Infinite Stratos Character Creation and Fanfiction Discussion

[Fireminer]

Hmm... Do you think that Chifuyu is actually a student in the Shinonono's dojo? Houki and her are the only two who two uses Katana in both hands.

* KMD-2.5 Uchigane Nishiki: Result of an attempt to bring the Uchigane series up to modern standard. The developers basically took a blank Uchigane, reduce the area and weight of the armor, installing more boosters and equalizer, while also added some new weapons and a brand-new OS. While the basic plan was laid down, it was never conceptualized as Kuromachi Machinery Development had to focus their resources into KMD-3 Byakushiki. The blueprint only found light of day after in the hands of Kanzashi Tatenashi, who made further enhancements to her personal unit.
- Standby Mode: A small golden ring that Kanzashi wears on her right hand.
- Armaments:
+ Taipu 61 Sentaku Kanō Asarutobatoruraifuru (Type 59 Selectable Assault Battle Rifle):The Type 59 SABR was made to replace the Type 56 and 58’s functions. It has two barrels, each firing the 8.0x72 mm and the 30x110mm airburst (treated with phosphate to burn in contact) rounds. The rifle possess an interesting system, in which the two long-stroke piston working as counterbalancer of each other, thus making the Type 59 can fires from all three barrels at the same time.
+ Taipu 62 Trance:To tackle with the pilots’ negative responses, a new CQC weapon was made, patterned after a Naginata. The Type 62 forsaken the old thermal system, instead opts for an ultra-vibration system, in which the blade became very sharp due to its extremely high oscillation rates. However, the weapon emits an ear-shattering “screech” whenever deployed.
+ Taipu 63 Mountain Storm:48 hi-capability missiles that use a Multi Lock-on System or a manual guided system to engage one or more enemies at once
+ Taipu 64 Shunrai:A plasma cannon that Kazashi herself developed. Using a modified 3S47 Sava (the first ever successful compact plasma weapon) as a frame, Kanzashi decreased its energy consumption, delay between shots and scattered rate. The data from Byakushiki’s is used in the development of this weapon (However, it’s interesting to note that Setsura uses thermal plasma, while Shunrai’s shots are nonthermal.)
- Special Abilities:
+ Ignition Boost: A high velocity charge achieved by absorbing then pressurizing exhaust from thruster inside a nozzle chamber before being released, allowing for acceleration beyond Mach 5.

More planning.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by demino_hellsin

I should be doing a freezing and Kamen Rider OOO crossover but ended up doing this.

- Maybe it's just the sound effects, but some bits were jarring. I get the gist of it (Kadoya Tsukasa voice), but I think it needs a bit of refining.

[demino_hellsin]

I wrote that thing out in my celphone. Kamen Rider OOO and Freezing are in my laptop. And trust me when I say the Freezing and OOO chapter is a lot more messed up. I still need to redo some parts and finish a flashback.

So what do you mean by jarring? Like the conversation without any out of quote sentences?

[The 48th Ronin]

What's the actual specialty of the Shinonono-ryu, I wonder?

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by demino_hellsin

So what do you mean by jarring? Like the conversation without any out of quote sentences?

- It doesn't seem to flow smoothly when I read it, that's all. Pacing. Plus the soudn effects just come up as sudden--I know they're meant to be sudden, but if you use them too often it kind of derailed my train of thought when reading it.

Originally Posted by Captain Orange

What's the actual specialty of the Shinonono-ryu, I wonder?

- Beating the opponent until they're no longer breathing? (runs before Houki can catch up)

[demino_hellsin]

So maybe if I remove the sound effects?

The scene basically goes between Ichika trolling Madoka and being a decent brother then back to troll.

[Tempest35]

Originally Posted by Captain Orange

What's the actual specialty of the Shinonono-ryu, I wonder?

Shinonono-ryu was designed for women by a female swordsman. It's not particularly powerful or fast - it seems like more of a novelty. A dangerous novelty. And, according to the 2nd IS manga, it has it's own branch of aikkido as well.

This does fuel my imagination for previous Shinonono priestesses to have also been warriors. Houki does place in the National kendo competitions so she's got to be pretty good.

And no, this doesn't mean that Ichika's naturally 'off-balance' because he trained in a style made by women. Shadow Skill, anyone?

[MeisterBabylon]

Secret to piloting IS confirmed: train with a female sword stance.

[Fireminer]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

Shinonono-ryu was designed for women by a female swordsman. It's not particularly powerful or fast - it seems like more of a novelty. A dangerous novelty. And, according to the 2nd IS manga, it has it's own branch of aikkido as well.

This does fuel my imagination for previous Shinonono priestesses to have also been warriors. Houki does place in the National kendo competitions so she's got to be pretty good.

And no, this doesn't mean that Ichika's naturally 'off-balance' because he trained in a style made by women. Shadow Skill, anyone?

Plus, considering the connections, I suppose that the sword art also has some kind of religion merit in it - Who know, perhaps the dance itself is a part of it?

Maybe Meister would jump at this...

[demino_hellsin]

...Ip Man did well enough with a martial art designed for women and it's still practiced with no drawbacks to either gender until the present.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by demino_hellsin

So maybe if I remove the sound effects?

- May work, but as I said it's a matter of flow, when someone reads it. Sound effects are usually used to catch attention and break flow. Usually to change pace or to surprise the reader. If overused it gets hard to readjust consistently back to the story.

And possible story idea for Fireminer, Meister, or Demino:
(looks at Rinny)
https://youtu.be/i0o7lajjzBg

Edit: I just imagined Ange nicknaming Iris Calling---"Gorilla Grodd". Oh, there is so much pain that will happen next...

[Fireminer]

Originally Posted by wavehawk

- May work, but as I said it's a matter of flow, when someone reads it. Sound effects are usually used to catch attention and break flow. Usually to change pace or to surprise the reader. If overused it gets hard to readjust consistently back to the story.

And possible story idea for Fireminer, Meister, or Demino:
(looks at Rinny)
https://youtu.be/i0o7lajjzBg

Edit: I just imagined Ange nicknaming Iris Calling---"Gorilla Grodd". Oh, there is so much pain that will happen next...

Sound fine, but Rin'd rather chase after the attacker than protect the target.

(Maybe she has her own secret protector. A descendant of the Jinyiwei, perhaps? I'd like to see that person and Ren face each other).

Say, who is the Armorer in ISA? Maybe her life would quite like this: Inside marine armory/

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Sound fine, but Rin'd rather chase after the attacker than protect the target.

- Actually, I was thinking of other characters you could put in that were from China.

(Maybe she has her own secret protector. A descendant of the Jinyiwei, perhaps? I'd like to see that person and Ren face each other).

- I've got a few ideas about enemies that <Ren> would face. Many of whom bearing a VERY BIG grudge against her father..

In particular, a group of high-tech mercenaries who dress like a cross between ninjas and military troops, who seem to have a middle eastern background and have hebrew- or arabic-letter codenames. Namely, THESE GUYS:

Say, who is the Armorer in ISA? Maybe her life would quite like this: Inside marine armory/

- not mentioned. I think it might fall to the teachers, and most likely Yamada.

[wavehawk]

Anothr update

"So you're telling me we can't even use the mess hall?" Sergeant Canfield growled and glared at the Air Force MP standing in his way. The army sergeant was taller and had a few more pounds of muscle over the MP, but the latter did not budge. In fact, the MP did not even react. Peeved, the Sergeant looked back at Captain Fairs. "Captain, can't you DO something about this guy?"

Natasha frowned. Like the MP standing in their way, Fairs was Air Force, not Army. But she was just as stymied as Canfield about the sudden denial of access and could do nothing. This was unlike Fairs' comandeering of the Army unit. Natasha was part of the 782nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, a unit formed by the US Air Force solely to train and test pilots in the use of the Infinite Stratos exoskeleton. Natasha's job description was not only to test and fly IS like Silverio Gospel, but to train new IS pilots. Sergeant Canfield and his men were part of 101st Airborne, a unit that was historically a paratrooper division but had been changed in the 1960's to Air Assault. Their troops now deployed directly into combat from helicopters and other mechanized air vehicles instead of jumping overhead with parachutes. With the introduction of the Infinite Stratos exoskeleton, it made sense for qualified female members of the 101st to undergo training with the new technology. The 782nd was responsible for running that programme, thus while from differing services there was a great deal of co-operation between the two.

While both the 782nd and Twenty-Fifth were units of Air Combat Command, they answered to completely different chains of command. Brigadier General Danvers was Natasha's boss, while Major-General Eiling headed the Twenty-Fifth Air Force. Eiling was a senior ranked officer, but had no power over the 53rd wing. Likewise, Chien had no actual authority to get rid of Fairs.

But the opposite was true as well. Natasha could not simply order the MP to get out of her way. Fairs looked straight at the guard. The MP still made no movement, even as she frowned back at him. Members of the Twenty-Fifth were not obliged to follow any of her orders. Given that Chien was their commander, Natasha doubted any of them would.

"Sgt. Canfield, let's go." Natasha just donned her sunglasses and turned away. There was nothing more that could be done on-base.

Canfield shot a raised eyebrow back at Fairs, but said little more than a gruff grunt. Giving the MP a middle finger salute, he followed Natasha's lead. For a few seconds he lagged behind to quietly appreciate the blonde pilot's back view, before catching up.

The pair kept walking but said nothing initially, toward the old barracks that Canfield's 506th had temporarily made their home. Fairs stuck her hands in her pockets as she walked, but did not look at Canfield until they were halfway.

"So, sarge," Natasha looked at him. "You're not going to ask?"

"Can I have your phone number, Captain?"

A surprised pause.

Then despite herself, Natasha laughed. Not a girlish little giggle, but a full and hearty womanly laugh that Canfield actually liked.

"Okay, sarge. I was expecting you to ask a lot of questions, but that was totally not one of them." Fairs removed her sunglasses and rubbed tears from her eyes, she was laughing that hard. She was also very thankful for it, as it relieved some of the tension that had been building up. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Ma'am." Canfield replied, not wanting to admit he was serious. Composing himself, he put on a falsely confident smile. "What were you expecting I'd ask?"

"Well, I thought you'd be annoyed that I'd take command of your squad."

"Yes Ma'am, I was." Canfield gave a glance over his shoulder. "But after seeing your alternatives, I guess we were the better choice."

"Way better pick, sarge. Any day." She then stopped, prompting the Sergeant to stop as well. The look on her facebecame serious. "Two IS of unknown make and origin were over Rhode Island last night. NORAD had no trace of them coming in the radar, neither of them are ours. It was only when they engaged in combat that they put up an alert. The 782nd got the call."

"You said what crashed wasn't an IS."

"It wasn't. It was an Air Force test unit I'm not familiar with. Technically Captain Chien's right, it's none of my business." She looked side to side, ensuring no one else was listening. "But the two IS that were here trying to shoot it down? Definitely my business."

Canfield didn't think of himself as a smart person, but anyone could figure out the obvious. USAF test flights didn't take place over public areas. "What was that test unit doing over Rhode Island, though?"

"No idea." She chucked a thumb at the Twenty-Fifth's temporary HQ at the mess hall "And they sure as hell won't tell me." Natasha bit her lip, bitterly wondering if her hunch was true: That whoever hacked Silverio Gospel's systems and almost caused an international incident the month before was behind this case as well. "No one's raising a stink about it yet, sarge. But when one hand of the air force can't trust the other hand--"

"I hear ya." Canfield nodded. Apart from inter-service rivalries, there were also the occasional spats internally within the Army as well. But usually the many different divisions of the Army would cooperate on operations. Shutting out fellow soldiers who wanted to help was unheard of. Except when intelligence units came into play. While Canfield understood the reasons for those units being so secretive, it didn't engender any trust. "But I wish we could just shove our way back in. I mean for chrissake, it's a mess hall. There's plenty of other places those morons could have set up shop."

"Sounds like you want Iris to handle this."

"Oh god. Don't talk to me about Lieutenant Calling, Ma'am." Canfield put a palm to his now-aching head. Iris Calling was the US Army's best IS pilot, and she was part of the mechanized force of the 101st. The problem was: she knew it. Iris was far too gung-ho guns blazing for even Canfield's liking. He couldn't wait for her to be taken away to test out the new 3rd-Gen IS being developed and out of their hair for at least a while. "I mean that in the best possible way, of course."

"Of course." Natasha nodded. She knew Iris Calling's attitude and bullheadedness all too well. In the distance, she could see and hear three small aircraft taking off. Rhode Island Garrison did not have proper facilities for full-size aircraft, so drones were the only type that could take off from the site. "Looks like Chien's not wasting any time," Fairs muttered openly.

"So what's the game plan, Captain?"

"Game plan is to get what info we've got and work it out separately." Natasha made an odd face. "And maybe drive off-base for some food and coffee."

"Grabbing some chow offbase?" Canfield shrugged welcomingly. "Captain, I don't think the squad's going to complain."

"Besides," she gave Canfield a knowing wink. "The coffee here is horrible."

<--------------->

"Should you really be toying with Government property?" Edmund enquired in his best formal tone. Or at least the best he could manage while helping his charge unload the red object off the truck. The modified pickup truck belonged to Ange's father and was used to haul heavy machinery to and from testing sites. The equipment fit disturbingly well in the truck's cargo compartment. "I don't believe the Army will like appreciate you taking their drone."

"Finders keepers, Eddy. Possession is nine-tenths of the law." Ange wheeled in a heavy lift trolley, the same one from her workshop. Carefully, they moved the machine onto the trolley and started pushing it inside. "And technically it's not a drone. It's a prototype suborbital flight unit. Capable of sudden bursts of speed without any prep time, unlike a conventional rocket."

"Ah. I see." Edmund replied, not having the foggiest notion what Stark was talking about.

"It's not just speed, it's maneuverability at short distances. It can stop and turn on a dime." The trolley came to a stop in Stark's workshop, the few remains of the previous experiment still brushed to one side of the floor. Ange paused: " And if I'm right--and I usually am---I'm looking at a reactionless drive."

"Reactionless drive?" Edmund's ears perked up.

"That's the one. Well, maybe not a completely reactionless drive. Just one that doesn't spit out fire and gas out the other end." A knowing nod. "Of course, after IS tech became the rage nobody really was interested in non-propellant propulsion any longer." She grumbled. "No longer cool enough."

The wheels of the trolley locked once the red machine was at the center, the same place where Ange's previous IS experiment had failed. Stark snapped her fingers, and a pair of wheeled robots rolled in, each with a strange set of arms. The machines stopped next to her, awaiting her next command.

"For all the advancements made in it's development, an IS still propels itself forward the old fashioned way: Using large amounts of thrust. And thus large amounts of propellant, converted to thrust energy." Ange's voice was low, almost a growl. "That's very inefficient. Considering how much energy an IS needs for it's normal systems like life support, processing power, Passive Inertial Canceller and weapons--there's a lot of space allocated to thrust propellant. A lot of them have add-on booster packs solely for additional thrust."

The butler frowned as he looked at the two very obvious thrusters under the wings. "Those look like fairly conventional jet engines to me."

"They would still need normal jets for flying it up in the air for testing," Ange replied, not at all offended. "Besides, everything needs a backup in case it fails."

"I wonder if you will ever took that advice to heart." Edmund quietly replied, remembering the days of pulling the older Mr Stark out of his own failed experiments.

A series of visible blue and green lasers coursed up and down the foreign object, downloading its design and structure into Ange's main computer. The systems were originally set up by her father, but she had made more modern additions to it. The entire Stark family house was wired into the system, but this workshop was Ange's alone. Information was rapidly being searched on the home database as well as related factory databases elsewhere.

"A reactionless drive still needs energy to run. It just doesn't need propellant fuel to produce thrust. I'll need to take this thing apart." Stark raised a hand and gestured. A robotic arm from the left machine responded. Edmund held his breath; on the one hand he felt dissassembling a military device or weapon was dangerous. On the other hand, Ange was probably the only person in the house who knew what to do. "I'll have a better idea once I see how it works."

"I see," Edmund replied. Ange shared that trait with her father, talking about ideas and concepts to an audience. She inherited both genius and the showmanship, and needed to feel in control of what she was doing. Edmund simply did what a butler did, which was to support his young charge. Even if the things she did made him nervous.

Surprisingly, she did not take out tools. The two robotic arms assisted in the removal of the red-colored eternal armor. One held up a piece of burnt armor, which Ange looked at a moment. "Odd. Looks like a high-end particle torch seared this." She then waved at the robot arm to set it apart while she continued to open up the machine. "Contrary to pop culture sy-fy shows, the military and civilian aerospace tend to build these things easy to open up and service." Stark had a smug look on her face when she came to the electronic 'brain' of the machine. "Nobody wants to take a circular saw to their car just to do an oil check."

"That would be rather inconvenient," Edmund replied sarcastically from behind.

Ange did not take notice, coupling a few fiber-optic cables from inside the machine into a serial port receptacle. It was another bit of old technology she kept, more for practical than sentimental value. Data nowadays was relayed through virtual wireless networks, and Ange preferred to keep her info secure. Unhackable. Even as her home computer started sorting out the machine's memories, Stark started work on the main body, which was presumably the engine.

"Bingo." Ange smiled with glee as she looked into the machine's innards. She motioned for the other robot to bring a small camera eye into it. The other robot had switched to a much smaller arm the size of a pair of tweezers, also prying apart some smaller sections in the way. "I knew it. Recycled Palladium for the inner core. The power source." Ange pulled back from the machine, a big grin on her face. By now the robot arms had switched dismantling to the wing-like sections of the machine, exposing some other equipment that looked both new yet strangely familiar to Stark. "Yeah. This thing is perfect for what I need."

"All very well and good, Young Miss." Although he understood some of what she mentioned, Edmund did not pretend to know any of it. In fact, a different question was on his mind: "Can you then explain what it was doing near your Grandfather's grave?

"Simple. She flew home." Stark gave her butler a knowing look and smile. "Dad made this. She came home to meet me."

[wavehawk]

Having a little bit of trouble. Maybe trying to go full superhero-themed wasn't the best way to go. The story is all over the place and it's hard for me to string it all together, even though I already have an outline. I'm finding dealing with straight up cyberpunk science fiction or military/espionage thriller is easy, but since the Firemoth story and theme revolve around Firemoth's pilot being more of a "Cape" (EG an open up highly visible superhero like Iron Man or Superman as opposed to a darker character like Batman), It's hard. I'm throwing in the military bit because it's the part of the story I'm comfortable with. But the motivations of the main characters is still a very big problem to work through.

The biggest pain is that I can't even ask for advice about how to deliver it because it'll spoil the whole thing. YES IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY. And I'm worried that it'll actually fall flat on it's face when it's damn done.

ALSO: Isn't anybody else working on anything right now?

[Fireminer]

Wave: Does this mean the incognito unit (including Iris) in Vol. 9 is temporally called, like the U.S Ranger before 1970s?

Oh, and why haven't anyone here publish any new story?

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Wave: Does this mean the incognito unit (including Iris) in Vol. 9 is temporally called, like the U.S Ranger before 1970s?

- No. Most of the first clear illustrations of Iris and Fang Quake show she has US Army markings and tiger stripes. It was my best guess that given Iris' attitude and the way she uses Fang Quake. She doesn't seem to be a helicopter pilot or tank driver, so that left either 101st Air Assault or else 75th Ranger Batallion. (both infantry with light armor and a need to hit fast).

Don't ask too much about US Army Rangers, their history is...convoluted. Mainly because prior to the 1980's, "Rangers" were not permanent units. They were activated and deactivated multiple times--in Vietnam, they went by the name LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol). No, the 101st Air Assault is a completely different unit.

Later descriptions (Vol 8) say Fang Quake been recolored to Navy Blue. Given the description:

This was to be expected. The 'Unnamed' squad comprised of members
that had no nationality, race, religion or even name, truly 'unnamed'. There
were no records or files indicating they belonged to the American army.
Such a squad couldn't possibly have an emblem

- I think it might be a unit comprised of people from different groups both within the military and outside it (Mercenaries?). I'll chalk the confusion up to Izuru not really doing his research, but it sounds like it was probably put together by the CIA-SAD to try and snatch the IS core but to also be disavowed if they fail. Also, if Iris was a 75th Ranger (which is not only US Army but part of USSSOCOM--as with most spec ops units they serve two masters), I doubt that SOCOM would let the CIA just take one of their own for a mission. It would be easier for the CIA to go through Army Intelligence and get an IS pilot from a regular unit (101st answers only to the the main Army) and put them on Temporary Active Duty.

A similar (and admittedly much nicer---relatively speaking) case happens in Tom Clancy's book Clear and Present Danger - Ding Chavez first appears in this book, recruited because he can't be traced back to the US Army.

There's also mention here:

She once had a name, a name she long forgotten from the cruel training.
At this point, she was nobody, just a nameless leader of a nameless
squad. That was the woman's entirety.

- Brainwashing, probably treading into Bourne Ultimatum or even Ghost in the Shell brain-hacking (via IS control). Because Iris (I'm assuming the pilot of Fang Quake that fought Chifuyu is Iris--haven't read vol 9 yet) seems like a different personality here as opposed to her boisterous personality in Vol 6.

I'll be trying to link all of these into my fics later on--much later on. How is the problem.

[Fireminer]

Originally Posted by wavehawk

- No. Most of the first clear illustrations of Iris and Fang Quake show she has US Army markings and tiger stripes. It was my best guess that given Iris' attitude and the way she uses Fang Quake. She doesn't seem to be a helicopter pilot or tank driver, so that left either 101st Air Assault or else 75th Ranger Batallion. (both infantry with light armor and a need to hit fast).

The Tiger Force?

Oh, and if they were really a CIA's production, then how the heck did the American get their hand in the scheme of the Academy? The blueprint is easily enough, but the security, the guards,...

Unless they forced it out from the students - does their any rule to forbid graduated to revealing the academy's secrets?

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

The Tiger Force?

- Tiger Force is a task force, it only existed for one purpose, so I doubt it. Tiger Force was formed during the vietnam war. The current unit that was sent to IS academy would have been a task force as well, but a completely different one.

Oh, and if they were really a CIA's production, then how the heck did the American get their hand in the scheme of the Academy? The blueprint is easily enough, but the security, the guards,...

- Chloe Chronicle did it, most likely.

...assuming Izuru hasn't messed up that part as well.

[MeisterBabylon]

Full reply in a while but who the hell is iris calling. Nat's winggirl?

Also, fireminer, Type is Shiki in japanese, not Taipu. Also, the Type 61 was a real world MBT for the JSDF.