Stationery Voyagers: Difference between revisions

''Stationery Voyagers'' is an allegorical, [[Melodrama|melodramatic]] dry [[Pastiche|pastiche]] [[Science Fiction]] serial [[Space Opera]] book (and hopefully, also eventually [[Animated Adaptation|TV]]) series in development by Dozerfleet Productions (Yes, ''[[Ciem Webcomic Series|that]]'' Dozerfleet!)

A team of [[Animate Inanimate Object|anthropomorphic writing utensils]] is assembled to embark on diplomatic recon missions. Their goal: to prevent [[The Empire|widespread imperialism]] in their star system. Only problem is, they find themselves accidental heroes destined to battle an [[Omnicidal Maniac|even bigger scheme]] by [[Ancient Conspiracy|an ancient evil]] which threatens the [[Hell|eternal damnation]] of their entire universe. [[Resigned to Thethe Call|But it's not like they had any good alternatives]].

* '''Artificial Reincarnation''': Making someone a literal [[Ghost in Thethe Machine]]. Could involve [[Unwilling Roboticisation]]. The key to this, however, is that there will always be a [[Soul Jar]] that lets the spirit engage in serial animation of mechanical bodies. If the first body fails/is failing, then the "S-chip" can simply be placed into a new body [[Brain Uploading|as if swapping ROM between two circuit boards]].

* '''Crimson Owl Immunity''': A lampshaded, in-universe version of [[Contractual Immortality]] governed by the [[Applied Phlebotinum]] of that universe. Usually limited to only one character, and usually involves a [[Curse Escape Clause]] (such as [[Death Byby Sex|losing one's virginity]].)

* [[Resigned to Thethe Call]]: The series ''wants'' credit for this, but it might have to settle for being the [[Trope Codifier]]. The actual trope is considerably older, however. ''[[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]]'' contains examples which may qualify as an [[Ur Example]]. (E.g., Mary agreeing to carry Jesus, Jonah's attitude change about Ninevah, etc.)

** Neothode is a giant unholy matrimony of [[City Noir|Cities Noir]] with [[Everything Is an iPod In The Future|Everything Is An iPod In The Future]] space technology and [[Dungeon Punk|black magic-wielding Pirates and Wizards]]. Somehow, even with some [[Steampunk]] in a few scenes, the setting avoids being [[Raygun Gothic]]. And ''yet'', there's an enclave of [[The Middle Ages]] square in the middle of it all!

*** Joe/Joseph being a [[Badass]] [[Papa Wolf]] in [[The Nativity Story]] is parodied and subverted in this, as he is constantly [[Mind Over Matter|getting thrown around]] whenever he tries to fight supreme evil beings. First, Ruktarusk does this to him when Joe tries to stop Ruktarusk from killing Maria. Then, when Ruktarusk is fully distracted by Thestor, {{spoiler|the Devil himself}} throws Joe against a wall to tempt the young mother. Of course, it doesn't work. Joe is even a bit of a [[Butt Monkey]] for good angels, as Gabon's way of setting him straight when he considers deserting his bride-to-be is to show him visions of a [[Bad Future]], in a very [[Mind Rape]]-y type way that looks like [[Heroes (TV series)|Tim Kring]] meets [[Charles Dickens (Creator)|Charles Dickens]]. ([[Bad News, Irrelevant News|Before telling him that he needn't be afraid of Gabon himself]]!)

* [[America Saves the Day]]: Callously averted, if not outright defied. The [[Moral Guardians]] are shown to be [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|horribly ineffectual]] at protecting the public from rabid straw liberals, whose violence makes Occupy Oakland look like ''[[Barney and Friends (TV)|Barney and Friends]]'' by comparison. Because of this chaos, Antia is rendered utterly useless most of the time. And when the Drismabons attack, Antia is just as dependent on Stationery technology as everyone else on Mantith to fight back. The [[Our Presidents Are Different|president]] is so inept, that even ''God'' is convinced to give the Voyagers to another country: [[Ruritania|Bulgadia]]. And that country proves to be ''only slightly'' better at protecting the Voyagers' diplomatic safety.

* [[A Nazi Byby Any Other Name]]: Varikton's Mosquatlon Army. They worshiped Hiltner's tactics, and sought to create Mosquatlon supremacy [[Ghostapo|by blocking out the sun, muellexically]]! And this is [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|in spite most of their culture still being stuck in the 1940's]]!

* [[Broken Masquerade]]: When Oobalid [[Underworld (Filmfilm)|is chained and interrogated by Varikton]] about why the Aviatets are now attacking humans in plain view ahead of waiting for Varikton's scheduled blocking out of the Inktacto star, Oobalid has this much to say:

* [[The Call Knows Where You Live]] / [[The Call Has Bad Reception]]: Everyone, but especially Pextel, who gets pretty roughed up by the Call without any warning or provocation. He becomes [[Resigned to Thethe Call|resigned to it]] when he [[Unwilling Roboticisation|awakes as a robot]] and decides refusing the Call would be a waste of time.

* [[Cast From Hit Points]]: [[Our Elves Are Better|Whiteouts]] may learn Mikloche, which gives them incredible powers no other Stationery race has. Downside: the more they use it, the more [[Power Incontinence|unstable]] it becomes. And the more it [[Power Degeneration|wears on their]] [[Heroic RROD|well-being]], until it [[Superpower Meltdown|turns them into bombs]]. Granted, they have to abuse the power an ''awful lot'' before they become a [[Walking Wasteland]]; but traveling to Mantith and being physically/magickally abused tends to accelerate the side effects. The Jaldanian leaders in ''Extreme Passions'' get [[Curb Stomp Battle|Curb Stomped]] in public by [[Our Angels Are Different|Levio, Gabon, Maurice, and Filforth]]; when the leaders [[Too Dumb to Live|had Thestor whipped]] for his [[Pals Withwith Jesus|mere association with Minshus]]. They [[Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds|almost blew up their own city]] in the process; and the town [[Who Would Be Stupid Enough...?|couldn't believe their ears]]. Most Whiteouts [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique|never bother to learn Mikloche]]. They fear they'll end up like Syuthan, becoming a [[Action Bomb|Glowmatti]]. Liquidon [[Lampshade Hanging|realizes]] this is happening to him in ''Night of the Whiteout.'' [[Love Martyr|It doesn't stop Cindy from being romantically attracted to him]].

* [[Demon Lords and Archdevils]]: The Dark Wanderer, analogous to Beelzebub as depicted in ''[[The PilgrimsPilgrim's Progress (Literature)|The Pilgrims Progress]]''. He is the Giver of Sorcery and Lord over Contracted Wizards. Thankfully, he is only seldom a threat to the Inktacto system. Part of this is because, like his master the [[Satan|Vile Chameleon]], he is bound to [[Hell|Depositalium]] such that he can only normally operate [[A Wizard Did It|by proxy]]. And his proxies have to get past the universe's [[Anti-Magic|firewall]], which is maintained by Levio the Nullfier. Mezelwradd and Lorkush [[Subverted Trope|are just]] the Chameleon's disguises, used to create Consto's religion and the Yehtzig cult, respectively.

* [[Double Standard Rape (Divine Onon Mortal)]]: Averted with Maria DiNazalenth in "Essentials of Nativity." [[The Bible]] has its explanation of how this trope is averted expanded on in a way that [[It Makes Sense in Context|makes it fit the story's universe]].

* [[The Good, Thethe Bad, Andand The Evil]]: Voyagers (good), Skidders (good, but anti-heroic), the Xylien Society at large (sketchy), and Imperial Markerterion (bad), against the Paltaki Organization (bad), the Crooked Rainbow (evil), la-Qualda (evil), the YPL (evil), the Drismabons (evil), and Varikton's army (evil).

* [[Haunted Technology]]: [[Do Androids Dream?|Librions]] are quite literally robots with [[Our Souls Are Different|souls]] [[Ghost in Thethe Machine|inside them]]. They interact with a cybernetic brain interface that, due to being artificial, disrupts their [[wikipedia:Pre-established harmony|cosmic orientation]]. Due to the way that interface works, they constantly blur the lines between a literal [[Our Ghosts Are Different|ghost]] and a [[Virtual Ghost]]. Their [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|quasi-immortality]] inside their robotic selves [[AI Is a Crapshoot|tends to be very prone]] to developing [[Heroic BSOD|mental]] [[Ax Crazy|illness]].

* [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]]: See the [[Stationery Voyagers/Characters|Character Sheet]] for examples.

* [[Kung Fu Jesus]]: Minshus is the only being who can authorize large-scale muellexic tampering with the space-time continuum, he helps blow up an entire planet, he had a bodyguard for a short while that was made of [[Supernatural Martial Arts]], and when he came to raise an army of resurrected souls to lift other resurrects out of their graves and collect everyone around the world for [[The End of the World Asas We Know It|Judgment Day]], the news reported it as him starting a [[Zombie Apocalypse]].

** His mother was also a [[Badass]]. She clotheslined a [[Jerk Jock]] who was three times her strength successfully, hit Gabon with a 2x4 before she realized who it was, and even pulled off a successful [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] against the Devil himself! His stepfather tries, but is [[Giving the Sword Toto A Noob|much less competent/lucky at doing so]].

** [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]]. Lamdock poisons the Voyagers in the hopes that he can invoke [[Death Byby Sex]] after transforming them into their human selves. Liquidon, who is not-yet paired with anyone, [[Defied Trope|desperately tries to clear the air of Eros gas so his teammates cannot be ambushed]] while in a [[Aliens Made Them Do It|Mantithian wizard-induced trance]].

* [[Minion Withwith an F In Evil]]: Lila Kilomes, whose name is [[Parody|a play]] on [[Underworld (Filmfilm)|Sophia Myles]]. She is a harmless [[Cloudcuckoolander]] who is [[Mary Sue|loved even by her enemies]].

* [[Monster Mash]]/[[Fur Against Fang|Feather Against]] [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/dozerfleet/images/8/8b/Night-of-the-Whiteout.jpg Proboscis]: ''[[Underworld (Filmfilm)|Underworld]]'''s take on this is [[Affectionate Parody|parodied]] quite a bit in ''Reconciliations'', where the conflict was started over a charity organization being destroyed by a [[Our Vampires Are Different|Mosquatlon]] tyrant who didn't want the [[Our Werewolves Are Different|Aviatets]]' economic problems resolved ''through any means at all.'' (Cue [[Aliens and Monsters|alien]] [[Deus Ex Machina|intervention]], [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|just for]] [[Rule of Cool|awesome]], when said tyrant's desire to rule over surface humans and their economies leads him to want to [[Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds|block out the sun]]. ''[[A Wizard Did It|Muellex]][[Applied Phlebotinum|ically]]''.)

** Liquidon's quest to protect Alaina from a deviant Mosquatlon during the ''Surfaces'' arc is meant to combine this with a parody of ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]''. In fact, that episode is even titled "[[Paper-Thin Disguise|Crepuscular]]."

* [[No Delays for Thethe Wicked]]: One way of knowing that the [[The Empire|Royal Military of Markerterion]] in ''Stationery Voyagers'' isn't ''[[But Not Too Evil|too evil]]'' is that they actually [[Surrounded Byby Idiots|DO have to worry about mass incompetence in their ranks]], including several Idiot Balls being held rather tightly. While not themselves entirely immune to the [[Idiot Ball]], most of Astrabolo's [[Pirate|Yehtzig Pirate League]] plays this trope much more straight. And if they DO fail to accomplish something the easy way...[[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|they seem to always have a rocket launcher handy]] to compensate.

* [[The Plague]]: Buliod's disease plays this role in ''Stationery Voyagers''. Although it doesn't ''kill'', it ''does'' [[Population Control|cause infertility]]. Especially when Astrabolo wants to unleash this STD [[Complete Monster|on schoolchildren]] - and then hijack Sex Ed to - [[Death Byby Sex|you can probably guess what he'll make them do next]].

* [[Rasputinian Death]]: Nikolai in season 3 meets with one. To have him die as simply as his ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' counterpart [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|would seem too mundane for this series]].

* [[Resigned to Thethe Call]]: Seemingly half the cast. In Pextel's particular predicament, he is now a [[Virtual Ghost|ghost]] [[Soul Jar|trapped inside a cartridge]] [[Brain Uploading|that is inserted into]] a six-foot-tall robot that is shaped like a mechanical pencil. While this does make him a slave of his new "creators," the [[Ancient Conspiracy|Xyliens]], at least they're a ([[Black and Gray Morality|mostly]]) benign group of [[The Men in Black|Men In Black]] types. He doesn't particularly like being owned by them, but he [[Be Careful What You Wish For|at least gets his wish]] to be an astronaut, even if he is [[Fate Worse Than Death|trapped in a faux-immortal state]] [[Cursed Withwith Awesome|without the benefit of a true nervous system]]. On the same token, his "life" would be rather useless if he continued to defy the call - the [[Blade Runner|Xylien Edge Skidder Division]] would simply come after him and [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can|put his S-chip in a freezer]].

** Pinkella is resigned to the call for similar reasons, so is Erasaxo. Liquidon is ''sort of'' resigned, as he's an [[Atonement Detective|Atonement Scientist/Medic/Diplomat]]. Other Voyagers joined because they were either [[Desperately Looking for Aa Purpose In Life]] or to show their [[All of the Other Reindeer|original circles]] how wrong they are.

* [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can]]: Subverted. The Lakeith Pit contains the Muellex inside. While not evil in and of itself, the first sin of mankind is not caring whether or not the Muellex is released, which [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|leads to the logical opening]] of that giant [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers|concrete dumpster]]...

** [[Sealed Evil in Aa Duel]]: {{spoiler|Emperor Alhox}} is [[The Chosen One|actually destined]] to fulfill this role against Melchar, which is also why he is the only one capable of beating Melchar in open combat. ([[Our Angels Are Different|Levio]] is actually [[Lowered Monster Difficulty|required to hold back]] his power negation if anyone else attempts to fight Melchar, allowing for a rare [[Diabolus Ex Machina]] protection clause to exist.)

* [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]]: Think the story [[Cerebus Syndrome|can't get any darker]]? By the ''Final Hope'' timeline, {{spoiler|Astrabolo}} [[Human Popsicle|has returned]]. The PTG (UN substitute) has now become the [[People's Republic of Tyranny]], with {{spoiler|Astrabolo}} as [[The Caligula]]. {{spoiler|The original Voyagers}} are dead. All the characters we loved are dead or sent into hibernation/muellexic freeze. If {{spoiler|Astrabolo}} gets [[Who Would Be Stupid Enough...?|desperate enough]], he may release [[Omnicidal Maniac|Melchar]] ([[Sealed Evil in Aa Duel|and Alhox]]) from the Muellex. {{spoiler|Port Metaball}} is a nuclear wasteland. Our new heroes are a black dude whose family was killed in a fire, a girl who [[Video Game Lives|has unlimited lives]] if she remains a technical virgin, a monk, a chaplain/mechanic, a [[Spoiled Sweet|rich girl]] with a [[Rape Asas Drama]] [[Break the Cutie|motif]], and the grandniece of our favorite [[Walking Wasteland]]. They must stop the old evil from assembling a [[Death Ray]] that can wipe out an entire city at a time, by finding the hidden blueprints first. Meanwhile, signs point to [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]].

* [[Shout-Out Theme Naming]]: The Xylien Society contains [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to a LOT of pop-cultural depictions of [[The Men in Black|Men In Black]] types. While [[Men in Black (Filmfilm)|Men in Black]] (weird technology, wearing black, and liking to keep secrets from surface [[Muggles]]) and [[Blade Runner]] ("retiring" rogue Mechies) are pretty egregiously referenced, [[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]] tops the list. A lot of references to The Company [[Don't Explain the Joke|can be found throughout]]. The Trivia page has more examples.

** [[Gaia's Vengeance|And is]] [[When Trees Attack|eaten by a tree for it]]. After being slaughtered by it [[Impaled Withwith Extreme Prejudice|rather brutally]]. Do NOT [[Tempting Fate|get Filforth mad]]! Observe [http://dozerfleet.wikia.com/wiki/File:ChoiceAfterAll.jpg here]. (Look closely. Those are ''[[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|charred skeletons]]''.)