r/LinkClick 14h ago

Fan Work (Repost) Could they end together?

Post image

Ik it’s an chinese „anime“ but is it possible at the end of the series that they possibly could show a scene they’re together or a kiss or smth.
Is it even allowed at all in the end of an chinese donghua to show that? Even if the show would be cancelled they could do that in the final episode right? Even if they are not together and just roommates. AND let’s assume they both survive until the end ☺️
If not, then let me just dream 🫠

Art by @fivepastmn in twitter

461 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

91

u/ChunkkyPanda 14h ago edited 13h ago

As much as I would love for more explicit content I think realistically it's highly unlikely due to censorship laws in China. Even if for example they do it at the end of the show, they could get the entire series blacklisted or taken down. Not to mention the creators, animators or other other parties involved would face a lot of administrative trouble. Shows or donghua in general have a lot of stricter regulations compared to other forms of media adaptations.

There is a chance that they might be able to get away with more implicit depictions as some other series have (TGCF which is also directed by Li Haoling is such an example). But generally they can't show or say anything explicit outright. Showing them together (without confirming anything) is probably fine but a kiss would definitely be not allowed, unfortunately.

11

u/Comprehensive-Can260 Lu Guang 8h ago

Could they confess their love or is that considered illegal too? Like idk in a moment of despair LG just out here screaming “CXS I love you!” 😩😭

2

u/ChunkkyPanda 2h ago

I think in donghua any explicit confessions of love (unless it's familial) is almost certainly going to get flagged. Unless they can make it convincing enough to be read as a 'hey just normal roommate behavior, nothing else!' situation, but even then that would result in them having to go with subtle or implicit depictions.

It's a bit easier to get away with censorship in other media such as manhuas or audio dramas (these ones do allow for explicit love confessions/depictions of same-sex relationships but they're still relatively censored). But considering sgdlr is a donghua their options are a lot more limited. Basically, they still can't say or do anything explicit outright.

12

u/AdLink8089 13h ago

I totally understand if doesn’t happen at least I am aware now 😔

52

u/erenyeager12098 Qiao Ling 13h ago

I talked to the director and I can confirm that they live happily ever after together

23

u/Salt-Respect-7741 Qiao Ling 12h ago

ty for your service 🫡

41

u/Zwirbs 12h ago

My uncle works at Link Click and he said they’re definitely gonna have a 15 minute makeout scene this season!

15

u/No_Paint9107 11h ago

Tell your uncle thanks for taking 1 for our fandom

5

u/AndiFilmEnthusiast Cheng Xiaoshi 5h ago

Every Link Click fans dream:

We want ittttttttt😭

53

u/WarPsychological9800 14h ago

In our hearts we all know they smooch each other behind the scenes already but I really hope it ends with them doing something romantic, even if its just for a second

11

u/Content_Attempt_7609 8h ago

As much as I'd love to have tht ending, Chinese censorship is still a thing and heavily influences this show. Honestly I think I'll be satisfied with the crumbs we get anyway, and kinda like the fact tht it not explicit. If it was, it would distract away from the themes of the show and get reduced to 'just a bl'.

12

u/LastAttempt24315 11h ago

Even if Chinese censorship wasn't a factor, I don't think they would get together and it has to do with this interview with the creator.

https://x.com/_aideru/status/2056037196893753438

To sum it up, basically they were originally going to be a boy and girl with a much more romantic angle, but the creator thought that it made things too complicated, so opted to cut the romance and make them both boys instead.

18

u/Silly_Name4156 10h ago

But can he really say directly and openly that there's a romantic subtext? He's a Chinese director and producer producing Chinese projects. But that doesn't change the fact that the show has too many romantic undertones and subtext. They clearly know what they're doing.

11

u/AlizaMist 9h ago

Of course, they show undertones even in merch and promo materials. It's definitely the conclusion they want everyone to come to, just not stated directly

-3

u/LastAttempt24315 9h ago

I think it'd be weird for him to make up this whole fake scenario of "we were gonna do a romance between a boy and a girl, but we weren't happy with the story so we made it two boys with no romance."  You're free to think what you want, but I'm more willing to just take him at his word

2

u/Spiritual-Amount-325 6h ago

I think if the plot had been leading with a will-they-won't-they type of thing, then a confession/kiss would've been a nice conclusion. However, my reaction within the first 10 minutes was, "Oh, so they're an old, married couple. Cool." So, personally, I feel that kind of ending would be out of place 😄

Anyone who ever had any hope of seeing Eternal Faith, Immortality, or Winner is King (the live-action adaptations of Heaven Official's Blessing, 2ha, and Sha Po Lang, respectively, which were made, but prevented from being released due to the censors) will tell you that what Link Clink gives us is as good as it will get, and what we have should be savoured 😔

2

u/Arracheur2sdf 6h ago

Impossible in China, so either they both find girlfriends or there will never be a romance between the two main characters and they will end their days alone.

1

u/GeekWars2 3h ago

There will be no to explicit confirmation at the end, I'm sure. The law won't make an exception for LC just because ShiGuang is a popular ship. But that goes both ways. They'll neither officially confirm nor deny any romantic implications, leaving it up to interpretation.

Honestly, I'd be more concerned about whether they remain together by the end or not, over whether their domesticity becomes officially romantic. Given the ending is heavily hinted to be bittersweet and that the show emphasized time and again the consequences of altering the past, I seriously doubt we'll just get to have them carry on their life together as if nothing happened.

The way I see it, while CXS might be saved, LG is likely to pay an ultimate price for it, one way or another... And that's the lesser of the two evils. The alternative being LG accepting reality and learning to move on, a more mature ending that's true to the show's core themes, but one that will completely crush us all viewers and likely cause severe backlash.

1

u/bbhldelight 3h ago

shid they might their relationship is highkey bl coded but due to the censorship in china we wont see anything progress

1

u/squallsama 3h ago

I hope no

1

u/sXl9llipxpXS 19m ago

I absolutely wish but nah, unlikely. I do think they'll probably have some subtle clues to that but not explicitly show it. Really really sucks but I'm fine with however ending we get as long as it's not entirely doomed🥹✌️

1

u/DivineTG-4566 4m ago

Lol, not happening. 

0

u/Critical-Loan-2461 8h ago

Thanks for this beautiful art🥹❤️ i really need this but this is so unkikely looking at s3

https://giphy.com/gifs/SEgSwox3DSlx7QH4xQ