unhappiness just for Yu Xia. I believe you can replace their names with Lu Guang's and Cheng Xiaoshi's in your head without me writing all this again. And I'm not even going to get into the most obvious parallels like the special noodle recipe for each pair.

I think it's safe to say that Lin Zhen and Yu Xia are implied to be romantic. From that "one noodle" scene, to the close shot of Lin Zhen grabbing her hand, etc.

Now, I want to get into a writer's point of view and pose two questions:

1. What's the purpose of this episode, when even those which seem episodic connect to the overarching plot of season 1 (even the missing kid's case, as it leads to the involvement with the police)?

2. If we answer the previous question with the conclusion that it's meant to show us the nature/development of Cheng Xiaoshi's and Lu Guang's relationship, what does that say about it?

"Partner" in Link Click

Continuing with episode 2, what really got me thinking about the romantic intentions in their writing was the constant mention of marriage and anything in relation to it.

(may I remind everyone that the driver's comment was said when Cheng Xiaoshi was complaining about Lu Guang lmao)

They're telling us through "show don't tell" (for example, when Lin Zhen kept on eating the noodle despite knowing they'd kiss) and, also, connotations. They are presented to us as business partners, but then the entire episode goes on to tell us that there's more to them by tying their relationship to things percived as romantic. So what they want to really tell us is that beyond simple business partners, they're life-long partners.

And then, after establishing this kind of connotation to the word partner, Cheng Xiaoshi says this to Lu Guang in the next episode:

This doesn't stop at them. While it's the most obvious example, I think partnership in Link Click is intended to be seen as romantic, or at the very least dancing somewhere close to it. Let's go even further and take a look at our fully canon, heterosexual relationships and see briefly how their story is written:

1. Dong Yi and Xu Shanshan: both of them chose the comfort of each other's presence over moving on with their respective futures. Dong Yi had so much faith in their relationship and their love that he couldn't choose a life/future that didn't have Xu Shanshan - choosing to not go back to his family home nor go to that interview, and instead waiting for Xu Shanshan to define their relationship.

2. Liu Siwen and Ouyang: Siwen spent his entire life training with the purpose of getting his father-in-law's respect and marry Ouyang, going every year over and over to fight him. His perseverance and his undying love for her allowed Siwen to do the (seemingly) impossible.

3. Chen Bin and his wife: they're a tragedy. His wife understood Chen Bin the best, enduring feeling lonely because she loved him and wanted a future with him. But their relationship was cut short, so they promised each other to be together in a future life to make up for the time they wouldn't be in this one.

With this + the pictures I attached, it seems like Link Click has set this theme of "love is a life with you" for its romantic relationships, a partner that will fight to stay because they can't see a future that doesn't have their beloved. Going back to episode two, this applies even to the noodle ladies. When Yu Xia remembered what actually matters to her, she went back home - to the start, to her hometown. And, most importantly, to Lin Zhen.

So why is Shiguang romantic? Why aren't they queerplatonic, or just best friends, or bros or whatever else? Because besides what I said at the start of the previous paragraph, Shiguang's relationship mirrors a lot of the romantic ones. Each story and author writes romance and other kinds of relationships differently, portraying them in the way they perceive "this is what this kind of love is like". And beyond life-long partners, I think that the key elements of romantic relationships in Link Click are the ones I highlighted in bold above in the 3 canon relationships part - which Shiguang shares, too.

(I didn't mention this before with the het couples, but I find it a little amusing that season 2 happened because a man wanted to go to the past and get his wife back (still fuck you Qian Jin) and then we find out Lu Guang did go back to the past and got his boyfriend partner back lmao).

"Friend" vs "Partner"

So where is the boundary between platonic and romantic? What marks the difference between a (best) friend and a partner?

There is, for example, Liu Xiao and Li Tianchen's relationship. They aren't shown to have any kind of romantic undertones and there's even the very real possibility of manipulation on Liu Xiao's side. They're also never labeled as nor call each other partners, but instead Li Tianchen says he "met a new friend" and Liu Xiao says he's "going to meet an old friend" years later. So we could say for now that they have a somewhat close relationship (we see Li Tianchen go against Qian Jin to give the phone to Liu Xiao), but never cross that "friend" label.

We can even bring Qiao Ling and the boys' relationship. She's never labeled as a partner despite taking part in the side job and, more importantly, being super close to both of them. She is very important and a cherished friend to Shiguang, so why not call her partner too? I think it's intentional. Since she's been given a familial role already (calling Cheng Xiaoshi her brother when talking to Li Tianxi), she can't fill a partner role. I wonder why? because it's supposed to be a synonym for a romantic relationship. who said that.

So even best friends (Qiao Ling, arguably what Liu Xiao is to Li Tianchen) don't enter this close space that is being a partner. It's different, it's beyond platonic. Or at least that's what they've been showing us for the past two seasons.

I could go soo much more into this honestly, because I do think the little hints thrown here (the music videos) and there (tiny seemingly inconsequential details) are worth to be looked at too, but I wanted to get into the core reason that makes me go "woah so they're In Love fr". I hope I expressed myself well ^^

tldr; the series shows us a divide between having a (best) friend and a partner, giving "partners" romantic connotations.

[mother-rhoyne]

[girlfriendline]

claude giroux gets the helmet after scoring the OT winner

preds @ sens || 29.1.24

+ bonus Extra Large Versions under the read more (highly recommended)

[always-a-joyful-note]

Enstars sure is an experience. Did I miss anything?

[puppyeared]

Childhood

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

INTERRUPTED (Parts I & II)

A short two-part comic (total of 20 pages + 8 extras) by me! (for me lol)

Fandoms: Ninja Showdown (Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja x Xiaolin Showdown)

Ship: My Immortal Soul (First Ninja x Chase Young)

A comic where nothing really happens! But it contains a lot of half-naked men. So like, kids avert your eyes and adults don’t open it at work or whatever. ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯

thanks for checking it out <3

[politemagic]

everyone say congratulations to the first time homeowners!

edit: i may or may not have been inspired to write some headcanons based on this, if you're interested

[optogeneticist-nsfw]

i Uh.Well enjoy!!!!

link

[sherbetstudios]

Honey, I’m home! [LFLS animation meme/PMV]

⚠️ blood cw

+ the yt thumbnail

this will also be premiering at the same time this is posted!

[velvetwyrme]

ig that this ask sounds really random but I wanted to ask if you’ve read htsan fic “It’s just a game” on ao3…

if not I highly recommend it.

hullo! i have actually! i enjoyed it- the premise and execution of it being a CYOA sorta deal was so fun!

but it has been... uh. a while since i read it, and apparently its updated a ton??? so. im gonna go read it again and catch up on all the new stuff :D!

[goldenpinof]

Audiencly | DanAndPhilGames | Socialpoint

Adrian Kotowski (the founder of Audiencly) doesn't count dnpg collabs with Socialpoint pre-2023 (7 videos and the sponsorship of the US leg of TATINOF) and, allegedly the 1st sponsored video in November 2023.

So, 11 bookings are, allegedly, the sponsored videos from December 2023 till July 2024 (included).

Flexion bought Audiencly in 2022.

(a huge credit to Emma @dnpbeats for noticing Audiencly in Evony's sponsorship, checking how it's related to dnpg and Socialpoint, and finding these posts)

for anyone who cares and myself, in case i forget.

(when i say Dragon City, i mean Socialpoint)

the 1st post-hiatus sponsorship was of the Roblox video posted on November 4, 2023; it was a single video with a Dragon City sponsorship. the next video sponsored by them was posted on December 1, 2023, and it went in a pack of 3 sponsored videos in a row. After that, Dragon City was sponsoring only 2 videos in a row, never single videos again. In July 2024, there were 2 videos sponsored and posted on July 12 and 14, respectively.

The LinkedIn posts went up on July 22, 2024. From December 1, 2023 till July 14, 2024 there are 11 videos sponsored by Dragon City.

The next Dragon City sponsorships were on September 20 and 22, 2024.

That's why I think Adrian counts only from December 2023. dnpg appeared on Audiencly's website after June 2024 (probably also in July, but idk how to confirm it).

(my spreadsheet with sponsors came in handy, everyone cheered)

(even though Audiencly is also partnered with NordVPN, i don't think the deal with dnp is going through Audiencly based on the pattern of Dragon city and Evony sponsorships and the whole Audiencity's idea to make sponsorships more personal. NordVPN's sponsorships of dnpg don't fit into this pattern, but it's all alleged)

[harvest-of-the-present]

and dionysus saves the day once again (found comfort in him after some chaotic days)

[barkovsasha]

do not read if you hate the panthers lmao

i understand the way people think is different and opinions differ but it's also possible that people can say the o.ilers played dirty whilst acknowledging that the panthers don't play the cleanest? like nobody is saying they are the perfect team (i have literally seen nobody say it but i don't know everyone in the world so...) but all i see are o.ilers fans (instagram, not here but i am avoiding the tag so who knows!) saying the refs favour the panthers and comparing things from game 2 to the second round like....... a sucker punch following a hit and a blatant elbow to the face are different, i think. maybe i'm wrong idk! it's just my opinion but idk how the refs 'favouring' the panthers has anything to do with the inability to score

[eyestrain-addict]

And with that, Arcane is finished

[pkmnomegaverse]

Fankidtober 2024 Day 5 - Twins

Cursed idea time, but while I still don’t know who/what Norri’s bio dad is, every time I see art of beta Arceus I’m like “oh, it’s Norri’s dad :)”. Which it isn’t per se (probably), but his dad is some kind of shapeshifter. So perhaps beta Arceus is the form of a false god it prefers to wear. And then the most recent leaks revealed Evolotto, which looks quite a bit like a baby form of beta Arceus. Which got the brain worms writhing.

And thus the other thing Emmet might have given birth to was born. I know Evolotto’s whole gimmick was it was suppose to be able to evolve into any Pokemon at random, but for the purposes of whatever is going on here, I’m thinking it can also eventually shapeshift in general. Takes on a more human form (Melli’s baby girl) after some amount of years, which is it actually “evolving.” Humans are technically still Pokemon in a loose sense in my AU so checks out. But it does still go back to The Beast form often enough. What it feels more comfortable in. Got use to being cradled and carried around like that. But then can presumably shapeshift into other things as well (maybe, might need to work up to that ability).

Whereas Norri is a backup vessel of sorts (in my heart his intended role would be to give birth to the actual true host body since he’s always been Silent Hill core to me). Evolotto is perhaps the first attempt at a host body for whatever their bio dad is. Maybe even the failed attempt, but the potential for her to evolve into something More is there. Convoluted subplot about them taking down their evil bio dad likely ensues.