What does the word “mutant” mean to you? Many people are filled with fear and loathing at the mere mention of the word. Some are filled with righteous indignation. They believe God’s “true children” must defend themselves against the “spawn of evil.” Some simply feel jealous of anyone gifted with powers beyond the ken of mere mortals.
Now, picture yourself as a young person in the Marvel Universe, in the year 2006, in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
You live a normal life; mutants, terrorists, the Avengers and X-men are things you see on the news and read about in the paper. Fantastic things like that happen somewhere else, never here in the south. What few mutants you know about have nothing more unusual about them than oddly colored hair or weird eyes. They have no real power but you can never know what will happen around them. They’re “creepy” and “dangerous,” normal people don’t hang around with “them.”
Oh, there are Mutant Charities and outreach groups who stand up for this “New Minority” but in this world of tolerance mutants are not seen as human, let alone protected by the same rights as “normal” people. Not even that bastion of Democracy and Freedom, the United States government supports its mutant citizens.
Imagine one fateful moment when your life as you know it, changes. Suddenly, through no fault of your own you become a statistic; a member of a hated minority. The X-gene inside your body has Awakened and your life, your family, and your friendships as you know them change forever. You are now a mutant.
Welcome to the world of X-men: Awakening ©®
“XA” as we call it, is a creative writing project set in the Marvel Universe (Marvel Comics, Corp. ©, all rights reserved) using the online Play by E-mail method (PBEM). XA combines the best elements of creative writing with role playing gaming, to create a unique and exciting experience.
See our “Rules” section for further details about how the XA experience works. If you’re interested in joining us, go to our application and fill it out completely. If you have any questions, see our FAQ page or use our Contact form. Please see some comments from our membership.
Commentary from Angi: (joined 03/24/05)
What do I like most about XA? You mean besides it being an uber great sim full of uber great writers? ;) lol But seriously, XmenAwakening is a great sim! I tend to be picky about my games. I only stay in games that have players that are mature, and aren’t afraid to touch on ‘adult’ subjects. And of course, they have to know how to spell, and can write complete sentences. And it usually helps if the players know how to come up with decent, entertaining plots. ;) I can find all of that here in XA. I’ve found some of my best online buddies in this game (hugz Don). Our dear XGod Shayne is awesome! He’s always open to hear what kind of fun story plots we may be brewing up for our unwary characters, and he usually has an interesting idea or two himself. ;) Now, I will say that XA is not for everyone. This game runs on a format that’s a little different then most games you might be use to. I myself had a hard time adjusting when I first joined, and wasn’t sure if I even wanted to stay in the game. But here I am, some 6-8 months later, still active, and loving the game to death! It’s one of my top 5 games of all time, and I plan to stick around as long as possible. :)
Commentary by Mari:
“What do I have to say about the Academy? Well, I guess that depends on what kind of mood you find me in.” The dragon girl shifts in her chair, scratching a claw along her eyebrow, and picking off a loose scale. “When I first arrived, I thought the place was the coolest thing since the invention of the video game. I mean, what more could a poor girl from the ‘hood who dreamed of being a mutant’ ask for? There are all sorts of cool mutants in this place, and all of them are way nice! You gotta meet G'sani… weirdest dude you’ll ever meet! But he’s great! And the place is freakin’ huge! My room is almost bigger then my house! And don’t even get me started on our allowance!” She smiled slightly in amusement, but her next thought sobers her up. “Unfortunately… things didn’t really stay nice and pleasant and happy… My family… Ya know, they didn’t really handle the whole mutant thing well… Mom had a fucking cow when I showed up all scaly and stuff. And my friends… hah… I guess I can’t really call them friends anymore… Not when they all abandoned me once they caught sight of me. I guess that’s the curse of being a freaky looking mutant. People don’t want to be around me. Don’t want to associate with me. Guess they think I’ll give them germs or something…” She snorts derisively, folding her wings around her in a defensive manner. “Doesn’t matter… don’t need the likes of them anyway… I can manage just fine on my own… *sniffle*”
Commentary from Brier:
You know, I've never really thought of myself as a normal teenager, even before. I'd never really thought much of the whole mutant issue. Suddenly, though, I was faced with the reality of life as a mutant…and that's when I found Academy X, or rather, the Academy found me. I had all but given up on the kind of opportunities the Academy grants me; the chance to learn things I've wanted to all along, a training program to teach me how to master my abilities, so they don't master me, and a room I don't have to share with sisters. OK, so I'm teasing a little on that last bit…
Academy X. So much more than I could have dreamed.
~Brier Daniels
Commentary from Heather: (joined 02/05)
XMen Awakening is an amazing sim. Before I joined this game, I'd only ever played in Star Trek based games, and I'd only seen the first movie. But before long, that was a non-issue. Sure, XA is a super-hero sim, an XMen sim, but it's not just that. See, first and foremost, XA is a game about ordinary people and the way they handle their extraordinary circumstances. Sure, I write about my character's powers, but more than that, I write stories that tell how she copes with the sudden changes in her life, and how her family copes with those changes. And my ignorance wasn't an issue: between the other websites, cheap comics (check your comic store for a bin of comics under a dollar!), and the entire set up, it's easy to play my character learning about herself and this world with a genuine sense of discovery.
Not only that, there's a close sense of friendship and camaraderie here. I consider these writers friends, and some of them are as close as family. We care about the other parts of our lives, too…the art shows, the weddings, the deaths in the family, moving, even the everyday adventures of life. And these are amazing writers. I love seeing the stories they tell and the way their characters evolve. There's nothing else like this group.
XA: More than just a game.
~Heather Jackson, writer of the Daniels Clan.
For me the days were good, fine as they could be for a teenager. I had a
good family, circle of friends and a sweet girl who loved me. Then my mutant
gift awoke, sweeping all of that aside. Travis, the headmaster of Academy X
found me then confused and afraid of what was to come next. He gave me hope that there could be a life for me that still held the people I loved. Him and the
other staff of the Academy have taught me, counseled me and stood behind me
through all the strangeness. Besides the staff of the Academy I also found
friends who have become as close to me as my family and my love Katherine.
It's not about learning what your mutant power is in the end; it’s about
learning what you should do with it.
-- Thomas Jonathan Jackson - Jophiel of Academy X
Okay, I'll be plain here. I've been roleplaying since forever (first D+D
character rolled up in Sept 1974). I've never been in a sim/writing environment
which had the feel of a living reality like XA does. The combination of
elemental premise, skilled writers and awesome Mod makes this the place where you can express your vision of how a young person would deal with the traumas,
possibilities and heartbreaks of becoming a mutant. Come, join us at the Academy.
Bruce Saul, writer of 'The Thomas crowd' (joined 02/10/05)
A few weeks ago, my whole life was an open book; past, present and
future were written out, almost in stone, and I had a groove I had to
follow. It wasn't bad, I thought, although I can see how many people
would have an issue with it. Then, in the space of a few hours, it all
gets blown up. In my case, literally. And you'd think you'd be lost,
or something, but the goodness in people's hearts really shine through
as they come to your aid and in the last few weeks, I have learnt more
about myself than I ever knew and it took a whole new batch of friends
to show that to me. Friends who like me for me, not for what I bring
with me. Not that I've told anyone, really... I still don't think
they'd mind.
And then there's this one girl... well... it's complicated...
Anyway, the jury is still out on this one, but this could be one of
the best things that have ever happened to me.
Leon Falkner
I started role-playing a handful of years ago now (it's sometimes hard
to keep track) and all of the games I played back then have collapsed
and been buried by the passage of time. They were good and fun, true,
but they were nothing compared to XA. XA isn't just a PBEM RPG. I
usually associate a role-playing game with someone becoming another
character, but this isn't like that. All the characters are so supremely and excellently detailed that they are separate persons in their own right. There are characters you hate to love and some you love to hate and that has no bearing on their writers, all of which are fantastically talented and our relationship extends above and beyond the game and they quickly become a circle of friends which one can easily learn to confide in and depend upon to be understanding.
There has never been a group so... 'worth it' in all my time on the
internet.
Nick Griffiths - writer of Leon Falkner and retinue (joined 10/24/05)
Yeah, they're a buncha muties -- Ah mean, mutants -- but...Ah think they're the good kind. At least...well, they saved mah life an' all. Ah only just got here, an' Ah'm still workin' through the shock of seein' mah family killed by a bunch of 'em, an' gettin' used ta the fact that...well, Ah'm one-a 'em now... but... they don't seem like they're gonna eat me in mah sleep...
Tamar Todd
This sim intrigued me from the first time it was mentioned to me. I mean, an X-Men game where you don't even know what your power is?! What a refreshing idea! And the emphasis on longer posts and joint posts lends it an introspective air. There's no one-line posts here! Sure, it may be a little more effort, but it is worth it. The writers here are all fantastic.
KahlessNestor (joined 01/03/06)
The academy is a technophiles paradise. It’s like a super scholarship and a free pass to Disney land all in one. The staff is great even if some of them are a little stuffy and into having rules and all. And as for the other students.... Well this may be the first time I can remember where I didn't feel like I was being pushed further and further to the outside.
If you get the pitch from some strange white haired British guy, who appears
like an episode of twilight zone, accept it, the rabbit hole ain't as dark and musty as it looks from the outside.
Jezzebelle Foxx - mutant Goth-goddess of hacking
The concept works great, forcing writers to develop the character first really lets you dig into the adventure and drama of discovering then learning to work with the results of mutation. Its great to have it truly be about who these people are not just what they can do. Also for all you out there concerned about getting lame powers, from what I've seen Shayne comes up with things that have enough versatility you can find your own niche within them and give your own spin even if someone else creates and defines them.
The other fear I had going in... Yes when you read about him Travis does look like a Deus Ex Machina. But Shayne uses him very responsibly. Sit back and enjoy the ride, let the "uber sexy head master" / time god, due his job which largely is giving you, the perspective writer, the freedom to screw up. You can’t loose a character you spend weeks working on because you thought you could fly and wrote yourself into a fall to your death. The master o' time will bail you out. But he won’t bail you out of life’s less lethal mistakes so go on have fun and please keep you hands and arms inside the chaos bus till we come to complete stop. (Which I hope is never)
Rebecca Davis - writer who possibly thinks too much for her own good
(joined 09/23/05)
