toshokanin.bsky.social
Voracious fandom trash panda. I fell down the CQL + MDZS rabbit hole and I live here now. Wangxian enthusiast, occasional fic writer.
š | She/Her | We, of course, came from hell
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toshokanin/
2,583 posts
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120 following
Getting Started
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[good night š“]
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"Oh," WWX says, pausing in the middle of checking out the book. His expression is something like disappointment. "You're going to miss release day."
"Release day?" LQR asks.
"Volume seven," WWX says. "It finally comes out next week."
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WWX has yet to steer him wrong. Even the books LQR hasn't loved have always been interesting.
"How long is your trip," WWX asks.
"I leave the day after tomorrow and will be gone for a week," LQR says. If he's going to go, he might as well stay for a while. He likely won't go back anytime soon.
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"Ready?" LQR asks, thumbing through the first few pages curiously.
"It's a parody," WWX explains. "You kind of have to like, know the genre to appreciate the jokes. And there are a lot of references to other comics, too. I think you've read enough now that it will make sense."
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"Long enough to keep me entertained, but also I have limited space in my luggage," LQR explains.
WWX smiles. "I've got just the thing!" He pulls a thick but surprisingly light volume of the shelf. The paper is pulpy, and the drawings are a simple black and white. "I think you're ready for this."
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The summer seems to speed by, until his trip to Shanghai is almost upon him.
"What are you in the mood for this week?" WWX asks as LQR frowns thoughtfully at the shelves, which are increasingly full of familiar friends.
"Something for travelling," LQR says, still puzzling.
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LQR begins to learn what he likes, and which styles and tropes are not for him. He's surprised to find his knowledge of classical literature rather useful, spotting references to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and characters clearly inspired by Journey to the West.
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He tells WWX about it on his coffee break the following week, this time at the nicer coffee shop. WWX lends him BSSR's first book, and they settle into a comfortable routine as the summer wears on. LQR buys something he's fairly sure he will enjoy, and WWX lends him more niche choices to sample.
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It's achingly sweet, a sharp contrast to the emotional turmoil of XXC & SL's series. Reading it makes him feel young again, somehow, even though LQR never had a great romance like that in his own youth. Strangely, the book doesn't make him feel like he missed out, but as if he lived vicariously.
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WWX leans in. "Just between you and me though, it was his brother who introduced me to YLLZ/HGJ, not the other way around."
"Your secret is safe with me," LQR says solemnly
In the end, he takes home the book by OYZZ, a standalone story about two boys whose childhood friendship evolves into love.
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Itās a pretty niche offering but if it finds itās way to the one person out there who could use it right now, that would be enough
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This is open to all MXTX fandoms and to any pretty much any fandom with which I have any basic familiarity. Including but by no means limited to: Interview with the Vampire, Trigun, Word of Honor, Legend of Fei, Arcane, Spirealm, Luoyang, Gank Your Heart, Evangelion, Gundam Wing
Not sure? Just ask!
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š
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I mean, is it even LXC if his romantic life isn't mEsSy? XD
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[breaking here! Go enjoy your Sunday]
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āPerhaps not,ā LQR says, reeling at the number. He isnāt sure heās ready to commit to that.
āTell you what, Iāll bring you the first volume some time and you can borrow it to see if it's your thing. It's really not for everybody. Some people find her a littleā¦Moralistic, I guess,ā WWX explains.
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āWhat was that the other customer was reading?ā LQR asks, unsure if it is a rude or prying question.
āOh, thatās Baoshan Sanrenās epic masterpiece. Itās been running for like thirty years at this point though she swears this is the final final arc. It's over 100 volumes now.ā WWX says.
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LQR huffs a little. What makes the young man think that ROMANTIC is his priority? Just because he got invested in HGJ/YLLZās relationship, doesnāt mean that that is the only type of story he is interested in! Heād be just as happy with a story about friendship, or family ties.
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āIāll stick with this, thanks,ā NMJ says. āSee ya tomorrow.ā
āOkay, so. What are you in the mood for?ā WWX asks after NMJ has gone. āMore xianxia? Or did you want to branch out into something more contemporary? Thereās a young up-and-comer named Ouyang Zizhen I think you might like. Very romantic.ā
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WWX just shrugs. āI know you didnāt like YLLZ but I still think the story would have been boring if you had two characters like HGJ. You need the opposition, the push-pull between their temperaments.ā
LQR finds himself agreeing with WWX wholeheartedly. The contrast IS important.
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āNo trouble,ā NMJ rumbles, sliding his own purchase across the counter to be rung up. āStill selling that rot you got my brother obsessed with, I see.ā
LQR canāt help but eavesdrop, even as he wanders over to the shelf, and runs his finger over XXC and SLās books.
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It's exhilarating, and the empty early moments just after the shop opens pass quickly. All too soon, heās interrupted by a quiet clearing of the throat. WWX snaps upright.
āOh, hey Mingjue-ge. Sorry to keep you waiting!ā To LQR: āWhy donāt you go browse and Iāll come help you pick your next read?ā
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His hopes, his theories. Perhaps a complaint or two about how something was handled, though LQR tries to keep those to a minimum. It all pours forth, and WWX very graciously listens, asks questions, and bandies opposing theories back at him. Theyāre on equal ground now, both waiting for whatās next.
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WWX just laughs. āWell then itās not one I possess. Iāve been dying to hear what you thought.ā
Itās kind of the boy to say so, but LQR still checks to make sure he isnāt in the way of any other customers before letting his HGJ/YYLZ feelings spill forth like a dam breaking.
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āPatience is a virtue,ā LQR says primly, even if he has been anything but patient recently. He hopes WWX wasnāt worried about him. He doesnāt need any more meddling young people in his life. At least WWX canāt report to his nephews.
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So itās the morning after his usual bookshop day when LQR makes it to the city, unsure if WWX will be working. He half expects to see WN rolling up the gate at opening.
āMr. Lan! I was expecting you yesterday,ā WWX says. āOr maybe even the day after you bought the last book, if Iām being honest.ā
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LQR isnāt a fool. He knows that the upcoming visit to Beijing is a precursor to his nephews eventually suggesting that he should sell the house and move closer to where LXC has settled. If LQY notices him hurting tomorrow when MianMian comes for her lesson, his nephews WILL hear about it.
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Post-nap, LQR is forced to admit he isnāt going to make it into the city today. The walk to the station might be good for him, but more than that is just asking to further aggravate the pain, and leave him hurting tomorrow.
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He also knows that a nap, even in his bed, will cause some of the muscles to tighten up again, and heāll have to redo some of the work he has just done in order to get moving normally. He settles himself carefully on the bed anyway, and is asleep before he knows it.
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he morning slips away as he works through tea, breakfast, painkillers, and then a very light round of tai chi. That alone feels like a full dayās work and by the time LQR is feeling less stiff, he finds himself desperately in need of a nap. He slept neither long nor well in the chair.
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LQR leans against the counter while the kettle boils and does some slow stretches. His hips are angry at being in a seated position for so long, and the pain radiates up into his back and down his legs as he gets the blood moving again. Getting old is so undignified.
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Thereās a bottle of painkillers somewhere, but LQR knows better than to take them on an empty stomach which means he needs tea, which will wake up his appetite, and enable him to eat something. Only then can he take the medication, unless he wants a horrendous gut ache as well.
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LQR leaves the book on the floor for the moment, and does some slow, seated movements to limber himself back up before making an attempt to stand. His legs donāt quite want to straighten all the way, and he shuffles into the kitchen half-bowed to start the kettle.
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The book slid down onto the floor sometime in the night, and when LQR leans down to pick it up, his back twinges a loud complaint. He hisses, and eases back into the chair. Heās too old to be sleeping on anything other than his carefully selected orthopedic mattress.
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It is after midnight when LQR sits back with a sigh, closes the book, and smooths a hand over the coverā¦ The next thing he knows, heās waking up to the early light of a summer dawn streaming through his windows. His neck aches abominably and his shoulders are tight.
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[life did in fact kick my ass a little bit this week thanks to over-scheduling, but we made it! Updates incoming ā¤ļø ]
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She doesnāt know about pocket friends š
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DAMN RIGHT WE ARE!
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No worries! Sounds like the getting there was a bit of a trial. Hope it was a good time anyway!
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Everything DOES happen so much in the beginning and I missed most of it because the theatre hadnāt enabled the English subtitle track and I had to scuttle out like š„ŗ šš please kind theatre employees my Mandarin is NOT up to this š
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How was it?! š
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Have fun!