STRAY Wiki

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Click **here** for the In-Universe Dictionary, and here for the timeline.

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## **OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION**

STRAY titlecard

The first story of **LUNA** and the tenth total original story, **Stray** (stylized as **STRAY**), was published on November 10th, 2022. It was written by the writers of both *Beyond Worlds* and *The Arcana*, with **Kath Aguinaldo** as the lead writer along with **Parker Trinh**, **Stefen Sanchez**, and **Austin Dy**, and would be edited by Stefen Sanchez. Maze Claremont-Diaz teams up with her best friend and adoptive sister, Henna, and a classmate of theirs, Danilo Espinoza, to investigate the **Curse of the Montréal Manor** along the guidance of the ghost of a black stray cat, Kimahri. Like The Arcana, there are central characters- meaning they are all protagonists at some point in the story as each character has their own story arc.

STRAY is loosely based on the story of ***La Llorona***, a Mexican folk story about a woman trapped between the world and the afterlife. STRAY's name is borrowed from the 2022 adventure video game by the same name, developed by *BlueTwelve Studio* and also published by *Annapurna Interactive*.

## **SHORT SUMMARIZATION**

*"When Maze and her friends investigate a rumored cursed manor with the aid of a spirit guide in the shape of a black cat, Maze's ability to see things that others couldn't comes in particularly convenient." - Book Synopsis*
## **CHAPTERS**

* **Prologue:** "Pinky Promise..."
	+ **1:** "Freak Ever Since I Woke Up"
	+ **2:** "Fuck, It's Definitely a Cursed"
	+ **3:** "I'm Trying to Get Us Not Killed"
	+ **4:** "Let... Him... Go."
	+ **5:** "The Greatest Sister Ever"
	+ **6:** "Angel of Right...eousness...?"
* **Epilogue:** "...and Lock It."
	+ **Epilogue II:** "..."

## **CHARACTERS**

#### **STR4YS**

* **Maze Claremont-Diaz** is the adopted sister of Henna- the daughter of the doctors who saved Maze from being washed up from *Rio Manzanares* on the night of the storm. She has a *vision* which helps her see *Guardian ghosts* such as Kimahri and **Jacinta**.
* **Henna Claremont-Diaz** is the "know-it-all" daughter of two doctors as well as Maze's adoptive sister. She attends the same university as Maze via scholarship, and she is the president of the student council.
* **Danilo Espinoza** is known in their university as the delinquent who often stays in detention for various reasons. He has a tight knit relationship with his sister, who he practically raised because of his mother's absence.
* **Kimahri** is the name of the ghost of the black cat that visited Maze in Henna's house when she woke up from her coma, and considers him as her guardian and spirit animal

#### **Antagonists**

* **Natalia Montréal** was the wife of **Mauricio**, as well as the mother of Maze and **Avellino** who drowned her children in Rio Manzanares in the night of the storm while they were playing hide-and-seek.
* **Avellino Montréal** was Maze's younger brother of two years, and his spirit is stuck in Rio Manzanares as he holds a grudge against his sister for not being there to save him from his sudden death.

#### **Supporting**

* **Danzel Espinoza** is Henna and Danilo's 16-year-old daughter in the flash forward in 2046. Between Danzel and her brother, she takes after her father who is braver and more daring.
* **Xavian Espinoza** is Henna and Danilo's 14-year-old son in the flash forward in 2046. He is Danzel's younger brother, and between them, it was Xavian who thinks more before acting.
* **Jacinta Alejandro** is the ghost Maze befriended in the university who died because of a failed appendectomy performed by **Dr. Raphael Diaz**, leading her family to suing him.

#### **Only Mentioned**

* **Raphael Diaz** is the father of Henna and the surgeon who performed the appendectomy on **Jacinta** and failed.
* **Juliette Espinoza** is the mother of Danilo and Dr. Raphael Diaz' lawyer for the surgical malpractice.
* **Agatha Miravelez** was the surrogate mother of Henna, calling her "Berry", and the best friend of the doctors.
* **Samuel Claremont-Diaz** is Henna's father married to Dr. Raphael Diaz who helped save Maze.
* **Denzel Espinoza** is the younger sister of Danilo whom she is close with, and his brother named his daughter after her.
* **Mr. Alejandro** is the Literature professor of the STR4YS (and Danzel and Xavian's in the future), as well as Jacinta's older brother.
* **Mauricio Montréal** was Maze and Avellino's biological father married to Natalia before they divorced. He made the **Montréal Manor**.

## **GALLERY**

Current book coverSecond coverPlaceholder coverCurrent titlecardSecond titlecardPlaceholder titlecardStray (game)
## **TRIVIAS**

* **Kath Aguinaldo**, the lead writer of STRAY, changed the outline of the story for the reason that it might be too dark for younger readers. The initial idea that was pitched includes human experiments, asylums, decapitation, and various religious beliefs.
	+ It took the writers 5-7 drafts before writing the final version.
* The story title, STRAY, pertains to Maze being strayed from her real family, not knowing she's a Montréal, and that she doesn't feel like she's not where she's supposed to be.
	+ Even Kimahri most likely started as a stray cat himself.
* STRAY is:
	+ the first to have a character as a story icon.
	+ the first to have a non-talking animal character as a tritagonist (**Indirah Alnazar** as the shapeshifting snake **Blanca** from *The Arcana* doesn't count as Indirah and Blanca are the same person, and **Mudpie** and **Copper** from the *Beyond Worlds* series are only supporting characters).
	+ the first story to have all central characters' inspirations be Filipino: **Cj Sanchez** being Danilo, Kath Aguinaldo as Henna, and **Belle Bello** being Maze.
	+ the first story to have its whole outline and concept change because of it being "too dark".
	+ STRAY is the second story to have an amnesiac protagonist, the first being **Kellan Xalvador** in The Arcana.
	+ the third story to be set in a real place, the first being After Solstice being set in Paris, France, second is Beyond Worlds in Pasadena and San Francisco, United States.
		- *Scarlet Swan* is set in Madrid, Spain, like STRAY, but Scarlet Swan has *Swan Lane* as one of the fictional places.
	+ the fourth story whose main protagonist is inspired by Belle Bello. The first is **Louise Hillman** from *TSS: Dance the Night Away*, followed by After Solstice's **Sydney Crimsen**, and **Seol Jaehee** from *Libitina: Unmasked*.
	+ the fourth franchise to have Belle Bello and Kath Aguinaldo's characters be best friends. After Solstice is the first, the *TWICE Songfix Series* as the second, and Beyond Worlds is the third.
* While Beyond Worlds' characters are mostly based on The Big Bang Theory's characters, the personalities of STRAY's characters are mostly from the TV series Lucifer. Maze's personality is loosely based on Mazikeen, and Henna and Danilo are equally based on Chloe Decker and Lucifer.
* All chapter titles including the *Prologue* and *Epilogue* (except *Epilogue II*) were all said by a character in the chapter it was in. *Chapter 1*'s chapter name was said by Maze to Henna, *Chapter 2* was narrated by Maze, *Chapter 3* was said by Maze to Danilo when he told her he wants to stay in the manor, *Chapter 4* was said by Henna to Natalia Montréal when she pinned Danilo down, *Chapter 5* was said by **Avellino Montréal** to Maze when she pulled his soul from the river, and *Chapter 6* was said by Henna when she tells Danilo what she looked like while she was dying.