...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
The Northern Caves
- 427 statements
- 83 feature instances
- 9 referencing feature instances
The Northern Caves | type |
TVTItem | |
The Northern Caves | label |
The Northern Caves | |
The Northern Caves | page |
TheNorthernCaves | |
The Northern Caves | comment |
The Northern Caves is a 2015 Web Original Fiction novel written by nostalgebraist (previously the author of Floornight). Set in the early 2000s, it follows a group of fans on an online forum dedicated to the fictional Cult Classic Chesscourt fantasy book series by Leonard Salby.There's fan theorist Aaron aka Errant KnightsMove, "it's not that deep dude" Marsh aka metamarsh, popular fic writer Jenny aka jenni_fur, and observer/narrator Paul aka GlassWave.The plot kicks off when one forum regular decides to attempt to understand Salby's unpublished final work: The Northern Caves, 3,642 pages of incomprehensible Mind Screw. The attempt spawns numerous theories and interpretations, and increasingly acrimonious debate as the fans struggle to fit The Northern Caves into the orderly Chesscourt series they know.When one fan involved in the debate gets access to a cache of Salby's old papers, everyone is excited for what they might reveal, and a small group of the most dedicated participants meet up in person to look through them. However, things soon take a dark turn as they learn more about Salby than they bargained for…The novel is written in a Scrapbook Story style, with most of the text being participant Paul's notes for a "report" he has been asked to write explaining these events. This is interspersed with snippets from forum threads and occasionally other documents. It's been praised for its accurate depiction of early-00s fandom and forum culture. | |
The Northern Caves | fetched |
2023-11-20T07:15:33Z | |
The Northern Caves | parsed |
2023-11-20T07:15:33Z | |
The Northern Caves | processingComment |
Dropped link to InNameOnly: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Northern Caves | processingComment |
Dropped link to ManosTheHandsOfFate: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Northern Caves | processingComment |
Dropped link to NineteenEightyFour: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Northern Caves | processingComment |
Dropped link to NotesFromUnderground: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Northern Caves | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
The Northern Caves / int_135d58f9 | type |
Man of Wealth and Taste | |
The Northern Caves / int_135d58f9 | comment |
Man of Wealth and Taste: Paul describes Charles in the first book as "an ominous figure of sinister aristocratic grace." | |
The Northern Caves / int_135d58f9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_135d58f9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_135d58f9 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c1d243c | type |
Brother–Sister Team | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c1d243c | comment |
Brother–Sister Team: The main characters of Chesscourt are siblings Sally and Tom, and their older cousin Charles. | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c1d243c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c1d243c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_1c1d243c | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c712be8 | type |
Yaoi Fangirl | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c712be8 | comment |
Yaoi Fangirl: Kelsey is delighted when Aaron and Paul kiss. | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c712be8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1c712be8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_1c712be8 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1ce1cfd8 | type |
all lowercase letters | |
The Northern Caves / int_1ce1cfd8 | comment |
all lowercase letters: Jenny's forum posts are all lowercase, except for words all in caps for emphasis. Her fanfic, by contrast, is capitalized conventionally. | |
The Northern Caves / int_1ce1cfd8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1ce1cfd8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_1ce1cfd8 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1d6f980e | type |
Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls | |
The Northern Caves / int_1d6f980e | comment |
Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls: There's a gendered aspect to how the characters engage with fandom, broadly adhering to the pattern "men are more interested in things; women are more interested in people." The fan theories side of the Cafe is led by Aaron, while the fanfic side is led by Jenny. Her fic, Life Among The Lorrums, is specifically stated to have a focus on character and sociology, injecting humanity back into the Chesscourt verse which is canonically lacking in that department. These tendencies are certainly not hard and fast rules — Jenny engages in the boys' theory talk; the boys read Jenny's fic; Paul's signature contains a link to a fic of his own — but there is a general pattern to it. | |
The Northern Caves / int_1d6f980e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1d6f980e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_1d6f980e | |
The Northern Caves / int_1effdd6b | type |
White Man's Burden | |
The Northern Caves / int_1effdd6b | comment |
The podcasters — who see themselves as woke — see in Chesscourt troubling themes of elitism and White Man's Burden. | |
The Northern Caves / int_1effdd6b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_1effdd6b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_1effdd6b | |
The Northern Caves / int_24321e44 | type |
Only Sane Man | |
The Northern Caves / int_24321e44 | comment |
Only Sane Man: | |
The Northern Caves / int_24321e44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_24321e44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_24321e44 | |
The Northern Caves / int_24ddbe2b | type |
Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times | |
The Northern Caves / int_24ddbe2b | comment |
Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times: Unsurprisingly, many of the Cafe users allude to having reread the Chesscourt books many times. | |
The Northern Caves / int_24ddbe2b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_24ddbe2b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_24ddbe2b | |
The Northern Caves / int_25220e5d | type |
Archetypal Character | |
The Northern Caves / int_25220e5d | comment |
Archetypal Character: Lugnut is a troll who uses an outrageous combination of Funetik Aksent and a parody of Totally Radical speak, and constantly sounds like he's trying to bait you into a political Flame War. The style of his writing is all designed to make people skip over it, to not even read it much less engage in conversation with him. Yet he's got some interesting things to say underneath all that. Archetypically, Lugnut is a Shakespearean fool: speaking truth under the guise of nonsense. Diegetically it's not clear why he does this — it isn't a Mirth to Power situation and it seems like communicating clearly might serve him better. Non-diegetically, though, this allows him to bring up important points without the other characters paying heed to what he's saying. | |
The Northern Caves / int_25220e5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_25220e5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_25220e5d | |
The Northern Caves / int_26eb6287 | type |
Funny Background Event | |
The Northern Caves / int_26eb6287 | comment |
Funny Background Event: One Cafe user, Avery Lodestone, has a signature which reads "Maintainer of the Anti-Pokémon Haiku Archive (contributions welcome)". | |
The Northern Caves / int_26eb6287 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_26eb6287 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_26eb6287 | |
The Northern Caves / int_2a2d62a0 | type |
Talking Down the Suicidal | |
The Northern Caves / int_2a2d62a0 | comment |
Talking Down the Suicidal: In chapter 15, Aaron — who is a bit emotionally unstable, and really clings to TNC as an anchor, and who's really shaken by the story of William Chen — goes upstairs into the bathroom and is holding onto a bottle of pills like he might take the whole thing. Paul goes up to talk to him, and tells him the only thing that will comfort him right then: that they're going to "defeat" TNC together. Aaron proceeds to really latch onto this idea. As so, as a testament of love for their fragile friend, they do it. | |
The Northern Caves / int_2a2d62a0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_2a2d62a0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_2a2d62a0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_2cd0a681 | type |
Worldbuilding | |
The Northern Caves / int_2cd0a681 | comment |
Worldbuilding: Salby's worldbuilding — like his characters — were created only to serve his invokedanvilicious focus. He didn't care about his world in its own right. He called it "reams of lore invented only to make moral action difficult and thus in keeping with reality." From how readers describe it, it sounds like Salby's world was rigorously logical and this made it feel flat, because the real world is sometimes messy, illogical, and contradictory. | |
The Northern Caves / int_2cd0a681 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_2cd0a681 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_2cd0a681 | |
The Northern Caves / int_2d717e11 | type |
Suicide, Not Murder | |
The Northern Caves / int_2d717e11 | comment |
Suicide, Not Murder: Zigzagging. Salby claimed William's death was an accident. His niece Elena accused him of murder. William actually committed suicide, with Salby's endorsement, inspired in part by concepts he learned from Salby. So while Salby didn't exactly murder him, he absolutely had a hand in his death. | |
The Northern Caves / int_2d717e11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_2d717e11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_2d717e11 | |
The Northern Caves / int_326a740c | type |
Scatterbrained Senior | |
The Northern Caves / int_326a740c | comment |
Scatterbrained Senior: Zigzagging. The Northern Caves is Salby's final unpublished manuscript that invokedhe was working on at the time of his death at the age of about 76. Just how clear-headed he was at this point is a matter of debate amongst the fans. Sentiments include: | |
The Northern Caves / int_326a740c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_326a740c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_326a740c | |
The Northern Caves / int_32c65fcd | type |
Benevolent Mage Ruler | |
The Northern Caves / int_32c65fcd | comment |
Benevolent Mage Ruler: Implied Trope. The protagonists are "heirs of the Manor" — according to the podcasters, "aristocrats with a magical lineage". Marsh at one point mentions the series contains people "finding out their parents were ancient gods." There seems to be some combination of social power and magical power going on, from which the characters' crushing sense of duty springs. | |
The Northern Caves / int_32c65fcd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_32c65fcd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_32c65fcd | |
The Northern Caves / int_3360dc2c | type |
Mellow Fellow | |
The Northern Caves / int_3360dc2c | comment |
Phlegmatic: Marsh aka metamarsh, an easygoing stoner telling people "it's not that deep dude". | |
The Northern Caves / int_3360dc2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_3360dc2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_3360dc2c | |
The Northern Caves / int_34f1b472 | type |
Mad Artist | |
The Northern Caves / int_34f1b472 | comment |
Mad Artist: Leonard Salby was a crazy old kook. He was aware enough of it he even went to psychiatrists, but they didn't diagnose him with anything specific and that was about as far as it went. | |
The Northern Caves / int_34f1b472 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_34f1b472 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_34f1b472 | |
The Northern Caves / int_3d5c5deb | type |
Flat Character | |
The Northern Caves / int_3d5c5deb | comment |
Flat Character: Salby isn't known for being that good at character development, and his characters are generally thought to be a bit flat and stilted, as well as static. Justified Trope — as they dig deeper into Salby's personal writings, they find him saying point-blank that the characters are just vessels to demonstrate his worldview. | |
The Northern Caves / int_3d5c5deb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_3d5c5deb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_3d5c5deb | |
The Northern Caves / int_3e87fc1f | type |
Psychological Projection | |
The Northern Caves / int_3e87fc1f | comment |
Psychological Projection: Salby's journals make it very clear that the only thing he meant by his books was obey Mundum. Everything else was merely tools to facilitate that. Nonetheless, people do look for other things in his books, and sometimes find it there. Aaron — a fan theorist — sees in TNC a grand puzzle to decode if he's clever and methodical enough. Jenny — who's very interested in character — sees in TNC a statement on the flexibility of personality, a subversion or inversion of Static Character. The podcasters — who see themselves as woke — see in Chesscourt troubling themes of elitism and White Man's Burden. | |
The Northern Caves / int_3e87fc1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_3e87fc1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_3e87fc1f | |
The Northern Caves / int_466ccbb4 | type |
Gayngst | |
The Northern Caves / int_466ccbb4 | comment |
Gayngst: It's clear that Aaron is emotionally a mess, and he uses his quest of conquering TNC as a coping mechanism. It's Implied his homosexuality contributes to his emotional baggage. Blink and you'll miss it, but when Aaron and Paul are in the upstairs bathroom together and Aaron is having an emotional breakdown, he's talking about TNC, death, and fatalism — but in the mix there's also single random comment which makes it sounds like he came from a homophobic, Evangelical family. | |
The Northern Caves / int_466ccbb4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_466ccbb4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_466ccbb4 | |
The Northern Caves / int_482c31d4 | type |
No Hugging, No Kissing | |
The Northern Caves / int_482c31d4 | comment |
No Hugging, No Kissing: Chesscourt is staunchly devoid of any romance. This is part of the tremendous weightiness of the series. Fandom invokedshipping, then, is a sort of defiance against the themes of canon. | |
The Northern Caves / int_482c31d4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_482c31d4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_482c31d4 | |
The Northern Caves / int_50be2cb4 | type |
Machine Worship | |
The Northern Caves / int_50be2cb4 | comment |
Machine Worship: The Lorrums are rabbit-like creatures described as having a "quasi-religious fetishism or idolatry for machines and technological progress." Ombudsman suggests it stands in for "the whole of human enterprise"; Jenny's interpretation in her fic is that it stems from a fear of "disharmony". It acts as a microcosm of the greater themes of Chesscourt — a mechanical, black-and-white simplicity — which ties back into the philosophy of Mundum. | |
The Northern Caves / int_50be2cb4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_50be2cb4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_50be2cb4 | |
The Northern Caves / int_53224e46 | type |
Bookends | |
The Northern Caves / int_53224e46 | comment |
Bookends: Both the first and last chapters feature an excerpt where an outsider disparages Chesscourt and its fans. They're also a Distant Prologue (an interview from 1988 and a book review from 1983) and Distant Finale (a podcast from 2015) in contrast with the main story set in 2003 and 2004. | |
The Northern Caves / int_53224e46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_53224e46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_53224e46 | |
The Northern Caves / int_55940b68 | type |
Doorstopper | |
The Northern Caves / int_55940b68 | comment |
Doorstopper: As the Chesscourt series goes on, the books get weirder and longer. The nine books' lengths are: 166 pages, 255 pages, 242 pages, 271 pages, 345 pages, 435 pages, 676 pages, 775 pages, 844 pages. It caps off with The Northern Caves, which is 3,642 pages — it's unclear if it was intended to be published in its present state, but the upon seeing the manuscript, the Spelunkers "gawk at the thick stack of typed pages." | |
The Northern Caves / int_55940b68 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_55940b68 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_55940b68 | |
The Northern Caves / int_5849f073 | type |
Imagined Innuendo | |
The Northern Caves / int_5849f073 | comment |
Imagined Innuendo: One passage seems to be describing a sexual seduction, but Aaron qualifies this by saying, "it's not clear to me whether I'm merely reading sexual connotations into strange phrase". | |
The Northern Caves / int_5849f073 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_5849f073 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_5849f073 | |
The Northern Caves / int_594d1df5 | type |
No Punctuation Period | |
The Northern Caves / int_594d1df5 | comment |
No Punctuation Period: Even the semi-intelligible parts of The Northern Caves largely lack punctuation, which makes them harder to parse. | |
The Northern Caves / int_594d1df5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_594d1df5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_594d1df5 | |
The Northern Caves / int_5977de6c | type |
Write What You Know | |
The Northern Caves / int_5977de6c | comment |
invokedWrite What You Know: What Aaron calls "the Space Episode" is clearly based on William Chen's suicide. It involves a character obliquely called W stepping out of a ship's airlock, against the protestations of Sally. In space, W has a strange string of conversations with supernatural-seeming beings about "immolation", "unbraiding", and an "angel". He decides to take part of that, and is destroyed, ending with the line, "W gone". The story is presented to us sandwiched between the Salby journal entry that says, "I have not seen many pleasing things in World but I remember the look of joy on WCs dying face and that is one of the few good one," and Ken's story about what happened to William. | |
The Northern Caves / int_5977de6c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_5977de6c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_5977de6c | |
The Northern Caves / int_5d5cc3fd | type |
Through the Eyes of Madness | |
The Northern Caves / int_5d5cc3fd | comment |
Then there's his narration. Paul is heavily biased, questionably sane at times, but he is trying to be truthful as far as he can be. When someone on the forum asks if he's an Unreliable Narrator, Jenny says he's not. | |
The Northern Caves / int_5d5cc3fd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_5d5cc3fd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_5d5cc3fd | |
The Northern Caves / int_5f2b0457 | type |
Nerds Are Virgins | |
The Northern Caves / int_5f2b0457 | comment |
Nerds Are Virgins: Downplayed Trope. Chesscourt fans do date. Paul was originally introduced to Chesscourt by his girlfriend-at-the-time. But it is fair to say that none of them are spending lots of time in this online forum because they have thriving social lives. | |
The Northern Caves / int_5f2b0457 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_5f2b0457 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_5f2b0457 | |
The Northern Caves / int_65bc92fc | type |
Four-Temperament Ensemble | |
The Northern Caves / int_65bc92fc | comment |
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine: Jenny aka jenni_fur, a friendly, emotionally intelligent fanfic writer. Choleric: Aaron aka Errant KnightsMove, a passionate, somewhat obsessive, emotionally fragile fan theorist. Phlegmatic: Marsh aka metamarsh, an easygoing stoner telling people "it's not that deep dude". Melancholic: Paul aka GlassWave, a quiet brooding guy who goes off the deep end. | |
The Northern Caves / int_65bc92fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_65bc92fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_65bc92fc | |
The Northern Caves / int_6977c45e | type |
Purple Prose | |
The Northern Caves / int_6977c45e | comment |
Paul has a tendency to slip into this (along with Purple Prose) in his notes, usually when he's nervous or uncomfortable about what he's writing. He lampshades this tendency a few times. | |
The Northern Caves / int_6977c45e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6977c45e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_6977c45e | |
The Northern Caves / int_6b2b3b59 | type |
The Reveal | |
The Northern Caves / int_6b2b3b59 | comment |
The Reveal: | |
The Northern Caves / int_6b2b3b59 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6b2b3b59 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_6b2b3b59 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3c8acf | type |
Franchise Original Sin | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3c8acf | comment |
invokedFranchise Original Sin: Paul describes the latter books as still having the same bones as the first book, just taken to their Logical Extreme. It could also be considered nine books' worth of Serial Escalation. At some point "the matrix is beginning to strain under its own weight." | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3c8acf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3c8acf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3c8acf | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3d1777 | type |
Magic A Is Magic A | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3d1777 | comment |
Magic A Is Magic A: Chesscourt is relentlessly logical, and also a fantasy series, so together that creates a world where magic always has a predictable result. | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3d1777 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3d1777 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_6c3d1777 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6d56cebf | type |
Chess Motifs | |
The Northern Caves / int_6d56cebf | comment |
Chess Motifs: The podcasters say "the whole thing is based around an overwrought chess metaphor." Paul tells us there are "chessboards all over the walls and ceilings of Chesscourt Manor," and the chessboard "mirrors inside the Manor events taking place outside." | |
The Northern Caves / int_6d56cebf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_6d56cebf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_6d56cebf | |
The Northern Caves / int_7464705c | type |
Arc Words | |
The Northern Caves / int_7464705c | comment |
Arc Words: "Don't go into the caves," a mantra used by the Cafe users meant to communicate the idea that it's a waste of time to try to decipher whatever The Northern Caves is supposed to be. It slowly becomes an ominous warning as the ethos behind The Northern Caves is made more apparent. | |
The Northern Caves / int_7464705c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_7464705c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_7464705c | |
The Northern Caves / int_74e2ca0a | type |
Ban on Politics | |
The Northern Caves / int_74e2ca0a | comment |
Apparently there was once a thread titled "Salby And CIA" which Aaron closed in the name of Ban on Politics. Salby was reportedly at Harvard for a curiously brief visiting lectureship in 1961, which somehow tied in with Project MKUltra — Project MKUltra as in drug induced brainwashing. | |
The Northern Caves / int_74e2ca0a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_74e2ca0a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_74e2ca0a | |
The Northern Caves / int_75f626a5 | type |
Nostalgia Filter | |
The Northern Caves / int_75f626a5 | comment |
Now-adults who started reading them as kids, giving them both a Nostalgia Filter and an adult's capacity for remembering detail. | |
The Northern Caves / int_75f626a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_75f626a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_75f626a5 | |
The Northern Caves / int_7abd339f | type |
Black-and-White Morality | |
The Northern Caves / int_7abd339f | comment |
Black-and-White Morality: In Chesscourt, the sides of good and evil are very clearly defined. The "correct" actions the protagonists must take are directly laid out for them, and the difficulty is more often in carrying out said actions than in having to make difficult or morally ambiguous decisions. Considering the prominent Chess Motifs, it's likely a case of literal black-and-white morality. This kind of thinking is a prominent aspect of Salby's personal philosophy, to the extent that he is professionally diagnosed with "an obsessive fixation on moral concerns". | |
The Northern Caves / int_7abd339f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_7abd339f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_7abd339f | |
The Northern Caves / int_7b21ef92 | type |
Later-Installment Weirdness | |
The Northern Caves / int_7b21ef92 | comment |
Paul's forum signature mentions he's one of the only people whose favorite Chesscourt book is Sea of Glass, a invoked later installment that took Salby's Complexity Addiction so far he was forced to self-publish it. Paul ends up being the only Spelunker to fully adopt Salby's philosophy of life. | |
The Northern Caves / int_7b21ef92 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_7b21ef92 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_7b21ef92 | |
The Northern Caves / int_812fc350 | type |
Turn of the Millennium | |
The Northern Caves / int_812fc350 | comment |
Turn of the Millennium: The story begins in November of 2003 and ends in August of 2004. It's been praised for its accurate depiction of early-00s fandom and forum culture. | |
The Northern Caves / int_812fc350 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_812fc350 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_812fc350 | |
The Northern Caves / int_83d3bf25 | type |
Anvilicious | |
The Northern Caves / int_83d3bf25 | comment |
invokedAnvilicious: Chesscourt is not subtle, and reviews make a point to note that it's the product of a man obsessed with fiendishly detail-oriented, duty-driven plots, and largely disinterested in his characters and worldbuilding. It's easy to see where his interests laid, or what the themes were. But Salby's anvil — obeying Mundum — is off the wall enough that it can be hard to identify that it is an anvil without exterior knowledge of his philosophy. Once you know, though, it becomes very apparent why the series is the way it is. | |
The Northern Caves / int_83d3bf25 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_83d3bf25 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_83d3bf25 | |
The Northern Caves / int_83ea0763 | type |
Rouge Angles of Satin | |
The Northern Caves / int_83ea0763 | comment |
Rouge Angles of Satin: As the manuscript progresses, typos and grammatical errors become increasingly common — it's noted that at one point Tom's name is misspelled as Tomm for upwards of thirty pages, and even debated that "Tomm" may be a separate character altogether. | |
The Northern Caves / int_83ea0763 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_83ea0763 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_83ea0763 | |
The Northern Caves / int_868409c | type |
Broken Pedestal | |
The Northern Caves / int_868409c | comment |
Broken Pedestal: Learning that Leonard Salby was credibly accused of murder drives Aaron to the brink of despair. | |
The Northern Caves / int_868409c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_868409c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_868409c | |
The Northern Caves / int_8a8534fb | type |
Chemically-Induced Insanity | |
The Northern Caves / int_8a8534fb | comment |
Chemically-Induced Insanity: Paul starts experiencing "the separation" after taking two Adderalls, and slips the other Spelunkers Adderall in the hopes that the same will happen to them. | |
The Northern Caves / int_8a8534fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_8a8534fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_8a8534fb | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b442f50 | type |
Did Not Get the Girl | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b442f50 | comment |
Did Not Get the Girl: Aaron and Paul kiss at Spelunk 04! but the last word on their relationship is from the story's final forum post is: | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b442f50 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b442f50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_8b442f50 | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b568cb7 | type |
Posthumous Character | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b568cb7 | comment |
Posthumous Character: Salby died in 1995, and the story takes place in 2003 to 2004. | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b568cb7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_8b568cb7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_8b568cb7 | |
The Northern Caves / int_8ff8d545 | type |
Kissing Cousins | |
The Northern Caves / int_8ff8d545 | comment |
Kissing Cousins: Paul ships cousins Sally and Charles. | |
The Northern Caves / int_8ff8d545 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_8ff8d545 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_8ff8d545 | |
The Northern Caves / int_93c74ab3 | type |
Cult Classic | |
The Northern Caves / int_93c74ab3 | comment |
invokedCult Classic: The Chesscourt fandom really cherishes the series, but the mainstream opinion seems to be that the series lost its footing after the first installment. The most discussed aspect of Chesscourt is its complexity — praised by fans, disparaged by critics. However, both groups basically seem to agree that the books have little to offer beyond that. Critics say there's a fundamental immaturity that pervades the series. Fans admit the characters and worldbuilding leave something to be desired. Fanfic overwhelmingly changes the tone, suggesting the original ponderously weighty tone isn't exactly loved. | |
The Northern Caves / int_93c74ab3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_93c74ab3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_93c74ab3 | |
The Northern Caves / int_93dfbd86 | type |
Converted Fanboy | |
The Northern Caves / int_93dfbd86 | comment |
Converted Fanboy: Paul got into Chesscourt after his college girlfriend recommended it to him. He notes that this sets him apart from most of the other characters, who grew up with the series. | |
The Northern Caves / int_93dfbd86 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_93dfbd86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_93dfbd86 | |
The Northern Caves / int_96c60225 | type |
Growing with the Audience | |
The Northern Caves / int_96c60225 | comment |
Growing with the Audience: Zigzagging. The first book is unambiguously Children's Literature. The later books are not, but it's not exactly clear if they're for adults, either. | |
The Northern Caves / int_96c60225 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_96c60225 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_96c60225 | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: Paul's forum signature mentions he's one of the only people whose favorite Chesscourt book is Sea of Glass, a invoked later installment that took Salby's Complexity Addiction so far he was forced to self-publish it. Paul ends up being the only Spelunker to fully adopt Salby's philosophy of life. Lugnut's whole role, basically, is to bring up relevant things so the audience knows them, while being so annoying that no one in-universe engages with what he's saying. He brings up details from Salby's life as possibly relevant to the "Seeking Continuity in TNC" thread, and complains that biographical criticism isn't welcome on the Cafe. Salby's personal papers, and what they reveal about his life and worldview, turn out to be the key to understanding TNC. Apparently there was once a thread titled "Salby And CIA" which Aaron closed in the name of Ban on Politics. Salby was reportedly at Harvard for a curiously brief visiting lectureship in 1961, which somehow tied in with Project MKUltra — Project MKUltra as in drug induced brainwashing. | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_9d12bbc1 | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d72cf74 | type |
Fandom | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d72cf74 | comment |
Fandom: Chesscourt fans gather on Cafe Chesscourt, an early 2000s PHP bulletin board forum. | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d72cf74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_9d72cf74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_9d72cf74 | |
The Northern Caves / int_9de7a5d0 | type |
Fix Fic | |
The Northern Caves / int_9de7a5d0 | comment |
Fix Fic: Not in the usual plot-based "fix the story" way, but in a more thematic sense. Paul describes Chesscourt fanfic as overwhelmingly — even defiantly — anti-Salbian in tone. Jenny is said to be much better at characters and worldbuilding than Salby. Her fic Life Among The Lorrums injects the setting with a lot of much-needed humanity. Her work is highly regarded in the fandom. Paul has a fic, exquisite stasis, which is effectively about Sally escaping the Salbian trajectory of canon. | |
The Northern Caves / int_9de7a5d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_9de7a5d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_9de7a5d0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_a1b141f4 | type |
My God, What Have I Done? | |
The Northern Caves / int_a1b141f4 | comment |
My God, What Have I Done?: Aaron's reaction after learning that the restaurant staff to whom he "spoke in the voice of the sky" were Driven to Suicide. | |
The Northern Caves / int_a1b141f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_a1b141f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_a1b141f4 | |
The Northern Caves / int_a2cd1e60 | type |
Bold Inflation | |
The Northern Caves / int_a2cd1e60 | comment |
Bold Inflation: Different characters have different writing styles in their forum posts. Aaron marks his emphasis with bold text (as Marsh lampshades). Jenny and Marsh use CAPS. Paul uses italics. Kelsey uses ~tildes~. | |
The Northern Caves / int_a2cd1e60 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_a2cd1e60 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_a2cd1e60 | |
The Northern Caves / int_aabe2fb | type |
Deliberate Values Dissonance | |
The Northern Caves / int_aabe2fb | comment |
Deliberate Values Dissonance: Aaron and Paul kissing is met with mild discomfort from everyone except Kelsey (a Yaoi Fangirl who has to explain what "yaoi" means), with Marsh eventually taking a "do what you want, but not in front of me" stance, reflecting a generally lower tolerance and understanding of gay relationships in the early 2000s. | |
The Northern Caves / int_aabe2fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_aabe2fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_aabe2fb | |
The Northern Caves / int_ae3d6438 | type |
Deadpan Snarker | |
The Northern Caves / int_ae3d6438 | comment |
Deadpan Snarker: Paul describes Charles as "a master of delicious, grotesque invective," delivering some of the books' occasional moments of humor. Deadpan Snarkers are wont to be fan favorites and Charles is JimWind's favorite, the only time any character is mentioned to be a favorite. | |
The Northern Caves / int_ae3d6438 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_ae3d6438 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_ae3d6438 | |
The Northern Caves / int_b3bdf232 | type |
Alien Geometries | |
The Northern Caves / int_b3bdf232 | comment |
Alien Geometries: Experiencing "the separation" causes you to perceive your normal surroundings as completely foreign — a hyperawareness of the location of surrounding objects, an awareness of whether they are objectively correct or not, and an awareness of a higher plane of reality where things are always correct. | |
The Northern Caves / int_b3bdf232 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_b3bdf232 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_b3bdf232 | |
The Northern Caves / int_b53077b3 | type |
Take That! | |
The Northern Caves / int_b53077b3 | comment |
Take That!: In what Aaron terms "the Space Episode": | |
The Northern Caves / int_b53077b3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_b53077b3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_b53077b3 | |
The Northern Caves / int_b709cf7 | type |
Ambiguously Absent Parent | |
The Northern Caves / int_b709cf7 | comment |
Ambiguously Absent Parent: Marsh's mother is never seen or mentioned. Paul wonders about this, but opts not to ask about what could be a sensitive topic. | |
The Northern Caves / int_b709cf7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_b709cf7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_b709cf7 | |
The Northern Caves / int_bb18a227 | type |
It's All About Me | |
The Northern Caves / int_bb18a227 | comment |
It's All About Me: Within the "mundane" interpretation of Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane, the protagonists' belief that the suicides of strangers are really all about them comes off as very self-involved. | |
The Northern Caves / int_bb18a227 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_bb18a227 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_bb18a227 | |
The Northern Caves / int_bef696dd | type |
Mind Screw | |
The Northern Caves / int_bef696dd | comment |
Mind Screw: It begins like a Chesscourt novel then dissolves into nonsense. Most infamously there's 3 pages of just the letter A. In that sea of nonsense, occasionally sections that appear to have a story emerge, but they're weird. | |
The Northern Caves / int_bef696dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_bef696dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_bef696dd | |
The Northern Caves / int_c3fcb43e | type |
Protection from Editors | |
The Northern Caves / int_c3fcb43e | comment |
invokedProtection from Editors: As Later-Installment Weirdness set in, Salby's editor began to object. Salby elected to self-published the final 2 books (The Sea of Glass and Chesscourt Regained) without an editor. In Paul's signature, he calls himself "the only person in existence whose favorite CC book is Sea of Glass," implying these self-published books have a questionable reputation even within the fandom who loves the series. | |
The Northern Caves / int_c3fcb43e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_c3fcb43e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_c3fcb43e | |
The Northern Caves / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
The Northern Caves / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: As a fictional series, comparisons to real-life books are repeatedly used to give a sense of what Chesscourt is supposed to be like. Paul and Salby himself both compare the broadest strokes of genre to J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. As for level of popularity, the podcasters liken him to Terry Brooks or Piers Anthony. While giving credit where it's due and saying that Salby's at least original, they bring up Roger Zelazny and Philip Pullman. When Jenny's talking about TNC as experimental literature she mentions Ulysses and Hopscotch. The podcasters call it "bargain-bin Finnegans Wake." Aaron paraphrases Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground: On two occasions, Paul makes reference to the "place where there is no darkness": first in the brightly-lit bathroom where Aaron's emotional state first starts to crumble, and second when stepping outside on the sunny morning when he first begins to embrace Salby's philosophy. The Cafe admin torgo shares a name with a character from Manos: The Hands of Fate. His location is "Satellite of Love", and his forum signature is a quote from the MST3K of the movie: | |
The Northern Caves / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_c75df49a | |
The Northern Caves / int_cb11543c | type |
Cosmic Horror Reveal | |
The Northern Caves / int_cb11543c | comment |
Cosmic Horror Reveal: The revelation that the diner employees to whom Aaron "spoke in the voice of the sky" committed suicide, proving that the effects of The Northern Caves aren't just in the Spelunkers' heads… unless you buy the explanation that it was just a coincidence. | |
The Northern Caves / int_cb11543c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_cb11543c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_cb11543c | |
The Northern Caves / int_ccdd6905 | type |
Epileptic Trees | |
The Northern Caves / int_ccdd6905 | comment |
invokedEpileptic Trees: Aaron is known on the Cafe as a fan theorist. His signature contains links to 7 different theory threads. | |
The Northern Caves / int_ccdd6905 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_ccdd6905 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_ccdd6905 | |
The Northern Caves / int_cde5f9c8 | type |
Uncertain Audience | |
The Northern Caves / int_cde5f9c8 | comment |
invokedUncertain Audience: Chesscourt could be charitably framed as Growing with the Audience, except it's done so weirdly that the latter books aren't well suited to any age range. It's too complicated for a child to be able to follow, yet not conceptually mature enough to appeal to most adults. | |
The Northern Caves / int_cde5f9c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_cde5f9c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_cde5f9c8 | |
The Northern Caves / int_da264b9c | type |
Word-Salad Horror | |
The Northern Caves / int_da264b9c | comment |
Word-Salad Horror: The excerpts from Northern Caves dip into barely comprehensible sentences where the exact meaning is left up to the reader to decipher; the forum posts note that they can't really decide if it's sexual or violent because it's difficult to parse at all. | |
The Northern Caves / int_da264b9c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_da264b9c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_da264b9c | |
The Northern Caves / int_db4266d3 | type |
Sleep Deprivation | |
The Northern Caves / int_db4266d3 | comment |
Sleep Deprivation: The Spelunkers stay up for 60 hours reading Mind Screw text, and while not exactly fasting, they don't eat much. For the mundane interpretation of Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane, that is plenty enough to put someone into a distorted mental state. | |
The Northern Caves / int_db4266d3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_db4266d3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_db4266d3 | |
The Northern Caves / int_dff5d1c5 | type |
First Installment Wins | |
The Northern Caves / int_dff5d1c5 | comment |
invokedFirst Installment Wins: While the latter Chesscourt series isn't regarded as good by anyone but the fandom, multiple critics seem to maintain that A Thornbush Tale was a great children's book — perhaps even a Phrase Catcher for the word "charming." | |
The Northern Caves / int_dff5d1c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_dff5d1c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_dff5d1c5 | |
The Northern Caves / int_e313b4e7 | type |
Manchild | |
The Northern Caves / int_e313b4e7 | comment |
Manchild: One reoccurring criticism of the books is that, while they get more complicated, they never conceptually mature. Charles Adair's review says "its sensibility never progresses beyond that of a precocious adolescent." The podcasters call the series "psychologically very unambitious, even infantile." Chesscourt is complicated, yes, but it's still a world where everything has predictable consequences and Black-and-White Morality. Chesscourt lacks ambiguity. The podcasters characterize this as "a yearning for the clarity of pre-adolescent childhood." A big part of growing up is coming to terms with the fact that the world is messy. Things don't always make sense; duty is not always clear. This is the crux of Salby's own philosophy of Mundum, a worldview where right and wrong are unambiguously predetermined. | |
The Northern Caves / int_e313b4e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_e313b4e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_e313b4e7 | |
The Northern Caves / int_e34400ab | type |
Ambiguously Gay | |
The Northern Caves / int_e34400ab | comment |
Ambiguously Gay: There is some implication that Leonard Salby and William Chen may have had a Lover and Beloved thing going on. They lived together for a time. Ken says of their relationship, "Len… had a friend, later on. Or… whatever he was." Paul reports rumors that "Salby killed his lover in a fit of passion." On the flipside, Salby seemed to see romance as antithetical to obeying Mundum, so maybe not. | |
The Northern Caves / int_e34400ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_e34400ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_e34400ab | |
The Northern Caves / int_e8e56799 | type |
Blue-and-Orange Morality | |
The Northern Caves / int_e8e56799 | comment |
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Mundum places a massive emphasis on performing actions and arranging things "correctly" in accordance with the sky. It isn't clear what constitutes "correct" in the eyes of the sky; its followers just "get it". | |
The Northern Caves / int_e8e56799 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_e8e56799 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_e8e56799 | |
The Northern Caves / int_eb99df21 | type |
Funny Animal | |
The Northern Caves / int_eb99df21 | comment |
Funny Animal: The Lorrums are essentially rabbits with human-like intellect and complex society. Salby explicitly mentions in his notes that he included "funny talking animals" as part of his ploy to appeal to children. | |
The Northern Caves / int_eb99df21 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_eb99df21 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_eb99df21 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f0654a40 | type |
Infallible Narrator | |
The Northern Caves / int_f0654a40 | comment |
Infallible Narrator: Played with. Some chapters are labeled "Materials" (mostly forum threads) while others are "Notes" (Paul's narration). The forum threads are an exact, verbatim copy of precisely what was said at the time. As Paul is re-reading these old conversations, in his narration he sometimes remarks how they aren't quite how he remembers them. Then there's his narration. Paul is heavily biased, questionably sane at times, but he is trying to be truthful as far as he can be. When someone on the forum asks if he's an Unreliable Narrator, Jenny says he's not. | |
The Northern Caves / int_f0654a40 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f0654a40 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f0654a40 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f1d3f0c9 | type |
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness | |
The Northern Caves / int_f1d3f0c9 | comment |
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Paul has a tendency to slip into this (along with Purple Prose) in his notes, usually when he's nervous or uncomfortable about what he's writing. He lampshades this tendency a few times. Being affected by "the separation" also seems to alter one's vocabulary to the point of becoming nearly mechanical: Paul's forum post made under the influence has him explain very wordily why making the action of making the post is "correct". | |
The Northern Caves / int_f1d3f0c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f1d3f0c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f1d3f0c9 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f360fc33 | type |
Dumbass Has a Point | |
The Northern Caves / int_f360fc33 | comment |
Dumbass Has a Point: Ombudsman is pretentious, tedious, and into Purple Prose. But... ...in chapter 19, he's very right to point out that Paul doesn't seem okay and that someone should do something about that. ...in chapter 26, he's right to point out that it's fucked up everyone's more focused on Paul than the people who died. | |
The Northern Caves / int_f360fc33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f360fc33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f360fc33 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f50defd6 | type |
Static Character | |
The Northern Caves / int_f50defd6 | comment |
Jenny — who's very interested in character — sees in TNC a statement on the flexibility of personality, a subversion or inversion of Static Character. | |
The Northern Caves / int_f50defd6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f50defd6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f50defd6 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f58c716e | type |
Middle Grade Literature | |
The Northern Caves / int_f58c716e | comment |
The podcasters mention that in their experience, Chesscourt is mostly read as Middle Grade Literature by nerdy middle-schoolers. It seems like most of these fans lost interest as they got older, and only a small number went on to be the Cafe sort. | |
The Northern Caves / int_f58c716e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f58c716e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f58c716e | |
The Northern Caves / int_f5e6ed44 | type |
No Sense of Humor | |
The Northern Caves / int_f5e6ed44 | comment |
No Sense of Humor: Salby is accused of this by critics. Although there are humorous moments in his books, he specifically portrays his heroes as too burdened with responsibility to have time for a sense of humor. We later learn he saw his own life in the same way. | |
The Northern Caves / int_f5e6ed44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f5e6ed44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f5e6ed44 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f6b698ac | type |
Complexity Addiction | |
The Northern Caves / int_f6b698ac | comment |
Complexity Addiction: Salby suffered from this in his writing. Over the course of the Chesscourt series the plots became more and more convoluted, to the point where he ended up self-publishing the last two books after his editor demanded he tone it down. It turns out this was a feature and not a bug, since his purpose in writing the books was to spread his philosophy of Mundum. | |
The Northern Caves / int_f6b698ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_f6b698ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_f6b698ac | |
The Northern Caves / int_name | type |
ItemName | |
The Northern Caves / int_name | comment |
||
The Northern Caves / int_name | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves / int_name | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Northern Caves | hasFeature |
The Northern Caves / int_name | |
The Northern Caves / int_name | itemName |
The Northern Caves |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.