#tpf tag

[untitledgoosegay]

my hot take is that etienne is a good influence on masumi

[untitledgoosegay]

i don't particularly see etienne as an autistic character but damn if a lot of his interactions don't hit in the autism

[untitledgoosegay]

the first time etienne was open with his thoughts about the future, his best & only friend almost killed him, & i have no doubt this impacted his approach to the next ~40 years

the second time etienne was open with his thoughts about the future, his estranged old friend did kill him

both times he's saying, "look, here's my logic. argue with me. propose alternatives. work with me to find a solution we can all accept." and both times he's met with unreserved violence

and then people get mad at him for being a cryptic secretive bastard! look where being honest got him!

[untitledgoosegay]

weeping about etienne and masumi at all times btw

[untitledgoosegay]

the first time i read #13 i was a little affronted at first by everyone's panic after heavy kills etienne -- "how much did we lose? how many people did he kill?"

because it's obvious, isn't it? etienne prioritizes saving lives, as many lives as possible, over everything else. if anyone ever really called his bluff -- what would be the point in hitting that dead man's switch? millions dead, for what? spite? petty revenge? the threat of the dead man's switch exists to keep etienne alive. if it's failed, there's no purpose to following through.

etienne may be cunning, but he is also reliably, infallibly consistent. if he is already dying, it is inconsistent with his ethics to take the better part of a continent with him just to prove a point. "the only ethical thing to ever do with the nuclear button is not press it."

... but, of course ... the threat only works if people think there's a real chance he'd actually do it. if magus or heavy or eliza or, hell, any of the global superpower governments ever really concluded "nah, he'd never," or even judged it unlikely enough to roll the dice, etienne would be toast.

etienne's safety and methods depend on people believing he's a worse, less rigorously ethical person than he is.

[petalsonparchment]

When designing Marlene for The Prophet’s Fable, I knew I wanted to take a different approach with her than I usually do. I decided to make her significantly older than Lily and James so that she has time out in the field before reintroducing her later in the series. I envisioned her as a lighter blonde with dyed red strands to signal her Gryffindor pride. I also imagined her having a distinct style, often pairing her uniform with fishnet stockings and platform boots to stand out from the usual Mary Jane’s. I like to imagine her as a Carrie Fisher mashed with Avril Lavigne and Stevie Nicks in terms of style and personality. I did a mock up sketch for her and figured I’d share!

TPF

[petalsonparchment]

Lily’s heart sank as realization hit her, too late to act. Time seemed to slow. She watched in horror as James’s face turned an alarming shade of green. William, still striding toward her, remained blissfully unaware of the impending disaster.

And then, it happened.

James doubled over and vomited.

Right.

On.

William.

Petals I'm in literal tears of laughter I'm going to be thinking about this for the rest of my life lol

James Potter OD-ing on ketchup packets is such a James Potter move and we all know it.

[petalsonparchment]

Petals. My sister in Christ, you have done the one thing I never thought possible: I don't hate Snape in The Prophet's fable.

you've actually made me kind of like him did you put a spell on this fic I'm so confused???

I mean I'm only like halfway into chapter 4 so who knows but I just gotta praise your writing skills ok thx bye ily

Aldhalwhrbwoehdjwjr Emma, my sister in Christ, this is seriously the funniest thing because I as the writer cannot stand writing Snape as a semi decent human since he’s only a 14 year old kid 😂 I just want him to be a mean and nasty son of a bitch already. But we’ll get there!!