The CD lyrics -- the brief snippets of song lyrics are from Propaghandi's "Less Talk, More Rock" album, and more specifically from the tracks "... And We Thought That Nation-States Were A Bad Idea" [first extract] and "I Was A Pre-Teen McCarthyist" [second and third extracts].
The music is supposed to hearken back to the early 80s "punk" Rogue, as are the clothes in part eight. One comparison I wanted to make was the difference between the "modern" Rogue and Claremont's early Rogue (before the Fall of the Mutants storyline). I prefer the latter; I think it shows in the way the two Rogues are treated.
"Okay, okay, fag-hag" -- Yes, Mike can be unpleasant. I deliberately emphasised Mike in the early chapters (read: what I wrote) because I thought he would suffer when the soap opera swung into full swing when everyone got together. Liane, on the other hand, was going to come to the fore when her friendship with the Marvel Universe Bobby was complicated by her feelings for the Gary Universe Bobby. As a result, Mike gets a lot of character time.
I enjoyed writing Mike a great deal: making the insensitive homophobe a likeable person was an important story-telling goal for me, and I think I succeeded.
Rogue's tattoos -- I should have been more creative. This is a direct lift from my player's version of Rogue. If I was writing this again, I'd give her different tattoos. Mea culpa.
"Trans-Dimensional Transport Device" -- For some reason, I thought this was a phrase used in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The correct quote would have been an "audio-vibratory, physiomolecular transport device", which no doubt explains why no-one got the reference. :-)
"Though when I first met you, we were on opposing sides in a stupid, petty dispute" -- A truly dreadful line, and one that fully deserves to be used in a super-hero comic. :-) Christian's explanation of the death of Jirku is equally clumsy and awkward.
The Los Angeles episode -- I actually did some research for this, and then didn't use it. Sound familiar, anyone? :-)
Isabella's memories -- the most risque part of "Over the Rainbow", but I think it suitably emphasises the intrusive, overly-intimate nature of both Rogue's power and telepathy.
Mike on the bus -- Mike is talking about being an X-Man, but trying to disguise the conversation as one about his college team. Talking about his relative youth and about Pam must have confused anyone listening in.
At first, I considered having Shatter (Pam) turn up, but I wisely decided that I had too many characters to play with already. A good call.
Rogue's age -- did anyone notice the inconsistency after reading part five?
Cyclop's reaction -- in retrospect, perhaps I exaggerated too much. At least I didn't make him seen excessively anal-retentive, though see part fourteen, below.
"Bobby ... found the intimate contact of a telepath entering his mind, entering him, slightly disturbing" -- the prurient may draw whatever parallels they wish. I confirm or deny nothing. :-)
The discussion at the Mansion -- an experiment in a different style, taking advantage of the familiarity readers would have with the Marvel Universe X-Men. Once again, some exaggeration of character traits, but nothing too over-the-top (I hope).
Rogue and Carol -- just playing around with some ideas here. See my comments in part one, above.
Mystique -- I don't think I used Mystique very well here (but by comparison with the Marvel Universe Mystique, no-one can use her badly). Why was she acting as the X-Men's Den Mother? Mostly to be another point of difference between the universes. Still, I guess some characters have to play minor supporting roles in a story.
The costumes -- one disadvantage of using several characters who don't appear in the comics. I felt strongly that I had a responsibility to remind the reader who the new characters were, what they looked like, etc. On the other hand, the perils of a serial medium really struck home to me when I noticed Michael's beard popping up in every part ... and how strained it seemed when you read the story as a whole, and not in segments.
"Why have we flown over here if they're not in?" -- Some traditional comic-book exposition. So shoot me, already.
The female Nightcrawler -- does anyone remember the story where Nightcrawler and the Vanisher get drawn into another dimension? Kirsten Wagner was inspired by the female counterpart who appeared on one splash page.
Andromeda -- not, as some may have surmised, inspired by the Andromeda in the Legion of Super Heroes, but by the super-athlete who appears in #4 and #9 of the "Be An Interplanetary Spy" series back in 1983 and 1984. One of five "Ultraheroes", I borrowed this team wholesale for my campaign way back when and set them in the United Kingdom. Years later, when the Brian Braddock Captain Britain bored me too much, I decided to have him called away on Corps duties (a la Hal Jordan) and replaced by another "worthy" person: Andromeda. Her appearance is inspired by the grossly-muscled Brian from Excalibur #50.
Meggan -- I felt Bobby needed more stress in his life, so I introduced this plot thread on a whim. It does build on the previously-established theme of intrusive and manipulative powers that cast doubt on personal autonomy, so I feel there's some merit in it. When in doubt, overcomplicate. :-)
"I don't like crossing water" -- another suggestion that the Gary Universe Meggan is a fey being from elsewhere, and not just some mutant. I hadn't realised that this was the line being pushed in recent Excalibur comics, however. Ah well.
"What is the matter with that man?" -- Rogue's thoughts seem very forced to me; I was trying too hard to convey background detail and set up Christian's "selective vision" (sometimes very perceptive, sometimes as observant as a lump of lead) for the reader.
Kitty's thoughts -- this is the closest I came to letting the reader inside a fifth character's head. From the outset, I wanted to restrict thought bubbles to Rogue and Iceman, so that the new characters were just that: new and mysterious, defined by what they said and did. When I broadened the story to include the Gary Universe Rogue and Iceman, I had to let them share a little with the audience. However, the focus was always to be in the Marvel Universe duo, and that was how I was going to manage things when the two Rogues and Icemen were together.
Personal vibrations -- I thank the DC Multiverse for this idea.
"I'm not a good telepath--even Trance would be better at this than I am" -- yes, Christian, we know. The joys of a serial medium. :-)
Rogue's absorption power -- How, you ask? I'm not telling. See my concluding comments at the end; this was possibly going to be an important plot point, hence my reticence.
The mysterious man and woman -- nobody has guessed correctly yet. See concluding comments.
"Mister X-Man himself" -- well, I think it's funny. Also, the older Bobby's ability to have fun and make jokes was to be a counterpoint to the younger Bobby's confusion, anxiety, and angst. Another comment on the state of current X-comics.
Gambit -- poor Gambit cops a hammering here from Gary Universe Rogue, but I hope the implications of significant differences between the two Gambits ("But Gambit don't know his name") makes people who like the Marvel Universe Gambit feel a little better.
The space warp -- not only does this emphasise how dangerous Haze's powers are, but it establishes Bobby as a being of living ice. An important plot point for the future.
Liane's injury -- another important plot point, if only to get one of the supporting characters off to one side while the Gary Universe characters start interacting with the Marvel Universe proper.
I've decided against outlining how I saw the story progessing, since I feel that would limit other people's imaginations too much. If you enjoyed my story, feel free to finish it, whether in your imagination or in writing. I won't mind. In fact, I'm curious to see what other people made of my very detailed vision of an alternate world with alternate X-Men; a world which would never have taken shape with the input of my players over the last eight years. Thanks, team!