chikchikachikadee

[chikchikachikadee]

Rewatching AOS s2 got me thinking:

Does Jang uk deserve Yeong?? (Especially after everything he put her through.) Naaaaah.

But is he going to spend an eternity trying to earn her over and over? Yeeeees. ☺️🥰

[chikchikachikadee]

ALCHEMY OF SOULS S2: LIGHT AND SHADOW (2022)

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JANG UK IS SO FUKING SEXY FOR THIS

[chikchikachikadee]

You want me to train again? No way. Never. I get sick just thinking about it.

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Alchemy of Souls (dir. Park Joon-hwa)

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people willfully misunderstanding the whole point of cho yeong’s arc was not to return to who she was but to grow and find a purpose in life that she chose for herself

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ALCHEMY OF SOULS: LIGHT AND SHADOW (2022-2023) dir. Park Joon Hwa and Bae Hyun Jin

[chikchikachikadee]

[ID: two scenes from the series “Alchemy of Souls” shown in alternating gifs, one in color and one in black and white. The black and white scene is chronologically first, part 1 episode 5, showing Naksu as Mu Deok throwing various kitchen utensils and ingredients at Jang Uk, who tries to dodge. At the end, she throws a knife. The scene in color, from part 2 episode 10, shows Naksu in her original body talking to Jang Uk while they collect chestnuts. He says, “Do you remember throwing things at me while I was cooking last time?” She says innocently, “I did?” He repeats “I did?” in a mocking tone, continuing, “You even threw a knife at me.” She throws a chestnut at him, saying, “Like this?” He smiles and says, “Stop it.” She says, “I bet I threw it like this.” /end ID]

[chikchikachikadee]

Only you are allowed to come this close. ALCHEMY OF SOULS: LIGHT AND SHADOW 2022 - 2023┃Park Joon Hwa & Bae Hyun Jin

[chikchikachikadee]

I think Yeong lost her appetite for violence when it led her to running a sword through the chest of the man she loves. She doesn't physically remember it, but deep inside, as much as she knows Uk is her love and her husband, it was violence that separated them.

And she's allowed to turn her back on that. She's allowed to put down the burden of her family's vengeance.

She said it herself, she never got to be whoever Yeong was supposed to be.

She, even at the end, is still Uk's teacher and guide as they hunt down the relics, but she herself does not need to pursue violence. That part of her life is over.

I also think she gave up on violence when she let Uk make her another promise. It was in that moment that she chose not to go back to who she was, Naksu, powerful and alone, and to choose Mudeok, who while weak, was loved in a way Naksu never was. She had it all in the palm of her hand and she chose love.

That's why what Jinmu did at the end of s1 is so atrocious. She had laid down her arms and chosen to be a wife and to be happy and he ripped that from her and cost her and Uk their lives.

Yeong gave up on the hypocrisy because to her, the vengeance she sought began and ended with the man she fell in love with. She didn't want to kill him so she made a different choice.

I know it's hard because we had nearly a whole season of her plotting and twisting but the depth of her story was that she was more. She could rise above when others couldn't and she didn't need a parade over it. She carried on with her life the way she always did, silently and with purpose.

I think Yeong's story is so much more than being badass, which she is, but it's one where you can want something else more. You can rediscover who you are. You aren't forever doomed by your choices. You can choose a different path for yourself.

[chikchikachikadee]

I walked away with the knowledge that I must slay her if I acknowledged who she was. Her approaching death cannot be an excuse for us to be together. Instead of using my coming death as a cowardly excuse to be together… It is much better for us to be tormented instead. 

ALCHEMY OF SOULS S2: LIGHT AND SHADOW (2022)

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ALCHEMY OF SOULS: LIGHT AND SHADOW 2022–2023 | S02E09

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(words)

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“I love you.”

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- Come to think of it, you have four names. You were born as Cho Yeong, but you grew up as the assassin Naksu. Then you lived as Mu Deok, and now you are Jin Bu Yeon. […] Which name shall I call you by? - The name that my parents gave me when I was born. I would like to be called Cho Yeong.

JUNG SO MIN and GO YOON JUNG in Alchemy of Souls (2022-2023)

[chikchikachikadee]

All the folks complaining that we didn’t get “badass Naksu” back really are showing that the only way they think a female character can be strong is if she kicks ass. Was Naksu awesome? Of course. But she was also the version of Cho Yeong that was abused, neglected, forced into becoming magically and physically powerful as a tool for Jin Mu. In the end, Cho Yeong made her own choice to reclaim her birth name, stick with the divine powers she received from Bu Yeon, and be happy and free alongside the person she loves. Also, would you want to go back to using the magic and the sword that you were forced to kill your lover with?! Yeong and Uk both spend the whole story chasing freedom, and they both got it in the end. They are both powerful, both free of others’ control, both happy with each other. I don’t see how that isn’t an ideal ending.

[chikchikachikadee]

If this is a brief chance to keep the promise we made, let us spend time together like any other couple who have met after pining and longing for each other.