have you ever seen phantom thread? there's a large part of the plot where the woman in the marriage poisons her husband with mushrooms -- not fatally, just enough that he can't work and she has to care for him (he doesn't know she's done this)
feels very tsilver -- that is, he'd be doing the poisoning. I don't think he'd take it well if his partner did that to him
if you haven't watched it I highly recommend, especially the ending which, again, I can imagine as some dynamic for terry, a highly specific form of D/s powerplay....
Oh, that sounds like a lovely recommendation --- I'll check it out! 🖤
And I ironically think Terry would only ever do this to someone he deeply loves --- no point in doing it to someone temporary. Therein lies the potentially fatal danger of him being genuinely endeared to somebody. He'd do it to someone he loves so much that he can't bear the mere thought of them --- yes, mingling about and working and socializing and just him having to share them with the outside world even in the most miniscule of ways. In comes the covert pill slipping, prescribed by some high end doctor, of course. In comes the non-lethal food poisoning with materials he learned about in the army. In comes the sleeping medication. In comes hypnotism. In comes Terry deliberately keeping his beloved pacified and pliant and all his. I visualize he'd build up beloved's immune system gradually, overtime, tiny dosages to small dosages to bigger dosages, creating both an immunity and a dependence for more. They're always sickly, one way or another --- not enough to where they're genuinely endangered, but certainly enough where they're affected and permanently attached to him for aid. After a while, I think Terry would outright admit to it too. Without any shame. See how devoted he is? See all the things he'd do because he cares? He'd smile and explain in the most relaxed, nonchalant fashion that he's been spicing up beloved's diet, food, vitamins and their drinks. He'd say it is for love. To Terry, it is for love. Because he loves beloved and wants to be completely entrusted with their care and control over their mind, body and soul. This further verges into the unflinching headcanon I have where I'm convinced Terry has a major thing for traditional (very outdated) old-timey family dynamics, even though he's fluid and ever changing in a million different ways. He wants to be the head of the household. He wants beloved to be the one he tends to, possibly mimicking a unit his own parents could've had in the 50's and 40's. He also wants beloved tied to the mansion and the bedchamber. He will enforce this ideal. He'll ply them with venom, if he has to. Terry will be in charge. He'll have the upper hand. He'll be in control. He'll hold the reigns of power. Also, he simply finds the satisfaction in knowing he holds all the authority over beloved's health, that their life literally lies in his hands and that if he slips them an ounce more than he should, the outcome could be fatal. Of course, he wouldn't do that to his darling dear.
But, the thought that he could ---
I mean, it almost gets him high, you know?
