#personal alchemy

[sydneighsays]

Should I be concerned that these are my comfort characters?

Seasonal depression is making me it's fucking bitch 😘❤️

#fanart #the magnus archives #tma fanart #jonathan sims #jon archivist #the magnus archive fanart #jon sims #edward elric #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #I think Edward would steal his lunch money #“come on Jon let's smite this guy” #“you know #Jon I have a personal relationship with God also“ #do you think Jon will learn alchemy if he immediately knows about the gate by looking at Ed

[starmist]

I genuinely believe Naksu haunts the narrative. Her actions and existence as Naksu heavily impact the entire story. Her past, the life she lived and the shadow of it in Mudeok. But we don't actually know any of it because Naksu is not in the story.

Like. What she lost as Cho Yeong is something that we are never allowed to forget, the loss of her body, her powers, her freedom, and her impending death as a soul shifter hangs over Mudeok's head like guillotine.

All the while we don't actually know the Shadow Assassin Naksu, she died in the first episode, as soon as the story began. Other than training and killing (soul shifters) what kind of person was she when she didn't have to rely on another person else or hide or live as someone else? We don't know and we don't ever learn any of that.

Still, her absence is the plot, yet her former existence as Naksu influences everything; Yul's actions and what she was to him, Jang Uk's goal of returning her powers, the revelation of soul shifters to Park Jin, Jang Gang's departure, Jin Mu's accomplishments, the King's Star even.

Everything is about her existence but she doesn't actually exist at all anymore.

#before anyone disagrees she declares naksu dead in ep 5 or something and tell yul the person he knew no longer exists in ep 19 #naksu is dead but the shadow of her hangs over everything #what could have been and what wasn't is mourned in nearly episode #alchemy of souls #also im not saying one life is better than the other but there is always this sense of loss in mudeok that is never forgotten by the story #SHE DESERVED TO LIVE AS HERSELF #Also for me its the tragedy of all of it that makes the show so good #like dont get me wrong im certifiably insane over the romance and would be very happy with the ending offered but even the then the best pa #*the happy ending #is that #she escaped the circle of tragedy shes been trapped in #and has so many people that she loves and cares for now and how those ppl care for her just as much #this post is brought to you by: my mutual and i finally finishing our rewatch

[witchthewriter]

@heffer-wen.

#witchthewriter #witch the writer's moodboards #personal moodboard #personal aesthetic #witchcraft #yellow witchcraft #yellow moodboard #witch moodboard #yellow aesthetic #yellow witchcraft aesthetic #witch the writer #cats #triquetra #sunshine #alchemy #maiden mother crone #aesthetic #moodboard

[dramaism]

Can you see the mark from where you are at? I can definitely see it. But I doubt you will be this up-close with someone often. Just be careful when you kiss someone.

#alchemy of souls #alchemy of souls: light and shadow #alchemy of souls 2 #kdramaedit #kdramadaily #kdrama #kdramagifs #userharumi #tosnimeat #syaring #udeokmis #useryd #mufaloedit #alcofsedit #you know i wanted to post it tomorrow but i’m suddenly scared that we won’t get any more kisses #so posting it tonight #and also i’ll be making other sets #anyway!!!! he told her she should be careful with kisses and he was!! literally!! the only person!! that she let that close!! #flashing tw

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

One of the fascinating trope subversions in Alchemy of Souls is that Jang Uk is a Chosen OneTM, but instead of the usual paths, where he's specially trained, or hidden away for safety, or famous or something, everyone who knows Uk is special is actively trying to hinder his progress.

And not just the bad guys! The good guys too. It's like if every single teacher in Harry Potter was Snape.

His father cripples and abandons him, Park Jin will not let him be trained and actively encourages him to be lazy, and Jin Mu writes him off as useless but also refuses to train him. All the other important mages dislike and refuse to train him (though they don't know the whole truth). Master Lee is the only person in the entire series who knows Jang Uk is the Prophecy King Star Baby and actually helps him.

Now of course, if you try to mess with destiny, destiny messes back. So obviously Jang Uk would find the most terrifying possible trainer, a soul-shifting murderer, who is willing to help him. Which is just perfect because that's tootally what happens narritively when you try to prevent a prophecy, it just finds another way to come to fruition. Everyone is acting like the king and queen in Sleeping Beauty, thinking they can just destroy all the spindles and nothing bad will happen. She will always find a spindle, you fools!

What's just great karma is that they end up with a Chosen One who doesn't believe in their morals at all. Seo Yul is more like what they would want, a person who will sacrifice themselves to save the world, but instead they have Jang Uk, who will burn the world down to save one person. And it's their fault! They made him that way.

Also, how picky to be like, "Well the Prophecy Baby wasn't born in a way that I like so I don't think he should be the Chosen One." Do you people realize you could have all died? And again, Master Lee is there being like, "I don't care how he was born, if you guys got a King Star baby it's because you need one. Ya idiots."

Edit: I meant Sleeping Beauty not Rapunzel 🤦🏼‍♀️

#alchemy of souls #jang uk #chosen one trope #prophecy must be fulfilled by any means possible #nature will find a way #master lee #being the only person with brains #prophecy baby

[fortunatefires]

#It's not even on purpose it just keeps happening #What am I on? #Like my seventh?? #Right now it's alchemy of moonlight #And I'm getting why choose vibes #If it's why choose I'm going to lose my mind #But also there might be Betrayal which I also love #Either way I'm enjoying myself #Will there be smut? Perhaps #We shall see #Bookblr #Booktok #bookworm #Text post #Text #Personal #Alchemy of moonlight #A marvellous light #The secret lives of country gentlemen #Gentlemans guide to vice an virtue #The London seance society #The queer principles of Kit webb #the song of achilles #Granted some of them don't have aspects of magic #Oh wait #venom & vow #So this is ever after #Dude #There's so many #I really should sort my books by era

[soratsuart]

Y'know, I'm watching FMAB for the first time in my life (so no spoilers pls, I'm not done yet) and my favorite thing is how all the openings insist that Envy is, in fact, a good fighter, and then whenever they actually engage in direct confrontation in the show they get absolutely beat up

#full metal alchemist #full metal alchemis brotherhood #fmab #envy fmab #i love them they are pathetic #solid favorite character right there #they're a horrible person #i can't take them seriously #NOT EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE THE SIZE ADVANTAGE COME ONNN #soratsu speaks

[shisasan]

No longer bind to my old confines, metamorphosis moving ahead.

#personal #me #myself #alchemy #my photography #metamorphosis #mine

[vexedallay]

Something that bugs me is how everything Rae does is called science. Like, this man was basically a conspiracy theorist who happened to strike gold with his theory and had a vague notion of scientific method at the start of s1 and at the current point in time he's more of a historian/family drama counselor. The closest he's ever come to science (to my knowledge) is when he was experimenting with the sculk, which probably should've been given to sherb anyways, since they (as an alchemist) are probably the best equipped to handle mysterious substances. Not saying the outcome would've changed but my point stands. The reason Rae is the man everyone goes to with their problems is bc in s1 he was the best equipped to handle the issue, being the one who knew the most abt the end. When we hit s2 stuff, though, the science/research based problems should've gone directly to sherb.

Not to say I don't love with my entire heart what heyhay has done with raes character, but sometimes it feels like everything ic is important for is the problems they have rather than the solutions they can offer, and that hurts my little icarus-obsessed heart

#Rae sure claimed to be the closest thing to a doctor #To Sherbert #The single person who actually understands how healing potions and alchemy as a whole works #It hurts me in the soul #Rae is still amazing though #And I understand why they were written like that #But. #This also comes a bit from my own frustration with different branches of science and types of intelligence being equated #Just because I can do math and physics doesn't mean I'll be good at biology when I haven't taken the class yet #Which is a concept my classmates rarely seem to understand #but anyways #fable smp #icarus morningstar #fablesmpicarus #fable smp rae #rae morningstar

[tansu-bomb]

You know why it took Uk & Yeong so long to figure she’s Naksu? It’s not coz writers wanted to needlessly prolong amnesia plot…

For Yeong: She had a strong inkling for who she really was since the night she comforted him. She deliberately suppressed joining the dots coz 1) she sees how hurt/confused/mad/withdrawn he gets whenever they both realize she has reminded him of the past/of his dead ex. Not only does she wants him to find closure and move on, but she also wants him to like her for who she is without confusion. 2) she finds it impossible to believe in the remotest possibility that she — who loves him to death & who loves him far more than he does — was the one that gravely hurt him both physically and emotionally. She cannot fathom hurting him even slightly, let alone killing him brutally and she cannot fathom loosing him or distancing herself from him. Even before YunOk forces her to face it, from her interactions with Uk, Yul, Kim Doju it is clear that she knows but has just been delaying the inevitable.

For Uk: She once told him “wait for me and I will come to you” and wait he did all these years — hoping against hope that she’ll return to him and when she wasn’t returning to him, he wanted to (die &) go to her. He resists despite & especially coz of all the uncanny similarities that stump him coz it is way too tempting to believe it’s her. 1) He is very aware of what he wishes for (remember how hard his heart beat when he tried to find the blue flowers in her eyes) so he’s doubly wary. Thus, he lets his head prevail even while his heart hopelessly responds to the way she makes him feel coz how in the world could it be her when this woman can see energy and open Jinyowon. If only he knew that two souls can cohabitate a physical form, he’d have long recognized her. 2) Not only this, he’s a soul starved for love/warmth/affection and as guilty as he initially is that he’s extremely drawn to everything about this new woman, and he knows all his confusion is hurting her (and hurting her hurts him) so he struggles but inches forward and attempts to see her for just who she is now.

Above all, the writers ensured there’s enough space to showcase 1) how regardless of how/who they meet as, these two souls will find their way to each other and fall in love for nearly the same reasons — all over again and 2) how one ought to move on and embrace life and love again (Uk’s arc is a perfect foil to Yul’s in this regard).

#the writing may not be what we expected coz the genre/feel of this season is very different from the last season but the writing is good #this season is primarily an indulgence in Uk & Yeong’s relationship and epic love that has transcended physical form and death #naksu #jang uk #cho yeong #alchemy of souls #personal musings

[thegodwhocums]

set the taps today 🍁🥞❄️

#personal #seasonal rhythms #video #local cultus #alchemy #maple sugaring

[existennialmemes]

Please do not speak to me while I am performing the Alchemical Rituals that temporarily transform me into a Person

#shitpost #not a morning person #neurodivergent memes #neurodivergent #shitposting #alchemy #am i talking about weed and coffee? #am i talking about Forbidden Sacraments? #is there really a difference?

[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.

#personally I’m a big fan of tragedy #yes happy ending are nice and to me the story ended in ep19 but not everything has to have a happy ending to be good #basically that nice dichotomy! what is the significance of the distinctions post #anyways have a (possibly controversial) speed analysis brought to you by AVOIDANCE! get yours now for only FREE.99!! #alchemy of souls

[northern-passage]

very interested to know if anyone would ever leave a review like this on a game that had all cishet characters... is that pandering to the "cisgender" narrative? or is it only pandering when it's the "transgenders"? 🤔 what makes it pandering? just because it's for an audience that's not you? because it's for a group of people you don't personally like? what makes you so special that only your stories are the ones you deem worthy of being told?

#and can you tell me what it is about trans people just existing that breaks your immersion? quickly #'i can excuse the demon ghosts from another dimension and glowing yellow eyes and fire magic and blood alchemy #and a god monster speaking in the mc's head. but i draw the line at the transgenders' #funniest review i've gotten in a while #right up there next to the 'this game is lacking representation because there are no femme women that wear makeup' #i also really don't agree that there are 'cliche' trans characters #there arent enough trans characters or storylines that exist in mainstream media for there to be any cliches #beyond like. homophobic& transphobic stereotypes. lol #and whos fault is that i wonder.... #honestly the first half of this review isn't even bad like it's fair criticism but they had to come in w the steel chair #talking about the 'transgender' in quotes #2 b clear 'pandering' is for like disney corporation making shitty movies and introducing their 20th first gay character #not a independent trans creator writing trans characters for a trans audience. lol #personal #transphobia #yeah i'll tag it cus it's annoying lmfao

[dramashii]

You did not visit the cliff where she met her death, did you? See for yourself and then mourn for her. 

The fact that Jang Uk has never been to the cliff where Mu Deok died, for the past 3 years is so sad to me. He probably couldn’t accept the fact that Mu Deok is now gone. By going to the cliff, it means that he's finally trying to face the truth and he’s trying to come into terms with it. 

But he doesn't cry when he's at the cliff. He gets teary-eyed but not a single tear drops.

When he's back at his house, you get to know why he doesn't cry.

He's suppressing his feelings.

By crying-by mourning for her in that cliff, Jang Uk is acknowledging that Mu deok is now gone. But he's just not ready to let go of her just yet.

#alchemy of souls #alchemy of souls season 2: light and shadow #alchemy of souls season 2 #jang uk #mudeok #kdrama #netflix #netflix kdrama #lee jae wook #gif #kdrama gif #he's gaining comfort from the person that he misses the most #they just don't realize it yet #angstttt #k:alchemy of souls

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Jang Uk's life is hilarious:

0-0.01 Normal Baby (lasts like 5 hours)

0.01-19 Extremely weak, will pass out from being cold like some Victorian maiden

19-19.5 Normal-ish magical person

19.5 Dead

19.5-Present Most powerful human on earth (also haunted by ghosts)

#alchemy of souls #jang uk #he got to be normal twice for like 3 months and 5 hours #I say normal-ish magical person because he learned extremely fast and was always the prophecy child #Victorian maidens didnt actually faint all the time its a joke people