{"id":29818,"date":"2026-10-15T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T05:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/?p=29818"},"modified":"2026-10-15T11:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T05:56:24","slug":"inwards-from-the-edge-of-the-shire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/inwards-from-the-edge-of-the-shire\/","title":{"rendered":"Inwards, from the Edge of the Shire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cSo, tell me, what are some of your fantasies?\u201d X asks B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B looks at X, not having expected the question, and therefore not having prepared for it, and therefore drawing a blank.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X prompts, \u201cSo, I like being told exactly what to do. If you leave marks, then that\u2019s \u2013 it\u2019s done bro, (cackles). But also I have this very specific fantasy, about blindfolds. Both of us blindfolded. Imagine that, dude. Being pressed up against the wall. Pressing you up against the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B listens. And does not know what to say. B does not think about sex all that much. Well, that\u2019s not entirely true, though it is kind of true. B does think about sex sometimes. And then reads some Very Specific fanfiction. And then comes to a point where they start wondering why they are reading it at all. The urge to read that fanfiction is drained out of them; it now feels distant and unfamiliar, foreign. They do not understand it anymore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As B is trying to find the precise words to explain this to X while also sounding cool about it, X is looking at B, air thick with the expectation of an answer. B, sheepish, shy, half-sorry, offers, \u201cHmm, I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t think I have fantasies, really. Well, not sexual fantasies, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then B pauses, wondering if that is true, and decides that it is not entirely true, and therefore must be explained in Better and Apt-er and Correct-er words. X does not poke at their silence, so B continues, \u201cWell, okay. Fantasy is too strong a word, maybe. There are things which I find, (pause), <em>interesting<\/em>. Curiosities, maybe that\u2019s what I have \u2013 sexual curiosities.\u201d (Pause.) \u201cIs it the same as fantasies, do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X pauses, too. \u201cSexual <em>curiosities<\/em>? What\u2019s that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B continues, on a surer footing now, to be talking in abstraction, conceptually, \u201cOkay, so like. You have to understand. I have been reading fanfiction since like forever, right? So, uh, I have read smut. Like, I have <em>read smut<\/em>. A lot of it. <em>A lot.<\/em> A lot of <em>kinds of smut<\/em>. So. Like, there\u2019s things which are like, oh that would be interesting to do. Oh, that\u2019s fun to read. So, like, I\u2019m curious about it, and I\u2019d like, to, try this stuff because I\u2019m curious about it. Like, oh, I wonder how one would do <em>That<\/em>. You know. But fantasy is more like\u2026 you really really <em>really<\/em> want to do something, right? Or like, be done to you, whatever. But yeah. So, I don\u2019t think of it as something that I would like, really really want to do. It\u2019s more like, oh that would be interesting to do, but not like <em>I, want<\/em>, to do it. You know, whatever, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X hmms. And continues tracing the map of the Shire on B\u2019s back with a single finger. B continues to tremble, at the singular sensation of the single finger, and the weight of the peaceful, happy Shire on their back. And then, suddenly, without warning, X presses their lips right at the edge of their freshly finger-mapped Shire, where it meets the yet-unmapped Old Forest, on the banks of the Brandywine River, against the back of B\u2019s neck. Whispers, \u201cSo. What are these things you\u2019re curious about? Sexual curiosities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow am I, supposed to, <em>think<\/em>,\u201d B tries to whine but does not have enough steady breath for it, \u201cwhen you\u2019re. Doing, (breath, pause), <em>that<\/em>.\u201d B cannot inflect a question so they let it taper into a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X, mighty pleased with themself, is back to mapping the mountains and valleys of the Shire with the press of their lips, \u201cForget curiosities. Tell me. Fantasies. Not sexual; just\u2026 fantasies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B manages to whine this time, properly, \u201cCan\u2019t. Think!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStop thinking bro. Why do you need to think about your fantasies, anyway? They\u2019re fantasies!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B concentrates on breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X bares their teeth and presses down harder, \u201cTalk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B\u2019s breath is caught, right in the throat, suspended. Like the watering corners of eyes overflowing, come words, \u201cYou, this, here. Just you, holding. Holding your hand. You kissing my back. You, sitting on the chair and I make chai in the kitchen. I\u2019m reading, and you tell me dinner is done. I\u2019m sad and you, there. You, me, us, waves. Sea. Sea-waves. Dog. A huuuuge dog. Home ownership. Like a small home. And you. You, waking me up with kisses. A good night\u2019s sleep. A <em>fucking<\/em> good night\u2019s sleep. Brooo, a <em>good<\/em> night\u2019s <em>sleep<\/em>, my fucking <em>goodness<\/em>! You, me, friends over, wine. You, me, kitchen, songs on my phone. Volume, turned down. And you, turning the volume up. You, me, holding hands. You, sitting there, working. Me, coming back from work, and you, sitting there working. And you, coming back from work, and me, getting up to hug you. You. Us, fighting. And then making. No, not making up. Making our way through it. Through the fight. You, crooning, in my ear. Me, asleep. You, talking loudly on your phone, and I, waving annoyed hands at you. Winter, winter evenings. Your sweater, drenched in your scent. Cats, oh my god, cats. And you, this, yess, like that, kiss-(hiss). Kissing my back, just like that. Just like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As B runs out of thought(s), X runs their tongue over the impression of their bared teeth on B\u2019s Shire-back, and then their lips, feather-light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\"><em>Image credit: &#8220;homes women make&#8221; by Aleena Santhosh<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tell me. Fantasies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":633,"featured_media":29819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5823,3401],"tags":[5725,4544,5721,5722,1002,5726,5727,5724,1003,5723,1338],"class_list":{"0":"post-29818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fantasy-and-sexuality-2","8":"category-fiction-poetry","9":"tag-desire-beyond-sex","10":"tag-emotional-intimacy","11":"tag-everyday-intimacy","12":"tag-fanfiction-and-sexuality","13":"tag-fantasy-and-sexuality","14":"tag-intimacy-and-desire","15":"tag-romantic-fantasies","16":"tag-sexual-curiosities","17":"tag-sexual-fantasies","18":"tag-sexual-self-discovery","19":"tag-sexuality-and-relationships"},"menu_order":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29820,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29818\/revisions\/29820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}