Extras
Intro
It's hard to say goodbye to a world, for both the reader and the author. There's a certain emptiness that persists after you finish a story. Even if you enjoyed reading it, even if the conception and writing was exciting, the truth is that it's come to an end.
As I was lying awake last night, deciding what to do going forward, I had an idea. There's a good amount of content for Penny & Oscar's Excellent Adventure that will most likely never see the public eye. References and jokes that might have gone unnoticed. And so I am writing this as a little compendium of extra bonus information about the story, its production and writing.
I will break this down into sections based on pre-writing, then a chapter by chapter basis. Let's dive in!
Pre Production
As I wrapped up my previous work, To Infini-schnee & Beyond, I knew I wanted to continue writing crack fiction. The idea of Penny Polendina and Oscar Pine, two characters who had very little interaction in the show, going on a journey through various RWBY Alternate Universes sounded like the golden ticket.
The idea of Neopolitan joining them only came to be after I read some comments on the r/RWBY subreddit about how Neo is often portrayed in fanfiction, and the tricks authors use to get around her being mute. I wanted to challenge myself to write an accurate, mute Neo. Rather than trying to make a separate fic just for this, I decided that Neo could come along and provide a foil for the heroes.
While brainstorming possible worlds to send the trio to, I came up with plenty of worlds that did not make the final cut for one reason or another.
A RWBY Musical. I'm not sure how I would have pulled this off other than rhyming or dialogue stanzas, but it just seemed like a lot of work for a joke that would get old fast.
Classic Mafia Film. Prohibition style gangsters with tommy guns. Also everything would have been in black and white.
Modern Gangsters. This idea got narrowed down into Chapter 8 for a more condensed feel.
Meme World. Memes are so hard to incorporate because they date a story immediately. Also, what constitutes a meme can be different for everyone. I would probably have put too many obscure memes for it to be funny to most people.
Furry World. Basically everyone was a Faunus. Not much to go with for this world.
Animal World. I think this was a further extension of the Furry World but everyone turns into actual animals.
Christian Minecraft Server. I have absolutely no idea what this would have even been, but I wrote it down.
Chapter 1
I hadn't decided how I wanted to deal with Ozpin's dialogue yet, so I just formatted it like internal monologue.
Despite giving the remote all sorts of buttons, I never considered what they would even do.
Chapter 2
This world was called RWBY Novela. I styled it after a spanish telenovela, which is like a spanish language soap opera.
While I do speak a little spanish, I used Google Translate for the dialogue. Even if it was inaccurate, I felt like that just added to the crack nature of it.
The translated lines are as follows:
At the end of Chapter 1, Ruby says "Give up while you still can!"
Roman says "This is the end for you, little red. Kill her, while I escape."
Ruby responds with "Roman, bastard, this is child's play."
Ruby later says "You don't know when to give up!"
When Neo meets Roman, he says "Neopolitan? What are you doing here Neo? I thought you were stealing that load in Atlas, why are you here?"
Ruby catches them, saying "I've got you now, Roman! And your ice cream friend!"
When Glynda appears, Ruby calls her a "cazadora" which can mean "huntress", but can also mean "slayer", or "jacket."
When Ruby sees Penny, she says "It's a demon!"
Roman adds "It's been a while since I had three girls at once."
Penny tries to talk to Ruby, who says "Don't talk to me, demon girl!"
Roman tells Neo "Get in Neo, we're leaving."
Chapter 3
This world was called RWBY MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). The idea was to literally copy the final battle of Avengers: Endgame with RWBY characters.
This idea was actually suggested by Reddit user u/PowerPad.
The identities of the Vindicators are:
Ruby Rose as Iron Man
Jaune Arc as Captain America
Salem as Thanos
Yang Xiao Long as Iron Fist (although in my notes I have her credited as Black Widow)
Blake Belladonna as Black Panther
Nora Valkyrie as Thor
Weiss Schnee as Hawkeye
Marrow Amin as Star Lord
May Marigold as Gamora
Oscar Pine as Spiderman (not shown, but hinted at)
Penny Polendina as Scarlet Witch
While they were not featured in the chapter, I have noted down that Vine Zeki is Groot, Harriet Bree is Quicksilver, and Elm Ederne is The Incredible Hulk.
Ruby references the nanotech suit scene from Avengers: Infinity War.
Penny and Neo's scene is a reference to Scarlet Witch and Thanos' one on one scene in Avengers: Endgame.
Chapter 4
This world was called RWBY Anime, which doesn't make sense with the final product. A more fitting name would be RWBY BDSM. The cast are meant to by hyper-sexualized versions of themselves.
This chapter caused a little bit of controversy for the scene where Oscar is bound to the chair while Ruby and Weiss have their way with him. I actually had some people accuse me of being a pedophile for writing it. The bottom line, this is a crack story, played for laughs and even then it's pretty tame compared to some of the stuff I've seen others write.
The scene between Neo and Penny is one of my favorites, and is often overshadowed by Oscar's scenes in this chapter. I really wanted to humanize Neo while showing her softening up, just slightly.
Yang tells Jaune to "slay this dragon," a reference to their ship name, Dragonslayer.
Chapter 5
This world is listed as RWBY TV Show. The idea began and ended with the recreation of Pyrrha's death from Volume 3, turning into a stage play.
Each character appears the same, but is referred to them by their actor's name. The only exception is Miles Luna, who does not appear as Jaune Arc.
I included the line about Monty as a brief tribute, as I figured it would have been in poor taste to have Lie Ren walking around being called "Monty."
I never thought about it, but the staff confiscate the remote thinking it is a prop, while Oscar has the literal Relic of Knowledge on his belt. I forgot about the Relic quite often.
Neo finding Yang in the closet is a reference to the RWBY Chibi skit "A Slip Through Time and Space Pt. 2" where Barbara Dunkleman investigates the closet of Rooster Teeth merchandise.
Barbara also makes reference to Yang's Volume 3 fight with Adam Tauros, in which she loses her arm.
Gray Haddock, as Roman Torchwick, mentions method acting when Neo doesn't speak. For the uninitiated, method acting is a style of role preparation where the actor attempts to become the character in their ordinary life. The idea here is that Neo's actress is not speaking deliberately as a way to prepare for her role as a mute.
Neo is referred to by the name Casey. This is in reference to Casey Williams, who is listed as Neo's 'voice actor' for the game BlazBlue: CrossTagBattle.
The quick fire section of traveling featured the following worlds:
The Vytal Festival world is based on Dragonball Z
The Mountain Glenn world was the Furry World idea from my earlier notes.
The Beacon Academy world is based on High School Music, and the Musical idea I suppose.
The Florida world is based on the 9th circle of Hell.
Chapter 6
This chapter gave me the most trouble with its premise. Initially the world was called RWBY Edgelords, and the idea was that each character would be the stereotypical 'edgy' personality. The chapter would begin at Beacon Academy, but that proved to be an issue since the trio would have to get to Atlas fairly quickly.
The second idea came from reader Nathan_Thorn, which was to do a role reversal world. In this world, Ruby and friends were the villains, while Salem and Cinder formed Teams to stop them. While I initially had fun creating the teams, I couldn't think of how to interestingly use the world. Since the sides were just reversed, Oscar and Penny would still be opposed to Cinder and Salem, while Neo would have been an ally to them.
Eventually I settled on what I call RWBY Reddit, which is a world based on things I saw on the r/RWBY subreddit:
Sun and Yang fighting over Blake is based on the eternal war between Bumblebee and Blacksun shippers.
Qrow being Ruby's father is based on a fan theory that Ruby's uncle is actually her real father. This has not currently been proven, and some say a comment from Monty Oum that Ruby and Yang are "half sisters" cements it as a false rumor.
Ruby and Jaune being in a relationship is a reference to the popularity of the Lancaster ship.
Weiss' 'schneenis' is a reference to… just Google it.
Qrow and Clover being lovers, which is a reference to the popular ship Fairgame.
Yang's comments about her mechanical arm is a reference to a Rooster Teeth panel where Barbara Dunkleman insinuated that her arm may have a vibrate function.
Nora calls Oscar "Osky Wosky" here, which is the same thing Ruby called him in Chapter 4. This is less of an easter egg and more of me being lazy with nicknames.
I originally did want to try and write a Neo vs Neo fight, but after hours of not being able to make it work, I wrote in the heavily abridged version.
Originally, Neo was going to swoop in and rescue Penny and Oscar before warping away. I changed this because I wanted to stay true to Neo's sadistic nature. Despite the inroads she had made with Penny, she ultimately only cared about herself.
Weiss' comment about spaghetti is a misuse of the line "spaghetti is straight until it gets wet." The line was originally from a movie, but I spent 15 minutes sifting through endless memes and could not find the original source.
Chapter 7
This world was called RWBY Star Wars. A lot of these references are pretty clear, but just in case…
Jaune Solo is a reference to Han Solo
Rubacca is a reference to Chewbacca
Schnee-3PO is a reference to C-3PO
The Century Eagle is a reference to the Millenium Falcon
Ilia Organa is a reference to Leah Organa
Darth Maiden is a reference to Darth Vader
The Many Worlds Theory is the pseudo-scientific idea that our universe is one of an infinite number of universes in a multiverse. A version of this theory states that every binary choice made splits the universe into two, one where each choice is made.
Penny being 2 years old would be accurate assuming she was rebuilt right after her original body was destroyed in the 40th Vytal Festival tournament.
People translating Neo has always been, in my opinion, a cheap excuse to have her speak, so I parodied it by having Schnee-3PO translate simple kicks as complex thoughts.
The TITS acronym carries on a tradition of me using really unfortunate name schemes in my crack stories. This one was my favorite since it actually made some sentences even better.
Chapter 8
This world was called RWBY Thug Life. This world took a lot of inspiration from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, where two competing gangs (The Grove Street Family and the Ballas) fight for control of the city.
The chapter title is a reference to the song "Jenny from the Block" by Jennifer Lopez (feat. Jadakiss & Styles P.)
Most of the characters have names based on famous rappers.
Ruby Ross is a reference to Rick Ross
Weiss Cube is a reference to Ice Cube
Blake Thought is a reference to Black Thought
Wu-Yang is a reference to the Wu-Tang Clan
Cinder's alias, CB Fall, is a reference to the 1993 Chris Rock comedy CB4 which is about the fictional group of the same name.
While I originally did not come up with a nickname for Penny, I kinda wish I would have called her Pennynem, a reference to Eminem.
Ruby asking the girls to get their "boobs out for Penny" is a reference to the meme "dicks out for Harambe."
The allusions of the TITS being meth is a reference to Breaking Bad where the characters cooked up crystal blue methamphetamine.
Weiss telling Wu-Yang about the train is another reference to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and its infamous train chase mission .
Mercury and Emerald originally had rapper inspired nicknames as well, but they never were addressed in universe, so I didn't use them. Mercury was Merkuly, in reference to Canadian rapper Merkules, while Emerald was EZ Emerald, a reference to Eazy-E.
P-snax's weapon was inspired by the character Exusiai from the mobile game Arknights who has wings and an array of floating rifles.
Penny's final moment with Cinder mimics her iconic scene with Pyrrha in Volume 3. Additionally, Cinder seems to indicate that world's Pyrrha had already asked her this too.
Chapter 9
This world was called RWBY Fast and Furious, and was based almost entirely around the idea of Neo driving a sick tuner car.
The title is a reference to the song "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna.
I did my best to refrain from using the word 'car' since I don't think it would be something Neo might know about. In the end it was an awful amount of dedication for something that most people would not have cared about.
I'm a big fan of racing, but I realize it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I tried to keep the action grounded and not get too technical with the racing jargon.
I wrote the entirety of this chapter while listening to a Super Eurobeat playlist.
Chapter 10
This world was called RWBY Medieval and went through some pretty radical changes. My original notes mention Oscar forming a hunting party and killing a dragon guarding the crystals.
A lot of elements for this chapter were changed on the fly. Originally Oscar was going to meet Ruby and Yang at the Xiao Long camp which would have been led by Taiyang and Raven. Jacques was also, surprisingly, not going to be the villain.
I decided to liberally apply Ozma's magic to Oscar, allowing it to do what I needed it to do versus what little has been shown in the show.
Oscar's confrontation with Jacques is my favorite moment for him throughout this entire story.
Chapter 11
This chapter was originally going to be much shorter, with the trio warping back to their own world but being disrupted by the Empire's attack. The disruption would have been the segue to Chapter 12, but after the three solo chapters I needed a strong finale.
This entire chapter borrows numerous elements from the Star Wars original trilogy, including the Millenium Falcon being captured by the Empire and the rescue of Princess Leah from A New Hope, and the lightsaber duel from The Empire Strikes Back.
Ilia makes fun of Oscar's height the same way Leah told Luke he was too short to be a stormtrooper.
Oscar's interaction with the Empire soldiers over the intercom is based on the same scene from A New Hope.
The original version of Penny's sixty nine scene went on for almost an entire page with every conceivable character finding some way to comment "nice!" on her selection.
Penny not using the ship's targeting system is a reference to Luke using 'the force' in A New Hope.
Just like Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, Neo gets her hand cut off by Darth Maiden.
Oscar using Ozma's energy to coat The Long Memory is a reference to Luke's green lightsaber from Return of the Jedi.
Originally I had both Oscar and Penny join Neo for a three on one fight with Darth Maiden, however I loved the idea of Oscar saving Neo. Despite all their fighting and bickering, he still chose to come to her aid.
Ilia Organa gives Neo a pink lightsaber, something that I don't believe any character in Star Wars or Star Wars: Legends has had.
Chapter 12
As confirmed by the letter at the end, the white void is actually the afterlife. Neo choosing to stay with Roman here is essentially her giving up her life to spend eternity with him.
The quotes at the beginning of the chapter are from "In This River" by Zakk Wylde' Black Label Society. In the song, Zakk sings a heartfelt tribute to his late friend, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. It was the key piece of music I listened to while writing this emotional moment.
Originally I was going to have Neo say the words "Thank you," to Penny and Oscar, but my dedication to the mute Neo archetype won out over that.
Neo booping Oscar on the nose is a reference to the fact that I still tear up reading this scene damnit why is it so sad?!
I purposely tried to leave Neo and Roman's relationship vague as some believe them to have a romantic one, while others see it as a father/daughter type. I have my own opinion, but that's a secret.
Oscar kissing Penny is a cheeky nod to the handful of readers who assumed I was shipping them in this story. Sorry it didn't go your way, maybe next time?
I initially referred to James Ironwood as "Lieutenant." A huge thanks to reader Ravell Aqim for pointing this out. No, they're not still in an alternate reality. They are home, I just suck at writing.
The letter at the end of the story references Pietro's daughter. It's my personal belief that Pietro Polendina had a real daughter who died young, and that is where his inspiration for Penny came from. Headcanon in crack fiction? Absolutely.
As always, the story ends with the lyrics from "The Messenger" by Linkin Park. For this particular story, the lines could pertain to either Oscar or Neo.
Going Forward
Finishing this work, my second RWBY crack fiction, has reinvigorated my desire to continue. I feel that this style of crack, an absolutely absurd story with a wholesome/emotional payoff, is something I can really get behind. I get to deliver those narrative punches that I love, while also not taking things too seriously.
The big question then is, what's next? I have some ideas.
My first idea is a take on the Jaune ultimate-shonen storyline, but taking it to the sort of extremes that made To Infini-schnee & Beyond so popular.
Another idea involved the Battle of the Bands episode of RWBY Chibi. I would have the villains of RWBY form a band to take the world over with sinister music, but get lost in the fame and fortune that comes with it. I got to write some villains in this story, and I'd like to do more.
Hell, I may even try writing a full Vindicators story, even if it is just a massive parody of Civil War and the Avengers movies.
And then there's the big one. This idea is in the beginning stages and is much bigger than anything I've done before. I'm talking twenty characters, multiple parallel storylines, and possibly branching out into more R rated territories. You people seem to like that stuff… you sickos. The main issue is just how massive this project would be.
At the end of the day I'll most likely do both these smaller, self contained stories, while preparing and planning the big one in secret.
As always, if you, dear reader, have an idea or suggestion you'd like me to try, please let me know. Some of my favorite ideas have been suggested by other RWBY fans!
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this more in-depth look at the story.
-Starlight
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