Uhhhhh ch4 real. That is all.

listen. listen. take me up, cast me away. this phrase already drives me insane but in the context of this gifset? im spinning and spinning and spinning and sp

so like. okay. back to the basics. this is the phrase that's inscribed on either side of the blade of excalibur. yes, that excalibur, arthurian legend excalibur, the one from the lady of the lake (no, not the sword in the stone, they're different swords, yes i know it's confusing).

i'm not sure where this inscription first came into use, as most articles/information i can find just say "in multiple versions" the inscription or similar words to it are mentioned, although the only specific example i've found is tennyson's idylls of the king.

"[...] on one side, Graven in the oldest tongue of all this world, 'Take me,' but turn the blade and ye shall see, And written in the speech ye speak yourself, 'Cast me away!' And sad was Arthur's face Taking it, but old Merlin counselled him, 'Take thou and strike! the time to cast away Is yet far-off.' So this great brand the king Took, and by this will beat his foemen down." -- (Forgive me, I don't want to count all the lines and there are no line numbers, but I got the full text on Project Gutenberg.)

i also looked at Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur which is a pretty major text for popular/well-known Arthurian canon, and while there is an interesting exchange between Merlin and Arthur about swords and scabbards when Arthur takes up Excalibur that could certainly be relevant, there is no mention of the inscription on the blade.

but like, here's the thing. take me up, cast me away. it's about being willing to take up the mighty sword, to wear the heavy crown--take responsibility, take action, wield power and make hard choices. but it's also about knowing when to stop. not just when to take up the burden of power but when to let go of the joys of power. it's about knowing you can't fight fate: one day, the sword must be cast back into the lake. one day you will lose your power. one day camelot must fall, and arthur must die on the fields of camlann. in many ways, camelot was doomed from the start, from the very first time arthur drew the sword from the stone: because of the blood his father spilt, because of the fate that had been sealed long ago. it won't be for a long time, of course--galahad is unborn, the grail unfound, the heralds uncalled. guinevere is still loyal, if they're married at all, and lancelot might not have even arrived yet (i'm really not sure on the timeline, and even i were an expert i would doubt that there was anything consistent given all the different versions and contradicting tales that have been told over the years). but nonetheless, camelot will fall. take me up, cast me away: take power, but give it up, when it is time. take action, fight, but be willing to stop, too. stand up but know one day you must stand down, one day you will fall. take power. give it up. take responsibility. give it up. fight. surrender.

that may sound bleak, but you must remember: happy endings don't exist. it's about where you end the story--camelot lives many prosperous years before it inevitably crumbles. happy endings are just time. and if you stand up and fight--take up the sword--you can buy that time. the time to cast away is yet far off.

(as a quick digression, it's also very interesting to me that in tennyson's text, take me up is written in the oldest tongue known to this world, while cast me away is written in the common tongue arthur knows. i don't think i have the energy to get into this in depth but like. wow, right?)

now you might be thinking hey gert? gert? what the FUCK does this have to do with kate and martina. and i admit. i got a little side tracked because this shit makes me emo. i haven't even gotten into galahad and i won't for the sake of time and relativity to the main topic here. and like, sure, the themes of fate less important/prevalent here i think. but like. listen.

take responsibility. fight, when no one else will. stand even when you're alone. be independent. but also know when to stand down. know when you need help. take up the sword, even though you're so young, too young to be a soldier. but cast it away when you must, when you can. be a kid, too.

and then there's the double meaning: two abandoned children. take me up. cast me away.

ough.

ok new winner from r/stupiddovenests

Alexander opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped, considering it. She was right, he wasn’t ever planning on living for much longer, he couldn’t imagine a future with him in it. He definitely didn’t want to stay on an earth without her, barely wanted to stay on this earth at all.

“So?”

“So… if you die, I die. If I die, you die. Is- is that what you mean?”

Maria nods. “That way neither one of us will be alone. Ever.”

[Day 238]

💤💤💤

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ME WHEN I GET A FULL BLOWN FIC INSPIRED BY MY ART AND MAKE A FULL PAGE COMIC OUT OF IT HOW WE FEELING💥💥💥💥💥

Explodes this still feels like a fever dream hi so @definitelynotshouting this absolutely batshit insane guy wrote "honey it's starting to storm" INSPIRED BY THIS ART FROM CHRISTMAS. I need to yell about it more istg this is the W of the century. Guys please it's so good go read it go read go rea

Emphasis GO READ IT👉

Quality time with the eldest (Earth) and the youngest (Minus One)! Whatever could go wrong??

Yet again, another cat moment for Minus One. He likes Legendary the most out of all the brothers

Goodbye, Minus One... you will be missed :'(

(Pro tip! Be careful with your belongings at the beach. You never know what might happen to it)

Back at it again with more men in skimpy outfits, Easter Vashwood edition

at this point the house should just go for a new record. how many did they have to do in 1856? 133 rounds? we can beat that. it would be hilarious

saturday sun

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

pairing : percy jackson x fem!reader

summary : a little surprise percy springs on you turns out to be one of the best afternoons at camp. or maybe that's just because you're with him?

requested : yes / no

willow's whispers : first pjo writing cause everything i see is for luke so if you want something done right you gotta do it yourself !! also im pretty sure this can be read for any godly parent. based on the song saturday sun by vance joy. I WROTE THIS IN ONE SITTING SO YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO JUDGE HOW BAD OR SHORT IT IS. I'm building up for my big fics.

warnings : literally nothing this is the most boring fic ever

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Where are we going?" You laughed, blindly following Percy as he helped you over a fallen log.

"Oh, just somewhere you'll love," He said, and winked. "At least I hope you do. Anyways, c'mon!"

The pair of you marched through the woods of the camp, laughing, talking, teasing, and enjoying moments of silence. The sun blinked lazily between branches of giant pine trees as if Apollo was comfortably stretching out on his throne.

"Here, stop here." Percy turned to you and gave you that smile that made you fall in love a little more every time you saw it. If that was even possible. "There's a pathway over here, be careful 'cause there's a lotta rocks over here."

You followed him once again, down a narrow sloping hill and arrived on a shoreline. A small oasis even. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years, moss grew over everything, the grass was bright and stood tall as if no one's footsteps had ever crushed them down yet. Waves gently lapped the rocks and few shells scattered across the ground.

"Wow," You breathed, almost as if your normal volume would disturb this angelic peace. "When did you find this, Perce?"

Percy, who was flattening the weeds to sit on, looked up. "Huh? Oh, two days ago. During capture the flag. Then I came back yesterday to make sure some monster didn't live here and now I'm showing it to you," He finished setting up his bed that would make any Demeter kid cringe. "C'mere," Percy motioned for you to lay next to him.

You smiled and made your way over to him, easing yourself down on his patch of grass. The two of you were on your stomachs, watching the water swirl into memorizing, glittering, patterns. A sweet silence filled the air.

But the water wasn't what Percy was interested in. He just kept his eyes on you, admiring the way your face lit up when you heard your favorite bird call. The way your eyes seemed to shine in the golden god's light. The smooth curve of your lips that twitched when you smiled.

You met his eyes, the sea-green hue a painting of where the sky and the sea meet.

"Do I have something on my face?" You asked, lightly teasing him to pretend you weren't about to do the same staring as he was doing now.

Percy's eyes glinted and the wisps of his hair caught the sunlight perfectly. "No, you're just the prettiest girl I've ever seen. Art's gotta be appreciated right?"

"I guess but shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Aw hey, quit stealing my line!" He said, poking your stomach. A giggle escaped you, one Percy knew he would fight any number of monsters to hear again.

"It's not your line! Where's your copyright claim?"

Instead of answering right away, Percy wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close. He tucked a fly-away strand of hair out of your face and pressed his lips gently to yours. It felt like the first breath of spring, when the flowers peek from their earthly shield and remind the world that only precious things take time.

"It's right here."

And he kisses you again.

hey im curious

feel free to rb & explain your answer in the tags!

Sometimes I forget to post what I draw

|| part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 coming soon... ||

the update!! is finally!! done!!! holy shit i'm so glad i can finally post this aubdskjg. it was so fun seeing everyone guess what ace was gonna do after the last part! turns out, he can be silly AND pissed! who knew he was so multitalented~ i do wonder though- with the abilities they had when they were 17, who would win in a fight... >:3c

if you're wondering why this update took so much longer to come out than the last one, well... i got halfway through making it and then scrapped everything and started over completely... ah eto... bleh >v<

if you're curious what the initial version looked like, or want to see the pages without speech bubbles, they're both below the cut ^-^

so! first off! the scrapped pages:

the reason that i scrapped it is because... well. it doesn't flow well at all. i tried too hard to cram it to 4 pages which resulted in both the layout and the story flow feeling cramped. for the most part both versions cover the exact same beats but with the dialogue and timing/spacing tweaked. compare page 1 here to the first 2 pages in the final- it's the same exact scene but the final has way more impact because the larger panels give a 'pause' at emotional beats (such as ace's realization) that lets them sink in

my only regret is that i had to scrap sabo's expression in the first panel of page 2 aubsdkjfgb.

here's all the pages textless now ^-^

sky so blue

Last time I posted gen loss it was all my cool funky art, now its time for the doodles™️

also two possible aus including techno as a show host and splatoon protag ranboo

Just I forgot to draw the connecting line for ranboos eyes whoops-

law should get a magical girl transformation like pretty cure type shit then he fights over the title of cure heart. it would be therapeutic to him