#good job roh

[likesummerrainn]

ROH | 01.18.24

[madqueenalanna]

not to be alarming but in the past 24ish hours i've googled the amount of antifreeze and cyanide it would take to kill me (100mL and 350mg respectively) i'm dead serious does anyone else do this? is it lowkey normal to plot your death like this? i have therapy tomorrow but i don't know how fucking crazy i am

[fang-revives]

Between Shibata vs Yuta and the possibility of the Eddie/Claudio drama reaching fever pitch I'm absolutely gonna put down human monies for the ROH PPV

[yellowbunnydreams]

Do You Need Some Vitamin D? (Part 2) (Incubus!Afton x Oblivious!Reader)

~Hello all! I'm back again...for a bit anyway, just been busy with life and stuff. Hope you are all doing well, I figured you could probably do with something to prove I am actually alive~

@ruh--roh-raggy xp-doggy redbunny03

CW: 18+ MINORS DNI. Fluff, age gap (Reader 20's - William Afton 40's(?)), teratophilia, meet-cute, punny pick-up lines, scenes of working out, minor porn-logic, ditzy! reader, could be classed as bimbo! reader?, size-difference, flirting, monster-lover, sexual innuendos, Monster! AU

Heading to work on the next Monday was certainly uneventful after the interesting text you had received from your boss over the weekend. Somehow, that photo hadn't been saved to your phone, but you definitely didn't keep scrolling back to look at it, admiring the little details about how his strong arms looked in the low light, how tight the shirt seemed across his broad chest. But you thought you had gotten over those thought by the time your shift rolled around.

Until William Afton walked in in that damn shirt.

"Okay, now you're staring." Your co-worker made you jump as they snuck up behind you. Seeing the familiar face of Claire behind you and making you blush and scowl, shaking your head as you turned back to look at Mr. Afton, before realising that he has already gone to the office with a surprising pang of disappointment.

"I'm not staring!"

"You totally were...Was he wearing a new shirt today? I'm not sure I've ever seen him in colour." Claire raised an eyebrow, and you tried to shrug nonchalantly.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you." Claire's eyebrows went higher on her face as she put her hands on her hips, giving you a slightly tilted head look that you knew meant she saw right through you.

"Right...And you definitely aren't blushing right now!" She thought for a moment before her eyes widened, giddily gripping onto you and smirking as you looked slightly confused by her sudden enthusiasm. "You have a crush on Mr. Afton!"

"No!"

"Yes! Oh. Em. Gee! You have a crush on our boss!"

"Faz-fuck off with that! Do you want me to get in trouble? And I don't have a crush, he's just...nice." Your cheeks heating up as you avoided her gaze, but your colleuge simply tutted and wrapped her arm around your shoulder, holding you tight to one side.

"Wow, never pinned you for the type to go for older guys...Why don't you ask him out to the Valentine's Dance?" She teased, earning a sharp jab in the ribs from your elbow and a playful pout from her.

"I'm NOT going to ask our BOSS to the Valentine's party." Earning an eyeroll from Claire as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow again. You were sure if she kept doing that, she would be stuck in a permanently surprised expression.

Claire simply shook her head, throwing her hands up in the air as she chuckled slightly, turning to go and walk off to the main floor and direct you towards the prize counter. Looking over her shoulder and smiling wickedly as she shrugged.

"You know, I'm going to ask that DILF out for you if you keep this up. You're going to ask him."

"What the faz-fuck is a DILF Claire?" You asked, staring after her with a mildly confused expression. "Claire?"

Monday's were never busy at Freddy's, so you never had to really worry about keeping ontop of all the niggly little jobs that made you want to curl up and cry; like untangling the slinkies because a kid just have to have that specific one, or a parent complaining that the claw machine hadn't payed out despite their kid 'winning' and having to crawl around for the one specific plushie that you knew they hadn't won but you had to retrieve anyway.

The prize counter was however, mercifully quiet on Mondays, and it also gave you a good vantage point of the employee's only door, where you could see everybody coming and going, including Mr. William Afton.

It was weird, how you noticed him a little more as he stepped out onto the floor today. How that purple shirt was still a little bigger on his frame than the broad man should really be wearing, even though you swore the photo on your phone showed him filling it out, the colour complimented him though. His greying hair swept back out of his face, that greying beard that you found yourself wondering how it would feel if he brushed his cheek against yours... Shaking your head, you quickly snapped out of it, it wasn't appropriate to think that way about him, he was your boss after all.

He however, was thinking similarly about you. Not that you would ever know it aside from the slight smile that curled his lip whenever he looked in your direction. William's heart pounded slightly in his chest as he slowly made his way over to the prize counter, making sure to stop and greet staff and reprimand them if needs be, saying hello to customers. It was all torturous to him as all he wanted was to see you, take his mind off of paperwork for a while and enjoy the soft vanillaish smell you always seemed to have. It was that or cocoa butter, he couldn't decide, but you smelt like candy to him, and it made his mouth water in more ways than one.

You glanced up as a shadow fell across your back, placing out some new prizes with the ticket price stuck on gently with tape. Turning to give your usual greeting before finding yourself looking at a broad chest, eyes wandering up as your cheeks heated and your eyes met intense silver behind gold framed aviators.

"Mr Afton! Nice of you to pop over to see me." William blinked for a second before chuckling, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and giving you that lopsided smile that made him look quite charming.

"Well, I thought I would come see what prizes are up for grabs...I have a few spare tickets from me getting bored." You smiled back at the thought of him playing the same arcade games and silly games as the kids, such an imposing man being a kid at heart. Watching him stuff one large hand into his pocket as he spoke to you.

"That's great! What can I get you, sir?" Watching his eyes scanning the thick, freshly cleaned glass at all the prizes before his eyes caught something, his smile widening as he reached over the counter and gently pulled a ticket from your vest, your own heart racing in your chest as his thick fingers brushed against your ribs ever so slightly and your eyes naturally followed his hand as he flipped the ticket over to show you.

"Two-hundred tickets for a sweet like you? I'd gladly give triple for this prize." You giggled and shook your head, hair bouncing softly around your face as you touched the back of your own neck. It was silly, he almost sounded like he was flirting with you, but you chalked it up to your silly thoughts about the older man recently.

"I'm afraid I don't think you can own a human, sir, and thanks for picking that off, it must have gotten stuck there earlier." Laughing it off as William paused then chuckled, his smile tightening just a fraction.

"Right...No of course I can't own you. Six hundred Faz-Tokens seems like a measly compensation for a life anyway." He was confused by you again, and it made him all the more intrigued. He thought the flirting was obvious this time, he even called you a prize, asked to own you, implied he wanted to take you home. Yet there you were, barely reacting like it was nothing. The fingers in his pocket laced around a few cherry candies in his pocket, pulling them out and unwrapping one, popping it between his teeth and offering you the other. "What prize would you get, if tickets were no problem?"

Looking at the prizes, you hummed as you considered it, taking the candy with a quiet thanks and placing it in your vest pocket, not wanting to indulge in front of your boss. After a few moments however, your eyes landed on a toy-bonnie plushie and you smiled, pointing it out in the case.

"Spring-Bonnie, he's always been my favourite." William's relaxed smile returned, and he gestured for you to take it out. Counting out the eight hundred Faz-Tokens on the counter, he pushed them towards you and then pushed the plushie back against your chest as you offered it to him, leaving you a little confused yourself.

"Well, I hope he's going to a good home then."

"Sir?"

"He's yours, doll, keep him. As a token of my gratitude for putting up with such a silly old man." Rubbing the back of his neck, you shook your head after a moment, carefully cradling the plushie to your chest as your cheeks heated up once more. Maybe you were developing a cold, or coming down with something..Maybe Claire had been right about you starting to develop a crush on your boss.

"You're not a silly old man, Mr. Afton, I find you quite funny, and you always brighten my day." It was William's turn to blush as he looked down at you, giving that warmest smile that made his eyes crinkle slightly at the corners. You could have sworn you heard the sound of his foot tapping repeatedly against the plush carpet, watching him rock back and forth onto his heels a few times.

"That means a lot to hear, bunny. Enjoy your new friend." With that, he walked off, leaving you clutching onto the yellow velveteen rabbit with the purple bow-tie carefully. Smiling happily to yourself as you thought how you perhaps wished just a little bit that he was really flirting with you.

When you got home that night, you debated for a long time how you could thank William Afton properly for his kind gift. And for the candy too. You carefully sucked on the hard sweet, savouring the almost too sweet cherry flavour as you got changed into pyjamas and glanced over at the Spring-Bonnie plush on your dresser, deciding something for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Fuck it." You said to the plushie, picking it up and stroking the soft ears as you placed it down on your bedspread, setting it up carefully so that it was nice and presentable before whipping our your phone and snapping a picture. Pausing over your keyboard, trying to think of something subtle and funny to put before sending it to your most recent contact.

William's phone buzzed as he hunched over the bench in his workshop, his thick fingers moving the animatronic parts before him with a practised precision. Shirt changed out for a more comfortable t-shirt and feeling his foot tapping against the floor in no particular rhythm. Lit cigarette burning in the ashtray besides him as one large hand reached out to pick it up and take a drag whilst the other grabbed his phone. Clicking open the message without a thought as he was sure it was from Henry, trying to talk to him about 'his outdated methods'.

His heart practically stopped however, when he saw the picture that had been sent through.

From what little he could see, the bed was a single, the sheets neatly made up and white, able to just make out some form of pattern across the duvet cover. The walls were beige, which surprised him as he had always suspected that you weren't a beige wall person. But what really caught his attention, was the presence of a familiar Spring-Bonnie plush, front and centre to the bedding, tucked against the pillows in pride of place. His silver eyes wandered to the caption quickly as he wondered what you had to say. Had it been a mistake?

'I thought you would like to see that he's settled into his new home. Thanks for the candy by the way, I'm not usually a cherry person but I'm eating it now :)'

William's hand instinctually reached for his pocket, pulling out another candy and unwrapping it quickly and putting it in his mouth. Tobacco and cherry mixing together to create a unique sensation that made his brain light up happily, swearing softly under his breath that he was constantly running out of pocket candies since he had a bad habit of crunching them rather than savouring the taste. Thinking for a moment before he finally replied.

'He looks comfy, Although that bed looks rather uncomfortable for cuddling in.'

You blushed as William mentioned cuddling, but you tried to shake the thought out of your head as you tried to image those large, strong arms wrapped around you, holding you against his chest.

'Well, he's not oversized, so we should fit fine. He's nice and soft! Not like I've ever slept in a bigger bed anyway :p' Climbing into bed, you were tempted to send another picture, but knew that would be overstepping professional boundaries by a country mile. Unknowingly to you, William had the same thought and barely got to snuffing out his cigarette before he practically sprinted up the stairs, feeling his legs changing as he went, feet becoming more elongated and lapine to accomodate his bounding strides. Almost throwing off his slacks and diving into his bed like he hadn't been down in his basement just moments before. The perk of supernatural speed, he supposed.

The next message you received was a photo, another one that brought colour and heat to your cheeks and gave you the start of a fluttering feeling in your stomach as you looked at it. William Afton was in bed, his broad chest obscured by a thick pillow that he clutched tightly with one large hand, his chin rested ontop with a lazy, almost half-asleep smile on his face. Glasses pressed into one side of his nose as you thought it was rather cute and somehow kind of hot at the same time.

'Well, there's always plenty of room in mine if you want to try it for size. Goodnight, bunny, see you tomorrow.' William wondered if he went too far, but it felt right to invite you, to extend the offer and hope you realised just how badly he would rather replace the pillow with your smaller body against his, but he missed your reply, as he soon fell asleep clutching onto the pillow. Holding it and twitching in his sleep as his nose wriggled, dreaming that the person of his obsession was against him instead of an inanimate object.

'Goodnight Mr. Afton. It does look comfy there, but that could be what's in the bed, lol' You knew the older man would definitely not be flirting with you, you imagined him to be more of a flowers and a date kind of guy, rather than pick-up lines. Not that you were entirely sure why you kept having those thoughts about him at all, but as you curled up on your side, you knew that somehow, you had to flirt with the giant man.

[ivoryghostyy]

「 image, not mine. sourced from pinterest. 」

「 note: previously known as "love bite" and this is the actual revamp of the oneshot. "destined pair" feels too different from the original, so here's something closer. have fun. ^^ 」

「 tw: possessive, mentions of blood, non-consensual biting, non-consensual drinking of blood, slightly suggestive?, implications of stalking, violence — read with caution, i guess. 」

a dark chuckle reverberates through the winding hallways, filling you with a sinking sense of dread.

"come now, you can't hide from me. while i do enjoy this little game of chase, i'm beginning to lose my patience."

you do your best to calm the erratic pace of your heart, but the pressure is getting to you. you're bleeding out, for god's sake. for all you knew, you wouldn't make it out of this alive.

'how comforting,' you thought, as you basked in your own bitter notions. your mind blanks, however, when you finally notice the footsteps resounding nearby.

they're quiet—you barely heard them—but they're close.

dangerously close.

your first mistake was exposing yourself so soon. it was meant to be a quick mission: locate the target and take him down. but he had noticed you too early—almost instantly, as if he knew the whole time.

that should have been enough of a reason for you to back out, as even the slightest risk could lead to your death. you're dealing with vampires, after all.

yet, absurdly, you continued on.

why? somehow, you didn't know either. 'could be the alcohol. or perhaps, there was something bigger at play here. regardless, you kept your pace, staying at a distance and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

which, to be honest, took a lot longer than you expected. if only you could simply kill the witnesses, too.

he was a social butterfly, easily getting along with every person he conversed with. but then again, why wouldn't he? he manages a large organization, after all. with a handsome grin, he knocked everyone's guards down, leaving them completely vulnerable to his charms.

he's beautiful, you'll give him that.

after a while, he excuses himself, and you tail after him. as an experienced hunter, you've learned to mask your presence; to hide within the shadows cast beneath the soft moonlight.

it was going smoothly.

until it wasn't.

he stopped, turning his head to meet your alarmed gaze. it was brief, but it was enough for you to know: he knew you were there.

ruh-roh raggy.

you knew that playing ignorant wouldn't work on him. you've read his files—despite them highly lacking in details. he does a good job of keeping his information confidential—it's practically part of his job to find out if someone's lying or not!

seduction? he may be hot, but really, all you want to do right now is go to sleep. you are not getting laid tonight. really?

'alright, plan C it is.'

you booked it.

cursing under your breath, you ignore the painful ache of your poor feet. you'll be fine, probably. this isn't your first rodeo. for the record, you've once managed to escape with a broken leg, a stab wound, and a splitting headache. this should be easy! don't be so complacent, dear. plot armour can only do so much.

his looming figure casts a shadow over your guarded frame.

"there you are."

you're stuck. trapped between two unwavering arms as he grinned cheekily at you. his eyes are dilated, and he looks almost.. intoxicated.

"i warned you, didn't i? you can't hide from me, fawn."

fawn.

what a stupid nickname. you sneer.

"i'm impressed, really. not many can land a hit on me."

he refers to the healing cut on his chest, the wound beginning to weave itself back together.

righr now, you couldn't do much. with a bleeding gash running from along your hips, you're basically screwed. your hand clutches the wound, blood trickling through your palm as you struggle to apply enough force to your trembling hand.

god, you feel so weak. his eyes pull you into a trance-like state, and you're barely able to hold yourself together. he leans down with an angelic curl to his lips, reaching up to stroke your cheek.

"how cute. 'still resisting, dear? my, you're quite stubborn."

you grumble under your breath. unfortunately for you, he hears it. glowing optics bore right into you, and for a moment, you thought he'd kill you right then and there.

to your surprise, however, he simply chuckles. you release a breath of relief, shivering from the hot puff of air that brushes your neck.

then you wheeze; a pained gasp fumbling out of your lips as he slams you against the wall. a rough hand curls around your throat, sharp nails poking your skin—that should be enough of a warning to keep you still.

"now," your eyes trail to the side as you shift;

but he moves in, lips only an inch away from yours.

"ah-ah, what are you looking at, fawn? i don't want your attention straying. your gaze is meant only for me."

"shut up, you i-insufferable-" you cough, lightly gasping when the grip on your throat tightens.

"-oversized mosquito!"

…

goddamn it-

"pfft-"

his eyes crinkle as he laughs, and you're completely stunned; mesmerized by how genuine he sounds. seriously, has this guy considered making asmr videos?

"oversized mosquito? is that supposed to be an insult?"

his grip loosens for a moment, but he regains his composure before you can make a move. fuck vampires and their inhuman speed.

"i quite like you. you've always been an entertaining little fawn." he pauses, a thoughtful look crossing his handsome features before he smirks. "i've decided, i'll be keeping you." it shouldn't be a problem. you've always been his.

he smiles, but his eyes are dimly lit, glinting ominously.

"what!? no-" he interrupts you, a sharpened nail digging into the skin of your neck, drawing a few drops of blood.

"i don't think you heard me. see,"

he guides you impossibly closer. his lips now only mere centimetres away from yours. his thumb trails along your jaw as the other wanders up the skin of your thigh, landing on the small of your back. his touch leaves a trail of heat, a shiver crawling up your spine.

"i wasn't asking, fawn."

and in the next moment, you're pinned against the wall. he leans his weight against you, pulling your hands behind your back. his fangs graze your neck, and you can feel your heart beating frantically.

"i'll have you, even if i have to break you in the process."

the dread settles in, and for the first time in years, you're filled with pure, unadulterated fear.

"shh, don't worry, dear. the pain is only for a moment."

you're scared. he's going to bite you. he's going to bite you. as a last-ditch attempt, you move to stun him.

"stay still."

he's quicker.

fangs sink into your skin, and you whimper at the pain. the feeling of your blood being drained, of the unbearable sting of his fangs in your neck, you almost cry from the agonizing discomfort.

but this isn't what you fear the most. no, this doesn't even come close. you're not scared of pain; half your life was spent with pain playing the role of a clingy lover.

what you fear.. is what comes next.

pleasure.

you can't succumb to it. you can't! you can still take him down with what little strength you have left. you need to resist-

his fanks sink deeper, lulling the ache away and replacing it with a heated embrace. your tense muscles relax, and you stifle a guttural moan at the growing heat in your abdomen.

your instincts fight against the sedative effects, still trying to pull you out from drowning in pleasure.

wake up, goddamn it! he'll kill you!

breathing heavily, you once again struggle against his hold, forcing yourself to shove him off.

his jaw clenches, and you flinch. his hand pulls you closer, pressing against your stomach, causing a wave of heat to course through your trembling frame.

you feel so sensitive; almost like you're drunk on aphrodisiac.

as all fight leaves you, an open moan flittering through your lips. your eyebrows furrow. you don't feel the need to resist anymore.

why would you? you're safe with him. he is all you need.

your limbs grow heavy. why're you so tired? you groan, leaning your head back as he moves away. your wobbly legs can barely hold you up, so he takes the liberty of pulling you into his arms.

he grins in content, licking off the stray blood on your neck. you shiver, clutching the fabric of his clothes. 'you're so adorable. all vulnerable and dazed in his hold,' he muses to himself. you're disoriented, unable to think clearly as you nuzzle into his chest.

"look at you, darling. safe and warm, right here with me."

he'll make sure to take care of you. he's not just watching from afar anymore; now, you're finally in his arms.

'finally, mine.'

[droptoeholdyourhorses]

The Best Friends Deserve Bester

Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta have been teaming together as The Best Friends since August 2013. In January 2014, they won PWG's Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, becoming number one contenders to the PWG World Tag Team Championship. They lost their subsequent challenge against The Young Bucks at Mystery Vortex II. The only other time Chuck and Trent have competed for those titles was at 2019's Hand of Doom where they lost to The Rascalz. What that means is that out of seven teams who won the PWG DDT4 between 2007 and 2015, The Best Friends are the only ones to have never held the PWG World Tag Team Championship.

Alright, well maybe they had better luck in NJPW. Trent's a four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Rocky Romero. If Roppongi Vice can succeed, then I'm sure The Best Friends can... come fourth in the B Block in the 2017 World Tag League and finish eighth overall in the 2018 League.

No, that make sense. Best Friends as a team have always been predominantly American based. What about their ROH run in 2017? I know they had a few title matches there.

Loss vs. The Young Bucks in ROH World Tag Team Championship tornado three way match at Best in the World 2017 (also featured War Machine)

Loss vs. Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks in ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship match at Global Wars 2017 Day 3 (teamed with Flip Gordon)

Loss vs. Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks in ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship match on ROH Wrestling Episode #326 (teamed with Rocky Romero)

Loss vs. Motor City Machine Guns in ROH World Tag Team Championship match at Final Battle 2017

Ok, enough messing around. Let's get into the AEW run. Orange Cassidy has done a great job as International Champion. Kris Statlander is enjoying a good reign as TBS Champion. How have Chuck and Trent done?

Win vs. SCU and Private Party at Fyter Fest 2019 to advance to All Out for an opportunity at a first round bye in the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament (good start)

Loss vs. Dark Order at All Out 2019 (who needs a first round bye anyway?)

Loss vs. SCU in first round of AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament (ah, that bye would have been handy)

Loss vs. Kenny Omega & Adam Page in a Number One Contender's Fatal Four Way (also featured The Young Bucks and Proud & Powerful) (got four-and-a-half stars from Dave Meltzer)

Loss to The Young Bucks in a Number One Contender's Battle Royal (not gonna list all the other teams)

Win vs. Private Party in a Number One Contender's match at Double Or Nothing 2020 (that's more like it)

Win vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara to remain number one contenders (yes, go on lads!)

Loss vs. Kenny Omega & Adam Page in AEW World Tag Team Championship match on Dynamite: Fyter Fest 2020 Day 1 (ah, damn it)

Loss to FTR in Number One Contender's Gauntlet match (again, not gonna list all the other teams)

Win vs. Proud & Powerful in a Parking Lot Fight (FIVE STARS BAYBEE!)

Loss to reDRagon in a Number One Contender's Battle Royal (AEW love them some battle royals)

Loss to The Young Bucks in a Number One Contender's Casino Tag Team Royale (this was literally the week after the previous battle royal)

Win w/Orange Cassidy vs. The Trustbusters in first round of AEW Trios Championship tournament (ooo, promising)

Loss w/Orange Cassidy vs. Adam Page & Dark Order in semi-final of AEW Trios Championship tournament (never mind, I guess)

Loss w/Orange Cassidy vs. Death Triangle for vacant AEW Trios Championship (can't tell me they shouldn't have won this one given PAC was already All-Atlantic Champion at the time)

Loss w/Orange Cassidy vs. Death Triangle in AEW Trios Championship match (one day lads, one day)

Loss w/Orange Cassidy to AR Fox & Top Flight in $300,000 Three Kings Christmas Casino Trios Battle Royal (we're really taking the piss now with these battle royals)

Loss to Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett in Revolution Tag Team Battle Royal (they were literally the runners up in this one, come on)

Loss w/Orange Cassidy vs. House of Black in AEW Trios Championship match (stop teasing me)

Loss vs. Aussie Open in IWGP Tag Team Championship match (they could have had a Japan run after all)

Loss w/Bandido vs. House of Black in AEW Trios Championship match (Bandido's cool but surely it's gotta be Orange for the eventual trios run)

Loss vs. Aussie Open in ROH World Tag Team Championship Fatal Four Way at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023 (also featured Lucha Bros and The Kingdom) (another big win coming any day now)

Loss vs. Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli in Parking Lot Brawl (four-and-a-half stars for the Parking Lot sequel)

Win w/Orange Cassidy, Eddie Kingston & Penta vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Proud & Powerful in Stadium Stampede at All In 2023 (the biggest of big wins, another four-and-a-half stars)

Loss to Dark Order in ROH Number One Contender's Battle Royal (great way to follow up that momentum after All In)

Loss to The Righteous in ROH Number One Contender's Fatal Four Way (also featured The Hardys and The Kingdom) (again, great follow up)

Obviously there's been more matches in between the ones I highlighted. The Best Friends have had some good moments here and there but overall, it feels like there's been missed opportunities. No follow up after the initial Parking Lot Brawl. No Trios Championship run. Lost in the shuffle again following All In.

The Best Friends deserve bester.

[finndoesntwantthis]

Okay so the first time the Elite threatened to get a divorce was back in 2018 and let me tell you! If you didn’t live in the fandom at that time you may not know that we legit did not know if the group was going to break up for real or not.

They were all in bullet club, and it was Pre-All In, AEW not even on the cards at all. In story line, Cody was in the throws of trying to finish the job Adam Cole started in trying to draw a wedge between the Bucks and Ken and essentially steal the Young Bucks from Kenny and oust him entirely from being Bullet Club’s leader. At the same time Ibushi was back in NJPW, and Cody was trying to convince the Bucks that Ken cared more about him then he did about them, and he was the one who was going to leave them (also cody’s sexual obsession of Kenny era don’t get me started).

IN REAL LIFE, Bullet Club was at the most popular it had EVER been (thank you Elite) and WWE was pushing hard to hire them. Fans were split on whether they wanted them to sign cause that was like the dark ages of Vince buying up any indie talent that was good and throwing them to NXT (where at least they had good storylines and Matches like Adam Cole) or simply not using them well at all. The tag division also started not being used well so it was like, why would the Bucks sign to that. Basically nobody was sure that the Elite were going to get the respect/status/storylines that they deserved, so a lot of fans wanted them to stay in NJPW and ROH where they could continue to do whatever they wanted.

Knowing all of that, the Elite like the little monsters that they are, used the fact that nobody was sure what any of them were going to do, to hint at a possible break up forever because half would sign and half would stay. Like. We genuinely did not know if they were going to continue working together. So when the divorce story was put forth, emotions amongst fans were so high because we truly didn’t know if the outcome was going to be a permanent separation literally due to being at different companies.

Thankfully they never planned on signing, and the Golden Elite was formed, and All In happened, and that lead to AEW and now here we are.

So when I say this Divorce Era is more fun, I mean it’s purely entertainment and we don’t have to sit here and think this might be the last time we ever see them all work together lol this is genuinely just a fun story about the world’s messiest and most toxic polycule going through one of their phases, but the band isn’t gonna break up and be locked behind different walls at the end lol

[blueonwrestling]

I would like to make the arguement that nobody really deserves an award for being "booker of the year" this year when it comes to american wrestling.

I think All Japan or CMLL's booker should be the winner as they've both had a very hot year each, with my personal vote going to the CMLL booker Painco quite frankly.

Tony Khan has booked Dynamite from a 9 out of 10 weekly show down to a 8 out of 10 weekly show, and while i still think AEW is the best weekly program going in america, booking your show down, even if just by a little doesn't make you the booker of the year, along with 2 aew ppv's being quite weak this year, DoN being the 2nd worst of all time in my opinion and World's End being 3rd worst of all time I just don't think he's had the booker of the year award level good booking, it's been good, but there has been episodes that have sucked.

Also Tony Khan has booked weekly ROH as kinda just maintence booking? The PPV's for ROH have been a run away success and all 3 of them this year have been some of the best, but the weekly tv lacks quality and alot of stories, which they're starting to do more of now absolutely, but alot of ROH matches are announced at the last minute for PPVs instead of being built up.

Weekly NXT shows, I say this unironically, if you like weekly NXT shows that much that you think Shawn Michaels is booker of the year you need to get yourself checked out, how do you dress yourself in the morning, are you mentally all there, are you stupid, are you fucking mental, a horrid product with fucking terrible sub high school drama acting and fucking terrible matches that are the worst of gif wrestling.

And Raw and Smackdown, Smackdown just doesnt matter quite frankly the show doesn't matter at all, nothing happens on Smackdown, and Raw being the best of WWE's tv programmings by default is a nuts situation to say, but Triple H has done a horrible job with pretty much everything on Raw/Smackdown, Rhea has done nothing this year, the fake world title Seth Rollins has is laughable, Cody has been spinning his wheels and Roman still exists.

So theres my thoughts for this "booker of the year" stuff, gun to my head and you force me to pick an american booker im picking Tony Khan, but I still say he's booked AEW into a slightly worse position than it was last year.

Edit* When I say america, I do mean just the bigger promotions, the bois over at DPW and Chris Hero are also in the running for bookers of the year with how well they've booked their small indie promotions.

Revolver and Defy too have had strong years.

[writingforfun0714]

If you have nothing good to say about Star Wars The Acolyte I would like to tell you to keep scrolling and block me now because I enjoy the show.

I really don’t understand the hate for the Acolyte. Like yeah it’s about a witch coven and the MCs have 2 moms but it’s actually a part of the story and not just ‘wokeness’ shoved in there for the sake of it and was important to story.

Also Mae/Osha do not take away from Anakin’s story/conception because the twins are different. Anakin was created from the will of the Force while Osha and Mae were created by Mother Aniseya, who manipulated the Force to create the twins inside Mother Koril.

I don’t have an opinion on Vernestra Roh since I’m unfamiliar with her character in Legends/EU. As a show-only character, she was ok. Not really a standout character like Jecki or Yord but not bad by any means. From what I understand, fans of the High Republic think she’s a bit stiff in the show but idk for sure. I hope she has more screen time later this season.

Now, is there cringe dialogue? Yes. There are a few moments that SW has a sort of ‘cringe’ moment (think Anakin ‘I hate sand’ Skywalker). Is there an overuse of PowerPoint transitions? Yes, but the OG trilogy is known for those kinds of cuts and personally I’m not bothered by it. Are there moments where things don’t exactly make sense? Yes—the scene with the fire in space comes to mind. But it’s not like SW hasn’t done that before (the effects in OWK, ‘somehow Palpatine returned’, etc).

My point is that nothing the Acoylte has done has warranted the kind of hate it and the actors get. Which, btw, stop harassing the actors!!! For real! No one is forcing you to watch this show. Also didn’t think this needed to be said but hate is different than criticism. Criticisms are critiques with the goal of making something better. Hate is harassment and bullying.

However I believe the story is solid so far and I’ve loved the sound design/music, fight choreography, character designs, and I believe the actors have been doing a good job, especially the kid actresses (real-life sisters) for young Mae/Osha. As someone who has younger twin siblings, their interactions felt realistic to me.

Anyways, please block me if you disagree cuz I’m gonna obsess over this for a bit—thanks💙

[miloscat]

[Review] The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins (3DS)

A cromulent companion game.

Platinum's console/PC Korra game was accompanied by a 3DS release. Well I say accompanied; unlike that game, Activision only bothered to release this one in North America. Now I finally have a chance to play it thanks to custom firmware! I know developer Webfoot Technologies best for their Legacy of Goku GBA games, and now here they are with another handheld game based on an animated licence. But how does this tactics RPG stack up against its action sibling?

Despite the new subtitle, this game is built on the same story as the console game. Creepy old guy blocks Korra's bending, the alliance of Triads/Equalists/dark spirits, returning to the Spirit World via the South Pole. But this version has some additional details, like the inclusion of Amon's lieutenant as a miniboss, Korra seeking the advice of spirits in Republic City's spirit wilds only for them to turn dark and attack, or visiting Wan Shi Tong's library for help relearning spiritbending (complete with a boss fight against the big owl himself!) I also enjoyed entering the cosmic universal energy dimension for little puzzle challenges when Korra was regaining her bending powers. In addition to these additions, a big change in how things play out is the extended cast joining her on the adventure, an upside to the shift in genre.

From the start, Bolin and Mako are with Korra, then Tenzin and Kya join in, and finally Lin making for a team of six bending powerhouses. Bumi and, sadly, Asami are still conspicuously absent. But the extra tag-alongs make for actual conversation and more convincing bridging exposition in cutscenes, more appropriate elemental tutelage as Korra relearns her bending styles, and some choice quips. For example, we learn that Bolin named his fists Juji and Roh-tan after Nuktuk's animal sidekicks, and that he has become genre-savvy as a result of his mover career: "when there is fog, something bad happens."

There are understandable presentational drawbacks that offset this. Gone are the full animated sequences, replaced by brief motion comic-style cutscenes. There’s no voice acting either, which is fair enough. And gameplay just cannot look as flashy when you’re just moving sprites around a grid.

To be fair, the sprites look very good. And you get an adorable graphic of Korra riding Oogi on the menu screen. When it comes time to make an attack, the game cuts to a short (and skippable) 3D sequence showing the results, complete with decent little models doing mocapped martial arts moves. The spirits and the main antagonist Hundun can look a bit goofy in these but the mecha tanks are pretty cool if low-detail. The latter in particular have hilariously tiny sprites on the battle map, a stark contrast to their humongous chungus depiction in Platinum’s game.

The tactical gameplay is competent for the most part with decent map designs. The controls and interface can be a bit clunky but they get the job done. There’s a shield mechanic that’s a neat twist, as well as an elemental weakness system that lets you bypass the shields. I liked how each character had their own niche: Mako has many ranged attacks, Lin and Bolin get area effects, Kya can heal, and Tenzin can replenish mana energy points which I had him doing almost every turn once he learned it.

Any attack or even healing and support moves get you experience points which is nice, and every other level-up you get to choose between two skills. These can be new moves or passive bonuses but choose carefully because you can’t change them later! I found myself with a Korra who only knew waterbending for the vast majority of proceedings, and you only get one shot at each other element. Everybody was max level (15) a few stages before the end, but if you’re having trouble with a battle there’s a training stage you can do freely for some extra XP and money (used for buying healing items). You can’t replay completed levels though, even though you get graded on side objectives.

I was pleased by this little tie-in. I’m not a huge expert on tactics RPGs but this one seems good for intermediate gamers like me, not too punishing. There’s some amount of crunchy depth to the elemental system and using each character effectively. And as a Korra fan it’s nice seeing the characters and world rendered in a different style, especially those cute sprites. Not to mention the slight expansions to the storyline. If you’ve got a 3DS, there’s no reason not to head to your local flea market hShop to pick this up!

[ratatatastic]

"i think we were pretty good at the start" when my tall gorgeous wife says something i dont actually agree with but shes too stubborn if i confront her directly so i have to subtly let her know shes wrong

(which is what i wish was happening but no i have to burst my own bubble erod makes that face because as he scoots his water bottle forward it makes a dull plastic rubbing noise on the table and he makes that face as if to go wuh roh... hope that isnt too loud on the mic thats like right there. and yes the mic catches the noise good job roddy lol its just genuinely funny he makes that face right as mikksy talks about the "good" first period start like damn that synced up too well)

"i was a little lucky got the one through and nice play by lundy" and the mic catches an erod snuffle aka i cant believe you just said you were lucky you absolutely got that goal by skill it got right under skinners glove he was just a milisecond late your shot is amazing, sometimes it doesnt go in yeah but that doesnt negate the hardwork you put in-

eerily his inner monologue sounds exactly how i sound talking about mikkola, curious that aka rest in pieces that 6 sog but no goal mikksy game i think of you sweetly i wish he let it rip more often i also yell that at the tv too

and his face at "nice play by lundy" lmaooooo his face. made of clay. he cannot hide any reaction whatsoever. "nice" is also really downplaying it like im with erod both of yall did some fucking mind melting shit wtf man

mikksy downplaying his own skill but going it was a nice play by lundy like i really owe it to him he set up the goal i was just lucky it got in really... do you freaks want me to cry this is the fucking verbal equivalent of seeing an open door and going after you to the person after you but theyre also nice and go no after YOU and then its like no i insist and then they go no really I INSIST. and youre just stuck being aggressively polite.

edmonton oilers @ florida panthers game 2 postgame interview | 6.10.24 (x)

[busaikuknee]

a quick look back at march and april 2024

i didn't initially intend to combine these into a single post, but "me remembering write my march post" coincided with "me being busy with work and watching mania weekend shows," so i figured it'd be best to wait until all that was done with so there would be plenty to sift through. with that established, let's get started!

general overview and numbers

ended up catching 131 matches during these past two months (51 in march, 80 in april), which is quite a lot for me! despite this, i still feel woefully behind on everything; i've been trying to keep up with a lot, but i don't enjoy half-watching things and i only have so much brainspace for wrestling. as a result, it's been a breadth-not-depth kind of spring.

tjpw came in second for "promotions i caught the most of," which i'm hoping to continue! most of my prior teej viewing has been of isolated individual matches, so it's been nice getting a more holistic view of the promotion. first place was noah—those monday magic shows scratch some kind of itch for me, even if a lot of the cards aren't that different from your normal sunny voyage fare

most appearances throughout the month(s)

if you're exclusively counting matches that occurred in the last two months, yuma anzai comes in at #1 with 6 appearances—i've been trying to keep up with his champion carnival run, with the keyword being "try" since i'm terrible at watching tournaments. expanding that to matches that were viewed during the past few months, katsuhiko nakajima's at #1 at 12 appearances, making him the Spreadsheet Champ of the Month(s). check out his match vs daiki inaba and the preview tag before it from his wrestle-1 run, they're fun.

anyway, there doesn't seem to be an up-to-date fullbody render for him and i'm not grabbing a screenshot just for my dumb photoshop bit, so simply imagine it in your mind's eye.

speaking of anzai and nakajima,

the part where i mumble about matches in no particular order

yuma anzai vs katsuhiko nakajima (ajpw, march 30th)

i have a habit of pausing matches to go and take a break less than a minute before the ending. just poor timing on my part. paused this match about 15 seconds before the finish, got up to walk around and stretch, and mentally drafted a whole thing about how, even though anzai definitely wasn't going to win, this was a great showing from him and did a good job making the case for him as a future triple crown champ. then i unpaused and watched those fifteen seconds. immediate egg on my face. i'm pretty excited for anzai, though! it's nice seeing promotions really get behind their young talent.

hype!2 (tjpw, april 19th)

i'm putting the whole show down, seeing as there's only one "traditional" wrestling match and it would feel strange to excise it from the whole performance. i loved the first hype and was looking forward to this; while i think you can feel that a lot of the show had to be changed last-minute in the final product, i still had a pretty good time with it. i'm very fond of wrestling shows that skew closer to being plays, they're something i want to dig further into when time allows.

athena vs hikaru shida (roh, april 5th)

while i enjoyed keeping up with mania weekend, having that much wrestling shoved into my brain in such a short time period meant that most of the matches have melted together in my memory. this one is one of the few that stand out. incredible work from two stellar performers. i don't like rewatching things often, but i'm due for a rewatch.

yamato vs mike santana (etu/dragongate, april 6th)

one of the other mania standouts for me. i don't have much to say about it—i don't think it's anything crazy—but it ended up really working for me

shunma katsumata vs hideki okatani (ddt, march 16th)

violent, emotional affair. thoroughly enjoyed the last-minute-high-school-production-of-tarzan levels of set dressing. i think shunma and okatani are kind of a golden combo—i so desperately wish that they could have a singles match without one of them getting injured. at least i'll always have the image of the plush snake wrapped in barbed wire

hub vs ryuya matsufusa (osaka pro, april 14th) and ryu fuda vs masaaki mochizuki (dragongate, march 6th)

i decided to fold these two together, seeing as they're both young guy vs veteran matches where i went in knowing little-to-nothing about said young guys (i only knew matsufusa by name beforehand and i believe fuda's been injured for most of my dragongate viewing) and came out caring a lot about them. while i can be a little take-it-or-leave-it about english commentary depending on the promotion, jae does an excellent job breaking down who fuda is, what his struggles have been, and how said struggles play into this particular matchup. good stuff. i went into the hub vs matsufusa match with almost no context and still enjoyed it, but digging around afterwards and learning a bit about matsufusa's history with hub and osaka pro as a whole really added to the experience. [guy who needs to cut down on how many promotions he watches voice] maybe i should watch more osaka pro

i'm pretty sure these posts are just me yelling into the void, but if you read this, let me know if there are any matches you particularly enjoyed from this spring! see you next month.

[chibivesicle]

Daniel Law thoughts and observations.  Why is his last name so bloody difficult to figure out?

This is a quick and frivolous post as opposed to my normally long form ones.  I’ve got it hard for Daniel at the moment; I’m wade through the vast expanse that is the internet looking for merch for him.  Steven merch is like shooting fish in a barrel with how popular he is.  K.K. merch is also easy and super cheap second hand.  But Daniel merch.  Hoooo boy, it takes some time and effort to find.

The first issue around him is his bloody last name.  Which Japanese isn’t equipped to deal with.  This shows in my merch quest as I’ve scrolled through pages and pages of items.  But first:

The Darkhorse translation calls him Daniel Low.

The Funimation translation settles on Daniel Law.

When you listen to the sub and the dub, both the Japanese VA and English VA both clearly say “Law”.  I’d like to also note that the Japanese VA for Steven, Mitsuru Miyamoto, has really good pronunciation for all of the English terms/names he says specifically which makes me really think “Law” is the intended spelling.   The credits also reflect this.

Both versions also settle on the title of Lieutenant.  While the literal translation is Assistant Inspector (keibuho - 警部補).  I’m not sure why they didn’t go with Detective which sounds like the most American term and Inspector being British.  I guess Detective is a role while, Daniel would still have a police rank associated with him. But I know squat about American policing terms and job titles.  Maybe, I should go back and watch some Law and Order and cringe?

Where is this total weirdness around Daniel’s name coming from?  Especially if we get a season three and Marcus also shows up for the Calamity Auction arc.

Now, we all know that having an equal transfer of Law into Japanese can’t happen since there is no way to make say a “La-wa” etc.  The best you can get is to drop down in the r-line to the “ro” combo.  But then you’ve got that pesky “w” you need to do something with.

If you wanted “Low” this would be the easiest way to get it.  Go with “ro” and add the long vowel dash making it “ro-oh”

But we can see this reading of “ro” with a long “o” can be [sighs] Rho, Lau; Low, Loo, Rau, Raux, Roe or Roh.

Okay, this isn’t what happens in the credits.  The Japanese credits write his name out this way.  “ro” with the “u”.  Now, the first hit is “Law”.  Yay!

But then we get also; Loew, Low, Lowe or even Rowe!  Argh! 

So, how does this tie into merch?  Well, how his name is spelled on KKSS merch of course and how to search for it!

For Back 2 Back full color acrylics that were Jump (Festa Specials I’d guess), we get him and Marcus being referred to as Lowe.  ‘Cause they are twin brothers and Daniel is the older one! Another issue with Japanese language mechanics versus English but that’s for another time.  I’d read Daniel to be several years older since he’s referred to as “older brother” in B2B but since you have to place your sibling in age relative to you - Marcus has to say older brother in the original Japanese.    

There is also a small special badge set with Steven and Daniel here, where he is also referred to as “Lowe”.  Did I impulsively buy this?  Yes, yes I did of course!

Yet when we look at other items music/band themed (acoustic guitar) , the American heroes (fighter pilot? why?), ice skating, saloon barkeep/western. he’s got a last name of “Low”.

You might begin to think - okay, it is clear that 1.) there is no official spelling of his name down on paper.  2.) merch designers see ロウ and make an educated guess 3.) his name can’t be “Law”.

Buuutttt let’s go to the actual search function of a Japanese site like Goods Republic.  And what do we find in the character list on the left hand side?  Daniel Law.

Additionally,  you go on Zen Market and access JP Mercari directly, searching with the terms of ダニエル and 血界戦線.  You will get merch that not only pulls up Daniel but all the translated descriptions will always refer to him as Daniel Law.

What have I learned from this?  That until we get season three and Daniel gets a floating info box like below, we will never truly know how his name is spelled.  However, with the sense of humor that Nightow has and his wordplay in English, I really still think the original intent is “Law” because he’s a fucking cop.  Come on, easiest cheese joke ever.

And if he doesn’t get a floating info box in a season three, it means they aren’t giving him full justice due to his increasing role in the series.

[yellowbunnydreams]

Mechanised Devotion (Part 8) ~Steve Raglan/William Afton x Female Reader~

~I am staying up stupid late to write more for the big-man fan-club and I have ZERO regrets. Except maybe that paper I'm procrastinating on. I'll be making a masterlist soon so there won't be so much clutter on these posts linking to all the parts. Also, changed the title so that there was more clarity for people picking out this story~

Word count so far (all parts:) 14,593

Tag List!: @ruh--roh-raggy @likoplays

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

CW: Minors DNI, (18+ ONLY), Female Reader, afab reader, legal age gap (Reader- 20's, William - 40's), mention of crimes and violence, blood, mentions of child death (it's FNAF, what did you expect?), past trauma; abusive relationships. Trophy taking, panty stealing (never thought I'd write that), William being a perv, masturbation, voyeurism if you squint?

The weekend had been long and somehow all too quick after Steve dropped you back at your house. Handing you an envelope with your pay check in cash, apologising that it had taken so long to get to you, but there had been some delays since he had reported the Spring Bonnie animatronic supposedly moving and the owner needed to investigate. The pay check came with some elegant handwriting that apologised for the inconvenience, but that you should be made aware that the animatronic might possibly roam around still. Precautions would be taken to try and assure your safety however.

You scoffed as you read it, and put it down on your bedside table as you thumbed through the cash, eyes widening as you counted. There was almost two hundred dollars more than you expected, and you felt as if you were going to faint as you realised that the money was probably compensation of some sort. Silence money about what had happened at the restaurant.

Smiling to yourself, you wondered if you should treat Steve to a meal like he had done for you when you got the job. Thinking that that would be a nice thing for him. You touched the top of your head, patting it slowly as if trying to get the same feeling from where had patted your head so affectionately but your smaller, lighter hands couldn't replicate it.

Steve had handed you your uniform back as well, seeming sheepish as he apologised, it seemed that his old dryer had taken your delicates and eaten them, or possibly slipped in-between the drum and the motor in the back, which would basically mean that they were more than likely shredded up at that point. You'd laughed about it, telling him not to worry about it, it wasn't like it was your only pair after all. Raglan had laughed with you, despite the fact that as he spoke, he knew exactly where they were. They were in a little box on his bedside drawer, your name attached to a little tag tied carefully onto the cotton fabric. The date they had been 'collected' too. He wanted something of yours to recall that initial assault vividly with. A shudder had passed through his body as he wondered how many he could possibly take from you. How many firsts of yours would he end up being if you continued to feed his dark desires by being so naive about the intentions of the old killer.

It was with a great reluctance that you had pulled on thick work trousers and a blouse, the Freddy's jacket over the top as you got ready to go back to work. Steve had almost begged you to keep going, the owner clearly liked you enough to investigate the complaint, and having received a lot more money than you anticipated, you felt some obligation that you needed to return to Freddy's and continue being a good employee.

The walk felt longer than usual, but you supposed that they last time you had walked it, you had feared for your life. Tonight was slightly different to the last time you walked there, as a cop car pulled up and flickered the lights for a moment, forcing you to pause and wait to speak to the officer.

The tinted window rolled down and revealed a young woman who didn't look too much older than yourself. Her blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail and her grey eyes tired with bags beneath them despite the warm and friendly smile she gave you.

"Well I apologise ma'am, but you were speeding." She joked, making you laugh as you realised it was probably more a friendly check in than anything else. Relaxing slightly, you shrugged your shoulders and held up your hands in mock surrender.

"Sorry officer, I'll walk slower and more depressed next time." Watching as the cop cracked a smile before nodding over to the passenger side of the car.

"You work at Freddy's right, jump on in. I was heading there actually, it's on my rounds and I wanted to check in."

At the thought of not having to walk the rest of the way, you eagerly climbed into the car, clicking your seatbelt into place and allowing the cop to drive off towards the pizzeria. Glad you were out of dying sunlight and able to save your legs, especially since you would have to carry two bags back with you. A small pack with a toolkit inside it as you decided you were also going to take your own security precautions against the violent bunny.

"Hey, what happened to the back of your head? You're all bandaged up." The woman besides her frowned, glancing at you and staring as you reached up and touched the bandages on the back of your head. You were luckily mostly healed after a weekend of rest, but you felt self-conscious about it still.

"Oh it was um..an accident at work, don't worry, I promise I'm fine." You smiled reassuringly, adjusting your hair to try and hide the bandages a little better. Feeling your cheeks burning in shame as the woman made a non-committal hum before turning her attention back to the road.

The drive was mercifully short and you couldn't escape the car fast enough, hoping that the drive was informal introduction to the local law, but your stomach sank slightly as you watched the woman climb out too and lock up her car. Gesturing for you to lead the way in, she seemed confident as she moved through the hallways, knowing exactly where she was headed, which you supposed that she would considering she said Freddy's was part of her rounds.

"Have you seen them yet?" The blonde asked, making you raise and eyebrow quizzically and shrug your shoulders, that cold feeling in your stomach growing as she spoke vaguely.

"If you mean the guys on stage, yeah, you could say that." You sighed, heading into the office and feeling a little surprised as you noticed your possessions that you left in a neat pile on the desk, organised in a meticulous pile and your bag sat on your chair compared to the dusty flood where you had left it fleeing.

"The 'guys'." The blonde laughed, shaking her head and leaning against the desk as you flipped the breaker. Watching the monitors as you always did to see them power on, glad to see the camera that was down was also fixed whilst you were away. "wow, did your mom not take you to Freddy's growing up?"

"I'm not from here, so no, I had never heard of it until I got this job." You answer slightly curtly, anxious to see if the animatronics would move. Wondering if you would have to deal with a freaking out cop who was armed as well as things like Foxy deciding to try clawing down your door again. Pulling out a piece of paper and some crayons that you kept in the drawer, you began to doodle, making the woman raise a curious eyebrow.

"I'm Vanessa, by the way." You paused your movements and answered her with your own name, receiving a nod of acknowledgement from Vanessa as you continued drawing.

"So, what on Earth are you doing doodling on the job?" She asked, wondering what your answer was, recognising a crude picture of the animatronics, what she recognised as you and a crude picture of herself too. All with smiles and holding hands together. On another piece of paper, you drew another Foxy and a sad looking security guard, making sure to give Foxy red eyes and an open mouth with lots of sharp teeth.

"You'll see, potentially." You answered, looking up at the monitors and noticing that Freddy had decided to move from his spot on stage. Soon hearing the familiar 'thunk' of his footsteps and watching as he came into view of your door. Pausing quizzically outside with his ears wiggling, seeming surprised that your door was open and that there was another person inside.

Holding up the drawing of all of them, you showed it to Freddy, who seemed to look at it intensely before raising his eyebrows and doing his silent laugh and ear-wiggles. A sign you had interpreted as the animatronic being happy with some relief.

"You...You know about them?" Vanessa asked, looking shocked towards you, paling slightly as she glanced between you and Freddy in the doorway, leaving it your turn to frown suspiciously at the cop and cross your arms across your chest.

"And so do you by the sounds of it." Raising an eyebrow and trying not to crack a smile as you noticed the bear from the corner of your eye mimicking your expression somewhat.

"Uh... Yeah, I um.. I've known for a while, most people just...leave...when they find out about this though."

"Apart from Foxy and that creepy fucking rabbit, I've not really had any issues." You explain, shrugging your shoulders and taking a seat back at the desk, chewing at your lip as Freddy decided to wander back into the restaurant, seemingly content that you had company for the night.

"Bonnie is not that creepy." Vanessa said, scuffing her shoe across the floor, looking out down the hall and glancing up at one of the hidden cameras she knew her father had installed to keep an eye on the place.

"No, that spring Bonnie thing, the yellow one? Creepy as hell and a violent shit too." You laughed bitterly, reminding you to reach into your bag and take out your tool kit as well as some thick grating that you had picked up from a supply store.

Vanessa froze as you mentioned the yellow rabbit, her heart beating quickly in her chest and stomach sinking as she glanced over your injuries once more. The fading pattern of bruises across your throat making her feel sick to her stomach as she realised that it was all too familiar to her. And the fact you had a small scar across your cheek, she guessed it came from a blade, taking a deep breath and trying to steel her own nerves as she realised you had met her father.

At least, you had been convinced it was an animatronic, and not a person inside the suit.

"I'm surprised that thing still moves." She laughed nervously, biting her lip as she watched you working before she stood up, slapping her thighs and making you jump as you attempted to fit the new vent cover. "Hey, I got other places to check, but it was nice meeting you, stay safe you hear me?"

You smiled at her, and watched as she dug into her pocket, pulling out a business card with her number on it, handing it over and smiling with something like nerves making her eyes betray her concern for you.

"How about we meet in a few days, I can try to get you some more info on this place and you can possibly give you some tips?"

"Sure, that sounds nice Vanessa." You said, a little surprised at the offer, but accepting, watching the woman leave your office and heading towards the front doors your had both entered by. Shaking your head as you continued with your work after she had gone.

~~

Raglan had taken out the box from his nightstand as he watched the cameras on his laptop again, listening to your conversation with Vanessa with a frown. But he knew that his daughter had enough braincells left in her head to realise betraying him wasn't a great idea, smirking as he thought of you falling further into his tangle of lies and deceit. His fingers brushed over the box and he opened it cautiously, thick calloused fingers brushing against the delicate fabric that made up the panties he had taken as a little trophy, taking them out of the box, he couldn't held as his thumb ran over the thin fabric that would have laid against your sex. Feeling himself twitching in his pants with groan as he tried to imagine if you were wet for him as his fingers had wrapped around your throat.

He pawed at himself slowly, trying to get some relief from his rapidly hardening cock as he thought about how you had cried for him on the Friday night. Called his pretend name like some whispered prayer and fell asleep against him, oblivious to the knife being played with above your head.

The delicious way you had tried to fight against your own body as he drew that very same knife up the inside of you leg. How you had trembled like a scared little thing as your mouth hung open uselessly, a silent scream as he had felt his own heart threatening to beat out of his chest. He gripped himself through his slacks and stroked slowly, savouring the shivers that went through his body and biting his lip to stifle a growl. Steve could only imagine how pretty you would look choking on him, tears in your eyes and fighting to breathe around him. Maybe he would be kind to you and grip your shaking body close as he explored all the marks and scars he could imagine inflicting on your practically unblemished skin.

Growling frustratedly, he squeezed himself before reluctantly removing his hand and feeling himself throbbing hungrily. Glancing at the screen where he watched you taking a seat at your desk and throwing your head over the back-rest, making him hiss in delight as he ached to have his fingers back around your throat.

As much as he wanted to continue the fantasy in his head, he looked at his trophy longingly before running his lips over the fabric, imagining how you would flinch away from his hot breath. Or maybe how your soft thighs would squeeze around his head and let him listen to your racing pulse in your femoral artery, how easy it would be to turn and bite, letting the warmth spill across his sheets.

The throbbing in his slacks made him groan as if in pain, shakily putting back the delicate prize and letting the faint smell of you linger against him, focusing on the screen again to watch you through your shift. Licking him his lips as he let his hand wander across his groin again, breathing a little ragged as his fingers twitched around him despite the fabric separating him from his own skin. Still refusing to give in to the promise of release.

Steve Raglan was a patient man after all. And the thought of waiting in anticipation to ruin such a sweet thing made the wait all the more bittersweet for himself.

[christiancagesupporter]

7, 8, 14, 25 for Roddy! :')

7- What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

i honestly just like it if people pay attention to him at all. he's my guy and i just want people to praise him.

8- What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I hate when they view him as the token straight. that man is the most bisexual human being that's ever existed. he seems like the frat boy dude bro type but really he would kiss a man given the opportunity.

also not really a roddy thing but more of a wrestling thing at large. i hate when people say someone can't be a good wrestler unless they can cut a promo. because (and i say this with so much love) roddy can't cut a promo but he's one of the best wrestlers in the world right now.

14- Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

he used to dress like a poor closeted gay frat bro now he dresses like a closeted gay frat bro with a good paying job.

25- What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

when i first learnt about roddy he was in the wwe so i didn't pay him much attention. when he joined aew i was like cool people who i follow like him so that's fun. then i started watching 2006 roh and i was like oh he's the greatest wrestler ever. and he quickly became one of my favs.

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Forgive me for starting with a physics pun about a physicist romance, but this was Big Bang-ing cute!

While Hazelwood does serve up a couple familiar tropes from her previous STEM works, she subverts them in fresh and entertaining ways, making it so she's able to strike a delicate balance between navigating academic politics, fake dating shenanigans, and rivals falling in love. There's something about that combination - and the manner in which it's applied here - which gives the story moments of real gravity as well as moments of quirky acceleration.

Like I said, it's a good balance. Makes for a fun, tender, science-filled escape which pins a theoretical physicist against an experimental physicist in more ways than one...😏

The premise is simple yet catching: Elsie Hannaway is a woman who's living a double life. To most, she's an adjunct professor hoping to land tenure somewhere so she can finally afford health insurance, which she needs as a Type 1 diabetic. To others, thanks to her people pleasing expertise, she's a freelancing fake girlfriend who chameleons her personality into whatever a client wants or needs, a job she takes to make extra money so she can pay her bills. (Academia ain't paying much, folks!)

Things start to look up when she gets an interview at MIT for her dream job.

However, as to be expected, things don't run smoothly. Elsie faces an obstacle. A big, tall, muscle-y one named Jack Smith, who not only happens to be an experimentalist who has undermined theorists everywhere, but is also the older brother of her favorite client. Ruh-roh!

Lets just say it makes for quite the nuclear fission!

Anyway, what starts out between them as rivalry, as academic sabotage, soon devolves into something more atomic and quantum, with Jack being able to pierce through to the nucleus of who Elsie is and becoming someone who can give her a safe space to be her authentic self. In a similar vein, she helps him to take accountability for some of his past actions and behaviors, which is long overdue. It makes for a lovely give and take. Not to mention lots of dynamism in terms of growth, characterization, and plot.

As a couple, Jack and Elsie were adorable. I liked how they were a grounding influence for one another as well as an impetus for positive change at times. They kept the smiles coming and those electrons firing! My only complaint is I found some of the steamy scenes between them to be awkward. However, that may be more a matter of preference than anything because I had a similar sentiment when I read The Love Hypothesis.

On the whole, though: RADIOACTIVE WITH CUTENESS!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

4/5 stars

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