#established shiguang!!!

[doublxpresso]

☀️ Morning

1/8 > 2

[stan-joe]

hey link click fans just to make your day worse I'm pretty sure the entire last few episodes happened on lu guang's birthday

[ajwinter-is-a-nerd]

Link Click: A Gay Romance

I finally caught up and wanted to post this before episode 12 comes out.

🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨 Season 2 episodes 7-11

Below is further reasoning of their established relationship.

I know we’ve kind of moved passed this part, like oh it was Cheng Xiaoshi that was in Lu Guang’s body. But… is it a terminator type of thing? Or would at some point, Lu Guang have to mirror what happened in this show?!

(Considering that’s the lore we’ve been given up to this point, it would make sense).

BUT no matter what lore, the matter of the fact is, in no matter what situation, Lu Guang was ready to take the hit to keep Cheng Xiaoshi safe.

Even if he wasn’t the one that threw all these cool moves, he was still the one who got on the boat.

And finally, the biggest aspect that stood out from this show is that Cheng Xiaoshi, during the roll on the ground, only saw Lu Guang as Lu Guang.

And the moment of blurry realization…

Whoever you believe was in full control at that time, Cheng Xiaoshi believed he was looking up at Lu Guang in this moment.

I want to dive into my whole interpretation of the moments of emotion, but I think it’s more powerful to leave the image without my additional dictation of emotion.

Just a couple of dudes, holding each other’s gazes while laying together on the cement.

….

OKAY ONE LAST POINT.

Look at the differences in the reflection in the eyes. Part of it can be attributed to their positions OR it can be attributed to attraction/excitement. Often in animation (mainly leaning on anime here, tbh) the character’s eyes will have more reflection drawn into them when they are excited to see something they adore.

Therefore, Cheng Xiaoshi looking at Lu Guang = moon eyes

Cheng Xiaoshi looking at himself through Lu Guang = normal amount of excitement for fulfilling a plan

Okay, okay, I’m done for real now.

Hope you enjoyed my possibly nonsensical gay rant.

[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.

[miyamiwu]

When the fuck is everything happening??? In 2018 (S1) or 2019 (Yingdu)?

Picking up from the discussion in the replies under @kuschelkissen’s post...

The year Doudou was kidnapped, Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi spent their summer* break abroad—we now know this trip was to Yingdu.

*Summer months in China are June-August

The kidnapping and the Yingdu trip happened 3 years before the events in season 1, which took place in 2021:

(Date and time on Lu Guang’s watch right before they first dived into the Doudou case: 2021-10-13, 14:30.)

Three years ago would be 2018—which means ShiGuang should’ve already met by then and grown close enough to be on a trip together. But as we’ve seen in YE1, Lu Guang hasn’t moved in with CXS yet by the end of the Anime Con, which was on June 10, 2019:

(Throughout YE1, this is the only frame of Lu Guang’s watch where the year, 2019, is not blurred out)

The Vivian case started right after…which means that ShiGuang establishing their partnership also happened later since that took place afterward. Notably, throughout the Vivian case, the date was never once shown. But it’s safe to assume that it started on the same day/the day after Anime Con.

So, summing it up so far, ShiGuang has not yet met/formed a partnership in 2018, which they should’ve already done to be able to go to Yingdu together, as implied in S1.

I tried to look for frames showing the actual year Doudou was kidnapped, but guess what I found instead:

Translation of relevant part:

He went missing at around 3 pm on 201X, X month, X day.

If the entire date was in Xs, I could’ve just brushed this off as a design choice to show that the actual date doesn’t matter. However, they purposely revealed 3 digits for the year, leaving only the rightmost digit hidden: 201X

The year being 2021 is prominent throughout season 1:

(see date on monitors)

The kidnapping case taking place three years ago was also mentioned several times. Doing the math is easy, so why still hide the 8 in 2018? Why not just have the entire year in Xs to make it uniform with the month and day?

Did the kidnapping and Yingdu trip actually happen in 2018? If yes, then ShiGuang meeting and partnership should’ve happened much earlier. It doesn’t align with what we’ve been shown in YE1 (partnership established some time after June 10, 2019).

There’s still room for the first meeting date actually taking place in 2018, since the year it happened was never shown. We can only infer that it took place on an April 11 from the date on Cheng Xiaoshi’s phone (April 12) and the text he sent (which uses the word ‘tomorrow’):

However, I’m gonna trust the directors’ scene order choices here. Let’s just assume Yingdu Chapter has ShiGuang first meeting on April 11, 2019.

---

I’d like to think the confusion here over 2018 vs 2019 is simply due to an error in the anime. Maybe it’s actually just 2018. Or maybe they decided to change the kidnapping/yingdu trip to two years ago instead of three… But such discrepancy on a deliberate detail seems unlikely, especially for Link Click.

Did something happen that the events (first meeting and partnership establishment) are happening a year later than they’re supposed to be? Could Lu Guang be trying to prevent the Yingdu trip?

(Also, wasn’t it mentioned before that ShiGuang met in high school? Why is Lu Guang already a university freshman in the basketball match in Yingdu??? Why are he and CXS still wearing high school uniforms???)

I don’t know what the fuck is going on anymore

[rainibao]

*sorry for wall of text, lazy to get screenshots and this was a spur of the moment post

The "those lost in the darkness are my friends" line from Manipulator always reminds me of Li Tianchen, and I also like that it adds to the cultish implications in the PV visuals (where it's also shown that he does mix in with 'bad crowds'. I'm going to assume it's through these games he sniffs out weaknesses he can exploit.).

Anyways, yea, the way he perceives and experiences relationships is definitely very... unique, to say the least(avoiding certain terms bc I'm not an expert). The way they parallel and juxtapose his meeting with Tianchen against shiguang's will always be one of my favourite parts of the show, due to how it conveyed a lot about his character right away & immediately presented the friendship as a warped version of shiguang's (like, LX was definitely Tianchen's light in that moment, but that admiration allowed LX to mould him to view the world the same way he does i.e. the hunter & beast line. Not intentionally, because theories aside, I view him as a genius child who was already very sure of himself and his unique yet perceptive views(likely due to positive reinforcement) that he probably deduced from his own observations(especially when his family is...like that and rich), leading to that approach to establishing a connection at that early age. Which worked really well because of the vulnerable position TC was in).

I too, like some, thought "Huh? Cheng Xiaoshi?" when he jumped into the water and retrieved the soccer ball (very deja vu moment!) But I immediately corrected that thought when he started speaking. It was very unsettling, and I don't really know how people continued to think it was cxs, sunshine dog man would nawt say that. Cheng Xiaoshi was offering up his trust to establish a genuine connection(power dynamic shifts to LG), Liu Xiao was encouraging Tianchen to prove himself to him, after appearing to him "heroically" (establishes himself as the one on the pedestal. yea definitely not a stretch to think he would become a cult leader of sorts).

I think this scene of the two children playing in the water together from before the moment they reunited is also a juxtaposition to their first meeting. To further emphasise that yea, Liu Xiao wasn't a typical kid, and that definitely wasn't a typical friendship between two children

[shuakepilled]

the last episode of link click I feel truely established the dynamics of shiguang and literally swapped their roles in one way because from season 1 up until the last episode of season 2, we were under the impression that lu guang is the less impulsive or one that does not make drastic decisions and is always calculated, except all those rules and logic falls apart when it comes to cheng xiaoshi, he truely loves him so much. xiaoshi on the other hand is very expressive and also quite impulsive as we have seen since season one but when he thought lu guang had died, he did think about diving into a photo but immediately stopped himself from doing so after lu guang's words , this happenes not once but a couple more times, it rlly shows how interesting they are as a dynamic, one who would respect the principles of the other even if it meant the one they love would die and the other won willing to break the rules to save the one who dies.

while it may seem that cheng xiaoshi would never do what lu guang did that is changing time for some reason I do feel if cxs would be pushed to a corner he could also do the same thing as lu guang, I can't determine the likelyhood of that after seeing what happens through the season but anyways the shiguang angst is truely just crazy... also the fact that lu guang knows that death can't be changed but he still wanted to save xiaoshi (and the camera pans out to him smiling... thats gay as hell alr) is honestly something that is a stepping stone to lu guangs development as a character, his mysteriousness is slowly getting cleared up and I'm honestly excited for what season 3 has in store for us because ik it's gna make me just go batshit crazy atp

[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

Call It What You Want (But Don’t Call It Love): 1K ambiguous shiguang with drunken kisses

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

No Child of Mine (I'll Love You the Same): cute 1.6K au kidfic with LG taking LTC and XiXi to their first day of kindergarten. CXS is their teacher.

Easy to Please (Even Easier to Love): cute 2.2K shiguang slipping into domesticity

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

Beautiful: 2.9K LG walks in on CXS cross-dressing fic

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

Rationality: 3K love confession fic

Overexposure: 4K fic about CXS commenting as women on LG's thirst trap pic form the chibi shorts

Love Me Tender, Love Me Good: 4.7K festival first date

Affection: 6K CXS finds out about LG saving him slow-ish burn (Broken is the sequel)

When Did 'Me' Turn into 'We?': 8K oblivious shiguang getting together

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

Like the Moon Embracing the Sun: 12K post-s2 hospital fic where CXS and LG start sleeping in CXS' bunk together

nsfw

Moonlit Passion: 3.3K CXS can't sleep so LG helps him

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

Broken: 8K sequel to Affection where CXS tries to give LG some happiness on his birthday

Field of Chrysanthemums: 10K post-s2 fic where the gang has ptsd and CXS and LG realize how important they are to each other. very beautifully written

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

[roseofcards90]

hello what is link click :o

Link Click (also known as shiguang dailiren or “time agents”) is a Chinese donghua! It's about these two guys with powers who help people with their past regrets by jumping into photos and videos. They cannot, however, change the past or end result since what has already happened cannot be undone (although I've only watched season 1 so far so maybe this changes in season 2 but yeah they establish that they cannot overwrite death or any major events that happen, or at least, they aren't supposed to change it).

All the while there's also time travel shenanigans and an overall mystery happening as well! :D I highly recommend it!!!

[rysmaonthemic]

Shiguang dai li ren/Link Click thoughts

Spoiler season 2

I needed to take a deep breath after watching the last episode of season 2. Too many questions, too many theories: my head was and is at full speed. The whole season was hell of a ride, September 22th has to be a national holiday for Shuguang dai li ren fans 😭 (yes I’m a drama queen)

Establishing strict rules that should never be crossed otherwise terrible consequences would occur, the cliffhanger of saison 1 open the door to a large amount of questions. Thus, season 2 begins with a promise of trials and tribulations.

Through out the episodes we are the witness of massive ups and downs with a frenetic rhythm: it’s an absolute emotional roller coster for the viewers 😭. The unbearable tension reached its peak when we found out Lu guang is from the futur and he’s trying to change the past at all cost.

At the last minutes of episode 12 when we see the blood on his shirt, I don’t think it’s after being stab in S1 (he wouldn’t be so calm) it means it’s directly after Cheng Xiaoshi death in his real timeline ( bro didn’t even try to live 00.3s without CSX😭)

Despite of everything LG taught us, he broke the rules. We were aware of the rules through LG statement but now that we know he is an unreliable character maybe those rules aren’t completely true? For example the 12 hours rules (if so why would he lie to CSX?)

LG was also a time traveler: since when did he has the power?

He either had it before the new timeline - I don’t think so- or he gain it when CSX die in his arms. (Which imply futur-LG no longer has CSX power in the new time line). I think it’s the second solution.

We see LG going back to the past, is it the only time he did so? If not, how many time did he uses it?

To my mind he only used it one time. The way he feels guilty when he did it shows that it’s not something he is used to do.

What’s in the picture ?

I think he went back in time either at his first encounter with CSX or at the overseas trip : either way the LG we have known since S1 has to be LG from the futur.

We will learn more this overseas trip in s3 for sure (as well as CSX and LG past, I imagine a lot of flash back in s3)

Qiao Ling acquired Li Tianxi’s ability then how is she gonna use it ?How would she confront LG about it?

I think she would be chocked with a lot of empathy and understanding toward LG. She might combine her ability with LG in order to prevent CSX death…

Liu Xiao is clearly a new threat alongside Li Tianchen : Does he has power too? Is he kind of a time line agent or something ?😩 Will he combine his supposed power with Li Tianchen ? Now that he lost his sister and left his phone on the bench I think he has nothing to lose.

Moreover, how will CSX react to his non-death news ?

I feel like LG wouldn’t admit his act directly to CSX and CSX is going to found out through someone else. Will he be :

- Furious at LG (he prevent him from saving the village whereas CSX was deeply affected by it)

- Enraged at LG but accept his destiny

- Mad at LG but try to help LG to save himself

Whatever the answer above, I think CSX will be extremely angry at LG and his impulsivity might put him even more in danger.

LG is clearly willing to do everything and anything for CSX’s sake. However, all the event in S2 (twins etc + him being stab) is unknown to him bc it didn’t happen in his original time line. Lu Guang said something like “event seems to be changing ”

What if, at the very end, he goes back (one last time) to a past where he didn’t even meet CSX? If saving him means to never met him in the first place I think he would.

(Without LG in CSX’s life everything we saw wouldn’t happen ..?) (it’s super sad tho💀)

Whatever the end of it, LG might sacrifice himself for the life of CSX.

All in all, Lu guang is gay, we must protect CSX, QL is an adorable bad ass and we’re all going to suffer.

One last straw: LG keeps the date of CSX death as his phone password the same way Edouard Elric kept the date of his mother death on his watch. They both keep it as a reminder of their goal and the lost of their love ones 😃🔫

PS: I need to watch S1 again as well as S2

[heatwa-ves]

Need to establish that I do notttt ship shiguang. in the slightest. Everything in link click is platonic except li tianxi/qiao ling is yuri 2 meeee there's a cut scene where they kiss it's true my uncle works at link click

[doublxpresso]

☀️ Morning (full comic)

[miyamiwu]

I had similar complaints back when s2 aired, but now I think this shift isn’t all that bad. It just shows that the world of Link Click is expanding, and the writing has to evolve to match that.

link click’s greatest strength has always been its ability to depict ordinary people with nuance and sympathy

True, but it doesn’t have to be their only strength.

Season 1 worldbuilding was soft and the focus was on characters operating on a small scale (ShiGuang’s dive clients). The overarching plot wasn’t really explored until the last few episodes.

In season 2, however, the worldbuilding slowly turned hard. More insights into how their powers worked, more characters with abilities, and then there’s the establishment of a police force set to deal with such characters. From character-driven to plot-driven. From slow-paced to fast-paced. From small scale to a slightly larger scale. The world is no longer limited to ShiGuang and their clients. There are other people out there who can disrupt the timeline.

In the Yingdu arc, we can only expect Link Click to go full hard worldbuilding as well as finally explore bigger themes like, maybe, the Fate of the Whole World, which is more typical of an actual time travel show. The emotional aspects will inevitably be sidelined to make way for Plot, but I believe that the staff can still find a good balance between them somehow.

I’m actually very excited for Vein. We can see from season 1 that Studio Lan has always wanted to have a psycho Red-eyed villain. But for the sake of character and emotional depth, they had to put this aside and give us a Pink villain instead in season 2. Li Tianchen is honestly a washed-out version of the Red Eyes we saw in season 1 (scheming, loves games, kills without hesitation, etc.), but that’s not to say he’s a bad character. It’s more like, in the grand scheme of things, Li Tianchen is just that buffer character meant to prepare the audience for the actual horrifying villains. And I appreciate that buffer because it shows that staff understands that they can’t just abruptly shift the genre and tone of Link Click. They have to do it gradually.

Yingdu Arc will definitely be very different from the season 1 we know and love, but I have trust in Studio Lan that this difference will be a good thing. Link Click is evolving, and I can’t wait to see it.

I'm not going to lie, the new vein pv for link click s3 seems like a bad sign wrt the direction of the series. link click's greatest strength has always been its ability to depict ordinary people with nuance and sympathy, something s1 did perfectly and s2 did very well. the vein pv indicates a shift away from those depictions in favor of more cartoonish characters who are uniquely villainous. These kinds of characters are fine and even great in some contexts. the problem is that link click isn't a exaggerated magic/fighting show. it's not even really urban fantasy or sf; it's magical realism that works because of the nuance and subtlety in even the side characters. s2 kind of moved away from the down-to-earth quality of s1 and went for a more action-packed plotline (which made it worse, imo, but still quite good). if that trend continues, as indicated by the new pv, link click could lose the grounded qualities that made it good in the first place, which, as a lc fan for years, would be kind of devastating. granted, this speculation is all just based on a pv less than a minute long, so i could be way off in my concerns. i still think its something worth thinking about/bracing for as the new season comes out

[ajwinter-is-a-nerd]

LCWEEK 2023 - DAY FOUR

Seeing In Monochrome

A Shiguang FanFiction

Prompt: Monochrome

Summary: Lu Guang writes a love note for Cheng Xiaoshi.

Rating: General Audiences

Since before I could remember, my world has always been painted blue.

I’ve weaved through the river of time; watched memories of families through an indigo lens; lived alone in cities surrounded by shades of midnight blue.

It never hurt or felt lonely. It simply was. How could I miss a rainbow if all I knew was blue?

I never believed in soulmates. I thought they were corny, a mythical concept based in fan fiction. Until I met you, and suddenly, I saw purple.

The world as I knew it suddenly began to shift. Your warmth trickled into my vision, my heart, my soul. The first time our fingers touched I finally saw pink.

Little by little, you showed me the rainbow. With a smile, you revealed how the warmth of a flame on a gas top stove flickers orange, how the sun that lights up a goofy smile burns yellow.

There were bad days, and there always will be. On days where my blue seeps too deep. Or on days when your red burns too hot. Or days where we’re caught in gray.

But even on the darkest days, I am no longer trapped in blue. Dawn pours streaks of coral and peach across a horizon of cerulean.

I never found particular interest in anyone or anything, I was comfortable living in isolation. It’s meeting you, Cheng Xiaoshi, that taught me how beautiful life can be. You’re my love, my soulmate, my rainbow.

-

“Oh my god, Lu Guang!” Qiao Ling giggled, re-reading the last line of Lu Guang’s love note.

“Hey!” Lu Guang stomped over to the counter, ripping the letter away from her lingering fingers. “It’s not done yet.”

“Aweh, I just didn’t know you could say such pretty things!” Qiao Ling feigned a pout.

Sighing, Lu Guang crumpled up the paper into a ball.

“Lu Guang, I didn’t mean-,” Qiao Ling’s head dipped to the side as her face fell.

“It was shit anyway.” Lu Guang rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head.

“I think he’d really like it.” Qiao Ling mumbled as she stared down at her fiddling fingers.

“Drop it.” Lu Guang warned.

-

Soft sobs echoed through the room. Fighting the suffocating veil of sleep, Lu Guang forced his eyelids open. The moon coloured the walls in sapphire, the shades of night deepening the shadows within their room.

The sobs continued, stabbing Lu Guang in the chest.

“Cheng Xiaoshi?” Lu Guang sat up in the empty bed.

Patting the sheet beside him, Cheng Xiaoshi’s side was cold to the touch. How long had he been up?

“Cheng Xiaoshi, are you okay?” Lu Guang rubbed his eyes, sparks of red and yellow dancing under his fist.

The bed shifted with a lurch as Cheng Xiaoshi leaped up the bunk bed.

“Wha?” Lu Guang couldn’t finish his word, the heel of his palm still pressed against his face.

Cheng Xiaoshi’s face was covered in tears, but his pearl teeth were bright under the moon.

“Lu Guang!” Cheng Xiaoshi jumped under the covers, scooting closer until he’d completely latched onto Lu Guang.

“What is going on?” Lu Guang ran his thumb along his lover’s cheek, drying away tears.

“Well,” the tone was far more joyous than Lu Guang had expected, “I was taking out the garbage like you asked me to, right?”

Lu Guang squinted his eyes, reality nearly close enough to touch. “Did you take the garbage out?”

Opening his mouth to continue his story, Cheng Xiaoshi paused. “Um, well, almost…”

Rolling his eyes, Lu Guang nodded to Cheng Xiaoshi to continue.

“Well, I was picking it up and right at the top I saw a paper with your handwriting on it. Considering you always write down the im-import-antstuff for me, and I-I didn’t remember seeing that paper, I picked it up right away.” Cheng Xiaoshi’s chest trembled, tears cascading down his face.

Blushing, Lu Guang pushed his face into his pillow. “You read it?” His exclamation was muffled by the pillow.

Cheng Xiaoshi’s wet face nuzzled into the crease of Lu Guang’s neck. Cheng Xiaoshi’s kisses were hot, clashing with the cold tears against his skin.

“I love you, Lu Guang.” Cheng Xiaoshi muttered between kisses, squeezing Lu Guang as tight as he could.

“Shut up.” Lu Guang burrowed his face deeper into the pillow.

“You’re so adorable.” Cheng Xiaoshi giggled, the tears now salty lines that pinched at his smile.

“Idiot.”

“An idiot for you!” Cheng Xiaoshi sang while attempting to slide his cheek into the divot of the pillow against Lu Guang’s.

Groaning at the cheesy line, Lu Guang tilted his face out of the trench he’d created, allowing Cheng Xiaoshi access to his face, an action he regretted immediately as Cheng Xiaoshi made it his mission to kiss every square inch.

Pausing, Cheng Xiaoshi hovered over Lu Guang’s face. His lashes were thick as they fluttered in confusion. Silvery blue eyes sparkled with the midnight stars. Lu Guang was breathtaking.

“You brought colors into my world too.” Cheng Xiaoshi whispered before brushing his lips against Lu Guang’s.

For Cheng Xiaoshi, colors always passed him by. He was always so eager to see the next shade. Lu, with his endless layers of blue, taught him to slow down. Together, they appreciated each new shade.

Cheng Xiaoshi brought excitement and thrill. Lu Guang brought stability and direction.

Allowing himself a smirk, Lu Guang tugged Cheng Xiaoshi closer, his warmth spilling across his skin.

[stray-tori]

i sadly binged link click so i didnt rly have time to let anything truly sink in and use my brain for connections and all that but

belated thinking about how bodily limitations not being relevant when Cheng Xiaoshi possesses someone (the glasses) and how that clues you about blond guy being paralyzed not ruling him out as the perpetrator BUT ALSO that there’s potentially another supernatural entity at play and GAHHH I just love that.

[bookofjin]

Annals of Yanhe 1

[From WS004. Feng Hong of Northern Yan is called by his courtesy name Wentong to avoid the name of Emperor Xiaowen of Wei.]

[Yanhe 1, 17 February 432 – 5 February 433]

1st Year of Yanhe [“Extended Harmony”], Spring, 1st Month, bingwu [17 February], venerated the Foster Empress Dowager as the August Empress Dowager. Installed the August Empress, Ms. Helian. Installed imperial son Huang as August Heir-Apparent. Paid visit to the Grand Temple. A great amnesty, and changed the inaugural.

On jisi [11 March], a decree said:

We, though insignificant personally, obtained serving the Ancestral Temple, ponder revealing the vast foundation and broadly purify the nine undertakings. Coming across the last cycle, Under Heaven split apart and crumbled. Truly employing frequent campaigns, netting sometimes tranquil rest, from the Shiguang era until today, in the space of nine years, the military chariot ten times has been lifted up. The crowd of leaders, civil and martial, shouldering halberds and wearing armour, combed by wind and washed by rain, stamping shoes on spear-points and blades, equally toiled with Us.

Relying on the assistance of gods and honoured, generals and soldiers proclaimed merit. Employing the able to destroy and break the strong foot-boys, [they] overcame and annihilated the great loathsome. Troops did not do the utmost in martial ability, and the two robbers were fully wiped out. The leaders did not disobey the regulations, and the distant region so was tranquil.

Increasingly so the time's airs are harmonious and in accord, auspicious omens also come down widely in the commanderies and states, they are not possible to fully record. How are We, a single person, alone responding to this safekeeping? These are also caused by the crowd of princes' unity and cooperation. The excellencies and ministers following this examined the meetings of the various Heavenly People, and requested to establish assisting deputies.

In all cases the acts of celebrating and rewarding are the means by which to praise and venerate past deeds, the banner to display the worthy hence the blessings without limits for perpetuity. Should for Kings, Dukes, Generals and below, widely increase feudal rank and salary, unfold the state's hereditary families, restore discarded officials, lift up the capable and unconfined, get rid of and eliminate bothersome elaborations, alter and settle ordinances and regulations, and make an effort to follow light restrictions, eliminating the old and stripping off the new, so as to set right a united government.

The crowd of minsters will deeply ponder bringing about achievements, rectifying themselves on the Way of Straightness, establishing merit and establishing service, not anyone to be idle and neglectful, and declare to Us their thoughts on it.

2nd Month, bingzi [18 March], travelled to favour the Southern Palace.

3rd Month, dingwei [18 April], retroactively conferred on the Lady Ms. He to be August Empress.

On renshen [13 May], the King of Xiqin, Tuyuhun Mugui, sent off Helian Ding to the Imperial City.

Summer, 5th Month [14 June – 13 July], a great inspection of the multitudinous followers in the southern suburbs, wanting to chastise Feng Wentong.

Liu Yilong dispatched envoys to court with tribute.

6th Month, gengyin [30 July], the Chariot Drove to attack Helong. Decreed the Supervisor of the Left of the Masters of Writing, An Yuan, and others to station south of the desert, so as to prepare against the Ruanruan.

On xinmao [31 July], the Concurrent Cavalier in Regular Attendance, Deng Ying, was sent to Liu Yilong.

Autumn, 7th Month, jiwei [28 August], the Chariot Drove to arrive at Ru River.

On gengshen [29 August], dispatched the General who Calms the East, the Duke of Xuancheng, Xi Jin, to issue out the population of You province and the Dingling of Miyun, more than 10 000 people, to transport siege equipment, set out on the southern road, all together assemble at Helong.

The Emperor arrived in Liaoxi. Wentong dispatched his Attendant Imperial Clerk, Cui Pin to offer and present oxen and alcohol.

On jisi [7 September], the Chariot Drove to arrive at Helong, and overlooked its walls. Wentong's Grand Warden of Shicheng, Li Chong, Grand Warden of Jiande, Wang Rong, and more than ten commanderies came to surrender. Issued out their population, 30 000 people, to dig out encircling moats so as to defend them.

This Month [12 August – 10 September], erected the Eastern Palace.

8th Month, jiaxu [12 September], Wentong sent several ten thousand people to set out from the city and challenge to battle. The Duke of Changli, Yuan Qiu, with the Duke of Hejian, Yuan Qi, struck and routed him. The dead were more than 10 000 people. Wentong's Master of Writing, Gao Shao, led more than 10 000 families to guard Qianghu Stronghold [?].

On jimao [17 September], the Chariot Drove to chastise Shao.

On xinsi [19 September], beheaded him.

Decreed General who Pacifies the East, He Duoluo to attack Wentong's Grand Warden of Daifang, Murong Xuan, at Hou Stronghold; The Great General who Consoles the Army, the King of Yongchang, Jian, to attack Jiande; the Great General of Agile Cavalry, the King of Leping, Pi, to attack Jiyang. All took them. The people who had been captured alive were distributed and bestowed on the generals and soldiers each proportionally.

9th Month, yimao [23 October], the Chariot Drove to return west. Moved the population of Yingqiu, Chengzhou, Liaodong, Lelang, Daifang, and Xuantu commanderies, 30 000 families, to You province, and opened granaries so as to aid them.

Winter, 10th Month, guiyou [10 November], the Chariot Drove to arrive at Ru River.

Tuyuhun Mugui dispatched envoys to court with tribute.

11th Month, yisi [12 December], the Chariot Drove to arrive form the attack on Helong.

12th Month, jichou [25 January], Feng Wentong's Duke of Changle, Chong, and his mother [and?] younger brother Lang, and Lang's younger brother Miao used Liaoxi to belong to the interior. Wentong dispatched general Feng Yu to besiege Liaoxi.

Before this, commenced summoning the worthy and good, but in the provinces and commanderies there was much pressure to dispatch them. A decree said:

We eliminated the pretenders and pacified the brutal, campaigning and chastising for several years. Thinking to obtain the gallant and worthy, joining together splendour and governing the Way, for that reason decreed the provinces and commanderies to seek out and praise the hidden and unattached, to advance and lift up the worthy and capable.

The lordly masters of ancient times, nourished aspirations for a crossbeam gate, their virtue completing legacy and achievements, their talents were indulged [by?] their generation. Some of a harmonious look and elegant step, after instructed three times then they arrived. Some fussed and rushed, fearful and fretful, carrying the cauldron and then freed themselves. Though they followed [?] rather dissimilarly, they aided the times as one.

The various summoned people all will be presented the notification with courtesy, trusting them to advance or withdraw, what is there about pressuring to dispatch them! These Inspectors, wardens and stewards circulating praise [but] neglecting the purpose, how then to brilliantly increase, therefore are the means by which to make clear Our lack of virtue.

From now and afterwards, each will order the hamlets and villages to push forward and advance, the wardens and stewards are only circulate Our humble heart's thoughts of seeking the worthy. On arrival, at that time, since they are lifted up out of order, follow their talents in civil and military matters, and rely on them with government affairs. Should clarify and circulate the directive, so that all cause it to be heard and known.

This Year, Tufa Rutan's son Baozhou abandoned Juqu Mengxun and came running. Used Baozhou as Duke of Zhangye.