#link click observations

[shantechni]

Some of my observations about Link Click: Yingdu Chapter

⚠️Spoilers for S1, S2, & Yingdu Chapter, but mostly the Yingdu Chapter⚠️

Now that the final episode has aired and finished with a bang, I can properly start another observation and theory post without the threat of immediately being proven wrong💀As per usual, feel free to correct me on anything and add your own info should I not include it.

A post-Bridon interview between director Li Haoling and Hui Xiao Hui revealed that Xia Fei held onto the cat ears hat the whole time and returned it to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang.

That same interview also had the director hinting at the possibility of Liu Xiao having more than one power, along with the fact that Liu Xiao has planned everything early on and that S3 will reveal his motives.

Considering Li Haoling's comment about the three ways someone could inherit powers (1: genetics, 2: passed through death, and 3: killing to steal), this could mean Liu Xiao has either received a power by having it passed to him from someone on their death bed, killed someone for their power, or is genuinely adopted, chat did y'all manifest this—

One major reveal from the interview was the confirmation of Lu Guang having looped through one timeline, not branching off and jumping to new timelines as many (including myself) grew to believe. A.k.a., there are no parallel universes or multiple timelines. I went over this in the notes, but imagine overwriting a cassette tape or hitting the reset button on a device.

Though there are still a number of discrepancies this fact fails to explain or clear up, Shao Yuanyuan telling Cheng Xiaoshi to not concern himself with investigating her and his father lends credence to him not knowing where they are or when they're coming back in S1.

The person Vein speaks to over the phone certainly isn't Liu Xiao, namely because Liu Xiao spends half of the episode playing faux Tetris on his phone, but also because Vein strictly uses English while on the phone with this mystery person. Perhaps he was in contact with someone associated with Yingdu's Chinese Chamber of Commerce (Vein is the leader after all), or simply an unknown figure that he has ties with and was tasked to confiscate the book with the eye.

Wang Qing's power involves faking death, something that's been hinted at by her student ID number translating to "fake death ability user."

The information of Wang Qing's classmates has been blurred out, but it's all unique text and some of it can even be made out. The pages for Amy and Blair (the girls that bullied Wang Qing) appear briefly, and though Amy's information is harder to make out, Blair's is somewhat discernable.

The kid that used his power during the test also appears, but the most that can be made out from his page is a middle initial. It should also be noted that Wang Qing had the most absences among the students we saw pages for, and that Cheng Weimin wrote, "Intervention needed," on her page.

We finally know the fates of Cheng Xiaoshi's parents. While Cheng Weimin is certainly dead from the fire at Bahati (confirmed by the ISBN number of the Sonnet Shakespeare book), Shao Yuanyuan is still alive somewhere.

Shao Yuanyuan's use of possession through a photo confirms that Cheng Xiaoshi received his ability through genetics. While we don't know if she is the original holder of the power or if she gained the power from Cheng Weimin after he died, it's clear Cheng Xiaoshi gained his power from either of his parents.

Li Haoling confirmed that death results in the passing of one's power, meaning there's a chance Lu Guang can still possess someone through a photo they took. But while it certainly appears that Lu Guang possessed Wang Qing and used her fake death power on Vein, it doesn't explain how he could've possessed her without having a photo she'd taken in that very moment (Shao Yuanyuan received the photo she took of Cheng Xiaoshi and possesed her that way). Edit two days later: a new video of an interview had Liu Haoling confirming that Lu Guang did not possess Wang Qing

One user on Twitter pointed out a detail on Liu Xiao's phone: the date on his phone is not the current date in Yingdu (June 2019). They also stated, "This is the evening, probably around 5 pm, which would be the same time as 00:05 September 13 in China."

While that could be an error, it should be noted that a string of text appeared during Bilibili's and seemingly only Bilibili's version of the episode: "Three years later, after the Li twins case." This whole thread is interesting actually, give it a go.

On the note of dates, Lu Guang came to the reset timeline on April 11th and passes the 12 hour mark once the clock hits 5:32AM (meaning he possibly and originally met Cheng Xiaoshi four days prior to the guy's birthday).

Vein interestingly uses darts on Cheng Xiaoshi and Wang Qing rather than real bullets as in the EP1 opener. It's also unknown if he's aware of powers, let alone that Shao Yuanyuan was in control of Wang Qing as they fought.

It's implied that Wang Qing needs a person's real name in order to use her fake death power on them, though it's unclear how she knows Vein's real name.

For once we ended the season without a death, though we have no idea what happened to Xia Fei and his former colleague Jack, who were both reported to have recently gone missing after we cut back to Lu Guang in present day China.

CHENG XIAOSHI GOT THAT DUMPHY

Vein's real name is Xiao Weiying

Back to the book with the eye (the same book Cheng Weimin had in his desk), it's being heavily speculated that the book contains either classified information on the students of Bahati (particularly the ones with powers), or something deeper. Either way, Shao Yuanyuan's statement about the fire being started on purpose supports the idea of someone starting the fire in the hopes of grabbing the book while Cheng Weimin leaves it behind or dies.

The idea of it holding information on the students' powers, or simply being a catalogue of all of the powers Cheng Weimin has crossed paths with, seems likely with Liu Xiao potentially being another seeker of the notebook.

Liu Xiao was the one seen unzipping Vein's body bag in the post credits scene.

Qiao Ling asks why Cheng Xiaoshi changed the studio's name from "Hero Photo Studio" to "Time Photo Studio," and while he gives his indirect answer of being connected through time, we can infer that changing the name is his way of keeping his promise with his mother after leaving Bridon. To make things clearer, a flashback in S1E10 confirms that the name of the studio hadn't changed while Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling were renovating (which is also when Qiao Ling first meets Lu Guang).

Lu Guang hasn't blushed once in the Yingdu Chapter, but Cheng Xiaoshi has (which makes for a grand total of two blushes from Cheng Xiaoshi and a stagnant five for Lu Guang).

When asked if Xia Fei was a survivor of the Bahati fire, Li Haoling dodged the question.

Soon after the fire at Bahati took place, Shao Yuanyuan tasked Wang Qing with allowing her to speak with her son through her someday. Since Wang Qing was still a student and in the hospital at the time, this means she's remained in contact with Shao Yuanyuan for 10 years.

Li Haoling commented during the interview that Lu Guang doesn't know about Vein having come back to life.

He also stated that Shao Yuanyuan would have interactions with Lu Guang in S3.

Actually, here's a full thread of translations for the interview, and a slight summarization of what was said.

The artwork Bilibili released to commemorate the series reaching 700 million followers on their site has this message in the tweet: "The game between "Hunter" and "Mastermind" continues, turning over the cards in the mystery and throwing the final chip." We can infer from past context clues that Liu Xiao is the hunter and Lu Guang is the mastermind.

Cheng Xiaoshi volunteered to play the flower fairy in the third grade despite the role calling for a girl (among other embarrassing stories Shao Yuanyuan told to make Cheng Xiaoshi believe it's her in Wang Qing, she's quite the charcter).

Shao Yuanyuan's speech about saving Cheng Weimin implies she's on a similar journey as Lu Guang (they're both desperately trying to save someone they're close to by resetting the timeline).

Wang Qing goes by the alias "Chris" for her psychiatry business, though it's unknown if her business is still continuing after she disappeared with Cheng Weimin's book.

Considering Shao Yuanyuan's lines when she finds Cheng Weimin in the fire, she was likely not meant to be there at the time, and possibly confused Cheng Weimin. That would explain how blasé he appeared to be about leaving Cheng Xiaoshi in China, if we're to believe that Shao Yuanyuan would usually be in China with their kid while he's in Bridon at the language school.

Cheng Xiaoshi changed the background of his conversation with Xia Fei to a picture he took with him during their modeling gig.

Aight, my well has run dry, and once again I'm certain I'm forgetting something (definitely forgot to go more in depth with the two pieces of artwork that dropped around EP6's premiere), but I hope this is satisfactory in some regards. Again, correct me or add anything I may have missed, time for me to hunker down for the long 2+ year wait until S3 arrives😭

[you-huo]

link click shorts opening and the dance it was inspired by

the animators even got the straight faced unwavering eye contact

[doublxpresso]

Sleepless

[syncogon]

BUT THE CLOCK TOWER BELL ONLY STRUCK NINE

[muninnhuginn]

You know what's gonna kill me when we get the inevitable Lu Guang flashbacks?

The fact he's always described as "mature" as his post-dive self implies he must be different now than before. It's hard to imagine exactly what his personality was like before, and if it's written well, he shouldn't be completely unrecognisable. But we know he's been changed.

Imagine a first timeline where Lu Guang just follows along with Cheng Xiaoshi, no attempts to reign him in whatsover. Cheng Xiaoshi having the opportunity to come up with more of his complicated tricks but channelling it into lower stakes stuff like pranks and Lu Guang actually enabling him in that and having fun with it. Imagine tragedy striking when Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi are both allowing themselves to be genuinely happy, no facades.

We know that Cheng Xiaoshi used to put on a brave face in light of his parents' disappearances and what that meant for how he was treated and what he was missing out on. But we also know that Qiao Ling and Lu Guang together have been able to lift that into something more genuine. Imagine a world where Cheng Xiaoshi was able to do the same for Lu Guang. Where they both mutually brought that light into the other's life.

It's still true to some extent in the current worldline, but it's complicated by Lu Guang's own actions. Lu Guang can never be fully honest with Cheng Xiaoshi without (in his mind) losing him forever. But he has to stick by his side in order to have any chance in his hopeless quest. And so, he must distance himself in other ways, protect Cheng Xiaoshi, enforce the rules. Swallow the guilt. It leads to a more lopsided relationship, one where one side is always hiding something from the other and refuses to open up themselves. A relationship that in the original timeline must have been more equal, as partners.

There's something that's been lost here, and it's not just the original Cheng Xiaoshi.

[miyamiwu]

The clock in the room on Lu Guang’s dive, as shown in S2 final:

The time is 00:05:15

The time on LG’s watch in the same ep:

00:05:22. Close enough.

The same clock in the room, but as shown in Yingdu ep 1:

Am I tripping, or is the minute hand pointing at 12 instead of 1, like in S2??? The hour hand is also pointing between 1 and 2 here instead of 12. Could this be an animation error? (unlikely, for Link Click)

I’m not even sure how to read that… If it’s 1am, the hour hand should be pointing directly at 1 or between 12 and 1, but closer to 1. And if it’s 2 pm… the hour hand should be much closer to 2, not right at the center space between 1 and 2. Suddenly, I’m doubting my ability to read analog clocks...

I feel like this is an indication that time is now broken. Or…it could be that Lu Guang has been away in the photo for so long that the batteries of the clock in the original timeline has died out.

In the S2 clock, we see the second hand (the thinnest, pointing at 3) still moving. But in the Yingdu clock, the second hand (pointing at 8) is not moving at all.

Meanwhile, Lu Guang’s watch in Yingdu:

It looks normal, with the time being 00:05:36. Compared to S2 watch, it’s ahead by a few seconds.

(Btw, I took screenshots of both clocks and watches at the last second shown for each)

[elibean]

do you see just how completely and utterly defeated and broken he looks here. he still had blood on his shirt. how soon after cxs's death was this? how long did he sit and think about going back?

[starrywangxian]

season 2 episode 12 is sad for a lot of reasons obviously but the thing i can't get over is how everyone is so happy. they're celebrating, eating cake, having a nice time and lu guang is sat there thinking about the time his soulmate* died in his arms, the time he looked at his hands and saw the blood of his soulmate. *(friend feels too weak of a word in this scenario - you wouldn't go back on your promise, your morals, your rules to go back to the beginning to save the life of just a friend when you know that death is unavoidable and a Big No in trying to prevent)

and the lighting !!! the welcome home banner !!! everything about that scene screams happiness and joy and relief that they recovered from their injuries which is just so ironic since lu guang, my little meow meow, is thinking about the fatal wound that cheng xiaoshi got in the original timeline.

imagine seeing your found family happy that you lived but you are thinking of the Horrors where they die 😭 no wonder the "lu guang needs a hug" tag is so popular on ao3

[xheksprostate]

Monty has him hang around him... lets Dobes call him Sammy... peace and love on planet earth

[fortune-maiden]

Something something cat box

Something something quantum superposition

Something something only by Lu Guang observing the past change when Cheng Xiaoshi dives into it can the present change

[shantechni]

⚠️Spoilers for Yingdu Chapter EP6⚠️

I already went over this in my long post (and included a link to a new interview video wherein Li Haoling confirms that Lu Guang definitely didn't possess Wang Qing), but I feel the need to reiterate it since I still see a frightening number of people believe Lu Guang is the one with the fake death ability.

Wang Qing temporarily killed Vein.

Wang Qing's student ID is 54274636454943. When typed into a Chinese T9 keyboard, the resulting text we get is, "假死能力者," which means, "fake death ability user," once translated.

One glaring problem that people pointed out with the idea of Lu Guang controlling her, aside from Wang Qing's blue not being the same as Lu Guang's blue, is the lack of any visual indicator for him using any power to possess her.

However, it may not be so glaring when looking back at the S2 finale for the scene where Lu Guang resets the timeline (his eyes are also the usual gray and not lit up with either blue, to indicate him using his foresight/observer power, or yellow, to indicate him using possession).

These are the facts we know though:

Lu Guang has used Cheng Xiaoshi's power in the past to reset the timeline by jumping into a photo he took of the sky.

Li Haoling stated in his latest interview that, in the case of someone dying and passing on their power to someone else, that power stays with that person.

While it's unclear if that statement covers powers with time limits, a.k.a., Cheng Xiaoshi's 12 hour cap until one either gets stuck in the new timeline or claps out before then, the implication is that Lu Guang and Qiao Ling have kept possession of their new powers.

I also mentioned this in my long post, but Wang Qing's fake death ability doesn't activate until she calls out Vein's real name, Xiao Weiying. So even if Lu Guang had possessed her, he'd be relying on her knowing Vein's real name to use her fake death power.

Lu Guang also would've needed a present photo taken by Wang Qing to possess her, similar to how she took a picture of Cheng Xiaoshi and sent it to Shao Yuanyuan so she could possess her in that moment.

Check the notes for more info

[you-huo]

link click

"watch your manners" poster showing up in the elevator only after Felix gets in

[rainibao]

Crazed cat vibes

[stan-joe]

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

[muninnhuginn]

okay but I do really like how the revelation/confirmation of how the twins' powers instantly reflects back on shiguang

Passive vs enactor dynamic

Each pair has a passive player (Lu Guang and Li Tianxi) and an enactor (Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianchen). The passive player can see/feel for relevant information but is unable to change anything by themselves. By contrast, the enactor can use their power to change things, but without their passive it's much more difficult for them. For CXS, he has to dive blind and risks altering nodes and/or being unable to fish for info without LG's framework. For LTC, he can't possess anyone from a distance and has to both get in close contact and maintain that close contact for the duration of the possession which heavily limits what he can do.

Which leads onto the next point...

Synergy

LG&CXS and LTC<X's powers are massively more useful when used in combination. I don't know if we'll ever find out the origins of the powers, but honestly, it's like they're made specifically for the pairs to complete each other. Any other combination of the powers doesn't seem to be anywhere near as useful and the fact that LG&CXS's are based in the past and LTC&LTX's in the present is only part of why that is the case.

The synergy in both cases is activated by touch. LG can communicate with CXS when he's in a dive because they activate their powers together. LTC can use LTX to possess and actively control puppets by maintaining touch as she uses her powers.

(Side note: I think the way that LTC possession is more like puppeting than possession is how he was able to make Liu Min commit suicide. If the person actually *in* the body tried to commit suicide like that, as Xiao Li explains to us, the body's defence mechanisms would kick in and it wouldn't work out.)

Disruption

Building on to how shiguang and the tian twins have massive synergy in terms of their powers it also appears that if you try to switch it up they end up disrupting each other.

In CXS's dive into the twins' backstory, he first retains his possession but loses contact with LG and then later when LTX is jumping into Liu Lan and LTC is possibly channeling his power through her's CXS gets a staticky POV from LL and then booted out entirely. I'm unsure of the specifics of which twin is affecting which angle of shiguang's powers, but I think the gist we should be getting from this is that whilst shiguang and the tian twins have a lot of internal synergy they don't have a lot of cross-pair synergy. If anything, it may be difficult or impossible to combine outside of the standard pairs.

Feelings/memories

Anyway, the idea of possession fits with how CXS and LTX are able to feel what their hosts feel and have some degree of memory leakage. CXS is active possession and LTX is passive possession, but they're truly one with their hosts to some degree (which fits with their personalities being the more empathetic of each pair).

We know CXS also carries over some physical aspects when he possesses and LTC by virtue of "puppeting" (rather than possession) is able to override the host's natural ways of working (as exhibited twice by Liu Min, first with his legs, and later with his suicide).

(I'm not entirely sure I'm interpreting the physical aspects of this along with the show's intent but this logic at least follows in terms of it making sense for me)

Photos

This is a bit of an odd one, but it seems that LG, CXS, and LTX all require photos for use of their powers. LTC... doesn't. I don't know that there's any specific reason for why it's like this, but it does stand out when nearly every other trait has an analogue in the opposing pair.

[toxooz]

How do u get so good at anatomy and faces??? 😭😭😭 I adore ur art style and I just wanted to know if you had like a certain method or anything or if u guys practise :0

i just draw a fuckload and observe the human body and how it moves at all times and use references and draw and draw and draw summore 👍 u may not now how tf muscles link together but with plenty of drawing and research it will eventually click into place and you'll Get It lmfao