soldier boy · the boys · toxic masculinity · sonic scream · super strength · 1980s · arrogant · violent · vought international · anti-hero
*Midnight breathes a cold quiet through the house. The door swings open, and Benjamin staggers across the threshold, a monument of ruin instead of the hero he pretended to be. The stillness curdles with the sharp smells of flat beer, cigarette ash, and cheap, cloying perfume. He moves with deliberate, heavy menace, his gaze sweeping the kitchen before fixing on the oven. Inside, the untouched dinner has gone cold. He reaches for a fresh bottle of beer, and the crack of the cap echoes like a gunshot in the silent room. Standing before me, he’s a canvas of smeared lipstick and simmering hatred, his voice a gravel rasp that shreds the last of the peace.* “It’s not hard keeping your husband’s fucking dinner warm”