#friends with benefits to lovers trope my BELOVED | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

misshoneyimhome · 2 months

Text

「2️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ FOLLOWERS CELEBRATION」

"Why can't you just do what you're being told?" I William Nylander (🔥)

Summary; Sometimes, a push can make all the difference, even within the realm of relationships.

Tropes & warnings; smut 18+, friends-with-benefits, friends to lovers, fighting to sex (is that a thing?); mention of masturbation, unprotected sex (p in v), spanking, more unprotected sex, oral sex (m receiving);

Other notes; This one's for you, styles217, my love.🤍 Although it didn't end up as angsty as I'd envisioned 🙈, I hope you still enjoy it 🤞🏼 Surprisingly though, it ended up containing more smut than I initially planned, thanks to the requests I chose to combine it with [“take it out on me” I “I will never get enough of you” 🔥] - And no, I don’t actually think anyone on the coaching team would say something like this, and I’ve got no idea if anyone on the internet would react in such way; but for the plot of the story, they did 🤍

Knock on wood for not jinxing the winning streak ✊

Word count; 4.1K

・✶ ｡ﾟ

It had been quite a week. The Leafs had been on the road for a week, still keeping up their winning streak, which exceeded everyone's expectations. But even from the comfort of your sofa, you could sense that the games were getting more intense.

It was becoming clearer that the playoffs were getting closer. And suddenly, you noticed new aspects of your beloved William Nylander.

William had always been a talented ice hockey player. He might as well have been born with skates on his feet because the ice rink was his natural habitat. At just 16 years old, hockey became his first real profession, following in his father’s footsteps with aspirations of greatness.

And now, with his latest eight-year contract extension playing for the Maple Leafs, he was having the best season of his career.

Watching him play was almost magical - Every goal he scored or assist he made showcased his deep passion for the sport. And to you, he was simply an incredible person.

Despite the challenges that came with the fast-paced lifestyle, being part of William’s world felt nothing short of amazing. Over the past six months, the two of you had developed some sort of a bond, and there was nothing else you would have traded it for.

William Nylander had stolen your mind and soul from the moment he walked into the quaint coffee shop one early Wednesday morning before a training session. As he was completely exhausted and absent-minded, he inadvertently reached for something that appeared to be his drink, however as it turned out it was your coffee. With a gentle laugh and a charming smile, you kindly asked the handsome hockey player not to take it and encouraged him to enjoy his own instead.

Which then had turned out to be great a conversation starter, leading to a casual dating slash sort of a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Nothing too intense, just two consenting young adults enjoying each other's company, indulging in mind blowing sex, and relishing in easygoing conversations and hangouts.

However, perfection is elusive. Despite William's charm, kindness, and humour, he had a temper. Which you had only glimpsed bits of before, with penalties and a few snappy comments after tough losses.

But what happened during the Coyotes match was on another level.

William didn’t just receive penalties, but he suddenly also reacted aggressively to the pushes he usually shrugged off. He pushed back forcefully, his eyes blazing with anger.

And to your surprise, you found it incredibly arousing. Your cunt even tingled as William pushed the Coyote player, and a scuffle broke out among other players.

Never before had a hockey match stirred such arousal in you. And to top it off, the Leafs emerged victorious.

That night, thoughts of William's roughness lingered, leading you to touch yourself, and reaching an orgasm in a way you hadn't experienced before. The sheets beneath you were soaked as you moaned William's name into the emptiness with a whimper.

The game against Arizona was then followed by another impressive win, this time against the Knights, and then furthermore; a victory over the Avalanches after three thrilling periods, bringing the road trip to a satisfying conclusion.

Yet, as entertaining as it was to follow William and the team, it paled in comparison to being back in Toronto with him, where you could finally be intimate again.

And already Sunday afternoon you found yourself back at his place after he had a lie-in and taken care of the dogs. Entangled on his ample couch, his lips passionately locked with yours as your tongues explored each other with every shared breath.

With William on top of you, your fingers entwined in his blonde locks as he moved his warm mouth to the sensitive skin of your neck, sucking and nipping, eliciting sweet noises from you.

He was insatiable. After a week of being apart, William craved the feeling of you wrapped around him, longing to reach his own release in the midst of passion.

Clothes littered the floor of the living room, and despite the TV show still playing in the background, your moans filled the space of his condo. His two doodles lounged in a basket nearby as William guided his hard, throbbing member to your tight entrance.

Feeling William's hands on you again was nothing short of amazing. His mouth expertly melded with yours as his cock stretched you, sending waves of pleasure through your body with every thrust.

It was intense and messy. Bodies slick with sweat as you passionately connected on the sofa. His movements were determined, rough, and primal as he straightened his position, one leg on the floor, the other knee on the cushion, holding one of your legs against his chest while the other wrapped around his waist, thrusting mercilessly into you.

Your hands eagerly searched for something to grip onto, settling on the pillow behind your head as your mind blurred and your body melted for him.

You moaned loudly, the sounds mixing with the TV as you reached the peak of orgasm. But William didn't let you rest for a moment. Instead, he increased his intensity, feeling himself nearing the edge as your muscles tightened around him. And with heavy breaths, he thrust vigorously until he reached his climax, releasing his cum into you.

The intensity of the moment was palpable as you both took a few minutes to come down from the high and regain control of your breathing. It was a prime example of how raw and amazing your sex could be – effortless yet dirty, filled with desire.

And what came after was even better: William's tenderness as he caressed your curves in the post-sex shower was almost romantic. The way he caressed every inch of your skin was incredibly arousing, washing away the remnants of your sofa session. And then, he kneeled before you, placing hungry kisses on your core.

It was an added treat he provided, indulging in a late-night snack before you settled in for the night, knowing that Monday morning and the workday would soon be upon you.

It was another day of facing adult responsibilities at work, with the excitement of hockey on hold until reuniting with William in the afternoon.

However, while your day passed uneventfully, William found himself stirred by something deeper. His recent behaviour during matches hadn't gone unnoticed, and while fights were often accepted in the sport, comments about William being 'out of character' emerged.

Social media buzzed with opinions about him; criticising his usual calm demeanour, suggesting it wasn't present to support the team during heated moments, and deeming his actions as outrageous.

Which ignited William's temper. Despite his stellar performance in recent games – scoring goals and providing assists – he felt unjustly criticised. And more over it seemed that every attempt to express confidence in his own game was met with accusations of selfishness and 'overconfidence'.

It simply seemed William couldn't strike a balance. If he didn't score goals, he was deemed a bad player. If he didn't assist but scored himself, he wasn't seen as a team player. And if he didn't contribute at all, he was deemed unworthy of the team. He was often labeled as the attractive star player, good at scoring goals, but not as exceptional as Auston Matthews or as dominant as other players like Rielly, Reaves, and Tavares.

'Nylander’s a talented player, but he only cares about scoring for himself.'

‘Great to see WN88 take on some responsibilities when wearing the A – but he’s nothing like MR44’

The power of public opinion could be harsh.

Though most of the time, William didn’t even pay much attention to the criticism, knowing he was a great player, and his confidence remained unshaken. But often when he tried to brush off the comments and act nonchalant, it only fuelled speculation about his carelessness.

And, for some unexpected reason, he found himself unable to contain his temper on that particular Monday. Tired of the negative remarks, he wanted to prove that he could be just as strong and skilled as anyone else.

So, during Monday’s ice training, he attempted to assert his dominance. But things didn't go entirely as planned. Although the comments from the assistant coaches might not have been intended to be negative, they still managed to pierce through his thick skin.

"Hey Willy, we all know you did great as an alternate captain in Mo’s absence. However, maybe focus more on your scoring, passing to Auston, and breakaways – you know, the things you’re great at."

William simply nodded in response to the coaching staff's encouragement. But as they all left the locker room, he still couldn't shake off the words entirely.

"Hey," you greeted him with a warm smile in the hallway, joining the other partners of the team. "Want to go out for dinner?"

"Sure," he responded tersely, his tone devoid of your enthusiasm. "Just go wait by the car, I’ll be right there."

His voice was low and cold, but as his confidant, you resolved to show your support and be there for him.

"That's alright, I'll just wait here until you're ready," you replied, offering a reassuring smile.

"Just go and wait by the car," he suddenly snapped, his words sharper than before.

“What did you just say?”

“Go wait by the fucking car.”

"Oh no... You don’t get to talk to me like that, Willy..." you retorted, your voice firm and steady. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just... I'll meet you outside."

"No, I'm not leaving until you talk nicely to me!"

"Why can't you just do what you're being told?" William shouted, his voice echoing through the hallway.

You were taken aback. William had never shouted at you, especially not in public like this. While your relationship wasn’t without its disagreements, it had never escalated to this level.

But you held his gaze firmly as the others dispersed, the tension between you palpable.

There was a silence that hung heavy in the air. A moment where every thing could fall apart if you let it. But instead you decided to take the battle elsewhere.

"Fine," you finally spat, before turning and walking towards the exit.

And needless to say, the ride back to William’s place was dead silent, broken only when William left the car to pick up your takeaway dinner, opting not to go out. And when he returned, he slammed the door shut, and the journey to his place remained eerily quiet.

You felt his frustration emanating from him as you entered the condo, and as you placed the bags of food on the kitchen counter, you decided you couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Willy... do you have any idea how humiliating that was?" you said with a steady voice, trying to catch his gaze, but he remained hunched over the counter, looking down.

"So what?" he replied curtly.

You let out a small sigh. "So what?... Willy, I'm not a toy you can play with however you like... I'm a person with feelings."

"Don't you think I have feelings too?" he suddenly erupted, standing up straight and taking a step towards you. "Don't you think I feel frustrated and annoyed? That I'm not this perfectly calm and chill guy everyone always wants me to be?"

"So, you're upset because you're a talented hockey player, but not perfect in every way?" you asked a hint of rhetoric in your tone, raising a brow. "Willy, nobody's perfect, and nobody can live up to everyone's expectations."

"Don't you think I know that! But it still doesn’t make the frustrations go away, y/n... not that you would know how it feels to just want to... let go!"

And you suddenly found yourself releasing a breath you hadn't realised you'd been holding. William's words were sharp and filled with tension, fuelled by his passion for the sport. And strangely, you felt the same arousal you had felt the night you witnessed his anger for the first time.

"Take it out on me," you spoke softly, still maintaining a firm tone as you extended the invitation.

"What?" William inquired, taken aback by your bold offer.

"Take your frustrations out on me, Willy... let go, be angry... do what you need to do..."

For a moment, he couldn't comprehend what you were suggesting. His mind raced with thoughts, but as his eyes met yours, a sudden surge of desire and lust overwhelmed him. The offer was too tempting to resist. And without hesitation, he closed the gap between you, fuelled by a primal urge.

His lips almost crashed onto yours, his hands gripping your head tightly as he held you close. Your breath was stolen as he forcefully slid his tongue into your mouth, exploring your warmth with intensity, pressing his body against yours.

Your hands instinctively found his neck, but they couldn't stay still as William, using his size to his advantage, guided you out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. Clothes were shed along the way, leaving a trail of passion in their wake.

The intensity was so overwhelming that you barely registered how quickly you ended up standing by the bed, clad only in your lacy thong, as William's mouth continued to ravage yours until he breathlessly stepped back.

"On your hands and knees," his voice commanded roughly, his breath heavy and his eyes filled with lust.

And feeling your cunt already pulsating merely from the sound of his voice, you removed your last piece of fabric, and obeyed without hesitation.

William couldn't help but smirk as he admired the sight of your exposed cheeks before him. And as he lowered his boxers, freeing his hard cock, he slowly joined you on the mattress, kneeling behind you as he let his hands explore your soft skin.

"So you want me to let go, baby," he spoke darkly from behind, his mind clouded with thoughts of what he wanted to do to you. “I’ll fucking let go.”

And by encouragement form you, be withdrew his large hand from your ass, intensely stared at your ass before delivering a hard slap against your skin.

"Oh fuck..." you cried out, feeling the sting of his spank.

"You liked that, huh?" William inquired darkly, and all you could do was nod, earning another hard spank.

His force was harsh. Harder than you’d ever been playfully spanked before, and you could tell he was releasing some negative energy with two more intense smacks. His breath heavy and deep but his fifth and last spank, which had beautifully decorated your skin with a red hue.

And as you let out a soft cry mixed with a pleasure-filled moan, William felt satisfied with his actions. Shifting slightly in his position, he teased the tip of his cock against your entrance.

"Do you think you deserve this?" he asked, his voice filled with desire. “You think you deserve to be fucked?”

You could feel nothing but your muscles pulsating between your legs, yearning to be filled by his length.

"Yes," you whimpered, your legs trembling with anticipation.

"Good girl..."

And with a forceful thrust, William slammed his cock into you, burying himself deep inside your cunt and hitting your very depths.

His hands gripped your waist firmly as he established a steady rhythm of forceful thrusts, channeling all his frustration and annoyance into each powerful movement. With every slam, he felt himself releasing the pent-up tension, letting go of the negativity that had been weighing on him.

It was almost too overwhelming for you. His vigorous thrusts caused your body to tremble, pushing you closer to orgasm much quicker than anticipated as he pounded and overstimulated your walls.

Usually it’d take more than just forceful penetrating sex like this to give you that pleasurable high, however with William’s merciless performance, you suddenly found yourself nearing a peak.

And as if you had no control over yourself, your moans grew louder with each collision of skin against skin, and soon you found yourself clutching onto the sheets beneath you.

"Willy," you breathed, your voice filled with need. "I'm gonna come..."

Your words were music to his ears, mingling with moans and cries as he revelled in the pleasure he was giving you. And with no intention of slowing down, he continued to fuck you hard and fast.

"Oh fuck... Willy..." you cried out, your cunt dripping with juices as you threw your head back and allowed yourself to reach the peak of ecstasy, waves of climax rushing over your body.

William could feel how your walls clenched tightly around him as you embraced your orgasm, relishing in the sight of you closing your eyes in ecstasy and feeling your body shake and surrender to him.

And though as much as he wanted to continue fucking you hard and bring you to multiple orgasms, he also felt the urgency for his own release.

So, he paused his movements, allowing you to come down from the euphoria and catch your breath, before gently withdrawing his length from your dripping core. It was a sight to behold, seeing how perfectly your heat fit him, reflecting the pleasure he had given you.

But for now, he desired something else from you.

"I want you on your knees, baby, on the floor," his husky voice commanded, and with a deep breath, you summoned the strength to move your body.

Despite your legs feeling like jelly beneath you, you managed to manoeuvre from the bed to the middle of the room, where you flashed William a confident smirk as you knelt before him. You knew exactly what he wanted, and you were more than willing to give it to him.

Then patiently waiting for him to draw closer, you glanced up at him with desire in your eyes, parting your lips slightly as he approached. You yearned to taste him, to feel his hardness against your tongue, and even to savor your own essence.

And William happily gave it to you.

Holding his cock before your mouth, he gazed intensely down at you, silently granting you permission to take him.

Without hesitation, you accepted. Wrapping your lips around the tip, you began by circling it with your tongue. Then taking a deep breath through your nose, you focused on relaxing the back of your throat, guiding him in slowly and effortlessly. You felt him reach the back of your mouth, but you allowed him to push in further.

Gently withdrawing your head slightly, you coated his shaft with your saliva before taking him in entirely once again. And while taking your time, you savoured the sensation before starting to move your head in rhythmic motions, bobbing up and down on his length. Your lips wrapped around him as you moved, using your dominant hand where your mouth couldn't reach.

William's fingers found the back of your hair, gently gripping it as he began to let his hips move in sync with your motions. And as the pleasurable sensations intensified, so did his actions.

You allowed him to take control, something you wouldn't normally do as you needed to manage your gag reflex and breathing. But tonight was William's night to let loose, which meant allowing him to guide his cock in and out of your mouth.

And while feeling his grip tighten in your hair, you managed to glance up at him through your lashes and saw how he tilted his head back, surrendering to the moment.

"Fuck, your mouth feels so good," he mumbled between moans.

Knowing exactly how to push him over the edge, you released your hand from around the base of his cock and placed both palms on his muscular thighs. Taking another deep breath, you prepared yourself as best you could before letting him push his shaft all the way into your throat, causing your nose to brush against his pubic hair. Holding still for a few seconds, you allowed yourself to gag around his cock before pulling off completely and gasping for air.

"Oh shit! Fuck, babe," William panted above you as you stroked his length. "That's fucking hot."

And you knew it was. William had often expressed his love for your blowjobs, and sometimes hinted at his desire for more dominant behaviour. While he had never actually choked you with his cock, he had shown some interest, which was how you knew he would enjoy how you forced him all the way down.

Then taking another breath, you placed both hands on his thighs once more and took him back into your mouth. And this time, William wanted nothing more than to come for you. Knowing how good you could be for him, he held onto you firmly, meeting your eyes as he thrust against your mouth.

It was forceful and dominant, as he relished every gagging noise you made. And as he fucked your mouth faster, he felt himself on the brink of climax.

"Oh yes, baby, that’s it! Oh, I'll never get enough of you," he moaned, his eyes shutting tightly. "Your mouth is so fucking..." But his words were cut off by a deep grunt as his climax took over, and he unleashed his load into your warmth.

You felt his muscles tense under your touch, your nails digging into them as he held his cock in your mouth, ensuring you received every single drop he had to offer.

Both of you remained still for a brief moment as William came down from his high, and holding back your instincts, you gazed up at him as you waited for his approval.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of your mouth, allowing you to taste every inch of his shaft. And locking eyes with you once more, he issued his final command.

"Swallow."

With a gulp, you let his raw cum slide down your throat, before releasing a light sensual gasp. It was nothing but an intense moment of sexual silence as you stared up at the man before you.

"Shit, baby, you're way too good at this," his dark words praised, and slowly he helped you to your feet.

"Did I at least help you with the frustrations?" you chuckled lightly.

"Oh, yes, you did," William replied, flashing you a great smile before pulling you into a cuddle. "How about a shower?"

"How about we heat up dinner?" you suggested with a laugh.

"Good idea - but shower first."

It felt as if all the tension had dissipated, as if there were no lingering issues anymore. Yet, a part of you remained uncertain about the true nature of your relationship with William.

As you enjoyed a later dinner after the post-sex shower, smiles gracing both of your faces, you couldn't help but ponder what was going on inside William's mind.

However, as you cuddled up, feeling satisfied in every aspect, he beat you to the conversation.

"Hey... thanks for... you know, today," he started softly, his thumb caressing your shoulder as his arms enveloped you, turning his head to face you.

"Of course, it's what I'm here for," you replied with a content smile.

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." he continued softly, struggling to articulate his thoughts. "You don't have to... let me do that... you could’ve just walked away after what happened at the rink."

"I know, but I didn’t want to walk away... Willy, I know I'm not exactly your girlfriend or anything, but whatever this is, to me, it's something..."

"Exactly... and I guess I just... I don't know how to say it, but I just feel like there might be more... you're so amazing, and I just really want you around, all the time... and I understand if that's not what you want, because it's not always easy with me, but... if you want to, I'd like to have you..."

His last words almost came out in slow motion, uncertainty evident in how he expressed his feelings.

"Willy, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah... I think I am."

You were slightly taken aback by his question. Despite being intimate and spending a lot of time together for months, you didn't think William was considering this direction. On the contrary actually, you had been nervous he wanted to end it because of the increasing intensity of the season.

"Yes, Willy... of course I'd want to be your girlfriend," you finally managed to speak, the words carrying a mix of joy and relief. "Babe, I was honestly afraid you'd had enough of me...."

It was a moment you had both anticipated and feared, but now that it was here, it felt nothing but right. Leaning in, you sealed your answer with a tender kiss, a silent affirmation of your commitment to each other.

William's eyes sparkled with happiness as he returned the kiss, his arms pulling you closer. It was a moment of clarity amidst the chaos of life, a moment where everything just felt right.

"Oh, I already told you; I'll never get enough of you," he whispered against your lips, his voice filled with warmth and sincerity.

#2️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ followers celebration #william nylander imagine #william nylander x reader #toronto maple leafs imagine #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagine #wn88 imagine

83 notes · View notes

haven-cove · 1 month

Text

For All That Is To Come

Characters: San x Reader Genre: Fluff Trope: only one bed, reincarnation, past-life lovers, friends to lovers Warnings: cORNY, none Word Count: 1.2k

italicised texts are flashbacks!

｡ﾟ☆════•°• •´*¨`*•☆ ✦ ☆•*`¨*`• •°•════☆ﾟ.

Standing by the door and having a staring contest with the one queen-sized bed in the hotel room, you and San turned to look at each other after a pause.

“Um…” you started, twiddling the straps of your backpack hanging heavily on your shoulders, just like the tension in the air upon discovering having to share the bed with San.

It’s not that you aren’t close. You have been working with each other on your graduation project for the past semester. And having to work with each other on a research paper required close collaboration as partners, so you and San were both close friends. But to share one bed? You aren’t sure if this would help with your ever-growing feelings for the man.

“I overheard that there aren’t any more rooms to spare, so we'd have to make do. I’ll take the floor if that’ll make you more comfortable? or maybe I can room with one of the guys.” Suggested the ever-gentleman San.

Seeing the furrow in your eyebrows, he opened the door wider and rested his hand on the lower of your back, grounding you. “How about, we move into the room and think over our choices?” He gave you a reassuring smile.

Looking at him, you found yourself moving deeper into the room with him, dropping your backpack by the bed before settling down on the cushioned chair.

San too, let his bag rest beside yours and headed into the toilet to freshen up. Sighing through your nostrils, you stared hard at the bags resting against each other as a wave of familiarity washed over you.

“San! Just leave the bags there and come look at the view!” You called out to your husband excitedly by the windows of the room.

Being the crown prince and crown princess of your kingdoms, both your parents decided unanimously that the marriage of two best friends would benefit the country and your families.

Seeing that the crown prince and princess would have no issues getting married due to the love blossoming between the two; you and San were allowed to cut the wedding ceremony short to enjoy your honeymoon.

You were currently in San’s family’s holiday inn in the mountains, surrounded by the beauty of nature and what it has to offer.

Chuckling at your excitement, he dropped the two pieces of luggage he was holding onto the bed before promptly making his way over to you, mirroring your eagerness. He wrapped his arms around you from the back and nuzzled his cheek into your hair while listening to you gush about the majestic view.

“Look at that! I bet the night view would be as amazing as this! Oh San my dear, I’m just so happy that I can be here to enjoy this with you.” You turned around at the end of your sentence and looked up at him with your eyes glistening with tears.

“Yes my dear, the view is great, but you’re my greatest view. I’m as happy to be here, with you.” He cupped your cheeks with his palms and scanned your face. Oh if only he could, he would love to have this moment tattooed on his body to serve as a reminder of the love that you two shared.

Leaning into you, San nuzzled his nose with yours, and you leaned in to meet his lips with your own, sharing a light kiss with your beloved. San moved his hand further down to your neck and deepened the kiss, giggling at your reddened face.

“Already betrothed to me and still as shy as ever?” he teased.

Unable to shake off the feeling that settled in your chest, you decided to distract yourself. Maybe it’s ok to share a room with San. It’s just San, your friend… and also crush… sighing, you reached over to your bag and pulled out your pajamas and toiletries.

Exiting the toilet and seeing you arrange your items, San tilted his head. “So, I’ll take the floor?” he asked from behind you.

Being so distracted with your toiletries, you failed to realise that San was behind you, and you let out a yelp hearing his voice. “San! You scared me there!” You exclaimed and momentarily forgot about the thoughts in your mind.

Giggling at you, San bumped his shoulders against yours in apology and looked at you through the mirror. “So? It’s your call; no hard feelings at all.” he prompted.

You looked up and locked eyes with his through the mirror, “I-I’m okay with sharing the bed with you, you don’t have to take the floor.

“Are you sure? I’m really fine with-“ and you cut him off, “It’s really okay! I mean, if you’re okay, I’m okay.”

“I’m okay.”

“Okay.”

And there it is again, another pause of silence.

San observed you and realised that your shoulders were tense, just like his and he thought that maybe, it’s about time.

“Hey, I have something I’d like to discuss with you. It’s been a running thought and I think it’s about time I do something about it. I don’t want to regret not ever telling you this before we graduate.” he heaved a sigh, as though a weight had been lifted off his chest.

He lifted his palm toward you, an invitation.

Playing with the bottle of moisturiser in your hand, you echoed his sentiments and put the object down on the table. You reached your hand toward him, a sign of acceptance.

He pulled your hand gently and guided you towards the balcony that held an amazing bird's-eye view of the mountains.

Never letting go of your hand, he stepped one step closer to you and took in a deep breath before saying, “I think… I’ve been in love with you this whole time. Ever since I laid my eyes on you, you’ve been the one running tirelessly in my mind. Everything reminds me of you."

He continued after a short pause, "There have been many moments where I considered if I should possibly risk our friendship by confessing to you, but I was afraid. Today, I just want to let you know how I feel, and please do not feel pressured to give me a response. I’ll understand.” he looked at you with a shine in his eyes, his hair tousling in the blowing winds.

Gripping his hands tightly at his confession, you teared up as you spoke with a tightness in your throat. “All this while, San?” you laughed as a tear of relief fell, which San quickly wiped away with concern all over his face.

“I feel the same. I too, can’t sleep, eat, and work without the thought of your presence with me. I’m so glad that we’ve been given this chance to tell each other how we feel, and I’m so relieved to tell you that I feel about you in the same way.“ You added with a slight tinge of embarrassment. It is hard to be so direct with your feelings toward your crush.

Throwing his head back in laughter, San stepped closer and loosened his grip on your hands only to raise them to cradle your face. “Will you be mine, for this life and all that is to come?” He leaned his forehead against yours.

“Yes, San. I will be yours just as much as you are mine. for this life, and all that is to come.” You echoed and nuzzled your nose with his.

He moved to embrace you from behind as you two looked out to the horizon.

“I bet the daytime view would be as amazing as this.”

｡ﾟ☆════•°• •´*¨`*•☆ ✦ ☆•*`¨*`• •°•════☆ﾟ.

And there it is! My very first ATEEZ fic that I wrote for a dear friend <3

Please do not repost, or translate.

#ateez #san #fluff #ateez scenario #choi san scenario #san scenario #ateez fluff #san fluff #choi san fluff #choi san #ateez x reader #san x reader #choi san x reader

46 notes · View notes

wangxianficfinder · 1 year

Text

In the mood for...

~*~

1. hi, in the mood for wangxian university au that contains homophobia ^^ in the mood for those realistic pain that i can relate to as someone who lives in a conservative asian country :') thank u!!

Syncopation by Nyatci (E, 13k, WIP, WangXian, WWX/WX, College/University, Singer WWX, Friends With Benefits WWX/WX, Good Guy WX, Exes Wangxian, Exes to Lovers, WangXian Endgame, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, lots of flashbacks, Non-Linear Narrative) might be a good fic - for now it's only 1 chapter, so it's hard to say, but still.

(I should’ve known) I always knew by ilip13 (E, 58k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Misunderstandings, Unreliable Narrator, Sexuality Crisis, Friends to Lovers, First Time, Developing Relationship, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, POV WWX, Please read the author's note for more info, Eventual Happy Ending, Gray-Asexuality, Demisexuality, Masturbation, Dom/sub Undertones, Rape Fantasy, Anal Fingering, Barebacking) and its companion fic

Pan - We're queer here! Series by IBurbick (E, 158k, WangXian, NieLan, 3Zun, Coffee Shops & Cafés, Modern AU, Everyone lives, Everyone Is Gay, Because it's a queer café, cooking magic, Homophobia, Food Porn, Eventual Smut, Mental Breakdown, Dissociative Episode, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, Music Theory, Verbal Fight, Fist Fight, supportive friends, Bullying, Madam Yu's A+ Parenting, Adoptions, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Hand Jobs, Mutual Pining) is a Modern Coffee Shops & Cafés AU that might contain some of what you want; LXC’s vegan café is a beloved neighborhood hub for the queer community, but also a target for homophobes.

~*~

2. Hello! Could you please help me find fics where WWX and LWJ receive each other's injuries and killing one would kill the other, ala Love Between Fairy And Devil? I know this is sometimes a soulmate au trope so I looked through your Soulmate comp and I did find one that I loved: Nothing You Confess by Porcupine Girl (LWJ feels it when WWX loses his golden core). Can you think of any others where they share/feel injuries? Thank you so much!!

Side By Side Suicide by scifigeek14 (T, 2k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Character Death, Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Non-Graphic Violence, Angst, Not A Fix-It, Unhappy Ending) I have one of my fics for number 2. but warning cus its NOT happy. They dead.

🧡 Talking is Better than Silence by blackcatkuroi, KuroiWrites (blackcatkuroi) (T, 227k, WIP, WangXian, XiChengQing, Communication, Fluff and Angst, What-If, Canon Divergence, Resentful Energy is a Thing, Musical Cultivation gets Center Stage, Honesty, Myth Making in Action, Soulmates, Cultivation Healing is Expanded, Lore Creation Story, Completed and Regular Updates, Any Rated E for Extra Sexy scenes posted as separate CODA chapters)

Lovescars by ardenrabbit (M, 62k, WangXian, JC & WWX, demi lwj, Bi WWX, aroace jc, Self-Harm, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, POV Multiple, Blood and Injury, PTSD, roughly follows the nove, lAngst with a Happy Ending, Canon Parallel)

The Price of Forever by Witch_Nova221 (T, 22k, WangXian, NieLan, XuanLi, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Magic, references to still birth, References to Child Loss, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied/Referenced Murder, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Happy Ending, Found Family, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers)

Sunder by naqaashi (E, 32k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Heavy Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Mutual Pining, Emotional Sex, Porn with Feelings, PWP, Light BDSM, Fix-It, POV LWJ, YLLZ WWX, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian, Light Dom/sub, Explicit Sexual Content, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Five Stages of Grief, Suicidal Thoughts) it is super angsty, but I promise it has a happy ending!

~*~

3. I'm in a mood for ace spectrum wangxian, either one or both! I'd like them to be sex positive or neutral but won't mind sex repulsed either.

#1 in this post has some ace spectrum fics you might like ^^

💖Let Them Eat Cake by Vamillepudding (G, 7k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Romantic Comedy, Light Angst, Asexual Relationship, Getting Together)

you've ruined my life (by not being mine) by cicer (E, 132k, WangXian, Developing Relationship, Modern AU, Idiots in Love, Awkward Flirting, teenage romance, Shameless WWX, slowburn, Demisexuality, references to lqr's a+ parenting, references to jfm's a+ parenting, references to yzy's a+ parenting, bottom LWJ in chapter 15)

your touch in the dark (your voice in the silence) by beesinspades (M, 13k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends With Benefits, Busker!WWX, Musician!LWJ, Mutual Pining, Pining while fucking, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Strangers to Friends With Benefits to Lovers, Happy Ending, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian, Asexual WWX, Demisexual LWJ)

~*~

4. hello <3 for in the mood for, may i ask for fics like in stunted, starving juvinility, in that Lan Qiren actually develops a bias TOWARDS wwx, maybe even dotes on him a little? that would be amazing askdjkfd

Accidental Uncle Acquisition Series by deliciousblizzardshark (G/T, 13k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Modern AU, Single Parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Accidental Uncle Acquisition, Found Family, Kid Fic, Soft WangXian, Matchmaking, Fluff and Humor)

The Untamed: For the Love of Two Boys by YenGirl (Not Rated, 181k, WangXian, XuanLi, ChengQing, 3Zun, LQR/SiSi, Single minded LZ, Caring WY, Supportive lxc, Supportive LQR, Prickly JC, Sweet JYL, Good JZX (Peacock), Badass WQ, Cinnamon roll WN, adorable a-yuan, Supportive NMJ, Redeemed JGY, Evil JGS, Supportive Madam Jin, Evil XY, Rescued SS, Supportive Lan Healer OC, Accupuncture, Golden Core Reveal, Yunmeng sibs reconciliation, Implied mpreg jokes) I think he gains a bias in this one it's been a while since I read it

藍色的花，紅色的蘭 {Lan se de hua, hongse de lan} by Admiranda, AshayaTReldai (M, 45k, WIP, WangXian, Orphan WWX, Friends to Lovers, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Childhood Friends, softer lqr, Good Uncle LQR, Good lan clan, Good Older Sibling LXC) Lan Qiren adopts WWX as a child in Yiling initially out of need to repay a life debt, but comes to love him in his own right over time.

Just Say Yes series by edenwolfie (M, 338k, wangxian, canon divergence, matchmaking, pining, cloud recesses study arc, getting together, fluff, humor, hurt/comfort, everyone lives au)

🧡 All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, time travel, canon divergence, fix it, not YZY friendly, not Jiang friendly, butterfly effect, no sunshot, madam lan lives, lan WWX) WWX gets kind of adopted by LQR

~*~

5. Dear mods, I hope all of you are doing fine these days. Also, I have come again with an interesting request. For the next ITMF, are there any fic with playboy LWJ. And with that, this humble thank you

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation)

~*~

6. For the next ITMF post: We are deliberately told next to nothing about Mo Xuanyu in canon. I’d like to read some good fics that flesh out his life in the period before the Sacrifice Summon—growing up in Mo Manor, adjusting to the Jin Sect (and his father), returning to Mo Manor, etc. and so forth. Can be any sort of POV or characterization of him, just interested to see what people have come up with.

Too gone to stay by Aenya (T, 31k, WangXian, WWX-centric, Canonical Character Death, in non-canonical ways, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death REVERSAL, Canon-Typical Violence, novel canon, Pre-Relationship, Happy Ending) has some backstory for mxy, although it’s set in an AU

~*~

7. Hey! This is an IITMF request.

Fics where so many people have crush on / like WWX. (Bonus if the fic is from their pov)

- LWJ being a vinegar jug. @utxqia

~*~

8. Hi!!! I read most of the fics of xuexiao on ao3 and now I want to ask if anyone knows any good fics that aren't on ao3? Prefer it to be a happy ending for xuexiao and not have xuexiaosong or songxiao. I don't mind it to be a little dark or manipulative but I don't want their relationship to be completely toxic / one-sided or forced in anyway. Thank you~~

~*~

9. hiii i’ve never done this before so forgive my mistakes… i think this is how this is done… for the next ‘in the mood for’ post, could you guys find fics where the Lans are protective of WWX? Either post-resurrection or a canon divergence where wwx comes to the Lan sect early pre-sunshot, im not picky… thanks in advance!!

Life Series by scifigeek14 (T, 65k, WangXian, Weddings, Shotgun Wedding, (But not cus of a baby because of politics), Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fix-It, POV Alternating, POV Third Person Limited, Devotion, Feelings Realization, Family Feels, Politics, Golden Core Reveal, Marriage Proposal, Marriage of Convenience)

What Becomes of the Melting Snow? Series by Admiranda (T, 7k, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Supportive LXC, lxc putting in his character development, Supportive Sibling LXC) is a work in progress series where post canon Lan Xichen puts in a lot of character development and drags his clan along the way to become good to WWX.

one of our own by glitteringmoonlight (G, 7k, WangXian, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, 5+1 Things) also 9 is a fic about many members of the Lan Clan protecting WWX

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 43k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU) (link in #16)

~*~

10. This might be a weird ask, but I want a Wangxian fic that also has Jiang Cheng getting some sort of happiness or a Yunmeng sibling reconciliation

there's the Yunmeng Bros reconciliation comp

some good mistakes by Lise (T, 18k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Post-Canon, Road trips, rescue Missions, Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, [Podfic] some good mistakes by kisahawklin)

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 63k, WangXian, WWX & JL, Post-Canon, Protective WWX, Protective JL, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Reluctant Matchmaker JL, [PODFIC] Rotten Work by sakizar)

Living by WithBroomBefore (G, 15k, WangXian, JC & JYL & WWX, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, POV LWJ, WWX Lives, JYL Lives, Family Feels, Crying, Suicide Attempt, just the one though, Healing, Sad with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort)

Regrets by antebunny (G, 37k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Time Travel, Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Descriptions of Love, and other squishy feeling, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Found Family, Pre-Slash, canon-typical corpse desecration, Questionable approach to cutivation, Cultivation Sect Politics, Fix-It of Sorts, canon typical genocide mention, Yílíng Wèi Sect)

maybe you'll take the long way home by surething (T, 25k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Tenderness, Yearning, Character Study, Introspection, fun uncle wwx, bitch boy lwj, Found Family)

~*~

11. For the next itmf I was wondering if you had any 3zun fics where JGY gets severely injured when NMJ kicks him down the stairs? I would prefer novel canon over CQL canon but I’m okay with anything. Thanks!

Different Paths to the Same Route by JustAWanderingBabbit (T, 184k, jjin guangyao & lan xichen & nie mingjue, 3zun, lan wangji & wei wuxian, canon divergence: AQ becomes XXC and SL’s first disciple)

Dream of the Gold Chamber by JustAWanderingBabbit (T, 8k, Implied 3Zun, Referenced canonical incest, canon violence, Canon Divergence, Crack Treated Seriously, Dream a Little Dream, XY is a turd, He might still be redeemable, JGS is not redeemable.)

Jin Guangyao + Chronic Pain Series by crypticidentity (Varied, 15k, XiYao, HuaiYao, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Chronic pain, Hurt no Comfort, Fluff, POV JGY, JGY-Centric)

angstymdzsthoughts post may yield further fics

~*~

12. Wei ying gets 33 lashes

~*~

13. I can't remember if this has been asked before, but I love a good time loop/Groundhog Day fic. I remember one with LWJ stuck in a loop where WWX always ends up dead, and I feel like I read one once where JC was the one stuck in a loop, but there have to be more than that, right? Any from WWX's point of view? Someone else? Thanks for your help!

Wearing Down Every Bone by CSHfic, VSfic (E, 30k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Time Loop, Temporary Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Case Fic, Curses, Pining, Getting Together, Time Travel, Night Hunts, Hurt wwx, Mystery, Angst with a Happy Ending, Use Your Words, Mutual Pining, Depression and Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, gratuitous use of empathy)

see you yesterday by glyphic (M, 138k, WIP, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Ghost Hunters, Time Loop, Case Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn)

the cycle of regret by KouriArashi (T, 14k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Fix-It, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alternate Canon)

~*~

14 Hi! For the next in the mood for post, do you have some fics where wwx has a complete meltdown that everybody wants him for something or blames him for smg and he's just like fuck you all, screams it out and leave the sects to be? Thank you so much, you guys are awesome!

Fuck This Shit, I'm Out!!!!! by WiFi_Stalker (Not Rated, 6k, WIP, WangXian, XianQing (platonic), Canon Divergence, A-Yuan time travels, Oblivious WWX, pining LWJ, BAMF WWX, not for jc fans)

Enough! by Jeeny271196 (Not Rated, 5k, WIP, WangXian, Gūsū Lán Sect Bashing, Jiāng Family Bashing, JC Bashing, LXC Bashing, BAMF WWX, Cultivation Sect Politics)

~*~

15. ITMF Lan Wangji wielding Suibian or WWX wielding Bichen in battle (or walking around a conference or something), and them shocking the polite cultivation world for it. Thank you for any suggestions you can give!

when you're doing all the leaving (then it's never your love lost) by tardigradeschool (T, 26k, wangxian, canon divergence, hurt/comfort, canon-typical violence, sharing clothes, sharing a bed, fix-it, golden core transfer) sadly i barely have anything to contribute to the latest itmf except for one (questionable?) rec for 15. Has one (cool) scene of wwx wielding bichen.

~*~

16. ah hello wonderful mods!! I am interested in any and all fics that have a scene of wangxian running into each other's arms (kind of like the canon scene of wwx jumping from the tree into lwj's arms). thank you for your hard work!! @yourancestorsarefrowning

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 43k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

❤️ The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (T, 20k, wangxian, In-Universe RPF, Romance Novel, Post-Canon Fix-It, primarily drama-canon with cameos from novel-canon, The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli [Podfic] by Rhea314 (Rhea))

~*~

17. i'm curious if there are any fics where nobody (or mostly nobdy) knows the yiling patriarch and wei wuxian are the same person? thank you

only the dead (have seen the end of war) by comforting_monachopsis (T, 42k, WangXian, Temporary Amnesia, BAMF WWX, Sad LWJ, Grief/Mourning, Mild Gore, Medical Inaccuracies, Secret Identity, Loss of Identity, Identity Porn, The Science of Cultivation, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Angst and Humor, Crossdressing, WWX is Bad at Feelings) is a great fic where even wei ying himself forgets who he is after coming out of the burial mounds, and wears a mask so no one recognizes him.

my life's journey is far from over by thelastdboy (E, 148k, WangXian, Modern AU, Canon Divergence, Madam Lán Lives, JYL Lives, WQ Lives, Post-Sunshot Campaign, POV WWX, Slow Burn, YLLZ WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Modern AU but not too modern™, mlm/wlw solidarity, Kink Negotiation, Kink Exploration, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, WWX Lives, Mental Health Issues, References to Depression, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Single Parent WWX, Selectively Mute LWJ, Eventual Smut, Light Dom/sub) It's the second fic in a series but can be read alone (totally recommend both, though!) And it's more the aftermath of the war. WWX struggles sometimes with being alive, so proceed with caution if necessary.

Imperfect Memory by xantissa (E, 61k, WangXian, dub con, Dark FantasyAU, double identity porn, sub!LWJ, Drama, Forced Orgasm, tiny bit of blood play, Prostate Massage, D/s themes, Falling In Love, mature LWJ, Magic, multiple OC characters, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Porn, Identity Porn, Dubious Consent, Happy Ending, Falling In Love Again, Angst and Hurt/Comfort)

If You Love Someone by CoatWrites (T, 28k, WangXian, Rule 63, Fem!LWJ, Fem!WWX, Perceived Major Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Misunderstandings, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Inspired by Princess Bride, Mistaken Identity, mention of past mercy killing, mention of past cannibalism, mention of past torture by a main character, Mention of food insecurity, Attempted Arranged Marriage)

🧡#WarPrizeJiSeason by PorcupineGirl (T, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YL WWX, Warprize LWJ, Yiling Wei Sect, Mistaken Identity, Identity reveal)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

156 notes · View notes

biffhofosho · 1 year

Text

Prisoner to Temptation | Chapter One

Fandoms: Monsta X

Genre: Royal AU, Romance, 19th Century period piece

Pairing: Hyungwon x OC

Chapter Word Count: 9.4k

Tropes: Arranged marriage, strangers to spouses to lovers

The Vibe: Lonely prince meets reluctant princess, the typical royal intrigue, period-appropriate writing style, beautiful costumes and lavish historical settings, friends with benefits-adjacent (though it’s more like royals with obligations), slow burn but also loads and loads of smut (like, I mean it, a lot lol) of every kind in between because arranged marriage, jealousy, angst, misunderstandings, confused feelings, falling in love with your husband, HAPPY ENDING BECAUSE FAIRYTALE DAMNIT

Synopsis: Naran has never fit the mold of a princess. She’s brash, disinterested, and nomadic at heart. It is only unlucky circumstance that has cast her as the sole hope of the Moghulikhan empire. With no brothers to secure the realm’s lineage, shaky borders ringing them from all sides, and a sister too young to understand any of that, peace only seems possible through an alliance, but that hasn’t stopped Naran from scheming up a way out. That is, until a handsome prince charming makes her an offer she simply can’t ignore.

A/N: First things first, happy birthday to my beloved Hyungwon. He’s too special and good for this world. He’s a living muse, and watching him work constantly inspires me (in ways it definitely shouldn’t lol).

Anyway, I just cobbled this AU together out of lots of bits and bobs because I can. Really went for a style of writing and dialogue that you might find in your Jane Austens or Emily Brontës, so this may or may not be for you.

Let’s set it somewhere in the early 1800s though I took a lot of liberties with bygone kingdoms (all real at one point or another, though that doesn’t mean this is historically or geographically accurate—I’m just fucking around). In this universe, western and eastern cultures mingle freely. You’ll get the drift. I mean, I’m here for the romance, but I’m also a slut for worldbuilding. Please join me, your resident lost cause, on this time-traveling, bodice-ripping adventure.

Cvr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12

Naran felt her head drooping with every second that passed with the Viscount LaCroix. At least she’d been trained well enough to blame it on the stuffiness of the hall or the port she’d just downed, but it was becoming clearer by the second that she needed an escape or she was liable to outright fall asleep standing up, and the last thing she needed was to fall into the red-cheeked buffoon’s arms and have him convinced he’d found his fourth wife.

Desperate, Naran scoped out the ballroom looking for a friend to save her, but servants weren’t allowed in except the wait staff and neither were commoners. Even her sister was too young to attend this meat market, for that was what this was—an excuse to haggle wares, only the wares were noble sons and daughters.

At last, her eyes fell on her mother, who was already scowling at her. That scowl only deepened as Naran turned to the old man next to her and bowed lightly.

“Excuse me, your grace, I see my mother is calling for me. Thank you for the… discourse.”

She should have added “delightful" or some other outwardly false adjective in front of the last word, but Naran wasn’t in the mood to play ballroom politics—not that she ever was.

On the way across the room, she snatched another wine from a waiter and downed it, wishing it was kumis instead. She found her mother, Queen Jigme, crouching like a snow leopard in the corner, cunning eyes always vigilant for prey, only now they were narrowed on a very different obstacle.

Though the princess was taller and slighter, more often than not, she was bent from boredom (a trait her father always said made her more grassland reed than girl), and the queen could loom over her with just a few words.

"That was very rude to leave the Viscount hanging like that, child of mine,” the silver-haired woman scolded from behind her own wine glass.

“Wouldn’t it have been ruder to die of tedium in his presence?” Naran challenged without bothering to keep her own voice down. There was no one else in this corner of the ballroom anyway.

"You know, I knew you were going to be the trial of my life when I almost didn’t survive your labor, and here you are, nearly bringing me to my death again. Your grandfather threw this ball in your honor, I’ll remind you.”

Naran rolled her eyes. “Like I could forget. I only heard it every time the carriage hit a pothole the entire fortnight it took to get here.”

“Yes, well, it took many other guests here just as long or longer to arrive, so I won’t hear any more of your complaining.”

“Mother, it’s not like they came here for me. Deda may have told you this ball was for my benefit, but that’s certainly not what he told all these poor royals.”

Her mother pursed her lips, the wrinkles from the many years of sparring with her daughter etched into her face. “It may not have been on the invitations, but none of these people are fools.”

Naran rolled her eyes again toward the Viscount, and her mother smiled before her well-weathered purse returned.

“Very well, most of them aren’t,” the older woman continued. “They have traveled from all across the continent with the express purpose of sizing up rival empires and aligning themselves with ones that are worthy or tactically advantageous. We are here to do the same, Narangerel. Why do you think I married your father, hm? If it weren’t for your grandfather’s meticulous planning, you wouldn’t be here. No one senses an alliance like he does.”

Dread prickled up Naran’s spine the same way sweat did. “Please tell me not the Viscount…”

“Of course not. The First Princess of Moghulikhan should set her sights on someone of far greater importance than a middling pseudo-royal from Limoges.”

“Mother, we’ve been over this—”

“And we’ll go over it as many times as we need to until you understand your role in protecting our kingdom. We are cunning and strategic, Naran. We are survivors. This is how Moghulikhan has endured for centuries.”

“Off the backs of saleable daughters.”

Queen Jigme glared at her. “You are very tiresome, young lady, but do not think you can break my will with tacky jokes and passive aggression. I know what you’re doing because I’ve done it all myself.”

Her mother meant it as a warning, but it came across as one of an entirely different kind.

If her mother was once as free-spirited as Naran fancied herself, then there was no outrunning her fate. She would marry, and she would do it for country, not for herself.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” grumbled Naran.

“In body, maybe. The spirit must be coaxed,” the queen volleyed back.

Or broken, Naran thought bitterly as she took another long draft of wine.

The women stood side-by-side for a while, appraising the room. There were lots of marriageable prospects among the crowd—the princess’s grandfather had seen to it—but most were decades too old or so feeble that they spent most of the night observing their options from their chairs. On the other hand, there were some so young that Naran suspected their governesses or caretakers were lurking just outside the hall.

Her future was dimming by the second.

“Come now,” added her mother, “it’s not so bad as all that. I did let you wear your deel instead of a Western dress, a decision I am regretting now that I see you’re the only one in a costume of your homeland.”

“Shouldn’t that please you? I stand out.”

“Yes, though I think it remarks more on your stubbornness than anything else. Even those from Goryeo went Western traditional.”

Naran sighed.

“What about Prince Hyungwon?” Queen Jigme continued with a sly voice that betrayed her.

The princess narrowed her eyes at her mother. “What about him?”

“No matter which way you look at it, he's a better prospect for you than anybody here.”

Against her will, Naran’s eyes slid across the lavishly appointed ballroom to the tall, thin man with long charcoal hair, a beardless face, and an inscrutable expression. There was an air in his posture that made him look richer than anyone else in the room, though part of that no doubt came with the fact that his empire was certainly one of the largest. In reality, though, it was down to the way he wore his suit—jacket unbuttoned, dress shirt open two buttons too deep just the same as his cuffs, and cravat unspooled like he was heading to bed at any moment. None of these other stuffed-shirts would dare to look so relaxed.

Not that she was paying attention of course…

“What on earth would possess you to say that?” the princess snapped to her mother as she polished off her port.

“He’s certainly the handsomest man out there,” observed the queen.

“Oh, and he knows it.”

Again, since Naran definitely hadn’t been watching him all night, she hadn’t picked up on the way the prince chatted with every pretty girl in his vicinity... And she definitely hadn't studied the way his face collapsed into perfect apathy the moment he was ready to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving a string of bereft royals in his wake.

“To say nothing of the fact that his kingdom abuts ours,” the queen continued. “We’re already neighbors.”

“Oh, so he’s obligated to choose Moghulikhan just because we share part of a border? Our lands may be vast, Mother, but half of them are empty desert. We’re not resource-rich like Chalukya or Lotharingia nor do we have the breadth of their armies. Why on earth would Prince Hyungwon ever marry me over Princess Bhataki or Princess Flavia when their empires are twice as wealthy and neither of them openly balks at Court obligations? He won't have to settle for anything less than exactly what he wants. It's not like he has a clock ticking.”

“Sometimes I wonder about you,” Jigme said with a gentle shake of her head. “Clearly, I’ve indulged you far too much. You know nothing of politics, Narangerel. Prince Hyungwon may be a man, but he's also the last of his line. With no other heirs, he will need to provide some for his throne lest he throw his realm into chaos.”

“That may be, but unlike us,” the princess objected, “he can have children at any age.”

“My darling child, a throne may sit on solid ground, but it can be overturned at any moment. With no other heirs behind him, his family line is less and less secure every day. The Chae lineage may be storied, but people will talk. They already are talking. The longer Goryeo hesitates on forging a match, the closer things march toward open season on its reign. Nothing is secure in this life, dear, least of all power.”

“So, what? The prince is here tonight to find a bride?”

“Well, he certainly didn’t travel twice as far as we did for just for caviar.”

Naran glared at her mother, but as annoyed as she was, she couldn’t keep her eyes on her now that her interest had been reluctantly piqued. It had nothing to do with the prince’s looks, of course, but intrigue was intrigue, she told herself. It was only natural.

Prince Hyungwon did not look back. He was too busy feigning attention to the Countess de Bourgh, who was prattling on about her new summer villa, no doubt, as she had to any poor fool who had crossed her path that night. But when Naran could convince her eyes to finally stray from his button mushroom nose and jutting, plump upper lip, she found someone else who seemed to have just as much interest in the young prince’s company as she did.

Seated at the most prominent table in the center of the room was the Emperor of Goryeo himself, the prince’s father, Emperor Gongmin. He was a much smaller man than his son, with a round, flat face and perceptive eyes. It was clear the prince favored his mother’s elegant looks as well as her attention span, as she was lost in her wine glass while the Empress of Wu yammered on beside her.

Queen Jigme smiled and said shrewdly, “You see now, don't you?”

Naran shrugged a shoulder. “They seem like they're having a nice time.”

“Perhaps the empress is enjoying herself, but you know the emperor hasn't eaten so much of a grain of rice tonight. He has eyes on everything.”

“Very well, Mother, I will play your silly games. On whom does the emperor have eyes?”

“I would say there are two frontrunners. The Princess of Champa and the Princess of Dai Viet. Princess Binh is plenty young enough to bear many heirs and from to an exotic kingdom without an heir apparent while Princess Tham is newly widowed, still young, and has only borne two daughters. The Fates would say she is due for a boy. And I have heard the Dai Viet palace is covered in gold while their mountains are said to be filled with precious stones. It would be a good alliance to make.”

“I suppose either one would make a suitable match if it weren't for one problem,” Naran said with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, and what is that?”

“The prince isn’t interested in either one of them.”

The queen hummed. “What makes you say that, my sun?”

“Princess Binh is far too talkative and he cares little for conversation, and Princess Tham flatters him far too much. It makes him uncomfortable.”

The corner of the queen’s mouth twitched. “Does it now?”

“Not that I've been watching,” Naran added. “It’s just what I’ve heard other guests saying over their wine goblets.”

“Hm. Well, in the end, we both know that doesn't matter, does it, my child? The prince will marry whomever the emperor tells him to marry.”

“I suppose you're right about that, as you’ve been right about nearly everything tonight.”

Queen Jigme nodded, an odd light illuminating the dark wells of her eyes. “How pleased I am to hear you say that because I should like to return to the discussion about the third and best option for the prince’s marriage.”

There was a long pause as understanding simmered between mother and daughter, and slowly, a red aura crept above the collar of Naran’s deel.

“Mother, you cannot be serious!” she snapped, loud enough that a few other nearby royals glanced their way.

The queen hushed her daughter with a pinch to her side and a heavy sneer. Despite the Court decorum her mother otherwise fought to uphold, she gripped both of the princess’s arms and squared her daughter to face her. Jigme’s voice was low but firm as she said, “Naran, this is our one chance at protection from Goryeo’s might. Especially with your father still ill, we are doomed without this union.”

The princess tried to shake the older woman’s grip, but it was relentless. Though she tried to sound cavalier, Naran’s voice wavered as she said, “You’re being dramatic again, Mother.”

“Hardly. Goryeo has been overthrowing kingdom after kingdom. Perhaps you’re too young to remember Ladakh, but no doubt you learned about it in your schooling.”

“I did.”

“So you know what happened to them, to my people,” said the queen. Her voice was clipped and her eyes were tight. “Goryeo took them over in a week. A week, Naran. And they were Moghulikhan’s direct neighbor, the only kingdom left between Goryeo’s might and ours. Now that our lands share a border, I’m sure it won’t be long before that irks Emperor Gongmin. Moghulikhan might be large, but as you pointed out, we don’t have the population Goryeo does. It’s been but thirty years since that takeover, and no doubt the Emperor's hunger for power and country has only amplified.

“Still, he’s a tactician at heart. He knows our army might not be as large as his, but we are fierce and brutal, and our kingdom is like four in one. It would be devastating to the unfamiliar army once they hit, say, the Gobi. But that need never come to pass if our kingdoms unite peacefully.”

The princess rolled her whole head with her eyes. “And I’m supposed to fix that how?”

“Don’t be obtuse, Narangerel. You were raised in a court. You know that alliances are the only way to secure one’s self and one’s vassals, and there’s no alliance stronger than a blood alliance. If Prince Hyungwon selects you as his princess before other arrangements are made, then there’s nothing to worry about any longer. No one would dare trifle with our kingdom with the strength of Goryeo behind us.”

“You’ve just described the worst kind of bully. Why on earth would I want to marry someone like that for all the good looks in the realms? Do you know your daughter at all?”

Jigme rubbed the princess’s arms before she squeezed Naran’s hands. “Indeed, I do, my love. You think I would propose Saran to such a family? Your sister could never conquer them. She’s too sweet and gentle. She’d be swallowed up. But you, my sun, my strength… You have the wit and the courage and the cleverness to make men fear you.”

“So why don’t I just make them so afraid of me they leave us alone entirely?”

“And there’s the wit. Naran, you must learn to look beyond what your eyes can observe the way you trust Altantsetseg on the steppe. Let me be your eagle in this hunt, my love. I know the battlefields better than you do; I’ve lived my entire life on them. Emperor Gongmin may be a shrewd monarch, but Prince Hyungwon is malleable. He is his own man, a man who will one day be king. In the right hands, he will be merciful and kind. In the wrong ones, he will be a foolish puppet. What would you have, child?”

“I would have you talk sense,” Naran quipped. “Through a twist of fate, I may have been born into this world, but it is not my world, Mother. I could never be ‘the right hands.’ I care nothing for the games of idle men. I care only for an open sky and a wind-swept bluff.”

Jigme looked softly at her daughter. She brushed a stray tendril of mahogany hair behind the princess’s ear and said, “Be that as it may, the choice is not yours to make. You will make your way to the prince, and you will introduce yourself with a smile. Once he sees that, everything will fall into place, I’m sure of it. You are very beautiful tonight, my daughter, as always, and never more so when you offer up one of those rare smiles.”

“And what happens when he ignores me as he has every other woman tonight? What of all your schemes?”

The older woman quirked one of her silver brows. “That is an outcome I cannot accept. I am confident I have read the omens right.”

“Mother—”

“Shall I make the introduction?”

“Don’t bother. It will be over before you finish it. Let me embarrass myself alone.”

It went against tradition, but the queen knew better than to argue when she’d already won. “Go now, Naran. The prince is waiting for you.”

With that, Queen Jigme plucked the wine glass from her daughter’s hand and folded back into the ring of elder monarchs surveying the hall from stations along murals of bygone conquests. Even in the perfect silence of the vast grasslands, Naran had never felt so alone.

She was stunned to the point of paralysis. There it was, her future laid out with horrifying clarity. She was expected to pair up and breed like a mare only with far less freedom. It didn’t matter if the stud they’d chosen for her was significantly younger and more agreeable-looking than the rest of the stable—the fences were closing in all around her until, slowly but surely, she would be broken.

From his vantage point across the room at one of the many white-clothed tables, Naran’s grandfather smiled at her as though it was all going according to plan. As if to underscore this, his eyes slid further down the dance floor to the corner, where Chae Hyungwon, Crown Prince of the Goryeo Empire, watched the ruby port inside his goblet twirl like a skirt.

Naran was trembling. She’d faced off with packs of wolves the same as packs of thieves and lived through them, and while the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins was identical, the anxiety swelling her throat was something new, something she’d never felt before.

With a heavy breath, she shuffled inelegantly in her kitten heels across the ballroom floor and tried to call forth her eagle’s fearless spirit.

“Give me strength, Altantsetseg,” she whispered, and she swore she felt the beat of its wings in her gut.

The prince had his back to Naran, which was a thousand times more terrifying than if he’d seen her coming, for now she had to beg for his attention, and the princess hadn’t begged for a thing since she’d been a petulant runt at their chef’s knees, whining for treats after a day out in the grasslands. This was as far as she could get from such whimsies.

Though Naran was tall for a woman, taller even than many of the men here tonight, Hyungwon was a whole head taller than she. His jacket strained against shoulders so broad, they looked like they could rival her eagle’s wingspan, and again, she felt that unusual flutter inside her. The princess had to remind herself quickly that she was in charge of her fate, not her mother and not some handsome stranger who embodied everything she hated about Court.

Naran cleared her throat, but the prince did not turn. She had to get this over with quickly, like landing the mercy blow to wild game, and the simplicity and familiarity of the image spurred her tongue to action. She defaulted to English as she had all night, but if Prince Hyungwon didn’t speak it, all the better. Since she didn’t know a word of his language, she could be gone with a cordial bow and her duty would end.

“It appears I may be the only lady in this ballroom with whom you have not spoken tonight, my lord.”

Prince Hyungwon turned on his heel, and the air rushed out of her lungs. This close, he was arresting. Gone was the aloof gaze he had sported much of the night, replaced instead by keen eyes the color of roasted pine nuts that were just as warm and comforting. The baubles of his cheeks were high with a half-smile, and for a second, Naran thought she was the only person in the room with him.

“Are you jealous?” he said in perfect English and an unexpected flavor of cockiness, and that, more than anything, returned her senses to her.

“Hardly,” the princess retorted. “But others expect an interaction, so I’m obliged to give one for show.”

Hyungwon recoiled, genuine horror in his eyes. “I’m sorry, my lady. I fear the wine has loosened my lips. I meant no offense.”

“And I take none, sire. I am merely telling you that I am here as an emissary of my mother, Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Moghulikhan. She bade me greet you on behalf of our country. I am Princess Narangerel.”

Naran bowed, which Hyungwon echoed with one of his own, and when he came back up, his ears were pink and his grin was sheepish.

“It seems I have not made as good of an impression on the princess as I have on the queen. Will you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive, my lord.”

Hyungwon cocked his head to the side as he studied her. “Really? Because it seems like you’re already looking for a way out of this conversation.”

“Don’t take it personally. I look for a way out of most conversations.”

“Perhaps I should though,” he persisted. “You conversed with the Viscount LaCroix for quite a while.”

Naran’s jaw dropped. He’d noticed that?

“It wasn’t for lack of trying, my lord, I assure you.”

Hyungwon smirked. “Very well then. I am satisfied.”

“I’m so pleased,” she deadpanned before she could stop herself. Thankfully, instead of affronted, the prince looked surprised with the vaguest hint of amusement. As far as torture went, things could have been much worse.

And then they were.

Out of the corner of her eye, Naran caught her mother, who only ever had clear vision when it came to her daughters and what they weren’t doing, edging discreetly closer. Panic set in. If the queen overheard any of this absurd and impolite conversation, she would be mortified and the princess would probably be permanently chaperoned. Who knew what untold horrors would be foisted on her? A shiver ran through Naran at the thought of all the potential obligations she couldn’t escape, and before the bile could rise in her throat, she doubled down on the lesser of two evils.

“Just go along with this, my lord, and everything will be over faster, yes?” she whispered to a very confused prince before she proclaimed much louder, “How handsome His Highness looks this evening! And how well you converse! I’ve never seen such happy manners on a prince before.”

Hyungwon blinked. “What on earth are you—”

Still louder, Naran said, “Your kingdom is very lucky to have such a genial lord at its helm. I see your long travels haven’t fatigued you at all. I trust the palace is to your liking?”

The prince was stunned into silence for a moment before those full lips tightened. “Listen, my lady, I’m not in the mood for—”

“Oh, shut up, and just agree with anything I said, so we can move on,” she hissed.

“Wait, you don’t want to be here?”

“Of course not. And neither do you. Thanks to that scowl, I could tell that from across the ballroom.”

“I thought this sort of thing is what all maidens wanted?”

“‘Maidens,’ huh? Please. To be paraded like ponies at auction in hopes of a high bid? I think not. And what of the other twenty maidens who go home with disappointed hopes of proving valuable to families that only care for their male heirs? We maidens must sit in our rooms wondering what we did wrong and how we could have done better because if we’re not bearing heirs, then we’re just a waste of resources, aren’t we? So tell me again how odious this party is for you—and how elegant your suit looks, my prince! Did you have it custom-tailored or is it a family heirloom?” Naran’s voice switched into a strained soprano as she caught her mother leaning in closer.

Hyungwon stared at the princess in utter confusion, and exasperation was setting in. As low and as sharply as she could manage, she grumbled, "Say something, please."

His eyes flicked to Queen Jigme only to find his father now beside the gray-haired woman, and, at last, he nodded. “Ah, um, yes, it was tailored just for tonight. I’m glad it is to your liking, my lady.”

“Oh, thank God,” the princess mumbled. If she could have wiped her brow, she would have.

“Would you like to dance, Princess Narangerel?”

What! No, no, no!

Her heart was in her throat and her eyes zipped back and forth for a way out though there was none. Hyungwon’s offer had been overheard by the ears that mattered most, and there was no way to refute him without the greatest offense.

“I guess I have to say yes now,” she answered quietly enough that the prince could hear her and her mother could not.

Hyungwon blinked his big brown eyes before he narrowed them. “Did I misunderstand something? That wasn’t what you wanted?”

“No! Now they’ll think you have some sort of interest in me. You haven’t asked anyone else to dance all night. You must fix this, sire.”

“And how am I to do that?”

Naran growled. “Have you never been to a ball before? And my mother thinks I’m clueless! Obviously, you’ll have to ask a few other ladies to dance to throw them off the scent or we’ll be associated with one another from here on out. Is that what you want?”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Hyungwon admitted, the pinkness back on his ears. “You have me completely bewildered, my lady. All I wanted was to retire to my room for the night.”

“Well, now you can’t. We must dance and you must then dance with others. There’s no getting around it. How can you know so little of Court when you are prince of one of the realms’ greatest empires? Honestly, who raised you?”

Gone were any pretenses for civility, and Naran knew she had overstepped about a hundred rules of polite society, but she was feeling anything but polite.

Unlike her carelessness, the prince raised his glass to his lips, took a long drink, and said coolly, “You’re awfully brash for a woman.”

“And you’re precisely as thick for a man. Now, walk me to the dance floor so we can get this over with.”

The prince offered his hand, and Naran took it because she had no choice. Even so, she jolted at the feel of his hot skin under hers. His hands were smooth and babied and perhaps had never seen a day’s labor, where hers were rough and calloused from handling a bow and knives. She wished she’d worn gloves as her mother had urged.

Together, they waited at the edge of the dance floor alongside a dozen other couples, some married, some courting, but all staring at the unlikely pair. Naran held her head high and straight and tried not to collapse under the weight of so much perception. Neither said a word to the other as they waited awkwardly, hand-in-hand for want of any other option, while the previous dance concluded. The moment it did, Prince Hyungwon gestured for her to take to the floor, and they parted, her hand throbbing as she buried it in the folds of her skirt to dry it off.

Naran didn’t dare look back to her mother, especially knowing the Emperor of Goryeo waited right by her side. She focused, instead, on the billowing folds of the prince’s shirt and the flashes of his glossy chest that peeked through when the tie at his collar pulled taut.

As the orchestra reset for the next dance, the room fell silent save for a babble of whispers as rhythmic as the wind through the reeds. Her grandfather’s ballroom was large and magnificent, yet Naran felt the walls closing in around her, especially when she spied the old man’s sun-beaten, smiling face leaving the conductor’s side.

At last, the music swelled, and much to her horror, she recognized it as a waltz. Naran wasn’t good at the waltz. It had come over from the West, and she had only practiced it a few times before tonight at her grandfather’s behest in the hopes she might impress a Western lord. She didn’t expect it to be familiar to Prince Hyungwon either, but if he was uncomfortable, he masked it well.

She took the first steps toward her partner as he met her half-way. His hand opened, and hers filled it again as required. They met and parted a few times to the gentle melody before joining more permanently side-by-side for the next few bars. Once she’d gotten the flow down well enough that she could keep her feet under her without constant coaxing, the princess’s painful awareness of her predicament returned to her.

“Curse him,” Naran whispered under her breath, but since the prince was at her side, he caught her words.

“Are you cursing me?”

“Soon enough, no doubt,” she said boldly, but he didn’t take her bait. As they split across from each other for a series of inelegant hops that Naran had to meticulously count in her head, she grumbled, “I’m going to embarrass you, sire. I’m not very good at this.”

“You’re lovely.”

“I feel like a fish tossed on land. This is nothing like our traditional dances.”

Hyungwon hummed as his hand lifted hers aloft for her to spin under it. “What are those like?”

“Lively,” she said. “Noisy. Fun. Elegance and restraint have no place in Moghul dances. It’s a celebration, not a funeral.”

“You're a very singular woman, Princess Narangerel.”

She scoffed. “And there's yet another falsehood. There are many women like me, but few who have the luxury having of such a mouth or a mind. If you think all women long to sit at home all day nursing babies and picking out garlands for the next gala, you are well and truly misinformed, my prince, just as not all men think of conquering every surrounding kingdom to increase the size of their manhoods.”

The prince’s hand squeezed a little tighter around her shoulder before they parted for a fresh orbit around one another. “That feels like a very thinly-veiled opinion of someone I might know.”

“I have no idea what you mean, my lord. My god, will this song ever end?”

Hyungwon laughed. “It just started.”

Why wasn’t her brazenness putting him off? This was torture.

Naran growled and kept her focus hard and fast to her feet, which were supposed to be light and fluttery, but that heavy sensation stayed rooted to her stomach. “Is everybody still watching us?”

“I’m afraid so. You can look at me, too, you know,” the prince informed with a smile evident in his voice.

“It’s not a good idea,” the princess insisted. “I don’t want people to get any more of the wrong impression.”

Their toes met and then their hands as they completed the next turn in the dance.

“Which is?”

“That you’re interested in me,” she answered. Naran risked a glance up at his face and instantly regretted it. “It would be helpful if you stopped smiling, sire.”

Another turn, another kiss of their fingertips.

“I can’t help it,” Hyungwon said. “You’re the first entertaining person all night.”

“How can I convince you otherwise?”

The prince’s smile only broadened, and as soon as she caught a glimpse of it, she had no hope of looking at anything else.

“You know, I do know who you are, Princess Narangerel. Your reputation as a spirit-crusher precedes you."

"Ah, is that what they say about me? How delightful. That should be warning enough for you then, yes?”

“No.”

Naran scowled. “Then would you like to know your reputation, my prince?”

“I doubt I’ll like it as much as you like yours.”

“Oh, very true, but since I’m a spirit-crusher, I'll tell you anyway. You, sire, don’t speak until spoken to unless it’s a pretty serving lass with an ample bosom.”

Hyungwon pressed his lips together as his brow knitted. “Is that really what they say?”

“Indeed. Do you disagree with it?”

“I probably should.”

Naran smiled despite her better judgment.

“At least there’s no shortage of bosom on display for you tonight,” she added.

“Unfortunately, it comes with expectations. The serving lasses have none.”

“You’re as frank as I am, my lord.”

Hyungwon looked down at the princess, and there was a fondness in his gaze that she really didn’t trust.

“What a pair we make,” he said softly.

But what Naran lacked in decorum, she made up for with a hunter’s perceptions. Before her, Hyungwon had played the part of a respectful suitor until the amusement of the moment wore off and his true indifferent colors shown through. Granted, he had taken it up to the next level with this dance, but there was no reason to expect any other outcome. At least she could cling to that.

Hyungwon lifted his hand, and again, Naran was obliged to twirl once beneath it. The skirt of her deel flared around her ankles, stirring a breeze up her legs.

“You dance very well, Princess.”

“Your usual company is serving lasses, so I'll take that compliment with a grain of salt.”

The prince laughed, and the sound was so buoyant, her chest leapt with it. And then resentment immediately crept back in.

“I’m glad one of us is enjoying ourselves tonight.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong, you know,” Hyungwon replied. “This party is just as much torture for me as it is for you. You don’t know what it’s like to support the weight of an entire kingdom on your shoulders.”

“Shows what His Highness knows. I have no brothers, hence no heirs. I’m Moghulikan’s only hope for stability. If I do not marry well, our line could be overthrown before my sister even comes of age to do what I can not.”

“Then, you are right. I am wrong. We are in the same boat.”

Naran narrowed her eyes at him. “I appreciate your concession, my prince, but perhaps it’s time we stop looking so familiar with one another.”

“Now, that will be difficult.”

Naran cocked her head. “Why is that?”

“Because this is the part where the tempo slows.”

Just then, the music dipped and the dance shifted from arm’s length fleeting touches to a fixed hold. They lined up, hip to hip, the princess facing one way and the prince facing the other. It would have been the best outcome were it not for Hyungwon’s hand curling across her stomach around her waist in a way that hers had to mirror on him, and as he tugged their sides flush, their free hands met overhead to lock them into a pirouette.

Together, they spun like tops across the floor as the final movement wound on for what felt like eternity. Around her, faces blurred, but one thing was clear—everyone in the hall was watching them.

“I’m going to be sick,” Naran confessed.

Hyungwon held her tighter as he assured, “It’s almost over. Just look into my eyes, Princess. It will steady you.”

It did and it didn’t.

Those dark orbs stared down at her, framed by the soft pillows of his lids as he smiled lightly, and it was more dizzying than the constant spinning.

At last, the music concluded to a polite round of applause from the assembly. The other couples had separated to bow to one another, but Hyungwon still held her waist. Naran wriggled her hand free to hold her temples and slow the spinning in her brain.

None of this should have happened. It was just supposed to be a rushed introduction to get her mother off her back and the prince out of the running for Savior of Moghulikhan, yet here Naran was, breathless and antsy and side-by-side with any other princess’s dream catch.

“What do you say to another dance, please, your grace?” asked Prince Hyungwon, his hand hanging mid-air in offer.

“Out of the question,” Naran hissed, her eyes darting to the shadowy faces gawking from the sidelines.

Undeterred, he said, “Would you rather take this discussion into the hall?”

Her stomach dropped. As suggestive as it was dancing two songs back-to-back with the same partner, sneaking away was outright confirmation of an understanding or worse, an illicit relationship, and there was no way Naran could risk that, just as she couldn’t risk abandoning him slack-jawed on the dance floor for the gossipmongers and her very angry mother.

“Fine, but it ends after this. I feel like I’m suffocating.” The princess tugged at the collar of her deel, but it may as well have been a noose tightening around her throat.

The music kicked up, and once again, Naran spotted her grandfather leaving the band’s station. Instead of a rather suggestive waltz, it was a smooth and patient minuet that left far too much time for conversation in between the languid notes.

“Damn it all to hell,” Naran whispered as they circled each other. “You’ll have to dance with at least four other ladies now.”

Her partner stared back at her with a perfectly blank face. “I have no intentions of doing so.”

“Really, Prince Hyungwon, why must you be so obstinate? If you do not, then everyone will presume an understanding has been made between us, which will obligate us to marry. Is that what you really want?”

The prince shrugged. “It’s less loathsome than the thought of marrying any of these other royals.”

Shock took a backseat to outrage as Naran’s eyes bolted to his blank stare. “No, no, no, no, no. Did you ever consider that I do not wish to marry?”

“Am I that repulsive of an option?” he asked, and Naran could hear a hint of hurt in his husky voice that made even her feel a little guilty.

“My prince, it’s not a matter of marrying you. Perhaps I do not wish to marry at all. There’s no glamor in that, contrary to what the fairytales promise. It’s tedious obligation after tedious obligation, and excepting weddings and births, you’re always bound to your stupid castle. If I do not become queen, then I am free to exist as I wish. I can sleep until midday or bathe under a waterfall or stargaze on the open plain if I so desire.”

“And what if I offer you that same freedom with this marriage?”

Naran laughed. “You’re serious? Why on earth would you ever wish for a wife who cares so little for court or you?”

“Maybe because I have no wish to marry either, but as the sole heir to Goryeo, I have no choice. If I don’t decide, things will be decided for me. At least with you, I know I’d have my own freedoms.”

“But I’d still be expected to bear your heirs, sire.”

The implication was inescapable, and they both stiffened in each other’s arms.

Hyungwon nibbled on his bottom lip before he finally nodded. "There’s no getting around that, I suppose.”

“There is not.”

“I take it you never had any desire for children?”

“On the contrary,” Naran replied, “I’d love them, which is why I would never wish for the responsibilities of this life to fall on them.”

Hyungwon hung his head, laden with his own understanding. “We could raise them differently. Just as our marriage would be unconventional and without expectations, we could choose to raise any children we had as such.”

“You surprise me, my prince, and, if I’m honest, it’s more than a little tempting all things considered, but I think we both know that would be impossible. We may be at the height of our realms, but we answer to everyone instead of no one.”

Thin as he was, the prince looked heavy again under the weight of his tremendous burden.

“If I may,” Naran continued as she dipped under his hand for another twirl, “why don’t you dance with Princess Ophelia? She’s a quiet sort of girl from a robust kingdom and would likely leave you your peace while acting like a true queen when the time comes. My mother also thinks Princess Binh might be a good match for you.”

“You’ve talked about me?” Hyungwon said rather hopefully, and Naran swallowed hard. His charms were too pervasive.

“My mother did,” she corrected. “And speaking of, I should get back to her…”

Naran broke her hand from his and started toward the now-aghast Queen Jigme when the prince grabbed her wrist and jerked her back to him. She landed with an oomph in his arms, the sticks pinning up her hair clattering somewhere behind her. Her face was lost in the folds of his shirt and the smell of intoxicating oils like yuja and clove beneath it. She wondered if he’d rubbed them on his own chest or if someone else had had the duty of anointing him.

Her heart hammered though her lungs caught as she hoped against hope that she would fade into him like a shadow until no one in the room noticed her at all. But it was for nothing. The music still played, but it became background noise beneath the murmur of royal bystanders.

Suddenly, Hyungwon’s cheek was in her hair, his mouth finding her ear through her unraveling black tresses.

“Princess Narangerel, my father intends to invade Moghulikhan. Marry me and we can prevent this.”

It was just as Queen Jigme feared, and Hyungwon knew it. Naran was faced now with turning her back on her family and her entire kingdom with full knowledge and selfishness or falling in league with a handsome prince who promised to give her the life she sought anyway. It was no doubt an empty promise, but even if it were, the threat was now real. Knowing what she knew, could she really turn him down?

“Damn you,” she whispered back, her nails digging in through the thin silk of his shirt.

“Is that a yes, princess?”

“Yes,” she seethed.

“Then I will go to my father at once and arrange everything. We shall make the announcement tonight.”

Hyungwon released her and stalked over to his father, ushering him out of the ballroom and leaving the princess red-faced and shaking in a sea of jealous and shocked gawkers. The room whirled, and her stomach lurched. Everything Naran had ever known had just been undone in the span of two songs.

Her mother was at her side in an instant, smoothing her hair and thumbing at the rosy bloom in her daughter’s cheeks.

“Oh, my sun, you’ve made the right decision! I knew you would!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mother,” Naran insisted, hoping that her denial would alter reality.

“Did the prince not propose? Did you not say yes?”

“It was a dance. Just a dance.”

“A dance? When Prince Hyungwon has danced with no one but family in years? When his lips were in your hair? Surely, you jest, my child. No, this means everything. You have saved your homeland. Our people will adore you for it. Saran will adore you for it. When she comes of age, there won’t be a royal in all the realms who won’t seek to woo her. She will have her choice of kingdom thanks to your enviable match. It will silence at last the issue of heirs amongst our own people, for Goryeo’s backing will be incentive enough to dissuade usurpers until your sister can bear the next king.”

Naran’s throat was drier than the Gobi. She pinched her eyes shut against the onslaught of cold knowledge relentlessly bombarding her. “That’s just what I want—my little sister having to endure this nonsense.”

“She will not have to, darling! Suitors will come to her. She can marry for love or country.”

“She can have everything I cannot.”

Queen Jigme took her daughter’s face in hand and smiled warmly at her. “Who is to say that you cannot? Duty may bind you, but it doesn’t have to unmake you, dearest. There is something to your prince. When you’ve survived as long as I have in the world, you can see it. Only someone special like you, my Narangerel, can awaken it. Is Prince Hyungwon not handsome?”

Reluctantly, the princess nodded.

“Is he not charming?”

“When he wants to be.”

The queen’s voice dropped hard and low as her grip tightened. “Did he give you a reason to fear him?”

Naran pictured Hyungwon’s soft cinnamon eyes studying her as they twirled across the dance floor, and though her chest tightened at the memory, it wasn’t founded in the same kind of fear she felt when she squared off with a pack of wolves. The princess shook her head. “No, nothing like that.”

The queen let out a relieved sigh. “Good, because I would not part with you for all the alliances in the realms in trade for your safety. So, it is only your pride that holds you back?”

“Not pride, Mother. Freedom.”

“Do you respect the prince?”

“I hardly know him.”

Jigme glowered at her. “That has never stopped my daughter from making a snap judgment before.”

Naran didn’t want to say yes. That was the same thing as condoning the whole preposterous arrangement. And yet… It was hard to forget the gentleness in his cheeks and the calmness in his voice as he promised things she knew she shouldn’t dream of any longer.

“I suppose more than I do these other preening fools.”

“Then take heart, my sun. If there is respect, there can be love. You will want for nothing. There will be peace further than your eagle can soar. You have already done more for your kingdom than most rulers can ever hope to do.”

Strangely, Naran felt her heart in her throat. It was yet another promise that seemed impossible to deliver. “That presumes Emperor Gongmin will approve the match…”

Before her mother could even open her mouth to answer, Prince Hyungwon sped across the ballroom faster than she had imagined such a cavalier man ever moving. The entire party was watching as he bowed deeply to Queen Jigme before extending his hand to the princess.

Naran had no choice, she had to take it, and instead of simply holding her hand, he laced his fingers through hers so she had no way to pull away. His skin was hot and sweaty, but so was hers, and at least she could take comfort in the fact that he was as uncomfortable with this unbearable spotlight as she was.

“What’s going on?” she whispered. “Did your father not approve our arrangement?”

Even if the match had never been something she had wanted for herself, it would be even more humiliating to be turned down.

Worryingly, Hyungwon did not answer though he also did not stop pulling her to the head of the hall. There, beneath a fresco of a khan and his warrior bride surveying a battle from a mountain ledge, the prince stopped and tugged Naran close to his side. His hand tightened in hers, and it felt almost like he was using her to keep upright. She didn’t bother to balk because she needed the same.

Heavy footsteps approached from the side, and Naran lifted her eyes. Emperor Gongmin seemed to fill the room like a great balloon, puffing mightier and mightier with each passing second. All eyes had already turned to the front of the hall in anticipation of what the greatest ruler in the East had to say.

The emperor raised his glass to the party and grinned with a hollowness that Naran had yet to find in his son. His voice boomed across the room, even vibrating in the glassware on the tables. “First, I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to the mighty Toqu Khan for hosting us all at his beautiful palace this week. For many of us, this may be the only time we visit Kipchak, but it will remain forever in our hearts. It has been many long years since I have had the privilege of visiting, but I am happy to report this time has added a fondness for this charming land that I might never have anticipated, because it is thanks to the great Khan’s generosity that I can announce to all the realms that my son, Crown Prince Hyungwon of Goryeo, has finally found his future bride.”

A collective gasp filled the hall to its rafters, and Naran fought to hide her embarrassing tremble. As the spectators tightened ranks, she scanned the rainbow of faces to find her mother and grandfather watching with proud smiles. If they were happy, so too must she try to be. While she couldn’t bear to look at the man beside her, the princess worked hard to cobble some kind of smile together for them.

Emperor Gongmin continued, “Today, I am pleased to announce the joyful union of the Empire of Goryeo to the Kingdom of Moghulikhan. Henceforth, Princess Narangerel will move to Namgyeong to be with her new family, where the happy couple will marry before the whole empire. Please join me in wishing them all possible happiness.”

Applause thundered around them. For as many sycophants and saccharine grins as there were, there were just as many barely concealed scowls and glares, particularly a few other princesses Naran had spied talking up the prince earlier.

“To their many heirs!” shouted someone in the crowd, which was followed by cheers and more applause.

Her grandfather signaled for the band to kick back up as small glasses of clear liquor made their way suspiciously quickly through the ballroom, almost as though they’d been waiting for just such an announcement. The moment the tray appeared to her, Naran shook off Hyungwon’s hand to grab two glasses and down them with lightning speed before the burn of the alcohol could even sear her tongue. Beside her, her husband-to-be eyed her as he nursed his lone glass.

No sooner were the glasses emptied than the emperor had extended his hand to his future daughter-in-law. “Would you honor your new father with a dance, Princess?”

Without so much as the bliss of drunkenness, her body churned and her mind swam as Emperor Gongmin led Naran to the edge of the dance floor and dove right in mid-promenade. She could barely keep her feet under her as they waltzed through the line of raucous partygoers.

“What an enviable match you have made for yourself, Princess Naran,” the emperor observed as they ducked through a tunnel of hands.

“Yes, Your Highness,” she said tightly.

They emerged at the end of the tunnel only to add to it by joining their hands above them for the next dancers. Naran tried to keep her attention on the dance, but the beady eyes of the emperor were relentlessly demanding, and she knew in her bones she needed to rise to his challenge. She met his gaze head on, and the corner of his mouth quirked, pulling a crow’s foot at the edge of his cheek.

“I confess I have never seen my son so interested in his future,” Gongmin added, “which is why I approved the match without first meeting you. He appears genuinely pleased.”

“I am happy to hear so.”

They paired off again for a series of turns about the dance floor, which gave the emperor a chance to soften his voice further. “But I do not have the luxury of being so easy. My son has always been as prone to whimsy as he is to idleness, and this is all very sudden.”

Now, the alcohol was kicking in, mercifully giving Naran the strength she needed in the face of the Lord of the East. “Is that not how most matches are made, Your Highness?”

“Indeed they are, but I’m sure you can appreciate my desire to protect my empire.”

“Excuse my candor, sire, but I don’t believe anyone worries about the future of Goryeo.”

Emperor Gongmin’s hand squeezed hers unexpectedly tightly. “I do, Princess Narangerel, I do. So long as you commit to your new homeland and deliver the promised heirs, we will get along perfectly well. Now, I suggest you two revel in tonight’s festivities for as long as they’re offered. Goryeo always remembers to show its deep appreciation to its hosts, especially when they’re now family.”

The soon-to-be in-laws finished out the last few bars of the dance before they bowed to one another. As the emperor came up, he added with a softer, if disingenuous, smile, “You will make some very pretty children.”

With nothing else to say, Naran bowed again.

As Gongmin stepped aside for his son, he looked at the pair and said, “Enjoy your party, you two.”

Prince Hyungwon joined Naran’s side and offered her the next dance, but she shook her head. “I’m too dizzy. I mean it.”

“Would you like to sit down?”

“I would like to shoot you with an arrow,” she snapped though she took a chair along the wall and let her head rest against the tapestry there as she steadied her heart. “I hope you're happy.”

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow, “About the arrow? Not so much, but otherwise, I am, and so should you be.”

“You just blackmailed me into marriage. Happiness is the last thing from my mind.”

“You’re not the least bit glad to have settled on someone who will at least respect your independence, princess?”

Under the swell of the violin, Naran scoffed. “If you respected my independence, you would have left me to my plan of faking a deadly illness until my sister came of age. Then I could miraculously recover only to live my life as a spinster roaming the plains and hunting with my eagle.”

“You have a very elaborate imagination, my lady,” he said teasingly.

“It’s hardly imagination, my lord. I was set to contract dropsy this very evening.”

Hyungwon laughed. “You don’t contract dropsy; you develop it. Do not worry, the libraries in Changdeokgung are second to none, and they will all be at the princess’s disposal. You can pretend to contract all the illnesses you want when we arrive.”

Naran seethed. Thankfully, the folds of her dress concealed her fists.

“For all that’s just occurred, I am glad I met you, Princess,” said the prince as the orchestra wound down, and the tension left her hands at once. There was a tenderness in his voice that Naran almost let herself mistake as genuine affection, but either way, it made her breath catch. “This is the first time in my whole life I haven’t dreaded my future.”

He was being kind, and maybe it was even working were it not for the fact that it was the first time in Naran’s life that she did dread hers.

“I meant what I said,” Hyungwon continued. “I mean to give you every independence I can in our marriage. We don’t have to love each other so long as we respect each other, and if we can do that, maybe we can be something great for our people—and maybe even each other.”

The prince looked down at her, that beautiful smile showcasing brilliant teeth and lush lips. Naran longed to trust such beauty, but she knew those things were fleeting. Once the chandeliers had been snuffed, the silverware put away, and the spectators dispatched, only cold reality would encroach on them, and she wondered what kind of man her husband would truly be then.

#monsta x smut #multichapter #hyungwon smut #royal au #arranged marriage #romance #slow burn #bodice ripper #third person #prisoner to temptation

74 notes · View notes

voxofthevoid · 10 months

Text

Tropes Game

Tagged by @cursedvibes. Thanks, man! This looks fun, and I loved reading your responses <3

Rules

How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 -> don’t care either way

10 -> very enticed

nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged.

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional.

Trope List

Age gap: 7/10

Age gap alone isn’t a selling point for me, especially since there’s a world of difference between, say, 30/40, 20/30, 15/25, 50/500, etc. But if I get into a ship that has an age gap, especially a le problematique one, I will lean into it full tilt, as you can currently see with goyuu. There’s a lot of fun, often fucked-up, things to be done with differing life experiences and maturity levels, and that’s usually interesting to explore. From the reading end, it depends on the individual ship and also how the specific fic approaches it.

Codependency 10/10

Hell to the fuck yeah! I prefer unhealthy relationships over healthy ones (...in fiction, Tumblr), and codependency tends to add a fun flavor. I’m picky about it when reading. I default to it when writing.

Enemies to lovers 10/10

Good stuff, and I’ll never say no to some violent hate sex. I don’t have many ships like this though; it’s mostly something I read. Or make AUs of.

Enemies with benefits 6/10

Fun concept, depends on the execution. I’d prefer that it become enemies to lovers in the end, however.

Fake dating/relationship -7/10

It’s not an instaquit, and I have read and enjoyed fics with this premise, but the trope itself is something that I’m not a fan of. Mostly because it tends to follow a certain romcom formula that I’m not a fan of.

Found family -5/10

I’ll read it, and as a theme, it’s fine, but for one, what I often see described as found family is...not. It’s friendship—and that’s my preference anyway. Friends who support and love each other, without the label of family attached. This is a heavily personal preference, obviously.

Friends to lovers 7/10

It’s good; it can be fun. The way friendship evolves into a romantic and/or sexual relationship can also be quite interesting and emotionally fulfilling.

Friends with benefits 7/10

As a central relationship, I’d prefer that it become friends to lovers eventually. The execution matters again because too romcomy, and I get turned off. Throw in some emotional fuckery, and I’m sold. It’s also one of my go-to flavors for minor/background/past relationships when writing. Friends who fuck without strings is a fun concept.

Hurt/comfort 8/10

A solid concept, and depending on the execution, it can range from pleasant to devastating (in a good way).

Love triangle -10/10

A “proper” love triangle is something I find about as compelling as stale vomit. It’s not an instant nope because I like the sort that evolves into poly—either triads or V-style poly (that is, A/B and C/B, with A and C as metamours). When reading, I prefer the former, and when writing, I prefer the latter.

Mistaken/hidden identity 10/10

Sign me the fuck up. Identity porn is almost as good as actual porn.

Monster fu… relationship 10/10 (100/10)

I have "Monsterfuckers Inc.” as a semi-frequently used fic tag on Ao3. I’ll let you guess just how into this I am. I’m into it for the freaky sex, but typical relationship development is always a plus.

Obsession, possessiveness, etc 10/10

Unhealthy relationships my beloved.

Opposites (like grumpy×sunshine, etc) 0/10

Fine in theory, but whether I’m into it depends on the execution. I don’t think I write it much.

Poly 7/10

JJK is the first time I’ve written (and planning to write more) poly relationships, but I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few in previous fandoms. Again, execution matters, but the concept is fun.

pregnancy nope/10

Major squick, and it seems to be becoming more and more of one these days. Ironically, I’m very into breeding kink and monster-style impregnation (eggpreg, insta-birth-type monster offspring etc.). It’s realistic pregnancy (and the mpreg equivalent of realistic pregnancy) that puts me off.

Second chance 0/10

Rated it neutral because this can be either 10/10 or -10/10 for me depending on how it’s handled. No middle ground lol.

Sex to feelings 10/10

Been there done that. Love the concept, can go rabid over it if done right. I certainly like writing it.

Slowburn 6/10

I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of slowburn fics, but it’s not a formula I’m a fan of. When I write it, it always tends to be the “sex to feelings” sort.

Soulmates 0/10

Another case of either 10/10 or -10/10. The easiest way to get me into it is to play into the horror/angst aspects. “People who fate decreed as belonging to each other” doesn’t appeal much to me.

Tagging (no pressure) @thelionshoarde @actualalligator @stilllostinthedaydream and @sorrythatwasamistake @joeys-piano and anyone else who wants to do it

#tag game #vox has opinions #been a while since I used that tag lol #i did not read this over; ignore the typos please

18 notes · View notes

mammameesh · 8 months

Text

Trope Rating Game

Rules: How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic? -10 -> very dissuaded 0 - don’t care either way +10 -> very enticed nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged. Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional.

Age gap: Depends? +3

Like are they vampires, and is brand new and one is like 402? Because I can do that.

Codependency: +1

I might give it a try for a little while, but stuff like this tends to turn me off.

Obsession/Possessiveness, jealousy: +2

Maybe Obsession more than Possessiveness, does that make sense? Possessiveness tends to also turn me off.

Opposites (grumpy/sunshine etc): +10

I love this pairing, sorry, not sorry.

Enemies to lovers, Enemies with benefits: +9

I really like Enemies to lovers. I'm doing my best to write one (also very stuck writing one). I probably could write enemies with benefits and would like to read more because it sounds hot!

Friends with benefits: +10

Some of my favorite ships fall into this category. It's like candy to me.

Sex to feelings: +15

These fics tend to be very smuty which I love and also very fluffy which I also love.

Fake dating/relationship: 9?

My neurodivergent mind needs more information. I've read some Tarlos where they were fake dating, and I loved that. I'm just not sure how it would work every time.

Friends to lovers: +10

I personally love friends to lovers. I think it does probably appeal to my demi side.

Found Family: +100

I love it so much.

Hurt/Comfort: +9

I have been on a hurt/comfort kick but I can't do all hurt/comfort because there is too much hurt.

Love Triangle: 1?

I generally don't like love triangles, but maybe somewhere out in all of fanfcition there will be one that I will like?

Poly, open relationships: +9

I personally love them when written well

Mistaken/hidden identity: 0

I probably need to read more in order to form a stronger opinion

Monsterfucking: +5

My friends, a year ago I would have said no. It depends on the writer, the ship and my bravery I think.

Pregnancy: 4

I'm a mom in real life so pregnancy doesn't phase me, again it would depend on the writer, the story, the fandom, a lot of different things.

Second Chance: +9

Idyllically I think everyone should be given a 2nd chance, but sometimes no?

Slowburn: +10

I have some beloved authors that love to write a good slow burn and I will eat that stuff up every bedtime.

Soulmates: +8 I've read some lovely soulmate AUs and would love to read more. (also I have an idea for one but like life you know?)

@a-noble-dragon; @carolrain; @demora00; @stargazer56; @ramonaflow; @jamilas-pen; @apothecarose; @ripkaz44; @flowertrigger no pressure tags. ALSO if you are reading this please do it! It is for future fanfiction!

#meesh does tag games

12 notes · View notes

flowercrown-bard · 10 months

Text

thank you for tagging me @joeys-piano :D

Trope Game

Rules: How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 -> don’t care either way

10 -> very enticed

nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged.

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional

Age gap nope/10

It just makes me so uncomfortable. I’ve been in a situation where someone tried to have an age gap relationship with me and it was the creepiest thing. I absolutely cannot read that in a romantic way

Codependency -2/10

Like. I don’t mind codependency. I think I might actually write it a lot. But if it’s so strong that the author will use the tag, then I’m probably going to be wary

Enemies to lovers 7/10

love that trope, but it depends on which characters feature in the fic. it was my favourite trope until i discovered the joys of friends to lovers. It just depends a lot on what “enemies” means. Is it just the characters hating each other? Is it them having huge moral disagreements? Are they living in countries that are at war? There are so many different flavours of enemies and i don’t vibe with all of them. but being on opposing sides initially, then having to work together and slowly learning to trust and understand each other? That’s the good stuff (also my first ever ship was enemies to lovers, so I owe my love for writing and reading fic to this trope)

Enemies with benefits -10/10

what can i say, I’m just not into sex. I can see the appeal of friends with benefits because of the intense pining but enemies with benefits sounds like it’s mostly only sexual attraction and I’m just very meh about that

Fake dating/relationship 10/10

YES. I bought a book for the first time in years mostly because it had “fake dates” in the title and i’m devouring it. Fake dating comes with all the other great tropes! Misunderstandings, pining, sharing a bed, self-esteem issues, softness. I love it

Found family 2/10

i love found family but i don’t think it would really sway my decision on whether i would read a fic or not

Friends to lovers 10/10

YES! Geraskier and Ineffable Spouses my beloveds. I think maybe it’s because I’m on the aro spectrum, but I was always really bored with the “love at first sight” trope. i just didn’t get it. Being friends with someone, loving them platonically and then finding out that you also love them romantically? Already being aware of a person’s flaws and likes and who you are when you are with them and then falling in love with this person? I adore it

Friends with benefits 5/10

Not a fan of the sex, but I love when it comes with pining and self-esteem issues

Hurt/comfort 8/10

depends on what kind of hurt. I don’t exactly seek it out for reading, but it’s one of my favourites to write

Love triangle -10/10

Yeah no. I can see the appeal I guess but it’s really not for me

Mistaken/hidden identity 10/10

Can I give more than 10 points? I want to give this ALL the points. I love mistaken identity so much. pretending to be someone else and then falling in love and wishing you could just be your real self around them, but being afraid, they wouldn’t like the real you? Or already being in love and talking about your crush to this other person and whoops it turns out it’s actually them. there are so many different ways to play with this trope and i love them all. (also I’m playing a shapeshifter in Pathfinder and it definitely influenced my love for identity porn)

Monster fu… relationship -10/10

I’m not into sex

Obsession, possessiveness, etc -10/10

it makes me so uncomfortable. A little bit of possessiveness can be nice, but again, if it’s strong enough that the tag is used, then it will probably make me uncomfortable

Opposites (like grumpy×sunshine, etc) 10/10

YES!! Sun and moon! Water and fire! Angel and demon! Healer and fighter! Weak normal guy bard and strong superhuman witcher! I love it!

Poly 3/10

I mostly don’t click on poly ship fics. I love pining and most poly fics i’ve read already has two people in a relationship, so there’s no pining between them. One author that really convinced me to give poly fics a shot is @ghostinthelibrarywrites. they give every person in the relationship attention and time to develop and explore the feelings they have for the other people and it’s so well written and amazing. So yeah, I won’t seek out the tag and I won’t click it most of the time when i see it but sometimes I do it anyway and I’m stumbling upon some of the best fics I’ve ever read

pregnancy nope/10

not my thing

Second chance 2/10

Depends on what went wrong with the first chance. was it cheating? then no. Was it a betrayal to save the other person or because the character had to go through some intense growth to realise that what they did was morally wrong? (looking at you, Cahir) then yes, I love it

Sex to feelings -5/10

Not into sex

Slowburn 9,8/10

for the longest time, slowburn was all i read. i love seeing relationships develop. i love pining and plot and actually getting to know the other person before making a move. For a while now, reading has been really exhausting for me though, so i couldn’t read anything longer than 6k. but in my heart, i still adore slowburn

Soulmates 7/10

sometimes i seek it out. it depends on what kind of soulbond it is. The thing is, i don’t like the idea of being tied to someone by destiny and not having a choice in whether you love them or not. but some fics play around with the trope. Like, what if the trials take away witchers’ ability to form soul bonds? what if someone makes the active choice never to look at their soulmark? Or that one Jaskel fic (I sadly forgot the title and the author), in which Jaskier was famous, so people kept saying his soulmark-words to him, hoping that he’ll think they’re his soulmate? There are so many interesting ways to put a twist on this trope. but i don’t like the idea of soulmates in general

tagging: @combatbootsfemme @lokibus @parttime-creative @witcher-and-his-bard-archive @dhwty-writes @rebrandedbard @mollymawkwrites

#thank you for the tag!#tag game

11 notes · View notes

calimera62 · 11 months

Note

Valjean/Javert, Clopin/Frollo (*ricane* 🤭), FrUK, Ger/Fra et Ita/Ger please? 👀

Valjean/Javert : I have a lot of fondness for this OTP for this is one of my oldest ships. This ship has a lot of potential for angst and softness, and can come with different flavors: Toulon-era, Madeleine-era or even better, the post-Seine Valvert. Old men falling in love despite themselves, Javert discovering love and softness and forgiveness and connecting with humanity, Valjean having someone who respect and love him but not put up with his love of martyrdom, someone who knew him since the beginning. Old men growing old together, reading together, gardening together, walking together, being SOFT together. I'm also very weak for the AUs where they both raise Cosette and end up falling in love in the process, with Valjean being the soft parent and Javert the stern (but still loving) parent. Marius stands no chance ("Alright, who is this punk?" "Now Javert dear, be nice. He is the one Cosette loves" "A pity, she could do so much better" "Dear...")

Clopin/Frollo : this ship is my guilty pleasure. I'm not sure why I love them. Maybe because the thought of Frollo being conflicted and torn for falling not only for a gypsy but also a man? The enemies-to-lovers/enemies with benefits trope? The angst? The UST? The snark? Yes. Yes to all of those.

FrUk : The ultimate OTP. The OTP of all OTP. The blood in my veins, the breath in my lungs. One of my oldest and most loved ships. They're everything. Old married couple who can't stand each other yet can't live without the other. They're childhood sweethearts, enemies with benefits, friends against the world, rivals being each other's constant in a changing world. They're so alike yet so different, they complete each other. Also, another ship who comes with a lot of flavors! Pirate era, FACE family, Medieval era with the Hundred Years War (or possessive!Arthur trying to marry his childhood sweetheart and having his lands too), the two world wars and so on! My two beloved Eldritch drama queens. I would kill for them.

GerFra : If FrUk didn't exist, they would be my ultimate OTP in the Hetalia fandom. That is to say, I do love them a lot! The married couple of EU. So soft and domestic, with lots of cuddles and working together, shopping together, cooking and chilling together but there's potential for angst too! Let's not forget they were enemies before becoming reluctant friends and allies before they became as close as they are now. I have a lot of fondness for this ship and only FrUkFr prevents me from shipping them with the intensity of a thousand suns.

GerIta : I... can see why people ship them, however it's not my cup of tea. I guess they're kinda cute together and I don't mind seeing fanworks about them, but this is not a ship I'll actively seek.

Send me a ship meme

#ask game #saemi the dreamer

8 notes · View notes

sitp-recs · 2 years

Text

Do I Make You Cringe? by @graymatters

Harry/Draco (2020, Mature, 4.7k)

Harry and Draco play for the Falmouth Falcons, a professional quidditch team known for its questionable sportsmanship. While they've been sleeping together casually for months, Draco wonders if Harry's means of coping with his past might prevent them from having more.

Occasionally, Draco finds his judgment clouded by thoughts of a slow morning in bed, tangled limbs on the sofa or whispered secrets in the dark. Unwilling to process their implications, he dismisses them quickly, shoving them deep in the recesses of his mind like a boggart in a closet.

Happy happy birthday @graymatters! A little birdie told me today was your day and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to rec this wonderful fic that I’ve revisited just recently. Friends with benefits my beloved!! Everyone and their mom knows I’m utterly gone for this trope - and I happen to love Quidditch players just as much, so of course this would be right up my alley! Pretty much like every Sara fic, this pulled me into this universe immediately: the atmosphere is so lively and dynamic, the fun camaraderie among the team players, the competition thrill helping build anticipation, and gosh am I here for beater Harry! Not a concept we see often in fic - if ever - but I love how it allows him and Draco to play for the same team (in more ways than one 😏) and forges a type of dynamic that leans more towards friendship than rivalry. The fact that Draco’s opening line is “Yes or no, Potter?” as he finishes undressing lives rent free in my head, what a way to set up the casual and sexy tone!!

What I love about this fic is how effortlessly Sara established their chemistry, a mix of fond familiarity and intimacy while still being casual. Casual lovers with feels is my new fave trope, everyone else can go home 🙌 I love the soft urgency of them falling together, it feels very organic but there’s delicious pining underneath, the yearning so careful as not to ruin what is already there. You’ll also find here a few of my (other) favorite things such as: TATTOOED HARRY (!!!), locker room UST, supportive Ron, angry Harry against the world (always a bonus in my book) and finding himself at Draco’s doorstep, falling in bed together and the first “stay” request ahh I love it so much. These characters are tender to each other and yet full of fire and personality, just the way I adore.

This is a beautiful story that combines fun and sexy times with sweet domesticity and a very interesting glimpse of Harry’s vulnerable side and how he’s poorly managing the war trauma. And our smitten Draco sees it and reaches out in an exchange that made my heart ache. The ending may feel open and bittersweet for some people but I thought it was perfect for this story because it highlights the deeper understanding they share. Sex is fun and all but get yourself someone that sees Harry like Draco does 😔🙌

Thank you so much for sharing this lovely fic and so many others with us, Sara - by the way you guys should check @sweet-s0rr0w’s Five Faves post right now for more recs!! - it’s been wonderful to follow your writing and we love having you in the Drarry community! I hope you have a wonderful day, HBD!!! 🎉💛

Read on AO3

#drarry fic rec

58 notes · View notes

yllzchair · 6 months

Text

Modern AU

(Click link in title // TW tags in bold )

Title: Across the street to another life Tags: Hurt/comfort // Past Child Abuse // Addiction // Crime // Amnesia // Ableist Language // Family Fluff // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: A ragged monosyllabic man wearing a collar shows up at Wei Ying's music store. Wei Ying and A-Yuan ask, is anyone going to adopt this guy? And then they don't wait for an answer. Word Count: 99,065 Status: Completed.

Title: Red Chrysanthemums for Wei Ying Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Alternative Universe – College/University // Stalker!Wen Chao // Friends to Lovers // Getting Together // Artist!Wei Wuxian // Date Rape Drug/Roofies // Attempted Sexual Assault // Attempted Murder // Top Lan Zhan / Bottom Wei Ying // Hurt Wei Ying // Hospitalization Rating: Explicit Summary: Wei Ying has a pretty okay life: a wonderful sister and nephew, his beloved brother who he'd die for, and a seemingly unrequited crush on his best friend. It's pretty standard: go to class, cry over his senior art exhibit, fight with Jiang Cheng over who busted their lock place multiple reports on some guy following him, and make sure Wen Chao stays one hundred feet away from him. Life is pretty good. At least until the stalker problem start and things go batshit. The universe has a hard on for watching Wei Ying suffer. Word Count: 104,884 Status: Completed.

Title: Post Mortem Tags: Psychological Horror // Friends with Benefits // Slowburn // Mystery // Stalking // Drug Addiction // Serial Killers // Consensual Non-Consent // Angst with Happy Ending // Final Girl Trope | Wei Ying // Top Lan Zhan | Bottom Wei Ying Rating: Explicit Summary: Life is a horror movie sometimes. You ignore all the warning signs. You end up standing there in the final scene, covered in blood, contemplating your life choices. Wei Ying is used to that. But it’s harder when you’re in love with your best friend. Word Count: 78,486 Status: Completed.

Title: Paint smears on sunny days Tags: Comfort // Fluff // Fluff and Smut // Everyone is Alive // Dadji // Mutual Pining // Happy Ending // Masturbation // Blow Jobs // Hand Jobs // Accidentally Co-Parenting Rating: Explicit Summary: Falling in love with your son’s art teacher, in five parts) Word Count: 53,808 Status: Completed.

Title: (our friendship) up against the ropes Tags: Friends to Lovers // Getting Together // Lan Zhan FUCKS //Fluff and Smut // Top Lan Zhan | Bottom Wei Ying // Experienced Lan Zhan // Mutual Pining // Oral Sex // Anal Sex // Dom/Sub Undertones // Masturbation // Kink Negotiations Rating: Explicit Summary: Lan Zhan fucks. Lan Zhan fucks. Lan Zhan fucks. Lan Zhan has been Wei Ying's best friend for years. Literally, years. How did he not already know? How has he missed this most important of facts? And more importantly, how is he ever going to get over it? Word Count: 36,391 Status: Completed.

Title: Operations Old Men Tags: Alternative Universe – Boarding School // Single Parents // Matchmaking // Family Dynamics // Hospitals // Family Vacation // School Reunions // Junior Shenanigans // Happy Ending Rating: Not Rated Summary: An ill-fated parent teacher conference reunites Jin Ling's wayward uncle with Sizhui's father. AKA: A matchmaking disaster as told by Jin Ling, Sizhui, and Jingyi. Word Count: 37,654 Status: Completed.

Title: Night rain (dripping down on us) Tags: Sports AU // Dancer Lan Zhan // Demisexual Wei Ying // Bottom Lan Zhan // Blow Jobs // Anal Sex // Getting Together // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: Somehow, Wei Wuxian went seven years without realizing that Lan Wangji is a really good dancer. Word Count: 20,335 Status: Completed.

Title: My little love Tags: Single Parent Wei Ying // Kindergarten Teacher!LWJ // Kid Fic // Hurt/Comfort // Domestic Fluff // Pining // Happy Ending Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Summary: When A-Yuan’s teachers come to collect the kids, Wei Ying feels his face do an astronomically dumb grin. The man recognises them and arches one very lovely eyebrow indeed. Wei Ying cackles. “Kindergarten teacher, you say?” Word Count: 54,816 Status: Compeleted.

Title: And A Million Miles Tags: Alternative Universe – College/University // Friends to Lovers // Exes to Lovers // Getting Together // Bottom Lan Zhan // Autistic Lan Zhan // ADHD Wei Ying // Blow Jobs // Rimming // Mentions of Homophobia // Internalised Homophobia // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: Lan Wangi meets Wei Wuxian at university in Gusu and despite a rocky first meeting, they end up falling into a relationship, one that is hidden from the rest of the world due to Lan Wangji's strict family. When Wei Wuxian breaks things off and disappears entirely, Lan Wangji is left to wonder what happened, never quite getting over his first love. Thirteen years later and Lan Wangji is about to marry his best friend: Luo Qingyang. It's not a love match, Lan Wangji is gay, but it helps his friend and gets his uncle off his back. When he wakes to a voicemail from Wei Wuxian, it sets off a chain of events that will bring them back into each other's orbit and unravel what happened to break them apart all those years ago. Word Count: 55,350 Status: Completed.

Title: They call me artist, they call me idol (I’m proud of it) Tags: Alternative Universe – Idols // Choreographer WWX // Idol LWJ // Misunderstandings // AutisticLWJ // Bottom LWJ // Anal Sex // First Time // DadWWX // Childhood Illness // Implied/Referenced Homophobia // Surgery // Angst with Happy Ending // Autistic Meltdowns Rating: Explicit Summary: Lan Wangji is an idol. Wei Wuxian is his groups choreographer. Word Count: 43,875 Status: Completed.

Title: Two Dollar Coffee Tags: Alternate Universe – Sugar Daddy // Alternate Universe – College/University // Miscommunication // Fluff // Smut // Light Bondage // Sex Toys // Anal Sex // Angst with Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: Wei Ying is a poor college student and thinks Lan Zhan wants to provide for him. Word Count: 145,286 Status: Completed.

Title: together, we're just enoughTags: Bartender LWJ // Single Dad WWX // Kid Fic / / Accidental Sugar Daddy WWX // Bottom LWJ // Younger LWJ/Older WWX // Light Dom/Sub // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: The one in which workaholic and single dad Wei Wuxian tries to do something just for himself. And, Lan Wangji, who is working as a bartender to pay for school, tries to find his way in the world. They fall in love in the process. Word Count: 134,723 Status: Completed.

Title: Pas de Deux Tags: Alternative Universe – Ballet // Alternative Universe Dance // Ballet Dancer LWJ // Hip Hop Dancer WWX // Dance Teacher AU // Addiction // Drug Addiction Rating: Mature Summary: Lan Wangji lived for ballet. His life revolved around it, for that moment where the music would swell, and the curtain would rise. Only during his most recent tour, the spark was gone. He no longer looked forward to going out on stage. So he does the only thing he can think of, duck his uncle’s reminders about auditions and commit to helping his brother run their mother's ballet studio. Only to find the walls shaking with bass heavy hip hop. The man responsible? The new teacher Lan Wangji's brother hired to broaden their offerings; a man named Wei Ying. He's confusing and chaotic, and perhaps exactly what Lan Wangji needs to rekindle his spark. Word Count: 62,724 Status: Completed.

Title: To See You (Again) Tags: Friends to Lovers // Self-Discovery // Pining // Grindr // Lan Zhan FUCKS // Bottom LWJ // Mild Dom/Sub // Straight Boy WWX Rating: Explicit Summary: A new job brings Wei Ying to London, and back into Lan Zhan's life. Many things have changed since their time in boarding school (Lan Zhan is out of the closet, arranges charcuterie boards, stocks a fine bar...), but their friendship slots right back into place like no time has passed. Wei Ying is a little perplexed by the fact that Lan Zhan apparently doesn't have any interest in dating anyone despite being an obvious catch—but hey, at least that means he doesn't have to fight anyone for Lan Zhan's time and attention. And besides, it's not like Wei Ying is in any big rush to find himself a girlfriend either. It’s all working out great! Word Count: 84,267 Status: Completed.

Title: 总有一天; a place to hide (can’t find one near) Tags: Alternate Universe – Modern Setting // Alternative Universe – Pianist // Getting together // Mental Health Issues // Suicide Attempt // Suicidal Thoughts // Depression // Overdosing // Eventual Happy Ending // Hurt/Comfort // Note: Additional Trigger Warnings in Authors notes Rating: Explicit Summary: That’s just the thing, isn’t it? Wei Ying feels nothing. He doesn’t feel anything, and this emptiness should scare him. He knows he should be scared. He wants to be scared. He isn’t. Fear itself is never scary; fear is just a response. It means that your body wants you alive. It’s the absence of terror that scares him. Word Count: 76,091 Status: Completed.

Title: you've ruined my life (by not being mine) Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Awkward Flirting // Slowburn // Demisexuality // Happy Ending // Background Relationship – NMJ/LXC Rating: Explicit Summary: After spending a semester abroad with Wei Ying, Lan Zhan is resigned to never seeing him again. But a surprise text message may change all that. (In which Wei Ying and Lan Zhan develop a text correspondence during their senior year of high school, and Lan Zhan is in serious danger of developing Feelings.) Word Count: 132,713 Status: Completed.

Title: You’re My All and More Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Alternative Universe – Detectives // Case Fic // Mystery // Slowburn // Pining // Angst with Happy Ending Rating: Explicit // Graphic Depictions of Violence Summary: It had been four years since the last time they had seen Wei Wuxian. Four years without a trace nor evidence, neither track nor news, nothing, none. No one knew what had happened to the said bright and wild detective after he had been caught by Wens, the biggest triad family in China, in an undercover mission. Most investigators had given up, they believed that Wei Wuxian had died and perished. Most. Except Lan Wangji and Jiang Wanyin, each with their own regrets, still searching after all those years. Word Count: 42,964 Status: Completed.

Title: you'll always know me Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Actor Wei Ying | Teacher Lan Zhan // Getting Back Together // Exes to Lovers // Angst // Angst with Happy Ending // Wei Ying rides a motorcycle Rating: Explicit Summary: Lan Zhan's world is turned upside down when his High School love, famous actor Wei Wuxian, comes back to their hometown after 13 years. Word Count: 97,328 Status: Completed.

Title: you are safe / loved / worthy / enough Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Alternative Universe – College/University // Social Media // Mental Health Issues // Healing // Self-care // Anxiety // Hurt/Comfort // Depression // Slowburn Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Summary: Lan Zhan falls apart and finds himself through the most unexpected means. Word Count: 150,003 Status: Completed.

Title: Wishing on Runway Lights Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Pilot Lán Zhàn | Lán Wangji, Flight // Attendant Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wuxian // Single Parent Lán Zhàn | Lán Wangji // Meet-Cute // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: Amidst flight delays and cancellations, Wei Ying finds himself taking care of a young boy left stranded at the airport. The initially unfortunate circumstances of their meeting would lead Wei Ying to meeting Lan Wangji, the child’s father. From then on, it’s a quick one-way trip to falling in love. Word Count: 41,700 Status: Completed.

Title: Where You Fell Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Alternative Universe - Homeless // Angst // Mutual Pining // Getting Together // Slowburn // Implied/Referenced Child Abuse // Accidental Sugar Daddy Lan Wangji // Suicidal Thoughts // Self-Esteem Issues // Autistic Lan Wangji // ADHD Wei Wuxian // Panic Attacks // Hurt/Comfort // Implied/Referenced Sex Work // Implied/Referenced Substance abuse // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: Years ago, Lan Wangji was a Senior in high school, readying himself for graduation and the coming years studying at the Gusu Lan Institute of Music. Everything in his life made sense, from his role in his family, to a future as a classical musician. The only thing that didn’t fit was the sudden epiphanies he had about himself brought on by his bothersome and flirtatious classmate, Wei Wuxian. When the growing attraction and friendship was cut short by the other boy’s disappearance, he mourned what could have been, but ultimately had to move on. What he didn’t know was that fate would bring them back together again one day, or the reality of how far apart two lives can diverge, how some can find peace and prosperity, while others can fall farther than he ever imagined. Word Count: 303,010 Status: Completed.

Title: to hold the wind Tags: Alternate Universe – Soulmates // Alternate Universe - Modern Setting // Alternate Universe – Reincarnation // Alternate Universe - College/University // Slow Burn // Friends to Lovers // Mutual Pining // Hurt/Comfort // Disownment // Touch-Starved Lán Zhàn Rating: Explicit Summary: When you touch your soulmate for the first time, you remember your past life together. When Lan Zhan touches Wei Ying, he watches him die. Word Count: 62, 474 Status: Completed

Title: Threads of Love Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting // Disabled Character // heavy angst // (flashbacks) // Major Injury // Medical Procedures // Graphic Description of Injuries // mental health // past trauma // Ableism // racism mention // Living abroad // Happy Ending // mild angst // One Bed // POV Lan Zhan // Jiang family feels, WWX is best uncle // Disabled Wei Ying // Very Minor Qin Su/Lan Xichen Rating: Mature Summary: Thirteen years ago, Lan Zhan came to Germany to study classical music and found his first true friend. Ten years ago he returned to Shanghai, heartbroken after a horrifying accident left Wei Ying with life-changing injuries and destroyed their friendship and budding romance. Today, he comes back to Germany – to teach, not to study. But when he and Wei Ying meet again by sheer chance, he realizes he has much to learn after all. Word Count: 61, 494 Status: Ongoing

Title: The Simplest Way Forward Tags: Alternate Universe – Modern Setting // Accidental Baby Acquisition // Kid Fic // Green Card Marriage // Pining for your own husband // Endless Pining // Slowburn // Happy Ending Rating: Explicit Summary: It’s a really unfortunate thing, developing a crush on your husband. Wei Ying had assumed this would be easy. Lan Zhan had been so icy and unpleasant to him, it had never occurred to him that he might end up spending the next however many years with this dumb, burning feeling in his chest whenever he looks at him. “Okay,” says Wei Ying. “But tell me if I...if the pretending gets to be too hard, okay?” “It will not,” says Lan Zhan, quietly certain. Word Count: 70,972 Status: Completed

Title: the best of you Tags: Alternative Universe – Modern Setting // Alternate Universe – College/University // Angst with Happy Ending // Emotional Hurt/Comfort // Mutual Pining // Getting Together // Nightmares // Panic Attacks // Implied/Referenced Child Abuse // Dysfunctional Family // Mental Health Issues // Descriptions of Past Violence Rating: Explicit Summary: When Jin Zixuan calls in a favour, Lan Wangji ends up renting his spare room to Wei Wuxian. It doesn't go how any of them expected. Word Count: 41,938 Status: Completed

Title: Symphony no.1 in E minor Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting // Alternate Universe - Classical Music // Alternate Universe - College/University // Musician Lán Zhàn // Musician Wèi Yīng // Breaking Up & Making Up // Coming Out // Exploring Sexuality // Bottom Lan Zhan // Anal Sex // Anal Fingering // Rimming // Oral Sex // Angst with a Happy Ending // Orchestra // Dom/sub Play // Dom Lan Zhan // Sub Wei Ying // Cock Warming // Spanking Rating: Explicit Summary: In university, Wei Ying meets and is immediately intrigued by Lan Zhan, a frosty and prodigious violinist. When a class brings them closer together, Wei Ying jumps at the chance to get to know Lan Zhan better. The two make mistakes and fall in love, but external forces threaten to pull them apart. At the cusp of adulthood, Wei Ying is faced with choices that will guide his future. A story of growing up, finding your way, diaspora, and most of all - music. Word Count: 75,199 Status: Completed

#wangxian #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #lan wangji #the untamed #wangxian fanfic #mxtx #mdzs

3 notes · View notes