Raving about Apothecary Diaries/Kusuriya no Hitorigoto IMPORTANT: If I make any big factual mistakes in my posts, please message me about it, don't just leave it in the comments. Thank you. AO3: tri_repetae Main blog: tri-repetae-gb25 (but it's inactive tbh) RYM (RateYourMusic) account: greatblade25 On Reddit, I'm ExtraEater just in case it needs to be verified
A sampler of original content you can expect from this blog (Links: Top Left / Top Right / Bottom Left / Bottom Right / Lowest one is a collage from my baseball card posts)
Hello! This is @tri-repetae-knh, an Apothecary Diaries-centric blog (light novel focused) that loves to focus on the many underrated characters and relationships in this series. This intro post will give you some important links and a list of all the tags I use on this blog for organizational purposes.
Important Links
If I could show you two longform posts that tell you what this blog is all about, I would point you to these.
⭐ The Other Canon Ships: LN16 Edition! (Reference List and Appreciation Post) - A reference list of all the canon ships that appear in LN16 (other than Jinmao, which is great but I want to highlight the underrated ships) and a report of how each one developed with chapter number citations. This is exclusively focused on LN16, but it is the most detailed and up-to-date "Other Canon Ships" post I've made yet and the most reflective of my current ethos. As of posting (30 May), LN16 just officially came out, so hopefully this can be a great resource!
⭐ The Complete Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga: Masterpost ⚾ - A fun character exploration framed around finding the ideal Apothecary Diaries baseball team (still in the canon time period), written to be accessible to non-baseball fans! Also has an AO3 version! My love letter to all the wonderful characters in this series and their relationships by imagining how they'd play in a baseball environment, incorporating a lot of canon knowledge I gathered from working on "The Other Canon Ships" and just reading the novels a lot. Doesn't just cover the team, but the announcers, umpires, and medical staff to build a whole baseball world. Part 1 covers the defense, Part 2 covers the offense, and Part 3 covers Coach Ah-Duo. There's also a prequel that asks "What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾" plus a player analysis with Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun. Very proud of this entire series!
Click "Keep reading" for more important links and all the tags I use!
Other Important Links
The Other Canon Ships: Reference List and Appreciation Post (Romances, Friendships, Family, etc.) - A reference list of all the canon ships (romantic and platonic) in the series aside from the most popular one (Jinmao) since that one already gets its well-deserved love elsewhere. CURRENTLY OUTDATED because it was made pre-LN16, I plan to update it soon and split it between a Reference List (a mostly objective report) and Appreciation Post (me going crazy over how much I love all the ships).
Apothecary Diaries: A Hypothetical Hot Pot Party - Maomao x Friends and Family 💚 - A hypothetical situation I've proposeed where Maomao gets to have a warm celebration with most of her friends and family, hosted in the La clan villa. Inspired by the events of LN16 and open to expanding as later light novels bring in more developments.
Apothecary Diaries and Discovering Chinese Music (Profile Pic Origins) - An explanation of where my profile pic came from, also goes over my love of music (my actual #1 interest) and how I enjoyed reading Apothecary Diaries while discovering Chinese music alongside it
Maomao's Friendships: An Extensive Appreciation Post (Xiaolan, Yinghua, Lihaku, Shisui, Yao, En'en, and Chue) - My first ever non-reblog post on this blog. Specifically made to explore Maomao's friendships back in November 2025 because I just wanted to celebrate them. Was later expanded upon in The Other Canon Ships but I still feel some affection for this old post of mine for being the start of it all, even if it's a little unpolished. I certainly still appreciate all of these friendships to this day!
And here's some other sites I'm on!
RateYourMusic: greatblade25 (for my music interests and tastes, very little overlap with this blog aside from some Chinese music interest but worth mentioning since I am far more active there than on Tumblr)
Don’t Try To Tell Us It Isn’t Rigged: Grand Commandant Kan’s Daughter Just Won The Moon Prince’s First Annual Fuck-A-Fan Contest - Self-explanatory
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team (Essay & Narrative) - The baseball team posts, but posted on AO3! See "Important Links" again for details
The Golden Oxen vs. The Dead Bodies (a.k.a. The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾) - A fan comic I made using official assets. Takes place in the canon time period but travelers from the West introduced Li to baseball and now they're playing a casual baseball match that turns out to be disastrous for the defense
Basen the Basket Case - Short Basen/Lishu fluff one-shot in which Chue stuffs her brother-in-law into a basket
Default Tags
#the apothecary diaries - The most commonly used AD-related tag sitewide and the one that will be tagged on almost all posts here since this is an AD-focused blog. All others after this are optional and depends on my mood but "kusuriya no hitorigoto" will likely always be paired with it too
#kusuriya no hitorigoto - Second most commonly used AD-related tag sitewide.
#apothecary diaries - Third most commonly used AD-tag. I might not always tag this on things.
#knh - Fourth most commonly used AD-tag. I might not always tag this on things.
Note: These are the four tags I follow for Apothecary Diaries-related content, and I check their individual sitewide pages regularly to see as much as I can.
Post Types
Note: All my non-reblog posts and memes are original content unless I say otherwise, in which case I will always link the source.
#post - A broad umbrella tag for memes, joke posts, shitposts, etc. Confusing and stupid name, I know, but this is NOT for all posts. It's called "post" because it's "shitpost" without the guarantee of "shit" (see next one)
#shitpost - Subcategory of #post. For memes and posts that have a significantly unserious and absurd element to it
#“artistic representation” - Subcategory of #post. For "artistic representations" (silly image recreations) of light novel scenes.
#youtube - Subcategory of #post. For the YouTube thumbnail spoofs I make (not for actual YouTube videos since I've never posted those; if I ever do, it will likely be tagged #video)
#satire - For posts (often memes/shitposts) that are specifically satirizing something. Technically not a subcategory of #post because it's possible for a satire to be serious and not meme-like at all, but I doubt I will write such a satire any time soon.
#knh meta - For analytical/close observational/character exploration posts. Can range from brief ones to extensive ones that overlap with #essay
#essay - Longform content in an "essay" format, often not featuring bullet points or lists. Almost always overlaps with knh meta
#knh light novel spoilers - Necessary for when a post has significant light novel spoilers
#the apothecary diaries fanfic - Seems to be the most commonly used tag for fanfic relevant posts sitewide, so this is the one I mainly use. This is for anything pertaining to fanfics, including posting my own fics, other fics, discussing possible fic ideas, or something that can be helpful as a reference for fics.
#knh fanfic - Also used for fanfics sitewide though it doesn't seem to be as common, so I may not always tag it
#fanfic - Just a more general fanfic tag, used alongside the main "the apothecary diaries fanfic" tag
#fanart - For fanart. This is pretty much always reblogs because I do not draw, sadly. And I don't consider my "artistic representation" meme edits to be fanart
#lists - Any posts that are lists of something. Often via points and/or numbered lists.
#reference - Posts that are intended to be used as reference by myself or others regarding Apothecary Diaries information
#appreciation - Posts that are intended as appreciation of a particular aspect of the series, typically something underrated
#story - For mini narrative stuff told in a hypothetical story-like format (but not the same as fanfiction)
#reblog - For all reblogs
#self reblog - For all self reblogs
#old post amendments - For reblogs of my own posts that add stuff
#compilation - For compilations of content from past posts
#music - For all posts that are about music in some way. Although this is mostly a literary blog, music is my real biggest love and so wherever it may crossover with Apothecary Diaries, I can discuss it sometimes
#chinese music - For posts about Chinese music
#sports - For posts that pertain to sports in some way, though I may liberally stretch the definition of "sports"
#sports commentary - For posts that feature sports commentary dialogue boxes and/or icons like these. Despite the name "sports commentary," this can also expand to non-sports content
#baseball - For posts with a baseball element
#personal - For posts with some personal element to it
#ask - For asks, either directed to me or reblogged asks to other people
#knh anime - For times when I talk about the anime specifically, which isn't common (especially during the off-season)
#knh general - For like anime news and official art and stuff
#general - For stuff outside of Apothecary Diaries that are just general thoughts
#announcement - For when I announce posts/content of mine ahead of time. Not something I'll do often, but I'll do it for big special posts
Full Version of This Intro Post on Google Docs (because I hit the character limit lol)
Sadly, I hit the character limit for this intro post so please check out the full thing intro post here on Google Docs. The remaining sections are: Individual Characters, Ships & Character Groups, Shipping Types, and Special Tags / Other
One Last Note
If I make any significant factual mistakes in my posts that need to be corrected, please message me about it, don't just leave it in the comments. Thank you.
The Complete Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga: Masterpost ⚾
This is an image compilation and masterpost/directory for my Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga posts. Light novel spoilers present!
The Complete Series
All posts are written to be accessible to non-baseball fans, and they're more like Apothecary Diaries character studies and mini-analyses framed around baseball. They're available on both Tumblr and AO3.
Main Saga (Mighty Ducks Team-Building)
[Part 1] The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 1 - Defense and Other Roles ⚾
[Part 2] The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 2 - Offense ⚾
[Part 3] The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo ⚾
Side Stories
[Prequel] Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾ - A major prequel post that touches on the history of how baseball arrived in Li. Originally released between Parts 2 & 3.
[Player Analysis] Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun: An Unexpected Duo ⚾ - Covers Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun's relationship as the "battery" (pitcher and catcher), exploring how their relationship would work on the field and off the field.
[Non-Canon] The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾ - This was a fan comic made before all the team-building. It was the first ever baseball post on this blog. Features two haphazardly chosen teams (selected for comedy rather than logical reasons) battling each other. It's fun and sets up the foundation for the baseball saga, but it's not canon to it.
AO3 Version
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
It has been so much fun making this series, some of the most fun I've ever had writing any longform pieces despite how niche it is. The main part of the saga (the team-building) is complete and I don't have any other ideas for this series as of publishing (Jul. 26). However, this series is still open to side stories and additional smaller posts that will be added to this directory as they come!
If you enjoyed the Tumblr posts, consider visiting the AO3 page! And thank you to my friend pinkparentheses (on AO3) for beta reading some of these posts as a non-baseball fan to make sure it's understandable for everyone!
More images after the "Keep reading," including team icons, announcer icons, and more. The terms in the baseball card collage are also explained. There's a link to the full Imgur album at the end!
Mighty Ducks Team Icons
Coach Ah-Duo + Umpires Taomei & En'en
Baseball Cards
See the Imgur Album of Baseball Cards for each individual image!
Explanations of All Terms
Defensive Abbreviations: P = Pitcher, C = Catcher, 1B = First Baseman, 2B = Second Baseman, 3B = Third Baseman, SS = Shortstop, LF = Left Fielder, CF = Center Fielder, RF = Right Fielder. See Wikipedia for more details. The positions are also explained in Part 1 - Defense
Sweet spot (Gyokuyou) = When you hit the ball real good
Contact hitter (Lihua) = A hitter who's great at hitting the ball consistently and rarely strikes out, prioritizing putting the ball in play over hitting for power or home runs
Swing and a miss (Lishu) = When a pitcher swings at a ball but fails to make contact
Ducks on the pond (Sister Lishu) = When there are runners on base, especially in scoring position
Moonshot (Jinshi) = A very high, long-distance home run
Cannon (Ah-Duo) = A player with an exceptionally strong and accurate throwing arm
Worm burner (Emperor) = A hard-hit ground ball that stays low and moves so fast you could say it burns the worms in the ground
Small ball (Maomao) = A strategy of using low-risk plays like singles, bunts, and stolen bases to score runs instead of mainly relying on big hits and home runs
Comeback Player of the Year (Suirei) = An award honoring a player who makes a notable return after a major absence, typically following severe injuries, illness, or personal hardship
Cup of Coffee (Shisui) = A player who is in the Major League for a very brief period before leaving, so brief they could've only drank a "cup of coffee" in the time they were around
Cutter (Loulan) = A fastball that breaks sharply to the side as it reaches the batter, making it hard to hit solidly
Sacrifice Fly (Tamamo) = When a batter hits a fly ball that gets caught (which takes the batter out), deliberately giving up their chance to reach base so a teammate can score
Announcer Icons
Also check out Jinshi and Chue's sports commentary icons here.
Ceremonial First Pitch Chart + Royal Pitcher Icons
From Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾
Coach Ah-Duo Single Panel
From The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo ⚾
Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun Battery Images
From Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun: An Unexpected Duo ⚾
See the full Apothecary Diaries Baseball Image Album for all of the above and additional images!
Playlist: 250 Songs of Happiness, 250 Songs of Sadness
Spotify Playlist / YouTube Playlist
RateYourMusic List w/ Short Writeups
What Is This Playlist? - 250 Songs of Happiness, followed by 250 Songs of Sadness, roughly ordered from the happiest songs I know to the saddest.
This project began last year as a quest to find the happiest and saddest songs in my library, which would end up occupying the very top and very bottom of this list. But it gradually evolved into something more. I wanted to explore the full emotional spectrum between these extremes, capturing the many different ways that music can express happiness and sadness.
Each song represents a distinct facet of its respective emotion, and the songs are ordered with playlist flow in mind, with similar topics and genres often kept near one another. This is not meant to be a precise measurement of happiness and sadness where every individual placement is gospel, but it is meant to be a thematically diverse journey from one extreme to the other.
I originally made this project as a 200-song list in March 2025 and released it on RateYourMusic, where it got some lovely reception. I then expanded it to a 400-song list in April 2025, and that was the most recent change until today's expansion to 500 songs. As a writer, I had a lot of fun doing the short writeups for the list and selecting quotes for every song. That process required me to get into the heads of the narrators and musicians behind the songs, drawing from personal experience, people I've met, and my own imagination.
You may not be familiar with every song, and I don't expect anyone to listen to all 500. But I do hope the writeups and selected quotes will invite you into each song's emotional world, and that you might discover some songs along the way!
After the "Keep reading," I've included a text version of the full list for accessibility and convenience (the Spotify playlist cover is there as well).
P.S. While many songs have been added to the highest and lowest parts of the list (including new songs at #2 and #499), I can tell you the songs at #1 and #500 have remained the same since the first edition in March 2025.
250 Songs of Happiness, 250 Songs of Sadness
Spotify Playlist / YouTube Playlist
RateYourMusic List w/ Short Writeups
Bold = This song was newly added in the July 2026 Edition
Understudy = Term for songs that aren't in the intended list, but are replacements for the intended song on Spotify since the intended song is not available there. There are only three as of July 2026.
This list is roughly ordered from happiest to saddest, with playlist flow and songs with similar topics/genres kept in mind.
Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely
Perfume - Dream Fighter
Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
Earth, Wind & Fire - September
Andrew W.K. - Party Hard
Together - So Much Love To Give (Understudy: Scatman John - Scatman's World)
Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad
DJ Sammy - Heaven
Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke
Andrew W.K. - Music Is Worth Living For
Pat Metheny Group - The First Circle (Live in Europe)
Yes - Roundabout
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Kylie Minogue - Love at First Sight
The Ronettes - Be My Baby
The Free Design - Kites Are Fun
The Innocence Mission - Bright as Yellow
They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Origami Angel - Doctor Whomst
Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
Nick Drake - Northern Sky
Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [Live]
The Zombies - This Will Be Our Year
Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
Cascada - Everytime We Touch
TWICE - What Is Love?
Platnum - Love Shy (Thinking About You) (Virgo vs. Agent X Edit)
Tommy february6 - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
Pat Metheny Group - Phase Dance
The Hollies - The Air That I Breathe
Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep - Mountain High
Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me
One Direction - Kiss You
Prince and The Revolution - Kiss
Sade - Kiss of Life
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Omar - There's Nothing Like This
Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Sampha - Spirit 2.0
Lil B - I Love You (Understudy: Nico Segal - Sunday Candy)
Lil B - I'm God
Björk - All Is Full of Love (Video Version)
Remi Wolf - Prescription (Extended)
Guillemots - Made-Up Lovesong #43
Asaka - Seize the Day
Jeff Rosenstock - The Creek Is Everywhere!!!
The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
Stevie Wonder - As
The Lonely Island - I Just Had Sex
The Weather Girls - It's Raining Men
Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine
The Waterboys - The Whole of the Moon
The Pussycat Dolls - Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
The Beatles - She Loves You
Japanese Breakfast - Everybody Wants to Love You
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
The Tornados - Telstar
Parliament - Mothership Connection (Star Child)
Ann Steel - Find Your Way
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Rydeen
Ichiko Aoba - Pilgrimage
Masakatsu Takagi - Utagaki, Pt. 2
Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Ever New
Van Morrison - And It Stoned Me
Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
Paramore - Still Into You
Salt-N-Pepa - Whatta Man
Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
Selena Gomez & The Scene - Naturally
Nina Simone - That's All I Ask
Common - The Light
Queen - You're My Best Friend
Justice & Simian - We Are Your Friends
Spice Girls - Wannabe
Jason Derulo - Ridin' Solo
Village People - Y.M.C.A.
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary
Chicago - Saturday in the Park
Zach Bryan - 28
John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads
John Denver - Rocky Mountain High
μ's - Snow halation
Owl City - Good Time
The Postal Service - Brand New Colony
Animal Collective - My Girls
Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
ABBA - Dancing Queen
ABBA - Waterloo
Hannah Montana - The Best of Both Worlds
College - A Real Hero
Foo Fighters - My Hero
New Radicals - You Get What You Give
Sly & The Family Stone - Everyday People
Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow
The Kinks - Lola
Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out
Adina Howard - Freak Like Me
Donna Summer - I Feel Love
Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Marcos Valle - Estrelar
Camp Lo - Luchini AKA This Is It
Nujabes - Luv(Sic) Part 3
A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour
Bill Withers - Lovely Day
Kero Kero Bonito - Trampoline
Ween - Ocean Man
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
They Might Be Giants - Doctor Worm
Weird Al Yankovic - White & Nerdy
Ought - Beautiful Blue Sky
The Beatles - Penny Lane
Clean Bandit - Rather Be
DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ - Next To Me
HANDSOMEBOY TECHNIQUE - Your Blessings
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Madonna - Holiday
Ride - Leave Them All Behind
Kamasi Washington - Truth
The Avalanches - If I Was a Folkstar
Pat Metheny Group - Last Train Home
Virginia Astley - A summer long since passed
Andrea Ferraris, Matteo Uggeri, Mujika Easel & Andrea Serrapiglio - Bicycles, Football, Volley and Other Sports in a Public Park, With Birds All Around
Flo Rida - My House
Big Thief - Red Moon
Adrianne Lenker - Free Treasure
Timbaland - The Way I Are
Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
Airiel - In Your Room
Oscar Peterson Trio - Hymn to Freedom
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal Version)
Frank Sinatra - My Way
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
Carpenters - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)
Estelle - American Boy
2Pac - California Love
Miley Cyrus - Party in the U.S.A.
Zara Larsson - Lush Life
Noname - Diddy Bop
Three 6 Mafia - Da Summa
Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly
UGK - Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
Chic - Good Times
The Avalanches - Because I'm Me
Daft Punk - One More Time
Jens Lekman - Your Arms Around Me
Robbie Williams - Angels
Alanis Morissette - Thank U
"Blue" Gene Tyranny - Next Time Might Be Your Time
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Gwen Stefani - Cool
The Chicks - Cowboy Take Me Away
Bobby Hebb - Sunny
Carpenters - Only Yesterday
Taylor Swift - Enchanted
David Bowie - "Heroes"
The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory
Crying - Premonitory Dream
Queen - We Are the Champions
Miley Cyrus - Walk of Fame
Stevie Wonder - Black Man
Kirin J Callinan - Big Enough
Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love/People Get Ready
New Order - World in Motion…
Oasis - Acquiesce
Kendrick Lamar - i
George Michael - Freedom! '90
Imagine Dragons - It's Time
Florence + the Machine - Shake It Out
Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me
Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone
Florence + the Machine - Dog Days Are Over
Kendrick Lamar - Alright
Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Toto - Hold the Line
Talking Heads - Found a Job
Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell
Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
SOPHIE - Just Like We Never Said Goodbye
Carpenters - Yesterday Once More
Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time
The Zombies - Care of Cell 44
Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
Elis Regina & Antônio Carlos Jobim - Aguas de Marco
Big Country - In a Big Country
Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It
The Beatles - In My Life
The Beatles - Something
Weezer - Island in the Sun
Labi Siffre - My Song
Mama Cass Elliot - Make Your Own Kind of Music
The Chicks - Wide Open Spaces
Hayden Pedigo - I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away
William DeVaughn - Be Thankful for What You Got
The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??
Flying Lotus - Never Catch Me
Kate Bush - The Morning Fog
Radiohead - Airbag
John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Florence + the Machine - Free
La Dispute - The Last Lost Continent
The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy
Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
Janelle Monáe - Tightrope
Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Jessie Ware - Begin Again
Taylor Swift - Begin Again
Hannah Frances & Daniel Rossen - Life's Work
WILLOW - Symptom of Life
Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine
Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is the Move
Imogen Heap - Headlock
Wednesday - Chosen to Deserve
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
The Beatles - Hey Jude
Ben E. King - Stand By Me
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
Wilco - Jesus, Etc.
Big Thief - Simulation Swarm
Brett Eldredge - Sunday Drive
Porter Robinson & Madeon - Shelter
Glass Animals - Youth
Labor Exchange Band - After a Long Period a Strange Place Becomes Home
Christopher Cross - Sailing
Talk Talk - New Grass
Kermit the Frog - Rainbow Connection
Parquet Courts - Tenderness
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
Teresa Teng - I Only Care About You
Björk - Hyper-Ballad
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Rina Sawayama - Cyber Stockholm Syndrome
Turnpike Troubadours - The Housefire
Modest Mouse - Float On
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day
Sigur Rós - Untitled 1
Joni Mitchell - Both Sides, Now
SZA - Good Days
Manic Street Preachers - No Surface All Feeling
Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
The Beach Boys - You Still Believe in Me
Sturgill Simpson - The Promise
Keane - Somewhere Only We Know
Tori Amos - Winter
Cameron Winter - Love Takes Miles
Sufjan Stevens - Chicago
Modest Mouse - The World at Large
The Mountain Goats - This Year
Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio
The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
Elliott Smith - Somebody That I Used to Know
Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know
The Beatles - We Can Work It Out
Solange - Cranes in the Sky
Talking Heads - Heaven
Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - September Fifteenth (Dedicated to Bill Evans)
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter
Courtney Barnett - Depreston
Hanson - MMMBop
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Weyes Blood - Something to Believe
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
American Football - The Summer Ends
Zach Bryan - Something in the Orange (Z&E's Version)
Sheryl Crow - If It Makes You Happy
Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
Alanis Morissette - Ironic
Modest Mouse - Gravity Rides Everything
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Kate Bush - Sat in Your Lap
Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
Belle and Sebastian - If She Wants Me
Weyes Blood - Movies
Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle
Kero Kero Bonito - Time Today
Pink Floyd - Time
The Zombies - Hung Up On a Dream
Lana Del Rey - The Greatest
The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
The Innocence Mission - The Lakes of Canada
Soccer Mommy - Circle the Drain
Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
The Clientele - Losing Haringey
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
The Flaming Lips - Waitin' for a Superman
The Flaming Lips - Fight Test
Belle and Sebastian - Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying
Supertramp - The Logical Song
The Killers - When You Were Young
Trashcan Sinatras - Obscurity Knocks
James Carr - The Dark End of the Street
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
Coldplay - Politik
Sade - Pearls
Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting on You)
Foo Fighters - Everlong
The Beths - Straight Line Was a Lie
Jason Isbell - Good While It Lasted
The Smiths - I Know It's Over
Townes Van Zandt - Tower Song
The Clancy Brothers - The Parting Glass
Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Jens Lekman - Speak to Me in Music
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Ayesha Erotica - Vacation Bible School
David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes
Adrianne Lenker - Sadness As a Gift
Mitski - Your Best American Girl
BTS - Fake Love
Robyn - Dancing on My Own
ABBA - The Winner Takes It All
Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
R.E.M. - Losing My Religion
Supercell - Kimino Shiranai Monogatari
Radiohead - Creep
Jamie Paige - Birdbrain
OutKast - Hey Ya!
Frank Turner - I Am Disappeared
Steely Dan - Deacon Blues
The Doobie Brothers - What a Fool Believes
Billy Joel - Piano Man
MGMT - Time to Pretend
Paramore - Hard Times
Jeff Rosenstock - Doubt
Cameron Winter - Cancer of the Skull
Radiohead - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
Vladimir Spivakov & Sergej Bezrodny - Spiegel im Spiegel: 1
Nine Inch Nails - Letting Go While Holding On
Scott Walker - It's Raining Today
Foo Fighters - Rest
Robbie Basho - Orphan's Lament
Penfold - I'll Take You Everywhere
Evanescence - My Immortal (Band Version)
Johnny Blue Skies - Jupiter's Faerie
Sun Kil Moon - Duk Koo Kim
Guns N' Roses - November Rain
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Carpenters - Goodbye to Love
Owl City - Fireflies
The Dismemberment Plan - A Life of Possibilities
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
ANOHNI - Why Am I Alive Now?
Kansas - Dust in the Wind
LINKIN PARK - Waiting for the End
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - The Tracks of My Tears
The Isley Brothers - Behind a Painted Smile
The O'Jays - Back Stabbers
yeule - Don't Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty
Songs: Ohia - Blue Chicago Moon
Arlo Parks - Black Dog
Big Red Machine - Renegade
Mac Miller - Good News
Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Love - Alone Again Or
Blur - Coffee & TV
Elliott Smith - Alameda
Nina Simone - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
Kacey Musgraves - Merry Go 'Round
George Harrison - Isn't It a Pity
Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness
Manic Street Preachers - A Design for Life
2Pac - Changes
The Temptations - Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Save the World
Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
Tears for Fears - Mad World
The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
Blur - The Universal
Olivia Rodrigo - The Cure
The Cure - Pictures of You
The Sundays - Here's Where The Story Ends
American Football - Never Meant
The Blue Nile - The Downtown Lights
The Microphones - The Moon
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
The Zombies - Maybe After He's Gone
Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
Jeff Rosenstock - Nausea
Cloud Nothings - Wasted Days
Soundgarden - Fell on Black Days
Aphex Twin - #3
Ethel Cain - For Sure
Elliott Smith - Waltz, No. 2 (XO)
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
Daniel Johnston - Story of an Artist
Eminem - Stan
Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission
Radiohead - Daydreaming
Elliott Smith - Ballad of Big Nothing
Art of Fighting - Reasons Are All I Have Left
Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses
Spiritualized - Broken Heart
Smog - To Be of Use
Nirvana - You Know You're Right
John Prine - Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
Deftones - Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
The Beach Boys - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
Radiohead - No Surprises
Purple Mountains - All My Happiness is Gone
The Replacements - Here Comes a Regular
The Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch
Portishead - Machine Gun
Ween - Transdermal Celebration
Arianne - Komm, süsser Tod
Sia - Chandelier
Everything But the Girl - Apron Strings
Sufjan Stevens - Fourth of July
Jacques Brel - Ne me quitte pas
The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today
Brad Paisley - Whiskey Lullaby
Pearl Jam - Black
Jeff Buckley - Forget Her
Ichiko Aoba - Kikaijikake No Ucyuu
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Elvis Costello - I Want You
Jackson C. Frank - Blues Run the Game
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally)
Vic Chesnutt - Flirted With You All My Life
Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City
Radiohead - Let Down
Brand New - Jesus Christ
A Perfect Circle - Judith
Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Elliott Smith - Everything Means Nothing to Me
Spanish Love Songs - Losers
Megan Thee Stallion - Cobra
The Mountain Goats - No Children
Kendrick Lamar - We Cry Together
Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers
16 Horsepower - Black Soul Choir
David Kauffman - Kiss Another Day Goodbye
Nick Drake - Place to Be
Elliott Smith - Between the Bars
Tove Lo - Habits (Stay High)
Sia - Breathe Me
Alice in Chains - Would?
Opeth - Hope Leaves
Townes Van Zandt - Waiting Around to Die
The Smashing Pumpkins - Today
Alice in Chains - Nutshell
Grouper - Headache
Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
The Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies
Sleater-Kinney - Jumpers
Elliott Smith - Roman Candle
Jason Isbell - Elephant
Mount Eerie - Real Death
Lankum - The Young People
The Cranberries - Zombie
John Prine - Sam Stone
Chico Buarque - Construção
The Cure - One Hundred Years
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
clipping. - Pain Everyday
Manic Street Preachers - The Intense Humming of Evil
Kendrick Lamar - u
The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag
Slipknot - Wait and Bleed
Have A Nice Life - Bloodhail
Deerhunter - Helicopter
Metallica - Fade to Black
Patty Waters - Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
Eminem - Kim
Merchant Ships - Sleep Patterns
La Dispute - King Park
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - The Dead Flag Blues (Understudy: Have a Nice Life - Earthmover)
Metallica - One
The Hotelier - Your Deep Rest
The Notorious B.I.G. - Suicidal Thoughts
Giles Corey - No One Is Ever Going to Want Me
Carissa's Wierd - So You Wanna Be a Superhero
Note: The musicians I chose to tag for this post are the ones that A. appeared in the top banner and B. have more than two songs on here (and even then I couldn't tag everyone).
Comeback Player of the Year (Suirei) = An award honoring a player who makes a notable return after a major absence, typically following severe injuries, illness, or personal hardship
Cup of Coffee (Shisui) = A player who is in the Major League for a very brief period before leaving, so brief they could've only drank a "cup of coffee" in the time they were around
Sacrifice Fly (Tamamo) = When a batter hits a fly ball that gets caught (which takes the batter out), deliberately giving up their chance to reach base so a teammate can score
Made these for the AO3 re-release of Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
There's also another new image in the AO3 re-release, specifically in the Basen section.
Note: The Tamamo illustration used in the card was from Animation Director, Kurumaya Sayumi! (Source)
Links to other baseball saga posts after "Keep reading"
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga: Other Links
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga
Complete Masterpost
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 1 - Defense and Other Roles ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 2 - Offense ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo ⚾
Side Stories
(Prequel) Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾
(Player Analysis) Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun: An Unexpected Duo ⚾
(Non-Canon) The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾
Made these for the AO3 re-release of Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾! Check it out here:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
For clarity, here's all the baseball terms above defined:
Contact Hitter (Lihua) = A hitter who's great at hitting the ball consistently and rarely strikes out, prioritizing putting the ball in play over hitting for power or home runs
Moonshot (Jinshi) = A very high, long-distance home run
Cannon (Ah-Duo) = A player with an exceptionally strong and accurate throwing arm
Sweet spot (Gyokuyou) = When you hit the ball real good
Swing and a miss (Lishu) = When a pitcher swings at a ball but fails to make contact
Ducks on the pond (Sister Lishu) = When there are runners on base, especially in scoring position
Cutter (Loulan) = A fastball that breaks sharply to the side as it reaches the batter, making it hard to hit solidly
Worm burner (Emperor) = A hard-hit ground ball that stays low and moves so fast you could say it burns the worms in the ground
Small ball (Maomao) = A strategy of using low-risk plays like singles, bunts, and stolen bases to score runs instead of mainly relying on big hits and home runs
Links to other baseball saga posts after "Keep reading"
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga: Other Links
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 1 - Defense and Other Roles ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 2 - Offense ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo ⚾
Side Stories
(Prequel) Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾
(Player Analysis) Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun: An Unexpected Duo ⚾
(Non-Canon) The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾
Here's the baseball cards with their First Pitch Reference Celebs!
Maomao didn't actually receive a reference celeb in either the Tumblr or AO3 version but if she did, it would definitely be Carly Rae Jepsen-tier like Lishu's pitch. Sorry girl (once again want to emphasize I love Carly Rae Jepsen's music and she seems like a great person, I'm not dissing her I promise)
Another reminder that the reference celebs were chosen based on the pitches, not the celebs themselves. But yes, I certainly have noticed the irony of Jinshi being paired with Bill Clinton
Made these for the AO3 re-release of Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾! Check it out here:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
For clarity, here's all the baseball terms above defined:
Contact hitter (Lihua) = A hitter who's great at hitting the ball consistently and rarely strikes out, prioritizing putting the ball in play over hitting for power or home runs
Moonshot (Jinshi) = A very high, long-distance home run
Cannon (Ah-Duo) = A player with an exceptionally strong and accurate throwing arm
Sweet spot (Gyokuyou) = When you hit the ball real good
Swing and a miss (Lishu) = When a pitcher swings at a ball but fails to make contact
Ducks on the pond (Sister Lishu) = When there are runners on base, especially in scoring position
Cutter (Loulan) = A fastball that breaks sharply to the side as it reaches the batter, making it hard to hit solidly
Worm burner (Emperor) = A hard-hit ground ball that stays low and moves so fast you could say it burns the worms in the ground
Small ball (Maomao) = A strategy of using low-risk plays like singles, bunts, and stolen bases to score runs instead of mainly relying on big hits and home runs
Links to other baseball saga posts after "Keep reading"
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga: Other Links
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga
Complete Masterpost
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 1 - Defense and Other Roles ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 2 - Offense ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo ⚾
Side Stories
(Prequel) Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾
(Player Analysis) Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun: An Unexpected Duo ⚾
(Non-Canon) The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾
P = Pitcher, C = Catcher, 1B = First Baseman, 2B = First Baseman, 3B = Third Baseman, SS = Shortstop, LF = Left Fielder, CF = Center Fielder, RF = Right Fielder
Made these for the AO3 re-release of Part 2 - Offense ⚾! There's also a bonus tenth card in the chapter itself. Check it out on AO3!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Updated the original Tumblr post with the cards as well. There's going to be new bonus content for all the chapter re-releases from here on out, so stay tuned!
Links to other baseball saga posts after "Keep reading"
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga: Other Links
The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga
Complete Masterpost
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 1 - Defense and Other Roles ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 2 - Offense ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team: Part 3 - Coach Ah-Duo ⚾
Side Stories
(Prequel) Apothecary Diaries Baseball: What if the Emperor, Jinshi, and High Consorts Threw Ceremonial First Pitches? ⚾
(Player Analysis) Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun: An Unexpected Duo ⚾
(Non-Canon) The Apothecary Diaries Cast Play Baseball, with Baryou and Jinshi Commentating ⚾
The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team (Now on AO3!)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
If you've followed my blog, you know I've been writing an elaborate Apothecary Diaries Baseball saga over the past five weeks. It started out as one speculative blog post, and then it slowly evolved into something more with miniature fanfic bits and elaborate fancomic-esque images. After some thinking, I've realized the whole thing definitely qualifies as a fanwork for AO3 with some edits. It's building a whole baseball world and imagining it, even if not all of it is dialogue-based.
I'm reposting it on AO3 as a blend of fannish essay, fanfiction, and fan comic using official assets (I did not draw). Essays that analyze works are allowed on AO3, one example being this.
For those who have already read the posts, these will just be the same posts except with the blog-like "Thanks for reading!" parts taken out in favor of the essay, narrative, and fan images. I'll be posting a chapter once a day every day over the next few days until it's complete (skipping Friday because I'll be busy then).
If you enjoyed the Tumblr posts, please show some love to the AO3 version!
