The End: AuthorTrackers & Shocking Secrets

[Dante]

stewartgilligan said:

Prufrock (a TRAINING SCHOOL, Dante!).

Oh, really? Well, I'm certainly glad that's been cleared up. Funny thing, though - seems to have slipped my mind just where exactly it gives hard evidence that Prufrock Prep. is an official V.F.D. training school. Couldn't remind me, could you?

SHOCKING SECRET #10
Lemony Snicket was disguised as a bullfighter when he was captured.
We knew this, Dante? Someone wanna fill me in?

TAA, p167: Lemony states that he was dressed as a bullfighter at a masked ball held by the Duchess of Winnipeg. In the U.A., page 25, the Duchess or the fake Duchess mentions in her letter that she's sorry that Lemony was captured at her masked ball.

[Antenora]

True, there's no evidence that Prufrock is an official training school, in the sense that it was founded and controlled by VFDers, and there's no real evidence that Remora and Bass were working for VFD. If it's a training school for VFD in any way, it only counts as one in the sense that volunteers might send their children to it to learn how to take notes and such, although the teachers wouldn't know they were training young volunteers.

[joker]

Yes yes, another thing to that would be *VICE* Pincipal Nero didn't know a dog gone thing, but the *principal* principal could be like a V.F.D top dog! He would control Nero in curiculum, and Nero would control Bass and Remora to teach little V.F.D'ers to take notes and such. Then when the time is right, Kit comes in and takes them off for REAL training.

[Dante]

Except Nero seems to be running the show, despite only being a vice-principal. It's perfectly possible for the principal to be a volunteer, although that would by no means make the school a volunteer institution (no more than Monty's membership making the Herpetological Society a volunteer institution, or R.'s speeches at Orion Observatory making that a volunteer institution). However, Nero was able to fire a volunteer teacher spreading volunteer information and codes who was attempting to recruit children for V.F.D., on the advice of the Spats parents. Equally, a mere two teachers leaving required the school to be closed - if the principal's a volunteer, he's not putting in much effort (or is dead, absent, etc., which would explain a lot, although more likely he's just not mentioned because it would tangle up the plot). Then there's the fact that this is all idle speculation, with no actual evidence to back it up. The real principal could be a volunteer, yes. Evidence to back it up? None. The school could have been founded by a volunteer. Evidence to back it up? None. Ideas, particularly those not based on evidence but including those which are, are not fact. Fanfiction is not canon. For Prufrock Prep. to be a true training school for young volunteers, then every teacher and every student would have to be a volunteer, by definition (and it'd have to be secret, too). Otherwise, it's just an institution they appreciate or try to influence, which is by no means the same thing (and is what I've said it probably is for as long as I can remember, just like the Snow Scouts).

[Eye Of The Count]

where did you get those things for the clues and stuff? is there a website?

[Dante]

eyeofthecount said:

where did you get those things for the clues and stuff? is there a website?

The - the what? The link is on the front page of LemonySnicket.com; it's fairly conspicuous. *glances at first post* Okay, the link isn't all that obvious there. I'll go put it in a bigger size and link the picture, as well. Anyway, here's a direct link:

www.lemonysnicket.com/pdf/SUE_SummerReading.pdf

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

I really don't think Prufrock could be a training school, Lemony seems to express contempt for all who teach there (Remora, Bass, Nero) and they're certainly not teaching the kids any valuable VFD skills. Taking notes, eh, one quality in common between the two institutions certainly doesn't link them. Everything else seems to be so against VFD that the two don't appear to go hand in hand by any means.
And have you ever noticed that quitea few fictional schools seem to be primarily operated by a vice principal? Or maybe I just watched way too much Doug in my childhood and got forever used to Vice Principal Lamarre Bone.

[Dante]

I guess it sounds less clichéd than a principal? Plus it allows for twists later on where the principal is secretly a really easy-going guy in contrast to his stern vice-principal. Although that's in general, not just for aSoUE. Plus, one would assume that the principal has to have some sense, whereas for vice-principals you can mess around with them a bit more. Or it could just be to give the name better rhythm. I know I'd think less of Nero if he was Principal Nero rather than Vice-Principal. The former sounds more authoritative.

Sort-of on-topic, I'm guessing we'll have to wait until April to get more information. Maybe they'll do something for April Fool's? ...Which'd be a good time to announce that I'll be away the first two weeks of April, so if such a thing does happen, I'll miss it. Darn. An April Fool's day joke would be interesting, and even if it gave us false information, that might tell us what wouldn't happen. Or, you know, something. Seems a good date to give out info, anyway.

[The Count]

You will note that the Isadora Q- Mr. Ramora turns to diamond in the middle before becomming a full circle again...

And the Fiona-Hooky-Capt doesn't fit. If they are blood-related closely, then they should have a straight bold line connecting their names.

I think the arrows signify where/with whom the line-connected person was last seen with.

Phil/Cpt- together, etc.

[Dante]

josh said:

I think the arrows signify where/with whom the line-connected person was last seen with.

Good idea! That does fit right in in a number of circumstances - Fiona with Klaus, Widdershins with Phil (as you stated), Duncan and Isadora with Hector. Some are a bit more ambiguous - Olaf with the bald man, and Ernest with the woman with hair but no beard, for example. And some just plain don't fit the pattern - Duncan with Nero, any of the connections around Esmé and Carmelita. Then again, they all have inconsistencies - or they might make more sense if the line style has genuine significance.

[twistedbrain]

The thick dotted lines, connecting Beardless Lady to Bald Man, etc., may be for occupation. It would make sense, don't you think?

[Dante]

Actually, I've just had another idea - maybe the different line styles have been actually drawn on the chart by different people, so what we're seeing is the connections made by three or more people unknown. That still leaves a load of weirdness with some connections, but it explains the apparent randomness of line style. (Your suggestion was good, twistedbrain - it would work for Josephine and Widdershins too, I think, who both presumably watched over Lake Lachrymose - but then there's the problem of Isadora and Mr. Remora.) I think I'm going to stick with this explanation, unless a better one comes along, as it clears up a lot of the madness. I still think, though, that in general there's not much we can really get from the chart. Like so much in the series, it may have been left deliberately ambiguous for us to make up our own minds about what we want to think. (Which makes it awfully hard for pedants like me...)

[twistedbrain]

Well, for Isadora and Mr. Remora, they both write short stories. Poems can be considered stories, couldn't they? But that is a great suggestion, Dante. It would be like his map of their town, which would be cool.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

Well Ernest WAS last seen with the woman with hair but no beard, and also the man with a beard but no hair, correct? But they would also have similar occupations: treacherous villain.
Esme and Carmelita have similar occupations also: evil females obsessed with ridiculous clothing.
I think I'll stick with a mix of those ideas perhaps. Though I haven't seen the chart for awhile.

[Dante]

mynamesjacques said:

Esme and Carmelita have similar occupations also: evil females obsessed with ridiculous clothing.

Oh, they're fine. I take back that comment, as I was temporarily under the impression that Esmé and Carmelita weren't linked at all - I keep on overlooking their link in that tangled section. Although Esmé to Eleanora is somewhat odd - Geraldine would make much more sense, as Esmé's influence on Eleanora is indirect (Eleanora saw her in a play, Esmé ordered Geraldine to lock Eleanora in the basement), but Geraldine isn't on the chart (although I personally would be interested to see what she'd be linked up with).

Edit: Oh yeah. I've got an early Easter present for you guys, or something. I put the Suspicious Characters chart in MS Paint, and crudely edited it into three versions - one with only the dashed lines showing, one with only the dotted lines showing, and one with only the solid lines showing. I hope they'll be useful for reference, and for sorting out connections (whether you think each line style denotes a different relationship or a different author or whatever). I know they aren't perfect, and I had a nasty slip with the eraser in one which I couldn't undo, but I figure they're better than nothing, or at least better than a kick in the face.

Dashed Lines
Dotted Lines
Solid Lines

If these prove popular, or if you think they're helpful, I might put them in the first post as well.