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+---- Thread: *X-Man's Origin In An Alphabetic Dystopia (/showthread.php?tid=47047)
*X-Man's Origin In An Alphabetic Dystopia - X-man - 08-15-2023
Here is a story about a land far far away named Lexitopia, and a peculiar letter's rise to fame. Lexitopia functions a lot like Earth, except every person there is in the shape of a letter. Currently, Lexitopia features a rigid caste structure with an alphabetical preference for earlier letters. All significant posts in both government and business are normally held by As, Bs, and Cs. The farther down you get, you notice the less success these letters have in life.
Lexicaball is a special type of sport based off American Football, but each team has an array of different letters to help them. It's 11 v. 11, offense and defense, same rules as the NFL, except with letters playing instead of humans. Typically, O's and D's will play as offensive or defensive lineman, depending on which side of the field they line up. Each letter's shape gives it unique interactions, but typically only around a few letters see any playing time at the pro level. These letters are O, D, H, W, M, and Q. And if you're an I, don't even bother. Those letters are wide and bulky, and offer unique advantages and counter each other.
So for Xavier, this young X, playing Lexicaball has always been a difficult route. Xavier comes from an immigrant family (don't even get me started on fonts), and his father, an X as well, always pushed him to play a sport. One of the only ways to make money for letters lower than X is through sports and entertainment. Xavier has put his all into lexicaball since grade school, and had a natural talent. Despite being the only X on his flag lexicaball teams, he was still the top performer due to his unique shape that let him become a lockdown defender. There hadn't been many X's to make it to the pros, and none have thrived, so Xavier knew his chances were slim from the start.
Xavier had a successful time in middle school and all the way up until his senior year in high school, but he never got any offers to play in college. His dream school was University X, the #1 program in the world. Think of it like Alabama, but better. University X had won 13 of the last 14 championships, with the only loss coming when their team plane tragically crashed. However, all of this changed during Xavier's homecoming game, where his team devised a play where an X and an C merged mid play, creating a tackling juggernaut. Merging plays are typically played out in the LLL (Lexitopia Lexicaball League), but this combination worked so well against the typical offensive line of Os, that his team rode this play all the way to a conference championship. The team gave up 4 touchdowns all year.
The unique usage of an X at the high school level of play was doubted by many, since it was just high school. However, Xavier received an offer to try out for University X, and no more. Lexicaball is always changing, and trying out new strategies at a high level of competition is integral to maintaining success in any division of play. Xavier's skillset and unique usage of his body threw off receivers and runners, in a way never seen before. X consistently baited interceptions and finished tackles that his linebackers couldn't.
Xavier went onto have a storied career at University X, winning awards and compiling championships. He was the MVL of the college league, and projected to go #1 in every mock draft. However, a wormhole opened and dropped Xavier in an alternate universe where there were real people instead of letters, but Xavier stayed as a letter. Xavier walked on for a DSFL team, the Kansas City Coyotes, and somehow did well, to the amazement of all the coaches. Nobody had ever seen a letter exist as a humanoid figure with sentience, much less play football. He was dubbed X-Man, by the locals, and his story is a work in progress...