#ic.| yeong

[sentofight]

"Um…" it's a hesitant start when the conversation topic trickles down into nothing, perhaps purposefully so as their responses became shorter. Something seemed to be on her mind, and as such, that something ended up gnawing on their mind. Another few seconds pass, unsure of how to word their concern, if they should word their concern, but in the end, they take a breath. "Are you alright…? You've been looking at your phone a lot, and you look kind of restless… If there's anyplace you need to be then it's fine with me if you go there, don't worry about me. But…if it's something else, then I don't mind listening. As long as you are fine with sharing, of course." ( HELLO YEONG

Oh, where to begin? The bombing of her family house? losing the last of her family? knowing something she wish she didn't know? Realizing that her life could be ... fake?

Did ... grandma loved me? Did she really loved me like her own? or was it the guilt of what she had done to me? Caleb! What about him? Did he know? Was his death in vain, too? All these questions keep prying on her mind the moment she let her guards down.

What is she?

Even Zayne kept that a secret from her.

Who can she really trust?

No ... she is too cruel on them if she thought they never loved her or cared for her. She knows it is true. No one can fake that much love she felt for the past what 8 years or more? Grandma raised her like she was her own and Caleb was there as her irreplaceable big brother. Zayne, well he was there for some part of her childhood then their fates decided a little detour before they come back into each other's life.

Digging into what had happened was the only thing that kept the gears in her mind working. Who and why would someone deliberately bomb her house. All clues lead to one .... one and only--Onychinus. If she is going to get answers then the best way is to find their leader and well, extract her answers from him. one way or another.

She was waiting for a confirmation from one famous artist to take her into where she could find more about Onychinus when Akira's voice rang to snap her out of her trance.

"--Ah! Oh, um ... sorry," hiding her phone into her pocket, she clasped her hands tightly. What was she doing ... she was out with a friend and look at her, ruining the mood.

"Sorry, you were kind to arrange this trip and here am I, thinking of something else beside how to eat these wonderful velvet cakes!" there was a forced grin plastered on her face. A blind person would tell how much she is trying to force a happy and excited vibe.

There is no need for more people to get involved. She didn't even tell Tara about this not even Jena, her boss. Akira is a civilian and what would do him if he learned about this? He'll just worry endlessly about her. I mean ... he is now but the less he know the better. In case she failed, that's a probability, he wouldn't be in danger.

"Come on! Let's eat and continue with the course, yes? We still got uuuh... the cat hat tricks shop to see! Aren't you excited? I heard that the cat cafe in the market district is actually there, too! Miser Vilho brought some of his cats into this magic show! aaaa!!! I hope he brought Vitalis~ He does not like me for some reason but I like him~ hehehe."

unprompted | <3 i love you <3 | @flovverworks

[rinkasisopods]

SEOYEONG WI ♡ DAWN (PRIDE & PREJUDICE) at KOREAN NATIONALS

[dis--parity]

『 🌹 』 "Augh... augh...

Short haired women are so hot all the time, every day, they are ev-ry-thing, god damn, I can't take this!"

[lunateticc]

@desuetmort.

"..... are you looking for this, soul reaper?" the female arrancar trills out to the concerned looking shinigami around a triumphant, cutting smile (tinged with blood) that charmingly crinkles the pretty crescent moon mark under her glittering-obsidian eye. she proudly holds up the last remaining limb of the new-born hollow that had been unlucky enough to cross her covetous path before a-yeong could peacefully exorcise; akin to a cat showing off its most recent kill.

the moth woman was positively preening, unable to help herself.

the recently severed appendage was now just a ribboned ended sallow-hued chunk of flesh, having been torn into violently with teeth-gnashing gusto & efficiently whittled away to near nothing. the redhead absolutely loved nibbling on the tails last if they were available, considering it a desert of sorts after her main course, which hadn't been very big this time; just dart-fast & reptile-esque. a tiny lizard that seemed to have caused more trouble for the soul society member rather than veera herself.

which was pleasing in it's own right.

[sennikold]

@wintersno​​ said :   ❝ what, not happy to see me? ❞ / naksu, from uk

the glare is enough to freeze over lake gyeongcheondaeho.  her face is expressive, though it leaves an impression that it would intimidate more, had she still been in her original body.  like this, mudeok appears more like a miffed wife, all but missing hands on her hips, instead clutching to a bowl of rice soup.     ❝  why should i?  if young master has time to walk around idly instead of coming to eat when asked, then i should be free not to rejoice at his sight.  ❞      there’s less than a week before the duel with the crown prince.  they’ve made major progress, tirelessly training day and night.  it’s easier now that the bracelet is off and jang uk seems to have grasped what he needed, but there’s no saying it will be enough to win.  for that, she’s been irritable since morning.  still, when she pushes the bowl into uk’s hands, her expression begrudgingly softens.     ❝  eat, before it goes completely cold. ❞   mudeok sits down and grabs her own bowl; it’s clear she’s been waiting for him before starting her meal, a fact left unsaid.     ❝  master lee said he’d be gone for the night.  we should go over the strategy again.  ❞

[starmist]

To me Alchemy of Souls is very much a “they’ve been dead from the beginning” story

Like,,, Cho Yeong died that day with the rest of her family, Master Lee declares her dead and Kim Dojoo even holds a jesa for her.

Naksu dies, if not the moment she shifts her soul/has it stolen, then in ep18 when she lets go of the ice stone and chooses to live a normal life. She herself even says in ep5 that “now Naksu is also dead”.

Hell, she even lives as essentially a vengeful ghost. A cold and empty existence, her only purpose to avenge her family. The entirety of s1 is about her learning to live and want to live which is what makes her fate so tragic.

Jin Buyeon died in the womb and later, the girl that was born through the power of the ice stone, is thought to be dead by everyone save for her mother.

(Nice parallel of Cho Yeong & Jin Buyeon where Jang Gang, like Jin Ho Gyeong, obsessively looks for a little girl thought to be dead by all but him, because of his grief and guilt)

And even her name belongs to a woman’s dead granddaughter. Though I’m only looking at this through a s1 perspective, Jin Seol Ran, Jin Buyeon’s original identity, has also been all but dead for centuries.

A twice over dead girl, inhabiting the body of another dead girl, uses the name of yet another dead girl, and shares a body with a two centuries long dead woman.

She was never going to survive. How much she changed, everything she did, was all futile in the long run because she died long before the story started, there was never any saving her, she was dead from the very beginning.

[miss0atae]

Random Thoughts about Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (EP 1 - 2):

I'm so glad I took the time to watch these two first episodes now because I could really enjoy them. At first, I was a bit sad I missed all the fun that you can get when you're watching the episodes as they come out. I kind of have a bit of fear of missing something important when I'm watching a series later. Turns out sometimes it's better to wait because you can really take the time to appreciate the story.

It's been a while I didn't enjoy a Korean BL. I think the last one was Boys Be Brave! last May. Since then, I didn't find any I could really like. I also think we didn't get that much from Korea. It felt like the coming of new BL series has dried up and Korea didn't want to bring us new interesting BL (according to my own taste of course). Anyway, I watched LFTCOT and I was really impressed. There is this atmosphere you can only find in Korean BL. The setting of the story, in a rural and brutal town, reinforces this feeling.

It's not easy to bring a good setting and to make you care fast for the main characters, but this series did it very well. Do Hoe lives a violent life around his more violent father. You can't be indifferent to his hardships. When we first met the character, he seems like he's made of stone. However, you soon realizes that it's a very fragile armor he is wearing to protect his mind and his heart. There seems to be no ray of sunshine in his life. He has this posture where you feel like he is trying bravely to put up and overcome adversity, but it's like a losing battle. He can only win by leaving this place. There is a sense of hope, an ability to silently endure hardship and suffering in Do Hoe. At the same time, there is also this bitterness, a mixture of angst, endurance and a yearning for more in life.

That's where Ju Yeong's arrival is so crucial and bringing so much more in Do Hoe's life. It's like he opened the curtains that were weighted everything. You see how he get passed the defense mechanisms of Do Hoe and how slowly their relationship change and become deeper. Every time Ju Yeong was smiling, it felts so warm. I guess he is bringing such a contrast in Do Hoe's life. However, even if he has a very charming and cheerful personality, he is also a more complex character. He is not naive and he sees things. I fear a bit for the time where they are both going to drift apart only to reconnect later. How is "the oppressive culture symbolized by Do Hoe's father" going to twist their relationship and how will they find the way of freeing themselves from it ten years after?

I guess we'll get the answer in the coming episodes. As for now, The series did a great job so far in balancing the angst with more happy times. I especially like the "ice-cream" scenes. It feels so Korean BL to have a scene where the main characters share an ice-cream. I can't wait to see what will get in episode 3 and 4.

[sentofight]

"Ah! You almost got it!" a gasp and despair flowing through their voice when the colorful plushie falls down again, so engaged in the game they might as well have been playing it themself. "You can do it, Yeong...!" (hello guess who unlocked the crane game

"Come on ...Come on," her focus is on the plushie she wants. Tongue sticking out like a kid, focused on their drawing. "No ... nonononono! NOOOOOOOOO~!!!" hands slam against the transparent window then slide down in despair. Yeong drops on the ground, sniffling.

"Aaah.... *hic* nooo. Why have you forsaken me, plushieeeeeee~!!!!" insert a dramatic moment. Arching down to repeatedly slam at the ground. "I really wanted to get this for you ..." her initial shock of losing was soon replaced with unparallel determination, Yeong snapped back and jumped back on her feet.

"ALRIGHT! I'm not a quitter! Granny didn't raise a quitter! Let me at it again!" inserting more coins to resume her hunt for the colorful plushie. Hunter instincts kick in and viola, after a couple of times the plushie is hers!

"TAAADAAA~!!!! Ha ha! You're not escaping Linkon's best hunter, hehe~" she raises the plushie up high like the scene from a certain movie. "Now," she leans and present her trophy for her new friend. "I bestow this upon you, Akira." a grin cross her lips. "Thanks for cheering me."

[salanaii]

Learn Korean with me - Week 19

Day 1 - 3: Vocab

** Don't forget your journals and of course Netflix.

꿉니다 Kkum ni da Dream/dreams/to dream

도서관 Do seo gwan Library/libraries

고마워 Go ma wo Thanks

잠 Jam Sleep/slumber

남자 Nam ja Man

아이스크림 A I seu keu rim Ice cream

배스킨라빈스 Bae seu kin ra bin seu Baskin Robbins

아이 A i Child

콜라 Kor ra Cola

아파트 A pa teu Apartment

또는 Tto neun Or/either

여자 Yeo ja Woman

우의 U ui Friendship/raincoat

우유 U yu Milk

뽀뽀 Ppo ppo Kiss

듀오링고 Dyu o ring go Duolingo

여자아이 Yeo ja a i Girl

여자들 Yeo ja deur Women

아니요 A ni yo No

남자아이 Nam ja a i Boy

개 Gae Dog

학생 Hag saeng Student

가수 Ga su Singer

제 Je My

고양이 Go yang i Cat

음식 Eum sig Food/cook

한국 Han gug Korea

메시지 Me si ji Message

도넛 Do neos Doughnut

신문 Sin mun Newspaper

씨 Ssi Seed/Ms/Mr

집 Jib House

파티 Pa ti Party

부산 Bu san Busan

서울 Seo ul Seoul

맥도날드 Maeg do nar deu McDonald’s

모터스 Mo teo seu Motors

삼성 Sam Seong Samsung

도쿄 Do kyo Tokyo

블루윙즈 Beur ru wing seu Bluewings

유나이티드 Yu na I ti deu United

드래곤즈 Deu rae gon jeu Dragons

뉴욕 Nyu yog New York

스타벅스 Seu ta beog seu Starbucks

런던 Reon deon London

사과 Sa gwa Apple

연필 Yeon pir Pencil

개미 Gae mi Ant

방 Pang Room

수영합니다 Su yeong hab ni da Swim/swims/is swimming

[dis--parity]

@chiryxushi | Plotted Starter

『 🌹 』 Underneath the moonlight, in the middle of an isolated woods one might only dare travel to if they were trying to film some obscure found-footage series, a vast lake basks in the midnight calm. Those pristine, gently-rippling waters are among the only places someone of Yeong-Hui's... popularity, can find an iota of tranquility these days. Here, they had a rare opportunity to detach themselves from the screens, the cameras, and the flashy clothing.

It's not like they minded all that, normally - but even someone like them could do with a refreshing skinnydip every now and again. And so they went - already less-than-modest clothing folded and set aside on a dirt incline overlooking those beautiful waters, they allowed the coolness and peace to wash over them as their body sunk into the lake water.

Basking in moonlight, they found their tranquility backstroking beneath the full moon in isolation, gazing endlessly up at the stars as they floated to the very center. So too did all thought abandon them as quickly as care and feeling, simply grinning with the satisfaction that they could just be, for a little while.

Ah, would that the moon were their only witness... of all the lakes they could have gone to, why were they so drawn to here? Perhaps they would soon find out...

[gyakusama]

❝ Oh, don'cha even worry 'bout it; my haircut────unlike yer face────never stopped no one from bustin'. ❞

❝ ♪ Summer lovin' happened so fast ♪ ❞

❝ ♪ Summer lovin' balls in my ass ♪ ❞

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Fear is a huge driver of plot in Alchemy of Souls and most of it is centered around Jang Uk and Naksu. Almost every character's main motivation is fear except Naksu (revenge) and Jang Uk. (This is long)

Park Jin is terrified that Jang Uk will fulfill his destiny because his main goal is to maintain social order. He is therefore fully committed to impeding any progress Jang Uk might make. His turning point (finally) is the near death of Seo Yul, probably not because he actually loves Yul or Uk for themselves, but because as everyone acknowledges, Seo Yul being killed by Jin Mu will overturn the social order (General Seo will invade Daeho Fortress and start a war). Park Jin knows Jang Uk will try to save Yul, so he supports him.

(I'm pretty sure the only major decision he makes motivated by love is trying to save Maid Kim from Jinyowon, everything else is to preserve social order. He's extreme lawful good)

Go Won spends most of S1 trying not to be afraid of Jang Uk/the concept of a King Star, because he doesn't want to be like his father who is terrified of the prophesied King Star's existence. Jin Mu eventually succeeds in making Go Won afraid which results in Jang Uk's death (it doesn't take). But then in S2, with a Jang Uk who is 100x more terrifying, Go Won realizes that he doesn't have to be afraid because Jang Uk doesn't want to be king and will use his power protectively:

Which means that Jin Mu can no longer control Go Won through fear, as he is able to do with the king and basically everyone else.

Jin Mu definitely fears what Jang Uk might become, since he can be displaced from his position of power if Uk ever becomes a real mage.

And yet, he mostly makes other people afraid of Uk instead of really fearing Jang Uk himself. This is probably because Jin Mu believes that compassion and protection are signs of weakness. I think the only time he really believes Uk might kill him is when Seo Yul is dying. What he fears the most is being rejected by those in power, which is why when Go Won turned on him he was so angry.

The king and the Unanimous Assembly decide to release the fire bird because they both fear and envy Jang Uk and his ice stone. As for the general population, they generally fear super-powered Jang Uk but also want him around (just not like, too close) because they are more frightened of soul shifters. They both fear and idolize Naksu and are manipulated with their fear.

And to quickly include Lady Jin, her fear is centred around losing control of Jinyowon, which is why she searches so desperately for Bu-yeon, is dismissive of her under-powered second daughter, and is so determined to keep resurrected Naksu/Bu-yeon under control.

Seo Yul is complicated because he doesn't know what Jang Uk is until pretty late in the game, he mostly is afraid of what Jang Uk is doing (hanging out with a soul shifter, Naksu herself) and what his beliefs will result in (which to be fair was a legitimate fear given what happens at the end of S1). He is also afraid of breaking his personal moral code:

And then we have Maid Kim, who is literally never afraid of Jang Uk, she just loves him no matter what. By S2 she knows exactly who he is and that he's haunted by ghosts and she does not care. "Oh my super-powered adopted son is home to spend a haunting night, let's make sure he's comfortable!"

What she is afraid of is Naksu: she thinks her sword is ominous, she holds a funeral for Cho Yeong so that Naksu's spirt won't attack Jang Uk, and she fears that Naksu will drag Jang Uk to the grave in S2. However, her fear is never centered on herself, she's pretty much only afraid because she wants to protect Uk (like mother like son). Which is why she's one of the good characters, her fear isn't selfish.

When it comes to Naksu/Cho Yeong and Jang Uk, they are never really afraid of each other or really drive by fear, unlike everyone else. Jang Uk recognizes Naksu right away, isn't afraid of her threats at all, and then sends men to capture her. He's almost immediately willing to put his life in her hands.

His motivation is more to prove himself, which is both about himself and his mother whose memory he is trying to protect by convincing people that he's Jang Gang's son.

Cho Yeong's motivation in S1 is revenge at least at first, which she needs her powers back to have. But then she switches to protection and remains that way through S2.

Naksu doesn't have any reason to fear Jang Uk in S1. Then in S2, even when she has no memory of who she is, she is very much not afraid of him. Even when he threatens her:

She takes like a whole minute to let go and step away from him. And when she sees the ice stone, she decides to try and use him rather than retreat in fear.

But of course all Naksu/Jang Uk plot is driven by both of them running straight towards things that they should fear, including each other. They are the antithesis of living in fear, they chose protection and love (and constantly being in mortal danger) instead.

[rhea314]

20 questions for fic writers podficcers

Thank you for tagging me @gracieryder and @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove, I feel so included <3

How many works do you have on ao3? 1,559 - which I believe is 1,208 podfic, 179 vids, and 163 fics

What's your total Ao3 word count? 615,783

What fandoms do you create for? I have works in 450 fandoms so I’m not listing them all so here are top couple of fandoms by work-type: - Vid: Nirvana in Fire, The King: Eternal Monarch, and 9-1-1 - Podfic: Yuri on Ice, Teen Wolf, and The Raven Cycle - Fic: Smallville, Stargate Atlantis, and Gundam Wing

Top 5 Works by Kudos: Fics dominate sorting by kudos so here's top two of each category: - Fic: The Rock and The River this Spirited Away fic wins out by a large margin, bubbling up is another Spirited Away fic and in second place. - Vid: Bury a Friend is my most kudos’d vid (Untamed) and Applause is second most kudos (Untamed RPF) though that is my most-watched vid on YT. - Podfic: through a window softly by impossibletruths, an Untamed fic for which I did a lot of music mixing is my top kudos’d podfic, so much so that it actually gets in my AO3 top 5 kudos list which is wild. The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli is in second place.

Do you respond to comments? I try!

What is the work you've made with the angstiest ending? - Fic: All my fics are neutral or positive endings (I think?) - Vid: this TKEM AU where Yeong dies - Podfic: I enjoy narrating big emotions so I have a lot of people-cry-in-this-fic grief/angst and self worth issues stories but often they end on at least an uplifting note. Possibly something in Attack on Titan or X-Men had a and-they-stay-sad ending but I can’t remember something specific to for-sure point at.

What's the work you've made with the happiest ending? So many happy endings (both the emotional kind and the porn kind). I’m not sure I could point to a ‘happiest’ since a lot of them are very happy.

Do you get hate on your works? I’ve had some weird comments but not particularly hate, hopefully that will continue to be true.

Do you create smut? Yup, at least with podfic and fic.

Craziest crossover? I wrote a heralds of valdemar / lord of the rings fic when I was just starting out in fandom.

Have you ever had a work stolen? I hope not.

Have you ever had a work inspired by your works? Very excitingly, people have made vids inspired by my vids which is the absolute coolest thing (Nothing by @nubreed73, and Mei Changsu is Climbing the Mountain by @sandalwoodbox)

I have had fic translated, which is neat.

People have made podfics of my fic which is just delightful and makes me so, so happy as a fellow podficcer.

I've also had people make me fanart/coverart which is super cool!

Have you co-recorded/co-written/co-vidded before? I’ve done a podfic collab where we co-wrote the story together and then recorded the story together. I’ve been part of multivoice collabs of things I did not participate in writing for with both in-person/live recording and recorded separately then edited together. I’ve also done oral not!fic collabs.

I've done collab vidding with @sandalwoodbox

All time favorite ship? I can't decide. I tend to have one OTP per fandom I'm into, but see fandom list it's too long to pick just one ship.

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I’ve got a variety of old files for fics I never got a permission response on that will just live in my computer forever. Some are complete, some needing editing, some are partially completed and all abandoned due to lack of response. I learned my lesson and now do not record unless I have already received permission or the author has BP.

What are your podficcing/writing/vidding strengths? - Podfic: Consistency? Enthusiasm. Emotion (I hope).

- Vid: Picking decent songs?

What are your podficcing/writing/vidding weaknesses? - Podfic: Accents, words not in english, cover art.

- Writing: Doing it without a challenge/exchange

- Vid: I don't know how to do a lot of technical stuff so I'm sort of coasting on my current skill level without challenging myself much.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? For podfic I try! Sometimes I don’t know what I don’t know (see past mispronunciation of French where I thought I knew what I was doing T_T). But having been in into anime, c-dramas, k-dramas, and a variety of fandoms with various languages involved I know I will give it my best shot, possibly fail, and it will take me 2-3x as long to record, but sometimes I can be proud of what I’ve come up with on the far end and that’s nice. Forvo, google translate, and finding friends/acquaintances I know who speak the language have all be helpful.

First fandom you podficced/wrote in/vidded? - Podfic: Spiderman/Smallville crossover: 2008.

- Vid: Eastwick (TV)

- Fic: Heralds of Valdemar

Favorite work you've made? - Podfic: The Ion Arc by Sunhawk - I started recording this Gundam Wing story in 2008 and finished in 2019 and it clocks in at over 80 hours. This was my labor of love for just over a decade and will always hold a very important place in my heart. Have I re-listened to it, no. Do I think it’s the best podfic I’ve ever made, probably not, doesn’t matter, still my favorite. - Vid: I’m not sure how to pick so I’ll just go with my co-vid with @sandalwoodbox Hug Cats! - Fic: I’ll follow the consensus and say The Rock and The River for this.

Tagging - feel free to take up this invitation to answer some questions or not as you see fit!: @sandalwoodbox, @revolutionaryjo, @rollerskatinglizard

[tansu-bomb]

Musings on the most important and least explained pivotal conflict between Jin Seol-Ran & Choi mage + parallels 200 years ago vs now

1. A severe drought dried up Lake Gyeongcheondaeho.

2. Jin Seol-Ran performed a sacred dance & used her divine energy so the energy from the skies flows down to earth as rain; and with the rain came ice-stones (plural).

3. Choi mage extracts ice-stone(s) from the lake, and experiments with it - thus documenting the Alchemy of Souls book that much later, Shaman Choi (likely his grand-daughter), attempts to save during Jang Gang’s raid & gets burnt in the process.

4. All across Daeho, folks kill each other to obtain the ice-stone(s) and use it primarily for soul-shifting as they please, thereby creating the great chaos.

5. Jin Seol-Ran cannot end the chaos by herself so she chooses to partner with Seo Gyeong - the one with King’s Star energy - and puts an ice-stone into his body (just like she much later does with Jang Uk, the next King’s Star) thus turning him into the most powerful weapon.

6. Jin Seol-Ran and Seo Gyeong use their complementary powers to end the chaos — she by using her divine power to track down ice-stones and he by using his muscle power to single-handlely squash armies (like Cho Yeong & Jang Uk do towards the end).

7. Up until then, folks likely physically possessed the ice-stone but not anatomically like Seo Gyeong (courtesy: Seol-Ran), but Choi mage - the mastermind behind AOS - probably figured out a way to do so as well. (Even Shaman Choi and Jin Mu were unable to accomplish this)

8. As it would’ve been difficult to kill Choi mage who also possessed the ice-stone, Jin Seol-Ran must’ve trapped his soul in the Gwido barrier (along with others). Much later, when Seol-Ran/Cho Yeong enter Gwido again, all soul-wraiths fear her but one chases her with vengeance.

9. In one of the flashbacks, Jin Seol-Ran and Seo Gyeong are shown standing shoulder-to-shoulder and extracting the power of the ice-stone that Choi mage possessed. Seol-Ran most likely turned that ice-stone into one that seeks (not gives) energy and left him to die a painful death in Gwido (like Cho Yeong does Jin Mu).

10. In return, the Choi mage must’ve cursed Jin Seol-Ran and Seo Gyeong that they too will turn into soul-shifters - in this life or the next. This curse is most likely what plays out 200 years later for both Jang Uk & Cho Yeong both of whom are Seo Gyeong and Jin Seol-Ran’s supposed reincarnations.

11. Seo Gyeong falls in love with Jin Seol-Ran; but most likely Seol-Ran is already a married woman with a heir in tow (likely Jin HoGyeong’s mother) coz, by the time great chaos ends, Seol-Ran is injured and about to die — most likely due to overusing her divine powers that accelerated her aging —and we know the Jin family line continues. That makes theirs an impossible, forbidden romance on multiple fronts (which comes full circle with Jang Uk & Cho Yeong finally defying fate and falling in love twice)?

11. After the great chaos ended, Jin Seol-Ran likely removed the power of ice-stone from Seo Gyeong as well (but unlike Jang Uk who died and had his soul resurrected only due to the ice-stone), Seo Gyeong lives on even without it.

12. At this point, only one final ice-stone remains which Seo Gyeong wished to use to protect Seol-Ran but Seol Ran, who sees future, about the fire bird and the Choi mage’s curse, chooses to attach her soul to the ice-stone itself (which Jang Gang & Jin HoGyeong think resurrected a dead baby Jin BuYeon)

The Choi mage’s curse, I think, is critical for what follows.

13. When Jin Seol-Ran’s memories & divine powers start to come back (likely around ages 8-10) while she is resurrected in dead Jin BuYeon’s body, she likely figures out that A) Choi U-tak (the grand-son of Choi mage) is her father (the blasphemy this is; ties perfectly to Chois wanting revenge against Jins above all), B) Jang Uk, the King’s star, was born through AOS, and C) Jin Mu destroyed Cho Yeong’s family.

14. While Jin HoGyeong and Jang Gang engineered BuYeon’s birth star, Cho Yeong was likely naturally born under that same birth star - the one that’s destined to accompany the King’s star. The King’s Star and the accompanying star are likely binary stars — stars whose gravitational fields are interconnected (example: Alcor/Mizar or Vasishta/Arundathi binary stars in Ursa Major).

14. Seol-ran attempts to fight fate & masterminds the attempt to find the ice-stone with Jin Mu and Choi U-tak — to once and for all destroy the ice-stone and the greedy men — in one ago. Despite her supreme divine powers, she fails given how weak she physically is having been reincarnated in a baby who’s been dead in the womb for atleast few hours if not few days (plus she’s only 10 years old and has overestimated herself).

15. There is no way Seol-ran can now go back to Jinyowon coz she has gambled and revelaed her supreme divine powers — and if she goes back, she’ll certainly meet death at the hands of her own family (Jin Mu) and Choi family (Jin U-tak). So she bides time in Sari village to let future unfold so she can interject at a more optimal time. (Seol-Ran says this at the end; that seeing into the future, one can cleverly interject. While one may not change the pre-fated outcome as she painfully learns, she knows optimal points to interject at to tightly control the flow of events & minimize damage)

16. The Choi mage’s curse of her turning into a soul-shifter is also likely the biggest reason why Seol-Ran lures in and traps Cho Yeong’s soul in the first palce coz Yeong’s compatible and immense energy would be useful for their survival when they’d both run wild (at end of S1)

17. All along S1, Jin SeolRan keeps on protecting Jang Uk & Cho Yeong. She orchestrates it all — a) allowing Yeong her power back in the lake very early on so that these two don’t drift apart, b) the exposure of ice-stone so she can inject the ice-stone into Jang Uk knowing that he’ll be hunted for his King’s star fate (she probably also knows that his death would happen at Naksu’s hands), and c) she doesn’t stop Jin Mu from causing her to run wild coz she very likely calculates that she’d be saved by the King’s star or Jinyowon or both.

17. Ultimately, Choi mage’s curse comes true — both the King’s Star Jang Uk & Seol-Ran/Cho Yeong eventually become soul-shifters — the last two that will continue to live on.

18. Seol-Ran stayed true to her purpose for 200 years and must’ve been very happy to witness that the King’s Star and his accompanying star’s love saga. An unrequited love story finally becomes requited through their reincarnations.

19. Seol-Ran’s restorative justice was to leave everything to Cho Yeong — all of her divine powers, all of the burden of protecting Jinyowon, all of her blessings to protect & live happily with the King’s star, and the responsibility to carry on the lineage of girls with unparalleled divine powers. Of course, Cho Yeong, with all the choices she makes through S1 and S2 proves herself more than worthy of this role.

[sennik]

The glare Mu-deok sent him was deadly. It wasn't her style to hold back these sort of feelings, so her face quickly contorted into one of exasperation, yet a hint of satisfaction was hard to miss as it had momentarily slipped past the facade. So, maybe she had pushed a bit to manipulate him into doing chores, big deal — behind all this there was still reason, the actions meant to strengthen his core, and if that didn't do, then the least he could take from it was some well - needed character building. ❝ Ha! So you can dish it out, but you can't take it, is that it? What double standard, ❞ she jeered. Indeed, she would run around doing these chores, and though most were given out by Maidservant Kim, there was no denying Mu-deok still worked as his maid.

❝ My lazy pupil, tell me something — will you ask your opponent for a break while fighting to the death? ❞

The words sounded harsh like their speaker. It looked like Mu-deok steeled herself for the onslaught about to befall, but it didn't last very long, because she wasn't as immune to Jang Uk's special kind of charm as she pretended to be. The moment he latched himself onto her arm in a begging tone, it was over with. She clicked her tongue unhappily. ❝ Unbelievable. ❞ Mu-deok shook her head, purposefully avoiding actually looking Jang Uk in the eye. She let him pull at her, only eventually cracking a minuscule glance at him, before looking up at the darkened sky. She sighed in defeat. ❝ Fine. It is pointless to carry water jugs in the rain. . . But young master, the honey biscuits you had earlier were from the secret stash. ❞

“ I know I said I would do whatever you want me to, but this is a bit too much, don’t you think m a s t e r ? ” At this point this felt like she had tricked him, making him do her chores and just pretending that it was somehow relevant to his training. But regardless of how little he wanted to be bringing jugs of water to and from the kitchen, Jung Uk couldn’t really hate it, it did mean he got to spend more time with Mu-deok. 

The clouds were gathering in the sky, heavy and dark, and the previously sunny day had been replaced by gray skies and cold winds. “ I’m not doing this anymore…I refuse, I don’t want to. Let’s rather go and find where Maidservent Kim stashed all the honey cakes, hmm? Please. ” The heavy jug of water was abandoned as he clung to Mu-deok’s arm, trying to pull her away from any form of hard labor. At least for himself. 

@sennik​ liked for a short starter / still accepting!

[jungleslang]

Okay I know the show is over and I promise this is last post I will make raving about my baby Cho Yeong, but I can't stop thinking about the way her character shifted the moment she got her memories back!!! And I feel like I didn't see a lot of people talking about it!!!

One thing I really appreciated was that even though she's clearly no longer the assassin she used to be, we got to see her underlying cruel streak again when she put that empty ice stone inside Jin Mu. She lured him into Gwido with the ice stone and tricked him into thinking she was helping him, allowing him to believe that he was finally about to get the power he always wanted. But instead, she condemned him to a slow, agonizing death. The way she told him that this type of death suited him perfectly and the coldly satisfied look on her face as stared down at him while he was on his knees in pain literally had me screeching!!!! I also adore the fact that Yeong knew her soul was going to disappear soon and that the fate of the world was at stake, but she still took the time to get her revenge. She was not about to let Jin Mu get away with what he did to her without facing any consequences.

And also that whole scene with the Unanimous Assembly??? We really get to see her cunning, calculating nature front and center. I was so not expecting her to tell everyone that Jang Uk failed to perform his duties by knowingly sparing a soul-shifter. By exposing him, she forces Uk's hand and ultimately gives him no choice but to come and face her. She also knows that the only reason they left him alive with the ice stone inside him was so that he could hunt down soul shifters. By telling them that Uk still has a soul shifter left to take care of, she buys him time. Once again, we see Yeong manipulating a situation and knowing exactly what to say to get the outcome she wants. I also loved the part where they ask her about Jin Mu, and she straight up tells them that she killed him. She was just like yeah I put the ice stone in him and now he's going to wither away and die in Gwido. She gave no fucks.

And we see other characters noticing that something is off with her. You could tell the crown prince knew something was different during that scene with the Unanimous Assembly. The look on his face after she callously said that she would take the ice stone out of Uk if necessary was sooooo sus.

Even though Yeong was absolutely adorable as Jin Bu-yeon, and the dark, brooding season 2 Jang Uk was very sexy, I'm so glad we got to see their season 1 dynamic at the very end. In their last scene together, Jang Uk has his bright, playful energy back and we got to see the Mu-deok glare again from Yeong!!!

But although Yeong is no longer the Jin Bu-yeon we met at the beginning of the season and Jang Uk is no longer the brooding monster, we can still see how those three years apart changed them. Uk has a maturity that he didn't have in season 1 and Yeong's time as Bu-yeon has made her more open with her affections.

It was nice to see them bickering again during their last scene and I'm obsessed with the way Yeong told Uk that he only came this far because she was his master and he better be grateful and treat her right. Like it's very clear by the end of the show that Yeong is the boss of him. She calls the shots and he would literally do anything she asked him to, and I love that for her.

In conclusion, Cho Yeong is best girl and I'm glad she got her happy ending even if the ending of the show wasn't perfect.