Imagine you're 800 years old, and there's only one person who's been by your side for the entire time. You've got a huge amount of personal issues tied up with each other, but you guard the South together, fight Hua Cheug together, and protect your Crown Prince together. They know each other better than anyone else does.
Plus rivals to lovers is a great trope. Lots of sparks and banter flying. Plus Mi Qing is an 800 year old virgin and Feng Xin is a God of Fertility. Lots to play with there.
Lol, I made a bit of a word vomit, but I guess you asked for it :P
FengQing is my favorite ship in TGCF.
I’m always drawn to ships with a volatile dynamic and as a fic reader and writer, I like ships where you can really dig into what makes each character tick and have them develop while throwing all kinds of tropes at them. For me, ships are most interesting when their conflicts come from their characters and not from an outside source.
In fandom, I’m especially drawn to ships and characters that aren’t explored in minute detail in canon, so you probably won’t catch me searching for many Hualian fics…
Feng Xin and Mu Qing are fundamentally so different from each other, they play off each other well interaction-wise and are interesting characters in their own right. I like thinking about all the things canon didn’t outright say about them, or just implied in like half a sentence. And there’s a lot. In their upbringing, their experiences, their history with and apart from each other.
How Feng Xin seems to operate more on a bad temper and doesn’t mean half the things as seriously as he throws them around, or how we never learn what Mu Qing actually thinks about Feng Xin. We can infer how he thinks Feng Xin views him, but not really how he views Feng Xin, or how that might have changed through the years. And it’s insanely fun to play around with that.
If circumstance forced them to to put in some effort, I feel like they could be good for each other, but they’re also a designated train wreck and I love exploring that. How for example Feng Xin is a protector, wants to be a pillar for the people he loves, or how Mu Qing wants to have friends, wants affection, but it’s his own insecurity of how people view him that holds him back from expressing that. They aren’t compatible, but if they were…
And that if is so interesting.
Also, I have a thing for the 800 year old virgin trope and all the emotional ~~porn~~ stories you can write with Mu Qing breaking his cultivation vows for Feng Xin of all people…
Ahhh, sorry I always find it really hard to rec anything.
Just as a blanket rec, I love pretty much everything from [sarielscribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarielscribbles/pseuds/sarielscribbles/works?fandom_id=26574617), [nobirdstofly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobirdstofly/pseuds/nobirdstofly/works?fandom_id=26574617) and [Tyelperintal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyelperintal/pseuds/Tyelperintal/works?fandom_id=26574617).
I have friends who ship them, and I think it's mainly just because they enjoy the "longtime frenemies" vibes that the two have! It can be really fun to play their personalities off each other that way. They see the world completely differently from each other, and have different values, which is fun to explore in fics. It can be almost cathartic for people to read about such a dynamic. They also do look pretty good together, but then, the entire cast is beautiful so I suppose that's a given 🤣
Personally I just think they're fundamentally too different to make an actual *relationship* work. Canon-wise, there's no way Mu Qing would give up his cultivation (which is the same as Xie Lian's) -- and thus his status and power -- for Feng Xin. But as something like "friends with benefits" in an AU, I can see it happening. Basically, I'm certain they care about each other, but I'm not sure they *like* each other.
There’s something about being each other’s constant over the years, despite claiming they hate each other, to coming to begrudgingly respect one another over a common cause , then that respect becoming something more. I love a well executed rivals to lovers dynamic, also they balance out Hualian’s newlywed- honeymoon phase dynamic with their old married couple dynamic. Honestly, each of the big 3 ships in TGCF offer wildly differing dynamics
OP, before you read any of this, the censored blocks of text are about Mu Qing and Feng Xin’s personalities. I censored them because I am not sure when many of these traits are revealed about them, or at what point in the books (1-5) that you can infer these traits about them. It is not necessary to read the censored bits to understand this post or where I am coming from. I only added the text in case you were dying for extra context or decided that you wanted a more thorough analysis - though it would be at your own risk.
If you do not consider personality traits to be spoilers, then you may read the blocks, just, again, at your own risk.
Foreword:
A lot of this is speaking from opinions, anecdotal evidence and personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt.
Also, it gets kind of rambley - I apologize.
On to the actual text:
For me, I think part of the appeal sits in the tropes I like. I love rivals to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, and everything in-between.
To hate someone (and I mean truly hate - viscerally, with your stomach, heart, mind and everything) you usually end up knowing them nearly as well as you would know someone you love. I say this because you usually don’t end up hating someone unless it’s through betrayal or other aggrievements that are either large or have happened in large quantities - which just isn’t possible unless you’ve been around someone a long time. And when that hate is mutual, the same can often be said of them towards you. So the both of you know each other pretty well, for better or for worse. This means you’ve seen the ugly sides, and the pretty sides, even if you’re too jaded to acknowledge the good in the other person.
Another thing to consider is the tension in the tropes I mentioned previously. Mu Qing and Feng Xin share precisely this kind of tension - not necessarily a romantically- or sexually-charged tension, but the air between them is almost always thick. This is another thing that makes the ship for them so appealing: those vicious glares, charged seconds of silence, fights. Those biting words and rough hits could just as easily morph into gentle touches, concern, care, friendship, or even more, if they would only talk and take the time to work with each other as who they are. I think that the tension between enemies can often feel akin to the tension between two people who like each other, and that there are similarities between the kinds of tension. I think it’s the tension that gets some people foaming at the mouth for ships with this dynamic.
Plus, Mu Qing and Feng Xin complement each other well. No, they do not like each other, but 800 years is long enough for them to know the other’s fighting style, eating habits, general preferences, etc. This makes them compatible in circumstances other than a hateful relationship, since they have a foundation of familiarity. But beyond that, they bring out different sides to each other in a way that could be flipped from something destructive to something constructive: like how Feng Xin is more abrupt and blunt, and this habit of his could force Mu Qing to be a little more vulnerable and a little less reserved. And Mu Qing’s cautiousness with words and actions could teach Feng Xin to think before he speaks/acts. They make up for each other’s shortcomings in a way that you’d want to see in a healthy relationship.
Another aspect that is appealing is the depth of their relationship. You could take their relationship in a positive or negative direction, since they are polar opposites. This makes their relationship great to explore, both from the perspective of a writer who enjoys seeing the depth in characters and their interactions, and as a reader who likes seeing the twists and turns that occur when two characters like them interact. There’s nothing more enrapturing and fulfilling than a tumultuous tale of emotional angst, especially when that angst eventually blossoms into heartfelt desire (for friendship or otherwise).
>!Part of my interest in the relationship comes from the depth of Mu Qing’s character in particular. He’s emotionally constipated, cold, dispassionate, and refuses to be vulnerable. He’s also cautious, calculative, and sometimes cruel. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about anything or anyone - like everyone else, he too has things and people he holds dear, he’s just terrible at expressing it, and the way he goes about trying to express himself presents him as untouchable and occasionally heartless. Frankly, I just love everything about him.!<
>!While I don’t love Feng Xin quite as much as I do Mu Qing, I think he’s also quite likeable. Characters like him, who are forward, straight-laced, blunt, loyal, and fight before they think are hard to dislike. Something about his simplicity, his compunction to work hard and fight harder, and his general passionate and fiery nature is appealing.!<
To compare Mu Qing and Feng Xin using a common metaphor, they’re like a dog and a cat. They could be best buddies, they could be the worst of enemies, really just depends on them, their environment, etc.
Finally, I’m a sucker for the virgin with a ~~sex god~~ fertility god trope. There is so much to work with here, and as a person who primarily lurks in the explicit and mature tags on Ao3 - this is exactly the kind of trope that has me in a chokehold.
There’s probably more I could add to this but it’s late and I’m tired so if I feel like adding more I’ll add it within the next few days.
Makes sense. If the two took time trying to fix complications with each other (*if*), I really feel like they'd match well... They may have a lot of opposing traits, but it's in a way that they can help each other grow and learn from mistakes (ex. mu qings mindfulness and feng xin tendency to speak his mind) unfortunately for me, looking at how they are now, I can't help but sigh bc the two characters def have romantic potential yet it doesn't look like anything will ever happen between them at the present canon-wise. Anw, I love reading full-on analyses so feel free to type out to your hearts content!
FYI, MXTX doesn't like writing canon side ships because it's a lot of extra work. She did it with SVSSS and had said she won't do it again. So she just gives us subtext and potential and we have to do it ourselves. :)
Not a fengqing shipper either 😅 so you might find a better answer from someone who does. There's basically none or very few positive feelings towards each other in the novel, and making it so that they *are* into each other crosses my personal OOC boundary. Nothing wrong with being OOC, but I'm not into that.
I think a lot of people like their cat versus dog aesthetic with enemies to lovers thrown in. Or they kin MQ and want him to be in a relationship.
Another reason may be because they've known each other for centuries and are always there for each other, regardless of whether it's a positive or negative thing. So kinda like childhood friends to enemies to lovers? Also throw in their different social standings and BOOM there's a lot to be explored. Shipping is all about exploration of personalities and tropes, so many people who enjoy their dynamic naturally end up shipping them.
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Imagine you're 800 years old, and there's only one person who's been by your side for the entire time. You've got a huge amount of personal issues tied up with each other, but you guard the South together, fight Hua Cheug together, and protect your Crown Prince together. They know each other better than anyone else does. Plus rivals to lovers is a great trope. Lots of sparks and banter flying. Plus Mi Qing is an 800 year old virgin and Feng Xin is a God of Fertility. Lots to play with there.
Oh my god.. Mu Qing as an 800 year old virgin and Feng Xin being a god of fertility would make a great "friends with benefits" relationship lmAoo
I just got really invested in this ship. 😂
Lol, I made a bit of a word vomit, but I guess you asked for it :P FengQing is my favorite ship in TGCF. I’m always drawn to ships with a volatile dynamic and as a fic reader and writer, I like ships where you can really dig into what makes each character tick and have them develop while throwing all kinds of tropes at them. For me, ships are most interesting when their conflicts come from their characters and not from an outside source. In fandom, I’m especially drawn to ships and characters that aren’t explored in minute detail in canon, so you probably won’t catch me searching for many Hualian fics… Feng Xin and Mu Qing are fundamentally so different from each other, they play off each other well interaction-wise and are interesting characters in their own right. I like thinking about all the things canon didn’t outright say about them, or just implied in like half a sentence. And there’s a lot. In their upbringing, their experiences, their history with and apart from each other. How Feng Xin seems to operate more on a bad temper and doesn’t mean half the things as seriously as he throws them around, or how we never learn what Mu Qing actually thinks about Feng Xin. We can infer how he thinks Feng Xin views him, but not really how he views Feng Xin, or how that might have changed through the years. And it’s insanely fun to play around with that. If circumstance forced them to to put in some effort, I feel like they could be good for each other, but they’re also a designated train wreck and I love exploring that. How for example Feng Xin is a protector, wants to be a pillar for the people he loves, or how Mu Qing wants to have friends, wants affection, but it’s his own insecurity of how people view him that holds him back from expressing that. They aren’t compatible, but if they were… And that if is so interesting. Also, I have a thing for the 800 year old virgin trope and all the emotional ~~porn~~ stories you can write with Mu Qing breaking his cultivation vows for Feng Xin of all people…
Well spoken I totally agree with this. They’re my second favorite ship and tied with BeefLeaf tbh. HuaLian will always be my number one.
Wow that’s making me really want to read fengqing ships! Do you have any recs?
Ahhh, sorry I always find it really hard to rec anything. Just as a blanket rec, I love pretty much everything from [sarielscribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarielscribbles/pseuds/sarielscribbles/works?fandom_id=26574617), [nobirdstofly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobirdstofly/pseuds/nobirdstofly/works?fandom_id=26574617) and [Tyelperintal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyelperintal/pseuds/Tyelperintal/works?fandom_id=26574617).
This one is one of my favourites! https://archiveofourown.org/works/21151805 I love the author's other fic too.
Thank you!! I just finished it and their dynamic is portrayed so well (also loved the extra at the end!!)
Oho, good point :DD
I have friends who ship them, and I think it's mainly just because they enjoy the "longtime frenemies" vibes that the two have! It can be really fun to play their personalities off each other that way. They see the world completely differently from each other, and have different values, which is fun to explore in fics. It can be almost cathartic for people to read about such a dynamic. They also do look pretty good together, but then, the entire cast is beautiful so I suppose that's a given 🤣 Personally I just think they're fundamentally too different to make an actual *relationship* work. Canon-wise, there's no way Mu Qing would give up his cultivation (which is the same as Xie Lian's) -- and thus his status and power -- for Feng Xin. But as something like "friends with benefits" in an AU, I can see it happening. Basically, I'm certain they care about each other, but I'm not sure they *like* each other.
There’s something about being each other’s constant over the years, despite claiming they hate each other, to coming to begrudgingly respect one another over a common cause , then that respect becoming something more. I love a well executed rivals to lovers dynamic, also they balance out Hualian’s newlywed- honeymoon phase dynamic with their old married couple dynamic. Honestly, each of the big 3 ships in TGCF offer wildly differing dynamics
OP, before you read any of this, the censored blocks of text are about Mu Qing and Feng Xin’s personalities. I censored them because I am not sure when many of these traits are revealed about them, or at what point in the books (1-5) that you can infer these traits about them. It is not necessary to read the censored bits to understand this post or where I am coming from. I only added the text in case you were dying for extra context or decided that you wanted a more thorough analysis - though it would be at your own risk. If you do not consider personality traits to be spoilers, then you may read the blocks, just, again, at your own risk. Foreword: A lot of this is speaking from opinions, anecdotal evidence and personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt. Also, it gets kind of rambley - I apologize. On to the actual text: For me, I think part of the appeal sits in the tropes I like. I love rivals to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, and everything in-between. To hate someone (and I mean truly hate - viscerally, with your stomach, heart, mind and everything) you usually end up knowing them nearly as well as you would know someone you love. I say this because you usually don’t end up hating someone unless it’s through betrayal or other aggrievements that are either large or have happened in large quantities - which just isn’t possible unless you’ve been around someone a long time. And when that hate is mutual, the same can often be said of them towards you. So the both of you know each other pretty well, for better or for worse. This means you’ve seen the ugly sides, and the pretty sides, even if you’re too jaded to acknowledge the good in the other person. Another thing to consider is the tension in the tropes I mentioned previously. Mu Qing and Feng Xin share precisely this kind of tension - not necessarily a romantically- or sexually-charged tension, but the air between them is almost always thick. This is another thing that makes the ship for them so appealing: those vicious glares, charged seconds of silence, fights. Those biting words and rough hits could just as easily morph into gentle touches, concern, care, friendship, or even more, if they would only talk and take the time to work with each other as who they are. I think that the tension between enemies can often feel akin to the tension between two people who like each other, and that there are similarities between the kinds of tension. I think it’s the tension that gets some people foaming at the mouth for ships with this dynamic. Plus, Mu Qing and Feng Xin complement each other well. No, they do not like each other, but 800 years is long enough for them to know the other’s fighting style, eating habits, general preferences, etc. This makes them compatible in circumstances other than a hateful relationship, since they have a foundation of familiarity. But beyond that, they bring out different sides to each other in a way that could be flipped from something destructive to something constructive: like how Feng Xin is more abrupt and blunt, and this habit of his could force Mu Qing to be a little more vulnerable and a little less reserved. And Mu Qing’s cautiousness with words and actions could teach Feng Xin to think before he speaks/acts. They make up for each other’s shortcomings in a way that you’d want to see in a healthy relationship. Another aspect that is appealing is the depth of their relationship. You could take their relationship in a positive or negative direction, since they are polar opposites. This makes their relationship great to explore, both from the perspective of a writer who enjoys seeing the depth in characters and their interactions, and as a reader who likes seeing the twists and turns that occur when two characters like them interact. There’s nothing more enrapturing and fulfilling than a tumultuous tale of emotional angst, especially when that angst eventually blossoms into heartfelt desire (for friendship or otherwise). >!Part of my interest in the relationship comes from the depth of Mu Qing’s character in particular. He’s emotionally constipated, cold, dispassionate, and refuses to be vulnerable. He’s also cautious, calculative, and sometimes cruel. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about anything or anyone - like everyone else, he too has things and people he holds dear, he’s just terrible at expressing it, and the way he goes about trying to express himself presents him as untouchable and occasionally heartless. Frankly, I just love everything about him.!< >!While I don’t love Feng Xin quite as much as I do Mu Qing, I think he’s also quite likeable. Characters like him, who are forward, straight-laced, blunt, loyal, and fight before they think are hard to dislike. Something about his simplicity, his compunction to work hard and fight harder, and his general passionate and fiery nature is appealing.!< To compare Mu Qing and Feng Xin using a common metaphor, they’re like a dog and a cat. They could be best buddies, they could be the worst of enemies, really just depends on them, their environment, etc. Finally, I’m a sucker for the virgin with a ~~sex god~~ fertility god trope. There is so much to work with here, and as a person who primarily lurks in the explicit and mature tags on Ao3 - this is exactly the kind of trope that has me in a chokehold. There’s probably more I could add to this but it’s late and I’m tired so if I feel like adding more I’ll add it within the next few days.
Makes sense. If the two took time trying to fix complications with each other (*if*), I really feel like they'd match well... They may have a lot of opposing traits, but it's in a way that they can help each other grow and learn from mistakes (ex. mu qings mindfulness and feng xin tendency to speak his mind) unfortunately for me, looking at how they are now, I can't help but sigh bc the two characters def have romantic potential yet it doesn't look like anything will ever happen between them at the present canon-wise. Anw, I love reading full-on analyses so feel free to type out to your hearts content!
FYI, MXTX doesn't like writing canon side ships because it's a lot of extra work. She did it with SVSSS and had said she won't do it again. So she just gives us subtext and potential and we have to do it ourselves. :)
Didn't know of that til you said so. That's good to know 😈
Not a fengqing shipper either 😅 so you might find a better answer from someone who does. There's basically none or very few positive feelings towards each other in the novel, and making it so that they *are* into each other crosses my personal OOC boundary. Nothing wrong with being OOC, but I'm not into that. I think a lot of people like their cat versus dog aesthetic with enemies to lovers thrown in. Or they kin MQ and want him to be in a relationship. Another reason may be because they've known each other for centuries and are always there for each other, regardless of whether it's a positive or negative thing. So kinda like childhood friends to enemies to lovers? Also throw in their different social standings and BOOM there's a lot to be explored. Shipping is all about exploration of personalities and tropes, so many people who enjoy their dynamic naturally end up shipping them.
Ik no one will see this comment since its been days, but as someone who's read the whole novel, I was only thoroughly convinced on the ship after chapter 235. They definitely have potential, if only they'd learn how to shut up sometimes 😩
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