#li twins (link click)

[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.

[rai-in-hell]

I took a break from my obligations to do this for myself 🤧

[alien-from-planet-zog]

The light is all around him like a deep, deep hole now…

[aashiyancha]

Li Tianxi Tianchen

[cat-soda]

is any piece of media really complete without a pair of twins that are actively being tormented by the narrative?

[saelterlude]

how did writing "ooh captain xiao li reacts to shiguangqiao family dynamics" turns into writing "captain xiao li pov of s1 and s2, also shiguangqiao are a trouble magnet but theyre his kids now"

it was actually going according to plan until i realize how quick shiguangqiao rely on him. like they saw him twice, one to make sure doudou's dad wasnt scammed where they see he's very dedicated to help and the second whilst doudou is reuniting with his family where he shows that he's willing to trust them and their unknown methods as long as it helps the victim.

then boom, their friend is missing? immediately call captain xiao li. they captured a murderer? call captain xiao li. you're falsely arrested but cant explain it? demand to talk to captain xiao li. i assume qiao ling also called captain xiao li when an attempt murder just happens and they need someone they trust to hide lu guang.

it doesnt help that hes so open to trusting them and their work. as well as being somewhat protective over them. leaving them in the safety of the hospital room while he search for chen bin, briefing cxs on how to interrogate someone, very open to their theories on how lg got out of the hospital, very open to their input and opinion in general, while also being hesitant to sent out ql and cxs to the hostage exchange without backup.

and he also personally drive cxs and lg back from the hospital?? he couldve ordered any officer to do so?? he's not just a cop he's a captain isn't he? he's supossed to be busy isn't he and yet when shiguangqiao reach out he always tries his best to help instead of idk sending them to another officer??

[muninnhuginn]

li tianxi blaming herself for her parents not divorcing and because they don't things escalate past boiling point. blaming herself in the first place for the tensions between them because she has needs and not everyone is willing to try and meet her with them. li tianxi choosing to look away and not say what she sees anymore so this won't repeat. but in the process just ending up enabling tianchen as he spirals down and down.

li tianchen blaming himself because he wanted to fix things for his mum and do what she couldn't but instead he gets her dead. and tianchen just wants to protect tianxi like he failed to protect his mum but he doesn't try to actually *understand* her. so instead his efforts eventually drive her away because there's only so much she's willing to take. she didn't want to be 'protected' like this.

they've both lost their parents and tianxi doesn't want anyone to suffer as she has whilst tianchen wants everyone else to suffer as he has. everyone except tianxi.

wanting to protect someone but not giving them the agency in the decision. in whether they even want to be 'protected' in this way.

[thaxrodnee]

The thing is, when me and my twin saw Li twins when nobody knew yet, we didn't think 'oh, yes, it must be twins just like us'

We thought 'oh, yes, it's *gender*' (also just like us)

To be fair Li Tianchen has trans colours on his jacket

And there already was an episode with Chef lesbians, so it would fit the narrative

[1031-discovery]

link click week day 1: shooting star

[friedwizardwhispers]

*technically it was both Li Tianxi and Liu Lan who took the photo so this might be an exception to his one use of the photo.

[chubphoe-linkclick]

Hey so S2E9 'Three Stroires' was fucking bonkers

LETS TALK ABOUT IT

The episode is DENSE AS ALL HELL with things to talk about, the three main things being

The titles

The art style and style of storytelling

The dialogue (or lack thereof)

Lets speedrun some analysis notes of our three favourite members of the worst found family ever!!

Storytelling Styles

All three stories are emotionally driven and told in dramatic styles without realism, though all for differing reasons.

QJ mimics the over-the-top Shakespearean reminiscent of his wife, believing himself to be the main character of a tragedy. Though this style of story telling is obviously campy and corny, it's also presented in a way where it's not immediately clear to the viewers that this isn't actually real -- it's a fabrication of the canon within the canon as a reflection of QJ's delusions.

LTC mimics QJ, however, his disposition leads to him seeing everything as a Greek Comedy as opposed to perma-victim QJ's Greek Tragedy. It also reflects LTC ultimately leaning into and revelling in killing other people as part of his hunter ethos and evolution. LTC's style does not need to be realistic because LTC isn't looking for meaning in his story, but for an experience that's enjoyable and satisfying.

QJ and LTC's style complement each other with both being able to come together to tell a more cohesive narrative overall, although each does so by focusing on themselves more than anyone else.

LTX is a silent cartoon telling of her life story, quite literally the story that's gone untold, bar the words of the gossiping crows (people with frivolous and passing interest in her life writing their own stories about the events she goes through). Her story telling style is a reflection of her mindset and being trapped cognitively as a child for all time, and is further indication that her personhood wasn't allowed to independently grow since becoming an orphan.

LTX's story is outside of QJ and LTC's narrative because she cannot speak, and thus her story does not matter. No dramatisation of reality to paint a certain picture is needed, nor is her story seen or understood in either of theirs. Her story is insular and disconnected from theirs because her personhood is disconnected from theirs.

LTX's story is told through the lens of LTC and LX's worldview: that the world is made up of beasts and hunters. There is only ever one human character (likely LX himself rather than QJ, based on how visually loyal everyone else's designs are) while LTX watches LTC straddle the line between animal (his nature) and human (his will).

Story Titles

QJ's part being called the "Inevitable Tragedy" is a reference to how he is the creator of his own misfortune as it was never based in reality but his own unchecked paranoia.

LTC's part is called the Fortuitous Comedy is because it was fortuitous for QJ to find out about the twins' powers before anyone else via Tianchen's confession and subsequent laughter. It could also be due to LTC reaching his perceived hunter-status by the fortuitous case of Deng being Liu Min's first requested kill (for the same reason LTC hates Deng, no less).

LTX's title being the "Sibling's Fairy Tale" is rather self explanatory, much like the character herself if you took the damn time to talk to her. It's childish, stuck in the past (trauma), focused on her brother and the other light of her life: their late-mother. Another piece of insight that I remembered hearing is that fairy tales don't always have happy endings, but they always have a moral to learn from. In this sense, Xixi's story is thematically the most important because no character has put that moral into practice (confronting the worst aspects of those you love, refusing to look away from the secrets they hide while you stay in a peaceful dream with their softness).

Additional Notes

QJ caring for the twins in Part II is a reflection of LTC being gaslit about reality (reinforced by QJ's fatherly love being absent in LTX's story), as well as a reflection of his sense of self and human autonomy only beginning and flourishing due to the circumstances QJ provided

LTX's story suggests that most of the time she spends with LTC involves her napping in some form, or that most of her time in general was slept away as if she was trapped in some strange dream.

The only betrayal even hinted at is LTC's betrayal of LTX's morality, a twist that literally shatters LTX's childlike world and forces her hurdling into reality. This is the only betrayal because the twins are the only two who have trust in one another among the three.

Someone else made a point about how even when the foxboy picks up the bow and arrow, he remains a fox. In LTX's eyes, her brother can act as a hunter but he's still a beast and that's not a bad thing.

The fact that most people are 'beasts' and there's only one human in all of LTX's worldview really is some solid symbolism and messaging, especially considering LTX is socially classified as an undesirable a la her disabilities. It's peak reclamation and pride in Oneself.

[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.

[alien-from-planet-zog]

Hope this isn’t too hard to read!

Right side: YESSS CHENG XIAOSHI IS GONNA DIE AND THEN LU GUANG WILL GO BACK IN TIME TO SAVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!

We’ll find out soon :)

[shegoesbyjoy]

What I thought might've been an animation error in my previous post about the red-eyed siblings I now believe to be fully intentional after seeing S2 E6. Link Click S2 spoilers ahead!!

---

TURNS OUT, BOTH OF THE SIBLINGS VISITED LU GUANG.

Because this show's got me in full detective mode, I went back through every episode that has aired so far and combed through every appearance of the twins. First we have the scene at LG's door.

As established in the previous post I mentioned, the siblings can be told apart by their hair, outfit, and to some extent their lashes as well. (The most obvious tell is their hair—the boy has a fringe, while the girl has straight-cut bangs.) Knowing this, you can see that the initial scenes where LG is stopped from closing his door is the boy.

Immediately afterward we have LG's eyes widening...

...followed by a shot of the girl. Note the hair and lashes.

Then we switch back! The one who ends up handing LG the photo is the boy, NOT the girl.

Now, let's take a look at some of their other appearances. The sibling in the back of Qian Jin's car who was instructed to "do it" before being handed Chen Bin's photo? The boy.

The one waiting in the hallway, who Qian Jin's henchman gives a phone to? Also the boy. (The outfit difference between him and his sister becomes rather obvious now, if you are looking out for it.)

The one who then calls Qian Jin on the phone later that episode? The girl! (Made clear in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment at the very end of that scene when she tilts her head, revealing a tiny corner of her bangs.)

That conversation btw (which happens in E4) potentially foreshadows the events of E6...though of course we still don't quite know what "this plan" was meant to accomplish, assuming the girl's trip to the police station is really what they're referring to here.

Qian Jin: How about it? Have you found him? Li Tianxi (the sister): [shows mouth moving but with the audio silenced] Qian Jin: [laughs] You’re a real lunatic. This plan is risky, but if we can take action before the police discover it, we still have a chance.

Anyways, what all this confirms for me is that BOTH siblings are in contact with Qian Jin and working with him somehow. But what's still totally up in the air is:

Are the two siblings in contact with each other? And if so, are they working with or against each other?

Are the siblings actually on Qian Jin's side by choice? Or are they being coerced in some way?

Do they have their own agenda (either individually or as a team) that they're pursuing under the guise of following Qian Jin's directives?

Why did Qian Jin scrub most of their info off the police records?

What exactly was the brother trying to accomplish by handing LG that photo of his sister and their mother?

LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS left for S2 to answer... 👀

[mimicha-arts]

Link Click s2e9/e10

Date of the post: 09-01-2023 Okay, I watched this episode a couple of times, another post-episode post where I’m trying to gather my thoughts. SPOILERS FOR S2E9 AND E10 1. Probably missing scene I am 99% sure that we are not done with the “from the hospital to the pier” scene, I will believe until the last moment that this is a hoax. Chen Xiaoshi will run into the red light, and in fact, I think there is one missing scene at this point.

Some time ago, a small draft was published, where one of the characters ran across the road and barely dodged a moving car. Soo, I think it was here. If this remains in the final version, of course, we'll definitely come back to it (source). Just my speculation.

Yes, Xiaoshi was just impossibly lucky (lmao) to escape from the hospital, but we are still left with three unclear details:

upside down phone

the kettle in chronology 1

damn boat! This part of the plot is still the most confusing thing for me. What was the point of giving Lu Guang away the first time? What was the point of creating a time loop? Why he still ended up with Lu Guang (as it seems) in the scene of Romeo and Juliet? I'm pretty patient with this, just curious.

2. Abilities. I think we got a hint about how the twins' powers work. Previously, I assumed that the limitation of Li Tianchen's control abilities was like this: that he could only act in the evening, night and early morning (somewhere in between), since all the kills and uses of his abilities did not occur during the day. Now perhaps we have our answer? Based on the history of the foxes, it is likely that the time of using his abilities is tied to his sister's "sleeping time". Because when she was sleeping, her brother went for "hunting". Moreover, such a focus is on his “paws” and pats.

3. Change of events - Qian Jin and twins The way twins met Qian Jin is SO different. I actually kinda think, that that one of the variants of events is the already fucked up past through the present. s2e9:

s2e8:

It seems to me that the difference in these events is obvious. Both the moment itself and the details. Li Tianchen's backpack on his back, blood on Li Tianxi's dress. Everything went differently.

Alternate realities went brrrrr? The scene from the episode is an attempt to change events, where instead of Qian Jin it is actually Cheng Xiaoshi? I have no idea. 4. Hi, hatman! Friendly reminder: it's just my guessing. At the moment it seems to me that if there is no trolling here, the boy from the flashbacks and the hunter from the fairy tale are the same character. Clearly. We know that his last name is Liu, and Liu Min himself has a younger brother, Liu Xiao, so yeah- Сan't wait for him to return from overseas and be part of a real scene.

In fact, I really love that Li Tianchen hoped throughout his expression that Liu Min is Liu Xiao (whether he realizes that these are different people is still unclear)

Considering the announcement of Neo Aurora, it seems that we will see Liu Xiao's real appearance and design in the near future, I'm shaking. I have so many stupid jokes about him! 6. Liu Min I guess the woman they were discussing at the beginning was someone else? Since Liu Min can still able to move his legs and even can stand up.

I can conclude that Emma was not the first victim of this “alliance.” So it's hard to say how many people were actually killed, definitely not 8, much more. At least that's what it seems to me. Idk, I'm just having fun, as always. Feel free to discuss. Thanks for reading ~

[mykingdomforapen]

I already made a post about the significance of Chen Xiao's dive in the whole story of Link Click but I am not done thinking about the earthquake arc.

Besides everything I already mentioned in the aforementioned post about why that dive is so crucial, it does also strike me that Chen Xiao is the only one of Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang's clients who seems to really grasp the true nature of the boys' abilities. Their services are advertised as a fairy who can 'enter into photos,' but it's never really shared to the clients in what manner that they can enter. So all the other clients come to the boys for information--Quede Games' financial info, a secret noodle recipe, Dong Yi's love confession, Doudou's whereabouts. I'm willing to bet that they all assumed that if such a fairy did exist, she would enter into the photo like a ghost who can sneak around without really affecting the past, or having any ability to affect the past--just an observer. Basically, if Lu Guang's powers also granted him omniscience, not just observance. If any of them had an inkling that Cheng Xiaoshi would become their past self, they weren't at all bothered by it.

Heck, even Li Tianchen didn't really understand fully Cheng Xiaoshi's powers, or if he did, did not understand its limitations. He shoved a photo into Lu Guang's hands in hopes that the boys could 'fix things,' and was angry at Cheng Xiaoshi that he didn't change the twins' past. But if he knew that Cheng Xiaoshi could only dive into the photo as Li Tianxi, as a vulnerable little girl, what would he have expected Cheng Xiaoshi to do to stop their father? What could Cheng Xiaoshi have done to save them, when he was the most frail one in the room?

But Chen Xiao was the only client who didn't seek information. He didn't want to take anything from the past, he wanted to give something to the past. To communicate to the past. He was the only one who sensed that the 'fairy' could become his past self, or at least compel his past self, to do and say things he hadn't actually done. His is the only request that depends on the boys' abilities to become him, rather than to be omniscient and omnipotent. He is the one client--person--who asked the boys to dive into his photo but expected nothing about his present or future to change. He knew that it couldn't, at least not as far as he was able to tell. Yet, he was the one who receives the most moving example of peace as a result of the boys' dive.

I don't have a conclusion on this, I just am still Thinking About the Earthquake Arc (TM) and I feel keenly that, while we are likely not going to see Chen Xiao's character again, he is doing some heavy lifting in the narrative. The one who truly understands Cheng Xiaoshi's abilities for its full potential is the one who was able to truly gain a kinder present/future when he finally made peace with his loss.

Cheng Xiaoshi, I'm oh so scared for your fate.