Infinite Stratos Character Creation and Fanfiction Discussion

[Eratas123]

@ Senpai - Well, more like it's because of Mood Whiplash. I wanted to write a draft where Kazuma, Byaku, and Natasha's younger sister are trying to escape into the forest, but it just ends up making Byaku look jelly since Kazuma flirts without meaning to.

[ZeroXSEED]

^ Wat

Actually, that would be good, I don't even know how to put emotion into draft anymore, the worst one of course the Rom com, the reason why I was unable to write the goddamn crossover properly.

[Eratas123]

@ Senpai - Long story short: Byaku makes it clear that she likes Kazuma, but he rejects her based on various reasons such as lifespan, not being able to feel love, clone issues and etc etc. Byaku gets jelly, however, when Kazuma seems to turn right around and flirt with Natasha's younger sister without a single sense of irony.

Get it?

[ZeroXSEED]

^ That was actually thoughtful if the reader dig a little deeper, it explores the question on the values of life and whatnot from the perspective of humanoid AI.

[demino_hellsin]

Just write it... Dang... I still have to do part 4

[Eratas123]

@ Senpai - She's just as much a human as Kazuma is. He's not even actually flirting, mind. He talks with her alot since she's a walking info dump and he offers to give her a piggy back when she complains she's tired because they can't really afford to stop. He never offers Byaku the same offer on account of her being able to fly if she so much as thought about it, but she still gets pissy.

Oh, and most of Kazuma's excuses except the lifespan one are BS.

[agetreme]

Originally Posted by DarkJak2050

Uh guys. I got something on my mind and I'd appreciate the thoughts on it. It's the design for the Silverbacks when they get out of the Beta Phase. Remember that the Beta Phase design for the Silverbacks is similar to that of the Delta 6 Accelerator Suit from G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra.

I have some designs in mind for all 4 when they get out of the Beta Phase. But I'm asking for designs from you guys for the Silverbacks when they're out of the Beta Phase. If possible that is. You don't have to worry about color schemes cause I have that taken care of. Look here.

(Primary/Secondary)
Eric: Gunmetal Grey/Dark Blue
Eddie: Grey/Black
Brian: Dark Blue/Black
Clayton: Silver Chalice/Black

If you have designs in mind, I'd appreciate it guys. And remember that it has to be smaller than an IS with it's pilot (adding 1-2 inches to the user's overall size)

I thought you are going for Gear of War kind of armor?

Any way, like I say before: Depends on the creator of the armor

> D.I.Y. kind have wires sticking out
> Military kind usually go for simple design
> research prototype may be even simpler unless it is super prototype (then you use cool of fiction to make it cool)

[ZeroXSEED]

Hmm, probably do someting with Metal Wolf in spite of Blitz' objection, namely that it use a copy of every player's battle data over the course of three month, but most particularly, Dan, true elite mook indeed.

[agetreme]

See if you can get it

Spoiler for Joule Shepherd:

An unfortunate Lab Aide at Aquarian Era. He got involved in an accident in less than a week of his employment.

Joking refer the accident as reflecting badly on his resume...not that he need that anymore.

Watt looked like Joule because he is technically Joule's son....Which is why they share the same hobby and dislike for same person.

Is it too much for a hidden joke? (Can anybody even get the joke?).
Hint: It's in the name

Because it is a joke, I don't think I need to explain it....just an off-hand comments of stuff...

Meanwhile, other joke which you can enjoy:

Kyrios Machines inherited Aquarian Era's philosophy which happened to be:
Learn from Success.

What so bad about it? They never learn from their mistake.... result in very dangerous Bleeding Edge technology......

(Think I should change the title to Cores Of Bleeding Edge(CoBE): Escape from ISA!)

Meanwhile....
Prologue title: Invitation to Cake Party.

Chapter 1: Boxed him up and Shipped him out (Might change...Even though I kind of like that title)

Filler (In case I feel lazy to update): Six days of Joule Shepherd/introduction to Aquarian era's technology.
Interim Story (Will find a way to integrate it into chapter 1): Meet the pilot.

[DarkJak2050]

Originally Posted by ZeroXSEED

My only advice, they seems to be hell bent for military tradition, so they will have uniformized basic frame, but having modular armor that could actually change as the Silverback grew stronger and more efficient for their pilot?

For example, something like a specialized unit for assault, melee, sniping, artillery, repair, sensor or a combination thereof.

Yes, they'll look the same, if not, similar to each other in the Beta Phase. But they'll look completely different form each other once they get out of the Beta Phase. For the design I have in mind for Brian's, it's different when he's using his weapons.

Originally Posted by agetreme

I thought you are going for Gear of War kind of armor?

Any way, like I say before: Depends on the creator of the armor

> D.I.Y. kind have wires sticking out
> Military kind usually go for simple design
> research prototype may be even simpler unless it is super prototype (then you use cool of fiction to make it cool)

They used a similar kind of Gears of War armor, but that was their Thunder Crash armor; which is a semi-full body armor. The Silverback is full body armor; their body's fully encased in armor.

Their Thunder Crash armor has shoulder, chest, back and torso protection, but no side body protection. For the legs, there's armor on the front of the legs; thigh areas and shins. No protection on the back thighs and calves (other than semi-skin tight leggins made out of Kevlar like material). As for the arms, there's really no armor plating, but there's sleeves that are made out of Kevlar like material.

[Eratas123]

@ Senpai - New draft I took some words form another romance fic I read.

Spoiler:

Being a humanoid weapon, Byaku didn't have much in the way of friends. Other than the fact that she'd probably blow them up by accident if she ever got irritated, she wasn't exactly most social person on account of her upbringing. The only person she could call a friend would be Kazuma, and that would've been taken with a giant pinch of salt considering how the two interacted. She doubted the weaponized clone even knew the definition of the term. He certainly wasn't shy in being deadpan to her at all times.

The only other person in the group was Vanity, the younger sister of Natasha Fairbanks and current representative cadet for America. She expected the to hate the girl on sight considering the atrocities her older sister committed, but she found that she couldn't actually do that.

Vanity was naive. She truly believed all the lies all the other pilots said and she didn't bear any ill will towards anyone. She'd even managed to surprise the cynical clone with her naivete and innocence, so much so that Kazuma half-believed it was all an act and that she was just waiting to stab them in the back once she had the chance.

But she never did. In fact, she'd saved them more times than either Kazuma and Byaku cared to count. Kazuma still didn't believe in her entirely. After all, to him somebody who did so much good without expecting anything in return was all too impossible. Byaku, however, had made fast friends with the girl after the third time in a row of being saved.

And she loved it. Kazuma was.......not completely unreasonable, but Vanity was close to being the person she would call a best friend. They had a lot of interests, they shared a lot of things in common, and both agreed that Kazuma could be a right ass to be with sometimes. Byaku relished in the feeling that she finally had someone to relate to after all those years of being imprisoned.

How ironic it was, then, that she suddenly felt like throttling the girl till she was black and blue.

There was no doubt about it, Vanity was a very pretty, charming girl that had seemed to get all the right genes in all the right places. She had remained fairly modest about these qualities despite the fact that Byaku played them up numerous times in a friendly confidence rally. One day the lovely pilot with the golden hair and a figure to die for would steal some man's heart, and woe to the maidens who had fancied him before he saw her.

Woe indeed.

"Did you really go all over the world in just a few years?"

"I did. Ichika used to drag me around by the collar and make sure that I was still alive every few seconds because I was so quiet all the time," Vanity gave another of her airy giggles that Byaku had once found rather charming. At the moment, it simply made her flinch. Why, oh why hadn't she insisted that they stay quiet in case they get spotted? The two of them hadn't stopped talking since they made their way into this blighted forest.

Byaku also wished she had the gall to say something about the obvious flirting going on quite literally behind her back. And it was flirting, no doubt about it. Never in all the weeks she'd known him had Kazuma talked so much with one person without a single snappish insult or deadpan comment.

"What's so funny?" Kazuma looked slightly surprised, "It's true. Ichika always told me that dragging me around was a pain because I never talked and at times it seemed like I barely breathed," He gave a small cough/snort, "It was hard for him to do all that when he could have just left me."

"Why? Dragging around a cute kid and watching over him doesn't sound so bad to me," Vanity gave another one of her trademark giggles. Byaku tightened her fist and gritted her teeth when she heard the compliment.

"Cute?" Kazuma coughed and blushed slightly, "I doubt he thought of me that way. Since I'm a clone, I took his appearance along with most of his features. To him it was probably like looking in a mirror and seeing yourself as a kid again."

"Hmm, really~?" She leaned uncomfortably close to him. Kazuma flinched back and stepped away on instinct, "I wouldn't mind if I was in his place-"

*SNAP*

The two of them looked forward at the source of the sound. Byaku stood there, holding a branch that had been snapped clean off from one of the smaller trees. The hand that was holding onto the branch was twitching greatly and her shoulders shook with barely contained anger.

"Byaku, is something wrong?" Kazuma thought to step forward and get closer, but something in his gut told him that he probably shouldn't.

"Oh, nothings wrong," She turned back to the two of them and gave a forced smile, "I just grabbed onto it and tore it off by accident. I guess I don't know my own strength." She gave a giggle, but it didn't make him feel relaxed like Vanity's did. It sounded more like a blaring alarm and a sign of danger.

"Actually, that reminds me. Can we rest for a bit?" Vanity sighed and grabbed onto a nearby tree, "We've been walking around this forest for a couple of hours now and I really need to take a break."

'Well, that Pilot training doesn't seem to be doing you any good right now, does it?'

"I'm not sure we can afford to stop," Kazuma looked around warily, "I can carry you if you like. I'm not feeling tired and I should be able to carry around both our weights for a while." A twitch had firmly planted itself in the corner of Byaku's eye now. Sebastian's tone sounded completely serious and unflirty, but she couldn't help but think about how he'd never offered such a courtesy to her, not even once.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea," Byaku absentmindedly snapped the twig in half and threw it down on the floor, "We can't make any progress while it's dark out and I already started picking firewood anyway," She pointed down at the snapped twig, "It'll be good for us to rest.

Byaku didn't like seeing this side of herself, particularly because it was so rare. She shouldn't be feeling jealous of her best friend about this. Kazuma was an idiot and most like didn't even realize just what exactly he was doing. Likewise, Vanity was just that friendly to everyone. God, she shouldn't be feelng like this. If she wanted to see an annoying ass, she would've pestered Kazuma till his temper reached breaking point. She shouldn't be the one acting scowly at the smallest things.

She should've been happy all thing considered. She finally had someone to talk to that didn't tell her to shut up or give deadpan answers. Yet why was she silent as she set up the tent and ignoring the conversation those two were having again?

"I have to say, I'm surprised that a pilot has no idea what's going on. I would've thought all of the representatives were tight knit."

Oh, that's right. Kazuma loved the fact that the pilots weren't some unbeatable force with lots of reserves. In fact, he hadn't been able to shut up about it since Vanity had showed up, asking her about numerous details and looking at her IS. Just how long had he really looked, Byaku wondered. Hastily, she shoved the raging jealousy back into her gut. Who cares if he looked at her and her IS? I mean, it wasn't like there was anybody else in camp who was both at once.

As she worked to pitch a tent, quickly becoming frustrated with how little it seemed to want to cooperate, she wondered if she'd been asking for this. Had she done something so wrong in her life that the forces that be thought it would be hilarious to throw this spike into her life? She had found someone who was willing to be honest with her and treat her as an individual rather than her designated codename. Sure he might not have been the nicest person in the world, but there was rarely any nice people to begin with in this world at all. But there had to be a catch, there was always a catch when it came to these things.

She had teased him at first when he politely refused her advances (and him doing it politely was very surprising for her), but she had respected his opinion because she loved him. She didn't push; she didn't pry. He was worth more than a trashy novel romance ending and she wanted him to know that. That didn't stop her from entertaining thoughts, of course, but overall she'd been a good girl. If she'd known that all it took was a spastic giggle and a bat of the eyes to make him reconsider she would have done it ages ago!

The branch that she had been trying to force into a bow as support for the tent decided it was tired of this nonsense and snapped back just then, whipping her in the eye. Byaku fell back, hand to her face. It didn't really hurt her at all, but it severely aggravated her already annoyed mood. She hadn't known that she'd acquired that full of a roster of obscenities until they flew from her mouth word for word.

She stood quickly just as the last piece of obscenity flew from her mouth. Kazuma and Vanity were staring at her. She felt her face blush and the blue color rush to her cheeks

Byaku, are you-" Vanity began meekly before she got interrupted.

"FINE! I am very...fine," Vanity said, throwing the hand that wasn't over her eye in the air.

"That looked serious, Byaku. Vanity knows some first aid. You should let her -," Kazuma started until Byaku jabbed a finger at him.

"I'm her best friend. I know what she knows! I gave it her the book where she learned it from, for God's sake!"

"He's right. You should let me see," Vanity said soothingly. Bless her for being so sweet, but the last thing Byaku wanted was to be coddled by her best friend in front of the man she loved that said friend was obliviously stealing away! Obliviously! To hell with it all! Byaku pulled her hand from her eye and lifted it, trying to find the words while encouraging them to, please, stop talking. She mustered all the calm and cool she could find in herself and opened her eyes despite the slight sting that remained.

"Like I said. I'm fine. You two set up the tent and continue what I'm sure is an absolutely riveting conversation, and I'm going to get some firewood." Her hand slowly turned and pointed behind her, which she followed by skulking off towards a set of trees in the distance.

The guilt for being so angry with them began to sink in. Deep down she knew they likely thought nothing of their behavior. They were simply relating and sharing stories. Vanity had always been a charmer no matter what she was doing and it was only logical that she would have that effect even in the jaded clone. The clone had such a terrible habit of being naive about flirtations and innuendo that it often made her wonder if his progenitor was the same. She remembered the first time she'd insinuated her attraction to him and how long it took for him to catch the hint.

No matter how she rationalized or felt bad about it, she kept returning to the same thing.

'Why hasn't he ever done those things with me?'

Byaku was just considering returning to apologize when she heard Kazuma calling for her. The irritation started to resurface as part of her wanted him to go away while the other wanted to run into his arms, crying like an child and demanding that he explain why he liked Vanity so much more. When she rose to her feet, however, the stronger side of her, the one that had accomplished so much in the last few weeks, told her to stop being an idiot. It reminded her that she was an IS, not some nervous schoogirl who would die without the affection of a man.

When Kazuma passed her tree and realized she was there, he looked at her wordlessly. She said nothing, crossed her arms and pouted to the side, refusing to look at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked after uncomfortably clearing his throat. It took a lot of effort from him not to snark at her.

Oh, now he cared? "I'm -"

"Fine. So you've said," He finished for her. "I meant in general. It takes more than a cut to put you in such a foul mood."

"I'm just tired," She bluffed, wanting him to just figure out what he'd done wrong, because he should have known. He should have, damnit.

"For some reason I really don't believe that," He deadpanned, taking one step towards her. Those warring feelings came back. He was good at looking genuinely concerned since he rarely ever showed it. Damn it all to hell, Byaku thought sourly. "I feel as though I'm the one at fault here."

"HA!" The laugh came out before Byaku could contain it. She tried to play it down anyway, covering her mouth and turning away from him. When she looked back over her shoulder at him, he just looked confused. It was irritatingly adorable considering how emotionless he usually was, "Kazuma, you are aware I like you, right?"

"I......can call you a friend, yes" He stumbled a little when Byaku advanced on him.

"No, I mean more than that." She smiled sweetly at the blush that spread across his cheeks,

"I...I think..."

"You know, back in the lab. When you said you'd do me a single favor and I whispered it to your ear. Remember that?" His brown eyes rounded, searching for the memory, then locked back on hers when he found it.

"Ah...yeah, I remember that."

Byaku pressed her palms together and gave a sigh of frustration.

"And you said that you didn't have long to live so you couldn't get into a relationship, right?"

Of course she knew that excuse was stupid. He used the same excuse every time. She tells him to be patient? He says that he doesn't have time due to his lifespan. She warns him about danger? He says he doesn't care because he has a short lifespan. She tells him to eat something instead of scouting again? He tells her food is no good because he already had a short lifespan.

He'd probably use that excuse so long as he could till the day he died.

"Y...Yeah..." Kazuma shook his head hardly and tried in vain to remove the color across his cheeks.

"Good. Now, would you care to explain to me why this does not apply to my best friend?" Byaku gritted out.

"Vanity?" He asked, incredulous, eyes darting to the side once as he looked confused, "Byaku, we were talking. Honestly, I'm more surprised that she was a pilot at all. She's really nice."

"Hm~," Byaku hummed, backing him up to a tree then and placing one hand at the side of his head. God, but he was starting to almost look terrified, likely wondering what she had in store for him. Byaku felt the corners of her lips quirk in a most devious manner. He was used to being grabbed and attacked, but it was usually followed by a stab or a punch,"And what am I?"

"A......friend? Someone who-"

He didn't get to continue. Byaku leaned forward and caught his lips in hers, giving a small moan at the contact. Gently, her hands dropped from the sides of his face and held his shoulders tightly. He struggled lightly against the intimate contact before he relaxed and closed his eyes.

"......Byaku?" Kazuma seemed to realize what exactly he was doing and pushed her off him. His face was as red as fire and he took deep breaths like his life depended on it, "Wh-What did you do that for?" His voice came out in between gasps and he sounded absolutely scandalized.

"Sorry?" Byaku didn't look sorry at all. Her face also had its trademark blue tinted blush, but it was nowhere near Kazuma's level, "I guess I got carried away a little," She sighed, "Come on, we should go back before Vanity gets worried."

"H-Hey, hold on a minute!"

Byaku ignored the stuttering clone and walked past him, a small smile on her lips and a light feeling in her heart.

[agetreme]

Originally Posted by DarkJak2050

Their Thunder Crash armor has shoulder, chest, back and torso protection, but no side body protection. For the legs, there's armor on the front of the legs; thigh areas and shins. No protection on the back thighs and calves (other than semi-skin tight leggins made out of Kevlar like material). As for the arms, there's really no armor plating, but there's sleeves that are made out of Kevlar like material.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powersuit

If you want to go for realistic, then go simple because Military don't do fancy stuff.

[ZeroXSEED]

Originally Posted by Eratas123

@ Senpai - New draft I took some words form another romance fic I read.

Spoiler:

Being a humanoid weapon, Byaku didn't have much in the way of friends. Other than the fact that she'd probably blow them up by accident if she ever got irritated, she wasn't exactly most social person on account of her upbringing. The only person she could call a friend would be Kazuma, and that would've been taken with a giant pinch of salt considering how the two interacted. She doubted the weaponized clone even knew the definition of the term. He certainly wasn't shy in being deadpan to her at all times.

The only other person in the group was Vanity, the younger sister of Natasha Fairbanks and current representative cadet for America. She expected the to hate the girl on sight considering the atrocities her older sister committed, but she found that she couldn't actually do that.

Vanity was naive. She truly believed all the lies all the other pilots said and she didn't bear any ill will towards anyone. She'd even managed to surprise the cynical clone with her naivete and innocence, so much so that Kazuma half-believed it was all an act and that she was just waiting to stab them in the back once she had the chance.

But she never did. In fact, she'd saved them more times than either Kazuma and Byaku cared to count. Kazuma still didn't believe in her entirely. After all, to him somebody who did so much good without expecting anything in return was all too impossible. Byaku, however, had made fast friends with the girl after the third time in a row of being saved.

And she loved it. Kazuma was.......not completely unreasonable, but Vanity was close to being the person she would call a best friend. They had a lot of interests, they shared a lot of things in common, and both agreed that Kazuma could be a right ass to be with sometimes. Byaku relished in the feeling that she finally had someone to relate to after all those years of being imprisoned.

How ironic it was, then, that she suddenly felt like throttling the girl till she was black and blue.

There was no doubt about it, Vanity was a very pretty, charming girl that had seemed to get all the right genes in all the right places. She had remained fairly modest about these qualities despite the fact that Byaku played them up numerous times in a friendly confidence rally. One day the lovely pilot with the golden hair and a figure to die for would steal some man's heart, and woe to the maidens who had fancied him before he saw her.

Woe indeed.

"Did you really go all over the world in just a few years?"

"I did. Ichika used to drag me around by the collar and make sure that I was still alive every few seconds because I was so quiet all the time," Vanity gave another of her airy giggles that Byaku had once found rather charming. At the moment, it simply made her flinch. Why, oh why hadn't she insisted that they stay quiet in case they get spotted? The two of them hadn't stopped talking since they made their way into this blighted forest.

Byaku also wished she had the gall to say something about the obvious flirting going on quite literally behind her back. And it was flirting, no doubt about it. Never in all the weeks she'd known him had Kazuma talked so much with one person without a single snappish insult or deadpan comment.

"What's so funny?" Kazuma looked slightly surprised, "It's true. Ichika always told me that dragging me around was a pain because I never talked and at times it seemed like I barely breathed," He gave a small cough/snort, "It was hard for him to do all that when he could have just left me."

"Why? Dragging around a cute kid and watching over him doesn't sound so bad to me," Vanity gave another one of her trademark giggles. Byaku tightened her fist and gritted her teeth when she heard the compliment.

"Cute?" Kazuma coughed and blushed slightly, "I doubt he thought of me that way. Since I'm a clone, I took his appearance along with most of his features. To him it was probably like looking in a mirror and seeing yourself as a kid again."

"Hmm, really~?" She leaned uncomfortably close to him. Kazuma flinched back and stepped away on instinct, "I wouldn't mind if I was in his place-"

*SNAP*

The two of them looked forward at the source of the sound. Byaku stood there, holding a branch that had been snapped clean off from one of the smaller trees. The hand that was holding onto the branch was twitching greatly and her shoulders shook with barely contained anger.

"Byaku, is something wrong?" Kazuma thought to step forward and get closer, but something in his gut told him that he probably shouldn't.

"Oh, nothings wrong," She turned back to the two of them and gave a forced smile, "I just grabbed onto it and tore it off by accident. I guess I don't know my own strength." She gave a giggle, but it didn't make him feel relaxed like Vanity's did. It sounded more like a blaring alarm and a sign of danger.

"Actually, that reminds me. Can we rest for a bit?" Vanity sighed and grabbed onto a nearby tree, "We've been walking around this forest for a couple of hours now and I really need to take a break."

'Well, that Pilot training doesn't seem to be doing you any good right now, does it?'

"I'm not sure we can afford to stop," Kazuma looked around warily, "I can carry you if you like. I'm not feeling tired and I should be able to carry around both our weights for a while." A twitch had firmly planted itself in the corner of Byaku's eye now. Sebastian's tone sounded completely serious and unflirty, but she couldn't help but think about how he'd never offered such a courtesy to her, not even once.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea," Byaku absentmindedly snapped the twig in half and threw it down on the floor, "We can't make any progress while it's dark out and I already started picking firewood anyway," She pointed down at the snapped twig, "It'll be good for us to rest.

Byaku didn't like seeing this side of herself, particularly because it was so rare. She shouldn't be feeling jealous of her best friend about this. Kazuma was an idiot and most like didn't even realize just what exactly he was doing. Likewise, Vanity was just that friendly to everyone. God, she shouldn't be feelng like this. If she wanted to see an annoying ass, she would've pestered Kazuma till his temper reached breaking point. She shouldn't be the one acting scowly at the smallest things.

She should've been happy all thing considered. She finally had someone to talk to that didn't tell her to shut up or give deadpan answers. Yet why was she silent as she set up the tent and ignoring the conversation those two were having again?

"I have to say, I'm surprised that a pilot has no idea what's going on. I would've thought all of the representatives were tight knit."

Oh, that's right. Sebastian loved the fact that the pilots weren't some unbeatable force with lots of reserves. In fact, he hadn't been able to shut up about it since Vanity had showed up, asking her about numerous details and looking at her IS. Just how long had he really looked, Byaku wondered. Hastily, she shoved the raging jealousy back into her gut. Who cares if he looked at her and her IS? I mean, it wasn't like there was anybody else in camp who was both at once.

As she worked to pitch a tent, quickly becoming frustrated with how little it seemed to want to cooperate, she wondered if she'd been asking for this. Had she done something so wrong in her life that the forces that be thought it would be hilarious to throw this spike into her life? She had found someone who was willing to be honest with her and treat her as an individual rather than her designated codename. Sure he might not have been the nicest person in the world, but there was rarely any nice people to begin with in this world at all. But there had to be a catch, there was always a catch when it came to these things.

She had teased him at first when he politely refused her advances (and him doing it politely was very surprising for her), but she had respected his opinion because she loved him. She didn't push; she didn't pry. He was worth more than a trashy novel romance ending and she wanted him to know that. That didn't stop her from entertaining thoughts, of course, but overall she'd been a good girl. If she'd known that all it took was a spastic giggle and a bat of the eyes to make him reconsider she would have done it ages ago!

The branch that she had been trying to force into a bow as support for the tent decided it was tired of this nonsense and snapped back just then, whipping her in the eye. Byaku fell back, hand to her face. It didn't really hurt her at all, but it severely aggravated her already annoyed mood. She hadn't known that she'd acquired that full of a roster of obscenities until they flew from her mouth word for word.

She stood quickly just as the last piece of obscenity flew from her mouth. Kazuma and Vanity were staring at her. She felt her face blush and the blue color rush to her cheeks

Byaku, are you-" Vanity began meekly before she got interrupted.

"FINE! I am very...fine," Vanity said, throwing the hand that wasn't over her eye in the air.

"That looked serious, Byaku. Vanity knows some first aid. You should let her -," Kazuma started until Byaku jabbed a finger at him.

"I'm her best friend. I know what she knows! I gave it her the book where she learned it from, for God's sake!"

"He's right. You should let me see," Vanity said soothingly. Bless her for being so sweet, but the last thing Byaku wanted was to be coddled by her best friend in front of the man she loved that said friend was obliviously stealing away! Obliviously! To hell with it all! Byaku pulled her hand from her eye and lifted it, trying to find the words while encouraging them to, please, stop talking. She mustered all the calm and cool she could find in herself and opened her eyes despite the slight sting that remained.

"Like I said. I'm fine. You two set up the tent and continue what I'm sure is an absolutely riveting conversation, and I am going to get firewood." Her hand slowly turned and pointed behind her, which she followed by skulking off towards a set of trees in the distance.

The guilt for being so angry with them began to sink in. Deep down she knew they likely thought nothing of their behavior. They were simply relating and sharing stories. Vanity had always been a charmer no matter what she was doing and it was only logical that she would have that effect even in the jaded clone. The clone had such a terrible habit of being naive about flirtations and innuendo that it often made her wonder if his progenitor was the same. She remembered the first time she'd insinuated her attraction to him and how long it took for him to catch the hint.

No matter how she rationalized or felt bad about it, she kept returning to the same thing.

'Why hasn't he ever done those things with me?'

Byaku was just considering returning to apologize when she heard Kazuma calling for her. The irritation started to resurface as part of her wanted him to go away while the other wanted to run into his arms, crying like an child and demanding that he explain why he liked Vanity so much more. When she rose to her feet, however, the stronger side of her, the one that had accomplished so much in the last few weeks, told her to stop being an idiot. It reminded her that she was an IS, not some nervous schoogirl who would die without the affection of a man.

When Kazuma passed her tree and realized she was there, he looked at her wordlessly. She said nothing, crossed her arms and pouted to the side, refusing to look at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked after uncomfortably clearing his throat. It took a lot of effort from him not to snark at her.

Oh, now he cared? "I'm -"

"Fine. So you've said," He finished for her. "I meant in general. It takes more than a cut to put you in such a foul mood."

"I'm just tired," She bluffed, wanting him to just figure out what he'd done wrong, because he should have known. He should have, damnit.

"For some reason I really don't believe that," He deadpanned, taking one step towards her. Those warring feelings came back. He was good at looking genuinely concerned since he rarely ever showed it. Damn it all to hell, Byaku thought sourly. "I feel as though I'm the one at fault here."

"HA!" The laugh came out before Byaku could contain it. She tried to play it down anyway, covering her mouth and turning away from him. When she looked back over her shoulder at him, he just looked confused. It was irritatingly adorable considering how emotionless he usually was, "Kazuma, you are aware I like you, right?"

"I......can call you a friend, yes" He stumbled a little when Byaku advanced on him.

"No, I mean more than that." She smiled sweetly at the blush that spread across his cheeks,

"I...I think..."

"You know, back in the lab. When you said you'd do me a single favor and I whispered it to your ear. Remember that?" His blue eyes rounded, searching for the memory, then locked back on hers when he found it.

"Ah...yeah, I remember that."

Byaku pressed her palms together and gave a sigh of frustration.

"And you said that you didn't have long to live so you couldn't get into a relationship, right?"

Of course she knew that excuse was stupid. He used the same excuse every time. She tells him to be patient? He says that he doesn't have time due to his lifespan. She warns him about danger? He says he doesn't care because he has a short lifespan. She tells him to eat something instead of scouting again? He tells her food is no good because he already had a short lifespan.

He'd probably use that excuse so long as he could till the day he died.

"Y...Yeah..." Kazuma shook his head hardly and tried in vain to remove the color across his cheeks.

"Good. Now, would you care to explain to me why this does not apply to my best friend?" Byaku gritted out.

"Vanity?" He asked, incredulous, eyes darting to the side once as he looked confused, "Byaku, we were talking. Honestly, I'm more surprised that she was a pilot at all. She's really nice."

"Hm~," Byaku hummed, backing him up to a tree then and placing one hand at the side of his head. God, but he was starting to almost look terrified, likely wondering what she had in store for him. Byaku felt the corners of her lips quirk in a most devious manner. He was used to being grabbed and attacked, but it was usually followed by a stab or a punch,"And what am I?"

"A......friend? Someone who-"

He didn't get to continue. Byaku leaned forward and caught his lips in hers, giving a small moan at the contact. Gently, her hands dropped from the sides of his face and held his shoulders tightly. He struggled lightly against the intimate contact before he relaxed and closed his eyes.

"......Byaku?" Kazuma seemed to realize what exactly he was doing and pushed her off him. His face was as red as fire and he took deep breaths like his life depended on it, "Wh-What did you do that for?" His voice came out in between gasps and he sounded absolutely scandalized.

"Sorry?" Byaku didn't look sorry at all. Her face also had its trademark blue tinted blush, but it was nowhere near Kazuma's level, "I guess I got carried away a little," She sighed, "Come on, we should go back before Vanity gets worried."

"H-Hey, hold on a minute!"

Byaku ignored the stuttering clone and walked past him, a small smile on her lips and a light feeling in her heart.

*JAW DROP*

The diamond amongst the rocks indeed, doesn't mean the rock is bad, just that total hopelessness is not my cup

[Eratas123]

@ Senpai - Umm,........huh?

[ZeroXSEED]

^ I mean it was as good as the darker segment of the story overall, most fic writer have hard time switching the mood properly without sacrificing the story's quality (especially bad writer like me)

[Eratas123]

DARK Future is supposed to have a giant downer ending, but I can't see it happening now that it's been bleached in Rom-com. Doesn't help that all my silent protagonists end up turning into deadpan snarkers.

How do ypu keep a character quiet and untalkative when it's so boring to do so?

[ZeroXSEED]

^ I dunno, especially if they also unable to express anything.

Duke Togo of Golgo 13, for example... simply because he's so badass and so invicible that people keep watching, even though I think it's boring (40+ years as of now). To reiterate, he keep the same flat face when having sex, and THEN have some police find him in that state.

[DarkJak2050]

Originally Posted by agetreme

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powersuit

If you want to go for realistic, then go simple because Military don't do fancy stuff.

[Sighs]...

Dude, their Thunder Crash armor is not powered. It's just armor for protection purposes. It does not enhance their fighting capabilities in anyway; other than protection. It's basically conventional armor but on a higher level and it offers no protection whatseoever against an IS.

The Silverbacks are the full body power armor they'll be using against the ISes. And when I mean by full body, I mean by they're fully encased in armor; their whole body's protected in armor. It enhances their fighting capabilities and has far superior protection than their Thunder Crash armor. Look here:

Thunder Crash armor: Non-Powered, yet higher level conventional semi-full body armor.

Silverback: Full body power armor, with far superior protection and fighting capability enhancements.

Basically, they're moving on from their Thunder Crash armor to the Silverbacks.

What I implied for the Silverbacks in their Beta Phase is how we as humans, first start out.

We all start out practically the same in the beginning; but as we grow older, we all grow differently from one another. Now apply that to the Silverbacks in the Beta Phase and when it gets out of it.

And you know what, forget about what I asked about getting designs for the Silverbacks (Out of Beta Phase) from you guys...

Didn't know that asking designs from you guys would cause this much trouble. And possibly taking this whole thing off topic...

[Eratas123]

@ Jak - Again, if you want advice, make things clear. Don't complain about others giving advice when you never specifically state things. At no point in your earlier posts do you say "It's how WE as humans start out."

Asking for advice and then complainign when you don't get the exact results you want is pointless. If you're already leaning on an exact result that you want, then its pointless to ask.

@ Senpai - Indeed, its very hard. Not too long ago I made characters who simply communicated with "..." in every conversation.

[DarkJak2050]

I asked because you guys might come up with better design(s) than what I have in mind. If that was the case, then I'll use those design(s) instead of mine.