A Blue Streak, Chapter One, Special Features

Chapter One

References:

*Barring the many callbacks to canon BLoSC episodes, which will be mentioned down below, there is a non-BLoSC reference or two. Proxy's response to Ty was a nod to the fighting apples trees from the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Not sure where I got the idea to do that, but it proved a good comeback for her to use.  
*Proxy's snickering is lifted straight from Muttley from the Hanna-Barbera universe. It's a classic type of laugh.

General:
*There are many nods to episodes in this chapter, all of which are relevant to the story. First up: 
-The incident involving Madame President and her ship Space Force 1 occurred in the episode "Return to Karn". 

-The animals mentioned, like narlzaks and skullborers, all come from "Return to Karn" and "The Beasts of Karn" respectively. Jessica, the red gut-sucking egg devil, also came from the latter episode. 
-Swack should have kept to his community service that was decreed upon him by Buzz from "The Beasts of Karn". He wouldn't have gotten himself into this mess then, but he's not really a great listener. 

-Proxy may not be a canon character, but the planet she hails from is. Verdentia is mentioned in "Haunted Moon". There's not a lot of information about the planet, save that the residents love peace and the planet's appearance is dark red with spots. Even though Verdentia comes from the word 'verdant' which usually pertains to lush vegetation, but I digress. I liked the name of it and thought giving Proxy Verdentian roots would add more to the planet's culture. 

*When I wrote Ozma's first appearance in the original draft, she was written in a more mellow fashion than she was here. She came off as more friendly to outsiders than she normally is, but here, she feels more IC.  And yes, I am aware that Ozma isn't the most liked character in the fanbase, although I have seen more people showing their appreciation for her over the years through art and fanfiction.

I'm not sure why this is, but it's a welcome change of pace. But back to the notes: although she's not my favorite character in the show, I did want to write her in a more positive light than how she's usually portrayed. She's admittedly a tricky character to write - she's not the worst character to write for on the planet, but it can be difficult to know where to toe the line for her personality. She's learning to be less prickly towards non-animal lifeforms, but her heart's not completely thawed out yet. 

*Yes, we have an original character. If you're not a fan of OCs, you're free to turn away from this story. But if you're curious about her or don't mind OCs, thank you for staying to learn more about her! 

I'll talk more about her in detail as the chapters go on but here are some facts about the character. I originally made her when I joined the BLoSC fandom years ago. I haven't seen anyone make a dog, or any pure animal, companion for that matter. As Disney has a penchant for creating prominent animal leads or sentient companions to human leads, I followed this tradition with Proxy. Adding in an animal companion to Ozma would signify that even though her moral alignment is a grayer shade, she's not evil and will do the right thing in the end. 

Proxy's introduction was very different in the original draft - she was supposed to be introduced via the character Dug's introduction from Disney/Pixar's Up, with the dialogue almost wholly lifted from that scene. I wrote her in as a herder too, by working to round up a made-up species of Karnian wildlife I created. I forgot what I named them or why I wrote her herding them in the first place, but I can tell you that they were herbivores. Not carnivores, which was a mistake on my part. Why? Because the animals on Karn are carnivorous like the planet's namesake, except for the spelling. Herbivores can be dangerous, but I haven't seen any on Karn and the more I rewrote this chapter, the more I felt taking the herbivores out was the better option. Which leads me to our scoundrel Swack....

*Rentwhistle Swack invaded this chapter, but looking back, it was for the best. When I rewatched "The Beasts of Karn", I forgot he was in said episode leading a small group of poachers to look for rare animals for them to, well, poach. This scene proved crucial because it completely overhauled Proxy's introduction: instead of her herding animals (although she can do that if called upon), she was chasing poachers and showing her incredible speed at the same time as part of her establishing moments. The original scene, in retrospect, feels isolated from the main story and didn't correctly introduce Proxy - she's a dog, yes, but compared to Dug, Proxy's more rough around the edges and mischievous. I didn't really evoke that in the prior draft.

Therefore, this rewritten scene proved a stronger form of writing and tied itself deeper into Ozma's job of protecting Karnian wildlife. Focusing on that helped bring in more canon characters on this side of UPC (and I'm all for bringing in supporting characters if I can find a way to utilize them) and also built up more of the mystery of Proxy's species and identity before she is finally revealed. 

*Ozma the no-nonsense animal researcher and Buzz the by-the-book Space Ranger together? Proxy thinks the two of them together is a hilarious concept because of that. She's also quite the shipper for them.
I will note that in some fanon circles, fans will disregard this pairing and write in their own preferred ship. I'm personally ambivalent towards the Buzz/Ozma pairing, but I'm willing to give it a chance. There's not really a plan for them in this story, but their relationship will be canon to UPC. 

*Ty's reaction to the whistle is a building block for what will come later. Not so much in this chapter, but much later in UPC. 

*Someone's eyes are watching our heroes. I gave two of their names away already, but I won't discuss them until they're properly introduced. 

Random Facts:

*None.

Wanderer out!

Need help with uploading on FF.Net?

 I'm not trying to sound like an informerical, I promise. 

But in all seriousness, as FF.Net seems to be....experiencing a long stream of technical difficulties, some features are not working as well anymore, such as uploading new documents to the site. No matter which document form one chooses (like .doc, .docx, .html, and so on) the site can't seem to process any of them. Well, I may not be able to offer technological solutions to every problem that crops up there, but this one is different: through research and browsing Ff.Net for support from other writers, I have discovered one way to bypass the bugs and upload new documents with little to no incidents.

I do have a disclaimer though - if you're a new writer hoping to post your first story on the site and you come across this error, this might not work for you. I'll try to find other solutions for newer folks, but in the meantime, for regulars on the site, this is for you.

• Step One) Go to 'Manage Stories' .
• Step Two) Click on a published story 
  
• Step Three) Click on 'Contents/Chapters'
• Step Four) No matter if it's a one-shot or a chapter, click on 'Export'. 
• Step Five) Now you have a new document that will say, 'Export: Insert Title Here'. You're free to edit it as much as you want. BUT - whatever you do, do NOT delete the document. If you do, you won't get it back and you can export a story chapter or one-shot only once. You can't export a story multiple times. 
• Step Six) Once done editing, you can select it if you're posting a one-shot or new chapter update. 
  
  And voilà! You have uploaded new tales to your page. Hope this helps! :)
  
  Wanderer out! 

A Blue Streak, Prologue, Special Features

 Prologue

References:

*The title comes from a suggestion brought forward by One Lucky Unicorn. Thank you again, my friend!  🙏

*There's a paraphrased nod to a line from Raiders of the Lost Ark through this line: 'Craters, what does the commander want to see me for? What am I, in trouble? Again?' Needed to come up with something for Ty to say before he goes off to see Commander Nebula and this was it. 

*Star Cruiser 77's number is a reference to the year the very first Star Wars film, A New Hope, came out in 1977. 

General:
*When I originally wrote this prologue, I intended to include in the conversation between Commander Nebula and Ty to introduce one of the key plot points. But the further I edited this chapter, the more I felt it didn't fit. It would have given away too much detail, so it was necessary to cut it out altogether. However, there are some hints from the conversation I will be dropping periodically through the story until the ending. 

*Rentwhistle Swack and his poacher contacts weren't originally meant to be part of the story. That all changed when I rewatched the Karn-centered episodes of the show, and discovered their usage. Thus, including them in altered an important scene, which will be discussed in the next SF notes. 

*I didn't really dive into Buzz's reasoning for why he wanted Ty to work with him and his crew, other than simply needing more backup for the assignment on Karn (after what happened on the planet the first few times Team Lightyear has been there), but I felt there was really no need for it. However, I did touch upon Buzz showing genuine gratitude and appreciation for Ty being there, to show how far he's come from his canon episodes. Bringing in elements from their Academy days felt like a good way to explore more of their dynamic - or what was left of their dynamic - when they were young lads with no idea with what they were getting into as Space Rangers.

Plus, I suspect Ty does have a side to him that does delight in teasing. Not harmfully, of course, but light-heartedly. Bringing that out further enhanced their dynamic and gives insight as to how they would interact with each other off-duty and differently from their days in the Academy. They're both older and wiser, but some things haven't changed between them. By the way, for anyone curious about the story Buzz was going to tell about his Academy days, that is not going to happen in this story. Unless it's relevant, that won't happen, at least not now. 

*The Vanorian Ranger is based off of this character in the show. She never had an official name for what she was, but a friend of mine made up the name - Vanorian - that I applied to her ethnicity. The Ranger herself is not the character proper. 

*Ty's sore spot was hit and will somewhat play a part in the story, but in small ways. 

Random Facts:

*I would like to try and make a habit of uploading these Special Feature posts of previously published chapters before new chapters are posted - to build up hype along the way, but we shall see.

For now, Wanderer out!

Character Spotlight: Saint Walker, Part One

I hope he takes requests!

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1.HISTORY

I recall seeing him in one of the Blackest Night storyline issues first, then the animated show that aired on Cartoon Network (before it was canceled). I loved his voice and that prompted me to check out more of the episodes he starred in, as well as more of the GL comics. But, like with many other characters on this list, I had a hand from YouTube thanks to a video that was made covering his backstory. I didn't know anything about his origin story beforehand, but I grew to love him more based on said video. Since then, I've been a Saint Walker fan. 

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2. THE LANTERN OF THE HOUR

Hope. This guy is a textbook definition of that word. His cheerfulness and determination to bring good into the universe is admirable, even after all the losses he endured in his life. I think that's why he's generally beloved among many Lantern fans.  He was well-liked in the comics, but I did notice the animated series helped propel his popularity further. I will argue that the animated series even gave him more personality than the comics did. He's not a typical calm and wise hope bringer, he also has a small bit of playful sass to him and he's gifted at playing the harp (as shown by the gif I've posted here). 

And not a lot can stop him. He's accomplished quite a bit that not a lot of people can say they did: he saved his homeworld from dying by preaching to them and filling them with hope, he will go around bringing peace to every tombstone he could find in a cemetery, and he tamed huge wild beasts. Shoot, in the animated series, he even took down a massive ship with a single punch. Okay, other heroes can say they've done this, but Saint Walker isn't usually characterized as having super-strength or being technologically advanced like Superman or Cyborg respectively- just the power of Hope is enough to make it happen. 

I like that Hope is tied into his belief in a higher power as well. I too believe in a higher power and to see a character like that do that in comic book fiction, alongside other characters like Daredevil and Nightcrawler, is inspiring and widens the demographics. I also like that he has demonstrated the power of good and how good is NOT weak, which I think is important especially in this day and age. He can be kind, gentle, forgiving, generous, brave, and so on, but weak is far from what I would call for Saint Walker. He can take down opponents easily if he sees they're not going to listen to reason or calm down. Appearances can be deceiving too - he might look harmless, but he's far stronger than he appears, and will sincerely fight for what he believes in: hope and he will bring it to others no matter how long it takes him. He lives and breathes his amazing motto: 'all will be well'. 

We can also see that he's observant and empathetic to lost souls. He's able to act as a mirror to help others work out their problems by listening and picking up on emotions or words that perhaps they find difficult to explain. The way he goes about it is almost more poetic in execution than some other examples (although Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender is another good example of this type) and it's nice to see that they kept this trait of his a constant in his media appearances. 

That said, the poor guy doesn't get a lot of chances to be involved in his own stories apart from his things with the Green Lanterns. We do hear instances of what he's been up to, but they're very rare to see. And with him being the last Blue Lantern in the current canon (at least I think he is, if he isn't, please correct me), it's like, 'folks, you just created a chance for Saint Walker to go on his own adventures and goals of getting the Blue Lantern band back together, don't you think you should go forward with it?'

I understand the BLs aren't the main focus of the GL universe, and I'm not saying they need to go nuts with focusing on every Corps of the Emotional Spectrum all the time (otherwise we would have a crazy situation like the Knuckles spinoffs from the Archie! Sonic the Hedgehog Comics), but if the BLs are such a big deal for the GLs because they need an extra boost for their powers when things get really bad, then shouldn't the search to induct more members into the organization be considered a key objective for the Green Lanterns to complete and help them? The more members they can get into the Blue Lanterns, the more powerful the Green Lanterns will be. Plus, Saint Walker can get a chance to be developed more, or at least be featured in more stories that allow him to show more of his skills outside of acting as a power booster for the GLs. Here's what we know already about him: we know his backstory. We know he was a preacher on his homeworld. We've seen him actually lose hope - and his ring - in one emotionally powerful instance before regaining both of them.

So what's next for him? More... chances to be battery packs for the GLs?... yeah, no thank you. I want to know where he goes from here. Here's another thought: if they really wanted to keep the BLs around, perhaps they could only come when only needed, like how Aslan does in The Chronicles of Narnia. He's a powerful and fascinating character, but he doesn't show up for every scene unless needed, and even when an image of him does appear, you're never really sure if it IS him which makes him compelling. 

But back to Saint Walker, I think he faces the same problem Blaze the Cat from Sonic the Hedgehog does - they're generally beloved by their respective fans and went through their own character arcs, and now they're stuck, with the writers at a loss on how to progress forward with their journeys. It can be tough but if there's a will, there is a way. I'd love to see some AUs done with him myself. 

———————————————

3. DEPICTIONS/QUESTIONS

*"Why are Blue Lanterns limited in power?": I'm not entirely sure, but I disagree with it as well. At least with the animated series, it's slightly better than in the comics. The comics can be a mess. Many fans, including myself, do agree that the BLs are reduced to being power boosters for the Green Lanterns. Yes, for that part of the DC universe, they wanted to show you can't have willpower without hope and vice versa, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't defend yourself if your backup isn't there. The poor Blue Lanterns only had at least two usages (flight and protective aura) with their powers on hand when they weren't working with the Green Lanterns, which is not a good idea if they have to defend themselves in combat. I think that's a reason why barring Saint Walker and the founders of the BLs, they were wiped out. 

*"He's such a cinnamon roll!": Due to a personally bad experience with this phrase, I despise this description of him. Yes, he's a character we can admire, and he's absolutely endearing, but he's not helpless. He will kick your tail if needed and besides that, while it's true he has undergone emotional suffering, the animated series did make it clear that he does have a resilient edge to him. More like a trickster edge that can come off as like a benevolent troll, but still an edge nonetheless. He also has a noble nature to him too, which I don't associate with that usage of the term. He's more like Rafiki from The Lion King or Friar Tuck from Robin Hood - they can be jolly and willing to do good works for their peers, but they can put up fights with their mad skills if necessary. 

In Saint Walker's case, he'll get a lot more chances to use his other skills for my stories, which I'll discuss next post. 

Wanderer out! 

A Blue Streak (Universal Phoenix Corps)

 'A Blue Streak', the first full-length story for my Universal Phoenix Corps universe is now posted!

Summary: 
A streak speeds through, a furious and bold blue. Its tail blazes bright, its impact blooms in might. Star Command history will be made, on a far planet coated in jade.

Now available for reading on the following sites:
A03
Fanfiction.Net

There will be at least one or two updates per month for this story until its end. Until then, enjoy!

-Wanderer out!

Taking Five: May-June

 Henry Stickmin: Two poems have been published.

Universal Phoenix Corps: Finished my rough draft for the current story!  I'm going to hold off looking at it for a period of time until I can look at it with fresh eyes. Hopefully it'll be published this summer!

Sonic Dahlias: More idea-formulating has been set forward in motion. 

Other Fanfics: Posted two poems dedicated to R. Lee Ermey and Daveigh Chase. Or rather, the characters they voiced - Sarge from the Toy Story films and Lilo Pelekai from Lilo and Stitch. RIP to them both. 

That's it for now. Wanderer out!  P.S. Happy 4th of July to all who celebrate! :)

100 Words Per Movie, Review Round 1

 I made it a goal this year to watch older films that I've never seen before but have heard of them through word of mouth or by sheer curiosity. I want to expand on said goal by writing mini-reviews - about a hundred words or less - of said films and posting them here, partially to break up the monotony that can sometimes come with writing about my fanfics. And who knows? If I feel invested enough any films I bring up, you might see some fanfics set during those films. 

I should warn that these posts will contain spoilers: if you don't want them, please look away. 

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Watership Down (1978):  I confess I cheated somewhat by watching an old film review, but I still went in unaware of what to expect. The opening animation gets special props for hitting the right balance of world-building without making it overwhelming or pointless. The watercolor backgrounds? Masterfully woven in. The characters? Either likable like Kehaar or scary like Woundwort. I do have one criticism though - while every voice actor did a good job, sometimes they sounded too similar to one another that it was hard to discern whom was talking. Other than that, I recommend this film. Also, rabbits can be vicious!

The Dark Crystal: (1982) :  I usually dig the creative designs made possible by Jim Henson's workshop, and the Dark Crystal is no exception. The set pieces, lore and character designs feel so rich, deep and imaginative that you can feel like you're right there in this other world far from ours. I grew to count Aughra as a favorite character both in design and her no-nonsense but firmly good personality. Not really sure I like Jen or Kira - both stuck out as sore thumbs. If a little more polish went into them, I think they would have fared better. Overall, a unique film.

Enjoy.

Wanderer out!