The X-Project

Marlena joined in 2009 with Megan Gwynn, aka Pixie. She "rebooted" Pixie for the Phase 2 relaunch. She also one of our artists, contributing buttons and plot posters.

1) What brought you to X-Project?

A friend! Fondness for the X-men 90's cartoon and early 00's movies.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

XP peeps have been a continual source of support to me through my life, from dealing with stressful events in my life to encouraging my writing and art. They are the best!

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

Lately I was thinking about the time Pixie went evil in P1 (alternate reality). The alternate realities are great fun.

( Deal with the Devil )

(Full log here)

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

Recently I re-watched the Doctor Strange movie and then watched Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I really enjoyed the younger Stephen Strange played by AJ, I hope he comes back. I think about X-Project and its players all the time!

( Stephen and the Ancient One )
(Read the whole log here)

5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

I love it when people reach out to me to play. I always feel so included even though I'm absent a lot. Also, It's been fun to see how the game has evolved in comparison to the MCU movies. We come up with some GREAT ideas and writing.

On a side note I've been suffering from carpal tunnel + cubital tunnel lately. I've not been able to enjoy my hobbies including writing. :-/

Seraph joined in 2003, taking on the "played-for-a-hot-minute" Jubilation Lee/Jubilee until 2006. She took on Laurie Collins/Wallflower in 2006 and then reapplied for Jubilee in 2008 and then acquired Maya Lincoln-Lopez/Echo in 2015 for the relaunch. Laurie was transformed into a villain in 2022 and Seraph is currently planning to app for a new character.

1) What brought you to X-Project?

Dex. He sold me on the idea of the game. I'd been doing a little RPing over Livejournal in a couple of Star Trek focussed games. (One where I played the Traveller, weirdly enough. ) I was mostly known for my Subreality stuff and for Jubilee fanfics but at the time there was already a Jubilee player so we'd been talking about me maybe picking up a lesser-known character, turning them into my own thing. Then the Jubilee player left and the rest is history, so they say.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

Inertia. But I joke. I'm still having fun even after all this time, and I'm still finding new ways to write and all the people online that I love are here, so why wouldn't I stay? I think if I ever got to the point where I felt like I was phoning it in I'd hang up my keyboard and mouse but I'm not there yet, not even with Jubilee and she's my longest-running character. There's always something new to do, or some storyline that makes me think 'Man, I wanna play in that sandpit'

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

There are too many to mention, a bunch of the Genosha stuff. But honestly, the most recent one would have had to be the last fight between Laurie and Darcy [in Arise X-Man]. That was so brutal and raw and neither I nor Tink shied away from making it as honest and real as we could. I like to think we did a good job of it.

( Arise X-Man | Cup of Tea )

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

There was a scene between Paige and Yvette at the beginning of when Rossi joined the game [Ed. note - Rossi re-joined in 2006 after an absence] where Yvette is in the woods and Paige is, it's been ages since I read this but I think was luring her in with apples. The sheer brilliance of the descriptive language used and this feeling of peace that both Rossi and Aisy created with their words, it still to this day is one of my favorite scenes. When you can make me picture something as a whole like a comic book page, I think that's brilliance.

( The Velveteen Rabbit )


5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

Writing with my friends, honestly. We joke sometimes about how so many of us are old comic book fanficcers and ancient but the sheer amount of time this game has been around means that there are connections there that I don't know that other games have. I've known some people here for more than twenty years, with all the drama and love that comes along with that. But it's the chance to get to know new people as well and write with them. There's always something exciting or new to do, even in the downtimes when we're all feeling a little tired or having a hard time IRL. I'd like to think we'd still be doing this in another twenty years, although I'm sure there are people who would throw shoes at me for mentioning that.

Sam joined the XP crew in 2012 with Angelica Jones/Firestar (who had the shortest ever time between players, 2 weeks) and then Topaz the same year. They took on a Phase 2 version of Alex Summers/Havok in 2015 and returned Angelica to the wild in 2018. They are also a mod.

1) 1) What brought you to X-Project?

A random Google search during my X-Men fanfiction era (it didn't last long). It was something hyper-specific that doesn't actually exist in canon (I think someone's birthday?) so the XP wiki fooled me for a minute into thinking it was actual comic content. But then I kept reading, and it had been so long since I'd been part of any kind of roleplay, and I kind of missed it. (I also kind of thought I wouldn't get in XD)


2) What keeps you in X-Project?

The people, for sure. Writing with others is so much fun, and I've made so many good friends here over the years, I can't imagine leaving. I can write anywhere, but finding good people to write with and who are also awesome is rare. And I honestly can't imagine where I'd be without the people I met here

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

Alex - Definitely him and Scott reuniting. It was early on, but it was a great moment. I always love writing big emotions, and those were some big emotions.

( Summers Family Reunion )

Topaz - Stepping up and taking charge of things during Colors of Horror. I've spent so long writing her being a follower that writing her as a leader was a huge change, and I was so proud of her.

( Topaz takes charge )

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

Death scenes during Dark Phoenix, but especially the students. They were so hard to read and so well written.

Lorna and Warren confrontation during Morningstar.

Amanda, MA, and Doug log after Colors of Horror.

All the Garrison moments after he came back from the Brotherhood (including the journal conflict)

Laurie's defection and the aftermath.

There's a lot, I can't pick one. So many talented people <3

( Paying the Piper )

(read the full log here)

5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

Sorry about the repeat answer, but it's definitely the people again. Anyone can start an RP game, but it takes really special people to keep it going, and there are a lot of really special people here, or have been here over the years. It's such a great and welcoming place, and I'm proud to have been part of it for so long <3

Mo' (aka Maureen) joined X-Project in its first year, back in 2003, with Clarice Ferguson/Blink. During her time she has played Dani Moonster (2004) and a teenaged Matt Murdock/Daredevil (2011). Clarice survived the relaunch, but Baby!Matt did not - he was replaced with the adult version we know and love currently in the game.

1) What brought you to X-Project?

Dex. This is probably a recurring answer, but he posted about XP on his LJ, and I went to check it out, saw some of the people in it and thought that I wanted to be a part of that. So I started an application.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

Dex. No, not really :) But it is the people. I'm here for my friends, for the creative writing, for the characters and their stories.

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

After all these years so much blurs together, but one moment that has always stood out was during the Masque plot in P1 where Clarice makes the decision to mercy-kill all of Masque's victims. X-Men don't kill, but despite that tenant, as a medical professional she breaks it to do what's right.

( TW: Body horror and death )

(full log here)

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

Again, so many that blur together. All of Genosha. Really, all our big game- wide plots. The plotting, the coordination to get everyone tagging, the writing. you don't see anything like it anywhere else.

( Genosha breakout )

(full log here)

5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

The creativity and the people. How we work together to make this our game. Even when we disagree (now), we can disagree and commit and move forward and make it work. The relationships we've built in and out of game. There's nothing like it anywhere else. It's not just a game, but a community.

Dex joined X-Project in 2003 with Nathaniel Essex, before dropping him (by mod request as he was out-arguing Charles) and bringing Remy LeBeau/Gambit on board in early 2004 and then Garrison Kane/Dominion in 2006. With the relaunch he killed off Remy (literally!) and brought in Kevin Sydney/Changeling. He is directly responsible for the Wiki, X-Force and more plots than you can poke a stick at. Oh, and he was a mod.

1) What brought you to X-Project?

Back in the ancient days of comic book fanfic, there was a central site called C-FAN. The owner Kielle, who was a big part of the community, had brought up this game that had just started. It included names like Alasdair Watson, Lady Amethyst and Andrew Wheeler who, years before, had been big names in the X-Writers community of comic fanfic. Having literally no experience in any kind of online RP, but knowing all three to a limited degree, I took a look and sent in a submission for Nathaniel Essex because why make anything easy? At the time, Dex-Con was still at its height so once I came on, it was easy to recruit friends to join. And then they kicked me out, so it says a lot about me.

So I was not unhappily gone that spring, and then that August, as Dex-Con rolled around, a lot of the comicfic community who were still in started to talk about plots and ideas and asked me for help. The original Psylocke player, Jazz, asked me to sock Essex for a couple of logs she needed shortly and between both, I rejoined following all kinds of interesting sturm und drang. Been here other than a couple of hiatuses ever since.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

A collection of film negatives depicting acts so heinous that the world itself would burn should they ever be released. Actually, I hate to sound glib - no, wait, I love being glib. But really XP has long been a mix of a regular writing outlet for me and a community of old friends. It may sound a little sad, but I've been doing this so long, I'm not sure how I'd actually replace it. It provides the outlet that fic used to for ideas and most importantly, adaptations which is by and large the majority of my plots. It's tremendously easy to sit down in a chat or over a beer and talk about what our fictional characters are going to do this week.

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

Entirely too many. I've written novels worth of words over the years in logs. The most recent piece I liked was in the Powers Swap event. Because I suffer from all kinds of masochism, I took over MA's precognitive powers for Kane and then asked for volunteers for future events and ended up stitching them together using elements of Kane as the filter mechanism. Which ended up telling the future of seven characters through lyrics from Canadian Juno winning songs, 70s-80s Canadian children's shows, Canada's classic 'Heritage Moments' series and, of course, songs from The Tragically Hip.

( The Future Is Canadian )


Yeah, sometimes I like an unnecessary challenge. Whatever. Kane now has a wolf. Does your character have a wolf?

I didn't think so.

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

Fucking hell, there's even more of those. One of the truly great things about this game is the sheer depth, range and scope of the work people do here. I actually have a list of about 30 logs that are my 'just need to distract myself by rereading'. So to take one example, the capper for my plot Operation: Siege Perilous I thought was tremendous work between Mack and Amanda Sichter.

( Emma and Jean )


5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

The deep sense of warmth and satisfaction it immediately provides. Oh wait, no, that's heroin. I'm a person who deeply needs things to do. Idle time is not something I manage well. X-Project provides a creative structure as well as a social network, which is hugely important. It also lets me share ideas, and anyone who knows me knows I always have ideas. All the ideas. Too many ideas.

Far too many ideas. It's the reason I didn't get to go to any of the really good schools.

The writing outlet, the creativity, the collaborative aspect, the dumb chat arguments and AU smut, the odd sense of satisfaction in finishing a wiki update, and that feeling posting that final log of a plot and waiting on tenterhooks for someone to comment on the journals or in the Discord about it... yeah, there's not much about it I don't really like//enjoy.

From the Netherlands, Eva joined us in 2011, when she took on Sooraya Qadir. She then added Hope Abbott in 2012 and Sharon Friedlander in 2015. Sharon was let go in 2020, but Sooraya and Hope are still going strong. Eva is also a mod.

1) What brought you to X-Project?

I was looking up some information about an X-men character and I stumbled across the wiki. Then I discovered it was part of an RPG and I ended up reading the entire game twice. I felt drawn to how Sooraya was written and after gathering up some courage I wrote, got info and ended up joining X-Project when I apped Sooraya. A couple of months later I apped Hope and I have played both ever since.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

The fact that I'd have Sooraya and Hope yelling at me in my head all the time in case I ever left?

Writing Sooraya, Hope and their world, together with other people, is a big reason of course, but the biggest thing is that XP is simply a community that has become important to me. It's one of the places in the world where I feel at home and accepted, who walked with me through some of the most difficult times in my life. Both the real and even the fictional community.

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

For me there isn't really one moment stuck with me. But the things that have stayed with me mostly for Hope are the moments I can put her into her power. Where she engineered her escape plan to escape from the Archduke or even managed to maneuver around him. The moments when she becomes a true player in the game of power, in her own unique style.

( Hope makes her move )

For Sooraya the moments that stuck with me mostly are the ones that explore what the spiritual dimension in her life means to hear. Sharing what it did to her to have to kill during Genosha, her doubts about her faith after the shift from Phase 1 to Phase 2 and finding faith again after her visions of Yvette after nearly getting strangled by Toad.

( Finding faith )

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

The imagery in many logs that Tap wrote with Haller doing mental work. The imagery there in particular. Rachel's death during the Genosha arc and the responses of the people involved hit me emotionally in the gut.

( Haller and Emma in Great Attractors )


5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

The sheer variety of things that are possible to do and the unexpected paths things sometimes take. It can be both a joy, but also very challenging.

Tink joined in 2015 with Darcy Lewis, then brought April Parker in (2021) and Illyana Rasputin (2022).

1) What brought you to X-Project?

When Chris joined with Alison, the combo of Chris, Twiller and Frito, and eventually Cai convinced me to app as well.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

Writing some really epic stories. Being pushed to get better at writing and really get into the heads of my characters.

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

I really liked my writing for the events surrounding Arise X-Man. Seraph and Dex really pushed me to write better and really get into Darcy's head.

( Laurie and Darcy - TW: for emotional abuse/manipulation )

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

Alison and Terry going super destructive on the crabs in Baltimore.

( Crab Destruction! )

5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

Getting to write with people I've come to consider friends. The Texas contingent occasional meetups when a big group of us lived in the same area. Hanging out with people from the game in general. :)

Twiller joined May 2003, beginning with Doug Ramsey and then picking up Sam Guthrie from 2005 to 2007, and then Jean-Phillipe Colbert in December 2007. They were previously one of the mods.

1) What brought you to X-Project?

People. A lot of the folks talking up X-Project were members of the old Subreality/RACMX/ACFF people, so there was a core of names that I was familiar with. I enjoy RP (tabletop or any kind, really), so the combination of familiarity with the personalities and trying a new avenue of RP seemed like a very good fit for me.

2) What keeps you in X-Project?

People. As corny as answering twice the same way might be, in some cases there are people in this game that I've now known for 20 or more years, slightly more than half my life. But I've also grown to become close with more recent players and count plenty of current and former players as dear friends. They've attended my wedding to Frito, we've attended their weddings and celebrated life milestones with them, and I can't imagine a world without the relationships I've built because of XP.

3) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that you wrote?

The events of Day Zero for Doug. The mindscape that he and Emma navigated, the sheer mindbending nature of his battle with Mastermold. In a lot of ways those events are still shaping who Doug is to this day, and the writing was challenging and rewarding.

( Doug in the meat computer )

For Jean-Phillipe, Genosha. There were a few times when I dropped nearly a page of narrative on my log partners, with his internal monologue, showing lessons that Magneto had taught him, and new and different applications of his powers. Again, challenging and rewarding situations that couldn't have happened without good log partners, plotrunners, and people to bounce ideas off of.

( Battle against Mutate 105 )

4) What's a moment that has really stuck with you that someone else wrote?

There have been a lot. Remy taking on the mantle of Baron Samedi in New Orleans Is Sinking. Marie-Ange losing her eye in the fight with Adam Destine. The brutalness of Laurie's departure from the mansion, and its effects on Darcy. Rossi's masterful socking of John Constantine in the magic library plot. My friends write lots of good stuff. :)

5) What is something about X-Project that you really like/enjoy?

That it's stayed fresh after all this time. New plots, new developments for long-term characters, the idea well hasn't run dry after all this time. The sheer longevity of our game compared to so many that only last a little while is a beautiful thing, and I'm so grateful for it.

In honour of #NationalComplimentDay and running through to Valentine's Day, it's the 2018 edition of the Love Meme!

There are 41 comments, one each for each XP player, with their characters noted. Go forth and reply to the comments and leave love for your faves!

No negativity is welcome, and remember, sometimes to get love you need to give love.

This thread is here to give everyone warm fuzzies.

Aaaand, go!

(Players and readers alike are welcome to leave love!)