#domestic shiguang

[doublxpresso]

☀️ Morning (full comic)

[artilite]

they're just hangin' out

[floofz]

i just finished watching ep five... can i know your thoughts on it

OUGH... so many thoughts my dude... where do i even start...

well first of all this episode completely wrecked me emotionally. domestic violence is always hard to watch, but damn did they do their best to make it as horrible as possible (in a good way! its amazing how studio lan sheds light on these kinds of things happening). the animation - the expressions, the hitting, the bruises - the audio design - god the sounds of the violence alone were so fucking heartwrenching. and then the involvement of the kids too. it was so so painful to watch but it was so incredibly well done.

we finally get to know more about the two siblings (and also confirmation that the two are actually involved! plus that lu guang turns out not to be the good brother in the childrens drawing). the scene with cheng xiaoshi being amused about the brother's behaviour and childish thinking seems funny at first, but when you later see the family situation theyre in, it all just makes so much painful sense. he has all this rage and strong sense of justice in him bc they are growing up in this unstable household full of violence. its heartbreaking.

the boy the brother met at the fountain, i first thought it was a young cheng xiaoshi bc of the haircut, but his voice was very different so now im perplexed. they could just be trying to throw us off here but i cant imagine them picking such a drastically different voice from cheng xiaoshi for him, especially bc we already heard his voice as a kid in s1. now my guess is maybe a young qian jin? it would check out with what we know about younger him. and i mean were 5 episodes in we kinda need to get to all the connections eventually.

now, lu guang and cheng xiaoshi. i've already seen people on reddit talk about how lu guang seems off again this episode. what particularly makes me think though is that one scene where their connection supposedly went "bad". i mean, everything, especially in animation, is very intentional so there must be much more to it. im wondering if someone interfered with their connection. one theory i also saw and thought about it a bit more on my own: what if red eyes - either one of the siblings - somehow possessed lu guang during their dive for a short time, making him unable to talk to cheng xiaoshi on his own, hence the silence. and after that he also doesnt realize he was silent for a while. and bc one of the siblings took hold over him for a sec, they saw what lu guang saw and that would explain why the sister supposedly knows cheng xiaoshi (and wants to talk to him at the police station) and that he was involved with her past through the dive. though i guess she could also know about him from qian jin. idk, I JUST HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

all in all a fucking fantastic episode but i did have to take a break after watching it. its very emotionally draining. but you can definitely tell the care and thought they put into this.

OH WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT. the little soft expressions and smiles from lu guang when cheng xiaoshi acted cute as xixi in the episode made me explode<3 gdi once again cheng xiaoshi never sees his soft expressions, LU GUANG LOOK AT HIM LIKE THAT WHEN HE CAN SEE.

anyway yeah lots of thoughts 😭 PLS also let me know what you think!!!

[stray-tori]

my brain finally complied and let me draw domestic shiguang just because.

[imaginarylungfish]

Link Click fic recs

i am obsessed with shiguang, alright? (favorites in purple.)

sfw

I'll Always Find You: cute 800 word fic about shiguang finding each other in every lifetime

Right Here I Belong: cute 1.3K fic with shiguang cuddles

I Lower My Head, Thinking of Home: 2.5K fic connecting shiguang's story to the myth of chang'e and houyi

Each Season Feels So Warm When I'm Here With You: 3K established relationship domestic fluff

Rationality: 3K love confession fic

Love Me Like This: 9K very well written fic about shiguang realizing their feelings for each other. characterizations are spot on and we get some friend group scenes which i love

The Hardest Thing About Love (is Noodles): 11K lu guang-centric fic of shiguang realizing their feelings for each other

nsfw

Love's the Death of Peace of Mind: 5K silly fic about cheng xiaoshi walking around shirtless and lu guang feeling some type of way about it

Wouldn't Mind Being Yours: 12K fic with a cool premise for how Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi's powers could connect them even more

Falling in Love at the Photo Shop: 29K beautifully-written fic of cheng xiaoshi realizing he is in love with lu guang and lu guang is in love with him

[hermanoga]

How precious is it to be with trustworthy partners...

...in our life.

I know that anyone with basic media literacy will know. The ardency is his tone, the cinematography - and also what he says. He is not even talking about basketball at all. He could have said 'How precious is it to be with trustworthy partners...in the basketball team', but his choice to deliberately replace that with 'our life' is something that should not be ignored. If Cheng Xiaoshi were an AFAB person, people would have been shipping them as romantic couples without an inch of doubt. Link Click is not your typical shounen anime with action scenes for adrenaline rush, it's a Chinese donghua and in the heart of link click lies human suffering, human bondings and human emotions. It is a very queer and feminist show.

I don't think I need to give 'proof' of lu guang being queer. I have the link of this interesting thread on twitter titled " Why is denying shiguang to be implied homophobic" (I love it), pasting it below

I want to share a few theories of my own in this regard.

First, how Cheng Xiaoshi's queerness is beautifully portrayed through his diving experiences.

I would argue that even without taking into account his relationship with lu guang, Cheng Xiaoshi is queer. Here is how :

During my first watch, I was very tense about the plot for obvious reasons and didn't dive deeper. One day it suddenly struck me that Cheng Xiaoshi, the empath, is literally inhabiting the bodies of the clients. I know he has done it multiple times before, but every time he inhabits the bodies of female clients, he is surprisingly perceptive. Is it just some sci-fi element to make the plot more interesting? Not really, I think. There is no discordance between his masculinity and the acquired femininity. He seems to be like those dudebros who like playing mobile games all the time, but when it comes to feeling emotions... I feel that is not just healthy masculinity. He is by far the only character who has also experienced violence against women so closely; Emma's discomfort at her boss's attempted harassment, Xu Shanshan's vulnerability of being the victim of stalking and potential murder, Li Tianxi's helplessness while witnessing domestic violence, Emma's helplessness while being strangled by that psycho - he experiences the quintessential female experiences in patriarchal society from such closeness that men typically cannot. His consciousness seems to float in this beautiful liminality, and his reactions to various events tend to be more on the feminine side.

I have another theory...hold on *rummages through the magic bag of theories*...yeah, got it! Here you go~

I think, contrary to popular opinion, Cheng Xiaoshi is not oblivious at all and probably he was the first one to fall in love in the first timeline (before all the mayhem started). I will refer to the basketball confession scene again. It feels like their first meeting but also very suspicious. Lu Guang seems to have no clue but Cheng Xiaoshi, right after saying 'hey new boy, will you join our team?' passes a loaded line like that. So many new theories threaten to erupt; was it Cheng Xiaoshi who saved Lu Guang in a previous timeline? who knows. Lu Guang might be a genius manipulator of timelines but I would also say to Cheng Xiaoshi that "you ain't just a tool".

I know that Cheng Xiaoshi kept his head cool and all after being aware of Lu Guang's (fake) death but would he be able to contain that same resolution if he witnessed lu guang's dead body for real? mhmm...

[wrathyforest]

thank you so much for your help on the photo studio layout (also i love your fanart ahaha)! i cannot BELIEVE it NEVER had a kitchen, omg. also the fact that baby!CXS's bed was so big lol it's all so silly xD

I believe you miss a little bit with gratitude, because the one who wrote the post about studio is not me, but my friend here ^^" You should thank him, but I let him know it anyways :3 And thank you for the art appreciation 🥺🥺🥺 I cannot express in full just how pleased I feel knowing people like my artworks~ ___ Yeah, tHERE IS PLANTY OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THEY LIVED BEFORE and oh my god WE DON'T THINK MUCH ABOUT WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO CXS'S PARENTS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I mean, when the time comes, we all will be screaming and crying our eyes out because I do believe that the main plot isn't about shiguang being domestic and romantic (it's just an extra, and I wish they will live happily ever after till their heads are all white ugh.. (err Lu Guang's even whiter)..) but the story of Cheng Xiaoshi solving the mystery of his missing parents... well, who knows...

I wish we all survive this despite being doomed by narrative :D

[littencloud9]

i know like almost no one follows me for link click stuff but i am SO excited for shiguang fluff week. im prob only doing 3-4 days but they mean the world to me. stupid gay time agents. they truly deserve a domestic au

[hirokari]

Idk who Lao Guang is but this work was so cute!! And gave me such soft domestic feels 🥺

he's from my fav show link click/shiguang daili ren <33

thank you for letting me know!! i honestly didn't know what to think of the imagine and i think i went a little too shambly with the words if that makes sense...

this ask is insanely reassuring thank you!!! </33

[doublxpresso]

Memories

[peachy-lemon83]

If you’re somehow getting to this point in the post without seeing SEASON 2- up to EPISODE 5 as of right now and not wanting to be spoiled (idk how you made it this far without being spoiled but whatever) THIS IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING as well as a small trigger warning for hinted domestic violence even if it isn’t specifically mentioned

This is going to be a lot of rambling but I wanted to add some of my own opinions! Before season 2 it definitely seems like Lu Guang is more knowing about what Cheng Xiaoshi is going into. It would also make sense that before hand he’s also more in tune with how Cheng Xiaoshi will react. Cheng Xiaoshi is very empathetic, he can feel the same emotions as the people he’s taken over. Therefore his reaction to things seem pretty predictable.

However, when the jump into a photo in season2 it’s after Lu Guang is injured and after there are a few seconds where I would say we may not know 100% what happened to Lu Guang (specifically talking about the cliff hanger on episode 2, where it’s shown in the next episode he was given the photo, but if I remember correctly even then there’s a few seconds were something could’ve happened). Both of these could affect Lu Guangs power. I feel like he would given some warning if he saw that the girl could’ve been hurt or her brother hurt? It also would explain why Cheng Xiaoshi jumped in to begin with. So far it seems like he should’ve seen it all without Cheng Xiaoshi jumping in (unless it was simply to get the address and stuff, but then I would think that Lu Guang would’ve also tried to convince Cheng Xiaoshi to come back.) Something messing with his powers also works with Cheng Xiaoshi describing the connection as cutting off during the sign language scene.

Even with the few theories I’ve seen explaining that silence further add to Lu Guangs power being messed up. Someone said (a little jokingly) that Lu Guang didn’t know sign language, and was looking them up. But that implies that he couldn’t see what the sister was going to sign before Cheng Xiaoshi came into play. It could also mean that Lu Guangs powers are messing up and he’s not seeing the right outcome. Pretty much the only one that would work with his powers being fine (at least that I know of) would be if he simply explained it a little too vaguely for Cheng Xiaoshi (which is honestly possible, both are definitely stressed out about all of this.)

I would also like to add that is seems like either Cheng Xiaoshi has truly understood his impact (I mean he saw/heard was happened to Emma there, so not far fetched what so ever) or he’s acting slightly different because it’s a child, who’s not in instant danger when he arrives. Honestly, in my opinion it’s probably a bit of both. Seeing as Cheng Xiaoshi doesn’t argue when Lu Guang tells him things that he needs to fix (he tries to look like he’s struggling with the bag, he tries to follow Lu Guangs lead about the sign language) as well as being a child (the look on his face when he won the stuffed animal, before Lu Guang could even tell him to be excited, he also looks very happy and content to have s family meal… right before it all goes very wrong.)

Tbh I think one of the only things that could explain why Lu Guang did say anything IF he did know what was coming, would be seeing how happy Cheng Xiaoshi is being a child with mom and a sibling, and for a short time being just a family and having dinner together. Even more so when it’s happening at a time when Cheng Xiaoshi is stressed and still worried about Lu Guang, and what this girl and her brother have to do with everything else. It’s a welcome distraction while also trying to piece together images. I think it could be possible that Lu Guang just simply wanted Cheng Xiaoshi to enjoy those moments before the all too real reality of that family’s life kicked in. (Even more so since it could 100% possibly the little girl didn’t speak because of trauma effecting her like that).

Completely different topic. I’m falling in love with this shows way of pointing our attention to one specific thing/person, and then throwing in something else you didn’t fully see coming. They did it with the season one finale. Almost the whole fandom was preparing to mourn Lu Guang, and in most shows after the scare is over it leaves a feeling of “well it was clear they weren’t going to” or “well they definitely aren’t going to do that again”, kind of just a disappointing revelation because it’s either they went back in time/got revived or something very stupid that leads to it not being them. I really didn’t feel like with Link Click. Even knowing, I’m still like “that was the logical conclusion that we all came to accept was possible”, I think they did a good job of making it look like him while also making it clear that it wasn’t him after you see everything else.

I’ve also heard several people talk about how they thought the neighbor was going to be the problem the whole time, and a couple others who said they didn’t even realize it wasn’t the neighbor until the Dad flipped out. Litteraly up until the Dad came home I was almost glaring at the neighbor. Was fully imagining before episode 5 came out that he was going to attack the mom and daughter and that was somehow going to lead to something with her brother. That feeling only got further with the brothers reaction. I was so sure he was going to say something that the neighbor had done. And even after watching it, those are like the sight lines that direct you, and even looking back you can connect “oh the boy didn’t want the neighbor near them because he knew the dad would flip out”. Like this obviously wasn’t the first time, and all the dots just always seem to line up after you have all the information. It’s not some crime show that provides crucial evidence only to finish the case while leaving that piece unsolved.

Truly one of my favorite shows. I was honestly a little scared that season 2 wouldn’t be as great as the first season was, that it would start sloping down a bit since it was in high demand, and there was more pressure for it to come out, and come out soon. It has absolutely not. The only disappointment for me, has been the frustration of cliff hangers as a viewer watching when the episodes come out, and even that I completely understand from an author/creators perspective. It’s been amazing, they haven’t stopped the tension they built up, while also giving us sweet moments like Cheng Xiaoshi being so excited about a stuffed animal.

THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOUR THOUGHTS !!

i don't have many thoughts about the ep but it was. Something. to watch. i sorta knew what was about to happen because i saw you talking about it on the dash but My Fucking God. i don't know whats up with link click and their fifth eps but they sure do like putting all the strong topics into them. i did liked? enjoyed? a lot the realism it was treated with though

also my brain sort of died halfway n i spent a nice hour trying to figure out what was happening with lu guangs ability in this ep

that theory about one of the siblings taking control of him during that brief time period sounds very interesting?? i wonder if that's what happened or if the bad connection is due to lu guang's current health or a third secret thing

also another thing but i?? really like the way link click distracts you from the culprits. i spent the ending of ep4 n half of ep 5 thinking that the culprit was gonna be the cat ears dude n they also seemed to be playing onto it at first. i don't know. it's cool

wahh thanks for asking about my thoughts in turn newayz !! you're very cool

bro omg youre so right LINK CLICK AND THEIR FIFTH EPISODES. thanks for reminding of THAT one in s1 😭✌️ nah but fr it was A Lot. s1 ep5 was absolutely devastating made me cry like a baby and then we have s2 ep5 which is just. on a whole other level of hard to even watch.

I AGREE WITH THE CONFUSION ABOUT LU GUANGS ABILITY THOUGH. like its sooo... inconsistent. we dont know a lot about it from the get go anyway but i also sometimes wonder abt the logistics of the dives and if lu guang is surprised like cheng xiaoshi by what happens but then in other instances we see him knowing exactly what happens?? idk. suspension of disbelief ig. it is a time travel show after all so theres bound to be some inconsistencies. i try to just enjoy the show and not think too much abt the logistics of lu guangs ability.

also to your last point i knowwwww right?? the first time i saw this man and noticed the beard shadow i immediately thought it was that henchman guy from qian jin, just in the past. and thats also how the siblings have this connection in the present to him now. im still kinda sus abt him though. bet on link click to first make us think hes the bad guy, then the good guy, and then it turns out hes the bad guy again and actually that henchman dude. it is an interesting choice to give him the same beard shadow as him. link click, istg ur making my hairs turn grey.

anyway thank YOU for asking my thoughts on this ep too, i love talking about this show!!! tickles my brain in all the right ways GAHH. im so excited to see whats in store for us next week

[oo-amane-oo]

J'EN VEUX PLUS

☀️ Morning (full comic)