Coming out as Bridget

I wanted all of you to know that as of today in my life outside of my dealings with co-workers and customers that I will be living full time as Bridget. I have been thinking about doing this for some time but have been too afraid. My incredible Mistress and wife Julie has encouraged me to do this and has been encouraging me to do this for some time. I was afraid to do it for a number of reasons but mainly because I wanted to protect her from the fallout. She has convenced me that life is fleeting and that she loves me the way I am. Our life with her as my Mistress and as a cuckold will still continue and better than ever I hope.

Some of our female neighbors already know about Bridget and about me as a slave to her. Some men on my street have seen Bridget and probably know already and no one has freaked out or been anything but civil about it but we do have some neighbors and friends who will certainly be stunned I am sure. So in a few minutes I am going to put a letter on each of their front doors basically telling them about Bridget. We are then going away for the rest of the weekend and will find out their reactions in the coming week. I can tell you that I am somewhat terrified but also have this incredible sense of freedom that fills me. I feel like 40 years of hiding is over and that I can finally really be myself. And no I am not telling them about slave Bridget, just Bridget...lol. I wanted to share this will all of you as it is probably one of the most important things I have ever done. Below is the letter that I am sending:

To: My neighbors and friends

First I want all of you to know that what I am about to tell you might shock some of you, perhaps disgust some of you, but hopefully most of you will simply understand and still treat me as a friend. Some of you already know about what I am about to share with you and I appreciate your support and understanding.

For most of my life I have felt an inner conflict going on in my mind and body going back to when I was just a little boy. This conflict has been kept within myself for the most part but as I have gotten older I have realized that I do not want to hide it anymore. The conflict that has been going on has been about my gender and how I express that part of myself in my daily life. Since I was a little boy I have felt this incredibly strong desire to express a feminine side of me. It is not something I chose nor is it something I can control. It is there and it is how my brain works and is wired. I guess I could say that I wish it would go away or that I wish I would not feel the way I do but that would be a lie. For me, being feminine and expressing myself that way is a joy and something that I treasure.

So I have made the decision with the full support of my wife to live my daily life as a woman. I am telling you this because you will see me from now on that way and I didnt want you to find out about this through another neighbor telling you about it or from you seeing a woman you dont recognize going in and out of my house. To answer a few possible questionsno I am not going to have a sex change operation and I will not be functioning at this point in my job as a woman. I will simply dress as a woman and act as one. At some point I may make the decision to come out to my co-workers but for now I cant do that. I dont think that many of my customers could deal with it and because I need to make a living doing what I do I have made the decision to keep it on a personal basis for now. Since I work mostly from home and do not interact with my customers and co-workers face to face for the most part it allows me the freedom to be a woman almost all of the time without affecting my work.

So, now that you know this I am hoping that you will support me or at least not shun me. I do realize that this will make some people angry with me or possibly make some people not want to ever talk to me again. This would make me extremely sad but I have lived my entire life knowing this about myself and have always hidden it. I realized recently that it is my life too and that life is too short not to be what nature intended me to be. With the delivery of this letter to you my true freedom has arrived and I am now able to be what I am and have always been inside. I would like all of you to know that I am the same exact person I have always been so if you liked me before I think you will still like me now. I do hope so at least.

If you dont want to be around me then I will understand and not hold it against you. If your religion or morals preclude you from associating with me then this is something that my wife and I will have to deal with. I do want to point out that my wife and I are more in love than ever and are better friends than we have ever been before so we will be together through all of this and without her love I would have never had the courage to do this. I do want all the men in particular to know that this in no way affects the friendship I have shared with you. Like I said before I have always been this way and will stay the same but visually I will be different. I only ask that you give me a chance at continuing the friendship we already have and not judge me or shun me. You can still call me Bill if you want to but Bridget is what I will be going by and it is how I feel inside. I just cant go one lying to myself about who and what I am and can only pray that the people who are my friends and family will be able to accept me and support me.

This has been the most difficult choice I have ever made in my life and I hope that you can appreciate how tough this is to do. I look forward to introducing myself to all of you if you will allow me to and if you are confused or have questions please do not hesitate to ask.


Sincerely,

Your friend Bridget

 

I just have a few minutes before I make breakfast for Mistress and Master. We had a very late night last night but a very fun one.

I wanted to thank all of you for your best wishes on my decision. This morning I woke up and felt this incredible sense of freedom unlike anything I have felt before. I can't stop smiling!:bigsmile:

But I did want to say a couple of things about my posting. First, after I posted it I thought that this website probably wasnt the most appropriate place to post what I did about coming out. After all, this is a site about chastity. But I dont belong to any groups about crossdressers transitioning for the most part. The only group I belong to related to that is a local crossdresser group on yahoo that also has socials once a month. No one there knows about me being a slave or being in chastity except for a few close friends. So, being that I feel this intense connection with all of you fellow chastised males and a total sense of worship for dominant females, I felt this was the best place for me to share this event in my life.

I also wanted to clarify something that I wrote that Mistress Michelle mentioned in her reply to my posting. Mistress, you said that you couldnt imagine the balls it took for me to post letters on my neighbors doors. I should explain why I did that. You see I live on a wonderful street in this great neighborhood but it is a dead end street with 14 houses on it. We are very close with all of our neighbors but especially close with about 7 families that live on the street. We spend a lot of the summer type holidays together by having block parties where everyone brings out the BBQ's and we have cookouts, etc. It is a very social group and I know the names of everyone on the street and they all know Mistress and myself. This was the reason I posted the letters.

I have this thought of Mistress Michelle thinking I am running all over my area posting flyers on mailboxes and light poles...lol. It wasnt like that but because everyone will eventually see me as Bridget I felt I owed them an explanation. Interestingly enough, last night we were out at dinner (Mistress, Master, and myself) and Mistress got 3 calls from neighborhood friends who wanted to know more. She told them simply that we had made this decision together and that it was the right time for both of us. Early feedback was as I expected. The women were all supportive (one of them knew about Bridget already) and all 3 of their husbands were a little freaked out by it. I know the men will be the hardest to deal with and I may lose all my male friends on the block. I knew that going in. I think the funniest thing that I heard was from one woman donw the street who is pretty good friends with Mistress. Her husband is a typical macho guy and the first thing he told her when he read the letter was that I "better not try and hit on him". Can you believe that? Typical alpha male behavior! I am expecting to get that from others too.

I do know that one guy will really not react well to this. He is an asshole who's wife hates him and only stays married to him because they have kids. He is a construction worker, very tough type of guy, chews tobacco, etc. I am sure you know the type and he will hate me. But thats ok, I never really liked him anyway. I just put up with him.

A few early observations from me. Being in chastity means always wearing dresses or skirts. In male mode I could wear pleated slacks for work or cargo style shorts so that the bulge doesnt show. Fortunately for me all of my female wardrobe is built around dresses and skirts so that my chastity device is not seen. Wewent out last night to dinner and I never felt more free in my life. I wasnt just "dressing up" anymore. I was as I will be for the rest of my life and it brought a whole new confidence to me. Not once did anyone look at me funny or read me as a male. In fact I got some appreciative smiles from a few men, which I always enjoy. This morning I got up and went to the grocery store to buy some stuff I wanted to cook for breakfast and wore a nice summer dress. The only person who knew was the checkout guy and he gave me a second look which showed his cuiousity once we started chatting. My voice gave me away I guess. Although I have an ability to really alter my voice without it sounding phony I have not perfected it yet and realized that I will work on that more to get better. My voice is very soft fortunately so I dont try to use a fake high pitched voice. My normal voice works pretty well.

I do know that I will be read and will be looked at funny from time to time but for the most part no one seems to notice and when they do I am treated very well. Women usually always treat me nicely when they know and men are solit into two camps. Half of them are a little freaked out or disgusted and the other half are nice and some of them are aroused.

I better get to that breakfast and my short note grew long but thats just like me now knowing when to stop talking...lol. I guess that the female in me. I am very nervous about going home today. I feel almost sick to my stomach thinking about it but I know that once everyone sees me and gets used to it, things will calm down...I hope! Wish me luck.

 

Well, I am still alive and in one piece! Thats a good start I guess...lol. The last 3 days have been incredibly interesting and different. Being out and about is something I have been exploring for some time now and by that I mean going shopping at a mall or pretty much anything during the day. I have been going to clubs at night for years but it's always been in friendly environments. Over the past year or so I have been more daring, going shopping etc during the day and it is a whole new level of being out. Now this is totally different because I am waking up as Bridget in the morning and really feeling that way too. I have undergone laser hair removal pretty much everywhere so I dont have to shave anymore. This is great because my makeup stays put all day and it makes me feel more feminine too.

So, we got home on Sunday in the early evening after a great weekend at master's house and as soon as I pulled into our driveway I felt really anxious. None of my neighbors were out but I felt like people were watching me! I know...paranoid!!! We went to the front door and on our porch was a box with an envelope. I brought it inside and there was abeautiful little porcelin figure of a bird in flight. In the envelope was a card signed by almost all of our closet friends/neighbors on the street. Mostly signed by the women but several men too and on the cover of the card it read "welcome to the neighborhood". Inside were the signatures along with various notes next to each person who signed it. They were either all really caring notes or attemtps at humor but all were good natured and quite honestly one of the most touching things that has ever happened to me. I was overwhelmed and have to admit that I cried. God I am not even on hormones! But I did cry and Mistress cried too. We were both so touched. The last note on the card was from the woman across the street, Laura. She had already known about me and I know she was the one who organized the gift and card. She wrote "this figurine is for you because you are now free like this bird to spread your wings and fly like never before". This made me cry some more.

Having to break the moment for fear we would both continue crying Mistress went back into Mistress mode and ordered me to unpack her suitcase and added "I believe the guest bath needs cleaning doesnt it?" I was quickly back in slave mode which was probably a good thing. I went about doing some chores but had this incredible sense of fullfilment I had never felt before. My mond has always felt like Bridget but my body and my daily life never really did. Now I feel like Bridget both inside and out and am free to express myself that way! It is wonderful and beyond description really.

So, a little later I asked Mistress what she wanted for dinner and we both agreed on something but I needed some things from the store. I have never gone shopping at our local store dressed as Bridget but it was time! I wore something very casual, a peasant dress thats really cute and put on some flats and out I went. I did make sure my makeup was perfect since this was my true coming out locally and headed for the car. As I was getting in I heard a voice from a couple of doors down saying "hello Bridget" and when I looked up my neighbor Kim was in her driveway with her husband John. John is the asshole I wrote about earlier and I kind of froze when I looked at them. I really did not know what to do except wave back but Kim said "get your butt down here girl"! So with my heart beating about as hard as it can short of a full out heart attack I walked down to them. I could see John just staring at me with this confused look on his face and could tell that Kim had probably told him to be nice to me. He did not scowl at me however and Kim walked up to me and gave me this great big hug. She squeezed me and told me that she was proud to have me as her new neighbor. I almost cried again but held it together and she knew what I was feeling when she looked in my eyes. I had to think quickly so not to feel too wierd about being there with John. I simply looked at hom and said "what, no huig from you?"

His mouth literally dropped open and both Kim and I laughed. He said "you might be pushing it with that request lady" and then added "I will just see if I can be around you without being too freaked out for now ok?" I laughed and said "thats a good start I guess". He left and Kim and I had a really nice conversation and then she said something great. She said "well the next time we have a ladies night out I guess we will have a new member of the group wont we?" That really made me feel great and I would love to join them but not sure if Mistress would let me. We will see.

Anyway, I went to the stroe and I was almost disapointed because no one even gave me a second look or anything! I just went in, bought a few things and went home and cooked. Totally normal. Totally normal except for this smile I cant seem to get rid of! :bigsmile:

This morning I waved to another neighbor when I got my mail and he waved back. I know it is going to take some time and that some will shun me or think me perverted. I dont care. I am happy, I am whole, and I have finally finally found the place where I want to live the rest of my life. Now I have to break my doctor in because I have an appointment next week to see him. That should be interesting!

 

Ok, its now been over one week since Bridget arrived for almost 24/7 living and I can honestly say that this week has been the most amazing week of my life. I know things will eventually calm down and life will be more normal but around my house normal has different meaning than at most houses...lol.

I thought I would post an update and give some general impressions and experiences about living as a woman. First, thank you to everyone that has posted kind words to me. I truly appreciate it so much. Second, Jimi, I am not going to have myself castrated (OMG just typing that made me wince!), chemically or otherwise. I love my cock! I think having it locked up basically takes it away from me anyway and I know it is the source of all my horniness, which I dearly love the feeling of even though I cant use my cock, I dont want it to change radically. I have considered hormones but have heard that they too change your personality and sexual appetite. I like myself just the way I am actually! But thanks for the thought.

Ok, first huge impression this week...I LOVE WEARING SUMMER DRESSES!!! Having my legs shaved so smooth and putting on a pretty sun dress on a warm day and just walking around, feeling the wind blow under my dress...oh god, what a great feeling. I feel so feminine wearing them and have bought about 6 this week...lol. Other things I have noticed...when I wake up in the morning I feel different, like this is me. Dont know if that made any sense but it is powerful. I love going out for errands more than I ever did before...lol. I jump at the chance to go to the grocery store or to the bank or whatever. Just being out and about more and more makes me feel more comfortable being Bridget in public. I have to admit that I love when men smile at me. I guess that since I have always loved women so much that I always look at them in public when I see a pretty woman or girl and smile at them. It was always my way of saying I appreciated how they looked, that they took the time to make themself look pretty for the world. Now I feel like when I look around that men smile at me for the same reason and it feels so good.

I have been to the mall this week more than ever before in one week. 5 times! A new personal record. My banking account is less than it was at the start of the week...lol. Its not the buying, its the shopping and being out. Its funny because I still have some maleness left in me and used to worry about showing it in public, of being discovered. I do have bigger hands than most women and I am 5'10" in bare feet so with heels on I certainly become taller than even most men in a room, so being read as a male dressed as a female is always a possibility. In such a short time I have gone from worried about it to not caring at all. Not even a little bit. This is who I am and if someone is totally uncomfortable with it then so be it. Thats their own problem, not mine. Luckily for me, my voice doesnt usually give me away. I have a softer voice that I can easily manipulate to sound very naturally feminine, which I am grateful for since I can wear flats and hide my hands but not my voice!

I have my favorite stores at the mall and one of my very favorites is the Steve Madden shoe store. I had one pair before and now have four! Love his shoes!!! The girls that work there know me well already and the manager and I get along great. She sat with me one day at the food court and wanted to know all about me coming out. They knew right away I was not a woman but were nothing but nice to me. I fgured initially it was because I had good money to spend but after my thrid visit we became more friendly and that led to our lunch together.

Other things I love...men holding doors open for me...everywhere practically! Driving down the street and suddenly looking up in the rear voew mirror and realizing that this is me for good now. Not just out for a night. Wearing feminine and sexy clothes every day and most of all the incredible feeling that I have inside of me. Its like a warmth I have never felt before and Mistress says I "glow" a lot lately. Must be from feeling how I feel.

My neighbors have been great, like nothing is different but I am sure it will be interesting when we have some sort of neighborhood gathering as we do several times a year. AND...later today a number of my Mistresses friends are coming over for maragaritas and movies and guess what? I am invited! I dont even have to serve them all. I just get to be one of the girls! This should prove very interesting. Kim down the street said on the phone to me that "I have so many questions I want you to answer for me about you and Julie" (Mistress). The only bad thing so far was that I heard through another neighbor that the Elliots, who live two doors down from me, told another neighbor of mine that they thought I was a freak and sick and that they were disgusted and wanted nothing to do with me. They are very religious and conservative and me being the way I am, I will not bother them and will respect their feelings. To be honest, I was always nice to them when we spoke but underneath thought they they were freaks themselves...so to each his or her own.

I have some great sexual things to share that happened last night but will save that for another time and posting.

 

I thought it time to provide an update to anyone interested in my journey. At the very least this is a great place to collect my thoughts about my whirlwind of a life lately. After my initial coming out I had the unfortunate circumstance to have to travel back to the east coast for business. I was not only not Bridget, I was also not locked up!!! I found both very difficult to deal with mentally and eventually physically. But as soon as I got home I quickly locked up myself and returned to being a girl again. Slipping on some hose and a nice flirty dress made me feel so good again. I felt whole and complete again.

I had to do a lot of housework once I returned. Mistress saved it all for me and let the house become a mess on purpose. I had not been home more than a few hours when Master showed up. He told me he missed me, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then proceeded to spank my ass really hard! I didnt realize how much I missed (and didnt miss) that. Lol. As I cleaned the bathroom down the hall I could hear Mistress and him going at it. She had not seen him the whole time I was away and they also missed each other a lot. God she screamed so loudly once I had to stop and just listen for a while. I love hearing other men make her make these sounds that I have not made her make in a long long time.

This past weekend we were together the entire holiday weekend and it was really wild! Master told me that he had been thinking about the fact that since I transitioned that he has not been as tough on me. The truth is that he hadnt been. He explained that he was seeing me differently, more as a woman and less as a sissy husband but that he wanted to get back to being more strict with me. I was excited to hear that but also wondered what he had in mind. After all this man could be very strict at times and loved being dominant over me.

We arrived at his place and I was instructed to slip into my maid's outfit which I gladly did and when I returned I found the two of them kissing like teenagers in his living room. Master told me to make them some margaritas, which I am very good at making, and then to bring them out to them on his deck. He has this wonderful deck overlooking the woods around his house and it is secluded and quiet...well most of the time it is quiet...lol. When I delivered the drinks I was told to kneel beside him and then he told me he had so much fun purchasing new toys to torment me with. He then pulled out the first one. It was a ball gag but had an attachment on it that was an ashtray! He likes to smoke cigars and told me that he doesnt like carrying an ashtray around. Then he told me to put it on myself. Mistress laughed when she saw this and asked if she could have a cigar too. I have to admit that I dont like smoke in my face but grew so hard at the thought of being his personal ashtry. I dont know why. I think it is just the thought of being used like that! Mistress told me to go get a pair of handcuffs, which I returned with, and she tied my hands behind my back. I had the ball gag in place and she then fit the attachment into place. I knelt between them as they laid on some lounge chairs and smoked. They would flick their ashes into the ashtray and the smoke made my eyes water. I tried not to breath when the cigars were near me but that proved impossible.

Then Master tells me, "wait until you see the toy I bought for you and Mistress". Mistress started asking him what it was and he said you will have to wait. But he said "why dont you come over her and sit on my lap". She did and straddled him. Suddenyl both cigars were placed in the ashtray and left there smoldering. The smoke was overwhelming and I had to shut my eyes completely. I then heard Mistress moaning and a zipper unzipping. I glanced to then see Mistress sucking his cock furiously but could not keep them open because of the smoke. I could tell that she mounted him and started riding his cock because she started moaning and he was thrusting upwards into her. She let out a loud moan and I could tell she came very hard. It wasnt long before he said he was going to cum and he obviously did as he became very loud himself. They laid there like that for several minutes as the cigars continued to burn my eyes and nose.

"I think the sissy makes a great ashtrya dont you?" He asked Mistress and she laughed as she said "oh yes. I love this gag!" she also said. He told her about all the other attachments, which included a toilet bowl brush, a feather duster, and a number of other humiliating tools. I was hoping that he didnt buy the toilet brush.

The two of them allowed me to take off the cuffs and gag and I returned to doing some cleaning for Master. At one point as they went in to take a shower, he came out and walked me to his garage where he showed me his motorcycle. He told me he wanted it polished, the engine and everything, while they were inside. God I really didnt want to do that but of course did as I was told. I didnt even know how to do it but as I did it I discovered it was pretty easy and was glad he didnt tell me to do his car. I came in later and announced that I was done and he came out to inspect it. Of course he found many spots that were not to his satisfaction and he immediately bent me over and spanked my ass with his hand. As he spanked me he kept saying "you will learn to do things exactly as I want them done". He must have said this 30 times and he spanked my ass again and again. I am not real good at taking a spanking and quite honestly I had tears in my eyes by the time he was done. I promised to finish the job and do it right. Believe me I did and he said I did a great job.

I was then informed that I was not going to dinner with them but that they would bring me something back. As has happened before I was restrained fully when they left. This time in a chair with my hands and feet bound along with me being blindfolded and gagged. Mistress then selaed my fate by saying "I get so excited when you tie her up and punish her. I get wet just watching you punish her and I want to have sex with you even more". Well that did it. Master announced that perhaps I needed more punishment when they returned. I could hear them kissing in front of me and Mistress gave me a little slap across the face as they left saying "dont you go anywhere ok honey?"

It felt like forever before they returned. I have had this happen to me numerous times but this time seemed longer for some reason. When I heard them come back in they obviously had some bags with them and Master proceeded to untie me. He told me to go to the kitchen and peel some ginger for him. I knew what he was going to do and wanted it actually. For those of you who have not seen my discussion of figging before it is one of the most intense things I have ever felt. The juice from the ginger root can cause a very hot reaction in your ass or a woman's vagina and is totally safe. I have heard that the reactions are dfferent in everyone but I just happen to be one of those who it is very intense. I retunred with a perfect root to fit inside of me and Master then said "no I want you to carve all of what I brought home. Stunned, I returned to the kitchen and made 3 more. I brought them back and wa immediately put into a position on my knees and my hands were again tied behind me. He gagged me again and I then felt the cold root of the first ginger root being inserted. It feels like nothing at first but within minutes, heats up and for me then becomes incredibly hot. Not painful but damn uncomfortable. It makes me shake my ass back and forth and each time I do that my ass convulses and when that happenes it triggers the juices to come out more from the root. This causes more heat. After about 15 minutes the feeeling goes away. This was why he had me carve more of them.

As I squirmed around he spanked me a number of times and was very verbal with me telling me what a complete sissy I am and how Mistress loved me but was not even the bit sexaully aroused by me anymore. He told me she loved me like a sister as he spanked me and she then said "that is so true". I kept squirming and the heat became more intense and I heard Mistress say "god I am so hot right now for your cock". He pulled out the one root and inserted another and gave me a few more spanks. I then heard him go to the bed and the two of them went at it like animals. I have seen them have sex many times and listened many more time but this was different and when Mistress said "I need you more than ever" I then heard Master say something that was equally amazing and stunning". He said "I love you so much". Mistress obviously loved hearing that and returned the same to him as they made love. I know that she has told me before that she was falling for him and assured me that she would never leave me but she also said that she wanted him to feel that way about her because then it would be perfect. Having me as her best friend and slave and him as her lover but as an intimate lover, not a fuck buddy. It appeared she had gotten what she wanted.

Through my intense experience I could hear them making love for what seemed an eternity. The effects of the ginger had worn off long before they finished. She must have cum 10 times hard and he just kept going. I listened as he came with her at the end and to hear both of them was so incredible. After about 15 minutes of laying there Master released me and said "I guess I should give you some relief shouldnt I?" I simply nodded my head and was still gagged. He left for a minute and came back with a big curved dildo. He said this is another thing I just bought and this is for you. He had me kneel on the bed over a towel and pulled out a plate that he had gotten just for this. He said "this is your plate and when you need to get relief in whatever way we let you then you will empty yourself onto this plate everytime"

He added that he had been reading about milking and had enjoyed watching me do it to myself and wanted to try. I was very happy to hear this and he lubed up the dildo and slid it into me. My ass was so sensitive from the ginger and if you have not read this before from me, after being "figged" I want to get fucked so badly that I could scream. The feeling of this dildo was amazing as it entered me. I pushed back into it and he told me to stay still. I did as I was told and he searched for the right spot. He knew when he had found it because I moaned loudly and he asked "is that the spot?". Through my gag I murmered yes. My caged cock was above the plate and he started to rub my prostrate slowly at first and then a little harder and faster. Mistress spotted the first drops of cum leaking out of me and told him that it used to take so long to get me to even leak a little. Now I am so used to it I guess that it just pours out of me after a few minutes. He kept working that toy inside of me and my cock go so hard, which is unusual when my ass is being played with. I think it was because he was doing it to me.

I could feel the steady flow of cum and looked at my cock which had a long string of cum oozing out of it and onto the plate. I could feel the intensity building inside of me and actually felt an orgasm coming on. This has only happened to me about 5 or 6 times where I actually came from milking without touching myself. My cock spasmed and out came a rather large load of cum. It had been over a month since I had a good release and with all the excitement surrounding me lately it had really been building up. The best oart about this experience is that I have gotten to a point where my cock means nothing to me. I have wanted to be a girl for so long that I just want my pleasure to come from my ass, which I now look at as a pussy. I dont want to stroke my cock and touch it. I want it locked up. It is not mine anyway. It is my Mistresses. It is only unlocked if she wants to use it and from the looks of things that will be less and less.

I licked the plate clean and god it tasted so good. I dont know what it is about the juices that flow from a milking but it tastes dfifferent than regular cum. maybe its just me but has anyone else noticed that? I have to get back to work now and will share more later because the new toy that he bought that I havent told you about is amazing (and expensive!). More to follow.