#and everytime I see the personality result I get gut punched

[hollowedtime]

randomly appears because someone wants me to

twst characters x gn! violet baudelaire! reader. scenario format.

characters: adeuce, azul, jade.

@psychicpoetrybeard i am an AWFUL writer but hopefully u can tolerate the cringe. reader is of NRC age. ace and deuces part can be read as platonic or romantic. PLS TELL ME THE “READ MORE” WORKS IDK GOOGLE ISN’T HELPFUL

CWs: mentions of a house-fire.

♠️ aduece duo ♥️

the intelligent one among the useless cretins

the brains among the blockheads

riddle has requested you to keep them in check personally, it’s like they agree to anything because they KNOW it’s a good idea if it’s yours.

ace calls you a nerd 24/7 so you worked for a few hours to make a contraption that punches him in the side of the head everytime he sets foot in ramshackle

deuce is the favourite child. you ended up informing him that chickens just don’t come out of unfertilised eggs or whatever and the look on his face 😭

one day, you sort of let it slip that your parents died in a house fire and you lost practically everything, and how the fortune and a few other things were all that you had left. not to mention how this count olaf guy kept trying to steal it all.

you never saw ace that serious, and deuce that sad. they comforted you and genuinely respect your mental fortitude to keep going. you allowed them to use the spyglass when the three of you become very close, around when the scarabia chapter finished.

🐙 azul

you do NOT fall for his scam. in fact, you call it out. when he tries to send the tweels after you, you know how to evade them each time. you really piss him off, you know that?

chapter 3 goes by a lot quicker because of you. when you come up to him saying you’d like to rethink the contract, he assumes he has you entrapped. of course he’s suspicious, but you just seem so desperate. and it’s his job to help poor, unfortunate souls like you.

and then you proceed to Bamboozle his ass

when he overblots, he’s surprised at how understanding you are. he expected a sneer from everyone apart from the tweels, but it was just kindness.

that’s where a develops a “minuscule” “fleeting” crush on you

(spoilers, it is not minuscule nor fleeting. you can tell.)

maybe, when you finally get into a relationship, he’ll show you his octopus form willingly this time, and you in turn open up about all of your struggles back at home.

you make him these mini inventions sometimes. he loves everything you do.

🐬 jade

you didn’t interest him too much at first, but a magicless human from triton-knows-where was enough to get him investigating. however you seemed very on guard, which was inconvenient enough.

he supposed he’d have to result to more invasive methods to sate his curiosity when you signed a contract with azul, but you had this… look in your eyes. he keeps quiet, but he knows you may be much more entertaining than he thought.

okay, he’s VERY interested now that chapter 3 is over. bro shows up at your house.

he sees all your inventions, and realises how easily you manage to survive in such a run down house. of course he doesn’t directly ask you, but while he’s attempting to lull you into a sense of trust, he ends up slowly but surely falling in love.

he finds it inconvenient. honestly too cliche, but a small part of him, that hopeless romantic part of him that came straight from his mother, tells him that he better put “have a candlelit dinner with you” on his bucket list.

once he finally worms his way into your heart, you have the guts and courage to tell him about all your struggles. he listens intently, complimenting how strong you are. when you tell him about count olaf and his subordinates, a sort of danger flashes across his eyes. it’s gone the next second.

he finds all your skills very interesting. it’s become a game between you two where he hides riddles in things he gives you and you decipher them.

when jade sees how you react to the sea, he questions the forlorn look in your eyes. he’s super understanding when you tell him it reminds you of your aunt.

once again, he marvels at how tough and smart you are. you are simply perfect for him.

…hopefully nobody can tell i accidentally played favourites 😃😃

it’s gonna take me 5 years to have the courage to post this 💀

[maxwell-grant]

Can we talk about the Black Bat both in general, and and how he may have been an influence on two superheroes (Dr. Mid-Nite and Daredevil) and a supervillain (Two-Face), but was proven in a court of law to have no connection with the superhero who immediately comes to mind (Batman).

Having finally read a couple of his original stories and runs, yeah I got some thoughts on him. 

While not the first bat-themed pulp character, nor the first fictional detective with a disability turned superpower (that would be Max Carrados, who actually was blind), Black Bat’s main claim to fame nowadays is his correlation to superheroes with the mixed traits he has that would all become massively popularized by characters who debuted afterwards. Regarding the Batman lawsuit, it wasn’t so much proven that they have no connection, as much as the publishers of both characters argued they did it first, and then agreed to stay out of each other’s territory, with Batman staying out of pulp magazines and The Black Bat staying out of comics (not that it would stop his publishers from rebranding him as “The Mask” and doing comics).

Black Bat actually couldn’t have inspired Batman, because Batman debuted 4 months prior. Plus, both were already ripping off the same guy, and both of them were far from the first bat-themed pulp characters at the time. And the idea that he inspired Daredevil I find too much of a reach. Dr Mid-Nite I can definitely see the resemblance, and while Two-Face doesn’t have much similarities to Tony Quinn past the origin and the anti-hero aspects, “handsome crusading District Attorney disfigured after getting splashed in the face by acid goes on a rampage” is not exactly vague enough of a concept to pass for coincidence. Two-Face debuted just 3 years after Black Bat, while Bat was still a pretty successful character (he managed to outlast nearly every other pulp hero), so it’s very possible that Kane and Finger had a look at Black Bat’s origin and used it as the basis for their Jekyll & Hyde-themed villain. 

Okay so, that’s that for Black Bat, but what’s the character actually like? What’s there to him other than historical oddities? Does he have what it takes to survive and thrive again in a modern landscape?

The thing that sticks out to me about Black Bat is that he is a pulp character who feels like he was designed specifically with the arrival of the superheroes in mind, as when comic book superheroes began to carve a space for themselves, one of the responses the pulps had was to put out new heroes intended to be a part of both worlds, hybrids of pulp heroes and superheroes who could try to capture success in either format, characters like Ka-Zar and Black Hood who started in one and then jumped to the other. 

Black Bat’s got a lot of the usual hallmarks of dark detective pulp heroes and his adventures are largely him battling ordinary criminal masterminds and gangsters, but he’s got an iconic costume, he’s got a super dramatic origin story that the stories keep coming back to (unlike most pulp heroes whose origin stories are not usually mentioned), and he’s got superpowers brought in the aftermath of a tragic accident. Not just skills anyone can have by training hard enough, actual superpowers, even if they don’t see as much usage as his pulp hero skillset. 

To the world that knew about him, Anthony Quinn, once a virile, upstanding representative of law forces whose name had held terror for evil doers, was now an impotent blind man whose sight had been permanently destroyed by acid thrown at him in a crowded courtroom, and whose face was horribly scarred about the eyes. For a long time he had seemed to live in a world apart.

Such actually had been the case during the long months when Tony Quinn had lived in a sea of blackness. But Nature had been as kind as possible, giving him something in return for what had been taken from him. As a result he had since realized that his senses of feel, smell, and hearing were far more acute than formerly. Under his sensitive fingers whatever he touched had begun to tell strange new stories. His sense of smell had sharpened. His ears had become the ears of a hound, picking up with ease and sifting multitudinous sounds that once had been inaudible.

More months had gone by until, in the darkness of a lonely night, a girl with golden hair and blue eyes hadcome in through an open window like an angel out of nowhere to offer him hope where eye specialists had said there was no hope. Through a delicate operation by an unknown small town surgeon the corneas of the eyes of Carol Baldwin's policeman father - dying from paralysis brought on by a gangster bullet - had been given to him. An extraordinary thing had occurred. When at last Tony Quinn had been allowed to remove the bandages, he had been astounded by the miracle that had happened. His were the eyes of darkness as well as the eyes of day!

Interestingly also, Black Bat actually became one of the most prolific of pulp heroes when brought over to Germany. When German publishers Pabel decided to reprint a couple of Black Bat novels for the KRIMINAL-ROMAN serial, they discovered “Die Schwarzen Fledermaus” was somehow so popular that in 1962, they retitled it Fledermaus (Bat) and ran with it, reprinting all the original 60+ stories and then, when those ran out, creating 900 more at least. In fact, it seems like they are still publishing Black Bat stories even today, and now that he’s public domain it’s something just about anyone could get into.

Problem with that is, it’s not easy to conceive of The Black Bat having any kind of substantial popularity again, when he’s doomed by design to always be compared to Batman, to always just be seen as first glance as “oh it’s earless Batman with Daredevil’s shtick and Two-Face’s backstory”, and of course he doesn’t have a chance in hell of playing catch-up to the popularity of those characters (well, at least outside of Germany). Whatever niche he could have as an alternative to Batman is also null by the fact that said niche of Not-Batmen is already filled out quite extensively. He doesn’t have an incredibly strong personality the way Batman and The Shadow do, nor is he, despite being ostensibly a serial killer, enough of a trigger-happy anti-hero to latch on to the appeal of characters like The Spider or Punisher. The latest Black Bat comic run by Dynamite played up his ruthlessness, outlaw status and drew him on the covers perpetually holding guns and often with a big creepy smile. But smiling murder pulp Batman is already a niche that Midnighter fills considerably better than Black Bat ever could. So what’s left for him?

If I had to find a unique niche for Black Bat, I’d play his unique traits in ways that separate him from the super characters that ran with those later. I’d ditch the whole “oh woe is me I’m poor and helpless because I’m blind” shtick that’s terribly condescending to actually blind people, and make him at least truly blind in some form. Maybe he’s blind by day and by night he sees too much, or maybe his vision has some terrible secrets that go beyond mere enhanced eyesight. Maybe his powers are growing and expanding in ways he doesn’t know where they will lead him. But alongside that, one take on the character could be based on the fact that he really has nothing to lose. He is not Batman, he is not The Shadow, he isn’t Daredevil, he’s got little reputation to speak of, and he’s never going to be any of those characters.

He’s lost the position he’s coveted his whole life, he’s lost the respect of his peers, his former professional ethics don’t mean shit now, he’s had a long and painful brush with darkness that scarred him for life in ways both literal and metaphorical, and in the aftermath he’s begun spontaneously developing abilities that would be incredibly painful and uncomfortable for an average person to just develop without years of growing up with them. And then, a mysterious woman walked through his window one day, gave him the eyes of a dead man, and now he sees things in ways no person was ever supposed to, and now he goes around at night terrorizing and killing criminals in an animal-themed costume. 

The most he has to lose currently is the life of his sidekicks who’ve worked very hard to help him heal and focus and find a new purpose, which only means that they are on the chopping block everytime you wanna give a gut punch to Tony Quinn. And no matter how famous, or even great, his adventures are, or how prolific and successful he is or even has been, he’s always going to be the Bat-themed superhero who couldn’t cut it. He’s Not-Batman, stripped of all the grand splendour and allmighty self righteousness and reputation and role as foundational figure of an entire genre and most popular bestest superhero of all time ever praise be thy Bat God, sharing more traits with one of Batman’s most personal and tragic villains than the titular character.

That’s not an indictment, that just means that Black Bat ultimately should have more narrative freedom, since he is unburdened by reputation and status. He is a public domain nobody best known by his association with characters who eclipse him in popularity, who’s always going to have that accursed Bat prefix and costume to damn him by association, so why not work with it? He could be the character you go into to tell stories that you couldn’t tell with Batman or other big name superheroes, the grimiest, sickest, even weirdest crime tales of all. What does the Black Bat have to lose?

Those who have nothing to lose stand everything to gain, after all.

Also, Masks 2 once presented an alternative version of the character called The Black Bats, who dresses like a baseball player and dual-wields baseball bats, which is nutty and I’d definitely prefer Black Bat to ditch the generic pulp hero guns and instead just go crazy batting everything in his way.

“I gotta tell ya, this is pretty terrific! Hahahahah, yeah!”

[naromoreau]

Blind Date

Thank you so much to my amazing friend @outranks for betaing this and encourage me in every step to write this. Also a big thanks to the lovely @starsandskies for giving me her insight of John which I greatly appreciate.  _________________________ Pairing: Rook (Not a Deputy yet) x John Seed Rating: SFW, no warnings.  Pre-Game events

To abandon her old life was the hardest decision she'd taken knowing fully well it was the only way to get out of that shroud of toxicity. David had sworn with words that had punched her in the gut, not to leave her alone until she'd finally forgive him, something Rook knew was not gonna happen in the next month. Year. Hell, probably never. It wasn't as much the act as the treason, the lies and deceit that now felt like venom sluicing down her throat. It was wrath and it was consuming. It shouldn't hurt like this, she was better off, yet head tripped over heart 99 times out of 100. 

Not knowing where to go, calling Kim had seemed a brilliant idea. Much to her chagrin they hadn't seen each other in a long time, despite have been partners in crime in school, and pretty much sharing the tiniest detail about each other’s life once they were away. Those phone bills had been sky up high. Even after she married Nick, who was everything Rook could’ve asked for Kim, they were still as thick as thieves. 

So, in seconds Mrs. Rye had had everything decided, coaxing Rook to move back to Montana where they’d be waiting for her. It sounded like the perfect set up. Away from the constant hubbub and chaos New Jersey was. 

Her old Chevy roared up the highway, as the corn fields passed in a blur. It’d been a hell of a long trip but somewhere between the sight of the far away mountains and the mauve streaks of the sky, Rook felt a bit more at ease. She spotted the sign of Fall’s End at the distance and decided to drop by the closest grocery shop to buy the stuff she needed to prepare her killer spaghetti bolognesa to thank Kim and Nick to allow her to stay with them. Her mouth watered at the thought. 

The car skid to stop just outside the only visible store Rook could find. The place was small, crammed with supplies and the man in charge was attentive and polite. She glanced around. There was just another person aside her, who now fidgeted with something standing next to a pile of toilet paper. Rook looked at him as she passed by and her brows arched. He was definitely the most handsome man she'd seen. Just a little taller than her, trim and lush beard and brown hair slicked back. When he tipped his head up, a breath caught in her throat. Blue eyes clear as country sky stared back at her, icy hue making her words stutter in her mind. 

The corner of his lip quirked slightly in a smile that she decoded as a form of remote acknowledgement of her presence, so she nodded and made an stately retreat. 

Right. Pasta. 

It was ridiculous. The way her knees trembled a little when she finally seized the pasta and the tomatoes. She didn't know the man. For all Rook knew he could be married, engaged, or plainly not into her. And really. She was just tangling her thoughts when the reality was they were nobodies to each other. 

Rook sighed.

The only thing left to pick was the parmesan. Memories of her mom's recipe huddled in her mind once she stood in front of the cheeses and picked the one she remembered. 

"You don't want that, darling, it's nearly… inedible." 

It was that man. His voice was sinfully sweet, a tinge of pleased satisfaction falling thick from his tongue. 

"Excuse me?" 

The fact that he just called her 'darling' before insulting her childhood memories, kicked her sudden infatuation to the back of her mind. 

"That… cheese you just picked-- it's definitely heinous, a crime to use it in a good bolognese," he said, looking inquisitively at the ingredients she carried clutched to her chest. "This one on the other hand…" A tattooed hand offered her a different one, as she watched a smug grin come alive on his face. 

"Thanks. But I think I'll go with this one."

A wave of annoyance was starting to shatter her polite smile, as she sidestepped him, walking to the check out. 

"Suit yourself, dear."

Rook knew it was far better to ignore the taunt, but again, she wasn’t known for being the smart type. “Are you a professional cheff perhaps?”

The man just laughed. A short, sharp sound that made a shudder wrack her spine despite her best efforts. “I’m a lawyer.”

Huh. “Ah, well, yeah-- thanks.”

“I’m not wrong, dear.”

She clenched her jaw, waving a goodbye as his final words brushed her on her way to the register. 

She was about to leave the store, when the same honeyed voice greeted her from the store’s TV. 

"The salvation is within your reach, join us at Eden’s Gate--" 

‘Lawyer my ass’. The man was a fucking preacher. 

“Fucking televangelist.”

Apparently you couldn’t trust people in this town. 

___________________

Hope County was as idyllic as a bucolic painting but far more interesting. Her life in Rye's household was proving to be oddly cheerful even if half the time Rook was forced into the pleasant inaction of a well-tended guest. The grey dawns creeped one after the other and slowly, slowly, she started regaining a little of her previous balance. Thick amounts of anger, heavy as tar, fizzled out with every day she spent trudging across golden barley fields. 

That was, whenever Kim and Nick had to go to business in town, leaving her on her own. Otherwise, Rook was always hedged by activities ranging from helping Kim to administer the property, to assist Nick with never ending tuning and 'reparations' of his plane. Which Rook suspected had a bit more mileage than was safe, not that she would’ve voiced that thought in front of its owner. The man was head over heels for Carmina, the seaplane. 

"Pass me the torque wrench, Rookie.” 

Rook heard Nick’s huff from beneath one side of the plane, where he was bent trying to determine the source of the jarring sound of metal scratching metal everytime he turned on the engine. 

She fumbled in the tool box until it produced what she was looking for. "Here."

"It was just routine crop-dusting," he mumbled more to himself than Rook, "dunno what coulda got wrong."

"Bet you'll figure it out soon enough."

"I'm fuckin' counting on it, tell you that-- A friend and I go on testing flies on the weekends, y'know?" 

"More like dick measurement contests, but with planes, you mean." Kim chided in carrying a tray of sandwiches and three beers. 

Nick almost jumped on the spot, hitting his head with the open door of the plane. "It ain't like that, Kimmie, you know that."

"Yeah, right." Kim rolled her eyes an sipped her beer, an amused smile tugging her lips. 

"John's a good guy," Nick said. 

"Who’s John?" Truth was that Rook wasn't as interested as to actually want to know, but she didn't want to seem rude, after how amazing they'd been with her. Asking didn't cost anything. 

"A guy who moved here 'bout couple years ago," Nick said, "nice guy but keeps pretty much to himself except for--" 

"The dick measurement contests," Rook and Kim offered in unison with devilish twin grins, the words a slap on Nick's face. 

"Very funny you two," Nick groused. 

Kim sauntered to Nick and kissed him, softly, nothing more than a chaste peck on the lips. The way Nick clung to her waist, receiving every bit of what she was giving with complete rapture, as if they hadn't  kissed almost a hundred times already that day, struck Rook right in the middle of her current train of thoughts. Even in their best moments, David had never been like that, had never shown an ounce of the joy that reeked from Nick every time he held Kim. 

He'd never loved her and now she knew it. Suddenly Rook felt ill. 

"C'mon," Kim said with a dreamy smile, holding Nick's hand, "let's have some lunch."

-------------------

A month went by in a heartbeat and Rook started thinking about getting a job and settling there. Coming back to her roots, in a sense. 

“I’m glad to see you smiling again, honey,” Kim said after putting in the oven the result of their hard work.  

She had been trying for the last half hour to teach Rook how to make the perfect crust for an apple pie, after she ate six slices and demanded to know the magic behind it. Now they both sat at the isle, sipping two cold ones. 

“Yeah, kinda hard not to in a place like this-- I mean it’s… breathtaking.” 

Kim smirked. “It has its ups and downs, like every place I guess. You never meet too many new people.”

“But I mean that’s good in a way, right? You get to deepen your relationship with the ones you already know?” 

It was so different from the rhythm of living in New Jersey. Always fast. A ceaseless flow of new things that after a while were always not enough. Like David. And maybe that’d been the problem. 

“You thinking about that asshole, huh?”

Rook just sighed. “I mean-- maybe that was the problem, we moved in together too fast, I don’t know--”

Kim set her beer down, and placed one hand over one of her own. “No, sweetie. The guy was always an asshole, trying to pretend he wasn’t one. Knowing him more-- less, it wouldn’t have made any difference.”

Rook let out a soft, dry chuckle. She knew that, but trying to understand how all went to hell in a handbasket was helping her to realize this time, she wasn’t the failure. 

“I should’ve listened to you, Kimmie.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not your signature move,” Kim said, voice tinged with amusement.

Rook laughed, the joke unspooling the frayed, worn out tension curling up inside her. 

“How do you meet good people?” Rook asked, not really expecting an answer. 

“I guess-- I guess it’s a matter of you know-- just knowing people.” Kim arched a brow. “Do you wanna start dating again?”

“See, I don’t know. Yes? No? I don’t--” Rook sighed. “I just wanna know people, like you said, and maybe then-- who knows.”

Kim nodded along her stuttered monologue, her eyes glinting with what Rook identified as a sudden idea. She knew Kim’s ideas were to be feared or celebrated. “What about John?”

“Who’s John?” It took Rook point-three seconds to realize who Kim was talking about. “Nick’s weird plane friend?”

“He’s not weird and he’s a good man.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that. I mean--”

“He’s really good looking,” Kim said, pointedly.

“So you think I can be convinced with the promise of a pretty face, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously, Kimmie, you think so little of me,” Rook said with faux offense, sporting a half-grin. She wasn’t totally opposed to the idea and she trusted Kim above all. Maybe this could be a good onset, and it didn't matter if things went sideways or if the guy ended up being a self absorbed prick that just took a swim in a barrel of cologne: it was a step in the right direction. “Fine, but make sure he’s into this too. I don’t wanna spend time with a guy who feels I ambushed him.”

“No worries, honey. I’ll take care of everything.”

__________________________________

 She admired the view in the mirror for a few long seconds, trying to convince herself it was not such a bad idea. Rook had never considered herself beautiful, but she was pleased by her reflection. The plain navy blue dress she'd packed almost without thinking, seemed fitting yet comfortable which was exactly what Rook wanted. She didn't want him to think she was trying too hard, especially if he wasn't going to return the favor. The silky fabric caressed her fingers as she glided them over the skirt, trying to fix any visible creasings. The nervous squirming in her stomach intensified as she went down the stairs, to meet the Ryes. 

"Ain't you a sight for sore eyes, honey," Kim chirped, with a big grin on her face. 

Rook tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, painfully conscious of her own blushing. "You think so?" 

"Bet your money on it." Kim gave her a reassuring smile, before holding her hands. "Nick's gonna take you there-- John insisted you two should have dinner at his ranch which I think is nice, 'cause the Spread Eagle is good and Old Gary is a nice guy but the place isn't suited for a proper date."

Rook quirked a brow. "He has a ranch?" 

"Yeah, I think you'll like it."

This was it. The physical display showing she was kicking her past to the curb, ready to start anew. Rook blew air hard, shaking her head and her carefully combed curls.

"It'll be fine, honey, and you can always call either me or Nick if you want an early pick up for whatever reason, m'kay?" 

Rook nodded before hugging Kim. 

"Thanks, Kimmie-- for everything."

Kim's eyes glinted, smiling warmly. "Go have fun."

-----------------------------------

Rook shivered when a current of wind blew up, her dress whipped around her body by it. The night sizzled with warmth, suiting for the end of July, yet Rook clutched her arms as if it was freezing before stepping through the threshold of the house. 

The door had been left open, a clear statement of how peaceful and quiet this side of the County was or of how much John trusted his neighbours. She could feel her heart drumming under every inch of skin, from her toes up to her temples. Her eyes swiveled down to the perfectly set table at the side of the great living room, and she let out a small gasp of surprise. It was definitely far more intimate than any scenario she'd expected. 

The room was dimly lit and she almost missed the man standing next to the fireplace with his back turned. 

When she took a step forward, the click of her heels against the floor seemed to snap him out of his silence and he swirled to face her. 

Oh. Oh no. 

"Ah, Rook, it's such a pleasure--" 

The words were cut in a dry halt, while a glaze of confusion set on his face. Apparently he was as dumbstruck as she was. 

Rook was trying her best to not let her jaw hit the floor, because "plane John" was the "parmesan guy", as she referred to him in the abridged version she'd given to Kim. In Rook's book the guy was a total jerk and a liar. Definitely not someone she wanted to spend the evening with. 

He recovered quicker than her. "I didn’t know you were staying with the Ryes," he said with a saccharine voice. 

"There was no reason for you to know it,” she said with her chin held high. "I'm sorry-- this was a mistake--" 

"On the contrary, my dear," he said, taking a few steps in her direction, his eyes drinking in the sight of her, "I believe this is a very right encounter." 

Rook gulped despite herself. He had no damn right to be this handsome: perfectly tailored black trousers and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he could've passed for a model if he wanted to. She bit her lip to cut the spell. 

"You lied to me," Rook blurted out. 'And insulted my choice of cheese,' she wanted to add but it didn't seem like a proper claim. 

His brow creased. "I beg your pardon?" 

"You told me you were a lawyer but I saw you on that televangelical infomercial." 

She didn’t know what she was expecting but it certainly wasn't him huffing a laugh. "So you jumped to the conclusion I should've been lying because lawyers aren't men of God?" 

Rook wasn't feeling as confident in her assertion as a minute ago, nevertheless, she retaliated. "Actually the opposite, I think."

John finally broke in an honest, clear, ringing laugh that was as annoying as it was enticing. What a contradiction this man was. 

"Well, normally you'd be right, but it does happen that I am both," he said, walking to the table and reaching a hand in her direction. "I can tell you all about it if you stay with me for dinner."

Rook weighed the options in speed mode and agreed. After all saying no over the parmesan, would've been a whole new level of petty even for her. 

She took the hand drawn in her direction and her cheeks flushed when he closed his fingers around it. It felt warm, and a little rough, and something wild fluttered in her stomach at the contact. It'd been ages since she'd felt like that, like the central focus of attention, like he was the lucky one having her there. 

Her heart tumbled again when he reluctantly let go of her hand to pull the chair for her. A small gesture done with the ease of something that came natural, not just for show. 

"Thank you," she said. 

He nodded and flashed another dashing smirk in her direction. Thank God she was sitting because by now her knees were jello, courtesy of those striking blue eyes. 

"I have to say I wasn't expecting my date to be the beautiful stranger I met a month ago," he said in a frank tone, sitting at her side. "I often wondered if you were still around."

Rook almost let out a goofy giggle. She shouldn't have let it rattle her that much but the fact that he called her beautiful, aside from making wonders for her ego still hurt by the betrayal, in that matter of factly tone, just brushed aside some of her doubts about him. 

"Do you say the same to all your dates?" She quipped. 

By some magic trick her question made his composed manners crack a little. A light blush spread over his nose and cheeks. "I haven't had a date in years if I have to be honest." 

For the first time that night, she smiled at him. "Then we're in the same boat."

"Better to say, the same plane," he said serving her a slice of a handmade lasagna, the smell making her stomach rumble of hunger. 

"I bet you are as head over heels with your plane as Nick is with his," she scoffed. 

"Not true, darling," he said, "as much as I like Affirmation, my plane that is, things are just meanings to an end." He leveled his gaze with hers, almost breathtaking under the candlelights. "I reserve love just for people."

Rook shuddered under his veiled words and for a moment found herself wondering how would it be to be loved by him. It was silly, and utterly naïve. She was floundering in spirals of ifs when the truth was he was only being polite and she was being delusional. 

"Shall we?" She asked gesturing to her plate, swallowing her inconvenient thoughts. 

John's eyes lingered for a few seconds on her, his mouth quirked in a smirk. "Of course."

-------------

By the end of the meal Rook had learned everything there was to know about John Seed the lawyer and PR of Eden's Gate Project. 

She wasn't a woman of faith, considering herself mostly a respectful audience rather than willing participant but John had been so convincing she'd agreed to join him for the Sunday service next week. 

A pang of regret assaulted her for thinking bad of him for so long when in all honesty he seemed a good person, if well, a bit overeager about his beliefs, culinary and religious alike. The whole night had left her under the impression than despite his candor on the questions she asked, there were a lot of things unsaid especially surrounding his upbringing. 

She knew he had siblings, part of Eden’s Gate as well, and that his whole life now revolted around it. He seemed too perfect to be truth and when the night was over, she found herself wanting this wasn't just a one time thing. 

"I had a really great time," she said taking her phone out of her purse to check the time and dial for Kim. 

"It was a pleasure-- no, a delight, to have you with me tonight and I hope is not a bold assumption to think this was not a one time only thing-- or am I wrong?"

Rook's heart pounded heavily in her chest. "No, you’re not," she said with a soft smile. 

This man was certainly in his own league.  When her eyes finally fell to her lockscreen, she bit back a scream. It was 2:00 a.m. 

Probably seeing the distress on her face, John leaned forward, a hand placed over hers. "Is something wrong? "

"It's-- it's 2:00 in the morning!" she yelped, "I can't -- damn, I can't call Kim right now, it'd be so rude."

He huffed a short laugh. "Don't worry, darling. I'll take you there."

He stood up, offering her a hand that she took quickly, thinking about how inconsiderate she'd been with the Ryes. At least she had her own key. 

"Thank you, so much, I don't -- I don't wanna bother you though, it's quite far."

"Nonsenses, my dear. It's my pleasure."

She hadn't realized he was still holding her hand, when he stopped right at the threshold of the house. 

"I know--" He chuckled, and cleared his throat, clearly nervous, and Rook's knees bucked at his proximity, "I know I have no right asking this of you, but-- may I kiss you, Rook?" 

There was a slight waver in his otherwise confident request, Rook found endearing. She would've been lying if she said she hadn't toyed with the idea more and more as the night progressed, imagining the scrape of his beard over her chin, the hard press of his mouth over hers-- 

"I'd very much like that," Rook answered, thanking her stars she wasn't croaking out of pure nervousness. 

She felt her cheeks burning as he closed the distance between them, painfully slow, blue eyes delving into hers as if to pry into her soul. 

His hand slid up, thumbing at her jaw, fingers resting against her neck, warm and gentle. Rook's heart galloped when he leaned in, not diverting her eyes from those magnetizing blues. Her breath came in shallow exhales when finally his lips brushed hers, soft and slightly damp. Tentatively first, shy eagerness that untethered with every second passed. 

Rook closed her eyes, taking in the sensations, flitting and stark, careening through her. Kissing someone hadn't felt like this in a long time if not ever. A kiss capable of send jolts of pure exhilaration and new-formed vertigo to the farest corner of her being. She could feel every inch of his chest pressed to hers, warm and solid, his tongue sliding along the seams of her mouth, and every movement drove her further away from heartache, further away from the feeling of hollowness. So quickly, so effectively. It felt so right. And it was scary. 

She broke the kiss, gauging the impact of how screwed up she was. 

"Is everything alright?" John asked, lips swollen, breathing coming out in small puffs. The whole sight and the pitch of his rough voice wreaking havoc on Rook's gut. 

"Perfectly." She allowed herself a genuine smile that he promptly returned, holding her hand and finally guiding her to the black SUV parked at the garage. 

"Thank you for that, my dear," he said with a pitch that made her half-formed hopes, gain reality. "Now, let's take you home."

Hope County looked beautiful and daunting at night. Dark blue scattered with silver glimmer of distant stars.

Sitting at John's side Rook felt alive. She could even say she forgave David. She didn't care at all about it anymore, because if it meant coming here, and coming here meant meeting John, then it wasn't all tragedy. 

Living here was going to be perfect, and she was going to seize every second of it. In that moment John turned his head to look at her and she was struck by the sheer glee waving back at her from those clear blue pools. A light squeeze of her hand as a silent reassurance. 

Of what? Rook wasn't sure yet, but she was determined to find out.

[eisa96]

So, I make this post to discuss the potential that Sasuke and Naruto are indeed in a very unhappy marriage. (It’s not a potential on Sasuke’s part. It’s already been shown to be a dysfunctional family no matter how much the SS fans want to claim otherwise) This post was inspired after I read a post from somewhere in tumblr that opened my mind to start writing about this and also my observation on the Boruto Movie (yes, I am late to the fandom since I have an inner turmoil to watch or not to watch the movie that has been said to be a sns movie to those who have watched it, but I made the decision to give a shot much to my reluctance).

Warning, this is going to be long. And once again, this is merely my observation on this movie. So, umm, you’ve been warned. See under the cut to know more about it.

It was rather interesting to say the least. Finally watching the movie, here are the observations that I’ve seen so far from it:

-          Boruto is in his rebelling age where he has a hate-love relationship with his father, Naruto. It’s very common for kids to act on their own accord when their parents are not around to give them the proper affection and care that they desire, hence causing them to have an impulsive behaviour. This can be seen throughout the movie when Boruto talks badly about Naruto and mocking him not having parents when he was younger, thus the bratty trait is born.

-          Boruto did have a warm family, having a young sister that adores you, having a mother that cares for your wellbeing and having a family that loves you the way you are but the only downfall is the absence of a father; someone that he can look up to, someone he can admire and be proud of, someone to talk with. He hasn’t have that, evidence that Naruto is too busy with his ‘work’ to even have a time for his supposed happy family.

-          The other point is this isn’t the first time it happened. Boruto beforehand warned Naruto to not miss his daughter’s birthday and got rather angry when it turned out that his dad is using a shadow clone as a replacement to place him instead. Why I said this isn’t the first time? Well, from the close-up photos of the Uzumaki-Hyuuga household (I don’t like stating that), it can be shown that Naruto also didn’t attend Boruto’s birthday, leaving the three of them celebrating the day when Boruto was born without yet the father by their side. And it gets sadder from this. Think about it, why did Boruto make his way in warning Naruto in the first place? Why isn’t Hinata, his wife that people keep saying that she is an understanding person; did anything to make this all better? Defending her husband when she knows that he was in the wrong here not the son. Why didn’t she make the effort to talk about this with her supposed beloved husband? I can only think about two options; one will be that she did talked about it, only to be brush by Naruto by exclaiming he was tired, being a Hokage is a tough job, promising he will not do it again and etc or two; she didn’t since she was shown to be on Naruto’s side more than her own son. I can bet on option 2 because I can’t seem to see her having the guts to talk about the matter. THESE EVENTS HAPPENED A LOT OF TIME IN THE PAST AND IN THE PRESENT.

-          Naruto is not been shown to be a shitty dad. He was shown to be this miserable and guilt-induced person. He was not the same cheerful, optimistic person like he is in the manga before the corruption that is chapter 699-700. He looks tired, his shoulders are sagging, his posture is bad and the way he talks isn’t as bright as he used to be. This is the same person who dreams to become Hokage, the same person who wanted to be acknowledge by the villagers, the same person who  has made speeches about love, and the same person who understood people’s feelings more than he can consumed. And yet, he looks like as if the whole world is on his shoulders. This present Naruto Uzumaki isn’t the same as he was from the past. He is avoiding his family. I repeat. He is avoiding them. Every time, he was involved with them, he looks guilty, knowing quite well that he fucked up. He’s aware of that and yet he did it again and again without any explanation. It was shown that he is also taking energy drinks or vitamins. (I don’t know what those brown bottles are but I bet it’s for boosting your stamina) He is in doubt, very tired with everything. He must have been in his office a lot of times, the fact that Shikamaru went and softly told his friend to go home to his family. Normally, when a person have a good life with his family, he would take that as a yes and went back home without second thoughts. But this Naruto contemplate about it and still was shown in his office even at night, muttering that yes, he fucked up again.

-          And this is where the SNS fandom starts to say that the movie is SNS even though the movie focuses on Boruto thus the title. Sasuke second appearance in this movie is when he went to Naruto’s house to speak to him or just to meet him, only to be met with a sudden punch by Boruto himself and as always, manage to counter it with his hand, resulting Boruto in having that awed expression in his face. After finding out that Naruto isn’t at his home, he immediately starts to walk away and went to the Hokage’s mansion direction. This where all the moments took place.

           -          Sasuke picking up Naruto’s old genin jacket and bring it along with him to give it to the owner after seeing it on the ground battered and covered with dirt.

           -          Naruto catching the scroll with his hand like he was expecting that. In sync may I add.

           -          Sasuke and Naruto casually starting talking to each other and falling into a comfortable rhythm.

           -          Sasuke using his petname that he reserved only for Naruto; ‘Usuratonkachi’ in a soft and affectionate way.

           -          Naruto for the very first time been shown smiling, looking genuinely happy and refreshed.

           -          Naruto yet again, choosing to decipher the scroll that Sasuke gave to him rather than going home. ( a lot like when he would leave everything just to go together with Sasuke  in a ‘long mission’)

           -          Naruto started to smile more when he is around Sasuke and acting like the Naruto that we love and knew.

           -          Also Naruto and Sasuke comparing who Boruto mostly look/act like, surprising me for a couple of seconds to even hear them talking about Naruto’s son as if he is their own. (okay, I stop there for a while before I get to them soon)

-          Back to Boruto, he declared himself to Sasuke to be his disciple, in which Sasuke refused to do it if Boruto can master the rasengan. I can see him as a modern kid that cannot live without technology around him and a kid that follows new fashion trends. And oh goodie, look where we have here; Sarada stalking Boruto everytime he trains with Konohamaru in mastering the rasengan -_-. (Why is the colour of Konohamaru’s eyes are blue?? I thought it was between brown and black??)

-          More bratty Boruto trying to bring Naruto down and prodding Sasuke to give him his dad’s secrets, in which case, his weakness. It’s weird how Boruto approaches Sasuke about this matter and not his mother. I mean, shouldn’t Hinata knows about Naruto’s everything, from his strength to his weakness?? Boruto must have approach her first or he didn’t thought about it since his mom defends his father more than she could bargain with. It was sort of looking at a role reversal here. In this movie, Sasuke was been implied to be protective of Naruto, telling Boruto that instead of wanting to know his father’s weaknesses, he should be focusing on the present Naruto, showing once again that Naruto is very dear to him and he is indeed in fact knows more about Naruto than anyone else in the entire world. It’s the same as in Gaiden where Naruto is the one who talks and reassures Sarada about her father (papa?). Talking so highly of him and knowing him better when he told her that Sasuke didn’t wear glasses when he was younger and that she looks a lot like him. I figure that much because this is Kishimoto’s writing and we all know how he feels about these two.

-          Hinata is been shown irrelevant in this movie, even though she was supposedly Boruto’s mom. It was shown yet again, that she needed to be protected even though she is the princess of the Hyuuga clan and is also a skilled ninja. (I hated that term) Fainted and got injured when she tried to save Naruto (how would you suppose to do that?). Even Sakura is been treated much better than her, showing how she can protect herself, saving people’s lives and healing them along the way. Even she was written better except that part where she got blushy when Sarada tease her about the coming back of her absent husband (Sakura no). I don’t know about you but Kishimoto is being very intentional writing Hinata like this. She is also been shown to be selfish, only caring about Naruto when her own flesh and blood son can get killed in this retrieving the Hokage back mission. Did she forget about her son cheating on the Chuunin exam? He could get killed from this. She could just stop him but no, she didn’t. Instead she stayed behind, praying that Naruto will be safe and sound and also her son too but mainly Naruto. Boruto is a genin. He is in much higher risk than Naruto. The chances of him getting back are low if it wasn’t for the other Kages and Sasuke at his side.

-          Sasuke and Naruto are soulmates. That much can be seen in the movie. When everyone is looking rather defeated, Sasuke seems to be very calm about it. Only to be revealed that he can sense Naruto’s chakra even from miles away, confirming that Naruto is very much alive. Sasuke catching Naruto and placing his hand on his back. Naruto noticing Sasuke first then Boruto. The boys fighting side by side and very in sync with each other. Naruto knowing how to use Sasuke’s sword without fail. (He must have been with Sasuke  or have a spar with him for him to know to use to sword so flawlessly and without any difficulty) Naruto once again smiling when he’s with Sasuke and that goes to the other as well. Both them having a calm conversation even after battling the villain (can’t remember the name) while watching Boruto making the final blow. Let’s not forget that Naruto goes in rage when he caught an injured Sasuke in his arms and started attacking the enemy without giving a second thought, only to be calmed and looking relieved when Sasuke places his hand on Naruto’s arm, silently communicating that he is okay. Everything about the whole fight scene suggested that yes; Sasuke and Naruto are like themselves when they are around each other. I’ve never seen Sasuke been this happy before. He was all smiles during this scene. He playfully banters with Naruto and to get the same receiving end from the other. They were happy and so comfortable with each other that it left me in tears. They were themselves. The Sasuke and Naruto show was back again.

-          Boruto got the good treatment from people around him since he helped finish the villain (I’m having the déjà vu vibe) and also got himself to live broadcast. I’m sitting here like ‘Wow that was fast..’  Didn’t he cheat on the Chuunin exam? Didn’t he get disqualified from being a Chuunin? Didn’t Naruto just straight up said to his face that he isn’t worthy in becoming a ninja? He is been treated like a hero here even though he didn’t have that much of a recognition. Sounds familiar? But then again, this is Konoha we’re talking about so it’s fine. (sarcasm)

-          Naruto is back home with his family and HInata (sigh) once again been shown sewing something that turns out to be Boruto’s torn jacket. Naruto fist bump him when he is running to the Hokage’s mansion and Boruto going on a mission. The end credit rolls.

To be honest, this whole movie is from my point of view is a big family drama between Naruto and Boruto. When one pulls, the other one pushes. One is keeping everything together while the other is falling deeper and deeper into his own self. The one who pull the two together, yes you guess it; Sasuke Uchiha. He’s the one who brings the two of them closer without even realizing it. He acted more like a parent to Boruto than his own father. He approaches, he teaches, he disciplines him when no one will and could. Not HInata. Not Naruto, who is guilty with all the things happening to him. Sasuke’s the one who give Boruto the spirit to save his dad back. It’s very interesting and telling if you watch it without the shipping goggles and also without the judgement.

This is where my conclusion lies which I wanted to discuss with all of you.

Naruto is not happy with his family. Same goes for Sasuke.

The reason I’m telling you all this is because this is bothering me ever since I watched that movie.

Especially on Naruto’s part. Why is it he feel guilty in the first place? Why is it he’s been showed to be unhappy with his family? Why is it that even though he becomes the Hokage, he isn’t very happy about it anymore?

All the movie ever shows us is that Naruto isn’t very happy with his life.

The signals are there in the observation that I’ve made above:

-          Naruto is seen in his office most of his time.

-          Boruto warning Naruto to not forget about Himawari’s birthday in which he fucked up, not only to not go and celebrate her birthday but instead send a shadow clone to be his replacement.

-          He was seen feeling guilty about it, slumping behind his desk.

-          It’s been implied that this isn’t the first time it happened. It happened a lot of times.

-          Hinata stopping Boruto from going to Naruto, showing that she have dealt with Boruto’s bad behaviour a lot of times.

-          And also possibly raise the kids mostly alone, judging from the way Boruto acts around his dad and Himawari having seen pretty upset about it.

-          Naruto contemplating to go back home or not, only to decide the latter because of a scroll.

-          Naruto is tired, that much is self-explanatory. He just looks so tired.

-          Naruto been showed to not know how to properly congratulate his own son on his success in getting into the second round.

-          He’s awkward around him.

-          He doesn’t know how to deal with Boruto. (What happened?)

-          The atmosphere of the household is just so lonely. It just screams unhappiness.

 -          Even though it was shown that Naruto did go back home, he might do the same thing again in the future.

This is from the movie but I heard there are hints in the Naruto Gaiden as well that this family aren’t the ideal family that NH fans claim it to be. Take it with a grain of salt but I also heard from the Boruto manga that it just confirms that Naruto is in fact having family problems.

I don’t have to go on Sasuke’s part since it’s rather plainly obvious in the eyes that the family isn’t healthy. The dynamics are all over the place and the three of them have little interaction even if it was shown that Sakura is there with Sasuke watching the view before the end song credit. (Or is it after?)

He acts like he usually does around Sakura, expressionless. At this rate, Sasuke could see her more like an acquaintance than a wife. He was all smiles in this movie but why is it hard for him to smile around his wife? He even smiled around Boruto during the fight scene and looking proud of the kid when explaining about his unique rasengan. (This isn’t Kuroko no Basketball. Rasengan can’t just disappear and came bite you in the ass when it approaches you from nowhere. You know what, never mind.)

Masashi wrote the movie as if Naruto and Sasuke‘s salvation is around each other. They both look extremely comfortable around each other. Both are very in sync during the battle. Both of them acted like themselves when they are around the each other. Both are very protective with the other. Again showing that they are indeed soulmates in any way possible. Is it intentional? Or is this pandering to the fans?

Both I guess since he wrote the two of them rather in character when they are around each other and as much as I hate admitting it, I enjoyed watching it.

This is where I’m gonna say that Naruto and Sasuke might be in a secret relationship. As I mentioned before, Boruto seems to be trying to keep the family not falling apart. He’s angry, he’s cold towards his father and he was also so confused on why his mother defending his dad so much. On the other hand, Naruto. Naruto isn’t trying anymore. He looks as if he wanted to leave all things behind and just go somewhere far away.

That’s the impression I’m having towards the Boruto!Naruto. Whereas Sasuke only be shown around Naruto and Boruto and less with Sarada and Sakura, his family. His own flesh and blood. Why it is that Sasuke and Sakura doesn’t look remotely like husband and wife and that Sarada is so chill about it. (She must have known something. She can’t just forgive and forget on the things that her father did to her and her mother.) I can just say that Sasuke and Sakura aren’t married. In fact, it looks more like an arrangement. And before you could deny the possibilities, I just wanted to say that yes, the SS family is also a one big family drama.

Masashi didn’t confirm who Sarada’s real mother is, even though all signs points to Karin. (That super strength ability can’t just come from nowhere. Sarada seems to have it by genetics and we know that super strength came from the senju/uzumaki clan. Sakura isn’t born with it. It took her years to finally learn the jutsu.) In fact, he wanted to leave all the imaginations to the fans. Why would he do that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just say that Sakura is the real mom? Why the confusion? Again, this is just to create drama, to pull fans back for nostalgia’s sake, which it went backfires when fans are angry or just not buying the Gaiden books and bullshit anymore. All it ever shows us that Masashi isn’t even trying anymore. He’s showing us how SS isn’t working and shows how shitty Sasuke is as a dad and a husband. He neglected them for 12 years. Didn’t keep contact with Sakura even with letters and appears to be surprise in having a child. Not to mention, Sakura taping her face on a team taka’s picture, only to be found out by Sarada herself and being questioned about it. Sarada is a smart child. She is curious and a little bit mopey. She is bound to suspect something sooner or later if they keep this facade up. The only thing keeping this family not apart is Sasuke stating that because they have Sarada, they are a family.

It’s the same as Naruto’s and Hinata’s situation. The only thing that’s keeping them together is Boruto.

And then there’s the SNS relationship. It was been revealed that Sasuke kept in contact with Naruto through all these years. Writing him letters to inform him about things. Naruto even go so far in wanting to go with Sasuke on that long mission in Gaiden, proving once again that he’s willing to leave everything behind and looking rather sad when Sasuke rejected his offer because he wanted Naruto to protect the village as a Hokage. Naruto also defended Sasuke’s incapability to charge his phone because he has things to do, saying to Shikamaru to cut him some slack.

They could also be meeting in secret since in the Boruto movie, Naruto could use Sasuke’s sword without any difficulty like he’s used to it. They also have a normal conversation. No strains, no awkwardness, no tension. Just two men having a calm conversation after not meeting each other for a long time and allowing themselves to be them. You can’t deny that Sasuke and Naruto love each other more than just a mere friend. They are more than that.

They smiled a lot when they are around the other. Both of them gave the soft, fond look whenever they are near with each other. The kind of look you give when you are with someone that you are comfortable with. The kind of look where you are with someone that you like and fond of. The kind of look where people in love will show around their significant other.

That kind of look.

Does this look like a normal bromance to you?

People keep denying when the SNS supporters said that Boruto shat on NH/SS ship, they really meant it. It was all there for people to see. People keep saying that the SNS fandom is delusional and only care about their ship being canon and are in a romantic relationship. Some even go as far as saying that Boruto is about fixing the relationship between Boruto and Naruto, claiming once again that Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship as brotherly. (Naruto already deny Sasuke as his brother, what more do you want?)

If it was fixing the relationship between the father and son which I do agree with this one, but then again; who fix it?

Like I mentioned before:

The one who pull the two together, yes you guess it; Sasuke Uchiha. He’s the one who brings the two of them closer without even realizing it. He acted more like a parent to Boruto than his own father. He approaches, he teaches, he disciplines him when no one will and could. Not HInata. Not Naruto, who is guilty with all the things happening to him. Sasuke’s the one who give Boruto the spirit to save his dad back.

Sasuke Uchiha. That’s who.

I’m sorry if this got too long, I was about to say my thoughts about the movie only but then my mind and my body just move on its own.

Like I said from before, please feel free to discuss about this. I really wanted to hear your thoughts and opinions on this matter.