A Blue Streak, Chapter One, Special Features

Chapter One

References:

*Barring the many callbacks to canon BLoSC episodes, which will be mentioned down below, there is a non-BLoSC reference or two. Proxy's response to Ty was a nod to the fighting apples trees from the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Not sure where I got the idea to do that, but it proved a good comeback for her to use.  
*Proxy's snickering is lifted straight from Muttley from the Hanna-Barbera universe. It's a classic type of laugh.

General:
*There are many nods to episodes in this chapter, all of which are relevant to the story. First up: 
-The incident involving Madame President and her ship Space Force 1 occurred in the episode "Return to Karn". 

-The animals mentioned, like narlzaks and skullborers, all come from "Return to Karn" and "The Beasts of Karn" respectively. Jessica, the red gut-sucking egg devil, also came from the latter episode. 
-Swack should have kept to his community service that was decreed upon him by Buzz from "The Beasts of Karn". He wouldn't have gotten himself into this mess then, but he's not really a great listener. 

-Proxy may not be a canon character, but the planet she hails from is. Verdentia is mentioned in "Haunted Moon". There's not a lot of information about the planet, save that the residents love peace and the planet's appearance is dark red with spots. Even though Verdentia comes from the word 'verdant' which usually pertains to lush vegetation, but I digress. I liked the name of it and thought giving Proxy Verdentian roots would add more to the planet's culture. 

*When I wrote Ozma's first appearance in the original draft, she was written in a more mellow fashion than she was here. She came off as more friendly to outsiders than she normally is, but here, she feels more IC.  And yes, I am aware that Ozma isn't the most liked character in the fanbase, although I have seen more people showing their appreciation for her over the years through art and fanfiction.

I'm not sure why this is, but it's a welcome change of pace. But back to the notes: although she's not my favorite character in the show, I did want to write her in a more positive light than how she's usually portrayed. She's admittedly a tricky character to write - she's not the worst character to write for on the planet, but it can be difficult to know where to toe the line for her personality. She's learning to be less prickly towards non-animal lifeforms, but her heart's not completely thawed out yet. 

*Yes, we have an original character. If you're not a fan of OCs, you're free to turn away from this story. But if you're curious about her or don't mind OCs, thank you for staying to learn more about her! 

I'll talk more about her in detail as the chapters go on but here are some facts about the character. I originally made her when I joined the BLoSC fandom years ago. I haven't seen anyone make a dog, or any pure animal, companion for that matter. As Disney has a penchant for creating prominent animal leads or sentient companions to human leads, I followed this tradition with Proxy. Adding in an animal companion to Ozma would signify that even though her moral alignment is a grayer shade, she's not evil and will do the right thing in the end. 

Proxy's introduction was very different in the original draft - she was supposed to be introduced via the character Dug's introduction from Disney/Pixar's Up, with the dialogue almost wholly lifted from that scene. I wrote her in as a herder too, by working to round up a made-up species of Karnian wildlife I created. I forgot what I named them or why I wrote her herding them in the first place, but I can tell you that they were herbivores. Not carnivores, which was a mistake on my part. Why? Because the animals on Karn are carnivorous like the planet's namesake, except for the spelling. Herbivores can be dangerous, but I haven't seen any on Karn and the more I rewrote this chapter, the more I felt taking the herbivores out was the better option. Which leads me to our scoundrel Swack....

*Rentwhistle Swack invaded this chapter, but looking back, it was for the best. When I rewatched "The Beasts of Karn", I forgot he was in said episode leading a small group of poachers to look for rare animals for them to, well, poach. This scene proved crucial because it completely overhauled Proxy's introduction: instead of her herding animals (although she can do that if called upon), she was chasing poachers and showing her incredible speed at the same time as part of her establishing moments. The original scene, in retrospect, feels isolated from the main story and didn't correctly introduce Proxy - she's a dog, yes, but compared to Dug, Proxy's more rough around the edges and mischievous. I didn't really evoke that in the prior draft.

Therefore, this rewritten scene proved a stronger form of writing and tied itself deeper into Ozma's job of protecting Karnian wildlife. Focusing on that helped bring in more canon characters on this side of UPC (and I'm all for bringing in supporting characters if I can find a way to utilize them) and also built up more of the mystery of Proxy's species and identity before she is finally revealed. 

*Ozma the no-nonsense animal researcher and Buzz the by-the-book Space Ranger together? Proxy thinks the two of them together is a hilarious concept because of that. She's also quite the shipper for them.
I will note that in some fanon circles, fans will disregard this pairing and write in their own preferred ship. I'm personally ambivalent towards the Buzz/Ozma pairing, but I'm willing to give it a chance. There's not really a plan for them in this story, but their relationship will be canon to UPC. 

*Ty's reaction to the whistle is a building block for what will come later. Not so much in this chapter, but much later in UPC. 

*Someone's eyes are watching our heroes. I gave two of their names away already, but I won't discuss them until they're properly introduced. 

Random Facts:

*None.

Wanderer out!

Through Smoke and Bitter Distance, Chapter One, Special Features

                                                                     Chapter One

References:

* The Bambi reference I pointed out in the chapter is a connection between Dave and how he's the hunted, in need to get away from the hunters via the Toppat Clan. Dave also shares Bambi's innocence in some fashion, hence the further connection to the characters. 

*There are many references to animals in this story, and I'll explain in greater detail why that is by the end of these notes. However, I'll go ahead and state that because this story takes place in the jungle, I was inspired to use animal imagery to paint a vivid picture of everyone's actions. 

General:

*I didn't really think of the female Toppat as any one character in particular. I thought it would make more sense if we didn't know who she was to keep up the many mysteries left behind in the crash, and to part of the theme of mystery hidden within the Henry Stickmin games. But she's a dedicated Toppat to the end.

*I'm of the mind that Rupert has a high level of standards he want to live up to, in part because he's both a military officer and because of the mistake that he made back at his old job, so he feels the need to make up for it. He takes his responsibilities seriously, and after all that happened, who could blame him?

*The heat Dave experienced while he was hiding by the palm tree signified that the stakes are rising higher, just like the heat and fire are both growing in power. He doesn't have a lot of time to spare so he has to push himself to keep going or perish in the growing blaze set by the airship. 

*I really enjoyed the bounty hunters' scenes in the 'Master Bounty Hunter' segment so I wanted to bring them back (to life) for this story, so they're here to accompany General Galeforce and Rupert out on the mission to rescue Dave. 

Random Facts:

* None.

Wanderer out!

Restoring the Soul: The Manor's Tales, Chapter One, Special Features

Hooray! I have a chance to write up one of these posts. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter One

References:

* Most of the references I have already written about on Archive of Our Own, but one notable reference I will talk more about is important due to the context behind it: 

"Yeah right, for who, a team of ghost catchers?" - Sorry, Henry, the Ghostbusters can't help you there!

There will not be any Ghostbusters in this tale, but ghosts? Absolutely!  After all, we all have things that haunt us, especially from the past. 

General:

*There’s actually another reference that exists in the story that I forgot to mention in my endnotes for that chapter, but I feel it would fit more into this category because of the fairy tale theme that exists in this story. The reference: “...with one of them stretching a robotic limb out like the Wicked Witch of the East.”  An homage to the fairy tale,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I feel that because the story is so well-known, this plot element - a character integral to the plot and killed at the beginning of a story (although it was an accident in this case) - would be one that people would know almost on instinct.

Reginald and the Right Hand Man are integral because those two were responsible for leading the mutiny against Henry and tossing Geoffrey and Thomas into the brig when the latter two dared to question the masses, and Henry didn’t really have a chance to explain himself for why he left Ellie behind in prison. Also, like TWWOZ or other fairy tales, the characters do need to respond when they encounter legendary or mystical characters and occurrences. 

After encountering the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy Gale acts by traveling to Oz with her new companions to try and get help from the Wizard of Oz. And while the Henry Stickmin series may not likely be seen as a candidate for a modern fairy tale, the series still features magical or fantastical elements. With Henry himself, he has the ability to stop time briefly and bring various options before him and select which is the right tool or enchantment to handle the situation. There is an organization in the game series that has the frightening task of controlling chaos throughout Henry’s world via time travel, mysterious agents or giant weapons of destruction. Heck, there are even characters in the games named the Leprechaun and the Witch!

*Adding onto the fairy tale theme is this chapter’s setup - Henry is indeed a dethroned king thanks to many of his subjects turning their backs on them. This mutiny, along with Reginald’s history as the former leader of the Toppats, will bring up an important problem that has to be solved amongst the clan. Add to the fact that Henry himself was, in a way, married into the Toppat Clan when he joined their ranks and became the king. 

*Henry having a flashback to the events leading up to that moment all play a purpose for another central theme. This theme will tie together the two properties because of a shared commonality. This commonality is one that the characters experience on a daily basis; sometimes it makes them happy, and sometimes it makes them sad. 

*It’s not proven in the games, but it is most widely believed among HS fans that like Aladdin, Henry needed to learn how to survive on his own when he was young and while he wandered the earth. It’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that besides his thieving and ‘choose-your-tool’ skills, he built up a natural inclination to adapt to his environment - although he is shown to display an aversion to humidity and seems to dislike the cold as shown during  “Fleeing the Complex" - and a sense of direction through both explored and unexplored areas.

*Just like Henry and his rebels, another character in the story is on her own path. But the key difference is that she has been down this path many times and all have proven fruitless. 

* Showing the transition from day to night was a step in writing how this day was not only a long one for everyone, but how the night will play an important role in the setting. 

*Regarding the choice to include in links to musical compositions or sound effects to add in painting a picture for this story, there’s not really much more to say about it other than I just thought it would make the story more magical and both properties display a love for music into some fashion. I added the track ‘Fractured’ from the Henry Stickmin Collection to pick up where the ’Toppat Civil Warfare’ ending left off as a means of transitioning into this expansion of the storyline.

*I should point out that among general consensus of the fanbase, this is the most despised ending of the games because of how it ended on a cliffhanger with Henry and Ellie - where in the other endings they got along swimmingly - now hated each other and wanted to kill one another. I’m not particularly upset about this ending myself, but I do think that this ending felt like it needed some more ironing out the wrinkles and lack of answers. One such question I have is that it seems odd that everyone in the clan - except for Thomas and Geoffrey - would blindly go along with the plan to overthrow Henry when Ellie is just a stranger to the Toppats in this ending; how would they know she wasn’t lying to them? Why not just ask Henry? And if possible, who else among the Toppats would secretly think that there’s something fishy about that encounter or Reginald’s uprising? If Thomas and Geoffrey could sense something was up, why not some of the other Toppats? 

This question I have about the Toppats’ mob mentality and many other inquiries about TCW will be explored in ways in this story, as I do believe that this ending has a lot of storytelling potential. Even if the creator of the games won’t come right out and state how it would have ended anytime soon, I like to think that tossing Henry and his rebels out into the desert where Henry’s career as a thief began, gives us a window to plot out the course for these characters on where they could go and how they would resolve this unexpected conflict (and tie us back into Henry’s origins of thieving). The desert is wide open with mystery and possibility - what matters now is to pick a direction and find out what lies that way. 

Random Facts:

*Just because Henry can stand the heat doesn’t mean he likes hot peppers! That classic gag was thrown in because I believe that a lot of Henry’s antics are similar to those of classic cartoons, like the Looney Tunes - unpredictable and sometimes painful, but interesting nonetheless! 

Wanderer out!