VoidTrecker Express Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
voidtreckermods) wrote2020-04-30 07:14 pm
voidtreckermods) wrote2020-04-30 07:14 pm
Cinema
CINEMA
This carriage is as tall as a double carriage, but has only the one floor. Instead, it features sloped seating. To enter the carriage from the sleeper carriage side, you must first go upstairs. You enter at the top of the carriage, in the centre aisle, with paired seating sloping downwards on either side. On the opposite wall there is a large screen and there is a door to the left of the screen once you get to ground level, to allow you into the next carriage.
There are some spider web hammocks at the back, allowing for lounging without being too in the way of viewing.
On the right of the screen there is an ICP and in this carriage it has a catalogue of films and TV series. There are hundreds to choose from.
Given the variety of footage available, you can decide what you want your characters to watch. Bear in mind, nothing is going to be quite what they know from home. Actors will be different (many won't be human). They might find a couple of familiar films, but most will be different, new and somewhat strange. Beware the fourth wall! Use your common sense; a good rule of thumb is the more likely characters from a film are to be in roleplay, the less the film in the cinema can be anything like the original.
So for example, whilst there are no doubt many superhero films in the catalogue, any featuring existing superheroes will not be. Broad story themes can be similar, but make your own superheroes up! Likewise there may be a space opera, it might even have laser swords, but that is as close to Star Wars as it will get.
Films that are very unlikely to have characters showing up can be shown a bit more true to themselves. There is also the option of course to make a completely new film up!
For the most part, you can just go with whatever, but if you have a great idea or want to share a film that you've thought of, feel free to post story/plot ideas here.
Starting from the month of Quicksand (March 2022), documentaries are available. These are an eclectic mix, from sports documentaries to 'how it works' pieces on different technology, to histories of random worlds. There is a little on the void - on the history and basics of void travel, and you can assume if there is a book in the library about a subject, they can find a documentary about it! There is nothing about the Voidtrecker's homeworld, or the Voidtrecker Express itself.
Here are some examples to start you off:
MOVIE EXAMPLES: (Click to show)
Sing Cat Sing!
An animated film about cats flying fighter jets and engaging in epic karaoke battles. The songs are annoyingly catchy and there are even dance moves to copy! The plot is a bit... non-existent. But it is a lot of fun.
Silence Without
A high-tension horror film about the final hours of a doomed space station. Three friends desperately try to escape their fate as systems fail and the hostile realities of space set in.
Tilt of an Eye
A period drama, silent and in black and white. Very pretentious, clearly won a lot of whatever its origin world's version of Oscars were. It tells the story of forbidden love between two members of warring factions of a psionic insect species.
Merry Little Voidtrain
The adventures of everyone's favourite green and magenta train and her best friend Kheli the rabbit! This bright children's cartoon runs for 26 seasons and has five feature length films. Kheli and her voidtrain travel the multiverse to help people and make new friends. All the people on all the worlds are animals. It is the type of children's cartoon that is very watchable by adults, it has strong but simple plot lines and its messaging is clear without being hammered home. Be kind, have adventures and do small things to make the worlds better. It does however have an incredibly annoying and catchy theme song, which cannot be skipped.
Star Hunter
A well-written series about a detective who chases criminals through the multiverse. Lydi is a detective who started off a simple space cop, until one case changed things. Soon she is world hopping, trying to solve the case of her life.
Bees on a Train
Despite the spoofy name, this is a disaster horror film. Set on a world that seems to have a mix of different human and nonhuman people, it is set on a regular land train travelling across a vast country.
Unfortunately for everyone, one of the passengers is a smuggler and is transporting a hive of Zanti bees he has brought in from off-planet. Zanti bees are a rare and endangered species from a far distant planet. They are a protected species and their honey is said to be fit for gods. They are also extremely deadly.
The bees get loose, chaos ensues. The train is sealed to prevent the bees escaping. The film cuts between the passengers, trying to fend off and hide from a swarm of bees on a train that refuses to stop, and an emergency meeting between decision makers trying to solve the problem.
Do they allow a train full of people to die? Do they risk harming a protected species of bees? Do they allow the bees out into the world? Can they be contained?
Meanwhile a train-load of people are being hunted by eighty thousand bees.
A not-quite-shops question:
Or would such things in-universe be kept far away from any spokespeople/publicity people etc etc?
no subject
Void travel does feature in some of the pieces but it is not explained at all. (Much in the same way that in a real world film if a character gets on an aeroplane it doesn't stop to explain how that works or show the details. You are expected to just know.)
Voideraniacs!
Set (in the most general of ways) in a train yard in a modern system, a large cast of transforming voidcraft and their staff perform skits featuring dramatics, comedy, singing, and social commentary relevant to issues that were current in the system in which it aired. The trains like doing their work, but they also like causing trouble, and the staff have their hands full with twelve of the rowdy things! "And we're supposed to be the smallest class!"
Merry Little Voidtrain episode/film guide!
Just don't forget that this show was (presumably) targeted towards kids... and that some shows get away with a LOT despite that mandate! ;)]
Episode Ideas/Trivia
S01E01 - only introduces the formula of the voidtrain and Kheli visiting worlds and helping people solve problems; the actual 'first meeting' episode is never shown until halfway through season eight.
S02E09 - The Missing Whistle! - Our voidtrain has lost her lovely whistle! Can Kheli help her find it?
(This episode also takes a turn and addresses the matter of what to do if you want to change your voice! Part of the moral ends up being that knowing what your options are is very important, even if you end up not using them.)
S04E12, E13 - Til Dreams Do Us Part - Kheli visits home, where everything is going just wonderfully now she's returned. But not everything is as it seems - and where is her friend? A two-parter, with all the heightened emotions that implies!
S07 - the Sentai Season.
S07E01 - Soul of a True Hero - A team of five Void Warriors (who can transform into mechanized, larger versions of themselves) have one of their own put down for the count, and it will take time for her to recover from the blow the Shades have dealt. Meanwhile, her companion, a surviving soul (but not a body) from a planet the Shades had previously eaten, goes hunting for a temporary replacement, searching for an appropriate soul to bestow the power of transformation upon. He ends up selecting our own lovely Voidtrain - but she can't transform back until the fallen Void Warrior has recovered! While she doesn't mind helping people with the Void Warriors in this new format, how will she and Kheli cope with this change?
The front half of the season focuses on normal Sentai Shenanigans (being a Void Warrior is pretty similar to what the Voidtrain and Kheli do normally, except they specifically fight bad guys a lot, and those bad guys tend to like explosions for some reason. And planets with dogs on them), but the latter half focuses increasingly on the Voidtrain's discomfort with being in a more 'humanoid' shape all the time.
S07E11 - Transform Me! - [Someone starts causing trouble specifically to lure out the Void Warriors - but what they really want is for the Shade-survived soul to transform them instead, to a form they'll be more comfortable in, as well as so they can be a hero. The Voidtrain gets through to this person through the following arguments:
1. If you're only interested in saving people if you get what you want first, that's not a quality of a good hero.
2. If the method of transformation is liable to change your form without your consent, that's not really the kind of influence you'd want in your life anyway, and,
3. Getting those physical alterations doesn't even need a mystical source at all. There are people and places that will help you get those transformations regardless
and won't force you into debt or anything to get there, but this IS a kid's show so that part isn't mentioned much.The last one especially is what gets through to them - and, thus chagrined, guilty, and embarrassed, they apologize for all the trouble they've caused and promise to do and be a better person.
As the episode ends, and Kheli (who hasn't spoken much this episode) and the Voidtrain walk the former attacker off to go check out those treatments mentioned (because if the need is that critical, it SHOULD be addressed!), they ask the Voidtrain quietly to call them Tori.
She's happy to oblige.]
The artifact responsible for the voidtrain's trainsformation is put away in one of the final scenes of the season finale, and is referenced (but never used) again in future episodes. Bonus: the last scene of the last episode of this season is the restored Void Warrior pointedly questioning her companion: "And what's this I hear of you changing someone without her consent?" "Uh..."
S08E4 - Space Anger Virus! - while Kheli and her voidtrain friend are stopped on a planet to restock supplies, they catch news of a virus that is spread through arguing, meant to ultimately leave its victims angry and alone. Can they find a cure, or will they fall victim to the virus themselves?
(Contains very plot-relevant dialogue in the latter half of the episode - and by 'important' we mean 'foreshadowing for the season finale' important!)
S08E11 - Where Is My Mind? - On the planet of Kharadesc, a magician claims he can swap people's minds! But that's not all he's doing. Can our heroes help him understand what he's doing wrong?
(The twist is that the magician can alter the shape of people's minds! Very scary - especially when he reshapes Kheli's mind into that of a 'normal' rabbit, and the voidtrain's into a cat's! Fortunately they are still able to save the day and reverse the transformations.)
S13 - More sentai shenanigans! They're guest stars, however.
Further Episode Ideas/Trivia
Also, the villain in this episode is very inept, though that in and of itself makes it hard to stop him!
S16 - the void ministry arc! Kheli and the voidtrain are forced to separate, but instead of returning home our rabbit hero takes on a position at the void ministry's headquarters! Special attention is paid to how the void works, but the 'mechanics' of it are deliberately obscured in ways fit for children. Kheli uncovers espionage, a very overworked garbage disposal, and the more mundane gossip hijinks that accompany any office job.
The finale features a battle utilizing the nature of the void itself!
S18 - the scrapped season. Aka: the writers went on strike, and the animators were sympathetic enough to go along with them.
Also notable for being the only season done exclusively in black-and-white.
S20 - has the MLV's younger nibling voidtrain as a recurring guest. They are very cute and occasionally need to be reigned in from handling conflicts/morals by themselves, though they do offer useful insight in addition to being helpful. They just also happen to run solo more often...
QUESTION
no subject
no subject
Make it glorious!
no subject
Some of the made-up crap I've used
Renowned archeologist in a leather jacket and fedora, Sara Craft, goes on an adventure to keep a cult from acquiring the questionably authentic jewelry item known as the Circle of Life, which might have the ability to make their leader immortal. It features a romance between her and her brainy academic side-kick.
The Adventures of Larry Bobbins
A man takes over the care of a couple of children in Edwardian England. He has two-dimensional animal friends help him along the way as he teaches the children about responsibility, family, and real independence.
The Hellion: Xtraterrorstrial
On a space station dedicated to scientific advancement, the serial killer Henry (known from previous installments of The Hellion, The Hellion 2 : Arkham's Razer, and The Hellion: The Beginning) is having his seemingly invulnerable cryogenically preserved corpse studied. When a race of parasitic aliens overruns the station, Henry thaws out and wreaks havoc on the station. Luckily the great-granddaughter of the original survivor girl is a bounty hunter prepared to take him on, if she can survive the alien infestation.