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The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 2 - Offense ⚾
Note: Like the first part, this is written to be accessible to non-baseball fans! Light novel spoilers!
Batting Order Preview
Intro
Last Sunday, I wrote The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team ⚾, in which I devised an "ideal" baseball team of Apothecary Diaries characters that could realistically dominate its in-universe opposition while still leaving room for narratively interesting weaknesses and obstacles. It was a fun, comedic meta-analysis of character dynamics that happened to be framed around baseball, accessible even to those unfamiliar with the sport! It covered not only the team, but also the umpires, announcers, mascot, and medical staff to build a whole baseball world. I'm mostly assuming you've read it for this post, but I'll recap anything I reference there.
That post only covered the team's defense, so this time I'm going to cover how well they'll do on offense, in which they have to hit the ball and run around the bases. This side is arguably the more iconic half of baseball (most people know what a "home run" is, for one). Like the first part, I'm going to quickly explain the rules of baseball at the start and give you as much information as you need to understand this post.
Hope you enjoy! Heavy light novel spoilers all the way up to LN16. In terms of length, this is about as long as the previous one (4k-5k words).
A Quick Overview of How Baseball Works (Offense)
In case you don't know how baseball works, I'm going to explain the basics. These first three bullet points were the ones I covered in the first part, and the rest of it covers offense and types of batted balls.
The team on offense tries to score "runs." The team on defense tries to get them out by recording "outs."
After the pitcher throws the ball, the offense can score by hitting it and running around the four bases in order: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and home plate. Reaching home plate gives them one run.
The defense can get runners out/record "outs" in multiple ways, including: A. catching a hit ball before it touches the ground, B. tagging a runner while holding the ball, or C. throwing the ball to a base before a runner reaches it when the runner must advance to that base.
Reference images: Strike zone and baseball diamond
Since we're focusing on offense now, we should cover a few more rules:
The pitcher (from defense) throws the ball to the batter (offense), who tries to hit it.
If the batter swings and misses, that's a "strike." A pitch is also a strike if the batter doesn't swing and the ball passes through the "strike zone" (see the image above), an area above home plate. The umpire decides whether a pitch passes through this zone.
If the pitch is outside the strike zone and the batter doesn't swing, that's called a "ball."
Three "strikes" mean the batter is out.
Four "balls" mean the batter gets a "walk," meaning they're automatically awarded first base.
If the batter hits a ball outside of the foul lines (defined by the straight white lines shown in the diagram above), it's called a foul ball. A foul ball counts as a strike only if the batter has less than two strikes. After reaching two strikes, additional foul balls do not count as a third strike, so a batter can technically keep hitting foul balls indefinitely until they either put the ball into play or strike out another way (with some exceptions).
A "home run" is when the batter circles all four bases and scores in the same play. Most home runs famously occur when the ball is hit over the outfield fence in fair territory, making it impossible for the defense to make a play before everyone on base scores. Home runs can also be done "inside the park," meaning the ball stays in fair territory, but the batter reaches home before the defense can tag them out. This is rare in situations where the defense is competent.
A "grand slam" is a home run hit when all three bases are already occupied by runners. All three runners score along with the batter, giving four runs (the most you can score in one hit).
Batted Ball Types
Whenever the batter hits a ball and puts it into play, there are a few commonly recognized types:
Ground ball - Hits and rolls along the ground
Fly ball - Hit high into the air with a deep, arcing trajectory. This is the easiest one for fielders to catch before they land, which leads to an out. If a fly ball clears the outfield fence in fair territory, though, it's a home run.
Pop-up - A fly ball that doesn't go far, usually staying in the infield.
Line drive - Hit sharply with a mostly flat, horizontal trajectory parallel to the ground. Widely considered the best, most dangerous type of hit because they give fielders little time to react.
Bunt - It's possible to, instead of swinging at the ball, lightly tap it so it rolls only a short distance into the infield, which can be done for various strategic reasons.
P.S. I'm not gonna bother going over the infield fly rule because it's a headache to explain to laymen and it's more relevant to defense than offense. Plus, it won't come up again in the rest of this post anyway.
Mighty Ducks: Batting Order
Every member of the team who plays on defense must also bat on offense (unless there is a "designated hitter," but I'll explain that and why there isn't one here later). The sequence in which they play is called the "batting order."
The batting order isn't the be-all and end-all of baseball, but it's still an important part of the offensive strategy. The goal isn't simply to arrange the hitters from "best to worst," it's really maximizing the team's chances of scoring runs by putting different skill sets in the spots where they're most valuable. You'll see what that means soon, but that is one reason (for those who saw the preview image) why Basen is not first in line.
There are many different philosophies to constructing a batting order, such that I would understand if anyone reading this might come up with a different batting order. In the next section, I'll do my best to explain why I chose this particular lineup and how it reflects both modern baseball strategy/meta and Apothecary Diaries characterization. The batting order itself isn't really the point, though, moreso each characters' offensive strengths and weaknesses in general.
Here's an image showing my chosen batting order (same one from the preview but now without the disclaimer text):
Mighty Ducks: Offensive Analysis
1. Chue ("Trickster")
Note: Just like in the first part, we're assuming that prosthetics in Li have advanced considerably, allowing Chue (who lost her right arm in LN12) to use a high-quality prosthetic arm that lets her bat effectively.
The leadoff hitter (#1) isn't meant to be the team's strongest batter, but rather the one who's likeliest to reach first base and kick off an opportunity to score. Of all the characters on the team, Chue is the one I'd trust the most to get on base consistently and advance. For one, I'd wager she's the fastest and most agile runner (see her time as the lady biaoshi in LN12, and that was while she was artificially increasing her height). Instead of swinging for home runs, she'll learn to master hitting exceptional line drives with great technique.
You can also trust her to make good decisions at the plate and hit the ball. A critical part of batting is reading the pitcher and anticipating what type of pitch is coming, and Chue's background as a spy and information gatherer will make her exceptional at this. She's the best-suited player to (legally) study the opposing team's pitching tendencies before and during the game to improve her predictions.
Along with Maamei, she's also the team member most likely to decode the opposing catcher's "signs," which are the coded signals sent to the pitcher that communicate what pitch to throw next, traditionally done via hidden finger signals. Decoding is best done from second base (which she's likely to reach), where she can try communicating it to the batter. Reading signs is a constant game of cat and mouse, with teams changing or disguising them to prevent the opposing team from taking advantage of them. As a spy, Chue's ability to see through bullshit is rivaled only by Lakan, making her the best to recognize any hidden patterns (see the Ri emissary situation in LN12, where she and Baryou figured out something was wrong when Jinshi couldn't).
Finally, Chue's skills extend beyond her own at-bats. Whether she's standing on the base or watching from the dugout, she'd constantly observe the opposing defense and identify their tendencies and weak points to relay to her teammates. As if her ability to generate runs wasn't valuable enough, she'll be one of the team's best in-game strategists, too!
2. Jinshi ("Charmer")
The second hitter continues the job of getting runners on base, but they're typically expected to be a more complete package than the leadoff batter. Traditionally, this spot would go to a contact hitter (someone who doesn't strike out often) who can move runners along while still getting on base themselves. Between his strength, refined technique (see his swordsmanship against Basen), and intelligence, I think Jinshi would make a stable, trustworthy #2 hitter. After all, the fact that his confidants can consistently rely on him was also a major reason I selected him as first basemen in Part 1.
And of course, I have to mention his godlike beauty and aura again.
It was a key aspect of Part 1, and it remains a valuable offensive weapon here, especially in the early innings. While they may have been able to awkwardly look away from Jinshi standing on the bases in Part 1, the pitcher is now forced to focus on the beautiful Moon Prince before every pitch, while the catcher has the even less enviable job of having to sit right behind him. If Jinshi can smile just right, his aura will almost certainly mess with the battery's (i.e. the pitcher-catcher as a collective) heads and, from their view, possibly even distort the space around him enough to make the pitcher miss the strike zone. In the best-case scenario where Jinshi can tell when the pitcher's going to mess up (not easy in most circumstances), the pitcher loses their composure enough times to award Jinshi a walk.
But just like in Part 1, this advantage won't last all game. The defense will eventually get used to Jinshi's aura as they realize he's still human and capable of making mistakes. By the later innings, Jinshi will have to fall back on good baseball strategy (as outlined in the first paragraph) instead of pscyhological warfare. Fortunately, that's a lesson Jinshi's already learned throughout the series. Ever since he met Maomao, he's been forced to confront situations where his looks aren't enough, so he won't have much trouble adapting to standard baseball play once the novelty wears off.
3. Lihaku ("Good Dog")
The third hitter spot typically goes to one of the team's most complete and consistent hitters. Of all the characters in this team, Lihaku strikes me as the most stable, reliable, and proficient "muscular" fighter aside from Gaoshun, who is considerably older. I did describe Jinshi as reliable, but he still struggles with his own insecurities, and his unique aura is a volatile, double-edged sword. Basen undeniably has greater raw power, but Lihaku is more disciplined, more technically refined, and the steadier player overall. We've even seen him (like Jinshi) show superior technique against Basen in formal combat (see the "Two Good Friends" chapter in LN14).
Put Lihaku at the plate and you can trust him to make solid, consistent contact, whether it's a scorching line drive or a deep fly ball (wouldn't put it past him to manage a home run from time to time, either). Given the athleticism required of a trained soldier, he'd also be a great runner, making him a solid all-around offensive threat.
4. Basen ("Monster")
Imagine this: It's the first inning. The Mighty Ducks have loaded the bases, with Chue on third, Jinshi on second, and Lihaku on first. The opposing team's morale has been thoroughly degraded by Chue's trickery, Jinshi's unbearable hotness, and Lihaku's simple, yet pure skill.
And now, the pitcher has to face Basen.
Yeah, it goes without saying that if Basen can hit the ball with even remotely competent technique, he will send that shit into outer space, leading to a home run and—in this scenario we've imagined—a "grand slam" worth four runs. The cleanup hitter (#4) is traditionally the team's biggest power hitter who can "clean up" the bases by driving runners home, and I'm sure if I told you that at the start, your mind would've immediately filled the blanks with Basen.
He could probably kill someone if he chose to hit a line drive instead of a fly ball. Frankly, though, his line drives could have enough insane velocity to clear the outfield fence anyway, also awarding a home run. And if a ball somehow stayed in play (possible if the pitcher can force him to bat at a weird angle), I have little doubt that Basen (like Lihaku) is athletic enough to run and take bases due to his military training.
The big caveat to all this, though, is that he needs to hit the ball, which is easier said than done.
In the baseball movie Major League (1989), there's an immensely powerful, voodoo-practicing slugger named Pedro Cerrano who always hits home runs if you pitch him a fastball, but he struggles to even make contact against breaking balls (pitches that suddenly change direction; a famous example is "curveballs") and off-speed pitches (thrown at a significantly slower velocity than a fastball, which can mess with the batter's timing). In the movie, opposing pitchers take advantage of his weakness by learning not to give him fastballs, and he strikes out much more frequently.
This exact thing could happen to Basen (minus the voodoo). Basen possesses overwhelming physical strength, but he's also shown he struggles in formal environments against people with better technique: Lihaku, Jinshi, Gaoshun, and even Maamei in her younger years all prove disciplined technique can overcome his brute force. Translating to baseball, if Basen isn't trained to recognize and consistently hit breaking and off-speed pitches, opposing teams will quickly realize they just need to outsmart the beast and not throw simple fastballs to win against him.
He's also famously not the best at reading people. Unlike Chue, who excels at anticipating others' actions, Basen is most likely the weakest player on the team at predicting a pitcher's intentions. I praised Basen's intelligence as underrated in Part 1 because he can thrive when working alongside his family and trusted allies. But when he's up against strangers more clever than him, he'll have a hard time in an environment where he can't just run up and rip their heads off.
This means coaching Basen is absolutely critical. Basen needs extensive practice recognizing breaking pitches, adjusting to speed changes, and refining his swing technique. If he develops those skills, he will become the most dangerous hitter in Li. If he doesn't, he'll simply be an all-or-nothing slugger, just like the voodoo doll-worshipping Pedro Cerrano.
P.S. We're also assuming that the baseball bats in Li can somehow survive Basen's swing. We're in anime land, so we can imagine baseball bats ostensibly made of wood yet composed of cartoon-grade titanium. Bats breaking is a thing in real life, but I'm not gonna cover that in this post.
5. Gaoshun ("Protector")
In a scenario where Chue, Jinshi, and Lihaku manage to load the bases at the start but Basen strikes out, all is not lost! The team has received one out now, but Gaoshun is next in line.
Gaoshun isn't as absurdly strong as Basen (nobody is), but as the trusted protector of the royal family, he's more dependable. Much like Lihaku, he's the kind of hitter I'd trust to come through when the team needs him most. He might not launch as many home runs, but I'd still expect him to keep the inning alive like the royals. And of course, if Basen actually did his job and cleared the bases with a home run, Gaoshun makes an excellent new leadoff hitter to kick off a new set of runners.
Though he isn't a Mi clan spy, I'd say he's just as perceptive as Chue. He might not be the one investigating the other team's habits, but he'll be exceptionally good at processing her intel to adjust his own approach and advise the other team members.
The biggest question mark (like much of this team in general) is his running speed. Unlike his combat skills, which are well-established, we don't have many clear speed feats for Gaoshun, and he's the oldest member of the team. Fortunately, maintaining excellent physical condition is part of his job of ensuring the royal family's safety, so it's reasonable to assume his training includes a lot of endurance work. Even if he isn't one of the fastest runners, he won't be slow enough to be a liability, and like everyone in the team, he'll be trained to run fast.
6. Lahan's Brother ("What the fuck")
Lahan's Brother was selected as the pitcher in Part 1, but he'll still be batting here in Part 2. Now, if you're unfamiliar with baseball in 2026, you might think, "Well yeah, of course the pitcher bats too," but in mainstream American baseball, that hasn't been a given thing since 2022, so I figured I'd clarify that for any baseball fans reading this (I'll explain this all for laymen in the "Designated Hitter" section at the end).
In Part 1, we established that Lahan's Brother has inhuman endurance (see his experiences fending off bandits in the western capital + his fight with Mister Love Letters) along with incredible strength from years of farm work. If he makes solid contact with the ball, there's no doubt he'll drive it. But you may be thinking, "Hey, this guy has no luck at all. How is he supposed to hit anything?"
You see, one great thing about Lahan's Brother is that the universe seems to decide what to do with him based on how funny it would be. Lahan likes to say that he's short on luck (that he's master of "pulling the short straw, if that were a trade"), but we can see from the narrative that Lahan's Brother's story eventually bends toward his success, even if he has to earn it in hard and sometimes embarrassing ways (his survival in the Western capital, beating Mister Love Letters, and being well-liked by the ladies even if he doesn't know it). His victories aren't graceful, but they happen.
Remember when I said that once a batter gets two strikes, they can just keep hitting foul balls indefinitely? This rule isn't exploited very often in real life baseball because it's not that easy to just get a foul ball on command, and it's better and safer to simply put the ball in play. But if there's anyone who's capable of accidentally doing it over and over again, it would be this guy.
Imagine this: You're the opposing pitcher, going up against this rugged farmer boy. You don't recognize him, but you know the announcers call him "Lahan's Brother" for some weird reason. He looks pretty ordinary. Sure, he might be a great pitcher, but that doesn't mean he'll be a good hitter.
You pitch a fastball.
Foul.
He looked a little late on that one.
You throw another fastball.
Foul.
That one went really far for a foul ball. Okay...
Maybe he just can't catch up to velocity. You throw an off-speed pitch.
Foul.
Fine. Curveball.
Foul.
You swear that one looked like it was defying physics for a moment just to make it a foul. You shake it off as an illusion, then you try again...
and again...
and again...
and again...
and again...
and again...
and again...
and holy shit, is this guy ever going to—whatthefuckthat'salinedrive!
...and he's somehow already on first base.
Of course, it won't look exactly like that every time. But I can totally picture Lahan's Brother being a stupidly annoying, unpredictable batter who just won't give pitchers an easy out. Even if he doesn't reach base, forcing a pitcher to throw twelve pitches in a single at-bat and (unintentionally) messing with the entire defense is an impressive way to tire them out (and this is after Chue, Jinshi, Lihaku, Basen, and Gaoshun have already worn them down). And the best part is Lahan's Brother, due to his inhuman endurance, will remain as vigorous as ever throughout it all.
The universe will be sure to mix it up with him from time to time and ensure things don't go very smoothly. In terms of running the bases, I can easily see him getting caught in ridiculous rundowns¹ or being tagged out by mere inches after an otherwise miraculous play. He'd probably also embarrass himself trying to impress the base umpire (remember, it's En'en, who he has a crush on). She may be kind to him off the field but won't hesitate to give him an out if he truly is out, and it could break his heart. Lihaku and Gaoshun will need to comfort him during break periods (remember in Part 1, he'll build a decently close relationship with Gaoshun over time due to them being the pitcher-catcher "battery" in defense).
Overall, I still think he'll ultimately do more good than harm for the Mighty Ducks. It'll just come with a lot of absurd shenanigans.
¹Rundown (a.k.a. "pickle") = A baserunner gets trapped between two bases while defenders throw the ball back and forth, trying to tag the runner before they can safely reach either base. The runner keeps changing directions until they're tagged out or they escape. This can look pretty comedic sometimes, and Lahan's Brother being caught in such a slapstick situation is extremely on-brand. Take a look at this gif for an example of a player attempting to slide their way out of a rundown, something Lahan's Brother could end up doing:
Source - GIF: Jonathan Villar tries to slide his way out of a run-down
7. Shikyou ("Hangin' On")
We've now reached the point in the batting order where batters aren't expected to be as powerful. The main challenge with these remaining hitters (Shikyou, Maamei, Dr. Li) is the same one I ran into in Part 1: The main series simply doesn't show their athletic abilities as much as it does characters like Basen and Lihaku, so more speculation is required.
Shikyou has the strongest foundation. In Part 1, I highlighted his experience running a biaoshi agency, which would demand speed, endurance, and physical fitness. Among these three, he's the one I'm most confident is a capable runner, hence why I previously gave him the important job of Center Fielder. What matters is we can trust him to keep the inning alive, much like himself. Assuming he's also made a full recovery from his brother trying to kill him, he'll make a respectable all-around hitter who can be consistent and reliable rather than truly powerful (which isn't too far off from what happens to him in canon, really).
8. Maamei ("The Brain")
I'm going to be generous and say that her ability to mercilessly beat up Basen for comedic reasons suggests she has impressive strength of her own. More importantly, though, she bested Basen in swordfighting when they were younger due to having superior technique (as mentioned earlier). I can easily see that same dynamic carrying over to batting, with Maamei developing great swing mechanics instead of relying on raw power.
She's also one of the smartest people on the team, sharing Chue's ability to read pitchers and adjust her approach with each swing. Her running speed is less defined and needs to be developed through training, but even at #8, she can still remain a valuable contributor who keeps the inning alive (given the monsters higher up in the order, I think she'll get to step up to the plate a lot).
9. Dr. Li ("The Arm")
From Part 1:
Dr. Li gained a lot of muscle from his time in the western capital, and he's only maintained it. From LN14: "Get going, or I’ll tell Dr. Li—you know how much muscle he’s put on. In fact, he’s kept it on even after we got back to the capital. Did you know he hung a sandbag from a tree in his garden and spends all his time punching and kicking it? And that on his breaks he sometimes goes down to train with the soldiers? Do you want to be a sandbag?"
That's about the extent to what canon tells us about his athletic ability. Of all the characters in the roster, he has the lowest proven baseline as an offensive player simply because he's a minor character who we don't see in many athletic situations. Even so, his dedication to physical training proves he'll do well under a great coach. At the very least, I can think he can hit some monster line drives.
Designated Hitter: None
A designated hitter is a player who doesn't play a defensive position and instead exclusively bats in place of the pitcher (Lahan's Brother, in this case). This role exists in real life because at the professional level, it's rare for even elite pitchers to also be strong hitters. Pitching and hitting are both difficult skills that require years of specialized training, so most players eventually focus on one or the other. In American baseball, the designated hitter was adopted by the American League in 1973 and became universal across Major League Baseball when the National League adopted it in 2022.
Believe it or not, this rule is highly controversial and has been for over five decades. I dare you to find any gathering of baseball fans in real life or online and innocently ask, "So what's the big deal about designated hitters?" Then see what happens next.
I'm not gonna go into that can of worms. I'll just say that for this scenario, there is no designated hitter for a few reasons:
Baseball in Li is still a young sport - Although the designated hitter was proposed in America as early as 1891, it wasn't fully adopted by a professional league until 1973. In the scenario I've written, baseball was introduced to Li by westerners sometime before the first volume of the series, and it's still developing by the time we reach post-LN16 (the time I imagine they're playing these games). I've borrowed liberally from modern baseball philosophy and rulesets throughout these posts, but I don't think it makes sense for the designated hitter to arrive to baseball this early.
Lahan's Brother hasn't specialized (and likely won't) - While it's true that pitchers are rarely great hitters at the highest professional level, that's mostly because they spend most of their training time perfecting their pitch. Before going pro, it's actually pretty common for players to both pitch and hit well. In this scenario, Lahan's Brother can realistically be a strong pitcher and hitter because he hasn't devoted all his time to pitching. He certainly won't be Shohei Ohtani (nobody in Li could ever be, really, and yes I did have to bring the king up thank you very much), but he'll be good for his team and level of baseball. More importantly, he'll never be expected to specialize because Li won't even have anything resembling a "professional" baseball league yet. It's just a casual game people play from time to time. And considering that this team includes Ma clan members and the literal goddamn Moon Prince, there is no way people this important are going to waste time doing anything close to a professional baseball circuit (in America, baseball teams play 162 games per season).
From a writer's perspective, I'd rather everyone get to play - You saw Lahan's Brother's writeup. If he didn't play, I never would've gotten to write that! And let's be honest, there are no other named characters in the series that could possibly be a good designated hitter. Maybe the buff Dr. You, but we know even less about his athletic capabilities compared to Dr. Li. We already exhausted all the best athletes just picking these nine for the team in the first place (and we still have a few characters here with unproven athletic feats, at that).
Offensive Evaluation
Just like on defense, this team isn't perfect on offense. They're not meant to be, after all! The goal was "excellent with narratively interesting flaws," and I think this lineup absolutely achieves that.
Their biggest offensive strength is power hitting. Basen is the obvious centerpiece, but even Lihaku, Gaoshun, Dr. Li, Lahan's Brother (once he finally puts the ball in play after ten fouls), and even Jinshi will likely be nothing to scoff at either.
They also have high baseball IQ on their side thanks to Chue, Maamei, and Gaoshun. Chue and Maamei will excel at reading pitchers and spotting defensive tendencies, while Gaoshun will serve as the perfect player to translate that intel into practical strategy for the rest of the team. Basen might be the weakest point intelligence-wise, but I truly believe heavy coaching can dramatically improve his pitch recognition, even if he'll never be Chue-level psychic.
Another recurring strength you might've noticed is endurance and mental strength. Lahan's Brother is the most obvious example, but look at everyone else: Gaoshun has spent his life protecting the royal family, Jinshi was born to endure immense pressure, Chue kept going even after losing her right arm, and Shikyou bounced back well from his brother trying to kill him. I won't go into everyone, but zoom out and you can agree nobody on this team folds under pressure.
Better yet, that resilience translates directly into wearing pitchers down. Chue makes them think, Jinshi charms them, Lihaku reliably executes the fundamentals, Basen makes them fear for their life, Gaoshun punishes them, and Lahan's Brother wears them down to tears.
Speed is hard to say for many characters because it's one of the least-demonstrated athletic traits in canon, but in general, this team still looks pretty strong overall with Chue, Basen, Lihaku, and Shikyou around.
Like in Part 1, the weaknesses are Basen's double-edged sword nature (he can hit like crazy, but he needs to hit first) and the lack of definition on the Maamei/Shikyou/Dr. Li block. A good coach would emphasize training this team on baserunning and strengthening the lower third of the order. They should also spend plenty of one-on-one time with Basen teaching him how to recognize and adjust to different pitch types.
Final Baseball Map & Thoughts
Now that I've finally finished composing the team's defense and offense, here's one last compilation image showing all components of the Apothecary Diaries baseball world I've created over these past two posts:
If you've reached this point, thank you once again for reading my super niche Apothecary Diaries baseball-themed character analysis and (if you've read the previous parts) sticking with me through this baseball team saga. For reference, the previous parts of this "Linese Baseball" series:
June 14th: (Fan Comic) The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾
June 21st: (Longform) The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team ⚾ [Part 1: Defense & Other Roles] <- This is one of my favorite posts I've written for this blog, really fond of it.
June 28th: (Longform) The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Offense ⚾ [Part 2] <- You are here.
It's been so much fun, and I hope you learned a lot about baseball and the amazing characters in this series!
Chapter Summary: After a year of planning and effort, Elle finally breaches The Institute. It leaves her with more questions than answers.
Whole Work Rating: Explicit
Whole Work Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death (described in detail), Rape/Non-Con (implied threat of)
Category: F/M, Gen
Fandom: Fallout 4
Chapter Word Count: 3.2k
Whole Work Relationships: John Hancock/Female Sole Survivor (Main Pairing), Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor, Edward Deegan/Female Sole Survivor, Robert Joseph MacCready & Sole Survivor, Sole Survivor & Nick Valentine, Arthur Maxson & Sole Survivor, Deacon & Sole Survivor, Preston Garvey & Sole Survivor, Sturges & Sole Survivor, Mama Murphy & Sole Survivor, Sole Survivor/Sole Survivor's Spouse, Father | Shaun & Sole Survivor, Synth Shaun & Sole Survivor
Whole Work Characters: John Hancock, Sole Survivor/Original Female Character, Paladin Danse, Edward Deegan, Nick Valentine, Robert Joseph MacCready, Arthur Maxson, Preston Garvey, Mama Murphy, Father | Shaun, Deacon, Elle Douglas (oc)
Additional Tags and Excerpt Under the Cut
Additional Tags: Commonwealth Minutemen, No Beta We Die Like Kellogg, Porn With Plot, Smut, Monogamy, Multiple Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Drama, Romance, Action/Adventure, Pining, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Found Family, Suicidal Thoughts, Hancock is Endgame, Break Up
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Brotherhood of Steel Knight Elle Douglas: formerly of the US Military, recipient of a now-useless Law degree, recent Vault 111-dweller, mother of Shaun “Father” Douglas, and widow of the late Nate Douglas was now absolutely none of those things.
The woman in question simply didn’t exist.
Her former body stood, gripping the edge of the stainless steel table in front of it with every ounce of strength left in the hands. The body leaned hard to port because its knees had given way almost completely. The eyes rested on the brusque salt-and-pepper-haired woman across from it, and the mouth was fixed in a pleasant smile. Not that any of that mattered.
Elle wasn’t home.
Dr Li stood across the table from the upright body that once housed Elle, delicately using a minuscule screwdriver to install a chip into Elle’s PipBoy, she was speaking, but Elle couldn’t hear her.
“...map, and then the relay will-”
A whine, suggestive of microphone feedback, superseded the Doctor’s speech. Suddenly Elle was back inside her body, looking across the table at the woman instead of down at both of them from a spot on the ceiling.
Feeling the stainless steel under her hands and the temperature controlled air on her sweating face, Elle had officially returned to her body in full. She was surprised both that she existed again, and that the screeching buzz from a moment ago hadn’t interrupted Li’s monologue. The woman droned on, and finally Elle was able to hear and understand some of her words.
“What?” Elle nearly barked, trying not to pant. “What about a map?”
“I said,'' Dr Li had already been harried and rude when Elle had entered the room ten minutes prior, and the interruption to her explanation had pushed her well past the point of any remaining politeness. “If you select a location on your map, see here,” Li held out the PipBoy so that Elle could see the sickly green and black screen. “Then press the side button here, while flicking up on the selector, then the relay should deposit you at that location.”
Elle swallowed hard, feeling as if something large and solid was lodged in her neck. “That’s incredible, thank you,” she managed to choke the words past the blockage.
Elle reached for the PipBoy, and both she and Doctor Li noticed at the same time that her hand was shaking like that of a person having some sort of serious medical event.
“Are you okay?” Li asked, looking directly at Elle for the first time since they met.
Li sounded tremendously annoyed to even have to ask.
“I swear I’m the only person who liked the unrequited love between Dr Li and James in Fallout 3. But I felt like that minor detail could have been used more in the story as well. Picture if you will, an emotional conversation in which Madison hesitantly begins “James, I…” and he smiles, responding with “I know, Madison…” He may have been hurting after losing Catherine and then the stress of wanting to protect his child, but maybe in all those years in the Vault, he realised how much he missed, and cared for, Madison as well. They have a tender conversation about their feelings and James confesses that he always appreciated her work and he never meant to hurt her, before they head to Project Purity. We get to see a more compassionate and emotional side to Dr Li as well as James’ dynamic with her. So many players label her as cold and cynical without considering the psychological turmoil she’s been through, especially by the time Fallout 4 comes around. Long story short, am I the only one who wants to give Madison Li a hug?”
