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aashi-heartfilia · 6 months

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The hypocrisy of Jinshi and MaoMao

*light novel spoilers*

I just love how hypocritical MaoMao's nature is. She yells at Jinshi for being a 'Masochist' and yet we see that she's no different. Now, by definition Masochist is a person who drives sexual gratification from their own pain and humiliation, plus it relates to Jinshi's tendency to do self harm (like burning his skin with a brand)

And what is MaoMao's most favourite thing in this world?

POISON

She literally takes pleasure in consuming it and no one can convince me otherwise. Plus she uses dangerous plants and animals and snakes whatnot in the name of her so-called experiments. Her dad may call her a 'mad Scientist' but that is a direct indication of self harm.

And she calls Jinshi a Masochist.

I mean, think about it! The amount of anxiety she gives to Jinshi! She came prepared with a vomit inducing medicine but even she had no idea whether it would work or not. She was just hoping it would work in the salt chapter.

And the same goes for her hand, on which she has conducted countless experiments. One flower even burned her skin and its marks never left her skin. She said it was all for her hobby. What kind of weird hobby is that? Maybe, our little adorable mad scientist is just like that.

One brands his own skin, while the other takes heavenly pleasure in consuming poison.

So my point is, Jinshi and MaoMao are not that different as one might think they are and that's why their dynamic works so well.

Let's look at the excerpts from volume 5:

She didn’t know how long they sat that way. All she knew was that Jinshi was looking down at her with a faintly triumphant expression, as if he saw that the breath had reached every corner of her body now. He wiped away the tears that had sprung to her eyes as she struggled to breathe. It was then that Maomao felt a flash of intense anger. “I said that if you were going to kill me, you should do it with poison,” she told him. “I refuse to let you poison yourself,” Jinshi said, his fingers tracing her lips. “You can’t pretend you didn’t know that you were one of the candidates. As much as I’m sure you’d like to.” He wasn’t done, either: “Who was that man, anyway? I’m sure you’re not a dancer.” So he had been watching them! “I was just paying for my drink,” Maomao said. “It didn’t cost much.” She tried to look away, but with his hand on her head, she really couldn’t.

Jinshi just choked her and yet he refuses to let MaoMao poison herself. A lot of people misinterpret this scene, and don't like it all that much, saying it was just fanservice stuff but this is how I see it: Jinshi wasn't trying to kill MaoMao, he was just trying to make MaoMao submit to him for once (even if the way he did it was very wrong, but guess he's kinky like that). MaoMao is actively trying to harm herself and Jinshi loves MaoMao a lot, he cannot just let her kill herself.

It was more about him trying to exert his dominance in their weirdish - complicated relationship and that also backfires on him as we see in the next volume that MaoMao escapes Jinshi's grasps using Pairin's techniques.

And then they both continue to avoid each other in the entire next volume! Because they both realised that they have crossed boundaries.

They both are hypocrites.

And they both refuse to accept their feelings.

In one of the later volumes, she gives Jinshi a piece of her mind on how he should tell her everything clearly, unequivocally, what he feels, and he literally declares that "he will make her his wife", which is nice and all but look at the wording MaoMao used here....

Excerpts from LN Vol 7, chapter 19 called "A man and a woman play the game"

"You’re forever telling me I need to use my words, Master Jinshi, but are you in any position to criticize? Everything you say to me, everything you do, it’s like it’s calculated to save you from ever having to actually say what you mean! To make me figure it all out! You know, you remind me of someone. You act exactly like a man who used to come by our brothel all the time. He was in love with one of the girls, but he would never just come out and say it. He thought it should be obvious from the way he acted. He was so sure he had a good thing going with this woman that he never sent her so much as a letter. I remember how forlorn he looked when someone else swooped in and snatched her away! He kept coming to the brothel after that—to get drunk and whine to the ladies. Well, in my opinion, he could have avoided all that heartbreak if he’d told the woman how he felt. Clearly, unequivocally, so that she knew where they stood. It was the least he could have done!”

Everything came out in a torrent. She felt like she’d said it all in one breath. It was strange, she thought, to hear so many words come out of her own mouth. She was mystified. Jinshi was no less startled, but the shock soon left his face, replaced by something else. He got up off the bed and stared down at Maomao.

Shit. Now I’ve done it. She’d given him a piece of her mind, and he was about to give her one back.

“So I should be clear, should I? Unequivocal? I should say what I mean? If I did, would you actually listen to me? Is that what you’re telling me? I’m going to hold you to that! Right this minute. I’ll say it all. Don’t plug your ears—listen to me!” He grabbed her hands as she was in the process of trying to put her fingers in her ears. He took a breath. He was looking at Maomao, but somehow he seemed almost embarrassed. Finally he managed, “Now listen to me, y—I mean, Maomao! Listen close! I am going to make you my wife!”

It's one heck of a chapter and I suggest you give it a go! The title of the chapter says "A man and a woman play the game" as if to emphasize the very fact that both Jinshi and MaoMao are playing the game.

Jinshi has never confessed his true feelings before this chapter and only implied that he wanted to make MaoMao his wife.

The implications were heavy though on Jinshi's part, and as smart as MaoMao is, anyone would have guessed that MaoMao was one of the candidates for Jinshi's consort. Even the clothes she received (the ones she wore to the banquet) were also provided by Jinshi along with the hairpin. It is never stated outright but seeing as the hairpin was from Jinshi, the clothes are also implied to be the same.

More or less she's always deliberately ignoring the possibility of having anything to do with him, that is more than professional. Some may call it denial, I call it dense. Maybe, to some extent, she herself is not aware of her feelings because she never lets herself feel anything.

Even Suiren pointed it out pretty early in the manga, that maybe it's MaoMao's way of being reserved. We need to keep in mind that MaoMao is an unreliable narrator and it's more of what she does, rather than what she says that makes a difference.

Even in the chapter that I have quoted above, she had every reason to leave Jinshi, she wasn't working for him after all. But she stayed to make tea for him, even after the fact that she had a long day too. She was almost just as exhausted as Jinshi and yet she was there preparing medicinal tea, so that he could get a better sleep.

Maybe she herself is yet to realise just how deep her feelings run. Till vol 12 she seems to have accepted them, but she still is yet to acknowledge their depth. Maybe it's because of her childhood.

It's not a traumatic backstory but MaoMao had a sad childhood nonetheless....

She was raised by her grand uncle and her real father was eccentric, who scared her. Her mother must also appear to be kind of demonic to her, since she was desperate enough to cut MaoMao's Pinky finger and send it to Lahan. So it's safe to say that MaoMao never received proper parental affection. And adding to the fact that, a brothel is not exactly an ideal place for raising a child.... especially when the birth of MaoMao was the one thing that brought the brothel to its knees...even if being born wasn't her choice.

Plus MaoMao stated it herself that when she was a baby, no one would come to sooth her until their work was finished, implying that even if MaoMao and her brothel sisters are close, they are not that close. A mother's love is different and she never received it. No one can love you more than your mother and MaoMao was deprived of that. She soon realised that no one was coming. Life is hard and she has no choice but to face it!

So, she got interested in poison.

Maybe she doesn't love herself or her life as much as she says / pretends she does. She's always like "yeah, I would very much like my head to be with my body" and "if I stay low profile maybe I can survive here" etc but maybe deep down that's not the case. Maybe that's why she loves poison so much. The implications are crazy.

And to break MaoMao's shell, Jinshi has no choice but to be a bit more forceful at times? At least that's how I interpret that choking scene. Jinshi was angry at MaoMao because she deliberately suggested him to marry consort Rishu and danced with Rikuson.

Even if Jinshi never said it outright, he was giving hints the entire time.

But well the tables turned and MaoMao topped him instead, lol (vol 7) and later we even see that our little stray cat has accepted Jinshi and she's ready to be in a relationship with him (vol 12).

Plus she is intrigued by the process of birth (she wants to eat her baby's placenta, it's kind of uggghhh.... but anyways, that MaoMao we're talking about, she's just weird that way)

Maybe not after too long she'll realise that if she has to give birth, she can only have it with Jinshi and no one else.

~Sunshine

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winterspellsfrozenkit · 4 months

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Maomao's Dislike of Jinshi

So I've been watching Apothecary Diaries and I think people are missing out on the root cause of why Maomao doesn't like Jinshi's interactions with her. It's not because he's too pretty, of high standing, or because she thinks he's annoying/etc., as they're just parts that make up the actual root cause. It's because she knows he's being fake.

Jinshi, because of who he is, where he lives, and how he was raised, covers up his true intentions almost constantly. That was how he trapped Maomao and singled her out as the one who warned Concubine Gyokuyou, after all. The premise to get all the servants in the room, the note telling her to stay put, and making her come with him without telling her where they were going? He let her worry that she was in trouble, so to keep her off-balance when he introduced her to Gyokuyou and also had kept her note to keep her pinned in a corner so she would have to comply with what he and Gyokuyou wanted.

Maomao prefers working with honest people. It's why she never wanted to ascend into the ranks where court politics were a constant presence, because in court politics, you have to assume most people are lying to you on some level. That's why she likes Gyokuyou; Gyokuyou has a similar mentality about the importance of honesty in the people around her and she reciprocates that honesty with the select people she lets her walls down around. When Jinshi is flirting or being super sweet to someone, Maomao knows he's often not being sincere, so when he flirts or acts all sweet with her, she's not going to believe in the sincerity of it because it's dangerous for her if he's not being sincere.

In Maomao's world, a man who makes false promises will not have severe consequences for his actions, unlike the women who fall for them. Growing up where she did and doing the work she did, Maomao knows exactly what kind of damage someone else's lies can bring to someone else who got caught in them. Maomao is not blind to the ugly truths of the world around her, unlike many her age, so interacting with Jinshi, someone who is usually some level of false in almost every encounter with her, is frustrating to her and he won't leave her alone. Lies are a form of poison themselves as they deteriorate a person's life and relationships and if not caught, can lead someone to their death or a fate akin to death, but unlike physical toxins, Maomao can't fix any damage from that kind of societal poison. As someone who wants a lowkey and unremarkable life because it's more peaceful, Jinshi could damage her goals with his falsehoods if she falls for any of them.

And we see that when Jinshi is actually honest about himself and his feelings with her, she treats him better. When he gives her his hairpin, when he's hugging her and crying because of what happened with Ah-Duo, and when he's at the Verdigris House, drowning his sorrows over letting Maomao go from the Rear Palace, Maomao is kinder to him and doesn't look at him with the immediate disdain and suspicion she often throws his way. Maomao even states she prefers the Jinshi, who is more childlike and bratty, which is something we see Gaoshun constantly discourage when Jinshi has those moments where his mask breaks. But in those moments, he's being honest.

For the position of Maomao's love interest, Jinshi's already got one foot ahead of any other guy around Maomao, as he is willing to let Maomao have more freedom in her special interests and gives her things and access to areas that play into her interests, like her dad does, which is more than most men in her society would ever allow. The only reason he actively goes against her toying with poison is he knows exactly what she's going to do with the poisons. But his main hinderance to getting Maomao to like him back is the training of being two-faced that's been ingrained into him for his survival in court. If he was more honest with her, rather than hiding himself under the veneer of a pretty man who is sweet, gets along with everyone, and keeps his knowledge close to the chest, he'd do so much better in earning Maomao's respect and affection.

#the apothecary diaries #kusuriya no hitorigoto #maomao #jinshi #apothecary diaries #maomao x jinshi #mao mao #just be honest about your knowledge and feelings jinshi it would help

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reallyromealone · 3 months

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Male reader who is an omega and is mated to jinshi and they have 2 pups but instead of wanting to be like their dad they want to be like mao mao cue a sulky jinshi and a smug cat mao mao

The reader had to comfort his mate

Title: family woes

Fandom: the Apothecary diaries

Pairing: Jinshi x male reader

Warnings: male reader, omegaverse, fluff implied mpreg

☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️

(Name) and Jinshi made cute kids, it was just a fact.

"Hello my little moonflowers" Jinshi crouched to his two pups who immediately rushed to them "papa! We know who we wanna be wanna be when we are bigger!" The eldest (daughters name) said as little (sons name) nodded and lifted his arms to be held by his dad who complied "oh? And whose that?" The man was smug, it was him obviously as these were his sons and they adored him and ---

"Maomao!"

What.

No.

/What/.

"Say that again?" His voice shaking as the youngest looked at him "wa be maomao!!" His voice excited as the Alpha looked dejected "you wanna be her?" He whimper as the elder daughter nodded "she's so cool!"

"Why is he so glum?" Maomao asked as she sipped her tea, glancing at the pouting prince as the children played with their toys "oh he's just huffy that the pups said they wanted to be like you when they're older opposed to them being like him" (name) said simply as the youngest came for a treat "isn't that right my little sunflower?" (Name) asked his son who ate his treat "I wa be maomao!" He said happily and Jinshi groaned, looking at maomaos smug as hell expression "well maybe when your older I can teach you about herbs and what not to eat"

"Can I too?!" (Daughters name) asked excitedly and maomao looked to the two Royals "of course you may, my little moonbeam" (name) gently fixed her hair and the young child beamed at this "yaaay!"

One who looked into this scene would be confused about maomao being so informal with the prince and his family but to those in the know, maomao is (name)s right hand, the one he speaks to outside of Jinshi.

"Now, what do we say?"

"Thank you maomao!"

"Stop pouting Jin! Your face will freeze like that!"

#the apothecary diaries x reader #the apothecary diaries #the apothecary diaries x male reader #jinshi x male reader #jinshi x reader #anime x male reader #anime x reader #omegaverse #omega male reader #fluff

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alexiethymia · 6 months

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THE FORESHADOWING

[major spoiler up until the latest WN chapter]

I MEAN WOW. I wrote a fic sort-of based on that premise and with the way things were set, it was a likely scenario, but wow I didn't think we were actually going to get it.

Suiren was the current emperor's wet nurse.

In other words, Suiren is Aduo's mother.

WHICH MEANS, Suiren being excessively doting on Jinshi isn't just because she's an excellent caretaker. We've been hammered with all the hints all this time. It's because she's also a doting grandmother, and her being a hard-ass on Maomao wasn't just her evaluating her as a potential consort, but as the future wife of her grandson! A formidable (grand)mother-in-law indeed.

On the fence about whether or not Suiren knows that Jinshi is her grandson. On the one hand, perhaps Aduo and Anshi kept it to themselves. On the other hand, Suiren is shrewd enough and reminds me of Luomen in a lot of respects. Perhaps even without being told, she knows her daughter well enough and with Jinshi could just tell, since Jinshi doesn't just resemble the former emperor in appearance but Aduo as well.

I love KnH as a mystery, but mostly I love how it's just turning into this family comedy.

Poor Maomao, a loner suddenly getting all of these new family members from who knows where (by latest count she now has her dad, a penny-pinching granny, three older sisters, 'papa' (lol), an older brother, another older brother, two possible brothers-in-law (the whole episode of Basen evaluating Lishu as a possible sister-in-law just cracks me up since the person he was actually supposed to be evaluating was right in front of him and he instead ends up falling in love with the supposed sister-in-law he was supposed to be evaluating, seriously poor Basen, with Chuo in the mix, it's likely he'll never get peace from his sisters-in-law), a sister-in-law, a scary mother-in-law, Gaoshun, a mischievous mother-in-law (who actually offers her one last chance to escape! Haha poor Jinshi, even his own mother is sabotaging him, and the fact that Maomao refuses actually signifies how far they've come), and oh of course, let's not forget, her potential father-in-law, who is no less than the Emperor himself, one youthful grandmother-in-law, and as of reveal, quite a strict grandmother-in-law.

Like Maomao must be in shambles to have all of this unloaded on her, but again the fact that despite that it's become a lot more troublesome now and she still chooses not to leave Jinshi when offered the chance shows how deep her feelings have gotten even if she won't admit that much to herself yet.

(Lol, we already had a parody of the meeting of the in-laws with that meeting between Lakan and Aduo that one time, even though she was disguised, part of me feels like Lakan still saw through it)

#knh #kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #jinmao #mao mao x jinshi #like it comes as a surprise but also not

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lukadarkwater · 11 days

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Spoilers up to the light novel volume 12!

I can’t believe we actually got Maomao going to Jinshi of her own free will. Not only that, but she did it because she wants to be comforted and he’s the person she knows will give that comfort to her!!

Them falling asleep holding each other is obviously adorable, but on a deeper level just her seeking him out and allowing physical contact is huge. The only thing we’ve ever seen her do that is with her Dad after she finally got back to him after being kidnapped.

She even feels disappointed when he doesn’t open the door right away and she starts to leave because she misses him. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s just nice to see her finally seeking him out instead of pretending she doesn’t like him.

#the apothecary diaries #kusuriya no hitorigoto #maomao #jinshi #jinmao #also thank god for fan translations #who knows when the offical one will come out

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gudaho · 1 month

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finally catching up on the Apothecary Diaries anime and the ominous music following Maomao's dad around is sending me

they have him scarily watching Maomao from a distance in half-shadow but his thoughts are probably "yay my daughter is frolicking she looks so happy :)) cant wait to bother her later yippee"

#the apothecary diaries

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sebfreak · 2 months

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Tbh I´m a little bit sad that they didn´t add this tiny little scene into the anime while Maomao was talking with Jinshi and explaining to him how she sees her bilogical father. Because this scene was for me very interesting. Maomao as a child or more like from her point of view saw things differently and it was indeed traumatizing when Lakan came to her and said to her she should call him dad. (also i just wanted to see how grandma was hitting him sorry not sorry XD but come on this was funny in the manga okay? but maybe they didn´t add because in the episode before that grandma hit him. but hmm... if you read the manga you´ll know what i mean.) But okay, I think without it they managed to give all people the answer to their question why she dislikes her biological father. And although Gaoshun said that "no father wants to be disliked", I think it´s only up to Maomao whether she accepts him or not. The same goes for her mother too. Oh I really liked btw how she pointed out that her mother could have taken contraceptives but she didn´t chose to and so the strategist was tricked in the end. "Women are scary" yeah I mean... Maomao knows indeed a lot and did see a lot of characters in the red light district so she has every right to say it like that. But yeah getting kids can either save the woman or punish her. I know it sounds very rough if i say it like that, but this is the life they have.

Her dancing was indeed very beautiful she kept her promise although the person couldn´t see it. But at least Jinshi saw it. ahaha loved their interaction so much and him freaking out because of her wound is the best. XD Jinshi has the best faces ngl.

XDDD Ahahaha the scene was indeed very misleading ... right? RIGHT???? I have to be honest, even I was holding my breath but nonononono she just wants to have the ox bezoar. :D (at the moment *cough* but that´s another story). Also can we please highlight the fact that Jinshi just jumped down the wall AND WITH MAOMAO??? Boy he has legs out of steel, because the wall is very high. Oo

Yeah you can say the story had happy endings and everything went pretty well but it is indeed only the beginning of Maomaos story and I´m so glad that they announced season 2. <3

And how would I rate it? I would give it a 10/10 because i never felt bored nor was there something I really didn´t like. Yeah I´m critical when it comes to Lakan and Mamomaos mother and i will continue with it and a few other characters, but that didn´t change my rating for the anime. It´s a great story and I´m happy that they made 20+ episodes. I will recommend this story to everyone who likes these type of stories and I really like how this story shows in an authentical way how the life in a palace was or how courtesans lived their life. It´s not romanticized and beside that you can learn a lot about medicine because Maomaos passion for it can and will infect you. She is btw for me one of the best female characters out there. I like her personality and how she solves things. I like how she is true to her opinion and isn´t afraid to say it or share her ideas with others. For me she is a very strong character.

Oh and Jinshi is also a great character and on my husbando list. :D

#kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #anime #jinshi #maomao #10/10 would recommend

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myapothecarydiary · 22 days

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Thoughts from reading The Apothecary Diaries Manga Ch. 1

Okay, I just first have to say I adore these little Maomao illustrations at the beginning of each volume. The art style is so cute!

And we get straight to it: the comparison of the pleasure district to the rear/inner palace. The similarities go to show how Maomao is in a position to successfully navigate and understand the rear palace due to her upbringing in the pleasure district. Her background gives her a unique, and in this case, advantageous perspective.

This introduction discussing eunuchs and the emperor's family is very hello! regarding Jinshi's real identity. I think it also introduces Apothecary's conversation on gender, specifically Maomao's perspective regarding it. She considers eunuchs to no longer be true men and to exist beyond the gender binary. She values frogs as a defining characteristic, if you will.

This here introduces Maomao's relationship with her own appearance and beauty. We later learn she draws her freckles on and so is trying to subdue her natural beauty, but she is also pragmatic about her appearance. She accepts what she looks like and utilizes her unassuming qualities, even accentuating them, but though she adds she's "not interested or anything" in becoming a concubine, I think there is some supressed disappointment in her looks. She can't fathom that someone like the Emperor would find her attractive. She is not just pragmatic but resigned.

There's a greater conversation to be had about how Maomao values beauty and recognizes how beauty gives someone value (within the environments of the rear palace and the pleasure district as well as within her own mind?). I'm going to put a pin in it for now, but I have thoughts on how Maomao views Jinshi's beauty (a waste on a man, disastrously powerful on a woman, extra wasteful on a man sans frog?) + the benefit of certain assets (big boobs XD)

Hello, future plot line and Jinshi's desire to increase literacy and education!

I find this important to note as it is how Maomao is characterized for the audience. "Forward-thinking" with "an insatiable thirst for knowledge and overwhelming curiosity" and "a budding sense of justice." It is interesting how her sense of justice goes against her insistence on the idea of "it is what it is" and that most matters are above her.

Feels like ominous foreshadowing for a later reveal + an indication of how the previous Emperor's shadow hangs over everything to some extent. (Side thought: there's no actual curse on the imperial family causing the current Emperor's heirs to die, but perhaps Jinshi would feel like there is one)

Introduction of Maomao's favorite concept/word–conjecture! She emphasizes how her dad drilled into her that she shouldn't go off of conjecture alone, yet she often engages in speculation to the point of it kind of being her "thing."

A fateful meeting. Jinshi notices Maomao but she doesn't see him (and is too busy thinking/working out a problem in her head–very on the nose for their relationship going forward).

I also like how this was drawn with the white outline around the both of them! I think it is more apparent around Jinshi, but it does envelop them both and put them together, which is interesting.

Maomao sees Jinshi for the first time. And going back to my prior pin on beauty! – Maomao's perception of Jinshi is tied to her thinking about the concept of him as a woman. There's almost a disappointment in how his beauty is not possessed by a woman.

This is very indicative of Maomao's actions. A large part of her character involves not only figuring things out and possessing/acquiring information, but obscuring things/holding things back (in regards to both what she figures out and how she presents herself). This also speaks to how Maomao even suppresses certain feelings and realizations in her own mind.

I feel like there is an instinct to write Maomao off as a cold loner type, and while part of this moment involves Maomao's relief at seeing the princess alive and healthy, I think (especially with how it is depicted) it shows a warmth for life and children. Maomao cares! You see this sweeter/softer (and protective) side of her in her interactions with Xiaolan as well.

Maomao is all about that social hierarchy and knowing her place. Beauty and status are perhaps lenses through which she sees the world (interesting that a certain character will land at the highest level of both of those XD)

My confession is that before I watched the anime and was just seeing people post about Jinshi as a sort of "silly little guy", I made assumptions about his intelligence and depth. I was very pleasantly surprised by the scene where he deduces Maomao left the note because she is the only one who can read. It even catches Maomao by surprise! Then again here, his ability to solve the sorts of little mysteries that will essentially become Maomao's main purpose goes to show their compatibility as a pair (that will work well together).

This moment and quote just hits me hard every time. Beauty and life, how they interact, and the value of both will continue to be explored. It also directly shows how Maomao's experience of the pleasure district informs her ability to understand and navigate the rear palace.

And that's all for chapter 1! Onto the next.

#kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #kusuriya no hitorigoto manga #the apothecary diaries manga #analysis #thoughts #maomao #jinshi #jinmao #jinshi x maomao #tad manga #manga #annotations #chapter 1 #tad manga chapter 1

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