Go Back. Read These. Thank 10 Later.

10 Must Reads that will inspire the intimacy in you

Seven months in. Some of our best work is buried. Not because it wasn’t good enough. The timeline likes to move fast, leaving the right reader no chance to find it.

That changes tonight.

We pulled 10 of the most cinematic, most intimate stories from the IN10MACY archive. The ones that deserved more. I re-read every one of them. Trust that these still hit the same way they did the night they dropped. This week we've been deep in the build over at 10Chapters. But the IN10MACY archive doesn't sleep. Not at 10PM GMT (TEN TIME)

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If you're new here, start here. If you've been here, you might've missed these. Either way. You're about to understand what the 10Community is built on.

Here are 10 Must Reads.

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#1 — YOU&ME

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Last month I wrote my first poem. Didn’t plan it. Just happened. I’ve never considered myself the hood poet, only the hood author. But the minute you read this, you’ll know my wordplay is second to none.

Here is the 2026 Valentine’s Poem, Titled: You&Me

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#2 — The Extension of a Man

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Current Topic: Divine Polarity

I will promote this piece till the end of Substack. An all time favourite. Already. If you want to understand what philosophy, psychology, and luxurious intimacy looks like woven into one piece of cinematic storytelling, this is it.

Took me nearly 6 months to get there.
Imagine what another 6 months will do.

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#3 — Hate to See Her Go, But I Love to Watch Her Leave

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Current Topic: Masculine Insecurity

We speak about the things that men tend to bury. And insecurity lives right at the top of that list.

This story is about a young couple, Malik & Amara, and the modern day pressure of not doing enough for yourself. A mirror that men must be willing to look into. Not to be shamed. To be changed.

The wake up call for the modern man who needs to ask himself

“Why does a good woman bother me?”

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#4— NOBU

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Current Topic: Ghosting Culture

NOBU is one of the more recent drops. And it might be the funniest thing in the archive. Now, I wouldn’t call it comedy funny. It’s more like “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” funny. The kind of story men wouldn’t dare bring up in the group chat.

Look, it happens to the best of us. Blame Tinder.

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#5 — Warm Words in a Cold World

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My first poem was meant to be my last. Then something changed. I came back. Hood author tone intact. And this one hit different territory entirely.

Here is a poem about a gangsta's contradiction, Titled: Warm Words in a Cold World.

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#6 — Where the Teeth Cannot Bite

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Current Topic: An exploration of unearned grief/ second hand grief

Writing this one touched something in me I wasn’t expecting.

We live in a world that rushes past another person’s grief but expects everyone to show up perfectly for theirs. This piece is about that gap. The space between compassion and convenience. No one is an exception to joy or sorrow. We must live to create that purple line in a black and white world. That’s what true intimacy looks like.

For the ones still navigating grief, this piece is for you.

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#7 — Arguing Assumes Truth

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Current Topic: Trust Repair

You ever have a friend who took advantage of your loyalty? Not because the bond wasn’t real. Because he knew it was. That the bond outweighed all obstacles. Even if he placed them there himself.

This piece will make you question what loyalty looks like when trust no longer lives with it.

A reminder that loyalty does not equal fool.

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#8 — An Intimate Homicide

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Current Topic: Emotional Cheating

Emotional cheating. Still the topic that makes people the most uncomfortable. Still the one nobody wants to claim.
“An Intimate Homicide” explores exactly why.

Before you read it, we want to know where you stand:

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#9 — How To Love Without Losing your Edge

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Current Topic: Love without losing your identity

I wrote this because I started to wonder myself. Can an emotionally intelligent man still lead? Still hold his edge while holding space for love? The answer is yes. And that answer might be the most important thing missing from how we raise men today. A great man respects himself. His peers. His loved ones. Even those who do not love him back.

That’s the cool guy.

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#10 — Drug Dealer’s Poetry: Finding God Between the Traps and the Trauma

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Current Topic: Faith, Survival, and Redemption

Have you ever held a joint between your lips, toked your last smoke, and spoke to the only one who would hear you at your lowest?

This is a story about a boy who finds God in the places most men refuse to look. One of the stories that gave me purpose. Written for the ones who subconsciously thought the world wasn’t built for them to live in. That their environments reminded them of that every day.

If you’ve ever been involved in drug misuse, this piece will resonate with you on a level you wish you shared with your brothers. It’s okay, I’m your brother too.

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HOOD AUTHOR’S NOTE

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Seven months. 500 subscribers. And we’re just getting started.

If any of these pieces hit, let us know in the comments. That intimate conversation is what built this community and it’s what keeps it alive.

After all, who are we without it.

— This is Your Hood Author, Mr.10

#IN10MACY
#10OUT