Wot th' Weasel Said

[Tooley Bostay]

Welp, to likely cap things off, I figured I'd talk about some little facts and tidbits about Tooley and his posts. May forget a few, but some may enjoy these. =)

Application:

• My initial idea for Tooley actually had him as a cook (the "cutthroat stew" story was the first bit of inspiration that brought Tooley about) who was saddled with lookout duty, and the end of the app would have him approached by his fellow corsairs to haul him to the brig. This version of Tooley was far more verminy with an ill-temper and disdain at his constant lot in life. Just wasn't coming out right as I was writing it, so I decided to switch him to the Prisoner category (I actually flip-flopped on this twice as I was writing it. Making him a cook then prisoner then cook... it was a rough app to get down).
• Tooley's last name comes from "bobstay," a nautical term for a part of the rigging on a ship. However, Tara was somewhat right when she guessed that Tooley's name itself was slapdashed together. I often start with a prefix or suffix that I like, then develop a name from there. In fact, the irony of "Tooley = tool" didn't even occur to me until after I sent off the app.
• Daggle wasn't planned to be anyone special in the app, but looking back, I thought he was a bit soft on Tooley. Or at least understanding. That's when I started to plot out this idea that they were friends aboard the Maiden.

Closer to the Edge:

• Name comes from the Burlap to Cashmere song, which I find at least partially fitting to Tooley, in lyrics and tone.
• Mentioned this before, but Daggle saying "don't even trust me" is in regards to how his working with Ginson landed Tooley in the brig and could have potentially ended with his death. It's one of those "puzzlebox sorry's" that people do sometimes. "I'm apologizing, you just need to figure that out." =P
• The whole reason Tooley had a deformed/damaged ear was because I needed him to have some unchangeable physical quality that his father would later discover. Originally I went a Taggerung route and had him have a deformed paw-pad, but - after some good bantering with Chak - settled on the ear, as it better established his hat's importance and his broken disposition.

Of Steel and Fire:

• It was originally that Tooley was the one to lock down the slaves. However, Chak said that it'd be very difficult to write a scenario in which he didn't outright kill Tooley. We decided on the Daggle route, and that would serve as Tooley's major catalyst that would force him into a sudden independence.
• There was nothing really to Tooley's "species-ism" against foxes or squirrels. It was just a way to showcase his ignorance and propensity for absorbing the opinions of those around him (foxes are crafty, squirrels don't swim well, etc.)

Mea Culpa:
Nothing that comes to mind, though I'll give Crue props for her post that week. She wrote all of Tooley and Daggle's dialogue herself and did a masterful job with them. Helped me in some ways to better grasp Tooley's voice.

What's Past is Prologue:

• I originally had an idea to have Tooley take Daggle's coat instead as a remembrance, but the idea of him taking it off Daggle's body just didn't seem to fit right. So, the coin bag was used instead.
• Tooley mistaking Plink name for "Plonko" is a reference to one of the reviewers saying that she reminded them of Poko, from MO:I (which I have yet to read).
• The whole story of Daggle taking down five pirates with a lamppost is a total lie, of course, but also a reference to League of Legends. Daggle Jax skin confirmed.
• Maurick's song that he sings actually came from the Skype chat. While we were waiting for the voting results the previous week, a number of us started writing these silly little poems to pass the time, and I figured I'd put mine to good use. =P

Double Take:

• Have to give Chak credit here for some o' me words. We wrote out together an initial draft of the debate between Tooley and Reedox. Twas a great launching pad, and while the final product is for the most part different, some of the original dialogue remains.
• Tooley equating Robert's caring gazes with something in his past is foreshadowing his lost memories of his mother.
• I went back and forth on a great many things on this post. Originally had Drandy and Tooley together in a cell (thought there could be something with Tooley being next to another otter, albeit a Waverunner), Reedox and Tooley's discussion was on the way to the sacrificial grounds, and I entertained the idea of Tooley actually trying to murder Chak. I didn't think it'd do a whole lot for his character to actually end up going through an attempt, so I had him interrupted by Crue.
• Some of the mongoose dialect wasn't locked in by the time my post was being written, leading to some discrepancies. I considered amending "Fiyah Kodd" with "Gott," but the rhythm of the scene was just broken if I changed it. I figured it made enough sense to have Tooley hear their accent differently, so I kept it as-is.

Insomnia:

• UGHHHH THIS POSSSTTTT. Easily the hardest post I've had to write. Kept me up into the wee hours of the night, and it's only with the very gracious help of my brother who opted to stay up and help that it ended up being half-decent. As hard as the post was to write, however, the name was incredibly easy to choose. Because yes, I was up until 5 AM writing it.
• Lots of changes had to be made on-the-fly. I originally had Tooley as a runner for the Iron Mine slavedrivers. Rindclaw was a captain in Blade's army. Tooley would goof up and a gang of pirates would hoist him up to Blade's office and throw him into Atlas' cage. Atlas was originally in Blade's office itself, inside a cage. Blade would see for himself that Tooley survived the encounter and would be intrigued by him as he thinks Atlas should have slaughtered him. Tooley was going to be given the job of servings Atlas' meals, mainly so Blade could keep a closer eye on the two of them, and following this Tooley would have developed a sort of pity/friendship with Atlas. Changes were made for a variety of reasons, but the most common one was that it simply wasn't coming out right as I wrote it.
• Blade's ceiling carving was made up literally as I was writing it. I had Tooley sit down and he looked up, and I started thinking about what he'd see. The idea that Blade was creating a sort of twisted "tapestry" - ala Redwall - popped in my head, and I ran with it.

The Other Side of Silence:

• Like before, gotta credit Chak with some of the dialogue in the discussion between Tooley and Chak. Quality stuff, mate.

Of Steel and Moonlight:

• I'd wanted a Tooley/Ciera confrontation since the beginning, as it'd signal such a major turning point for his character. I'd originally hoped for it to be a little later in the story, but Ciera was voted off that round and it became a now-or-never situation. I think the timing ended up working out well enough, though.
• Credit where it's due. "The blade was just steel formed into a useful shape," is a quote from Necropolis, a comic by Jake Wyatt.

Coda:

• Was caught between Telos or Coda for the title. Went with Coda, given its definition of: "an ending part of a piece of music or a work of literature or drama that is separate from the earlier parts"
• The part where Tooley tells Rindclaw that there are some things he can't forget and etc. was written by Plink, originally a part of her previous post. I loved it, so I figured it into my own post. Speaking of Plink, she also came up with Tooley's real name of Delner.
• I'd planned the "Tooley acts like the Fire God" scene from about Round 2. This was the one scene I wanted to write above all for Tooley, so I'm glad I was able to write it before he died. Actually, beyond Shuga stabbing him, this is largely what I had originally planned for the post.

Aaaand that's all that comes to mind, methinks. Finally, want to give a shoutout t' me fellow contestants, who were always a boon of inspiration, help, and joviality. Plink in particular got me out of binds several times, so particular thanks to her! Yer all awesome, mates, an' I'm happy I was able t' write wit' ye. =D

[Rascal]

Forgive me if you already answered this. Im always currious in what if type scenarios. :3

If Tooly had lived through the contest how would he have met his end later on in life? Even if it was from old age?

[Tooley Bostay]

Very innerestin' question, mate--thankee fer askin'! Had to give this one a little thought.

I doubt Tooley would have simply died from old age. He's not the type to just sit around, but if he did manage to live into his older years, he'd likely end up giving himself some mortal injury just because he wouldn't keep still or not do dangerous things.

That said, I think it's likely that he'd end up developing some sort of terminal illness, given his head injury. I'm not well-versed in medicinal study, but it seems like the type of thing that'd bring him to a higher risk of an aneurysm, or something of that nature. Especially as he gets older, I'd imagine he enters a sort of "any day could be his last" stage, though he certainly wouldn't be aware of it. Not that knowing would bother him, I don't think. He'd just take every day as it comes.