The E.R.K. (Emily Rules Klub)

[Carl]

We could possibly write the outline on a new forum on the SS. A Skype (or whatever, you name it) group chat could be more efficient and our group isn't too large. But again, I don't know if everybody would be willing to go beyond the SS. I'd need the feedback of each of the E.R.K. members (so post your thoughts!). Another downside of planning this all on the SS, an open forum, is that if someone were to share a Google doc link for so the E.R.K. members could write & edit, literally anybody who stumbled across the topic could hit the link & edit it. A SS stalker, a troll, anybody.

Again, I would love input & ideas. This sounds like fun if you guys are up to it.

Those are very true possibilities, personally I vote for a Skype chat. Also, we have 20 Pages!

[Polehaus53]

120 PAGES!

I don't dislike all of the characterizations. Emily & Matthew usually are good. One thing in particular I remember loathing was Valerie, Jay, and Vance chanting about how they were "villains." *shudders* It's something I try to forget.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that one. But I think that for the most part, the characterizations in the mysteries are good.

Maybe we could do a collaboration fanfiction about Emily...would anyone here be interested? Perhaps we could try to get as close as possible to Let's Call the Whole Thing Off? I bet there are enough theories around here to do that (if there are no objections).

Polehaus53 & I have pretty solid predictions. I think I would have fun, but I'd need the input of other members to know if they're interested. If we wanted to try to get as close to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" as possible, it would probably make the most sense to write it as a script (akin to what Lee Acim did when he wrote a script for "Further from the Truth"). That would be a fun team effort thing. If we wanted to keep it to the SS, I'm not sure how to facilitate that. We made some kind of Skype group text (+a Google Doc or something) if we want to do it that way (and if everybody was comfortable). I haven't organized such a thing before, so I would love everybody's input on how we would facilitate such a thing if this is something everybody would want to do.

I'd be up for this! Somebody can start a new topic for it in the Episode Study section, and we can discuss the details.

I love the E.R.K. haha (if you haven't noticed)! We gotta appreciate that it had a whole website active awhile back.

Ah, yes, https://emilyrulesklub.wordpress.com/. It's a fun website. I often wonder if it is possible to make it active again. We could provide articles to be posted on it!

I'm trying to figure out something unique I could do with this klub for all the members. Something to rally everyone together into something fun, maybe. I dunno. I'll probably look back at all the past E.R.K. posts. If anybody has any ideas about something fun we could do with the klub, let me know!

I've actually recently looked back on almost all the past 120 pages of the E.R.K., and there are a lot of cool things the members did that I think would be fun to do! We can all draw Emily, organize the leadership of the E.R.K., hold an E.R.K. meeting, or discuss Emily (which we've already been doing). However, the majority of their activities involved battling the members of the K.R.E. Since there currently seems to be no active K.R.E. members, this may be difficult for us.

[Monica Stone]

I don't dislike all of the characterizations. Emily & Matthew usually are good. One thing in particular I remember loathing was Valerie, Jay, and Vance chanting about how they were "villains." *shudders* It's something I try to forget.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that one. But I think that for the most part, the characterizations in the mysteries are good.

There were a few things that turned me off the book, but I'll probably end up giving it a second chance when I have the time. I split my time mainly between school, chores, and writing (on here and on my own), so I might read it over a weekend or something.

I'd be up for this! Somebody can start a new topic for it in the Episode Study section, and we can discuss the details.

Done. I posted the topic in the Gallery, which felt more fitting.

Ah, yes, https://emilyrulesklub.wordpress.com/. It's a fun website. I often wonder if it is possible to make it active again. We could provide articles to be posted on it!

The only way to revive it would be to contact Pound Foolish and ask for admin permissions for the site.

I've actually recently looked back on almost all the past 120 pages of the E.R.K., and there are a lot of cool things the members did that I think would be fun to do! We can all draw Emily, organize the leadership of the E.R.K., hold an E.R.K. meeting, or discuss Emily (which we've already been doing). However, the majority of their activities involved battling the members of the K.R.E. Since there currently seems to be no active K.R.E. members, this may be difficult for us.

We could do all of those things. That is, except for debating K.R.E. members. Emily is just too awesome to have any remaining haters

[Polehaus53]

I've actually recently looked back on almost all the past 120 pages of the E.R.K., and there are a lot of cool things the members did that I think would be fun to do! We can all draw Emily, organize the leadership of the E.R.K., hold an E.R.K. meeting, or discuss Emily (which we've already been doing). However, the majority of their activities involved battling the members of the K.R.E. Since there currently seems to be no active K.R.E. members, this may be difficult for us.

We could do all of those things. That is, except for debating K.R.E. members. Emily is just too awesome to have any remaining haters

Yes! If a K.R.E. member was to come back, then they would have a hard time disliking Emily in light of her developments in recent episodes! And it should be fun to reenact the activities of old E.R.K. members!

I'd be up for this! Somebody can start a new topic for it in the Episode Study section, and we can discuss the details.

Done. I posted the topic in the Gallery, which felt more fitting.

Great! I'm looking forward to working on it!
To keep the E.R.K. active while we work on that, I've got something we can discuss:

ERK Topic Starter
Earlier this year, before "The Rydell Revelations" episodes were released, Nathan Hoobler stated that when Emily said strange things were happening in Odyssey at the end of "Further from the Truth", she was referring to the escape room incident, "...as well as a number of the mysteries in Clubhouse Magazine." This led to quite a bit of discussion on whether or not the stuff from Clubhouse should be considered canon. Some people worried that the Clubhouse mysteries (specifically the ones which involved Emily's Nemesis) would become major plot points in the episodes. Of course, everyone relaxed when the three-part episode was released and made no mention of the events in the magazine.

So, I thought I'd ask everyone (and this is something I've been wanting to discuss for a while), do you consider the Jones and Parker mysteries in Clubhouse Magazine to be connected in any way to the audio series?

[Monica Stone]

So, I thought I'd ask everyone (and this is something I've been wanting to discuss for a while), do you consider the Jones and Parker mysteries in Clubhouse Magazine to be connected in any way to the audio series?

Oh man, I have strong feelings on this topic. I'm with Phil Lollar on this one; I do not think Clubhouse mysteries are canon, for several reasons. Firstly, Emily & Matthew's friendship has had great development over the years and most of the mysteries do not acknowledge that development. Some of the mysteries written this year and last feel as though they written about 2010 Emily & Matthew. In early 2020, we were still having mysteries that included Emily & Matthew as detective partners, despite the fact they had broken up months prior. You could argue that these mysteries take place awhile back and I could possibly accept that. But if that's the case, the timeline is so freakishly vague and you can only guess where the mini-mysteries may roughly fall between episodes.

Specifically regarding the Emily's Nemesis series...if it were canon, it would be too significant not to mention in the audio series. Emily's Nemesis™ is basically the Mysterious Voice™ but with no life-or-death peril. I haven't actually read them, but I assume they were possibly meant as fun stories with foreshadowing to the future.

There's one specific mystery that I want to address: the October 2019 mystery. It featured Emily, Morrie, & Dion. Emily & Morrie were flying a kite. Morrie asked Emily about Matthew leaving the detective agency, and she tries to avoid the conversation. Then, she stumbles unto a little mystery. It turns out Morrie destroyed a neighbor's roses to create a little mystery for Emily. Why? So Emily may be pushed to seek the help of Suzu. Like with the Emily's Nemesis™ stories, I do not see this story as canon, but I do see it as foreshadowing for future episodes.

What do you think?

[Polehaus53]

I'm with Phil Lollar on this one; I do not think Clubhouse mysteries are canon, for several reasons.

Did Phil Lollar state somewhere that they are not canon?

My answer would be both yes and no. While I generally do not consider them canon, I have noticed a few things in the mysteries that do tie in to the audio series. At the moment, I don't have access to the magazines I have, so I'll do my best to say what I know from memory:

Almost all of the monthly Jones and Parker mysteries in the 2018 and 2019 Clubhouse Magazines seemed to have an ongoing storyline: Matthew was avoiding Emily. For months! In the December 2018 issue, the February 2019 issue, the September 2018 issue, and the November 2018 issue, There are several others, but I can't remember Emily's narration would start out with something like, "Matthew has been avoiding me all summer." It would then show Emily solving a case by herself. Check out this quote from the Jones and Parker mystery in the December 2018 magazine:

Matthew had been avoiding mysteries lately―or possibly just avoiding me. Why the sudden change? I wondered as I followed him.

As you can imagine, I was quite intrigued by this. Why was Matthew avoiding Emily? Did something happen between them in a magazine I had missed? It drove me crazy.
It was on October 26, 2019, the day that "A Sacrificial Escape" aired on the radio (I didn't have the AIOC so I was hearing it for the first time), that everything made sense.
Matthew and Emily were in the escape room, trying to escape. Then came Matthew's line, "The truth is, I've been avoiding talking to you about this for a long time. But I need to just say it: I'm done." (Emphasis added ) He went on to say that he was quitting the detective agency. That line made me jump. It now made perfect sense why he'd been avoiding her in the magazines! He was planning to quit the agency!
There might be some holes in this, but to me this makes sense.

Another thing: The AIO Club exclusive episode, "Failing to the Finish Line" introduces Eugene's lab assistant, Horus, who has a Hadley-Bassett-like clumsiness. Some fans thought that Horus' introduction to the show was pretty random. Not really. In the July 2014 issue of Clubhouse Magazine, Eugene says to Matthew and Emily that he has a catastrophe-causing assistant... named Horus! Coincidence? I don't think so.

Just so you know, I haven't been consistently receiving the magazines so I may have missed something, but as far as I can tell, all this proves that the Clubhouse mysteries sometimes can be considered canon. I usually really don't consider them to be, but these points are definitely something worth thinking about.

Firstly, Emily & Matthew's friendship has had great development over the years and most of the mysteries do not acknowledge that development. Some of the mysteries written this year and last feel as though they written about 2010 Emily & Matthew.

This may have something to do with the fact that the mysteries that appeared in Clubhouse this year were written in 2010. Clubhouse Magazine has recently been doing reruns of old Jones and Parker stories. For example, the April 2020 magazine contains a Jones and Parker mystery that first appeared in the January 2015 Clubhouse magazine. The Jones and Parker mystery in the July 2020 Clubhouse Magazine was in the July 2011 issue of Clubhouse Magazine.
Clubhouse Magazine has recently been featuring Jones and Parker mysteries that appeared in old magazines. They do write new ones every once in a while (such as the one in the October 2020 issue like you mentioned), but for the most part, it's just reruns. A lot of the Clubhouse Magazines I got in 2018-2019 featured reruns, too. Probably because Matthew has quit the detective agency.

Specifically regarding the Emily's Nemesis series...if it were canon, it would be too significant not to mention in the audio series. Emily's Nemesis™ is basically the Mysterious Voice™ but with no life-or-death peril. I haven't actually read them, but I assume they were possibly meant as fun stories with foreshadowing to the future.

I agree with you on this. This doesn't quite line up with the audio series. Emily's Nemesis, (whom I suppose is Morrie?) only caused small amounts of trouble. Nothing life-threatening, just illegal (such as stealing people's mail). In the December 2018 issue, Matthew, Emily, and Suzu figured out his motive: They figure out that the nemesis is just trying to stump Emily to make her look bad. Huh? This does not line up at all with Morrie's motives in "The Rydell Revelations."



(By the way, stay tuned for my next post. I'm going to be holding an E.R.K. meeting, written similarly to the way our founder, Pound Foolish, did it. I'll be discussing past, present, and future activities for the E.R.K.!)

[Monica Stone]

Did Phil Lollar state somewhere that they are not canon?

In the AIOWiki podcast interview with him shortly before the release of "The Rydell Revelations", Phil Lollar said he didn't consider them canon. I believe Nathan Hoobler & Bob Hoose do, but he does not.

Almost all of the monthly Jones and Parker mysteries in the 2018 and 2019 Clubhouse Magazines seemed to have an ongoing storyline: Matthew was avoiding Emily. For months! In the December 2018 issue, the February 2019 issue, the September 2018 issue, and the November 2018 issue, There are several others, but I can't remember Emily's narration would start out with something like, "Matthew has been avoiding me all summer." It would then show Emily solving a case by herself. Check out this quote from the Jones and Parker mystery in the December 2018 magazine:

Matthew had been avoiding mysteries lately―or possibly just avoiding me. Why the sudden change? I wondered as I followed him.

As you can imagine, I was quite intrigued by this. Why was Matthew avoiding Emily? Did something happen between them in a magazine I had missed? It drove me crazy.
It was on October 26, 2019, the day that "A Sacrificial Escape" aired on the radio (I didn't have the AIOC so I was hearing it for the first time), that everything made sense.
Matthew and Emily were in the escape room, trying to escape. Then came Matthew's line, "The truth is, I've been avoiding talking to you about this for a long time. But I need to just say it: I'm done." (Emphasis added ) He went on to say that he was quitting the detective agency. That line made me jump. It now made perfect sense why he'd been avoiding her in the magazines! He was planning to quit the agency!
There might be some holes in this, but to me this makes sense.

Wait, really? I had no idea! I have been a member of the AIOC since January 2019, but only started receiving Clubhouse magazine in September of that year, due to an address error. Woah! That's some awesome Clubhouse foreshadowing. I cannot imagine how satisfying and shocking and fitting Matthew's announcement in "A Sacrificial Escape" would have been if I, too, had read Clubhouse around that time. I heard the episode when it was released on the club on July 30, 2019 (the date is ingrained in my memory) and I was reeling because I didn't see it coming. It was easy to accept and it made sense character-wise because Emily and Matthew hadn't interacted in 1.5 years and episodes between focused on Matthew's love of tinkering and inventing ("Failing to the Finish Line" and "In a Sun-Scorched Land" in particular) but regardless, it shook me.

Clubhouse Magazine has recently been doing reruns of old Jones and Parker stories. For example, the April 2020 magazine contains a Jones and Parker mystery that first appeared in the January 2015 Clubhouse magazine. The Jones and Parker mystery in the July 2020 Clubhouse Magazine was in the July 2011 issue of Clubhouse Magazine.
Clubhouse Magazine has recently been featuring Jones and Parker mysteries that appeared in old magazines. They do write new ones every once in a while (such as the one in the October 2020 issue like you mentioned), but for the most part, it's just reruns. A lot of the Clubhouse Magazines I got in 2018-2019 featured reruns, too. Probably because Matthew has quit the detective agency.

Ah, re-runs, that makes sense. It felt so jarring to me when I read some of the 2020 issues, but that makes sense. I noticed alot of the mysteries recently have only featured Emily. It makes sense, but it also makes me ~sad.~ I feel the need to mention how much I love the December 2019 mystery. Emily was just having fun at the Parker's house and Emily & Matthew unintentionally stumble upon a mystery involving Matthew's "uncle" (who was mentioned in the GRC?!). It warmed my heart. It was lovely. I guess I pick and choose which mysteries I consider canon lol.

Emily's Nemesis, (whom I suppose is Morrie?) only caused small amounts of trouble. Nothing life-threatening, just illegal (such as stealing people's mail). In the December 2018 issue, Matthew, Emily, and Suzu figured out his motive: They figure out that the nemesis is just trying to stump Emily to make her look bad. Huh? This does not line up at all with Morrie's motives in "The Rydell Revelations."

Yes, I have heard about the contents of those mysteries, although I haven't actually read them. I could totally see the Nemesis's motivations aligning with Morrie's motivations on the actual audio show. Morrie was Moriarty to Emily's Sherlock and loved stumping her and testing her. It's a game to him ("It was just supposed to be games!") but he got personal enjoyment out of testing her. He may have wanted her to solve the mysteries, but he was content with simply toying with her. Sociopathic, yes, but that's kinda who Morrie is. I bet you future episodes will flesh out his motives & thought processes during his schemes. Just wait.

(By the way, stay tuned for my next post. I'm going to be holding an E.R.K. meeting, written similarly to the way our founder, Pound Foolish, did it. I'll be discussing past, present, and future activities for the E.R.K.!)

Ooh, yes! Will you bring back the Emily anthem?

[Polehaus53]

Hear ye, hear ye! This meeting of ERK is now in session. Since our President Pound Foolish is not here, Polehaus53 is presiding, and because our Vice President Aftershocker is not here, Monica Stone is vice-presiding. Please rise... Members, hands over hearts.

“Emily, Emily, we adore you, Emilyyyyyyyy
We shall love, thee foreverrrrrrr
Emilyyy-yy, Emilyyyyyyyyyy,
We shalt never abandon thee,
Emily, Emilyyyyyyyy
As the battle rag-es
Emilyyy-yy, Emilyyyyyyyyyyyyy
We shall look into the blood stained ru-ins
Emilyyy-yy, Emilyyyyyyyyyy
But we shall sand firm, shall stand firm,
Emilyyy-yy, Emilyyyyyyyyyyyy
Our guns and lives are at your feet,
Emilyyyy-yy, Emilyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
We love thee
We adore thee,
We take our hats off
And salute thee,
Emilyyy-yy, Emillllyyyyyyyyyyy, Em-uhhhhh-LEEEEEEEEE!”

Ahem. Now, there are some things about the anthem that need to be discussed but I’ll save that for another meeting. Fellow emilyophiles, there are quite a few things on the agenda today.

Two years. That is how long this klub went without someone writing on it. It’s horrifying. Shameful. Disgraceful. Since 2012, there had never been a year when the E.R.K. was not active. But let us not dwell on it. After a two-year hiatus, the E.R.K. has returned, thanks to Monica Stone. Let’s give her a round of applause, everyone! Now that we’ve got the E.R.K. back to its active status on the Soda Shop where it belongs, it is time to discuss its future. We are meeting here to discuss how to implement the past activities of the E.R.K. into our everyday posting on here.

I have just returned from a journey in which I went through (almost) ALL the 120 pages of the E.R.K. I have learned quite a lot of information about this klub. Some things we can do. Here are a few fun facts:

• The E.R.K. official color is green. Our color used to be red but was switched to green after Pound Foolish suggested it be changed on Page 10. Excellent choice, PF!
• The opposing klub, the K.R.E., used to be called the E.S.K. (Emily Stinks Klub), but it was changed at some point.
• Wait a second, why did I just give a fun fact about K.R.E.? The K.R.E. is not fun, and its activities cannot be considered fact. Ignore the above fact... er, fiction.
• From around pages 47-51 an epic Emily battle ensued between E.R.K. members and K.R.E. members. Definitely entertaining to read!
• I also noticed that the E.R.K. regularly held contests, where all members drew pictures of Emily and Pound Foolish would judge them. Let me say, we had some talented members! Check out this Emily drawing by Samantha14, a loyal E.R.K. member:

  Now then, too prove my loyalty, here is a picture I drew of her. :
  

  

  (Note: This is the one I was telling you about a couple weeks ago, PF. It's the one that I had to make do with some makeshift color pencils, so it doesn't look quite like her... That and I'm not the best artist in the world. It's the scene that she asks "Is it wrong for kids to dream about what they want to do?" also, forgive how bad the picture quality is.. My phone hates me almost as much as I hate it. -_-)

I am suggesting we do some of these activities. I’ve stated before that battling/debating K.R.E. members was what made up the majority of the E.R.K.’s activities. This may be difficult for us to do, since there are currently no active K.R.E. members on the SS at the moment. Emily artwork would be fun, but I have no idea how to upload images from my computer to the SS and I can’t draw. If anyone can figure it out, let me know. Therefore, until then, I move that we continue do what we’ve been doing: discussing Emily! There are probably a ton of other things we can do, so let us hear some ideas.

Oh, and by the way, I also found a bunch of green tutus lying around the place. I don’t quite understand why the E.R.K. was so enthusiastic about them, but it was apparently tradition for members to wear them. Their official uniform. *Passes them out to everyone*

Another matter: We once had a castle. It played a prominent role in battles between E.R.K. and K.R.E. Sadly, it was demolished on page 115 by the enemy K.R.E. members. We are castleless. This is unacceptable. We must begin construction on a new one. All in favor?

There are a ton of other things we need to go through, such as the Emily anthem, leadership, and serving our cake, brownies and cookies, but it can wait until a future meeting. Thank you all for your time. This meeting adjourned. Don't forget your tutus.
And don't forget,
Emily RULES!

[Monica Stone]

Thank you, Polehaus! That was a very accurate representation of past E.R.K. posts! You did way more reading into the past than I about past events and meetings in the E.R.K. I read random posts here and there and had fun doing so, but you took it to the next level. You even brought back the pledge hehehe.

Activities, such as submitting art, would be fun. We obviously do not have to restrict activities to art (I cannot draw to save my life) but we could definitely brainstorm.

Since there aren't any active K.R.E. members, I think it would be fun if I played devil's advocate and tried to represent possible opposing arguments for y'all to refute. Here's an argument:

If Emily is such a wonderful person, why did the show try to trick the listeners into thinking she kidnapped Suzu? Doesn't that show that the writers think poorly of her as a character?

Also, Phil Lollar said that Emily isn't the hero of "The Rydell Revelations, Parts 1-3." She reallyyy wanted to bring Morrie down and would do whatever necessary to do so. Emily isn't the hero, she is an obsessively vengeful person. You can't argue the writer, right?

Gah. These arguments trigger me.

[ASmouseInTheHouse]

Oh, and by the way, I also found a bunch of green tutus lying around the place. I don’t quite understand why the E.R.K. was so enthusiastic about them, but it was apparently tradition for members to wear them. Their official uniform. *Passes them out to everyone*

Interesting uniform. Especially since I can't envision Emily wearing a tutu! And come to think of it, I can't envision myself in one either! Here, you can have mine back. *shoves green tutu at Polehaus* And anyway, it was the wrong size.

Another matter: We once had a castle. It played a prominent role in battles between E.R.K. and K.R.E. Sadly, it was demolished on page 115 by the enemy K.R.E. members. We are castleless. This is unacceptable. We must begin construction on a new one. All in favor?

Aye!
Hey, can we put in an escape room?

[Polehaus53]

Since there aren't any active K.R.E. members, I think it would be fun if I played devil's advocate and tried to represent possible opposing arguments for y'all to refute. Here's an argument:
If Emily is such a wonderful person, why did the show try to trick the listeners into thinking she kidnapped Suzu? Doesn't that show that the writers think poorly of her as a character?

Until a K.R.E. member appears, that'll work!
I'd need time to do a longer examination. For now, I would say that just because the episode tried tricking listeners into thinking she had kidnapped Suzu doesn't necessarily mean the writers think poorly of her as a character. The episode uses that as a plot device. The listeners learn in the next episode that Emily did not kidnap Suzu. I mean, if the writers thought poorly of her as a character, why would they even have her in the show?

Also, Phil Lollar said that Emily isn't the hero of "The Rydell Revelations, Parts 1-3." She reallyyy wanted to bring Morrie down and would do whatever necessary to do so. Emily isn't the hero, she is an obsessively vengeful person. You can't argue the writer, right?

This sounds familiar. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Phil Lollar state this in the AIOwiki Podcast? If so, I need to hear that part again. Uh... until then, I don't know what to say to that.

These arguments really make you think. You make an excellent devil's advocate. Don't play it too hard, though.

Interesting uniform. Especially since I can't envision Emily wearing a tutu! And come to think of it, I can't envision myself in one either! Here, you can have mine back. *shoves green tutu at Polehaus* And anyway, it was the wrong size.

Oops, I should have asked you your size! What size would you need? Surely you can envision yourself in one!

Aye!
Hey, can we put in an escape room?

I also vote aye. That's two votes yes. What do the other members think?
Hmm. An escape room needs to be discussed. You aren't planning on locking us up in there and sucking out all the oxygen, are you?

[Monica Stone]

Until a K.R.E. member appears, that'll work!
I'd need time to do a longer examination. For now, I would say that just because the episode tried tricking listeners into thinking she had kidnapped Suzu doesn't necessarily mean the writers think poorly of her as a character. The episode uses that as a plot device. The listeners learn in the next episode that Emily did not kidnap Suzu. I mean, if the writers thought poorly of her as a character, why would they even have her in the show?

I think the K.R.E. has been defeated

That's fair enough as an argument. I realize when I said "the writers think poorly of her as a character" I meant "the writer's think poorly of her [moral] character." Big difference. Slipping out of my devil's advocate facade, here's my defense of Emily in the first part of TRR: First of all, Emily is flawed and we can't expect her to always make the right decisions. I think she went a little too far (following Suzu home and entering her house without permission was probably the greatest mistake she made), but that doesn't make her an overall bad person. SHE'S HUMAN. I've screwed up badly, Emily's screwed up, everybody has screwed up. But you can grow from your mistakes and Emily has done that in the past, and she can do it now (but lol I'd rather have the show focus on Morrie & Suzu's problematic actions than Emily's. But that's another topic for another time). My second point is subjective: although the show tried to confuse the audience and sway them into distrusting Emily, I wasn't convinced she was capable of kidnapping Suzu. Yes, she got obsessive about the case. Yes, she got heated with Suzu. But in her initial confrontation with Suzu she, although a little intense, was understanding. Case in point:

"Suzu, you don't have to be afraid!"
"Yes, it's alright, Suzu! I know he's your brother and I know you want to protect him...."
"She told me about your parents, and I'm really sorry about your mom..."

Doesn't sound like a kidnapper to me. Also, Emily isn't the only character that the three-parter tries to make the listener distrust. Morrie, Suzu, Mrs. Mado, Whit, Emily, and even Tasha have moments where the episodes have you question, "Can I trust them? Maybe they aren't as good (or bad) as I thought...." The three-parter makes it a point to make you suspicious of everyone. Focusing solely on Emily isn't exactly fair.Whoops, that became too long of a tangent, sorryyy!

Also, Phil Lollar said that Emily isn't the hero of "The Rydell Revelations, Parts 1-3." She reallyyy wanted to bring Morrie down and would do whatever necessary to do so. Emily isn't the hero, she is an obsessively vengeful person. You can't argue the writer, right?

This sounds familiar. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Phil Lollar state this in the AIOwiki Podcast? If so, I need to hear that part again. Uh... until then, I don't know what to say to that.

These arguments really make you think. You make an excellent devil's advocate. Don't play it too hard, though.

Phil argued that Emily is not the "hero" of the three-parter. He was adamantly arguing that Emily was reallyyy trying to bring Morrie down. He was emphatic on that point. He didn't use the term "obsessively vengeful person" though. That was my addition.

Why, thank you! Playing devil's advocate can be fun. Sometimes I mentally play devil's advocate to my own arguments to strengthen them. I love provoking thought, but if you don't really feel like going in-depth on my argument, that's fine. Whoops, I argue too hard, I suppose.

Interesting uniform. Especially since I can't envision Emily wearing a tutu! And come to think of it, I can't envision myself in one either! Here, you can have mine back. *shoves green tutu at Polehaus* And anyway, it was the wrong size.

Oops, I should have asked you your size! What size would you need? Surely you can envision yourself in one!

Goodness, I'm not a tutu-wearer; like ASmouseInTheHouse, I cannot envision myself in one either. I shall make brownies for you all instead. Or do you perhaps prefer chocolate chip cookies?

Aye!
Hey, can we put in an escape room?

I also vote aye. That's two votes yes. What do the other members think?
Hmm. An escape room needs to be discussed. You aren't planning on locking us up in there and sucking out all the oxygen, are you?

For the sake of Emily, would be inconsiderate to install an escape room in this klub. Remember what happened last time she was in one?

[ASmouseInTheHouse]

Yes, she got obsessive about the case. Yes, she got heated with Suzu. But in her initial confrontation with Suzu she, although a little intense, was understanding. Case in point:

"Suzu, you don't have to be afraid!"
"Yes, it's alright, Suzu! I know he's your brother and I know you want to protect him...."
"She told me about your parents, and I'm really sorry about your mom..."

Doesn't sound like a kidnapper to me.

This has been an interesting 'argument' to read. (I would quote everything, but that would be a bit much) I don't even think it was intended for listeners to be tricked into thinking Emily kidnapped Suzu, I think that was more Morrie trying to trick Whit. That's my opinion, anyway.

Oops, I should have asked you your size! What size would you need?

Try size 1 x 10^-100. I'm sure you can find one.
But can't we just wear a green sweater or something?

For the sake of Emily, would be inconsiderate to install an escape room in this klub. Remember what happened last time she was in one?

Alright, alright....

I shall make brownies for you all instead. Or do you perhaps prefer chocolate chip cookies?

Hm, I'd have to go with both. Since the E.R.K. has always seemed to have an obsession with those two desserts, we should include a kitchen in the castle!

[Polehaus53]

Whoops, that became too long of a tangent, sorryyy!

Not at all! That was very enjoyable to read! I agree with you 100% on it! Focusing on Emily isn't fair at all, considering the other suspicious characters who appear in it.

Phil argued that Emily is not the "hero" of the three-parter. He was adamantly arguing that Emily was reallyyy trying to bring Morrie down. He was emphatic on that point. He didn't use the term "obsessively vengeful person" though. That was my addition.

Why, thank you! Playing devil's advocate can be fun. Sometimes I mentally play devil's advocate to my own arguments to strengthen them. I love provoking thought, but if you don't really feel like going in-depth on my argument, that's fine. Whoops, I argue too hard, I suppose.

I re-listened to that part of the podcast, the part with Phil Lollar's argument that Emily was trying to bring Morrie down. I feel like it wasn't discussed long enough. The conversation drifts from Emily going after Morrie to the writer's interpretation and eventually leading to more discussion on whether or not Morrie was right. So, I still don't know what to say to that. Unless you're referring to a different part of it and I listened to the wrong part. I'll probably have to hear it from beginning to end again. But I'm interested in your thoughts on it.

That's a great way to strengthen arguments! I should try that some time. Your arguments are very well written and thought out. It's quite an interesting discussion. I really would like to go in-depth on your arguments. It's just that I don't have very much time to do so.

For the sake of Emily, would be inconsiderate to install an escape room in this klub. Remember what happened last time she was in one?

Very good point, Monica Stone! An escape room should not be installed!
Since we've all agreed to begin construction on a new castle (spelled 'kastle' by the old E.R.K. members), how do we want it to look like? Any design ideas? And is it in the budget?
What's that? We don't have a budget?
GREAT! UNLIMITED CREDIT!

I shall make brownies for you all instead. Or do you perhaps prefer chocolate chip cookies?

Hm, I'd have to go with both. Since the E.R.K. has always seemed to have an obsession with those two desserts, we should include a kitchen in the castle!

Thank you, Monica Stone! Serving brownies and cookies has been a tradition of the E.R.K., so serving both desserts would be much appreciated.
And YES, a kitchen must be installed in our kastle! It'd be an unforgivable crime if one wasn't!

Oops, I should have asked you your size! What size would you need?

Try size 1 x 10^-100. I'm sure you can find one.

Ten raised to the NEGATIVE 100?! Come now, ASmouseInTheHouse, you can't be that skinny! How am I supposed to find one that size? Perhaps we can fatten you up with some brownies. *Gives ten of them to ASmouseInTheHouse*

Goodness, I'm not a tutu-wearer; like ASmouseInTheHouse, I cannot envision myself in one either.

But can't we just wear a green sweater or something?

Well, there have been E.R.K. members in the past who didn't want to wear the tutus, and it wasn't a problem. You are both more than welcome to just wear green jeans, shirts, and shoes.
Perhaps MonkeyDude or Carl would like to wear one.

[ASmouseInTheHouse]

Since we've all agreed to begin construction on a new castle (spelled 'kastle' by the old E.R.K. members), how do we want it to look like? Any design ideas?

Here are a few:

Ten raised to the NEGATIVE 100?! Come now, ASmouseInTheHouse, you can't be that skinny! How am I supposed to find one that size?

You can't! I'll stick to the green sweater.

[Polehaus53]

Sorry, ASmouseInTheHouse, I don't think your designs will work. The first one is overgrown. The second one looks broken and there are people crawling all over it. And the third one is... *squints at picture* a pile of rocks?! Sorry, but I don't think those kastle design suggestions will work.

I suggest we take a look at the design idea that our founder, Pound Foolish, suggested on page 49 of the E.R.K.:

Rosy said we need our own Castle for this war. So, here is the KERK (Kastle ERK) I am you President, and Kaptain Kirk... or KERK rather.

Just try and take this castle.

As you can see, the image doesn't work. However, thanks to archive.org, I was able to find Pound Foolish's picture. Here it is:

It's quite an... interesting design. I'm not sure if I'd want all those princesses living with us, though. Do they even like Emily? And how are we all supposed to fit in it?
(Although, interestingly enough, on page 44 of the K.R.E., Rosy (a loyal member of the E.R.K.) claimed that this plastic kastle is really our decoy headquarters. I'm going to have to do some more research about that.)

I'd like to notify the E.R.K. members that I have gone through between 99% and 100% of every single page of the E.R.K.! I am now currently in the process of reading through every single page of the K.R.E. A very dreadful task. I'd like to describe it as going through a stinky trash can. Very full of Emily-disliking garbage and very disgusting to read.
It's important to note that prominent members of the E.R.K., such as Pound Foolish, Suzy, Rosy, Shnoodlec., and others, also posted there and battled those K.R.E. members. Very interesting conversations and activities took place because of this. I must admit, though, that the insults exchanged and battles between E.R.K. and K.R.E. members are absolutely hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing. By reading through the pages of both klubs, I hope to find more ways to implement the past activities of the members of the E.R.K. into our everyday posting on here.

It seems that the E.R.K. hasn't been very active recently. So, let's get something to talk about:

ERK Special Topic Starter
Emily is currently alone because Matthew has quit the detective agency. The Jones and Parker Detective Agency mysteries in Clubhouse Magazine have been doing re-runs of old mysteries or are showing Emily solving a mystery by herself. Do you think she'll get a new partner? If so, who? Suzu? Or will she become a lone detective from now on? Or will she give up mysteries entirely?

[Monica Stone]

I'm sure you guys have noticed that I have been really inactive lately on the SS. This isn't the topic, but I don't currently have the time to work on the LCTWTO script. My schedule may clear a bit next month, but I'm not quite sure. For now, I'm taking a break on working on the script with you guys.

Emily is currently alone because Matthew has quit the detective agency. The Jones and Parker Detective Agency mysteries in Clubhouse Magazine have been doing re-runs of old mysteries or are showing Emily solving a mystery by herself. Do you think she'll get a new partner? If so, who? Suzu? Or will she become a lone detective from now on? Or will she give up mysteries entirely?

As the one who first proposed the notion of Emily being put off mysteries, you probably know my thoughts. In the past, Emily has been personally distant in her cases. They don't affect her; rather, they affect her surroundings and the people around her. But with the Rydell case, she was personally targeted and manipulated for months by people she considered close acquaintances (or maybe even friends). After such a case, she may be put off mysteries and may temporarily be disenchanted in solving them. I do think eventually she will regain her joy and love for mysteries, maybe after healing from everything that has happened to her. I do think the show will try to push Suzu as Emily's new mystery-solving partner. After we got a better look at Morrie's character in TRR, it is a possibility he could also want to solve mysteries with Emily. But either way, "The Jones and Rydell Detective Agency" sounds wrong. Not just because "The Jones and Parker Detective Agency" is kinda iconic and I miss them, but because there are so many obvious problems with her relationship with both Rydell kids. Much growth needed if she should ever team up with them.

If Emily remains a solo detective, I think the greatest possibility is that she will slowly get written off the show, following suit with the Parkers.

[Polehaus53]

Happy New Year, E.R.K.! I would've hosted an E.R.K. Christmas/New Years party similar to how the old E.R.K. members did from pages 65-72, but I didn't have time to do so. May the new year be filled with even more E.R.K. activities and discussions!

Now, to continue discussion. The busy holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year are all over, so I now have a bit more time to invest in the E.R.K.

In the past, Emily has been personally distant in her cases. They don't affect her; rather, they affect her surroundings and the people around her. But with the Rydell case, she was personally targeted and manipulated for months by people she considered close acquaintances (or maybe even friends). After such a case, she may be put off mysteries and may temporarily be disenchanted in solving them. I do think eventually she will regain her joy and love for mysteries, maybe after healing from everything that has happened to her.

I agree. I haven't thought much about how distant Emily is in her cases. But now that I think of it, I do believe you're right; Emily's cases impact the people around her, and not herself. An example would be when she, with Buck's help, solved the mystery in "The Case of the Ball Cap Hero". The outcome of the case didn't directly impact her, but it definitely affected the antagonists Arthur Grembly and Jan Waldroff. Now, with all the things that have happened to her in the Rydell Saga, I can certainly understand how it would affect her and have her put her off of solving mysteries. I also agree that her interest in mysteries will come back after she recovers.

I do think the show will try to push Suzu as Emily's new mystery-solving partner. After we got a better look at Morrie's character in TRR, it is a possibility he could also want to solve mysteries with Emily. But either way, "The Jones and Rydell Detective Agency" sounds wrong. Not just because "The Jones and Parker Detective Agency" is kinda iconic and I miss them, but because there are so many obvious problems with her relationship with both Rydell kids. Much growth needed if she should ever team up with them.

You're right, "The Jones and Rydell Detective Agency" does sound terrible! I somehow can't imagine Clubhouse Magazine renaming the stories to that. Would the icon be changed from the current picture of Matthew and Emily to a photo of Emily and Suzu? But also, as you said, there needs to be development between Emily and the Rydell kids. I'm hoping "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", which is set to release in the Adventures in Odyssey Club on January 19, will delve into this aspect.

If Emily remains a solo detective, I think the greatest possibility is that she will slowly get written off the show, following suit with the Parkers.

I don't quite understand what you mean by this, Monica Stone. Are you saying that Emily has no purpose on the show without an active partner to solve mysteries with and will therefore be written off? I'm confused. I would say that considering the big part Emily has been playing in the Rydell Saga, she can certainly serve other purposes in Odyssey apart from mysteries.

Oh, and I'd like to remind everyone (mainly so that I myself won't forget) that this year the E.R.K. will be turning nine years old! Our founder, President Pound Foolish created this wonderful klub on July 28, 2012 and it has been serving as quite a popular prominent part of the Soda Shop Message Boards ever since. I intend to do something special to celebrate this milestone when it comes.

[Monica Stone]

Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year to my fellow E.R.K. members! I hope this year is a good one not only for the klub, but a blessed one for all of you individually.

I agree. I haven't thought much about how distant Emily is in her cases. But now that I think of it, I do believe you're right; Emily's cases impact the people around her, and not herself. An example would be when she, with Buck's help, solved the mystery in "The Case of the Ball Cap Hero". The outcome of the case didn't directly impact her, but it definitely affected the antagonists Arthur Grembly and Jan Waldroff. Now, with all the things that have happened to her in the Rydell Saga, I can certainly understand how it would affect her and have her put her off of solving mysteries. I also agree that her interest in mysteries will come back after she recovers.

The last and perhaps only time her life was changed going forward was with the GRC. Buck personally manipulated her and preyed on her feelings to find the Appleberry phone. It did affect her quite a bit going forward (the story/character development was continued in "The Ties That Bind"), but the situation wasn't nearly as drastic as the Rydell case.

And about how she may be handling things after the Rydell case... (ALBUM 70 SPOILERS BEWARE!!)

...She probably isn't doing well, if she is the "one of three" Wilson's spiritual 'almost voice' (as he put it) was any clue. Regardless of any potential controversy that may surround that ending & the handling of spirituality, it means something and I think it's safe to guess Emily will be the one to fall. This is a development I'm itching to discuss with E.R.K. members for what this "fall" actually is and what it means for Emily. I think it'll definitely tie into Emily's psychology and her thought processes after the Rydell case. Either that, or it'll be some exciting adventure with actual danger or something, which....

If Emily remains a solo detective, I think the greatest possibility is that she will slowly get written off the show, following suit with the Parkers.

I don't quite understand what you mean by this, Monica Stone. Are you saying that Emily has no purpose on the show without an active partner to solve mysteries with and will therefore be written off? I'm confused. I would say that considering the big part Emily has been playing in the Rydell Saga, she can certainly serve other purposes in Odyssey apart from mysteries.

I should have clarified further. Whenever Emily's story about her fallout with the Rydells comes to a close, I wouldn't be surprised if they wrote her off the show. If, say, the arc ends with her remaining a solo detective, she may be phased off the show. I personally think there are many stories you could tell with her character, but the writers might just want to write her off after her part in the Rydell arc comes to a close. She is the longest-running kid character in real-life time (followed very closely by Jay). The writers seem to have phased the Parkers out, Emily might be next.

[Polehaus53]

The last and perhaps only time her life was changed going forward was with the GRC. Buck personally manipulated her and preyed on her feelings to find the Appleberry phone. It did affect her quite a bit going forward (the story/character development was continued in "The Ties That Bind"), but the situation wasn't nearly as drastic as the Rydell case.

I didn't think of this, you're right! But yeah, it wasn't as bad as the Rydell case. Making you think you're going to die is slightly different than what Buck did, isn't it?

And about how she may be handling things after the Rydell case... (ALBUM 70 SPOILERS BEWARE!!)

...She probably isn't doing well, if she is the "one of three" Wilson's spiritual 'almost voice' (as he put it) was any clue. Regardless of any potential controversy that may surround that ending & the handling of spirituality, it means something and I think it's safe to guess Emily will be the one to fall. This is a development I'm itching to discuss with E.R.K. members for what this "fall" actually is and what it means for Emily. I think it'll definitely tie into Emily's psychology and her thought processes after the Rydell case. Either that, or it'll be some exciting adventure with actual danger or something, which....

(MORE ALBUM 70 SPOILERS, BEWARE!!)

Yes! I've also been wanting to discuss this development. Yep, Emily cannot be doing well right now. I've stated in the topic for "The Christmas Bells" that I personally think this "fall" actually is going to be Emily losing/questioning her faith. Falling from it. Emily has been manipulated and traumatized by Morrie and Suzu in recent episodes: she's been threatened with death in the escape room, basically been under mind control in the cobble box (I suppose 'cobble box' is the new name for it?), was kidnapped by Morrie and Suzu's nanny, and then learns at the end that Whit knew about everything the whole time and didn't do anything. All that stuff has got to be affecting her. I really hope we go into detail about all of this in "Let's Call the Whole the Whole Thing Off".
If "Let's Call the Whole the Whole Thing Off" is a big adventure with actual danger, I would also like that, too! January 19 can't come soon enough!

I'd like to hear your thoughts and theories, Monica Stone (and all other E.R.K. members).

By the way, has anyone listened to the Raspberry Ripple Podcast's interview with Atticus Shaffer? Apparently Atticus Shaffer ships Emily and Morrie.

Edit: This is the 2400th post in the E.R.K!