#lc s2

[asherasgayagenda]

YKNO WHAT IM JUST GONNA GIVE U HTE LINK UAHAFEHEEHBEHE

do u know how much e

[nemoys]

the fact that cxs hesitates and even decided against going back in time for lg because of what lg himself taught him, not doing it bc of the moral responsibility he has but purely because he knew that's what lg would've wanted. now compare that to the fact that lg WITHOUT HESITATION JUMPED BACK IN TIME WHEN CXS DIED? the fact that never changing the past was a rule only created BECAUSE lu guang is terrified of the fuck up fucking up his fuck up is just such good writing it makes me want to rewatch every single thing all over

[curestaarlight]

just thought about s2 and the funeral and how much cheng xiaoshi cried and how much he probably cried later, beside lu guang's hospital bed, and how lu guang probably felt his heart seize up with so much sadness and devotion and love, love, love, because the man in front of him seemed to feel so much it spills out of him, and so all lu guang can do is wipe the tears away as they come, and let them come until soon, later, they dry out. and cheng xiaoshi, tired from all the crying, lays his head in lu guang's lap, and lu guang tells him it's ok. it's alright—he can rest for a little while.

[briebysabs]

Lu Guang is a hypocrite and that’s okay (great even)

I must stand ten toes for this man because I’m noticing the slander that went on in September and I cannot allow it. I know I’m six months late but just bear with me. We are introduced to Lu Guang as a rational, stoic, sort of wise protagonist. The brains of the operation if you will (although Cheng is clever in his own right but that’s a whole other discussion). Qiao Ling and Captain Xiao describe him as more mature. Shiguang’s relationship is strong but it’s structured, especially for their work, to where Cheng has to depend on Lu Guang. Should only do as he says and not do anything impulsive.

And it gets to a point where Cheng doesn’t know what to do without him and when LG isn’t there he relies on his past words to guide him. The thing is, we’ve seen that CXS can come up with great plans and make good decisions without Lu Guang’s voice in his head. Like how he caught Min Liu or planning how save Lu Guang from Li Tianchen. But the story has built LG up so much to be a reliable character so it can’t be untrue. But then the s2 finale happens, Cheng gets shot and Lu Guang loses his mind.

And then the ending basically tells you that he’s been winging it and gambling this whole time. Experimenting with god knows how many timelines, simply using his knowledge from the previous one to see if he’ll get lucky this time. Lu Guang has been playing a crane game. So in a story that is all about mistakes, guilt and regrets. Of showing the imperfections of people. Of showing the struggles of moving forward, of being satisfied with the present. Of sacrificing your sanity, your voice, your desires, and happiness for the people you love. How is this bad writing?

Link click has been tricking the audience to believe Lu Guang is an infallible character.

But Link Click was never about perfect people.

What he’s trying to do is no different from Li Tianchen, one of our antagonists. And I love CXS to fucking pieces but this show raises the question of a life’s value. LG is trying to save Cheng and so refuses to change the past for anyone else. Bc it may alter things and doom CXS in the process and ruin all he’s worked towards. But then you ask yourself, is CXS’s life worth more than the twins' mother? Is it worth more than Chen’s mother? Is it worth more than Emma?

It doesn’t matter because it is to Lu Guang. It’s like the question if your sibling and a mailman are trapped in a burning building but you can only try to save one. Unless they’re the absolute scum of the earth, chances are and possibly even despite that, you’re going to pick your sibling. That don’t mean it’s objectively more valuable than the mailman or you didn’t have sympathy for that person, they have loved ones, hopes and joys too. “Lu Guang is a hypocrite, selfish, unreliable, and a liar” yes he is. Because there is something called ‘flawed characters’. It’s okay for your protagonist to not be the best person. It’s okay to write a protagonist whose trauma has defined some of their actions.

If you’ve been forced to have someone you love die in your arms over and over, why is it surprising that you would lie to them? How is it surprising that you’d try to keep secrets? That you’d set things up to be in a position to control the situation? That’ll force you to plan better so maybe, just maybe things will be different? You think Lu Guang lacks self awareness and doesn’t know what this makes him? Of all things you can call LG, he’s not delusional. He knows the weight of his actions.

Link Click has and always will be a story about people. Where our emotions and choices take us. Lu Guang isn’t a robot so why would he be an exception?

Plus everyone should’ve been knew Lu Guang was sus anyway. Idk how that’s mischaracterization, there’s proof of him lying and keeping secrets from CXS in s1. It doesn’t ruin anything it recontextualizes what we were shown back then.

[nigesakis]

its interesting that people seem to think lu guang is smarter than cheng xiaoshi. theyre the same amount of dense in different ways. stupid x stupid

[saelterlude]

Gushing About Zhu Hanbin and Jing Yanqiao in The City of Musicals S2

The City of Musicals (S2, at least) is kinda like The Voice. 24 musical actors, 3 troupes, covering musical numbers, elimination every episode. Season 2 focuses on young/fresh talents.

I was on a Zhu Hanbin(LG musical actor) binge and got really into this show once I found out his frequent CXS counterpart, Jing Yanqiao, is there as well. Now seems like the right time to make this post since JYQ's birthday is soon (April 13th!) and everyone barely knows him so, to begin here's a cute interaction they had on weibo after what I can only assume is a Link Click rehearsal.

You can access the full episodes here. But I'm going to discuss and link each performances under the cut.

Oh yeah, before I start. I have notes of the context of some performances (not including them bcs I only researched some and not all), so if you like any of them and would like to dive deeper or just wants the context in general just ask and I'll share what I have. (That said, the 10th is Ied so I might be busy and took a while to answer)

Scouting stage (Ep.1-2)

They are sorted into groups of three and perform together as the same character.

For Forever from Dear Evan Hansen

Performed by Sun Tiecheng, Zhu Hanbin, and Wang Haoran. I love ZHB's expression in this performance, it's very innocent and hopeful but also with a hint of hurt? It fits the vibe of the song. It's a really nice, soft and hopeful performance. ZHB's expression really paid off since he got scouted into 2 troupes. Funfact, ZHB and Wang Haoran are classmates lol, they didn't know the other auditioned on this show before they got sorted together. Their third teammate felt very awkward lol.

Dans Le Noir Je Vois Rouge from Le Rouge et Le Noir

Roughly translated to "In the dark, I see red" performed by Alladin, Jing Yangqiao and Tian Ye. It's very good, dark and angry vibes. It's from a French rock musical so yea I really like it. I know I wanted to highlight JYQ but the original rap that Tian Ye (right) arranged is definitely the best part of this performance. The three of them worked really well together. Also, Jing Yanqiao was asked if he felt pressured performing with his seniors (he's still in school) and he answered yes, but most importantly he was intimidated by their heights. so cute lmao. Don't worry JYQ, you're still taller than ZHB. This is also 1 of the only 2 groups where all three performers get scouted.

Sidenote: I found the original song and I've been translating it to practice my French lol. In fact, I found a recording of the whole original musical.

Round 1 (Ep.3-4)

Each troupe prepares 2 Duo performance and 1 solo performance.

No Longer Human from No Longer Human

Performed by Sun Sankai and Zhu Hanbin. Yes, as in the Osamu Dazai novel. ZHB played Yezang (Oba Yozo) the protagonist of the novel and Sun Sankai played Osamu Dazai the author. So this is an existential conversation between author and his character. That's probably why this set design is creepy, but in a good way! An amazing duet, very powerful vocals from both of them, a very nice listen. But damn those hands are wobbly and every time I watch them climb up it, I worry if its gonna fall. Also, camerawork feels like something out of a 2nd Gen K-pop music show lol. And ZHB is barefoot for some reason... If I caught it properly it's bcs he's scared of falling off the hand? I need to double check but understandable.

Therapy from Tick, Tick..., Boom!

Performed by Jing Yangqiao and Feng Difei I couldn't find the cut version of this performance so you would have to do with the timestamped link of the full episode. This is such an adorable and fun performance. I love the cutee original phoneline choreography they have and how their voices work together. Also, JYQ and Feng Difei playing couples and going on a date bcs the coach tells them it would help their chemistry. Why are they lowkey kinda cute though. The post-performance interview of this reads like a blind date interview istg. The interview keep asking questions like what JYQ got her for her BDay and if they have made each other mad like the characters in the musical, etc.

Round 2 (Ep.5-6)

There are 2 troupe duo performances, and 2 cross-troupe trio performances.

The Other Side from The Greatest Showman

Performed by Sun Sankai and Zhu Hanbin. This one is so good, soooo good. I already liked the song before but their voices fit this song really well. Then you get to see, ZHB can dance y'all. I like how energetic this performance is, they really ran around the stage and walk across the table. Special mention to Sun Sankai who practiced that hat kicking trick to perfection, he got to a streak of 100 successes during practice. And to the bartender too, I love his expressions.

In A Crowd of Thousands from Anastasia

Performed by Jing Yangqiao and Feng Difei Yes, it's these two again, playing a couple again lol. Yes, they also went on a date again to prepare for this performance. (In fact, they're paired in a new musical "Love Myth" airing next month) Truly giving off a romantic, magical, and almost fairy tale-like feels. I love how sweet it is. The mini-them also did a good job with their performance. Fun fact about this one, JYQ played in Anastasia musical before this show and is still currently playing in Anastasia, both as Dmitri, just like he did in this performance.

It's Not Me It's You from uhh pretty sure it's an original rap based on disney villains. So it's from Disney, I guess.

Performed by Jing Yanqiao, Zhao Qianlong, and Zhou Mohan. I can't take this performance seriously, not with those outfits LMAO. JYQ as Gaston looking like Winnie the Pooh instead, I can't. That said, the rap is really good, I like the flow, I like the beat, it's great. I jusst, those outfits lmao. Even JYQ posted on his weibo how the outfit simply wasn't it. I can add the photo he took in the rb but pls just watch the performance.

Round 3 (Ep.7-8)

Each troupe prepares 2 duo performances again.

Disappear from Dear Evan Hansen

Performed by Jing Yanqiao and Zhu Hanbin. Yes, they both performed together in this one! I couldn't find the cut version again, sorry. IDK why, maybe it's copyright? For now, timestamped link. I can't explain why, I really like this performance and I really like their dynamic. Their voices also goes nice together but I know that already from watching them together in the LC musical. So yea, this is good. Though, ZHB being projected as JYQ/Evan's hallucination of Connor is kinda goofy looking. Also, so far ZHB has been kind of type-casted as the innocent boy or bright-eyed young man in need of guidance type so to see him playing a more aggressive/leading character (though not by much) is nice.

(JYQ doesn't have that problem, literally he was scouted by the troupe bcs they feel 'he's young and thus can be molded into anything'. ZHB did have to help him perfect the anxious boy act for this performance.)

Quarterfinals (Ep.9)

A trio performance from each troupe, along with a single cross-troupe performance.

Believe in Miracles from Ultraman (yes, the superhero show)

Performed by Sun Sankai, Zhu Hanbin, and Jing Yangqiao. Original skit. Both JYQ and ZHB act as students to Sun Sankai's teacher. The song sounds vaguely familiar to me, maybe that's why I like it so much. It's very fun, rock vibes. JYQ intentional voice crack in the beginning cracks me up. It's a very energetic song too, makes me want to pick up a guitar and jam along. (No, IDK how to play the guitar beyond the basics lol). It honestly looks like they were an idol group or something. (LC Idol AU anyone?)

Goodbye Cassini from Cassini

Performed by Zhao Qianlong, Zhu Hanbin, and Tian. I'll be honest, not a big fan of the skit, it is better enjoyed as just a goodbye song to a beloved space probe, but I am a huge fan of the song (Original ver. here with subbed lyrics, it a got more opera? vibe to it. both ver. are very good though.). I've been randomly humming 'Goodbye, my Cassini~' for days. I am so tempted to make a fic based on this song. Tian (the girl) really carried this performance with her angelic vocals, it's so great and heartbreaking. Her heartbreak at having to leave her friends behind and knowing full well they're never going to meet again. If you're watching this one, I highly recommend you wear your headphones. Trust me, it will cleanse your ears. And if you want to skip straight to the song? 5 minute mark.

Semifinals and Finals (Ep.10)

The semifinals are duo performances of an original musical number. The finals are a solo performance from the top 2. They are available on spotify and youtube music.

The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman

Performed by the top 4 contestants: Zhu Hanbin, Miao Mengqing, Jing Yanqiao, and Zhou Mohan. I don't have a lot to say about this one. Really nice performance, a bonus to a great episode. Yeaay, both of our LC boys got into the top 4!

Assassin

Performed by Jing Yanqiao and Miao Mengqing To be honest, not the biggest fan but maybe that's just me not being a fan of historical drama in any form. JYQ used a fake facial hair, so that's something too I guess. That said, it's pretty nice to listen to and the dance/sword fight choreography is really cool. (Though as someone who used to do choreographed fights, I feel kinda dissapointed it's more sworddance rather than swordfight.) Miao Mengqing's voice is really powerful, just listen to her. Unfortunately JYQ was eliminated here, but he reached the top 4! I'm proud of him. He also learned the choreo and to play the uhhh (it's 1am, lookup instrument nme later) in only a week. So that's cool.

Don't Believe him

Performed by Zhu Hanbin and Zhou Mohan. This one I highly recommend. This song is an emotional banger and I've been listening to this on loop for days. The choreo and staging is good too, although there's one part that I think is a bit goofy (thankfully it's not too distracting). The fight/struggle choreo they did here have more power than Assassin so I really like it. Really cool, makes you wanna punch a bully, I love it. ZHB played a bullied kid and Zhou Mohan plays ZHB's 'perfect' dream self who wants to keep him in this dream world and away from the hurtful reality. This song (as well as Assassin) is available on spotify and yt music, but the live version is 10x better because it captures the emotion better. You can hear ZHB's desperation and sadness as well as Zhou Mohan's anger and frustration, it's great.

Lonely Mountaintop from The Devotion of Suspect X

Performed by Zhu Hanbin. It's good, I enjoy it. Though as a final song I do kinda wish he picked a song with more power? IDK. It's still good though, it's emotional, I love the build up, the set design is pretty, and the song fit his voice really well. ZHB won 2nd place with this song. Congrats on your hard work!

Miao Mengqing won first place and honestly? She deserved it, she's so good. But this post is focusing on our LC actors ZHB and JYQ so uhh. Please watch her final performance singing "I Have Nothing" here, it's so great, she's great, I love her voice so much.

Fun fact, JYQ did not vote for ZHB in the finals lol, he did it right in front of ZHB too and I'm pretty sure at that point they were already announced as cast in the LC musical. (Sorry ZHB, but I too would vote for Miao Mengqing there)

Last bonus (which I'm not gonna link) before we end this post. In the 3rd episode, around 20minutes in Zhu Hanbin and Jing Yanqiao did an advertisement for their water sponsor together and they're very awkward, it's funny to me.

[stray-tori]

quick lc s2 rant about trolling the audience

Slowly but surely my patience is running out.

The LG trolling in PVs was already annoying to me. But like, sure. why not, it's all meta stuff, and the episode itself actually switched to LM (recognizeable by the choke marks) before the flatline. so, fair! easily catch-able when you pay attention or rewatch.

But this new episode...? In ep6's ending, the shot of CXS running with LTX had his eyes normal (like, in the actual ep!!).

I HATE shit like this. I'm sorry, wtf? This is not a case of "if you paid attention, you got something early". In fact, it's the complete opposite. it's turning to your audience and saying "oh, you paid attention? too bad, we lied!"

In s1 LM being possessed was obscured SO naturally through the mask and later the dark room being all red. Going from that (which is genuinely one of my favorite things from s1) to this kind of stuff really frustrates me.

In both cases (assuming this ep's ending is also misleading*) I feel like they could have edited it in a way that didn't show the eyes at all, and then use the full animation for the next episode.

Or at least make it a far shot then where non-colored eyes could be an abstraction/simplification because of the distance.

i just. i can't do this.

screwing over your invested fans who try to make sense of things they see IN THE EPISODES is just a move that I cannot understand.

Because yes, the eyes likely aren't in-universe. it's purely for the audience, but it's not like their approach changed to make for a less direct hint. They didn't keep doing it through ep7 as they did in ep6 - which proves that this is solely to be unreliable and to troll and I find that disappointing.

Because I absolutely understand the value of leaving things in the dark with this stuff - nobody can be trusted, etc. It would be great for the genre switch. But that's not how LC has operated with this until now and instead of consistently adjusting, it's done like this.

Maybe ep6 was an error, but considering how likely it is for ep7 to be doing the same, I don't think it would be.

\* reg why I think ep7 is also misleading: LG was too hurt to walk to the door without opening his wounds, there's NO WAY he could do all this. and we know that CXS possessing someone carries his physical condition over. also in a preview for s2 they showed the timestamp LG was waiting for in ep6 (18:55) with text that says "Past meets future". Idk how this will work considering he probably can't dive to save himself if he's actually taken but IG we'll find out!

edit: toned down my wording a bit ;w;

edit after ep8 came out: it wasn't trolling since they consistently portrayed him without golden eyes "before" we saw the dive happen, so that's fair game to me. Just makes me dislike ep6 end even more though lol, why did they deviate from their portrayal for that one shot ugh :(

[myiayse]

shiguang yuri please save me

[lowcaloriesims]

I extracted the roach texture from the Sims 2 and made wallpaper/flooring with it. The roach texture is on the right, PNG and transparent. Below are the downloads to my roach floor and walls [for sims 2 only]. Happy simming!

[astranauticus]

i am so very normal about him

[muninnhuginn]

Link Click Meta(ish) Posts

Cheng Xiaoshi and "acting out" during missions (note: written mid-s1)

Lu Guang vs Li Tianchen's approaches to grief

Qiao Ling and Lu Guang's relationship

Protection as a leash ft LTC and LG

Powers: ShiGuang vs LTC and LTX

Li Tianchen, touch, and relationships

Li Tianxi and Li Tianchen, self-blame

The rhythm of the interrogation

Lu Guang and deflection

General musings on the themes around 'fate' in Link Click

General timeline surrounding the twins (written s2e11 - this is the final version)

Qiao Ling's arc as of s2

Bonus non-meta: Fic recs part 1 (dated Nov 2023), fic recs part 2 (dated July 2024)

[curestaarlight]

qiao ling is so cool cos she's literally just a girl (loves gossip and going out and music and going on runs...just like me fr) but also she's a savvy business woman,, also will kick the shit out of you and will not fuckin hesitate.

[briebysabs]

I never understood why people were complaining about the episodic nature of link click disappearing for season 2. I get it if you prefer s1 over s2, I do as well while enjoying both seasons. But in terms of the format switch, what were people expecting after that s1 finale? We cannot go back to status quo after that. If Lu Guang died, we definitely wouldn’t and as he lived what did you think was gonna happen? ‘Well Qiao Ling got possessed and stabbed Lu Guang that was an experience. Time to go find client #52’.

I think people have a really strong attachment to season 1. Makes sense as it’s all they had for 2 years and for me, I didn’t wait for episodes. I watched s1, took a 4 day mental health break, and dove right into s2. But it was obvious season 1 served as an introduction and that there would be a larger plot at play. You can debate whether the show becoming really popular in China made them include more action scenes and raise it to a thriller. But something like CXS’ missing parents or Lu Guang looping time to save Cheng Xiaoshi was planned from the beginning. It had to be so link click was always going to get more dramatic.

And I don’t agree with the stance that link click lost its emotional core. It’s simply interwoven into the overarching plot instead of self-contained stories. Preferences are valid and understandable but I wish more fans would try to evaluate s2 from a rational standpoint. There are complaints I agree with but a lot sound kinda dumb to me.

[shoukohime]

I haven't watched link click season 2 yet 👍

[syncogon]

2013 synco is THRILLED

jiaxiao dramatic parallel universe battle partner rescue movie like HELLO???

[daily-linkclick]

hiatus!

daily-linkclick doodles are going on a hiatus for at least a month! i'll still be reblogging existing art, analyses, gifsets, anything link click related to keep up the "daily" part of my url, but i need to take a break. thank you for following and see you soon!!