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Post by Mijahu on Feb 13, 2009 14:43:53 GMT -5
Maybe Olaf never "earned" the ankle tattoo while in V.F.D., or something. And so he draws it on, getting it different every time.
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Post by Xandy on Feb 13, 2009 14:47:20 GMT -5
Maybe it's just Snicket leading you into a false sense of direction.
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Post by Dante on Feb 13, 2009 16:08:52 GMT -5
Oh yes, and in TGG the Queequeg's periscope is meant to resemble a V.F.D. eye. Just to confuse things even further. That's a particularly bizarre example. I'd like to write that off as another case of an eye that's just similar to the insignia in the sense that it's an eye - but TGG specifically states that it looks like the insignia with the three letters. Either it has an elaborately-shaped cover, or I'd say the periscope just has the insignia stencilled on the lens. Maybe Olaf never "earned" the ankle tattoo while in V.F.D., or something. And so he draws it on, getting it different every time. A bit of a stretch for mere illustrator inconsistency, don't you think? Olaf's tattoo can't be removed; this is a key plot point in nearly every book in which he's in disguise, particularly TRR, in which his tattoo appears to have vanished. If it's just drawn on, he'd never have had such difficulty. Since the schism's been retconned to have taken place when most of the adult cast were only about four, and V.F.D. stopped marking its members with the insignia after the schism, in addition to other allusions suggesting the tattoo is given in childhood not long after taking, I'd suggest that the tattoo is given in childhood not long after taking. It's not something you earn, like military stripes; it's more of a uniform in itself (except you can't take it off...). Reason for Editing: Terrible analogy. As usual.
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Post by Mijahu on Feb 13, 2009 16:20:04 GMT -5
Either it has an elaborately-shaped cover, or I'd say the periscope just has the insignia stencilled on the lens. If I were to draw it I would probably take some artistic license myself and draw the insignia several times in a small ring around the lens, a bit like a frame of insignias.
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