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Post by Tiago James Squalor on Nov 7, 2010 17:35:15 GMT -5
Thank you, Dante. I've been busy studying for the National High School Exam which took place this weekend so that has kept me really busy and unable to update it here, but I'm more free now. ^^ And yes, those are four very convenient job openings.
the last teaser is in the previous page.
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Post by Hermes on Nov 7, 2010 17:35:30 GMT -5
Yes, very convenient. And the existing staff are also interesting; not only Mr R but also N, I feel, may be people we know. (So although this isn't, like some earlier works in the series, a return to the site of one of the ASOUE volumes, it may still recall it.) But the Ms B would seem not to be the one we know (who, come to think of it, shouild be in prison of she is still alive).
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Nov 7, 2010 18:57:06 GMT -5
*giggles* Aww, what an adorable catch phrase! Not to mention a very creative one at that. And I, too, wonder if Mr. R is who I think he is. Is he?
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Post by Christmas Chief on Nov 8, 2010 15:43:43 GMT -5
The newspaper's motto is very creative. Mr. R I think I may know, but not N, and Ms. B I think could still be the Ms. B with whom we are familiar if she is in disguise from the authorities.
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Post by Tiago James Squalor on Nov 9, 2010 10:33:15 GMT -5
Dear E, I gathered some photographs of Ophelia and the Orphanage's most striking features. I couldn't find a lot in the town hall's archives, but I had the help of a particularly brave orphan that ran away from Old Oaks. Please, add them to the file in which I sent you my report titled The Ominous Orphanage along with the diary and everything else. I have no idea how this was taken - perhaps a timed camera tied to an owl, or a crow? - But it shows the view of the lands near Ophelia and partially, the forest. Ophelia's River. This river has a sad history of women drowning in it; the townspeople believe in a curse. One interesting fact; all the women who drowned here were named Ophelia, and they were all from the mayor's lineage. The woods near Ophelia are covered with a constant cover of fog every autumn. One of the reasons Ophelians are so superstitious, I believe. The ruins of an old house, located in the forest. Where exactly is beyond me. The gate to the property of Old Oaks Orphanage of the Oakley Family. They've taken care of the Orphanage for almost two centuries.
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Post by Dante on Nov 9, 2010 10:37:16 GMT -5
Oh wow, Ophelia sounds like a really pretty terrible place. Why do the mayors keep on calling their daughters Ophelia with a track record like that?
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Post by Christmas Chief on Nov 9, 2010 17:14:44 GMT -5
That's a very sinister-looking town. And I like the idea of a timed camera tied to a kind of flying creature.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Nov 10, 2010 9:49:43 GMT -5
Ophelia certainly has some beautiful scenery, but obviously that beauty is misleading. Children would do best not to tie ropes to any of the surrounding trees and jump into the water ...especially if any of those children happen to be named Ophelia.
The gate leading to Old Oaks Orphanage is pretty creepy - but hopefully those who dwell beyond will prove to be just the opposite.
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Fiona Fanboy
Catastrophic Captain
Klaus' rival for the affections of Fiona Widdershins
Posts: 91
Likes: 2
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Post by Fiona Fanboy on Nov 10, 2010 17:14:40 GMT -5
Ah. A fellow fan of Hamlet, I see. Speaking of Shakespeare, are you familiar with the infinite monkey theorem?
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Post by Hermes on Nov 10, 2010 17:34:03 GMT -5
Oh! Beautiful, but scary.
Can you tell me where the orphanage gate is from in real life? I have a feeling I've seen it before.
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Post by Tiago James Squalor on Nov 10, 2010 18:23:14 GMT -5
Dear E, I found more photographs hidden in Oliver Oakley's desk in the study, at the Orphanage. The photographs were inside an album. When I opened it, I discovered something I would never expected. The Oakleys are related to XXxxxxXXXxxx ! - the word was smudged and impossible to read - . Forgive me for the smudge of ink; I can't seem to be able to write with the new ink pen you gave me. With all due respect, T The paved path leading to the orphanage. The property is immense; I had to walk hours to get out of it; the Ophelian authorities had finally caught on to my activities; not before I was able to remove the diary and the other files from the Bank of Ophelia. In my visit to the bank, I found a plaque with a name very familiar to us. Yes. The very name you're thinking right now, if I know you, E. A shame I was unable to investigate the bank for further documents, files or proof that she worked there in the past. I'll just have to let the dust settle down; things in Ophelia aren't looking too good as of late. The orphanage. The four story building - plus the attic - in the middle of the property. The first floor concentrates the rooms of common use; classrooms, the kitchen, the large and small dining rooms, two different living rooms, the study, a library - which expands itself to the third floor - and at least three bathrooms. The second floor concentrates the dorm rooms of the orphans; divided into two large rooms with four beds each, and a third room with three beds. There is also a small room with two beds, and two different bathrooms, one for the boys, one for the girls. The third floor is where the staff and the Oakleys sleep, and the attic is accessible through a hatch on the library. When I searched the attic, I found a large bed, and a large quantity of different paitings; some of Ophelian scenery, some of notorious Ophelians and their progeny. The study. This is where most admnistrative decisious are taken and where visits start, and also where the archive containing all past orphans' files are in. Of course, the one file of interest to us and our cause was gone. The gazebo, near the Orphanage building. Searching the place, I found a strange carving in the wood of the gazebo. 'B and E. Friends for ever.'
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Post by Dante on Nov 11, 2010 3:02:20 GMT -5
My reaction to that last point can only be summed up in unpronounceable characters: !!! This tour of the grounds, incidentally, reminds me of some explorations of abandoned buildings that I've read about, and one has to wonder whether that will be the fate of the Old Oaks Orphanage... well, we shall see, and perhaps it won't be too long now.
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Post by Christmas Chief on Nov 11, 2010 6:12:48 GMT -5
That definitely gives us something to think about, particularly the last line. The rest of these photos look appropriately mysterious, and the commentary you've added leads me to believe the Baudelaires should have quite an interesting time here.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Nov 11, 2010 10:03:38 GMT -5
My, but I must say that Old Oaks Orphanage certainly looks like a very interesting place! The building itself actually reminds me a lot of how I envision the V.F.D. Training School. I want to know who it is that's related to the Oakleys! Then again, a little suspense never hurts, especially when it comes to YASoUE and ASoUE. I'm sure we'll be surprised by identity of this relative, whenever they're revealed. Your descriptions of the Orphanage are very vivid and, as always, the photos you've provided are just lovely. Autumn is my favorite month, and seeing the images makes me wish I had the power to transport myself there and just walk around, admiring everything. By the way, the study reminds me of the offices belonging to one of the doctors at Addams Asylum. *is obsessive* XD My reaction to that last point can only be summed up in unpronounceable characters: !!! I second that! ^^
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Post by Tiago James Squalor on Nov 11, 2010 10:24:05 GMT -5
Chapter One If you ever went hiking in the woods, you probably have been warned about all the dreary things that can occur during yout hike, including attacks from grizzly bears, angry badgers and racoons, being chased by a swarm of bees or wasps, or having a particularly annoying person in your hiking team. Luckily, for the Baudelaires, the forests of Ophelia bore no such things. The cold autumn fog took over and made the woods seem otherwordly in appearance. The forest was beautiful, even more so than Jupiter Jungle, the jungle the Baudelaires had treaded in their past misadventures at Jupiter Island, in the infamous Gulag Archipelago. They could, of course, have chosen to go through the town of Ophelia instead of the woods, but after the events at Addams Asylum, and the helpful information one doctor Audrey Addams had given them, the Baudelaires now treaded the woods, towards the north, having left Addams Asylum at a great distance behind them. 'I wish we could have come on the motorcycle.' Klaus Baudelaire said. The Baudelaires had been travelling on a yellow motorcycle with a 'P!' sticker and a small sidecar in which Sunny and Beatrice Baudelaire traveled, while Violet piloted the motorcycle with great ease. 'I wish too. But our motorcycle was too attention-grabbing, what with it being yellow and all.' Violet replied Klaus' remark. 'And right now, we have to lay low, specially after what happened at the asylum.' She added. The older Baudelaires each carried one of the younger Baudelaires piggy-back, which in here means 'had Sunny and Beatrice sitting on their shoulders, so they could have free use of their hands. Earlier, Violet had found two long branches the two older Baudelaires used as hiking canes, which made the hike easier given the accidental territory of the forest. The Baudelaires eventually even found a small pond with clear water, and quenched their thirst before resuming their journey across the woods. The weather was very gloomy, and looking up at the bits of sky they could make out from under the coverage of the trees, they saw only gray, and no blue, and there was no sign of the sun, even what with it being daytime. 'I'm so tired, I feel a bit like that time when Count Olaf made us run all those laps at Prufrock Prep.' Klaus said. At the mention of Olaf, Violet and Sunny shruddered. Beatrice, not being born at the time, was not present when the Baudelaires attended the boarding school, but they had told her of nearly everything that had happened to them in their lives. There were, of course, things that the three elder Baudelaires kept from Beatrice, things they feared she would not comprehend or forgive. The Baudelaires hiked and hiked, and saw almost no sign of wild life; except for a few shy squirrels who vanished as soon as they saw the four Baudelaires coming their way. Eventually, they arrived at a large river. The cold, clean water again quenched the Baudelaires' dry throats, but a problem had arisen. How to cross the river? There wasn't a bridge in sight, and the mist made it so that they couldn't see much far ahead. 'Which way do we go? The water is far too cold, and the river is large, and too deep for us to cross it.' Violet said. She climbed on top of a fallen tree trunk over a large rock that must have once been covered in green moss - the moss was now brown and grayish because of the temperatures - and she couldn't see much from up there, except for the woods across the river. 'Well, you could certainly make a bridge, but that would take up many workers and materials.' Klaus said. 'Let's just walk in that direction for fifteen minutes. If we don't see a bridge, let's turn back and walk in that direction. Sometimes the rivers get shallow, or there are rocks in the riverbed that allow passage.' The only boy Baudelaire observed. Violet and the others agreed, and they decided to walk alongside the river towards the west. The terrain was mostly comprised of rock, and the Baudelaires had to be careful not to trip or slip, which probably would have been really painful, but eventually they arrived at a beach-like patch of sand that ran alongside the river, between the brown patch of grass and leaves that covered a small area outside the forest. In the distance, they saw a sign. They couldn't make out the words, but the fog was less thick now, and soon, the Baudelaires arrived before the sign. It read; Ophelia's River Here, Ophelia drowned. Here, she rests. Underwater, Forever beautiful, Forever peaceful, Never forgotten. 'Who is Ophelia?' Sunny asked. 'Maybe she drowned here and they named the river after her, and the town after the river.' Klaus especulated. Unbeknownst to him, he was right. Then, the Baudelaires noticed a smaller sign beneath Ophelia's sign. A smaller sign beneath the upper one read; Town of Ophelia - 2 miles west Old Oaks Orphange - 1,2 miles north - bridge nearby, keep walking. 'Well, this is convenient.' Violet said. 'And fortunate. We could have gone east.' Klaus added. It was not often that the Baudelaires were fortunate, but this appeared to be the case. But, alas, considering where they were headed, it is a subject of heated debate if the Baudelaires were, in fact, fortunate to have found that sign, or if they would be better off going east, a direction where I can safely say would lead them away from much sorrow and dismay. Because, my dear reader, were you to tell me you were headed to Old Oaks Orphanage, I would insist you headed back into the woods, or into town, to the train station of Ophelia, from where you could catch a train to the city. Anything, anywhere would be better than Old Oaks Orphange. And this is very much true.
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