History Sandbox / BoltDMC

* {{Catfight}}: The climax of “The Middle Years” shows John daydreaming that his wife Ellen and comely widow neighbor Mrs. Bessinger engage in a spirited battle over him. It’s sufficiently spirited that the two women are seen [[TrashingTheSet zealously destroying John’s living room doing so]].

* {{Catfight}}: The climax of “The Middle Years” shows John daydreaming that his wife Ellen
and comely widow neighbor Mrs. Bessinger engage in a spirited battle over him. It’s sufficiently spirited that the two women are seen [[TrashingTheSet zealously destroying John’s living room doing so]].

** Magazine editor Hamilton Greeley, a recurring character, is based on New Yorker managing editor Herbert Ross.
** Writer Phil Jensen, a recurring character, is very similar to American humorist Robert Benchley.
** Writer Dorothy Carter in “The Wooing of Mr. Monroe is modeled after American writer Dorothy Parker.

* MarsAndVenusGenderContrast: Echoing a recurring trope in Thurber’s work, several episodes present husbands and wives as incompatible adversaries, most notably the episode “The War between Men and Women.” An argument between Phil Jensen and his wife Ruth escalates to the point where she throws him out of the house. Phil and his colleagues at The Manhattanite scheme to get him back home covertly and run afoul of their own wives in the process. Detente is finally reached by all parties when the men threaten to close off their wives’ credit cards.

''My World and Welcome to It'' was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the program’s material, with the show’s title being lifted from one of the author’s books. Creator/WilliamWindom played Thurber {{Expy}} John Monroe, a cantankerous DeadpanSnarker cartoonist and writer who works for the fictional New York-based magazine ''The Manhattanite'' (clearly based on ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'') and lives in the Connecticut suburb of Westbury with his patiently indulgent wife Ellen (Creator/JoanHotchkis) and precocious pre-teen daughter Lydia (Creator/LisaGerritsen).

The show received positive reviews for its polished scripts, clever format that neatly integrated live action and animated sequences (the latter derived from Thurber’s cartoons), and deftly-mixed elements of fantasy and reality. Despite this, the half-hour sitcom only managed to muster moderately good viewership numbers (in part because it was slotted against ratings juggernaut ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'') and was cancelled after only 26 episodes. It subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Windham taking the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

Series/MyWorldAndWelcomeToIt

My World and Welcome to It was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the program’s material, with the show’s title being lifted from one of the author’s books. Creator/WilliamWindom played Thurber {{Expy}} John Monroe, a cantankerous DeadpanSnarker cartoonist and writer who works for the fictional New York-based magazine The Manhattanite (clearly based on Magazine/TheNewYorker) and lives in the Connecticut suburb of Westbury with his patiently indulgent wife Ellen (Creator/JoanHotchkis) and precocious pre-teen daughter Lydia (Creator/LisaGerritsen).

The show received positive reviews for its polished scripts, clever format that neatly integrated live action and animated sequences (the latter derived from Thurber’s cartoons), and deftly-mixed elements of fantasy and reality. Despite this, the half-hour sitcom only managed to muster moderately good viewership numbers (in part because it was slotted against ratings juggernaut Series/{{Gunsmoke}}) and was cancelled after only 26 episodes. It subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Windham taking the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

My World and Welcome to It was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the program’s material, with the show’s title being lifted from one of the author’s books. Creator/WilliamWindom played Thurber {{Expy}} John Monroe, a cantankerous cartoonist and part-time writer who works for the fictional New York-based magazine The Manhattanite (clearly based on Magazine/TheNewYorker) and lives in the Connecticut suburb of Westbury with his patiently indulgent wife Ellen (Creator/JoanHotchkis) and precocious pre-teen daughter Lydia (Creator/LisaGerritsen).

The show received positive reviews for its polished scripts, clever format that neatly integrated live action and animated sequences (the latter derived from Thurber’s cartoons), and deftly mixed elements of fantasy and reality. Despite this, the half-hour sitcom only managed to muster moderately good viewership numbers (in part because it was slotted against ratings juggernaut Series/{{Gunsmoke}}) and was cancelled after only 26 episodes. It subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Windham taking the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

My World and Welcome to It was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the program’s material, with the show’s title being lifted from one of the author’s books. Creator/WilliamWindom played Thurber {{Expy}} John Monroe, a cantankerous cartoonist and part-time writer who worked for the fictional New York-based magazine The Manhattanite (clearly based on Magazine/TheNewYorker) and lived in the Connecticut suburb of Waterbury with his patiently indulgent wife Ellen (Creator/JoanHotchkis) and precocious pre-teen daughter Lydia (Creator/LisaGerritsen).

The show received positive reviews for its polished writing, clever format that neatly integrated live action and animated sequences (the latter derived from Thurber’s cartoons), and deftly mixed elements of fantasy and reality. Despite this, the half-hour sitcom only managed to muster moderately good viewership numbers (in part because it was slotted against ratings juggernaut Series/{{Gunsmoke}}) and was cancelled after only 26 episodes. It subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Windham taking the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

My World and Welcome to It was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the program’s material, with the show’s title being lifted from one of the author’s books. Creator/WilliamWindom played Thurber {{Expy}} John Monroe, a cantankerous cartoonist and part-time writer who worked for the fictional New York Magazine The Manhattanite (clearly based on Magazine/TheNewYorker) and lived in the Connecticut suburb of Waterbury with his patiently indulgent wife Ellen (Creator/JoanHotchkiss) and precocious pre-teen daughter Lydia (Creator/LisaGerritsen).

%% Series/MyWorldAndWelcomeToIt

%% My World and Welcome to It was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the show’s material, the show’s title being lifted from one of the author’s books. Creator/WilliamWindom played Thurber {{Expy}} John Monroe, a cantankerous cartoonist and part-time writer who worked for the fictional New York Magazine The Manhattanite (clearly based on TheNewYorker) and lived in the Connecticut suburb of Waterbury with his patiently indulgent wife Ellen (Creator/JoanHotchkiss) and precocious pre-teen daughter Lydia (Creator/LisaGerritsen).

%% The show received positive reviews for its excellent writing, clever format that neatly integrated live action and animated sequences (the latter based on Thurber’s cartoons), and deftly mixed elements of fantasy and reality. Despite this, the half-hour sitcom only managed to muster moderately good viewership numbers (in part because it was slotted against ratings juggernaut Series/{{Gunsmoke}}) and was cancelled after only 26 episodes. It subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Windham taking the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

%% My World and Welcome to It was an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1969-70 season. The cartoons and short stories of Creator/JamesThurber served as the basis for the show’s material.

%% The show received positive reviews for its clever format that deftly mixed live action and animated sequences as well as elements of fantasy and reality. Despite this, the half-hour sitcom only managed to muster moderately good viewership numbers (in part because it was slotted against ratings juggernaut Series/{{Gunsmoke}}) and was cancelled after only 26 episodes. It subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Windham taking the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

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Creator/Bolt_DMC

[[https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt_DMC Bolt_DMC]] is a fan fiction writer whose work is found at Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn. The author writes {{short story}} length [[OneShotFic one-shots]] in a variety of styles for the film ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'', which are collected into a [[SeriesFic series]] called ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt_DMC/works?page=1 The Bolt Chronicles.]]'' The stories can be read individually or as one long multi-chapter entity, and the series is ongoing, with new stories inserted into the timeline as appropriate. They were first posted beginning in August 2019, but many had been written prior to that time, beginning in February 2018. Twenty-four fics have been produced in the series as of May 2020.

A trope page for the series is found here.

==

Fanfic/The Bolt Chronicles

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt_DMC/works The Bolt Chronicles]]'' is a series of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'' fan stories written by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt_DMC Bolt_DMC]]. It consists of a collection of [[ShortStory short-story]] length [[OneShotFic one-shot fics]] in a variety of styles which interlock chronologically and can be read separately or as one long multi-chapter entity. The [[SeriesFic series]] is ongoing, with new stories inserted into the timeline as appropriate. They were first posted beginning in August 2019, but many had been written prior to that time, beginning in February 2018. Twenty-four fics have been produced as of May 2020.

While backstories exist for Bolt and Mittens, and a few fics occur during the period covered by the movie, the majority take place post-canon. By the end of the film, Penny and Bolt have left the TV show they starred in and now reside in an undisclosed rural location along with Mittens, Rhino, and Penny’s mother; the post-canon fics trace their adventures in this venue. Starting with “The Ship,” Bolt and Mittens become lovers (and soulmates). A list of stories in chronological order of setting is found below:

* 2002-2003
** The Seven

* 2004-2008
** The Survivor

* 2008
** The Box
** The Seer

* 2009
** The Blood Brother
** The Mall
** The Wedding Reception
** The Paris Trip
** The Funkmeister
** The Murder Mystery

* 2010
** The Ski Trip
** The Cakes
** The Wind
** The Ship
** The Walk

* 2011
** The Cameo
** The Baseball Game

* 2012
** The Makeover
** The Kippies

* 2013
** The Autobiography
** The Imaginary Letters

* 2019
** The Coffee Shop

* 2020
** The Rings

* 2023-?
** The Gift

They can be read on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn. A detailed overview containing background information on the series (including story order) is available [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20400592 here.]].

Beware of spoilers.

----
FourOneNineScam: Subverted in “The Autobiography,” when a message from a Nigerian prince shows up in Penny’s email inbox. Penny deletes it, but it turns out the offer is genuine and she misses out on a big payday.

AcidRefluxNightmare: Happens to Penny in “The Murder Mystery.” The story turns out to be a nightmare induced by her eating jalapeno and pepperoni pizza before bedtime.

AgeAppropriateAngst: Teenage angst overwhelms Penny in “The Walk” and “The Cameo.”

AllDogsArePurebred: Inverted with Bolt and Blaze, who are primarily American White Shepherds but also described in the stories as containing dollops of Berger Blanc Suisse and Hinks Bull Terrier, as well as Tracey, who is a schnauzer-Manchester Terrier mix. Played straight with all the other dogs encountered.

AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Three examples.
* In “The Cameo,” Tracey is sexually attracted to the caddish Blaze even though she doesn’t much like him personally, a fact she acknowledges openly. Also, Penny has a tryst with teen heartthrob Lance – someone even Bolt can see is a self-absorbed dolt.
* In “The Survivor,” Emily marries gang member Jack, staying with him despite his physical abuse, horrific temper, drug and alcohol addiction, and mistreatment of animals.

AllJustADream: “The Murder Mystery” is revealed at the end of the story to be Penny’s jalapeno and pepperoni pizza-fueled nightmare.

UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents: Mittens teasingly adopts an obviously fake Southern twang while paraphrasing a line from ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' in “The Paris Trip.”

AnachronismStew: Despite the stories occurring during the 21st Century, the characters all enjoy non-contemporaneous art and culture exclusively, including classic pop music and movies dating from the 1980s and before as well as classic jazz, classical music, literature from a century or more ago, and museum visual art.

AndADietCoke: In “The Baseball Game,” Penny’s mom’s eating binge is capped by a request for a diet soda.

AnimalAthleteLoophole: In “The Baseball Game,” an arcane Single-A rule allows honorary team mascot Bolt to be pressed into playing service. He wins the game for his team.

AnimalTalk: Applies not only to Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino, but to all the OC animal characters. Played with in “The Murder Mystery” and “The Gift.”

AnythingThatMoves: Implied about Blaze in “The Cameo.” He refers to himself as being “trisexual,” meaning he’ll try anything once -- except have sex with cats, apparently.

ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Frequently inverted.
* Bolt is aware of foods he shouldn’t consume (alcohol, onions, garlic, chocolate), and when he purposely drinks a lot of coffee in “The Coffee Shop,” he does so knowing it will make him sick. In this story, he also starts eating table scraps from the garbage and begging for coffee shop treats, but gains weight doing so. Penny scolds him and puts him on a diet, returning the dog’s weight to normal.
* Mittens drinks spiked punch in “The Wedding Reception” after falling headfirst into a punch bowl, ending up with severe HangoverSensitivity the next morning.
* Played straight with Rhino, who also imbibes alcohol in “The Wedding Reception” and eats copious amounts of pastry in “The Cakes” while apparently suffering no ill effects.

ArtisticLicenseBiology: Two examples.
* Bolt and Mittens cry and shed tears, which real dogs and cats cannot do.
* Bolt and Mittens have sex lives that are far more human than animal in nature.

ArtisticLicenseSports: A couple of examples, both hand waved via RuleOfCool and RuleOfFunny.
* In “The Ski Trip,” Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino would not be able to ski down a mountainside on a single pair of skis.
* Usually averted in “The Baseball Game,” but played straight when honorary mascot Bolt enters the game as an active player. No baseball league allows this type of substitution.

AssholeVictim: Three examples.
* The murdered Director in “The Murder Mystery.” Nearly everyone had a motive to kill him.
* Mittens’s adoptive family in “The Survivor,” who die in a car crash after abandoning her in a Manhattan alley.
* Bolt’s friend Duke, who is crushed by a truck while trying to kill a cat in “The Blood Brother.”

{{Autobiography}}: In the titular fic, Bolt attempts to memorialize his life story in response to the many unflattering fanfics written about him. When he tries to talk it into the computer using a speech program, it comes out as barking.

{{Backstory}}: “The Seven” for Bolt, and “The Survivor” for Mittens.

BadImpressionists: In “The Funkmeister,” Rhino’s attempt to mimic {{Music/James Brown}}’s athletic dance moves ends in failure, capped by his extremely inadvisable attempt to do the splits.

BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Two examples.
* The puppy mill owner who abandons his dogs and leaves them to starve in “The Seven.”
* Mittens’s adoptive family (especially Jack, the head of the household) in “The Survivor.” Jack has a history of flushing or abandoning his daughter’s pets, tries to starve and kill Mittens, and has her declawed.

BaseballEpisode: Or baseball story in “The Baseball Game.”
* Also, Penny and Bolt attend baseball games during their book signing trip in “The Imaginary Letters.”
* Bolt misconstrues his father’s description of his girlfriend as a “two-bagger,” thinking this means she plays baseball.

BeastlyBloodsports: The climactic fight scene between Bolt and Ike in “The Wind” is treated as a Colosseum-style spectacle by the latter’s fellow stray dogs.

BestialityIsDepraved: Both Penny and Bolt feel this way about fanfiction that depicts the two of them as lovers. Played with regarding Penny, as she finds the stories laughable instead of disgusting and pokes fun at them.

BetrayalFic: Narrowly averted in “The Blood Brother” when Bolt finally realizes how badly he has been treating Mittens and apologizes to her.

BigEater: Penny’s mom in “The Baseball Game,” much to her daughter’s embarrassment.

BigGame: “The Baseball Game” qualifies as one.

BittersweetEnding: Several examples, including “The Kippies,” “The Paris Trip,” “The Blood Brother,” “The Wind,” “The Gift,” and “The Cameo.”

BlackComedy: “The Murder Mystery,” a whodunit spoof.

BoltOfDivineRetribution: Kelvin the Labradoodle implies that this will happen to Mittens in “The Seer” via Bolt as payback for how the cat has treated Kelvin’s pigeon friends, and lampshaded as such.

BornUnlucky: Mittens has her share of bad luck in these stories and lampshades this in “The Mall” upon hearing Albert King’s song “Born Under a Bad Sign.”

BrattyFoodDemand: After pushing Mittens into a cake, Bolt makes an ill-advised one of these for the title pastry in "The Cakes." The angry cat responds by dropping a cake on his head.

BubblePipe: Penny “smokes” one in “The Murder Mystery.”

ButterFace: Blaze describes his girlfriend Tracey this way in “The Cameo,” using the phrase “two-bagger.”

ButtMonkey: Mittens on a few occasions.

CannotSpitItOut: Mittens has trouble admitting her feelings for Bolt to Rhino in “The Ship.”

CasanovaWannabe: Despite Blaze’s breadth of carnal experience, he is seemingly not very popular with the opposite sex.
* In “The Seven,” Bolt’s mother mates with him despite telling him he’s “not her type.” The three female dogs he first encounters in the puppy mill find him attractive initially, but express frustration when he can’t free them from their cages and tease him about his small size.
* In “The Cameo,” his girlfriend Tracey says she’s attracted to him, but doesn’t like him very much and speaks disparagingly of him. Not without reason.

ACatInAGangOfDogs: Mittens and her circle of dog friends in “The Survivor.”

CatUpATree: Occurs in “The Blood Brother.”

CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven: Bolt mentions having had a conversation with C. S. Lewis in Nirvana, in “The Gift.”

ChainOfCorrections: Happens with Mittens, Petey, and Petey’s circle of friends in “The Survivor.”

ChasingAButterfly: Mittens is doing this when she does a Crash-Into Hello with Petey in “The Survivor.”

CheerUpEpisode: Or cheer up story in “The Kippies.”

ChekhovsGun: Two examples.
* In “The Autobiography,” a half-open bottle of soda sits next to Penny’s computer. Mittens manages to accidentally dump its contents into the machine near the end of the story, ruining the computer.
* In “The Baseball Game,” Mittens eats a greasy plate of chili cheese fries just before the game’s start. The food works its way through her digestive tract quickly, causing the cat to have a bowel movement at an inopportune time.

ChewingTheScenery: Malcolm, the actor who plays Dr. Calico on Bolt’s TV show, teasingly describes the dog this way after Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino’s enthusiastic dance display in “The Wedding Reception.” Given that Malcolm is no slouch in this department, one can assume he’s an expert on the matter.

ChezRestaurant: Bolt and Blaze mooch food from the back entrance of a fancy French restaurant called “Le Caniche Affamé” in “The Cameo.”

ClicheStorm: Bolt and Mittens engage in one at the end of “The Kippies.”

ClosedCircle: The entire cast and crew of Bolt’s TV show are gathered together on a movie studio set in “The Murder Mystery” after The Director is killed. All are suspects with plausible motives, and Penny monitors the proceedings.

CoffeeShopAUFic: Played with in “The Coffee Shop,” which is not a typical example of this trope.

ComicallyMissingThePoint: Frequently happens with Bolt.
* In “The Makeover,” he misunderstands what Mittens means when she refers to “doggy lipstick,” resulting in Bolt giving himself a hideously garish makeover. His thinking is that if Mittens enjoys doggy lipstick, she’ll like him even better if he’s wearing several other kinds of makeup as well.
* In “The Wedding Reception,” he misconstrues a joke by Mittens regarding Pachelbel’s Canon and steps all over the punch line.
* In “The Cameo,” he misunderstands Blaze’s ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' I-am-your-father quote (wondering instead why he just called him Luke), as well as misconstruing his father’s description of his girlfriend as a “two-bagger” by thinking this means she plays baseball. Earlier, Bolt is thoroughly confused by the suggestive teasing from Penny and her friend in connection with a smut fic featuring him and his master.
* In “The Coffee Shop,” he expresses concern that the still-single Penny is never going to get married and that he will never have grandchildren, as well as thinking the word “kvetch” is “kwetch.” Mittens goes to a lot of trouble to correct him.
* In “The Gift,” he misconstrues Mittens’s question “How about sex?” as a come-on rather than an inquiry about whether beings in Nirvana have sex or not.
* In “The Seven,” young Bolt misunderstands when one of his friends says that “even ‘Film/CitizenKane’ is no ‘Film/CitizenKane’.” His reaction is to ask “How can ‘Film/CitizenKane’ not be ‘Film/CitizenKane’ if that’s what it is?"

ComicTrio: Puppy mill females Corabell, Dorabell, and Mae in “The Seven.” While serving as comic relief, they do not fulfill the trope’s most common stock roles.

TheConfidant: Occurs twice.
* Bolt serves this role for Penny in “The Walk.”
* Penny and Rhino serve this role for Bolt and Mittens respectively in “The Ship.”

TheConscience: Rhino sometimes plays this role for Bolt and Mittens.

ContinuityCameo: Penny and Bolt have a brief role in the movie version of their old TV show in “The Cameo.” It becomes a blooperfest.

{{Corpsing}}: Penny does this during her filming session in “The Cameo,” spoiling numerous takes.

CosmeticCatastrophe: Happens twice.
* In “The Cakes,” Penny’s mom receives an ill-advised makeover that leaves her looking like [[Creator/DivineActor Divine]] from ''Film/PinkFlamingos''.
* In “The Makeover,” Bolt misunderstands something Mittens asks him to do and winds up giving himself the facial makeover from hell.

CoveredInGunge: Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino end up this way after a massive food fight in “The Cakes.”

CoveredInMud: Happens to Bolt’s friend Duke in “The Blood Brother.”

CrashIntoHello: Happens between Mittens and Petey in “The Survivor.” She crashes into him while ChasingAButterfly and makes the dog (a big Creator/JudyGarland fan) laugh when she asks him if he’s a [[GoodWitchVersusBadWitch good witch or a bad witch]].

CreepyCathedral: Inverted in “The Paris Trip,” where Penny, her mom, and the three pets greatly enjoy a visit to Chartres Cathedral. All but Rhino are in awe of the architecture and stained glass, while the hamster prefers seeing the gargoyles. Mittens and Berlioz also greatly like the stained glass at a visit to Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

CryingCritters: Happens several times to Bolt (“The Blood Brother,” “The Wind”) and Mittens (“The Survivor,” “The Rings,” “The Mall,” “The Ship.”).

DanceOfRomance: Bolt and Mittens dance together in “The Wedding Reception.” However, it does not bear romantic fruit until a later story, “The Ship,” where it is lampshaded.

DarkFic: “The Blood Brother,” “The Survivor,” “The Wind,” and “The Seven.”

ADateWithRosiePalms: Happens to Bolt in two stories.
* In “The Imaginary Letters,” the dog mentions using hotel throw pillows and a chair leg as a substitute for the absent Mittens.
* In “The Cameo,” it’s implied that the issue of Dog Fancy magazine Bolt uses as a TV show prop ends up in his trailer as stimulus for this purpose. The dog in the centerfold is even named Rosie.

DaydreamSurprise: “The Kippies” presents a scenario where Bolt and Mittens have mixed-species offspring. It is later revealed that this is a recurring daydream fantasy of Mittens.

DeadpanSnarker: Mittens consistently throughout, though Rhino, Mindy Parker, and The Director have their moments.

DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Two examples.
* In “The Baseball Game,” Rhino says he would look distinguished smoking a pipe.
* Subverted in “The Murder Mystery” when the calabash pipe Penny “smokes” emits soap bubbles.

DoctorsOrders: In “The Coffee Shop,” veterinarian Penny scolds Bolt for eating and drinking things that pack on weight and will jeopardize his health. She puts the dog on a diet, and he returns back to fighting trim.

DogsAreDumb: Normally inverted in these stories, except perhaps for Bruce the Rottweiler in “The Survivor.” Even Bolt, who is frequently depicted as ComicallyMissingThePoint, is otherwise intelligent.

DogsHateSquirrels: Inverted during two stories.
* In “The Imaginary Letters,” Bolt’s reaction when he says the word “squirrel” is to laugh at this trope with the observation “Did I say squirrel? Who am I, Dug from the movie ‘WesternAnimation/{{Up}}?’”
* In “The Seven,” the collie puppy’s prominent dead squirrel odor is noted by his friends, all of whom want to know where he found the source.

DogStereotype: Always inverted.
* In “The Survivor” and “The Imaginary Letters,” the homosexual dogs are stereotypically masculine breeds such as Rottweilers, pit bulls, and collies.
* In “The Blood Brother” and “The Wind,” the villains are stereotypically friendly breeds such as beagles, cocker spaniels, and golden retrievers.

TheDogWasTheMastermind: It is revealed that Bolt and the other animals from the TV show teamed up to kill The Director in “The Murder Mystery,” and furthermore collected a double-indemnity life insurance payout afterwards.

DomesticAbuse: Two examples, both involving OCs.
* Mittens’s first owner Jack, in “The Survivor.” He mistreats the cat and is described as someone who when inebriated acts out destructively, taking it out on inanimate objects as well as family members who are within reach (when we first see his wife Emily in the story, she is described as having a bruise on her jaw). Emily also had an abusive father who berated and beat her.
* In “The Wind,” Bolt’s former girlfriend gets slapped so hard by her present paramour that she falls over.

DownToTheLastPlay: Happens in “The Baseball Game,” thanks to the opposing team’s EpicFail.

TheDrifter: Blaze, who lives as a street stray (the result of several failed adoption efforts), cajoles food from stores and restaurants, and has several girlfriends in various parts of Los Angeles. He refuses Bolt’s offer to adopt him into Penny’s family. Seen in both “The Seven” and “The Cameo.”

DrugsAreBad: Two examples, both involving OCs.
* Mittens’s first owner Jack, in “The Survivor.” A victim of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, his abuse of alcohol and drugs intensifies his worst tendencies.
* Mary, a beagle who is Bolt’s first girlfriend, in “The Wind.” She tries to dry out after being adopted from the pound by a farm family, but can’t shake her addictions. She’s very indiscriminate regarding what she’ll ingest to get high.

DunceCap: After Bolt’s HeelRealization in “The Blood Brother,” he invokes this trope, saying “Somebody really should stick a dunce cap with the word ‘stupid’ on my head, no question.”

EarWorm: Mittens is prone to this. See “The Paris Trip,” “The Gift,” “The Ship,” and “The Ski Trip.” Happens to Bolt as well in “The Ship” and “The Imaginary Letters.”

TheElevatorFromIpanema: A non-elevator example in “The Mall.” Occurring in the title venue, this irritates the music-loving Mittens no end -- especially when she hears a tango-inflected version of a melody from Creator/JohannesBrahms’s Third Symphony, though it’s mostly pop music from the 1950s through the 1980s that gets this treatment.

ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Played with and indirectly lampshaded in “The Mall” by Rhino when Bolt starts talking funny after he catches a bad head cold.

EpicFail: In “The Baseball Game,” Mickey Cleary, the Edgartown Heath Hens’ slugging designated hitter and the team's leader in home runs and runs batted in for the year, comes to the plate in the last of the ninth inning with two runners aboard and a chance to win the game and the Single-A World Series. He ends the game by hitting into a triple play to Bolt, who is playing second base despite lacking a glove and the ability to throw a baseball properly.

EveryoneCanSeeIt: Implied regarding Bolt and Mittens and their attraction for each other in “The Ship.” Rhino and Penny’s mom definitely suspect this, and Penny has at least some inkling.

EvilDetectingDog: Applies to Bolt regarding Penny’s boyfriends when he thinks they’re unworthy of her. She sometimes ignores the dog’s instinctual character sense, always to her detriment.

{{Expy}}: Berlioz in “The Paris Trip” is one of these for his namesake in ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats''. A black cat who can play piano, he lampshades this by saying it’s a naming tradition in his family going back several generations.

FacePalm: Penny does this in two stories.
* In reaction to her mom’s BigEater binge in “The Baseball Game.”
* When Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino are caught by security snitching a pair of skis, tearing up a freshly groomed mountain trail, throwing snowballs, and committing other transgressions in “The Ski Trip.”

FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Duke is splattered all over the road after being run over by a truck in “The Blood Brother.”

FanOfThePast: Penny, her mom, and the three pets fit this trope. Despite the stories being set in the 21st Century, they prefer art and pop culture from the 80s and before, including classic pop, vintage films, old TV shows, classic literature, museum art, vintage jazz, and classical music. Penny lampshades this in “The Walk,” saying that her friends find her taste in music eccentric.

FanPreferredCouple: Bolt and Mittens.

FantasticRacism: In “The Blood Brother,” Duke is a bigot who despises cats. He attempts to awaken Bolt’s dormant feline racism and nearly succeeds.

FilthyFun: Occurs in three stories. Justified in that this is typical canine behavior.
* In “The Blood Brother,” Bolt and his friend Duke enjoy rolling in mud puddles.
* In “The Ski Trip,” Bolt attempts to discuss his experience rolling in a dead mouse with Mittens and Rhino. He is resoundingly rebuffed.
* Happens twice in “The Seven.” The collie puppy’s prominent dead squirrel odor is noted by his friends, all of whom want to know where he found the source. Also, when the Jack Russell terrier puppy mentions that it’s easy to get “all stunk up” at the puppy mill, one of the German shepherd youngsters expresses his approval.

FluffyCloudHeaven: Partly played straight in “The Gift.” Mittens is reunited in the afterlife with Bolt and Rhino, who predecease her. There’s a checkout counter style line for admission. It’s also an ideal place where one can call up all knowledge, art, or culture for enjoyment, and its residents mingle and talk in cocktail party fashion. Inverted in that it’s based on Eastern karmic principles (even referred to as Nirvana instead of Heaven) and beings can’t enter until they have learned all their required life lessons.

{{Foodfight}}: Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino engage in one in “The Cakes.”

FreePrizeAtTheBottom: When Bolt loses the title objects in “The Rings,” he and Mittens improvise using Cracker Jacks decoder ring prizes as replacements, tearing open several boxes in the process.

FreeRangePets: Frequently happens with Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino, with Penny often being negligent about keeping her dog on a leash.

FromStrayToPet: Zig-zagged ordinarily.
* Mittens, who goes from stray to pet to stray to pet.
* Blaze, who goes back and forth from stray to pet several times, ending up as a stray.
* Mary, who goes from stray to pet and back to stray.

{{Funk}}: Serves as the style basis for the dance music in “The Funkmeister.”

FunWithAcronyms: A non-humorous example in “The Blood Brother,” for the supremacist group “Caucasian Rights Endorsement, Education, and Protection Society.”

GayBestFriend: Mittens’s dog friend Petey is this in “The Survivor.” By extension, also refers to Petey’s circle of friends, all of whom accept Mittens into their group.

GentlemanAndAScholar: Bolt, Mittens, Rhino, and Penny are portrayed as avid consumers of art and culture in all forms. Penny’s mom is presented as being a former high school teacher prior to the TV show’s run, with a specialty in cultural appreciation; she has a huge collection of vintage pop and classical music compact discs, and fondly remembers a summer backpacking trip through Europe visiting museums.

AGirlInEveryPort: Blaze has sweethearts scattered throughout Los Angeles in “The Cameo.”

GirlsLikeMusicians: Part of what cements Mittens’s attraction to Berlioz in “The Paris Trip” is his ability to play jazz piano.

TheGlomp: In “The Ship,” Bolt does this to Mittens to express that he enthusiastically returns her love for him.

GoodWitchVersusBadWitch: Mittens asks Petey this question when they first do a CrashIntoHello. Given that he’s a big Creator/JudyGarland fan, he finds this amusing.

GrandFinale: “The Gift” serves as this.

GrassIsGreener: In “The Funkmeister,” Mittens regrets not remaining in Paris with Berlioz, the cat who was her vacation fling. When Bolt enters the room shortly after, Rhino suggests she look closer to home for a sweetheart.

GratuitousYiddish: Occurs prominently in two stories.
* Mittens uses the term “kvetch” in “The Coffee Shop.” Bolt misunderstands the term as “kwetch.”
* Blaze uses the words “schlep,” “canoodle,” and “verklempt” in “The Cameo.” His girlfriend Tracey refers to him as a “putz.”

GraveMarkingScene: Mittens regularly visits the gravesites of Bolt and Rhino in “The Gift,” leaving a single wildflower in front of their tombstones when she does.

GreetingGestureConfusion: Occurs in “The Cameo” between Mindy Parker and Penny.

GuardianAngel: Rhino’s role in the series, lampshaded by him in “The Gift.”

HangoverSensitivity: Happens to Mittens in “The Wedding Reception” the morning after a bout of drinking. She hides under the covers to escape the light and noise. Inverted with Rhino, who is surprisingly immune to hangovers despite also imbibing, because of his fast metabolism.

HappilyEverAfter: The final fate of Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino in “The Gift,” who end up in an ideal afterlife.

HeelRealization: Bolt has one of these in “The Blood Brother” when it dawns on him that he has been unfair to Mittens.

HilariousOuttakes: When Penny and Bolt repeatedly flub their lines during a filming session in “The Cameo,” Mindy Parker indicates that the footage will be used for these, saying “And the screw-ups? That’s blooper gold right there. Perfect for the end credits.”

HilarityEnsues: “The Ski Trip,” “The Cakes,” and “The Autobiography,” all of which find humor in naughty pet behavior.

HollywoodMidLifeCrisis: Happens to Mittens in “The Kippies” when it finally hits her that she will never have kittens. Lampshaded by her, including references to the MidLifeCrisisCar and an AgeGapRomance: “Sheesh -- look at me, Bolt. Who’da thunk it? I'm a card-carrying midlife crisis cliché. If I were a bank CEO, I’d have bought myself a shiny new red sports car and dumped you for a studly tomcat half my age.”

HopelessWithTech: Mittens wrecks Penny’s computer through a series of mishaps in “The Autobiography.”

HormoneAddledTeenager: Penny in “The Cameo.” Her first sexual experience proves disappointing and snaps her out of it.

HurricaneOfEuphemisms: Happens twice courtesy of Mittens.
* In “The Cakes,” the cat puts forth a blizzard of euphemisms for doing a bowel movement in Creator/MontyPython “Dead-parrot-sketch” fashion. Bolt is slow to catch on and offers up an especially unusual contribution of his own.
* In “The Kippies,” Mittens offers several increasingly eccentric euphemisms to point out that Bolt cannot get her pregnant.

HurtComfortFic: Two examples.
* Mittens comforts Bolt at the end of “The Blood Brother.”
* Bolt comforts Mittens in “The Kippies.”

HybridMonster: Bolt and Mittens’s offspring in “The Kippies.” It turns out they’re a figment of the cat’s wish-fulfillment daydreams.

HypocriticalHumor: In “The Cameo,” Bolt vociferously expresses disgust at a porn fanfic featuring him and Penny, yet immediately after this tirade gleefully runs off to have interspecies sex with Mittens, his feline girlfriend.

ImGoingToDisneyWorld: Subverted by minor-league manager Jimmy Braun in “The Baseball Game” after winning the Single-A World Series, when a reporter asks him this question. His salary only allows him to have a celebration meal at the local Mexican taqueria.

INeedToGoIronMyDog: Mittens invokes this trope in “The Funkmeister” when she claims to have imaginary medical conditions that prevent her from dancing with Rhino.

InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: “The Wedding Reception” qualifies, as it later proves to be the catalyst for shipping Bolt and Mittens. Made clear in “The Ship,” where the earlier story’s dance between the two characters is referenced as an establishing factor for Mittens’s growing attraction to Bolt.

TheInternetIsForPorn: Two examples.
* In “The Cameo,” Penny and her friend read and make fun of smut fanfiction featuring the former TV star and her dog.
* In “The Autobiography,” Mittens inadvertently opens a porn website on Penny’s desktop computer. It immediately begins littering the screen with pop-ups and downloading a likely malicious file. Penny’s mom also may or may not be looking at porn on her personal laptop.

InterspeciesFriendship: Occurs frequently in the stories, particularly involving dogs and cats. Inverted in “The Blood Brother.”

InterspeciesRomance: Bolt and Mittens in later stories, from “The Ship” onward. Its unusual nature is played straight in universe, often acknowledged as such.

KarmaHoudini: Bolt’s father Blaze in “The Seven” and “The Cameo,” whose questionable behavior does not result in comeuppance. A notable exception in a series where LaserGuidedKarma is the norm.

KindlyVet: Penny becomes one in “The Coffee Shop,” taking over the practice from her recently retired family veterinarian. She refers to herself jokingly as “Dr. Penny, Frontier Animal Medicine Woman.”

LaserGuidedKarma: A central theme in these stories.

LethalEatery: In “The Baseball Game,” more than half of the Prairie City Schooners baseball team is laid low with food poisoning the day of the final game of the Single-A World Series, thanks to dining at one of these the night before. Given that one of the menu items is called “Ptomaine Tasties,” they should have known better. When the team runs out of players, honorary mascot Bolt is pressed into playing duty.

LimitedSocialCircle: Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino form one on a consistent basis. Other examples:
* Young Bolt and his six puppy friends in “The Seven.”
* Mittens, Petey, and Petey’s dog friends in “The Survivor.”

LiquidCourage: Mittens accidentally falls face first into a spiked punch bowl in “The Wedding Reception,” and drinks some of its contents. It lowers her inhibitions enough that she dances with Bolt.

LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Despite being one of the shorter stories in the series, “The Murder Mystery” has 14 speaking characters, including everyone from the in-universe TV show except for the murdered Director.

TheLoinsSleepTonight: Bolt is unable to perform sexually in “The Wind” after eating uncooked bread dough, which releases copious amounts of alcohol into his stomach.

LostInTranslation: In “The Autobiography,” Bolt tries to memorialize his life story into a computer file using a speech program. It translates his attempts as barking sounds.

LovableJock: Applies to Bolt, who goes on daily conditioning runs and remains in top shape well into old age.

LoveConfession: Mittens makes one to Bolt in “The Ship.” They both mull the possibility over before deciding to take the plunge.

TheMagnificentSevenSamurai: Bolt and his six puppy mill friends in “The Seven.” Lampshaded in that they name themselves after the [[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 American movie version]] and discuss the merits of this film versus [[Film/SevenSamurai its Japanese predecessor]].

TheMall: Mittens is inadvertently abandoned in one, in “The Mall.” Other stories in the series reference Penny and her mother being away shopping at one.

ManipulativeBastard: Duke in “The Blood Brother” plays on Bolt’s dormant bigotry against cats, nearly turning him against Mittens. Bolt eventually realizes it, though, and terminates the friendship.

{{Mascot}}. Bolt serves as an honorary one in “The Baseball Game.” He is later pressed into playing duty when his team runs out of players.

TheMatchmaker: In “The Coffee Shop,” Bolt assumes this role for Penny. Lampshaded when he hums the song “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' at the end of the story.

MeetCute: Happens to Mittens and Berlioz at the start of the former’s vacation fling in “The Paris Trip.” Berlioz helps the hopelessly lost Mittens find Sainte-Chapelle after they engage in flirting banter. Afterwards, Berlioz becomes Mittens’s tour guide and then her lover.

MetaFic: Two examples.
* In “The Autobiography,” Bolt attempts to memorialize his life story in response to outlandish fanfiction about him. He isn’t successful.
* In “The Cameo,” Penny and her friend read and make fun of a porn fanfic starring the former TV star and her dog. When Bolt reads it, he is horrified.

MinimalistCast: Bolt is the only character in “The Box,” trapped alone inside the title object.

MirrorRoutine: Performed between Bolt and his look-alike father in “The Cameo.” They even shout “Creator/MarxBrothers! Film/DuckSoup!” to each other when they finish.

MrsRobinson: Applies in part to Bolt’s mother and puppy mill resident Cheyenne in “The Seven,” given that she is twice Blaze’s age. Partly inverted however, given that Cheyenne only mates with him because she mistakenly thinks Blaze is a breeding stud, telling him he’s “not her type.”

MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Happens to Bolt when he realizes how callously he has treated Mittens in “The Blood Brother.” He tearfully apologizes and is forgiven.

MyInstinctsAreShowing: In “The Cameo” and “The Mall,” Bolt is depicted as unable to resist the urge to chase ducks.

MysteryEpisode: Or mystery story in “The Murder Mystery.”

NationalAnthem: Penny’s mom is the featured soloist for this at the start of “The Baseball Game.” It becomes a 14-minute long production number, complete with yodeling choir backup.

NightmareFuel: Occurs in the darkest stories in the series.
* Jack’s violent mistreatment of Mittens and his neighbors Darnell and Petey in “The Survivor,” as well as the family’s death in a fiery car crash.
* The descent into violent behavior by the bigoted Duke and his owner Frank in “The Blood Brother.”
* The confrontation between Bolt and Ike in “The Wind,” leading to the death of the latter.
* The puppy mill’s gradual breakdown of order in “The Seven” after the owner’s abandonment, leading to fighting, starvation, and the death of several dogs. Bolt and his six puppy friends survive by hiding out in a remotely-located supply shed on the property.

NobodyHereButUsStatues: Mittens hides ''[[Film/ETTheExtraterrestrial E.T.]]'' style in a mall kiosk vendor's display of plushies to escape an angrily pursuing shop manager in “The Mall.”

NoNameGiven: A few examples occur.
* The puppies in “The Seven” do not get names until they are adopted, and we only learn the names of two of them in the story, Bolt and the collie puppy Prince.
* Penny’s science lab partner in “The Blood Brother,” “The Cameo,” and “The Cakes.”
* The five dogs who rescue Bolt after the dogfight scene in “The Wind.”

NotSoAboveItAll: Mittens changes from the OnlySaneMan to this during the course of “The Cakes.” She initially tries to keep Bolt and Rhino from eating the title pastries until she is pushed into one of them and gets covered in frosting. She responds to Bolt’s continued angry insistence for cake by dropping one on his head, thereby initiating an all-out food fight with the dog.

NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: Lampshaded teasingly by Mittens in “The Survivor” when she finds out that her friend Petey is gay. He recognizes that the cat is invoking a reference to the TV show ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' and laughs heartily.

ObligatoryJoke: Occurs in “The Kippies” when Bolt asks the obviously upset Mittens, “What's eating you, anyway?” She initially responds by saying, “I'm at the top of the food chain, Wags. Nothin's eating me, as far as I know. Well, maybe fleas -- but Penny’s mom’s got a dip for that.”

OCStandIn: Kelvin the Labradoodle is a New York street stray mentioned briefly in the movie by his pigeon friends, but is not seen. In “The Seer,” he is characterized as a prognosticator with a highly-developed moral streak who vociferously disapproves of the way Mittens treats his avian pals. The cat mistakes him for a hot-headed CloudCuckoolander.

OddNameOut: In “The Seven,” the three female dogs Blaze first encounters in the puppy mill are named Corabell, Dorabell, and Mae.

OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Occurs in “The Autobiography” and “The Cameo” for Bolt and Penny.

TheOmniscient: Kelvin the Labradoodle in “The Seer.” He can accurately predict the future and foresees Mittens’s karmic meeting with Bolt in the film.

OneTrueLove: Bolt and Mittens in “The Ship” and chronologically later stories. Both have unhappy experiences with love prior to this. Their soulmate status is fully confirmed in “The Rings” and “The Gift.”

OnlySaneMan: Applies to Mittens (relative to Bolt and Rhino) on occasion, most notably in “The Ski Trip” and “The Cakes.”

OrphansOrdeal: In “The Seven,” Young Bolt and his six friends lose their mothers when the owner abandons the puppy mill they call home. They’re lucky to survive the harrowing ordeal, as most of the other dogs die on site or immediately afterwards.

OurGargoylesRock: Having recently seen the Disney film ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', Rhino mistakenly thinks the Chartres Cathedral gargoyles can talk, in “The Paris Trip.” He’s actually hearing an unseen theater troupe of pigeons further up in rehearsal.

OurSloganIsTerrible: Played with in “The Coffee Shop.” Penny’s mom jokingly refers to a pair of coffee shop franchises with these.

ParentalSexualitySquick: Happens twice in the stories, in both cases expressed using the phrase “TMI.”
* In “The Autobiography,” Penny is disgusted by the possibility that her mother may be looking at porn on her laptop.
* In “The Cameo,” Bolt is embarrassed by his father’s dissolute sex life.

ParlorGames: In “The Paris Trip,” Mittens flirtatiously has Berlioz guess her name via an impromptu game of charades.

ParodyNames: Occurs in two stories.
* Used for the stores in “The Mall:” Office Despot, Spender’s Gifts, Moronica’s Secret, Gloomingdales, etc.
* Used for the coffee shop franchises referenced in the titular story: Queequegs, Dippy Donuts, and Joe Orton’s.

PercussivePrevention: Emily hits her husband Jack over the head with an aluminum pan to stop him from killing Mittens in “The Survivor.”

PetDressUp: Happens to the three pets in “The Baseball Game” as part of being in-game guests of honor. The usual mollified pet reaction is averted in that none of the characters mind wearing the outfits – Bolt admires himself in front of the mirror, and Mittens finds the dog sexy in his uniform.

ThePigPen: Applies to Bolt at times. Justified, as dogs enjoy being dirty.
* In “The Blood Brother,” Bolt and his friend Duke enjoy rolling in mud puddles.
* In “The Imaginary Letters,” Bolt refers to this as a typical state for canines: “Dogs and getting dirty just kind of seem to go together, and me with all my white fur, it’s a given.”

PlotAllergy: Unlike Mittens’s owner Jack, his neighbor Darnell likes the cat, but cannot provide an alternative home for her because he has cat allergies in “The Survivor.”

PlotDrivenBreakdown: In “The Mall,” Bolt’s normally keen sense of smell is fully compromised because of a bad head cold. He is thus of minimal use in helping to find the lost Mittens.

PoorMansPorn: The magazine ''Dog Fancy'' is considered an example of this for canines in “The Cameo” and “The Seven.”

PurpleProse: In universe for the smut fanfic referenced in “The Cameo,” described as “featuring some of the most overripe prose since Creator/EdwardBulwerLytton’s heyday.” The few oblique references made to the writing fully support this.

RagingStiffie: In “The Cameo,” Blaze mentions an instance where this happens to Bolt onscreen, occurring when the latter is pretending to read an issue of Dog Fancy magazine while shadowing a villain.

RapidFireNo: Bolt invokes this trope in “The Wedding Rings” when he realizes he has lost the titular objects.

RealDreamsAreWeirder: In “The Murder Mystery,” the story is revealed to be Penny’s jalapeno and pepperoni pizza-fueled nightmare. The dream is far more cohesive than real-life examples, though some surreal touches occur, such as Penny’s classic private eye props containing unusual properties (the calabash pipe she “smokes” emits soap bubbles, and her deerstalker-style hat sports antlers).

ReallyGetsAround: Two examples.
* Corabell, Dorabell, Mae, and Cheyenne in “The Seven.” Justified in that they are residents of a puppy mill, and their primary life purpose is to produce offspring.
* Bolt’s love interest Mary in “The Wind,” who among other things seduces four of the dogs who later rescue Bolt. Lampshaded by their female friend.

RegionalSpeciality: Penny and Bolt encounter several such culinary delights during their trip in “The Imaginary Letters,” including Cincinnati chili, Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches, Memphis BBQ, and pizza from Chicago and New York.

RelationshipUpgrade: Happens to Bolt and Mittens when they go from friends to lovers in “The Ship.”

RomanticCandlelitDinner: Played with in “The Cameo” when the restaurant dishwasher brings out a plate of returned steak frites for Bolt and Blaze to share, and lampshaded by him when the man makes a reference to ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp''.

Rousing Speech: Rhino gives one to Mittens in “The Ship” to get the waffling cat to definitively admit her love for Bolt.

Rule34: In universe for fanfiction featuring Penny and Bolt in “The Autobiography” and “The Cameo,” and for Penny, Bolt, and several of their fellow TV show characters in “The Paris Trip.”

ScreamingAtSquick: Bolt does this in “The Cameo” after reading a porn fanfic he appears in.

SelfInducedAllergicReaction: In “The Coffee Shop,” Bolt drinks a sufficient amount of the title beverage to make himself sick in an attempt to have his coffee shop human friend Joe rush him to Penny’s veterinary office and have the two of them meet. It works, and the pair are married a year later.

SeriesFic: While all being one-shots, the stories interlock chronologically and maintain continuity.

ShipTease: Between Bolt and Mittens during “The Ship.”

ShoutOut: Far too many to name -- the stories in this series are packed with art and culture references, all used as symbolism or plot touchstones.

TheShowGoesHollywood: Or the story goes Hollywood, in “The Cameo.”

SingleTear: Mittens sheds one in “The Ship” and “The Rings.”

SkiResortEpisode: Or ski resort story in “The Ski Trip.”

{{Slapstick}}: “The Cakes,” “The Makeover,” “The Baseball Game,” and “The Ski Trip” all qualify.

SmallSecludedWorld: The title container in which Bolt is first trapped and then shipped to New York, in “The Box.”

SmittenTeenageGirl: Penny falls for a teen heartthrob actor in “The Cameo.”

SnarkToSnarkCombat: Happens between Mittens and Rhino in “The Funkmeister.” They’re friends, so it’s all in good fun.

TheSociopath: Duke from “The Blood Brother,” a hot-headed, manipulative bigot who turns murderous and tries to include Bolt in his scheme.

SpeciesSurname: Occurs overtly twice, with an implication that this is a common occurrence. With dogs, the last name is their breed.
* In “The Rings,” Mittens’s full name is revealed to be “Mittens the Cat.”
* In “The Seer,” Kelvin says his full name is “Kelvin Cayce Nostradamus the Labradoodle.”

{{Squick}}: A major theme in “The Cameo.”

StandaloneEpisode: Or standalone story. Every entry in the series qualifies, as they can be read singly without the context of other episodes, or together as a cohesive entity.

StarCrossedLovers: Mittens and Berlioz in “The Paris Trip.”

StartingANewLife: After Darnell and Petey are attacked and injured by Jack in “The Survivor,” they decide to move from Brooklyn to Minneapolis, where they enjoy a far better existence.

StinkSnub: Occurs in two stories.
* Played with in “The Ski Trip” when Bolt’s attempt to discuss his experience rolling in a dead mouse is resoundingly rebuffed by Mittens and Rhino.
* Inverted twice in “The Seven.” The collie puppy’s prominent dead squirrel odor is noted by his friends, all of whom want to know where he found the source. Also, when the Jack Russell terrier puppy mentions that it’s easy to get “all stunk up” at the puppy mill, one of the German shepherd youngsters expresses his approval. Justified in that canines enjoy strong odors.

StylisticSuck: Frequently implied with regards to Bolt’s former TV show, and treated as a RunningGag.

SuddenlyBilingual: Occurs in “The Autobiography.” Bolt attempts to talk his life story into a computer file using a speech program. It all comes out as a series of barks and woofs, except for one interpolated “meow.” Mittens asks if he has been taking foreign language lessons.

TakeThat: Happens twice.
* The fanfiction Penny and her friend make fun of in “The Cameo” lampoons real-life Bolt and Penny smut stories on the Internet.
* In “The Paris Trip,” Rhino sees a listing for TV-Con presentations related to Bolt’s TV show. Many are porn fanfic readings (including a “four-part trilogy” of Bolt/Penny smut), with the rest being papers presentations featuring absurd comparisons between the TV show and scholarly topics such as "’Bolt’ and the Berlin Wall: the ideal metaphor" and "Freudian imagery in ‘Bolt’: sometimes a helicopter is just a helicopter." The hamster decides he isn’t interested.

TalkToTheHand: When Mittens flirtatiously has Berlioz guess her name via an impromptu game of charades in “The Paris Trip,” this is his first answer. The snarky Mittens teasingly replies, "Appropriate maybe, but no. Try again."

TastesLikeFeet: Or smells like feet to Mittens, who uses the term to describe French cheese in “The Funkmeister.”

ThatCameOutWrong: In “The Paris Trip,” Mittens has sex with Berlioz the night before she leaves for home. During the airport cab ride the next morning, Bolt asks a clearly sad Mittens “What’s gotten into you anyway?” She breaks into a mischievous smile, thinking that sometimes the best jokes are unintentional.

TheirFirstTime: Happens to Penny in “The Cameo” and to Bolt in “The Wind.”

TheTheTitle.

ThinkingOutLoud: Bolt talks to himself when alone rather than thinking.

ThisMeansWar: Lampshaded in so many words by Bolt in “The Cakes” after Mittens drops a cake on his head.

ThreeAmigos: Two examples.
* Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino in all the stories where they appear together.
* Corabell, Dorabell, and Mae in “The Seven.”

ThreeStoogesShoutOut: Played with regarding Corabell, Dorabell, and Mae in “The Seven.” The first two examples play the trope straight, being names of the Stooges’ wives in ''Film/DizzyDoctors'' and ''[[Recap/TheThreeStoogesTheSitterDowners The Sitter Downers]]''. Subverted in that the third dog’s name is Mae instead of Florabell.

ToiletDrinkingDogGag: In “The Survivor,” Mittens catches her dog friend Petey drinking from the toilet.

ToiletHumor: Occurs several times in these stories, often at Mittens’s expense.
* In “The Baseball Game,” Mittens eats a greasy plate of chili cheese fries just before the game’s start. The food works its way through her digestive tract quickly, causing the cat to have a bowel movement at an inopportune time.
* In “The Cakes,” Mittens puts forth a blizzard of euphemisms for producing a bowel movement in Creator/MontyPython “Dead-parrot-sketch” fashion. Bolt is slow to catch on and offers up an especially unusual contribution of his own.
* In “The Mall,” Mittens debates offering up a bowel movement to a group of teenage boys as an alternative to the fake poop they consider buying. Later, Bolt is seen in a Facebook picture relieving himself.
* In “The Survivor,” Mittens catches her dog friend Petey drinking from the toilet.
* One of Bolt’s puppy friends finds this to be particularly funny in “The Seven.”

TropeyComeHome: Mittens’s being accidentally abandoned and subsequently found in “The Mall” qualifies as this. Penny even draws up a lost cat poster trying to get her back.

UglyCute: Implied in the case of Tracey, in “The Cameo.” Blaze is sexually attracted to Tracey despite her being a ButterFace.

UncattyResemblance: Played with in “The Coffee Shop.” Mittens tells Bolt that Joe, the boyfriend he found for Penny, reminds her of himself.

UnlikelyHero: Bolt becomes this in “The Baseball Game,” when he is pressed into playing duty while serving as honorary team mascot. He scores the winning run as a pinch runner for an injured player, and later clinches victory when he pulls off a triple play manning second base despite lacking a glove and the ability to throw a baseball properly.

UnnamedParent: These stories continue the canon no-name practice regarding Penny’s mom.

UnusualAnimalAlliance: The dog/cat/hamster trio of Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino.

UnusualEuphemism: The animals in these stories routinely substitute the word “dog” for “God” in phrases such as “Oh, my dog,” “Dog only knows,” and “For dog’s sake.”

VacationEpisode: Or vacation story. Happens three times.
* Penny, her mom, and the three pets go to Paris for a TV-Con autograph signing session and do an extensive amount of sightseeing in “The Paris Trip.”
* Penny and Bolt tour the United States and sightsee voraciously on a book signing jaunt in “The Imaginary Letters.”
* Penny and Bolt find time for sightseeing during their Los Angeles film session trip in “The Cameo.”

VirtualSoundtrack: Occurs frequently in these stories, given the sizable number of music references. Especially prominent in fics that involve dancing such as “The Wedding Reception” and “The Funkmeister,” or ones where the characters are listening to music such as “The Mall,” “The Walk,” “The Cameo,” “The Blood Brother,” “The Paris Trip,” “The Ship,” “The Survivor,” “The Rings,” “The Seer,” and “The Coffee Shop.”

VomitDiscretionShot: Happens to Bolt four times, with the descriptions not being graphic.
* In “The Blood Brother,” he vomits at the side of the road after seeing the mangled remains of his former friend who was hit by a truck.
* In “The Wind,” Bolt vomits on his girlfriend. Referenced only.
* In “The Coffee Shop,” Penny induces vomiting on Bolt so he can clear leftover coffee from his stomach. Referenced only.
* In “The Box,” Bolt says he has had trouble keeping food down because of extreme stress. Referenced only.

WhatTheHellHero: Rhino calls out Bolt’s callous treatment of Mittens in “The Blood Brother.” The dog later repents and apologizes.

WhoMurderedTheAsshole: Occurs in “The Murder Mystery.”

WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: Mittens says this to Bolt regarding a television episode they have just watched in which a character deliberately makes himself sick to create a diversion. Bolt does exactly that in order to get Penny and Joe to meet.

WithThisRing: In “The Rings,” Bolt loses the rings he has been entrusted with on Penny’s wedding day, and he and Mittens improvise with Cracker Jacks decoder ring prizes as replacements. Later, Bolt and Mittens stage their own private marriage-style ceremony using the newly-found wedding rings, placing the titular objects over each other’s rolled up right ear.

WorldTour: Or an extensive tour of the United States. Penny and Bolt tour the U.S. and sightsee voraciously on a book signing jaunt in “The Imaginary Letters.”

WrongTurnAtAlbuquerque: When Mittens gets lost trying to find Sainte-Chapelle in “The Paris Trip,” she invokes this trope, saying “I think I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque instead of Pont des Artes.”

YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Rhino says this in so many words to Mittens in “The Funkmeister” when she claims to have imaginary medical conditions that prevent her from dancing with him.

WeddingDay: Occurs for Penny in “The Rings,” with a later private ceremony officially uniting Bolt and Mittens as soulmates.

UnusualAnimalAlliance: The dog/cat/hamster trio of Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino.

TheirFirstTime: Happens to Penny in “The Cameo” and to Bolt in “The Wind.”

RelationshipUpgrade: Happens to Bolt and Mittens when they go from friends to lovers in “The Ship.”

MyGodWhatHaveIDone?: Happens to Bolt when he realizes how callously he has treated Mittens in “The Blood Brother.” He tearfully apologizes and is forgiven.

TheMatchmaker: In “The Coffee Shop,” Bolt assumes this role for Penny. Lampshaded when he hums the song “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from “Fiddler on the Roof” at the end of the story.

-Mittens’s first owner Jack, in “The Survivor.” He mistreats the cat and is described as someone who when inebriated acts out destructively, taking it out on inanimate objects as well as family members who are within reach (when we first see his wife Emily in the story, she is described as having a bruise on her jaw). Emily also had an abusive father who berated and beat her.
-In “The Wind,” Bolt’s former girlfriend gets slapped so hard by her present paramour that she falls over.

CrashIntoHello: Happens between Mittens and Petey in “The Survivor.” She crashes into him while [[ChasingAButterfly chasing a butterfly]]and makes the dog (a big Creator/JudyGarland fan) laugh when she asks him if he’s a [[GoodWitchVersusBadWitch good witch or a bad witch]].

BoltOfDivineIntervention: Kelvin the Labradoodle implies that this will happen to Mittens in “The Seer” via Bolt as payback for how the cat has treated Kelvin’s pigeon friends, and lampshaded as such.

-In “The Cameo,” Tracey is sexually attracted to the caddish Blaze even though she doesn’t much like him personally, a fact she acknowledges openly. Also, Penny has a tryst with teen heartthrob Lance – someone even Bolt can see is a self-absorbed dolt.
-In “The Survivor,” Emily marries gang member Jack, staying with him despite his physical abuse, horrific temper, drug and alcohol addiction, and mistreatment of animals.

UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents: Mittens teasingly adopts an obviously fake Southern twang while paraphrasing a line from ''AStreetcarNamedDesire'' in “The Paris Trip.”

PoorMansPorn: The magazine Dog Fancy is considered an example of this for canines in “The Cameo” and “The Seven.”

ObligatoryJoke: Occurs in “The Kippies” when Bolt asks the obviously upset Mittens, “What's eating you, anyway?” She initially responds by saying, “I'm at the top of the food chain, Wags. Nothin's eating me, as far as I know. Well, maybe fleas -- but Penny’s mom’s got a dip for that.”