#ntm i got the dog part of the tattoo while writing without wolves so that's another layer

[tomwambsgans]

one of the most interesting things about the dog motif to me is tbh how it translates to real life. this isn't something i expect most ppl to have considered bc i have a unique meta perspective on this, having a tattoo inspired by the whole dog/deer thing that other people see and comment on - which is the thing that i'm leading up to - literally always thinking that the dog in my tattoo is a wolf. every single fucking person, istg. even though i gave the design a collar specifically to make it clear that it's a dog.

pic for context:

now what this response from normies (idk for certain if none of these ppl have seen succession let alone if they're the type to analyze the media they watch, but i don't tell ppl that it's a succession thing unless/until they ask about the text) tells me, firstly, is admittedly that most people just don't know what wolves look like. though that's interesting in and of itself tbqh - that despite the common aesthetic obsession with wolves, the majority only like them conceptually and can't actually tell you facts about them. or even what distinguishes them from dogs.

secondly/conversely, it specifically tells me that most people don't have much of a concept of a feral dog. and/or would not be able to tell that something is specifically a feral dog as opposed to a wolf.

but further than that it indicates a lack of concept of the symbolism of a dog, feral or otherwise, in the general public. the above factors are def a huge part of it but i do think it's also that ppl are seeing a tattoo of what's clearly meant to be a wild-looking, angry animal, and they would just never ever guess that someone would want a dog depicted like this, or that anyone would apply this kind of symbolic weight to a domestic dog like as a species rather than one particular pet dog, and it's so ingrained (or specifically not) that they look past the collar and think it must be a wolf. because why would anyone want a dog. why would anyone want to acknowledge that domestic dogs have the capacity to be aggressive, to come even close to acting like their wild counterparts.

all this to say that i now think that the power of succession's dog motif comes partially from forcing the audience to even think about dogs in this way in the first place, seeing as it clearly does not come naturally to the average person.

#mine #ntm i got the dog part of the tattoo while writing without wolves so that's another layer