I'm trying to get the Fake timeline straight in my head. In Book 3, Bikky was 10 ( Ryo's description of him to Diana). Therefore, in Book 3, Ryo must have been 28 and Dee 27, or thereabouts. According to Ms. Matoh's stats circa book 5, Bikky was still 10, Ryo was 28 and Dee was 27. Book 5 is two thirds of the way through the series, so would it be two whole years later that we reach the end of Book 7? Or less? How much time passed between Book 5 and Book 7 is not clear. In Book 6, Bikky was as tiny as he was in book 5. Also, in Book 6, Bikky and Carol appear to be attending the same school, which I guess must be a middle school. I don't know anything about middle school ages because I don't have kids, there weren't any middle schools in the place I was living when I was a teen, and in any case, there may be differences between U.S. and Canadian middle schools anyway. If it's a middle school, would that make Carol 13 in Book 6? Mr. Jackson's murdered daughter was described as being 13 or 14 years of age, "...about Carol's age..." according to Ryo. If she's 13, then Bikky is still 10 in Book 6. If she's 14, then Bikky's 11. I just don't know the maximum age for middle school. In fact, Bikky and Carol, despite their age difference, always seem to end up going to the same school. In Book 3, Act 10, 14-year-old Lass and Bikky attend the same school as 17-year-old Carol. In Book 4, 13-year-old Bikky and 16-year-old Carol are in the same school once again. In Book 1, there is no mention of anyone's age, but Bikky and Carol both look quite young, until they go to camp, whereupon they seem to age significantly. Pre-camp, I would hazard a guess that Bikky MIGHT be 9 and Carol MIGHT be 12. Additionally, the series saw two Christmases, one in Book 2 and one in Book 3. If Bikky was 10 from Book 3 through to at least Book 5, then he must have been 9 for that first Christmas. I also find it odd that Mother told Ryo lots of stories about Dee's childhood in Book 2, but Ryo didn't find out about Jess until Book 6. If, as Ms. Matoh has said, the entire courtship took 2 to 3 years, then this is all pointing to some kind of huge gap between the close of Book 6 and the beginning of Book 7. Then, the whole Book 7 storyline seems to have taken place over about a month. Bikky does not make a non-chibi appearance in that book, so we can't gauge anything about his age ( and therefore anyone else's) by his appearance. It's all very confusing, but I really want to KNOW. I like facts and I don't have enough of them. I'm also having trouble with the seasons in the books. If anyone out there has the patience to plow through what I've written and offer me your thoughts, I would really appreciate it.
brit_columbia
thoughtful
Actually, I don't get confused about the Bikky/Carol timeline so much, because the time changes are fairly clear and their ages are often mentioned.
I agree that the Carol-Bikky-timeline is different from the Ryo-Dee-timeline, so I wouldn't rely on their age whenever it's mentioned.
Are there really two christmasses mentioned? I don't find the one in book 2! (Help!) But what's for sure is that Ryo is 28 at christmas in Act 9 because his parents were murdered ten years before, when he was 18.
By the way, I'd be really interested in your opinion concerning my timetable, so if you have the time, feel free to check it out! :)
There was a Christmas in Book 3, but before that there had been the Berk/Ryo Diana/Dee storyline where everyone was dressed in early spring clothes with light, open coats and jackets, and Diana wearing open toed sandals outside. Bikky was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt outside at night, so it couldn't have been later in December.
So I assumed that the Christmas where Dee and Ryo fell asleep together was one year after the time when Dee looked at the Calendar and the month was the twelfth month.
In Fake Second Season, Ms. Matoh had Ryo say that Bikky was now twelve, and Dee and Ryo had become a couple by then. So if Bikky was ten when they started, she seems to be indicating that their courtship lasted two years.
In my timeline, I had it at about 2 and a half years, maybe a bit longer. Bikky had just turned 13 at the beginning of A New Day. Ms. Matoh listed his birthday as April 27th.
It's all so confusing!
Edited at 2012-12-05 05:50 am (UTC)
And you're right, it's all very confusing. Maybe we shouldn't think too much about it, but then again, it's all so interesting as well!
I guess I should rewrite my timeline someday...