#its gonna be ok lu guang

[heatwa-ves]

I'm sick

[1-800-i-ship-it]

just watched lcla ep 8 losing my mind i need to stop watching this right before bed...

[degenerateshinji]

no way i actually just got everything but a bingo

happy yingdu/bridon to all who celebrate

how the bingo's looking so far

[hyxsn]

// LINK CLICK YINGDU SPOILERS!!

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idk if i wanted to say this bcs im scared! but! unpopular opinion: its ok to hate lu guang! like ik some people r gonna say that nobody ever said that lg cant be hated, but i saw a person getting pqrt'd bcs they said they were slightly frustrated at lg, or smth like that. and tbh that gave me flashbacks to my previous fandoms that are toxic... i dont want link click to end up like that!!

lu guang is the character that makes us question our morals. which is great. he's our protagonist, but he also does things that are "evil" to save cxs. i remember someone saying he's amoral. i agree. and its ok to support him.

but it's also ok to despise him after a certain answer from a recent interview that . it depends on every person. i have to admit, i also despise him a little.

in a recent interview, the director (i believe) said that changing the timeline caused emma's ending and ltc's appearance to change.

perhaps this is bcs i was thought it this way, but bcs ltc appearance changed, it implies that it affected qian jin, chen bin, liu min, etc to change too. (i was thought event 1 can become the cause to event 4, 5, etc... maybe thats also the butterfly effect? idk!)

now i want to focus on emma's ending. if emma dying is caused by lu guang changing the timeline, its normal to be mad at him! heck, maybe u might even hate him. like i imagine being in emma's parents' shoes. imagine someone one day reveals that a guy who changed the timeline for their lover caused ur daughter to die, i'd be so mad! yes, its unintentional. but as a human, it's normal to get mad at him! how dare u change the point in time where my daughter's fate will change?

also, he should be aware of that drastic consequence. OK ILL STOP NOW.

but also also, again, its ok to still support him. This is coming from a person who personally likes vein. who even likes vein? hes a villain who is a lot more fucked up than we think! meant to be hated! hahaha.

also.. for the ppl who think im writing this bcs lg (?) killed vein and i like vein, i expected vein to die actually.. he's way too strong for season 1 and 2 cxs and lg to stay alive HAHAHA. i always wondered why he never came after them in this tl if he is alive? so my conclusion was that he mustve died or broke his legs or smth idk. him being revived makes sense why he doesnt go after them by s1 and s2. BUT THATS ANOTHER STORY ILL TALK ABT IN A DIFFERENT POST PERHAPS 😭😭 im getting sidetracked SORRY

also lg blood bending ahh powers was lowkey.. 😋.. OK SORRY

he killed him so nonchalantly hes so cool OK SORRY AGAIN AGAIN BYE IM DONE FR

[atlaskrr]

YINGDU FINALE

OK IM FINALLY OUT OF MY TEST NOW. WHEN I TELL YOU IVE NEVER FINISHED A MATH TEST THAT FAST TO EXIT THE ROOM I MEAN IT.

ok so first of all. THAT ENDING??? i was about to close it when suddenly- VEINS ALIVE???? so when director li says someones gonna die.... NOBODY DOES. BROS FUCKING WITH US. also xf's reaction to vein's death 😭 STOP THIS MADNESS. i feel like this is setting him up to be someone who goes agaisnt lg.

ok and when the movie said "i feel like the mastermind hasnt shown up yet" its SO refrencing lx.

next, the whole story both vein and wang qing tell OMG ITS THE HIDDEN CIPHER. THEY FINALLY BROUGHT IT UP. i wonder what charas can connect to which animals.... also, while i my answer is like cxs' i feel as though lg's is def different since they hid. i think its either man or the detective. ykwim. yea.

anyways, the whole thing with cxs' mom. WHAT. so cxs' mom is tryna save his dad.... and LU GUANG IS TRYNA SAVE CXS. THE PARALLELS??? she would so approve of her son in law. anyways i love her. a bit of an unexpected personality but lovely nontheless. it makes the earthquake ep hurt so much more cause cxs DID interact with his mom again. and the fact he changed the photo studios name because of HER. STOP THISSSS. anws now both lg and cxs are hiding secrets from eo lol.

moving on, VEINS DEATH??? like. the. what happened??? does lg have a 3rd power??? it was kinda like he was puppeting wang qing. actually, scratch that does he have 4??? how tf did vein get a fucking heart failure from THAT. HUH.

anyways, cxs mom a baddie, amazing fighter just like her son. and also im so happy i got to hear my girl qls voice again. i cant wait for s3! shits abt to get MESSY.

oh additionally the beginning exchange was so funny lmao. ay, proves cxs isnt homophobic atleast (hes gay asf). the fact he just went "i didnt know i was also this appealing to men" and the way lg was lowk jelly lmaoo.

omg i almost forgot. WHAT WAS THAT ABT XF AND THE OTHER DUDE BEING MISSING. HUH???????? emma flashbacks right then and there. SOMETHINGS COOKING. hopefully vein and xf reunite. lowk love em. also that other dude wtf is going on with him? also dark skin chara apperance for like 5sec but a wins a win.

lowk have more thoughts but thatll come ltr.

edit: OMG THE PHOTOGRAPHY SCENE theyre so cute like tryna carry eo and lg smilingggg

[linkclickoph]

Lu Guang's Hypocrisy

!SPOILERS FOR S2, BRIDON ARC!

ok maybe this is splitting hairs, but i dont think LG is truly a hypocrite in regards to him constantly reminding CXS of the rules whilst breaking them himself.

he is a hypocrite in terms of actions obv, but i think he stopped giving a fuck about the rules the moment he dived back the first time. he just keeps telling CXS to follow the rules so that CXS doesnt change the course of the future, making it difficult to predict it.

like yes he understands logically the consequences of breaking time far more than CXS, and would probably not break it for anyone other than CXS, but its like an understandable hypocrisy when we think about the morality of him breaking the very rules he imposes on CXS.

CXS who has an emotional nature that typically leads him to break rules, follows them for LG, which is a rational decision, whilst LG who has a logical nature that typically leads him to follow rules, breaks them for CXS, which is an irrational decision.

very yin and yang of them.

ig the main reason for this can be that the narrative seems to support LG and go against CXS. everytime CXS makes an emotional decision, shit seems to blow up in his face, but in LG's case, it seems like everything is under his control. but yeah, i bet this is gonna flip in s3.

[raddestrose]

I AM KEEPING TO MY WORD

I have episode two up on my computer RIGHT NOW

lets goooooook

The english, wasn’t expecting it, was confused gor like ten seconds until i realized

Oh, gambling schemes, how interesting

HEY AINT THAT GIRL FAMILIAR

MYSTERY KID

WHATS BRO DOIN

whats his power?

Ultimate wingmanning i guess

his neck tattoo looks cool (is that a tattoo? if its his traumatic backstory im going to look so mean)

Bros smoking a pipe like from the days of old

What secret code do those two have

WAAAIT, he was s1’s blond’s brother? ooouhhhhhh, i have such a bad memory i guess

Seecret tunnel secret tunnel

Oh shit cool table

OH DANG A GUN

FIFTY MIL

AHHHHHH

this is so tense

Bro is NOT scared

he has to chalant like right now, he is TOO CALM for this situation

This old man is gonna die

YEAHHHHH GET HIIIM LIU CIAO GET HIIIIMMMMMM

SO HES GOT SUPER HEARING

or is he just like anime levels of genius and has like trained himself to gear everything

OH SHOOT

HE SAID CHENG

I was kind of so like locked in i forgot he said Cheng

OH MY GOD WE HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN TO THE OPENING

this opening hurts but its so good

CAT HAT YEAHHHHHHHH

I actually like NEED Qiao Ling’s outfit

Yeahh, every guys got his secrets

WOULNDT YOU KNOW LU GUANG?? 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨

oh, you know he isn’t hiding anything big maybe definitely totally not the catalyst for this entire season definitely NOT that 

NOOOONOOOOO NOT A FLASHBACK TO A PREVIOUS TIMELINE

AHHHHHHHHH

SOMETHING CHANGED

shit, bros literally the meme

not Lu Guang absolutely ear to ear, smiling at a drumstick 

WHAT IS SHE HIDING

WHAT

Qiao Ling what do you have to hide? 

WHAT IS GOING ON

XIAOSHI PRLEASE LISTEN TO HER

YOU WILL DIE BRO

AND I DONT WANT TO SEE THAT AGAIN

Who?

GIIRL YOUVE BEEN SITTING ON THIS FOR YEARS

Tell Cheng Xiaoshi the truth challenge level: IMPOSSIBLE APPARENTLY

they don’t tell my boy a damn thing 

DAAAAANG YOU DIDNT HAVE TO DO LITTLE XIAOSHI LIKE THAT

You don’t even have a dad you could’ve just made one up is LOOOOW

Whys he in the wat- VEIN THE HELL YOU DOIN HERE

This ending song HIITS

shoot post credit scene

VEIIIN LEAVE

OK, so like a fun fact to everybody in the clink universe not everybody has to go to Bridon

and definitely not at the exact same time 

[fictionfixations]

BRIDON ARC HAS ME IN A FUCKING CHOKEHOLD IM GOING INSANE

(theres an after credits scene btw!!! i almost missed it but OH MY GOD IM SCREAMING)

my thoughts so far on episode one. as much as can be without rewatching it (im GOING to rewatch it i NEED TO)

now with screenshots + rewatch thoughts

FIRST OF ALL I CANT BELIEVE THEY DID THE BEGINNING LIKE THAT

also not me screaming every time xiaoshi gets hurt and lu guang is there 😭😭😭😭😭😭

also vein fuck you i knew i had a reason to hate you what the fuck imm

xiaoshi got shot-- also realizing oh my god remember in s2 when he got shot and lu guang screamed or something and went mad. oh fuck what if he was remembering that SCREAMING AND CRYINGGGGGG (behind him is lu guang. HE TOOK A SHOT FOR LU GUANG)

'save them' OH DAMN HE KNEW THE COP GUY. also theres a fire. also qiao ling is dead.

also. confirmed that xiaoshi did give guang his power.. but

..................does this mean if guang claps his hands together he returns to the future where xiaoshi died or like does he permanently become the lu guang there after 12 hours ??

cause its not so much that xiaoshi can only stay at max 12 hours and gets kicked out but that doing so means your 'soul' or something can get lost and just basically dont for safety reasons unless your lu guang apparently because 'fuck rules im saving xiaoshi' (i dont think he can see past 12 hours when looking into a photo though)

your soul could be stranded in a time you dont belong forever, you could lose yourself in the endless time, and that eventually youll have to pay the price for breaking the law..?? is that what vein does?

i bet someones keeping track of how much time passes when lu guangs eyes are yellow until its back to his normal color cause im assuming its either from pov of someone who cant see that color change or that its been 12 hours so he can no longer get out maybe probably..? (so weird seeing him with that eye color)

ALSO WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCKKKKK

"This is the punishment for changing the past." ...!?!??!?!

okay deep breaths

cheng xiaoshi: im super good at photographing beautiful girls! lu guang: *chokes on soda* cheng xiaoshi: get excited when you hear about beautiful girls? 💀

LU GUANG IN THE ANIME CLUB

the main coser

first time hearing that word but ok its just cosplayer

"Well, I'm also good photographing a beautiful... boy like you." it was he thought he was gonna be photographing a beautiful girl who was the main coser but nope its lu guang. guang asked if he was dissatisfied, and then quote above ^

also they tried to get xiaoshi into a cosplay which i think is the heroine of the comic that lu guang was cosplaying (have to look back at that photo but it seems very similar to the cosplay the girl was wearing which was that heroine)

i have to recheck it on rewatch but it looked like it? except i think he tied the skirt part as like when you tie your jacket around your waist LMFAO but the top looked similar. i mightve been blind tho but it wouldve made sense as he was following lu guang around to like photograph him so the both of them wearing the cosplay of like the main characters would work

looks like it alright. think i just got confused by the details i saw briefly and thought it was tied like a jacket around the waist

"When you're ready to tell me, I'll find out, won't I?" 🥺 (also he thinks lu guang can do divination or something and mentions it as like a side gig to the studio. it eventually gets revealed his actual power)

also om scammer

also what the fuck

also trying to think if this happened in canon like before lu guang time traveled but id. assume not? assuming lu guang hadnt known he could look into pictures, and the only reason the guy who got scammed talked to them was because his cousin was talking about an experience where she accidentally switched bags with someone

and that guy (i think student council president) realized it was US because qiao ling found that girl and they talked and accidentally switched bags but that girl couldnt find them again after forgetting to give the game(?) to her when they met again so the guy gave it to them when meeting them again later

but so they wouldnt have found that girl again if not for lu guang doing his looking into photos thing to find her

except maybe they wouldve? she wouldve been really down in the dumps because she lost it but maybe wouldve still mentioned it online trying to find qiao ling to give it back and so zhun(???) the guy who got scammed would then go to them to return it

but better outcome

Zhou Xun = student council president getting scammed

Vivian = the scammer

who is this character? idk. assuming all new characters with special designs are bad guys

"You always say no" "But you're always the first one to help me, too"

so anyways

they need to give xiaoshi a break man and then i realize that even if he did get one he wouldnt listen dude oh my god

also makes me wonder how the two of them found out about their powers in the first place

SPEAKING OF IN THE AFTER CREDIT SCENE WAS THAT XIAOSHI UNLOCKING HIS POWER FOR THE FIRST TIME? CAUSE SURE DIDNT SEEM LIKE HE HAD ANY IDEA ABOUT SUPERPOWERS EARLIER

also someone was like why does link click keep having to do this to the women (giving them tragic backstories and then killing them) and i was boutta be like thats what the gays are for except theyre doomed too but tbh everybody doomed man

tbh link click is getting up there on the dont watch it nobody is happy and everyone dies (jokingly except im still in shock so i dont think the emotion is getting through), which alien stage is number one for hahahahahaah

okay back on track what was i thinking about????

okay so anyway the........ (this is earlier. a little out of order cause i lost my train of thought)

lu guang being the third wheel to xiaoshi on a date whose pretending to be someone else like a dumbass (hes watching through the phone on xiaoshis breast pocket):

tbh youd think hed no longer freeze in the face of danger 😭

"I'm not good with being lonely" "I won't disappear." gUH my heart

theyre PARTNERS FOR LIFE

fajdwuishdgfbujfskso

anyway when they clapped hands i was prepared for it to be like xiaoshi then learning he has powers but he wasnt staring at a photo so it was just a normal clap

also

what

the

fuck

DAD?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?

Cheng Weimin

(also my heart kept jumping anytime someone mentioned bridon like oh god oh god oh god)

ALSO THE THE THE TEH GUY WHO WHO WHOWH oWE SAW WHO IS RELATED TO THAT BLONDE ANTAGONIST GUY LIU SOMETHING SOMETHING

WHO WAS FRIENDS WITH TIANCHEN

!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!/

"Finally, we can start the game."

guys im scared 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[yingdu-lover]

Hey yo are you ok? I feel like with your recent posts, link click has just absolutely broken you. Please correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to have lost your mind over this show. (Look I can't blame you its driven me mad too, but just like take a deep breath it's gonna be ok) I apologise sincerely if I've interpreted you wrong.

Also did you know about the bi yi niao from Chinese mythology?

😭😭😭 you are sooo kind! Thank you so much for asking (like really really thank you, I think Cheng Xiaoshi would feel like this when Qiao Ling or Lu Guang just understood him? Fandom is ultimately a space where we make friends via a shared interest, and this is so kind of you, I know I'm repeating the same words cause I am tired) Yes this show has successfully broken me.

I took three breaths and jumped a few times. Feeling a lot better right now. Truly, thank you, tears in my Shiguang eyes.

No no, no need to apologise! I was indeed losing my mind a few minutes ago.

I think, I have already written what I wanted to say, now I'll write fluffy shiguang fics. no more theories, only feels and fiction.

I would love to know bi yi niao from Chinese mythology!

o⁠(⁠(⁠*⁠^⁠▽⁠^⁠*⁠)⁠)⁠o bunny hug, friend. Truly it means a lot to me!

[yusei-clownington]

So let's talk about Link Click.

I was contemplating whether to make it in individual posts or just... Write EVERYTHING in a long one.

But I picked the latter, so buckle up and bear with me.

Or y'know, just Scroll past this if you don't wanna go through a prolonged ramble about some series ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

(spoilers for... Pretty much the whole thing down there ⬇️)

How much can we traumatize Cheng Xiaoshi: the series

So let's start with the characters

And by that I just mean the trio, I'm not gonna talk about everyone because... well yeah.

1. Qiao Ling

She's really pretty + doesn't have a bad personality. That's about enough for me to like her.

As you may know, She was the one in charge of bringing in business. Almost all of the cases were brought in by her.

I love how everyone assumed the person who ran the shop was an old lady, and how that pisses Qiao ling off. 👌

2. Lu Guang

A white haired anime boy. We all know what happens to these...

That aside, I'm a sucker for bleached/ white hair... So.. 😳😳😳

He's the calm type, which I find adorable. Even his voice was pretty soft, I think it fit him well.

I especially adore how he was like, basically Cheng Xiaoshi's common sense? He was always there like "dude, no. Think man. I beg you" though... Ahm the other barely listened to him so...Oof?

He seemed to be so done with Cheng Xiaoshi's shit, but like in an affectionate way.

3. Cheng Xiaoshi

The writers either absolutely loved or just straight up hated this guy. No like seriously, out of all three of them he was the one who had to live through every single painful story... The poor guy can't catch a break.

If you haven't already guessed, he's my favourite. I mean come on! An emotional, reckless, somewhat irrational dumbas with a tiny ponytail?? How can he NOT be my favourite?

His bromance with Lu Guang is so sweet AND his relationship with Qiao ling just brings me joy.

PLUS I LOVE ME A NOT COMPLETELY SERIOUS CHARACTER. Seriously imagine the exact same series but EVERYONE is fully Serious. I still need my dose of dumb characters y'know.

Though his recklessness did get out of hand at some point... But THEN IT PAYED OFF....but then it didn't.. i- ANYWAY

I think he had the most growth in the series. And you know me, character growth? SIGN ME TF UP.

I'll be talking about the lesson/s he learned in a little more detail...later in the post.

Now let's talk Concept

The idea of two characters, one being able to see some of the events occurring around the time a picture is taken, and the other being able to ENTER thsoe pictures of a certain span of time, helping solve different people's issues/ major cases is just GENIUS!

I can't stress how much I enjoyed going through snippets of different stories while also remaining in the same plotline.

*cough* Cheng Xiaoshi definitely did not though *cough*

It was beautiful seeing different people's lives and struggles through the eyes of a character that, just like me, is just experiencing those scenarios for the very first time.

Unlike Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi didn't know what was going to happen, He was genuinely sad, angry, happy...etc whenever a certain event would occur, and he'd drag the viewers along with him ( AT LEAST ME.)

It's just really good ok , I didn't expect to love it as much as I did! 😭

That aside,

Let's talk about...

The events.

I'll talk about each case/story on its own because... Well yeah. The finale... Gets its own bit.

(I'm not going to be talking about all of them in order because of the Emma thing)

1. Lesbian Noodles

I don't care what anyone says, that's basically what this one was.

It was the sweetest out of all them, and arguably the least troublesome.

Just two gal pals, a secret noodle ingredient, and a lot of cuteness.

And may I just say they're both Extremely gorgeous?

It was simply a short bittersweet story, with lessons like "People change" and stuff.

2. The kidnapping (Ft. Rip-off power rangers)

So uh. I kinda loved this one because

She got what was comin' for her.

Basically long story short, A child had gone missing , his parents both coped very differently.

Now due to my lack of knowledge about mental illness, I won't talk about the mother much. All I'll say is that it was pretty painful.

As for the father, I loved how determined he was to find his son, and how patient he was with his wife. He was just all around great.

Now as one of his attempts to find his lost son, Father man fella decides to go to ask our beloved thruple trio for their vague magical help. And they agree because duh.

Cheng xiaoshi goes through his usual daily dose of trauma, this time by getting drugged and kidnapped by a human trafficker who for some reason believed in ghosts.

Thankfully, it all works out and he beats the hell out of her + gives her some trauma of her own so we good.

I just like how this whole one worked out, and somehow had a good ending.

Also we get this:

*chef's kiss*

3- College romance

Eh it was fine. But compared to the rest of the cases I didn't really feel much coming out of it. Like aside from the fact that at the end... We think the girl whose name I can't remember is dead or something ( which...well yeah) and the whole.... Strange person calls them ( which later leads to my favourite part of the whole series). That was pretty cool.

But yeah the whole thing was just... Two people who liked each other, one probably confessed his love to the other at a very stupid time. Dude, she's drunk. Like tell her tomorrow or something. OR EARLIER. But anyways... Some parts were funny.

DON'T GET ME WRONG THOUGH IT WAS GOOD I just prefer the others over it.

4- *incoherent sobbing noises*

Ah where do I start with that one?

Okay so trauma. Lil ponytail man got a lot of it in this one.

He had to first get attached to a basketball team, a cute girl and a mother figure

Then just have them all

Die

Wonderful, Lots of fun!

I actually teared up at the end of that one, and judged myself pretty hard for it but we good.

It was just really heartbreaking seeing the very end of it I guess. Plus it was the most down-to-earth out of all of them in my opinion? ( Literally... because earthquake...um...yeah i'll heard out)

I also felt it was really different from the rest, because this time, Cheng Xiaoshi was SUPPOSED to change some stuff. Mostly because the result in the end would still remain the same: everyone fucking dies.

I completely understand why Lu Guang refrained from telling Cheng Xiaoshi everything, but I couldn't help but feel bad for Cheng Xiaoshi anyways. It was really heartbreaking seeing him think he was fixing stuff by delivering the messages, only to discover eveyrone was going to die anyway... Then when he thought he could at least save the mother, turns out Lu Guang never intended to have them save her anyway, and she STILL DIES.

The whole scene with him being hugged by the mother as she dies was just... God just stab me, it'll hurt less.

When all is said and all is done though, it was honestly my favourite case.(not to be mistake. for favourite episode... That's a different story).

Mostly because of the basketball match that took place. I mean come on.... A BASKETBALL MATCH. AN EPIC BASKETBALL MATCH. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

Also this guy was very entertaining:

5-Emma's fucked up life

okay uh can... Can someone like... Give Emma a hug please? GIVE THE POOR LADY A REASON TO LIVE.

This poor woman was driven to KILL HERSELF because of all that she's been through.

Like... Like let's recap her life shall we?

She grew up with a pretty average but happy family, and eventually left to work in the city like she always wanted to.

Pretty good so far right? Yeah.

Then she gets promoted. Oh that's goo-

Her boss harrasses her, and offers her money from fuilthy sources to keep her mouth shut about a certain issue.

She's stuck at work almost 24/7 and eats takeout, but not just any takeout ONES WITH LITERAL WORMS?????? and if that wasn't enough, she has to deal with her boss trying to smooch her every now and then.

THEN SHE'S THE ONE ACCUSED OF TOUCHING H I M AND GETS FIRED.

Sounds horrible right?

There's more.

When Cheng Xiaoshi does his thing and sends a message that she misses her parents on her behalf, she decides to finally go see them... And we think she's gonna have a happy ending.

Until some blonde 2000s low-budget hacker movie cosplay shows up and asks if she wants him to drive her to the Station.

That's when we know She's fucked.

And we find out that SHE DIED.

But that wasn't all there was to it, she wasn't killed, nonononono, it gets even more depressing.

So she gets in the car, ok? Then turns out it's not just any blondie, IT WAS THAT ONE RICH BLONDIE WE THINK IS A SERIAL KILLER. He chokes her under the claim that she'd stolen his money (which I never fully understood whether she actually did?)

OH BUT WAIT she doesn't die yet.

Thankfully, Cheng Xiaoshi with his wonderful timing yells out/ screams on terror because it's

*Que Funky music* just another day in traumatown 😄

So blondie leaves an unconscious Emma in the car, and goes out to see who just yelled. He finds no one, cuz... Cheng Xiaoshi clicked out of the photo,and goes back to the car, driving her to the hospital. BUT SHE WAKES UP. HE THINKS SHE'S A ZOMBIE NOW???. LMAO WTF? Then a car accident happens.

He gets crippled, and she's STILL ALIVE, but is literally so done with everything, she walks to the nearby bridge, ready to DIE.

So....yeah

Now, it's time for my favourite part of the whole series

The Finale

AND BEFORE EVERYONE MURDERS ME, NO I DIDN'T ENJOY WATCHING LU GUANG GET STABBED, OR SEEING EMMA DIE.

That aside , the finale just made me really satisfied, we finally got to see Cheng Xiaoshi's growth displayed, and everything he learned Throughout the series payed off in one smartass Masterplan to lure in crazy blondie and have him arrested.

Plus THERE WAS A FUN FIGHT SCENE. IT WAS PRETTY COOL OK? I'M A SUCKER FOR FIGHT SCENES... AND I GOT ONE. SO YEAH.

The part where Cheng Xiaoshi catches up with Emma and delivers his wonderful speech about all that he'd learned from the lives he had to live was just wonderful.

We see Cheng Xiaoshi finally come to terms with what he'd been struggling so long to understand. The past is the past, and it can't be changed. The present is what we have, and what we should focus on, and the future is what we can always fiddle with through the present.

Allthroughout the series, tweaking the past never did anyone any good. It only made things worse, brought about endless regrets, and maybe involved people that wouldn't have even been inconvenienced if the past wasn't changed.

Cheng Xiaoshi finally realises this.

The past, has passed. Let it be.

If People were to spend their present days wallowing about the past without looking forward, they would end up deeply regretting that.

The past is something one should learn from, but never aim to change. We aim to change our future. And that's through our present.

And when Cheng Xiaoshi came to that realisation, it helped him divise a plan to capture the blondie, and made him - just- more efficient and mature.

And I honestly thought that was gonna be like a... Sentimental good ending or something, where Emma lives and stuff y'know?

But the series really went: Fuck you, and your happy ending, HAVE A FINAL PLOT TWIST SUCKERS.

SO EMMA DIES ANYWAY, LU GUANG IS STABBED BY A POSESSED QIAO LING, ALL BECAUSE OF SOMEONE WHO CAN INHIBIT SOULS, THEN THE CREDITS ROLL AFTER THE VILLAIN DELIVERS AN EPIC LINE.

I can't even begin to say why I find this amusing. The series literally pulled a sike on us, and I'm all for it.

I was just there staring at the screen like

O H M Y

I don't even know if I'm in awe or if I'm sad about Lu Huang. LIKE SO MANY CONTRASTING EMOTIONS ALL AT ONCE.

But to be fair it's refreshing to see.Happy endings aren't always exciting or satisfying.... And despite all the pain this one brought, I personally think it was... SOMETHING.

[starberry-cupcake]

The Chinapuri finale and its montage aka censorship who?

I decided to do all of this in one post and read more, so that the 95% of my followers who are uninterested on this particular drama/source material can easily skip it. Here are 7 relationships showcased in the montage ranked and 2 bonus (a family relationship and an extra). 

Note: I’ll speak about the relationships as they were portrayed, whichever the form of relationship chosen to display in this version. Also, I’m glad that everyone was aged up in this version, kinda wild but very much appreciated that some of these actors are my age or somewhere around there lol 

#7 Lu Xia (Echizen Ryoma) and Qi Ying (Ryuuzaki Sakuno) 

This drama was a bit more romantically-inclined in terms of these two than the anime/manga was, but some of that may be also influenced by them giving their version of Sakuno more room (which yay!) and having them be older. 

For this to stand alone as a drama, it was a needed step, I believe. I found Lu Xia to be more vulnerable than Ryoma, he doesn’t feel quite as ~cool~ and it doesn’t take away from the character that he has moments showing internal struggle (in tennis as well as at home). These two were sweet and adorable, which gave the drama probably more of an expected appeal for a wider audience, to make it stand on its own as a drama and not only an anime adaptation. 

#6 Yan ZhiMing (Inui Sadaharu) & Liu Lian (Yanagi Renji) 

Kinda mad they didn’t do this for Fuji (Zhuo Zhi) and Saeki (Zuo Xiaohu) but they did good with these two. I didn’t know at first why they started to build up their relationship so early, but it ended up being a good emotional plot point during their match, which is, as we all know, a determining factor in Seigaku’s (Yu Qing) win against Rikkai (Hai Guang). 

I don’t remember being as invested in their match in the anime as I was here, maybe I was just too focused on the Fuji match at that time, but what they did to build that game as a decisive point in the season finale was so well developed, I was impressed. 

#5 He XingLong (Kawamura Takeshi) & Ya JiuXin (Akutsu Jin) 

This is a relationship that can get complicated and even problematic if handled incorrectly. Akutsu’s journey through the anime is pretty long and takes a while for him to be on a healthier place, but the added element of aging the characters could have gone really wrong here if they had done him exactly as in the anime or manga. I think they did pretty well with the time they were given, showing his turmoil and learning curve. 

XingLong was allowed to have a more in-depth journey being older and about to graduate, it made more sense for him here to think about his career at this stage and added the gravity of this being THE moment to decide whether to keep pursuing the sport or take over his dad’s restaurant (they even adapted the type of food they cook to match the cultural impact of the family-owned business, which was great). 

I think the two complemented each other really well and worked interestingly together, in a way I didn’t think the drama was gonna give them time to do, so I’m really pleased. 

#4 Qiao Chen (Momoshiro Takeshi) & Zhang BaiYang (Kaidoh Kaoru) 

My younger self is thriving with this one being included tbh. These two were so much fun in the anime, two rivals and opposites that represented the future of the team upon their elders leaving. 

I was surprised to see them so focused here, because it’s not a relationship most adaptations put emphasis on (their loss), but it paid off immensely by the time their game against Bunta and Jackal (Jin WenTai & Ke Jie) came around. 

Kaidoh is a tough one to adapt most times, and they did him so well in this one, I think this is my favorite live action Kaidoh in any adaptation, and I’ve watched a whole bunch of tenimyu in my day. They really captured the ambiguity of his character, how he balances a tough exterior with a sensitive core. Qiao Chen maintained his feelings for Xu Xingzi (Tachibana Ann) but that didn’t stop them from showing these two every time they could. 

#3 Mu Siyang (Tezuka Kunimitsu) & Ji Jingwu (Atobe Keigo) 

Oh, these two. Hyotei (Xing Yao) wasn’t featured as much as one would probably expect (I’m a Fudomine fan and with Yu Feng I got more than I even was expecting, but I admit Hyotei is a riot and I always live my best life when they show up). Still, they did the Tezuka/Atobe match justice and then some. 

Mu Siyang was incredibly compelling as Tezuka, and had a vulnerability to him that made me worry for his health more than I probably did for his anime counterpart. Maybe also the fact that he was older than his anime version yet looked younger than him made it sink more that his injury was something to worry about. I wish we had time to include anime!Tezuka’s issues with yips with Siyang, because I know the drama would have pulled it off, but that was further down the line in the story. Maybe for a season 2. 

Anyway, the Atobe/Tezuka game is one of the best games in tenipuri history and the drama knew it. The game felt like it earned its gravity with the development of both Siyang’s injury and Ji Jingwu’s determination to play against him. Then they sprinkled the camp on top, as the anime does, with Ji Jingwu paying for his every expense and calling him to get updates, which is 100% canon compliant imo. 

I feel like Ji Jingwu didn’t have enough room to be as much of Atobe as he could be, but then again, that’s not easy for anyone to pull off. Not even Kato Kazuki can do Junichi Suwabe as well as Junichi Suwabe.  

#2 Bai ShiYan (Yukimura Seiichi) & Tian ZiLong (Sanada Genichirou) 

So, it’s tough to feel for Rikkai (Hai Guang) at this point of the story. You learn about Yukimura’s health and it’s difficult, but you just met them and the first impressions haven’t been great. 

However, the relationship between Sanada and Yukimura has always been something pivotal for the way the team is constructed (they were named that way for a reason, two parts of a same hero and all that) and they sustain the team in a way other teams don’t have to. They are the mom and dad of the team, the coaches, the leaders and the pillars. They have a balance of severity and permissiveness, of strictness and instinct. They are like a couple who has been married for 25 years. 

How on Earth, I asked myself, will they achieve that with censorship on the way? I don’t know, but they did it, the mad bastards. 

It really does come through 100% the importance of their relationship and the way in which the captain’s health affects the team and, more than anything, their vice captain. It reaches a crescendo during the final match, before ShiYan’s operation, and they manage to pull it off with the time they have. 

Also, their scenes are like shot for a contemporary romance drama and I appreciate that vibe. 

#1 Tang JiaLe (Kikumaru Eiji) & Chi DaYong (Oishi Shuichiro) 

Oh boy. Look. I still own Golden Pair merchandise from my Days, ok? These two hold a special place in my heart. I saw actors who portrayed them grow up, succeed and pass away, sadly. I still sing Depend On Me sometimes. There is a cheerful vibe with these two, a sense of overcoming obstacles and finding balance, I don’t know. Fuji is my favorite character but these two are special in their way. 

This freakin’ drama just went full on Golden Pair. The level of content was off the charts. The moment they came on the screen, the second they talked about their doubles, it was already setting the tone of how deep their relationship was going to go. I am a bit amazed that they avoided to get closed down for this ngl. And I appreciate the risk because it paid off.

They have a body language communication that is captured in every shot. Even when they’re not the focus of the scene, they’re close, touching or holding each other, arms around each other, hands on each other’s shoulders, grabbing each other���s clothes. When they fight, that language changes drastically, and the distance they take feels intense and cold. You go through it with them and the team shows it as well. There’s an entire episode I had screencaps of and never posted when the team falls apart because they do. 

My favorite part, though, ironically, isn’t what they did with them together but what they did with them apart. They took time to develop them as individual characters with their own issues, their fears, their worries and weaknesses. They were allowed to be flawed and wrong and have to mend their ways. 

What really got me and impacted me deeply was the fact that they chose DaYong to talk about mental health. They gave room to speaking about the physical implications of anxiety disorders and about how self esteem issues can give more magnitude to ongoing issues with your mental health. Again, the age of the characters being changed helped add a depth to some issues that get developed with more intensity in a drama of this kind, and the way in which it takes TIME to get resolved, it isn’t a one episode thing, it’s an underlying issue that spans the season...*chef’s kiss* 

Even though there’s a specific tenimyu incarnation of these two that I hold dear and will always remember fondly, I think that Xu Ke and Zhu ZhiLing are the most successful and best portrayed live action Golden Pair I’ve ever seen. 

Bonus that was in the montage but it’s specifically about a family relationship: The Zhuo Bros

I have said Fuji has always been my favorite and his relationship with Yuta as an older brother (albeit he’s not the eldest sibling like me) is one I always felt close to. 

In the anime, the two have a rocky relationship that gets developed throughout, but the drama is very good at establishing not only Zhuo Yu’s (Fuji Yuta) self esteem issues, the subsequent use of that Guan Yue (Mizuki Hajime) does and Zhuo Zhi’s (Fuji Syusuke) attempts to breach the gap between the siblings, they also use it to develop Zhuo Zhi’s character and his reticence to show weakness. 

It’s tough to get Fuji towards a place of vulnerability without breaking character, but they used family and the care he provides to his brother as a point to further his story, and I appreciate that a lot. They managed to build Zhuo Zhi up with this sibling bond as one of his core elements, and that gave a lot of dimension to his games and his character. 

Bonus that wasn’t in the montage but I’m including in some capacity: Mu Siyang (Tezuka Kunimitsu) & Zhuo Zhi (Fuji Syusuke) 

I thought these two deserved a place in the list, even if they weren’t grouped much in the montage, because the drama did make them share moments together that I feel gave more depth to their characters. 

There was a very interesting moment in which they showed Mu Siyang and Zhuo Zhi establishing their differences when approaching tennis, and how serious Mu Siyang is about taking the team to victory. I think that strengthened the character as a captain to me, in a way that shows it rather than tells it, and allowed for his guidance to still be present when he wasn’t physically there. His determination ultimately influenced Zhuo Zhi to take things more seriously, and that was a pretty interesting development to see. 

All in all, I should, at some point, go and do a serious review for MyDramaList but I wanted to leave in my blog how much I appreciated this adaptation. I wasn’t expecting much and I was delivered everything.