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snicketstrange · 8 months

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Sunny's Age and Lemony's Lies: An Investigation into the Great Hiatus

So, more and more my theory of the Great Hiatus seems to make more sense. Recalling, I defend the idea that the Masked Ball where Lemony was arrested happened many years after the main events described in TE. The Ball happened between the publication of the book TWW and TMM in the asoue universe. An important concept is that the books were originally published over many years.

Although TBB began to be written during the main events of asoue, TBB and TRR were only published at least 2 years after the main events described in asoue. TWW was published sometime shortly after TRR. But TMM was published many years after the publication of TWW. These years of hiatus, is what I call the Great Hiatus. Some events in the asoue universe that happened during the Great Hiatus were the Masked Ball, one of Lemony's false deaths, one of Lemony's escapes abroad, the closing of Prufrock-Prep, and evidently the sending of the original TMM to the editor.During the Masked Ball, Lemony tried to tell a supposed Beatrice something about Count Olaf.

According to this chronology, the only thing that would be relevant for a supposed Beatrice to know was the fact that "Count Olaf is Dead." Olaf died on a desert island. Olaf's death was not known to the general public, but it was known to Lemony, as evidently Lemony was on the island.

But the right question is: why would Lemony think it important that this information should reach a supposed Beatrice? That's because the reason that would lead a supposed Beatrice not to expose herself to the public was the fact that, in theory, Beatrice believed that as long as her death was accepted as true, at least one of her children would be kept alive by Count Olaf so he could recover the inheritance when the surviving child turned 18. If Beatrice showed herself alive, the inheritance would not be any of her children's but Beatrice's herself. So none of the children would have a reason to be kept alive by Count Olaf. Therefore she, in theory, needed to be regarded as dead. And that's why Lemony emphasizes so much that Beatrice is dead, even though he believes she may be alive. He tries not to alarm her and reinforce her pretense.

I want to make clear that all this is valid both in the case where Beatrice survived the fire and in the case where she died in the fire. Because it doesn't matter the truth, what matters is what Lemony believes to be true, and what he decides to do with his beliefs: reveal them or distort them for a greater good he believes to be a greater good. Lemony believes that lying is sometimes good and necessary. Even if he were right to say that Beatrice was dead, when he wrote that, he believed she was alive. So, he lied when he said she was dead. And all this can be seen by analyzing Sunny's age.

How old was Sunny when she arrived on the island? I can say more than 1 year, because of her behavior and the events mentioned in the story. Lemony claims he spent 14 years trying to talk about Count Olaf with Beatrice. But we have a limit for this subject to be relevant. When Sunny turned 18, if she was still in Olaf's clutches, he would find a way to cash the money and kill Sunny afterward. So, it wouldn't make sense for Beatrice to hide from Olaf anymore. If after discovering Olaf was dead, Lemony still tried to pass this information on to Beatrice, it's because he believed Beatrice believed Olaf had killed Klaus and Violet and preserved Sunny to cash the money. (It is interesting that Olaf tried to do exactly that at the end of TCC). Considering that Sunny spent 1 year on the island and Lemony didn't get there during that time, we can conclude that Sunny was at least 2 years old when she left the island, with the most likely being that she was 3 or 4 years old when she left the island. If Lemony got to the island during the year that followed and then found out that Olaf was dead (and also found the Baudelaires' notes), we can conclude that he spent the next 14 years trying to pass this information on to Beatrice, according to his own words, until the day of the Masked Ball.

This means that in the meantime he published 3 books, purposefully lying to the general public by saying that Beatrice was dead, when he believed she was alive.

That's why he couldn't complete the sentence for the general public. "Count Olaf is dead" would reveal that he believed Beatrice was alive.

It is interesting to note however, that evidence points to Beatrice in fact dying in her house fire, and that the woman Lemony thought was Beatrice was actually an imposter. Apparently that's what R meant to Lemony in the letter recorded in LSTUA chapter 2. "That girl was flammable." "Analyze these photos." "Impostors nearby in disguise". "Beatrice is far from reclaiming lost property." These hidden messages seem to be trying to tell Lemony, "Beatrice really is dead." And R only had to pass this message on to Lemony because he believed Beatrice was alive. This belief of Lemony's also explains why he was so alarmed when studying the city's underground, because he investigated possible survivors of fires hidden in fountains.

This deepens our understanding of the concept of unreliable narrators. Lemony Snicket becomes one of the most unique examples I've come across. He embodies the following notion: "One can tell an untruth without lying, simply by being mistaken. And one can tell the truth while lying, also by being mistaken." This intricate interplay of perceptions and realities adds another layer of complexity and intrigue to the narrative.

#asoue #asoue theory #asoue theories #count olaf #olaf #sunny baudelaire #sunny #lemony snicket the unauthorized autobiography #lemony snicket: the unauthorized autobiography #lemony snicket #beatrice baudelaire #a series of unfortunate events #lstua #masked ball #violet baudelaire #klaus baudelaire #duchness of winnipeg

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afterthegreatunknown · 4 months

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a headcaon post for the most minor of all characters, violet's friend ben, who i'm giving the surname of gaiters:

out of all of the baudelaires friends, ben would have contacted them directly after the baudelaire fire, had the gaiters family not been on vacation. ben as such got a shock when he went to visit the baudelaire mansion like any other day, only to see the remains.

when learning they were in the city in the care of count olaf, ben tried contacting them. but letters sent were return, calls went unanswered, and visits were stop by the acting troupe. by the time the baudelaires were sent to live with dr. montgomery montgomery, ben assumed they didn't want anything to do with their old lives anymore.

ben tried contacting the baudelaires once more when he learn they were going to prufrock prep. knowing his first cousin carmelita spats attended there, ben knew the baudelaires need help trying to survive the cruel girl's antics. the letters were once again, returned. but ben suspected sunny at least seen his letters, for they were 'damaged' via four small holes.

his attempts to contact them again when he learned they were back in the city, living with the squalors, also failed. this time he made phone calls, and they always went unanswered. the one time he got through, the woman esme, told them that they were out; ben thought they were 'out' as in the fad, and stopped all together.

when ben read the news that the baudelaires killed count olaf at the village of fowl devotee, he decided to go find them. ben didn't believe the newspaper, not at all. but everything about the baudelaires' lives since the fire has been a mystery. and it's one he needs to solve. and so ben ran away to began his search.

ben found the ashes of dr. montgomery montgomery's home. he saw the cliff that once had josephine anwhistle's home and her shredded life jacket. ben talked to charles on a payphone about the baudelaire's time at the lumber mill. ben personally talked to jerome squalor at 667 dark avenue, with jerome allowing the boy to stay a few day to rest before going on his way again.

not long after this, ben's parents found him. to make sure he doesn't run away again, ben parent's force him to join the snow scouts. ben used as a way to get information from carmelita about the baudelaires time at prufrock prep. and carmelita talked nonstop about the 'cakesniffers' and their friendship with duncan and isadora quagmire (carmelita was furious with violet and her 'crush' on duncan).

ben felt stupid when he got trap in the net, seeing that violet and klaus and the not dead quagmire quigley, were there with the snow scouts. ben felt stupid for not recognizing violet. he wanted to call out to violet, but he was scare of the possibility she didn't recognized him. that same fear was in ben when he and others rowed the carmelita, for he saw the baudelaires and the girl with triangle glasses, and the hook-handed man trying to get back to the other submarine.

when free, having heard about the hotel denouement, ben went directly there. he saw the city firefighter's surrounding the now gone hotel. he saw the ambulances tending to the injured, one being jerome squalor. ben talked to mr. squalor again, learning about the rigged trial, and how the baudelaires and count olaf set the hotel on fire.

ben accompanied jerome to the hospital, as well as visit him every day until the man's release. two parted ways again when jerome brought ben back to his parents, who weren't at home at the time of the fire that destroyed the gaiter's home, having been at the police asking them to find their son (again).

ben after this stopped his search for the baudelaires, living life as he did before. but he didn't throw away his research. and every day, he visits briny beach, hoping to see them there. and one day, a little after the date of the hotel denouement fire, saw them on briny beach, looking worst for wear with a little baby.

ben ran towards them. ben's first instinct was to give violet a hug. but he stopped himself in time, staring at them. ben opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. he wasn't sure if they recognized him. he wasn't sure if things were going to fine. ben fears that they think he had abandoned them, and he couldn't blame them for it.

it's only went violet ran up to him, and gave him a hug as if to make up for all the lost time, did ben felt things will at least, work out.

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #ben #ben asoue #violet baudelaire #jerome squalor #carmelita spats #ben gaiters #headcanons #book verse #(i tagged violet and jerome and carmelita due to their mentions)#(i like to think that ben was in his own little series of events)#(with also dangerous results)

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snicketsquadron · 9 months

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VFD and Sub-librarians

So, Dewey says the Baudelaire’s called him a sub-sub-librarian because his work was “largely undercover and underground”, great.

But Dasheill Qwerty also calls himself a sub-librarian, despite completely replacing Stain’d-by-the-Sea’s previous librarian and no regular librarian ever appearing.

This has unfolded like origami in my mind into the following headcanon:

All VFD librarians are traditionally called sub-librarians.

Given the literary culture of VFD, it would make sense for one of the founding members of the organization to be a librarian.

As VFD grows and develops, it has multiple libraries: in headquarters, in people’s homes, in sites like the hospital and Prufrock Prep. Each of these is a “sub-library” because they are considered branches of the larger VFD library as a whole, the same way a city’s public library has multiple branches.

The position of “Librarian” (no “sub”) is not exactly retired the way a sports jersey number can be retired out of respect. Rather, someone theoretically could become a VFD “Librarian”, but that would mean that they were in charge of all of the libraries of VFD, the whole network. And for a long time, that kind of position hasn’t been necessary or feasible. The catalog at the hotel seems to be the One Big Library, but only by force- the other libraries have been deliberately burnt down by that point. Especially for a secret organization, it is more safe and logical for the different branches to remain distinct and autonomous. Having one person who knows and coordinates literally all of the information is an incredibly dangerous vulnerability- there’s a reason resistance groups often have cells and diffused leadership.

That is the practical reason, but of course even if there’s a perfectly pragmatic reason for a tradition, cultural and emotional reasons will develop around it anyway. Especially as time goes on and the organization changes, various VFD sub-librarians will say that the “sub” in their title is to denote that their work is secret, or to remind them that their work is in service to others/the greater good, or out of deference/respect to the first (and linguistically only) VFD librarian.

#Headcanon #VFD #headcanons #dewey denouement #dashiell qwerty

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agaypanic · 1 year

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can you write a fluffy confession fic w/ a mr poe’s daughter reader x klaus?

like, reader has been going with mr poe to drop the kids off at their new guardians’ houses ever since they stayed the night w/ the poes, and eventually reader stays w/ the kids bc she cant deal with her mom gossiping abt them anymore? they encounter olaf and klaus admits he wants reader to go home so she’ll be safe. reader also is really nice but knows how awful her family is and trusts the baudelaires more than the poes. thank youuu <3

i love how you write and would love to see more! hope you have a wonderful day/night <3

Keep You Safe (Klaus Baudelaire X Poe!Reader)

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Summary: Being sick of her family’s comments about her friends, Y/n Poe decides to stay with the Baudelaire’s when they’re sent to Prufrock Preparatory School. When Count Olaf comes to the school to get to the Baudelaire’s, Klaus becomes concerned about Y/n’s wellbeing.

***

Y/n didn’t know how she pulled it off, but she was able to convince her dad to let her stay at Prufrock Preparatory School with the Baudelaires after the lumber mill incident. Maybe it was because she said she’d keep the Baudelaires out of trouble or because the Poe house was too small for three growing children and their parents. But however it happened, her father, Mr. Poe, let her stay.

Y/n had known the Baudelaires since their parents, unfortunately, passed away in a fire that destroyed their home. Mr. Poe had the Baudelaires stay with his family for a week while he tried finding a guardian for them. Y/n had become friends with them during that time, despite the gossip her mother kept spreading about them. She would accompany the Baudelaires and their father to every guardian they got sent to, making them promise to stay in contact with her so she would know how they were doing. It didn’t feel like a sacrifice of her time; she loved her new friends. It helped that she had a growing crush on Klaus Baudelaire.

But now, they didn’t need to make that promise because they would be staying together. Unfortunately, because the Baudelaires were orphans, they had to stay in a shack because their parents couldn’t sign off on permission for them to stay in a dorm. Y/n didn’t have that problem, but it just made her feel worse. She was staying in a spacious room with three other people while her friends didn’t even have a real bed. She felt even worse after they met the Quigley triplets, two orphan siblings who were also dropped off at Prufrock Prep after being handed from guardian to guardian. But she would push the guilt away whenever she hung out with them, wanting her friends to experience some fun times despite their situation.

But that didn’t last for long.

Unlike her family, Y/n believed the Baudelaires when they would tell stories of Count Olaf constantly following them. The eccentric man was their first guardian and was only removed from guardianship because he tried to marry Violet so he could have access to the Baudelaire fortune. He’s been trying to get his hands on it and them ever since. And it had happened again.

At an assembly, the Baudelaires and Y/n were shocked to see Count Olaf walk up onto the stage in a ridiculous costume, naming himself Coach Genghis, the new PE teacher. And the worst part was that everyone believed him. Even after Klaus and Violet ran up to expose him. Count Olaf had covered up his identifier, a tattoo of an eye on his ankle.

To make matters worse, Count Olaf had another plan to try to get the Baudelaire’s fortune. He made up some lies about how orphans have frail bodies, which leads to paranoia and delusions. To combat this, he developed a program that he would be offering to select students. It didn’t surprise Y/n or the Baudelaires that they were the select students.

This led them to their current predicament. Count Olaf’s running program took place at night, so the Baudelaires had no time to study for their classes, even though they were meaningless. This was causing them to fail their classes, which could later cause them to fail out of school, which would give Count Olaf the opportunity to steal them away.

Luckily, with every problem, there was a solution.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to pull this off?” Y/n asked as she and the Baudelaires walked to their classes. “Count Olaf may be silly and dumb, but he’s not completely stupid.”

“Trust us, Y/n,” Violet said. “It’s worth a shot. Now, I gotta go. I’ll see you guys at lunch.” The eldest Baudelaire sibling then walked away to her classroom. Y/n and Klaus continued their venture to their own class.

“It’ll work, Y/n. Don’t worry.” Klaus reassured her. “Are you sure you want to help Violet and me study for our tests? We’ll likely be up all night; I’d hate for you to lose sleep.” It made Y/n giddy that he cared enough about her sleep schedule.

“Of course, Klaus! I’d do anything to make sure Count Olaf doesn’t get his hands on you and your fortune. And if that means I lose a little sleep, so be it.” Klaus mirrored her bright smile.

“You’re such a good friend, Y/n. I don’t know what we’d do without you.” Y/n’s smile dimmed a bit, but Klaus didn’t notice. She loved being Klaus’ friend, but her heart hurt a bit at the thought of her being nothing more than that to him.

He held the door open for her, and they walked into Mrs. Bass’ classroom to learn about the metric system.

***

The Baudelaires, Quagmires, and Y/n were lucky to find an ally in Olivia Caliban, the school’s librarian. Even though the library would only be open for a few minutes every day, Olivia would allow the students to stay to read or get away from everyone else. This was one of those instances, except they were doing more than just reading.

Their plan was to have Duncan and Isadora, the Quagmire triplets, take the Baudelaires’ places, so they could study for a test to determine whether they would fail out of school.

The Baudelaires were reluctant to the idea. They didn’t want their friends to be put in any of the danger they had to face, and being alone with Count Olaf and his henchmen could be dangerous. But the Quagmires were insistent on helping their new friends.

Using wire and stringy trim from a lampshade, they made disguises for the Quagmires that could pass them off as the Baudelaires in the dark.

“How do I look?” Isadora asked Y/n and Klaus as she secured the fake fringe to her forehead.

“Convincing.” Y/n smiled, going back to helping Sunny use her teeth to shape spare wire into a pair of fake glasses for Duncan.

“Different,” Klaus said. “I mean, not a bad different. That’s not what I meant; you look very nice. Just, different.” Y/n tried not to show confusion on her face. Why did Klaus suddenly not know how to talk to Isadora?

“Thanks.”

Soon, the Quagmires were ready to impersonate their friends. Since they didn’t have a smaller sibling to replace Sunny, the group decided to put a bag of flour in a small wagon. The Quagmires would pull the wagon behind them as they ran around the track.

“Good luck.” The Baudelaires and Y/n said to the Quagmires. In thanks, Isadora leaned forward and kissed Klaus’ cheek. They shared a look before Isadora moved to leave, Duncan and the bag of flour behind her. Klaus stood in his spot momentarily, seemingly not knowing what to do.

“Well.” Violet broke the silence. “We better get going.” She picked up Sunny and went to the library doors, waiting for Y/n and Klaus.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him. Her voice seemed to shake him from whatever trance he was in.

“Nothing.” Klaus grabbed Y/n’s hand and made his way over to his sisters. “Let’s go.”

***

They had been studying for three hours when Sunny and Violet dozed off. Klaus and Y/n knew they should wake them up so they could keep studying, but they also knew that trying to retain information with no energy wouldn’t help them. So Klaus and Y/n kept studying on their own.

“How long was the banana?” Y/n quizzed Klaus. He was doing very well, getting all of the questions right. But he was starting to be less quick with his responses, which concerned Y/n. “Klaus?”

“Ten centimeters?”

“That would be a short banana.” Y/n tried to laugh to cover up her increasing concern for Klaus. She put down the flashcards she had made for him. “Klaus, are you okay?”

“I’m fine; why do you ask?”

“You’re becoming less responsive. If you’re tired, you can take a nap, and I can wake you up later so you can keep studying.”

“No, it’s not that.” Klaus patted her hand. “Thank you, though.”

“Then what is it?” Y/n tried racking her brain for an explanation for his behavior. “Are you worried about Isadora?”

“What?” Klaus sat up from his slouching position. “Why Isadora specifically?”

Y/n shrugged, fumbling with the flashcards as she tried to find an answer that wouldn’t make her come across as jealous.

“I don’t know. I mean, she’s running around in the dark, being watched by Count Olaf. Doesn’t that worry you?”

“I’m more worried about her and Duncan together, not just her specifically.”

“Right.” Y/n shook her head, trying to escape the thought of Klaus and Isadora. “Sorry, it’s just that it kind of seemed like there was something more there.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I mean, she kissed your cheek. That must’ve meant something, right?”

Klaus was silent, trying to think of a response. Y/n regretted saying anything about it. She should’ve just pushed for him to fall asleep; it would be better than having this conversation with him right now.

“Never mind.” She said, picking out a new flash card. “What was the length of the-”

“It would’ve meant more coming from you.” Klaus cut Y/n off, looking at her sheepishly.

“What?”

“That kiss would’ve meant more to me if it had come from you.” He picked at the hay bale that the two were sitting on. “No offense to Isadora, but it’s the truth.”

It was now Y/n’s turn to find a response. It didn’t take too long.

“I can, if you’d like.” She looked at Klaus. “Give you a kiss, that is.”

“I, uh, I’d like that.” Y/n dropped the flashcards onto the hay and leaned forward. She was going for Klaus’ cheek, but in a split-second moment of bravery, she kissed him on the lips instead. It was just a peck, but Klaus didn’t seem to mind. There was a moment of silence where the two just looked at each other, heat evident on their cheeks.

“After our tests, and when Count Olaf is revealed for who he truly is, I want you to go home,” Klaus said matter of factly.

“What?” Y/n was taken aback by the confession. He took her hands.

“Y/n, I care about you too much to let you get wrapped up in this mess. Count Olaf is a murderer; he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. I can’t let him get to you.” He squeezed Y/n’s hands. “Promise me, Y/n.”

“But what if I never see you again?”

“We’ll meet again; I’ll make sure of it. But until Count Olaf is defeated once and for all, I need to know that you’re safe. Please, Y/n, promise me.”

Y/n was reluctant. She didn’t want to leave her friends or Klaus alone at the hands of Count Olaf. But Klaus was being persistent.

“Only if you promise that we’ll see each other again.” He nodded in understanding.

“I promise.”

“Then I promise.”

They sealed the promise with another kiss. They spent the rest of the night studying some more, not wanting to think about the future too much. The two hoped that when Y/n went home, they would see each other sooner rather than later.

#klaus baudelaire #klaus baudelaire x reader #asoue x reader #asoue #a series of unfortunate events x reader #a series of unfortunate events #agaypanic

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cygninae · 27 days

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I was just stalking through all of my old WIPs, and so here's a comprehensive list (that no one asked for) of all the ASOUE fanfictions I scrapped:

A character study on Quigley Quagmire, focusing on his upbringing, him being a 'problem child', him being diagnosed with ADHD and depression, etc.

A character study on Quigley experimenting with gender roles: a sort of 5 + 1 thing of them coming to terms with gender non-conformity

A Quiglet oneshot of Violet doing Quigley's makeup.

A character study/Quigley-centric fic that focused on his insomnia and how he'd already discovered the tunnel system under their house from his late-nights wandering the mansion

A dunklaus fic where Duncan was covering a story about Klaus, a reclusive artist who gifted his art rather than selling it. Duncan gets a little too involved.

A dunklaus AU fic where Duncan took a job as the Baudelaire's gardener

A dunklaus + Quiglet + Beamony AU set in WW2

A Viodora fic that was just a collection of Isadora's poetry written across the time she got to know Violet

A dunklaus au where they were both university professors

Dunklaus fake-dating AU where they pretend to date to get Violet off Klaus' back about getting over Fiona and finding love again

A Quiglet one-shot character study from Quigley's POV, him moving on from Violet

A Dunklaus AU taking inspiration from Anne of Green Gables (1800s setting, academic rivals, accidentally starting VFD)

A dumb modern Quiglet AU where they meet at a concert, Violet realises Sunny has run off, and her and Quigley have to find her. They bicker a lot because they disagree on which album is their favourite artist's best one

A Dunklaus post-canon fic where Klaus becomes a famous author under a nom de plume and Duncan stumbles across one of his books that is about him

Quiglet post-canon fic where the Baudelaires find Quigley after he failed to save his siblings

(Actually finished, just never posted it because it's rubbish) Dunklaus sorta reincarnation oneshot where Duncan works in a museum and Klaus is an immortal being who consistently is his muse in every lifetime. One of Duncan's favourite marble statues in the gallery was actually created by him, for Klaus, hundreds of years before but he doesn't remember until he sees Klaus again

Dunklaus oneshot where the whole group attended an actual boarding school. No olaf or anything. Just a wintery plot-less thing

(Also finished, also too shit to post) Modern Dunklaus one shot where Duncan runs a record store with his siblings and Klaus comes in one day. Literally just everyone teasing the two for 6k words straight. (favourite excerpt: '“So, why didn’t you ask him out?” Isadora asked, probably aiming for casual, except the way she was leaning on the wall like she was posing for an 80s boy band poster, and the way her voice was just a bit too high pitched, meant she wasn’t being very convincing.

Duncan gave her a flat look. “I have had two conversations with him,” he said, turning back to the receipt he was marking and ignoring the look she was giving him, which solidly said stop being purposefully obtuse.'

Post-canon Violet-centric Quiglet one shot. Just Violet reminiscing and moving on

Dunklaus AU where the Baudelaires are exchange students from France to Prufrock Prep. Extremely angsty and absolutely nothing happy happens. Just wanted to exercise the French Baudelaires headcanon

(Alot of this one was already written) Dunklaus AU where they're partnered up for a VFD mission

Quiglet magical AU where Quigley is a magical creature that lives in the woodland behind Monty's house where Violet and Klaus move after they're orphaned

Dunklaus and Quiglet (but not the main focus) - AU where the Baudelaires leave with Lemony after the fire at Hotel Denouement and become increasingly morally grey. When they reunite with the Quagmires a year later, they're practically unrecognisable from what fighting both against and with VFD has done to them

Violet and Klaus character study on how they deal with their grief; there was a little bit of Viodora and Duncan and some funny antics. The only WIP on this list entirely in French. Never posted it because there would be no interest and it didn't have a plot particularly

I'm pretty sure there are more that I just can't find or deleted but yeah...God there's a lot. These span over several years of being obsessed with asoue and ships in the fandom that I fell in love with that had (and still have) a painful lack of attention online, so I made my own content

#asoue #lemony snicket #a series of unfortunate events #unfortunate gen #ao3 fanfic #vfd #writer stuff #works that will never see the light of day

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unfortunatetheorist · 8 months

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Cut Scene:

"What does Hangfire mean" - for the plot?

Once again, the brilliantly inexplicable and inexplicably brilliant minds (including @snicketstrange, @snicketsleuth and @thesnicketfile) behind ASOUE have provided us with food for thought:

Page 21 of The Incomplete History Of Secret Organisations (the real-world version, not in-universe) refers to Daniel Handler's original script for 'The Wide Window' - "a carving on the underside of a table prompted the Baudelaires to ask, "What does Hangfire mean?""

If this happened, i.e. the scene was not deleted, I believe it could've contributed significantly more to the plot, especially that of 'The Miserable Mill', than it actually did:

The Baudelaires would've found the carving, and pondered it's origin. (Obviously.)

The Baudelaires would've then gone to Lucky Smells Lumbermill (either by themselves or with Mr Incom-Poe-tent) and asked Sir (and/or Charles) about Hangfire (and the people in the picture).

Charles would've just been his usual, rather ignorant, self to be frank. On the other hand, Sir would've still put them to work in the mill, but I think his answers to their queries may have been different.

Based on popular speculation that Sir and Smogface Wiley are actually the same person, this opens up the plot, as Sir could tell the Baudelaires about his childhood, and maaaybe recognise Lemony as the guy who interviewed him in All The Wrong Questions...

But, he's also very emotionally distant from others. We see it in 'The Miserable Mill', mostly around Charles. If Sir's been working with Charles for so long, and he still doesn't trust him enough to hear his ideas, why on Earth would he trust 3 strange orphans with his childhood memories?

So, the Baudelaires don't get an answer to the Hangfire mystery... or do they?

During the Baudelaires' (so-called, 5-minute) "LuNcH bReAk", Klaus goes to get hypnotised and Violet & Sunny go to the library of one book, The History of Lucky Smells Lumbermill...

...where they likely don't find an answer.

Either:

If Dr Orwell censored Chapter 12 (The Paltryville Fire), she could have censored anything else, in the name of "business", of course.

Or:

Sir/Smogface Wiley found it too troublesome and/or unnecessary to bring up his past, which may or may not have involved Hangfire [After all, the book is about the history of the mill, not of the author].

6. A lack of answers and a lack of guardians would have led the Baudelaires to Prufrock Prep, where they would have undoubtedly told the Quagmires.

7. They find the in-universe version of TIHOSO and write down what they can in their commonplace books...

8. Before it gets harpooned by Esmé Squalor during the final events of 'The Vile Village'.

My point is, the whole mystery of Hangfire could have ended up as another running mystery throughout the series, but that would have probably led into other flashbacks from other people during the trial in 'The Penultimate Peril', and the showrunners decided to stick to the books.

And it worked.

¬ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

7 notes · View notes