Revolting Reading: TWW

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Jun 16, 2023 9:41:23 GMT -5 Glittery666 said:

During hypnosis one has unusually wide eyes and a dazed-sounding voice, as we know from when Klaus was hypnotized.Josephine doesn't appear to have either of these traits.

We had access to a type of hypnosis. Not necessarily all types. I'm suggesting something similar to what happens in the movie Shallow Hal.

[Tiran O'Saurus]

I feel like this hypnosis thing raises more questions than it solves, and to be honest I don't think it's necessary. The fact that the kids can't see through henchpeople disguises indicates to me that people in the Averse can't see through disguises, and Olaf just left a big enough impression on the kids that they're an exception.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Jun 16, 2023 10:24:19 GMT -5 Tiran O'Saurus said:

I feel like this hypnosis thing raises more questions than it solves, and to be honest I don't think it's necessary. The fact that the kids can't see through henchpeople disguises indicates to me that people in the Averse can't see through disguises, and Olaf just left a big enough impression on the kids that they're an exception.

Yes that makes perfect sense. The fact is, as I said, the asoue universe is like a fairytale universe without the fairies. As in the story of Little Red Riding Hood (quoted in asoue) it's something like a wolf disguising himself as a granny and the granddaughter still believing in the disguise. Something surreal, but surreal things happen in asoue and period, without the need for justification, and that is part of the charm of the work. Sorry to engage you in these unnecessary arguments, I just found them amusing. Adding hypnosis into asoue's equation isn't really necessary, but it does give Georgina O a much more interesting role. This is just innocent headcanon I guess. Not a theory... As headcanon I don't need positive evidence to prefer to believe in it, I just need the absence of something to prove otherwise. If there is anything that proves otherwise, it will no longer be my headcanon without a doubt.

[Tiran O'Saurus]

ASOUE is very surreal, yeah. Your hypnosis theory works as a headcanon, just like my explanation that the biology of humans in the Averse is fundamentally distinct from our own universe and thus they perceive things differently, which is my explanation. It also explains the nonsensical things Sunny does.

[Glittery666]

I never thought about it before, but human biology being different in the Averse is a cool headcanon.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

I think Sunny's skills already serve this for you.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Chapter 4: I didn't remember that Aunt Josephine had a fake death so early in history. And that chapter touched me a lot, much more than before. In real life... I've been woken up at night with similar news. And unfortunately, it wasn't a fake suicide. And there was no letter. To this day, I don't know what went through that person's mind to make them do what they did.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Chapter 5: Lemony clearly indicates where he was when TWW was being written. He was writing the book at his crib, not during the main events narrated in the book. That's an important concept about ASOUE. Lemony, even though he didn't witness most of the major events described in ASOUE, knows in detail what happened to the Baudelaire siblings. He even just described a private convo that went down between Klaus, Sunny, and Violet in Chapter 5. My theory is that Lemony got hold of the writings left by the Baudelaires in the island book. His research was all about fact-checking. The research was crucial 'cause the Baudelaires are publicly accused of being lying murderers, so relying solely on their writings to write their biography wouldn't lend any credibility to the work. And that explains why Lemony, when writing ASOUE, made it his mission to clear the Baudelaires' reputation and reveal to the masses who the real villain is. Lemony had to deal with false accusations against himself too. Proving his innocence is important, but proving the Baudelaires' innocence is his focus in the ASOUE books.

Lemony mentions being able to look out the window and see the cemetery. I believe it's through that same window that Beatrice Jr looked when she was in Lemony's office. She was there precisely when he was writing TWW and that's where she found a set of letters. She also found the leech-shaped paperweight, but she couldn't figure out what shape it was 'cause TWW hadn't been published yet. If she was around 10 years old at that time (she could've been a bit younger), we can get an idea that about 10 years had passed since Olaf's death until TWW was written.

That means if Violet was still alive at the time of TWW's publication, she would be around 24 years old.

What would be Lemony's age range when he published TWW?

According to TBL, we know that after Lemony graduated, he worked for some time as an obituary writer, then as a critic, and later he went abroad for a while. While he was abroad (after a few years), Beatrice wrote a letter canceling the wedding and asked him to remember the poem "My Silence Knot." Lemony had already forgotten about the poem. It's reasonable to believe that during this time, Lemony was at least 23. Lemony returned from abroad and fought with his siblings in the salmon battle. After that, he was presumed dead, and only then Beatrice got married and became pregnant with Violet. It's reasonable to think that this happened when Lemony was at least 25 years old, considering that in Lemony's telegram to Beatrice, he mentions not talking to her for a few years. Fourteen years later, the main events of ASOUE occurred. This means that during the main events of ASOUE, Lemony was around 39 years old.

Ten years later, Lemony wrote and published TWW. He was then around 49 years old.

According to the Great Hiatus theory, after publishing TWW, Lemony received the untrue information that Beatrice Baudelaire was alive. This was supported by the letters from Beatrice Jr, which left him confused. He started working on TBL and then tried to find Beatrice Baudelaire. Several events described in LSTUA took place during that time. The thing is, 14 years later, he attended the Masked Ball. The Masked Ball happened when Lemony was around 64 years old. After that, he was captured and became a fugitive.

At least 2 years later, he sent the manuscript of TMM and a letter to R. This means that Lemony was around 66 years old when he published TMM.
At that time, Beatrice Jr would be around 37 years old. And if Violet is still alive, she would be around 42 years old.

[Glittery666]

In my ficverse Lemony's in his 30s during the main series and publishes the books ten years later when he's in his 40s.

[bear]

Jun 14, 2023 20:12:47 GMT -5 Tiran O'Saurus said:

That all sounds reasonable. My one question is why she doesn't have "fear of people in disguise", since that's one of VFD's go-to techniques, yet she falls for " Captain Julio Sham" easily.

This is a plot hole with the book even when it came out, that such a paranoid woman would so quickly trust Olaf.

it isn't a plot hole, it is obviously intentional irony, just as it is ironic that Josephine lives in a terrifyingly built house. yall some goobers.


before rereading, i remembered the movie version of this story far better than the book. it is the climactic final act of the movie, and everything is on a grand scale. so, i was very surprised how quickly things happened. the suicide note is already in chapter 4! and the escape from the crumbling house is so brief. but each dramatic moment is quite fitting and convincing, except for the refracted moonlight BS.

as a side note, i had a long, long laugh at the exchange about the tin cans and "angry burglars."