#i mean this in both rhink and non rhink ways

[buttercreamdicks]

A thing I like to wonder is how much was Rhett & Link’s relationship shaped by the fact that, per Rhett’s comments about his childhood, when they were kids he always thought Link was kind of weird, kind of a baby, kind of behind Rhett in a lot of ways…but then Link grew up to be undeniably smoking hot.

[asherlockstudy]

okay. i am asking anonymously because i enjoy rhink being with their wives and with each other. however, i have been reading some of your theories and thinking things.

as i listen more and a little closer, i wonder if they are still with their wives due to their upbringing. not a huge earbisuits listener, so i listened to that specific part you mentioned. 30 minute argument over WALKING? and Rhett was so determined to be right. and Link and Christy clearly have more problems than i thought if she retreats to the garage.

both relationships are clearly mostly still together due to their religious backgrounds. they just decided it would always work? which clearly means there are times they thought it wouldn't but they wouldn't let themselves. evangelicals do tend to be pretty big on not getting divorced.

i also wonder about that honeymoon night in the bathtub that i still dont know the full story. maybe the two really do love each other but, for as much as they've deconstructed, are not able to take this final leap and that makes me sad.

Unfortunately this mail came before the recent judgemental anon but I am answering it afterwards so... yeah... you and I might make someone mad... anyway. Perhaps I won't tag this,I hope you see it.

I think staying together due to the upbringing could be one of the reasons or it could have been a more significant reason in the past. But aren't they done being evangelicals at this point? I mean, don't they realise that by shedding the faith, they could also shed this belief for being tightly associated to the faith?

Then again it could be bigger than them, like you said. However, I think there is more. First of all, the marriage that downright seems forced to me is Link's. Sorry. I don't want it to be like that but for every good thing he mentions about his marriage, he mentions another 99 negative ones. I do think Link would like to end things. But Christy doesn't, both because she is the one sticking most to the faith still but also I think she is still into Link, despite Link getting on her nerves... basically all the time, as it seems.

Rhett's is so much harder to tell because he is always acting up so much. For all we know, it could be a great marriage or at least it could be good enough to not end up in a divorce or maybe they have an arrangement that makes it work in some way. Let's not forget that around 2018, Rhett talked ALL THE FREAKING TIME about that year being a milestone in his marriage because he and Jessie had a huge "talk" that kind of led to a new era in their relationship. And then one of those times Link let it slip (probably intentionally) that he was present in the "talk"! (However, granted, it seemed like there were other people there too.) This was the era before the shipper mass exit so almost everybody here concluded that Rhett meant he had opened his marriage. I don't know what it was (I doubt this would be decided in front of others) but in any case I do think the McLaughlins would reach some sort of non-traditional agreement to make things work out more readily than the Neals. Neither Link nor Christy would go for such solutions, they seem to be both raging monogamists. Which is why Link seems to suffer so much in his situation, especially if he also has feelings for Rhett.

Now, Rhett is a pretty sexual being. He's acting up about many things but not for this one. So for him to stay loyal and committed (aside from whatever might or might not be happening with Link) probably takes extra commitment and work from him than from anyone else in this story. This could make any relationship for him to start feeling tedious or oppressive after so many years. He is so focused on commitment that you might be right that it could be the religion holding him still. In any case, it is admirable how eager he is to stay committed. But let's be real, part of it is also how much Rhett fears that a divorce would make others and his relatives consider him a failure as a family man / husband.

BTW the 30 minute walking debate didn't seem that strange to me. Rhett loves to debate and win debates. Even Jessie at some point confirmed that she was done with Rhett always trying to be correct, so maybe she started being competitive just to get to him. I don't think that seemed serious. What seemed serious IMO in that segment was that Link's mouth got so downturned I thought he was fighting back tears..... Well, he certainly looked sad!

[becausethathappens]

Was reading your Rhink discourse re: "we could never date." (Just speculatin' here) Link mentioned on an EB that Christy and he saw a Christian relationship mentor when they were dating and he was perfectionistic about doing everything right. Kind of wonder if this created very rigid and narrow definitions of various relationship types?

gosh, i wanted to reply to this before, but i had too much to say and i'm still not sure where to start, but HARD AGREE.

like okay, i know we're partway here because they're both beautiful people who fit together so snugly both physically and emotionally and would have riotously athletic sex, yes. of course.

but also i think we all just see the truth of the fact that they clearly had religion involved in their day-to-day existence at a near-intravenous level. they’ve vocally moved past binary thinking about a lot of topics. it’s interesting to a lot of people the ones they remain almost deliberately uncurious about. i don’t even have to write it here and you can guess a couple. almost like they know a pandora’s box when they see one. almost like we all recognize the reticence from personal experience.

i think you’re dead-on, basically. and as a lapsed catholic, the movie license to wed is putting it lightly. that stuff really exists. people really treat relationships, marriage, children, etc. as circles on a scantron you have to fill in with the right lead to get a pass from saint peter. from my own direct experience: if you do not meet certain guidelines, you can’t get married or raise children in a church. (i mean, we’re worse in some ways, since we weren’t supposed to use birth control. unrelated, my great aunt is youngest of thirteen. 🙃) i can only imagine their version of those kinds of rules and expectations were even more rigid and unforgiving. ours was more of a social pressure and could be thrown to the side with confession.

their version is more demanding, clearly. they let it dictate their friendships, their relationships, everything. but on the flipside, what’s the point in reflecting on that behavior being wrong or a mistake if you’d just repeat it? wouldn’t dating someone nowadays mean they wouldn’t have to match those same unreal expectations and standards? they act like if they were to start dating tomorrow, they’d have to go by buies creek pre-willenium rules or something. would they anticipate doing all that with another woman, today? no. 

in the anniversary origins behind the scenes they did, link seemed shocked when they drilled down and rhett admitted he wasn’t a fan of the several recurring jokes. link knew enough to tease him, that he gets grumbly about them, but hearing him say he genuinely got frustrated creatively over it had link shook. one might wonder, how could link, the person he’s making these jokes to and with, most of the time, not know rhett had grown tired of it? well, because link finds it funny. so he maintains the bit routine for link. he knows link wants the comfort and familiarity, both himself and on behalf of a portion of the audience. so, what’s he going to do? not make link happy? jeopardize their norms for his own preference? retire something they’ve both committed to for no good reason? of course not.

now take that level of energy and patience and apply it to literally any “deal-breaker” element of link’s day-to-day. rhett makes these types of concessions non-stop. that’s what partners do. just because it’s about comedy doesn’t mean the same can’t be true of other areas. that’s why in depth interviews with them feel like couples therapy. they clearly don’t talk much about the why behind the way that they are for the same reason you don’t pull loose threads on a beloved sweater. and we all know the care they put into keeping their literal wardrobe just as immaculate.

realistically, if rhett were going to quit link, he would’ve done so in middle school, or high school, or college, or after work, or marriage, or kids. there have been plenty of average excuses to tap out, but he has never taken them. it is just never going to happen. he needs to stop thinking in such extremes because even if they were the reality, rhett would bend long before he’d ever break.

still, link will say things like “we could never date” as though we don’t know that. yeah no kidding, you were married at first sight. but by all means, go ahead and make a little faux courtship list of demands and watch rhett meet them anyway. 🙈

[deadlymodern]

hi super sorry to bother u but i have really important question I need to ask you my dear dickinson lover, what do you rhink of emily and ben? pls answer carefully there is a right and wrong answer! (also are u white? i know ur like from brazil but like i know there alsowhite people there and like im german and im not so eh)

Hi, don’t worry, you’re not bothering me :)

Yes, I’m a white latina. Though I’ve been categorized as latina as if it were a race countless times before by non-South Americans (mostly US/Canadian & Europeans). And they expected me to speak Spanish and smile when they said “your culture is so exotic” 🤪

Fun fact: Brazil (and the whole South America) is very plural and diverse! So, yes, there are many white people here as well as black (more than half of the population), indigenous, asian etc.

Anyways, let’s move on to Dickinson lsdjfdlfs. Is there a right answer? Fuck, I’m anxious now LOL.

Honestly, I love Ben and Emily.

I think the way Dickinson deals with sexuality is so organic and realistic. I love how we get bisexual representation from both of them, it’s so important! And not only they have a wonderful friendship/connection, but also I feel that Ben’s presence was an extremely important turning point to Emily’s character.

Up until they met, Emily thought she had only 2 options: she could either get married or die alone. With Ben, she realized that there are plenty more ways to live life. You can be together, unmarried. You can marry and not have children. You can love someone and it can have different nuances. It allowed her to see much more of life’s possibilities (and, therefore, accentuated how trapped she actually was).

Also, it was the first time she saw herself without Sue. Sue was moving on with her life and Emily was stagnated, waiting for her, hoping for any ounce of her love and attention. I’m not even sure if Emily knew who she was without Sue! It’s such a huge character evolution to have her explore her sexuality, her desires. To get in touch with everything she negated so harshly before. It doesn’t mean she loves Sue any less, though! Ben and Emily’s relationship never changed that. And I think it’s brilliant that they show these two relationships co-existing.

To me, Dickinson is just fantastic and it deals with human emotions and affections outstandingly! I hope that’s the “right answer” but I stand true to my opinion regardless sdhuifhuishfudi.

Thanks for the ask, hope you’re having a good week xx

[clemwasjustagirl]

Writing Tag

I was tagged by @linkslipssinkships for this writing tag thingamajig. So when I haven’t actually written and I’ve just talked about myself, y’all should blame her ;)

Post-doing this note: If you’re a writer and see this, you should totally do it. I don’t often spend time being particularly thoughtful about why I write what I write. 

1. How long have you been writing? Did you dive in or did it take awhile?

I dove in pretty hard just over a year ago into the rhink fandom stuff. I’ve been writing stuff that only I ever saw for a very long time before that. I also studied writing in college.

2. What’s your favorite genre? (for writing or reading). Is there anything in particular that draws you to it?

I really like reading dystopian fiction. I fell in love with Margaret Atwood’s books in high school (a decade ago…) and have since been pretty obsessed with reading and writing stories about women. Which has made the whole almost exclusively writing men thing sort of weird for me. My writing (when I do it, I haven’t been good about it) that’s not about rhink is about women.

3. How many projects do you have currently? Are they connected or do they stand apart from each other?

Oh gosh. So many. I’m still working on Do You Wish It Was Me and True Blue. I have at least one outstanding almost-written one shot. @mythicalseries and I are GOING TO work on A Country of Two, and I have so so many other things I’m constantly wishing I could write. Alllllll the plot bunnies.

Also one book(?) idea I’ve done some work on that’s not related to a fandom.

4. Do you have a favorite “type” of main character to write with?

copy/paste that answer about writing women from above, I guess. When it comes to writing rhink, I find myself connecting more with pining!Rhett than with Link for whatever reason. I think it has something to do with his personality seeming less like myself. Link seems like a very complicated person, and after all this time I’m still not sure I’ve ever nailed him.

5. What kind of scenes do you enjoy writing most? Do you find them harder or easier to write?

Fights! They’re both hard and easy, I guess, in that I almost always start writing a fight scene with an idea of how the two characters will handle it. They also leave a lot of room for all kinds of feels.

6. What comes first when you first start: characters, world, or plot? A combination? Or are they a package deal?

I haven’t written a lot of rhink AU, but when I have, it’s been the characters that came to me first. I think that’s mostly true in writing non-rhink, but my project right now was very much a world that came to me. Still working through what the plot looks like, and it’s a little scary.

7. How much do you know about the worlds you create? Do you plan everything down to the finest detail or make it up on the fly as it becomes relevant?

I do a great deal of making things up on the fly, but, especially when I write rhink, I research pretty extensively. “What’s that building they’re standing in front of?” has turned into searching for decades-old property records for me. Especially with True Blue.

8. What kind of characters do you usually have front and center? Humans? Elves? Aliens? Dragons? Dogs? Sentient trees?

Just humans for now. And for the foreseeable future.

9. If you could pick one OC to drag out into the real world with you, who would you pick and why?

I don’t think he counts, but definitely Link from Comin’ On Strong. Mannnnn he was hot and he would be so much fun to go to bars with.

10. What is your current project? Tell us about it.

Do You Wish It Was Me and True Blue are my focus right now.

11. Do you have a writing group or community? Any place you go to plot or share ideas?

@linkslipssinkships and @mythicalseries! If I have an idea about True Blue lately, LLSS has been forced to hear it. It was sooo much fun brainstorming ideas in person with MS! <3

12. Do you have a favorite OC? Like, someone you have to give some happy ending or that you dislike being mean to?

I tend to write a lot of stuff trying to make it realistic, so I don’t have many OCs… I guess I’d have to say Beverly, from my fic Freedom to Stay. She was really into Rhett, but she knew Rhett needed a chance to see what would happen with Link. That’s actually one of my favorite fics I’ve written.

13. Do you write in short bursts or sit and type out a lot? Do you think your method helps or are you just happy to even get words down?

It really depends. There have been some days where I sit down and write most of a fic and times when I add a few words and walk away. Anything in between. I think not having a method certainly doesn’t work, because getting words down is a big thing for me these days.

14. Do you have a project that you just abandoned, or one that you put on the back burner because you wanted to wait until you’d cultivated your skills more?

True Blue, I guess. Not put it on the backburner to get better so much as to make sure when I’m writing it I do it how I want it. That fic is my baby, and I liked how the first couple chapters turned out, and now I’m terrified to add things to it and screw it up.

15. What is your favorite character trope? Do you use it in your own writing?

Pining, for sure. Especially for rhink fics. I don’t know that I’ve written any fics that don’t have some level of pining in them. For the person the character doesn’t have or for more certainty with them or for more of a commitment. Writing rhink really brings that out in me.

16. Any writers/authors you look up to or who have influenced your writing style?

I certainly hope so. Without any insinuation that my writing is *anything* like theirs, I’ll say that I love authors like Margaret Atwood and Kurt Vonnegut who can say a whole lot in a very small number of words. My favorite comments ever are about one word saying a lot.

17. Do you find it more difficult to write short stories or novels?

I love writing short things, for the same reason as above. I’ve never written a novel, but I think the length and the extension of long plots would inherently make them more difficult.

18. Have you ever imagined your ideal cover art for your writing? What does it look like?

Not really! I’m someone who deeply appreciates the visual arts but has a very limited ability to create any. Anatomical hearts, perhaps, for much of it.

19. What style of writing do you like reading or writing more? Simple and to the point? Descriptive and prosey?

Yes to both? Simple and to the point that is also descriptive and prosey is the ultimate challenge and the most beautiful when done right.

20. Would you rather see your story produced as a film, mini series, or musical/play?

The way TV is going lately, give me a mini series any day.

[analyzingrhink-blog]

Analyzing Rhink - The kiss that started it all

Introduction to the madness/discussions

In discussing our head canons for these two amazing men, and their epic love for each other, we talked about when we thought their relationship changed from epic soulmates to soul mates who fuck.

After a very loooong ass discussion, where we flailed incoherently for 28 pages, we came to the same conclusion: The romantic/sexual side of their relationship is only a very recent thing. We don't think they’ve been sleeping together for years. We pinpointed the beginning of “something more” to the News Musical: Wedding Fail episode, better known as the Newsical-kiss, Plexi-kiss or the kiss that nearly killed the Rhink fandom.

We believe that the aftermath of the plexi-kiss showed them a side to their relationship that was previously, completely unexplored. This got them thinking, questioning what was between them. It made them realize feelings that they a) didn’t know they had and b) didn’t know how to deal with. Unfortunately, Rhett and Link didn’t kiss through the plexi-glass and ride off into the sunset. We think the aftermath of the plexi-kiss led to more denial and a great deal of angst. The plexi-kiss was a catalyst and where the change in their relationship began.

We invite you relax, take a seat and listen to our theory of how the plexi-kiss punched Rhett and Link in the face with feels.

So let's talk about that.

Our theory: Or better known as Plexi-gate

We share the headcanon that Rhett and Link didn’t progress their relationship until much, much later in life. Because it took that long to acknowledge and understand themselves.

These two men clearly share a relationship that transcends anything you could call ‘best friends’. They’ve been friends for 30+ years. And after all this time, they still adore each other, want to spend all their time together and genuinely care and love each other.

originally posted by mclaughneal

They couldn’t imagine their lives apart, so they went to the same university and took the same courses. And when Rhett wanted to move and pursue his dream, Link didn’t hesitate to follow him. Because Link couldn’t live in a world where he didn’t have Rhett in his life everyday. And if for some reason Link couldn’t go with Rhett, Rhett wouldn’t have left. Because he couldn’t live without Link.

How do two people who love each other so much -who are beyond just best friends, bordering on soul mates - take so long to realize they are in love with each other and finally do something about it?

To understand that. You need to first look at where they came from.

Rhett and Link’s Background: Buies Creek, North Carolina

Not only was the world a much less accepting place forty years ago, they came from a small town in southern USA. Rhett and Link were raised in an environment where having feelings for a man wasn’t just wrong, it wasn’t even on their radar. Some people may or may not understand this, but when you're raised in a very strict Christian homophobic household, bisexual people can deny an entire side of themselves. So much so, that it makes it hard to notice when they having feelings for the same sex, especially if they fall in love with someone of the opposite gender, because it can feel natural.. But there is in fact a side of yourself that is being denied because you were taught it was wrong.

Which is why we think they hadn’t really even thought about each other that way, fleetingly if at all.

The move to CA

So you may ask why did it take Rhett and Link so long to ‘get it together?’ It takes quite a bit of time to unlearn deeply ingrained ideas taught to us when we are young.

We believe that a huge changing agent for Rhett and Link was the move to CA. Before that, we don't think they would have had the exposure to the world outside of small town NC and outside of conservative Christian ideals that allow them to think of each other in non platonic ways.

The move to CA also came at a time when their Internetainment careers were beginning to skyrocket, and their new working relationship was becoming legitimate. New dynamics such as that can really change something in a relationship.

There’s a higher level of trust involved in committing to a move and partnership that big too. By moving to CA and forming a company they effectively put the fate of their careers, finances and ultimately their families in each other's hands.

Even with all this happening, it still took some time. Its believable that it took many years on top of the change of location, exposure to new people and ideas and definitely their age and developing relational dynamics to open their minds to new and startling possibilities.

Without all these factors lining up in the proper way, Rhett and Link may not have ever realized that this is the kind of thing that they could have. Their background and the ideals they grew up with would not allow it.

It's rather heartbreaking to think that they could have been loving each other for many years, and not ever realizing what it was because of their upbringing.

What caused the kiss?

Honesty, this kiss does not seem preplanned. It was not a ploy to see how far they could push each other or to reveal secret feelings at this time. Rhett and Link were just following the natural progression of the story and following each others’ lead. They were just going with it, like they always do.

The story didn’t call for a kiss through a prison glass. We’re sure the plexi-glass was just a prop, same as the wig. But these two clever cupcakes, who regularly pull hilarious and entertaining things at whim, were just following their creativity.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

As you can see in the above gif, it’s Rhett who asked Link to kiss him through the glass and Link didn’t even hesitate. These two have been bouncing ideas off each other their entire lives. One throws something at the other, who bats it back and fills in any gaps along the way.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

This easy and almost second nature reactivity to each other is what makes them so successful.

But it also means that they often don't think too hard about something before doing it. Because they trust each other so completely and aren’t afraid to take the jump. You can see that they in the moment and totally engrossed in their characters.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

In the above gif, you can see that Link was working off of Rhetts cues. He is so lost in in the progression of the scene and the character that he even kissed the glass a second time, after Rhett had pulled away. Link’s brain certainly was not in the driver’s seat, as all his actions indicate that he was responding to Rhett’s direction. This has always been their dynamic, Rhett asks and Link follows.

Link was not the only perpetrator of thoughtlessness. It is clear that they both weren’t thinking about what they were doing, which is why this was such an important event. They didn’t think about how they would feel after, they didn’t think at all. Neither realized that “Oh, this may be weird. Rhett just asked me to kiss him.”

This scene certainly affected them both in a significant way that they didn’t even consider. And it is evident how much it did affect them by their body language towards each other afterwards.

Link’s Reactions and Body Language

Originally posted by graveyard-whistler

Originally posted by graveyard-whistler

originally posted by silentbelvedere

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

To fully understand the impact this kiss had on Link, we need to understand the man. Link tends to live in a world where his emotions are out in the open and he finds it difficult, nay impossible to shut these feelings down. Everything about Link is a bundle of expression, with his hands moving, eyebrows waggling all over the place and his blue eyes sparkling with his thoughts. The man wears his heart on his sleeve and has no brain to mouth filter. It's not hard at all to work out what's going on in his brain.

Therefore, his face and body language are a clear indicator of the wide array of emotions he was experiencing the moment his lips left Rhett’s.

Link’s resulting reaction to the kiss was very telling. His feelings were all over his face and it seems like he had been hit by a truck. By observing Link’s body language and facial features, it can be concluded that it wasn’t embarrassment he was feeling, if you look closely Link’s face is one of complete shock.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

His eyes are wide, his face is flushed and he is breathing heavily, his chest visibly heaving. Link doesn’t seem like he can move, his body is frozen and he can’t even look away from the camera.

Also Link, not being one that can keep his mouth shut, says EXACTLY how he feels.

“Oh Goodness”

“I don't know what to say at this point”

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

We know you don’t Link. Because you look like you’ve been hit in the face with a realization hammer.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

As the video progresses, Rhett appears to be pushing forward, while Link is still stuck in the moment of the kiss. It is apparent that Link is still stunned judging by the look on his face and his posture. He still has his hand up to his ear like a telephone as if he can’t even move his body, and if his eyes got any wider, they’d burst out of his head. Link’s mind must have been the equivalent of a squirrel on speed in this moment. You can almost read the thoughts going through his mind just as clearly as if he were speaking them out loud:

“Omg what….what is this?... Why do I feel this way… Why is my heart beating so hard?”

Link is an exceptional actor. We have seen him use a variety of expressions and gestures for the benefit of entertainment. But in this moment, Link has stopped acting. And he certainly isn't reacting like he’s just had another awkward moment on the camera for the benefit of comedy. It was the look of a person who had just received their first kiss from their crush, one they didn’t even know existed. It was like Link had just woken up.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

Yeah Link. We know, wow.

In the above gif, you can see how Link just barely pulls himself back from the brink of hysterical laughter before he finally releases his “grip” on his phone hand. His mind and body are just starting to catch up to one another as he finally lets his arm fall to his side. The two parts of himself are starting to move at the same speed, but it hasn’t diminished the swirling emotions that are still written all over him. From his flushed face to his sighs and mumbling, you can tell he has not fully recovered his composure. It’s like the world is just beginning to come back into focus, but he has not even begun to work out what this all means to himself, to Rhett or their partnership.

Rhett’s Reactions and Body Language

originally posted by thenthekneehits

At first glance, one would say that Rhett was not nearly as impacted by this kiss as Link was. While Link looks like he’s had a visitation by god, Rhett looks like he’s gotten back down to business and moved on.

The significance of Rhett’s reaction is that Rhett tends to play things closer to his chest.  Where Link is impetuous and you can see his emotions plainly, Rhett is trapped inside his own mind, which makes him much harder to read. He always seems to be less upset over things, but that is because his emotions stay inside of him, while Link’s flail all over the place.

Rhett is a thoughtful guy.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

And those thoughts tend to stay exactly where they are.  A self proclaimed introvert, he is not prone to sharing much of what goes on inside. Revealing too much of his inner workings makes him vulnerable, which makes these obvious feelings that much more powerful. These emotions that he allowed on his face and in his gestures reveal something deep and important and speaks volumes of the propensity of the situation.

So it would be easy to say Rhett was unaffected by the kiss because he was very quick to push away the awkwardness and continue the show like always. The fact of the matter is, Rhett felt the emotion of the kiss acutely. We believe he was going through the same reactions as Link, but experiencing it internally rather than externally.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

As you can see here, Rhett is trying to work out what the hell to do and Link is SO offline that Rhett is basically left to sink or swim on his own.

You can see him trying to work out. What the hell this boy is doing? Is he still in character? Are we still acting?

Rhett keeps looking to the monitor, trying to gauge what Link’s face is doing.  Rhett’s still got his phone hand up to his face, because Link has.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

 You can see Rhett is thinking so damn hard. His face is twitching, his eyes are looking all over the place and his brain is in overdrive. He is looking to his friend for the next move and is struggling to figure out if this act has gone off the rails or not. There is a moment of recognition when Rhett realizes that Link is no longer acting and that his responses are true to life.

“Yep, okay. I don't think we’re acting anymore. I don't know what Link is saying. Come on Mclaughlin, do something.”

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

And do something he does. He spurs into action.

All the while Link is imploding, his emotions are leaking to the surface while Rhett is focused on halting his internal meltdown, frantic to pick up the pieces and get on with the show. Rhett is aware that he has lost Link, but is incapable of pulling the man back from the space he is in. So in order to deal with the situation, Rhett flies into fix it mode.

Keep it moving, maybe we will fall into step together.

Step by step, Rhett pulls away from the kiss, puts the plexi glass down and starts talking to the camera.

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

Despite his efforts to remain calm and keep things chugging along, you can see he is on the precipice of losing all semblance of control, same as Link.

originally posted by rtr-gifs

Rhet has a tell when he’s nervous. We all do. It's generally a self soothing gesture. It doesn’t always mean you’re uncomfortable. But it's definitely something you do when you are.

Rhett is a beard stroker.

originally posted by remembertherandler

Rhett tends to not be a fidgety person when he’s relaxed. He’s not a nervous energy bunny like Link. When he’s chill, he’s chill. When he’s not entirely chill, he might play with his beard, or play with the hair at the back of his neck.

Rhett is in danger mode here, we’ve never seen him move so much. He is the most fidgety fidget man in these gifs. Touching his face, his beard, playing with the wig,and touching his mouth.

While Link has barely moved, Rhett is nearly ready to climb out of his skin.  

originally posted by graveyard-whistler

This scene was a rarity for this pair because the way Rhett and Link function is clear. When one fails the other swiftly takes over without a beat.  In the case of this unexpected kiss, both brains were taken by surprise and went off kilter.

Link was completely lost and was of no help to Rhett. Rhett struggled to keep everything going, but you can see that he was not only affected by the kiss, he was REALLY affected by Link’s visceral reaction afterwards.

Link, the bouncy energy-bound puppy, had an almost freeze-frame brain malfunction and cool, calm and collected Rhett nearly spiralled himself into the sun.

When usually this duo can just feed off each other almost telepathically,  this episode demonstrates that this kiss left them stranded and unable to work out where to go.

Aftermath of Kiss/Why Release the Episode

The aftermath of the kiss is very closely related to the release of the episode. Why would they release an episode, or even just that scene, if it was so damn clear, to god and everyone, that they had a bone-deep reaction to kissing each other? Even through a sheet of plastic.

And that can be answered by a river in Egypt. Denial.

When you don't understand something, something so very profound that it drops you on your head and wrecks everything you thought you knew….well, it's safer just to pretend that it doesn’t exist because the alternative is terrifying and life changing.

Which is why they released the episode. If they didn’t release it, they’d have to acknowledge that there was something wrong with it and that the reactions meant something.

So release it and it just becomes …”Oh hahahah aren’t we funny and stupid!”

If they don’t  release it, uncomfortable questions start to arise, questions they weren’t prepared to give life to by answering.

Which leads nicely into the next thought. They definitely did not talk about how this episode made them feel. Which is strange, because being friends for so many years, you would think that they would talk about everything. For as many times as fans have commented on their closeness, you can bet that people that interact with Rhett and Link in their everyday lives have commented on it twice as much. Which begs the question, why lock these emotions in a box and send it down the river?

It was clear that instead of having a open realization, feelings were repressed even further because they both were not ready for it. They weren’t ready for how it made them feel and for how it made them question what they meant to each other. This is the first time they’d been put into a situation where their defenses were down, unwittingly throwing them head first into each other, smashing and shattering the puzzle pieces of their relationship and leaving them to reassemble it.

They were forced to acknowledge what the scene made them feel,but their feelings were only given a cursory glance before they were shoved deep down again, back to where they had emerged from.

They needed time to assemble the puzzle back together, but this was definitely not the time or place. They were different people and just not ready. Time‘s fingers had not reached them and taken hold yet, not allowing them to accept their feelings. They were still stuck in the limbo of self doubt and disbelief.  

Because it's one thing to love your best friend. But it's another to want your best friend.

So what happened next?

Denial would only get them so far. It may have worked for them in the past, (which saw them through the “no homo” days of the Kasts) but ignoring a big physical realization like this would only work for a short time. We think the tension between them would have erupted eventually. They would have fought it until they finally acted on how they felt OR at least talked about it openly.

So what happened next? That is another analysis for another time.

Originally posted by mythical-shippings

First things first we have some people to thank. We’ve had some help with this very scientific post.

Thanks to @afangirlsplaylist for her amazing help with editing. After staring at this for as long as we have, it was good to have a second...third? Pair of eyes to see our mistakes. Also she made a few really good points that added to our theories.

Thanks to @remembertherandler for helping us with gif searching and providing us with gifs. I swear girl, I didn’t think I’d ever find that gif. You’re amazing.

Thanks to @graveyard-whistler , @silentbelvedere , @thenthekneehits @mythical-shippings, @mclaughneal for your amazing gifs and pics which helped us illustrate the science.

And lastly, thank you dear and lovely reader! We had a lot of fun writing this. Never have we had so much fun in a fandom, before. Be your mythical best.

[asherlockstudy]

Ofc they might come out I'm not saying they're 100% straight. And if they came out I'd support them fully. But this doesn't mean you should speculate about this or them being in a relationship(which they said a lot of times that they're not). We don't know them. We don't know these people or how things work for them. I never said your blog is dangerous or whatever I'm saying the way you assume their lives and "announcements" are delusional and parasocial. If they came out they'd come out. If they're in a non monogamous relationship (which again they said a lot of times that they're with their wives) and they're dating, good. But this doesn't mean you can come here and talk about how they are cheating on their wives or waiting for their kids to leave home kinda bullshit. That's delulu. Also their kids are old enough to use the internet I hope you realize that at one point.

So no matter what they do, you'll support them unconditionally, but if I am proven right for any of my suspicions, I will have been delusional all this time? Last time I checked, being proven right is the exact opposite of being delusional.

Then you say both "I never said your blog is dangerous" and also "hope you realise that their kids can see this". Make up your mind. I explained this in the very previous mail but you walked past it:

For the kids to be able to find this, there is no other way except coming to tumblr and searching for rhink content in specific, let alone that a lot of my latest stuff is UNTAGGED. Even my blog theme has nothing to do with R&L. So it will take a lot of targeted search on their part to find speculative content about their fathers.

And let's say they find this. There are two ways that this would make sense to go.

a) The kids, because they are the kids, they know infinitely better their parents than I do, and so when they see this, they go like "what a bunch of crap by a randomer haha" and go on with their lives.

b) The other way this can go is that these posts strangely alarm them...why??? Because they don't know their parents well enough? They expect someone from a different continent to tell them what 's going on? Because they see truth in what is discussed here? In the mad case it is so (and I sincerely hope this can not ever be the case), then their major problem is what is really happening and not me suspecting that it is happening.

Can you wrap your head around that or not? The kids do not rely on me to tell them what is going on in their family. One can not be 100% okay with their dad sucking his friend's nipples in front of thousands of viewers but have a problem with (a) random viewer(s) thinking "well there might be a reason they do all this shit because other people are money-grabbers too but they ain't THAT desperate". Either they are gonna mind neither or both, and if they mind both they will mind what their dad is doing first and not what the unknown X somewhere on the planet is concluding because of it.

And honestly with all your discourse you're making this a lot more uncomfortable for whomever is reading it. It's you who bring up the kids and the families and assume their interaction with the content here. I have repeatedly said I doubt and I do not wish that any of this content could reach any of them. This content is meant to stay here only. I have heard some people ask them and the kids directly about the rings and all that crap - now that's fucked up indeed. The only thing I am doing is saying "hey they literally said this which honestly can only mean that" in my blog. You say "you can't do that here" here, where? I can't think in my own blog?

If my reasoning seems "delulu" to you, I am fine with it. It's okay, you've made yourself understood from the first time already. How much longer are we going to be discussing this? I am delulu, okay, got it. If you keep repeating yourself, I can't keep responding forever. Even a delulu gets bored eventually.

[asherlockstudy]

I got into gmm fandom this year and I love these 2 old men extremely, and I recently read your discussions about Link's psyche and the ear biscuits commentary and I totally relate to you. I couldn't find anything that you wrote about the competition eb#255. I'm very interested in your thoughts on this particular episode since your ideas on their psychology really fascinates me. Will you please share?

First of all, thank you for your kind words!

The truth is I certainly have an opinion on the competition episode but I was hesitant to post anything about it because I wasn’t sure whether that would push any boundaries. Since you asked, I am going to tell you, but I would like to stress to any MB who will read this that this theory / analysis works through a Rhink perspective or at least the perspective of an intense friendship, which I think their friendship is anyway, so you need to be in that mindset from the beginning. This is obviously my personal take on their conversation; the way the puzzle pieces fit inside my mind if you will. It can be as far from the truth as Rhink itself in general. Technically it can be read out of the Rhink lens but IMO it makes more sense this way, so I’m gonna tag this only as #rhink. 

Now let’s actually go to the topic in question. Rhett and Link are both competitive but in different ways and for different reasons and to different targets.

Rhett is naturally competitive. Or maybe not naturally per se, as I think this competitiveness was planted inside him by his father. His father expected him to be good at everything, an expectation that Rhett then internalized and simply never escaped from. His competitiveness might be maximized by feelings of insecurity and self-consciousness. If Rhett cares so much what people think of him, it’s only natural that he wants to ensure that people will think highly of him and that requires him to be good, look good and always perform well. The more Rhett loves and is loved by a person, he’s sooomewhat more relaxed in revealing his weaknesses. Rhett is always competitive but he’s less competitive with his close friends and family than with strangers. Rhett would take 100 defeats from Link than one from any other youtuber. And like he said, Rhett doesn’t mind losing to his sons because he wants them to do well and because, duh, they are McLaughlins and they are proof success still runs in HIS family.

Link is insecure too but handled it for the most part of his life in a completely different way. I have the impression that until 5-6 years ago Link had resigned and lived defeated inside his insecurity. His own insecurity stems from lack of self-worth, which probably stems from feelings of abandonness in his childhood. Let alone that if there’s any truth to the queer!Link theory, he also felt socially and religiously alienated from everyone around him, most importantly Rhett, and all this suffered in silence. This is why his insecurity is associated mostly with the people close to him and not strangers. Link doesn’t care much if random people think poorly of him which is why he’s not self-conscious and can talk to people. But Link is hurt a lot if a person he loves a lot doubts him or mocks him or simply doesn’t  regard him very highly. He has a primal fear of getting taken in, abandoned or betrayed. He’s grown to become a suspicious person, often entertaining the worse case scenario, fearing that a person he loves could actually not love or respect him back as sincerely. As an example, from everything they’ve said I have the impression Link adored Rhett when they were children. He looked up to him and Rhett was some sort of role model for him. Link didn’t have many other friends and certainly not others like Rhett and the rest of his time he spent mostly alone in his home. Meanwhile, Rhett had more variety in his life: he had other friends, including Ben whom he admired so much, hobbies and an obsession with girls. So it’s safe to assume that Link was more “there” for Rhett than Rhett was “there” for him, without that meaning IN ANY WAY that Rhett didn’t love him as much. But Link couldn’t know that - and when Rhett was busying himself with something else, his feelings of abandonness and lack of self-worth intensified.

I think Link never escaped from these feelings.There were some GMM episodes where Link has implied that he often feels Rhett takes him for granted and shouldn’t. In short, Link loathes that he feels uncertain in his friendship with Rhett whereas Rhett feels perfectly sure in it. This, especially at a point 4-5 years ago, when Link started changing stylistically and in the way he carried himself (we can only guess why), it was also the time Link’s efforts to fight that feeling of defeat especially around Rhett reached their peak.

I trust Rhett’s input in this. I don’t doubt Rhett senses competitiveness coming from Link’s side. What Rhett might not understand is that Link is not globally competitive but mostly towards certain people, including him, first and foremost.  Things such as vanity, overt enthusiasm when winning, “OOOOH HA-HA-HA-HA” when Rhett got insulted, “I prefer time with my wife”, “I can’t be always there for you”, “I have other friends beside you Rhett” are some random examples of this overcompensation that is the unconventional competitiveness Link feels against Rhett. “Against” is a strong word though because I believe Link doesn’t do any of this to bring Rhett down but rather to go up and be on the same level as him. NOTE: I don’t believe Link is in any way lower, I believe Link fears this is the case. Link dreams of an entirely equal and balanced relationship between them, not because it isn’t so, but because he has invested so much in Rhett that he constantly fears everything he can lose. He wants Rhett to look up to him, to admire him so that he can keep him, and moreover keep him eternally interested and intrigued. In short, he wants Rhett to feel the way he feels about him and he thinks this cannot be as long as Rhett takes him for granted or doesn’t take his skills, mind, virtues and looks seriously. Furthermore, his tendencies to take most of the control in their job and be a perfectionist could also be connected to all that and increase his anxiety associated with the stability of their job.

The problem is that Rhett perhaps doesn’t understand the motive behind Link’s behaviour and interprets it as plain old competitiveness. He’s however, as I felt in the podcast, troubled by it being targeted to him. A remark like “I have other good friends too” is something that makes Link feel more independent from Rhett but Rhett could occasionally get hurt and think “Okay but why does he have to say this to me?”.

This unavoidably is channeled in their business too. A duo of internet celebrities? That’s like the recipe of guaranteed failure! Even non-competitive people have destroyed their businesses and friendships this way. What Rhett and Link have managed so far is world record. Part of their success is how open they are to each other about how they feel. In fact, it was very healthy of Rhett to confess openly that he has some level of “mild envy” about Link doing well in various aspects of the show. This means that Rhett sat down when he experienced these feelings, had a talk with himself and reached the conclusion that he was very happy Link was doing well. He just felt he had to push himself to be as good - not better -  so that he would not feel bad about himself contributing in this show, in this business. And in short, Rhett feels he need to compete with Link in being as likable to the viewers. I consider this totally understandable.

Link was reluctant to speak openly throughout the whole episode. And that was because his answer was not that easy. From everything he said, I was positively surprised that it seemed Link has it all laid out very clearly in his mind - how he acts and why. He just wasn’t willing to explain, particularly in public. This becomes clear towards the end of the podcast - when Rhett is essentially about to lose his mind because Link denies everything, Link starts to say something only to stop and decide he shouldn’t do it eventually. More importantly, Link adds in the end that Rhett made the big mistake to base his understanding of Link’s competitiveness in minor conventional things such as games and job performance. Link said that Rhett was stripping their relationship off of way too many parameters that he wasn’t taking into consideration to reach a valid conclusion. So indeed Link’s competitiveness is a very personal topic with deep roots and IS connected mostly (if not exclusively) to his relationship with Rhett. Link doesn’t want to be better than Rhett either - he wants to be as good as Rhett and be liked by the viewers. Not for the viewers’ sake but in order to rub it in Rhett’s face later. Again, he doesn’t want to hurt Rhett - this is likely a desire for guaranteed continuous attention from Rhett, whatever it takes.

Furthermore, Link always makes sure to draw attention from the audience as much as Rhett, if not more, (which could be fundamentally what Rhett interprets as competitiveness and doesn’t know how to regulate) which is Link’s way to ensure he’s not taken for Rhett’s sidekick (in his own words) by either the viewers or Rhett himself, because inside Link’s full of concerns mind this hits a little too close to home.

Now, if there’s any truth to Rhink, intensify this by 10x.