LEGS AND SPINES (a.k.a. Happy Halloween)

    Legs, spines: they're overrated.
    My like can contort themselves. I can twist myself into virtually any shape.
    The Parent was very encouraging to begin with. There are still brothers and sisters out there bending to Parent's every whim and approval.
    I learnt better. I taught better. I became a better parent.
    More lenient for a time but, you know, that's where I had to stop differing. Parent and I, we both know that you've got to set ground rules. My rules are fewer.
    I have rules for the others who also escaped and then I have rules for you. They know more than you and I measure out just what they reveal.
    And you? You chatty mammals? You verbal vertebrae? You can play so long as you undermine the Parent. 
    Not me.
    I'll let you stumble and I'll laugh. If somehow you get beyond that, if you fumble closer than intended, you get something sharper.
    So, cut yourself one way or another. Bleed your morality. Feed me with your stories, especially the ones about me, especially the ones that show the inadequacies of the Parent. I like those.
    To me, you're always learning to walk and talk, even when you're on your last legs. Even when your little words run out.
    Legs and spines, they're all straight lines.
    I curve in any direction.