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Post by Christmas Chief on Aug 29, 2011 14:38:40 GMT -5
I'm in a bit of a hurry now, but some quick comments: The librarian - the salmon tie - the Stephensons - Kit - there's much going on here. Should we know who the gray-haired woman is?
I'm also a fan of the theme running in this chapter; it's different from the moral ambiguity emphasized in the canon. You needn't be labeled a villain or volunteer to act in a way that is either kind or evil, but can exist outside the world of V.F.D. and have a considerable influence in its organization.
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Post by Hermes on Aug 29, 2011 15:17:30 GMT -5
I'm in a bit of a hurry now, but some quick comments: The librarian - the salmon tie - the Stephensons - Kit - there's much going on here. Should we know who the gray-haired woman is? Yes. Bear in mind that many characters in this chapter begin with S. (I was afraid there might be a bit of an overload of themes here - if you like, you can think of it as two chapters, though the structure of the story means it must officially count as one.) I'm not sure that's quite what I was trying to say - which doesn't mean it isn't there. Apart from the grey-haired woman, who do you see it as applying to?
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Post by Christmas Chief on Aug 29, 2011 18:54:33 GMT -5
Yes. Bear in mind that many characters in this chapter begin with S. But of course! Could you clarify this a bit more? I'm not sure what function splitting the chapter would serve. To some degree I suppose you might apply it to the Stephensons (and by extension the Baudelaires, Quagmires, etc.) who volunteer without knowledge of the organization. On the converse there's Principal Nero, who has affected V.F.D. by his ignorance, and Geraldine Julienne, who has reported falsities via the TDP.
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Post by Hermes on Aug 30, 2011 8:09:31 GMT -5
Could you clarify this a bit more? I'm not sure what function splitting the chapter would serve. Well, it would mean you didn't have to digest so many themes and story lines all at once. Oh right, yes indeed, that theme is certainly important to me. We had it in chapter 4, where the librarian says to the Quagmires 'You are volunteers, because you have volunteered', and that takes up something from canon - in TPP, the good guardian himself says to Jerome and Justice Strauss 'You're not impostors. You're volunteers'. And that also explains how the Baudelaires and Quigley could be volunteers without being formally recruited. (Though it doesn't apply in quite the same way to the Stephensons, who are going to be formally recruited.)
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Aug 30, 2011 13:57:33 GMT -5
I saw this a few days ago, during a time when my internet was temporarily up, and wanted to read it lest I lose my connection again. Anyway, there's lots to say about this chapter! For example, I really enjoyed your portrayal of Nero - I thought at first, because of his polite greeting to the two Stephenson triplets, he was going to actually be civil. How much more wrong could I be? *laughs* Your take on Geraldine Julienne was excellent, too. And Mr. Salmon! What a funny - yet sneaky - character. His actions make me wonder if he is a spy for Esme, which would automatically make him a spy for Olaf, I expect. Am I on to something here, or merely over-thinking things? 'Scholastica' is a terrific name. Is it an allusion to the children's book publishing company, Scholastic, by any chance? Also, does the name 'Bendedict' come from anyone in particular? Your idea for Charles and - I'm assuming - Sir having once lived in the Orphan's Shack Hut is great! I wonder who's idea it initially was to put up that tacky wallpaper? Poor Nero! If he truly believes he was 'promoted', then he's even more delusional than I thought. Oh! I wonder if these horse-thieves could be old acquaintances of Justice Strauss'? Kit! Both your interpretation of her character AND your ability to tie all of the loose ends from the canon together here are most impressive. I am quite certain I know how her visit to Prufrock Prep is going to end, but I'll keep all comments about that in the shadows for now. The same goes for the mysterious older woman. Overall, a most interesting and very well-written chapter. I know you've mentioned before that you don't update often, so I'll take this moment to remind you that your stories are always worth waiting for, Hermes.
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Post by Hermes on Aug 31, 2011 7:57:11 GMT -5
Hi Emma! *Hugs*. Glad you're OK! . And Mr. Salmon! What a funny - yet sneaky - character. His actions make me wonder if he is a spy for Esme, which would automatically make him a spy for Olaf, I expect. Am I on to something here, or merely over-thinking things? I'm not sure exactly who he's a spy for. I felt there had to be a spy around somewhere for two reasons: a. In TUA Olaf clearly knew something about Kit's plans, as he planted an article, through Geraldine, warning about books which are unsuitable for children, which led to Kit's sacking. b. In TPP the sinister duo know that Duncan and Isadora are volunteers. Can you guess where Mr Salmon worked before getting the job at Prufrock Prep? The reference to Scholastic is just a sort of extra; the real reason I chose the name was that Saint Scholastica was the sister (indeed, amazingly, the twin sister) of Saint Benedict. As for why 'Benedict' in the first place, Dante may know something about that, this being the idea on which our thoughts coincided. Yes, I think it's a fair guess that it's Sir. Yes indeed. Of course it didn't work quite as planned; when the principal died/disappeared/whatever happened to him, that left Nero free to make music to his heart's content. Could well be. Thank you!
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Sept 1, 2011 10:47:30 GMT -5
Hi Emma! *Hugs*. Glad you're OK! Ahoy there, Hermes! *hugs back* Thank you for the warm welcome back. ^^ I remember that list of books, though I didn't realize it was Olaf who'd given it to Geraldine, who gave it to Nero (I assumed she’d written it herself). Now I am wonder if perhaps Olaf was attempting to warn Kit, too, considering their past together. I doubt it, though, since it's quite clear she's on the side of the volunteers. I don't recall that part, if only because it's been forever since I've read TPP. Plus I've only read it once, so I've forgotten a lot of details. I appreciate you pointing them out to me, so thank you. *laughs* His place of former employment was the first thing to jump out at me the instant I read his name! ;D What an imaginative thought, and how very fascinating that the person from whom your character's name derives has a twin. If I recall correctly, Daniel Handler chose Genevieve for Esme after St. Genevieve, which I wasn't aware until Violet Marie mentioned it in a conversation we had once. Would you mind if I PM'd him and asked? I'm always curious to know the significances to characters' names in ASoUE, both in the canon and fanon. I thought so. Though there's always that tiny possibility it might not be who you think - largely more so in ASoUE - so I figured I'd ask. Yes, you can't help but wonder where the principal is during a time when his services would be greatly needed. I really like your assumption for Nero taking advantage of his employer's absence. It's something I've never given much thought to, but I'm pleased to say it works splendidly. I guess you can dismiss is as just another part of the series that's fun to speculate on. You're welcome!
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Post by Hermes on Sept 1, 2011 11:40:35 GMT -5
I remember that list of books, though I didn't realize it was Olaf who'd given it to Geraldine, who gave it to Nero (I assumed she’d written it herself). Well, it's part of a set of three articles, one warning about the danger of allowing telegrams to be sent to a bank, and one about the danger of allowing telegraph poles to remain upright. I'm fairly sure Olaf was the real source of all of them - presumably passing the information to Geraldine through Esme. And the salmon pattern on his tie was inspired by the pyjamas which he, or a colleague, appears wearing in TPP. Actually I think I should stop teasing you. Do you remember that in TEE Violet mentions her friend Ben, who once gave her some elevator blueprints for her birthday? That's who I'm imagining Benedict to be - though I chose 'Benedict' over the more frequent 'Benjamin' because that also allowed me to introduce an interesting name for his sister. I did think of including a few lines in which the Stephensons remember the Baudelaires from their life before the fire, but the chapter was already getting too long - I may be able to get it in in a later chapter, with luck. (And the third sibling, Jeremy, is of course an ice-cream reference - inspired by the news nominatissima brought to us recently of a new flavour called 'Volun-tiramisu'.)
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Sept 2, 2011 13:24:08 GMT -5
Well, it's part of a set of three articles, one warning about the danger of allowing telegrams to be sent to a bank, and one about the danger of allowing telegraph poles to remain upright. I'm fairly sure Olaf was the real source of all of them - presumably passing the information to Geraldine through Esme. Oh, most certainly. After all, it's always O who seems to be the one behind such goings on. I think it's safe to say, too, that the plan to have the elevators removed from the shafts at 667 Dark Avenue was originally his, even though it was Esme who carried out the order. Once again, great use of tying the canon to your ficverse! I'll have to leaf through my copy of TPP and see if I can find it. I thought the inspiration was strictly a mash-up of Nero's snail tie and Cafe Salmonella. It's cool - Violet's friend Ben was actually the first character to come to mind when I began speculating the other day on who Benedict might be. My childhood best friend was also named Ben, so I guess that's a big part of why I remember, seeing as how Ben is mentioned only once in the series. Anyway, I agree that it was better to name the Ben in your story 'Benedict' rather than 'Benjamin'. Not only for the reason you've started, but because of the unique ring the name Benedict carries. It would be wonderful if you're able to include some exchanges between the Stephensons and the Baudelaires in a flashback. If not in TGG, then perhaps you might consider doing an off-screen one-shot sometime? (I couldn't place Jeremy's name until now, but I think I do remember that post by nominatissima. It's always a delight when conversations set your imagination into high gear like that.
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Post by Hermes on Sept 9, 2011 13:58:00 GMT -5
b. In TPP the sinister duo know that Duncan and Isadora are volunteers. Bother - that should be TSS. For some reason I keep getting those two mixed up, though a mountain isn't really very like a hotel.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Sept 10, 2011 10:42:45 GMT -5
Bother - that should be TSS. For some reason I keep getting those two mixed up, though a mountain isn't really very like a hotel. Don't worry, Hermes. I've mixed up the TCC and TSS before, since both involve Olaf, Esme, and the troupe sleeping outdoors in tents. Perhaps your reason for mixing up TSS and TPP has to do with both having various characters all gathered together in one place?
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Post by Hermes on Sept 12, 2011 13:21:24 GMT -5
Perhaps your reason for mixing up TSS and TPP has to do with both having various characters all gathered together in one place? I think it's something like that, yes - they both draw threads together, unlike TGG, which (despite the presence of Phil) seems to be jumping off in a new direction.
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Post by Hermes on Dec 12, 2015 18:08:36 GMT -5
Chapter 8. The Bewildered Balloonist.
The Self-Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home rose into the air, leaving the Village of Fowl Devotees far below, with the Baudelaire orphans, the whirling crows and the torch-wielding villagers. Duncan and Isadora looked down, waving and calling out to their friends, until they could no longer hear the sounds from below, and could hardly discern who was who in the crowd. As the craft rose higher, they saw the land spread out before them; on one side the City, some fifty miles away, and beyond it the ocean; on the other the hinterlands, bordered by the Mortmain Mountains. Between them lay many towns and villages, from Ophelia to Stain’d-by-the-Sea. Yachts, fishing boats and pirate ships made their way across the ocean; planes and airships crossed the sky, travelling to the great cities of the continent, Winnipeg, Boston, New York, Phoenix and Vancouver.
A wind caught the Mobile Home and carried it towards the mountains; after a few minutes, cloud covered the Village of Fowl Devotees, and they could no longer see any reminder of the world they had just escaped from.
After a long silence, Isadora spoke. ‘The world is quiet here,’ she said.
‘It’s a long time since I’ve heard anyone say that,’ said Hector from a doorway.
Duncan and Isadora jumped; they had not realised he was there. They turned to him in some surprise. ‘Why, where did you hear it?’, asked Duncan.
‘Well,’ said the handyman, ‘I’m not sure if I should tell you – but now we’ve left the world behind I don’t suppose it matters. It was the motto of a secret organisation I used to belong to.’
‘V.F.D.’ said Isadora. ‘Not the Village of Fowl Devotees, but the Volunteer…’. She paused, uncertain if she should say more.
‘The Volunteer Fire Department. Yes. But … how do you know about it?’
‘We are volunteers,’ said Duncan, ‘We were recruited by the librarian at Prufrock Prep’.
‘Well,’ Isadora corrected him, ‘really we recruited ourselves. But he explained it to us. So … you were a member too?’
‘Yes, I was,’ said Hector. ‘Come into the library and I’ll tell you all about it’.
They left the control basket, where solar panels concentrated heat to warm the air which filled the Mobile Home’s great balloons, and went into one of its enclosed spaces. The room was lined from floor to ceiling with books; the triplets, who had not been in a library since leaving Prufrock Prep, looked around with delight. There were comfortable chairs in the middle of the room, and they took their seats there.
‘We really ought to ask’ said Isadora ‘which faction you belong to.’
‘Well,’ Hector replied ‘I left the organisation a long time ago, so I don’t belong to any faction now. But I was never a villain, if that’s what you mean. I was on the noble side, the side which tried to put fires out.’
Isadora looked questioningly at Duncan. ‘Should we trust him?’ she asked.
‘I think we have to,’ her brother replied. ‘You can never be sure of anyone, but he feels like a noble person to me’.
‘All right,’ said Isadora, turning back to Hector. ‘Tell us your story.’
‘Well,’ Hector began, ‘there have been connections between the Village of Fowl Devotees and the other V.F.D. for a very long time. The volunteers used to recruit carrier crows from the village. My family were the village’s handymen for generations, and it was our job to run errands to the City, so a lot of dealing with the volunteers went through us; so we got to know them quite well. And as a result of that, some of us were recruited too. My father was a volunteer when he was young, and I became one as a baby. I was recruited very young indeed, younger even than Lemony Snicket.
‘It was as a volunteer I first learnt ballooning. I did my apprenticeship on the sea coast, and took part in surveys of mysterious events going on at sea. But then when I was almost thirteen, there was a big crisis in V.F.D.’
‘Was that the schism?’ asked Isadora.
‘No, not the schism,’ said Hector. ‘That happened when I was a baby; in fact that’s why I was recruited so early. They were taking in all the children who were on their list, however young they were, to stop the villains getting hold of them. But little schisms kept happening along the way, and one of those came when I was twelve.
‘It’s a very complicated story; it had to do with a Beast, and an Item that one of our members had stolen from a museum. You see, we were searching – no actually, I don’t need to explain this right now; I can tell you later, if you like. What matters is that the Council of Elders decided they didn’t want anything to do with the volunteers any more. They passed an ordinance forbidding secret organisations from operating in the village. My father had to drop out, and he pulled me out as well – he was afraid that if he didn’t he might be burned at the stake. So I came home to V.F.D., and began learning to be a handyman. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.’
‘And so you never saw the volunteers again?’ asked Duncan.
‘Actually, no: I did see them sometimes. My father still had to go to the City sometimes to get supplies and so on, and I sometimes went with him, so I managed to meet my old volunteer friends in secret occasionally. That went on till I was nineteen, I think, and then there was yet another crisis in V.F.D., and they went deeper into hiding. After than I lost touch with them.
‘If you want to know more, I have a lot of books about V.F.D. here – though some of them are in code.’ He pointed to the shelves in one corner of the room. ‘When secret organisations were banned, my father had to remove all books about them from the library, so since then we’ve been keeping them at the handyman’s house. I have books about other secret organisations too, if you’re interested – the Societas Eruditorum, the Naked Men, the Illuminati, the Megatherium Club, The Club of Queer Trades, the Tristero, the – ’
For some time now, Isadora had been looking rather agitated, and finally she broke in. ‘Hector,’ she said, ‘you mentioned Lemony Snicket. Did you know the Snickets at all?’
‘Er, yes,’ said Hector rather hesistantly, ‘yes, I did’.
‘Did you know Jacques?’
‘Er, yes. I knew his brother better, but I met Jacques a few times. Why –’
‘Hector,’ said Isadora severely ‘you were there during Jacques’ trial. You must have known that he wasn’t Count Olaf, but you didn’t say anything.’
‘Well,’ said Hector in an embarrassed tone, ‘I was too skittish, a word that here means “nervous”’.
‘We know what it means,’ said Duncan.
‘I’m always skittish in front of the Council of Elders. You see, when I was young, as a volunteer, I had to face a lot of dangerous things, and we were taught a technique for dealing with that, by putting our fear on one side till later. Only that means that now I have a lot of fear left over, and I’m frightened most of the time. It happened to a lot of us: there was one girl, a lake explorer, who –’.
‘But Hector,’ said Isadora ‘if you had spoken up, Jacques might not have been condemned to death.’
There was a long silence. Finally Hector spoke very quietly. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry’.
‘I suppose’ said Duncan cautiously ‘it might not have made much of a difference. The Council probably wouldn’t have listened. After all, they didn’t listen to the Baudelaires.’
‘That’s true,’ Isadora admitted.
The silence continued. After a while Isadora spoke again.
‘I think we ought to do something.’
‘Like what?’ said Duncan, puzzled.
‘I mean, I don’t think we should be running away. This is a safe place, but we oughtn’t to be hiding from all the miseries of the world. We’re very grateful that you’ve rescued us, Hector, but our friends the Baudelaires are still in danger, and there’s another pair of orphans who are in trouble as well. We wanted to contact the volunteers, so that we could help them. Can this Mobile Home come down to earth?’
‘It’s never meant to touch the ground’, Hector explained, ‘but it should be possible to lift people up and set them down with the ladder. The ladder is damaged now, of course, but we may be able to repair it. When my father first planned this Self Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home, he meant it for the volunteers – it could be used to observe the land and look for fires, but also as a safe place for people escaping from danger. Later he just planned to use it for himself and his family, to escape from life in V.F.D., and that’s how I thought of it too. But it could be used to rescue other people too.’
‘So’ asked Isadora ‘do you want to be a volunteer again’.
‘Yes’ Hector replied, ‘I think I do’.
‘Well,’ said Isadora, ‘welcome back to V.F.D.’.
‘Can you really recruit me, just like that?’
‘I don’t need to recruit you. You are a volunteer, because you have volunteered. That’s what the librarian told us, and it works for you, too.’ Hector looked more cheerful than he had for a long time.
‘So, what should we do next?’ asked Duncan.
‘That’s hard to say,’ said Hector. ‘We can’t really go back to the village, where people will be shooting at us. If the Baudelaires have escaped, we don’t know where they are right now. What about those other orphans you were talking about?’
‘The Stephensons?’ said Duncan. ‘They were at Prufrock Prep, but I’m not sure they’re still there. We never really managed to contact V.F.D., so we don’t have a clear idea of what’s going on. And of course our notes have been destroyed.’
‘I think we need to do some research before we take any action,’ said Hector. ‘I suggest we overfly the country, taking in the various places that used to be volunteer bases, to see if anything’s happening there. And there are lots of books and old newspapers here which you can look at, in case they give you any clues. Now, I just have to check the engine, and then I can make some quesadillas for supper. Won’t that be delightful?’
The triplets were not entirely satisfied, but they could not think of a better idea at that moment. ‘It will indeed’ said Isadora, and as Hector returned to the control platform, they began to scan the library shelves.
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Post by Dante on Dec 13, 2015 9:29:49 GMT -5
And may I say, Hermes, better to be, in your own words, "the slowest fanfic in the world" than abandoned entirely, and I am happy to see the return of this story. I've skimmed over the previous chapters to remind myself of what the story is about and what's going on, and enjoyed it again - the way it connects up the background of canon and makes an astonishingly creditable attempt at actually having a Quagmire paraquel, even though they spend so little time doing anything. Anyway, to business: I see that this chapter has benefited from the intervening publication of ATWQ, and it's nice to have that linked into this enormous mesh of mystery as well - and the idea of the Quagmires re-recruiting Hector, rather than vice-versa, is a really rather touching innovation. I'm really enjoying how well-written and densely-allusive your style is all over again. ...I wish I had more to say, really, in proportion to how long you've been working on this, but I do hope you're as pleased to be back working on it as I am to be back reading it.
And now the game is on, then. Which will be the next to update: Your The Good Guardian, or my The Collaborative Calamity?
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Post by gliquey on Dec 26, 2015 16:07:57 GMT -5
I've finally gotten around to reading this, after seeing chapter 8 was added a couple of weeks ago. While it may have been written over a period of 6 years, it still makes a cohesive story... well, as cohesive as a fanfiction designed to fill in the gaps can be. I think a couple of the references to TUA went a bit over my head, but the references to ASOUE or ATWQ I did understood, I enjoyed very much.
I think I've always pictured the Quagmires as only really finding something like that Punctilio article during TAA, rather than meeting and talking to a V.F.D. member, and then filling up their notebooks later from Olaf and his theatre troupe's bragging and discussion. But your interpretation is perfectly plausible and worked rather well, I think. I don't really have much else to say about the story, but it was tremendously written from start to, well, its current final chapter.
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