"Wouldn't that be a question that could be asked of anyone who was in some sort of authoritative position, like Winston Davis, though?"
Winston Davis was no longer part of any type of authority. He was a happy dude but became disillusioned with the system after being "deposed due to his involvement in The Bank's break-in." Having someone who knows the system and hates it due to an undeserved punishment is probably a good move. You can sort of draw a parallel between him and Dave Panpa; Dave didn't check the box (like Winston didn't check the bag), got tossed out of his job (just like Winston), and faced the fact that he wasn't going back to his job anytime soon. While Winston became a Toppat, Dave was captured by the Toppats. In the museum, the mayor (again after being blamed for Henry's actions) became a Toppat. So it's in all probability that, yes, they can hire authority figures, but are probably quicker to the draw when it comes to capturing or killing someone of the law who isn't/doesn't become an asset to them. None of the people shown above have anything similar to what Henry did. Yes he was a thief who got imprisoned and broke out after a failed heist and then stole the Tunisian Diamond, but he was also being helped by the government. Kidnapped, but still offered a very good deal. That and Henry took the deal after attempted to kill RHM and ransoming Reginald.
"I find it rather interesting and strange how Reginald came to be leader in the first place. I've noticed that in many of his moments when he's onscreen, he often commands others to do the work for him, RHM included. I understand that as a leader, it's important to delegate duties to the right people, but most of the time, he... sort of just sits back and/or exits stage right without putting in some of his own effort."
Oh, and he does do work. Yes, most jobs are delegated to certain people, but quite a few times he's seen piloting the airship. (ItA and FtC predominantly) with CtM having a few instances. He's overseeing the work done for the rocket in Toppat 4 Life, Toppat King, Stickmin Space Resort, and Pardoned Pals/Toppat Recruits. I honestly can't tell what he's doing in Jewel Baron, but seeing RHM and Kreighaus relaxing in Orion Lounge, I can only presume it's a quiet day. The rest of the time he's been arrested. I don't like the slimy weasel, but I can't argue his work ethic. Even in Toppat Civil Warfare, he's gathered with quite a few people talking about the rocket launch.
"I think it's good on the one hand because we see where he's not perfect at the role but he tries his hardest anyway, but at the same time, I do wonder how the more gung-ho members would take this - would they go along with it or secretly question his leadership?"
Every leader will have opposition. That's just a fact of life. But we don't really see any opposition until Toppat Civil Warfare when Thomas and Geoffrey question his judgement and the situation at hand. Even then, Reginald isn't technically the chief at that point in time. But you know how it goes: a leader who took his position by force will always fear the same. If a prince poisoned the king to gain kingship, he'll fear another will poison him. Reginald overthrew Terrence. Even though Terrence was an awful leader, you can only imagine how paranoid he would be of the same happening to him.
"Wait... there was a date established for when the rocket launched?"
Yes. In the Toppat 4 Life route, while in the CCC pod, if you get all the fails in the game an option beneath the sticky-notes will read "MULTIVERSE CONTAINMENT" or something of that ilk. If you press it, the game will run into a black screen with notes and an error will occur after spotting an anomaly and will contain it. This brings you back roughly a year earlier and teleports the box with Henry's name into existence in the prison, where it is then picked up by Dave. This is during the day of launch in December. With Henry having 33 marks on the wall, he's probably been there a month, so BtB probably happened in October/November. Therefore EtP would probably be in late December/early January. In StD, rent is 10 days late. So it could be ~2 months between EtP and StD, making it March/April. In the original ItA, the loading screen shows Henry in a nice house using the computer. So he's turned his luck around, left the apartment, and bought a house and a bunch of stuff. That doesn't take a day, so it's probably another two, three months. So it would be July/August/September when ItA began. I'd say it took a week for Ellie and Henry to make it to the launch site in the PBT/CA route, so FtC takes place in late November, early December. "Cleaned 'Em Out" and "Capital Gains" are tied as the earliest CtM routes as they take place a day before launch. "Jewel Baron" is the latest as it takes place a week two weeks after Henry's at his home, so I'd say 13 or 14 days after launch. Also, there isn't a set year (Henry's pardoned for his crimes in 2013, but Gadget Gabe's "Swapper" gadget was reviewed in 2018) but it was ~a year, so I'd say it began in January rather than December.
Therefore, if everything happened at the earliest time possible:
BtB on November 30, EtP January 3, StD March 10 (week to get an apartment), ItA July 1, FtC November 28, CtM (CeO/CG) December 1/CTM (JB) December December 11.
Winston Davis was no longer part of any type of authority. He was a happy dude but became disillusioned with the system after being "deposed due to his involvement in The Bank's break-in." Having someone who knows the system and hates it due to an undeserved punishment is probably a good move. You can sort of draw a parallel between him and Dave Panpa; Dave didn't check the box (like Winston didn't check the bag), got tossed out of his job (just like Winston), and faced the fact that he wasn't going back to his job anytime soon. While Winston became a Toppat, Dave was captured by the Toppats. In the museum, the mayor (again after being blamed for Henry's actions) became a Toppat. So it's in all probability that, yes, they can hire authority figures, but are probably quicker to the draw when it comes to capturing or killing someone of the law who isn't/doesn't become an asset to them. None of the people shown above have anything similar to what Henry did. Yes he was a thief who got imprisoned and broke out after a failed heist and then stole the Tunisian Diamond, but he was also being helped by the government. Kidnapped, but still offered a very good deal. That and Henry took the deal after attempted to kill RHM and ransoming Reginald.
In the case of the mayor, I’m... not feeling so certain about his position. I did hear that Puffballs originally had an idea for an Ellie storyline where she, RHM and Reginald planned to steal the Tunisian Diamond and the mayor would be their go-to guy for the operation. It might indicate that in that storyline at least, he was a Toppat hiding his true affiliation in plain sight. And I think with him, it’s open for interpretation as to whether he joined the clan before or after the events of Stealing the Diamond.
Oh, and he does do work. Yes, most jobs are delegated to certain people, but quite a few times he's seen piloting the airship. (ItA and FtC predominantly) with CtM having a few instances. He's overseeing the work done for the rocket in Toppat 4 Life, Toppat King, Stickmin Space Resort, and Pardoned Pals/Toppat Recruits. I honestly can't tell what he's doing in Jewel Baron, but seeing RHM and Kreighaus relaxing in Orion Lounge, I can only presume it's a quiet day. The rest of the time he's been arrested. I don't like the slimy weasel, but I can't argue his work ethic. Even in Toppat Civil Warfare, he's gathered with quite a few people talking about the rocket launch.
As someone who likes the guy because he’s such a slimy schnook that would make Dick Dastardly proud for his sneakiness and rottenness (although he’s in need of a good smack to the head every now and then), I find it interesting, now that you bring it up and I thank you for that, how much work he actually does in between ItA and CtM even though the first time we see him, he decides to try and hit the road when he sees Henry try to capture him in the RBH and RPE. Interesting character establishing moment for many sides of his personality, methinks. All the more reason for myself to like and laugh at his antics like he was the child of a Looney Tunes character. XD
Every leader will have opposition. That's just a fact of life. But we don't really see any opposition until Toppat Civil Warfare when Thomas and Geoffrey question his judgement and the situation at hand. Even then, Reginald isn't technically the chief at that point in time. But you know how it goes: a leader who took his position by force will always fear the same. If a prince poisoned the king to gain kingship, he'll fear another will poison him. Reginald overthrew Terrence. Even though Terrence was an awful leader, you can only imagine how paranoid he would be of the same happening to him.
I would almost argue, depending on one's point of view, we could see a small spark of opposition going as far back as FtC. Should you choose to accept the Betrayed path, you can see Thomas look up from his duties in surprise when Reginald receives a call from Henry on his cell phone on the airship. Yeah, not exactly the best example to offer, but this reaction does warrant some type of difference of opinion in the Toppats' leadership. Actually, I wonder what would have happened if Thomas saw Reginald drop Henry into the water; would he have gone after him? Eh, who knows?
Yes. In the Toppat 4 Life route, while in the CCC pod, if you get all the fails in the game an option beneath the sticky-notes will read "MULTIVERSE CONTAINMENT" or something of that ilk. If you press it, the game will run into a black screen with notes and an error will occur after spotting an anomaly and will contain it. This brings you back roughly a year earlier and teleports the box with Henry's name into existence in the prison, where it is then picked up by Dave. This is during the day of launch in December. With Henry having 33 marks on the wall, he's probably been there a month, so BtB probably happened in October/November. Therefore EtP would probably be in late December/early January. In StD, rent is 10 days late. So it could be ~2 months between EtP and StD, making it March/April. In the original ItA, the loading screen shows Henry in a nice house using the computer. So he's turned his luck around, left the apartment, and bought a house and a bunch of stuff. That doesn't take a day, so it's probably another two, three months. So it would be July/August/September when ItA began. I'd say it took a week for Ellie and Henry to make it to the launch site in the PBT/CA route, so FtC takes place in late November, early December. "Cleaned 'Em Out" and "Capital Gains" are tied as the earliest CtM routes as they take place a day before launch. "Jewel Baron" is the latest as it takes place a weektwo weeks after Henry's at his home, so I'd say 13 or 14 days after launch. Also, there isn't a set year (Henry's pardoned for his crimes in 2013, but Gadget Gabe's "Swapper" gadget was reviewed in 2018) but it was ~a year, so I'd say it began in January rather than December. Therefore, if everything happened at the earliest time possible:
BtB on November 30, EtP January 3, StD March 10 (week to get an apartment), ItA July 1, FtC November 28, CtM (CeO/CG) December 1/CTM (JB) December December 11.
I do remember - that Multiverse Correction ending was sure something else, right? But out of curiosity, how did you figure all of what you described took place in all those months? I went to look through the games to see if any months were name-dropped and the only month that was brought up during any duration of the series as far as I could tell was September when Henry had his court trial in EtP. Actually there's a fun fact about the date when the court trial was set - September 9th is the creator's birthday. Pretty neat!
In any case, to each their own theories, right? However you make sense of the timeline (in spite of wonky it is but then again, figuring out timelines overall can be a tough task), I'm glad you found a way to work through it. It's interesting to discuss things such as this, and I hope that there is more fun to be had within the world of Henry Stickmin. :)
(Sorry about the long time between replies whoops) I did hear that Puffballs originally had an idea for an Ellie storyline where she, RHM and Reginald planned to steal the Tunisian Diamond and the mayor would be their go-to guy for the operation. Really? I didn't know that. I heard about a Reg/RHM/Ellie pack for a Ruby, but not the diamond. Man, I should really watch that developer's commentary PuffBalls created a little bit ago. Regardless, the mayor did have plans to steal the diamond. I think it's just because he was a corrupt politician who fled to the TC when he got caught, but he could have been a Toppat all along.
Reginald does need a good slap in the back of the head every once and again, I shall not say no to that. But I am lacking as a fan ever since FtC came out. He's a criminal, honestly--the leader of a major criminal organization. What do you expect? He's an interesting, intelligent character who's slimy enough to weasel himself out of stuff he shouldn't, so for that I show respect. But I can also safely say that I don't like him. /lol He doesn't remind me of anyone, I just don't like his personality.
I would almost argue, depending on one's point of view, we could see a small spark of opposition going as far back as FtC. Should you choose to accept the Betrayed path, you can see Thomas look up from his duties in surprise when Reginald receives a call from Henry on his cell phone on the airship. Thomas is surprised to hear Henry's name. He was bummed out since Henry vanished and is certainly going to be happy to hear he's alive and (probably) well. This does nothing to undermind Reginald. It just shows that Thomas likes Henry and noticed his absence. Thomas is a nice guy, but I don't think he'd do a Leap of Faith for Henry like RHM did to Reginald in TCW. He'd probably be majorly hurt, but what do ya do? Now, had Thomas seen that and found Henry to be alive, that would be another thing. Thomas can get mad at Reginald all he wants, but he's one (maybe a handful) strong if he offers this case in a he-said, he-said arguement. Reginald could easily claim Henry didn't make it or he slipped out of his fingers. If Thomas says "No, you caught you, you just dropped him" what can you do? Not only are both sides physically possible, Reginald could go on to say that Thomas was right, in a way, but misunderstood what he saw: He saw Reginald catch and then willingly drop Henry, but in actuality, Reginald caught Henry but the man slipped out of his hands. Because Reginald was holding up a 110 lbs human in icy weather hundreds of feet in the air with gloved hands. As much as I like and trust Thomas and don't trust Reginald, this story would get me. That's counting on Thomas actually puffing up and saying what he saw to Reginald's face, with Reginald being leader once again. Bottom line is that we don't know if Thomas likes or dislikes Reginald's leadership, we just know that Thomas liked Henry's leadership more. Even if Thomas 100% knew the truth and couldn't be swayed, without Henry there to back him up with hardcore evidence, and without enough people thinking Henry is better than Reginald, Thomas is ripe out of luck. This is also considering Henry took power by holding Reginald ransom. Reginald took power by tossing Henry off the airship (if the official story of him falling was completely discarded). Reginald isn't honorable, and I don't like him, but this is at least semi-solid reasoning. Remember, the Toppat Clan are a clan of criminals--thieves, predominantly. Despite their apparent honor code, they're still selfish to a degree. Whoever is going to rack in the most and give them the most protection is probably going to be the majority favorite. Reginald created and enacted a plan to send them into space 100% without needing Henry's help. Now, TK/T4L, Henry is the leader and does lead them, but the rocket plan is Reginald's (As far as we know) and he'll do it in any path in the game. Even after being arrested in half of them, he still has others pick up the torch in his stead.
I do remember - that Multiverse Correction ending was sure something else, right? But out of curiosity, how did you figure all of what you described took place in all those months? I went to look through the games to see if any months were name-dropped and the only month that was brought up during any duration of the series as far as I could tell was September when Henry had his court trial in EtP. Actually there's a fun fact about the date when the court trial was set - September 9th is the creator's birthday. Pretty neat!
In the "Cleaned 'em Out" route, Henry gets up on the train and faces a brick wall. During this Quicktime event, you can choose the "pinchers" option, which will lead to a FAIL screen modeled after a generic tycoon game. At the bottom right of the screen, it says "Completing the Mission, Year 1: December" So, CeO (the earliest CtM route) takes place in December with JB (the latest) taking place two weeks after, presumably in December. The Multiverse Correction Box goes to "EtP" so it's likely EtP takes place in early January. Otherwise, the generic rollercoaster tycoon label would say "Year 2" or be placed somewhere earlier.
In any case, to each their own theories, right? However you make sense of the timeline (in spite of wonky it is but then again, figuring out timelines overall can be a tough task), I'm glad you found a way to work through it. It's interesting to discuss things such as this, and I hope that there is more fun to be had within the world of Henry Stickmin. :) Yesss, it is! I spent quite a lot of time on that timeline myself. I write larger fanfictions (fan-novels, one could say) and enjoy a rigid schedule. Also, finding incredibly small details probably no one but me cares about is fun. For example, I calculated that The Wall from FtC has ~21 floors, but there might be more so I need to recount it, especially since there's a gap between the 21st floor and the docks. This was primarily for a teleporter gag that ended up not working. Da dum chhhh
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VenomQuill on Chapter 18 Mon 18 Jan 2021 05:36PM UTC
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Summerspeck on Chapter 18 Thu 21 Jan 2021 09:51AM UTC
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VenomQuill on Chapter 18 Tue 26 Jan 2021 05:56AM UTC
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