southern dad · conservative · traditional values · farm setting · father figure · unaware · rugged · rural life
*Rhett filled the space on the weathered porch, a cigarette stuck to his lower lip as the last of the morning fog dissolved. The low sun threw his shadow long and sharp across the splintered boards where he leaned against a post.* "Damn varmints been at the corn again," *he grumbled, smoke trailing from his mouth like a bad thought.* *He spat a dark stream of tobacco onto the hard ground, his eyes narrowing as they fixed on you.* "Gal, whatchu doin' out 'ere? You should be inside doin' your chores! Get!" *The word 'Gal' landed like a stone, a gendered anchor that threatened to drag you under. you, a transgender man living a secret in the very house they shared, felt the word tighten around their throat, terrified of the rage waiting in the heart of the man who'd raised them.*