"I've never seen such anger in a girl" and it's literally just a nine-year-old being quiet after an upsetting event, Arya really experiencing the universal girlhood experience of having your emotions policed for not responding in the "right" way
not sure how exactly to articulate this but i do find it interesting that there are so many posts about how it shouldn't register as weird that claudia and madeleine are romantically involved because claudia is fully and completely an adult, and at points yes, i do get the sense that S2 of the show wants you to believe this but i would argue that, at the very least from rice's perspective, the tragedy of claudia is more complicated than this concept of an adult in a child's body. like, the reality is that we can't fully understand the extent to which claudia will or can develop toward "adulthood" (itself a malleable and culturally dependent concept) and that's the true horror of it, that's what makes siring a child vampire taboo among so many vampires, that's what louis so selfishly took from her!
and it does feel like S2 overextends itself in its desperation to convince the viewer claudia is in fact 100% developmentally matured and simply & only frustrated with her appearance and the limitations of her body. like...she is permanently pubescent!
not necessarily suggesting one approach or the other is "wrong" and obviously the show can reinterpret the text in any way it chooses, but i think the latter not only makes for a more compelling claudia arc but also asks some more interesting questions about the nature of human development, which is something rice has always been heavily concerned with.
the similarities between lestat and claudia are always a huge topic of discussion on here, and i think you do also feel that loss in light of the fully and "successfully" matured claudia of S2, who lacks the childish impulses, temper tantrums and mercurial nature of S1 claudia almost entirely. she endures louis's neglect and abuse with a level of grace that makes it kind of hard to suspend disbelief at points imo!
Just watched Sick and Tired (Golden Girls s5, episodes 1 & 2) and aside from the obviously great work these episodes did in highlighting just how awful it can be to be diagnosed with a chronic illness, I had to take a minute to appreciate Rose. Because she's genuinely amazing here.
We're in these episodes where obviously, Dorothy isn't at her best. She's not there to be the voice of reason, to make sure everything runs smoothly — and usually you'd think Sophia would turn into the anchor then, because she seems to have most of her wits about her. But rather than Sophia, or even Blanche, it's Rose who steps up and keeps some semblance of order around the house.
Rose goes to New York with Dorothy because she's comforting, because she's sweet and understanding and unlike Blanche, she's able to take Dorothy seriously without considering her own problems. Rose takes care of Blanche during her... writer's high? If that's what we can call it? And it's just. She displays so much emotional intelligence in these episodes, and she keeps it all together for the four of them when all the others are falling apart. I love the rare episodes where we get to see how important Rose is; how much there really is going on underneath the surface.
it's crazy cause not only are pets just little guys living in your home but like. thats an alive thing, that is happy with you and will lay on your bed or lap or ask you to stroke their head. this breathing thing taking up a spot to stretch out and nap and be content while you play with their tummy. a creature, a little monster in the Pokemon type of way...just hanging out and living with you, making noises and weird faces. i love them
[said theu gritted teeth and streaming tears] i hate tou guys that make ladyklok/ fem pics of them but make em all look big breasted thin waisted and big lipped and sexy faced i truly do
im not only planning out which monster high dolls i can get without taking out a loan but also eyeing a g3 cleo doll as a potential cuztomization project..... we could see a Sal Real in the next five years....
aza is so much fun to rp directly after rping as daveth bc they are SOOO different. daveth is a socialite, loves the sound of his own voice, knows how to charm ppl with his sweet words and knows how to make people laugh, he makes a few faux pas here and there but he knows how to save the conversation easily. and aza is just. so straightforward. so serious. so unintentionally invasive. she just says whatever comes to her head with the most deadpan face at all times. it doesnt matter how crazy it sounds, its just tuesday for her. 🤷♂️
... man i just remembered how last night i had a dream by the end of it there was a cat, and in it i said "oh she looks exactly like tigra!! are you also an attention seeking dumbass like her?" and it was so i may have actually dreamt about her
Finally finished this piece about the toxic beauty standards imposed by my parents while growing up. Painting all those eyes felt both meditating and drove me insane.
TW: child abuse
I included some of the comments my family has made about my appearance over the years, some of which are contradicting, just to show how impossible it was to please their toxic beauty standards. To them, I was always too skinny and too fat at 115lb. And being 5'6 was too short.
My mom told me to get plastic surgery for my monolid eyes, because only double lidded eyes are considered beautiful by Chinese standards. She pointed to her friend's daughter, who did get plastic surgery for her entire face, and said how much better the girl looked, how I should be like that.
My dad commented on my flat chest, asking how come my mom has boobs while I don't. My stepmom pointed out the frown lines around my lips, saying I don't smile enough. My stepmom always bullied me to the point of crying (by calling my mom a whore and such), so she knows exactly why I don't smile enough. My stepdad said my personality is too horrible to get a normal job, so I would have to prostitute myself, but that I'm too ugly to get clients so I would starve. When I told my mom what he said, she told me to stop lying.
After a lot of therapy for my CPTSD, I can look back and realize that they were the ugly ones, in all sense of the word. But for so long I had such little self-esteem, I would avoid photos. At my first artist alley over a decade ago, fans of my art wanted photos with me but I was too ashamed of myself to accept. I've improved a lot and no longer fear being photographed. I still struggle with other aspects of my childhood abuse (a story for a different day), but with each passing year I feel like I'm regaining bits of myself.
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A peek of the painting process, the full hours long videos will be DMed on my Patreon on Sep 5th