Author's QnA for Five x Crossing the Bridge Noodles
So I chanced upon a post where the author answered some questions regarding Five and Noodles. Here are some of the questions and answers translated.
This is the link: https://www.plurk.com/p/m616oi
吳ARIA: I also think the book explained things quite clearly, but I really like them, so I want to see more of their interactions and stories~ If I had to say what I’m curious about... it's who's top and who's bottom between Five and Noodles (covers face)
Author: Between them, Noodles is the bottom (mainly because Five used to be straight…), but Noodles has topped before.
血霧🌈努力朝目標邁進: Has Noodles ever thought of topping Five before?
Author: If Five was willing to bottom...
芹之海: I- I always thought Noodles was the top, and sometimes Five would top in a mutual switch kind of way இдஇ (feels like my understanding needs a major overhaul)
Author: Noodles has always been a switch (depending on the partner), so it's not like your perception is entirely off?
ฅ●ω●ฅ魅娘: Suddenly thought of this~ Has it been mentioned how they met?
Author: A friend of Five's got into a petty dispute with someone and was being sued. The friend wanted to pay off the other party to settle the matter, but the other party refused and insisted on going to court. Furious, the friend asked Five out for a meal and also to vent. But before they ate, they had to meet the other party's lawyer first (the friend was driving, and Five was the passenger so he had no choice but to go along). That’s how they met. Five complimented Noodles a few times and ended up getting scolded by the friend.
HClO♪: Based on what was described in EROVA, it seems like Noodles had a crush on Five, and the two were stuck in a kinda situationship? Feels like, given Noodle's personality, if Five made it clear that he was very straight right from the start, he wouldn't have those kinds of thoughts.
Author: At the beginning, it couldn't really be called a "crush". It was more that Five’s voice fit Noodles’ aesthetic preferences (cough) and they had a working relationship. Noodles knew Five was straight, so his plan was just to sleep and run. But after they actually slept together, Five seemed to waver, and that’s when their entanglement began.
HClO♪: Woah?! Sleep and run?!!! (how exciting) I originally thought it was Five who would unconsciously flirt with Noodles, but turns out Noodles was also the impulsive kind???
I know they first met in real life, but I thought Noodles entered the online voice acting scene through Five’s connection. From what you’re saying, it sounds like Noodles was a bit of a voice-con, plus he helped to narrate children's books so he somehow stumbled into the scene??? Did Noodles know about Kuaima Qingqiu first and then realise they were the same person after getting to know Five???
Author: Noodles isn't impulsive, he's just proactive. As for the online voice acting part, I thought it was already explained in EROVA?? Five knew about Noodles narrating audiobooks for blind children and invited him into the scene. Of course, Five told him from the start who he was in the community.
諠@上好美盤: So it seems Five isn’t all that straight either, more like a very thin wire XDDD
Author: He just wanted to take responsibility for what had happened, it doesn't have much to do with his sexual orientation.
諠@上好美盤: Taking responsibility for what happened… Does that mean neither side was entirely willing when they slept together? And here I thought Noodles just gave in once Five flirted orz
Author: Basically, you could say Noodles forced himself on Five?
諠@上好美盤: Little noodles is so cool (something's not quite right somewhere
Author: …Isn't it a crime?
轉眼。任意門: I hope it’s okay to ask, I want to know about Noodles’ state of mind...
Since Noodles is a switch, so when he chose to bottom for Five, was it out of consideration for Five’s first-time experience (uh) or purely personal desire?
Author: Because if he chose to be the top, that would be a real crime, right?
詠、: I can’t help but point out—forcing yourself on someone is a crime whether you’re the top or bottom!
Or does Noodles think that penetrating someone is somehow less impactful than being penetrated? XD
Author: Hmm, I don't know either, I've never really thought about that. But for straight men, the general perception is that being the “invader” is taking advantage, whereas being “invaded” is considered an enormous humiliation, right?
轉眼。任意門: Erm… regardless of top or bottom, if the other person didn't consent, it's still a crime. It depends on the other person's feelings and the situation, it's hard to say. Feels like Five is a little slow and didn't realise Noodles had feelings for him, and started to rethink their relationship after what happened?
Author: regardless of top or bottom, if the other person didn't consent, it's still a crime. +1 He also thought Five wouldn't refuse. In fact, Five also had some feelings for Noodles (somewhere between friendship and romance) and knew that Noodles liked him. But changing from straight to gay isn't easy. So maybe the sudden act of sleeping together gave him a big psychological shock, forcing him to think about it.
HClO♪ : But sleeping with a straight guy is like walking through a minefield XDD Noodles is also… pretty terrifying(??) Plus he's a lawyer yet he just breaks the law like that (???)
Author: You could say he exploited a legal loophole. After all, if Five were the top, it’d be pretty hard to press charges against Noodles.
HClO♪ : What about the timeline then? From sleeping together to finally getting together, how long were they in limbo? Feels like a long time ><
Author: Ay? Well, they had never truly been together in the real sense of the word, even after 2言s appearance. From when they met to when they first slept together, it was about six months (and Noodles slept with others during that time).
HClO♪ : But after the voice acting competition, when Shen Yan and Five met and resolved their issues, didn't their relationship become more defined? How long was that after they slept together?
And after sleeping with Five, did Noodles sleep with other people? If so, was he on top or bottom?
Author: Probably about a year after they slept together?? As long as their relationship wasn't confirmed, it doesn't really matter whether he slept with others or not, does it? (although Five eventually stopped him). That's exactly what Noodles didn't like; he didn't like Five was acting like a boyfriend and taking control of his private life while not committing. Whether Noodles was on top or bottom depended on his partner (and he’s very popular with bottoms, mainly because he’s handsome)
HClO♪ : So basically, Five liked Noodles but didn't understand his feelings, kept stringing Noodles along, and still tried to control him?
Author: I guess you might think it’s easy for a straight man to accept these things… but I don’t think Five’s hesitation makes him scummy. Most people would hesitate, wouldn't they? Plus, Noodles didn't care about whether Five coming out would cause conflict with his family, but these are things Five took into consideration, instead of just sneaking around and having a secret affair. I see this as responsible action.
HClO♪ : How to put it… looking at the whole context, both Noodles and Five seem somewhat problematic. In the first place, getting involved with a straight guy is very questionable… Stuff like "If I can’t have his heart, at least I’ll have his body" is too ridiculous, so it feels like Noodles dug his own grave, and Five got dragged into it and had to die alongside him (?)
Author: They're definitely both problematic in their own ways. As for the "If I can’t have his heart, at least I’ll have his body" mentality, it doesn't come from a place of pessimism. For Noodles, physical relationships is a very ordinary thing, and doesn't escalate to a spiritual connection. He doesn’t believe in the principle that relationships should progress gradually; as long as both parties enjoy themselves, it’s fine. In contrast, Five was raised with more traditional values, believing in “dating first, then sleeping together". So once this notion is broken by the other party, he doesn't know how to handle it. Essentially, it boils down to differing views on love, and with poor communication, it’s hard for either side to understand the other.
Another reason why Five is conflicted is that he can't tell if he's different from the other people Noodles sleeps with, is he someone special or just another fwb. With all the uncertainties and lack of emotional connection, he wouldn't rashly establish a relationship, let alone dramatically change his sexual orientation. But he does genuinely like Noodles, so they stayed in this ambiguous limbo until they could finally be honest with each other.
辰辰⊃崎嵐⊂: Just curious, do Five and Noodles’ IDs have any special meanings? ><
Author: Five's ID is purely just to look cool XDDD As for Noodles' ID… Crossing the bridge noodles is essentially a type of cold noodle dish. It’s served raw and cold, and only gets heated up when hot broth is poured over it. In some ways, this reflects Noodles’ personality as well.
璃央✿死定了ㄏㄏ: Looking at all this, Five seems like a serious, good man (?) Not saying that Noodles is bad, but I admire the way Five approaches love a bit more XDD
Speaking of which, I'm suddenly curious how Five ended up in bed with Noodles OAO He's a straight guy and with such traditional views on love—I can't really imagine it >"<
Author: Five has always been influenced by his uncle's "model family" (although it was shattered in the end), so he's a relatively upright and decent person when it comes to love, just that he has too many concerns and overthinks, making him prone to hesitation. As for how they ended up in bed… It's simple—Noodles knew Five can't hold his liquor and took advantage of that XDDD
魔法少年賈修: This may not be a good thing to ask, but I still want to ask… Noodles has always expressed his liking for Return date (even explicitly saying so) Apart from his voice-con tendencies, is it purely platonic? Or is it just playful flirting (Eh?)? Or does he actually have some actual feelings for Return date? (regardless of whether he acts on them or not)
Author: He has seriously considered hooking up with Return Date (if they're both single, that is)
請支援輸贏 : Could I ask, under what circumstances did Noodles' feelings for Five evolve from just liking his voice and that kind of interest into actual love? /////
Author: If I said I never really thought about Noodles' emotional journey, would I get scolded… Honestly, I didn't put much thought into this pair. It’s probably the classic case of “feelings deepening over time” (and yes, that "deepening" carries another meaning here)