Through Smoke and Bitter Distance, Chapter Five - Part Two, Special Features

  Chapter Five, Part Two

References:

*The Bukowski Brothers running a joke shop? A possibility. But they better catch up - Fred and George Weasley from the Harry Potter series beat them to the punch. 

General:

* The mistakes Rupert made are truly his own - making mistakes and calling them yours seem to be a small but important theme in the Henry Stickmin universe. I think Henry can acknowledge his mistakes and make up for them if the player chooses. Rupert, on the other hand, does it on his own. He then works hard to make sure he avoids such drastic acts again. I'm all for improving and taking care to avoid mistakes, but it is concerning to see how hard he's willing to work in overcoming those mistakes... when making mistakes is an inevitable part of the human experience. 

That's why I included in that flashback to 'Stealing the Diamond'. Adding that and his own perspective on what happened during 'Escaping the Prison' created a path of redemption he embarked on for himself, as well as see his own wakeup call to his own complacency. I can imagine working there for eight years can dull one's senses if they're not constantly sharpened and renewed. 

*Dave trying to calm down Rupert is a segment I picked up from another story. In it, the main character tells his father that hatred can destroy a person if not kept in check when the father was ranting about a character both father and son are not fond of. The son mentioned he couldn't take seeing his father give into that hatred, and the father promised to not hate the enemy both of them shared. 

This carried over into this fic, where Dave took on the son's role. Seeing Rupert engulfed by hatred would scare him more than what any of the Toppats did to him. He cares for his friend's well-being and wants him to avoid that path before he goes too far on it. Also, I made Dave the one to get through to Rupert using he truly values - using time wisely and not letting the image of Henry win out against him. 

*Dave's own breakdown involved more than just sorrow and guilt. He also dealt with anger. This was to give Dave more than one dimension in his emotional state. In other words, I've seen the guy depicted as usually just sad or guilty about everything, but anger? That's not always prevalent. In situations like this, while it is entirely possible to only experience sadness and shame, frustration with one's self is also a common reaction. When we try our best at whatever it is we set out to do, and we don't succeed, we can either/or get mad at ourselves or others. In Dave's case, he's mad at himself - he tried to do a good job as a prison guard and/or museum guard, but things went wrong. Adding his disappointment at himself made for a more three-dimensional breakdown. It also gave Dave the courage to bring up what those Toppats did to him - they not only wailed on him physically, they also wailed on him mentally and emotionally. 

*Rupert acted as the iron grip to break through Dave's cage, and help him come into the light. This is the pivotal point for both characters - we see Dave admit what the Toppats did and Rupert, besides stepping up to calm him down and tell him he's better than he thinks he is, gradually starts taking over what is left of the story. 

I feel people can forget that even though Dave made mistakes at the prison, he still had to go through police training to get there. From what I have read and heard, it's no walk in the park. The training involves a lot of physical fitness, academic coursework and practical skills, which can take anywhere from about three months to maybe a year depending on the location and agency. That would imply that Dave did have what it took to make it through police training, and I don't think the police superiors - at least in this series - would have room for any slackers. I think it's because of his enthusiasm to do his job at the prison, combined with bad luck, Dave was dealt a terrible hand. Working at the museum didn't leave him room to give up on his skills even if it's a quieter locale by comparison. 

Rupert knows firsthand what it's like to go through police training so of course he would remind him that he's tougher than he gives himself credit for. Unfortunately, it'll take awhile for Dave to remember and believe that. Rupert will need to do a lot to help him rebuild his confidence, but he doesn't necessarily mind. It'll give him a new goal now that Henry and the Toppats are pretty much out of the picture. As soon as he and the rest of the military leave, of course. They still need to clear out the airship and Rupert has to find Dave's items. 

*It's highly likely that Dave would have said items on hand, and the Toppats would take them so he can't use them for anything. I mostly added them in to act as the MacGuffins Rupert needs to find, and although they're not inherently important to the audience, they're important to Rupert and Dave. Because of Dave's trauma, I think the audience can care about the MacGuffins because of this. 

Random Facts:

*Does Dave have a family? It's up to the beholder. I got that from other fanfics to heighten the drama and express how he needs to take his time to be back out in the world again. At least through slower means before he goes back to keeping the peace... or keeping the calm in a museum. Whichever comes first.  

Wanderer out!

Through Smoke and Bitter Distance, Chapter Five - Part One, Special Features

 Chapter Five, Part One

References:

*The legend of Atlantis was written to be a utopia made from hubris. The Toppats' airship repeated that lesson. 

General:

*I was originally going to have Turtle be the medic, but as I already gave Turtle and Frog something to do in earlier chapters, giving Eel the role seemed like the natural alternative. It's not as major as Turtle discovering Henry's trail or Frog leading the team, but it gave the guy his time in the spotlight and helped expand his skill set beyond technology and fighting. 

*Victoria was added in to act as an authoritative figure who could take the plot and carry it - and Dave - offscreen to build up anticipation over over his survival. I like Victoria and thought with her prestige as a high-ranking officer, she would play a small but integral part to the story. I also needed to explore more of the military world as we now left the Toppats behind, so this was another reason why I added her. 

*Charles coming in to talk about Rupert was intentional. Charles is the kind of person who can somehow be a friend to many, including the gruff folk. I like the idea of them having their own friendship, so it was included. I also wanted to make Rupert's turmoil over what happened to Dave, with Charles coming in to help him release all he's harboring - guilt, anger, dread, regret, and anxiety. Charles seems like a patient sort who knows how to deal with his friend when he gets frazzled, so the pilot has the situation under control. He has more than just good eyesight, he has keen insight, which helps him deal with things around him. 

It was also a good chance to bring in more of the details in the backstory of how Rupert and Dave knew each other, and fill in the gaps of what wasn't shown in the games with details of my own. I see Rupert as someone wanting to leave his past as a police officer behind - save for a few components, like his friendship with Dave and the joys he did get out of it - and trying to fully embrace his new life in the military, only telling bits of his past job when needed. That's why Charles didn't know a lot about what happened at the prison until the man revealed it all here. That day when everything went to pot at the prison is not a happy memory to hold in his mind. He feels like he has to deal with it alone, but with the military acting as one, and a few individuals who can be in on what happened, he doesn't have to.

*Dave's PTSD kicks into play here. Although it's never explicitly stated that he has it, many in the Henry Stickmin fanbase go with this headcanon based on his 'Completing the Mission' bio: 'He's spent a long time in a Toppat cell. His life will probably never be the same again'. We don't know how long he's been in there, but we do know that based on his hat which has seen better days, it's not a stretch to consider he's been through a lot. The Toppats might have had moments when they used him as a punching bag for whatever excuses they could find which left scars on him. That, and he is a guard who discovered what they were up to with the Tunisian Diamond. The Toppats aren't too fond of official snoopers and will do whatever it takes to keep them from talking. 
 

*The red-eyed monster is a reference to the Right Hand Man. I left out his name to make him seem more monstrous in Dave's mind, and to emulate how he's a vicious threat as a cyborg.  

*I split this thing up into two sections for two reasons: 1) it would have made the chapter far too long and too much if I kept it all as one and 2) for the sake of the plot, we're gradually moving away from the two stories told about Rupert and Dave in their respective places - the Toppat base and the military base to just one spot with the two friends coming together and changing the plot to focus on them and everything they've been through. Charles and Galeforce are there for a brief time to get to know Dave and get his testimony on the airship, but eventually they'll need to leave so that Dave and Rupert can go into the history that they're not a part of. Rupert has a promise to keep, after all. 

*There's another callback - however it's very very minor - to Bambi II, in the beginning of the film when Friend Owl goes to see the Great Prince and Bambi after hearing about what happened to Bambi's mom. He says that, and I quote, "Excuse me sir. I hope I'm not intruding, but well, I...I just had to come." Charles says the last part to Rupert. Charles is the Friend Owl - although he's way less of a curmudgeon - to Rupert, as he just had to come and see if he could be of any help. The Bambi theme is keeping strong here. 

*I gave Rupert the idea of naming the Toppats the 'Toprats'

both due to the fact that I'm not really someone who writes swearing a lot unless it's absolutely needed, and 'Toprats' sounds like something he would say. To him, they act like rats - they take so much from others to carry out selfish plans and leave behind trails of ruin for others to suffer through. This is not a knock against real life rats by the way - the animal analogy is all part of the bigger theme tapestry I'm weaving into this piece, which will be explained in further detail once these notes are done.  

Random Facts:

*None. 

Wanderer out!