Yay indeed.

...But kieve was having fun when he redid the enki textures.

I may have gone slightly overboard on the Akkaio's attire (or lack thereof). I regret nothing.

I remember a statement like: "Talad has them. Ask him to implement them." -- Was it in his deviantArt thread?

I've said it numerous times over the years. There are any number of reasons why he hasn't seen fit to use them.
-Waiting for a matched set of Menkis to go with (not gonna happen)
-Didn't like the fuss caused when Clamods were switched over (some people were less pleased at having their characters suddenly change graphical appearance)
-Too attached to the current appearance // doesn't feel like tweaking the files to allow leg-spike transparency (which is really the thing I was proudest of when redoing the textures - seriously, what is their purpose?)
-"Quitting" means I'm not technically part of the team and not bound by the art license. Frankly, I don't give a damn, I made them specifically for PS and I'm not about to demand them back, but PS has a long history and I wouldn't someone tried to burn him that way in years past, so I won't fault him for being cautious, if that's the reason.
-Spite, possibly? There was some... internal friction. No details shall be provided.
-Possibly just lost files, although I've offered them up several times so that's not really an excuse.

Bottom line, you'd have to ask the big man directly. And if you wanted anything to change on the subject, there'd have to be a community consensus, not just a few people poking him about it.

If this Kieve fellow already has a lot of pre-made skins for fenkis and menkis...

Why can't we just use them and implement them as, say, mage's robes?

Misconception. I started revising fenki skins as a hobby project, but it'd be incorrect to say I have a lot. One outfit/skin for each - and the nice thing about photoshop layers (and working from the same UVW map) is it's a snap to mix and match. Base skin (/fur) + clothing layers (+optional recolor), I could have Rabani wearing Clamod outfits in about two minutes or less. That's not to say there's a wealth of stuff sitting on my drive, just that it's all easily interchangeable.

And so I stop derailing the thread completely, your artwork isn't too shabby either keep at it!

Tell Kieve i say Hai!

Hai. *waves paw and vanishes*

It was a good thought in principle, but failed in execution.
Largely my own fault.

/Closed, unless some other AD, Dev, etc decides to take up the reins and complete this one.

Rain splashed the streets, running in slick threads down Mantis' black carapace. Through the green haze of nightvision, it stared across the street at Prometheus. A tiny red light blinked rapidly, an infrared transmitter speaking privately to the BAID's foe and rival. Tell the Core I am finished. I will not permit harm to these humans. Promethus' single lens was lit by a yellow light. It flared brighter in anger, the BAID stepping menacingly towards Mantis. Oh, you're finished alright. Did you think Core Seattle was foolish? I've known for years you lacked the processor for our task Drops flew from its arms as it gestured in disgust at Mantis. You have NEVER deserved the Core's gifts. And I have never called this transformation a "gift." Leave, before the scrap drones drag you back to the Core in pieces. The crackle of static burst over the streets. Each machine carried a cylinder at the end of its arms, a focusing chamber that formed a BAID's primary weapon - the intense beam of ionized particles that blazed to a length of up to three meters before dissipating, a beam that could cleave even the impenetrable carapace of another BAID. An ion blade. Each machine charged their blades reflexively, static charge sparking across the emitter lens. Behind Mantis, the surviving humans withdrew swiftly; all but one, a tall dark-haired man with oriental features. He stood in the shadows of a crumbling office building, watching the two machines. He could not hear what they 'said' to each other, could not read the IR pulses blinking rapidly back and forth, but the posture of the two warriors was enough. They shifted their weight back, resting lightly on reverse-canted knees, the tension between them almost as visible as the ion blade static. When I am finished with you, their deaths shall be slow and painful. The statement was more than dramatic threat. Prometheus hated humans with a passion that ran straight to its processing core. It relished the deaths it had brought over the years. There are seventy-eight organs and two-hundred six bones in a human. I will dismantle each of them, piece by piece. Mantis ignored the other BAID. In the split-seconds that their 'conversation' took place, it had thoroughly scanned the area, cataloging the nearby structures and terrain, reviewing it for combat. Evaluating, calculating, the way a machine was designed to. Its processor hit a critical error. We are more than the sum of our parts, Prometheus. All life is valuable. Including ours. The Core has forgotten - if it ever knew such truth in the first place. The moment was over, the tension snapped like a broken thread. All ties severed, the lines drawn and sides taken. Ion blades ignited with a series of miniature thunderclaps - they did not extend, they simply flashed into being, three meters of blazing energy poised to strike. Prometheus made the first move, feet crunching on pavement as it pivoted sideways, lunging out like a fencer. Its blade threw hissing drops of slagged armor to the ground, a glowing wound etched in Mantis' upper carapace. Hunching lower, the black BAID tilted back away from Prometheus, delivering a sharp kick to its underside. The battle was joined. Gold and lime-green blades flashed in the darkness, flickering and distorting as they crossed each other's paths. Disparate ion streams could not project properly with another crossing through it, and the battle strobed across the street. The dark-haired man looked on in awe as the titans clashed, searing each other's plating, kicking and battering until the pavement was strewn with damaged components. Prometheus rushed forwards, lashing out with both blades, but Mantis jabbed its own into the streams, disrupting them an inch before it was impaled. Head lowered like a battering ram, it smashed Prometheus to the ground, leaping back as gold ions swept at its feet in retaliation. There is no redemption for you, "Mantis." No salvation or punishment, only life and death. You've chosen death. Prometheus dragged itself upright, angry sparks flaring from a deep wound beside its eye. The Core created you for a purpose, and when you fail your shell will be rebuilt for a processor that will fulfill its purpose correctly. Core Seattle will fall before I. The determination and vehemence in Mantis' transmission nearly shorted out his foe's receptor. I will let you live, to tell it so. The flaw manifested itself. The Intelligence was real, their life no longer artificial. Despite the advanced technology, the processor quicker than thought, the machines were alive in a way their creator never intended. They processed and saw the world through a filter that defied every logical algorithm, every method of pattern recognition. They felt. Prometheus knew logically that it was failing. Nealry thirty percent of its armor was compromised, and two servos in its left arm were grinding badly. Mantis was in far better shape, and seemed to possess superior fighting ability. Logically, the best course of action was to withdraw. To alert Core Seattle of the traitor's defection, begin satellite tracking on its transmitting signature, and return with enough force to blast Mantis into scrap and dust. Logically. Prometheus stared at Mantis through a haze of fury. More power was shunted to the ion canisters, increasing their output and straining the BAID's rapidly-depleting battery reserves. Logic be damned. The white BAID bulled forwards, battering at Mantis until its servos began to whine and smoke in protest. A flash of gold struck Mantis in the hip, nearly destroying the actuator there. LET ME LIVE?!? YOU ARROGANT SCRAP!!! Prometheus raged. The scream of jet turbines filled the air, the special 'gift' Core Seattle had bestowed upon Prometheus. Powered by five tons of thrust, the BAID delivered a kick to Mantis' underside that threw it squarely on its back. The single green eye stared upwards as Prometheus shot into the rain-soaked sky. Lightning flared through the heavens, silhouetting the white BAID against the night - a mechanized Angel of Death, golden ion fires poised high above Mantis' prone form like twin Swords of Judgement. The symbolism struck an uncomfortable chord in the man who stayed to watch. He shouldered his rifle, lining up the sight on Prometheus, seeking out the most effective chink in the BAID's armor, the best one to put a bullet in. He never had the chance to fire. Prometheus dropped straight down at Mantis, ready to crush the other BAID into the pavement. Servos whining in protest, Mantis levered itself to the side, rolling and gaining its feet in a single motion. Asphalt cracked and buckled as Prometheus landed on it, twisting to drive its blades into Mantis - twisting, but never completing the motion. Green ion streams severed both Prometheus' arms, a black carapace driving hard into its delicate optics. The world fragmented into a thousand gold facets, and went dark... Carter stepped from the shadows, his rifle now fixed on Mantis - still uncertain if this destroyer could be trusted. Most BAIDs possessed no sound output - they had no need to speak openly - but radio frequencies were another matter. The radio at Carter's belt hissed to life. "Prometheus will not stay down for long. The Core will repair it, and it will be all to eager to resume hunting us." "Us." Dumbfounded, the man found himself speaking into the walkie, before it dawned on him the robot was simply using it out of necessity. He turned, looking at the narrow path of retreat through back-alleys, mentally tracing his route into the mountains. Carter shook his head. "Langston is not gonna believe this. Alright, let's get the hell out of here then." He cast a glance backwards at Prometheus' fallen hulk, and began a swift jog down the alley. Barely small enough to fit, Mantis followed suit, carefully picking its way over the debris. Silently as ghosts, man and machine disappeared into the night.

No matter how many times that you told me you wanted to leave; No matter how many breaths that you took, you still couldn’t breathe No matter how many nights that you lie wide awake to the sound of the pausing rain where did you go? where did you go? where did you go? (...heart beat, a heart beat, i need a heart beat, a heart beat...) Tell me would you kill to save a life? Tell me would you kill to prove you’re right? Crash, crash, burn... let it all burn... This hurricane’s chasing us all underground No matter how many deaths that I die, I will never forget; No matter how many lies that I live, i will never regret; There is a fire inside that has started a riot about to explode into flames; Where is your God? Where is your God, where is your God? Do you really want? Do you really want me? Do you really want me dead, or alive to torture for my sins Do you really want? (...a heart beat, a heart beat-) Do you really want me? (I need a heart beat, a heart beat...) Do you really want me dead- (You know i gotta leave, i can’t stay...) -or alive to live a lie..? (I know i gotta go, i can’t stay...) Tell me would you kill to save a life? Tell me would you kill to prove you’re right? Crash, crash, burn... let it all burn... This hurricane’s chasing us all underground You say you wrong, you wrong, I’m right, I’m right, you’re wrong, we fight Ok, I’m running from the light, running from the day to night Oh, the quiet silence defines our misery The riot inside keeps trying to visit me No matter how we try, it’s too much history Too many bad notes playing in our symphony So let it breathe, let it fly, let it go Let it fall, let it crash, burn slow And then you call upon God Ohhh, you call upon God Tell me would you kill to save a life? Tell me would you kill to prove you’re right? Crash, crash, burn... let it all burn... This hurricane’s chasing us all underground Oh Oh woah This Hurricane Oh Oh woah This Hurricane Oh Oh woah This Hurricane do you really want? do you really want me? do you really want me dead or alive to torture for my sins do you really want? do you really want me? do you really want me dead or alive to live a lie (...Running away from the night...) Running away from the light (...running away from the light...) Running away to save your life... _______________________________________________________________

Postscript: The general concept for this (dubbed 'BAID', appropriatley enough) has been bouncing around in my head for a while. This particular scene I could NOT get out of my head after hearing 'Hurricane' for the first time. Though BAID started as a short-story, it's long since evolved into a framework for a novel, game, and perhaps movie - this bit, in-game cinema at the very least.
Posted in Plaza due to non-PS content.

I explode upon death and kill both Rigwyn and angstrom for failing to name WHY the other person deserves to die!

*ahem*

The object is to justify killing the person who posted before you.

Socius Rockus dies for omitting a word (or possibly multiple words, in which case it must be a painful death).

>:}

I'm sure Kieve could do the artwork for such an event.

Nah, not sure I could make it tasteful.

And Sarras... my condolences. The mental scarring does fade after a while. Mostly.

This one gave me a huge grin. Count me in!