Line #31 WMG/AmericanGirlsCollection


1	[[WMG: The Admiral and Samantha's Grandmary were in love even when when she was married to Samantha's grandfather.]]
2
3	Her husband died many years ago but she keeps refusing the Admiral's marriage proposals. Why? Is she just being loyal to her late husband? Or is it out of guilt? Plus, Grandmary seems like the type of person to marry a man for reasons other than love. It's very possible that she agreed to marry Mr. Edwards because it was the respectable thing to do and fell madly in love when she met his best friend. I can't see Grandmary ever having an affair but quietly pining for years, yes!
4
5	[[WMG: Uncle Gard and Cornelia are time travelers]]
6	That's why they are somewhat more forward thinking than other characters, and why Cornelia is so certain that airplanes will one day carry passengers. Uncle Gard was somehow able to travel from his own time in the early 1900s to an era a few decades in the future, fell in love with Cornelia there, and brought her and her sisters back to live with him.
7
8	[[WMG: All of the historical characters exist in the same universe.]]
9	In addition, several of the characters are related/have met one another, due to the overlapping eras.
10	* Because this troper gives way too much thought to silly things, here's an approximate list (Feel free to correct any mathematical mistakes)
11	** Everyone starts as 9 during their stories
12	*** Kaya's starts in 1764
13	*** Felicity: Kaya would be 19
14	*** Caroline: Kaya would be 57, Felicity 47
15	*** Josefina: Kaya would be 69, Felicity 59, Caroline 21
16	*** Cecile and Marie Grace: Kaya 98, Felicity 80, Caroline 50, Josefina 38
17	*** Kirstin: Kaya 99, Felicity 81, Caroline 51, Josefina 39, C&M 10
18	*** Addy: Felicity 91, Caroline 61, Josefina 49, C&M 20, Kirstin 19
19	*** Samantha: Josefina 89, C&M 60, Kirstin 59, Addy 49
20	*** Rebecca: Josefina 99, C&M 70, Kirstin 69, Addy 59, Samantha 19
21	*** Claudie: C&M 79, Kirstin 77, Addy 67, Samantha 27, Rebecca 17
22	*** Kit: C&M 90, Kirstin 89, Addy 79, Samantha 39, Rebecca 29, Claudie 20
23	*** Nanea: Kirstin 96, Addy 86, Samantha 46, Rebecca 36, Kit 16, Claudie 29
24	*** Molly: Kirstin 99, Addy 89, Samantha 49, Rebecca 39, Kit 19, Nanea 12, Claudie 31
25	*** Maryellen: Addy 99, Samantha 59, Rebecca 49, Kit 29, Nanea 22, Molly 19, Claudie 42
26	*** Melody: Samantha 69, Rebecca 59, Kit 39, Nanea 32, Molly 29, Maryellen 19, Claudie 51
27	*** Julie: Samantha 79, Rebecca 69, Kit 49, Nanea 42, Molly 39, Maryellen 29, Melody 19, Claudie 63
28	*** Courtney is explicitly not set in the same universe as the others, as the three characters available at launch are fictional to her and she gets a Molly doll for Christmas. Note that this doesn't preclude anyone else sharing a universe, and if the True Heart series of web games are canon, at least Felicity, Samantha, Kit, and Molly already do.
29	*** Maybe the AG books in-universe are based on the experiences of real people? Since, Molly is probably still alive in Courtney’s time, she could even have written her own books as an semi-fictionalized account of her childhood similar to Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie.
30	** Of course it should be noted that Kaya, being located on the west coast probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet any of the others seeing as western expansion for the colonies didn't get that far until Kirsten's time. Josefina would have been closest in the Mexican settlements but Kaya would be ancient by then if not gone.
31	** Of them all Samantha and Rebecca would be the most likely to cross paths, considering the small time gap and being in the same area.
32	** Samantha could become involved in social work and therefore have a reason to be in Rebecca's part of the city.
33	*** If you include other Pleasant Company series, Samantha and/or Rebecca could also cross paths with Susan O'Neal from the History Mysteries series, who also lives in New York in 1914.
34	*** Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a story where they ''all'' met?
35	** Maybe Cecile Rey and Harriet Davis (AlphaBitch from Addy's school) are cousins.
36	** Kit and Molly seems like another possibility, given that Kit with her adventurous spirit isn't likely to stay in Ohio her whole life. 19 would be old enough for her to be a war correspondent or possibly even a WASP (while her primary thing was reporting, she did also seem intrigued by aviation), which would potentially put her in the same place as Molly and/or her father.
37
38	[[WMG: Julie Albright is the mother of Kailey Hopkins.]]
39	Both live in California. Their resemblance is uncanny. If Kailey Hopkins was 10 years old around 2002-2003, and Julie Albright turned 10 in 1976, Julie would be around the right age to be Kailey's mother.
40
41	[[WMG: Kit will become a foreign correspondent/spy during WWII]]
42	Come on, the fanfics write themselves!
43	* And she shared an adventure with Molly's father!
44
45	[[WMG: Both Kit and Molly went to movies starring the brilliant actress, Rebecca Rubin.]]
46	Taking a clue from the above WMG which assumes the stories are all in the same universe. Since Rebecca, Kit and Molly have the most overlap in time periods, it's not so much of a stretch that Rebecca's acting career encompasses the two later periods.
47
48	[[WMG: Josefina ''is'' related to [[Film/ThePrincessBride Inigo Montoya.]]]]
49	Why not? One of Inigo's descendants could have settled in Mexico.
50
51	[[WMG: Felicity's Grandfather left his entire estate to her.]]
52	It doesn't seem like Grandfather had any other children besides Martha, and this seems further confirmed by the fact that Edward, the son-in-law had to help secure the estate after Grandfather died. ''Changes for Felicity'' seems to indicate that Edward was gone for quite awhile to get matters in order. But if Martha was Grandfather's sole beneficiary, then why would Edward need to stay away so long to settle matters?
53
54	Maybe, unbeknownst to Felicity at least, ''she'' was named the primary beneficiary in Grandfather's will and thus his lands and estates would go to her. Maybe the lengthy business that Edward had to attend to at the estate was actually to make sure the estate ''stayed'' secure for his daughter? After all Felicity was merely 11-12 years old by the end of ''Changes'' and by law was seen as an unmarried girl, so someone of her station would not have seen fitting of inheriting such an estate. So by default this would make Edward the temporary beneficiary and Edward would undoubtedly do everything he could in order to ensure Felicity got what was rightfully hers.
55
56	So due to her strong bond with Grandfather, and the love she feels for his estate, Felicity may have been named as the inheritor of the estate. Edward and Martha may be withholding this news for Felicity until she comes of age...or maybe until the Revolutionary War begins to die down, which wouldn't be for another seven years or so.
57
58	[[WMG: Addy's brother reads abolitionist tracts written by the prominent abolitionist Felicity Merriman]]
59	Since they all seem to be in the same universe.
60
61	[[WMG: Kit's neighbor Mrs. Larson is related to Kirsten's family.]]
62	Same last name, and Ohio and Minnesota are pretty close together...
63
64	[[WMG: One of the girls watching Maryellen in the display window is Maryellen from a parallel universe.]]
65	And she, portrayed by Harlie Galloway in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVQJBMKed9M 2015 short film]], is the ''real'' Maryellen Larkin.
66	* In addition, Music/DollyParton in the TV movie ''Coat of Many Colors'' may also be another parallel-universe rendition - both that film and ''Extraordinary Christmas'' is set in 1955.
67
68	[[WMG: There will eventually be a historical character from the 1980s or 1990s.]]
69
70	Currently, there is only about a 40-year time gap between Julie (1974-'75) and today's girls. With characters like Melody and Maryellen added to this mix, the time gaps seem to be much narrower than they were back when the series began. Additionally, the '80s and '90s are becoming more "dated" as technology booms and new issues come to the forefront (a new outlook on bullying, efforts to get girls interested in STEM, etc.) The contemporary line handles a lot of these, but it's not a stretch to imagine that within the next 10-15 years, the last decades of the twentieth century will be seen as historical. This would also open up avenues for the series to tackle issues like 9/11, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and so on. To go along with that...
71	* If they were to go this route, the 80s would probably be first as the earliest decade of that range. If they wanted to choose women in STEM as the central “historical issue with contemporary relevance”, the character could be a nerd girl fascinated by the early Space Shuttle program and inspired by Sally Ride who gets into working with computers as they first become common in ordinary peoples’ lives and wins some kind of programming competition. This would let the book contrast the computer technology of the 80s with what most present-day kids know from their everyday lives.
72	* [[IKnewIt Confirmed!]] Courtney Moore (1986) focuses on women in politics, the space program and the ''Challenger'' disaster, video games and programming, the AIDS epidemic and prejudice against the people infected, and popular culture.
73	* And there's a new one (well, actually two) from the 90's. It's a set of twins with a TomboyAndGirlyGirl dynamic.
74
75	[[WMG: Eventually, a contemporary or historical character will be a refugee from Syria, Lebanon, or another Middle Eastern nation.]]
76
77	There are already immigrants in the canon, such as Nellie O'Malley and Kirsten Larson, but they represent the immigrant experience from the last century. A refugee character would explore twenty-first-century immigrant issues. It would also give American Girl the opportunity to have a Muslim or at least Middle Eastern character, which they have not explored before.
78
79	[[WMG: A future contemporary character will be on the autism spectrum, have some sort of disability, or at the very least, have a sibling or friend who fits into these groups.]]
80
81	American Girl has dealt with disability; Maryellen Larkin is a polio survivor, and Josie from the [=McKenna=] books uses a wheelchair. In ''Changes for Julie,'' we meet Joy, Julie's friend who is deaf. However, a lot of adult fans and even kids have raised the question of why girls (and with the addition of Logan, boys) with special needs are not represented as main parts of the line. Thus, the company may eventually choose to make such a person a main character in order to speak to these issues.
82	* Confirmed: Joss, Girl of the Year 2020, is hearing impaired and uses a hearing aid.
83
84	[[WMG: Felicity and Ben will end up married to each other.]]
85
86	A lot of adult fans ship this pairing, and in 1770s-1780s Williamsburg, six years wouldn't be that big an age difference, nor is it now to some people. Plus, check the way Felicity is willing to help Ben in ''Felicity Saves the Day'' (she encourages him to turn himself in to her dad, but will not do that herself). Also, check Ben's reaction to Felicity's daydreaming about the governor's dance in ''Felicity's Surprise.'' Is he just mad that tomboy Felicity isn't acting like herself and showing selfish naivete? Or is it that he's realizing the girl he sees as a kid sister is growing up, and doesn't like the idea of her catching attention from young men?
87
88	[[WMG: Samantha and Rebecca both grow up to be involved in some form of social or relief work.]]
89
90	Of course, Rebecca's first love will always be acting, but like many celebrities of today, she could channel her eventual fame and fortune into charitable causes. In so doing, she meets Samantha, an activist ten years her senior who has always been sensitive to the plights of immigrants, the poor, orphans, etc. Pooling their money and other resources, Samantha and Rebecca work together on various projects throughout the twentieth century, such as Settlement Houses for immigrants, getting Jewish kids and families out of danger during World War II, etc.
91
92	[[WMG:The Rylands aren't actually rich, at least anymore.]]
93	Eddie, despite being Samantha's neighbour, goes to public school with the poor and middle-class kids, even though the very book that shows us this mentions that there's a private boys' school in town. And did they ever replace Nellie after sending her away? So it's possible that Mr. Ryland is an ImpoverishedPatrician and they're holding on to what's left of their former fortune. The family's stuck-up classism is their defining character trait, so they'd never actually ''tell'' anyone if they were starting to struggle.
94	** Alternatively, Eddie, being a troublemaker, got kicked out of the private school. While wealthy parents could have potentially paid to smooth things over, they might have decided to let him go to the public school for a year or two as a natural consequence for getting himself into that situation.
95
96	[[WMG:At one point, when Elizabeth was secretly finishing Felicity’s blue ballgown…]]

Context WMG / AmericanGirlsCollection