Command and Composure Are a Match Made in Heaven [Esports]

[Main story complete, bonus chapters updating. Coming soon: Do Your Team's Two Carries Have to Keep Their Distance? [Esports] and The Demon Symbiosis Code [Western Fantasy]. Blurbs at the bottom. Please add them to your collection!]

[There will be lots of match scenes, with everyday team interactions woven between them. This isn't purely romance-focused, but the chapters about the romance are very sweet, QwQ.]

-- We are reborn from the ashes, crossing mountain after mountain to embrace the storm.

Every time we give it our all, we are crowning ourselves.

Originally titled Protect Our Weak-Side Player [Esports]

New blurb, 2025.9.9:

Nobody in WE.Wish, TPL, or the entire Throne game scene doesn't know this ID.

The league's first champion, its first FMVP, its first Best Shotcaller, its first World Championship winner, its first Grand Slam player... All those firsts made Xu Yu'an a legend admired by countless people.

This ace shotcaller, laden with honors, suffered a sudden injury during the S6 Cup and was replaced, putting him on the verge of retirement.

In S7, when Xu Yu'an stood behind the rookie shotcaller and gave up his starting spot, everyone was shocked and saddened by the end of a legend's era. They were only waiting for the official retirement announcement to say their final goodbye.

But Xu Yu'an came back!

In the S7 Summer Split and the 11th Global Championship, the ID Wish was right there on WE's starting roster.

This time, Wish set aside his crown as ace shotcaller. He was no longer the team's core strategist, but its strongest support.

--

Nan Du never thought he would grow close to Xu Yu'an.

Nor did he think he would actually become Xu Yu'an's teammate, taking over WE's shotcalling from him as the weak-side player.

He never thought he would become Xu Yu'an's inseparable partner, either. The most romantic, daring thing of all was using that Global Championship ring as a proposal gift.

--

The former ace shotcaller becomes the team's strongest support.

The gifted weak-side rookie grows into a shotcaller who can stand on his own.

As Xu Yu'an slid the championship ring onto Nan Du's finger, he smiled and said, "See? We were made for each other."

* Same-sex marriage is legal in this setting.

* Esports story. The main team is WE, and the league is TPL, but neither has anything to do with the real-life WE club.

* The game, Throne, is my own creation (basically a mash-up of different games, so don't be surprised if you recognize familiar gameplay). I play all sorts of real-life games, but I'm not very good, so expect a big stew of different ideas.

* The leads start out on different teams. There will be transfers later, ovo.

* The plot and romance may be about evenly split. There may be lots of match and game descriptions at times. The romance is a slow burn, but once they're together, it'll be sweet.

* Strong leads refers to their performance on the field. In private, Nan Du is a shy, sweet kitten, while Xu Yu'an is a sly fox with all sorts of schemes.

--

Do Your Team's Two Carries Have to Keep Their Distance? [Esports] blurb:

Wei Luning (Tranquil) is famously TGC's perennial runner-up. In seven years as a pro, he's played for five teams and made it to eleven finals, winning six league silver medals, three cup silver medals, and two global silver medals. His contract was only for one season, and now he's getting ready to find his next team.

The WTK team, known around the scene as "Internet Too Laggy," quickly fell from grace after winning back-to-back league championships in S1. Every year, they spend a fortune on reinforcements and declare it the year they'll return to the ranks of the top teams. Every year, they finish at the bottom.

After earning yet another runner-up finish, Wei Luning had a brain snap. He turned down an offer from another team that had made the top four last season and went to WTK instead.

Then he saw WTK's new roster:

Jungler Koi, TGC's one-trick specialist. When he gets his signature pick, it's a guaranteed win. If it gets banned, he might as well retire on the spot.

Top laner Mist, nicknamed the KDA Preservation Ambassador. In five years as a pro, he hasn't had many highlight plays, but there are plenty of clips of him sacrificing his teammates.

Support Healer was crushed 0-13 in his debut year and sent straight to the bench. He's been warming it for two years, can't even get into scrims, and survives on his base salary.

Head coach Dawn was once a champion coach, but he won that title after leaving for a rival region and beating the home region's team. Everyone hates him and curses his whole family.

And the last one...

Mid laner Miracle.

Well, he's decent, but the problem is that Wei Luning used to have a thing with him. They're currently avoiding each other across the entire league.

Wei Luning: "..." This team is doomed at a glance.

Oh, right. He's a perennial runner-up himself.

So he must have been out of his mind to come to WTK.

--

Chen Anlai, ID Miracle, debuted with a runner-up finish. His results have gotten worse every year, and this year he wound up at WTK after bouncing between teams.

Seeing the team's lineup, Chen Anlai despairingly closed his eyes, accepted reality, and prepared for another year of a Round of 16 exit.

They still didn't have a marksman, and he was curious to see what idiot would join this broken team.

Then he saw his ex-boyfriend in the practice room.

Chen Anlai: "..."

So an idiot really had shown up.

--

Tranquil and Miracle, the BHC twin stars back in the day, were so close they could share a pair of pants. Who hadn't shipped them during S4?

But when Wei Luning left for DK to chase results, the two parted on bad terms. From then on, they were like fire and water. They conspicuously kept their distance on camera, and for years they had no interaction in private. The Ning-An ship was declared sunk, breaking the hearts of countless fans behind the scenes.

So when WTK announced its roster after the transfer period, everyone was like: ???

#Your team is about to become a battlefield

#We need a survival guide for the teammates

#Miracle, will you make up with Tranquil?

At this point, WTK's results no longer mattered. Everyone watched WTK's Weibo, waiting for the day news broke that the players had come to blows.

The fight never came. The two weren't exactly affectionate, but at least they got along. Meanwhile, WTK, whom nobody believed in, steadily climbed the ranks and ultimately stood on the highest stage of the Global Finals.

Other teams had mid-jungle combos and jungle-support combos. Their team coordinated through the mid and marksman, and together with their other three teammates, stumbled their way to lifting the championship trophy.

Only then did everyone suddenly remember that the BHC mid-and-marksman twin stars hadn't just been famous in name.

--

What nobody knew was that Chen Anlai cornered Wei Luning outside his dorm room on the very first night. Leaning there with an amused smile, he said, "Wei Luning, now that we're both carries on the same team, we don't have to keep our distance anymore, right? Can we get back together?"

Wei Luning: "..." Damn.

Reader's guide:

1. Some jokes are inspired by real life, but this isn't meant to depict real people.

2. Wei is the top, but Chen is bold and uninhibited. That's how the bottom turns the top into a bottom.

3. It's Honor of Kings with a PC client. Why not just use League of Legends? Because I'm not good enough.

4. Nobody knew they had dated before.

5. I'll add more if I think of anything.

--

The Demon Symbiosis Code [Western Fantasy]

Duke Leite Hestia, the only great mage in the world with the mark of the Fire God's blessing.

Magical fire willingly clings to his robes.

Dragons voluntarily offer him their souls and power.

Wherever the duke goes, flowers and admirers are never far behind.

For someone like him, perhaps the only mistake in his life so far was forming a symbiotic contract with a lord-class fire demon.

In ancient times, a contract like this was commonly known as...

A marriage contract.

Leite: Smiling through it all. :)

Reader's guide:

1. The bottom had a marriage arrangement with someone else before, but there was no actual relationship or affection.

2. The top is a demon. Don't judge his behavior by normal human standards. Please remember to bring your demonic worldview.

3. To be added.

Please add it to your collection!

Theme: Show the players' struggle and breakthroughs on the field, and the spirit of never giving up in pursuit of the championship.