Line #52 Literature/DoNotTakeTheShells


1	''[[https://donottaketheshells.wordpress.com/table-of-contents DO NOT TAKE THE SHELLS]]'' is a WebSerialNovel inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Harris Evan, together with his two friends Cathy and Jeff, goes on a holiday to the quiet little coastal village of Taveye. However, it quickly becomes apparent that [[TownWithADarkSecret something is not quite right about the town]]. Strange shells wash up on the shore that you can't find anywhere else. There is a sign with the words: [[TitleDrop “DO NOT TAKE THE SHELLS”]] on it, but no one will explain why. Seventy years ago, a wealthy businessman and scholar named Jonathan Vaun mysteriously vanished, never to be seen again. Then Harris encounters a strange woman on the beach, who claims she lives below the water...
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5	!!DO NOT TAKE THE SHELLS contains examples of:
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7	* AlienGeometries: The eponymous shells are a mild version. They don't drive you insane, but their shape is described as unnerving. [[spoiler:The being in the cave is a more serious example.]]
8	* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:Harris falls asleep, and wakes up to find that Cathy and Jeff haven't come back. He finds them lying on the beach, dead, but then it turns out that he hadn't really woken up after all, and they're both fine.]]
9	* AmbiguouslyHuman: The woman on the beach looks human, but may be... something else. [[spoiler: Chapter 19 reveals that she used to be Susan Holt, a reporter for a newspaper in Essmouth.]]
10	%%* ArmorPiercingQuestion: “What are you looking for?”
11	%%* BerserkButton: Seeing the necklace proves to be one for Mr. Marson (not that he's the calmest of people to begin with).
12	* AtLeastIAdmitIt: John Marson defends his actions this way.
13	--> '''Marson''': You know, afterwards, there were folk who couldn’t look me in the eye. Who crossed the street when they saw one of us four. Even though they were standing right there when we did it, and did nothing. Some even cheered. And yet, no one ever gives them a lecture on right and wrong.
14	%%* BigFancyHouse: The Taveye Museum used to be one, back when Jonathan Vaun lived there.
15	* BurnTheWitch: [[spoiler: Jonathan Vaun]] was accused of witchcraft. This is foreshadowed by one of the Bible verses on the cross. [[spoiler: Later, the same happens to Mrs. Parker]].
16	%%* CassandraTruth: Cathy and Jeff don't believe Harris's story.
17	* {{Claustrophobia}}: Harris is understandably freaked out when he [[spoiler:gets stuck in the underwater tunnel]].
18	* CrazyHomelessPeople: The woman on the beach resembles one, although there's definitely something more going on.
19	%%* CrypticConversation
20	%%* CuriosityKilledTheCast
21	%%* DeadSparks: Harris and Helena after her trip around the world.
22	%%* DealWithTheDevil: Jonathan Vaun was rumoured to have made one. In a less literal sense, the way Mr. Marson describes Vaun's job offer also gives off this vibe.
23	* DiabolusExMachina: If it weren't for [[spoiler: George Farrow destroying the book]], things might have gone very differently.
24	%%* DomesticAbuse: Strongly implied for George Farrow.
25	* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:The being in the cave, and by extension, the shells.]]
26	* EldritchLocation: [[spoiler:The underwater cave]] is not a pleasant place to be...
27	* HearingVoices: [[spoiler:Harris starts hearing whispers after he sees the being in the cave. Unusually for this trope, he can't actually understand what is being said.]]
28	* {{Forgiveness}}: Mrs. Parker believes in forgiveness, and feels that revenge would only make matters worse. [[spoiler:However, she finds herself unable to forgive John Marson because he doesn't regret his actions.]]
29	* GenkiGirl: Cathy
30	* HellIsThatNoise: [[spoiler:The cave is filled with a terrible buzzing sound.]] One reason it's so nerve wracking is that it keeps getting louder, then quieter, then louder again, making it impossible to tune out.
31	* HiveMind
32	* IAmLegion: The woman on the beach never uses the word “I”.
33	* IllTakeTwoBeersToo:
34	--> '''Marson:''' I’ll warn you, it’s a long story. Get two beers from the fridge over there, will you? And you can have some too if you like.
35	* ImagineSpot: While on the bus leaving Taveye, Harris imagines his future, trying to forget what he saw, and to convince himself it never happened. It ends badly, and he decides to get off the bus and go back.
36	* IntrepidReporter: [[spoiler: Susan Holt]] was one, first investigating a scandal at the Essmouth chemical plant, and then the mystery surrounding Taveye.
37	* InvisibleToNormals: When Harris shows Cathy the drawing, she doesn't recognise it for what it is, thinking it's an abstract artwork.
38	%%* IBelieveThatYouBelieveIt: Cathy says something to this effect to Harris.
39	%%* ItsProbablyNothing: Harris hopes to prove that there's a mundane explanation for everything.
40	* LackOfEmpathy: Harris calls John Marson and the council out on this:
41	--> '''Harris:''' You don’t even care, do you? You couldn’t care less about her. Or me, for that matter, or the rest of the damn world.
42	* LaughingMad: Harris briefly loses it upon being told that [[spoiler:“Jonathan Vaun was not as scared as you."]]
43	* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: Evelyn Parker, formerly known as Judy Vaun, Jonathan's niece.]]
44	* LovingAShadow: Harris still loves Helena as he remembers her from before they broke up.
45	* MagicalAccessory: The lady at the gift shop claims the jewellery she sells can bring true love, or eternal happiness. Cathy believes her, but Harris is sceptical. [[spoiler:Later, she gives Harris a necklace to help against the effects of the being below the water. It definitely does ''something'', although it doesn't entirely restore him to normal.]]
46	%%* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Helena
47	* MeetCute: Harris first meets Helena when he spots her sitting in a tree.
48	* MetaphoricallyTrue:
49	--> '''Mrs. Wick:''' I was trying to preserve the order. And I think what I said was true in spirit, if perhaps not literally.
50	* MuseumOfBoredom: Harris thinks the Taveye Museum will be “Three rooms filled with objects from the owner's attic”. He's wrong, however.
51	%%* NonAnswer: This is the only sort of answer Harris gets when he asks about the shells.
52	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Implied by Mr. Parker about Harris and [[spoiler: Susan Holt]].
53	--> '''Mr. Parker:''' She seemed the type who discovers a mystery and latches onto it.
54	--> He gave me a lingering look.
55	* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: The Taveye town council, especially Montgomery and [=McGowan=], can't seem to agree on anything.
56	* SanitySlippage: Harris's attempts to convince himself he isn't crazy actually serve to make him sound less sane.
57	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Cathy and Jeff form this sort of pairing, and to a lesser extent, Harris and Helena as well.
58	* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler: Mr. Marson is one for Mrs. Parker, being the only one who knows she's Jonathan Vaun's niece, other than her husband. He eventually tells Harris, and Bridget overhears, allowing the secret to get out anyway.]]
59	* SecretSecretKeeper: It's likely that Mrs. Wick knew all along that [[spoiler: Mrs. Parker was Jonathan Vaun's niece]].
60	* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler: Mr. Marson died because he wanted to save Taveye.]] Unfortunately, it has exactly the opposite effect.
61	%%* ShamingTheMob: Mrs. Wick does this in her very first scene.
62	%%* ShroudedInMyth: Jonathan Vaun, at least according to the Taveye Museum.
63	* {{Sleepwalking}}: Harris somehow manages to create a drawing in his sleep. Later, he gets a 'normal' sleepwalking episode as well.
64	* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Fear that someone else will disappear in Taveye (possibly Helena, or someone who looks like her) is what causes Harris to go back on his decision to leave.
65	* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Harris asks [[spoiler: where the gold comes from.]] The answer is... less than clear, to put it mildly.
66	* TomeOfEldritchLore: Some of Jonathan Vaun's books are hinted to be this. [[spoiler: He used to have one specifically about the being in the cave, but it was stolen after his death.]]
67	* TorchesAndPitchforks: [[spoiler:Jonathan Vaun]] became the target of an angry mob [[spoiler:after Marson followed him into the cave. The same thing later happens to Mrs. Parker, although unlike Vaun, she isn't killed]]. The trope even appears by name in one of Harris's dreams.
68	* TownWithADarkSecret: Even without knowing exactly what the secret is, it's pretty clear Taveye has one.
69	* VerbalTic: Several characters have one. The woman on the beach speaks... with odd... pauses. Mrs. Parker calls Harris 'dear' a lot. Montgomery tends to repeat... tends to repeat part of his sentences.
70	%%* WakingUpElsewhere
71	* WeatherDissonance: Even though the story takes place in the middle of summer, the sky is overcast pretty much all the time.
72	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Chapters 16 and 17 consist mainly of Mr. Marson telling Harris about the past.
73	* YouHaveToBelieveMe: Harris tries to avert this trope, but can't help losing his composure when talking about what he's seen.
74	* YouWereTryingTooHard: Harris only succeeds at drawing what he's seen when he falls asleep at his desk from exhaustion.
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Context Literature / DoNotTakeTheShells