20 years of X-Project - Ben
May. 8th, 2023 10:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
x_projectBen is another of the veterans, having first joined X-Project in 2003 with Shiro Yoshida/Sunfire. He picked up Jay Guthrie/Icarus in 2004 and Mark Sheppard/DJ in 2006. He left in 2009 but returned in 2014 with Miles Morales, just in time for the relaunch. He took on Quentin Quire/Kid Omega and Everett Thomas/Synch in 2015; Miles and Everett are now available for apps, and Ben has recently acquired Julio Richter/Rictor, who he is bringing in soon.
1) What brought you to X-Project?
I've loved the X-Men since I was a kid collecting the trading cards and watching the Fox cartoon. I'd started playing LJ-based RPGs shortly before X2 came out, so when the film was released, I really wanted to play in one set in those movies. I found XP just by looking around LJ and tried to apply (for Nate Grey lol) in the summer of 2003, but the mods had vanished so no one was reviewing apps. I tried again a few months later, when I was in a Harry Potter game with several XP players who encouraged me to.
2) What keeps you in X-Project?
It's as close as I'll ever get to writing X-Men comics! But really, it's my primary creative outlet, and I really like writing with friends. It's much more satisfying than writing alone.
3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?
Quentin's "death" in Psi War. It was a huge turning point for him, to pay the ultimate cost because it was the right thing to do, in a suitably dramatic superhero way.
(TW: character death)
Jean was startled at first when Quentin reasserted his control, but clenched her fists.
"Why do you have to be so--I know what I'm doing. Let me save you!" she said. She refused to believe it. His body was falling apart but they could figure out something.
"You can't. And there's no time to 'find a way' or whatever. Look at me. I'm actually melting. This fuck's pushed my power too far . . ." Quentin's trademark sneer faded, and he looked at Jean with something approaching deference for the first time. "How embarrassing would it be if someone else died for me? I could never live it down. Let me have this, Jean. Hey, witch." He turned to Amanda, still slumped over from Shadow King's earlier telekinetic attack. "Wake up. Wake up!" He sent a small telepathic slap to rouse her, about all the extra energy he could muster while still tamping down on the parasite.
"Bugr off," came the mumbled reply, before Amanda opened her eyes blearily and took in the scene. Quentin, melting, check. Haller, curled up in a ball, check. And Jean, about to...
Behind the blocks Xorn had installed in the survivors' minds, fiery wings opened and immolated the world. The Shadow King, wearing Jean's body, with access to her powers...
"NO!" Amanda cried out and cast her shielding spell. Not around herself or even Quentin's decaying form, but around Jean herself. The translucent bubble of light cut the red-head off from the rest of the room, locking her away from the Shadow King for precious moments.
Jean was stopped in her tracks. The world shimmered behind the bubble. It took her a moment to realize what had happened, and even then she was still stunned. She looked between Amanda and Quentin, torn between rage and panic.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed, beating on the bubble as hard as she could.
"LET ME OUT!"
She soon threw a telekinetic blast at it, but it ricocheted off the shield and knocked her off her feet.
"No! NO! DON'T DO THIS!"
"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," Quentin castigated her. He sighed and closed his eyes, and began drawing his power inward. The Shadow King raged in its makeshift prison in Quentin's head. The bars rattled and threatened to dislodge and free the beast. Quentin had to be fast if he were to slay the monster and save the day.
Save the day. Quentin Quire. Who the fuck thought up this reality?
He opened his eyes and looked at Jean and Amanda. "Hey, do me a favor, though. Tell Gabriel . . . he's a pretty good lay."
Quentin could only do this because he had watched the Shadow King do the same. He had never managed to focus telepathy into a weapon before, but now he could just mimic it. The energy flowed, pink steam rising from his deteriorating body. Instead of missiles, his power manifested as a pistol pressed up against the side of his head. If anyone was going to go out in a frenzy, it would be him.
There was no sound. For a second, nothing seemed to have happened. But then the gun fell to the floor and vanished, and, his powers exponentially exerted beyond his level, his body lost all cohesion. He slipped through Haller's bindings and splashed to the floor, just a puddle of translucent ooze and discarded clothes.
Jean let out a scream.
No, it was not a scream but a howl, a howl of frenzied despair and anger and disbelief, her fists clenched. She wailed at the sky, her tears catching fire as the fire burst into brilliant light, encapsulated by the shield.
It lasted as long as she screamed, and continued to beat against the shield, even after Quentin was no more.
Then, after a few moments, the fire stopped, flickering away until it was just Jean. She stared at the space where he'd been, sobbing uncontrollably.
4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?
I think the first time I was floored by a plot was Thermopylae. It was one of the biggest (if not the biggest) X-Men team plots up to that point, and all the parts came together seamlessly. Even though Cable was the main character, everyone got a chance to shine and show why the X-Men are a great team.
5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?
The players! I've been in several similarly structured RPGs, but I've never made friendships like I have in this game.
1) What brought you to X-Project?
I've loved the X-Men since I was a kid collecting the trading cards and watching the Fox cartoon. I'd started playing LJ-based RPGs shortly before X2 came out, so when the film was released, I really wanted to play in one set in those movies. I found XP just by looking around LJ and tried to apply (for Nate Grey lol) in the summer of 2003, but the mods had vanished so no one was reviewing apps. I tried again a few months later, when I was in a Harry Potter game with several XP players who encouraged me to.
2) What keeps you in X-Project?
It's as close as I'll ever get to writing X-Men comics! But really, it's my primary creative outlet, and I really like writing with friends. It's much more satisfying than writing alone.
3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?
Quentin's "death" in Psi War. It was a huge turning point for him, to pay the ultimate cost because it was the right thing to do, in a suitably dramatic superhero way.
(TW: character death)
Jean was startled at first when Quentin reasserted his control, but clenched her fists.
"Why do you have to be so--I know what I'm doing. Let me save you!" she said. She refused to believe it. His body was falling apart but they could figure out something.
"You can't. And there's no time to 'find a way' or whatever. Look at me. I'm actually melting. This fuck's pushed my power too far . . ." Quentin's trademark sneer faded, and he looked at Jean with something approaching deference for the first time. "How embarrassing would it be if someone else died for me? I could never live it down. Let me have this, Jean. Hey, witch." He turned to Amanda, still slumped over from Shadow King's earlier telekinetic attack. "Wake up. Wake up!" He sent a small telepathic slap to rouse her, about all the extra energy he could muster while still tamping down on the parasite.
"Bugr off," came the mumbled reply, before Amanda opened her eyes blearily and took in the scene. Quentin, melting, check. Haller, curled up in a ball, check. And Jean, about to...
Behind the blocks Xorn had installed in the survivors' minds, fiery wings opened and immolated the world. The Shadow King, wearing Jean's body, with access to her powers...
"NO!" Amanda cried out and cast her shielding spell. Not around herself or even Quentin's decaying form, but around Jean herself. The translucent bubble of light cut the red-head off from the rest of the room, locking her away from the Shadow King for precious moments.
Jean was stopped in her tracks. The world shimmered behind the bubble. It took her a moment to realize what had happened, and even then she was still stunned. She looked between Amanda and Quentin, torn between rage and panic.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed, beating on the bubble as hard as she could.
"LET ME OUT!"
She soon threw a telekinetic blast at it, but it ricocheted off the shield and knocked her off her feet.
"No! NO! DON'T DO THIS!"
"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," Quentin castigated her. He sighed and closed his eyes, and began drawing his power inward. The Shadow King raged in its makeshift prison in Quentin's head. The bars rattled and threatened to dislodge and free the beast. Quentin had to be fast if he were to slay the monster and save the day.
Save the day. Quentin Quire. Who the fuck thought up this reality?
He opened his eyes and looked at Jean and Amanda. "Hey, do me a favor, though. Tell Gabriel . . . he's a pretty good lay."
Quentin could only do this because he had watched the Shadow King do the same. He had never managed to focus telepathy into a weapon before, but now he could just mimic it. The energy flowed, pink steam rising from his deteriorating body. Instead of missiles, his power manifested as a pistol pressed up against the side of his head. If anyone was going to go out in a frenzy, it would be him.
There was no sound. For a second, nothing seemed to have happened. But then the gun fell to the floor and vanished, and, his powers exponentially exerted beyond his level, his body lost all cohesion. He slipped through Haller's bindings and splashed to the floor, just a puddle of translucent ooze and discarded clothes.
Jean let out a scream.
No, it was not a scream but a howl, a howl of frenzied despair and anger and disbelief, her fists clenched. She wailed at the sky, her tears catching fire as the fire burst into brilliant light, encapsulated by the shield.
It lasted as long as she screamed, and continued to beat against the shield, even after Quentin was no more.
Then, after a few moments, the fire stopped, flickering away until it was just Jean. She stared at the space where he'd been, sobbing uncontrollably.
4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?
I think the first time I was floored by a plot was Thermopylae. It was one of the biggest (if not the biggest) X-Men team plots up to that point, and all the parts came together seamlessly. Even though Cable was the main character, everyone got a chance to shine and show why the X-Men are a great team.
5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?
The players! I've been in several similarly structured RPGs, but I've never made friendships like I have in this game.
