#The Return of the Condor Heroes

[don-dake]

Meaning: If you have something to say, say it already!

Literal translation: Say it quickly if you have something to say, fart it out fast if you're full of gas!

Seeing @xiangqiankua 's 「有話快說，有屁快放」 post brings to mind for me, of 楊過 saying this line (more than a few times too, if I recall correctly) in 《神鵰俠侶》. Here's a version of the (almost) same line, for anyone curious to know how it sounds in Cantonese (sorry for the low volume):

In vernacular Cantonese:

🇭🇰🇲🇴 「你有說話快講，有屁快放！」

nei⁵ jau⁵ syut³ waa⁶ faai³ gong²，jau⁵ pei³ faai³ fong³

Standard Chinese (Mandarin) subtitles:

🀄 「有話就快說，有屁快放」

ㄧㄡˇ ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄎㄨㄞˋ ㄕㄨㄛ，ㄧㄡˇ ㄆㄧˋ ㄎㄨㄞˋ ㄈㄤˋ

yǒu huà jìu kuài shuō，yǒu pì kuài fàng

P.S.: It's usually enough to just scream 「有屁快放!」 at whichever unfortunate soul who has to bear your contempt and impatience! (笑)

[weaver-z]

[kungfuwushuworld]

Liu Yi Fei in Return of the Condor Heroes (2006) -  Wuxia World

[narcoticwriter]

Props to Zhou Botong for not only staying alive, but finding out about his son and reconciling with his former lover. We love to see him winning. Stay silly, king.

[pizzaandcoffeeintherain]

Remember the days when you had to wait a whole week to watch one hour of your favourite TV show as it aired on an actual tv and sit through ad breaks? And wait the whole summer break before getting a new season?

Unless you had Asian dramas rented on cassette tapes you had to rewind to watch.

[tiny-breadcrumbs]

3 am in the morning and my brain insist that xiao shunyao will make a good yang guo especially the older one in his 16 years wait for xiao longnv. He got that flavor of handsomeness where its more rough and wild instead of delicate looking. Man already build like a tank, he can fit in beautifully with a good styling in that kind of wuxia drama.

[tavina-writes]

hey tav, quick question! i just read your jin yong post and i'm new to his novels so. i was wondering in which one does the. uh. shizunfucking occur 👀 asking for a friend, as they say. thanks in advance! <3

HELLO FRIEND SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

The Shizunfucking (okay I have to clarify, the age difference here is somewhere between like, 3-7 years, SHIZUN is not very much older than her disciple here.) occurs in ROCH, Return of the Condor Heroes, which is the second book in the Condor Trilogy and the direct sequel to LOCH (Legend of the Condor Heroes) following Yang Guo (the disciple in question).

I won't spoil too much of the plot but like, this is where we get the stereotypical extremely beautiful ice cold dressed in white shizun and the besotted cheeky disciple from.

Also they have an ice bed. That she makes him sleep on. And at one point they have to practice martial arts together naked or it wouldn't work and they'd die. And they got married with a dead woman's wedding clothes and also she tells him that since she promised to care for him forever if she feels like she's dying she'll kill him and then put him in the same coffin as her and shut it so they'll die together etc etc.

And also at one point she pitches herself off a cliff. And they get horribly poisoned by the "IF YOU FUCK (or even just get a hornt boner tbh) YOU'LL DIE" poison. (do you see some common shizunfucker tropes here, bc MAN OH MAN.) btw this book was written in 1959-1961. They just let people put this in the NEWSPAPER in INSTALLMENTS like this.

And uh. yeah. Okay a lot happens in this book and it's not really ABOUT Shizunfucking but it's also not not about Shizunfucking. Like all Jin Yong books, this is a very book.

Also dw I've spoiled nothing about the plot.

iirc there is not an official translation and the ROCH adaptation everyone yells about is the 95 version which I can only find on youtube in Cantonese but it DOES have Carman Lee (who plays Lan Yi in CQL) as Xiao Longnv, which is a huge plus. I don't thiiiink you necessarily need to know what a LOCH is to read/watch ROCH but also I feel like it would make sense to watch/read LOCH first?

Feel free to send me follow-up questions!

[linggluu]

but his yang guo

[yingtoi]

[lovesick-joey]

Good Job.

"You really went on your own?"

Billy nodded his head vigorously, grinning like a fool even as Batman wiped away the blood off his temple. The older hero shook his head, his stern expression faltering slightly.

"..Get someone to accompany you next time." He grunts, ruffling Billy's hair. "I didn't know you can get hurt.."

Billy scoffs. "You? Don't know? That's impossible!" He exclaims, getting up from the stool he was sitting on. His height nearly towered over the Caped Crusader's. If only I was actually that tall. "But that's besides the point- I've got the whole thing covered! Put those scrawny robots into the spirit realm!"

Batman let out a faint sigh, taking a step back as Billy got back on his feet. "A warning would be nice. It's reckless for you to charge into battle without the others' permission. We haven't even made a plan yet.."

"You have to admit I did pretty good though!" Billy bounced, floating just above the ground. He punches the air. "I defeated all of them on my own! No plans from the rest of the League whatsoever."

As much as Batman disliked the idea of Billy—or anyone on the Justice League for that matter—pursuing a mission without a second opinion, he can't help but smile. He always had a soft spot for the boy, after all. He placed his hand on Billy's shoulder when the false adult returned to stand on solid ground. "You did. You did a good job."

Billy's expression softens, and Batman squeezed his shoulder. "Good job." The man repeated. Then, he looked over at the couches that were set up in the room they were in. Golden Condor sat stiffly, his unmoving eyes transfixed on the both of them, watching.

"Isn't that right, Condor? Don't you think he did a good job?"

Billy knew Batman made the wrong move. Why bother interacting with that jackass?

Golden Condor got up from the couch, but he didn't approach them. Instead, he glared at them from afar. It was mostly directed to Billy, though.

He never liked me, Billy thought. Well, guess what? I never liked you either.

"Don't praise him for doing something normal." Golden Condor spoke in that voice that would always make people grimace. He really needs to drink more water.

It was hard to notice, but Batman's shoulders tensed. "..Normal?" He uttered quizzically. Billy could imagine the look Batman was giving him under that cowl. "You think him going out to fight those robots alone, is normal?"

"It's normal to our standards." Golden Condor crossed his arms, his glare sharpening. "He should be expected to do it and punished if he doesn't."

What the hell, Billy thinks, feeling his heartbeat picking up pace. Batman stiffened. "Don't you dare speak of him that way." The Dark Knight walked over to the obnoxious man with an intimidating stride until the two were a few feet apart. Batman glared up at him. "He put himself in danger to save lives. He should be praised for his initiative, as reckless as it may be. Why can't you tell him he did a good job?"

Golden Condor huffs, looking at Billy, then back at Batman. "Because it's what everyone here does, Batman. It's nothing spectacular- nobody calls us good when we do the things we do. Why should it be any different with him?"

Billy couldn't believe it. Is Condor actually that stupid? It's even more embarrassing that this man is way older than him. A grown man is acting this way.

"And as if," The vigilante continued. "that child has the abilities of the Gods. I've said it before and I'll say it again; he should be expected to do it. He's not putting himself in danger because he's practically invincible."

"Superman has his kryptonite," Batman responded, his voice on edge. "and he's weak to magic. Diana also has her weaknesses and she's a demigod. Everyone on this team has weaknesses—it doesn't matter! You saw the blood on his head! It's still dangerous, Euge- Condor."

Golden Condor took one step closer, his haunting eyes ablaze with barely-concealed ire. "You're just coddling him," He said, his tone rising a little. "he's making you soft. It's pathetic."

Billy swallowed a lump in his throat. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. Batman's eyes narrowed. "I'm treating him with the kindness he deserves, unlike you," He said, jabbing a finger to Golden Condor's chest. The man in turn swatted his hand away. Batman's expression darkened. "you just hate him because he's a kid. I know how you are, Golden Condor."

The tension in the room was palpable. There was a brief intake of breath from Billy. They're going to argue again. They always do. Why does Batman have to go through this?

Golden Condor gritted his teeth. He was practically fuming. His aggression didn't deter Batman, as he continued to face him, his head held high and his chest puffed out.

"You're a fool!" Golden Condor spat at the shorter man's face. "If you keep this up then he's going to grow up thinking he's going to be given everything on a silver platter for doing jack-shit!"

"Just because you've never been praised doesn't mean you can't praise him!" Batman snapped back, unyielding. "Really, that's all that I want you to do; praise him! It's so simple and yet you have to make it difficult! I think he's severely lacking a parent figure who lets him know that he's appreciated—"

Billy's ears blocked out the sounds of their incoherent arguing—he could barely make out the words they were saying to each other. His feet were almost glued to the ground as he watched them, looking at their gestures and their moving mouths. It was a familiar sight with these two.

He could feel ringing in his ears, and Billy averted his eyes to the floor instead.

TGCS ¦ Mr. Hermit ‣ Dragon Eyes

[don-dake]

自訓話

竹月山•卜口中中中•卜口���十口

小龍女師父，賜畀我一啲力量吧！

弓金•卜月卜尸心•女•竹口一中月•金大，月金日心竹•田一中•竹手戈•一•口竹日戈•大尸•日一田土•口日山！

Grant me some strength, Master Little Dragon Maiden!

Just thought the dialogues below taken out of context, makes for a very good pep talk with myself (haha) with regards to learning (attempting to anyway) Cangjie, aka Congkit…

「只要你跟住我教你嘅口訣心法去修練」

「口金•一田女•人弓火•口一日女•人卜土•竹手戈•十木人大•人弓火•口日戈山•口•卜口木大•心•水土戈•土戈•人中人竹•女火木田火」

“As long as you follow what I taught you and practise”

「久而久之，習慣成自然」

「弓人•一月中中•弓人•戈弓人，尸一竹日•心田十金•戈竹尸•竹月山•月大火」

“In time, habit becomes second nature”

「更加可以速進度，一舉兩得」

「一中田大•大尸口•一弓口•女戈人•卜木中•卜人土•戈廿水，一•竹金手•一中月人•竹人日一戈」

“And you'll progress speedily, killing two birds with one stone”

[accio-victuuri]

Xiao Zhan Portrait Magazine February 2025 feature

source

“Xiao Zhan’s answer to Time”

As long as you hold the reins tightly, time will give you the answer.

Xiao Zhan has always felt that freedom and self are both neutral words. In the past, he may have cared more about other people's judgments, but now he prefers to listen to his own voice, "Destiny is uncontrollable, but what is controllable is oneself." The so-called freedom is the ability to control one's own destiny, whether fast or slow, whether strolling or galloping, it is all up to him. The reins are not in the hands of anyone else, but in the hands of Xiao Zhan.

Free time

In 2023, Xiao Zhan stayed with his actor friend Vincent for a long time.

He always remembered the scene when they first met: Vincent was very tall, with a very long neck and muscles all over his body. The sun shone on his skin, making it glow red. He held his head high, very elegantly, ignored everyone, and walked proudly into the stable - yes, Vincent was a horse.

After a while, Vincent suddenly started to kick and kick other horses when he passed by them, then ran around the arena frantically. "I was completely stunned at the time," Xiao Zhan said. He pointed at Vincent and looked at the equestrian teacher, "Are you sure?" The equestrian teacher was very calm, "Yes."

Vincent was selected from more than 1,000 foals to become one of the actors in the movie "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Greatest Hero", playing the role of the hero Guo Jing's mount "Little Red Horse".

For Xiao Zhan, the male lead who plays Guo Jing, riding the "little red horse" is the first step to becoming Guo Jing.

This is a test that the two actors go through together, exploring each other, testing each other, breaking through each other's boundaries, and ultimately, reaching mutual understanding and trust.

Vincent is very smart, he is almost the smartest horse in the herd, he has his own unique way of being lazy, often running and then stop moving. Xiao Zhan whispered in his ear to persuade him, Xiaohong, can you run two more laps, but Xiaohong ignored him. Xiaohong didn't want to walk, no one could persuade her; when Xiaohong was unhappy, she would just stick up her horse's butt and throw people off.

Time and waiting are the most Xiao Zhan can give, there is no other way.

He said that if the little red horse was unwilling, he would stop, and when the little red horse was willing to accept, he would spend more time to run in and train. Gradually, the little red horse and Xiao Zhan reached a tacit understanding. He knew that as long as they completed the training every day, everyone could rest. Later, during the breaks in filming, Xiao Zhan did not forget to feed the little red horse with carrots to reward his partner.

Talking about his time with the little red horse, Xiao Zhan said that he felt very happy and it was a feeling of freedom.

Free to fly, free to understand the emotions, personality and habits of another species. They get along day and night, trust each other, and eventually become friends.

For more than two months in the summer of 2023, Xiao Zhan lived this kind of life: getting up at 6 o'clock in the morning, going out at 7 o'clock, crossing the sixth ring road of Beijing, and going to the horse farm in the suburbs. If there is a traffic jam, it will take nearly two hours to get there. That state is like going to school, riding in the morning, martial arts in the afternoon, sometimes riding all day, and physical training. He can rest one day a week, occasionally two days. After returning home, as long as he has enough time, he will continue to do strength training.

Director Tsui Hark treated The Legend of the Condor Heroes rigorously and specially, requiring the actors to devote themselves to such a "semi-closed" period. Actress Zhuang Dafei, who played Huang Rong, remembered that Xiao Zhan would lead the actors to practice more. Because they had a foundation in exercise before and were relatively professional, the physical education teacher would let him lead everyone to do warm-up and stretching exercises, "It felt like classmates were in class together, and the class monitor led us to train."

During that time, Xiao Zhan fell asleep quickly every day due to extreme fatigue. This was another kind of freedom he felt, the freedom of creating a new character.

We asked Xiao Zhan, in the past five years, have you ever had a moment of spiritual freedom? His answer was: "The days on the set made me feel free." The road to the racecourse was long, and it made him happy.

Director Song Xiaofei also witnessed this period of time. At that time, the film "Sunshine by my side" that the two of them were working on had reached the post-editing stage. He knew that Xiao Zhan was very busy every day because of the subsequent scenes, working out, riding horses, and archery. Occasionally, he would tell him that his waist and back hurt, but he found that Xiao Zhan had a more relaxed and free state - he didn't care too much whether there was some dirt on his face, whether he was sweating or oily, he cared more about whether the role was accurate.

When we talk about the past five years, Xiao Zhan will mark the year with each work. In 2020, he filmed "Ace Troops", in 2021 it was "Dream of Dreams" and "Yu Gu Yao", in 2022 it was "Where Dreams Begin" and "Sunshine by my Side", in 2023 it was "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Greatest Hero", and in 2024 it was "The Legend of the Canghai". One after another, he approached those characters with curiosity, some non-repetitive and more complex roles, and found different answers to life in them.

When working with director Tsui Hark, Xiao Zhan always showed respect. When they first met two years ago, he didn't even ask why Tsui Hark asked him to play Guo Jing. When they said goodbye, he didn't even dare to say "I look forward to working with you" for fear of being abrupt. It was only after a while that he knew that Tsui Hark wanted him to play Guo Jing.

But why did the cooperation start with the little red horse? Perhaps we can find the answer in the original work of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The little red horse is a partner, a comrade-in-arms, and a family member to Guo Jing. More importantly, there is a plot about Guo Jing and the little red horse in the original work. It was a very important turning point in Guo Jing's growth. It was also the first real battle after Guo Jing practiced the Quanzhen internal skills. His courage, concentration and long endurance made the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan recognize this apprentice again and helped him become the "greatest hero".

Regarding Guo Jing and the little red horse, there is a description in the original novel: "The little red horse ran wildly and leaped, galloping back and forth on the grassland for more than an hour, and it was getting more and more energetic. The herdsmen were horrified. The old herdsman knelt down and muttered a prayer, asking the God not to bring disaster on them for offending the dragon horse. He also shouted loudly, asking Guo Jing to get off the horse quickly. But Guo Jing was concentrating on sticking to the horse's back, as if he was tied tightly with a rope. He rose and fell with the horse's height and never fell off the horse."

Xiao Zhan, who has a close relationship with Guo Jing, can also realize that this seems to be a metaphor for Guo Jing's life path: no matter how ups and downs his fate is, he will not be thrown off the horse. He holds the reins tightly and uses a seemingly clumsy but irreplaceable method to step into the world of martial arts and become a great hero.

When Xiao Zhan met his little red horse Vincent, he would have his own answer to this question: when you are in the world, pain and accidents are inevitable, as long as he holds the reins tightly, he will always wait for his moment of freedom.

Innocent confusion

There will almost certainly be a long period of negotiation before the moment of freedom arrives.

It was a long table, with more than 30 actors sitting around it, and the first script reading session that spring began. This play has been performed for more than 20 years. Some actors have been there since the premiere, and many actors are new. Everyone had to introduce themselves. It was Xiao Zhan's turn. Before he spoke, countless guesses kept popping up in his mind, "Oh my God, they will all think I'm a rookie. Will they wonder where this kid came from?" He thought nervously while saying in a low voice, "Hello everyone, I'm Xiao Zhan." Three years later, when recalling this scene to "Portrait", Xiao Zhan commented on himself at the time, "Completely, very, very unconfident."

It was the spring of 2021. Xiao Zhan was invited to star in the CCTV version of "Dream Like a Dream". This was his first time on the stage of a drama and he played one of the soul roles of the play, "Patient No. 5", a role he regarded as "very sacred".

When Xiao Zhan was in college and joined an art troupe, he had heard about "Dream Like a Dream". He knew it was a play about life and death, impermanence and reincarnation, so he became curious about it. Now, it was his turn to play the role. "I couldn't believe it." He was not a professional actor and had no experience in drama performance. How could he take on such an important role? But because he really liked it, he accepted the invitation.

The story of " Patient No. 5 " attracted Xiao Zhan. It was an extremely complicated fate - his child died, his wife disappeared, and he suddenly contracted a strange disease and was tortured. In the last moments of his life, he decided to travel far away and travel around the world. In Paris, France, he met his lover and also met the mystery of another person. For the rest of his life, he was looking for answers and the answer to the mystery of life.

Xiao Zhan's role as "Patient No. 5" in the CCTV version of "Like a Dream" was decided by the chief producer Wang Keren. Before 2019, Wang Keren had never heard of the name Xiao Zhan. The first time he knew him was because they happened to stay in the same hotel. He heard from others that a very popular actor named Xiao Zhan also lived there.

In 2020, Wang Keren was looking for a new version of "Patient No. 5" and a friend told him that he could pay attention to Xiao Zhan.

Wang Keren believes that the most mysterious thing about a person's destiny is impermanence. A few years ago, he told People that Xiao Zhan and "Patient No. 5" have something in common, which is very complex and has a sense of destiny. "People are fulfilled as they stay, and they are hit as they stay."

In July of that year, Wang Keren approached Xiao Zhan and invited him to have a conversation about drama with playwright Wan Fang. In fact, he wanted to observe the young actor. A few days later, Xiao Zhan handed over a long interview outline, which touched Wang Keren.

He told Portrait that he chose Xiao Zhan not only because of his sensitivity to words and deep diligence, but more importantly, during that conversation with Wan Fang, he noticed that Xiao Zhan exuded a kind of "innocent confusion", a trait unique to "Patient No. 5", and he wanted to explore where this "innocent confusion" came from.

"I find it very strange that when a person is in a severe shock, his soul will definitely feel confused, and this confusion may be more severe than I imagined," said Wang Keren.

At that time, Xiao Zhan was indeed at a loss. In 2015, he entered the entertainment industry through a talent show and became a member of an idol boy group from an ordinary designer. In 2019, he became popular because of the TV series "The Untamed" and became the most watched actor in China. Everything happened too quickly.

When he was a child, Xiao Zhan liked to watch "Story Club". The stories in it were all kinds of strange and the fate was ups and downs. As a child, he first knew what impermanence was. He remembered that when Wang Keren first met him, he told him that he was chosen because of "a kind of impermanence". He also understood that at certain moments, his fate and that of "Patient No. 5" were intertwined. Rather than saying that "Patient No. 5" needed him, it would be better to say that Xiao Zhan at that time also needed "Patient No. 5".

When we asked Xiao Zhan, what is the most empathetic point between you and "Patient No. 5"?

"Looking for an answer. An answer to anything." Xiao Zhan said. "Portrait" and Xiao Zhan haven't seen each other for 5 years. The last time they filmed was at the beginning of the new year of 2020. In the following 5 years, many new problems occurred, which also gave him many new confusions.

Xiao Zhan told Portrait that the arrival of Dream Like a Dream is very important to him, "very important". It is not only a breakthrough in performance, but also an influence and support on the spiritual level. "When I really needed such energy, it appeared miraculously. It gave me some answers to many questions."

He knew that he had to seize this opportunity, just like holding the reins of a horse, and he had to decide his own direction.

Dreamlike answer

The answer is not that easy to come by.

After taking on the role of "Patient No. 5", Xiao Zhan began to suffer from insomnia at night. When he was awake, he was reading the script. Before joining the crew, he had memorized all the lines and rehearsed many scenes at home many times. Despite this, he was still so unconfident.

Xiao Zhan shared a detail with Portrait about his nervousness at the time. At the first reading session, when he read out the first line, his attention was not on himself, but on others. He seemed to be staring at the script in front of him, but in fact he was secretly glancing at the reactions of other actors with his peripheral vision. Until he finished reading, he found that everyone had a little surprised reaction: "Eh, it seems okay."

The book "Everything for Drama" also records the behind-the-scenes story of "Dream Like a Dream": Before Xiao Zhan came, he had memorized all the lines. He came in the state of "Patient No. 5" and could start rehearsing immediately after arriving.

Wang Keran is very concerned about Xiao Zhan's status, not only because of his huge fan base, but also because the new version of "Patient No. 5" will be judged by all audiences and professional dramatists. The book "Everything for Drama" summarizes the status at that time like this: "A thorn has been piercing the back of this crew since half a year ago - can the newly joined Xiao Zhan perform on the stage of drama? "

Soon, Wang Keran found that Xiao Zhan had put himself into it. During the rehearsal, actors are easily attracted by their phones, but in the rehearsal, Wang Keran observed that Xiao Zhan did not waste a minute. He never lowered his head to look at his phone. When others were rehearsing, he was also observing, thinking and learning.

Recalling the scene a few years ago, Xiao Zhan said that he liked that kind of life very much. He was immersed in rehearsals every day, which was like returning to school. Everyone rehearsed and discussed, and the teacher gave feedback, revised and polished the work. Everyone created together. For him, "Dream Like a Dream" was like a school, and more like a dream.

Before the premiere, Xiao Zhan was very nervous. He was the opening actor, and the first line of the 8-hour "Like a Dream" was his. When he stood in position, the spotlight was turned on, and there was only white in front of him. The world seemed to be still. He remembered that he could not hear anything that day, but his own heartbeat, thump, thump, thump... When he finished his first line, his hearing was restored.

This may be the charm of the stage. Even though the whole audience was silent, Xiao Zhan could feel that "the air was applauding." Wang Keran also remembered the situation on the day of the premiere. He felt that Xiao Zhan almost "fully and perfectly expressed the emotions of ' Patient No. 5'" that day.

Since April 2021, Xiao Zhan has traveled all over the country with "Dream Like a Dream". In more than two years, he has performed in many shows and gained a lot. What Xiao Zhan likes most is that after each performance, the director and all the actors will get together and express together: "We have carried so much love and enthusiasm from the audience, so we must give these things back to everyone."

Every time, Xiao Zhan would say that he would never cry and would control his emotions, but every time everyone would find that he would come back with swollen eyes from crying.

He became "Patient No. 5" without reservation. There seemed to be an invisible rope between him and "Patient No. 5". Every time he played "Patient No. 5", his mood was also affected. "No scene is the same." The old actors told him that this was right. Even if they had been acting for 10 years, they would have new feelings every time. This is drama. Xiao Zhan also knew that the rope was not only holding "Patient No. 5" but also his persistence in acting. He did not let go of his hand.

At the end of "A Dream Like a Dream", "Patient No. 5" has to stand on the stage and sing a song. Every time he performs this part, he will be deeply immersed in a complex emotion, because before this, he has foreseen the death of "Patient No. 5".

There is a transition time of five or six seconds from lights off to lights on. Xiao Zhan always asks the staff behind the scenes to help him turn off the microphone. He will quickly wipe away his tears, sniff his nose, and adjust his state.

Sometimes, the feeling of helplessness about the fate of the characters still came up. One time, he started to cry while singing. He felt guilty and thought his performance was not perfect. At that time, the actress Feng Xianzhen, who played the elderly Gu Xianglan, said to him, "Your performance today was very moving. You know that? This is the drama itself."

In the more than two years since he became "Patient No. 5", Xiao Zhan has received a lot of comfort, companionship and awakening. He has gradually found his place in this dream and also found some resonance. Backstage, the sign in his lounge does not say Xiao Zhan, but "Patient No. 5".

Wang Keran said that what impressed him the most was actually the performance of "Patient No. 5" lying on the bed. That line made him feel that Xiao Zhan truly understood the role: "He had to get into (the role) to understand his confusion about himself and his fate. Only then could he truly feel it, express it, and have the power to do so. He did it."

Nourishment

The opening up of an individual happens little by little. Outside the stage, at certain subtle moments, Xiao Zhan always reaches out to let the wind of freedom blow in from the cracks in his life.

No one noticed that Xiao Zhan was among them.

He appeared on Binjiang Road, Chongqing's most famous urban promenade, taking a walk as he did before; he appeared at a roadside food stall, eating noodles with his good friends; he appeared in the most prosperous downtown area of ​​a city, taking pictures everywhere with his camera.

In the past few years, he has occasionally wandered around, riding his bike, watching movies, and walking around freely.

These moments are so important to him. "It's like I'm a tree. Have you ever seen a tree grow in the air? No, it must land on the ground. That's the feeling." Xiao Zhan told People magazine that real people and real life are his soil.

When we first met Xiao Zhan, he said that the atmosphere of life was very important to him, and that kind of life gave him a solid feeling. Over the past five years, he has repeatedly emphasized the importance of life in interviews. He will remain sensitive to and capture daily details, observe the status of the staff on the set, observe the Chongqing residents by the Jialing River, and observe the food delivery riders.

When he couldn't sleep at night, he would often sit by the window and stare blankly. He would wonder what people were doing in the windows that were still lit at two or three in the morning. Were they working overtime? Or were they suffering from insomnia? Sometimes on rainy nights, he would see some people running with umbrellas, while others were walking slowly without umbrellas. He was curious about what stories those people had.

Life has given him a great deal of nourishment and strength, enough for him to have the confidence to cope with difficulties and step into the moment of freedom again, and the family is an important space for providing this nourishment and strength.

Last summer, Xiao Zhan and his parents went on a trip to Europe. They spent more than a week together. The last time the family of three went on such a trip was when he was in high school and went to Lijiang, Yunnan. At that time, Xiao Zhan was in adolescence and was very rebellious. He played by himself and didn't want to spend more time with his parents. More than a decade later, he had the opportunity to travel with his parents again. What he wanted was to spend some time with his parents so that they could see his life.

The short trip came to an end. He and his parents said goodbye at the seaside of a foreign country. His parents continued their trip, and Xiao Zhan ended his vacation and went to work. After lunch, they will each go to their next destination. He remembered the scene of parting that day very clearly. The alley was very narrow, so narrow that only one car could pass through. When the car drove in, the pedestrians on both sides had to stand sideways against the wall. The car to pick up Xiao Zhan came first, and he could not stay for long. Just as the clock struck midnight, the pumpkin car came to pick him up, and the dream was about to end.

He and his parents maintain a traditional Chinese family relationship model. Love is subtle and silent. When facing the person he loves, he never expresses too much emotion. He just pretends to be indifferent and says, "Go away and take care of yourself."

But that day, Xiao Zhan stood at the door of the restaurant, he hugged his mother first, then hugged his father. All his perceptions were magnified again. He remembered that when he was hugging his mother, a middle-aged lady walked by sideways. She was wearing a white dress with blue prints. He hugged his mother and watched a gust of wind blow by. The lady's skirt swayed, and the wind smelled like the sea.

The scene was like a movie, deeply imprinted in his mind. When talking about this scene, Xiao Zhan showed the most emotional expression of the day. He closed his eyes and imagined that he was back at the beach. He held his arms in the air, as if he was hugging his mother again. This was almost one of his moments of the year. This complete relaxation brought him some long-lasting strength. During that trip, he also publicly posted a photo with his parents on social networks for the first time, although it was only a back view.

Xiao Zhan said that he and his parents don’t contact each other every day, but they have a strong sense of bond. His parents rarely ask about his work, and they don’t have many in-depth conversations. They only say one thing when he encounters difficulties: "Being happy is more important than anything else. It’s no big deal. Otherwise, just go home."

He found that when he was with his parents, they always talked about his childhood. When he was in high school, he was very annoyed and didn't want to listen more. When he was in his 30s, he had the idea of ​​"talking more, the more the better". He wanted to listen to how he grew up. This is where he came from, and it is also the reason why he grew up to be Xiao Zhan.

A few years ago, he expressed in an interview that he wanted to find "real life". He was worried that he was too far away from the concrete world and lost his judgment of reality. This year, he suddenly changed. Perhaps it was because of more observation, or perhaps it was because of that trip. He confirmed one thing, "I am in real, concrete life."

The concrete life related to his parents and hometown over the past 20 years is like a thick and gentle net, which gently supports Xiao Zhan and helps him dispel many doubts about real life. It is the world closest to him. It is his soil and his nutrients, which continuously and steadily nourishes him and makes him believe that he is still alive.

Now, Xiao Zhan occasionally dreams, and the scenes in his dreams are all the old houses from his childhood. It is an old residential building, and his home is on the fifth floor. Every time he opens the door, his father, mother, and grandmother are all there, and the old house slowly emerges, and he remembers the bedroom, living room, table lamp, and even the kitchen exhaust fan.

Xiao Zhan said that home was like a safe house. Whenever he felt tired or unhappy, he would dream about the old house. Sometimes he felt happy, and sometimes he felt lost when he woke up. But he knew that no matter what happened, he didn't have to worry. As long as he wanted, he could return to the safe house in his dreams.

Dissatisfied

The nutrients absorbed determine what kind of tree a person will grow into. Xiao Zhan once said in the documentary "Wonderful City: Chongqing" that he grew up in Chongqing, and the mountain city nurtured him for more than 20 years. He climbed mountains and crossed obstacles every day, going against the trend. His daily routine was to "climb" every day, so there are some "very stubborn" parts in his character. Growing up in such soil, he had many dissatisfactions and many thoughts of wanting to move forward.

On December 31, 2024, "Portrait" met Xiao Zhan again in a recording studio in Beijing. This was the last day of the year, and the atmosphere of the New Year was everywhere. He did not participate in any New Year's Eve activities, but stayed in a small warm yellow room to record dubbing for subsequent works. When night fell, he had been dubbing for more than 8 hours in a row.

"Do it again", this is the sentence Xiao Zhan said the most, "Do it again", "I'll try again", "Come on, do it again".

There was a nearly two-minute inner monologue, which he dubbed several times. The director thought it was good enough, and Xiao Zhan said, "Do it again." The director was a little surprised and asked, "All of it?" Then Xiao Zhan dubbed the nearly two-minute monologue twice more.

Several directors who have worked with Xiao Zhan all mentioned that "Do it again" is one of the phrases he says most often on the set. Director Jiang Jiajun recalled that during the filming of "Yu Gu Yao", there was an underwater scene where the temperature of the water shed was not high and the actors went in and out of the water many times. The actors quickly became hypothermic and their lips were trembling. However, after each take, Xiao Zhan would come over and ask how the shooting went and whether they needed another take. This was also the part that impressed him the most about Xiao Zhan

Wang Keren also shared the same feeling with People. During the rehearsal of Dream Like a Dream, he often felt that he had passed and performed well, but Xiao Zhan still asked himself to do it again. He concluded that this was Xiao Zhan's "dissatisfaction" with himself.

When filming the TV series "Sunshine by my Side", director Song Xiaofei would receive a call from Xiao Zhan every night before going to bed. He would ask in a crackling voice: "Director, what do you think of tomorrow's scene? This is what I think, do you think it's right? Is this line okay for me to understand it this way?" Song Xiaofei said that among the actors he worked with, Xiao Zhan was very outstanding, and they always maintained close, pleasant, positive and effective communication during work.

He could sense some of Xiao Zhan's anxieties, always worrying that he wasn't doing well enough. Sometimes, he would comfort Xiao Zhan more on the phone, "You're fine, relax tomorrow." There was a drunken scene, and Song Xiaofei felt that it was okay not to drink, but Xiao Zhan insisted on drinking a little. He said it would not be realistic if he didn't drink at all. That day, he took a sip of wine and his face turned red. "He always wants to do it well, he is such an actor."

During the filming, as long as Xiao Zhan was free, he would always sit next to the director, observe other actors, and see how everyone worked. Jiang Jiajun remembered that there was a heavy snow scene in "Yu Gu Yao", Xiao Zhan arrived at the scene early, put a small folding chair in the middle of the artificial snow scene, and sat on it quietly. Jiang Jiajun did not disturb Xiao Zhan, because he knew that Xiao Zhan was brewing emotions.

Song Xiaofei also remembers that on the set, Xiao Zhan always sat very low, for fear of affecting other people's vision. He huddled in a corner, watching other actors perform, and was not stingy with his praise, "They acted really well." Hearing this, Song Xiaofei would offer encouragement, "You acted very well, too."

When filming The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Greatest Hero, Xiao Zhan would sneak into Tsui Hark's small tent, sit quietly beside him, listen to Tsui Hark communicating with the staff, and watch Tsui Hark draw storyboards with a brush. He said, "It's great. I only knew the name Tsui Hark before, but seeing it all with my own eyes makes me feel even more magical."

Dissatisfaction with his performance, his condition, the script and the role made him move forward step by step.

Over the past five years, Xiao Zhan has tried his best to play more different roles, such as soldiers, children of a military compound, and designers. He has also tried different styles of works, such as period dramas, urban dramas, and military themes. This dissatisfaction has allowed him to better understand acting and constantly calibrate his judgment. As long as he continues to act one after another and holds on to each work, he will wait for a better moment.

Recently, he has chosen two more complex roles, Guo Jing and Cang Hai.

After taking on the role of Guo Jing, he would ask everyone he met, "What is your impression of Guo Jing?" Many people would mention that fools have good fortune, but he didn't understand it that way. He remembered Tsui Hark asking him, "Can a fool master the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?" When Xiao Zhan got to know Guo Jing better, he found that Guo Jing was not a fool at all, but just a very serious and pure person.

Interestingly, he remembered that when he first met the director after joining the crew, Tsui Hark asked him and Zhuang Dafei, "Do you know rock musicians? You are the rock musician version of Guo Jing and Huang Rong." Xiao Zhan said that he and Zhuang Dafei looked at each other at the time and were a little confused, but during the filming process, he understood that the so-called rock musicians are the kind of reckless persistence.

For a while, under the guidance of Tsui Hark, he watched boxing videos every day and studied the boxers' eyes during the fight. Gradually, he found the eyes of Xiao Zhan's version of Guo Jing, which were not silly or dull, but "sharp like an eagle" during the fight. He said that after several months of filming, he understood Guo Jing and his world from a more complex perspective.

Xiao Zhan also has a new work "The Legend of Cang Hai", which is a costume drama. The character "Cang Hai" played by him carries a blood feud, hides his identity, and searches for the truth. The character's sense of destiny and complexity are further enhanced.

Such complicated clues gave Xiao Zhan more thoughts and more expressions. Xiao Zhan and director Cao Yiwen are of the same age and have similar personalities. They are both very stubborn and serious. They often discuss a detail from online to offline, and continue to discuss after work. One day, they discussed until three or four in the morning.

Zheng Xiaolong is the chief director of "Legend of the Hidden Sea". He told Xiao Zhan that the most important thing is to enrich the role from the perspective of people and human nature. Xiao Zhan said that Zheng Xiaolong would give him all kinds of ideas, and he could act this way or that way. Zheng Xiaolong told "Portrait" that Xiao Zhan not only put a lot of effort into the lines, but also tried very hard to empathize with the character. He acted out many emotional scenes over and over again. "He completely explored acting in practice."

Xiao Zhan said that when he first entered the industry, he was more of a passive receiver. Directors and senior actors told him how to act, and he just listened and followed them. "I understand, I understand" was what he said most. Starting from The Untamed, he realized that he had changed a little bit, and gradually found a way of expression that belonged to him.

At the post-production dubbing site of "Legend of Zanghai", we also saw such a scene: sometimes when the director puts forward an idea, Xiao Zhan will not explain it immediately, but think about it for a few seconds first. Sometimes it is even as small as whether the breath is closer to the opponent actor or more distant, Xiao Zhan will have his own understanding.

The New Year is coming, and Xiao Zhan's voice is still ringing in the dubbing studio, "Do it again", "Try again". 2025 is Xiao Zhan's ninth year since his debut. He knows that this dissatisfaction and "Do it again" will accompany him for a long time.

Don't look back

On the day we met again five years later, we asked Xiao Zhan to watch the video interview he filmed for People magazine in 2020. At the end of the video, he smiled at the camera and asked, "I look forward to the next five years. What will Xiao Zhan become?"

He said that this was the first time he had watched this video in five years. He never watched his own interviews, and he felt a little embarrassed. But he also frankly expressed his feelings: "At that time, I was very young and fresh. Oh, you can see that my eyes were shining. I really wanted the world to know me. Come and see me."

When he was young, he listened to Stefanie Sun's song "Youth Without Limits", in which the lyrics go "At 25, I learn the movements that adults should have". At that time, he thought that 25 was so far away, and that I should be a very mature adult. He never thought that he would enter the entertainment industry and start a new life at the age of 25. Now he is 33 years old, an age that he "did not dare to think about" when he was a child.

Five years later, what kind of person has Xiao Zhan become?

After entering his thirties, Xiao Zhan clearly felt some subtle changes in his body. During the filming of "Legend of Zanghai", he suffered from a long-lasting illness, with constant inflammation of his tonsils, coughing, fever, and facial swelling, which recurred over and over again.

One morning, he was filming a horse riding scene. He had experienced the Little Red Horse in the production of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, so riding a horse was not a problem. He just felt that the sunlight was a bit dazzling and it was a bit difficult to open his eyes. Unexpectedly, the director Zheng Xiaolong asked him, "Why are you so swollen?" He leaned close to the monitor to watch the playback, and saw himself riding a horse at full speed with two swollen frog-like eyelids.

In 2021, he started to exercise because of filming a military-themed work, and he has maintained the habit of exercising since then. When he played Guo Jing, he began to gain muscle and weight. Guo Jing grew up on the Mongolian grasslands and was a man of the rivers and lakes. He should look rough in appearance. In order to achieve the change in appearance, he did strength training almost every day.

Onlookers can also feel the changes that fitness has brought to Xiao Zhan. Song Xiaofei remembers the first time he saw Xiao Zhan. He had just finished running that day and was jogging up the stairs. His hair was a little sweaty, and his body was steaming with a kind of hormones. He "jumped up". Because he was moved by this scene, Song Xiaofei deliberately changed the script and filmed the scene where the male protagonist Sheng Yang got up early to exercise, got ready as quickly as possible, and rushed to the subway with full energy. "It felt so good to see Xiao Zhan that day, I really want to show it to everyone."

Fitness is also a way to control the body. Of course, the frequent red lights on his body last year also warned him that he was getting old and could no longer stay up all night and be energetic the next day. He had to take better care of his body and solve the problems his body gave him.

In the past, he might have wondered why he got sick. Now, he exercises with a clear goal in mind and adjusts his condition. When he was in his 20s, Xiao Zhan was thinking about finding answers to questions. Now, when he is in his 30s, he is solving specific problems.

So, what is the biggest growth in these five years?

"I have become more stable and also...relatively self-centered." Xiao Zhan told Portrait magazine that he has always felt that freedom and self are neutral words. In the past, he may have cared more about other people's judgments, but now he hopes to listen to his own voice. "Destiny is uncontrollable, but what is controllable is oneself."

The so-called freedom means having the ability to control one's own destiny. Whether fast or slow, leisurely or galloping, it is all up to him. The reins are not in the hands of anyone else, but in Xiao Zhan's hands.

In November 2024, Xiao Zhan released his first music album "We", one of which has a song called "Don't Look Back". The MV of that song is like this: In the dim city ruins, a beam of light hits Xiao Zhan. He passes through the black tunnel, through the lightning, and comes to a winding spiral walkway. The walkway extends all the way to the sky above the city. He keeps running forward, crossing the broken steps, with sand and stones swirling around him. He doesn't look back, nor does he stop.

This scene is very similar to Xiao Zhan’s past five years. He always looks at the road under his feet and keeps striding forward.

When he took over " Patient No. 5 " 5 years ago , he said that he wanted to find an answer. Five years later, we asked him, had he found the answer?

"There is no answer. I have given up looking for the answer. There are not so many whys in life. Just do it and live in the present." Xiao Zhan replied.

Regarding this, Xiao Zhan also mentioned a small matter to "Portrait".

In early summer of 2019, he was filming in the mountains. It was very dark at night and he couldn't see anything. Suddenly, a huge sky lantern rose in the sky. It was the sky lantern used by the crew for lighting. "It was very, very big, like a hot air balloon." It was the first time he saw such a big sky lantern in his life. He also felt a kind of guidance, walking towards the light and not looking back. That day, he took a picture of the sky lantern, added six words, and posted it on the social platform. In the past five years, this moment often reminded him - "Don't look back, forever."

-END

[narcoticwriter]

Yang Guo: -and then she said that it wasn't proper for me to marry her! So what if she's also my mentor? I love her!

Apothecary Huang: Hold on, let's backtrack for a second there. She said what?

Yang Guo: That students couldn't marry their teachers!

Apothecary Huang: Tell you what, since you obviously understand the point more than she does and are willing to commit sacrilege upon the social norms, I'll teach you some of my skills. Because I like you a whole lot and you've got potential in you.

[lintwriting]

How to Write a M/M Romance: Scum Villain's Bingqiu

Where Masculinity and Teacher/Student Intersect

Teacher Student Romance is the APPEAL, NOT a Plot Convenience

Easily the most problematic part about Scum Villain (beyond the dubcon papapa to save the world) is the teacher/student relationship baked into the main romance of the work—the one between Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe. Not only is it pervasive, it's not even brushed aside for the reader to forget about, the way the problematic aspects of other medias often are.

In fact, unlike the way age is brushed aside in fantasy dramas that have "teenage protagonists" for marketing reasons, such as The Vampire Diaries or Re:Zero, where the age is only there to draw in a teenage audience and otherwise the characters act like young adults, Scum Villain's Teacher x Student is purposely highlighted in a way that makes it clear that the dynamic is part of its main appeal.

For one, Luo Binghe's main form of address for his romantic partner is "Shizun," calling him teacher in a super respectful, almost worshipful way. This is the opposite of weakening the unbalanced dynamic. It's elevating the Teacher/Student power imbalance (in ways that make the reader suspect it's a kink thing for Luo Binghe LMAO).

For two, Shen Qingqiu is cognizant of how bad it looks to be called Shizun in a romantic context, feeling textually weirded out when it happens during romantic relations. Despite this, most of the ways he shows affection to Luo Binghe are very paternalistic (milf-coded), such as scolding him in fond exasperation or kissing him on the forehead like a father. In addition, Luo Binghe is specifically noted for not having older male authority figures in his life other than Shen Qingqiu, as his adopted mother was a single woman and his bio father could not care less about the son his late wife gave up her life for (seemingly for no reason, BUT I'll get to that in a different meta) (AND despite ample evidence that he CAN be a good father to Luo Binghe's cousin).

And while one aspect of it is that the Shizun/disciple dynamic is a genre-wide trope thanks to the influence of the early work, The Return of the Condor Heroes, wherein the Confucian taboo of the teacher/student romance is a source of tension and excitement within the novel, I wouldn't say that that's the whole of why Scum Villain (SVSSS) emphasizes the teacher/student romance.

Why are We Hot For Teacher: Return of the Condor Heroes vs Scum Villain

For one, within Return of the Condor Heroes, the romance is between a male student and a female teacher (because it's a het novel, lol), but SVSSS is a BL novel and wouldn't necessarily need to play into such tropes to create this "taboo"-evoking tension.

A lot of BL novels already play into the way being gay is marginalized or frowned upon to accomplish this, for instance, SVSSS's author's latter work, Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS) (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), wherein the main character has compulsory heterosexuality.

For two, the dynamics of the Return of the Condor Heroes is playing with heteronormative ideas about the roles of men and women in romance. It's notable that the student is the male lover, and the master is the female lover in this relationship, playing with non-traditional ideas about who is submissive and who is dominant—while simultaneously using it to reaffirm traditional pursuer/pursued dynamics.

This male pursuer/female pursued dichotomy is not usually explicitly stated within media as that can seem sexist and clunky, rather it is usually implicit and portrayed through various contrivances. Xiaolongnu is a "cold beauty" who therefore must remain pure/aloof, which is accentuated by her role as a teacher, and while she is "dominant" as the teacher setting the terms for their relationship, it's mostly to emphasize the lengths that Yang Guo, the student, would go to pursue her. He becomes extra romantic for pursuing her while accepting her lead on choices like separating for 16 years.

In addition, the teacher/student relationship is a contrivance that affirms society's implicit bias about gender by giving textual, non-gendered excuses for the man to pursue. In this case, it would be an abuse of a teacher's power for Xiaolongnu to make the first move. Thus, traditional gender dynamics where men are the ones pursuing women are reaffirmed without making clunky statements about gender, even through nontraditional dynamics like a teacher/student relationship where the woman is dominant.

But, again, SVSSS is a BL, so the two main characters are both men, meaning there is no societal answer on who should be pursuer and the pursued. However, it is notable that SVSSS does play with this same dynamic of "cold, aloof teacher" and student who would go to extreme lengths to pursue them, while also purposely describing Luo Binghe as the "peak of masculinity."

This is where we start getting into SVSSS's intersection between Masculinity and the teacher/student relationship.

Because while although Condor Heroes uses the teacher/student relationship to affirm the heteronormative dichotomy of the male pursuer/female pursued, SVSSS's usage of this dynamic is in service of satirically demonstrating the "acceptable" avenues of affection when living as a man (since there's no women, and they're both men lol).

Teacher/Student Romance as a Way to Escape Restrictive Masculine Gender Roles

Teacher/student dynamic is a huge aspect to SVSSS because it’s a way to escape the masculine gender roles critiqued within the work. This is on the face of it obvious. Shen Qingqiu lets Binghe act bizarrely clingy under the assumption that he’s merely taking care of a filial or needy child. The understanding that "masculine men have to be straight" and the understanding that "Binghe is the most manly person within the novel as the stallion protagonist" intersect to ensure that any affection between them is strictly platonic, which is a double edged sword.

Because Shen Qingqiu allows Binghe close to him with the reassurance that Binghe HAS to be straight (a surprisingly common way for straight men to interact), that means that as Binghe ages, his access to affection will also get cut off, since he's supposed to be aging out of the role of a clingy student and into the role of stallion protagonist.

This is even grafted onto the scum villain/protagonist dynamic, as exactly at the point where Binghe's on the cusp of becoming an adult, Shen Qingqiu is forced to be the opposite of affectionate and become the villain by throwing him down into Xianxia hell. Which, to him, means that he's killed his baby student and replaced him with a stallion protagonist out to take him out.

So when Binghe becomes an adult, he loses access to affection along two axises within Shen Qingqiu's mind. The first being that he's now vengeful stallion protagonist out to get him throwing him away, which is the explicit reason Shen Qingqiu rebuffs him. And the second being that he's now a straight adult man who isn't supposed to get affection from his old teacher, which is also a factor.

This loss and transformation into a protagonist causes him to become insane to almost comical proportions, indiscriminately killing people and so distraught that at any point he's liable to self-destruct—all because he's constantly being rebuffed when seeking affection from his teacher, who thinks he wants to take him out for throwing him into hell. It's notable that any time Shen Qingqiu rejects him, Binghe lashes out in an almost stoic anger, rather than with the vulnerable crybaby tears that Binghe used as a kid. All this is highlighting the consequences of toxically masculine gender roles—where a severe lack of emotional vulnerability creates only violence and status as ways to express yourself, leading to severe emotional issues.

Now this is where it gets to the satirical aspects. Because all that before is pretty angsty and not very funny, but Scum Villain is a comedic satire. This is because it's not from the perspective of Luo Binghe—it's from the perspective of Shen Qingqiu.

The Point of Scum Villain's Meta

To all of this, Shen Qingqiu is totally oblivious, as he is still under the impression that everything was platonic. Which I'd argue he SHOULD be, considering that Binghe was a young student in his care that he was only trying to groom into being nice, person not into a sexual relationship 💀💀. Now, the ethics of fiction about raising your spouse is a whole other issue outside of the scope of this discussion, but within the universe of Scum Villain, where we know his intentions, he gets the pass from me!

The reason Shen Qingqiu is oblivious is because one, as the most terminally online hater on the Internet, he's read about stallion protagonist Luo Binghe way before transmigrating into the story. And the Luo Binghe of the original story was a miserable sack of shit who got an unhappy ending despite being the peak of what masculinity "should" be.

A harem of women to show his virility, a stoic facade, and a constant stream of face slapping for hundreds and hundreds of chapters. He's an alpha male to the point of farce because Airplane needed to appeal to the lowest common denominator of teen boys on the internet—Andrew Tate's main demographic. It's not just a satire of YY novels—this, too, is part of Scum Villain's critique of toxic masculinity.

The second reason Shen Qingqiu is oblivious is because he's homophobic, sexist, heteronormative, etc. etc. etc. He was an INTERNET TROLL for a reason. And while people like to joke that he was a feminist king on the forums, I feel like it's more in line with the themes of the story to take him reading this schlock at face value because it's part of Scum Villain's trap! Anytime you feel like complaining about Scum Villain's hack writing, you're one meat bun away from an uno reverse card. The instant you start complaining, the author can hit you with a "Cucumber-bro calm down," and BOOM you're done! Never comment again!

And this is so effective because none of us want to be an un-self-aware, terminally online, trash-reading hater like him.

So, the satire of the novel is taking this kind of guy—both the Andrew Tates of the world and his basement dwelling followers—and wondering "Would gay sex fix them?" And the answer is YES, WHICH is HYSTERICAL to play straight in a romance like this. It's "Fellas, is it gay to like women?" but make it into an actual romance.

On a thematic level, being gay is indeed antithetical to a masculinity that upholds having sex with tons of women as the ideal, so it's doubly poignant for this closeted gay man to realize that the only thing he needed to do to live was to accept himself and the people around him by giving up his need to fit them into boxes—both on a meta "they're not fictional characters to him anymore" level, but also on a "toxic masculinity shouldn't define us" level.

Climaxing

The old Shen Qingqiu is dead. Long live Shen Qingqiu. Gay sex to save the world. Luo Binghe is back to his crybaby self. All is well in the world.

One thing I love about this teacher/student romance that it portrays Bingqiu afterwards as really happy and in love. Logically, nothing about that makes sense — 45 year old stepfather marries 25 year old stepdaughter from a bad home who idolized him, even while he acts like he's embarrassed to be around her and encourages her helplessness—but it makes perfect sense because it's a perfect marriage between all these different layers.

The "bird leaving the nest" conflict

Qingqiu is allowed to be affectionate with a scary adult Binghe because Binghe can be both a clingy student and an adult

2. The scum villain/protagonist conflict

Binghe never wanted to kill Shen Qingqiu, only to be loved by him.

3. The comphet conflict

Binghe never intended to go out and get a harem of women as a sign of masculine status, he just wants to be gay with Shen Qingqiu.

4. The "should I treat them like real people or fictional characters" transmigrator conflict—

Binghe is a real person separate from the character of Luo Binghe because he's no longer that unattainable masculine ideal—he's human and happier for it.

All solved with a student/teacher relationship in service of critiquing toxic masculinity. Now that's economical writing!

(I love the inclusion of the original Luo Binghe meeting them in the Extras, and that Luo Binghe is pretty evenly matched with him. I feel like the idea that someone "is automatically stronger with the power of love, and therefore that's why love is better" is pretty shallow, as it plays into the toxically masculine idea that strength is all that matters. Luo Binghe may not be stronger than the toxically masculine ideal version of himself, but he doesn't feel the need to be because he's happy the way he is. And his ideal self is jealous of him for that—not vice versa.)

On their own, these resolutions would probably still feel as creepy as Lolicon, but in the context of critiquing masculinity, it makes a lot more sense. Masculinity, I think, fascinates as a writing tool because there's a lot of mini tools baked-in its structure, like Shen Qingqiu's comedic plausible deniability thing, as well as assumptions about power.

For instance, since Binghe is quite literally the God-emperor of his world, it feels more like a kink thing for him to call Qingqiu Shizun, and not like he's actually less powerful than Shizun in their dynamic. His bouts of learned helplessness come off as traditionally feminine Sajiao, NOT like the learned behavior of creepy pick-me pedophilia. It's like a cat showing its belly, because we all know it's a murder machine showing its vulnerable side out of trust, not because it feels the need to degrade itself. So, while his behavior emphasizes the Teacher/Student imbalance, the reality is that he's doing it mostly for kinky reasons and that the two of them are on a pretty level playing field. It's extremely funny when people joke that he and Qingqiu are the same age due to all that time Qingqiu spent dead, because they are Not Wrong.

Problematic Kinks

Romance fiction is usually about ways to get certain needs met in ways that would never be possible in real life, which is why a lot of it is problematic. Virginity kink is not about real life virgins, but the idea that your partner is guaranteed to think you're competent in bed. Bodice ripper stories do not reflect the reality of getting raped, but is more about the idea of getting sexually satisfied with none of the shame of "being slutty" for desiring sex, since it was "against your will." Or they're about controlling the fear of getting raped within this safe romantic fantasy where everything turns out all right. Or various other things because kinks are personal.

Shen Qingqiu is the perfect example of this, where he functions as a great insert for female readers who might have shame around sexuality, since he's a "prude" without actually being one, hence his parallel with Xiaolongnu. Instead, he's just comedically under the misconception that he's straight or that Binghe's only platonically in love with his teacher—that's why he's always ashamed and putting on airs. It's a comedic/unrealistic version of comphet, so you don't gotta think about purity culture while reading your silly little stories.

And Luo Binghe is the self-insert fantasy of readers with daddy issues. His strict father who criticized him all the time actually secretly thought he was the bestest-westest, most handsomest boy in the whole wide world, and there was a secret understandable reason he had to be mean to him, and he secretly loves when he acts like a crybaby because that just means an excuse to pamper him.

And while in real life, many of these would be incredibly dysfunctional—within fiction, we can make these fantasies work anyway. If your romance manages to hit at one of these underlying desires in a fantastical way, you've got a hit with one audience of people! Whether that be by making them EVEN MORE dysfunctional (papapa to save the world) or by having them somehow communicate it out into a healthy dynamic (the extras, presumably).

All this to say, if you're a man frustrated with your love life, all you need is a gay, milf-y male teacher to ruin your life.

[rottenpumpkin13]

since fireworks are on my mind (4th of July and all), what if there was a kind of similar fireworks festival in Banora or some small village and they either couldn't afford fireworks/the fireworks stopped working so Genesis used materia to make fireworks for the little kids!

ps, hope you're having a good time, stay safe in general, lots of love!!! ♥️♥️♥️

• Sephiroth fills his mouth with rice the moment Angeal drops the accusation, sensing his opinion on the matter will be asked and wanting no part of it: "You only ever take missions when you know there will be witnesses and news coverage to hail you as a hero." • Genesis is fuming. How dare his friend accuse him of vanity? As if they hadn’t climbed the ranks of SOLDIER together, enduring every trial side by side until they earned their titles. Genesis: “Do you agree, Sephiroth?” *Sephiroth responds by shoving an entire panko prawn in his mouth* • Genesis will have none of it. N o n e of it. He's now dead set on proving them both wrong, and as a rebuttal, he takes on a reconnaissance mission in a small village near the Fort Condor region. It’s simple and lacks flair: investigate a clandestine group selling stolen materia and report the findings. • The only interesting thing about this village is that his mission coincides with a major festival. He sees the locals bustling with preparations upon arrival. But he has to keep a low profile and can't reveal himself, which is a pity—he would have relished the awed stares and excited children flocking around him. • The mission is too easy: he locates the group almost immediately, operating on the outskirts of town near the woods where the festival preparations are underway. They’re selling rare materia to the locals at exorbitant prices. Genesis knows he could simply report it and be done, then return home to finish his latest novel. • But it's so terribly simple that he decides to take matters into his own hands. A skirmish breaks out between him and the group. Although Genesis successfully apprehends each one and confiscates the materia, a blast from the magic hits the nearby shed storing all the fireworks, rendering them unusable. • Now his cover is blown. The children and locals are indeed awed and excited to see him. But he can’t help but notice the children’s disappointment as they see the ruined fireworks, their sad eyes tugging at his heartstrings. It wasn’t his fault— how could he have known the fireworks were stored there? • He understands why this is devastating. He used to get so excited when the harvest festival back in Banora rolled around because the village would always put on the biggest fireworks show. He had fond memories of climbing to Angeal’s rooftop to watch them, while Angeal’s mother made apple chips for them.

• No, he would be damned by the goddess before he ever spoiled the fun for these kids. • Genesis puts his proficiency with magic to good use and uses materia to orchestrate the grandest, flashiest fireworks display imaginable. He pulls out all the stops—varying colors, styles, and formations, even crafting shapes like chocobos, moogles, and other fun designs that the children love. Genesis goes a step further by taking requests for custom displays, seething with quiet rage when a child suggests a firework depicting Sephiroth battling Bahamut. • The festival is saved, and he feels great! There were no news crews or cameras to capture the moment, proving Angeal’s claim wrong. Ha! Take that Angeal! • Until the following lunch hour where the trio are once again in the mess hall, except this time Angeal is smugly slapping down a newspaper on the table. The headline reads: "Heroic SOLDIER Genesis Saves Festival with Spectacular Fireworks Display!" followed by a candid picture taken of him laughing with the children. Angeal: “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Genesis: “What!? It’s not like I wanted this! They took the photo of me, look, I’m not even posing for it!” Angeal: “Your vanity knows no bounds.” Genesis: “This is ridiculous. Sephiroth, what do you think about this?” *Sephiroth responds by chugging his ramen*