Truthfully, the circumstances just weren’t in their favor, regardless of how much they loved each other and dreamed of a future together. They were faced with a huge obstacle in the form of stomach cancer, for which Hyeon Jun fully committed to being Seok ryu's caretaker, taking a sick leave from work and even putting his whole life on hold for Seok Ryu, because he loved her and wanted to be there by her side. However, Seok ryu's decision to not tell her family and close friends meant leaving Hyeon Jun- who respected her decision and even after they broke up, kept her illness hidden from her family- as her sole caretaker and support system, which was bound to take a toll on him as well sooner or later.
After her treatment ended, they were yet faced with another huge blow in the form of depression -none of which are Seok ryu's fault by the way. But once again Hyeon Jun was left as her sole source of support. Now, I'm not saying that one's partner isn't supposed to be there (I mean, "in sickness and in health", right?), but it's clear that it was too much for him at this point. This reminded me of a cancer research conference I attended years ago, where one of the discussed topics was caretaker burnout and the importance of respite for them, both the sick person and those around them are greatly affected both physically and mentally, and that's what we saw in the episode; Two exhausted people who, despite loving each other, just couldn't bear with how exhausted they were and Hyeon Jun ended up snapping. Does this mean he's a shitty person? No, we saw him be by Seok ryu's side through thick and thin, but at last he was tired and snapped in a moment of desperation. This sadly just means they just weren't what the other needed at the moment anymore, and this is a very realistic portrayal of relationships where there isn't respite nor a proper support system.
I do think he loves her and feels guilty for being so burnt out, but sadly she's ready to move on and that's all that's left for him to do now. Move on.
This sets up a huge challenge for Seung hyo tho, how do you get through her walls when she’s seen first hand what can happen to a relationship when faced with adversities? She said it herself, she’ll be constantly on the lookout for her cancer possibly coming back or even spreading. How can he convince her that he won’t burn out? How can you convince someone who knows firsthand that sometimes love is not enough? Good luck Charlie!
Listen I am on my rewatch of The Glory and aside from being madly in love with both the romantic and unhinged nature of Joo Yeo Jeong, The absolute disparity between the good and bad parents in this show is killing me.
Dong-Eun’s mom? Absolute piece of trash with no class.
Yeon-Jin’s mom? Karen who thinks money and power can buy you anything.
Yeo-Jeong’s mom? Absolutely 100% supportive, but not stupid and committed to doing the right thing.
Kang Hyeon-Nam? The baddest bitch alive, willing to do anything to save her daughter even if it means endangering herself.
And then you have the disparity between Jae Jun and Do-Hyeong, who both cared about Ye-Sol. Jae Jun only cared about her when it was convenient for him and wanted her not because he truly loved her but because he wanted to possess her. Meanwhile, you have Do-Hyeong who is constantly looking out for Ye-Sol’s best interests even though he isn’t biologically related to her.
NOT ONLY THAT, but you also have Yeo-Jeong’s Dad, who was murdered by a patient while doing what he thought was right by saving him, unintentionally starting his son on the path to revenge.
And like yeah The Glory’s main focus is revenge but it’s also an exquisite commentary on how we pass down, inherit, come to terms with, and outright prevent generational trauma from our parents. It also shows how we can choose to do better or worse than they did based on the relationships we create or take for granted.
Idk man, as a generational trauma cycle breaker myself and mom of an (adopted adult) daughter that also experienced so much of that, this show gets to me on a parenting level in a way I can’t even begin to describe.
(Also Do-Yeong’s relationship with Ye-Sol makes me cry in the best way 🥹)
I knew there was something more to that break up. I was ready to hate hyeon jun if he did cheat but it turned out to be more complicated than that.
I dont know what everyone else was thinking when they saw seok ryu and hyeon jun argue but to me heon jun didnt do anything wrong. Even saying the things he said to seok ryu about her "damned depression" i can forgive him. It was a mean thing to say and seok ryu had the right to get angry but taking care of a sick person takes a toll on you. Its hard. Its frustrating. Even if you love this person so much you can get angry that you have to deal with it. You wish it wasnt like this. You want to escape and not think about it even for just one day. That's why he wanted to party. Seok ryu took that as him not caring about her but i think he did that to stay sane and forget about all the bad things for a while. But since seok ryu cant do that, she cant just forget and run away from it because she is the one dealing with it personally, she felt betrayed. I do think he shouldnt have said the things about his reputation and her dragging him down with him. That was too much. But everything else i understand.
I think he does actually still love her and has a right to love her and come find her again to win her back. And seok ryu knows this and that's why she did consider getting back with him for a moment. But it's too late because she has moved on.
eons before the formation of prythian, before even the first glimmer of what would later become the first star, there was the celestial phoenix. from her desire for companionship, were the first stars && planets born. after her first successful creation, the divine goddess desired to create more like it. thus, multiple realms were created. each was a vast && distinct domain, yet they were all blessed with the magic of a devoted goddess. the cauldron lived on with her blessing, forever gifting her love to those of prythian.
the goddess retreated to her celestial palace to rest peacefully, for her work was done. yet she was unable to rest for long, for the rifts between realms woke her. the possibility was always there, for why should she close the realms from one another ?? unable to hide her own innate curiosity, the goddess fell far sooner than she'd ever expected. though the mother fell from her palace, a phoenix never truly dies.
the celestial goddess was made high fae, though most of her divinity was sealed away by being made. from the ashes of her divine form, hyeon-seung was born. brilliant amber, the only physical reminder of her divinity – other than her phoenix form – a stark reminder that she was well && truly fae.
newly made, hyeon spent centuries wandering her creation. rumors started to spread about a lone high fae wandering prythian, aiding the freedom of enslaved humans whilst consuming the hearts of any fae that opposed. though she wandered the entirety of prythian, the solar courts held a special place within the ever-burning fire of her heart. the homesickness that would often render her unable to breathe lessened within these courts, especially the night court.
a quiet, tumultuous friendship formed between the celestial bird && the high lord of the night court. there would always be a space for her should she choose to make the night court her home, though she has yet to truly accept the offer. her presence was kept hidden from any who were not a high lord of the solar court, for she was far too powerful to be tethered to just one court.
though her presence within the solar courts was kept secret, hyeon did not sit idly by during the war. she'd made friends with humans && fae alike who supported the freedom of all humans. once more, rumors started to spread about a phoenix, a firebird, unlike any had seen before. this celestial being seemingly halted time && space that gave her allies a much-needed upper-hand. however, hyeon was not all-powerful, && she could not save everyone.
after the war ended && amarantha ascended as ❝ high queen of prythian ❞, hyeon slumbered. the war had taken much from her, having burned her new fae body away, leaving only an amalgamation of stars behind. she needed time to regrow, but this time it was . . . different. she was more powerful than she'd been before, had more access to her divine abilities.
and so,�� the celestial phoenix sleeps, a stalwart presence within velaris. if it were not for the slightest movement of her feathered body, many would assume her to be a statue. hyeon slumbered for the entirety of amarntha's rule, far too weak to be of much use until awoken by the return of the high lord of the night court.
@goddessrisen has requested a story : ' you don't look particularly sorry. you look rather pleased with yourself. ' - verona, ofc.
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Verily , not a trace of guilt upon her , not hardly the barest hints of remorse for having caused such a scene ( one still currently transpiring in the wake of own actions : a man barking mad for having just caught his woman in the coils of a serpent ) . Verona looks on at the two caught in the aftermath of her lascivious meddling , observing with an air of UNDESERVED PRIDE ; mortals were so w e a k , so susceptible to pleasure and the longing for m o r e , for b e t t e r ( & who is she to deny a woman’s obvious desires ? perish the thought ! ) . It is a sick sense of pride which swells further when the other woman ignores her boyfriend and meets Verona’s eye across the bar with a knowing smile ( the very same coquettish look which began this whole debacle ) . The empyrean tips her head , lifting her glass to the other before shifting focus to Hyeon , tossing her a Chesire’s grin ; all teeth , all malignant glee and gratification.
❝ Well , life is much too short to regret one’s choices , hm ? ❞ She sips her cocktail , self-satisfied , ❝ Besides , how is it MY FAULT that the man did not keep a good enough hand on his woman ? Truly , sounds more of an issue on his part than my own , if you ask me ! And all I did was simply introduce myself , I assure you , nothing untoward happened — ❞ Not unless one were to consider the way her hand sat possessively upon the flesh of the other’s thigh , sneaking clawtips ever higher beneath the hemline of a skirt , whispering seductive p r o m i s e s through her thoughts ‘pon a forked tongue — Yes , nothing untoward AT ALL .
Verona presses a hand to her breast , expression feigning i n n o c e n c e , ❝ I promise you , it was not my intention to sully their love ! ❞ Though , clearly , if all it took to break them apart was the infraction of a single soul , was it really l o v e at all ? Verona doubts it. ❝ I merely saw an enchanting little morsel and could not help myself. Now , is that so terrible , to want to indulge ? Is that truly A SIN ? ❞
@goddessrisen / starters ; ❛ you can yell at me later. just let me help you. ❜
nervous hands move frantically to clean up the mess she had made, 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔 and bandages strewn haphazardly around. ❛ do i yell at you a lot or something ? ❜ buffy lets out a low, slightly sarcastic chuckle. but it’s also her way of accepting the help, pushing the first aid kit in hyeon’s direction. ❛ you ever heard of a mohra demon ? turns out punching them relentlessly doesn’t really do much. hence the state i’m in. ❜