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viisator · 2 years

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The Curse of Aphrodite

Tittle: The Curse of Aphrodite

Pairings: Park Sunghoon X F!Reader

Genre: Greek mythology-inspired, Fantasy, unrequited love (angst)

Warning: Character death.

Summary: Park Sunghoon never loved you, but you love him from the skin to bones, you think you have done enough for him to love you back, but unfortunately he loves her more, and you have spent your night crying. So when the thought of making a bargain with the goddess Aphrodite cross your mind, you did not waste any second and go to her temple. There, you made a decision that Park Sunghoon regretted.

Not Proofread

(This fic was born from a fight between me and my mom:)) and it was my fault. But the fic and the fight was not connected okay? Frustration makes me creative lol)

– Can I have a request, please? After/before you read this(thanks for checking this out btw) like or reblog, or both; is really appreciated!! And it will help my blogs reach other ppl too!! Thank you!! Have a good time reading!! –

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There was once a girl who loved someone so much that she did regrettable things. But he could not reciprocate her feelings of her, for they are too deep.

Y/n is the princess of Sparta, and she has lived all of her life getting what she desired. But at the age of eighteen, on her very birthday, when all cities unite at the town of warriors just to celebrate the young girl's special day, someone had taken her wondrous interest. She was drunk with great enchantment and desire, she wanted more of him.

After she had learned that he is a soldier of Athens, she could not help but admire him more. Either then he's handsome, tall, and brave he is also elegant and graceful.

Mountains of gifts and another mountain of gifts are shipped from Sparta to Athens by the princess, and those uncountable amounts of gifts are well addressed to Park Sunghoon. She would not just give him gifts, she also often sneak into Athens just to see him, even if it was just far from his gaze, as long as she can see him. Everyone envies him, but all he can feel is a great annoyance. And so, all the gifts that are sent to him are all returned to Sparta.

After wondering why won't the soldier accept the fortunes of wealth and luxury the princess had sent, she found out he was in love with another different woman. And so, she strolled her way into Aphrodite's temple and made a bargain with her.

"I desire for the man I love to return my feelings and love me like how I love him!" She desperately yelled across the sacred temple, and after a few moments of silence, there, the cold wind blew through her skin, and Aphrodite's voice answered her back.

"Then you shall have the golden primrose and give it to the man you loved, And tell him to accept it, for it is your heart." Said the goddess.

"My heart? But it is just a primrose flower?" She wonders.

"It is your heart. If by midnight after today's and he had denied his love for you, the flower shall die and drift away. So is your heart."

And so, she did what the goddess had told her, and gave Park Sunghoon the golden flower, but once again he denied his love for her, but she was persistent, she'll not leave the boy alone until he finally lost his cool and shouted to the princess.

It was nearly midnight on day two, and Park Sunghoon is drunk in love and about with the girl he liked. And so, Y/n's hope faltered with the wind and left the golden primrose on Sunghoon's bedside table.

After everything Sunghoon was about and had done, he came back to his chamber, and there he saw the faltering petals of the flower, and then, he remembered what the princess had told him and stridden his way to her place.

There he saw her dying on the floor of her room, he could not help but feel heartbroken and regretful.

"My feelings must be reciprocated, for I to still live on," said she through her cut-up breaths. But Park Sunghoon gave her an apologetic smile and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, I could not. I love someone different. I'm so sorry princess." His apology was sincere, he means it. And so, she understood.

Only a few minutes left before midnight. The clock seems like it's ticking too fast in Y/n's ear and so does Sunghoon's.

They stayed still, holding on to each other's hand, while Sunghoon caressed her soft hair.

"I love you." Her breath weakly gets out of her mouth. "I love you so much it hurts." Sunghoon looks at her understandingly.

"I'm sorry that I don't, but you know, you're so kind and sweet that I could have." He remarks. She weakly laughed.

"I should have just met you before she does." She laughed once again, while sweet smiles on her lips, but agony she feels. They both understood, but the timing of their love was bad, just like Aphrodite's bargain. But it cannot be helped.

Until the clock had turned midnight, and so her heart faltered apart in his arms.

Sunghoon's tears are all over his face, dropping through the white sheets of her bed, he hugs her so tightly but she could not feel his warmth. Sunghoon is now full of regrets and he blames himself for not loving you.

He lies you down on your bed gently, and after, he rode his horse and bring himself to Aphrodite's temple and asked for her.

"Please bring Y/n back to life!" Pleaded he.

"No. I shall not." Answered she.

"You had loved her, but you denied her great love, regret is the only price that you deserved. She shall not live for it is the price for her bargain." Said the goddess. But Sunghoon tried to persuade her, but to no luck, he denied her.

Sunghoon came back to your bed chamber, tears rolling down from his eyes, while he caresses your calm emotionless face.

Now his mind round about how it's too late for him to love you back.

Then he puts his lips into yours, but it was no fairytale, you did not wake up.

"I SHALL DIE IF I COULD NO LONGER LIVE WITH HER!" He shouted to the top of his lung, and so, the goddess Athena answered him.

"Then you shall." And so, he lies down with her on the mattress, hugging each other's bodies, loving each other, as if they are just sleeping.

I might rewrite the jungwon and ni-ki ver...It's so cringe....bye

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newtabfics · 1 year

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Ok so now that I’m playing TotK it reminded me of how I used to ship Revali and Princess Zelda. I liked that they both disliked Link and I thought that maybe with Revali, it stemmed from Link getting to be Zelda’s knight and not him. He wanted to spend more time with her and be close to her, protect her.

I’m thinking if it was canon that he most likely had an unrequited crush on her…but for the sake of my ask let’s say they have mutual feelings. Ok now…

For the ask would you be willing to write a scenario of Link being appointed Zelda’s knight and that night Revali comes to her window in the castle (Link isn’t there) and they’re both remorseful that they have to be separated. He’s worried that Link is moving in on her and that he’ll lose her. Take it in either a SFW or NSFW direction if you want (that is, if you’re comfortable writing this), I’m fine with either (I also enjoy a good horny fic, ngl ;D ) But I do love me some angst and this is filled with it.

If it’s NSFW it’s probably because Revali wants to claim her virginity for himself, that way he could always be her first, and in his mind Link doesn’t win

I’ll stop rambling now lol

I just need you to know, you AWOKE a ship in my head I didn't even realize I needed. Had to consult my sister cuz she's a furry and a Revali fan so she directed me to some NSFW Revali art she likes to help me figure out the general biology regarding all this.

I did also take some creative liberties with this and adjusted the timeline for it to kinda sync up with the plot of BOTW.

Btw: you reminded me of my Mipha x Revali ship I had and like, hear me out. AU Of these two trying to help each other get with their real crushes (Mipha x Link, Revali x Zelda) and ya know, shenanigans? Maybe? Idk. I'm rambling. BELOW THE CUT:

Always First. Revali x Zelda Spicy Fic

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Warnings for BOTW Spoilers, I GUESS???? Plus spicy content.

Word Count: >1000

Revali watched the knight return to his own chambers before flying over the castle quietly. He hurried for her room, assured now there would be no disturbances.

Her gasp made him smirk as he quirked his head. She shook her head. “You can’t just do that anymore, Vali,” She sighed softly.

“If you were really angry, you wouldn’t be smiling,” He chirped, making it widen across her face as she quickly wrapped her arms around him. He held her close, nipping at her ear affectionately. “You’re really being restrained ever since you got him beside you,” He muttered angrily.

Zelda sighed, nodding. “It’s…for my training.”

Revali clicked his beak closed, sighing. It wasn’t that he could argue. He had isolated himself for months on end at one point to even begin scratching the surface on how to use his power. Given everything, he supposed he could understand the king’s fear.

“Still, it’s not fair to you to have to go through all this for something you don’t even know you can do.” Her eyes flitted down to their feet, as if he just spoke the one fear she had. Which he had. “Zelda, stop,” He said, using a feather to lift her chin. “You’re smart enough to know we can use our resources to our advantage. After all, you’re head research for those ancient machines.” He smirked as her cheeks flushed a slight. “You didn’t just ask me for help because of my down feathers, right?”

Zelda smiled and kissed the tip of his beak with a nod. “You’re right,” She chuckled softly. There was a long beat of silence before the princess sighed. “What is it?”

“He’s a bit too close for a knight,” The Rito hissed, feathers ruffling a slight in anger just at the thought of the knight.

“He takes his job seriously, Vali,” She said, smiling up at him.

“And what if he takes you?” She blinked at that as he sighed. “I’m not saying he’d do anything without your permission. He’s too much of a good little bird or that.”

Zelda’s lips pursed at the taunting nickname as she remembered her own mother’s nickname for her. “You’re jealous then?” She realized.

At the way he fluttered and stammered at the accusation, she smiled adoringly. When her hand cupped his face, he stopped and relaxed into her touch.

“You’re such a needy Rito,” She teased.

He chuffed and nipped her hand playfully. “I hate this,” he sighed.

The separation for so long had been a bit too much for him. He was joyful when she melted into his touch not long after she’d asked him to be Vah Medoh’s pilot. He was joyful to know that she, the princess of Hyrule, chose him above Hylians.

The king’s orders stopped those late night meetings He had been fine with the system they had in place. Despite her grievances, he asked her to stay by Link, which he was now kicking himself for. He wanted her safe.

Link would take her to a spot and go off once Revali had arrived. Despite all the taunting, Link would just wave and turn his back. He wouldn’t be leaving entirely but he wouldn’t pay them any mind and give them privacy.

But now, the king’s orders even reached the Hebra Region. Many of the Rito sympathized with the princess. He wondered briefly if others had heart of it too.

Though, if they heard that, they must’ve also heard how hard she was working, to a point of utter exhaustion.

“I just don’t want to lose you to some boy,” He sighed.

“You wouldn't," she chuckled. “He’s annoying.”

He laughed at that and guided her to the bed, holding her close as he nuzzled into her. “Even so,” He sighed. “You know the old trope?”

“Hm?” She hummed, blinking at him.

“About the knight and the princess?” He coaxed.

“A…trope?”

“You need to read more,” He teased. “About how the knight does something amazing and the princess can’t help but want to be ravished by him.”

Zelda’s face flushed a bright pink as she playfully pushed him away, making him laugh as he held her closer. “Ew! No. I’m not interested in him at all!”

“Oh? So you only want to be ravished by me?” He joked.

“Yes!” A silence hit and she went a brighter red before hiding her face.

Revali leaned in and nuzzled against her cheek. “Zelda, don’t be scared. You know I will protect you.” He smiled. “I don’t want him stealing you from me.”

“I know a few things he couldn’t take even if I gave it to him,” She muttered, looking up at him.

Revali’s heart fluttered as he watched her before leaning in. The kiss was gentle, full of affection and promise and want. It slowly deepened before he was laying her back into the bed. His beak dug into her hair and lightly nipped near her scalp, making her shiver and smile under him as he carefully helped her strip.

Zelda gulped when he stepped back, seeing the tip of his length peaking out from under his feathers. She knew Rito biology well enough. She didn’t have to be a scholar to know he was aroused by her nudity.

She reached into his feathers, carefully gripping the hardening length. The Rito froze and let her test the waters carefully, stroking him to full hardness. She was surprised when it stood out against his body.

“How did you hide this?” She asked curiously.

His chest swelled with pride at that as he stroked him carefully. “What? Like it?” he teased, making her gulp thickly as she bit her lip. He took her chin into his fingers, pulling her eyes back to his. “At your command, your highness.”

She shivered at that, not entirely sure why that sent a jolt through her body. “You–You’ll need to be in charge. I don’t know…I mean, I understand the logistics…”

He smiled and bent, kissing her. “Want me to take the lead?” She nodded hesitantly, still unsure of herself but knew this was the path she could finally take for herself.

Before long, he was sliding into her, making her hands twitch against his back. He moaned lowly with her, careful not to move to quickly. “Don’t be afraid to pull a few feathers,” He grunted. “I’d like knowing I stopped your brain from working.”

She smiled and cupped his face. “Then stop it.”

#revali x zelda #ask request #revali fic #zelda fic #botw revali #botw zelda #mild angst #botw spoilers #botw smut fic #botw smut #revali smut #zelda smut

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anthurak · 1 year

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Crazed Ramblings about the WLW couple we could have gotten in Gravity Falls (no, not THAT one).

Alright, here’s the fairly unhinged crackpot fanspiracy theory I got after rewatching some of Gravity Falls:

Were it not for the corporate Disney overlords keeping Alex Hirsch and the rest of the Gravity Falls team on a tight leash, then we very possibly would have seen Wendy and Tambry becoming a couple in the episode ‘The Love God’, via love-potion shenanigans on the part of Mabel.

Exhibit A: It is well-known by this point about Hirsch’s efforts to include an elderly lesbian couple just in a brief background appearance, only to have even that shot down. I’d say it’s no stretch to imagine that without the corporate over(lord)sight, Hirsch and the rest of the team would have likely pushed for even more LGBT rep.

Exhibit B: Alex Hirsch has confirmed that Wendy is bisexual. Pretty easy to draw a connection between that and Exhibit A.

Exhibit C: It just makes sense in the narrative context of both the episode and the show as a whole. After the first season showed Wendy’s crumbling relationship with Robbie, it makes sense to follow that up with showing Wendy starting a much better relationship in the second season. In just the previous episode, ‘Blendin’s Game’, it’s shown that Wendy and Tambry are longtime childhood friends. And considering that we don’t see young Robbie interacting with either Wendy or Tambry in this episode, I think it’s easy to imagine a scenario wherein Wendy and Tambry showing up together in ‘Blendin’s Game’ lays a bit of groundwork for their present selves to get together in the following episode.

Additionally, Wendy and Tambry getting together also provides a nice, logical conclusion to Dipper’s whole character arc dealing with his crush on Wendy through the show, something we didn’t actually get otherwise.

Here’s the thing; Dipper never really moves past his crush on Wendy. While they do get a chance to address his crush in ‘Into the Bunker’ where it becomes clear that Wendy obviously does NOT return those feelings, it’s still left a bit open-ended. Going through the rest of the show, it’s clear that Dipper’s crush on Wendy is still very much present even if he’s no longer trying to act on it.

It really feels like we’re missing an episode B-plot which follows up on the conversation from ‘Into the Bunker’ where this whole thread of Dipper’s unrequited crush on Wendy reaches some kind of resolution. That episode made it clear that Dipper’s crush is not going to be returned, but without any follow-up that shows him finding closure to his unrequited feelings. Which in turn makes this whole thread feel a bit unresolved.

To that end, a logical conclusion to this plot thread would be Dipper fully recognizing and moving past his crush on Wendy. And a great way of doing that would be to show Wendy getting together and being happy with someone else and Dipper being able to recognize, accept and support it. Wendy and Tambry getting together in The Love God could have provided that.

Heck, going back to ‘Blendin’s Game’, I think we can even see what could have been a hint to this with Dipper and Mable meeting past-Wendy and Tambry. Sure it’s a funny joke that Mable cracks about how Dipper ‘now knows how Wendy feels’ about his crush on her, but it’s also pretty clear that realization struck a chord in Dipper. Again, consider a scenario wherein this scene with Wendy and Tambry together as kids provides a bit of setup for them becoming a couple in the present. In this case, providing setup for Dipper to finally move past his crush on Wendy.

(Btw, for actual example of this sort of character arc playing out in another show, just look at Finn in the later seasons of Adventure Time in relation to Bubblegum and Marceline.)

With all that in mind, I think it’s easy to imagine a version of ‘The Love God’ wherein Mabel, either deliberately or inadvertently, gets Wendy and Tambry together with a love-potion, and then starts to regret her actions. And Dipper is at first driven to help Mable undo the love potion because he is still nursing that crush on Wendy. But by the end of the episode, Dipper recognizes that Wendy is actually happy with someone else, a long-time childhood friend at that, and he should respect that. Thereby finally letting go of the crush he’s had on Wendy for the whole show. It could even lead to a situation where it’s Dipper who talks Mable out of undoing the love potion.

Also, you may ask ‘What about Robbie?’ To which I say; ‘What about Robbie?’

Seriously, you’re saying the show needed to develop someone who is at best a tertiary supporting character instead of developing a MAIN character? This totally could have been one of Wendy’s big character episodes (something she barely gets any of) and you’d rather it be about the human equivalent of rat poison? Again, in hindsight it just makes way more sense that this episode would be focused on Wendy instead of Robby.

Look, Robbie is fine as a character. But ask yourself: Would you REALLY take a Robbie-focused episode over a WENDY-focused episode?

Now, do I have any actual proof of any of all this?

None whatsoever.

Was this mostly an excuse for me to talk about an underrated ship?

Absolutely XD

#gravity falls #gravity falls theory #crazed ramblings about gravity falls #wendy corduroy #tambry #wenbry #dipper pines #mable pines #robbie valentino #robbie has more character development than wendy #does that seem fair to you?#rambling about an underrated ship

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earl-grey-love · 3 months

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Everyone in the office thinks that Emmett, my mad m. s/i, is in love with Joan. And that's true, since in S1 he spends all his time blatantly admiring her. (And for the rest of the show too). Including Joan, who does think he's lovely. But the thing is, he'd never fit into her ambitions. Major show spoilers btw.

Joan is chasing the "dream". Her idea of success is to get married to a handsome man who can provide for her, so she can leave the work place forever. This is what she wants more than anything. Emmett isn't able to do that for her. And they both know that, so there's no way she would ever choose him. No matter how much they may like each other.

Joan does go on to marry a man who does fit that bill. However, like all aspects of the american dream, it doesn't work out the way she thought it would. Especially not in a decade where society is starting to undergo a drastic change. Despite this, and the slight resentment Emmett has, he supports her through everything.

Meanwhile, he becomes best friends with Ken. They're similar but contrasting in the way Ken shamelessly flirts around while Em seems stuck on unrequited love, but they're both gentle creatives at their core. It's unclear exactly when Em falls in love with Ken, but it's likely sooner rather than later. Once again he fell for someone who won't want him, but he really doesn’t care.

This continues for a painfully long time (like 4 seasons!). It's a stalemate it seems until one day Ken abruptly discovers two things - 1, Em likes men, and 2, that Ken feels jealous of the guy he just saw him kiss. Cue gay panic and confusion. He eventually confronts Em about all of this and the two come to terms with the fact the feelings have been mutual for a very long time. Their exploration of their romantic attraction to each other begins.

Joan is one of the first, and only ones, to learn of this development. Since its the 60s, they go with the whole "roommates" thing as a cover, and cus they've always been close like that it goes unnoticed. Meanwhile, Joanie gets her divorce (and her baby), and she has a conversation with Em about regrets. Namely that she wishes she had chosen him, which causes Em to get angry.

They have an open and honest conversation about their feelings about love and relationships. Joan realizes now that the only way she would be with someone again is if she really loves them, something which she's not sure she's ever experienced. And Em reveals he never cared about relationships or sex either way, and that he's never slept with Ken despite their romantic relationship. Em and Joan are just happy to have each other in their lives, even if their feelings aren't exactly romantic. Em did feel that way for her once, but the years have changed that. They both grew and moved on.

The series ends with Ken and Em supporting Joan in her new business and single motherhood. Em joins her company as creative director, and Ken continues his career as a writer. And they both help Ken adjust to going blind in one eye too.

#Emmett is a cis man btw #but yeah this is sorta how it goes #there's way way way more details and all that but if I wrote all of them we'd both be here all day #sunny speaks #qpr: joanie #ship: creative accounts

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snootysnoots · 2 years

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-To my beloved who will never know they were mine-

-Luca Balsa x Gender-neutral! Reader (pt.5)-Angst editions- -I’m back and since I have exams next week and I haven’t posted btw I’m sorry I’ve been a bit busy, please take me back bbg, so I’m a give you pain or at lest try too. I don’t know if i can actually write angst so this is gonna be an experience baby. -This is before Luca went to the manor.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄♡♥♡▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

♡- I can see Luca not being interested in love actually, at lest not romantic love. He just wanted to do he’s things, so I think his love story would be one-sided & unrequited. Luca is smart but bbg doesn’t understand feelings or he just tries to ignore them. ♡- So if you liked him, brother I pray for you. He isn’t oblivious, he just ignores your romantic advances. It just isn’t what he wants, he is perfectly fine with being friends. Luca might flirt with you here or there but he makes sure to tell you he doesn’t want any romantic relationship. It just not his style. ♡- If you really did love him & tell him, he would distance himself. He can’t let you get in the way of his dreams. He doesn’t have any ill intentions, he just wants to be friends. He’s happy that you feel something for him, grateful even, but just not now. ♡- But I feel like if he did have feelings, he wouldn’t act on it either. He’s a busy guy and he wants you to be treated like royalty but he can’t give you that. He is way too busy. He can’t give you the affection you need. He has a dream he is so close to getting, and he doesn’t want you getting in the way. And not in a negative way either. He loves you wants to always be near you, but he is so close to his dream. Little did he know that he would go to prison but he doesn’t need to know that. ♡- He is definitely that ‘wait for me’ guy, i refuse i believe other wise. Wait for him to achieve he’s goal and he’ll come to you. He will he promises. That promise just has to be pushed back so he can complete he’s dreams. He wants to make sure he is in the right place, so he can give you everything. So he can show how he truly feels... ♡-Of course we all know how this story ends...Luca goes to prison because of murder he killed his hot teacher. The shock you felt when you heard the news. You didn’t believe it, you couldn’t. Then you heard he was to be put on death rows, the tears started to come out. You remember locking yourself in your room and just crying, telling yourself to wake up from this cruel nightmare. Cause you couldn’t believe lady death’s lips would touch his before your own.

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-I hope you enjoyed, this was actually kind of fun to write so who knows maybe I’ll write angst again. Anyways, write to you next time my dear beloved. -I also keep on forgetting where I get my...banner? NO! my borders from, it’s from this lovely place: https://cutekaomoji.com/misc/borders/thick/

#identity v luca x reader #gender neutral reader #luca balsa x reader

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spaceorphan18 · 1 year

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Glee Musical Retrospective : And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Sectionals)

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Sung by: Mercedes Jones Original Artist(s): from Dreamgirls OS

So. Before I dig into this, there are a couple of things I need to mention. The first being something that really irritates me... the show has a tendency to do this to Mercedes. They show case how much she is an amazing, amazing talent -- go out of their way to point out how great a singer she is and that she deserves the spot light as much as Rachel does. Gets to sing this kind of song -- and knock it out of the park. Then they plot it away so that Rachel can still be star of the show.

Amber Riley is a magnificent vocalist, one of the strongest female vocalist on the show, and possibly one of the most impactful. It's a shame that the despite giving her a lot of music to do, never really showcased her character they way she really deserved.

The other thing is that this song is from the Dreamgirls Soundtrack. Amber Riley, after Glee, goes on to star as Effie White on the West End and got an award for it. Dreamgirls will be a reoccurring theme with her character, and it seems fitting in retrospect.

Also there's a hilarious beat where Rachel calls her a balladeer and Mercedes is like 'wtf' to Matt of all people, who has no idea either. It's so random an the expressions are hilarious. I'd be remiss if I didn't point it out.

Alright, on with the show...

Story Analysis

The thing about this song is that it's about unrequited or lost love. Mercedes is using it more as a statement. You can't take away her self worth or the depth of her talent because she will throw it right back into your face. She really goes there with the emotion of the song -- and uses it as a proclamation that she won't back down to Rachel's challenge.

Tear down the mountain Yell scream and shout You can say what you want I'm not walking out Stomp on the rivers Push, strike and kill I'm not gonna leave you, There's no way I will

I think the second half of the song is more indicative to Mercedes's story -- it's another one of those moments where she declares that you can push me around all you want -- but I'm not backing down from the fight, and I'm still going to come out on top no matter what.

I'm stayin' I'm stayin' And you and you and you You're gonna love me

This is probably one of my favorite musical moments on the show. I love that this moment (when she sings this) is Mercedes standing her ground. And basically telling her classmates (and the audience, and the world) that you're going to see how talented I am - and cheer me on for it. It's so, so good.

Technical Analysis

So - first I want to point out that Amber Riley sang it live, but then - for a cleaner version - they used the studio version. I really wish we could have heard the live version, I'm so fascinated by that. Anyway, one (tiny) drawback is that you can tell this is lip synced. I get why they did it - but it throws me just a little bit during the performance.

That said... Mercedes's performance is pretty flawless. She's got that raw grit and emotion that really sells it very quickly. The thing I love about Mercedes's solos is that she feels them so deeply and with her whole body. She gives the performance an incredibly captivating energy, which is why everyone gets so drawn in by it.

If I had to guess - I'd say that the reaction shots were probably genuine -- the kids were probably allowed to react honestly as they watched their friend Amber just kill the song. (Of course - the one exception being Rachel, who has to be in character so that she can be humbled by the performance.)

Glee Live

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This is Amber Riley performing at the Olivier Awards (for which she one for Best Actress, btw). The thing that's incredible to me -- Riley at the beginning of Glee is mega talented, but very raw. This performance shows how much she's grown as an artist. It's a more polished and nuanced version of the one she did on Glee, and it's remarkable how much she's built on that great foundation. I have nothing but gushing things to say.

vs. The Studio Version : It's the full version - and you can hear the instrumentation clearer in this one. (The mix is more balanced.) I can understand why they pulled away from the accompaniment in the show -- so that Mercedes's voice could be more the focal point.

vs. The Original Version : And here's Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie White on Broadway. The first thing I want to point out is the fact that Glee updated the arrangement. This particular recording (and I assume it's based on the original Broadway production) has much more synth accompaniment, which dates to that late 70s/early 80s feel.

Jennifer Holliday is an amazing talent. You can see where Mercedes gets her influence -- Mercedes (and Amber Riley) definitely takes inspiration from Holliday's performance and style.

#the great glee rewatch #so's musical retrospective #glee #glee music #Youtube

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uselessheretic · 2 years

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i like… don’t think ed and izzy’s relationship is abusive. mostly because i don’t think they were ever actually in a romantic/sexual relationship and assume that for the most part whatever work spouses dynamic they have going on was unspoken. idk what they got going on but it’s definitely toxic and it’s not without intense emotions on both sides, but i wouldn’t say that what we see on screen for the majority of the show would be classified as an abusive relationships. mostly it’s an HR violation lol.

that and i think we’re fully seeing the actual catalyst and undoing of their relationship. the way izzy and ed behave towards each other in episode 10 is not the same way they were in episode 4. what’s happening currently is unprecedented for both of them where the series has been a gradual escalation, especially from izzy. by which i mean… i think ed and izzy are both toxic but honestly i don’t think they started that way lmao like i think izzy was the more normal one ep 4. he just ramps up more and more throughout the series as he tries to keep his dying relationship with ed going until eventually ed's like "okay bet" and wins the most toxic boss award again. but god, man’s really said “i can make us both worse.” i mean, he was gonna leave in ep 4. whether that was him being dramatic or something they’ve done a million times before (which i can see them having tiffs with each other before but i assume that ep 4’s argument was the worst one they’ve had so far) we do see izzy set boundaries where he’s willing to leave if ed won’t adhere to them. WHICH IS A GOOD THING BTW it’s absolutely insane to me that people act like izzy should follow ed’s every order without question like they need HR in there nowwwww

so i don’t think their relationship is abusive. i think it’s an example of your home life and work life becoming way too closely entwined where you’re working with a dynamic of boss/subordinate while also facilitating a much more personal relationship that’s likely also has (questionably) unrequited romantic feelings attached to it. their dynamic is of an overworked employee (this is a workplace comedy after all) i mean the way ed gets him to stay is literally by offering him a fucking promotion lmao. this just… goes super off the fucking rails when the toxic and tentative balance of this gets upset by the introduction of stede focking bonnet and they’re forced to deal with the fall out of it (and really fucking suck at it) until it comes to its explosive conclusion and changes into something new and not yet defined (snipsnip)

that said… it’s wild to me that people insist izzy would be the abuser within this because if for some reason izzy and ed decided to be in a romantic relationship the way they are currently, what was previously toxic would rapidly come into question and the way their power dynamic is set up makes it so that their relationship would be extremely susceptible to becoming an abusive one. it for damn sure is not with izzy as the abuser tho lmao. that doesn’t mean ed is an abuser, like this is speculation of a romantic relationship that doesn’t exist, but the two are not a good match. they make each other worse and i really cannot imagine a more explosive and volatile pairing for the other. (this is absolutely not ship hate btw i’m obsessed with them both and am a big steddyhands proponet as an option that does have potential to be very normal and more or less healthy for each other. also ed/izzy is fun!)

but just like... it is weird and creepy when people paint izzy as an abuser to ed and does so at the expense of excusing ed's violent actions against izzy, while also making an argument that izzy invited that violence onto himself. like making fun of someone for getting dumped doesn't justify permanently maiming them???? this isn't framed as muppet humor either, the show takes it seriously where we are supposed to be afraid of ed in the moment. it's not slapstick.

but whatever my point is ed and izzy are not in an abusive relationship imo because they're just... not in a relationship. if they did date though (god knows why) their dynamic is extremely susceptible to abuse and it's not one with izzy coming out in top.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #i guess

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bookofmirth · 2 years

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please share your stranger things thoughts i’m curious 👀

okay but I am not going to tag this because I don't want people yelling at me! I am disagreeing with posts that have 5k+ notes so... I will put everything under the cut and still tag it as spoilers.

Fair warning! Stranger Things 4 spoilers below.

(Sorry it got long-ish, I have a lot of thoughts. I liked the season overall, btw. I know a lot of people are pissed about how it went but I'm not!)

The second - the second - that Mike told El he loves her, I was like oh shit. Here we go. That fandom collectively just imploded.

While I understand why people ship it - why wouldn't we want Will to get everything he's ever wanted? - I never thought it would actually happen because I saw no hints at all that Mike is queer.

I didn't feel either way about it happening, for context. If Mike/Will happened great, if not great. I'm not super attached to... probably any of the ships at this point, other than lumax. I've never really cared about Mike/El, at this point breaking up Nancy and Steve in season two feels like a mistake they are now trying to fix, I guess Joyce/Hopper is alright. My point is that I had no horse in this race.

Is Will queer? Obviously, and idk why people are mad that he didn't come out. Like what would that even look like? This is 1983-1986, remember. What community does Will have, as a queer person? What role models in his immediate, personal life? How do people around him talk about queerness? (A friend pointed out that they were also in the middle of the AIDS panic, which would have a major influence on how Will sees his own queerness, if he could even define it or label it in the first place!) I understand that there are fantastical elements to this story, obviously, but they are still living in our world, in our 1986.

It's super easy for people on tumblr to be like "just come out, just say you're gay!" but we have basically this whole website as support to do that, we can find communities online. When Robin "came out" she didn't actually say anything either? She just said "Steve" and gave him A Look until he figured it out. Call me crazy but these two characters can exist being queer without wearing their "I'm gay, ask me how" buttons to work/class every day.

So yeah I personally don't think there was any queerbaiting because, as a bisexual who has watched this show since the beginning and probably rewatches once a year, I am satisfied that Will is indeed queer and Mike is not and Robin is. I don't need a ship to happen, I guess, I just need the queer characters to actually be queer, and I think that Jonathan's talk with Will in the pizza place set that up perfectly to happen in the final season! Because now Will knows 100% that he can live his life, figure out who he is, and perhaps find someone to be with who is not his straight best friend. I don't think that anyone is arguing that Will isn't queer. (I keep using "queer" instead of "gay" because I did lowkey think he was aro/ace for a while, and he hasn't put a label on it. He's probably gay because that was some serious unrequited pining, but anyway.) We know he is! So are people mad that he and Mike aren't happening? Because ships aren't a guarantee. That particular ship not happening is not queerbaiting. It also reminds me of e*riels sorryyyyy I had to say it, it's just another example of making mountains out of molehills!

Like I said above, Will is obviously queer, and they have set him up to live his best queer life in the last season. I don't feel "baited" in the slightest.

(Side note, I don't pay attention really to interviews or articles or whatever is said outside the show itself. Much like any interview or event with Sarah J Maas, I don't rely on that event to tell me things that the show/book hasn't already told me.)

Now, Eddie. His death was sad, I cried both times (because I've watched the episode twice haha) but it did make sense, to me. He felt guilt for having left Chrissy behind, though obviously he couldn't have done anything about that. He couldn't have saved her, but like Max's guilt over Billy, that doesn't make him feel any better about how he responded to the situation. His death was not pointless? When he and Dustin went back to Hawkins, they would have ceased being a distraction for the bats. The second they leave, the bats would go back to the murder house, where Steve, Nancy, and Robin were trying to kill Vecna's body. They were supposed to be a distraction for a reason, they weren't just on a field trip to the Upside Down. So Eddie stopped, realized he was running again, and that doing so would actually in this case have been leaving other people in a lurch. (Now that I am writing this, I wonder if Steve had an influence on Eddie's decision to stay and fight. Something to think about.)

One more thing, but I also don't care that Vickie was kissing her boyfriend? The girl could be bi! Bisexuals exist y'all, and the fact that people are annoyed that a potentially bisexual woman was kissing her boyfriend,,,,... it just grosses me out tbh. Is Rickie their ship name, btw? So yeah, bisexual Molly Ringwald is gonna hopefully be a great girlfriend for Robin.

idk, some of the criticism I've seen just doesn't totally make sense when we still have another season coming. And when, like with Will, I feel like these things are going to continue/be resolved. I was watching something a while back and Oliver Stone was talking about the movie Wall Street, and how being a director means knowing that the viewer is absolutely going to misunderstand your intentions. I think there is a lot of that going on right now.

I liked this season. Some of the memes making fun of it had made me laugh. I'm not trying to be an active member of the fandom, I just have a lot of thoughts. (If this somehow gets outside of my usual fandom/followers, just FYI that I don't hesitate to block a bitch.)

#spoilers #ask #anon #SPOILER FILLED #sorry if the cut doesn't work for people #when you have things to say #but do not want to be perceived

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whentheynameyoujoy · 2 years

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i really enjoy your takes on hotd and i was curious to hear your opinion on daemon and rhaenyra and their dynamic

Now that the season’s over I finally know what I think and can answer this.

TLDR, it’s not for me. I’m meh about the ship in the book, it held some promise in the show which got resolved in the final episode, and by that point I didn’t even care all that much because fandom morphed Daemon into this adoring malewife servant to his girlbossyasqueen which is a) so OOC, and b) so flat and boring.

Spoilers for HOTD and mild spoilers for Fire and Blood below the cut.

So the reason why I’m not into the ship in the book is twofold. One, the way it develops or rather concludes. And two, the most charitable argument for the relationship being genuine is that Rhaenyra’s got a major case of unrequited love. The book just doesn’t give me much to work with.

For a while, the show!ship kept my interest because it danced around the question, “Just how far will Daemon go in hurting the people around him to advance himself?” This season showed him as an unscrupulous man who pulls some extreme stunts but stops short of going 100% in opposition against his blood relatives. He’s an entitled baby-man lashing out and wanting to elicit a response, not a calculated schemer working towards a goal. There’s this conflict in him in that he desires the status, unchecked power, and adulation that comes with being the heir and to be genuinely loved by those closest to him but he refuses to give up one for the other and as a result ends up without either. This btw parallels Rhaenyra who also isn’t suited for the restrictive position of the heir or the queen but clings to it as a proof that the father who neglected her for 14 years might care after all, and as a result waltzes from one fuck-up to another.

Applied to Rhaenyra, the question then becomes, “Well does Daemon have feelings for her, or does he see her as his meal ticket?”

I mean, “character uses another character to his own ends, catches fee-fees in the process, hilarity ensues,” is a pretty big trope for a reason, and the night out on the town illustrates this tension rather well. No matter if his motivation was to remove Rhaenyra as the heir, or simply make himself a pest to Viserys again, there’s no denying that his actions were designed to damage Rhaenyra, first by destroying her confidence and then ruining her reputation. The interesting thing about this is that he eventually stops, too late to prevent the scandal, yes, but soon enough not to irreparably hurt Rhaenyra’s feelings by pumping and dumping her. He may taunt Viserys that it’s better for Rhaenyra to punch her V card with him but when push came to shove his dick went on strike he didn’t actually think so.

So the solution to his ostracizing changes from “remove Rhaenyra from succession” to “marry Rhaenyra”. And for a while it works. He’s got it made, there’s no tension anymore—Rhaenyra adores him and he will end up king consort. There’s no need for him to choose between love and the ultimate status. But you as the viewer still can’t be sure what the exact nature of his feelings for Rhaenyra is, precisely because he doesn’t have to choose.

And then in the final episode he does. When confronted with the choice between prioritizing his wife’s wellbeing and respecting her complicated views about her inheritance, or pursuing his own advancement, he picks the latter, twice. If he feels something for Rhaenyra, those feelings play a second fiddle to the Iron Throne.

And that circles right back to why I didn’t care for the ship in the book. It’s one-sided and the show’s keeping it that way.

#ask #anti daemyra #not really #just don't wanna be putting this into the ship tag

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cyrassol · 11 months

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man i haven't been on tumblr for so long i forgot how this goes, but uhhh here ig??

18+ only, s'il-vous-plaît

i realise this won't stop any minors who really want to be here, but a) please, b) you'll be blocked if i find out or suspect you're underage, and c) if you really want to see sex-related stuff then you should be learning about safe and consensual sex and, let me tell you, DoL and its fandom ain't the place for it my dude

and with that out of the way

hi! i'm cyra, you may use any pronouns but she/her usually works!

i am in my mid-20's, a funny little tidbit that surprises me everytime i remember

artist, despite what my shitty lighting and shading skills may tell you

sometimes, SOMETIMES, i also write

(psst if you want to see anything in particular relating to those things, feel free to send requests, ask box is open)

i am. terrible. TERRIBLE. at DMs. if you send me a message and i never reply or even read (does tumblr give read receipts?), know that it is not about you personally! i just get crazy anxious about text messages in general, so if you want to talk to me please send an ask or tag me in a post instead :) i understand it isn't the same (which is why i prefer it lmao) but it has a much, MUCH higher chance of being seen and replied to!

gdi i keep editing this post and adding shit to it but! i typically only tag characters and my stuff, but if you want me to start tagging specific topics/triggers then all you gotta do is ask me to and i will :)

welcome to my DoL blog! i can also be found on reddit with the same username as here :)

for the curious, info about my PCs are under the cut!

••••••••••••••••

Arden, my main PC. Genderfluid, but she/her is what she uses the most out of convenience. Official sources of income are her dates with Avery and modelling for Niki, but most nights there's also a shadowed figure breaking into Danube street mansions—oh, you've seen it? No, you haven't—and on Fridays you might see a masked figure go into the brothel for a weekly private show. Love interest is Avery, though both have the mindset that theirs is mostly a transactional relationship. Arden's also down bad for Wren, but for now it seems to be unrequited.

Monroe, my baby secondary PC. Herm/intersex, but although he does occasionally dabble in crossdressing for work, he goes exclusively by he/him and masculine terms. Sex worker, and pretty sought-after, too—Briar would lose quite a lot of money if Monroe stopped showing up one day. Unfortunately, it's come at the cost of his reputation, something he's already being blackmailed for. Love interests are Sydney and Whitney, though both relationships are something Monroe entered into extremely reluctantly given his current circumstances (and also because Whitney is... Whitney).

Adeline, my "forsake civilisation, return to nature" PC lmao. Cis woman with the wolf transformation, which she definitely did not get through the mushroom route. Plantpeople enthusiast, but her true love will always be the wolf pack and its leader. She did get kidnapped by Eden once after she got lost in the woods during a hunt and, while she escaped, sometimes Addie finds herself thinking about the hunter with curiosity—after all, didn't she also fight the Black Wolf at first before knowing better? Maybe the hunter isn't so bad either. Probably the only one of my PCs who'll become a parent.

Vincent, my final PC (for now?). Cis man with a huge everything—huge heart, huge muscles, huge... dick. Gentle giant, it's a wonder he ever escaped Remy's farm—probably an accident tbh, must have fallen into the river or something because this man was as well-behaved as they come. Nowadays his mind is pretty much healed from whatever weird trance he'd been in back then, but despite how happy he is with Alex and the farm, sometimes he remembers his days at Remy's with longing—Vince doesn't let himself wonder if it's the place or its owner that he misses, though.

All my PCs are in their 20's, btw! They also all exist at the same time, maybe one day I'll make a post with all their connections to each other and other NPCs :) It'll be... a mess lmao

#info

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shunshuntaiga · 1 year

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angst anon back with a Concept ™

btw sorry sorry sorry for clogging your askbox feel free to tell me to stop i won't mind

ok, so... what about.. hear me out!... spadeliano hanahaki au 👀 it could go either way because honestly they're both emotionally constipated enough to almost die from all the unrequited (in their head) love.

I will be extremely honest anon, though I have heard the word, i have absolutely no clue what Hanahaki au's are XD i can presume from your ask that it's something to do with loving someone so much it kills you? But other than that, not the foggiest.

However, they are both so emotionally constipated that if that's the case, yes I could see that being fun. Although after my last fantasy type au (I did a soulmates au) I am a little intimidated by going with canon world breaking au's. Hats off to anyone who can write those because man, I STRUGGLED with it.

#i have to go google hanahaki now #aus like soulmates or mythical creatures or vampires are interesting but dang theyre actually so hard to write #perhaps theyre hard to write because i dont read them often? who knows

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tsunderedoctor · 2 years

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Hii could i maybe request Luffy, Law, Zoro and whoever else with an S/O sort of like Kanao from demon slayer ? Like they have issues making decisions and living for themselves and how they would help them with that? (i love ur writing btw >.<)

Thank you so much, love!! And I feel that on a spiritual level lol! I only did these three, I hope that’s okay. I love you!! ❤️

Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy will personally find this annoying at first. He can be a brat sometimes and has no problem letting people know how he feels. So having someone who doesn’t know what they want and needs someone to tell them, grinds his gears.

If he was asked to help however, he would be happy that they want to start living for themselves!

He’s a man who lives on instincts, so if you want to do the same, he will tell you to do the first thing that comes to your mind and just do it! Whatever it is, as long as you don’t hurt yourself or friends, it’s fine!

If you try to fall back, he will become pouty and let you know right away you’re falling back to your own ways.

He likes the you that wants to live for yourself! He finds it way more fun and interesting, seeing you learning your likes and dislikes, it makes him want to learn too!

Trafalgar D. Water Law

Law doesn’t mind that you don’t want to live for yourself, he doesn’t either, man once lived for his crew and lived once more to kill Doflamingo, he gets it.

However, he also sees an issue in this, if you try to do something dangerous, since you don’t particularly care if you die, this could put you at risk and you’re someone he doesn’t want to lose.

Will learn this is extremely stressful for his wellbeing and you need to be stopped. Has no problem leashing you if needed, will “room” you off the battlefield if you’re too injured or has the crew watch your back and pull you away when needed.

If you want to change these beliefs he will be happy, but isn’t the best person to go to for help on that, man still lives his life on the edge. I could see the crew trying to help you out, but they live for Law, so it’s hard for sure. If you want to live for Law, expect this man to stress more (actually he might throw up-).

He wants you to live your life for you, but still expect you to let him live his life for whatever motive he has at the moment. Law can be logical, but he’s also still a traumatized 10 year old on the inside.

Roronoa Zoro

Okay, Zoro is the king for not living for himself!! Man lives for Luffy, if romance was a huge thing in One Piece, Zoro would have an unrequited love for Luffy.

Back on subject, he would totally be fine if you also don’t have anything to live for, because he didn’t for so long! However, will become a hypocrite when your life is in danger. Kuina lives in his mind, and this will be more difficult if you’re female or share similar traits as her.

Will rant to you about the importance of not fighting something you can’t beat, when you give him the same rant, he’ll only state he can beat the enemies he fights and it’s fine.

Always makes sure your wounds get tended for if you continue to go through with fighting stronger opponents. Will also complain the whole time he is wrapping your wound.

If you decide to want to change, he might be a bit different, for him this is you telling him he should change his ways. So if he praises you it would be him feeling the need to change. Do you see why Zoro gets distant?? He’s like the woman with the math equation memes, he’s confused.

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jjacob · 3 years

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all i want for christmas is you

❝ the school had started to take notice of you. lee juyeon, however, had always noticed. ❞

PAIRING ▸ lee juyeon x fem!reader (ft. best friend!lee minho)

GENRES ▸ fluff, high school au, sports au, best friends to lovers au

WARNINGS ▸ mild profanity but !! lots of !! fluff !!

SUMMARY ▸ the bet was simple: find a date to the winter ball. the only problem was that juyeon didn’t want just any girl. he wanted you.

PLAYLIST ▸ all i want for christmas is you by mariah carey

WORD COUNT ▸ 5055 words

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ merry christmas! this is a gift for addy @honeyju the biggest juyeon simp ik !! ily addy i am excited/scared/not emotionally ready to read the minho one which ! btw y’all should read here bc our stories are loosely connected! also disclaimer: i know jack shit ab football but i tried

LEE JUYEON TENDED TO REGRET HALF THE THINGS HE SAID SOMETIMES.

In eighth grade, Juyeon’s sense of humor was largely self-deprecating and consisted of saying he wanted to die at the slightest inconvenience. But, with his spectacular timing, he let the joke slip in front of a teacher once and froze up upon seeing her concerned expression. Juyeon later received a note from the counselor’s office and had to convince them that he was perfectly fine.

In tenth grade, Juyeon had grown past his phase of dark humor and moved onto high school football. He made the cut for the team the previous year, and managed to make it on the varsity team by the time he was a sophomore. In the beginning of the season, they asked who wanted to be captain the next year, and Juyeon boldly declared that he did. Thus, he was ridiculed and sentenced to pick up balls and clean up the gym after every practice from then on.

Now, as a high school junior in the varsity football team, Juyeon had screwed himself over by making a stupid bet with his best friend, Lee Minho.

Lee Minho was, in short, a conniving bastard. Juyeon never should have trusted him and gone along with his antics. The mere thought of what he had gotten himself into was enough to send his heart into overdrive.

The bet sounded simple enough: find a date to the Winter Ball.

Of course, it was easier said than done, but Juyeon was a star athlete and had girls sliding in his DMs left and right. He could easily find a date if he wanted to, and, honestly, Juyeon only needed to send a few texts and he would probably be secured for the dance. The problem was, however, that Juyeon only wanted you.

Minho was well aware of Juyeon’s pitiful, unrequited love towards you. It was probably the reason he suggested the bet; his best friend either wanted to see him miserable or see him score a chance with you. Either way, Juyeon wasn’t sure his heart was ready to shoot his shot.

Juyeon had crushed on you ever since you sat next to him in the seventh grade and let him borrow your pencil. It was such a silly start to his admiration for you, but his feelings grew stronger when the both of you actually became friends. You were so bright when you laughed, so sweet when you spoke, and so adorable when you smiled. Juyeon had never felt this way about anyone else and always got butterflies when he saw you. Juyeon was never one to chase after girls but he would find himself constantly thinking about what you were up to and having several internal dilemmas over whether he should ask you to hang out or not.

Five years later and Juyeon still harbored feelings for you. Now, they had matured into something deeper, but you still racked his brain nevertheless. It didn’t help that you had a major glow-up in high school and were probably the most beautiful person Juyeon had ever seen.

The school started to take notice of you.

Juyeon, on the other hand, had always noticed.

“Are you sure we can finish a medium before practice?” Minho asked Juyeon, setting a box of pizza on the table in front of him. “Also, I saw Y/N by the gym earlier.”

Juyeon perked up. “Y/N?”

“Yeah,” Minho replied, grabbing a slice of pepperoni pizza for himself. “You know what day it is, right?”

Minho took a bite out of his pizza, observing Juyeon with a raised brow. His best friend was on the baseball team but treating themselves to pizza had become a monthly ritual. Despite being on different teams, he was closer to Minho than his football teammates.

“Thursday?”

“And that means?”

Right.

Juyeon had formulated an elaborate plan to ask you out during the football game today, but, of course, it all depended on whether their team won or not. It would have been kind of ridiculous to propose after a loss. On the bright side, he knew he could count on the fact that you’d actually be present considering you were a cheerleader.

But what if you already had a date? You surely hadn’t mentioned it to him or posted about it on social media, so he was riding on an assumption that you haven’t been asked. That was bizarre to Juyeon, though, because you were the prettiest person he had ever seen. However, it was true that you were gradually getting popular, and that made Juyeon a touch nervous.

“I ask her out tomorrow,” Juyeon breathed out. “Am I ready for this?”

Minho scoffed lightly. “Are you ever?”

Juyeon frowned at his best friend, scrunching up his nose at his distasteful comment. “What about you? Have you gotten a date?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Juyeon sighed. That was probably all he would get out of Lee Minho today. Once Minho set his mind on something, he carried it out diligently until the end. Juyeon honestly had no idea who he wanted to bring since Minho didn’t like talking about girls he was interested in, but he supposed it wasn’t that big of a deal as long as his best friend was happy.

It wasn’t like Juyeon was never going to hear about his friend’s endeavors. After all, he did pick up on Minho’s slow descent from an apathetic individual to a whipped ball of fluff. If Juyeon mentioned that to his best friend, however, he would probably be ridiculed for consistently being whipped for you since the seventh grade.

Juyeon nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of his ringer going off. He scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket, ignoring Minho’s teasing smirk at the sight of his frazzled self.

y/n: hey :) i’m gonna drop off some gingerbread cookies my mom made after practice so lmk when i can come over

Juyeon must have saved a country in a past life for this kind of luck.

juyeon: i love your mom’s cookies. you can come over whenever you’d like

y/n: how about we walk home together after practice?

juyeon: sounds good to me

Now, the pizza was starting to make his mouth water, but if you were walking home with him, Juyeon was ready to drop it and run to see you even though he loved pizza. But Juyeon loved you more than he loved pizza, and he believed that was true love.

“She made me cookies,” Juyeon announced.

“She made you cookies,” Minho repeated, leaning forward in surprise.

“Well, her mom did, but yeah.”

Minho turned his attention back to his pizza. “So this is about your mommy kink again.”

“I don’t have a fucking mommy—why would you say that?” Juyeon cried out, kicking his friend’s shin under the table.

“You don’t? Last time I checked, she was making dinner in the kitchen when I came over yesterday.”

“I’m talking about the kink!”

Yet, even a silly back-and-forth with Minho couldn’t get Juyeon down from his high over you. He was still processing the fact that you were going to walk home with him and, if Juyeon played his cards right, maybe he could get a feel of how comfortable you would be if he asked you out during the game tomorrow.

Minho snickered. “You look happy.”

Juyeon couldn’t even mask his lovesick smile and flushed cheeks. He folded his arms on the table in front of him and buried his face in them, his head spinning at the thought of you.

“Shut up, Minho.”

The only problem with you being on the cheerleading team was that you were extremely distracting.

Juyeon was the star quarterback and frankly, it was kind of pathetic that the one thing that kicked him in the ass was seeing you in the knee socks and pom-poms. It didn’t help that you were a flyer so Juyeon’s stomach pitted with anxiety whenever he saw you being thrown up and whenever he heard a scream coming from the direction of the cheerleaders.

Today was different, though. Juyeon could care less about the screams and falls from the corner of the field. All he could think about was you and how he was going to ask you out. If his plan was going to work, it was going to draw a lot of attention and be quite embarrassing if it failed.

All of his confidence got knocked down with a single sweep when he saw someone asked you to the dance.

One of the cheerleaders broke into a fit of giggles at the sight, clasping a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god!”

You were frozen stiff, an awkward smile on your face as the guy walked onto the field with a sign and about a dozen roses. Juyeon could feel his heart sinking to the ground with each step the guy took, with each second his smile grew brighter.

“Is he seriously confessing during practice?” Sohn Youngjae asked, brows furrowed as he rested his arm on Juyeon’s shoulder. “That’s real brave.”

“What’s his deal doing it here? He isn’t even on the team,” Juyeon said, coming off more bitter than he had expected.

Younghoon scoffed. “It’s a bold move. He must be confident that Y/N’s going to say yes.”

Juyeon squared his shoulders. He was conflicted with the swell of anger and deflation of you possibly being taken, but nevertheless, all he could do was watch helplessly as you were being asked out. From where they were on the field, Juyeon couldn’t hear much, but he could see your reactions quite well. The wolf-whistles and cheers were pissing him off, but he was fixed on you.

He turned to look towards Minho, who was practicing on the field adjacent to theirs. His best friend met his gaze immediately like they had some form of exclusive telepathic communication. Minho nodded towards you and raised a brow, as if nudging Juyeon to go interrupt them. That, however, was something he was far too cowardly to bring himself to do.

Your voice resounded clearer than Juyeon had expected.

“I’m really sorry,” you apologized sincerely, ducking your head and keeping your hands entwined behind you. “I’m not interested, but I do appreciate the gesture.”

Juyeon felt a weight lift off of his chest. He wasn’t sure if he should’ve felt relieved that you shot him down or nervous that you rejected an attractive, confident guy who clearly liked you. However, he soon had no time to mull over that when the guy’s reaction was getting more aggressive than crestfallen.

“Y/N, I asked you out in front of all these people,” he said with a distasteful laugh. “Are you seriously rejecting me right now?”

“Sorry, I just don’t want to go with you,” you replied firmly, voice dropping as you became more conscious of your surroundings. “I’m sorry it had to be public but you didn’t really give me a choice.”

For a split second, Juyeon wondered how he could still hear you when you were practically muttering at this point, and then he realized that he started walking to you without even realizing. His feet carried him unknowingly, hand balled at his side and eyes stony and trained on the guy.

“You could’ve just accepted it and told me later that you didn’t want to go with me,” he said with a scoff. “It’s like you enjoy humiliating others publicly.”

Your teammates rushed forward to argue and fend him off while you opened your mouth to protest, but Juyeon was faster, moving in front of you so he was head-to-head with the guy.

“She said she’s not interested,” he said with a threatening undertone, wondering where he managed to muster up the courage to be this assertive.

You were visibly shocked by Juyeon’s actions, and he couldn’t even blame you because he was equally just as surprised as you were. Yet, all he could do was glare daggers down at the other guy with steely eyes and frown until he backed off.

“Thanks,” you said softly once the guy had left.

Juyeon was flustered by all the girls giggling behind you but was amazed by how cool and collected you remained despite that. He turned to you, eyes softening and shoulders relaxing. He knew he was getting an earful about this from his teammates after practice and most definitely from Minho as well.

“No problem,” Juyeon replied, cheeks red. “He was bothering you. I couldn’t just ignore it.”

“That was really sweet of you, Juyeon.” You bit back a smile and suggested, “Meet you at the front gates after practice?”

“See you then.”

Even though Juyeon could’ve spent the rest of practice talking to you, he sprinted back as fast as he could because his cheeks were only getting redder as the cheerleaders gushed about what he did for you. He could hear their gossip and whispering even as he was running back to his team. Juyeon was positive he wouldn’t escape the embarrassment, though, because Lee Jaehyun was smirking at him when he got back.

“You’re blushing, dude.”

Juyeon shoved him.

There was a universal law that was newly decreed. It read: Lee Minho shall never text, call, or speak to Lee Juyeon whenever Y/N was around.

The reason for that being the fact that Juyeon was easily embarrassed and Minho’s texts were not helping his case. He felt it was rude enough to check his phone while he was walking with you, but every time he saw a notification flash, his eyes widened with sheer distress over Minho’s texts.

minho: like three people asked me if you and y/n are fucking bc of what you pulled during practice today

minho: wait are y’all fucking and just not telling me

minho: i knew it was sus that she was coming over to your house

juyeon: fake news!! stop making me feel shy :(

Juyeon decided he had enough Lee Minho for today and turned off his phone.

“That was honestly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen you do,” you gushed to Juyeon as you walked home with him, fingers looped around the straps of your backpack. “Way cooler than you punting footballs.”

“No need to flatter me,” Juyeon replied coolly but his shy smile and red-tipped ears said otherwise. “That guy was being unnecessarily aggressive.”

“His proposal was out of nowhere!” you exclaimed. “I don’t get what he expected me to do.”

Juyeon smiled through the pain. Lord, give me strength, he prayed to whatever divine power was out there.

“Are you not interested in having a date to the dance then?” Juyeon asked, looking down at you curiously.

You paused for a moment and Juyeon thought his heart would stop in anticipation for your answer. Come to think of it, he had never seen you go to a school dance with a date before. You were always with your friend group. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see you stick with them, but Juyeon was hoping he could change that.

“Well,” you started, “if the right person asked me then I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Juyeon couldn’t exactly read your smile but it made him want to faint. The rest of the walk back home was spent talking about school and football, but Juyeon couldn’t get your answer to his question out of his head. He even walked past his house because his head was so full of you, resulting in you needing to stop him and tell him that they had already reached his place.

“Y/N! It’s so good to see you!” Juyeon’s mom chirped with a good-natured smile. “How has your mom been?”

Juyeon’s eyes widened upon the realization that they never stopped by at your place first to get the cookies. He opened his mouth to interject but you went on to answer.

“She’s been great, Mrs. Lee,” you replied, smiling just as big, and pulled out a box of cookies from your bag. “She wanted me to give these to you.”

“That’s so sweet! Give her my thanks,” his mom replied and opened the door wider once she accepted the cookies. “Come in for some tea, will you?”

Juyeon was practically frozen at the doorway while you were taking off your shoes and walking inside. If you had the cookies with you this entire time, then why didn’t you just give them to him to take home himself? Unless you were worried about the courtesy, it was a bit out of your way to take the time to walk home with Juyeon to deliver them.

“Juyeon, what are you doing out there?” his mom asked. “Come inside. It’s cold.”

“Right.”

Having you over at his house wasn’t exactly the sparkly fantasy that Juyeon thought it would be.

He was getting quite jealous of your mom hogging all of your attention. It wasn’t like you and Juyeon drifted apart during high school, so he wasn’t sure why his mom had to pull you away from him and have her own conversation with you. The worst part was that Juyeon couldn’t even join in on the conversation. He had no idea what they were even talking about.

That is, until his mom brought up the dance.

“Do you have a date, Y/N?” Juyeon’s mom asked.

“I don’t,” she replied. “I usually just go with my friends.”

“You’re so pretty, though,” Mrs. Lee tutted. “I’m sure someone must’ve asked you out.”

“Actually, someone asked me today,” you said. There was a moment of silence as you looked over at Juyeon while his gaze bore into yours. For a moment, you were struggling for what to say, mouthing words that weren’t being processed. Juyeon rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly once you regained your composure. “Juyeon actually helped me out.”

Mrs. Lee straightened up. “My son did?” She looked amused as she turned to Juyeon.

“Yeah,” you answered, grinning. “He was really cool.”

Juyeon blushed darkly once their eyes were on him. “W-what? I couldn’t ignore it. I wasn’t even doing that much. I was just helping out. You know, being a decent person,” he rambled and stood up. “Anyways, isn’t it getting late? Mom, Y/N has to go home soon and it’s gonna be pitch black outside if you keep her here.”

“Oh, you’re right.” Mrs. Lee frowned as she peered out the window. “Juyeon, you walk her home then.”

“What?” he sputtered out, looking between you and his mom before he caved, muttering, “I’ll go get my jacket.”

After an exchange of goodbyes, you had stepped out of the house and waited while Juyeon was slipping his shoes on. There was a moment of struggle where he had tied his laces too tight and couldn’t get the shoe on but he managed to slip it on after a few seconds of internal screaming. Juyeon zipped up his jacket the moment he stepped outside, the brisk coldness making his goosebumps rise.

“You really don’t have to walk me back,” you told Juyeon. “It’s cold outside.”

“It’s really late,” Juyeon replied, rubbing his hands together in hopes that the friction would provide some heat. “You shouldn’t be walking home by yourself, and I really don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled, ducking your face. “For this, for what you did during practice—everything.”

Juyeon was glad that you weren’t looking at him because his mouth was opening and closing over and over again like a fish. He was also thankful for the fact that he could blame the dust of pink across his cheeks on the cold winter bite. Unfortunately, you lived close by so Juyeon didn’t have time to come up with a cool response and he didn’t want to leave things like this. There was a good vibe going on and he was upset that he couldn’t act upon it; when it came to you, Lee Juyeon was a coward.

“Um, we’re here so…” Juyeon trailed off when he turned to you, sort of thrown off by how beautiful you looked with your windswept hair and flushed cheeks. Dazed, he reached forward and moved a strand of your hair out of your face. “It’s good I walked you home and you’re not like, lost or… something—I’ll shut up now.”

You laughed, and it was an octave higher as if you were rattled from him touching your hair. “Ah, yes, a few streets down can be a harrowing trek.”

Juyeon laughed with you before his eyes settled on you. Your hands were crossed, rubbing your arms that were prickled with goosebumps. A wave of guilt washed through Juyeon and led him to strip his jacket off immediately. He ignored the piercing chill and put his jacket around your shoulders, making sure they covered your bare arms.

“My house is right here,” you argued. “You’re going to be cold.”

“Keep it on. I have something to tell you after the game,” Juyeon said firmly. It was his second burst of courage for you today and he was a little too amped up for his own good. “If you don’t like it then give me back my jacket tomorrow.”

Before you could respond, Juyeon turned on his heel and bolted home, the biggest grin across his face because he was head-over-heels for you.

Juyeon had never been so nervous in his life.

The game was underway, Juyeon’s leg bouncing as he eyeballed the scoreboard. His team was strong in the first two quarters, cutting it close by the third, but now they were neck-to-neck. They had ended with a tie and now they decided to go into overtime for the sake of choosing a winner for the game. It was a sudden death round so whoever scored first would win the game. Juyeon, however, found it difficult to concentrate.

Especially with Lee Minho breathing down his back.

“Are you ready?” his best friend asked.

“Yes—well, no, but I don’t really have a choice.”

“That’s true.”

“I already made the sign and told the team and everything,” Juyeon whined. “I really screwed myself over, Minho.”

Minho pushed at the back of his head. “Dude, I’m talking about the game.”

“Oh, that—that’s fine,” Juyeon stammered. “Fifteen minutes—we just have to win, and then I have to ask out the most amazing person I’ve ever met.”

“You could chicken out,” Minho suggested, “but that also comes with me never letting you live it down.”

“You see, I kind of already implied that I’m going to tell her something important.”

“You did?” Minho’s voice was somewhere between shocked and impressed.

“Shit, I gotta go,” Juyeon muttered, pushing himself off the bench. “Keep the poster safe for me!”

“Good luck, champ!”

Juyeon, sweaty and bangs sticking to his forehead, had to ignore every distraction and think about winning the game before his stomach threw itself into a pool of anxiety over asking you out. He got in a huddle with his team in the remaining fifteen seconds they had before they had to get in formation and lowered the facemask of his helmet. It was up to this one last play to determine whether they would win the game or not.

“Just like we practiced, alright?” Juyeon told them. “Double-wing power pass. We get them to bite thinking it’s a run play and then open up a passing lane.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Jaehyun cheered, and the rest of them put in their mouth guards and lowered their facemasks.

Juyeon took a shaky breath as he got in formation at the line of scrimmage. His heart was racing but he wasn’t sure it was about the game. Nevertheless, he steeled his nerves and held his ground. The whistle blew and the crowd was silent, observing the tension on the field carefully.

“Silver-80! Silver-80! Hut! Hut! Hike!” Juyeon yelled, and the center, Sangyeon, snapped the ball to him.

Juyeon faked a handoff to Jaehyun, the fullback, and spun around, rolling to his right. Changmin sped up in front of Juyeon to defend him. A smile tugged at Juyeon’s lips. Their plan was working just as he intended, but there was a problem: they couldn’t open up a passing lane for the running backs like he thought they would. The play was too rushed, so it wasn’t ever a guarantee.

So Juyeon had to do what he would normally deem crazy.

He spun at the sight of the other team coming to tackle him and skirted around the field, belting down the field. He dodged past another linebacker that tried to body him. His primary motivation was that he didn’t want a concussion before he confessed to you, but he assumed it was okay to admit that to himself as long as he didn’t throw the game.

Juyeon felt a hand grab him but he pushed forward, running across the goal line and into the end zone. He threw the ball down and cried out in joy as he scored a touchdown. The whistle blew and the scoreboard flipped. They won.

He did it.

Juyeon’s team ran to him, cheering at the top of their lungs. He was lifted up on Jaehyun and Younghoon’s shoulders, grinning happily before his heart sunk back down. The cheerleaders ran to the field, cheering and tossing their pom poms up. The crowd was roaring. Juyeon was realizing that he had to do the scariest thing that a heterosexual teenage boy ever had to experience.

“Jaehyun, Jaehyun,” Juyeon tapped his shoulder quickly. “We have no time. I have to do it now.”

“Oh shit.”

Jaehyun and Younghoon dropped Juyeon onto the turf. Juyeon winced at the sudden impact, gathering himself back to his feet and hoping you didn’t witness that. Jaehyun gave him a half-assed apology and pushed him forward to run and get his poster and flowers from Minho. Jaehyun then grabbed Changmin by the shoulders, urging him to go to the announcer’s booth.

Juyeon sprinted over to Minho, waving his hands dramatically. “Give, give, give,” he demanded amongst all the cheering.

Minho didn’t waste any time and pushed the poster and bouquet into Juyeon’s hands. “Break a leg, tiger.”

“Trust me, I nearly did.”

Juyeon jogged back onto the field, cheeks hot and head a little dizzy for what was about to come. He didn’t even tell his mom he was going to ask you out and she had to watch her son ask his best friend out to the dance. This was probably going to be a moment of utter humiliation but once Juyeon saw you in your high ponytail with a bright smile on your face, all that fear faded away and it was just you and him.

More importantly, you were wearing his jacket over your uniform and Juyeon felt like he was going to combust from the cuteness.

“Guys, guys,” Jaehyun called to the team. “Surround Juyeon. Make sure Y/N doesn’t see him.”

Juyeon’s heart was beating a hundred miles per second. He was glad he was running on the adrenaline from winning the game because otherwise, he would be cowering in fear and sweating buckets right now.

“Everyone, listen up!” Changmin spoke over the intercom. “First of all, the football team scored a major dub today—ow! Sunwoo, cut it out—alright, I’ll get to it!” Changmin broke from the mic and started bickering with Sunwoo.

There was a pause, and Juyeon was surprised to hear Minho’s voice fill the speakers, “Anyways, my buddy and our star quarterback, Juyeon, has something to say for a special someone.”

The crowd fell silent, a couple cheers and wolf-whistles as it was pretty obvious that a confession was about to happen.

“This is so fucking fluffy,” Sunwoo mumbled.

“Shut up, Sunwoo,” Juyeon replied, nudging him with his elbow.

The football team moved out of the way so that they weren’t huddled around Juyeon anymore. Juyeon’s breath caught in his throat as he walked forward to the middle of the field, holding up his sign, reading: Will you be my sunshine?

“Y/N,” he called out loudly, “honestly this confession is long overdue, but will you go to Winter Ball with me tonight and be my sunshine?”

The crowd started cheering and whistling again, and Juyeon wanted to die. She hadn’t even given him her answer yet and everyone was acting like she had agreed and they eloped. The cheerleaders pushed Y/N forward and she approached Juyeon, looking like a deer in headlights.

Juyeon took another shaky breath and continued, “I’ve been in love with you for so long so it would be an honor if I could take you to the dance,” he said and his voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable for you.”

You bit your lip but that wasn’t enough to contain the happiness that showed on your face. You zipped up Juyeon’s jacket and threw yourself into his arms. Everyone practically exploded but Juyeon was sure his heartbeat was louder. He wrapped his arms around you and buried his face into your shoulder.

Was this what people called a Christmas miracle?

“Oh shit!” Changmin screamed over the intercom. (“Shut up, they’re having a moment,” Minho’s faint voice was picked up in the background).

“Oh my god, you just made me the happiest man alive,” he mumbled.

You pulled back and reached forward to move his damp bangs off of his forehead. “Took you long enough.”

“Wait, did you—did you like me?” Juyeon choked out.

You laughed and cupped his face in your hands. There was a shaky inhale and exhale of breaths when his lips brushed against yours, and Juyeon closed the distance, kissing you like he was starved of your touch. His hold tightened on you as you melted into him, and then you both pulled away, smiling and dazed and lovesick.

You giggled. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yes,” he breathed out, grinning as he brushed his nose against yours.

Juyeon could care less about all the presents and holiday cheer because he had you and you were all he wanted.

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