OOC X-COM Think Tank (part 4)

[DarkGemini24601]

There's been a lot to talk about today. I recommend people read the relevant posts before checking spoilers, because I will NOT be summarizing the posts I discuss - merely highlighting elements that I liked. That said, let's get into this.

Spoiler: No Title (Gwen and Luke)

Cut me some slack for this one, I read it at school about eight hours ago. I'll go over a few quotes, but what I have to say is more broad.

Gwen strode down the halls of the Avenger, a look of cold disposition on her face as dread slowly was a cloud over her head. Apologizing was hard. Apologizes to large egos was harder. Gwen knocked on Luke's door and waited.

At least you CAN apologize Gwen, unlike certain stubborn bitches.

"Came to seduce your aunt. Why the hell you think I am here?" Gwen asked back snapping back with a not too pleased look as she crossed her arms.

Realistic that she wouldn't immediately be nice and let things go.

"Oh trust me, if it was that easy I would be empress of this world right now. But more seriously, I mean it Luke. I am sorry. It was..." Gwen looked uncomfortable, pouting. "Wrong of me..."

But eventually she gets around to it.

"Coming from the literal hot head. Speaking of which, are you going to try and hit me already? I am getting bored here." Gwen moved over to Luke's bed and sat down with a smug face.

"Why do you want me to punch you so damn badly? What, have you become a masochist now?"

"Do it and you will find out why I am the strongest now."

Luke rolled his eyes and went in for a halfhearted punch.

A screen of glass with honeycomb like features sprang up in front of Gwen and his hand hit the solid object, causing a slight clunk noise.

It took three requests to get Luke to do the cool thing Marine wanted. I think it turned out amusing in that respect - the progression was good comedy. "Hit me. Come on, hit me. HIT ME DAMMIT!" Have I mentioned I love the Beehive Barrier thing Gwen has going on? It seperates her nicely from the other two Telekinetic Field users, which is impressive considering its not as varied in usage as Biokinesis.

The French girl smiled widely though soft, continuing on. "Then there was the summer home! Oh I adored that place. It was secluded by a big mountain we would hike. There was a large lake out back we would swim in. The whole home was made of wood, and it was like a second home to me when I was a kid. That's what I miss Luke. I miss all the things I didn't get to have because I was so young. I want to sun tan, and to clean up my own room again. To sit by a warm fire with some cocoa in the winter. I want to...Liveagain."

We're seeing Gwen's house in the epilogues - provided she survives, of course.

In general, I am a big fan of Gwen these days. Initially, I feared the description of her personality - which almost sounded like an excuse to be horribly inconsistent. But the implementation has blown me away, so well done @MarineAvenger. Luke was entertaining as always, @Dahlexpert, and I liked seeing that his character is progressing to gradually be more restrained. I'll let you know when I have a chance to have him and Adam talk again, now that they've gone on an op together and Adam will be... more civilized the next time you meet him.

Has to be split up into two posts due to length.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Spoiler: Unfortunate First Impressions

First of all, I want to mention to @Frostlich1228 that I understand part of the reason why he was mad at me. This was a damn fine post, and the fact that it was at risk of being lost forever is something worth getting upset over.

"No! Bad Ayame."

Earned a small chuckle.

Ayame pouted. "I just wanted a little more." She smiled and closed her eyes. "The essence of a biokinetic... so wonderful! Your powers automatically respond to my drain, flowing in fresh, rich energy that... that... how can I even describe it? It's like... drinking the very first tall, refreshing glass of lemonade from a pitcher that was freshly squeezed and made to perfection!" She opened her eyes, realizing she was gushing. "Sorry."

Oh, is Yakone's delicious green psionic essence not good enough for you, Ayame? I guess if Alexis's starter power is biokinesis that might be better than a biokinetic whose main ability is Override, but... that's cold.

Though it looks like Tom was right.

Like the interrelations that connect everything together.

"Her mother telling her to be quiet should have been all the more reason to tell me..."

True. Tooootally wasn't an oversight, no.

"Deal!" Ayame laid back. "Well... about three weeks ago..."

And this awesome intro by Zmby makes up for the fact that this has to be presented as a flashback.

-MARX INTRO-

All-around a great and meaty introduction by Frost, well done.

Ayame peeled through the door. "Hello hello? And who is this now?" she asked with a curious smile.

"Please don-"

"I'm Cathy! Mr. Grumpy's roommate!" She smiled, putting down her pencil.

Another short laugh.

" Ayame Kasagi, Ranger."

I was about to comment that Ayame is a Phantom now, but then I remembered this was in the past.

You must tend the grape vine yourself.

Heh... puns.

Well... I mean, I guess there are smart zombies... You know, sort of like vampires..." Cathy said slowly.

"No one important thinks you're a Zombie Ayame..." Marx interrupted.

"Well I-" The cook started, but was cut off.

"No one important..." He reiterated.

"Says the guy who does nothing but train all day..." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Says the girl who does nothing but cook all day... We have a war to win..." He countered.

"And I'm helping!"

Love the banter between these two, Frost. I hope to see a solo or something in the future since you set up your two characters and NPCs as sharing a room but - even in the absence of those thus far - this tells me what I need to know about how your characters have interacted offscreen.

Ayame. She was always a strange one... So skilled, yet so young... So strong, but yet so small... Strong enough even to match him... There was only one way someone like that could match him like that... Augments...

It all made sense... It all fit together in his mind... A small Asian girl... Not many would pay much attention, even less would think... would suspect her of being...

An Advent Spy...

More good description, and something we haven't seen in this story yet. Novelty!

"Oh that's funny... I wasn't aware any of you could make jokes..." Marx quickly pulled back his fist, slamming it into her face with a large amount of force, "Advent scum..."

I'm enjoying this scary Marx, as sadistic as this sounds.

Ayame held up a hand. "H-hold on now. I-it was a joke. Just... I-I'll help you find her, okay? I'm good at tracking people down."

He even managed to intimidate the Jiangshi.

"Yeah... Maybe I got that idea too... But this project and my family come first, hell, maybe this is all just a big fucking misunderstanding, if so, then I fucked up, but at this point... I doubt it..." He said, walking behind her, "I don't know why you're still playing this game with me... Where do you think this stalling is going to get you?"

Also, Marx has reasons for doing what he does. Motivations are important, glad to see they've been referenced here. (Aww, he actually cares about XCOM...)

Because she'll have my ass if she finds out I chewed on Cathy a little when she told me not to, jackass.

Yes, yes she would.

Cathy peeked over at Marx, "And... You're keeping it secret? Why?"

I enjoy Cathy actively questioning people. Thinking about why, its probably because it shows she's slowly breaking out of the ADVENT 'don't question shit' mentality.

"Because you seemed so sure, and I... I have a temper problem." Ayame ran a hand through her hair. "I-it was a joke. I... I was being stupid, okay? Really, really stupid. Come on... this is the first meaningful thing I've been a part of for a long, long time. I'll do anything you ask. Just... please." Ayame slowly dropped to a knee. "I... don't want to lose this."

Character development!

Spoiler: Sagely Advice

Speaking of Luke, here's some commentary on the unprecedented meeting between the lovable asshole and Zmby's awesome OC this season. I'm glad to see more of him, so thank you for sating my lust.

Jack smiled softly. "Thirty-five. I'm afraid I fall in those years where I'm too old to trust my youthful spirit but too young to trust my aging wisdom. Though I'd like to think I at least give good advice."

Heh, and immediately I see my advice being put into play. Makes me proud.

"Well then... that is interesting. Wonder if she feels the same." Jack continued walking, leading Luke to Alexis' work space and finding it empty. "Hmm..." Jack walked over to one of the tables and opened a small, black book. "According to her work log, she's working on something with her sister in the labs. She might be there for quite a while."

I am very curious about what this is hinting at.

"Well, former ladies man. I kinda stopped with the flirting... just a little. But yeah, I was a ladies man."

Well, except when it comes to beautiful blond frenchwomen, but I can understand how that would be treated as an exception. Sympathize, even.

Jack took a quick drink, then shrugged. "Not much about me to know. I'm afraid we can't all have interesting stories. I'm just an aging gunsmith, helping to take out the aliens that cost me my parents, contributed to the loss of my family, and hold the world in the grip of their wicked hands. I have my interests, my expertise, and so on, but I wouldn't want to bore you."

This line in particular came off as very natural.

Jack sighed, taking another drink. "Yeah... I was married. Dolores... the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. But then I'm biased. She had long, shimmering brown hair, and deep green eyes like a pleasant meadow. Her smile could melt the coldest of hearts."

Brown hair, green eyes... hmmm...

"I spent four years in a criminal labor camp, working to maintain the ADVENT Rail Network. Long hours, hot conditions, and no insurance benefits, but at least I beefed up quite a bit, and as hard as it is to believe, the food wasn't as bad as you might think." Jack drank half of his glass. "A resistance group liberated me about a year and a half ago, and I joined them, eventually finding myself here."

There's a parallel to slavery here somewhere, but its not nearly blatant. More than anything, its another reason I draw a comparison to John Henry in my head when thinking about Jack.

"Trust me, I know ADVENT food. I prefer what we have here. And you have to take risks if you want to live. You did what you thought was best. Your wife still should have supported you."

ADVENT BURGERS?! Have you had THOSE?! They're people. Sometimes.

Getting more general, I think its another sign of growth (both personal and romantically) that Luke is thinking about what a future together with Alexis is like, and very wise of him to ask someone who has experience. Jack's case is interesting, because I can't say he's being too hard on himself - since his wife had reasons to be concerned. I do hope that when things settle down - or if we should run into them - that she doesn't keep a father from his son though.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Spoiler: Unfortunate First Impressions

First of all, I want to mention to @Frostlich1228 that I understand part of the reason why he was mad at me. This was a damn fine post, and the fact that it was at risk of being lost forever is something worth getting upset over.

Earned a small chuckle.

Oh, is Yakone's delicious green psionic essence not good enough for you, Ayame? I guess if Alexis's starter power is biokinesis that might be better than a biokinetic whose main ability is Override, but... that's cold.

Like the interrelations that connect everything together.

True. Tooootally wasn't an oversight, no.

And this awesome intro by Zmby makes up for the fact that this has to be presented as a flashback.

All-around a great and meaty introduction by Frost, well done.

Another short laugh.

I was about to comment that Ayame is a Phantom now, but then I remembered this was in the past.

Heh... puns.

Love the banter between these two, Frost. I hope to see a solo or something in the future since you set up your two characters and NPCs as sharing a room but - even in the absence of those thus far - this tells me what I need to know about how your characters have interacted offscreen.

More good description, and something we haven't seen in this story yet. Novelty!

I'm enjoying this scary Marx, as sadistic as this sounds.

He even managed to intimidate the Jiangshi.

Also, Marx has reasons for doing what he does. Motivations are important, glad to see they've been referenced here. (Aww, he actually cares about XCOM...)

Yes, yes she would.

I enjoy Cathy actively questioning people. Thinking about why, its probably because it shows she's slowly breaking out of the ADVENT 'don't question shit' mentality.

Character development!

Spoiler: Sagely Advice

Speaking of Luke, here's some commentary on the unprecedented meeting between the lovable asshole and Zmby's awesome OC this season. I'm glad to see more of him, so thank you for sating my lust.

Heh, and immediately I see my advice being put into play. Makes me proud.

I am very curious about what this is hinting at.

Well, except when it comes to beautiful blond frenchwomen, but I can understand how that would be treated as an exception. Sympathize, even.

This line in particular came off as very natural.

Brown hair, green eyes... hmmm...

There's a parallel to slavery here somewhere, but its not nearly blatant. More than anything, its another reason I draw a comparison to John Henry in my head when thinking about Jack.

ADVENT BURGERS?! Have you had THOSE?! They're people. Sometimes.

Getting more general, I think its another sign of growth (both personal and romantically) that Luke is thinking about what a future together with Alexis is like, and very wise of him to ask someone who has experience. Jack's case is interesting, because I can't say he's being too hard on himself - since his wife had reasons to be concerned. I do hope that when things settle down - or if we should run into them - that she doesn't keep a father from his son though.

Don't worry, Yakone. You can heal with with biokinesis too, making you just as tasting. Maybe... even more so... <wiping away drool>.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Spoiler: Unfortunate First Impressions

First of all, I want to mention to @Frostlich1228 that I understand part of the reason why he was mad at me. This was a damn fine post, and the fact that it was at risk of being lost forever is something worth getting upset over.

Earned a small chuckle.

Oh, is Yakone's delicious green psionic essence not good enough for you, Ayame? I guess if Alexis's starter power is biokinesis that might be better than a biokinetic whose main ability is Override, but... that's cold.

Like the interrelations that connect everything together.

True. Tooootally wasn't an oversight, no.

And this awesome intro by Zmby makes up for the fact that this has to be presented as a flashback.

All-around a great and meaty introduction by Frost, well done.

Another short laugh.

I was about to comment that Ayame is a Phantom now, but then I remembered this was in the past.

Heh... puns.

Love the banter between these two, Frost. I hope to see a solo or something in the future since you set up your two characters and NPCs as sharing a room but - even in the absence of those thus far - this tells me what I need to know about how your characters have interacted offscreen.

More good description, and something we haven't seen in this story yet. Novelty!

I'm enjoying this scary Marx, as sadistic as this sounds.

He even managed to intimidate the Jiangshi.

Also, Marx has reasons for doing what he does. Motivations are important, glad to see they've been referenced here. (Aww, he actually cares about XCOM...)

Yes, yes she would.

I enjoy Cathy actively questioning people. Thinking about why, its probably because it shows she's slowly breaking out of the ADVENT 'don't question shit' mentality.

Character development!

Spoiler: Sagely Advice

Speaking of Luke, here's some commentary on the unprecedented meeting between the lovable asshole and Zmby's awesome OC this season. I'm glad to see more of him, so thank you for sating my lust.

Heh, and immediately I see my advice being put into play. Makes me proud.

I am very curious about what this is hinting at.

Well, except when it comes to beautiful blond frenchwomen, but I can understand how that would be treated as an exception. Sympathize, even.

This line in particular came off as very natural.

Brown hair, green eyes... hmmm...

There's a parallel to slavery here somewhere, but its not nearly blatant. More than anything, its another reason I draw a comparison to John Henry in my head when thinking about Jack.

ADVENT BURGERS?! Have you had THOSE?! They're people. Sometimes.

Getting more general, I think its another sign of growth (both personal and romantically) that Luke is thinking about what a future together with Alexis is like, and very wise of him to ask someone who has experience. Jack's case is interesting, because I can't say he's being too hard on himself - since his wife had reasons to be concerned. I do hope that when things settle down - or if we should run into them - that she doesn't keep a father from his son though.

This uh... Actually means a lot to me, it made my week in fact, I'll make sure to put something out with them all, I had planned on it before, but problems...

 

[Taxor_the_First]

I would like to add my voice to the sentiment that the more recent posts have been quality. Good shit, all of you. Keep it up!

 

[DarkGemini24601]

After about a week of procrastinating, here's the villainous solo I hinted at on my profile page.

Spoiler

If it made you feel uncomfortable at times but you felt sympathy for the devil at others, I did my job right.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Something about a motherly Ethereal is always creepy. Especially when you consider who the child is in this situation.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Something about a motherly Ethereal is always creepy. Especially when you consider who the child is in this situation.

Spoiler: Something Cordiam Did

Especially since Cordiam was the one that brainwashed Nouja.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

And you used Laʒir with the ʒ and not just a j! I... don't know why that makes me smile so much, but it does.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

And you used Laʒir with the ʒ and not just a j! I... don't know why that makes me smile so much, but it does.

TOTALLY didn't have to scour the think tank logs to find that symbol...

 

[Frostlich1228]

So, an Ethereal who knows what's going on with all these universes? That'll be fun.

My question is though, where was she in SoD? Maybe back on their homeworld. I also wonder why she keeps trying to win, when she knows what she is ultimately doing in this universe is pointless, that there are countless universes where X-com Wins. Sort of like Sans from Undertale.

Well, I look forwards to fighting her, I think one of my characters might be especially interested in her.

P.S. Poor Aergi, killed for helping the rebels in ANOTHER ONE OF THE INFINITE DIMENSIONS, using that logic, all of the Ethereals are guilty, there's probably even a universe where Phobos joins up with the humans or something.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

My question is though, where was she in SoD? Maybe back on their homeworld.

There's the possibility that she simply didn't exist in other timelines. She could be one of the divergence points in the Earth C worldine. High Commander Vekinte'Ecformin"Cettnint did exist in Story of Defiance (and was alive during Vanguard of Forseti as well). He just wasn't shaped by the series of events that occurred in Earth C that ended up with him as supreme ruler.

I also wonder why she keeps trying to win,

By the logic above, she may not have been trying to win in other timelines if she didn't exist. Even if she was present in the others, I wouldn't frame it as plural attempts, since those would be different versions of her. If she was a traveller between different worldines, that sentence would make more sense to me, but I can tell you right now she can't do that. (Mainly, I'm playing off a weird thing in the game where an Ethereal at one point seems to reference Enemy Unknown's timeline despite being in XCOM2.)

P.S. Poor Aergi, killed for helping the rebels in ANOTHER ONE OF THE INFINITE DIMENSIONS, using that logic, all of the Ethereals are guilty, there's probably even a universe where Phobos joins up with the humans or something.

Ehhh... that last point is probably unlikely. SoD's timeline, the ChrisOdd Season2/3 timeline, and the LoE Timeline are the three main worldines, as I outlined in my theorycrafting on another thread. They have the most drastic differences, splinter worldlines off those three main ones are just minor variations. Phobos is probably evil in all versions.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

By the logic above, she may not have been trying to win in other timelines if she didn't exist. Even if she was present in the others, I wouldn't frame it as plural attempts, since those would be different versions of her. If she was a traveller between different worldines, that sentence would make more sense to me, but I can tell you right now she can't do that. (Mainly, I'm playing off a weird thing in the game where an Ethereal at one point seems to reference Enemy Unknown's timeline despite being in XCOM2.)

To make that a bit clearer, Cordiam has no real ties or connection to the other timelines, and sincerely believes the Ethereals can win because, well, they already beat XCOM once in this timeline, and the result in Earth A & B doesn't dictate the fate of Earth C.

 

[Frostlich1228]

To make that a bit clearer, Cordiam has no real ties or connection to the other timelines, and sincerely believes the Ethereals can win because, well, they already beat XCOM once in this timeline, and the result in Earth A & B doesn't dictate the fate of Earth C.

Hmm... Oky Doky

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

I once considered making a character that acted a temporal records keeper for this story, but decided against it since I felt it unintentionally broke the fourth wall. This is what I wrote in terms of the timelines. Not sure if it exactly matches what Gem went with, but I think it's close;

<This case reminded me of another I read about a while back. It involved one of the few divergences that, like Earth Prime, involved extraterrestrial invasion. Calling it 'Earth A' for now, it involved the remnants of the organization known as XCOM, after failing to beat their enemies, correcting that mistake... in a matter of speaking.

As it was being closely watched at the time, we witnessed then Commander Anna Stone's successful alteration of the timeline through means of her second in Command, an unusual supernatural being known as Ayame Kasagi. A being who had existed for over 500 years, a temporal ripple effect was sent through her, by ways of a combination of science and magic, that cascaded back through time.

It not only resulted in this Ayame Kasagi's history to be altered, it completely delayed her birth by hundreds of years, bringing her birth to a mere two decades before the invasion. Such an change in history, along with the other changes caused by the time ripple, altered XCOM enough for the team to defeat the alien threat this time. Quite an interesting turn of events.>

Viola brought up the file on another world.

<With this in mind, I looked for a world with temporal echoes caused by alterations in the timeline, and found what we will call 'Earth B'. Very similar to Earth A, though this one is more grounded in science, with most supernatural phenomena explainable as being psionics. While it was not recorded, extrapolation based on the suspected origin on the variance and readings of the temporal echoes show this world's XCOM lost as well, and they also used time alteration to fix their failing. Using the simpler means of a message at a key point in history, this by no means failed to significantly change the outcome of the world. It even had a positive effect on the galaxy as a whole, but I am only concerned with Earth... for now.>

Viola paused the recording, and stretched her arms a bit. She looked over the images of the many heroes of World B, smiling. Her smile faded as she brought up images from the current file she was looking at today.

<And this brings us to timeline 246-01. Earths A and B were very close in temporal wavelength, and the combined temporal disturbance caused by both altering their timelines created the divergence that is my case now, what we shall continue our trend by calling 'Earth C'.>

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Put a solo up I had a craving for today. Please tell me what you guys think. Comments and questions are welcome.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Sunny abuse make Frost MAD, FROST CRUSH ADVENT.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Sunny abuse make Frost MAD, FROST CRUSH ADVENT.

That feel when you move to like a post and then remember that despite asking Sarge about it thrice, he still hasn't done anything to restore that feature.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

That feel when you move to like a post and then remember that despite asking Sarge about it thrice, he still hasn't done anything to restore that feature.

That you say that makes me happy... and sad. I miss the rating system...

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Sunny abuse make Frost MAD, FROST CRUSH ADVENT.