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wxndswept · 9 days

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Hatred(Finale)

"No blood, no struggle, no people, no note... I don't understand." Yuuki coughed and took a sip of water on the nearby table. Her voice was hoarse from screaming at the staff member who had refused to let her see her own room because "an incident had occurred" and "an investigation was underway" according to them.

Eventually, she was granted access, but now she was annoyed and more worried than before. And tired from all the yelling. But looking in their shared room, there was no evidence that anything had happened. Lyza had left a bag on the table, next to a drink, and the fragments of the Ruin Blade they had collected on their journey. She picked up the bag and pocketed it, letting it a sigh as she looked at the ceiling. "A portal opened up, huh? On Teyvat, that would have been easier to explain since the Abyss were the only beings that could make portals aside from me. But out here in the wider galaxy, where Mr. Yang makes black holes with his cane, and Miss Acheron cuts throu- WAH!" A portal opened beneath Yuuki's feet mid-sentence, dropping her quickly.

In an instant, Yuuki found herself falling from her comfy suite in Penacony to an unknown landscape. A barren, stormy sea. The dark, vicious waves were the only thing as far as the eye could see, dimly lit by the moonlight sky. At least, that was the right it gave off, there was no actual moon to reflect light. Yuuki twisted herself around in the air, closing her eyes and focusing on how she felt back on the space station to tap into her true power. The last two times were so emotional and chaotic that it just burst forth, but this time it was like reaching a hand into herself and pulling out what she really was.

A blast of wind surrounded her as she opened her eyes. As Yuuki's draconic wings manifested, she was able to properly orient herself and slow herself to a gentle landing. She expected to sink right into the depths, but instead, she landed on her feet, like she was in a small puddle. Looking down, however, she could see the dark and murky depths beneath the surface. Yuuki stomped her foot a few times, not understanding how this was even possible. But before she could look too far into the phenomenon, something crossed her peripheral vision. A large, serpentine creature was swimming toward her at an alarming speed. Yuuki was able to jump back as it burst out of the water, twisting in the air to face her.

"..." Its appearance was different, but Yuuki could tell it was the same creature from the Chasm. A towering shadowy being that Lyza seemed to control when they first met. It didn't have many defining features or much of a face, but it was definitely staring Yuuki down. The malice was undeniable. She couldn't tell if this thing was Lyza, or something connected to her and her power. That strange Delusion she had, Yuuki never knew what happened with it when they left Teyvat. She never asked.

"Are..." Yuuki swallowed hard. The last shadowy creature she faced didn't possess any kind of speech. "You aren't Lyza, are you? Maybe you're like some... thing that she made? Like a-" The creature suddenly screeched, twisting around in the air as Yuuki fell to the ground from the sudden sound. It was a loud, piercing scream, that pinned her to the spot, but she could also hear the wail of someone in pain.

"L-Lyza!" The cry was ignored as a vortex spun up from the water below, sweeping Yuuki and the creature up into the air. With ease, it dove into the whirling water, swimming along it as Yuuki tried to reorient herself. Over and over it dashed at Yuuki, using the circle of water to confuse her from where it was attacking from. While she couldn't completely avoid all of them, she was able to use her wings and ethereal weaponry to push herself out of the way at times, receiving lighter injuries in the process. The shade switched up tactics and broke through the wall, floating in the center of the storm. Rearing back, a large gaping mouth opened. Yuuki recognized the growing ball of light forming in the maw as a massive attack. In response, Yuuki thrust to the side, blowing a blast of air and flapping her wings to move quick enough to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. In her movement, Yuuki bounced off the wall of water, shouting at the razor-like feeling of the rapids. The serpent charged headfirst at her, headfirst into Yuuki's sword, which she summoned to pierce its side. The pain cry that the creature let out gave Yuuki pause. It reminded her so much of Lyza that she paused at an opportunity for a follow-up attack, ducking below when the creature whipped its tail around to strike her. She drew back her blade, swinging quickly to cut into the beast's underbelly. A shallow slice that brought out another roar of pain. one that brought back a memory for Yuuki.

"I'm sorry!" Yuuki clutched her head, hearing her own voice from a time on the Herta Space Station. "I didn't mean to hit so hard, are you okay?"

"I..." Yuuki huffed in frustration as she stared down the creature. "I'm sorry! I was so wrapped up in my own stuff that I didn't stop to think about you!" She wasn't sure if her words were reaching Lyza, or if this thing in front of her even was Lyza, but she had to say it. Just in case. "If you're somewhere in there, please! Please let me save you!"

The creature saw Yuuki hesitate. It whipped its head around and screeched angrily, lunging at her and grabbing her with its mouth to throw her down toward the water. All Yuuki could do was wrap her wings around her body like a cocoon as she hit the water at full force. Unfurling them, she looked up to see the tornado of water dissipate. The creature's maw opened again, launching another beam of energy at Yuuki. She raised her arms and wings in a futile attempt to block, instead getting swept under the waves. While the beam of energy didn't penetrate the waves, the force of the blast did, pushing Yuuki further down.

"Don't be an ass!" Now Lyza's voice echoed in her head. "Don't hold back on me just because we're friends or whatever!" Yuuki opened her eyes underwater, attempting to fight against the current. "How else am I going to surpass you if I can't even gauge your real strength?! Don't hold anything back, you got it!?"

Yuuki jumped out of the water, energized by a second wind. She couldn't help but notice that the seascape had changed a bit. The water was darker, the sky was completely black, illuminated only by the creature floating a ways away from Yuuki. It was coiled around itself, gathering energy in preparation for something. Feeling the air pulse with pressure and the seas swell, Yuuki could feel that it wasn't something good. Regaining her composure, she ran across the surface of the water, stopping in her tracks at the sight.

While the creature itself was curled up behind a large shield, a segment of its body was exposed, revealing a small bubble. Inside was Lyza, curled up in the fetal position and seemingly unconscious. She was ignorant to the chaotic space around her, as well as Yuuki, who had leaped up close to the shield, pounding on it with her sword and hand while screaming her name. Upon closer inspection, Yuuki could see the black Delusion, embedded in her chest, the one that had seemingly disappeared when they left Teyvat. When or how it resurfaced didn't matter, things were being connected in Yuuki's head

"Lyza!!" Yuuki was pelted with water as she struck at the shield with her sword. "Come on, I know you can hear me!! LYZA!!"Jumping up, Yuuki batted away bullets of water, summoning a barrage of ethereal weapons. With a yell, she threw them at the shield, smiling as it cracked while they bounced off it. Rolling around another attack, she threw another volley, the blades embedding in the shield. Cloaking her Aquila Favonia with a small violent current of wind, she fell down onto the shield with full force, shattering it. The ethereal blades took their chance and continued their path, piercing the serpent's body. Yuuki herself landed on top of the sphere containing Lyza, but before she could do anything, the blinding light of an explosion engulfed her. The energy the creature was drawing in had destabilized.

"You're a very intense person, you know that Lyza? It's one hundred percent or nothing with you."

"Of course I am! With what I've become? I don't have all the time to sit around and do nothing. I just wish that... before I burn out, I could be myself again."

Yuuki opened her eyes to a changed landscape once again. Dawn was now beginning to break over the sea, and crumbling ruins now dotted the area. She jumped to her feet, wiping the blood that was dripping from a wound on her head, seeing the serpent burst from the water once more. It let out another screech, shooting out a barrage of beams toward Yuuki. Bullets of water, beams of light, explosions in the water, the onslaught was non-stop. For a while, for what felt like an eternity, Yuuki could only dodge the best she could, occasionally retaliating with a flurry of ethereal blades.

The creature turned its tantrum to a greater degree, flying higher in the air and letting out another loud screech. The sea behind it bulged and swelled, creating a massive wave that threatened to engulf everything. Lightning started to strike in the area

"Oh no you don't..." Yuuki spread her wings wide and brought her sword close to her. Both it and she glowed faintly as a fierce wind enveloped the blade once more. Taking a step back, she sliced forward quickly, emitting a wave that cut through everything. The wave, the water, the storm in the sky all parted for her attack, leaving a perfect 'scar' that was left suspended for a few moments before the environment returned to normal. Yuuki was surprised at the feat, staring blankly at the scene before her as the leviathan was blown away from the force in its wake. What really caught her attention was the shining blue object that was struck by a bolt of lightning in the nearby ruins.

"Wha... T-That's... THAT'S!!" Immediately, Yuuki ran over to the source, jumping over the pit she had created into the ruins. With a closer look, she could recognize them as the ruins of Old Mondstadt, where her life was first changed forever. She raised a wing to cover her side as a barrage of water bullets pelted her. Her arms came up soon after, nearly tripping over herself as the appendage started to deteriorate under the stress of the attack.

"Be careful, this sword can cut through anything. Physical objects, bonds, curses, memories, or even the barrier between worlds. If you can wish it, this can cut it!"

"If that's true...!" Jumping up on the stone pedestal, Yuuki reached out with one hand as the creature let loose a massive blast behind her. "Then you'll have no issue with me cutting through all this hate! Isn't that right, Moon?!"

The Ruin Blade shook in place for a moment, responding to its master's cry. It flew from its rooted spot and into Yuuki's hand. Her arm throbbed in pain, the sword felt heavy and unnatural in her grip. But in the moment, it didn't matter. Without hesitation, she turned on her heel and swung the glowing blue sword.

Everything went still. The sea was cut in two. As was the sky. The pedestal Yuuki stood on. The beam of energy. The serpentine creature charging at her. And Lyza. For a brief, frozen moment, Yuuki stared, her mouth agape in horror as the white-haired woman and the creature covering her disappeared before her eyes. She couldn't scream, she couldn't cry out or run, she couldn't even talk or move. She couldn't process it, couldn't accept it, not that this was by her own handle. An ominous purple residue remained in the space where Yuuki cut, unmoving even as the sea fell back to its normal state.

The Ruin Blade fell from Yuuki's hand onto the stone below. It sputtered and 'glitched' before opening up a portal beneath her. Wordlessly, both she and it fell from the strange sea and into one of the train cars of the Astral Express.

#[story post]#(hsr verse)#well there you have it that's our story Lyza's dead! goodnight!#(queue)

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ask-owletta · 2 years

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Sooo. Smore questions.

What ARE you specifically?

Can you swim?

I wanna teach you something. Take this. (Its a Rocket Launcher from TF2) Oh and before you do, can your drink this? Its for your own safety. (Its a potion of Slow Falling from Minecraft, she might fall a fair way from high up, so she won't hurt herself) Okay, now point it down. The cone end should be facing up. Now pull the trigger! (Lol don't worry, it can't hurt her, it just launches her into the sky like a rocket 😉👌)

I call it rocket jumping. Just keep the cone end pointed up and just before you his the ground, pull the trigger again to jump forward at fast speeds! What do you think? If you don't like it, that's fine with me.

Your friend might like it though.

What are your biggest fears? Mine are fish that eat you, scary eels, savage dogs and pianos. Oh shit. There's one behind you! Whatever you do, DON'T. GO. NEAR. IT. (Its the piano from Super Mario 64 btw).

One more thing, I want you to meet my favourite characters of my favourite kids shows!

Thomas The Tank Engine.

The Octonauts.

The Animal Mechanicals.

And Inspector Gadget.

(They all come one after the other, not all at once.)

Ok. See ya later!

(Dya think she's aware its been me for the past few questions?)

(Also I hope more people come too this ask blog soon, it might get tiring if it's just me over and over again.)

Owletta: *smiles brightly* Oh welcome back! And sure, I’m down.

Bunmin: *watches in interest*

Owletta: To answer the first 2 questions I can’t really swim because it weighs down my feathers, and it would drown me. As for what I am, I’m a fairy known as an owling. We are carnivores as I already stated, but we don’t really have limbs, rather we’re shapeshifters. *her feathers lift a little to reveal the smoke of a purple and black hue* We’re pretty much made of feathers and this Smokey stuff. That said, although we can do a lot of cool things, good things even, people have been really scared of us, so most of our flocks choose to be evil. I won’t elaborate on that right now…. Though I will say I’m not like my flock…*points at injury on her face* I mean that’s why I got this…so yeah.

Owletta proceeds to try out rocket jumping, with Bunmin joining in. They both have a blast! (Pun intended, though as a side note, real life me is afraid of heights)

Owletta: *looks at the next question while hooting and fixing her hair* Fears huh….being found and killed by my flock. Dying….or loosing my feathers. *Tendrils come out from under her feathers seeming to try to protect her after those thoughts* As for that piano, I’ve had a bad feeling about it since the beginning. It has such a nasty aura coming from it!

Bunmin looks at Owletta, making sure she’s ready to meet the following characters. Owletta nods, hugging some, looking in awe at others, and being overall friendly. (Ok, to give a brief breakdown: She ended up hugging the octonaughts, since they didn’t really come off as odd to her. She was in awe of Thomas as I know she’s never seen a train, let alone one that talks. Inspector Gadget she stared at in awe because he looked almost human to her, then she asked permission to hug him before doing so. Unfortunately I don’t know anything about The Animal Mechanical’s so I can’t say for sure…oof sorry)

Bunmin: *looks over at Owletta* More fun than you thought?

Owletta: *nods happily* Personal questions aside this is really fun. It’s always fun when he visits too. *waves you goodbye again as you disappear *

(Sorry for not replying right away, I got super busy, so I kinda forgot this existed for a while lol. -^^-; though that doesn’t make it any better…so again sorry. As a side note, I’m not worn out yet, but I do hope others jump in more soon too. Thank you for the questions, it helps me keep the blog going, and they’re fun! See ya soon!)

#ask blog #ask owletta #ask blog stuff #ask blogs #oc ask blog #oc ask blogs #ask blog series #web series #ask blog web series #fairy oc

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grailfinders · 3 years

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Fate and Phantasms #199

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're making the Jotaro Kujo of FGO, Semiramis! (Seriously, how does that cape/hair... thing work? It's wild.) The queen of poisons is a Graviturgy Wizard to make building a floating castle slightly less difficult to make and cooler to live in, plus a Witherbloom Druid for some dove friends and extra poisons. If you've seen our builds for Waver and Edison, you might know already that building things with magic is costly and time-consuming, and for once that is 100% accurate to the character. Get ready, this is gonna be a weird one.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: I'm 40% appendicitis!

Race and Background

Semiramis is technically an aasimar, but she doesn't fly around or heal people, so we can just focus on her human side. .... Oooor we can focus on those ears, because we need to nick some stuff from being an Elf. Specifically, we're going with the Vahadar Elf from Plane Shift Kaladesh, since they've got the ears, the proficiencies we'll need later, and their backstory's still about living in general society, unlike wood elves and other Kaladeshian elves. Thanks to Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, this gives her +2 Intelligence and +1 Wisdom, as well as Darkvision, Fey Ancestry against being charmed, a Trance instead of sleep so she can't be put to sleep, Keen Senses for proficiency in Perception, the Mending cantrip to piece together the castle later, and most importantly Elf Weapon Training. Normally this would give her proficiency with four weapons, but thanks to Tasha's we can swap this out with four tools instead. Carpenter's, Glassblower's, Mason's, and Smith's Tools proficiency should give us everything we need to build a castle later- we'll go into the why when we get there.

Semiramis is also a Noble- grab History, but swap out Persuasion for Deception. Yeah, not even her background can escape how weird this build is.

Ability Scores

Poisoning skills come from Intelligence (I think. WotC are really nonspecific about how to actually fucking make poison), and it's also your main casting modifier: put that first. Second should be your Charisma, nobody drinks poison on purpose, so you'd better get good at lying. After that is Wisdom. If your poisons aren't made with Intelligence it'll definitely be wisdom. That means your Dexterity isn't great- yeah, you fight in a dress, but if you're fighting and not your lackeys, something's gone wrong. We're not dumping Constitution because we're not stupid, so dump Strength instead. You've got minions to carry rocks around for you.

Class Levels

Wizard 1: Starting as a wizard nets you the weakest hit die in the game, but it also gets you proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves, plus the Arcana and Medicine skills. You're half caster, and if you want to ruin someone's bodily functions you have to know what those are first. Starting as a wizard also gets you Spells that you can cast and prepare using your Intelligence. You get six at first level and two each level after. That's a lot, so we're just going to over spells that are important for the build here, though there's a full list of what we'd get in the character sheet. For cantrips, grab Infestation and Poison Spray for poison damage. For once infestation is completely kosher as is, since Semiramis can summon any creature as long as its poisonous. Also, grab Message. Castle halls are big and echo-y, and it's probably not a good idea to shout at people to find out which glass they put the poison in. Aside from that, grab Mage Armor so you die less, Magic Missile for Assassin balls, and Tenser's Floating Disk to carry all the raw materials you'll be using later. Finally, you get an Arcane Recovery once per long rest, letting you recover a couple spell slots on a short rest. The total level you recover is equal to half your wizard level, rounded up.

Wizard 2: Going into second level of wizard gives you a school of magic, and it's hard to lift several tons of stone into the air if you're not into Graviturgy. When you take the subclass, you can Adjust Density as an action, doubling or halving a large or smaller creature/object's weight for up to a minute with concentration. If you reduce a creature's weight it'll increase their speed by 10', double their jump distance, and have disadvantage on strength saves and checks, and vice versa if you increase it. I checked, and stone is roughly 1,000 times denser than air, not 2, so we'll have to do some brewing later to make this work out. Make your strong minions stronger, your fast minions faster, or do the opposite for your enemies.

Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells. You won't get any dragons in this build, sad to say, but you can use Dragon's Breath to turn just about anything into a dragon. They can even spit poison breath, which is really good with the poisoner's feat. Speaking of..

Wizard 4: First Ability Score Improvement of the build, so grab the Poisoner's Feat for more poisony goodness. All poison-based damage rolls you make ignore resistance, you can coat weapons as a bonus action, and you get proficiency in the poisoner's kit. You also learn a special poison that'll force a dc 14 constitution save on the creature you use it on, dealing 2d8 poison damage and poisoning them for a round.

Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Animate Dead will help you make dragontooth warriors, a.k.a. skeletons. You can make one per casting right now, but you can recast the spell to retain control over up to three skeletons at once. Otherwise they'll be uncontrollable monsters, which is probably less of a goal.

Druid 1: Semiramis might be known for her poisons, but she's really a multifaceted person. Well, not really, but if you want poisons, you're going to get them from animals. If you want animals, you're going to get them from druids. First level druids learn Druidic- it's a language! They also get another set of Spellcasting using their Wisdom to cast and prepare spells. Check the multiclassing table to figure out your spell slots. Grab Guidance and Resistance to be a bit better than everyone else. For first level spells, look for Entangle and Snare to summon chains to slow down enemies, and Speak with Animals to make sure your dovey-woveys know their work is appreciated. We haven't gotten dovey-woveys yet? Don't worry, they're coming.

Druid 2: Second level druids join their circle, and you're so goddamn smart you just joined another school. At the college of Witherbloom, you'll learn how to turn the vitality of nature into deadly poisons. Right off the bat you get circle spells, which are always prepared for you and don't count against how many spells you can prepare. Right now you get the Spare the Dying cantrip as well as Cure and Inflict Wounds. Now you don't literally have to summon a whip every time you want to hit someone. You can also tap in creatures' essences with your Essence Tap. As a bonus action, you empower yourself for 1 minute, gaining one of two options. Overgrowth lets you heal yourself with a hit die each turn as a bonus action, adding your wisdom modifier to the amount healed. Withering Strike lets you change your damage to necrotic when you hit someone with any sort of damage, ignoring resistances to make your poisons even deadlier. You can use this proficiency times per long rest. Most importantly, you gain a Wild Shape / Wild Companion. Both features use the same two charges per short rest. You're limited to what you can turn into based on its CR and movement options, but those limits and how long you can transform/summon a creature for grows as you level up. Currently I'd stick with Wild Companion for dove familiars, but some versions of Semiramis' story include her turning into a dove herself at the end, so Wild Shape isn't out of the question. As long as we sink eight levels into druid, at least.

Druid 3: Third level druids get second level spells, like your freebies Lesser Restoration and Ray of Enfeeblement. Look, if you're going to make poisons it only makes sense that you'd have antidotes on hand. You can also grab spells like Animal Messenger to send your doves out for ingredients, and Locate Animals or Plants to find them yourself.

Wizard 6: Sixth level graviturgists can make a Gravity Well when you cast a spell, moving the target 5 feet in any direction if it is willing or you successfully hit it with the spell. Speaking of spells that push people, Pulse Wave does just that, stepping in for the big stompy dragon animation. Creatures in a 30' cone make a constitution save, and if they fail they'll take force damage and get pushed back 15', or 20' with Gravity Well. You can also pull them, but that's not really stompy at that point. You can also Summon Undead to create a stronger skeleton to lead the others.

Druid 4: At fourth level, druids can transform into swimming creatures, and you also get another ASI. Bump up your Intelligence for stronger spells. Also, grab the Control Fire cantrip, it'll be cold in your castle without it.

Druid 5: Fifth level druids get third level spells, like Revivify and Vampiric Touch. Neither of those are in character, but you can also Conjure Animals (as long as they're poisonous) and Dispel Magic to keep your throne room free of nonsense.

Wizard 7: Seventh level wizard get fourth level spells, including the one we've been working our way up to, Fabricate! As long as you have the raw materials, you can turn them into products of the same material. Since you're working with stone, you're limited to creating Medium objects this way. Just line the outside of the medium objects you make with halves of smaller objects, then mend them together, and eventually you'll have a castle. This will take a while. For a decent-sized castle of 300'x400', you'll be looking at roughly 480 medium-sized blocks per floor. At level 20 you'll have 12 spell slots of fourth level or higher, so you can knock out a floor in roughly 40 days, not including things like doors or other furniture. Also worth noting, you can't make fancy things like glass without proficiency in the tools required to make them normally, hence all the tool proficiencies from your racial bonuses.

Wizard 8: Use your next ASI to bump up your Wisdom for better healing and stronger druid spells. You also learn Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum, so you can prevent creatures from spying into your hanging gardens. Especially useful is the ability to block creatures from teleporting or plane shifting onto your grounds, as that's probably the only way to approach your gardens safely. Or at least it is after you learn Ice Storm, a long range spell that pelts enemies with ice and turns the area into difficult terrain. Of note, it doesn't say the ground, so the entire cylinder will be difficult to fly through. If you want to build giant arcane cannons instead for authenticity, I salute you. Just remember that'll have to come out of your budget.

Wizard 9: Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells, and Wall of Stone will help you speed up construction by making ten 10'x10' panels or ten 10'x20' panels. You can also use this spell to create bridges or the like, and if you hold concentration for 10 minutes the stone remains permanently. If you want to skimp on materials so you can just get this fucking thing in the air already, this'll help with that. You're also learning Geas. If you can't summon a dragon, forcibly controlling a dragon is the next best thing.

Druid 6: Did you think we were done with druid? I said we were stuck here for 8 levels, didn't I? Sixth level witherbloom druids can make a Witherbloom Brew thanks to their new proficiency with Herbalism kits. At the end of a long rest, you can use that kit to make Proficiency brews, which last for 24 hours. A Fortifying brew gives a creature resistance to a damage type chosen at brewing (cold, fire, necrotic, poison, or radiant) for an hour. A Quickening brew heals its drinker, and ends one disease or an effect of charming, frightening, paralyzation, poisoning, or stunning. Again, antidotes might be useful to have on hand, but the real reason we're here is for the Toxifying brew. You can apply the brew to a weapon, and the next time within an hour that weapon hits a creature, they take 2d6 poison damage and have to make a constituiton saving throw (DC 8 + your wisdom modifier + proficiency) or be poisoned for a minute. This is literally so much better than the poisoner feat what the hell.

Druid 7: Seventh level druids get fourth level spells, like Blight and Greater Restoration for stronger poisons and antidotes respectively. You can also Dominate Beast to hold any poisonous critters still while you milk them, or summon Giant Insects instead. They obey you and stay giant until they drop to 0 HP, dismiss the effect, the spell ends.

Druid 8: Our last level of druid finally lets you turn into a dove with a second Wild Shape Improvement. You also get another ASI, so bump up that Wisdom for stronger spells and poisons.

Wizard 10: Tenth level graviturgists can create a Violent Attraction between a creature's face and a weapon, causing a nearby weapon attack to deal an extra 1d10 damage. Alternatively, you can increase the attraction between a creature and the ground, adding 2d10. I doubt your hanging gardens need help making the fall more deadly, but now you can help out of need be. You can do this Intelligence modifier per long rest.

Wizard 11: Eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells, like Guards and Wards. This will make it so much harder for enemies to breach your castle it isn't even funny, if the "hanging out in the stratosphere" thing didn't tip them off already.

Wizard 12: By twentieth level you should have a castle set up, so grab the Lucky feat. Basically, everything that can go right for you does while you're in your castle, so now you get 3 luck points per long rest to make sure that happens, letting you re-roll your attacks, saves, and checks, as well as attacks aimed at you.

So how the fuck do I get a flying castle?

So, admittedly this is up to DM fiat, but let's be real, a flying castle sounds sick as hell and gathering resources is a great reason to go adventuring. If I was your DM, it'd go something like this; After x months of research, you find a way to prepare materials so Adjust Density is permanent on them if you concentrate for the duration. Then you make and fuse together castle chunks as described in level twelve, and eventually you lighten the load on the special rocks so much they're lighter than air. Boom, liftoff, you're fucking awesome now. If you want to go down, just make the float rocks heavier again.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Even if you don't build a giant floating castle in your adventure, that doesn't mean all this prepwork went to waste. You are a master at protecting areas from invasion, so no matter where you lay your head you know it's going to be safe. Not as safe as a floating castle, but still, safe.

By mixing together all your tool proficiencies with Fabricate, you can make pretty much whatever you need from raw materials. No more paying a smithy for fancier armor!

If you do get your castle in the air or you're near a cliff, you are incredibly deadly, with plenty of ways to shove opponents around or otherwise control movement. Slow them down, trip them up, or shove them off a cliff it's so good. Pulse people off the edge of your garden and laugh at them as they fall.

Cons:

There's literally no rules about building your own castles & poisons, so most of this build is entirely dependent on your DM. If you get a cool one, cool! If you don't, this build is pretty much a writeoff.

You need to hide away in your castle and send out minions because you're kind of pathetic in person. With only 14 AC and less than 100 HP, you'll go down faster than Medb if you don't use your Wild Shapes well.

A lot of that can be chalked up to mixing caster classes, meaning we have to spend more ASIs to make both spell modifiers good, and we miss out on higher level spells. Also, spending 8 levels in druid just to turn into a dove isn't that great unless you really want the flavor. I highly recommend skipping out after 6, the last graviturgy effect is great both to knock people out of the sky and make them bow if they get to your throne room.

But, getting to your throne room is 90% of the fight. This build is one that emphasizes patience, and that's what puts you above the common folk. Hang out in the stratosphere, attend social events in style, and let your poisons and skeleton warriors do the fighting for you. Just be glad there aren't any wacky knights riding hippogryphs around.

#fgo #fate grand order #D&D 5e #DND #Semiramis #Wizard #Druid

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the-observant-frisbeetarian · 5 years

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Chapter 9

The Tiger and the Dragon by George deValier

Chapter saved by fluffchemy ♥

Yao arrived home late in the afternoon, already in possession of a replacement phone for the one he had dropped over the edge of the hot-air balloon. Brand new, complete with the same phone number and contacts information, Eduard had it waiting for him when the balloon finally set down a few hours after take off. Yao had no idea how Eduard had managed it, but he knew better than to ask. These things always seemed to work out all right around Ivan.

Yao bounced into his apartment, feeling like his feet hadn't quite hit the ground yet. The afternoon had made up his mind. He was letting all his concerns go. You can't choose who you fall in love with, he'd decided. He certainly didn't choose Ivan... but he was helpless to stop it. When they were together, Yao felt like he'd known Ivan forever, like he wanted to be with him forever. No matter what anyone else said or how they acted, one thing Yao knew… when he was with Ivan, everything was all right. It was perfect.

Yao threw his jacket and keys onto the kitchen table and headed to his bedroom to change, humming tunelessly as he went. His new phone rang in his pocket and he didn't bother to check the caller before he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, yeah, I'd like an order of beef and black bean, a couple of spring rolls, and the cream of sum yung gi…"

Yao paused in his stride and clenched his hand around the phone. Gilbert. His face burned as he yelled, "That was NOT funny the first time and it CERTAINLY ISN'T FUCKING FUNNY NOW ARU!"

"Oh, man, Yao! I'm so sorry! Your number is on my phone as 'Chinese guy' right next to 'Chinese restaurant'…"

Yao hung up. The phone rung again. He ignored it. It rung again.

"WHAT?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, don't hang up."

"Why not?"

"What the hell did you do to Feliciano?"

Yao furrowed his brows in confusion. "What? Nothing!"

"Well he's over here freaking out and all we can get out of him is your name and something about some dude called Braginski."

Yao nearly dropped the phone. "What? Huh?"

"Look, we think we may have this figured out. As one who has connections to the dark underworld of organized crime myself…"

"Organi… What on earth are you on about?"

"Look, my brother's dating a Mafioso, as is my best friend."

Yao thought for a minute. "Feliciano and Lovino are not 'Mafioso's'."

"Alright maybe not. However, their grandfather definitely is."

"And just what has this got to do with…"

Gilbert sighed and his voice changed. "Look, I think maybe you should come over, Yao."

The phone went dead in his ear and Yao looked down at it, part angry, part upset, part completely and utterly confused. He resisted the urge to throw the phone at the wall and settled for yelling at it loudly. "SHIT DAMN SCREW IT ALL WHY DOES THIS KEEP…" He was interrupted as it rang again. This time it was Kiku. Yao didn't speak as he held the phone to his ear.

"Brother," began Kiku. "Not only do you decide not to inform me that you have a boyfriend, but you also keep quiet the fact that said boyfriend is in fact one of the most dangerous men in this city."

"I…" Now this was too much. "WHAT?

"I am currently trying, unsuccessfully I might add, to help calm down Feliciano as he is apparently terrified that you have been drawn into the criminal underground. And he keeps saying something about someone's spleen." Yao heard a high pitched shriek of "Braginski!" in the background.

"Look, I think Feliciano must be a little confused," said Yao desperately.

"Do you realize how hard it is to deal with him when he is like this? Get over here and sort it out." The phone went dead.

Yao immediately turned back around, picked up his jacket and keys, and raced out the door.

The walk to Ludwig's place normally took ten minutes. Yao got there in five. Ludwig answered the front door and immediately blocked it, staring down at Yao with his hands on his hips. "What the hell did you do to Feliciano?"

"Will everyone please stop asking me that?" asked Yao, trying to catch his breath. "I didn't do anything. Now either let me in or tell everyone to stop calling me and I'll go home."

Ludwig stepped aside. "You'd better come in then."

Yao walked into the living room to find Gilbert, Feliciano, Kiku, Antonio, and Feliciano's brother Lovino spread across the couches and the floor. "What is this, an intervention?"

Gilbert waved at him and grinned widely. "Hey Chinese kid!"

Yao didn't even have time to feel annoyed before Feliciano stood and threw himself at Yao, throwing his arms around him and sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh Yao, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you're seeing… that… that you're seeing Ivan Braginski!"

"I didn't think it mattered that much." Yao patted Feliciano awkwardly on the back and looked around for help. Gilbert seemed to find it amusing, Kiku was absorbed in a Nintendo DS, and Ludwig and Lovino just looked like they were used to it. Only Antonio looked slightly sympathetic.

"Hey, Yao, do you want a drink or something…" Antonio was interrupted as Feliciano shrieked again.

"Braginski, Yao… Braginski!"

"I can get you a coke or a…" Antonio continued.

"I, um, I…" Yao felt his head swimming.

"BRAGINSKI?"

Yao winced. "Okay, you need to stop screaming that."

"… beer or something…"

"Get him a tequila, he's gonna need it," said Gilbert cheerfully.

Feliciano leaned forward and hissed in Yao's ear. "Grandpa Rome says he once saw Ivan Braginski pull out someone's spleen." He pulled back and just looked at Yao. Yao stared back, unsure whether to be amused or terrified.

"Someone's…"

"Spleen!" cried Feliciano. "I don't even know what that is but it doesn't sound like something you should be able to just pull out!"

"Um…" Terrified seemed to be the winning emotion. "Must be a different Ivan Braginski I think."

"Big Russian guy? Scarf? Smiles a lot?" said Lovino, speaking for the first time. He spoke in a monotone.

Yao felt his stomach sink. "Yeah."

"If I were you I'd be changing my number, address, name, the lot. Won't help though. You're screwed."

"How do you pull out someone's spleen?" asked Ludwig.

"Well," said Kiku, not looking up from his DS, "You have to start with a really strong blow, and it helps if your nails are slightly sharp…"

"STOP, ARU!" cried Yao. A long silence followed.

Ludwig leaned over and poked Kiku on the shoulder. "You really need to stop watching those gore movies," he whispered.

Yao barely noticed Antonio press a glass into his hand. He tried to keep his thoughts in order but they were flying all over the place.

"Grandpa Rome says there's only one person scarier than Ivan Braginski," continued Feliciano.

"I… I think I might have met him," said Yao, his mind in a whirl of confusion.

"You've met General Winter?" asked Lovino, leaning forward in his chair.

"Yeah," said Yao in a small voice.

"Wow. You really are involved, aren't you."

"Involved? Involved with what? I don't… I don't have any idea what you're all on about!"

The room fell silent again. Feliciano shook his head, wide eyed, staring at Yao. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Oh Yao, you are not that stupid," said Kiku, still not looking up from his DS.

Yao didn't know how to respond. He didn't even know what he was thinking.

"For God's sake, Yao," said Gilbert loudly. "It's the Russian mafia, isn't it?"

Somehow it was not as big a shock as it should have been. But Yao still stood stock still, his eyes fixed on the back wall, feeling like he couldn't move. After what felt an hour, a hand touched his and pushed the glass he had forgotten about insistently to his lips. Antonio's voice spoke beside him.

"Maybe you should drink that." Yao did so, took a deep breath, and came to a decision. "Can someone give me a lift?"

Yao wasn't sure they were going the right way. He'd only been to Ivan's once, and that was being driven in a limousine with darkened windows. He was sure it would take all night to find the place but he didn't care. Yao was going to Ivan's, and he was sorting this out.

"Yao. Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kiku as he drove at what Yao felt was a far too slow speed.

"Yes. Keep driving."

"You're positive."

"Yes."

"Yao. He's part of the Russian…"

"We don't know that yet," interrupted Yao before he could get any further. "This is all hearsay. I am going to ask him myself."

"Yao."

"What?"

"Do you realize you are still wearing your dirty work clothes? You have sauce all down your shirt."

Damn it all he was right. Yao had been so caught up in everything he hadn't even noticed. He spent the rest of the drive trying unsuccessfully to wipe the stain from his shirt and hoping Ivan hadn't noticed it that afternoon.

After many wrong turns and much bickering, they finally made it to the elaborate front gate that Yao remembered. Kiku rolled down his window and the intercom crackled as they stopped beside it. "Yes?"

Yao leaned over Kiku. "Hi. Um. It's Yao."

There was a pause. "Did Ivan send for you?" Yao recognized the voice as Toris'.

"Send for me? No. I came myself."

Another pause. "Ivan is very busy right now."

"I'll wait."

"You'll be waiting a while."

"Well then I'll wait a while."

Another pause in which Yao could hear voices talking softly but urgently over the line. Finally Toris spoke again. "Very well. Come through. Just you though… your car stays at the gate." A small door sized gate beside the main gates swung open. Yao turned and looked at Kiku.

"I'll be fine."

Kiku nodded. "All right. Call me if you need to."

Yao nodded back, stepped out of the car, and began the long walk up the driveway. He wondered what he was doing. As he passed the long flower beds full of sunflowers he thought how ridiculous the whole thing was. Organized crime? Mafia? Ivan? It couldn't be true. And yet at the same time it made perfect sense. Yet Yao was still here, still approaching Ivan's front door. Nervous, a little scared, but determined to find out the truth. He walked past two shiny black cars with drivers waiting inside and walked straight up to the door.

The door was unlocked and Yao had only taken a few steps into the entrance before a tall, terrifying presence loomed into the room. Yao froze and tried to back up but found he couldn't move. General Winter stared down at him with those cold, empty eyes. Yao shivered.

"Are you lost?" His voice was like ice.

"Uh… no… I was coming to see Ivan."

"Oh yes, the boy from the other night." Winter smiled but it just made him appear more terrifying. "Tell me. Just what business do you have with Ivan?"

"Um… no business… I just…" Yao had no idea what to say. "I'm a… friend."

"A friend?" That cold voice, those dead eyes. Yao's spine ran cold.

"Yes." Yao's voice came out as a whisper.

"What is your name?"

Yao tried to swallow. "Yao."

Winter just raised an eyebrow.

"Yao Wang." Yao could have kicked himself. Why am I answering him?

"Any friend of Ivan's…" Winter held out a hand and Yao paused before taking it reluctantly. It was freezing cold. Thankfully Winter only pressed it briefly and let go. "I am afraid I must be leaving. I am sure we will speak again."

Winter didn't wait for a response before breezing past Yao and out the front door. Yao breathed a sigh of relief, pulled himself together, and continued through the entrance into the enormous living room. Toris looked up from behind the bar that ran the length of the back wall and nodded at him. Yao began to greet him but was interrupted by an enormous crash from the next room followed by what sounded like Ivan and a woman yelling loudly. Yao's eyes widened and he immediately regretted his decision to come here.

"I'll… just come back, shall I?"

"No, no. Sit. Here." Toris reached behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of wine, pouring the yellow liquid into a glass. "The Russian wine you like so much." Toris pushed the glass over the counter to Yao and gave him a small smile. "Drink it slowly."

"Good idea," said Yao, taking a seat on a stool at the bar, which was cluttered with empty glasses and bottles.

"I apologize for the mess," said Toris, clearing the bar. "Ivan just had a quick meeting… he has nearly finished, however."

Yao started to respond but was interrupted by another large bang from next door. He froze, nerves attacking his stomach. Every word he had heard that afternoon was repeating itself in his brain. "Is everything all right?"

Toris nodded as he tidied up behind the bar. "Oh, yes. Ivan always gets upset when speaking business with his sister."

"Oh… the one who stabbed him?"

"The very one."

"A little… violent, is she?

"She once broke four of my fingers."

"Oh." Yao did not quite know what to say. He just looked around the room politely as Toris continued cleaning behind the bar. Yao found himself confused around Toris. He had no idea what the man thought of him, and it was rather unsettling. He wished it was Raivis here instead. After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Yao finally asked, "Does Ivan know that I'm here?"

"I informed him that you would be arriving shortly."

"Oh good, good." Yao kept looking around the stunning room. He had not really had time to take it all in the last time he was here. The room reeked of understated wealth. Now that he was here, it was becoming far easier to believe what he had been told of Ivan. Feeling uncomfortable, Yao took a long sip of the wine. Waiting like this was doing nothing for his nerves. Toris smirked at him.

"Careful there… you don't want to pass out again."

Yao hastily put down the glass and decided to see what he could find out from Toris. "You said Ivan was speaking business with his sister… what is this business that Ivan is involved with?"

The smile fell from Toris' face. "It is a good idea to never ask this question."

"Oh." Yao took a deep breath. "It's just that I've spoken with people who seem… familiar... with Ivan, and they mentioned the word maf…"

"This is nonsense," Toris interrupted quickly. He turned away to put away a glass. "I advise you to stop watching so many movies, Mr Wang."

Yao was not sure whether to feel relieved. "Oh."

"And I will offer you some more advice." Toris turned back, leaned on the bar, and fixed Yao with a piercing gaze. Yao unconsciously leaned back. "Leave. Get out now while you still can."

Yao's nerve riddled stomach turned cold. "What? But…" Yao waited, but Toris didn't elaborate further. "I don't understand."

"And it would be best for all concerned if you never do."

Yao sat silent, stunned, as the argument from next door filtered into the room. Toris continued to stare at him but he didn't seem angry, or cruel. Just sad… and even slightly concerned. "I… I like Ivan," said Yao finally. "Very much."

"You don't know Ivan."

"I'd like to," he said softly.

"No," said Toris, shaking his head. "I really don't think that you would, Mr Wang."

Yao didn't know how to respond. The tension in the room suddenly broke as the side door came flying open and a beautiful woman stormed out into the room. She was followed by Ivan, who sent Yao's pulse racing as usual. The woman shouted in Russian, which gradually turned into English. "… through talking about this brother, do you hear me, I am THROUGH! You never listen, do you, even after everything! If you don't consider joining us soon I'll…" she trailed into silence when she spotted Yao at the bar. Her look of fury twisted into a bitter smile. "Oh, Vanya. He is a pretty little thing, isn't he."

Yao narrowed his eyes. Ivan's sister was stunningly attractive, with long straight platinum hair and piercing blue eyes that reminded Yao of Ivan's. Her voice was only slightly accented and she seemed of an equally indeterminate age as her brother.

"Yao," said Ivan, smiling as always even though he looked slightly uneasy, "this is my sister, Natalia."

"Yao, is it?" asked Natalia, walking slowly over to Yao and offering her hand. It was surprisingly cold and gripped Yao's painfully. "How charming to meet you."

"Um, hello," said Yao, trying not to wince as she maintained the iron hold on his hand.

Natalia looked at Toris and asked something unintelligible in Russian. Toris shook his head and replied, "Nyet." Natalia smiled at Yao and released the handshake. Yao tried not to sigh in relief. "What is it you do, Yao?"

"I'm a chef," said Yao.

"A chef." Natalia's ruby red lips twisted into a smirk. She looked sideways at Ivan and raised one perfect eyebrow. "A chef?"

"I thought you were leaving," said Ivan. Yao hadn't noticed him walking up beside him.

"I am. We will speak again soon, brother." Natalia smiled again at Yao. With her teeth bared she reminded him of a leopard. "I expect I shall speak with you too, Yao." She turned to walk out, waving lightly at Toris, whose eyes followed her all the way to the door. She paused and turned back around to face Ivan. "Oh, and Ivan… Yekaterina sends her love." Natalia smiled cruelly, waved again and walked out.

Ivan's face contorted in a painful expression which he quickly blinked away. He looked down at Yao and was smiling once again. "What unexpected pleasure, Yao. What reason brings you to my house tonight?"

"I just, uh…" Oh god he shouldn't be here, why was he here, what the hell was he doing turning up uninvited. "I just had a few questions."

"Very good. Perhaps you can ask them in my parlour room? This way." Ivan gestured and Yao stood to follow him.

"Yao." Yao turned back to Toris. His eyes were wide and he shook his head. "Don't."

"Something is wrong, Toris?" asked Ivan pleasantly. Toris just shook his head and looked at the floor.

"No sir, nothing."

"Oh good. Are you coming, Yao?"

Yao looked from Toris to Ivan, his heart starting to beat faster. What if everything they said was true. He knew Ivan was dangerous, he'd known it all along. He'd been worried, known he had to get out, but it was too late for that now. So Ivan was dangerous. But he was also sweet and fun and hot and Yao just wanted to be around him and with him… was it wrong to just try and forget all the bad things? Surely it couldn't be that bad. And in the end, who cares anyway… Yao allowed himself to be convinced and nodded up at Ivan. "Yeah, I'm coming." It seemed everyone warned him against Ivan... but Yao wasn't going to listen to any of them. He was going to listen to his heart... and it was screaming at him that he was desperately in love with Ivan.

Yao followed Ivan through a long hallway into a large beautiful parlour room. This room also had a bar that ran along the back wall, plus leather couches that sat upon plush scarlet rugs, and a large pool table that took up the center of the room. The walls were decorated with stunning artworks and orchestral music swelled into the room from invisible speakers. Ivan turned and smiled down at Yao, who was already forgetting the reason he was there in the first place. He tried to focus.

"There is… I mean, there are a few things I want to ask you about…"

"Da?"

Yao leaned against the pool table and watched Ivan walk behind the bar. He realized Ivan was dressed in a perfect suit, immaculate, while Yao was dressed in the same dirty work clothes he'd worn all day, his hair still messy and slightly tangled from the balloon. He looked down at himself, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess."

"No." Ivan smiled over at him as he poured two glasses of vodka. "You look lovely."

"My shirt is stained."

"Take it off then."

Focus! Yao took a deep breath and walked over to the bar. "How do you know… Feliciano's grandfather?" asked Yao, getting straight to the point, trying not to be thrown off the subject.

Ivan pressed a glass of vodka into Yao's hand. "Forget this. It is nothing."

Yao looked at the glass. Everyone seemed to want to give him alcohol today. "I mean, I was just wondering... you say you are business acquaintances, and I know that his business is…"

"Do you play snooker?" Ivan drained his glass of vodka.

So Ivan was not going to make it easy. "No. I play pool… well, only at pubs sometimes. I don't go often." Arthur was always trying to drag Yao to the local pub to play pool or darts or something.

"Hmm. This is a snooker table…" Ivan took two pool cues from behind the bar and handed one to Yao. "But we could play pool on this also."

"I haven't played for a while," said Yao, taking the cue hesitantly.

"Once you play pool, you never forget how. Is like the bicycle, yes?"

Yao laughed and tried to take a sip of the vodka as Ivan set the pool balls up on the table. When he finished he looked up at Yao and smiled. "You wish to break?"

Yao shook his head. "You break." Ivan leaned over the table, took a shot, and sunk three balls off the break. Yao raised his eyebrows. "Impressive."

Ivan laughed, took another shot, then gestured to Yao. "Your turn."

Yao nodded, tried to remember what he could of playing pool in smoky pubs, and took aim. He was rather surprised when he sunk one off his first shot, but he just grinned at Ivan as he brushed past him to get into position for his next shot. "You're right, it really does come back to you." Ivan smirked.

Yao leaned over the table, aimed, and sunk the next ball easily. Ivan whistled. Yao suddenly realized he was bent over the table only inches from Ivan and wondered whether it was the shot Ivan was whistling at. Yao immediately shot upright and spun around. Ivan raised his eyes to meet Yao's.

Ivan raised his glass. "I like playing this game with you, Yao."

Yao narrowed his eyes. Just what game was that? "I know what Feliciano's grandfather does. I know what he is." Yao paused, surprised he had come out with that so suddenly. He took a very deep breath. "Are you… is that…. is that your business, Ivan? Is that what you do? And don't you think you should tell me if it is?"

Ivan paused, sighed and took a step towards Yao. "And if it is? Would you run away, Yao?"

Yao stood fast and stared straight into Ivan's piercing violet eyes. "No. No I wouldn't." And Yao realized he was telling the truth.

Ivan closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them they seemed brighter. "I think we should make this game more interesting. A little wager. You win… and I tell you everything you wish to know."

"And…" Yao swallowed, his heart in his throat. "And if you win?"

Ivan took another step closer. He was now as close to Yao as possible without touching him. "This I offer, it is very high price. So I must demand high price also. I win, Yao…. and tonight I make love to you." Ivan stared intently down into Yao's eyes. He was not smiling.

Yao's heart stopped, then started hammering. He felt his palm sweaty around the pool cue as he gripped it tighter. He breathed out shakily and managed, eventually, to whisper a response. "… okay."

It started out well enough. Yao sank two in a row, and was just starting to think that Arthur's drunken pub tuition had paid off.

"You are good at this, Yao!" Ivan raised an eyebrow at Yao admiringly.

Yao walked back to the bar and picked up his drink. He smiled slyly as Ivan surveyed the table. "You sound surprised."

"Not at all!" Ivan lined up the shot, focused on the ball, and hit it. It missed the pocket by inches and Yao grinned, starting to feel slightly relieved. He shook his head.

"You'll have to do better than that, Ivan."

Ivan just straightened up and leaned on his cue, smiling serenely across the table at Yao. Yao bit his lip, looked back at the table, and watched as the ball ricocheted off the side of the table and slammed into the opposite pocket. His eyebrows shot up and his stomach twisted nervously. He quickly looked away and took a burning sip of vodka as Ivan laughed softly. Yao slammed down the glass and narrowed his eyes. "All right, it's on now."

Yao managed to gain a slight lead and was slowly growing confident that he might be able to pull off a victory. Ivan seemed more intent on watching Yao than the table, and Yao found that he didn't mind at all. He was just starting to enjoy himself, brushing past Ivan as he edged around the table, trading small touches and tiny smiles, gentle sneaked caresses that were gone almost before Yao noticed. His spine tingled and he had never felt more conspicuous in his life. But damn, the way Ivan was looking at him, Yao was almost at the point of wanting to lose. Yao missed a ball and went to lean back against the bar, taking another sip of vodka. He was surprised at how the taste was growing on him.

"Watching you drink vodka… this is the sexiest thing I have ever seen." Ivan actually winked at him and Yao nearly dropped the glass. He managed to steady it at the last second but not before he spilled quite a bit of the vodka over his hands. Yao closed his eyes briefly. He had been doing so well up until then. But it never took much for him to lose his composure, and this was fast becoming too much. Yao had quickly forgotten the very reason he was there in the first place, entirely caught up in this game he was playing with Ivan, whatever it had turned into.

Thankfully Ivan missed his next shot. He joined Yao at the bar and, before Yao could move to take his shot, Ivan grasped him by the wrist. A hot flush ran through him and his breath caught. Ivan smiled at him and shook his head.

"Ah Yao, you always manage to spill my drinks, don't you?"

Yao opened his mouth to answer but couldn't quite think of what to say. And then he couldn't think of anything when Ivan lifted his hand to his lips and gently sucked his index finger into his mouth, lathering the tip with his tongue. Yao heart suddenly beat so fast he felt he would pass out and he was hit by a strong memory of the first night he had met Ivan. Yao took a deep breath, determined to stay conscious this time. Ivan gave Yao's finger a playful bite, smirked at him, and quickly drew back. "Your turn, Yao."

Yao nodded, dazed, and tried to focus on his next shot. It was hopeless. He barely managed to hit the ball. Yao dived for his glass again, concentrated on his breathing and was just trying to determine where he let it all go wrong when Ivan sunk four in a row, slam dunked the black, and immediately turned on Yao. Yao's eyes went wide and he gripped tightly onto the glass. He couldn't breathe.

Ivan gave a little shrug. "I win."

Yao swallowed past the burning sensation in his throat. He suddenly realized that there had been no chance he was going to win that game. "Um. Yes. I suppose you do."

Ivan rested the cue against the table and approached Yao slowly. "I assume you are intend to honor our deal, yes?"

"I… aru…" Yao's stomach turned itself into nervous knots as he looked up into Ivan's smiling face. He barely noticed he was pressing himself back into the snooker table. "Well, I…" Ivan finally reached him and took the pool cue from his hand, dropping it to the floor. He then took the glass of vodka from Yao's hand, drank the lot, then grasped Yao's waist and pulled him into a fierce kiss. Yao closed his eyes, gave up, and melted into it. He allowed Ivan to lift him onto the pool table and he grasped onto Ivan's shoulders as he kissed him deeply.

The kiss tasted of fire and vodka. Their tongues sparred desperately and every touch sent fiery shocks through Yao's spine and radiating through his skin. Ivan pressed down onto Yao, their hips melding perfectly together. Yao gripped onto Ivan with shaking hands and gasped as he realized he was thrusting against him, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. He was lost in the feeling of Ivan, that strong, overwhelming, intoxicating sensation that he always invoked. Ivan ran his hands down Yao's sides and Yao shuddered at the feeling, Ivan's hands pressing so tightly into his skin, their clothed bodies grinding desperately into each other, grasping and pulling to be as close as possible.

Yao broke the kiss and threw back his head, gasping loudly, as Ivan thrust his hands under Yao's shirt and pulled it off. Ivan immediately grasped his neck and pulled him back into the kiss, and Yao could feel his hair falling sweaty and wild around him, but he couldn't care less. All he cared about was feeling this, feeling more of this, feeling everything that he possibly could from Ivan. Yao's breath came erratically as he felt Ivan's warm lips leave his and trail firmly down his jaw and suck on his throat, Ivan's strong hands grasping his neck and his hip, Ivan's large body still pressing him down into the table with that irresistible force.

Yao was already so hard it was painful. Unable to stop himself, he thrust his hips strongly up into Ivan's and Ivan responded by standing and fiercely pulling Yao with him. Yao barely managed to wrap his legs around Ivan's waist before he was lifted from the table, carried to the nearby leather couch, and laid down as Ivan lay down above him. This is really happening… Ivan leaned down and kissed Yao softly before whispering, "This is all right, yes?" Oh yes, this is all right…

"Yes, yes," said Yao, only able to respond in a whisper. "Please don't stop." Ivan ran his hand over Yao's thigh, squeezing almost roughly, as Yao pulled off Ivan's scarf. Yao tugged insistently on Ivan's shirt and tried to unbutton it with shaking hands. Ivan reached up and impatiently ripped it off. Yao froze, his breath caught in his throat. Oh God, now that was an incredible chest. Yao hesitantly reached up and ran his hand through Ivan's chest and over his perfect muscles. Again he thrust his hips and Ivan slipped his arm around Yao's back and pulled him up off the couch until their chests were touching, skin against skin. Yao's brain was only just catching up that this was really happening, this was real right now. Ivan turned them on their side and, feeling Ivan's arm still around his back, Yao felt Ivan's other hand pressing against the front of his jeans and he gasped at the sudden almost overwhelming wave of pleasure.

"May I?" asked Ivan, his eyes twinkling. Yao just nodded breathlessly and Ivan's fingers skillfully unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans in one swift movement. Yao quickly slipped his hand inside the pocket and squeezed his Buddha statue one last time for luck before he lifted his hips and Ivan pulled the jeans swiftly down, along with his underwear. Yao's eyes widened and he gasped, surprised, and buried his head in Ivan's chest. He closed his eyes tightly and clutched onto Ivan's arm, feeling it flex as Ivan reached between his legs, took his cock, and started to stroke it slowly. Yao's hammering heart seemed to double in speed and he felt dizzy. Oh god Ivan was touching him… kissing him… how did it feel so good… how could anything feel this good. Yao was suddenly overwhelmed by the realization that this was the first time someone else had touched him there… and then it was too much. Yao gently, reluctantly, pushed Ivan's hand away. Ivan immediately pulled back.

"I am sorry, I did not…"

"No, no!" Yao reached up, grasped Ivan's neck and desperately pulled him back down. "No, I just…," he panted, "I'm too close…" Ivan captured Yao's lips again, thrusting forcefully with his tongue. Yao wanted to get closer. Barely thinking, he reached between them and fumbled with the zip of Ivan's pants. Ivan lifted his hips and helped Yao push them down. Yao parted his legs to let Ivan lie between them and shuddered, almost stunned, as their bare hips suddenly melded together. Then he looked down and froze. Everything stopped as his mind went blank. Oh. Holy. Shit. Well what do you know. Francis was right. Yao just stared and didn't know what to say."You… my… you're gonna fu… I mean… " you're gonna put that thing in me? Before he could stop himself he blurted out, "It's not gonna fit!" and immediately burned red. "I mean… aru… oh god…" Yao covered his face with his hands. Damn it. He knew it wouldn't be long before he ruined everything. "Oh my God I'm… I'm sorry, I…"

Ivan chuckled lowly. "Ssh. Why not we just do… this…" Ivan took Yao's shaking hand from his face, kissed it, then brought it down and placed it on his cock. Ivan moaned softly against Yao's ear, sending tight hot shocks through his spine. Yao's breath came erratic against Ivan's chest as Ivan slowly moved his hand up and down, then let go and grasped Yao's cock, stroking them both together in an infuriatingly slow and irregular rhythm. Yao's stomach tightened and he felt his mind would explode.

"I… okay… I…" Yao gasped, almost unable to feel embarrassed through the waves of pleasure. He certainly couldn't finish the sentence.

"Ssh…" Ivan kissed Yao strongly, rubbing his back with his free hand. "We don't do anything you don't want to. Trust me?" Ivan whispered against Yao's lips.

Yao looked up into Ivan's smiling violet eyes. He wondered how he had ever thought of them as cold. "I trust you," he whispered. Yao once again thought he would come at once, but Ivan's uneven stroking kept him just hovering before the brink.

Ivan smiled as Yao arched into his touch. Just to lie there in Ivan's arms, that body against his, touching each other so intimately like this, all sweat and gasping breath and this wonderful feeling of being beyond control. It was not enough. It was too much. It was everything. "Is this all right?" asked Ivan softly.

Yao fought to answer. "…yes…"

"And this?" Ivan stroked faster.

Yao could only whisper a response. The smell of Ivan's sweat was intoxicating. "Yes… yes…"

"And…." Ivan stroked faster, evenly, clutching Yao so tight against him it was almost painful. "This…"

"Y… ye… ahhh…" Yao rocked his hips helplessly against Ivan, trying to keep up with his strokes. Yao was vaguely aware he was panting but was unable to stop it. He was too far gone now. The incredible pleasure between his legs was mounting to a level he couldn't take. "Oh God…. I can't…"

"Let me see you come, Yao," said Ivan, his voice rough and low

And that was it. Everything narrowed to a point and Yao gasped, his breath and sweat mingling with Ivan's. "Ivan… I… I…" I love you. Yao came harder than he ever had in his life, clutching onto Ivan's shoulders, his head pressed against Ivan's neck. Ivan whispered unintelligible words into Yao's ear and only seconds later he gasped, clutched Yao's hair and Yao felt his hot release run across his thighs.

Yao tried to bring his breathing and his heartbeat under control, and tried to grasp what had just happened. After weeks of dreaming about it, it suddenly seemed so surreal. He was overcome by a wave of tiredness and he lay his head against Ivan's chest, feeling Ivan's arm still holding Yao tight against him.

"You are all right, Yao?" asked Ivan, his voice low and breathless and his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Oh yes. I'm all right." Yao had never felt so comfortable, so safe, so happy. So content. He yawned loudly, unable to stop it, and heard Ivan laughing softly. He felt Ivan kiss the top of his head and he smiled. He could feel the beginnings of sleep pulling him under. "Ivan," he said sleepily, his eyes heavy as he rested his head against Ivan's chest and breathed his scent, "What did you say before?"

"I asked if you were all right," said Ivan slowly.

"No, before that, I didn't understand… it was in Russian, I think?"

"Ah," breathed Ivan, kissing Yao again and holding him tighter. "It means, My Soul."

"My Soul," sighed Yao. "That's pretty."

"Yes. Very pretty," said Ivan, slowly stroking Yao's back.

My Soul. Yao thought he had heard that somewhere before. But he could no longer keep his eyes open. He fell asleep, the sound of Ivan's heart beating steadily against his ear, and with the vaguest feeling that he had forgotten to ask something very important.

Next Chapter

Disclaimer: This story belongs to George deValier. Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. I own nothing.

THANK YOU FLUFFCHEMY FOR SAVING THIS CHAPTER!

#the tiger and the dragon chapter 9

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