#what's the right answer here?

[rocketbirdie]

face value

[14dayswithyou]

a few months ago you talked about playing mouthwashing and I was curious if you had any head-cannons for the characters if they got sent to that universe

pls tell ren he's adorable and he owes me 19 dollars

⌞♥⌝ They would be friends I think :3

[ash-and-starlight]

“They’re going for the twins,” said Zuko. “They’re spreading out around the ice, they know—” and inevitably, like the scratchings on an oracle bone, the image was stuttering into view on their planetside radio map. Around the disrupted frequency of the Siqiniq and Taqqiq’s ice wall, the remnant Fire Nation ships were spreading out, the asteroids that had been fencing them in all scattered by now— “We’re going after them,” said Zuko.

The Mercy of Magpies chapter 5

written by thee one and only @ranilla-bean and betaed bt @faux-fires

Chapter Post || Cover || Map and Characters || Ch 2 || Ch 3.1 || Ch 3.2 || Ch 4 || Ch 5.1

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Out of sight, out of - wait.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[lotstradamus]

have you read any books as good as captive prince in terms of plot :/ im desperate!!!

the only series I've read that really evoke that Captive Princeish countries-on-the-brink-of-war, shifting alliances, spies, WHAT IS HAAPPEENNINGING vibe are The Masquerade by Seth Dickinson (The Traitor Baru Cormorant is book #1) and The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (The Thief is book #1).

both of those series deliver a Prince's Gambit Patran Soldiers Arriving On The Field At Hellay jaw-dropper and are so SO satisfying. they will also make you cry LIKE a little bitch lmao

OH MY GOD ALSO??? HELLO???? C. S. PACAT'S NEW YA* FANTASY SERIES DARK RISE??????????? (Dark Rise book #1!!!) we're only on book 2 of 3 but I trust her enough to say: you absolutely have to read it now immediately. on the surface the plot seems SOOOO simple and straightforward (it's VERY pastoral English 20th century children's fantasy vibes, but it's C. S. Pacat so...) but thematically it's very similar to Captive Prince: dead brother angst, hidden identities, sexually fraught gold collars, hot blond bitches and WAR. and sis THEE twists. THEE levels. I spent 85% of the first book like yeah okay I guess I'm into this and the last 15% with my mouth open in shock. I read book two in one sitting the day it came out and transformed from a woman into a sentient scream. 10/10.

*I have to laugh... ok girl ! filth !

[moeblob]

We don't talk about how long ago I started this haha (there was supposed to be more parts but let's worry about that later).

You should roast Sampo all the time as a Belobog citizen duty.

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo’s natural intuition and perceptiveness are so good and subtle but seen throughout the whole show many, many times. And it’s interesting to see how these natural characteristics of his give way to other traits of his as well.

Like, him loving twists and betrayals and surprises goes hand in hand with him being so naturally intuitive.

Canonically, he knows his fam so well he can predict how they’re going to react (knowing what state his fam would be in during the base Shredder fight, being able to trick everyone in Lair Games, knowing Splinter would fall asleep after milk and cake, etc etc etc etc), and he also knows how to predict and manipulate his enemies as well (the “salami paper”, everything with Big Mama, etc etc etc etc).

This intuition comes off as very natural, so it makes so much sense that anything that throws that off would be fun for him to encounter! Provided that the “surprise” isn’t, y’know, world ending.

Moreover, this intuition and perceptiveness also goes hand in hand with how he’s secretly more responsible than he lets on, having to remind his brothers to be aware of how they appear or what may be too much for them or who they may hurt if they’re not careful.

Lastly, and this one is obvious, but these traits are also what fuel Leo’s sense of strategy, which is displayed not only with his actions on the battlefield, but every conversation he has outside of it. After all, it’s a long game to play, to appear a certain way. The Face Man is just another strategy.

So yeah, he knows people. He knows people very, very well.

And he tries very hard to make sure no one knows him.

[numberonetribble]

When your love for each other is so great and it becomes something bigger than either of you, oh that's family baby!

[thequeenwechoose]

[teaboot]

(I'm a security guard.)

[sualne]

my sillies

[utilitycaster]

Ludinus: why are you here?

Bells Hells: ...

[lokh]

what do you think toshiro's version of laios would've been like if he was still with the group during the shapeshifter shenanigans

there have been a few speculations in the tag and among the fans and they are all very good SO i am going to take this opportunity to insert a bit of my shipping bias as i like in my interpretation LMAO agdsfgdfgv

i noted that in actuality shuro seems to have a very good grasp on laios' character??? this is most obvious in the manga later on but even seeing how he criticises laios in their fight... iirc nothing he says is actually untrue or wildly exaggerated, and while he does express frustration over something he feels like laios Should have control over (noticing his cues), he is also aware that laios isnt being malicious and that hes Just Like That. what i mean to say is that while i think his version of laios may seem more pushy and in-your-face, i dont think it will be overwhelmingly so. if its post-fight, i think the idea of laios (and marcille) being willing to do anything to get falin back made a big impression on him, as well as the idea that they need to eat and rest in order to succeed in their goals, so those aspects would be prominent in his version. he seems pretty observant, so i think for the most part the physical traits would line up, but i think there would be specific things that stand out to him that would appear strangely striking on his version of laios (like. idk something about his eye colour or the subtle contrast of his armour and chainmail. he seems to have a weird sense of aesthetics if extras are anything to go by lmao). if hed actually been paying attention all those times laios had gone on about what the hell ever, then it might be even MORE hard to tell apart his version since he would also have a good grasp on what laios should know. so either his version of laios is pretty difficult to pick out, OR despite the character being accurate his appearance is too. stylised lmao (exaggerated features or something) OR!! they just get him to pull out his monster gourmet guide thing and are able to tell from there. iirc everyone was surprised at its appearance so its possible toshiro had also never seen it before

IN MY IMAGINARY SHIPPING SCENARIO............ lets say that his laios isnt able to be picked out immediately and that the monster guide thing also doesnt immediately occur to anyone. what the real laios Specifically notices is how close this other laios keeps getting to shuro. and hes like. ??? why is he getting so close to him, theres no way i get that close to him??? but no one else seems to be picking up on it as weird, so hes having a small crisis like do i REALLY get that close to him???? and now that hes on the outside he notices shuro subtly leaning away and he feels both a wave of shame and..... protectiveness??? (JEALOUSY??????) and he immediately steps in and grabs him like Hey!!! cant you see hes uncomfortable???? weve been through this already!!! and like. ok i cant believe im doing this again but i need to separate this into different endings

a) the whump route: i dont think shuro ever envisioned Actually Telling laios about his frustrations outside of being basically cornered into it. has he ever spoken up against what was expected of him?? has he ever been confrontational???? i think part of what held him back from expressing his frustrations, along with the cultural norms, could be fear of what the reaction would be. if he had done the same in any other aspect of his life (his family, his inheritance), i think he would expect disappointment, disapproval, more proof that he doesnt add up to expectation. to be honest i dont think he Truly believes that laios is the type of person to react like this. but it was strong enough to prevent him from acting and i think would be projected onto his image of laios. maybe fake!laios says something dismissive like Well if it really bothered him hed say something right? what, he cant even stand up for himself? cmon, shuro, prove that you cant handle it just like everything else. and thats pretty much the fastest giveaway that it isnt really laios. of course this would be a HUGE tonal departure from what the actual episode/chapter was, so:

b) the dumbass route: both laioses break into fisticuffs, and, yes.... barking. and so they speedrun the entire encounter as the shapeshifters true form appears and, after laios points out that thinking too hard about others versions of you can tear apart groups and peace of mind, they pointedly do not speak of it again. they think about it though. a LOT

c) the normal route: both laioses argue normal like and the group ends up being able to tell them apart because the fake laios goes on a little too long about how theyre all here for falin and everyones like ok its not like he DOESNT love his sister but.......... the rest of the scenario probably goes like canon, though then i would want to see what everyone Else thought of shuro

[myokk]

For writers:

What’s your favorite piece of writing you’ve done, and why??

Idk I just woke up thinking about this & now I’m curious!!! & may or may not be compiling a tbr based on your responses since I really haven’t had the time to read any hl fics yet🫶🫶🫶

[ask-modern-patrochilles]

bby where are you!??

Patroclus: Max has just gotten into this neat little phase called ‘sleep regression’ so we’ve been busy.

[stormofdefiance]

want to do a properly thought out write up on this but.... Sunday and Aventurine have so many parallels. Sunday the oldest of an orphaned sibling duo who wishes to sacrifice himself (in a sense) for his sister, Aventurine the youngest of an orphaned sibling duo whose sister sacrificed herself for him. The way Aventurine puts his left hand behind his back to stop it from shaking and Sunday who holds his right hand behind his back during particularly intense moments. Both who feel fundamentally alone no matter how many people they surround themselves with, who actively build self-destructive walls to keep themselves from others, who struggle to find a sense of peace and happiness for themselves, who hide every emotion behind a placid smile, who willingly transform themselves into actors within the grand theatre of life.