Half Man (2026) x Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals) (1981) by Barbara Kruger.

Niall used 🟤⁔🟤. It was somewhat effective.

there'd be no cooling off. ruben would get niall on his back or his knees or cornered and pushed up against the nearest wall while they're arguing or it's niall getting in ruben's face and saying the most hurtful shit he can to dig his nails under ruben's skin and shred at him from the inside to get a reaction from ruben, to make sure every bit of ruben's attention and ruben's rage and ruben's love and ruben's soul is directed squarely at niall to get ruben's hands on him and his cock inside him and then they go again after they call a truce and then again because ruben still can't quite say sorry but he can lick his come out of niall's ass and niall will pretend ruben's lips are mouthing the shape of an apology and then they have to fuck again and it still might be a cycle they can't break, but it definitely has a few more perks to it.

Loving the fact that Ruben also notes the psychward stay and Niall driving himself nuts after the court case situation, then mentions that Lori didn’t tell him any of those details. Love that he seems genuinely upset over it, like maybe he regrets saying some of the things he said during their argument. He’s fidgeting with his fingers, glancing at Niall, speaking softly. Like he didn’t expect that outcome at all, he hadn’t thought of it being a possibility. Probably thinking about all the times he did want Niall dead for what he did, how he thought that Niall went on with his life with not so much as a passing thought about Ruben and the betrayal; but now that he’s here and seeing Niall in the flesh and hearing about how fearful he was, how Niall thought about him so much he absolutely ruined his life over it, he looks sad. Like, how didn’t I know this? I made him feel that way? I didn’t know that. I can help. I can be there again. I can protect you again. WOWWWW OWOWOWOW UHGG

Found this wonderful trivia on twt.

Let's go somewhere private.

he had to make sure niall loved him the same way he loved niall first. he didn’t want to make him ugly. he touched niall tenderly and with love before he did it. he calmed niall down. he had niall match his breathing. gave him something to drink. he was loving in the best way and the absolute worst ways. he laid on top of him and cried and screamed i love you while doing what his dad did to him. by trying to be the closest to niall like he always wanted. but he couldn’t stop and i think ruben wanted to, but once that switch flips, he just can’t. it’s like he’s outside of himself. it’s why he had to put distance between him and niall’s body. because loving niall is loving himself and killing niall was killing himself.