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!