i will ALWAYS clap my hands excitedly and lean forward in my seat when someone tells a character to “keep your dog on a leash” only for it to turn out they’re referring to another person
the way it reframes the entire relationship dynamic between the two people being addressed. the way wilful loyalty becomes hopeless devotion. the way aggression and violence goes from honorable and rational to bestial and instinctual. the ways faith and trust intersect with codependency and reliance. the questions about power and who wields it in the relationship it opens up. the way it functions as both an insult and an expression of intimidation, of fearful submission.
there’s something so compelling to me about the fact that sometimes leaving a blade or bullet inside the wound it made is the only way to prevent you from bleeding to death. something about the ironic symbolism of it. when the thing designed and intended to kill you is the only thing keeping you alive.
also yes i do enjoy a bit of penetration imagery and the perverse intimacy of violence. if you must know.
just had the weirdest interaction. this off-leash Yorkshire Terrier wobbled up to sniff my ankle, and then its owner said “the vet wanted to euthanize her”
and I was like “……oh”
and she said “4 years ago. she had a stroke, but I went to church and prayed to the Virgin Mary, and now she can walk again. but sometimes she drops, which is why I have this stroller”
and I was like “oh, okay.” I didn’t know what to say after that, so I was just like “it’s a cool dog” and kept walking
it obviously makes sense, but one of my friend’s kids is going into swim class, and all the parents got an email today going, “when little ones are scared, they cling on to instructors. PLEASE trim their nails.”
i don’t know why that’s so funny to me, but just. the idea of this poor, scratched swim instructor having to make sure to email before each class as a reminder to please declaw the children SENT me.
When I taught swim lessons I remember trying to delicately ask parents not to cover their child in shea/coconut/olive oil before lessons.
“I understand your skincare regimen and wanting to protect their tender baby flesh from the pool chemicals, but COULD YOU NOT OIL YOUR CHILD LIKE A GREASED PIG before tossing them in the POOL? Thanks EVER so much!”
ALT
ALT
