#namitag:solposting

[namidragons]

Some more Sol meta rambles relating to the various Sols in my IWATEX fic Inevitability

Spoilers referencing some endings and of course, the fic, so uhhh read that first? Also discussion of death.

Xylophone "Zy" is a bit of a thought experiment about timeloops and just how differently/badly things on Vertumna could go. Within Exocolonist itself obviously things can only diverge so much otherwise it'd be impossible to factor everything into the game, but I imagine that, through butterfly effects and little nudges here and there, some of Sol's loops could end up looking very different from how things shake out in the game. There's a number of occasions where Sol 'remembers' things that don't happen or they're unsure are real, some of them apparently very bad; there are probably potential disasters that we never see during an actual playthrough.

Which brings us to Zy, the living embodiment of worst case scenario. They're kind of awkward and gloomy, and when they arrive on Vertumna, things just get worse and worse. Tammy dies and Zy can't shake off the thought that it's their fault, something felt wrong and they ignored it and now Tammy's gone. They withdraw in on themselves, start sneaking out with Dys (they kind of get along with him? but Zy's also really blunt and tactless and probably upsets him sometimes), and then within a couple of years another disaster. They both run afoul of some wildlife, Zy panics and uses their augment, which is a kind of a camouflage, Dys is killed. Zy's turbobanned forever from going out and there's a share of people who blame them for Dys (though Zy probably believes it's more people than it really is). Although Zy does manage to save Hal later on, they are injured in the process and suffer from a permanent eye injury. Cal, pretty much the only friend-adjacent person Zy has left, dies in a geoponics accident thanks to the cultivators straining to their limits to try and solve the famine, which also sees Flulu die.

Zy then remembers what's going to happen with the Stratos being destroyed and as per the fic, it's their breaking point. They manage to blow up the faceless attacking the colony but the explosion brings down the wall and kills Chief Rhett, among others, resulting in massive casualties. Zy wanders off into the wilderness in a self-loathing despair and meets their end.

writing it all out I feel pretty bad for them damn, but that's where you get thinking about worst timelines.

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Strawberry "Beep" is the opposite side of the Zy timeloop coin, as in, there must be certain loops where the events that play out are very, very similar, down to the Sol experiencing them being almost exactly the same person (something pretty easily replicated in the game itself). In this case, Beep being very close to another Strawberry, "Straw".

Like it says in the fic, Beep is a tough cookie and an excellent fighter, but not a jerk about it. She's kind of in the middle of loyalty vs rebellion; she'll usually toe the line but there's a competitive streak in her and definite willingness to challenge the status quo. Sometimes in the back of her head she just gets this impression, this idea, that hey maybe she should back off a bit, maybe she shouldn't brag, maybe she should be the bigger person. (and let's be real, kind of a jerk move to gloat about being a powerhouse when your augment is superstrength)

I just find it interesting to consider how much Sol might or might not remember. Maybe now and then there's a loop just like this one, where it's more of a nagging feeling than distinct memories.

Sadly for Beep, being a hero doesn't always pan out, and those consequences are another facet of her.

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Strawberry "Straw" was one of my favourite actual playthroughs (though honestly I love all my Sols puts them in a big basket and carries them around like little chickies). She's hard as nails and maximised every red skill, that super strength putting in work. As a kid, she's an absolute hellion with rebellion all the way to the right, someone who helps out with guard and watch duty all the time but frustrates the heck out of Rhett because she's terrible with orders and consistently just does whatever she wants: it works so nobody is allowed to criticise her.

Kom's death hits Straw like a hammer and completely knocks her off her high horse. Without the reality check, Straw would have grown up to be an arrogant jerk, akin to a less cruel Vace. Instead, Straw calms down a lot, realises her own limitations, and puts in some work on herself. She's still not really the greatest people person (bravery 2/3s full is pretty much the extent of her social skills), but her boisterousness comes down a few notches and she's only mostly rebellious instead of full bore stick it to the man.

Technically there are versions of Straw who both destroyed the array and were a colonial hero, but Straw genuinely and truly wants to make things better, and in spite of finding out enough about the array that she could have sabotaged it, she quietly just omits key information and stalls enough that she and Marz are able to pull off their coup and replace Lum. At that stage it's a leadup into a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Instead of being a career soldier, Straw turns towards her botanical interests and becomes prominent in that field. (Straw is significantly smarter than she lets on or wants people to know, in peacetime endings, she gets over that insecurity).

Straw has a lot of good friends amongst the other colonists, including somehow Vace. She broke up him and Nem, but she kind of compartmentalised it as a dislike for seeing Nem with somebody else (Straw having crushed on her for essentially forever). Vace and Straw are competitive, and she doesn't put up with him being pointlessly cruel in front of her, but they're both pretty gung ho people and Straw does cheer on 'badass' stuff and attempt it in turn. Over time (especially when Straw and Nem get together a while after the breakup and she starts to realise how bad Vace's behaviour really was), Straw comes to the conclusion that Vace has got issues and needs help, but it's much later than the in-game therapy arc, because Straw isn't great with this kind of thing and spends a little while hoping he'll just grow out of it (he is in his mid 20s, he is not growing out of it). So yeah Straw gets Vace therapy when he's about 25 and has caused a lot of shit already. (non-therapy Vace friendship is kind of a big oof in ending slides, he just never grows as a person).

Incidentally, arrogant!Straw probably wouldn't have got along with Vace, there'd have been too much push-pull with their relationship, and she'd have started mashing his buttons on purpose sooner or later. Eventually, one of them would have wound up seriously injuring the other; we already know Vace has it in him to attack Sol, and arrogant!Straw is a Sol who would fight back very violently. It would not have ended well in the slightest.