#like Cui buqu

[junemary]

Fengcui are ridiculous. They're fully making out at this point but they REFUSE to acknowledge it out of pure spite they NEED to get the upper hand the other one must be the one to confess first!!!! Can you imagine? Sticking you tongue 5 inches down someone else's throat and still have the guts to say to THEIR FACE that they're coming onto you and you don't get it- have they fallen for you? Ooh how interesting, maybe elaborate on that? No? Well fuck you then. And then they do it again. And then they sacrifice themselves for each other MULTIPLE TIMES. Only to share the most disgustingly sweet romance that is CLEAR to everyone around them yet it remains!!!! Unspoken!!!! Even to each other!!!!

[mxtxfanatic]

See, what made Thousand Autumns less of a romance and more of a philosophical novel to me is that the main couple lacked the friction that would typically lend itself to a romance. In Peerless however, Cui Buqu seems to be willing to give as good as he gets 🤭

[fortune-maiden]

I love this man so much

[toaster-fire-art]

[bellaroles]

What if we had a Howl-and-Sophie-magic-waltzing-in-the-air moment but with martial arts and we're both men instead?

[helenkordart]

Deep in my fond Ququ era

(Credit)

[iixioria]

If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

HI OMG IM SO SORRY FOR THE VERY LATE REPLY, IVE BEEN VERY BUSY BUT SURE! And since I'm a multishipper, I'll just list my top 5 ships out of fandoms I've been in

FengCui: Feng Xiao x Cui Buqu (Wushuang/Peerless) - The reason I love this ship so much and is my top 1 out of all the shows and books ive read and watched is because I'm so in love with their dynamic, development, and interactions with each other. They first start of as rivals then gradually start to fall for each other with each case they work and time they spent togther. I also loved the fact that the author didn't use stereotypical tropes with the main cp. While its enemies to lovers, to me, it's enemies AND lovers because when they do get together, their dynamic didn't change and they still remained the same. And that's one of the reasons why I love this pair so much.

2. Cezhou: Shen Zechuan x Xiao Chiye (Qiang Jin Jiu/Ballad of Sword and Wine) - I honestly debated if this should be my top 1 but I ultimately decided this would be my top 2 mainly bc I prefer fengcui's dynamic more, But of course, that doesn't make this ship any less great and amazing! In my opinion, this is enemies to lovers with sexual tension done right. I used to hate the trope enemies to lovers because of experience and personal things... But this ship changed my perspective on it a lot. Even though they got together early in the novel, they're still the ship that has the most amazing development and growth I've seen in such as a long time.

3. Hualian: Xie Lian x Hua Cheng (Heaven Official's Blessing) - Ah yes... the classic. I had to put them at my top 3 because TGCF and hualian is what mainly got me into danmei and to this day, I still adore them with all my heart and I'll never ever forget how they made such a huge impact on me... They're like romeo and juliet but done right. They're also the couple that made my standards so unrealistic to the point that I think I'll never ever be able to find someone to love as much as how much they love each other... As much as they're unrealistic, they also made an impact on how I view love in general. I also relate to hua cheng when it comes to appearances because dawg... I am also so insecure of that as well... and when Hua Cheng is insecure about it and Xie Lian is just telling him that he's gorgeous and not ugly like he thinks he is just makes me want to cry because that validation and comforting words is what all of us insecure people need. Just having the reassurance that we're perfect just the way we are...

4. Lucathy: Lucas x Athanasia De Alger Obelia/Athy (Who Made Me a Princess) - I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Athy is so precious to me and I will protect her at all cost! And I love how their relationship just naturally progresses on the time the spent together and isn't just immediate love at first sight. And I also love how lucas went from "I'm going to watch this bc this is entertaining" to "If you ever hurt her, I'll destroy all of obelia" and bro... LUCAS IS SO WHIPPED FOR ATHY ITS SO FUNNY AHAHAH (Also reminds me on how Xiao Chiye is so whipped for Shen Zechuan but that's another time). And not only that, but I love how Lucas got back from his quest, heard about how Athy got humiliated, bro was like: "Should I kill him?" like bro did not care if it was her father, if someone did shit to her, he would deal with them.

5. LoidYor: Loid Forger x Yor Forger (Spy x Family) - BRO I IMMEDIATELY FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS SHIP!! Assassin x Spy? OH HELL YEA! I've honestly been waiting for this kind of trope for such a long time lol. Not only that, but I low how yor is such a girlboss and protects her family even if it isn't real. I honestly really like their progression so far and I hope that they honestly become a family in the end... I have nothing really much to say about this ship because I haven't been keeping up with SXF but I really love them and they're trope because I haven't seen Assassin x Spy trope in fandoms I've been in.

So here are my ships! There are a lot more than these but I just decided to pick which ones that I really love the most and rank them by that. Anyways, thanks for reading this blog!

[eaion]

Peerless: Chapter 14

[Feng Xiao:]"...I have a much bigger and better treasure already. Would you like to see it?” [Cui Buqu:]“I’m waiting. Please pull it out.” Feng Xiao clicked his tongue twice and said, “A-Qu, you’re too frivolous. Valuable things deserve respect; how could you tell me to pull it out so crudely? You should tell me to present it instead.” “I’m afraid if you do, your treasure will shrink to the size of a finger, and I’ll be greatly disappointed.” “I’m talking about a zither,” Feng Xiao exclaimed in surprise. “What are you talking about?” Cui Buqu snorted. “I’m also talking about a zither. Why do you think I’m not?” Pei Jingzhe couldn’t bear to listen to their conversation any longer. He raised his teacup to hide his twitching lips.

Peerless by Meng Xi Shi

I'm crying! :'D It was so funny I was laughing out loud. In the middle of the nigh while reading. :D

[romanceyourdemons]

cui buqu is like you have no idea how difficult it is having to spend every day telepathically convincing the most beautiful man in the world to kill himself. no one but me could withstand such a grim responsibility

[spockandawe]

Okay, I think I'm ready to start chewing on and articulating some Peerless/Wushuang thoughts at least, because I'm deep in the parts of the book where this starts becoming more relevant.

Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu are VERY alike. This is an asshole4asshole relationship, they're both leading secret police bureaus, they're both ruthless and calculating and VERY smart. But they're also so different in some crucial ways. Yeah, Feng Xiao is one of the strongest martial artists alive, while Cui Buqu's health is so fragile that everyone is amazed he's still alive, which is delightful, but i do think the differences in personality are even more more interesting

Like, a thing I've said before (maybe not on here?) is that one of the things that makes Yan Wushi so compelling despite being such a jackass is that he's VERY true to himself, in a considered, deliberate, intelligent way. Part of what drives him to try to break Shen Qiao is his conviction that everyone who clings to ethics and morality is just putting on a self-serving facade and it won't take much hardship to shatter that. Feng Xiao doesn't have an internal conviction like that driving him, or, he sort of does. But his core driving force is pure unadulterated self-love.

Feng Xiao has lived his life with perfect cheerful conviction that Feng Xiao is the most beauitful, most capable, most clever boy in the whole world. Now. It doesn't take long for him to become VERY wary of Cui Buqu's intelligence, but the personal vanity doesn't falter. It's a delight to read, someone trying to suck up to him sends him the most beautiful woman he's ever seen trying to curry favor, and Feng Xiao has her clean his room. He's literally like 'buddy. pal. why would i sleep with someone less beautiful than i am?' He's capable of schemes and plotting, but when it comes to personality, he is a CHEERFULLY open reflection of his own inner self however rancid that inner self is lmao

Cui Buqu on the other hand. MY GOD. The man literally starts the book acting a fabricated role. This won't have been spoilers if you read the book summary, but Cui Buqu has a whole city convinced that he's a perfectly benevolent, kind, generous daoist priest, and meanwhile. When it comes to a contest of who's the most ruthless in this book, between Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu, i think Cui Buqu handily wins! Even once that initial act is peeled away, Cui Buqu has layers and LAYERS. Mister onion ogre man. The author even calls him out for being like this in the notes. It's extremely funny, but also makes for a delightful slow burn in terms of relationship development, it's very rewarding to read.

But as i do that actual reading now, I'm really taken by how subtly that tension between them really enriches the surrounding story. The arc I'm in now involves Cui Buqu's backstory, and he's simultaneously being revealed to be more vicious and more gentle than the prior story suggested. This is DEFINITELY weighted more towards the viciousness than gentleness, but without spoilers, that really makes the moments when he chooses to be kind hit so, so hard! And while Feng Xiao is strong, he's always been openly and bluntly strong, the way more and more of Cui Buqu is gradually brought to light underscores the depth and nature of HIS strength.

Both of these men are very beloved by their subordinates, so the story communicates well that they have good points, but it's fascinating how Cui Buqu's are revealed to readers by patiently peeling those layers away, while Feng Xiao, someone much more open, but with a very demanding personality, is rounded out in large part thanks to those reveals from Cui Buqu, and the way he reacts and how his behavior modifies.

Is that coherent? I can't tell anymore. But the depth of meng xi shi's character writing is something fascinating to me, and Peerless and Thousand Autumns give a LOT of narrative attention to who their main characters are, and the different seemingly-contradictory layers of characters like Yan Wushi and Cui Buqu. Shen Qiao and Feng Xiao are fascinating in the sense of however far down you dig, what you see is what you get, lmao. But the nuance and elaboration within that space, which might seem restrictive, still makes for a FASCINATING character, and a very engaging read

[junemary]

Meng Xi shi, for all she put shen qiao through in TA, is AFRAID in peerless. not ONCE does she put those men put through the real ringer, like yeah this is the whole premise of the novel, that they're literally the best, but there's no real risk! At the end of the day I *know* they're going to be fine with zero consequences. And whatever consequences they do suffer are quickly sped through so you don't really have the time to suffer with them. Give me a devastating emotional loss. It doesn't have to be physical, it doesn't even have to really be a loss but make the price for the win fucking outrageous. Otherwise how can I accept that they're human? If I don't go with them through the best and worst of their journey? I dare you, author, to humanize these gays for me

[mxtxfanatic]

Is this the elusive enemies-to-lovers trope?

[cn-alastair-lite]

what i really liked in peerless is how cui buqu doesn't really deny that he does find feng xiao attractive and considers him his type, but just that really isn't enough

that and his fondness for cursing really makes him feel like a more realistic character instead of some lofty martial artist or immortal djdjsj

[bellaroles]

I like it that their rivalry didn't stop after their falling in love but their care for each other is more obvious every chapter. Cui Buqu seems cold and distant sometimes but that's on the outside. The feelings are mutual. And they still can't stop bickering lol.

[dathen]

One of the funnest things about reading Peerless is that by himself, Feng Xiao is a terrifyingly brilliant and cunning spymaster, but because he’s put next to Cui Buqu he comes across like an absolute himbo.

[drawulan]

“Cui Buqu, since your mouth is so poisonous, and your looks are lackluster, if you continue like this, you really will be alone until the end of your days.” “There is no need for yours respectfully to worry about it.” “Then for mercy’s sake, I should sacrifice myself to remain by the tiger’s side, so the world of mortals can avoid a calamity.” “Is Leng Dou’s robes that warm?” “Still manageable. Why? Are you finally feeling cold and want to exchange with me now? No way.” “I heard that man has a strange habit. Before he leaves for a fight, each time he would first sleep with a beauty. Who would have known whether this robe you’re wearing now was placed under that beauty, and who would have known when they were in the act, how much scent of their love-making had clung onto it. It feels like it still holds some fishy smell on it.” “…Speak some more, and I will vomit on you. If we’re to die, we die together.”

For more old married couple bickering read Peerless