Latest Posts by unstablemiss - Page 2

Recently, and partly for personal reasons, I've been thinking of Jo's grieving process after Beth's death in Little Women.

Namely the fact that just before Beth dies, Jo seems to have beautifully come to terms with the pending loss, but afterwards, she regresses into despair.

In Jo's poem My Beth, and in her conversation with Beth after the latter reads it, she says she realizes that she's not really losing Beth, because Beth's memory and influence will always be with her, making her a better person, and because she has faith that Beth will be watching over her in heaven. The last paragraphs of "The Valley of the Shadow" seem to set up Beth's death as sad, but not a soul-crushing tragedy, because the family has already done so much preliminary mourning, because they're relieved that her suffering is over, and because they have their precious memories of her and their religious faith to comfort them.

But then after Beth actually dies, Jo does fall into deep, soul-crushing grief and depression, which includes struggling with her religious faith, and it takes her a lot of work – through talks her parents, through her writing, and eventually by finding love with Friedrich – to finally emerge from the abyss.

I guess it shows that you're never really prepared for a loved one's death, even if you think you are.

But I suppose it's not just about Beth. It's that with Beth's death, all of the same-age companions Jo grew up with are gone. That's why the chapter of her depression is called "All Alone." Meg is married, Amy and Laurie are in Europe, and Jo may have lost Laurie's friendship (she hasn't, but she doesn't know that yet) since she rejected his marriage proposal. If they were still with her, then Beth's death might not have been so shattering. I suppose that's the book's essential, bittersweet message about growing up: siblings and friends drift apart as they all build their own separate lives (and as some die young, which was more common in the 1800s), but new relationships, i.e. spouses and children, fill the void.

(A slightly depressing message for those of us who genuinely don't want to get married or have children. As much as I like Friedrich, I almost would have liked to see an ending where Jo stays a "literary spinster," not because I think it would have been more feminist, but just because it would have shown her finding happiness with her surviving family and friends. It would emphasize that she doesn't "lose" them after all, and show that you don't need to "replace" those relationships with romance or else be lonely forever.)

But I don't think it's just about that either. Beth's death also leaves Jo without a fulfilling purpose in life. Since her writing career failed in New York after she gave up sensation stories, she made caring for Beth her life's purpose, so with Beth gone, she's aimless. She thinks she has no choice left but to "take Beth's place," as Beth urged her to do, and live a quiet, domestic life of keeping house for her parents. But while Jo does those household duties well for a while, and learns their value, she isn't content with them. It was a lovely life for Beth, but it isn't who Jo is. So beyond Jo's grief and loneliness, another cause of her depression is that she's unfulfilled. This explains why writing again, and finding literary success, is such an important part of her healing process, and why she finds her ultimate joy in the very active, un-quiet life of running a boarding school for boys.

For personal reasons, I've been feeling uneasy lately about Jo's backward swing from acceptance to depression between "The Valley of the Shadow" and "All Alone." It does feel slightly as if Alcott was saying "You may think you're ready to accept a loved one's passing, but when it actually happens it will break you." But it does help to remember that the situation is more complex than that.

@littlewomenpodcast, @thatscarletflycatcher, @fandomsarefamily1966

Night Wings Turning the day into the night, the sun into the moon This print and more are %15 off on my website with code SPRING25

Art by Min.K Shin

did you hear they're gonna start publicly executing anyone with a glimmer of hope and a light in their eyes

13th Hour

This one truly took so long to paint ;_; I've always loved paintings with lots of tiny hidden details but couldn't work on those very often because of my hand injury. But I decided to really indulge this time. Most of my paintings take 1-3 recording sessions but this one took 10 ahahaha

The character is Dante, a painter from my work in progress novel about artists titled 1000 Words Unframed. He's an eccentric one and likes to paint trompe l'oeil, aka illusions. Here he's painting a bunch of clocks onto his wall, but none of the clocks are accurate, some having 13 hours, one clock is a spiral, another is made of eyeballs lol. He is also a lover of cats, hence all the cat portraits and kitties hanging out. Here are some close ups of all the details!

Here's a timelapse of how I painted it. The bottles and table in the foreground started as 3D models in SketchUp. The rest is painted in Paint Tool SAI. The full HD image, 10 art videos, and PSD file will be DMed on Patreon.com/Yuumei on April 5th.

Lots of thoughts recently. Everything feels plastic.

I could go on and on about why all that AI "art" is bad. I could mention theft, lack of creativity, it's impact on the work field and environment, but countless people have already said all that. I wanted to touch on something that to me is the most utterly wrong about all of it.

Art is more than just something pretty to look at or listen to. It's therapeutic. It's a form of communication. A tool for human connection. It's a pure, human need.

Support real artists ☀️

Window wings, fragile panes Shield me from the dark Warm me with your spark

Monday #StudyBuddies mapcrunch warmup 60 min - 30 min - 30 min

🍎 ⊹ ࣪ ˖ when u come back

— synopsis: you call him home without meaning to, and caleb holds onto it like a promise—because even if neither of you says it outright, you already belong to each other.

— note/s: so i wrote an essay for my english class abt caleb. turns out i wrote the WRONG kind of essay. so i had to write another one. pure suffering but its caleb so all is acceptable!!

cross-posted on ao3! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

the first time you say it, it's an accident. it slips out like breath, like something inevitable.

"you know, being with you... it feels like home."

"what did you just say?" he asks, voice quiet, almost careful. you don't even notice, but caleb does.

you grumble. "i said, 'caleb is a big dummy,'" 

his hands still where they’re tying his boots, and for a second, he forgets how to move. he laughs lightly, because he knows that isn't what you said, but he plays along anyway. 

he holds onto the words a little too tightly.

he turns the word over in his head. he never thought much about it before. four walls, a roof, a place to return to. but you said it like it was something else, like it was something living. like it was something unshakable, something that belonged.

he doesn’t say anything. doesn’t want to break the moment. but when you leave the room, he flexes his fingers, trying to shake off the feeling sinking into his skin.

—

caleb has never been afraid of fire. he’s seen too much of it, grown up with the heat of war, of broken things burning. he doesn’t flinch at destruction, doesn’t look away from the ruins. but when he sees you standing in the doorway, sleepy-eyed, hair a mess, wearing his jacket over your shoulders—

he understands why people call it warmth.

“what,” you say, voice rough from sleep, “are you staring at.”

he doesn’t answer, just reaches for the kettle, pours you a cup. you take it without thinking, your fingers brushing his, and the contact is so brief, so small, but it sets something off inside him anyway.

he swallows it down. grins like there’s nothing pressing against the inside of his ribs. “thought you were gonna sleep in.”

“couldn’t,” you mumble, cradling the cup. “you weren’t there.”

he doesn’t know what to do with that. it shouldn’t make his pulse stutter, shouldn’t make his throat tighten. but it does.

and when you yawn and shuffle over to lean into his side, still half-asleep, he thinks—

this. this is it.

—

you make fun of him for how easily he fixes things. broken radios, busted engines, anything with wires and circuits. you hand him something ruined and he brings it back to life.

“what about people?” you ask once, chin resting on your palm, watching him work. “you think you could fix them too?”

he laughs, but it’s a quiet thing. “people aren’t machines.”

“but if they were?”

he glances at you, something unreadable in his expression. you wait for him to say something teasing, to brush it off, but he doesn’t.

“then i’d fix you first,” he says.

it catches you off guard. something shifts between you, heavy and quiet.

“i’m not broken, caleb.”

“i know,” he says, too fast. and then, softer, like it’s just for him: “i just don’t want you to be.”

—

there’s a storm outside. neither of you are sleeping.

you’re lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, listening to the rain hammer against the windows. lightning flashes, and a second later, thunder rolls through the sky like a growl. caleb sits on the floor beside you, legs crossed, fingers absentmindedly fiddling with a lighter.

“can’t sleep?” he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

you shake your head. “you?”

“nah.”

silence stretches between you. the kind that’s comfortable.

you reach for his hand without thinking, fingers brushing over his palm, over the calluses, the old scars. he doesn’t pull away. just lets you trace the lines there, slow and careful.

“you ever think about leaving?” you ask, voice barely above a whisper.

“leaving what?”

“everything.”

he tilts his head back, looking at the ceiling like it has answers. “yeah,” he admits. “sometimes.”

“would you?”

he turns to you then, and there’s something in his gaze, something unreadable but steady. “not without you.”

your throat goes tight.

you don’t know how to say what you’re feeling, so you squeeze his hand instead. he squeezes back. the rain keeps falling, the storm rages on, but here, in this space between you, it’s quiet.

—

you’re both terrible at goodbyes.

when he leaves, it’s never for long. never more than a few weeks at a time. but it still lingers, still settles in your chest like something heavy.

he pulls you into a hug before he goes, arms tight around you, like he’s trying to memorize the shape of you. like if he holds on tight enough, he won’t have to miss you.

“stay out of trouble,” he murmurs against your hair.

“no promises,” you say, trying to sound light, but your voice wavers.

he pulls back just enough to look at you. his eyes are warm, steady. “i’ll be back soon.”

“you better.”

he grins, but it’s softer than usual. then he’s gone, and the space he leaves behind feels bigger than it should.

—

when he comes back, you’re waiting.

he doesn’t get a chance to say anything before you’re throwing yourself at him, arms around his neck, holding on like you’ll never let go. he catches you easily, his laugh breathless against your ear.

“missed me that much?”

“shut up,” you mumble, but you don’t pull away.

he just holds you tighter. presses his face into your shoulder, breathes you in like he’s been drowning and you’re air.

and when you whisper, quiet but certain, “you're here,”

he closes his eyes and thinks, yeah.

he’s home.

pray

In honour of me remembering this tumblr exists, here's the latest art of Avalie! This one's called 'Me and the 21 creatures I called in my dreams' and is based off a comfort fic I wrote of her dealing with her nightmares!

I haven't really talked about her on this blog yet (I forgor) but she's a Sumerian forest spirit who was reborn as a human as a blessing to her mother! She has an anemo vision (guess who she lost LMAO) but can also influence the nature around her courtesy of her heritage.

There's a whole bunch of lore surrounding her- and my best friend's OC named Mayari (who's an AU version of Calen, Avalie's best friend in every universe (it gets super messy lol)) who was the one who granted the blessing- and is her second mother in every sense of the word.

I really love Avalie because she's such a sensitive person, and she doesn't try to hide it. She wrestled with it initially, sure, but eventually she realised that that aspect of hers was one of her greatest strengths. And through that she's built a life she loves with the people she loves in her reach.

I find it really inspirational (yes, even tho I created her so this might sound weird) and hope one day I too can reach for the stars just as she always does.

He's so pretty 😭🙏

marius

harumasa

I am not too different from these cats when there's hardly a thought in my head too

These creatures are the sole focus of my life, the source of my happiness, my obsession and fixation. And they don’t even have a single thought in their heads! Here’s some fan art of my cats to honor their clueless little souls 🖤

Rewatching Arcane

happy birthday my love <3

Greetings,

In the depths of desperate despair, I plead for your compassion to save my family from the misery sweeping through Gaza. I implore you, with a heart heavy with sorrow, to be the lifeline my family so desperately needs.

Today, I implore you to bear witness to the shattered remains of my once-happy family. My father, a beacon of strength, was cruelly snuffed out, and the innocent lives of my niece and nephew were taken by the merciless grip of conflict

gofundme.com

Donate to Please save what's left of my family, organized by Mahmoud Saleh

Greetings, I write this appeal with a heavy heart, burdened by the weight of th… Mahmoud Saleh needs your support for Please save what's

Please donate if you can and share our story widely as you're able to🙏🙏

chapter 15.

Tit for tat (22pages)

i genuinely hate how people have to sit and write a post that stands out while boosting a fundraiser because most people won't bat an eye at the misery and inhumane conditions Palestinians are living in.

i see people making art and telling others to use it because fundraisers with art are generally reblogged more often. i see people using colored text in order to make the post more eye catching.

palestinians on instagram are using popular audios and stitch trending reels at the beginning to make the world pay attention to them. imagine having to make something look entertaining in order to survive.

they are living under constant threat of israeli airstrikes, bombing, scarcity of food and disease. many have lost a lot in the past few months.

palestinians on tumblr are posting their pictures and the horrible conditions in which they are living. they travel long distances for internet connection only to be called a scammer by some privileged ass who cannot locate gaza on a map.

here are some verified gfms. please share the linked posts. it's the bare minimum we can do from the comforts of our home.

@amjadshiltawu: link to the post

vetted

@dima96yousef: link to the post

vetted

@tamer200333: link to the post

vetted

@ahmed8311: link to the post

vetted (#161)

@saratahrawi: link to the post

vetted

i love it when a piece of media is like: is there anything more painful than knowing your sibling? is there anything more tragic than knowing they are the only person who will ever share the same experience as you? they were the only constant in your life. they were there since birth and now, no matter how they betray you, you will still love them. you will always feel the need to protect them even if you can no longer bring yourself to talk to them. will anyone else be able to understand? will anybody be able to love you and hate you and fear you the same way a sibling loves you and hates you and fears you? no, probably not

well, my heart is gold and my hands are cold

It's actually really frightening to see officially sanctioned genocide denial rise up in Western countries in real time. Like, I remember 20 years ago hearing about how it was illegal in Turkey to point out that the Armenian Genocide happened, and how I thought that that was fucking evil and oppressive. Now here we are, with a campaign in Gaza that experts have called 'a textbook case of genocide', for which the UN Human Rights counsel has determined there are "reasonable grounds" to call it genocide, and the US Congress is trying to make it illegal to criticize Israel. We have Hollywood agencies refusing to represent anyone who points out that a genocide is currently taking place. And it's just the same shit from a fresh asshole as we got from the Turkish government over what happened in Armenia in the 1920s, like "Oh yes, there were killings, but...calling it genocide? Ohhhh, you must be very hateful to our poor little nation to think that our people are capable of that 😢 😭!" Fuck off.

LMAOOO someone needs to get me this sign man I'm a pro yapper

How Bokuto got through college is beyond me, but I’d still like to think he did His Very Best ™️

Broke my heart, stomped on it and then spit on it as they left 🐥 traveler twins are going to hit harder than anything else because sibling relationships have a shortcut to my heart y'all (why I'm so hellbent on separating Kanna and Yume (my OCs) is a mystery, however)

if I'm not gonna get it, I'm gonna draw it🥲

Let's go VIT!!! Not that I have any connection to it, but I'm glad to see it getting recognition. I've always seen projects like these reaching close to this but never this, and was excited to see when it would actually happen, which is actually a lot sooner than I expected!!! Priyanjali, you've done an amazing thing here and I hope it goes forward and becomes mainstream cause this is so big 🥳🥳

A computer science student named Priyanjali Gupta, studying in her third year at Vellore Institute of Technology, has developed an AI-based model that can translate sign language into English.

Breeze 🎏

KAEDEHARA KAZUHA ✧ Version 2.8 “Summer Fantasia” Trailer

!! thank u so much! The way i draw lace is like…so time consuming but i usually use three different methods interchangeably

One of the major factors of lace is that it must maintain this very floral quality to it, which often relies on noticeable curves. Though a lot of lace contains straight lines here and there, the curves should always b the most significant!