#ruby redfort

[agentredfort]

just remembered the really solid conclusion I drew the last time I reread this series, which is pretty simple: Ruby is all explicitly autistic in these books. quite aside from the obvious child genius bullshit that's got going on: she's touch-averse (see: PYP, where she straight-up says that she rarely hugs people), has a tendency to gravitate towards Very Familiar And Very Specific foods and drinks (banana milk, strawberry bubblegum, the Good Donuts, has a tendency to get really short and upset when those familiar foods are not available), hyperfixates on problems to the point of not sleeping/eating until someone tells her to (basically every book), she's Fucking Bad at picking up on social cues (that one kid trying unsuccessfully to flirt with her for an entire book) and then... man, the list of rules. the rules that she works out and sticks to so hard that when Sam Colt is like 'hey, sometimes you've got to.. not use your pre-planned rules' she has absolutely no idea what to do with that. sometimes she just locks herself in her room because she doesn't want to People today. it's so real of her.

in conclusion i guess you could say she's on the Spectr - [gets shot]

[verilyproductions]

Ruby Redfort Screen Adaptation Ideas

• Bradley Baker is HOT

• The rules are episode titles

• No romance between Ruby and Clancy

• The iconic pair that are Ruby’s parents

• Foreshadowing for LB’s backstory

• More and more elaborate ways into spectrum (like Perry the Platypus in Phineas and Ferb)

• Advert for Choco Puffs with the secret codes hidden in it in commercial breaks

• The cinematic drama that is Ruby being dug out by Mrs Digby

Please reblog with more ideas (if you don’t mind me using them for the screenplay I want to write for fun!)

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

Goddess Girls by Joan Holub

Athena has always been above average. She has never quite fit in at Triton Junior High, but who would've guessed that Athena is actually a goddess? Principal Zeus's daughter, to be exact.

When she's summoned to Mount Olympus Academy, Athena thinks she might actually fit in for the first time in her life. But in some ways, school on Mount Olympus is not that different from down on Earth, and Athena is going to have to deal with the baddest mean girl in history: Medusa!

Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child

Here's the low-down on Ruby she's a genius code-cracker, a daring detective, and a gadget-laden special agent who just happens to be a thirteen-year-old girl. She and her slick side-kick butler, Hitch, foil crimes and get into loads of scrapes with evil villains, but they're always ice-cool in a crisis. In LOOK INTO MY EYES, we go right back to Ruby's beginnings as an agent. When an anonymous caller sets Ruby a challenge, it's not long before she finds her way into the HQ of the most secret of secret agencies -- SPECTRUM. They need her help to crack a code but her desk job soon spirals into an all-out action adventure, as Ruby uncovers the dastardly plans of the formidable Fool's Gold Gang!

The Arkwell Academy by Mindee Arnett

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Hitty is a doll of great charm and character. It is indeed a privilege to publish her memoirs, which, besides being full of the most thrilling adventures on land and sea, also reveal her delightful personality. One glance at her portrait will show that she is no ordinary doll. Hitty, or Mehitable as she was really named, was made in the early 1800s for Phoebe Preble, a little girl from Maine. Young Phoebe was very proud of her beautiful doll and took her everywhere, even on a long sailing trip in a whaler. This is the story of Hitty's years with Phoebe, and the many that follow in the life of a well-loved doll.

George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Steven Hawking

George's parents, who have always been wary of technology, warn him about their new neighbors: Eric is a scientist and his daughter, Annie, seems to be following in his footsteps. But when George befriends them and Cosmos, their super-computer, he finds himself on a wildly fun adventure, while learning about physics, time, and the universe. With Cosmos's help, he can travel to other planets and a black hole. But what would happen if the wrong people got their hands on Cosmos?

May Bird by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Most people aren't very comfortable in the woods, but the woods of Briery Swamp fit May Bird like a fuzzy mitten. There, she is safe from school and the taunts and teases of kids who don't understand her. Hidden in the trees, May is a warrior princess, and her cat, Somber Kitty, is her brave guardian.

Then May falls into the lake.

When she crawls out, May finds herself in a world that most certainly does not feel like a fuzzy mitten. In fact it is a place few living people have ever seen. Here, towns glow blue beneath zipping stars and the people -- people? -- walk through walls. Here the Book of the Dead holds the answers to everything in the universe. And here, if May is discovered, the horrifyingly evil Bo Cleevil will turn her into nothing.

May Bird must get out.

Fast.

Half Upon a Time by James Riley

Life’s no fairy tale for Jack. After all, his father's been missing ever since that incident with the beanstalk and the giant, and his grandfather keeps pushing him to get out and find a princess to rescue. Who'd want to rescue a snobby, entitled princess anyway? Especially one that falls out of the sky wearing a shirt that says "Punk Princess," and still denies she's royalty. In fact, May doesn't even believe in magic. Yeah, what's that about? May does need help though--a huntsman is chasing her, her grandmother has been kidnapped, and Jack thinks it’s all because of the Wicked Queen . . . mostly because May’s grandmother might just be the long-lost Snow White.

The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Half moorfolk and half human, and unable to shape-shift or disappear at will, Moql threatens the safety of the Band. So the Folk banish her and send her to live among humans as a changeling. Named Saaski by the couple for whose real baby she was swapped, she grows up taunted and feared by the villagers for being different, and is comfortable only on the moor, playing strange music on her bagpipes.  

As Saaski grows up, memories from her forgotten past with the Folks slowly emerge. But so do emotions from her human side, and she begins to realize the terrible wrong the Folk have done to the humans she calls Da and Mumma. She is determined to restore their child to them, even if it means a dangerous return to the world that has already rejected her once.

The Genius Files by Dan Gutman

Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think their family’s cross-country RV vacation is nothing to get excited about...until they’re chased off a cliff, locked in a burning school, and receive mysterious messages in codes and ciphers. From California to Wisconsin, it’s a race against time to find out who’s after Coke and Pep, who’s leaving the notes...and just what being a part of The Genius Files entails!

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

Gareth's definitely no ordinary cat. For one thing, he can talk. For another, he's got the power to travel through time. And the instant he tells this to Jason, the two of them are in ancient Egypt, on the first of nine amazing adventures that Jason will never forget.

[bubblegumgirl16]

MY interpretation of the ruby redfort aesthetics

[xrubi-hillx]

I am so unbelievably happy right now I can’t even speak-

I have been reading and rereading the Ruby Redfort series since I was like 10/11 and I’ve only ever know one person (one of my closest friends, shout out Tia love you babe xx) who actually knows about them and enjoys them.

And then suddenly on a Saturday night reading Catch Your Death I remember that TUMBLR EXISTS PURELY FOR NICHE FANDOMS and I found loads of headcanons and fan art of my favourite books series of all time (tied with MMU).

I have finally found my people, I’m not okay, I need these books to become a film series so bad 😭😭😭

[shdjbelz]

i love when books add like the most random niche information into them as part of the plot like i need more a series of unfortunate events and ruby redfort type of nerdiness where i’ll be casually reading it and i’ll learn about some endangered animal or a word i’ve never heard before like it actually fulfills my inner nerd sm

[ask-spectrum-coding]

RUBY: Jeez louise, it feels like forever since we touched this question box. Hi! Did you miss us?

FROGHORN: I'll tell you what I didn't miss: hearing your incessant, irrelevant, and frankly dangerously illegal question-answering during work hours. Why don't you go break your governmental NDA on your own time?

RUBY: Because it's more fun doing it behind LB's back, obviously.

BLACKER: We've already established you live life on the edge, yes.

((WE'RE BACK! The coding team is back in business, at least for a little while - now with vastly improved art, and a refreshed obsession for the fandom! The rules for this rebooted ask blog are as follows:

No NSFW asks! This is a kid's book series, so we're going to try to stay clear of that sort of thing. Swearing is all right, though.

Canon relationships only - no asks about noncanon shipping. Don't expect too much romance out of this.

I reserve the right to just not answer any asks I don't have the energy/drive to reply to. If I haven't replied to an ask, that either means I'm slowly working on it, or I just don't feel like answering. Don't take it personally - feel free to ask something else in the meantime.

Please don't spam. See above.

I'm doing this blog for fun, and I have no idea how long I'll have the motivation to keep it up this time round. Just enjoy it while it lasts.

With all that out of the way... SEND IN THOSE QUESTIONS.))

[aylinhadtimeforthis]

RUBY REDFORT MENTIONED...i never read all the books, just the first one because my elementary school crush gave it to me for a secret santa. anyways that's all, have a nice day <3

NOOOOOO PLEASE PLEASE READ THEM ALL I PROMISE IT'S SO WORTH IT

I literally never endorse any book series bc frankly I know so little about book based stories but oh my LORD are these literally the best books I have ever read

dw I don't rlly care if ppl do or don't but. please do. I mean this from the most nicest sincerest place please they are SO good. 🙏

[chrysalismandtea]

since I found out TODAY that there IS a ruby redfort fandom and it has been my major obsession for the past TEN YEARS: my thoughts on some things I discovered and some additions I had already thought about!!

1. blacker being gay makes SO MUCH SENSE

2. froghorn crushing on him makes EVEN MORE SENSE

3. but I can’t decide between asexual froghorn and repressed gay froghorn with a lot of internalized homophobia

4. hitch being bi YES ABSOLUTELY

5. I do believe he was kinda the third person in bradley’s and loveday’s relationship, meaning that they were an item and hitch would join them when they all felt like it

6. I also believe both bradley and loveday are bi hehe

7. by the way, hitch DEFINITELY had a thing with valerie capaldi (which I’m crazy about based on the way he kills her and she’s FUCKING SURPRISED)

8. ruby is definitely not straight but i think she probably doesn’t fully know it yet. I also think she has a crush on del

9. clancy is on the asexual spectrum for me

10. oh also mouse and elliot give non-binary vibes to me

11. and del is definitely a raging lesbian, and i believe vapona begwell had a crush on her

12. red is definitely bi

I can’t think of anything else right now but I might be back. I’m SO HAPPY there’s a fandom and I’m not alone hehe

[itsrainingrn]

I've finally finished the Ruby Redfort series after reading the first few when I was 10 (I am now 20), and whilst the last book was awesome GOD I wish it had been given the space of 2 books. Child's been great at building suspense and tension in the former books but I feel that she was given far too little space to tie up so many loose ends in BAYD to the point that we lose out on the little quirks of interactions between characters, Ruby's thoughts, etc. that make the books so enjoyable. I barely recognised Clancy and Hitch at the end because their interactions with Ruby had no detail, completely flattening the impact of Hitch's return and Ruby's conflict with her trust of Hitch. Hitch was acting like a cardboard cutout for like the entire book, just used to carry plot, because there seemed to be a lack of space for the usual warm and wacky interactions they usually had.

On a positive note, the lack of Clancy's usual involvement aside from as a plot device to provide Ruby with 'hunches' made me suspect that somehow HE could be the impostor, which raised the suspense. But once I realised he wasn't, the lack of the usual dialogue with clancy felt like he was being neglected. I guess the redirection of focus from he and Hitch really stood out to me, and whilst that redirection gave us amazing development of LB and BB (and Ruby herself), I was left with so many questions about Ruby's relationships with these people immediately after the events of the series, which could have been rectified with some slower pacing.

In short: let Ruby and Hitch show emotion please I BEG.

Also: what was with the 3 books of talking about Ruby's tiredness and trauma and never showing a properly emotional moment where this is addressed?? It felt like a build up to nothing. Ruby's an emotionally withdrawn kid but she's not a robot cmon.

[agent-holbrook]

I feel as if Ruby Redfort is the first time I've felt properly represented by a character with glasses, for this sole reason.

Ruby has glasses, sure she's smart but we know she isn't smart because she wears glasses, she just so happens to be a genius codebreaker with poor eyesight.

We see this a lot as she sometimes wears glasses, sometimes contact lenses. She gets into dangerous situations where her contacts irritate her or her glasses smash, and suddenly she's trying to survive with blurry vision but it's never any different from the times like when she loses a shoe and ends up going barefoot trying to survive the Count.

Her character does not hinge on the fact that she has glasses, and she's not the only character with them, but they are mentioned often enough that we know that they are there in a way that is slightly different to characters like Harry Potter with his iconic 'John Lennon' frames in a way I can't really put into words.

[agentredfort]

I constantly think about the Ruby-Count dynamic. She’s consistently terrified of him. Whenever they’re in a scene together her inner monologue is just FEAR FEAR PANIC HELP but she’s a teenage spy who cannot afford to Not Be Cool In The Face Of Danger so she forces herself to engage in witty banter about it. And the thing is the Count seems to genuinely enjoy the verbal sparring. He’s just having such a good time. He considers her to be a very smart kid who’s a worthy opponent. Sure he’s tried to kill her several times but she’s worked her way out of it, so, like, they’re almost chill now? He once spent an extravagant amount of time crafting an elaborate lemonade-based code that he knew she’d get obsessed over just so they could sit down and chat for a little bit. She may be one of the few people he actually respects but I don’t think she KNOWS that because he scares the shit out of her. But also it can’t be understated that one of Ruby’s hobbies is watching pulpy horror movies, it’s one of her favorite things. And the one time she sits down and watches some of the movies he’d directed back in the day, she can’t help but admit that they’re right up her alley

[verilyproductions]

Some Ruby Redfort moodboards! I’m loving making them so far, but I can’t find enough images for Clancy, anyone got any ideas?

[cataboliiicseed]

somebody needs to study the pipeline from reading ruby redfort as a kid to getting into fiction podcasts as an adult. what's that about? why is it so common?

[bubblegumgirl16]

The house that inspired ruby redforts home ‘falling water’

[rosemarypages]

All I have to say is Hitch is simply one hell of a butler