I can only wonder why...
X-COM THINK TANK (Out of Character Discussion about X-COM and the Series)
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Dahlexpert
Well-Known Member
Right, so I know that we haven't talked about movies in a while, but I have to say if there is one movie you need to see it's Dawn of the planet of the apes. and if you have not seen this movie,GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO WATCH IT.
I just saw Clue for the first time, and I consider it one of the funniest thrillers I've ever scene, so if you haven't seen that, go see THAT one.
...then go see Dawn of the Planet of the Dead...err, Apes...
Dahlexpert
Well-Known Member
Why does that makes sense.
Frostlich1228
Well-Known Member
Cryssalid! I Choose you! Wait... What are you doing? OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!
New games introduced: Pokemon X-COM & Pokemon Y-COM...
April 14th 2015
In a small town on the outskirts of St. Louis...
Kids were just getting out of school and parents were anticipating getting out of work at 5. It was only Tuesday in the week but everyone was excited for the weekend. Non-stop blizzards have stopped all plans for Easter 10 days earlier so the community have decided that since nice weather was on the way to hold Easter that weekend. One man had recently moved to the small town a month earlier with his two kids. He had taken a job at the local sheriffs department. It was around 4:10 when the man had gotten out of work and was driving home. He was driving down the main road when an explosion suddenly rocks a near-by car and causes the man swerve uncontrollably until the front of his patrol car slams into a telephone pole. With his head buried in the air bag and a cut on his hairline he slowly leans back and looks out the broken window of his car. In the air he sees a huge ship in the sky the size of a battleship slowly descending. Astounded he crawls out of the broken window and slam into the ground. The man limps down the road to a near by car that is parked on the side of the road. He pulls of his over shirt and ties it around his hand to protect it as he slammed his hand through the glass. He unlocks the door and hot wires the car and starts to speed down the road. Most the town was now being bombarded and the man was flooring the pedal to race to his home. Arriving in his driveway he slams into the door and runs into the dining room. Grabbing his 4 year old girl and 13 year old son he puts them into the back of the car and begins to drive away...
Now I just got bored and decided to write this sorta XCOM short story now i already have the story in my head but just let me know what you guys think or if i should just stop.
In a small town on the outskirts of St. Louis...
Kids were just getting out of school and parents were anticipating getting out of work at 5. It was only Tuesday in the week but everyone was excited for the weekend. Non-stop blizzards have stopped all plans for Easter 10 days earlier so the community have decided that since nice weather was on the way to hold Easter that weekend. One man had recently moved to the small town a month earlier with his two kids. He had taken a job at the local sheriffs department. It was around 4:10 when the man had gotten out of work and was driving home. He was driving down the main road when an explosion suddenly rocks a near-by car and causes the man swerve uncontrollably until the front of his patrol car slams into a telephone pole. With his head buried in the air bag and a cut on his hairline he slowly leans back and looks out the broken window of his car. In the air he sees a huge ship in the sky the size of a battleship slowly descending. Astounded he crawls out of the broken window and slam into the ground. The man limps down the road to a near by car that is parked on the side of the road. He pulls of his over shirt and ties it around his hand to protect it as he slammed his hand through the glass. He unlocks the door and hot wires the car and starts to speed down the road. Most the town was now being bombarded and the man was flooring the pedal to race to his home. Arriving in his driveway he slams into the door and runs into the dining room. Grabbing his 4 year old girl and 13 year old son he puts them into the back of the car and begins to drive away...
Now I just got bored and decided to write this sorta XCOM short story now i already have the story in my head but just let me know what you guys think or if i should just stop.
Feel free to keep writing them. We're not using this think tank for anything else write now, and it was entertaining. Heck, I have a few of my own I might want to share, but continue with yours for now. I'd personally love to hear more.
Thanks for the support
April 14th 2015
People were running in the streets as more blasts came down from above. All around the ground was covered in craters deep enough to be a person's grave and some of them were. Swerving to avoid the craters the man had every intention to reach the towns edge and escape. The kids in the back seat were crying from the chaos around outside the car and people were stupidly running in the streets, and the man didn't care. His only top priority was to get his kids safe. Arriving at the towns edge a look of horror emerged on the mans face as small humanoids were shooting at the people trying to escape. Making matters worse there were people in the crowd firing at others as well. There were even humanoids piloting giant looking suits firing missiles at other cars around. Unfortunately one of the missiles landed near the car and caused it to spin 720 degrees and slam into a fire hydrant. Luckily the brother was holding onto his sister and kept her safe. They all got out of the car and ran into a nearby alley to keep safe from the carnage on the streets. Keeping low they moved around the back alleys of the town until the reached their destination, the police station. As they went through the back door it seemed that the power had been cut making it hard to see. The man knew the way around the station though and they were making their way to the armory on the other side of the police station. They then came upon the lobby of the station with the front entrance blown down and covered making it almost impossible to see. Grabbing at the corpse of a near by officer he pulls a flashlight off the officers belt and turns it on. The man is the met face to face with a humanoid with a huge head and narrow black eyes. The alien then jumps at the man and tackles him to the ground, choking the man. Out of panic the son picks up a heavy pipe from the ground and slams it into the aliens head like a baseball bat. The man gets up and grabs a near by brick and repeatably slams it into the the aliens big head until it starts leaking greenish yellow fluids from its crushed head. He runs to the armory with his kids and unlocks it with his keys from work and gets to work grabbing gear, guns and ammunition from the lockers. He arms himself with a Mossberg 500 shotgun and a 9mm Glock. Out of caution he puts a smaller vest on his son and hands him a gun as well. Loading the shells into the shotgun he pumps the gun and prepares himself for the impending challenges ahead...
This is the second installment of the short story. Keep in mind I am trying to keep this as close to XCOM lore as possible and trying to keep the story as realistic as possible (ex. how the kids would react as well as the dad.) Let me know if I am doing a good job as well as any suggestion as to help with any flaws you guys see.
People were running in the streets as more blasts came down from above. All around the ground was covered in craters deep enough to be a person's grave and some of them were. Swerving to avoid the craters the man had every intention to reach the towns edge and escape. The kids in the back seat were crying from the chaos around outside the car and people were stupidly running in the streets, and the man didn't care. His only top priority was to get his kids safe. Arriving at the towns edge a look of horror emerged on the mans face as small humanoids were shooting at the people trying to escape. Making matters worse there were people in the crowd firing at others as well. There were even humanoids piloting giant looking suits firing missiles at other cars around. Unfortunately one of the missiles landed near the car and caused it to spin 720 degrees and slam into a fire hydrant. Luckily the brother was holding onto his sister and kept her safe. They all got out of the car and ran into a nearby alley to keep safe from the carnage on the streets. Keeping low they moved around the back alleys of the town until the reached their destination, the police station. As they went through the back door it seemed that the power had been cut making it hard to see. The man knew the way around the station though and they were making their way to the armory on the other side of the police station. They then came upon the lobby of the station with the front entrance blown down and covered making it almost impossible to see. Grabbing at the corpse of a near by officer he pulls a flashlight off the officers belt and turns it on. The man is the met face to face with a humanoid with a huge head and narrow black eyes. The alien then jumps at the man and tackles him to the ground, choking the man. Out of panic the son picks up a heavy pipe from the ground and slams it into the aliens head like a baseball bat. The man gets up and grabs a near by brick and repeatably slams it into the the aliens big head until it starts leaking greenish yellow fluids from its crushed head. He runs to the armory with his kids and unlocks it with his keys from work and gets to work grabbing gear, guns and ammunition from the lockers. He arms himself with a Mossberg 500 shotgun and a 9mm Glock. Out of caution he puts a smaller vest on his son and hands him a gun as well. Loading the shells into the shotgun he pumps the gun and prepares himself for the impending challenges ahead...
This is the second installment of the short story. Keep in mind I am trying to keep this as close to XCOM lore as possible and trying to keep the story as realistic as possible (ex. how the kids would react as well as the dad.) Let me know if I am doing a good job as well as any suggestion as to help with any flaws you guys see.
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Zain Shah
Well-Known Member
Overall the premise of the short story is very good but if I'm being very picky, I would say to include punctuation such as "tackles him to the ground choking the man" would be correctly punctuated with a comma before "choking." Again, this is me just being very picky but the environment that you have created for the short scene is very well detailed.
Yeah its fine if your picky with that sort of stuff it only makes the writing better and thank you.
Inspired by MarineAvenger, I've decided to try my hands at a little story telling. You'll have to forgive me if it's a bit wordy. As I'm sure anyone who's had dealings with me would know, I can be a bit long winded, but as usual, I've done what I can to write it in a manner that makes it easier to read. I hope everyone enjoys.
Voices in my Head: Part One
Letting out the mighty yawn of an overworked student, Sora's bag slips from her hand. Grasping Hitomi's arm for balance on the shaking subway car, she quickly bends down to grab it. With a chuckle, her friend asks, "What's wrong, falling asleep? You can't be working that hard with your grades."
Grasping the overhead handle, Sora briefly sticks out her tongue. "If my grades were better, I wouldn't be so tired, duh."
Standing across from the pair, Rei adjusts her glasses, and shrugs. "I've offered to tutor you more then once, you know..."
"We tried that already, remember." Sora shakes some dust off of her bag, quickly grabbing the handle again before she loses her balance. "It didn't work. I think it made things worse, actually."
With a flat tone, Rei asks, "And who's fault is that? Maybe if you could put that controller down long enough to pick up a book..."
Scratching her chin sheepishly, Sora stifles a sigh of relief as an announcement rings out for her stop. "O-Oh look...almost there! We'll have to talk about this tomorrow." With a sly smile, Hitomi starts laughing, slowly at first, then hysterically. "What's so funny?!" Sora asks.
"Maybe you should ask that American boy." Hitomi winks at Rei, who lets out a laugh of her own.
Sora looks away to hide her blushing cheeks. "I-I don't know what you talking about."
"Please." Rei places a hand on her hip. "I've seen the way you look at him. You've got a crush on him, don't you?"
A wide smirk stretches across Hitomi's face. "So have you...you know, had any fun with him?"
Her face beet red, Sora shouts," "It's not like that! Jake's family moved in next door, and my mom told me to help him out because he didn't know Japanese very well, and English is one of the few subjects I'm good at. That's it! Besides, he's seventeen. Why would he care about someone four years younger then him?"
Hitomi and Rei exchange a smile as the train slows to a stop. "For you to say that, it sounds to me like you've thought about it." Rei places her hand on Sora's shoulder. "Maybe you'll get lucky."
"You...y-you two are perverts, you know that!" Sora quickly exits the train before the door can fully open, the sound of her friends' laughter behind her bringing her blood to a boil. She stomps along, muttering angrily to herself. As she nears her neighborhood, though, her thoughts soften, and she wonders if Rei's words might have been more then just teasing. She looks down at her young body and sighs. "Yeah, right," she says to herself, "like he'd want a shrimp like me."
As Sora nears her home, she slows her stride. Goosebumps crawling over her, she can't help but feel that something is off. After a few moments, she realizes the problem. Its too quiet. There are no people walking down the streets, no cars driving by, no sounds coming from the homes she passes, no laughing children in backyards. The unnerving feeling twists her stomach more and more with each step.
Sora opens her front door, noticing her parent's car in the driveway. As she closes the door behind her and slips off her shoes, she notes their shoes sitting in the genkan, and their missing slippers. As she steps forward, she hears nothing from within the home. "Mom?" She steps forward a few inches. "Dad? Are...are you home?"
Placing her hand against the wall, she yanks it away, flinching in pain. Distracted by her uneasiness, Sora hadn't noticed the large, circular scorch mark on the wall. Feeling a bit panicked, she slowly steps forward. As she steps into the kitchen, she stops at the sight of an object peaking out behind the counter. It looks to be an arm, but charred and smoking. With a whimper, Sora's eye's start to water as she steps forward. She jumps at the sound of movement upstairs, letting out a shriek. The noise quickly cuts out, and the sound of rapid movement can be heard approaching the stairs.
Frozen in terror, Sora suddenly feels a hand wrap around her mouth. She struggles as something drags her backwards into the food pantry. She wriggles, shakes, and kicks as the door closes. "Quiet!" Sora's eye's widen slightly at the familiar voice. She tilts her head up to see Jake's face, covered in sweat, his eyes rapidly darting back and forth. She calms down a bit, but jumps slightly as the footsteps enter the kitchen. Through the crack in the door, she sees a creature looking back and forth, it's body shriveled and grey, it's head bulbous, with eyes large and glassy. It swivels it's arm back and forth, what appears to be a weapon strapped to the wrist.
Jake continues to hold his hand over Sora's mouth, squeezing her arm when she starts to shake violently and sob. So softly he barely makes a sound, he whispers, "I know you're scared, but you need to be quiet." The creature continues to scan the room for a minute before exiting the way it came in. After a few moments, Jake releases Sora. As she rubs her arm, Jake steps forward and glances into the kitchen. He kneels down in front of Sora, and whispers, "It's gone for now, but it'll be back. We have to..." Sora stares forward, a glazed look in her eyes. Jake lightly slaps her cheeks. "Sora! Listen, we can't stay here. You've got to snap out of it!" Unable to wake her from her daze, Jake lets out a sigh and climbs to his feet.
Sora continues to stare at nothing, a thousand thoughts racing through her head. What is happening? What was that creature? A demon? An alien? Where are my parents? Who was that on the ground? Why was Jake here? What happened to his parents? What would have happened if he hadn't been here?
The last thought finally brings her to her senses. She is terrified to find Jake gone. With a quivering lip, she steps forward, slowly opening the pantry door. "Jake?" she cries meekly. "I'm sorry, please don't..." She looks down a the charred body, now easier to see where she stands. To her horror, she recognizes the burned apron the woman wears. Letting out a shrill scream, she backs away, falling backwards into the pantry. The creature runs into view, and Sora screams even louder. Petrified, she can only stare and tremble as the creature approaches, slowly pointing it's weapon at her.
Suddenly, the creature lets out a trilling shriek of pain. It looks down at the large kitchen knife sticking through it's chest from it's back, and slumps to the ground. Jake reaches down and takes the weapon from the creature's arm before running to Sora's side. "I'm sorry," he says, grasping her shoulders. "I was only looking ahead. I wouldn't leave you, I...what's wrong?"
"M...mmmmom...." Sora starts sobbing, glancing into Jake's eyes with a pleading look.
Jake glances behind him, his eye twitching in anger at the sight of the nearby body. Turning back, he says, "Sora, I'm so sorry, but we need to go."
Suddenly, a male figure steps into the doorway on the other side of the room. "D...dad?" Sora asks with a hopeful tone.
Jake glances back briefly. "Sir, we need to get out of here. This monster attacked your daughter, and I'm sure it isn't the only ARGGGGHHHH!!!!" Jake slumps to the ground. The man steps forward, tall, thin, and imposing. It levels an odd looking weapon at Sora, who can only whimper as the man removes his sunglasses. She looks into it's reptilian eyes as the world goes dark.
Voices in my Head: Part One
Letting out the mighty yawn of an overworked student, Sora's bag slips from her hand. Grasping Hitomi's arm for balance on the shaking subway car, she quickly bends down to grab it. With a chuckle, her friend asks, "What's wrong, falling asleep? You can't be working that hard with your grades."
Grasping the overhead handle, Sora briefly sticks out her tongue. "If my grades were better, I wouldn't be so tired, duh."
Standing across from the pair, Rei adjusts her glasses, and shrugs. "I've offered to tutor you more then once, you know..."
"We tried that already, remember." Sora shakes some dust off of her bag, quickly grabbing the handle again before she loses her balance. "It didn't work. I think it made things worse, actually."
With a flat tone, Rei asks, "And who's fault is that? Maybe if you could put that controller down long enough to pick up a book..."
Scratching her chin sheepishly, Sora stifles a sigh of relief as an announcement rings out for her stop. "O-Oh look...almost there! We'll have to talk about this tomorrow." With a sly smile, Hitomi starts laughing, slowly at first, then hysterically. "What's so funny?!" Sora asks.
"Maybe you should ask that American boy." Hitomi winks at Rei, who lets out a laugh of her own.
Sora looks away to hide her blushing cheeks. "I-I don't know what you talking about."
"Please." Rei places a hand on her hip. "I've seen the way you look at him. You've got a crush on him, don't you?"
A wide smirk stretches across Hitomi's face. "So have you...you know, had any fun with him?"
Her face beet red, Sora shouts," "It's not like that! Jake's family moved in next door, and my mom told me to help him out because he didn't know Japanese very well, and English is one of the few subjects I'm good at. That's it! Besides, he's seventeen. Why would he care about someone four years younger then him?"
Hitomi and Rei exchange a smile as the train slows to a stop. "For you to say that, it sounds to me like you've thought about it." Rei places her hand on Sora's shoulder. "Maybe you'll get lucky."
"You...y-you two are perverts, you know that!" Sora quickly exits the train before the door can fully open, the sound of her friends' laughter behind her bringing her blood to a boil. She stomps along, muttering angrily to herself. As she nears her neighborhood, though, her thoughts soften, and she wonders if Rei's words might have been more then just teasing. She looks down at her young body and sighs. "Yeah, right," she says to herself, "like he'd want a shrimp like me."
As Sora nears her home, she slows her stride. Goosebumps crawling over her, she can't help but feel that something is off. After a few moments, she realizes the problem. Its too quiet. There are no people walking down the streets, no cars driving by, no sounds coming from the homes she passes, no laughing children in backyards. The unnerving feeling twists her stomach more and more with each step.
Sora opens her front door, noticing her parent's car in the driveway. As she closes the door behind her and slips off her shoes, she notes their shoes sitting in the genkan, and their missing slippers. As she steps forward, she hears nothing from within the home. "Mom?" She steps forward a few inches. "Dad? Are...are you home?"
Placing her hand against the wall, she yanks it away, flinching in pain. Distracted by her uneasiness, Sora hadn't noticed the large, circular scorch mark on the wall. Feeling a bit panicked, she slowly steps forward. As she steps into the kitchen, she stops at the sight of an object peaking out behind the counter. It looks to be an arm, but charred and smoking. With a whimper, Sora's eye's start to water as she steps forward. She jumps at the sound of movement upstairs, letting out a shriek. The noise quickly cuts out, and the sound of rapid movement can be heard approaching the stairs.
Frozen in terror, Sora suddenly feels a hand wrap around her mouth. She struggles as something drags her backwards into the food pantry. She wriggles, shakes, and kicks as the door closes. "Quiet!" Sora's eye's widen slightly at the familiar voice. She tilts her head up to see Jake's face, covered in sweat, his eyes rapidly darting back and forth. She calms down a bit, but jumps slightly as the footsteps enter the kitchen. Through the crack in the door, she sees a creature looking back and forth, it's body shriveled and grey, it's head bulbous, with eyes large and glassy. It swivels it's arm back and forth, what appears to be a weapon strapped to the wrist.
Jake continues to hold his hand over Sora's mouth, squeezing her arm when she starts to shake violently and sob. So softly he barely makes a sound, he whispers, "I know you're scared, but you need to be quiet." The creature continues to scan the room for a minute before exiting the way it came in. After a few moments, Jake releases Sora. As she rubs her arm, Jake steps forward and glances into the kitchen. He kneels down in front of Sora, and whispers, "It's gone for now, but it'll be back. We have to..." Sora stares forward, a glazed look in her eyes. Jake lightly slaps her cheeks. "Sora! Listen, we can't stay here. You've got to snap out of it!" Unable to wake her from her daze, Jake lets out a sigh and climbs to his feet.
Sora continues to stare at nothing, a thousand thoughts racing through her head. What is happening? What was that creature? A demon? An alien? Where are my parents? Who was that on the ground? Why was Jake here? What happened to his parents? What would have happened if he hadn't been here?
The last thought finally brings her to her senses. She is terrified to find Jake gone. With a quivering lip, she steps forward, slowly opening the pantry door. "Jake?" she cries meekly. "I'm sorry, please don't..." She looks down a the charred body, now easier to see where she stands. To her horror, she recognizes the burned apron the woman wears. Letting out a shrill scream, she backs away, falling backwards into the pantry. The creature runs into view, and Sora screams even louder. Petrified, she can only stare and tremble as the creature approaches, slowly pointing it's weapon at her.
Suddenly, the creature lets out a trilling shriek of pain. It looks down at the large kitchen knife sticking through it's chest from it's back, and slumps to the ground. Jake reaches down and takes the weapon from the creature's arm before running to Sora's side. "I'm sorry," he says, grasping her shoulders. "I was only looking ahead. I wouldn't leave you, I...what's wrong?"
"M...mmmmom...." Sora starts sobbing, glancing into Jake's eyes with a pleading look.
Jake glances behind him, his eye twitching in anger at the sight of the nearby body. Turning back, he says, "Sora, I'm so sorry, but we need to go."
Suddenly, a male figure steps into the doorway on the other side of the room. "D...dad?" Sora asks with a hopeful tone.
Jake glances back briefly. "Sir, we need to get out of here. This monster attacked your daughter, and I'm sure it isn't the only ARGGGGHHHH!!!!" Jake slumps to the ground. The man steps forward, tall, thin, and imposing. It levels an odd looking weapon at Sora, who can only whimper as the man removes his sunglasses. She looks into it's reptilian eyes as the world goes dark.
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Wow that was very good, and I did get a laugh or to from the beginning. If this is only part one I am wondering where the story will go.
As long as can entertain at least one person, I'm satisfied. As for part two, probably be up after I get off work, with part three (if I need a part three) up later tonight.
Zain Shah
Well-Known Member
I like the fact that you wrote that train journey bit before the actual encounter with the aliens as it helps you to understand the character's emotions better.
I might have a go at this as well as I am currently wasting my time watching satelite tv in a caravan somewhere in Scotland on holiday.
I might have a go at this as well as I am currently wasting my time watching satelite tv in a caravan somewhere in Scotland on holiday.
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