#link click analysis

[chubphoe-linkclick]

These parallel shots of Tianchen and Tianxi running as they each throw away everything that ever mattered to them are killing me

The fact that they use lighting to say 'Tianxi dies and goes to heaven while Tianchen descends into further into a living hell' is killing me

Like fuck man, I just wanted to watch some noodle lesbians.

[anulithots]

We as a society need more Qiao LIng analysis. So here I am.

Qiao Ling and how she represents the present day in a time travel show

In terms of the trio in a time travel show, Qiao Ling represents the present day. She deals with clients to bring to the time photo studio (I hope I got the name right), comforts Li Tianxi (in comparison to CXS empathizing with her through diving into the past), and overall (especially in season two) is best with interacting with people in the present day, and remains the most levelheaded

(Lu Guang’s too overprotective to be the logical one here)

And this slotted nicely with each member of the trio representing past present and future (what they are most comfortable with/find comfort in)…

until this (s1ep7):

Which makes her seem like her internal conflict revolves around the past, yes?

Okay now partially because I want to draw attention to this screenshot:

(CXS is soooo sad here and Lu Guang can’t even look. I sob I cri)

Okay so part of the reason CXS looks like this is because it’s post episode 5 and more than anything else he UNDERSTANDS regretting the past

But here Qiao Ling isn’t regretting her life, she isn’t searching for some way to fix it and relive herself of the pain of the past like CXS does, she’s trying to escape it

THEREFORE! Qiao Ling is still ‘present day focused’. She shuns the past, attempts to avoid it, so that she can stay content in the present day.

Which directly parallels CXS (so siblings of them) in how they view the past and the pain that comes with it. CXS actively tries to fix it and give himself/those he possesses the solace and love he lost, whereas Qiao Ling tries to avoid her regret through keeping away the reminders of the past, so that she may be more useful/happier in the present day.

IN FACT! (see boba tea screenshots above) Qiao Ling does tend to look at any issues (usually resulting from the past) and look to present comforts and pleasures to keep everyone happy.

(Again paralleling both CXS and Lu Guang, who do this with the past and future respectively)

(also how CXS has Qiao Ling to comfort him and keep him going in both season two and here in episodes six and seven when she talks about Doudou

They are so siblings I can’ttttttt)

[rainibao]

So while I was putting this together, I noticed something that mightt be worth mentioning. Could just be a style/lighting thing, or something I've been out of the loop of, but I'd still like to point it out! (Basically, something that caught my eye in the flashback of cxs handing the basketball to Lu Guang)(If you're short on time just read till you see red-coloured text under some screenshots, almost everything after that is no longer an merely an observation, and is up to interpretation. Or just rambling tbh)

(video here since it can't be inserted into Google docs)

(trust me I tried posting it directly onto Tumblr so many times. So much stuff kept getting undone. Help. It wasn't supposed to take this long)

Edit: sigh the view of the pics from the link isn't that great so here they are

[just-prime]

So yeah...about that Link Click hyperfixation...

I've done my best to map out the entire timeline of Season 1 (or as far as we understand it in s1)

PLEASE let me know if I've missed anything or forgotten any plot points! I made this in like two days so there might be mistakes. :P

FIND IT HERE

If you want to see it with massacred resolution it's below

[ammiya]

Analysing every Link Click song's lyrics!! (MAJOR LINK CLICK SPOILERS!!!)

Part 1 | Dive Back in Time

Here are the full lyrics, since I won't be including them all:

(I'll be saying random theories while analysing some lines, so don't take this too seriously)

"It didn't take too long to realize, something has changed in the back of my mind, your eyes"

A theory: what if, at the very first timeline, Lu Guang didn't go back in time immediately. He tried to stick to his own rules, but eventually he started forgetting what Cheng Xiaoshi looks like, therefore why his eyes were covered with the film in the MV

"Time no longer flew like it was, when the flash froze everything before"

Lu Guang being frozen in time after Cheng Xiaoshi's death?

"Without you, I don't know if I could take this road"

I don't think this needs to be analysed...

"Chase you into the end of the world, just to say your name once more. If I had only got it right before."

"Chase you" as in follow you? Does Lu Guang have suicidal thoughts?

"Every minute that I dialed back in time, every since existance rewinds"

Is it about being stuck in a time loop? Or that no matter what he does, Cheng Xiaoshi will ALWAYS die?

"Something secretive hidden inside your mind"

I have no idea how to analyze this except for the possibility that it might refer to that theory that Cheng Xiaoshi hung himself in one of the timelines.

"All the heartaches and the smiles never faded, I know you'll be by my side when we make it, come back from the dive"

The way Lu Guang CANNOT imagine a future without Cheng Xiaoshi...

"Come back from the dive, dive back in time"

The way both sentences are the exact opposite, and each one of them belong to a character..

"Here's to all the mistakes I never made, all the twists and turns, I'm always late to my fate"

Is this about what happens in the current timeline after Lu Guang dives? Like, what his absense would resault in.

"If it ain't for your misguided taste, I'd turn out so ordinary"

I'm struggling to analyze this but I KNOW it's somehow important. "So ordinary" as in without special abilities? Or without the need to go back?

"Well, don't you feel sorry. I'll love where I'm going now"

Lu Guang likes doing what he does, probabky because of the hope he hold onto in the beginning of every timeline. "Maybe this time I can prevent _", "Maybe this time I can save him"

"'Cause I'm about to lose my mind"

Seeing your dearest person die in front of you over and over, while having to accept the fact that you can't save him...

I'm not sure if this was done on purpose or not, but I noticed that in the "Dive back in time" part in the end (of the full version), if you focus on it, "Time" and "Dive" will sound so similar. It'll seem as if they're saying "Dive back in- Dive back in time", also the way it's possibke that "Time" and "Dive" are the same for Lu Guang now.

I'm not that much of an analyst, so this entire post might not make any sense, but I hope that some of it did <3!!

[nacrelysis]

linguistics isn't my thing, disclaimer.

but cheng xiaoshi's name, 程小时, might translate to "the regulation of time/hours." see,

程, chéng, is a common surname. but it also means "rule, orders, or regulations."

小时, xiǎoshí, quite literally means "hours."

(this post arises from a thought i had as to whether cheng xiaoshi's first name, xiaoshi, is a play on the phrase, 消失 [xiāoshī], "to disappear." and whether or not that foreshadowed anything in link click's upcoming plot. probably not as the phonetic pronunciation is not the same.)

[cupcakesmoothie]

Just finished Season 2 of the emotional damage show, also known as Link Click!

Spoilers (And a lot of screaming (That means full caps) ahead)(Also swearing)

WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. THIS STILL APPLIES

HEY SHOW? HEY (Pause to look up who the fuck made this give me a sec) LI HAOLING? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS MEAN. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH

Anyway. That was. An experience.

New powers got explored, which was cool. They can be transferred and Qiao Ling got an ability, which was also cool.

The whole thing with the siblings was. Oh my god. I can't believe they would do this to me. WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE FUCKING SPOKE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE DIED RIGHT AFTER. YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME.

AND LU GUANG???????? HELLO????? WHAT? WHJAT? WAHT? Bro fuck this show for putting a whole ass funeral in their trailer and fuck this show FOR STILL HAVING A CHANCE TO DO SO.

Ok so actual notes (<- Probably a lie): It's very obvious they're setting up for a Season 3 (If they don't get a Season 3 I will simply cease to exist), because we get a lot of build up for a bunch of things.

They STILL don't really explain how they got these powers in the first place, although they do have the scene with Qiao Ling (I mean, I guess they don't have to, it would be cool, but not very necessary. What IS very needed however-). And there was pretty much no development on Xiaoshi's parents. It's kinda understandable with how they ended the last season but a little bit disappointing considering it is one of his character motivations. Besides, of course-

Xiaoshi cares about people. A lot. The THINGS that happened last season made that very hard, but he still cares about people. But also and however, Lu Guang cares about him. They are so "I would sacrifice myself for the world" vs "I would sacrifice the world for you" and OUGH. Taking damage. Crying. No joke there are tears in my eyes. THEY CAN'T DO THIS TO ME????????????

There are. Consequences. In this show. Unfortunately. They explore time travel quite well in my opinion, and they put quite a lot of emphasis on how important it is that Xiaoshi doesn't let his heart take over (It is a kind heart which can't bear to see bad things happen to people). WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THREE PEOPLE DIED. HUH? HUHHHH???? I'M SHAKING YOU LAN STUDIO WHAT DO YOU MEAN LU GUANG SAW HIM DIE. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

A collection of reactions and memes that best describe me rn:

[chubphoe-linkclick]

Knowing that Lu Guang is trying to change the past, knowing that he likely can’t change the death node, he’s the one who’s really forced to dwell on what was the point of delivering all those messages even if the recipients still die.

Even if Cheng Xiaoshi understands the suffering of losing those people, it’s Lu Guang who is the one who has to live with the loss itself.

„What was the point of delivering all those messages if we didn’t end up saving anyone?”

Some angst for you all

[chubphoe-linkclick]

Reminder that 'Lu Guang will literally break the rules of time and space just to comfort his best boy' has been an established fact since the first episode

[blackwhiteanddoomed]

dying to know who Lu Guang was before repeatedly time traveling. we've seen several times that him, cheng xiaoshi, and qiao ling like to dance and play video games together, what other hobbies and such do you think he gave up while trying to save cheng xiaoshi? was his hair always white or did it turn due to stress? did he use to smile more? who did he use to be?

[chubphoe-linkclick]

I love the parallels in how the empathetic one of the pair ironically ends up being hurt by the analytical one because of their very attempts to protect them

the things they do for family

[anulithots]

Okay so the moment where Cheng Xiaoshi decides not to dive into the past because Lu Guang would’ve disapproved of it. Amazing moment.

Also would not have happened if Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t witness Emma getting strangled in episode 9.

Why? Because Cheng Xiaoshi lost some faith in his ability to fix the past and Lu Guang during the earthquake arc.

This led him to try to do something on his own for Emma, hence he dived on his own, hence he witnessed her getting strangled, and realized that his every action, his every intention to fix the past (as a way to vicariously fix his own pain regarding the past.)

but in this moment, he realizes he can’t fix the past, shouldn’t have dived on his own, and he asks Lu Guang to tell him what he should do, how to make things end well, because he was never able to.

And this is when he accepts the whole ‘fool, don’t change the past, because of us, the future will surely change’, because it’s what Lu Guang would’ve said to make everything to end okay.

Cheng Xiaoshi applies his strategic abilities to change the future instead in episode 10 and 11, which works out well…

… annndd hence why Cheng Xiaoshi believed in Lu Guang to the point where he wouldn’t dive back in time to save him.

WHich is driving me insanneeeeee THE WRITING IN THIS SHOOOOWWWW

___

will start linking the link click masterpost because society must gaze at my collection.

[catguangcorner]

la!cxs telling lu guang that his 'rules' (past or future mantra) never existed to begin with, demeaning himself saying that lu guang only ever wanted an obedient thing to do his bidding and put cxs through all these missions to manipulate him into being pliant, nothing more than a means to an end rather than a friend.....wow.

it's fascinating because in the donghua lu guang does have this selfish quality (as well as being a massive hypocrite), only it manifests in his breaking of the rules for cheng xiaoshi's sake. in the live action lu guang still lacks the inability to Let It Go, but here we see the effects of his reckless tunnel vision and contradictory convictions on the person he's come to care for, 'his only friend,' and it's heartbreaking to watch.

it truly does feel like we're watching shiguang's growing pains, before they settle into their relationship, before lu guang is so fiercely devoted to cxs that he'll sacrifice anything to save him.

[falling-star-cygnus]

cheng xiaoshi shouting "he's my family" while being in raw pain hurts something in me oml especially considering his situation regarding his parents

bc, think about it:

he thinks Lu Guang is either already dead or about to die, about to leave him; almost exactly like with his parents

the only difference is- he thinks Lu Guang's not going to come back

Cheng Xiaoshi still somewhat holds onto his hope of his parents returning to him, but once he hears that Lu Guang is dead and that the rescue failed; he genuinely thinks he's lost yet another person that he loves

to the hands of someone he loves

and he's utterly inconsolable until he sees Lu Guang alive and breathing

[chubphoe-linkclick]

This seemed like such a cool catch until I rewatched the episode and it's actually much more like a blink than a moment of emotional processing

Now I don't know what to think of this.

The way he's looking straight ahead and then moves back, has to close his eyes and look down to recollect himself. He can't bear what just came out of his own mouth. God. I think he hurt himself with that one. and us too

[good-vs-evo]

okay i understand the reason why ppl put ivantill and shiguang in the same box (doomed black and white yaoi) but oh my godddd the parallels between shiguang and mizisua make me so genuinely insane and i don't see. anyone talking about it in fact. if you have i'm sorry but i need to do this for my sanity

LOTS OF SPOILERS FOR BOTH LINK CLICK AND ALNST UTC! <3

starting with the fact that i don't think their personalities align perfectly or anything but just the way their relationships operate are Pretty Damn Similar

your ignorance is my bliss

let's start with mizisua for this one!

it's abundantly clear from the fact that mizi was actively looking forward to singing with sua on the stage that she had no idea what had to happen. she was a sheltered kid from the start and she had this innocence and naivety about her that, in my opinion, is part of the reason why sua was attracted to her. mizi essentially represented all of the happiness that everyone else could have if they weren't burdened by the knowledge and the fear of their looming deaths. and sua wanted her to stay that way, she wanted mizi to take a simple kind of joy in just being able to sing with the person she loved the most. because she thought that was right.

the thing that's the worst about this is that she made this decision on her own. she never let mizi decide if she wanted this knowledge, and just as ivan said, it ended up being a burden to mizi.

and now, for shiguang :>

when lu guang decides that he's going to dive back in time to save cheng xiaoshi, he also makes the decision to never let cxs know. his mantra is to never change the timeline, and he sticks to these morals throughout it all, never giving cxs so much as an inkling of what he'd done. to him, none of it mattered without cxs. he refused lose the one he cared most about without a fight, so he fought and fought and hid it all from cxs. second only to saving cxs himself, lg's most important mission was to make sure that cxs never ever found out the true nature of what he did. because the knowledge would kill him, knowing that cxs's life was the direct cause of someone else's life would kill cxs, and lg wanted to protect him from that.

insert quote about how lu guang liked cheng xiaoshi's naive nature. head in hands. goodnight.

2. my god, my universe

i guess this one is more of a minor thing on the part of shiguang, so let's start with them lol

technically speaking, there's no confirmation of what lg's true true thoughts about what cxs meant to him, but there is that one line from the live action opening that's "i don't wanna lose my world". combine that with, you know. All Of Lu Guang's Actions. and you can take a stab at the fact that cxs meant the world to him.

and of course the famous mizisua line(s).

i mean idk what to tell you. repeatedly throughout canon, they refer to each other as soulmates, each others' universes, their gods, saviors, etc etc the list stretches for the eternity that they could've spent together but they were robbed from. thanks. i don't need to say more AHDSHFJSF

3. the meaning of death

this one's obvious i supposed but let's talk about it anyways! first, mizisua

sua's death drives mizi forward. it changes all of her actions in the future, from her lashing out at luka to her full-on rebellion against the aliens, it's all because of sua. she doesn't have the power to bring sua back, so she does everything she can possibly do to make sure nobody ever loses anyone the way she lost sua. in her memory, in a way, for her.

and now shiguang

i mean the entire premise of the end of link click was that cxs's death drives lg's every action. he, unlike mizi, has the power to go back and fix the things that went wrong, so that's exactly what he does! and when he manages to save cxs, he intends to do everything in his power to keep him

i thought i had a lot more to say about this but i guess that's it? most of my thoughts were related to that first part. and the fact that they Liked Each Other HSUHFHSDF (i love ivantill i pinkie promise)

aaaanyways this was so dumb but i'm going to post it because i'm not a quitter and it'll be more embarrassing if i spent this much time writing this out only for it to rot in my drafts so BAM hope you enjoyed this!