Chapter Two
References:
* As stated, Atlas carries the weight of the world on his back, and so does the poor Toppat woman left to defend her clan. In Greek mythology, Atlas is one of the Titans, forever condemned to hold up the earth and skies. How many of us have felt like him? There's another reference to a Greek myth later in the story that I'll point out when we get to it.
General:
*Asides from flashing back to the package Dave delivers to Henry in 'Escaping the Prison', the scene with him touching the box was meant to signify a personal headcanon I share with many fans - after spending a lot of time in a small cell on an airship as a prisoner, Dave developed PTSD. The flashbacks and avoidance of trauma reminders don't point towards his time on the airship, per se, but they do all revolve around the package that caused so much trouble for him in the past. Seeing a box like the one he picked up at the prison and brought to Henry to help him escape would not conjure up positive memories for him.
Speaking of memories, his flashback to the day itself was written to build up a small story of what life was like for him before Henry escaped. His profile in 'Escaping the Prison' never stated how long he was in the police force, only that he was new to it, so that gave me a lot of freedom to write in everything that happened during the course of a few days, plus the one infamous day when everything fell apart. I also had the intent of building up all the good times Dave experienced before that mysterious package freed Henry and took all of that away from Dave. It takes one horrible event like that to ruin someone's day, which I imagine deeply affected Dave even if canon doesn't show it. By the course of 'Stealing the Diamond', he's so lackadaisical, although somewhat embarrassed, by what happened like it didn't sting him. But who's to say he's not hiding his true emotions on the matter by keeping his optimism floating on the surface?
Slightly off-topic, but Dave reminds me of Lenny from The Simpsons - they're perceived as ordinary supporting characters to which we don't always give much attention in the narrative, but they're so likable because of how upbeat they are. Lenny can act like a jerk in the show than Dave, and I would say Dave is meeker, but they're still stars we can recognize and cheer them on whenever we see them on the screen. In Dave's case, however, his optimism - although everlasting - might be somewhat dampened because of all the stuff he endured: losing his job at the prison, dealing with Henry's actions, getting kidnapped and incarcerated by the Toppats, and fleeing with Henry, Thomas and Geoffrey from the clan in 'Toppat Civil Warfare'. Yet he still holds onto the hope that he'll be able to come out of it okay even if he has to take a while to get there.
*I like the mischievous Bukowski twins and wanted to include in a cameo in the story somehow. Turns out their combined love of fighting and confident mannerisms gave me a good leeway for acknowledging the opening scene from the 'Master Bounty Hunter' storyline as they lead the charge into the fray.
*The line, 'But little did he know that the soldiers in the jeep would have an extra hand in the upcoming fight', was originally meant to allude to another character I had in mind for this story before I decided to scrap the idea for simplicity's sake.
*Dave's not a paramedic, but as a police officer, I think he would need to know the basics of first-aid to help himself or another party until help can come. I also did this to show that even if Dave goofed up on his job in the past, he's not entirely helpless on his own. I want to give him credit where credit is due; he was the one who arrested Henry in the legacy version of 'Breaking the Bank', after all. Yes, Puffballs United did give a noncommittal response, but I'll take it if it means more world-building and character-building for Mr. Panpa.
Random Facts:
* None.
Wanderer out!
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