MinosTT

In fact, I have considered the idea for quite some time now, but I can't make up my mind about which perspective to take. It could be heavily lore-linked. For example, Jannik can make a good Targaryen, perhaps something like Daeron the Young Dragon. He's very good at fighting and wants to maintain his house's authority. He learns that power can only be earned by cruelty and intimidation, until a Dornish prince showed him otherwise. Carlos is no doubt a Dornish, whose house has fended off the dragon lords for centuries. Dorne has never been conquered, and Carlos takes great pride in it. He puts honor above anything else, and he's extremely resilient and stubborn. They meet in battle as enemies. Perhaps they end up trapped in somewhere neutral and they have to put their difference aside to survive. They fall in love in the end, to the extent that they are willing to sacrifice what they have valued the most. Jannik fakes his death, and leaves the kingdom to his brother, while Carlos decides to leave Sunspear for Essos. It aligns with the lore in Blood and Fire, which is quite clever in my opinion.

It can also be something like OC building in the world. In this case, Carlos is from Dorne too, but Jannik has a lot of other potentials. He can be a Tully, for his red hair, or still a Targaryen, even a Targaryen bastard. They can meet in a tourney, and develops a rival relationship that carries on through the years.

I really love this! An alpha falling in love first—I find that fresh, new and really interesting. Though I do hope Carlos ends up loving him back, too, and that they can become a real power couple.

Are you going to write it?

Carlos was shaken awake abruptly from his sleep. Carlos refused to open his eyes as he tried to fend off the intruder, but to no avail.

“Just a few more minutes, please, mami.” Carlos murmured, trying to bury his head into the sheets.

“No. Wake up, Carlos!” The intruder hissed, pulling the sheets off Carlos, “Wake the fuck up!”

The sudden chill was the final straw. He grunted, rolled over on the mattress, and opened his eyes. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was not in his home. The room was too large and too dark, the curtain tightly closed, leaving the space in a surreal darkness that made Carlos shiver. Carlos blinked, the initial disorientation replaced by panic as he got a clearer look at the person beside his bed.

It was a woman, which was already alarming. Carlos couldn’t see her face, but he could tell that she was tall, slender, and extremely fit. This didn’t sound good. Why there was a woman in his hotel room? What did she want? What had Carlos done to her?

“Finally. You sleep like a dead man.” She complained, flipping her long, wavy locks. “We have a problem.”

“Which is?” Carlos heard himself ask. He sounded funny. Unlike the familiar deep and resonating voice, he now sounded almost alien. Weird. The high pitch tone was so foreign that he almost didn’t recognize himself at first. However, Carlos didn’t have time to care about his weird voice. He had a more pressing issue to attend to.

“Is there anything wrong?” Carlos continued, swallowing as he sat up on the mattress.

“I don’t know.” She replied, “I was hoping you could tell me.”

“What did I do?” Carlos couldn’t help but shiver as a chill ran down his spine. How bad was it? Did he sleep with the woman? How could he not remember anything? What should he do now? Did he need to pay her to leave?

Carlos had so many questions in his head that he didn’t know which to ask first. Perhaps it was wiser to remain quiet, letting the lady speak first. Defend and strike, the technique Carlos was so good at.

“I have no fucking idea.” The woman said, crossing her arms, “Can you get off the bed, please? We need to talk, but not like this.”

Carlos blushed with embarrassment. He couldn’t imagine how messy and disheveled he must look now. He brought his hand up to try to smooth the unruly hair, and that was when he finally discovered that something was very, very wrong.

Carlos’s eyes widened in surprise as his hand touched something full and thick. The feeling was familiar, but everything else was just wrong. Carlos looked down at the thick locks cascading down his shoulder, almost touching his upper stomach. Since when did his hair become so long? Was this a joke?

“What happened?” Carlos asked, panicking, “Is this a prank?”

“I hope it is, but no, Carlos, no.” The woman replied, reaching her hand out for Carlos, “Come, let me show you something.”

Carlos had no choice but to take her hand. Her hand was calloused and rough, unlike those soft and refined hands typical of young ladies. Once he got off the bed, Carlos found out that the woman was taller than him, her grip firm and determined, and most importantly, she seemed to be stronger, that she was able to drag Carlos all the way across the hotel room and into the bathroom.

She dragged Carlos in front of the mirror and turned on the lights.

Carlos blinked from the sudden light, but once his vision cleared, he found himself looking into a foreign image inside the large mirror, and what scared him the most was that the image blinked back.

There was a young female starting back at him from the mirror, with long, thick hair, bushy brows, soft jaw, full lips, and a few pimples on her left cheek. She looked wild, but the pair of hazel eyes seemed shy and timid, as if she couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. She wore a baggy T-shirt, her breast hiding under the soft fabric. Carlos suddenly felt so self-conscious that he brought his hand up to cup the breast over the fabric, and found belatedly that he was not wearing a bra,

No. Wait. This isn’t right. Is he still a he?

“What is this?” Carlos asked. He finally realized that the reason why he found his own voice funny was that it was not his voice at all. It was a female voice, still relatedly deep, but no doubt belonged to a woman.

Carlos turned to look at the stranger beside him. Warm light painted her face yellow, but Carlos could tell that she had skin so pale that it almost looked translucent. Her hair was not as long and thick as Carlos, but the wavy curls framed her face nicely, the copper color a nice compliment to her fair skin. For some reason, she looked familiar.

“Do I know you?”

The woman didn’t answer. Instead, she rolled her sleeves up (for some reason, she was wearing the same T-shirt as Carlos) and revealed a small patch of darker skin around her shoulder. It was a birthmark, which in itself was nothing out of the ordinary, but the fact that Carlos knew this mark well truly shocked him to the core.

“Jannik?” Carlos couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked back up at those familiar green eyes, “How can it be? Why are you a girl?”

“I can ask you the same question.” The woman, Jannik, replied with a helpless sigh, “I woke up and found out I have grown tits.”

It took Carlos a few moments to find his voice gain, but surprisingly, the initial shock was followed by a strange relief instead of further panic. At least he didn’t have to face this situation alone, and he couldn’t think of a better person to go through this together other than Jannik.

“Why are you in my room?” Carlos finally asked the obvious question. He had noticed the tennis bags and rackets scattered around the room, so he could make an educated guess that he, or she, was still a tennis player. It was highly likely that Jannik was too, so why was Jannik in his room? Were they not rivals in this world?

“Because obviously we are girlfriends.” Jannik replied calmly, “No, it seemed that I just proposed to you and you said yes.”

Carlos was used to facing variable situations, whether it was the sudden change of course of his opponent’s return, or the unexpected question during the press conference, but what Jannik had said just now was too much to handle even for him.

Wow, I want to know more!

This is actually a story about pride, love and power politics, mixed with some embedded abo power imbalance. As an omega, Carlos has more lands and wealth, is sought after by many power-hungry alphas, while Jannik comes from an old aristocracy house that has been slowly losing power in the past century. Carlos's dutchy is in dispute with the monarch, that's why the King invades his land once his father passed away. Carlos has to find a way to protect his inheritance, as well as the land his family has been living for centuries, and Jannik proves his worth by breaking the siege and saving Carlos from dire fate.

They marry as soon as possible, to show their alliance and wiggle their way through difficult times. Carlos lost some of the land in the invasion, so now he desperately wants to reclaim them, while Jannik, from a more pragmatic point of view, refuses to send troops. It is wise to regroup and form other alliances before marching into war. To Carlos, however, it feels like a betrayal to Carlos. Carlos thought he could control Jannik with the promise of wealth and his fertile omega body, but he was wrong. Jannik is harder to control than Carlos has expected, but fortunately, Carlos never shies away from a challenge.

Jannik, on the other hand, is slowly falling for the omega. Their marriage is made out of necessity, but it doesn't mean they cannot find peace from their relationship. Little does he know that Carlos is already plotting behind his back, because he underestimates Carlos's determination to take back his birthright.

loved the imagery of jannik the savior on a white horse (i imagine there to be a scene similar in setting to the one in game of thrones after tywin wins the battle of the blackwater river and enters the hall of the red castle on a white horse dramatically, a moment before cersei poisons herself), finds the omega in such a mess - a besieged fortress is no place for an exquisite creature like carlos - probably loads of hungry wild angry scared alphas who think they have nothing to lose. yet carlos survives god knows through what. i hope jannik breaks through carlos' pride and mends wounds and his heart

I love a good balance of power when it comes to abo. Omegas might be more fragile physically but it doesn’t mean omegas are inferior. They can be strong mentally, and stand their own ground in the game of power. Carlos in this story is smart and pragmatic as he knows how to utilize all resources to achieve his goal, including his omega status. He never loses himself, whether it’s in face of the siege or Jannik.

Carlos is the heir of a vast Dutchy state, being the only child of his parents (Fedal probably) and an omega, he has to carry burdens too heavy for a young soul like him. He wants to defend and manage the dutchy himself, but omegas are considered unsuitable for such task. He has to find a husband, an alpha to secure his inheritance. Carlos isn’t happy about it, but he will do anything to protect his land and his people.

Known as Carlos the Rich, Carlos never lacks suitors. Lords from other dutchies, knights, tourney champions, or even bastards from large houses. Young and old, foreign and domestic, everyone tries to test his luck and snatch the prize. Marrying Carlos means inherit the richest and most fertile land of the kingdom, enjoying wealth that is said to surpass the royal treasury, and also earning the title that most small lords can only dream of. The only downside of it, if there is any, is that Carlos’s father is known to be a rebel, who has fought against the King and is said to be conspiring with foreign lords to topple the throne. The allegation of treason, however, steers no one away.

Carlos hates this. He wants to fight with these lords on the battlefield, not entertaining them in boring feasts. His suitors all throw compliments at him while kissing his hand, but Carlos has a feeling that they are not kissing him, but the sigil ring on his finger. Carlos loathes them, especially those who try to influence him with their alpha pheromones. Fortunately, his father thinks the same. The old lord has been exchanging letters with a young alpha from foreign land, an heir of the holy empire, who has ambitions bigger than his name. With the land and wealth from Carlos, the young alpha can eliminate his enemies in the empire and reclaim his birthright. He would be an emperor, a potential too tempting to resist.

Carlos meets the young alpha in a small fortress on the border. They exchanged letters before, but written words are no match for meeting in person.

“Your reputation doesn’t do your justice.” This is the first thing Carlos’s future husband says to him.

“What is my reputation?” Carlos asks, curious and surprised that this alpha doesn’t shower him with compliments as soon as they meet. The alpha has a straight nose and a strong jaw, making him stoic beyond his age. He looks like a prince rather than a soldier, with pale skin and slender build, the nicely combed copper curls a nice addition to his features.

“They only say you are rich,” the alpha replies, “but didn’t say you are beautiful.”

Carlos lets out a scoff. Another suitor full of useless compliments.

“Does that mean you like what you see, Lord Sinner?” Carlos retorts.

“Jannik.” The alpha says, still standing straight with his shoulder squared, “You will be Lord Sinner too once we marry. Perhaps we should eliminate the potential confusion from the beginning.”

Oh, Carlos hates him. The damn alpha pride, the snobbishness, and the implication that Carlos will become his possession once they marry.

“Not so fast, Lord Sinner.” Carlos tries to smile, at least he’s good at concealing his anger behind a warm smile. “We are not married yet.”

“I made a deal with your father.” Jannik says.

“You are asking for my hand, not my father’s.” Carlos replies coldly, trying to grasp as much control he still has of his own fate, “Now, how about some horse riding in the woods? I can show you around.”

Jannik’s green eyes flashed, but he doesn’t reject Carlos’s offer. He offers his hand, which Carlos begrudgingly takes.

They could have continued courting if not for the dreadful news that comes with the first snow. It never snows in Carlos’s land, but that day, the day Carlos gets the news of his father’s passing, it does, as if God himself is pitying Carlos’s fate. Not only does Carlos face the possibility of an invasion from the King’s army, but he also faces the risk of his inheritance being robbed. He can fight, but he has neither the experience nor the logistics to withhold a siege. He needs help, and he needs it fast.

Carlos writes to Lord Sinner and offers his hand. Lord Sinner, or Jannik, rides to Carlos’s castle as soon as he could, along with his most skilled men, but it’s still too late. The King’s army has laid siege on the castle, isolating Carlos from other minor lords in his dutchy. Jannik’s troop is far less in number but not lack of skill. They manage to fight off the King’s army and Jannik is the first to ride into the castle.

He is appalled by the mess; starved men and dissected horses decorated the path, the pungent smell of decaying bodies and human feces filled the air, despair and death was so tangible that Jannik can punch through it with his sword. He cannot take a step without stepping onto something filthy, and for the love of God, how does anyone survive such tragedy?

It turns out, Carlos does. The omega waits Jannik in the gloomy hall that was once the most extravagant place in the south. Carlos holds his head high, layers of silk and velvet making him look like a sacred statue, a martyr, a saint to be revered. For some reason, Jannik feels small in front of the omega, even though he is the hero who has defeated the enemy troops.

“I would offer you wine, but my methods are limited.” Carlos says, chapped lips bleeding as he moves them, “Thank you for answering my call, my lord.”

“Jannik.” The alpha blurts out, too carried away by this ethereal beauty that he forgets why he was here in the first place.

“Jannik.” Carlos nods, offering his hand, the large ruby ring barely hanging on his emaciated finger.

Jannik steps up, takes Carlos’s hand and kisses it. He lets his lips linger on the ruby sigil for a moment too long.

“I think I have waited too long for this moment.” Jannik claims.

“You have earned the respect from me and my land.” Carlos says, meeting Jannik’s eyes without fear, “I thank you for your honor and courage. You will make a fine lord.”

“I am already a lord.”

“A lord with his own land.” Carlos continues. He knows better than anyone why Jannik came. The alpha wants wealth and recognition, which Carlos used to defend his land in dire times. This is a fair trade.

“A lord, nonetheless.” Jannik finally cracks a smile, proud and triumphant, as if he has just conquered the world.

also how do we call jakub x carlos? carkub? mencaraz? alsik?

Thank you! I have so many headcanons about them. You can tell they have a great dynamic both on and off court. Jakub loves body contact, and he approaches Carlos with this comradeship that Carlos obviously likes and will not suspect a thing. Carlos always has this younger brother vibe to me, even with Jakub, but you can tell he tries to act like a mature figure to those younger players. This mismatch is very delicious to me. Honestly, I can go on for an hour about their dynamic. Hopefully Laver Cup this year will give us more content 😌😌