#progress diary

[swirlmup]

Welcome to week 18! Finished storyboarding ep.9 and sketching ep.5. So much to draw and yet so little time, you may have noticed that this month I've been trying to push myself more, but it's tough with school to keep up with as well. Oh well, I'll manage somehow. And these weekly updates will have to hold out since I won't be able to post ep.5 right away, even when it's done.

[prorecoveryplanting]

2/22/25 i ate something when i was hungry after waking up in the middle of the night (rule broken for the first time since i got sick)

[sexydenise01]

Reblog and get free nude

[burnt-venus]

Jinshi finally called Maomao by her name, everyone celebrates

Gyokuyou: *internal screaming*

[lexiesonlinediary]

love loudly. protect your peace. read until your eyes grow heavy. learn an instrument. visit a bookstore. buy yourself flowers. learn a language. put yourself first. stay hydrated. watch the sunrise. dance it out. drink more tea. delete your apps. go to a museum. doodle. get a diary. write down everything. educate yourself. people watch. take a walk in nature. listen to jazz. out dress everyone. have faith. have fun. give love.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

A fierce duel commences!

[mangakachan]

More doodles! I needed to get these all out of my head. The plants in the background window are the Four Gentlemen in Classical Chinese art: plum, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and orchid. Each have their own meaning, and it goes without saying the flowers Maomao and Jinshi are holding have their own meaning as well (I even have backstories on the vase designs but I’ll save that for when I actually finish these!) Gonna take a break and see which fanart I tackle next, cus while they’re now doodled out I have to choose which to work on next lmao 😅

[mehrfh]

KnH, Romance and Delusion (strictly from a LN perspective)

Latter part of this post is going to sound harsh, so I will begin sweet... Kind of my two cents on Romance in KnH franchise...

I agree with naysayers that Romance should not be made focus of the novels but my reasoning is bit different (I will explain this in subsequent sections). Romance is not overarching theme of the novels, MaoMao's growth as an apothecary/physician is.

Jinshi and MaoMao did not become my favourites as a couple, but as characters. Especially Jinshi. I cannot put in words, how much I admire a complex male character like Jinshi. Lack of multifaceted male lead in anime Romance genre is something, and in non-romance genre, this trope is too trauma-dependent/mission-oriented. To have a male character like Jinshi who is as down bad as one man can be for a woman but with his individual complexity as a character is honestly a wave of fresh air. I love the shades of grey and mild red Jinshi's character has shown in the novels. He is a green forest but not a god or angel, he has his flaws. Jinshi is an intelligently written character, it is kind of humbling that people either completely understand or completely misunderstand Jinshi (tho I would still say Jinshi fans overwhelm the detractors, especially if they are LN readers. However, since most of negative representation of his character remains wilful distortion of the narrative, I thought of writing this).

I love how KnH has dealt with concept of Love in the novels, especially between Jinshi and MaoMao. What I absolutely adore is that theirs is a complex love but without noise. I love how MaoMao and Jinshi's complicated love is in very personalised sphere of theirs. Their push and pull is not a spectacle for others to witness. Usually complicated love stories make lot of noise but not theirs. They don't have the baggage of past relationships, other rivals in love, active jealousy, sabotaging other love interests, loud emotions/outbursts, rage and cheating. Complexity in their relationship is quite subtle yet persistent, it is present at every stage of their relationship but it is reflected in a very private and quiet manner. This is a sign of really intelligent writing where complexity is not a situational/circumstantial factor for MaoMao and Jinshi, it is part of them, they grow through it.

Growth as a prominent dynamic. One thing that made me like Jinshi and MaoMao as a couple was how much they grow together. Like you can almost see a trajectory in their relationship going through stages. I love how you can see both of them becoming more understanding with the passing years. There is no grand display, there is no spectacle. Just a warm, fluid, quiet yet stubborn association between two young hearts that refuses to let go. MaoMao and Jinshi are perfectly fine as individual characters, them being couple just adds more intrigue to an overall intelligent storytelling.

Now to the harsh part....

Romance may not be the overarching theme of the story and you might not like Jinshi but Jinshi and MaoMao are the Romance in the KnH. There is no one else. For 16 volumes now, there is no one besides these two for each other. There is no insinuation, no prominent rival in love (narratively speaking), no double-mind, MaoMao has never come even close to guessing between Jinshi and someone else (she took hell of time in accepting Jinshi), Jinshi has never second-guessed MaoMao, there is no previous love interest, and if I am right, there is no other future love interest as well. Whatever Love both Jinshi and MaoMao will understand, it is with respect to each other, and not related to someone else. If MaoMao started understanding Love it was because of Jinshi and if Jinshi navigated Love, it is due to MaoMao. Romance is not the defining idea of KnH but whatever there is in the name of Romance, it is Jinshi and MaoMao as a couple. Jinshi is not alone in this. No matter how much a certain part of fandom wants to believe otherwise (Shisui fans looking at you), as per narrative, romance as a factor (whatever little it is) for MaoMao finds expression firstly and only with Jinshi. Jinshi is the romantic part of MaoMao's overall story but he is definitely not the only part of her story.

To hate Jinshi is one thing but to obliterate Romance because you hate Jinshi or want someone else to be with MaoMao is something else. No Romance may not be the main focus but it is certainly not a mere interpretation of Jinshi and MaoMao's dynamic also. It is there, romance is their dynamic, forms a core component of their interactions (especially later on). So, no, you cannot pretend Romance is not there just because it is not convenient for you. You are at liberty to dislike the ship or Jinshi or focus mainly on non-romance parts of the story (which are definitely there) but to say that Jinshi fans deliberately misinterpret their dynamic is not okay. You can count on fingers for how many people MaoMao has shown jealousy when she gets to know someone besides her did their hair (it is only Jinshi). Or how many people she would force to take a nap because they are overworked or would remember when she looks at a beautiful painting (it is again only Jinshi). So yeah, romance doesn't disappear because you want it to.

As an LN reader, it has started getting annoying how certain fans actually want to make Shisui a Love interest in MaoMao's life in the narrative. From what I have read, Jinshi and MaoMao grew in the concept of Love together, not because it was made realised to them by a third person. MaoMao meets Shisui in LN-3, MaoMao has started acting as someone in love properly from LN-12 onwards. And in between she meets characters who have as great, or even greater, impact on MaoMao as Shisui. Shisui like Xiaolan becomes a persistent memory, especially Shisui who acquires a haunting aspect as well because of her, well, disappearance. So, to say Shisui made MaoMao realise Love when MaoMao actually starts acting as a person in Love 4-5 years after she met Shisui is peak delusion at this point.

People may dislike straight ships for one or other reason (as a straight ship admirer, I don't care) but this constant denigration of Jinshi's importance for MaoMao that too by actively distorting the narrative for the sake of a woman who is not even with MaoMao for one proper year compared to a man with whom she has now spent almost 5-6 years is making me realise the non-straight shippers are no better as well. I really loved one take that said it is sad how people have come to view same-sex relationships only in romantic terms, completely overlooking possibility of friendship, kinship, familiality, sisterhood, etc. Makes me kinda wonder about the emotional bandwidth certain people possess nowadays. I mean it says something when in the name of ‘non-conformity' you ought to portray a woman who actively betrays the MC and is hardly with her for an year as a better choice or indicated love interest over a man who actively works for that relationship for many years to come. I mean, I do hope author is intelligent enough to not actually water down Jinshi's character.

Shipping people is something I can hardly dictate but what I care about is wilful distortion. Jinshi is the pivotal character in MaoMao's life for more than five years now, he is the romantic part of MaoMao's story, and he is not the only one, there are other precious relationships in her life (which are mainly women) and her growth as a woman in medicine is the main theme. However, Love as a romantic association for her began with Jinshi and not anyone else. To say that the narrative indicated anyone else besides this man as a love interest for MaoMao, especially a woman who was not even there for many crucial milestones of MaoMao's character while that man was and is (and many times becomes a reason for those) well, what can I say but humbly suggest that you drop this. Maybe this is not for you....

Phew, I wonder will I need to rewrite this again for Rikuson. Man the narrative distortion from certain fans, especially when Jinshi and MaoMao have advanced so far and well in the story, is definitely annoying (and I am putting it mildly)...

[wonhoutboy]

page_03: encounter by wonhoutboy

preview / code

• writing diary page: header, icon, bio, 3 links; • writing updates for each story; • progress bar; • cover space 170x250px; • tumblr controls by magnusthemes; • css icons by css.gg; • can be used as a base code as long as you credit me; • images used in the preview: x x x; • please consider buying me a coffee <3.

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reading diary page coming next!

[agua-cat]

THUS, THERE WAS INTERIOR

I want to say the interior of the Irene Dimension is nowhere NEAR complete but I've started to decorate the walls and at some point I will then be putting in pillars!

Please be gentle and patient with me ;; I am the only person working on this project and it's a HUGE undertaking

Nonetheless everyone's excitement is really motivating me to continue forth with things!

[ankhnu]

Jinmao wip

[mangakachan]

Been thinking about drawing my favorite Maomao outfits for a collage piece and finally got around to doodling it out tonight. The blank space is save for an outfit that’ll be conceivably in a few episodes but no spoilers for now 🙊

[randommelan]

Wip of maomao for the anime apothecary dairies. I love this show so much! Hopefully can finish drawing her by anime expo.

[ariannabananasstuff]

something i’ve been working on below if i could please have some feedback :)

open for things i need to improve on as long as it is said without judgement :D

ALSO IM NOT DONE AND THERES MORE BEFORE THIS !! ITS ONLY A SPIPPET

[midnightblue-xii]

This post is for all slow writers. I feel you. I get so jealous when I see people who can write the first draft in a few weeks/months! But then, I remind myself that everyone´s journey is different and that every story needs a different care.

So, if you feel like your progress is too slow, you're not alone! And it is okay! Your story is worth all that time and one day, you will appreciate every minute you´ve put into it.