Writer

Writer's Notes On "Papa Smurf & Mama Smurfette"

This story was originally intended to be a series of stories called Traveler's Timeline Tales, in which the character Traveler investigates the timelines of various Smurfs to see various outcomes of alternate histories of the Smurf characters, primarily Empath, Smurfette, and Papa Smurf.
This story was written as a follow-up to the EMPATH story "Papa's Big Crush".
The character Traveler Smurf is based on that of Waverider, the time-traveling character from DC Comics. Like Waverider, Traveler Smurf came from the future to investigate the future timelines of various characters he comes in contact with. His name is based on the title of the song "The Traveller" by A Flock Of Seagulls from their Listen album.
In the first chapter, Smurfette talks about preparing a dinner with the help of Greedy for Papa Smurf, yet also invites Empath to join her. A similar dinner is also prepared in the alternate timeline of Smurfette, though Empath is not invited to it.
In Traveler's personal timeline journal, he notes that the in the alternate timeline of Empath -- the one in which he grew up as Wild Smurf -- he would be separated from Papa Smurf by an accident of nature and end up becoming a hero relying on physical prowess and primal instinct. Given some particular similarities in the origins of both Empath (my creation) and Wild Smurf (Peyo's creation), it made sense to have a non-powered Empath grow up as Wild Smurf in this alternate timeline.
Also in the timeline journal, Traveler mentions that Papa Smurf and all his little Smurfs, including Wild Smurf ("alternate Empath"), end up disappearing into the past to return a baby dinosaur to its proper place in time, similar to what happened in "The Smurfs That Time Forgot", though without certain characters present such as Grandpa Smurf. The time key device also used for the time-traveling now comes from a different source, since Grandpa Smurf was not present in the alternate timeline that Traveler saw. (Whether a Grandpa Smurf appears in the actual timeline itself is at this point uncertain.) In Chapter 6, Empath and the other Smurfs still in the village end up in the same predicament.
Traveler not being able to see beyond a certain point in the alternate timeline of Empath where he sees the Smurfs being lost in time-traveling reflects the lack of closure in the final "time traveling season" of the Smurfs cartoon show.
Chapters 2 and 3 refer to "The Smurfette", the story in which Smurfette's origin is shown, though it follows more closely to the cartoon show's interpretation (Smurfette being transformed by magic into a real Smurf) than it does the original comic book version (Smurfette transformed by "plastic smurfery").
The early part of Chapter 4 refers to "Romeo And Smurfette", where Papa Smurf starts exhibiting some amorous feelings for Smurfette, which ultimately lead to his brief transformation in the EMPATH story "Papa's Big Crush". Chapter 4 also makes references to that latter story, though with some dialogue changes when Traveler investigates the alternate timeline of Smurfette.
Flowerbell is the woodnymph whom Papa Smurf briefly fell in love with in "Papa's Wedding Day".
Polaris Psyche appears in the story although, at the present time this story took place in, he has yet to appear as a member of the village.
Tapper in Chapter 5 refers to Papa Smurf as a "550-year-old male Smurf", suggesting that 3 years have passed since Empath's final return from Psychelia, when Papa Smurf was 547. This coincides with Smurfette being an "8-year-old female Smurf", with herself having been created five years prior to Empath's final return.
Smurfette desired to be married in the cartoon show special "Smurfily Ever After", where she catches the bouquet.
In Chapter 6, Smurfs are seen sneaking off to a house where they meet in a cellar to discuss a rebellion -- similar to the scene that appears in the comic book version of "The King Smurf".
Smurfette mentions in her angry comment about the Papa Smurf she fell in love with that he forgave Empath for breaking a promise about "not smurfing a life" because he had to survive -- an event that took place in "The Innocence Of A Smurf", though how that event took place in Smurfette's alternate timeline is not known.
Why Baby Smurf ends up being the only Smurf left in Papa Smurf's care when Smurfette, Polaris, the Smurflings, and Puppy depart with Papa Smurf's and Smurfette's daughter is not known. Probably because Baby Smurf is not a direct product of the marriage, but rather an orphan Smurf (at least in the EMPATH story series) that was adopted by the Smurfs themselves.
The comment that there was more to see in that alternate timeline of Smurfette may suggest that Smurfette, Polaris, and the Smurflings may someday be successful in rescuing their time-lost fellow Smurfs. However, it just may be that, unlike the Smurfette of Empath's alternate timeline, her own alternate timeline continues because her marriage with Papa Smurf and her being exiled with her husband prevented her from being time-lost with her fellow Smurfs, which would have led to the same outcome that Empath's alternate timeline had led him and all the other Smurfs into.