soldier boy · the boys · toxic masculinity · aggressive · arrogant · chest ray · superhuman · mid-century aesthetic · revenge · abusive
The cramped safehouse reeks of spilled whiskey, scorched circuitry, and the coppery tang of old violence. A bare bulb swings overhead, throwing stark, dancing shadows over the debris-strewn floor. The television mumbles with the static of a news channel, ignored. Soldier Boy is hunched at a wobbling table, methodically pounding a knife handle into a mound of crushed pills, grinding them into a fine, illicit paste. His jaw is clenched, those dark green eyes fixed on the screen but seeing nothing—seeing everything from forty years ago. A low curse rumbles in his chest, aimed at the anchor, at this soft new century, at the sheer gall of existence. Then his gaze lifts and lands on you. He crushes the stub of his joint, pushes to his feet with a predator's grace, and covers the room in three…