#I'm pathetic because I really think that Link Click is in many ways a donghua about love that doomed by fate

[mimicha-arts]

Wasn't even sure if I want to post it, but anyway. I like to be more objective, analyze everything and so on. But this is the last week - which means I will live in delulu. Just don't take anything seriously. This post is a mixture of thoughts, guesses, a little personal opinion, not a theory. It's about possibilities. To begin with, I must say that my expectations have unfortunately broken free, and I cannot keep them in check. I also hope that, as always, the final episode will be more than 30 minutes ;)

REMINDER SPOILERS for ep11/ep12/s2

Keep calm No one has shot Cheng Xiaoshi in this timeline (yet)

Possibility 1 If it's just one shot. There is a possibility that the shot is a trick, where the frames and words should be in a different order. First there should be a shot scene where Qian Jin is still wearing the bulletproof vest. Most likely, he will simply run out of ammo later.

If so, yes, Cheng Xiaoshi was shot. Yes, the bullet partially hit. In fact? It was a miss. By all logic, the events when Qian Jin does not have a vest are what comes next in chronology. He must be left without firearms, so he switches to hand-to-hand combat. At the moment when Xiaoshi raises his hand to strike, you can see that he has a wound/torn clothing in a very obvious place, but this is not a through shot. Also Lu Guang's words, as an answer to Cheng Xiaoshi's worries: "You're not better than me, anyway" - probably, this “similarity” reflects the duality of their wounds.

And it's gonna be just like this... Or. Possibility 2 There will be two shots. And even if Qian Jin runs out of ammo, Xiao Li still appears in the scene, he most likely has a gun. I'm not sure if they can put such a serious and important moment in a teaser, but.

Keep in mind that where XIao Li is, there is always an absolute mess (do we trust him at all, haha). Considering all the actions of the police, either the animation studio is really salty about police work in the real world, or the constant fuck ups is deliberate actions.

Although I think Li Tianchen's attention will be focused on Li Tianxi or Qian Jin... Speaking of XƎTЯOVerthink, we still have "Li Tianchen and a bouquet of flowers". He has a very strong motivation to “get it all back.” If he shot at Lu Guang, but Cheng Xiaoshi blocked him with himself, it would make sense.

Ok, maybe things will be different. Anything can happen.

Qiao Ling

Everyone already assumed - it came true, since in the opening her eyes lit up in an extremely interesting way, and now in the preview we see the activation of her abilities.

Considering that this is (probably) the second time we see such a scene, we can say with some degree of certainty that Qiao Ling initially did not have her own abilities, but upon the death of Li Tianxi, Qiao Ling received her abilities or activated powers which are more compatible with the inner “core” of Qiao Ling herself.

Again, I think she kinda fits the role of "healer" in the team. This may also be related to the fact that in collaboration with 花亦山心之月 one of her abilities was directly related to healing and restoring HP. If this was done on purpose a year ago, if collaboration lore is particularly canon and hints... Ohhhhhh :)

I'm not sure if Qiao Ling's abilities will be a "one-time opportunity" since it is unclear whether we will remain in this timeline/reality. Considering all the elements in her posters (hearts, the music player, stop button), I think she will have the ability to stop/freeze time in the moment. It is precisely because of the symphony of life, probably she represents a “pause” button.

Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi and Vortex

Something has to happen. Everyone understands perfectly well what the fandom is waiting for. Everyone perfectly understands hints and literally directly said things (visually and with OSTs). But we are all afraid that this situation is a hoax. Ugh, me too. This is terribly funny.

But let's not forget. This is the essence of LinkClick. Confuse everyone, make them doubt and overthink, and then take the most literal and direct path. Because that's what the game is about. I like to think of s2 as a game with an audience. I would laugh that Lu Guang would just be a "normal guy", but (c)... Nah, I think he is an onion with many layers.

YES. I'm still confused by the circumstances of the shot in the ep 12 intro. But we have so little understanding of where the truth is that I will continue to support the most obvious and direct way to the end.

In my opinion: s1 events is the cyclical past but with changing circumstances/Lu Guang's attempts, s2 is the present in which a “vortex” will occur, they will switch roles, and s3 is Chen Xiaoshi’s stage of depression - so Cheng Xiaoshi will be the one who will face the destiny from the other side, either learn how to live without Lu Guang, either find a way how to get him back. If everything goes this way - everything in s3 will ultimately lead to an attempt to change the node of their meeting so that they never intersect, but this is completely mystical speculation based on foreshadowing.

Considering how Cheng Xiaoshi's abilities are developing, 12 hours is not his limit. That’s why I’m betting on time jumping/rewriting from Cheng Xiaoshi's side. This choice had already arisen before him twice. We are getting closer and closer to what this will lead to. I guess one of his main themes as a character is, can he remain “himself” until the very end? I am referring to 天真.

I'll accept any scenario, just in general knowing WHAT Director Lee likes to do in his works... Huh. Also this poster for s2 extremely strange “does not coincide” with themes is s2. Like, we discussed the cameras several times, the difference in reflections and so on, but there is one point that was barely brought up. At least I didn't see it lately, cause I'm kinda new here. They're here in their damn SCHOOL uniforms (校服), we never had a flashback or anything with this designs in s2. Well. Time-jumps into the past, at the moment of the “nod/meeting” on the basketball court, but now all events will go on behalf of Cheng Xiaoshi? Yo. Is it possible that we will see (s3) their “past” not through flashbacks, but through the prism of the present? This seems like a rather interesting idea to me. If we are considering "The Arrow of Time" here, all events are relative, and it's also possible.

Considering that we all know about the “dark-design!CXS” in the intro, it never matched his design in s1, and there is an obvious link between the seasons and the passage of time, where exactly s2 is the present, and the entire s1 is a continuous "flashback". I'm not a big fan of posting materials from the art books, but it's just bits… In concept sketches of scenes, Cheng XIaoshi has a dark design, like in his intro. His eyes are not black, they are kinda ligher, like yellow, so these are not concepts for s1 at all (I’m speculating) - these are probably his concepts for s3, reliving the events when the Vortex turns over.

Anyway. Cheng XIaoshi is going to take a burden. Therefore, it is easy to draw parallels in s2ep3, we all understand the context. The themes of promises. Also, the ring. He is character with the obvious path - he have to realize the truth, find out about everything and live with it, keeping the memories. Especially about one "forget-me-not" person.

This is my personal opinion and empty speculation. So, in overall:

Lu Guang's vision was a flashback, he took over Cheng Xiaoshi's abilities at the time of death and was able to rewrite the events, but it's not the same as Cheng Xiaoshi's time jumping in the past. The color coding can be anything, but since red-lilac (as connection with twins) and white went to Qiao Ling, and all the Easter eggs point to green, Lu Guang still most likely originally had a green-yellow color coding, blue for Cheng Xiaoshi, idk.

All of Lu Guang's knowledge of lore and abilities comes from his personal experiences - for me, he as a character is literally imbued with the theme of regrets and the severity of his own actions. We saw how much his emotional moments, worries and sincerity were centered around Cheng Xiaoshi in s1, and everything became completely straightforward in s2.

Difference in design - in my eyes refers to the fact that Cheng Xiaoshi from the past could not survive his “fate” in any scenario before this attempt. And Cheng Xiaoshi from this timeline is the only one who got the opportunity to “move further into the future.” There's a chance that the story will begin once again, but from a different, now “correctly chronological angle” , if we take it from the point of view in the intros, precisely at the transitional moment from s2 to s3. But at the same time, I think that they cannot completely destroy the current chronology of events.

A lot depends on the date of Cheng Xiaoshi’s birthday, so maybe when he crossed his “age limit” everything goes to an end. I will scream if this shot is not actually a happy return to the photo studio, but Cheng Xiaoshi's birthday celebration in the past.

What about Lu Guang? Well. We literally have lyrics for "The Tides" - if this ED won't spoil everything that happens, I don't understand the lyrics at all. I don't think Lu Guang's existence will be eradicated from the universe, time or reality now. I think the current version of him will end up dead/cut off by the universe from the current version of Cheng Xiaoshi.

Will my understanding of events deceive me? Very likely. I'm not sure of anything except one thing - I'm wrong somewhere. Especially because here I do not take into account the plot role of Hatman (we have no idea what he is trying to achieve and what his influence will be in this particular situation) Again, a friendly reminder - this is all pure speculation. Lu Guang is a mystical liar, and this is not a fair game. We're playing bingo.

But am I completely sure that Lu Guang is absolutely pathetic and miserable, that he is the person who, despite all his words and rules, could not let go the person he loves?

Yes.

Qian Jin

Honestly? I love what they did. Oh, it will be a sexy main villain with complex morals? He has his own vision of justice blah blah blah. No, we have a very dirty story here, some people just fucked up everything in their lives and everything in the lives of the people around them. “And what, everything was just like that, so useless, is that how the script works?” Ok, everything may change in ep12, but.. yeah? And I think that's great. Because that's how life works, too. One of the most terrifying experiences in life is to be around such people in power. I'm not making excuses for Li Tianchen's actions, but I have deep empathy for him - his life really was nothing but a nightmare. I have no questions about his logic or methods of “asking for help” - because he is a victim of abuse.

At the moment, it's the pure irony that Qian Jin always used everyone as tools, that even his "family" were never really on the same side with him, and in the end the real "tool" - is Qian Jin himself. In the hands of a Hatman. If earlier I believed that they could act as one (since I had other thoughts about Quede, and we also did not know Qian Jin’s motivation), now I am inclined to believe that Qian Jin never knew that he was just a pawn in someone else's hands. Also, that purple color is all around his figure ;) "Hatman" was never on the screen in present, but also always was here.

Twins

My bet is that they definitely don't fall out of the plot. Their role is too important, they must be included in the main cast to reveal the story arc of Hatman (here I'm sure he is Liu Xiao). If he promised Li Tianchen a meeting in the future - it will happen. Could he get a redemption arc? Perhaps. Will he be able to get his HE? I guess no. Hatman's words in flashbacks about his philosophy about hunters sound pretty straight forward. This will be a completely different antagonist, with his own philosophy and understanding of the structure of the world and society. But it's not entirely clear to me what path the plot is leading us down and what the final point will be. To what extent is our “main” antagonist really... the main “antagonist”, will Li Tianchen continue to follow the path of "destruction" or will he receive a redemption arch.

Given his background, it's possible, and I can generally see the possibilities for it, even considering that Li Tianchen was involved in a series of massacres. The different details of the murders and the broken chronology - I can get how this could theoretically be softened if it is divided who killed whom. Yes, we know that Li Tianchen generally had no problem stabbing a person with a knife. But I still don't understand the difference in murdering styles (also what's wrong with boots in some cases), considering that Li Tianchen probably prefers more planned and quiet methods (like murder-suicides). It probably doesn't mean anything, Li Tianchen personally confirmed that he killed these people, but I sense something strange here. For now, I cannot imagine, if Li Tianxi does not die completely, how the script will be able to maintain the right degree between drama and logic and at the same time not discount everything that happened in the plot. If events are rewritten, it all depends on what impact it leaves, whether this reality, where everything mattered, will continue to exist. But this is definitely not the end for all of them.

Hatman

I'm still firmly convinced that Hatman is Liu Xiao, not much has changed since my first post about him. Possible antipode of Lu Guang (was Lu An from the mini-series a subtle hint, haha). At the moment I'm leaning towards 3 ideas:

He is also a person with abilities and sees variations of the future that has not yet happened since childhood, which generally clarifies his mysterious phrases about possibilities and chances.

In terms of time, since all events are relative to each other, maybe he is able to move from the “present-future” to himself 7 years ago in order to “lead” Li Tianchen to the desired point in current events and correct the necessary course.

It's all part of a time loop, the events are rewritten, but he still has memories of them, which is why he can "correct" what happens when the "loop" of several years is repeated again.

What else am I sure of? He will have some kind of terrible background story with his mother, remember it. And, if we take into account another donghua from the same studio, perhaps Liu Xiao takes his “roots” and “references” from approximately the same character as Lu Guang himself - just each of them … adopted different features, references and archetypes. Because damn it, Liang Chao's legacy is real and I can't stop thinking about it - this is one of the characters from Tu Bian Ying Xiong: Leaf - his story and family situation have interesting points, especially considering some moments in the link click itself, which refer to Leaf's plot (same city, closing of a pharmaceutical company, some interesting easter eggs, all of it)

Photos from OP

I always wondered what was going on in all the photos in the opening. I didn't expect them all to be left with such intrigue until the very last episode.

We have two photos in the opening that are flying in the water, they are almost impossible to see because of the blur, I think that their meaning will be revealed this friday (same as diary). If the events were/will be rewritten, most likely it has something to do with these photos - the same two photos from the op, as well as in 3D scene.

Except for Chen Nan, there are a few more strange photos from the passage in the tunnel. More cases, covered bodies, a bicycle/bike handlebar or something like that... But I have no clear thoughts on them at all.

What are the main points?

Some could be picked up in episode 12 in my opinion. Or in s3, I hope they not fall into oblivion. I am not taking into account all the questions that left since s1, hello to April-September and Emma.

Qian Jin should probably die, his birthday present.

The real circumstances of Chen Nan's death, there is too much unreliable information.

Explanation of the circumstances of Chen Bin's death, since it's not confirmed.

Xiao Ma also will be choked on screen.

Did Wang Juan survive?

How exactly did the twins' parents die?

Context of Qiao Ling's abilities - will Li Tianxi be saved or not.

Where is Liu Min's phone, what is the danger of information inside

Some chances of hints for 7th case, maybe.

The boat / flipped phone / kettle, everything related to the time loop, why Lu Guang knew the place/left a photo. Why doesn't Lu Guang use his watch anymore?

Password, ring, call - these are not questions that will be answered immediately

Who will get the shot, in what timeline and how? If the vision shows different circumstances, what happened there?

What are the photos about, what is the book/diary from the OP?

We still hope and believe in Lu Guang flashbacks, if related to the previous points, then. Why do they need to use such "time machine" references -

Vortex in context, will time be broken completely?

Will circumstances bring Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianchen to some extreme point?

Why is there a photo studio frame with balloons?

Liu Xiao / Hatman as the main cliffhanger

Too much, probably. All thoughts are my delusions. Well. See you on Friday.

#link click #link click s2 #link click spoilers #shiguang dailiren #thanks to ep11 i was not able to sleep for 2 days #delulu #I'm pathetic because I really think that Link Click is in many ways a donghua about love that doomed by fate #Sorry but I watched 仙王的日常生活 and I can’t stop thinking about patterns #everyone is under the dead flag #mimicha.lc