So, VFD is obviously a very complex organization. And I think discussing all of it will take multiple weeks. So for this week, I want to focus on the "what." How do you imagine VFD operating during its heyday? Do you have headcanons about what the meetings were like, what kind of assignments volunteers ran, or the social activities between them? What do you picture actually being a member of VFD being like, especially before the series takes place?
Happy Snicket Tuesday!
I imagine V.F.D.'s heydays to have been for the decades before ATWQ, like the one or two generations before the Sugar Bowl generation.
I think the "version" of V.F.D. Lemony grew up with actually started out as a project of several wealthy people who genuinely wanted to fix the flawed infrastructure of the Snicketverse. They set up a volunteer fire department that was far more efficient than the regular fire department. (In fact, I imagine the whole "noble people are early" thing to have originated from the firefighting: They prided themselves with always arriving before the official fire department did.)
They wanted to promote education and literacy to advance society. They supported libraries and schools. They did crime investigation and helped people in need. And they expanded by recruting children. Like, lots and LOTS of children. First, the children of their own members, the first V.F.D. families. Then, orphans or children from precarious situation, who were easy to get. And, as their influence in the high society grew, they targeted aristrocrats like the Duchess of Winnipeg, hoping to expand their influence.
At first, they were extremely popular because they did fix serious issues. They saved countless lives, gave a future to children who otherswise would have none, and thwarted evil plans. They set up a network of wealthy people with influence and produced a growing number of highly educated young people who became their agents in every corner of society.
And so they expanded rapidly: more influence led to more wealth, which led to more recruits, which led to more agents, which led to more influence, etc. A labyrinthine, kafkaesque system of committees and hierachies emerged, until no one really had the full picture anymore of what was going on. Meeting grew more and more ritualized, with a strict protocoll of roll call, Vice Chancellor, etc. Acronyms were coined for the most insignificant things. The members at the top, the most wealty members, the leaders of the HQ's accumulated wealth, intel and power, while a growing number of field agents slaved away for the organization while being constantly scrutinized by some ominous higher-ups.
The growing tensions that would mark the begin of V.F.D.'s downfall were everywhere. People distrusted them because just too many kids kept disappearing and they had become too powerful far too quickly. They made some powerful enemies. They had to become more and more secretive.
And of course, there were the internal conflicts. Lots of children traumatized by kidnapping and indoctrination turned into troubled adults who made questionable decisions. There was mistrust and rivalry everywhere. There were the children of the wealthy families pitted against the orphans who came into V.F.D. pennyless and were constantly told to be grateful. It was an ongoing battle for better grades, better tutors and chaperones in higher positions, better missions, more intel, getting to report on someone else's progress instead of them reporting on yours, becoming a member of a committee, just getting a little more than the other volunteers.
Along came the ideological conflicts. The idea of being the keepers of humanism and literacy led many to believe they were above non-volunteers, thus above the law. Before long, many of them just wanted to get even richer under the guise of doing noble work. Others wanted to take more radical measures out of frustration: They had been sacrificing all their lives, so why should they always have to be kind? Why not take children without permission, or burn down a home, for once?
Anyway, I got carried away. Did a answer any of your questions? Well, I guess these are my thoughts.
