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English
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Part 2 of The Apothecary Diaries Baseball Saga
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Published:
2026-06-14
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The Golden Oxen vs. The Dead Bodies

Summary:

A few years ago, travelers from the west introduced Li to a new sport called "baseball." Now, Maomao and her associates get to play a casual game of baseball with Baryou and the Moon Prince providing sports commentary.

A six-panel fan comic made using official assets, covering a climactic part of the first inning!

Notes:

This takes place in the canon time period, but with a twist that baseball came to the country early and its lingo has permeated Li. It takes place sometime after LN16, though there are no hard spoilers aside from the presence of light novel characters.

This fancomic uses official assets from Apothecary Diaries media and various stock photos rearranged for the narrative; I did not draw the artwork, aside from minor elements like lines and the pitcher's mound. All images include alt text.

This is not canon to the "The Ideal Apothecary Diaries Baseball Team" universe, but it is an important baseball-related precursor to that series of posts. Hence why it shares the same series label on AO3.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Top-left corner says "1st Inning." We see a baseball diamond from an isometric view as Apothecary Diaries character icons (taken from official assets) are placed on it wearing hats corresponding to particular characters. On the left, we have a list of the team members of the Golden Oxen (hats colored gold) that shows their exact positions for the ones on the field. It says: Lahan’s Brother (3rd base) Chue (2nd base) Maomao (1st base) En’en (batter) Shikyou Yao Changsha Yo Junjie On the right, we have a list of the team members of the Dead Bodies (hats colored purple) with their exact positions on the field. It says: Pitcher: Lihaku Catcher: Ah-Duo First Baseman: Maamei Second Baseman: Sanfan Shortstop: Chou-u Third Baseman: Sazen Left Fielder: Hulan Center Fielder: Kokuyou Right Fielder: Tianyu Right below Ah-Duo in the view, Basen is also present with an umpire's mask, with his pet duck Jofu behind him. Basen is labeled the Umpire, and Jofu is labeled the Mascot. The Announcers are also listed: Baryou and Jinshi. In the lower half of the image, blue dialogue boxes begin between the two announcers. Baryou's icon features a cutout of him from the light novels wearing a headset, sitting in front of a blue LED screen. Jinshi's icon is also a cutout of him from the light novels wearing a headset, sitting in front of a blue LED screen. The icons both have a red square outline surrounding them. They share the following dialogue. Baryou: It's a beautiful, thankfully crowdless day at the capital’s baseball field today. If you need a recap, we’re still at the top of the first inning: The Golden Oxen have two outs, but they’ve also loaded the bases against the Dead Bodies. Baryou: En’en steps up to bat against the pitcher, Lihaku. If she gets a clean hit, the Golden Oxen could gain a huge lead. What do you think about this, Moon Prince? Jinshi: With all due respect to En'en, I'm not sure this will be easy for her. Lihaku has far more athletic training, does he not? Baryou: You might think it’s unbalanced, but reports say En'en is much stronger after being encouraged by her mistress Yao. In fact, my wife told me most of the Golden Oxen are highly motivated by certain prizes. Jinshi: Is that so? Well, I suppose that explains how they’ve done so well. I still can’t believe Maomao made it to first base.

Top-left corner says "1st Inning." Right below it, there is a dialogue box with Baryou. Baryou: And here's the pitch. We exit the previous image's isometric view and zoom in on the field to see the umpire Basen, catcher Ah-Duo, batter En'en, and pitcher Lihaku. Lihaku throws the ball towards En'en. En'en swings and connects. In the lower half of the panel, a spiked "CRACK!" text bubble with the text rendered in the colors of the lesbian flag accompanies the hit. The ball flies toward the upper-right corner of the image. The pitcher abruptly changes to a different official illustration, smiling with arms crossed as he says, "Nice one, lady!" All character figures are cutouts from unrelated, out-of-context light novel illustrations that have been repurposed for their respective baseball roles and look mildly ridiculous in this scene. More dialogue boxes appear between Jinshi and Baryou. Jinshi: Impressive! It looks like that one's headed for the... outfield, right? Baryou: That is correct, Moon Prince. It’s headed for the right field, specifically. This should give the runners plenty of time. In fact, it looks like the Dead Bodies are having some trouble...

Top-left corner says "1st Inning." We return to the isometric view of the baseball diamond. The baseball has landed far to the right of the right fielder, Tianyu. He remains in place with a question mark above his head. The center fielder, Kokuyou, is rushing to retrieve the ball. The first and second basemen, Maamei and Sanfan, are both saying "MOVE, DUMBASS!" The shortstop, Chou-u, is shouting "TIANYU!" The distant third baseman, Sazen, is shouting "CATCH THE BALL!" All four of these people have anger symbols on their heads. The left fielder, Hulan, has not moved or reacted. Meanwhile, all of the Golden Oxen on the bases are moving and currently nearing the subsequent base (e.g. Lahan's Brother, who was at third base, is closing in on home base, etc.). The umpire, Basen, has also started moving in case he needs to make a call. The mascot, Jofu, stays resting near the catcher. On the left side, the young Junjie is shouting "Go, Lahan's Brother!!" In the lower half of the image, dialogue continues between commentators Baryou and Jinshi. Baryou: With this development, it looks like Mister Lahan’s Brother is going to cross home plate with ease, giving the Golden Oxen one run. Looks like my wife isn’t stopping at third base, either. Jinshi: Baryou, isn’t this the first time the ball has headed the right fielder’s way? Baryou: Well observed, Moon Prince. I didn’t mention it earlier, but Mister Tianyu has not actually moved once this entire game. In fact, I don’t believe he even understands the rules. Jinshi: Wasn’t he the one who insisted on calling the team the Dead Bodies...?

Top-left corner says "1st Inning." Below that, there is golden text saying "Golden Oxen: 3 Runs, 2 Outs." We are still in isometric view of the baseball diamond. The center fielder, Kokuyou, is throwing the ball to the shortstop, Chou-u, who is saying "I'm open, big bro!" A dotted line arrow indicates that the shortstop intends to throw the ball to the catcher, Ah-Duo, at home plate. The third baseman, Sazen, watches En'en pass third base and sprint towards home plate. Sazen yells "Oh, come on!" En'en is now halfway home, and in a thought bubble, she's thinking "I’m coming home, Yao!" On the right side, we see Maomao, Chue, and Lahan's Brother waiting, having already scored their runs. The mascot, Jofu, stays resting near the catcher. Meanwhile, the first and second basemen, Maamei and Sanfan, are currently next to the right fielder, Tianyu, with anger symbols on their heads. The left fielder, Hulan, still has not moved or reacted. In the lower half of the image, dialogue continues between commentators Baryou and Jinshi. Jinshi: It looks like Miss Chue and wow, even Maomao have scored as well. En’en doesn’t seem to be stopping either. The Dead Bodies have only just now picked up the ball. Baryou: Mister Kokuyou’s throwing it to the shortstop, but En’en is already halfway home. It’s going to be close. He throws it to Lady Ah-Duo and...

Top-left corner says "1st Inning." Below that, there is golden text saying "Golden Oxen: 4 Runs, 2 Outs." We are still in isometric view of the baseball diamond. In the aftermath of the Golden Oxen's successful run, the defending Dead Bodies are in shambles. The shortstop (Chou-u), first baseman (Maamei), second baseman (Sanfan), and third baseman (Sazen) surround the right fielder Tianyu. They're all visibly angry with the first three showing clenched fists. The center fielder, Kokuyou, stands embarrassed above them. The catcher, Ah-Duo, is now holding the ball and also looks embarrassed, as do the pitcher (Lihaku) and umpire (Basen). The remaining Golden Oxen still in line to play show similar reactions. The left fielder, Hulan, still has not moved or reacted. On the more lighthearted right side of the image, it says "INSIDE-THE-PARK GRAND SLAM!" in big, bold, yellow letters. There's confetti below it, showering over the four successful runners. Miss Chue says "We did it, Miss Maomao! The Moon Prince will be all over you tonight!" and a smiling, wide-eyed Maomao responds "I can't hear you, Miss Chue." A dream bubble shows her smiling as she caresses a piece of golden ox bezoar. Further to the right, En'en is saying "Good work, Junjie" with a smile emoticon and a blushing Lahan's Brother responds "Th-thanks, En'en!" The mascot, Jofu, stays resting near the catcher. In the lower half of the image, dialogue continues between commentators Baryou and Jinshi. Baryou: It looks like the Golden Oxen have scored four runs. Nice. Jinshi: To be honest, I’m impressed Maomao could get past second base and score that quickly. She never moves that fast. Baryou: You should know my wife actually told her she’d receive half a ton of ox bezoar if the Golden Oxen win the game. Jinshi: ...Who’s paying for that?

 

 

Top-left corner says "The Announcers Talk Between Innings" with a gray parenthetical saying "(Bonus Panel)." The entire panel is simply dialogue between commentators Jinshi and Baryou. Jinshi: Baryou? Baryou: Yes, Moon Prince? Jinshi: If you don't mind me asking, are you enjoying this baseball game? I never took you for someone who liked any kind of sports. Baryou: I’ve enjoyed learning the rules and customs of a game that the West gave us. And seeing it in action, I think it is a fascinating display of skill and character, in its own way. Baryou: I've also been trying to understand Miss Chue and her interests lately. She even told me she’d have more fun if I commentated. If this helps my wife enjoy herself, then I don’t mind. Jinshi: I see. Well... I'm happy for you two.

Notes:

I'm on Tumblr as tri-repetae-knh, where I also posted this comic! You can also see the full Imgur album here. Once again want to make it clear I acknowledge this as derivative art i.e. I did not draw the assets.

If you're wondering how Maomao even got to first base in the first place, call it a stroke of luck after Sanfan fumbled catching the ball (and she got two strikes beforehand anyway).

If you're wondering how the top of the first inning ended, it went like this:
- Shikyou is next at bat. He tries to send it far out to left field to make Hulan suffer, but it ends up going infield. He still manages to make it to first base.
- Yao is up next. She hits a foul ball and gets one strike. Then with the second pitch, she drives the ball toward the center, but then Sanfan catches it, giving the Golden Oxen their third out and switching teams. Sanfan looks at En'en in the distance and smiles, and En'en shoots her the most violent glare she can muster.

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