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afterthegreatunknown · 19 days

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"Volunteer Fire Department," Violet repeated, and looked at her brother. "What does that mean?"

"In some communities," Klaus said, "there's no official fire department, and so they rely on volunteers to extinguish fires."

"I know that," Violet said, "but what does that have to do with our parents, or Count Olaf, or anything that has happened to us? I always thought that knowing what the letters stood for would solve the mystery, but I'm as mystified as I ever was."

"Do you think our parents were secretly fighting fires?" Klaus asked.

"But why would they keep it a secret?" Violet asked.

[...]

"Something happened," Quigley said. "Something that changed everything." He flipped through a few pages of his commonplace book until he found what he was looking for. "Jacques Snicket called it a 'schism,'' he said, "but I don't know what that word means."

"A schism," Klaus said, "is a division of a previously united group of people into two or more oppositional parties. It's like a big argument, with everybody choosing sides."

"That makes sense," Quigley said. "The way Jacques talked, it sounded like the entire organization was in chaos. Volunteers who were once working together are now enemies. Places that were once safe are now dangerous. Both sides are using the same codes, and the same disguises. Even the V.F.D. insignia used to represent the noble ideals everyone shared, but now it's all gone up in smoke."

The Slippery Slope, Chapter Eight, pages 166-168

Every so often I go back to reading whoslaurapalmer's post about VFD being known to the public, and I think to myself, "...oh! That is weird for an apparent secret organization is rather known by the public! Weirder since Klaus and Violet knows about them too!" But the more I thought about the passage in TSS, I think there is a reason why VFD is known to the public, even to Violet and Klaus.

Because the public already know about volunteer fire departments. As in, of individual volunteer fire departments in a town or village or unincorporated area with a heavy population that have no official fire department themselves, or do have a official fire department but it's so poor in resources and funding and fire-fighters, citizens willingly help out however they can in some way or form.

You know how Prosper Lost willingly driving the Talkie Brothers to Stain'd Secondary when it was set on fire in ATWQ 3? Prosper Lost isn't a Volunteer, but he is a volunteer. Lemony having to ask him if there's a volunteer fire department is him actually asking of his Volunteer Fire Department; the VFD that Lemony is a part of.

Prosper responded as if Lemony was asking about an individual volunteer fire department; as in if there's a group of citizens that help the official fire department.

And I think the fact individual volunteer fire departments exist in the world of ASOUE/ATWQ is what cause the VFD schism: it was a schism about themselves, on their identity.

VFD, the Volunteer Fire Department, started as many independent department. When putting their resources and knowledge and numbers together slowly over time, they realize they can become more than even official fire departments. They can be all over the world with branches keeping the world safe from fires, and in their word, quiet. Their logo being VFD inside a hidden eye reflects this. They are watching as One, waiting to help from the shadows.

VFD, the Volunteer Fire Department, over the many, many years in operation, absorbed the small independent volunteer departments. Slowly over times, criticism about absorbing independent fire departments came to be. Criticism soon transform into arguments.

And one day, something broke the camel's back that created two sides with different ideologies within the Volunteer Fire Department.

One side that thinks the Volunteer Fire Department should remain one collective group with branches all over the world with shared knowledge and resources, operating together as a uniform force keep the whole world quiet.

The other side thinks the Volunteer Fire Department should be change into being allied departments that share knowledge and resources, but remain independent in their designated location, their own 'world', like how actual volunteer fire departments operate.

By ASOUE proper, the ideologies changed to where they're almost forgotten except for a few select people. But elements are there in each group, just twisted to fit the time.

#ramblings #vfd #the slippery slope #book passage #theory #book verse

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unfortunatetheorist · 6 months

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Hello! Love your blog :) Hoping you can help me with a quick q. On page 269 of The Slippery Slope, Violet, Klaus and Quigley discover the VFD motto ‘the world is quiet here’ but the narrator (Lemony) describes ‘four tiny words etched over their heads’, not five. Do you think this is a mistake, or is he leaving one out (e.g: ‘the’), or is he deliberately misquoting? The motto is derived from the first line of the Algernon Charles Swinburne poem The Garden of Proserpine: ‘Here, where the world is quiet;’ — so should the real interpretation of the motto be ‘the world is quiet’? Interested to hear your thoughts, thanks!

Hi, @sianitha, thanks for the ask (my Very First Discussion)!

It's definitely an interesting question, for which there can be a few theories:

Lemony is lying, for some bizarre reason.

Lemony is referring to The Garden of Proserpine when he means the actual emblazoned motto.

Either the word 'Here' or the word 'The' got burned from the fire, and Lemony is right.

It's an unnoticed editorial mistake.

Let's see. We know none of it is burned, as Quigley read all five words out.

Lemony is lying, for some bizarre reason.

Lemony is referring to The Garden of Proserpine when he means the actual emblazoned motto.

Either the word 'Here' or the word 'The' got burned from the fire, and Lemony is right.

It's an unnoticed editorial mistake.

Lemony is known for being a bit of a liar, but I think he tells mostly half-truths - when necessary - simply because he can't trust anyone, after having gone on the lam. But in this context, it's unnecessary; he's writing these books to clear his name and the Baudelaires' names, what good would it do him to lie?

Lemony is lying, for some bizarre reason.

Lemony is referring to The Garden of Proserpine when he means the actual emblazoned motto.

Either the word 'Here' or the word 'The' got burned from the fire, and Lemony is right.

It's an unnoticed editorial mistake.

Also, as a volunteer, he'd know his poetry pretty well; well enough to distinguish it from the organisation's motto, even if it is similar.

Lemony is lying, for some bizarre reason.

Lemony is referring to The Garden of Proserpine when he means the actual emblazoned motto.

Either the word 'Here' or the word 'The' got burned from the fire, and Lemony is right.

It's an unnoticed editorial mistake.

And this makes sense when you look at other typos, such as...

...well, as far as I remember, there was one in TPP about Klaus and "her sisters", or something to that effect.

As for the interpretation of the motto, I think it means

"THE WORLD IS QUIET HERE"

i.e. Wherever there is a branch of the V.F.D., the world THERE is quiet. Elsewhere, it's noisy and uncouth.

Hope that helps,

¬ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

***EDIT: There's also a fifth option which I hadn't thought of when writing this - the motto reads "THE WORLD'S QUIET HERE". But this also doesn't follow, as Quigley read out 5 words, not 4.***

#asoue #vfd #lemony snicket #a series of unfortunate events #snicketverse #theory #the world is quiet here #the slippery slope #the garden of proserpine #Algernon Charles Swinburne #first ask #very first ask #violet baudelaire #quigley quagmire #quiglet #quiglet shipper #quiglet forever #literary allusion

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sulasnsleep · 8 months

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“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.”

— Lemony Snickett, A Series of Unfortunate Events #10: The Slippery Slope

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thebreadcultleader · 2 months

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OKAY SO IM SORT OF GOING TO BE UPLOADING MY SILLY LITTLE SKETCHES OF SAID AU FROM EARLIER IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER BECAUSE. I don't know. Anyways right now I'm going to try and just put general sketches but will later explain why Fiona's outfit is a little personalized and why Quigley's is not. Im probs gonna re-upload the last 2 next post to further explain. This doesn't really need to be a 2 part-er post because there's not much of an explanation but I don't think Tumblr is gonna let me have that many images in one post 💔😖.

#silly goofers #fiona widdershins #lemony snicket #asoue #quigley quagmire #snicketverse #the slippery slope #The grim grotto

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snckt · 1 year

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“the entire headquarters were deserted. it was as if they knew we were coming.”

@asouefanworkevent day four of woevember : unseen characters, or alternatively titled, someone the baudelaires will never meet.

#woevember #asoueedit #a series of unfortunate events #the slippery slope #lemony snicket #let's pretend i posted this twelve hours ago aha #but in constant thought about this one volunteer in particular ! it could be mr . lemony snicket . and within the text he's just his usual #unreliable narrator .#but i think it's much more interesting if it's not . lemony #if it's someone we'll never get the chance to meet . and ultimately not important despite being the catalyst to the next three books #had the sugar bowl been forgotten like the headquarters . would dewey denouement be alive ?#would kit ? are these the questions mr snicket asks himself as he sits at the base of a mountain and weeps ?#laineysedit

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free-my-boy-grumbot · 1 year

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Ranking the ASOUE parts because I’m bored and my friend isn’t online

i would love to keep it extensive but i also don’t want tumblr to crash so i will keep it brief. spoilers, obviously. also charcater death.

13. The Grim Grotto

Listen just because it’s 13th doesn’t mean it’s BAD, it just means i’m kinda indifferent to it as opposed to obsessing over it like i do with the others. It’s just that I’m not THAT into nautical themes and I have 2 nautical-themed assignments to do in school today so I’m a little sick of it.

Also, I’m just not that big on Fiona as a character. I didn’t really like the two-girls-hate-each-other-for-no-reason thing that she had going with Violet (especially because it was really out of charcater for her), her romance with Klaus seemed out of place, and her being related to Fernald just seemed like it was pulled out of nowhere to get an emotional reaction. Again, I get why you’d like her and the part, it’s just not for me personally. Also esme’s worst outfit was featured here. Also in the netflix series it just wasn’t as funny as the other ones and that’s a huge thing for me

12. The Wide Window

Honestly didn’t expect this one to be so low, but it’s difficult to choose between these bc i love them all </3 anyways I actually liked Josephine as a charcater, I like the idea that she wants to help the children but is rendered basically incompetent because of her fear, they really popped off with that. HOWEVER they did a very similar thing with Hector but way better so alas </3 12th place

Also like I said, not a massive fan of sea-themed aesthetics. Also also I LOVE all of count olaf’s disguises but I’m kind of indifferent to captain Sham so that also might be why. Also, again, the rest of the netflix series was way funnier

11. The Carnivorous Carnival

Honestly, not much to say about this one. The “not really feeling strongly one way or the other” section has come early this year apparently. Esme and Olivia both SLAYED in their outfits and we got introduced to the circus crew which was cool as fuck. Sadly I have knocked SEVERAL points off for horny count olaf. The scene where he describes madame lulu as buttered really makes you appreciate how little force it takes to rip one’s ear off. It provides me with a new and informed understanding of the phrase “skin crawling”. other than that it’s pretty good :)

10. The Slippery Slope

Now I was one of those people who didn’t know what Mount Fraught syndrome was before reading this book, and the reveal of why the mountain was named that fucking eviscerated me. I was used to this series pulling shit like this constantly and yet this one destroyed me for some reason. If you already knew what mount fraught syndrome was before reading/watching this scene then you didn’t get the full experience and i’m sorry for you.

I also don’t LOVE quigley and violet. I know i just said that about klaus and fiona so it kinda seems like i hate romance, but i really dont. i hate forced romance. romance just isn’t daniel handlers strong suit but he insists on writing it anyway, and that’s fine. it’s what i do with basically everything i write about. Especially since in the netflix series duncan also has a crush on violet so it’s kinda ??? for her to end up with quigley. like do you guys think when quigley and duncan reunited quigley told him about this really cool girl called violet he met and duncan was like “…”. anyways imagine getting cucked by your presumed dead twin brother could not be me

9. The Austere Academy

okay so i felt bad putting this lower because i know someone that really likes this part but i’m sorry it’s just kinda there. i mean it was super funny and the dead horse bit is literally everything but that’s pretty much it. idk maybe there’s a metaphor in there that i’m missing who knows

also olivia was introduced so bonus points for that i guess. she reminds me of miss honey from matilda <33

8. The Ersatz Elevator

honestly i feel bad that this is only 8th but there are so many good ones imsorry. anyways esme and jerome got introduced in this one which gives is a LOT of extra points. i love esme and i pity jerome which makes me also love him. also shoutout to günther for being the only count olaf disguise that could theoretically get it.

my only issue with it is that jerome disowning the baudelaires was kinda forced yk?? like i know it had to happen for the plot to carry on but i don’t think he had a good reason to do it. i guess points for doing something other than just killing them off again?

7. The End

OKAY so you might be thinking “oh, this part is exactly in the middle! surely that means you’re neuteral about it” LMAO I WISH i have extreme positive and negative opinions.

okay so first off it took me a couple of rewatches to get this one because when i first watched it i didn’t know about the quote that it was referencing (“religion is the opium of the people”) but MAN they mentioned that quote in class and i was catatonic for like 2 minutes because oh my god. not only did the incredibly deadly viper come back (yippieee) but they also implied that in the bible adam and eve were actually saved from something by eating the fruit?? the 4chan atheist that lives in my head really likes this one, is what i’m saying. also i know i say that about all of them because my sense of humour is basically based on this series rn but it was so funny. i live and breathe for olaf’s lil christopher columbus moment.

sadly it does have its downsides (olaf and kit) (i really hate olaf and kit) (i don’t think they’re good together). i mean SURELY kit has better taste than that. i mean don’t get me wrong they’re both my favourite characters but they have no common ground on literally anything. plus this is biased but i liked him better with georgina or esme because they remind me of several songs i really like. they literally just pulled the kit x olaf thing out of their ass so that olaf would have some semblance of a reason to die. oh yea i also think olaf didn’t need to die, i know Kit didn’t eat the antidote because it would have affected the baby but olaf could have totally eaten it!! he was offered it!! he wasn’t pregnant!!! it was so out of charcater for him not to eat it!!

6. The Hostile Hospital

Okay this one is SUPER biased because as y’all probably know i love the mad scientist trope it is my favourite trope ever AND i love count olaf so seeing them get put together was so cool. I know I keep bringing this up but i really do love the aesthetics they’re so cool. also also loved all the horror film references. most importantly (actually not that important) esmes outfit went so fucking hard literally i will never recover from the sheer power and moxie of Knife Heels. When I become actually talented at textiles i will recreate her outfit and probably ruin my carpet with those heels.

5. The Bad Beginning

a classic <33 the netflix version of this was literally one of the funniest eps of anything i ever watched i could feel my brain chemistry being rearranged as i watched it. also count olaf’s best era idc what he did he was literally just being sillay. also it has one of the best songs in the series honestly. OH ALSO justice strauss <33 and the troupe <333 literally all the beloveds are here there are no flaws

4. The Reptile Room

MONTY <333 HIIII MONTYYYY <33333333 literally my fav character he has never done anything wrong in his life ever. Also I love his fucking house it’s so cool if I had that much money I too would base my entire house on my special interest. also one of the only parts of the nickelodeon movie i didn’t hate so that’s fun.

3. The Miserable Mill

Lots of cool shit here!! First of all Shirley served astronomical amounts of cunt she had zero bad lines. Also I honestly think Georgina and Olaf were so underrated they remind me of several songs i like also they’re both fucked up and evil <333 she’s like esme but without the ulterior sugar bowl motives. also the fact that her name is GEORGINA ORWELL like ok. queen of subtlety. Like I get it if I was named that I would prolly start hypnotising people too. I also kinda love orwellian themes yk those are always fun.

AND OMG HOW COULD I FORGET CHARLESSS i feel so bad for him constantly he has never done anything wrong in his life and is also inexplicably british i love him sm

2. The Penultimate Peril

I love a good reunion episode tbh i love seeing all the characters together <33 also like this episode is so fun to dissect? (is that the right word?) i loved figuring out who JS was i loved finding differences between Frank and Ernest I loved figuring out what the fuck was going on it was so fun it’s like the best thing about this series.

of course that’s only partially true tpp would be nothing without those sexy sexy monologues

1. The Vile Village

TVV BELOVED <33 I have a separate post about the but they literally have everything. it’s a metaphor for autism it’s a metaphor for religion it’s a metaphor for the school system is there anything they CANT do. Also this is like my 5th time saying this but there are 300+ characters and i’m an indecisive bitch so i will do it again. Hector the actual loml is literally my fav charcater hes so me. don’t worry dude i cant openly defy authority despite knowing its unjust either <3 literally we would be best friends irl. she’s RELATABLE she’s MORALLY AMBIGUOUS she has SEVERAL INTERPRETATIONS I AGREE WITH she’s STRANGE she’s everything you want in an asoue book honestly

Also detective dupin and officer luciana kinda slayed what was Wrong with them <3

#cameron monologues #asoue #a series of unfortunate events #the bad beginning #the reptile room #the wide window #the miserable mill #the austere academy #the ersatz elevator #the vile village #the hostile hospital #the carnivorous carnival #the slippery slope #the grim grotto #the penultimate peril #the end asoue

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beatricebidelaire · 7 months

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happy 20th birthday to the slippery slope and quigley quagmire's first appearance

“I think the survivor is here,” the scout said quietly, and removed his mask to reveal his face at last. “I'm Quigley Quagmire,” he said, “I survived the fire that destroyed my home, and I was hoping to find my brother and sister.”

#vera.txt #the slippery slope #quigley quagmire

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litsnaps · 10 months

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#literature #quotes #Lemony Snicket #The Slippery Slope #quote #lit #books #words

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californiaispurple · 1 year

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WOEVEMBER DAY 2: THE WHITE FACED LADIES

PROMPT: FIRESTARTERS

[Image description: The White-Faced Ladies from A Series of Unfortunate Events in The Slippery Slope. They're both wearing extravagant dresses, white makeup with red cheeks and lips, and elaborately curled hairstyles. They stand in front of Sunny Baudelaire, who is wrapping herself in a red blanket with a distraught expression on her face. The ladies are looking at each other with a pensive expressions. They're all in a snowy mountain range, with many mountains in the background. End description.]

or: the turning point

for @asouefanworkevent lovely woevember event!

despite everything, i remember i ended up rooting for them in the end hehe

oh to be taught maybe people can change by a funny little book you checked out on a whim

whether they're farming in the hinterlands, or became a successful theatre troupe with the rest of the olaf's crew, i do wish them the best in my mind

#the powdered ladies #the white faced ladies #sunny baudelaire #asoue #a series of unfortunate events #woevember #the slippery slope

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quigleyquaqmire · 10 months

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Masked Snow Scout: *reveals himself to be Quigley Quagmire*

Me, who has read the books multiple times and already know he survived the fire:

#the impact is still there #quigley quagmire #asoue #a series of unfortunate events #the slippery slope #my post

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unfortunatetheorist · 8 months

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Could the 'S' stand for Sugar?

To parody Olivia Caliban - "I've been doing some thinking"

The theories among the fandom surrounding S. Theodora Markson have been logical, but in this theory, I'm going to drop a new [what I'm quite sure is a] bombshell, in answer to 'What does the 'S' stand for?' - the S might stand for Sugar.

Of course, as mentioned, I respect and understand the reasoning behind the alternative theories, such as 'Sunny' and 'Sensible', but there is a link that I seem to have found, which MIGHT run across the Snicket-verse [one that, I feel, seems to have been a little bit overlooked]:

Sugar is an incredibly delicate subject to come up in A Series of Unfortunate Events.

This is CLEARLY seen in 2 main instances:

The Waitress is a woman who was employed in The Penultimate Peril, who had a customer that requested sugar in their coffee before she threw him onto the ground so she could see if he had a tattoo on his ankle. Much like last time (referring to her employment at Café Salmonella), she discovers that the customer had no such tattoo so she then apologized for her actions and offered a free slice of rhubarb pie for all his trouble. Her fate after the incident remains unknown, though even if she was the same waitress from Café Salmonella, her employment at both eateries were most likely terminated nevertheless.

(from the Snicket Fandom Wiki, under 'The Waitress' page)

“What is this?” Count Olaf said suspiciously, peering into his coffee cup. “It looks like coffee, but it’s freezing cold!” “And what is this orange stuff?” Esmé asked suspiciously. “I want fashionable, in food, not a handful of ice!” Colette picked up a piece of the bread and stared at it suspiciously. “This toast feels raw,” she said. “Is it safe to eat raw toast?” “Of course not,” Hugo said. “I bet that baby is trying to poison us.” “Actually, the coffee isn’t bad,” one of the white-faced women said, “even if it is a little bitter. Could someone pass the sugar, please?” “Sugar?” shrieked Count Olaf, erupting in anger. He stood up, grabbed one end of the blanket, and pulled as hard as he could, scattering all of Sunny’s hard work. Food, beverages, and dishes fell everywhere, and Sunny had to duck to avoid getting hit on the head with a flying fork. “All the sugar in the world couldn’t save this terrible breakfast!” he roared, and then leaned down so that his shiny, shiny eyes stared right into Sunny’s. “I told you to make a nice, hot breakfast, and you gave me cold, disgusting nonsense!” he said, his smelly breath making a cloud in the chilly air. “Don’t you see how high up we are, you sabertoothed papoose? If I threw you off Mount Fraught, you’d never survive!”

(An extract from The Slippery Slope, Ch 6)

Given the sheer force with which people [volunteers (the waitress) and villains (Olaf) alike] in the series (ASOUE) respond to any mention of sugar, who's to say that the people of All The Wrong Questions take any reference to sugar in the same manner (i.e. flip out like ASOUE people)?

Of course, this is axiomatic (a word which here means: we're assuming this to be true) but if it is, it could be the reason why Theodora is so very secretive about her initial - maybe it stands for Sugar, and she doesn't want to run the risk of anyone knowing; the recipient of the information may be a villain... OR, seeing as she's 52nd out of 52 chaperones (or something like that, it has been a while since I've read ATWQ), if she tells V.F.D. her name is Sugar, she's BOUND to get kicked out of the organisation.

¬ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

P.S. I did get it right: On the list of chaperones, she is ranked 52nd of 52, though she believed she was ranked tenth

(Snicket Wiki)

#a series of unfortunate events #asoue #asoue netflix #lemony snicket #snicketverse #theory #vfd #s theodora markson #what does the s stand for #sugar bowl #the penultimate peril #the slippery slope #cafe salmonella #mount fraught #all the wrong questions #atwq

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