#lakan

[neo--queen--serenity]

It’s incredibly important to me that the anime decided to include this scene that wasn’t in the manga. In the manga, Maomao does pass out in Jinshi’s lap after saving him from what was obviously an assassination attempt.

HOWEVER, the manga cuts off at this point, keeping strictly in Maomao’s perspective, and cuts straight to when she regains consciousness in bed after being treated for her injuries. The manga doesn’t show how she got back. They SAY how, and she briefly mentions, “wow that must have been embarrassing; he carried me back,” but we don’t SEE it. We don’t get to feel the true impact of what that means. But the anime DID show us, and holy shit.

They SHOW us how taboo this is. They show Jinshi carrying her out of the temple, after a public attempt on his life.

They show us the shock and horror on Lakan’s face as Jinshi silently walks past him. Horror at the state his daughter is in, horror at another man—a man with a status he could never dare to question—staking such a public claim over his child, horror at the fact that he could never have this level of closeness with her (as Maomao would never allow it).

Everyone hides their gazes, as is their custom when someone of his rank passes by, but the air is different this time. Jinshi is furious, he’s terrified, and he could not give a single shit about how inappropriate it looks to these palace officials.

The shot that slowly follows her trail of blood—even though it’s a small detail—that in particular leaves such a intense impression of how poignant this is for him.

Maomao talked about this scene in the manga like it was nothing to her. She did what she set out to do: she saved the person who was targeted by the attack. She didn’t even know the target would be someone she knew. But she has no idea that this happened afterwards as a result of her bravery. To her, it likely wasn’t even an act of bravery at all. She acted on impulse; she did what she knew was the right thing to do.

The anime didn’t need to include this, because the manga didn’t show it. But damn, I’m so glad they did.

[fridaraph]

That frog goes down the history

[cfserkgk]

I imagine them to be a happy family in the modern AU where Fengxian and Lakan are married and Lahan and Maomao are their children. Fengxian would be strict but she very much dotes on her kids (just not as obviously as Lakan, but who can compare with Lakan).

I feel like Lakan would be a lawyer which would put his skills to use, whereas Fengxian would be an academic in mathematics, and of course they're both super good at xiangqi and go in different ways. (I'd like to think Fengxian taught Lahan a lot of maths when he was younger and that encouraged his love for the subject).

[the-lost-profile]

I love this art by Touco Shino (The Apothecary Diaries LN artist) with Maomao playing Go.

It reminds me of THEM

I'm too weak for this whole plot.

[mudanonaito]

"Let's play go."

[nejiisx]

[shishuri]

This guy.. this fucking guy is bragging about the game he had with his wife, during a damn meeting..

[sayammm]

wake up babes, new silly Lakan pics just dropped

[animefreak1892]

Had grab the pic from @hananoisaki of Facebook

[mairasrkive]

The way Lakan sees everyone like go pieces but still recognised Fengxian’s face/voice and he sees her the way she was without the red spots on her face :,)

Also mini maomaoooo

[aubdrewanchel]

When Shao Mao goes from this

To this after hearing bout Lakan (i had to slow it down 0.25x to catch it)

(I nearly got an hear attack, but it was worth it)

[neo--queen--serenity]

Flowers are often used as a metaphor for the female characters in the Apothecary Diaries. And for the first time, we, the viewer, are given the direct comparison to which flower is meant to represent Maomao: wood sorrel (also known as “cat’s foot”).

It’s a flower that can treat poisons. A flower that is used to enhance the beauty of the courtesans by painting their nails. A flower with a name associated with cats. A flower that, in hanakotoba, represents maternal tenderness. It’s also one of the flowers that Lakan specifically associates with Fengxian, and by extension, Maomao herself.

In the first opening—aptly titled, “Be A Flower”—the wood sorrel is the only flower that gets special attention. The other flowers are shown together with other varieties, but only the wood sorrel is shown by itself, and more than once.

We see it again in the second opening, with an infant being held by a parent, while flitting between images of Lakan and Fengxian’s backstory.

It’s such a simple flower, too. Small, unassuming, but full of diverse uses and qualities, be they medicinal or ordinary. A very fitting flower for Maomao, and what she brings to the story.

[fridaraph]

Maomao wearing Jinshi's hairpin 🫶🏻

[cfserkgk]

Young Maomao and Lahan siblings AU where there was no misunderstandings between Fengxian and Lakan in the beginning. They are very similar but they would never admit that themselves.

[lastofthe20thcenturygirls]

[cjrae]

Lady Gyokuyou and the Emperor are actually perfect for each other...

...given that they're a pair of trolls! Manga people, you have been SITTING on this very funny fact! I feel like, if we had a thought bubble of what the Emperor is thinking below, he'd be smushing a Maomao doll together with a Jinshi doll and saying, "Now kiss!"

One mystery solved later....

A bit more seriously, I think it's pretty clear that the Emperor is doing his absolute best to clear some of the political obstacles of a marriage between Jinshi and Maomao, given that he's both a.) very aware of Jinshi's feelings and b.) thinks teasing him about it is extremely funny. (He's right, by the way). The fact that her mother was a courtesan could be outweighed by the building a legend of virtue around how Maomao was able to lead the Crown Prince through an imperial testing ground established by the Founding Empress of the nation.