Bridges that reveal the full painting 🤌

“Apothecary Diaries is a detective story”, “Apothecary Diaries is a romantic story”…no, it’s Maomao’s story. She is the Apothecary and it is her diary. Hence why we call her the unreliable narrator because she is the one narrating. Does the story switch POV at times? Sure, but the overall arc of the narrative is Maomao. How this world and its challenges, experiences and triumphs shape her as a growing adult.

The mystery solving is only a vehicle to showing us Maomao’s growth in maturity as she learns to develop her medicinal craft, sharpen her deductive skill and stops relying on presumption alone but on that which she can prove without a doubt as well. The romance, on the other hand, shows us her growing emotional maturity. Her willingness to open up her heart over time, to let someone in who she doesn’t always understand, who frustrates her but also pushes her in a good way and is one of the only people she lets into her private world.

Acting irrational during a serious healing process is extremely normal. It's around 4 continuous weeks you'd be expected to seek serious mental healthcare. Spikes of guilt, anxiety, emotional neediness, those would be expected even for a well-supported athlede who suffered an expected sports injury.

Jinshi, however, felt emotionally driven to self-inflict a third degree burn.

I think the utter desperation of the act gets overlooked. This is a character who felt SO strongly that no one would listen to him, that he TRULY believed there was no better option than to brand himself like a cow.

Of course he's going to act kind of weird and bratty afterwards...? Yes hello ancient chinese 911 the social ape yearns for social assurance.

"race is a social construct": a bit harder to swallow for some but still reasonable

Khun after this scene

KhunBam Week 2025 Day 7 - Song & Heartbeat [school AU] i don't mind listening to you all day..