It’s almost Christmas!
How are you all? 2020 is nearly over, and to many people it’s been a depressing year. I sincerely wish that you’re coping well, albeit with adjustments. For myself I will continue to work from home till spring next year, for that I’m truly grateful.
I hope my post can at least cheer you up a bit. Remember months ago I posted the Incident of Two badges? My friend Yue Chan (thanks again!) sent me an interesting thread of a Japanese Candy Candy fan, where she had uploaded all the pages from Nakayoshi magazine concerning this incident on Twitter. You can refer to my aforementioned post for the translations, if you like. 🙂 What interested me most however, was the reply to this particular tweet:
Those who are familiar with the manga version know what comes next. But back then, this was the end of that episode in the magazine. All they got was a preview that the next one would be the end of the story that had lasted 4 years.
On the right hand side, see the words that struck through the characters? It was saying that the riddle of Prince on the Hill and Granduncle William would be revealed. Can you imagine the agonizing wait of the poor readers? 😉
I wonder how many of them had correctly guessed the true identities of both Prince on the Hill and Granduncle William. “They were” important figures to Candy, from the beginning of the story till the very end. This is even more obvious in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), as discussed in this thread by Christine, Myra and Anita (thank you ladies! ❤️)
In fact, I’d like to invite you all to write a one-shot about either (1) Candy’s receiving a Christmas card from Anthony’s father, Captain Vincent Brown, or (2) Candy’s letters to Dr. Martin around Christmas time about accepting Albert’s generous offer to build a clinic for the doctor. In both cases, Candy acted like the spokesperson of WAA, don’t you think? 😉
Your short story should be based on Candy’s letters in CCFS. I think her reply to Captain Brown is a significant clue that indicates her change in status. For more details, you can read my earlier posts: Candy and Prince on the Hill, Granduncle William(!), and Did Candy find her happiness? (Part 7). About her letters to Dr. Martin, it’s a proof that Albert continued to keep in touch with Candy even after she left Chicago, either by writing or visiting.
The deadline is midnight Dec 23 (Pacific Time), which gives me a day to choose what to post on Christmas Day. 🎄 Looking forward to hearing from you! 😍
P. S. It’s my honour to have heard from you already about participating this writing contest! 🤩 I’m so happy!! Here let me address your questions:
(1) In my mind a one-shot is not too long, somewhat like my fanfic Reunion. How about between 1000 and 2500 words? Don’t worry if your story is not long enough, as long as the plot makes sense I’ll accept it. 🙂
(2) You do not need to write it in epistolary form, unless you prefer that. You can write a narrative from the perspective of Candy, Albert, Captain Brown, or Dr. Martin. Of course, third-person narration is welcome too, just make sure your entry is less than 2500 words.
(3) You do not have to write in English. As I don’t know many languages, I might have to use a machine translator, but I’ll try to be fair. 😉
Dear ms Puddle,
I would appreciate it if you also consider me in submitting a short story which I’ll attach here on your blog by the given deadline.
I wish you the best of health and well-being for you and your loved ones.
❤️🙏
Of course, DreamCatcher! My honour indeed 💖 Best wishes to you and your loved ones too, and stay safe! 🤗
Greetings!
This is a very interesting post and I agree with you that Candy speaks as if she’s WAA’s spokesperson in her response to Anthony’s father. However, Candy appears to assume such a role when she responds to others within WAA’s circle as well such as George and Dr Martin.
Let’s face it.. This isn’t the way a mere friend or acquaintance would respond on behalf of such an eminent and illustrious magnate as WAA. Instead, this is the attitude indicative of a fiance’ or spouse. And let’s not resume to those ridiculous arguments that Candy is Albert’s daughter, shall we? Those nonsensical arguments have long been refuted and debunked as desperate and groundless claims devoid of any form of logical reasoning and textual evidence. Besides, it’s impossible for a single man in his early twenties to adopt a woman who is only a decade younger than him. Perhaps this is the reason why Keiko Nagita indicated the exact age difference between Candy and Albert in her novel as opposed to the other characters where she doesn’t seem to bother specifying their age (apart from Anthony and a mere guesswork surrounding Annie’s, Archie’s and Stear’s age).
The novel itself makes it crystal clear that Candy had never perceived Albert in paternal or brotherly ways. He was a friend who later on became the most special man in Candy’s life. These words are found verbatim in the novel and they are reiterated as such in all three official translations.
Perhaps I’ll also submit an entry if it turns out alright. I’m not a fanfic writer so I’ll see how this will turn out.😉
Hi Irana93 🤗 Thanks for considering!
Yes indeed you’re right. Candy seemed to speak on Albert’s behalf in her letters to the others who know WAA too, including Dr. Martin and the landlady of the House of Magnolia. Think about it, they knew “the poor siblings” well and must be shocked to find out the truth of Albert’s real identity. 😉 Yet, Candy appeared to them as Albert’s confidante, especially in her letters to convince Dr. Martin.
About the age difference, I think in Archie’s letter to Candy he mentioned Stear’s and his ages. But I can’t seem to find the reference of Terry’s age… Have I missed it without knowing? I just assume he was probably as old as Stear, because he had been stuck in that academy for years. What do you think?
Hi Ms Puddle!
Whilst the manga and other manga/anime-related sources appear to be more specific about the ages (as well as heights) of the aforementioned characters, the novel remains vague throughout. There is no reference to Terry’s age but he’s probably the same age with Archie or Stear given that they would see him in class or notice that he’s been missing. The novel doesn’t specify, however, whether Terry was in the same class with Archie or Stear.
If I correctly recall, Archie was the same age with Anthony and Stear was two years older than them. Candy mentioned that Anthony was 15 when he died. She was thirteen at the time so that would make Anthony and Archie (Archie is mentioned to have been the same age with Anthony) two years older than her and Stear, therefore, four years her senior. That being said, Terry would probably be two-four years older than Candy-perhaps even more as he had spent far more time at that boarding school than any of them.
Eliza has been mentioned as being the same age with Candy but Candy looked much younger because she was so small.
Just a quick note Keiko Nagita had explained in her novel that she wouldn’t provide details regarding the physical appearance of her characters but the readers should rely on what they have already seen from Yumiko Igarashi’s drawings. Based on her manga drawings, Eliza looks much taller than Candy. She’s about the same height with Terry, Archie and Stear.
Resuming to the age estimates, the readers could safely assume that there’s a circa eleven year age difference between Candy and Albert, a circa two-four year age difference between her and Terry, and a two-year age difference between her and Anthony.
All three translations seem to provide the exact same information. What about the original Japanese text?
Yes @Irana93 I think you’re right about the Cornwell brothers and Terry. I can double check Archie’s letter later. 😉
I also think Terry might be closer to Stear’s age, if not the same. He had been smoking and drinking after all. Thus, when he went to Broadway to work as an actor, he was almost or already an adult.
I didn’t pay much attention if Eliza was taller in the manga though. She could be taller than Candy but not necessarily similar height to her cousins or Terry. She might be wearing high heels lol. 😆
As far as my memory permits, Eliza appeared to be tall and slender. Susanna also seems to be of a similar built. After the accident, Terry describes Susanna’s body as slender which bears the meaning of being tallish, particularly graceful and attractively slim.
You’re right @Irana93. In the manga, Terry describes Susanna’s body as being that of a slender frame. He says the same in the anime too.
It depends on the the ways in which the anime was dubbed but the ones I’ve watched all have Terry saying the same when describing Susanna. Apparently, he was charmed by her beauty and talent like so many other men.
Yes, DreamCatcher, why wouldn’t Terry be charmed? 😉
Hello @Irana93 and @Sarah, if you meant the moment when Terry thought about Susanna’s rescue when he was waiting in the hospital right after the accident, then yes, he used the adjective 細い to describe her body, which means thin, dainty, slender, narrow, etc. Remember Candy’s first impression? She perceived Susanna was very graceful and elegant.
Thanks for your feedback. Yes, Terry seems to be attracted to Susanna and he even admits that he likes her in the anime. In the manga, Igarashi does a splendid job in depicting Terry’s expression whenever he’s with Susanna. You can tell he fancies her.
I remember Igarashi’s drawing of Terry when he encountered Susana for the first time when looking for a job in acting in New York. He was apparently struck by her beauty because he even had a bit of a goofy smile on his face which is indicative of a guy who sees a really beautiful woman. Who could blame him? By today’s standards, Susana would probably look like Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman or Charlize Theron.
Yeah, his expression was priceless. LOL
Terry’s face bore no resemblance to the snarky and angry one he always had against Candy during their brief fling at St Paul’s. With Susanna, Terry was always so polite and chivalrous by treating her with utmost respect, before and after her tragic accident.
It’s beyond any shadow of a doubt that Terry had feelings for Susanna. The author never makes it clear whether Terry had fallen in love with Susanna but he definitely had a soft spot for her.
It’s a shame that the author didn’t offer any further information about Albert and that pretty young lady he had been working with in Africa. Based on his letter to Candy, he seemed to like her a lot.
I couldn’t have agreed with you more, @Irana93. We don’t see any of his frivolous conduct when he was with Susanna.
About Albert and that nurse, there are some fanfics about them too. 😉 They shared common interests after all.
Hi Anita, these are all good choices for casting Susanna. Yes, Terry was just a man, and after all, his own mother was one of the most beautiful women. He must have high standard 😉
I would have liked to know more about the nurse Albert admired so much during his stay in Africa. The two of them worked together and, presumably, had been spending a lot of time together. Keiko Nagita had explained in her latest interview that she wanted to write much more about Terry and Albert, especially with regards to their personal life independent of Candy. In my opinion, both Terry and Albert had romantic experiences with other women. Since the reader only gets to know what Candy feels and how she interprets (or wants to interpret) those two male characters, there is really no credible information regarding Terry and Albert as the readers only get what Candy wants to believe about them.
Thanks @Ms Puddle! I agree with you that Terry’s mother must have been stunning and the same goes for Albert’s mother and, in particular, his sister. In the anime and the manga, Rosemary is depicted as being tall, blonde and beautiful. Albert and Rosemary probably took after their mother when it came to their lofty height and stunning Nordic features. Since I’m referring to Hollywood actor casting (lol), Henry Cavill would have made an excellent Terry and Chris Hemsworth an excellent Albert. The irony is that Hemsworth’s real-life wife bears similar features to Candy (blonde, pretty and petite). As for Henry Cavill, he’s been slammed by social justice activists and feminists on social media for being a toxic male chauvinist (he’s made quite a few weird statements in his interviews about women which don’t flatter him much) which is much akin to Terry’s character.😉
Excellent choices, Anita! 👍👏 Interestingly Chris Hemsworth’s wife is petite
I also think that Albert and Rosemary likely took after their mother. Their father must have loved her deeply and thus could not recover from the blow of her premature death…
Hi Ms Puddle and thank for your input. How old do you think Stear was when he perished at war? In the novel it’s mentioned that Stear died a year prior to the end of the Great War. Since the war ended in November 1918, Stear probably died during the autumn of 1917. If he was 4 years older than Candy then he must have been in his early 20s when he died. There’s no exact date when Candy was born. The manga mentions that she was brought to Pony’s Home at the turn of the century. If she was born in 1899 or 1900, then she would be 18 or 17 by 1917 and Stear 22 or 21. Again, these estimates could only be made if we were to assume that Candy was born in 1899 or 1900 but there’s no mention of any of this in the novel. All we know is that Stear is 4 years older than her and that he died a year before World War I ended which would be in 1917.
Hello Sarah,
There’s a possibility that Stear had died a few months earlier-arguably, in the spring of 1917. The USA had declared war on Germany in April 1917 but there’s no textual evidence that Stear died before or after the USA had entered the war. I agree with you though that Stear probably died in the year of 1917.
Thanks for the heads up @Lynn. You could be right about it being spring instead of autumn (1917) when Stear died. I think the author had mentioned that the weather had been favourable that day but on the other hand, there was also an additional reference that the weather had been “unusually” favourable that day when Stear went to battle and perished. Perhaps the reference to the sun was symbolic and not intending to signify weather or season. What are your thoughts on this?
You could be absolutely right and the sun-reference could simply have a symbolic meaning. Unfortunately, everyone is just trying to thread the needle when it comes to drawing specific and conclusive evidence from this otherwise acutely vague novel. That’s why it’s wise to maintain a cool head and be as open-minded as possible because all interpretations are possible and can be placed on the table. Too bad certain fans fail to understand this indisputable fact and keep on trying to impose their beliefs which are based on mere conjecture and wishful thinking. What I admire and respect about Ms Puddle’s blog is that she always tries to examine all possibilities and interpretations as well as invite all opinions, provided that they are expressed in a civilised and respectful manner.
Thank you @Lynn for your kind words and positive feedback 💕
Well said!
Hi @Sarah and @Lynn, I figure Stear died early 1917 too, because by the time Patty got to read the letter from his superior and replied to Candy, Patty mentioned US was about to enter the war. As Lynn pointed out, her letter should be written shortly before April 1917.
Thank you for your reply @Ms Puddle. Initially, I had the impression that Candy and Albert had been living together for about a year but Stear’s decision to leave for battle and his subsequent death both confirm that Candy and Albert had been living together for a much longer time-perhaps two years or a bit more. Did Albert disappear (after recovering from amnesia) before or after Stear’s death? If I’m right about this, it’s after Stear’s death. In the manga it was after Stear’s death but I’ll have to re-check my sources regarding the novel. What do your sources from the original text state?
Thank you for sharing your new post with us, Ms Puddle. I’m planning to write down a story myself and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.✍️🎄✨
Thank you Michelle 💗 I’m truly looking forward to reading your entry and the others too 😊
That’s very kind of you. I’ll try to keep my story within the requested word limit. 1000-2500 words should be about 2-4 (A4 size, font 12) pages long, if I’m not mistaken.
Don’t worry too much about the word limit, Michelle. I’ll accept it even if there are 2600 words. 😉 Just don’t submit anything way over the limit 😜
I had been estimating 1000-1500 words for my entry. It’s as the expression goes: “Less is more..”.😉
Oh yes, Michelle! Writing a short but intriguing story is not easy at all ☺️ I hope you have enjoyed the process 🤗
Hello!
I’ll be happy to submit a story. I already have one on my mind which has to do with the letters you have mentioned in your latest post. I’ll try to have it ready by the end of this week.
Should these stories be posted here in the comments section or emailed to you?
Thanks Aurora 💕 No rush at all 😉
If you don’t mind please post your entry here just like last time.
OK. Thank you!
Hi Ms Puddle,
I’m glad that you’ve set up this short story competition again. Hope you enjoy reading the entries. I just wanted to know if these stories could be written in other languages apart from English.
Talk to you again soon!
Hi Lynn! I’ve updated the post already to answer your question (just scroll down all the way)! Thanks for asking! 🤗
Thanks for the update!
Pleased to read your new post! Without promising anything, I’ll try to submit an entry but that will depend on my very limited free-time. Until the end of the year, it’s going to be even more hectic at work.
No worries, DanielleV. I just had a hectic day myself at work. I understand 🥰. It’s the thought that counts 😉
Thank you so much for the shout out, Ms Puddle! It will be a pleasure to write a short story for this forum.
Thank you Anita 💖
Hello Ms Puddle,
Hope you are alright and managing with the pandemic. Soon the vaccine will be available and hopefully this will expedite the process of resuming to normality.
As for me, I mainly work from my own office at home and discuss with clientele online. Serious court cases, however, have either been postponed or have limited personnel so as to maintain social distancing. It’s all a matter of staying calm, being patient and abiding by the regulations provided by real scientists and not ridiculous conspiracy theorists.
Changing the subject, I’m thinking about drafting a short story too.
Thank you for your invitation.
I’ve got a couple of questions though..
1. Is there a word-limit?
2. Does this short story have to be in epistolary form?
Thank you, in advance.
I was about to ask the same question regarding word length.
As I told Lakewood I’ve updated the post already, Anita. Thanks again! 😊
Thanks for letting me know! 🙏
I’ve updated my post based on your questions. Please scroll all the way down, Lakewood. 😊
Awesome 👍 Thank you Lakewood!
Hi Lakewood! Nice to hear from you again 🤗 I’m not as optimistic as you about the vaccine but a pandemic won’t last forever. I can’t agree with you more. We should stay calm and abide with the restrictions that are meant to protect us all. I have friends working in the hospitals and they are very stressed out after all these months, so I’m really angry whenever I heard people quote the conspiracy theories 😡😤
Hello Ms Puddle,
Thank you for responding to my questions. I hope you’re taking good care of yourself and keeping safe from this global pandemic.
Unfortunately, there will always be delusional people circulating among us eager to consume all that conspiracy theory garbage. You’ve probably heard of the epithet ascribed to those fools; they’re called “covidiots”.
Stay safe from COVID-19 and steer clear from those “covidiots”.
Of course I’ve heard of that, Lakewood 😉 Whoever came up with that epithet is indeed brilliant! LOL 😆
Had so many people worldwide not been losing their lives and livelihood as a result of this pandemic in tandem with the reckless behavior of certain morons, this entire debacle could have had a comical twist to it. What’s a concrete fact, nonetheless, is that human stupidity has no limits and “covidiots” epitomize that example by representing it to its fullest.
Hi Lakewood, sadly, there are many of them, way more than I had ever imagined. 🙄
What’s worse is that those “covidiots” have voting rights…
Thank you for the sensible deadline @Ms Puddle. This will give folks plenty of time to submit their work. I’m also considering submitting a short story.
Stay safe!
Thank you Sarah 💜! Best wishes to you too 🤗
I almost have the short story ready. I just want to re-check and edit it for any minor errors. I’ll post it here in the comments section as you’ve suggested in the weekend or early next week.
Thank you Sarah!! Wow! That’s unexpectedly fast, but again, no rush. Take your time 😘
This is awesome! Looking forward to writing sth for your blog.😊
Thank you Myra 💓
I should be the one thanking you for mentioning my comment in your latest post. 🙏 That’s so considerate of you.
I should thank you, Myra, for your contributions 💕