My other intro was outdated, so I decided to (finally) make a new, updated one!
(It's still not very fancy, but it's better than nothing lol. I can always add to it later, too.)
Favorite Media (bolded = especially peak):
Arcane, Bungo Stray Dogs, Fabulous Beasts, Go for It(,) Nakamura-Kun!, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Kamisama Kiss, Link Click, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Pokémon, Sasaki to Miyano, Spy x Family, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., Witch Hat Atelier (manga)
Favorite Characters (from various media):
Nikolai (Bungo Stray Dogs), Izaya (Durarara), Hetao (Fabulous Beasts), Aventurine (Honkai Star Rail), Jhin (League of Legends), Liu Xiao & Lu Guang (Link Click), Lee Hakhyun (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint), Tsubaki (Servamp), Qifrey (Witch Hat Atelier)
Favorite Song:
Interactions:
Feel free to ask anything (so long as it isn't crazy lmao), since I'm fine with yapping! I love yapping about my interests <3. Just stay respectful and (most) anything'll go.
(Sorry, but I am NOT waiting till July to write my thoughts out; I will do a separate post for the lyrics and their connections when the pv releases.)
(This isn't entirely an analysis of the yet-to-be-released pv; it's more so like, a bunch of random stuff on the saying and how it pertains to Link Click. )
Basic Definition
If you were to go back to the 17th century, you'd find "moth" being used to describe someone easily tempted(! Temptation!) toward something leading to their downfall. That hasn't really changed much except the whole "to a flame" part being added. And I assume this basic message will be conveyed throughout the song (probably with its own twist), considering one of the lyrics we got a sneak peak of was "we can't get closer". (Though again, I'll go over the lyrics once they're actually released.)
Lyrics
Before I get into the specific lyrics, I do want to point out that fire motifs are very common in Link Click, and numerous ones can actually be put into the context of this saying. I decided to just highlight the most related ones though, because I already went over fire lyrics in the past.
Now, I know that "Renting a Skin" isn't LX's song (rather, it's another one of the hot-headed trio's, XF's), but the saying "moth to a flame" is directly said in it (translated or not, I can't recall), so I decided to include it:
"Fragmented, harsh comments/Like moths flying into flames"
Again, I know this isn't LX's pov, but it *is* XF's, a character who is connected to LX. It is also strongly possible (imo) that they knew each other when they were younger as well; specifically for the whole Bahati incident and such.
Anyway, I'm not really too concerned about the line before the moths one (mostly because I'm not focused on that topic rn, not that things can'tbe interpreted from it), though "fragmented" can be interchanged with "broken", like a clock, like time that has been meddled with.
Now, for the actual line in question—moths is plural here, which stands out to me since a lot of the time it is used in the singular. Not that it can't be used like this, mind you. Just that I think it is specified to be plural here since the lyric is talking about multiple people. I think these said people could be the Bahati students, in the case of taking "flames" in both a literal and figurative sense. Actually, one of the reasons why I previously mentioned Bahati is because if there is a connection to be made with the lyrics and the school, then it could lead back to LX. One piece of (admittedly incomplete) evidence that supports this is the eye symbol (also eyes are linked with powers, as we've seen throughout the show) being linked back to Bahati, which cna match up with LX's tattoo. Also, in one of the season 3 teasers, LX is shown to find the symbol painted on some wall, and that very well could be the Bahati school (ruins or maybe underground) after the fire, before anything else was done to it. This is just my own theory though of course, so it could be its own separate thing. Nevertheless, it's still hinted at that LX indeed has some connection to Bahati, so it wouldn't be too far of a leap to assume he knew XF in the past as well (even if XF forgot about it/got his memory erased).
In any case, (sorry for diverting from the original point,) the students died to the fire like moths being killed by flames, but to truly make this comparison, there had to have been some sort of incentive for them to havd been in this situation in the first place. Also I guess I should mention the first line again, since if you're talking about the future before untimely demises, then you can easily connect the two. Some sort of power mishap could have caused the literal fire, but the fuel to the fire (in a metaphorical sense) was probably having all the super-powered students in one location in the first place. (Also perhaps interference with the timeline caused the tragedy like a fatal side effect. . . . Though this indeed is a stretch I admit.)
Also! I already talked about how this connects to LX, but if these lyrics are indeed meant to represent Bahati, one is able to make the connection between LX and them as well. Mainly because of WQ's story about the detective investigating the fire and such, which I personally interpret as being able to symbolize/foreshadow JL's appearance or whatnot. And yeah, I think that's all I wanted to get out about these lines.
Manipulator: "Those lost in the darkness are my friends"
Unlike the aforementioned, this is indeed a song about Liu Xiao—like, it's literally his character song. (Which one can argue makes it even more connected to the lyrics of XF's song, and heck, even Vein's for that matter.)
I highlight this lyric despite it having nothing to do with moths and flames because of the fact it's the sole opposite. Since LX is specifically stating that his "friends" (loosely using this term here lol) are those that are in the dark with nothing to guide them—not even false light/hope. This implies he doesn't associate with those lured by desires, which kind of contradicts the image Dream Out! has painted of him, being the embodiment of lust and all that. And while I don't view the pvs as canon of course, there are definitely key details to be picked out since they wouldn't be included for no reason. ("Chekhov's Gun" or whatever.) So, LX could be lying to himself with what kind of people he surrounds himself with, but to be honest, I think it'd be mroe accurate to say that his temptation (which can actually be said of the PAIN mv as well) is a test of sorts where he filters "unworthy" people out. Or something.
Mastermind: Now, I have mentioned in other posts that I view this as a song that can refer to both LG and LX, but I'm going to mainly look at this through a LX-painted lens (though also if you apply it to LG, it can contrast to previous messages from LX's other songs).
"Take my hand, let's set this world on fire"
If you were to take someone's hand and go along with them, you can be led straight into flames. And if one were to light the world on fire, you can't escape the flames. This actually kinda renders the saying "moth(s) to a flame" useless because there's no choice, or perhaps even an illusion of choice, which is entirely plausible. Of course, "world" can also mean "current timeline" in the context of this show, so it can relate to the butterfly effect, since butterflies and moths should definitely be discussed together (and I'll get to that later on).
"Light it up for the show"
Now, while light isn't always interchangeable with "flame" (especially not in this context, since it should be an inherently dangerous thing), this line is specifically taking about fire, so it fits. The "show" here can be unraveling threads of the timeline or whatever grand scheme is being cooked up behind the scenes. But that's beside the point; the point is, things are being lit, and that can inevitably draw others in—like moths. Heck, the show can even be them burning (probably not in a physical sense though) once they get too close.
Another thing is, this is again contradicting the fact that LX preached (maybe slightly hyperbolic but eh) about darkness in his song. But also again, this could totally be purposeful.
"Let my flame be your redemption"
This is one of the most on-the-nose lines I wanted to go over tbh. Essentially, the flame that leads to one's downfall is also one's redemption—as if the only way to redeem oneself is through sacrifice. Ironically, they'd have to give into the sin of temptation/lust (in the sense of this pv's embodied sins) to do so. Honestly, sacrifice makes me lean more towards this line talking abt LG, but in a way where LX is stating that LG must give in to what he (LX) says and whatnot in order to "redeem" himself (LG). If you wanna apply JL to this, then I suppose LX could be talking to him instead/as well, though I'm not sure what he'd even want to redeem, since he seems(?) content with where he's at. (Though of course that's just a random guess.)
Wake Up: (I was originally gonna stop after the previous lyric but I randomly remembered these lines so I have to include them now. These are translated btw; I prob should've specified this for some previous lyrics as well): "The shadow coming from the backlight of the night/Becomes the star that lights up my world"
Okay! Lots to unpack here, but I'll try to be concise and coherent. Ahem. The word "world" is used here again but that's not surprising. Though here it's either used to refer to LG or XF (and their respective views). Honestly, this another case where the lyrics are applicable to two people, and it is played when both of them have screentime too (the little modeling montage). Either way, both characters relate to LX somehow, so there's that. Anyway, "star" here does not necessary have a positive connotation—quite the opposite in fact, if "shadow" and "night" are any indictators of mood. Like sure, it's lighting up the darkness, but it could be a source of danger (especially if, when you think about it, many moths are nocturnal so they're often found in darkness; I'll also go over this later probably).
As for the first half (maybe I should've went over this first but oh well), it's (again,) stating that darkness lit up one's world (also again, this may be negative). The "shadow" here can be various things tbh. Like, I don't think they'd be talking about LX himself here (especially since his presence is absent from both the rest of the lyrics and the montage), but it could def referring to a looming threat of some sort. I wanna focus on the word "backlight" here since that's specifically "an illumination from behind", and this is important because of this fact: Moths have the trait of positive phototaxis, which is where flying insects orient themselves towards the brightest area in their environment (I'm pretty sure this is the main theory why moths are attracted to light? I'm not expert though lol.) I mention this fact because if a light is behind something, and one would want to get to it (since if it's dark, it'd logically be the brightest part of the environment), you'd have to go around or through the thing before it. This could be temptation itself, where the backlight is the after results of it. But if you were to go through something, you may also get over it, so you can actually possibly deny this. And if you went around? You may have found a loophole.
Shakespeare
(Partly including this because Link Click already has multiple important Shakespearean sonnets and such, including LX's one verse in PAIN.)
The Merchant of Venice, 1596:
"Thus hath the candle singed the moth
O, these deliberate fools, when they do choose,
They have the wisdom by their wit to lose."
"The ancient saying is no heresy:
Hanging and wiving goes by destiny."
There is much to dissect here (mostly because of the old timey english), and I've personally never seen this play, but from what I found when searching it up, it's mostly about mercy vs justice or such. And while I guess you can probably insert that into Link Click somehow, I'm more focused on this particular section rather than the entire play's meaning.
First off (going in order this time!), Character A appears to be comparing another character to a "moth to a flame" (just in a slightly different way; the basic gist is still there) because of some foolish action they committed or something (idk the details, because again, I'm not familar with this play and most of Shakespeare's works in general tbh). It's saying this was indeed their choice, and it was pretty stupid indeed. Now, this section is all nice and dandy, but I find it very intriguing that Character B then immediately goes on to state that death and marriage are entirely up to fate, because fate and destiny are at the heart of Link Click (as is the importance of death and the question of whether you can prevent it or not, of we're thinking of CXS and LG). And marriage here can definitely be connected to chastity and lust; aka JL and LX in this au. Of course, this could be a suspicious coincidence, but I beg to differ solely because it's an interesting (not to mention smart) detail.
Miscellaneous
(Have this random section with the leftovers grouped together because I'm lazy.)
Chastity is undone by lust; LX is very much shown as JL's foil from what we've gotten so far. In other words, LX is the flame and JL is the moth.
Butterfly effect and moths: Moths are similar to butterflies, so once can think of them being related to time paradoxes and such. The difference, though? If you seperate moths and butterflies from any sayings, you're left facing the fact that most moths are indeed more destructive than butterflies. Ironically, the butterfly (or more accurately, the flap of its wings) is the cause of destruction in the first sayin, whereas the flame is the cause of the moth's demise in "moth to a flame saying" (one can argue the moths falling for allure gives it blame, but it may not be the moth's fault if we're thinking of the whole instinct thing again. Another thing is, moths are often duller colors than butterflies, and LX (and JL from what we've seen) mostly dresses in dark colors; meanwhile, LG is mostly shown wearing light ones. But in this au, LG is actually the one wearing dark clothing whilst LX's one outfit is light (though JL's is still dark). If we think of the other meaning of light here, then one can callous LX being ghe "flame" more.
"Light of the shore": (I had to sneak more LG in here.) Originally, one would most likely here this definiton of Lu Guang's name and think of him as safe haven of sorts. But if you think about his maybe-connection with Liu Xiao and then think of butterflies and moths, etc., one may start wondering if this light isn't all the safe. Maybe it's a cause of demise . . . namely CXS's.
Being nocturnal: Owls are nocturnal. You know what else is nocturnal? Many species of moths. So, you could say both belong to the night. What I'm mainly getting at though is owls eat moths. LX's animal motif is an owl. (With a butterfly/moth pattern on its chest too.) So, this could yet again be hinting he's a danger to moths (and perhaps time itself if you think about butterflies being similar then apply the butterfly effect here). This is also pretty different, but in Map of Dreams he actually transforms into a butterfly(?) which is interesting, since you can reasonably (methinks) infer that he too suffers from temptation but doesn't give in to it(?). Also in that mv are pinned butterflies, so he could be using himself as a lure too, which would line up with what else we've seen of him so far.
LTX has the eyepatch on her right eye because she won't ever see the future. LTC's is on his left because he'll never face the past nor accept it—he'll hunt down QL to kinda "adopt" her as his new sister, since she now has LTX's power. This way, he doesn't have to admit he lost something once he regains it. (Though deep down, he knows she won't and can't possibly replace her.)
Oh also Jae Lee holding on to a feather that belonged to LG (presumably) before activating his power. . . . That COULD be a stipulation or something; like, his power relates to a belonging of sorts, but this is just a wild guess.
But then later when he approaches XF, he's shown with those yellow eyes of his, like he's activating his power.
Interestingly enough, this outfit also has goggles—which, you know, obv connected to sight. But he isn't wearing them over his eyes, because they'd obscure his vision/purpose, which is helping XF at the moment.
I can't believe I JUST thought about this, but I realized that LG having a Khao Manee would be so so perfect for a couple reasons. The first being, well, he's cat-coded ofc and his animal IS a white cat.
The other reason is because heterochromia in this breed is quite common, and this especially results in one blue and one gold-yellow eye—both being colors that LG's eyes have become.
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