Chapter Text

Intro: The Royal Pitcher

Lahan's Brother falls face-first into the dirt. Gaoshun looks on with a sigh, but he doesn't pick him up. He's already gotten back up to run again without his help. His stubbornness almost reminds him of his youngest son, Basen, but even he doesn't stumble nearly as much as this "Junjie" boy. He used to think Basen had trouble with Lady Luck (given his trouble with ladies in general), but now Gaoshun can see Basen's luck could be much worse. Even Baryou had more fortune than this man who was meant to be their pitcher.

Recently, the Moon Prince drafted Gaoshun as the catcher for His Majesty's imperial baseball team, which was expected to represent the country in an upcoming cultural exchange. They were to play ceremonial ball games with the western nation that brought them the sport in the first place, and they needed a team of people the Moon Prince could trust. Solid, reliable people who wouldn't embarrass the nation.

Lahan's Brother falls face-first into the dirt again.

Gaoshun sighs once more. This is going to take some work.

The Battery: Lahan's Brother & Gaoshun

In baseball, the pitcher and catcher (a.k.a. the battery) are the defensive duo that start every play in the game. The pitcher throws the ball to home plate with the intent of making sure the batter can't hit it (or they don't hit it solidly). If the batter misses the ball like intended, the catcher must catch it. In this duo, the catcher usually calls the shots by signaling what pitches the pitcher should throw, though the two can also work together to decide the best approach. Naturally, these two need to form a strong bond built on trust, respect, and constant communication.

Enter Lahan's Brother (pitcher) and Gaoshun (catcher). These two have yet to interact in canon, but throughout this entire baseball saga I've written, I've always felt like their relationship has great potential.

From Gaoshun's view, Lahan's Brother is about as quirky and "characterful" as his faux-children (Jinshi, Maomao arguably) and his actual children (Basen, Baryou, Maamei), and he has a lot of experience caring for and reining in weirdos like them (Maamei aside). Plus, given his love for his kids and grandkids (even if Maamei makes him wash his hands before he can even hold them), I bet he'd enjoy getting to look after another strange, but strong young man. And Lahan's Brother, at present, doesn't have a "mentor"-like person to anchor him or give him advice (even both Maomao and Lahan don't bother warning him that pursuing En'en is pointless). Pairing the two together would be a fulfilling experience for both of them!

For this post, I'm going to briefly cover what their relationship would be like on the field and off the field. "On the Field" will obviously be more baseball strategy-oriented, but I'll still make it accessible to non-baseball fans (and it's still an Apothecary Diaries character study at heart), while "Off the Field" will be more of a fun, uplifting exploration of their characters.

On the Field

The catcher needs to understand how their pitcher works and when they're at their most effective. They will see the pitcher a lot, so they need to study their pitch tempo (i.e. how much time they take between pitches) and their patterns, like what they do when they're doing well and what their overall pitching style is.

Command and Pitching Style

As a pitcher, I believe Lahan's Brother will primarily be a power pitcher. A power pitcher relies heavily on pitching high-velocity balls to overwhelm batters, giving them less time to react and increasing the chances of a hit or miss. In Part 1, I mentioned that Lahan's Brother's farm work has blessed him with great arm strength, so he already has a great baseline for honing his technique. His muscle combined with his inhuman endurance also means he can pitch for a while without tiring nearly as quickly as a normal person would.

Another type of pitcher is the "command pitcher," which I bring up because Lahan's Brother will definitely NOT be that type of pitcher, and "command" will be one of his weakest points.

In baseball, "command" refers to a pitcher's ability to throw the ball to the exact spot they want to; like, if they aim for the top right corner of the strike zone and they can consistently put the ball exactly there, they have excellent command. Meanwhile, "control" refers to the ability to throw strikes consistently.

Lahan's Brother, at his best, will have great control but poor command i.e. he can consistently pitch the ball within the strike zone, but not usually in the precise spot intended. Narratively, this would mirror the way he often manages to succeed in canon, but typically in a messy way (e.g. succeeding in his western capital farm mission but still dealing with bandits and getting left behind).

For Gaoshun, this means that when catching, he should be realistic and avoid asking Junjie to hit precise locations at the edges of the zone. If Gaoshun calls for a pitch on the outside corner, he needs to accept that the ball might end up further inside than he wanted and adjust accordingly. His job isn't to make him a more precise pitcher, but to know his exact skillset and build a strategy around that.

Lahan's Brother also has to deal with the universe wanting to make comedy out of him, but it's not like the joke is always at his expense. His fight with Mister Love Letters proved that when he really locks in, his raw skill and dedication can carry him through. On that day, Mister Love Letters was the real joke of the hour, and when Lahan's Brother steps up to the plate, he can do the same to the batters.

He's got his standard high-velocity fastballs to scare 'em (like the classic four-seam fastball), but that's not all. He'll also have a mean splitter!

A splitter (seen above) is a ball thrown such that it initially looks like a fastball, but then the ball drops sharply at the plate, which is great because it tricks the batter into swinging at a ball that looked hittable until it suddenly wasn't. Remember that if a batter swings and misses, then it's a strike regardless of whether it gets in the strike zone.

It'll be great when he does it on purpose, but when he throws one that doesn't quite behave the way he intended, that's when A. it will look like a ridiculous anime-type visual gag in line with his comedy factor, and B. Gaoshun really has to step up and use his quick thinking to catch it.

This is where the catcher's recognition pattern I mentioned earlier really kicks in; eventually, Gaoshun will just know what Lahan's Brother looks like when he's about to get fucked by the universe. He'll learn to detect the slightest change in his delivery, his "Oh no" expression, or any other omen that says he's about to blow it.

He'd have more pitches, but in the interest of simplicity and not getting too in the weeds of baseball terminology, I'll stop there. Though I will also say that because he's playing in an early era of baseball, a splitter isn't as common and so having it in his arsenal would give him even more of an advantage since batters wouldn't be used to it.

In general, his unconventionality and comedic curses will make him a wonderfully dangerous pitcher (usually to the batter) in the long run.

Personality and Communication

A catcher needs to understand their pitcher's personality and what makes them tick. One thing they need to know is what mood their pitcher works best in. In Coach Dan Blewett's video about the Catcher-Pitcher Relationship (excellent video btw), he provides this spectrum:

Some pitchers work best when they're in the mellow range, while others work best if they're all fired up and ready to break something. I'm sure you've already figured out Lahan's Brother will excel in the "Angry to Psychopath" sphere.

Vol. 10 Ch. 19

Maomao looked at the ceiling of the tent. She tried to picture Lahan’s Brother’s smiling face, but then she realized she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him smile. He was usually either angry, or at his wits’ end, or quipping at somebody.

Watching Lahan's Brother at work will remind Gaoshun of Basen, who's not the biggest ray of sunshine either. LB is kinder on average, though, and I would trust him around women and children (Vol. 10 Ch. 9: "The children cheered, and Lahan’s Brother proved he was the ultimate eldest son"). So Gaoshun will be slightly gentler, but overall still strict and fatherly like he is with Basen. He'll silently track Lahan's Brother's successes without showering him with praise, and like with his sons, he won't be kind if Lahan's Brother isn't doing his job.

During bullpen sessions (where pitchers practice throwing), when Lahan's Brother is throwing well, Gaoshun will act like it's nothing and push him to do it again. When Lahan's Brother is struggling and frustrated, Gaoshun will lean into it, coldly telling him to go again and slowly turning the dial up from LB's standard "Angry" up to "Psychopath" just to see where his limit is and what his optimal range of anger is.

I think "Psychopath" mode is where his high-risk high-reward unpredictability will emerge, but Gaoshun seeing him in that mode will sharpen his own pattern recognition and prepare him better for his wild pitches and comedy curse factor. He'll learn what pitches is best at throwing in each state, and he'll figure out how to direct his chaotic nature instead of trying to cool it down like he does with Basen's attitude. Lahan's Brother's anger could actually be more of an asset here if it's harnessed well.

Another important part of the catcher-pitcher relationship is the mound visit, which is an in-game event where the catcher, coach, or other defensive player goes to the pitcher's mound for a brief conference, often to discuss strategy or because the pitcher may be struggling.

Some pitchers like them, others hate them. I think Lahan's Brother will be the type to be respectful about it, but they'll also rile him up because he'll feel like he's not pulling his weight. Because of that, Gaoshun would use mound visits whenever he notices Lahan's Brother is tripping up, not only to give LB some advice, but also because he knows that he'll do well when he's worked up. Of course, he'll show some restraint and learn when exactly to do this over time. If he's on Psychopath mode, he may decide the best thing is to do is just stay behind the plate and watch him murder the batter.

A catcher needs to build trust with their pitcher, though Lahan's Brother won't have a hard time trusting his catcher given that said catcher is literally the Emperor's highly trusted right-hand man. Lahan's Brother will most likely defer to whatever pitch Gaoshun calls at any given moment, especially because Gaoshun will learn what pitches work best for him over time.

LB might have a hard time even approaching such a respected member of the Ma clan, but I think Gaoshun will surprise him during the bullpen break periods...

Off the Field

Gaoshun is good at meeting people where they are. He easily recognized Maomao's merits despite her weirdness (something Basen failed to do for a while), and he was fairly quick to bestow the nickname "Xiaomao" upon her. After some time in the bullpen, Gaoshun will understand why this farmer boy he'd only seen in passing at the western capital was drafted for this baseball team.

When Gaoshun talks to Lahan's Brother one-on-one in break periods, he'll ask him questions about his pitching and respect his input much like he did with Maomao. He won't need to come up with a nickname, so he'll simply ask what Lahan's Brother would prefer to be called.

"Junjie," Lahan's Brother will instantly say, and Gaoshun will comply.

Now, by this point, Coach Ah-Duo will have realistically already called him Junjie too (and it will make him feel things for a moment before his crush for En'en wins out), but having another older person regularly call him "Junjie" will mean the world to him.

The entire team will also eat together after practice sessions, both for nourishment and to establish overall chemistry. There won't be an assigned seating arrangement, but the members will naturally settle into a certain configuration based on their affinities, and I predict it would look a little something like this:

While all the characters will still be close enough to interact regardless, this arrangement gives Lahan's Brother the best chance at feeling relaxed. The person most likely to tease him (Chue) is far enough away and will be busier teasing Basen instead. Gaoshun and Ah-Duo will respect Lahan's Brother and call him Junjie, while Lahan's Brother and Dr. Li can get along over the bullshit they put up with in daily life (Dr. Li dealing with Tianyu and Junjie dealing with his family).

Getting used to Jinshi (the same man who used his looks to get him to do back-breaking work in the western capital) will be harder. Fortunately, both Gaoshun and Ah-Duo can make it easier by casually "humanizing" Jinshi. For instance, they can talk about what he had to work on in practice that day, letting him appear as the flawed, but dedicated man he is. Lihaku is two seats away, but he can also offer some reassurance from time to time.

As mentioned in Part 3, Gaoshun being a catcher also makes him close to an unofficial "second" coach due to the role's importance. At the lunch table, he and Ah-Duo can balance each other out: Ah-Duo offers Lahan's Brother the compliments and words of encouragement Gaoshun withholds, while Gaoshun qualifies them by pointing out what Junjie still needs to work on. In this fairly warm environment, Lahan's Brother will have no problem openly asking them what he did wrong, what he can improve on, and what he should try next.

Outside of practice, they won't have many opportunities to meet since Gaoshun has his duties to the Emperor (which are already being split with his baseball responsibilities), while Lahan's Brother will simply return to working at the La clan villa. Maybe they could try attending public baseball games to study the pitchers and catchers, but I doubt they'll have time for that.

But as Lahan's Brother watches Sanfan looking after the La clan servants and Zhizi, he'll reflect on what it's been like working with a mentor like Gaoshun. He'll think of his own father Lakou, who is a little more passionate...

From Vol. 10 Ch. 9

[Lahan's Brother] “I’m just glad my dad isn’t here. He’d vow to make them understand the glory of potatoes, and then who knows what he’d do!”

“If you’ll excuse my saying so, I can’t picture Lahan’s Father taking matters into his own hands like that.” In Maomao’s mind, he was an easygoing, almost Luomen-esque figure.

If Lakou (the real potato-obsessed La) instilled the teachings of potatoes with passion and vigor, Gaoshun will instill the teachings of baseball with a firm sense of duty. Lahan's Brother, being a La clan member, is used to being surrounded by obsessive weirdos, so being taught baseball by a man who doesn't preach the good word of balls will be a breath of fresh air for him.

He'll appreciate working with someone who actually listens to and respects him. I can't say much about Lakou, but Lahan and nearly everyone he talked to in the western capital weren't mean, but they certainly weren't the kindest.

On the other side of the battery, Gaoshun will also find himself thinking of his baseball partner from time to time. Keep in mind that Basen is also on the team, so Gaoshun will be aware of his struggles with pitch recognition and subtler maneuvers. Compared to him, Lahan's Brother's more controllable temper, restraint, and softer attitude will make Gaoshun thankful Junjie's the pitcher and not his son (and besides, as tough as Gaoshun is, I don't think he'll have a fun time with Basen constantly throwing a baseball at him at concerningly high speeds).

Gaoshun loves his family dearly, but I'm sure he'll appreciate working with a young man who isn't rash (Basen), frail (Baryou), or domineering (Maamei). Compared to his sons, at least, Lahan's Brother actually is an aggressively ordinary dude. He can at least talk to women and strangers!

Conclusion

Bonus

Lahan's Brother Teaches Junjie the Ways of Baseball ⚾

Junjie Shows Lahan's Brother His Baseball Card ⚾

Final Team Map & Baseball Card Collage