Paving The Road to....Hello!

[Hank McCoy]

So, yeah.

It's been said - recently, even (hi, Tegan ) - that this is the site or the story that just won't die.

Well, that's sorta true. I guess. But it's also true that it's a project or a habit or a disease that a handful of us never really meant to abandon - it's just that life and enthusiasm and catastrophe and all kinds of things tend to move the importance of this "place" (can't think of a better word, really) in and out of focus out of necessity....out of boredom....

But at its heart - and at its best - it's just been a wonderful vehicle for friends who sometimes know each other all too well - and more often probably haven't and maybe never will meet...to come together in the name of sharing something they all enjoy thinking and talking and pretending about. They - we - may come at it and understand it very differently - half the time I bet we'd disagree - but we share a common love and respect for "our" X-Men. Wherever we originally found them.

The crazy thing is...well, one of a whole bunch....

Once in a while we create something astonishing. (Alright, Joss Whedon used it...but this is different....) But "our" version... And this time I mean "the collective us that haunt this site"... "Our" version can be an awful lot of fun.

And I think - I know - that you're not alone in missing that.

[Hank McCoy]

So the last story is the victim of a whole bunch of bad timing and other failings...

(Blame whatever you like on me.)

But there are certain elements that are kind of essential to moving forward with a shifting, unreliable bunch of knuckleheads. Story elements. External motivations.

And I think that story got some of that right, although there's clearly a balance between "some structure" and "no freakin' clue". We've hit both sides of that, if you ask me.

[Hank McCoy]

That said...

This is an opportunity. It's a subtle restructuring of the underlying mechanism.

That old story -- the mixed-up House of M story -- isn't gone. It's very much in play if you want it to be, but it's also not essential. If you want to try to build something, start from wherever it makes sense for your character and go....

And if there's interest, we'll paint in the details. If not, no harm no foul.

[Hank McCoy]

"Expelled" isn't really a story per se. It's more of a mindset. It's another phase of "revolved".

It's about clearing the deck, getting rid of any of the things that are all too easy to fall back to but that no longer make much sense or just aren't something or someone we can count on. About moving forward and seeing if we can find any energy.

And when we find we hit a dead end, we (or they, I suppose) can just projectile vomit into the next iteration. Knock the Legos down and build something else this time.

[Hank McCoy]

So with the escape hatch firmly in place and one hand on the ejector button...

Ideas started getting tossed around about where to start that isn't "somebody knocks on the door" or "somebody meets at the mall".

Because I for one have always been of the opinion that rehashing the same setup will ultimately be what turns us all away for the final time. We can't be held hostage to our own or anyone else's continuity. Reinvent. Mix it up. Keep what works. Take a risk.

Start over if you hit a dead end.

I promise that beyond the pointing and laughing nobody will mind. (Joke.)

[Hank McCoy]

By way of obnoxiously brief recap:

The House of M/Magneto's World/Magneto's Way story was moving to a noisy and cataclysmic end at the bottom of the world. Of course it wouldn't work, Magneto you dope. But even in the face of knowing he wasn't about to let that go without a fight.

It was a clash of armies. Mutants. Those who followed Magneto and those who never would. Those who had been kept in the dark by a network of telepaths and those who had avoided being tainted under the protection of another. The Avengers. And what was left of a decimated normal human population. As they always do, the indestructible robots called "Ultrons" that were supposed to save humanity went berserk. They didn't really care who they killed.

They killed pretty much everyone.

[Hank McCoy]

But.... This is an X-Men story....

Gambit is very particular about that.

So it all boils down to a final fight between Magneto and the X-Men. He has a base within the Savage Land's volcano. Pretty sure it's Uncanny X-Men #116 if you don't believe me.

[Hank McCoy]

Magneto has a Secret Weapon. It's the thing that holds it all together. He got it when he took control of the M'Kraan crystal, but that's not where his power lies in this story.

It's the Infinity Gauntlet.

[Hank McCoy]

And there are reappearances and sacrifices and one mutant ultimately gains the prize.

It ain't Magneto.

[Hank McCoy]

And so, originally, this character was to have expressed their desire... one that would have put things back the way they were.

But that's not what happened.

[Hank McCoy]

Instead of that moment of clarity I had originally thought, the heartbreak of seeing friends dying and not knowing she had the power to make everything right brought about a moment of weakness and inexactness that brings us here.

What did they ask for?

"Make it all go away....!"

And having the power to make it happen, it did.

[Hank McCoy]

But there are forces... Editors, probably... who will never let that be the final word.

So here we are.

[Hank McCoy]

Now you know how we got here. Now you know where we are.

The part that stuck was "post-apocalyptic". We talked a bit about all the cliche's and potential conflicts but there's nothing set in stone. At least nothing I'll admit to. There are some ideas that I think may make an appearance, though.

If you want to play, you can decide for yourself what brought your character here. Who they are. Make it fun. If you have ideas where this blank slate might take us and you want to flesh them out -- say something. If you'd rather spring something on us - that's probably okay too. It's mostly just a chance to see where this "thing" might go.

[Hank McCoy]

Thoughts or comments?

[Desperado]

I'm sorry if I sound stupid (though Lord knows I've never been the brightest bulb anyway), but I guess my question becomes what are we to do? From my understanding, "Expelled" isn't really something that we're all focusing on, just those of us who want to. The rest of us are still free to post on the regular board, performing whatever wacky hijinks suits our moods.

Or, and I just had this as a thought, we may feel free to post on the House of M part of the site and still play in "Fallout: New Mutopia."

As I said, I may sound stupid for saying it, and I may be very wrong indeed. Regardless, I think it has a lot of potential, and I mean a lot of potential. I'm all for potential these days. Now let's see if I can not screw it up