#it started out as some loose thoughts on fey perspectives and turned into a love letter to BINX

[thevalleyisjolly]

Hmm, thinking about how one of the common characterizations of fey is that they’re often varying shades of self-centred - from self-absorbed to straight up selfish.  Everything, everything in the world, everything that matters, revolves around them and their feelings and their desires and their whims.  It’s that laser-focus of want and my amusement and my benefit and even my anger, me me me.  I want all the magic of the Bloom to myself, no matter the cost to everyone else.  I want power and reputation, no matter who I have to order around or step over or crush.  I want an advantageous match, no matter what I have to do to get it.

Which is why the Feywild is such a perfect setting for a Regency-inspired campaign (or vice versa), because Regency romances are built on messy characters in their own, tiny little world with their own wants and concerns which are both the most important thing in their life and also a little ridiculous - in a good way!  You have to laugh sometimes in order to cry.

And the ACOFAF cast is so good at understanding this setting, have created these wonderfully layered characters whose wants and concerns (big or small, serious or trivial) truly drive the story forwards:

I want to have fun and chaos, especially if it means playing with other people’s lives and feelings;

I want my family on the Material Plane safe and I will do whatever I have to in order to keep those portals open - not for the sake of sharing magic with the world, just for the things that are important to me;

I want to be loved for who I am and I want everyone to have love, even if what I think they should have isn’t the full story of what they want themselves, no matter how much it hurts others when I presume to manage their wants (my wants for them) on their behalf;

I want to prove to my mother that I am worthy of her regard and throne, so I will put myself forwards whenever I can this Bloom and be seen as a grown prince and a capable warrior and an eligible bachelor;

I want respect and recognition from my court that I will never have, but it’s fine because I know I’m a blunt object, my purpose is to serve and therefore I lay aside all my own wants except for that ongoing, fundamental desire to be recognized as I am, for the things I’ve done for their honour (because after all, that is all I’m good for and that is what they see me as and if I keep doing this long and well enough, they may after all recognize its value one day)

Then against all this there’s BINX.  Who has wants, yes, she wants the truth about who was responsible for the Court of Craft’s destruction, she wants everyone to have the possibility of magic, and she has burgeoning feelings for Andhera.  But what makes them stand out amidst this court of wonderfully, beautifully self-centred fey, is that they’re able to act beyond these interests, to show genuine generosity and care for others even when it has nothing to do with themselves. 

And this isn’t to say that the other characters aren’t generous or that they don’t care about each other.  They very clearly do care, and have amazing, complex relationships with each other that are both giving and receiving in turn.  What distinguishes BINX is how seldom her generosity comes with that layer of personal desire/want/advantage.  Unlike others, her generosity doesn’t come from honour or manners or social obligation (in the sense of societal expectations of conduct, though BINX considers it a personal obligation as a member of the Court of Craft).  They don’t show kindness to others as part of any scheme or power game, and they do it without expectation of any return. 

In a campaign where the main antagonists hoard magic and power, where all the characters are fey (known in the genre for deals and tricks and intricate rituals and self-absorption), BINX stand out with genuine, selfless kindness.  They didn’t have to give up one of their tokens to give their warlock such a powerful boost, they could have just told him what kind of monster they were facing.  She didn’t have to make such an effort with Wanessa, her well-being and comfort don’t (so far) have much to do with BINX’s own goals, but she did.   They could have just accepted Andhera into their court without asking to take out the shard, but they did so for no other reason than they care about him.

Which also isn’t to say that BINX is entirely altruistic.  After all, she’s still a fey and she’s still a person with her own interests: she came to the Bloom by means of deception and with a goal, and she has been gathering friends and allies not just for friendship’s sake but with the aim of finding people who will help her expose the truth.  But against the self-centred foils of both the fey court and the other PCs, BINX’s sympathy and selflessness stand out all the more because they have all the reason in the world not to do so.  She’s seen her entire court vanish and die because of the selfish actions of fey at this very Bloom.  They could hide away, live the rest of their life in the nooks and crannies of the Court of Wonder, focus on their own survival and not concern themselves with anyone else.

And yet.  Knowing the weight of what it entails, she chooses to continue the ways of the Court of Craft, community and comfort and creation, and in so doing keeps it alive.  They can’t imagine being removed and aloof from others, and it isn’t out of naivete about what the wider world entails because they know.  She knows what other fey and other courts are like, she has survived the consequences of their self-interest.  With all that, and they choose kindness and generosity without hesitation.  She still has her own interests -the truth, magic, feelings for Andhera- but they do not define her world.

Perhaps, living without the structure of a court (which was never very rigid and politically involved in the first place), they’ve been able to decide for themselves what really matters to them and who they want to be without that weight of expectation, and having seen a bigger picture of what does and does not ultimately matter, they thus chose freely to carry on the legacy and the values of her court.  Maybe, having seen selfishness at its worst, she’s determined to do better.  They could just be a generous person at heart.  Or all of the above at once!

But what a wonderful job the entire cast has done this season in bringing us these complex, nuanced characters that feel lived in, like real, messy people with their own lives and desires and intentions and relationships.  This season really is so very character-driven, with every character feeling a fully-realized person taking part in the story for their own reasons and very much motivated by those reasons.  Of course they were created with the setting in mind and there’s still a controlled structure to the story, but the cast are doing such a good job with the RP and the character choices that those meta elements of setting and plot blend in so that they appear to be made for the characters, not the other way around. 

Anyways, a heartfelt bravo to the entire ACOFAF team, and I can’t wait to see how this all ends next week.

[timeforelfnonsense]

Looking to Make Friends

Dafni x Astarion || T ||  Ao3 ||  Sunshine & Starlight: My on going bg3 series 

Some pre relationship fun before any feelings were caught.  Astarion has a pretty good WIS score and with his background, I think he'd be quite good at reading other people. It's interesting to contrast that with Dafni, who is also very perspective but in a very different way. (and they were narrative foils)

Astarion padded along softly behind Dafni, bow drawn and at the ready. He’d offered to help her catch dinner for the party. To be perfectly honest he wasn’t much for hunting. Not with a bow anyway. In truth, he’d followed her out here to pick her brain. He wanted to get the measure of each of his newfound associates and the peculiar cleric seemed the best place to start. She was far and away the most open of the bunch. The rest of their number all carried an air of privacy about them. Dafni, in contrast, was completely transparent or at least presented herself to be. She could also serve as a bridge to gaining the trust of the more discerning among them. She’d already created a respectable rapport with Gale and the pair they’d picked up in the grove, Wyll, and Criella. She’d gone out of her way to offer hospitality and kindness to each person in the party, even those who seemed less than interested in playing nice. 

You do seem the type. Inquisitive. Looking for connection… It’s every man for himself and you are looking to make friends.

The corner his Astarion’s lip turned up. Shadowheart was canny. That much was clear. She was, however, too short-sided to see the benefits of having someone of that sort on her side. Dafni wanted friends and he needed to secure an ally- It was an ideal fit. He’d noticed the way she blushed at his teasing. How eager she was to keep his company. She almost certainly found him attractive. That made things a bit easier at least. 

“Can I confess something to you?” He inquired, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her pointed ear, “I asked to tag along because I wanted to spend time with you.” Dafni’s cheeks turned cherry red as he traced the blade of her ear. A coy smile forming across his lips. “Aw, I hope I haven’t embarrassed you. I couldn’t help but overhear the way Shadowheart rebuffed you this afternoon. It’s her loss really if she can’t see what an intriguing woman you are.” 

“I-Thank you, Astarion.” She stammered, tracing a small circle in the dirt with the toe of her boot, “What did you want to know?” 

“Tell me about your life before all of this?” He asked, gesturing to his temple. 

“In the city or before that?” She asked, tilting her head thoughtfully, “I can think of several ways to answer that question.” 

Astarion mulled his response over for a moment. He was curious about her life in the city. Dafni was a creature of the wild through and through. She seemed very much at home among the plants and creatures of the forest. It was hard to picture her strolling about the lower city. But, he’d observed her to be the sentimental sort. An inquiry into her more distant past would yield far more. 

“Tell me about where you grew up?”

He heard her heart give a worrying lurch. Her honey-brown eyes falling to the faded leather of her shoes as the flush that covered her cheeks grew even deeper. That was not the reaction he had been expecting from her. Was she embarrassed? No. Nervous. Her arms crossed over her chest as she let out a rush of air from barely parted lips. 

“Umm- Well, as you might have overheard Criella saying, I’m from the Feywilds originally. I should have told you the truth when you asked about my being from the city. I don’t like lying! Even by omission! I just wanted you to trust me...”

Astarion knew a thing or two about conceding one’s nature. He had to stifle the chuckle building in his chest. It would seem he and lovely little Daffodil had something in common. 

Her reaction had been rather dear. But, the logic did follow. The creatures of Faerie had a certain...Reputation. View by the common folk as at best, fickle, whimsical beings, ruled by emotion and a strange sense of decorum. And at worst as wicked, Unseelie tricksters or hags looking to strike duplicitous bargains. 

She wants to be liked, He thought,  Her reputation is important to her. 

“Think nothing of it!” He soothed with a wave of his hand, “We are all entitled to our little secrets. I’d still like to hear more if you’d be kind enough to indulge me?” 

“Of course!” The tension in her shoulders loosened and she continued, “I’m actually quite proud of my heritage, despite my omission. Of all of the Protectors' children, the eladrin of the Faerie are the most like the first elves that sprung from his blood. The plane of Faerie is magnificent. As close a place to Arvandor, there is. It teems with the most beautiful plants and colorful creatures in all of creation. It is a place of enchantment and wonder, both deadly and delightful. Many creatures who stumble into a crossing by mistake lose their wits to its irresistible splendor but my people, we prosper where others wither.” 

He took note of the way her back straightened when she spoke. Her posture took on an elegance he hadn’t seen in her before. He couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips. For all her charity and warmth she still held a small taste of that classic elven haughtiness. Interesting indeed. 

Even more interesting still was the specific pride she took in her ability to survive what overs could not. He was not easily impressed but spirited Dafni had made quite the impression on him. She was tenacious and spirited. She would not surrender herself to their grim fate.

Another similarity. 

 He thought back to their first night in camp, to her girlish snickering at his unease about sleeping outdoors. She had called ‘N'Tel'Que'Tethira’, a city elf. 

But, no sooner than the words left her did a modified expression fall across her pretty round face. Her next sentence had been a string of apologies and assurance she felt no superiority to her city-dwelling cousins. 

Astarion had gathered the fondness she felt for the elves was not limited to her own people but rather all varieties of elves. He’d overhead her with Gale, insisting she was no scholar yet there seemed to be no question of elven lore or history she could not summon at the drop of a pin. He’d not given much thought to his own elveness in quite some time. On the list of things, Astarion was, elf did not fall very high on the ranking of importance. Yet Dafni, from the moment she set eyes on him, saw kin and ally. He’d even seen her extend this esteem to Shadowheart. 

Pride in her culture and people. He’d found another piece of her puzzle. A bit obvious but important nonetheless.

“I was born in the Faerie reflection of the Moonshaes, on the Isle of Gwynneth.” Dafni continued, “In a village called PeleiraI. It was an oasis created by the primal elves who first came to the feywilds after being cast out by Corellon.”

Astarion nodded along as she spoke. He recalled the images that had flashed through his mind upon their first meeting. Tucked away in a forest of mythical beauty, her ‘village’ had been a far cry from the thatched huts and dirt floors the word brought to mind. He’d seen spires and structures of flawless marble reflecting a breathtaking, sunset of burnt orange and vivid violet. The ethereal structures scattered among the woodland didn’t detract from the wild nature of the glen but enhanced it. Appearing as if they had been grown from the earth just the same as the imposing trees that sheltered them. 

“I saw the fleeting image of a settlement when our minds touched. It looked like something out of a fairytale. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He affected his voice, coloring it with wistfulness and awe, “I can only imagine the adventures you got up to there.”

“I did a lot of nothing most days.” She snorted, “Read. Practice medicine or magic. Explore the forest. Pester my older sisters. Maybe a hunt with visiting Seelie knights if I was lucky. I was never really allowed out without my sisters or some sort of escort.” Dafni scoffed the heel of her boot hitting the tree behind her with a soft, repetitive thump. “My mother, Thesmia is our clan’s leader. She’s a well-respected wizard and historian of a sort. I think she knew I was curious about what was on the other side of the mirror so to speak. Gwyneth is littered with fey crossings and she didn’t want me wandering off to the material all alone.” 

She was the sheltered daughter of a noble (or close to it)? Right within his bailiwick! Her story wasn’t an unfamiliar one. Many of his marks in the city had been young lords and ladies smothered by the expectation and duty. All itching for the taste of freedom they were certain they’d find in Astarion’s honeyed words and dark charms. 

This revelation did not yield new information so much as clarify an impression he already had. He’d seen more than her childhood home that day on the beach. The worried face of an otherworldly elven woman and bone aching wanderlust still burned through him when he played the memories over in his head.

“Is that why you left to live with the wood elves?” He asked, tilting his head to the side, “To see this side of the mirror?”

“You remembered?” The flush returned to her cheeks as she fidgeted with the string of her bow.

Astarion smiled his most beguiling smile, “I told you I thought you were intriguing, did I not?”

 “I suppose you did!” She hummed, “Well to answer your question, yes. In apart anyways-'' She shrugged squeezing her biceps, “I wanted to explore, I was never going to know myself in Thesmia’s shadow. She was very...resistant to the idea. She’d seen how cruel people could be. That was part of why she made a home for us in PeleiraI. If she had it her way I would have spent the rest of my days in tucked away safe in her tower.” Dafni paused for a beat, her hands anxiously toying with the edge of her sleeve, “Please don’t misunderstand me. I love my mother dearly. She can just be a bit…”

“Overbearing?” He suggested.

“Yes.” Dafni giggled, releasing the worried fabric from her fingertips, “I know she wanted what was best for me. We just didn’t agree on what that was. I wanted to live my life and she wanted me to live hers.”

“I can sympathize to an extent.” He said, his mouth turning down into a scowl.

“You had a loving but smothering ancient being as a mother?” She tittered, playfully bumping her shoulder against his.

“No.” His tone came out a bit sharper than he’d intended. He ran his hand through his hair composing himself before he continued, “But, I understand the feeling that your life isn’t really your own.”

It was a risk to offer such information up. One he maybe shouldn’t have taken but, something about her vulnerability made him feel a little less guarded. A skill that could prove dangerous. At least his slip up hadn’t been for not. Her heart had slowed to a steady thrum. The jittery shuffling of her feet had stopped. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Dafni responded, placing a hesitant hand on his arm. He had expected her to pry. She was painfully curious and astonishingly open with her own feelings. Yet, she seemed to sense pressing the matter would upset him. Instead, she moved on. Her voice coming out small and far away, “I think she wanted me to be more like her. Refined. Intelligent. Graceful.” She sighed pressing her back to the mossy tree trunk, “Sometimes I worry I might have been a bit of a disappointment.”

Ah-

There it was. The piece he’d been hoping to find. She wanted reassurance. Validation. To be valued and appreciated by her own merits.

“I don’t know your mother or her mind but, for what it’s worth, I think you are quite remarkable.” 

“Really?” Her voice quivered as she looked up at him with sparkling doe eyes. 

“If not for the tadpole’s intervention you may well have, how did you put it, cut my smug head right off my shoulders?” He snickered toying absentmindedly with the pommel of his dagger, “Or made a respectable attempt at any rate. I’m not often bested by my quarries.” 

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad I didn’t.” Dafni leaned in close, the sweet scent of her dizzying his senses. Her breath tickling his ear as she whispered, “Your head is far too lovely to be parted from your shoulders.” 

“Why, Daffodil! I’m flattered!” He stated a pleased grin plastered across his face, “Not surprised but, flattered. You did strike me as a woman of taste.”  

“Are you always this cocky?” She chided in a teasing tone.

“Probably.”  

“Hmm. Why am I not surprised” Dafni had tried to sound vexed but the edges of her voice teemed with amusement. Her big, topaz eyes gleaming with joviality, “Fair is fair. Tell me about your life before the tadpoles?”

He felt a slight unease creep into his chest in response to her innocent inquiry. He’d played fast and loose with the truth countless times with his marks but Dafni was different. She was observant, always picking up on the little subtleties of people's deminers. He would do better to stick to omissions rather than out and out mistruths. He brought his hand to the back of his neck giving the tender mussels a gentle rub.

“Oh, what is there to tell.” He put on a dispassionate expression. Careful to sound cool and nonchalant. “I was a magistrate- it’s all rather tedious.”

“Really? I can’t picture you as a bureaucrat.” 

“And why not?” He gasped clutching his hand over his chest.

“Well for starters, you despise rules even more than I do. You like to stir up trouble. And your sense of morality- How do I put this, seems a bit...crooked? No offense.” She explained, indicating her points on the tips of her fingers.

“Oh, none taken!” Astarion gave her a peal of hearty laughter, shaking his head, “Daffodil, I hate to be the one to tell you there is a great deal of dubious morality in government.”

Her expression soured, her lower lip quivering ever so slightly as she stuck it out, “Well, I still can’t picture it. You are far too much fun for such a stuffy job.” 

“People have many sides, dear.” He shrugged glancing over at her with a playful look, “But thank you.”

[shijiujun]

[ENG] History3: Trapped Novel - Epilogue Two: “And After, Jack & Zhao Zi”

~2,500 words 

*Warnings for this chapter: SMUT AHEAD. Okay I think I’ve said a lot regarding the ridiculous-ness of this chapter, but honestly, I wouldn’t recommend reading this chapter AT ALL. Zhao Zi and Shao Fei are a little OOC in this one I feel, and there are so many logical loopholes. It starts off well and we get some Jack backstory which is quite nice, but then it all goes downhill from there. There’s the who tops who bottoms discourse, and there’s kind of.. questionable consent? Not exactly dub-con but ZZ is drunk as hell. And the sex scene is NOT written well, but I mean to be fair not every writer can write smut, including me. Translation is even worse I’m so sorry. You’ll know what I mean if you read it but I hope you don’t read this, in case anyone needed the warnings. Comments? 

===

Translation Masterpost can be found here

Disclaimer: Translations are entirely mine and Wei’s - these are not official translations and some phrases have been changed for better English interpretation so you’ll definitely see better/different translations elsewhere. Also keeping in mind when we translated this we aren’t exactly thinking about the style of writing and this translation is as close to the novel as we can make it XD So yes, some parts may be a little awkward to read. And yes some teeny weeny details and words may not turn up in the translation because the Chi to Eng mind acrobatics didn’t work out. If you see asterisks, scroll all the way to the bottom for notes!

Full chapter under the cut

Epilogue Two: “And After, Jack & Zhao Zi”

Jack is lying on the couch, waiting for his lover who hasn’t returned home even though it’s so late after 10pm. However, Jack is also accustomed to waiting up for Zhao Zi.

In the army, the strict regimen of training gave him unimaginable skills. Put nicely, it was to protect the country and its citizens, but put in perspective, he was simply a killing machine trained for a long time under the army. Under his commander’s order he had to kill, the only difference is that when you do it in the name of your country, it’s not considered illegal, but in the end, he was still a machine that simply listened to orders. To live or to die, to be valued or cast aside, this was all dependent on your superiors, and you also had to watch out for what they thought of you.

“How boring,” the man lying on the couch remarked, thinking about his past.

Since he was going to kill anyway, why not let him choose his target? And that was how he left the army and chose the high-risk career path of a mercenary, to be hired by a buyer at high prices, and time after time in each battle, he escaped the grim reaper’s axe.

Jack closes his eyes, breathing in the air in the house.

In the past, the air that he breathed was filled with either smoke and sulphur or the coppery tang of blood leaving a body. Now, around him all he smells is the aroma of food.

Unconsciously, Jack slips into sleep and a dream, but is forced to revisit his past. In his dreams he hears the sound of a bullet being fired from a gun, hears the loud explosions echo, hears the signs of people, one after another, falling and never getting up, hears the sound of blood gushing from a gunshot wound. Just as he thought that he could escape and finally be free.

I really want a place that I can return to, he sighs.

===

Although the sound of the key entering the keyhole and the main door opening is very soft, Jack, an ex-mercenary who is used to being on high alert always, still startles.

Jack’s eyes snap open suddenly, and he looks at his surroundings in a mixture of fear and wariness, until he’s sure that he’s lying on the couch in the living room. Only then does he straighten, his entire back drenched in cold sweat.

“Hehe, you’re not asleep yet?”

The smell of alcohol is strong on Zhao Zi, and holding onto his noisily clinking set of keys, he laughs and looks at his lover, who often waits on the couch for him to come back.

“You had to put in overtime again?”

Zhao Zi’s nose scrunches up as he shakes his head, “No, I went out for drinks with Ah Fei and Jun Wei.”

“Did you have a good time?”

“Hnn, I did.”

Zhao Zi removes his shoes and moves over to sit right next to Jack, then leans his entire body against the man’s shoulder. He adjusts himself until he’s most comfortable. 

“Liang Dian, hehe, Fang Liang Dian is so huge.”

Only at this time, acting all cute would Zhao Zi call him by his birth name. Zhao Zi happily reaches out to caress Jack's abdominal muscles.

“Hey! You really have some fetish for this huh?” Jack does not know whether to laugh or cry as he says this, and even though he doesn’t mind being sexually harassed in various forms by the shorty, it feels a little different tonight for some reason.

Why is Zhao Zi’s hand starting to move towards that somewhere?*

Zhao Zi swallows and looks at the area that is beginning to have some reaction with his touch, “It’s hard, huge… and a little hot.”**

“Shorty, are you intending to call in sick to work tomorrow?”

Since Zhao Zi has lit a flame in his body, then he must be mentally prepared to douse the flames out, all night long.

“I want to eat you up!”

Zhao Zi suddenly throws himself towards Jack and Jack, who is unable to react in time, ends up lying on his back on the soft couch.

“Huh?”

Jack looks at his lover, whose face is filled with determination, and allows Zhao Zi to pull up his loose shirt, lie on his chest and begin to lick and suck at his nipples.

The pants coming from Jack makes the person who took the initiative to attack him very satisfied, and so Zhao Zi continues to slide down Jack’s body, kissing Jack’s abdomen, and then he pulls down Jack’s shorts to reveal an already hard member.

“Hey, you can’t really want to top me, right?”

“Hmph!” Zhao Zi immediately glares at Jack, who is sitting up to get a better look at him.

Zhao Zi seems very unhappy that Jack seems to be doubting him. “I’m a guy too, if you can top me, then of course I can top you. What about it? You’re looking down on me, is that it?”***

It’s all Ah Fei’s fault! Earlier when they were drinking, he suddenly grabbed him and asked if Zhao Zi was still a virgin, and in the end in a fit of anger he retorted, “Who the hell’s a virgin, I’ve already done it with Jack!”

Shao Fei only went ‘oh’, and continued, “You may have grown behind, but in the front it’s as if you’re still single.”****

The drunk person holding and teasing the hard member in his hands suddenly starts crying, scaring Jack to the point of falling on his back again on the couch.

“Shorty, what’s up with you?”

Zhao Zi points at his similarly hard member and very loudly says, “Ah Fei says that even if I’ve done it with you, it’s only in the back that I’m not a virgin, but in the front it’s as if I’m still single and a virgin!”

“Pftt…. Hahahahaha!”

Hearing this, Jack can no longer control himself and starts to laugh, hugging his abdomen. Geez, what do these guys usually talk about? What a mess! Jack sighs, thinking about his ex-boss, who’s faced with such an unpredictable lover.

Tang Yi, you’ve got a tough life ahead of you.

Hold on a second! It seems that Jack himself didn’t get any luckier in his choice of partner, if he had to identify someone who was ever more ridiculous than Officer Meng, wouldn’t it exactly be the Zhao Zi kneeling right in front of him right now, the Zhao Zi who wants to ‘top’ him?

Suddenly struck with reality, Jack looks at his shorty with a frown. An opportunity for a prank flashes through his head then.

“Shorty, you really want to ‘pop your cherry’ for your ‘front’ as well?”*****

“Hmph, of course!” Zhao Zi burps, side eyeing Jack.

Jack raises an eyebrow and reaches for Zhao Zi’s chin, and with a strange smile he says, “Okay, I’ll let you ‘hug’ me!”

“Really? I can really eat you up?”

Zhao Zi swallows with excitement, and all that surfaces in his head is the image of this handsome and tall man being on the receiving end.

“Really, but…” Jack squints at Zhao Zi, and pretends to be very embarrassed as he continues, “Once you’ve eaten me, you have to be responsible to me for life.”

“Of course!”

The young officer proudly puffs out his flat chest, and although he does not have any hard and firm pecs, he’s definitely a man of his word, and he will be responsible towards his food…

Eh, that’s not right…

It’s being responsible to his own ‘man’ for the rest of their lives, he definitely will.

In the room

“Jack… hold on… Jack…. Jack...”

Inside the room, illuminated by only a single light, moans and harsh panting echo.

“What’s wrong?”

Jack knows exactly what’s wrong but still asks, holding onto his lover’s waist, and continuing what he was doing earlier.

Zhao Zi, as he pants, asks suspiciously, “Seems like… hah… hah… seems like something is a little… a little wrong.”

“Which part is wrong? Didn’t you want to top me?”

“Yeah.. earlier, earlier… we agreed… That I would… hah… that I would top you…”

“Shorty, aren’t you on top of me right now?”

“Hnn… nnn… yeah… yeah… ah…”

“Then that’s correct, I’ll continue to let you ‘top’ me then!”

What a cunning smile, as Jack says things that make his face flame.

“Okay… okay…. I, I’ll continue… continue to top you… if it hurts… ha-ah… you have to tell me…”

Zhao Zi imitates the way Jack is always so considerate of his feelings when they’re having sex, and repeats these reminders to Jack. Right now, if someone took out a magical mirror and put it in front of Jack, they would surely be able to see the fox tail behind him swinging from side to side.

“Okay!”

Jack, whose scheming plan succeeded, continues to embrace the shorty he loves so much, eating the drunk police officer so clean he doesn’t even leave any bones behind.

“Ah-”

Jack inserts his hard member upwards into Zhao Zi’s opening, and because of the way that Zhao Zi is sitting across Jack’s laps, the depth at which he penetrates Zhao Zi is even greater than usual. Every thrust accurately hits Zhao Zi’s prostate, and with each thrust, Zhao Zi finds it increasingly difficult to stop himself from making any sounds. Passionate moans sound in the room that belongs solely to them both.

“Ah- Jack… It feels so good… so good… Jack…”

“Me too,” Jack says through gritted teeth, enjoying the sensation of his cock being squeezed in a vice with satisfaction, “It feels very good for me too.”

“Then I’ll… Then I’ll continue… to top you…”******

Zhao Zi repeats the movement that Jack taught him previously. Every time he moves up he squeezes his muscles and tightens up, while relaxing every time he sits back down on Jack’s member.

“Oh god- Shorty you… you… ah...ah…”

Even though it was him who taught Zhao Zi all these tricks in bed, Jack forgot just how much Zhao Zi affects him. Usually, Jack already gets so excited when Zhao Zi responds to him without doing anything special, not to mention a Zhao Zi actually putting everything he knows to good use right now - Zhao Zi is completely messing up his rhythm.

“Ah-hah, Jack… Does this… feel… good?”

“Damn it!” the man who’s quickly losing control curses.

This is no longer an issue of whether it feels good, but a matter of him reaping what he sowed as he’s getting just what he asked for.

Oh god! It’s so tight there!

Cumming prematurely is the greatest blow to a man’s pride, well, that’s alright, it looks like his pride is quickly, almost…

“Ah- hah-”

Jack thrusts upwards into Zhao Zi with all the strength he has, then releases into his lover’s body.

Zhao Zi looks at the man lying and panting on the bed, and a satisfied smile tugs at his lips.

“Hehe, you actually came earlier than me,”

Wow, so the one who’s in charge of ‘topping’ the other does last longer! Every time they had sex before this it was always Zhao Zi who came first, and who expected that he could see Jack’s expression like this, post-orgasm?

Zhao Zi looks at his lover’s face, and makes a weird sound.

“What’re you looking at?” Jack glares at the man who’s sitting on him, pissed off.

“Jack…. What should I do?”

“What is it?”

“I think I…” Zhao Zi says honestly, “I’ve fallen more in love with you.”

Every time he sees an expression on Jack that he’s never seen before, he finds himself falling in love with Jack again. Is this normal? Or is it abnormal?

After receiving a confession so suddenly, Jack smiles and asks, “The next time you drink again, I’ll let you ‘top’ me, okay?”

“Okay!” Zhao Zi nods furiously.

“Just now you ate me, so now, it’s my turn to eat you.”

“Huh? What-”

Zhao Zi is abruptly flung and pressed into the bed with a pull across the back of his waist. His hole, which has turned red and swollen with all the friction, is still filled with Jack’s cock as the man refuses to withdraw.

“Wait a second!”

Didn’t they agree to let him be on top for the whole night? Why is he once again pressed to the bed by Jack?

“Didn’t you say that we have to be fair? I let you ‘top’ me once earlier, and now it’s my turn to ‘top’ you once too, this is what we call fair, right?”

“Nnn…”

In his dizzy state Zhao Zi has the niggling feeling that something isn’t quite right, but he can’t think of how to respond to Jack’s statement either, so all he can do is nod in agreement and acquiesce.

“You’re not wrong, so okay! Since you let me ‘top’ and made me feel so good earlier, I’ll let you ‘top’ me once too, but I’ve got to work tomorrow, so we can only do this once, and no additional rounds.”

“Okay,” Jack grins delighted.

Zhao Zi secretly sticks out his tongue at Jack in his mind. Lucky for him, Zhao Zi smartly voiced out his conditions first, otherwise Jack’s stamina is really equivalent to that of a monster’s and if Zhao Zi let him do as he likes, he won’t get to see the sun tomorrow, instead sleeping until it’s time to eat dinner the next day.

And so with Jack’s member, which has hardened again, they continue onto their second round. Of course, Jack keeps his promise to do Zhao Zi only one more time, and then holds onto an exhausted shorty, slipping into sleep with happiness.

===

The next morning, Zhao Zi wakes up under his alarm’s incessant ringing. He brushes his teeth and washes his face, then rubs at his bleary eyes out of habit as he walks down the stairs. 

“Good morning!” Jack, who’s busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen, turns around to look at the shorty who’s just woken up and greets.

“Good… good morning…”

Zhao Zi smiles happily and sits at the table by the window, waiting for Jack’s breakfast made with love, a few minutes later, his handsome lover brings over freshly made sandwiches and juice, sitting opposite him.

“Does it taste good?”

“It’s delicious, ah!” Zhao Zi exclaims suddenly, recalling what happened last night. 

The tip of his ears turn red, and Zhao Zi grabs onto Jack’s hand. He says, serious, “Don’t worry, I’ll be responsible for you for life.”

“...”

Jack is unable to react immediately, so he just stares at Zhao Zi, dumbfounded. Then he laughs.

“Hey! I’m being serious here, what are you laughing for?”

Jack shakes his head and resists the urge to laugh even more. He deliberately bites at his lower lip and replies, “Then please be responsible for me, for life, okay?”

“Nnn! No problem, I promise!”

Zhao Zi pats at his chest, which has remained flat no matter how he tried to exercise it, and makes a promise to the one he loves.

===

Notes:

*This is exactly how it’s written, word for word translation, I KID U NOT

**I have facepalmed

***Once again WHEN CAN WE STOP WITH THIS DISCOURSE OF TOPPING = AFFIRMATION OF MASCULINITY/IDENTITY 

****Honestly, I cannot imagine Shao Fei saying this 

*****I would like to cry, and not happily

******Wow guys I only realized that Zhao Zi was duped today, like TODAY, six months after I got the novel. I’m a bit mind blown. To be fair I didn’t dare read through the whole thing in my first few reads, but omg, Zhao Zi you are so easily duped. This is such a questionable scene?! But also towards the end my brain just kind of switched off and I’m translating so mechanically like I’m praying my brain doesn’t process any of the words. I’m sorry, I REALLY TRIED. Once again, I hope you didn’t read this, and if you made it all the way down here... if you liked it, cools, if you didn’t, you can cry with me in the comments.