#aw yeah [looks at my doctor's notes and puts on my stethoscope for no reason other than for dramatic effect] you've got brainrot bad

[quirkle2]

OH BOY HERE WE GO SO (WARNING: LONG)

This is sorta a strange AU in that it doesn't have the Hero's Cycle or Ganon or even possibly the Triforce as a real thing??? Possibly might end up more generic but i hopefully made up for it with All The Stuff Happening

So! We have Legend, who's a warlock that lives in a lil hobbit hole in the woods and generally doesn't wanna talk to anybody EXCEPT MAYBE for those few people that come by and say hi every once in a while. Maybe them. Hobbit hole and surrounding land is like covered in plants and stuff. He generally deals in more "man-made" magicks, enchantments on jewelry and man-made objects and written spells n things (just a heads up the magic and how they use it is gonna be like. super up in the air for a while so i might change it. except for wild. you'll see in a bit)

Hyrule! One of Legend's closest buddies and Half-Fae High Mage (in training)! Also lives in a hobbit hole in the woods; he and Legend are hobbit hole buddies. Because of his half-fae status, he gets to pick and choose what rules, fae or human, he is beholden to at any given time. Thiiiis has a bit of a stigma, I'll say that much.

Rulie's more attuned to magic as a part of nature, not requiring written word to cast anything, and generally isn't as bound by rigid structures as humans who classify magic (this may possibly be because of the Triforce, which i have now decided is real in this AU). He could tell you right off the bat if something is cursed (he's got experience, after all!)

Wild! Also one of Legend's closest buddies and a witch! He can cast enchantments over the food he cooks and is very good at brewing potions and drinks. Possibly wants to open his own tavern someday. (Apparently the origins of the witch possibly came from lady brewers who worked in taverns and bars! I thought that fit way too well for Wild)

Twilight! Werewolf, plain and simple. He bothers Legend sometimes (affectionate). He's the son of Time and Malon and lives on Lon Lon Ranch.

What is Lon Lon Ranch? Why, no mortal knows! They couldn't tell you where it is, how to get there, or even how it never seems to be marked by the passage of time or space! They just know you can get some dang good milk from there.

Time! Just An Old Man, Promise. Definitely nothing going on here. Definitely not somehow outside the bounds of time and functionally immortal along with his wife Malon and possibly his son Twilight. Nope. Just Some Dude who works on a farm and goes fishing with Wind and Wild and somehow has vast tomes worth of knowledge and history that Legend is itching to get his hands on. And also has a soft spot for fairies.

YUP. Just a normal dude.

Warriors! Royal Captain of the Guard and Right-Hand to Sky and Sun. Generally suspicious of magicks and their goings-on. Totally not backstory relevant (wink).

Sky! Prince-Consort, God-Killer, and betrothed to the soon-to-be Queen of Hyrule, Sun! Yes, while the King was much adored, his time is swift coming to an end, but it's okay, he lived a good long life, and- what do you mean the King won't die? What do you mean he got a new advisor with possible ill-intent? Well that doesn't sound good, hopefully some prince-consort won't go harrying off to the woods to some random hermit in the woods because he's been having dreams about something going horribly wrong and magic being involved! That'd be absurd because that's something only prophetic seers can do - aw dangit there he goes.

Four! Has possibly the most wild backstory of them all, but suffice to say he's the apprentice and grandson of the Royal Blacksmith who has the ability to weave elemental enchantments into the blades he forges. Has a twin brother changling (Shadow) and four younger brother who might be spirits and might have pieces of his soul because of backstory shenanigans.

Wind! Possibly a mer. That's all I got so far, I'm sorry buddy.

This got long wow. Um... can you tell I've thought about this a lot?

OOHHHH I LOVETHIS SO BAD I LOVEIT

idk much about some fantasy creatures like faes or changlings or anything like that but i love them anyway that's so fuckingcool,, i actually Love that the ranch is outside the bounds of time that's actually so fucking sick ?? that's such a cool concept??

wild wanting to open his own tavern,,, that'sso cute i love that. AND LEGEND IN A HOBBIT HOLE i love himso bad . yes. put the leedol boye in the leedol hobbit hole. also hyrule bein good at magic my beloved :)

this is so cool this isso cool dude what the hell,, ur insane /pos very very pos

[coffeeinallcaps]

wip/rip meme: sw poe panic attacks

(Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!) In which Poe is FINE, he’s JUST FINE, GUYS, NO PROBLEMS HERE.

Two weeks after the Battle of Starkiller Base, Poe wakes up without a headache for the first time since Jakku. Sitting up doesn’t make him feel sick, and the lights don’t set off stabs of pain behind his eyes. There’s no wave of dizziness when he gets to his feet.

Sweet, he thinks before making his way to the refresher.

--

BB-8 is running preflight diagnostics when Poe gets to the hangar. The others are already there. Bastian is walking around his ship, checking the underside of the hull. Jessika waves at Poe from where she’s talking to one of the ground technicians, her helmet tucked under her other arm. Poe waves back.

“Morning, sunshine,” Iolo says, slapping Poe on the shoulder as Karé says, “All right, boss?”

“Yeah,” Poe says, and he means it. He feels good, well rested in a way he hasn’t felt since, well.

The feeling lasts until they’re about to take off.

One moment he’s fine. The next the canopy is coming down, closing in around him, and he panics.

The feeling doesn’t register as panic right away. It’s—it’s something primal, a sudden visceral overwhelming sense of wrong, something is wrong, he needs to get out of here—

“Stop,” he says, “BB-8, stop, abort,” and BB-8 overrides the control system, beeps inquisitively. Poe can’t answer the question, because he’s breathing too fast and too loud—heart beating wildly in his chest, throat, ears—and he’s already strapped in but he needs to get out, he’s stuck and the cockpit is way too small, there’s not enough room, not enough air, he can’t think, can’t breathe.

That’s when he realizes, I’m panicking.

It’s like his consciousness has split in two. He’s right here, gasping for air and ineffectually tugging at the buckles of his harness, but another part of him is divorced from all this, hovering somewhere in the back of his own mind thinking What. The. Hell.

What the hell are you doing, Dameron. Calm the fuck down. Get your shit together. You’re being irrational.

And yes, he knows, he knows that, knows it doesn’t make sense, but he needs to get out.

The buckles finally give way, and he’s moving, scrambling out of the cockpit, down the ladder that hasn’t been retracted yet. His foot slips on the last rung. He stumbles backward until his back is pressed up against something.

He still can’t breathe, still feels trapped—he reaches for his helmet, it takes him three tries to undo the chin strap, he manages to wrench the helmet off his head and lets it drop to the floor.

He’s sweating. His chest is heaving under his flak vest. It feels like he’s being punched in the diaphragm over and over again, like he’s going to be coughing up blood any second from now. Like Kylo Ren—

The vest needs to come off, too, but his hands keep slipping on it.

People are standing around him. He can see the scuffed toes of their boots, the dirty orange and olive green legs of their flight suits. “Take it off,” he hears himself say, between gasps, “take it off, take it off,” and they help him out of the vest, pull open the collar of his flight suit.

The part of Poe’s mind that is hanging back notes that this is embarrassing. A deeply humiliating experience. The part of Poe’s mind that’s panicking is unable to register it as such. The observation emerges behind an impenetrable transparisteel panel. It’s right there, he can see it, but he can’t reach it and it can’t reach him.

Someone—Jess?—says, sharply, “Step back, guys, give him some fucking space,” and someone else says, “No, I think—” and Poe closes his eyes, thinks, Yes, space, I need space, give me space and then two arms are winding tight around him. No, let go, he thinks, eyes still closed, Let me go I need and then Finn? but it can’t be Finn, Finn is still in the med bay, still in a coma, Finn is—

He struggles, half-heartedly. It’s a relief to have something physical to struggle against, instead of just the awful sense of terror ballooning in his chest, clawing at his windpipe. It gives him something to focus on. His panicking self and his observing self merge. The transparisteel panel between them drops away, and shame comes rushing in.

He takes a gulping breath and goes limp.

It’s Bastian who’s holding him. He’s trapped again, trapped between the wall and Bastian’s body, but Bastian’s body is warm and familiar and hiding him from view so it’s not too bad, really, to be trapped here. When he looks straight ahead, he can see the vast expanse of the hangar. The rectangle of sunlight at the end is a comforting sight.

This whole thing can’t have lasted longer than, what, five minutes? ten minutes? but Poe is fucking exhausted. He’s shaking, he realizes.

“Hey,” Jess says. “Poe.”

It’s just her and Bastian now. The others are gone.

Another hot, nauseating rush of shame washes over him.

“Poe. Look at me.” Jess is dabbing Poe’s face with her sleeve. It comes away soaked, he sees. Her other hand brushes against his cheek. “You with us?”

Poe nods. He’s still catching his breath. He doesn’t think he can speak. He thinks that if Bastian let go of him, he’d crumble to his knees.

Bastian doesn’t let go. He takes a small step back, but keeps his hands on Poe’s shoulders.

We’re late, Poe thinks. We need to leave. He wants to say it out loud, but the thought of getting back into his ship makes his throat close up again and a fresh layer of sweat break out on his forehead.

Jess wipes it away. She and Bastian are talking with their eyes. Poe appreciates the fact that neither of them is asking him what the hell just happened. He also appreciates the fact that neither of them is asking him if he’s okay.

The moment stretches on.

They’re late. They need to leave.

He can’t fucking get it past his teeth.

“You guys should go,” Poe says eventually, the words scraping at the dry inside of his throat. His voice sounds raw, wrecked.

Jess lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good,” she says. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

It’s the only right thing to say. He’d be putting all of them in danger if he tried to fly, let alone lead a mission, in this condition. He takes a breath. Still that pressure in his chest, like there’s a wet cloth lodged between his lungs and his ribcage. It’s like trying to breathe in deeply on a hot and humid planet. Like trying to breathe when Ren—

Poe swallows, shakes his head, says, “We have to...”

“Snap’s on his way down here,” Jess says. “We’ll be all right. I’ll take it from here. The only thing you have to do is go see Dr. Kalonia.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Bastian offers, and Poe wants to say no, wants to tell them to get out of here, it’s fine, he’ll be fine, but then he realizes one of his hands is fisted into Bastian’s flight suit, clenched so tight his fingers have gone numb. It hurts to let go.

One of Bastian’s hands stays on Poe’s lower back, barely there, as they walk. Poe doesn’t stop at the med bay. Bastian wordlessly keeps up with him.

“Thanks, buddy,” Poe says when they get to his quarters.

“Anytime,” Bastian says, with a small, soft smile that makes Poe want to sink through the floor.

He lies back on his bed with his arms folded over his face. They’re trembling. His whole body is trembling. He closes his eyes and tries to block out his thoughts.

He doesn’t move until the doors slide open.

“Poe,” Dr. Kalonia’s voice says.

Poe says, “Doctor.”

His head doesn’t swim when he pushes himself up on his hands. It doesn’t quite feel like the victory it did this morning. The familiar sour taste at the back of his throat is back, but he guesses it has little to do with a lingering concussion and more to do with what happened in the hangar just now.

Kalonia doesn’t start off by asking him questions, which—again—Poe appreciates. She sits down next to him on the bed. Her fingertips are light on his cheek when she checks his pupil response. She listens to his heart and lungs, takes his pulse.

“Headaches been bothering you?” she asks.

Poe shakes his head.

“Dizzy spells?”

“Not anymore.”

“When did your symptoms go away?” After a pause, during which she puts her flashlight back into her pocket and loops her stethoscope around her neck again, she adds, “I’m assuming they went away, because you never did come back for a final check-up.”

“Um,” Poe says, scratching the back of his neck. Dr. Kalonia reminds him of his grandmother sometimes; there are very few people in the galaxy who can inspire this amount of guilt in him this quickly. “I felt pretty good this morning?” He can’t help but add, “And in my defense, we’ve all been pretty busy.”

“From what my droids tell me, it seems you are perfectly capable of finding the time to stop by the med center for other reasons.”

Finn.

“Well, I mean, all’s fair in love and war, right?” Poe says. And then, “I am sorry, Doc.”

She smiles. “Don’t worry about it. Trust me, I would’ve known where to find you if I needed to.”

“That sounds vaguely threatening, Doc.”

“Good.” She sits back. “Look, Poe, I could run some more tests, but as far as I can tell there’s nothing physically wrong with you right now.”

“Clean bill of health, then,” Poe jokes.

“Not quite, I’m afraid.”

The doors slide open again.

“Oh,” Rey says, looking at Dr. Kalonia. “I’ll go.” She doesn’t move.

“It’s fine,” Poe says.

“I can wait.”

“It’s fine.”

Rey shrugs, then crosses the room and perches on the windowsill with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. There’s dirt under her fingernails. She smiles at Poe.

He smiles back at her.

“I don’t think there’s anything physically wrong with you,” Dr. Kalonia says. “I think you had a panic attack. A severe one.”

(MORE TALKING)

(KALONIA LEAVES)

Poe throws one arm over his eyes again. “Come over here?” he says, flinging out his other arm in Rey’s direction, palm upward.

It’s a suggestion, not a request. He and Rey have been thrust together through their mutual connection with Finn. They’ve been spending a lot of time at his bedside together. Poe still hasn’t figured Rey out, not entirely, and he’s pretty sure Rey still hasn’t figured him out, either. Rey is still figuring herself out, life on the Resistance base seeming both exciting and overwhelming to her.

The mattress dips under Rey’s weight. She leaves some space between their bodies, but she puts her hand on his stomach, pillows her head on his arm. He can hear her breathe, soft and calm.

“Are you okay?” she says eventually, cautiously. There’s something about the way she asks the question that briefly makes Poe’s chest feel like it’s caving in.

He clears his throat, says, “Yeah.”

He doesn’t sound very convincing. She doesn’t call him out on it.

“Wanna go outside?” she says. “It’s sunny. There’s fresh air, and trees.”

“Really,” Poe says.

She shoves him.

“Careful,” he says reflexively. “Don’t damage the goods.”

Rey says, unimpressed, “Seriously?”

Poe’s chest still hurts. He lets his arm slide off his face, presses the heel of his palm against his ribs. It doesn’t help.

“You know what, fresh air sounds pretty good,” he says, sitting up.

“Good call,” Rey says.

[play-read-write]

Adventuring/Birthday Party

Ruby’s birthday is going well when it gets interrupted by grimm. Now its up to team RWBY to stop them and still get back in time to open presents. (Just something for Ruby’s birthday and Halloween. 3831 words)

........

Ruby adjusted her cape over her combat skirt, a black and pink one with fake jewels put on it and a couple big ribbons, making sure it didn't cover too much. She'd put a lot of work into her costume and she didn't want to just hide it the whole time. As she did Weiss walked out of the bathroom behind her, wearing a very ostentatious dress of her own. "Wow, that's a big one." She says, looking at it in the mirror. 

"I like the helmet." Yang says, currently sitting on Weiss' bed in her pinstripe suit. 

"It happens to be from a classic opera." Weiss says as Ruby steps aside, looking herself over in the mirror as well. 

"It looks good." Blake gathers her own outfit as well and heads into the bathroom. "I'll just be a few minutes." 

"Thank you, Blake." Weiss says. 

"Hey, I never said it looked bad." Yang says, "In fact I said I liked the helmet. It's cool. Got horns on it." 

"I sensed sarcasm." 

"Nope... Okay maybe a tiny bit, but only cause it’s just so much. It does look good though." 

"Thank you. You look fine as well." 

"Oh, I'm always fine." Yang grins and adjusts her hat. 

"Ha ha." Weiss rolls her eyes. 

"I'm wearing a suit, of course I look good." 

"Well at least you're not lacking in confidence." 

"Why would I be when I look like me?" 

Weiss side-eyes her for a moment and then adjusts a button on her outfit in the mirror. It's then that Blake steps out and they all turn to look at her, seeing the heels, long skirt, and button up white shirt tucked into it, with a tie and a pair of glasses as well, and of course her signature bow to hide her ears. 

"Wow Blake, going for sexy librarian? Didn't expect that." Yang smirks. 

"No?" Blake says and looks down at herself and then at her team. "It's just librarian." 

"I think we're going to have to credit this to Blake herself as opposed to the costume." Weiss says. 

"What?" Blake raises an eyebrow. 

"Weiss just said it’s you that's sexy and not the costume." Yang laughs a bit. 

"I... it was only in response to your comment!" Weiss blushes a bit. 

Ruby chuckles. "You look good." She says. "At least we can all agree on that." 

"Thank you, I suppose." Blake says. 

"So, is everyone ready then? We can meet up with JNPR and then head down to the ballroom together for the party." Ruby says, looking at each of them. 

"Ready and waiting." Yang stands up. 

"I'm good." Blake says. 

"Obviously." Weiss adds. 

"Alright then. Team RWBY..." Ruby pulls out a long wand with a crystal heart on one end and a figure of a Crescent Moon on it and points it at the door. "Go!" She says and leads the team out the door... about three steps to the JNPR dorm, where she knocks. 

The door opens and Nora is there. On seeing them she opens it wider. "Oh, hey guys! We're almost ready." She says. 

Yang lets out a low whistle. "Sexy nurse. Nice." 

"I know, I ROCK this!" Nora says, pumping her fists, wearing a white skirt, stockings, and a top with a bit of a V in it and a red cross, as well as a white nurse's hat and a pair of white shoes. 

"Lots of white. Almost think that was one of Weiss' outfits." Ruby says. 

"I wouldn't mind if she wore that." Yang chuckles. 

"Oh, hush you." Weiss says. 

"Hey guys." Jaune then says, walking behind Nora wearing some heavy looking white armor and a helmet with a visor on it, his sword and shield at his side. 

"A knight huh?" Ruby asks. "Cool." 

"Yeah we decided to pair off for our costumes. I'm a knight. Pyrrha is a princess." 

"Ren's a doctor." Nora says. 

"Sexy doctor?" Yang asks. "To match a sexy nurse?" 

"Hey, eyes off." Nora says but grins. 

"Nora, are you going to let them in?" Ren asks then as he moves into view and sits down on his bed, dressed up in a long white coat and a stethoscope around his neck, putting on his shoes. 

"We're just waiting on you guys." Ruby says. 

"Just a minute!" Pyrrha calls out. "I'm almost... done." She says and there's a sound of a door opening as she walks out, wearing a flowing dress with puffy sleeves and a conical hat with a ribbon on it. 

"Ohh, pretty." Ruby says. 

"Thank you, Ruby." She gives her a nod. 

"Are we all ready then?" Ren asks as he stands again. 

"Looks like it." Jaune says. "Let's get going." 

"Teams, away!" Ruby says, pointing her wand again and beginning to lead the way down the hall. 

"Think we'll see many good costumes?" Yang asks. 

"I'm sure there will be quite the variety." Blake says. 

"It's Halloween, some will be great, some will be awful. Some will be impressive; some will be trashy." Weiss says. 

"As long as there's candy, cool costumes, and some weapons, I'll be happy." Ruby says, "And I still plan on having our own thing after! None of you are to forget my birthday party." She turns and walks backwards, pointing at them with her wand. 

"May evil befall those who forget a magical girl birthday party." Yang says with a chuckle. 

"Dang right." Ruby turns to walk forward again. Leading the way, they make it down to the ballroom, finding it already with people inside, orange and black streamers along the ceiling with matching balloons. Tables with punch, cookies, candy, and other snacks. And of course...

"Hey! They got a fog machine!" Yang says, noting the layer of fog covering the flower. 

"It's Halloween. It's allowed to be gaudy." Weiss says. 

"That's my birthday you're talking bad about!" Ruby protests. 

"Says the girl with rhinestones glued to her costume." 

"They are sparkly!" Ruby points her wand at her. 

"Your point?" Weiss crosses her arms. 

"This is pure magical girl awesomeness! Respect it!" Ruby says. 

"Alright you two, let's just get to the party." Yang says. "Oh hey, sexy cop." 

"Yang please don't make a joke about handcuffs." Ruby says. 

"Fine, but only cause it’s your birthday."

"Yesss, magic birthday powers!" 

"There's no such thing as magic birthday powers." Weiss says. 

"Really? Cause when I ask for extra candy cause it’s my birthday people always gave it to me." 

"That's not magic." 

"Close enough." 

"Well, we gonna chat about that or are we gonna party?" Yang asks. "Who wants to dance with me first? No volunteers? Eenie meenie minie... Nora! Let's kick it!" 

"Heck yeah! Party time." Nora cheers as she and Yang head out to the dance floor. 

"I'm gonna get some punch and cookies." Ruby says and heads over to the bowl. 

"Would you care for a dance?" Weiss asks Blake.

"Sure, why not." Blake smiles and they head out as well. 

As Jaune and Pyrrha head out to the dance floor as well Ren walks over to join Ruby at the punch bowl, getting himself some as well. "Happy Birthday." He says. 

"Thanks. Happy Halloween." Ruby says and takes a bite out of a cookie. "It's a good party isn't it?" 

"We haven't been here long, but it does seem to be." He says. "There are quite a few different costumes, aren't there?" 

"Totally. Some of them are pretty cool." 

"Yours is quite well designed as well." 

"Thanks. You make a good doctor. I'm guessing Nora picked it?"

"Yes, couples costumes were here idea. Though her original idea involved me not wearing a shirt underneath." 

Ruby chuckles at that. "Yeah that sounds like Nora. We had to veto one of Yang's costume ideas cause it was skintight. The character was cool, but the outfit isn't something you wanna actually wear." 

"Yes, there are a number of characters like that." He says and takes a drink, falling silent as Ruby does the same. After a bit he reaches over and gets a second cup of punch, holding it out as Nora then starts to come over and takes the punch, drinking half of it in one go. 

"Whew! What are you two doing just standing here? Come on and party!" 

"I'm not really much of a dancer." Ruby says. "Especially not in this dress." 

"But it’s your birthday! Aren't you supposed to have fun?" 

"I'm fine. Besides there's still the after party later. That's more my style." 

"If you say so." She says. "You though." She points at Ren. "It's dancing time." And she downs the rest of her punch. 

"If you want." He says and finishes his own before heading out with her as Weiss, Blake, and Yang come over. 

"Welp my dance partner ditched me. Who’s next?" Yang asks. 

"Not me." Ruby says. "I don't dance. You know that."

"What about you two?" She looks at Weiss and Blake. "One of you wanna dance with a good-looking gal?" 

"I would but she already said she doesn't dance." Blake says with a small smirk. 

"Ha! You got got." Ruby says. "Also, aww, thanks Blake." 

"I'd argue, but she is adorable." Yang says. "But still, that means it's Weiss' turn instead." 

"I don't remember agreeing to those terms." Weiss says. "Fine though." 

Just as they turn to head out though an alert goes off, every scroll in the ballroom beeping. They all pull them out and look as an announcement goes off overhead, Ozpin's voice coming over it. 

"Students and Faculty, we have an emergency situation. A number of grimm are approaching the city in mass, it is time we fulfill our duties as huntsmen and huntresses. You have received your missions. Airships are standing by. Good luck." He says and there's a click as it ends. 

"We're in the west, sector Seven B. Let's get our weapons and go." Ruby says and her team nods as they all run out, along with many others. Heading for the locker room they all grab their weapons. Ruby steps over to Weiss to speak with her for a moment, getting a nod in return. "Alright girls, let’s go get on an airship." 

"Right." They confirm and head out. Soon enough they're on an airship, still in their Halloween costumes as they don't take time to change. 

"I can't believe it, grimm on Halloween." Weiss says. 

"Well, they say that the holiday started because it’s the day grimm were most active. There's even myths of grimm made entirely of human bones coming out." Yang says. 

"That's probably one instance of a geist possessing an improperly buried skeleton blown out of proportion." Weiss says. "And an excuse for a holiday." 

"Whatever the reason, it’s the best birthday ever!" Ruby says. "I get to fight grimm, wear my Halloween costume, eat candy, and then get presents! It's awesome." 

"You do realize this is life or death, right?" Weiss says. 

"And you realize this is literally what we signed up to do right?" Ruby asks. 

"Yeah come one. Lighten up." Yang says. "We'll clear out the grimm no problem. They've got like, half the school on this job. It'll be a piece of-" 

"Wow!" Ruby says, looking out the side. "Is that grimm or an army?" 

"That is a lot." Blake says. "There must be hundreds of them." 

"I've never seen grimm like that." Weiss says. "What are they?" 

"I don't believe it." Yang says. "It's bone." 

"Skells." Ruby says. "I thought they were just myths." 

"Well they're here now." Blake says. "Let's just worry about killing them." 

"Right. Let's get out here. Team RWBY, go!" Ruby says and then jumps out the side of the Airship, her team following her. 

Firing at the ground she slows her descent, landing in a roll and bringing her weapon up, still in gun form. She immediately fires at the grimm, large skeletal beings, made almost entirely of the same kind of white bone armor as the grimm, with only spots of black flesh peeking through at the joints and inside their mouths, the eyes glowing red. Their limbs were long, with fingers almost as long as their forearms, and legs bringing them up to taller than most people. 

Her shots ring true, blowing the heads off of one, and then destroying another's spine. The one with its head gone falls and stops, but the other one collapses and begins to drag itself forward without its legs. At this all of the others then begin to move faster, now rushing at her as the rest land beside her. "They keep moving unless you take out the head. This is our sector; we have to stop them ourselves." 

She turns to Weiss. "See if you can freeze them in place. Go for the legs. They don't seem exceptionally strong." She looks at Yang. "Aim high. We need to take out the heads. If they get on the ground though we can crush them after." Turning to Blake then she adds, "Try to hit as many as possible. They're more solid than beowulves but their armor isn't as thick as a deathstalker. We should be able to take them out." 

Weiss steps in as Ruby speaks with the others. She raises a series of glyphs in front of them and her blade begins to glow a light blue, fog forming over it. With two fingers out she pushes her hands forward, sliding the glyphs along the ground. A thin sheet of ice formed under the grimm, freezing their feet. Immediately they stopped moving, letting out a sound between a rattle and a cry. 

"Go!" Ruby says and dashes in with a burst of speed, swinging her scythe high and tearing through the heads of a few of them. Already she could hear the ice cracking as the grimm began to break free. It wouldn't hold long but if they could thin the numbers it'd be a major help. Beside her Blake gave a hard swing, a slash of purple energy cutting through the skulls of half a dozen of them, and Yang lets out a volley of shots, destroying another dozen from the shoulders up. 

One breaks free of the ice next to her and lunges, but she slashes in return, cutting it in half. It misses as it goes past her, cutting through one of its own. However, with their heads still attached this only freed up their movement as well as one began to crawl at her and the other put its hands underneath itself, running on them like legs. Behind her two more try to grab her and she jumps to dodge them, then fires to give herself some spin as she cuts through all them around her, taking out their heads, and then brings her scythe down on one of the crawlers, before firing at the others. 

The shot however destroys the feet of a couple others, causing them to fall and begin crawling towards her as well, while others began to break the ice. A wave of fire burst in front of her, burning up the crawlers and a few others completely.

"Be careful. There's a lot of them." Weiss says and then turns and stabs one in the eye. 

"Turbo time." Ruby says and switches position, her rhinestone dress glittering in the moonlight as she switched cartridges and took a low stance, Crescent Rose pointed behind her. She fires and activates her semblance, swinging her blade as the burst of speed carries her forward. She cuts some in half, takes others heads of, dicing apart limbs and spines and skulls as she fires and slashes. 

As her cartridge empties she's standing in the middle of an empty area, grimm dissolving around her. That wasn't the last of them though, as there were still many more around, now nearly all of them having broken through the ice. 

"Ruby this isn't going fast enough." Weiss says. "We're thinning them but we're going to run out of dust before we run out of grimm." 

"Then we fight without dust." 

"This many?" 

"She's right." Blake says. "We can do a lot but there's probably still dozens of them here." 

"Is that all?" Yang says. "You guys are overreacting." She raises her foot, stomping one crawling on the ground towards her, and then fires a shot at another group doing the same. "Stupid things are even more annoying on the ground." 

Ruby blocks a hit from one and cuts it in half, then swings again to take out the head as she changes clips. "I know it’s annoying, but we have to keep going. Just try to conserve dust. We can do this. They're not very strong after-" She's cut off by a deep low rattling sound that reverberates through the air, causing them to shiver. 

"What was that?" Weiss asks, but they don't have time to respond as the grimm then begin to turn around and move away. 

"Are they running?" Yang asks. 

"I don't think so." Blake says as the grimm begin to gather in one spot, what's left of them stacking on top of each other. Their bodies snap in places, coming apart and reforming. 

Ruby steps back and regroups with the others as the grimm form together, now towering over them. Eventually it settles into a gigantic grimm, looking like a half of a skeleton, make entirely of the bones of the smaller ones. A skull made of dozens of other skulls glares down at them as red light forms in its eyes and it lets out a sound, one large cry made up of the synchronized rattling cries of all the others at once. 

"That is just disturbing." Yang says. 

"No, it's also very big." Blake says. 

"That's what she said." Weiss says, causing them all to look at her. "What? Is that not how it works?" 

"No, just not the time. Good effort though." Yang says. 

"Uh guys, it's attacking!" Ruby says and fires, propelling herself backwards as it swings one long skeletal arm.

Weiss in turn jumps through the fingers as Blake uses her semblance to dash out of the way. Yang on the other hand braces herself, taking the hit. She holds out for a moment before drawing a fist back and slamming into the finger that had caught her, shattering it and letting the rest of the hand go past. However as it does it begins to shift, the finger growing back as the bones rearranged. 

"Weiss, you did what I asked right?" Ruby asks. 

"Of course." 

"Call it in." 

"On it." Weiss pulls out her scroll and taps a few buttons. 

"What is that supposed to be?" Yang asks. 

"You'll see. In about three... two... one." Ruby says, and nothing happens. "Okay three, two-" A rocket locker goes flying overhead and crashes headfirst into the shoulder of the grimm. "Crap that was supposed to be dramatic. Oh well." She says and points her gun at the locker, firing a single shot. As soon as it hits all of the dust packed into it goes off, blowing the arm and half of the skull apart. "Boom! Ha suck on that!" She says. 

However, it begins to shift again, the bones moving as it reforms itself. It was smaller now, having less material to make itself out of, but still looked down at them. 

"Oh come on!" Ruby slumps her shoulders. "Fine. Freezerburn!" She shouts. Yang doesn't hesitate to jump into the air as Weiss forms the ice beneath her, landing on it to make a dense fog. The grimm, towering over the fog, looked down trying to find them. 

"Ladybug!" She shouts, and Blake dashes forward, slashing at the spine. She meets Blake's slashes with her own, back and forth, chipping away at it. As it tries to grab at them they jump and Blake comes down, slashing across one arm before Ruby comes down as well and cuts it off. It immediately begins to regrow, but Ruby calls out again. 

"Ice Flower!" She says and glyphs appear in front of her. She fires first at the stump, stopping the arm from regrowing, and then at the joints on the other arm. 

"Bumblebee!" She shouts and Blake throws out her scythe, Yang grabbing hold. Spinning hard she flings Yang at the grimm, smashing into it and destroying the other frozen arm. Now just a head on a spine the grimm was looking far less dangerous. 

"Ha! Gotcha." Ruby says and sticks her tongue out at it. "Nobody beats team-"

An arm bursts out of the front of the spine then, shoving itself into the skull and pulling out some of them before throwing a mass of bone armor at Ruby. Caught by surprise she barely manages to raise Crescent Rose to block. Instead of a solid hit though, the skulls cry out as the bones form around her and the arm shoves itself into the mass that holds her. A hand grabs her legs and she's yanked upwards, dropping Crescent Rose. 

"Ruby!" Yang cries out and fires at the grimm, but the bones thicken around where she hits to keep it from breaking. 

It raises Ruby up in front of its face and lets out its cry again as she hangs upside down and disarmed. 

"Well grr to you too." Ruby says, "But it’s my birthday and I have presents to open. So..." She pulls out her magical girl wand. The crescent moon on it pops out, dropping down as she points it at the skulls. "By the power of the moon, screw you!" And she pulls the trigger, the large crystal heart of dust glowing as it channeled all of its energy through the wand and blasted out, right into its mouth, before exploding outwards. 

It dropped her and she flipped to land on her feet as it began to crumble. The skulls not destroyed began to rain down, but without being connected to something they began to dissolve, as did the rest of the grimm. 

"By the power of the moon, screw you." Yang says. "Badass." 

"Hey, it was all I could think of." Ruby says. 

"Of course that thing was also a gun." Weiss rolls her eyes. "Where did you even get a dust crystal that large?" 

"Well..." Ruby gives a nervous smile. 

"Have you been going through my dust again!" 

"I was going to give it back!" 

"Speaking of going back, I think we're done here." Blake says. 

"Oh, right, we still got my birthday party!" Ruby says. 

"You ready to have the real highlight of the night; cake and presents?" Yang asks. 

"Always." Ruby grins as they turn and walk, pulling out her scroll to call for pickup. Time with her team, an action-packed night, and then presents and cake. Yeah, there may have been a grimm attack, but when it came to Halloween and birthday parties, she couldn't have asked for anything better. 

[blackleatherjacketz]

Night Light

Tony Stark x Reader

Summary: You’re a vendor at the Stark Expo and run into Tony at your hotel bar. 

Notes: This is for @letsby and her 500 Follower Writing Challenge! Congrats! I’ve never written Tony before and wanted to branch out. I also haven’t written smut in a while, so bear with me. 

Word Count: 2,324

Warnings: NSFW, Alcohol, The Stark Expo, One Night Stand, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Tony’s Personality, Lots of Sass

Tags: @negansdirtygirl22 @annablack1102 @genevievedarcygranger @tonystarkxreader

The hotel bar was quieter than you thought, the only other patrons scattered across the room as they drank their beers and watched TV together in the corner. Their conversation was interesting enough, ranging from sports and politics to aliens and other conspiracy theories. You didn’t recognize them from the expo this morning, but they seemed to be pretty knowledgeable on the topics.

“Scotch on the rocks, please.” A new voice perked up your ears. “And keep the tab open. Thank you, Jordan.”

“Of course, Mr. Stark.” The bartender quickly grabbed a bottle of Glenlivet and poured it into a fresh glass with two ice cubes. “Long day, Mr. Stark?”

“Oh you know, the usual; smiley happy expo stuff.” He picked up the glass and took a sip of the amber liquid, swirling it around in his hands before looking over at you. “Hey, didn’t I see you there today? You were with uh…” he started snapping his fingers to jog his memory, “Becky, Bucky…”

“Beckman,” you corrected him, getting your boss’ name right. Your turned in your chair to face him.

“Beckman! Right! She invented the internal biofeedback medicine pump, and now she’s working on…” he looked around the room as if the answer was written on the walls.

“You’ll just have to come by tomorrow and see for yourself, Mr. Stark.” You took a sip of your drink, the sparkling tartness making your nose crinkle as you took in his handsome features.

“You’re not gonna give me any hints? Any clues?Three Words? Five syllables? Sounds like Schmedical?” He rose his eyebrows and searched your face. “Not a thing?” He shrugged his shoulders dramatically and finished his drink. “Well then, it looks like I’ll just have to trust you.” He set his empty glass on the bar, licking the liquor off his lips.

“I guess so,” you smiled, amazed that the founder of this convention was actually talking to you.

“Are you guys enjoying yourself at least? You and Doctor Beckman, I mean. You aren’t here with anyone else, are you? I mean… Any of my inventions make you want to switch careers and come join the big dogs over here at Stark Industries?” He took his sunglasses off and set them next to his glass, looking you up and down with sparkling brown eyes.

“Not yet. My doctorate is in nursing, not mechanical engineering, so I don’t see what good I’d do your company.”

“Your doctorate’s in nursing? You’re a doctor of nursing? Seriously? Why not just go to medical school?” Jordan handed him another drink.

“My minors are in pharmacology and education, Mr. Stark. I know that may not seem important to you, but Doctor Beckman and I have been doing research together for years, and it’s been fruitful enough to warrant an invitation to your expo at least three years in a row. So yeah, I’m JUST a nurse.” You finished your drink.

He stared at you in awe, his mouth agape as his fingers loosely gripped his glass.

“Sorry, I get defensive when I feel a little out of my element,” you admitted.

“No.” He shook his head, scooting in closer to you. “I love a woman who doesn’t put up with my bullshit. In fact, you aren’t out of your element at all. I mean, are you sure you aren’t a lawyer? Or an assassin?” His lips parted in a genuine smile, the skin around his eyes wrinkling softly into crow’s feet.

“I’m sure.” You laughed as a wave of warmth washed over you, his smile making the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

“So what are you drinking, Team Beckman? Is that apple juice?” He leaned in closer and grabbed the bottle in your hand, spinning it around to read the label. “You know, they DO serve alcohol here, just in case you were wondering.” He winked at you and nodded at Jordan again.

“It’s a hard cider, and thank you.” You smiled as the earthy scent of his cologne flooded your senses as you stared at his lips.

“So, you got a name? A phone number? Hotel room?” He paused and thanked Jordan for getting you another cider. “I’m kidding. Unless, you know… I’m not.” He winked and put his elbow on the bar, refusing to take his eyes off you. “I could keep calling you Doctor Beckman, but unless you’re into role play, I don’t think you’d like that very much.”

Your smile widened even more, his advances making you cross your legs to hide the sudden heat you felt between them. You knew that Mr. Stark had a reputation of being a playboy, but you never thought those talents would be aimed toward you. You thought that he was just one of those guys, one of those charmers who complimented anyone that came across his path. It was part of the reason he was so rich and successful, after all.

You decided to tell him your name, figuring there wasn’t any harm in it, and that he would just look you up tomorrow morning if you tried to be secretive. “And I’m in room 325, actually,” you nodded upwards toward the center of the building.

“No shit?” He stared at you, surprised that you took the bait. “You wanna get out of here? Give me the dime tour?” He sipped his drink, finishing it before placing a wad of cash on the counter. “As the founder of the Stark Expo, I need to make sure we are putting our guests up in the very best accommodations available.”

“Well, I was actually supposed to meet Doctor Beckman here, but it looks like she’s a little late.” You pretended to look around the bar for your mentor, not wanting to seem too eager.

“Let her cry her heart out.” He nodded toward the exit. ——————

“So this is you?” He walked into the luxurious room you’d only recently settled into, unbuttoning his suit jacket.

“This is it.” You shut the door and locked it, hoping for the best case scenario as you walked up behind him.

“I see you have a bed, a bath, and ...beyond.” He turned around to face you, his joke wasted on your close proximity. “Are we providing you with everything you need?” His caramel eyes darkened as they darted over your face, thick lashes pulling his lids downward as you came closer.

“Not everything,” you whispered, fingering the hem of his gray jacket to the middle of his waist.

“Are you saying your needs aren’t being met?” He rose an eyebrow and palmed the small of your back, bringing your hips into his.

“Something like that,” you leaned in and kissed him, the faint flavor of scotch hitting your tongue as you grabbed his waist, pulling him in even closer.

Your eyes closed as he kissed you back, his hands smoothing their way up your spine to the zipper of your dress. He slid it down to the base of your hips, exposing your back to the lukewarm air of the hotel room. He let his hands wander before finally peeling the fabric off your shoulder blades, igniting a fire that trailed down your extremities as your dress fell to the floor.

You wrapped your fingers around his tie, tugging on it as you stepped out of your clothes before backing up against the bed. Without thinking, you removed his tie and jacket, making quick work of unbuttoning his dress shirt before noticing an aqua blue glow. You stared down at the bright circle in the center of his chest, running your palm across its surface.

“Is this bothering you? Because I can’t turn it off. It doesn’t have a dimmer on it or anything.” He tapped it with his knuckles. “On the plus side it’s kind of like a night light when we go to sleep later.”

“You think I’m gonna let you sleep here?” you laughed.

His mouth dropped open, an audible gasp escaping his lips as his eyes widened. “Oh, you’ll be so tired by the end of this…” he reassured you.

“It doesn’t bother me at all.” You pointed to the arc reactor, glancing up at him as it glowed a cool purple through your fingers. “It’s beautiful, actually.” You traced the outer circle with your index finger.

“Do you have your stethoscope here with you? We could play doctorate of nursing and you could listen to my heart rate while I go down on you and… owe!” He grabbed his shoulder as you playfully punched him in the arm.

“Do you always talk this much?” You started unbuttoning the rest of his shirt.

“Only when I’m nervous,” he started, sliding his arms out of his shirt. “Or when I’ve had too much caffeine, or when I’m really excited, or when I’m around beautiful women who desperately want me.”

“Is that so?” You smirked, unbuckling his belt and tossing it onto the floor. Despite his goofy nature, you still wanted to touch him; to feel his skin against yours as his sweat mixed with your juices and you were nothing more than a pile of flesh.

“Yup,” he nodded, watching you unbutton his pants and slide them down to his ankles. He stopped his jokes as you stood back up, caressing your shoulders as you rose to your normal height. He let his palms feel the fine hair on the back of your arms before taking your hands in his, kissing the tops of them tenderly.

“Now, where were we?” Tony asked, pushing you onto your back. “Oh yeah, right about here.” He slid out of his boxer briefs, stroking himself before climbing on top of the bed. He smiled and kissed your navel, slipping his fingers beneath your underwear as he slid them down your hips.

In utter disbelief, you watched him kiss your belly button, licking circles around it as he glanced up at you with hungry black eyes. His mouth moved down lower, kissing and sucking as he pulled your panties down around your ankles. The moisture of his mouth drenched the mound above your most sensitive spot, a light purr humming from his lips as you ran your fingers through his mahogany locks.

“Mr. Stark…” you started, his lips finally reaching the sensitive spot between your thighs.

“Please, call me Tony,” he winked at you before diving back in.

A stifled breath escaped your lips as he painted your length with his tongue, that purr intermittently vibrating your clit as he pulled on it with each upward lick. You let your hips push into him, rocking back and forth in sync with his kisses as they became deeper and more intense.

He hummed and moaned as if the act of pleasing you was just as pleasurable for him, if not more so. He continued his work as his spit dripped down your length and onto the freshly washed comforter, making an audible squish as he slid his fingers inside of you. He curled them upward as his muffled moans got louder and his thrusts got deeper.

“Tony!...” your chest started to heave as his fingers hit the spot you’d almost forgotten was there. He licked and sucked on your clit like it was the most delicious candy he’d ever had, pulling and biting it as he shoved his fingers in even deeper. You grabbed his hair with both hands now, gripping so tightly you were afraid of ripping it out.

You could feel the muscles in your ass and thighs start to quake. Bolts of lightning started to spark in between them where his mouth and fingers continued to work their magic, forcing you to buck your hips into his knuckles.

He paused and pulled away from you, his goatee drenched in your moisture as his lips curled into a satisfied grin. “How we doin’ up there, doctorate of nursing?” He pulled his fingers out, sucking on them as he climbed on top of you.

“You stopped…” you whined, too needy in the moment to be ashamed of your tone.

“Not for long,” he smirked and slid his fingers past your lips, forcing you to taste the delicious mixture of his spit and your arousal. “Still don’t want me to spend the night?” He rose an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Offer still stands.” He pulled his fingers out of your mouth, giving them one last taste before brushing his cock against your sopping wet entrance.

“You can spend the night, now get over here,” you smiled and rolled your eyes, bringing him in for a kiss before he leaned down and slid inside of you.

Those bolts of lightning returned immediately, without losing any voltage in their spark. They worked their way up into your stomach as he stretched you out and filled you up, his rhythmic thrusts sending your abs into a convulsive dance in tandem with your hips and thighs. You ran your hands through his hair again as he continued to kiss you, your body lighting up like a thunderstorm on a hot summer day, jolts of electricity shooting through your limbs to the very tips of your toes. You wrapped your legs around his waist as you vibrated on a frequency you never knew was possible.

He continued to pump his hips wildly into yours as that blue circle in the middle of his chest glowed brighter and brighter. The sweat from his forehead landed on your neck, sending your already sensitive skin into overdrive. You stared at him as he climaxed, his eyes rolling back into his head as he spilled into you and moaned one last time.

“Oh man,” he whispered, resting his head on your chest. “I’m definitely tired now, are you tired?” He looked up at you and smiled, quickly kissing your lips.

“Yeah,” you admitted, clinging onto him as he rolled into his side. “I could use a night light.”