#Ace Combat AU

[mt10lt20]

Talisman / Cipher - Angel of Emmeria & The Demon of Ustio. Concept sketches of a what-if AU where they flew together (for a while).

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

Stupid little concept doodles of an Ace Combat/Transformers crossover AU!

The Erusian Navy Alicorn as a submarine bot, which doesn’t really make sense since robots and salty water don’t really get along, but maybe that’s why he went insane!

Giving robots hairlike features is my cringe trait and I am embracing it. I think they look cool.

This is not his final design. I forgot to bring my refs for a more finalised design with me today when I drew him, this is just the best my memory will allow.

[frogblast-the-ventcore]

Can you explain the Zone of endless uprising in your Ace combat AU. I just got an idea for what to do with my DAOT scientist character.

Sure I can!

I based the idea off of some cut lines from Ace Combat 7, where in Mission 19 (Lighthouse), there were originally lines implying that the Eruseans were also using AI-controlled drone tanks, which would then start to turn on them and begin attacking everyone, civilians included.

I combined these cut lines with an earlier line about Erusea having a "strategic AI" which made decisions regarding tactical matters (choosing which of the two Arsenal Birds to vector to a given contact area). It made sense to me that if the AI systems of the drone aircraft and tanks could go rogue, so could the "strategic AI". This would then explain how both the drone aircraft AND the drone tanks would turn on the Eruseans.

As for how the AI could have turned on everyone, I basically decided to think how an AI like that might think. A series of steps.

1. Follow orders given by legitimate controlling authority.

2. Defeat hostile forces, as directed by legitimate controlling authority, as per Step 1.

3. If communication with legitimate controlling authority is impaired, continue last orders, as per Steps 1 & 2.

4. If exact composition of hostile forces is unable to be determined, preserve assets/self in order to prosecute Steps 1, 2, & 3.

So the Eruseans were the legitimate controlling authority for much the conflict, the enemy, the IUN (in-game, essentially just Osea). This it has its parameters for Steps 1 & 2.

Then the orbital debris cascade occurs in Mission 15, and communication is impaired. The AI can no longer receive orders, so it defaults to its last legitimate orders ("defeat Osea"/"win the war"; sidenote this why giving broad and vague orders to your military AI is bad). Thus it moves to step 3.

Then, the Erusean civil war begins, and the AI can no longer distinquish between legitimate authority and hostile forces nor recieve legitimate orders (the Radicals may have deliberately reprogrammed the AI, but that seems unlikely based on comments they make in certain missions). So it defaults to step 4, and turns on everyone in an attempt to fulfill the previous steps.

In keeping with the theme naming of Huginn and Muninn, I gave the other "aspects" of the AIs their own Norse mythology style names. iirc, I assigned it like this:

Odin - the name assumed by the strategic AI.

Sleipnir - the AI controlling a force of drone bombers (which Erusea was implied to already possess by the late stages of the game).

Geri - drone controlled naval vessels (not something directly supported by any evidence, but given Erusea's reliance on drones for their Air Forces and at least part of their ground forces, the idea that their navy would see the benefit of unmanned naval vessels makes sense. they probably would have been smaller gunboats and corvettes rather than anything overly large, considering that fully automating, say, a destroyer (especially one originally designed for a human crew) would be exceedingly difficult.

Freki - the aforementioned drone tanks.

As for Huginn and Muninn surrendering, that's an idea I yoinked from a SpaceBattles thread. It's clear from the Ravens behavior in Mission 20 that they are able to communicate, form plans, and such. Thus, them essentially being sapient isn't too far of a leap. My thought is that, being the most advanced versions of the AI, they could potentially have been sapient well before the AI in general turned on the Eruseans. We know Schroeder worked on the ADFX-10 (as well as Yoko Martha Inoue and Simon Cohen, from Ace Combat 3), based on a piece of official art from Project Aces. That plane was the prototype of the ADF-11F that Huginn and Muninn use as bodies. Some cut lines/fan lore (can't remember which) gives that original ADFX-10 the codename "Hempel" - a reference to Hempel's paradox (aka the raven paradox), which is all about inductive logic and intuition. That aircraft is also clearly a drone, just not as refined.

If Schroeder knew Huginn and Muninn (and perhaps Hempel as well) were sapient, he may have treated them as people (considering how he speaks of the AI in general, I don't think it's too much of a leap). Part of this would be to treat them essentially as children, which essentially they were. And to them, Schroeder would essentially be their father.

So my thought is, Huginn and Muninn, doing an analysis of all the forces arrayed against them (including virtually every AC/PW protagonist and their squadrons), decided that "nah, we'd rather be alive, thanks", and turned on their fellow AI drones, before beginning to play/"sing" a Belkan lullaby over the radio - one which Schroeder may have exposed them to (either unintentionally or intentionally). Thus signalling to Schroeder that they're fully sapient (which he may not have FULLY realized before).

[eddiebrockx]

Ciphixy designs for mine and @mossyflowers manhua AU!!!!!!!! Look at them!!!!!! My sons!!!!!

[vaelerys-targaryen]

Just a little sneak peak at the next chapter of my RWBY au fanfiction 'Ace Combat: Remnant'. Yang & Blake are talking about Adam, or lack thereof.

[howlingday]

Jaune Arc… I give thee…

This sword, and a new emblem…

Jaune: Uh, thanks, but I already have a sword. And an emblem.

Ruby: What does GALM mean?

[elevant39]

Ace combat zero and Avalon

So.... I have decided to get into the myth of Arthur (just to get some references in ACZ). And while I am still not that far in I already see some nice connections. So I choose to look more at the AWWNB part, mostly because I feel like it´s sometimes overlooked do to the fact it was kinda rushed (and also because I found them really interesting). But even then there are some things that I think are worth posting here. But (for now) I choose to look at the irony that is the Avalon dam. So the most obvious reason why Avalon was chosen is because it´s the place where Arthur dies/falls into endless sleep (sorry for spoilers bro). But that is not where the connections end.

Nice adaptation detail in the game is the fact that in the original myth you need to set an a long voyage across the sea because Avalon is an island. This was adapted in the form of river that you need to "sail" accros in you jet (+ they could get a canyon run out of it).

Also the fact that in the myth Avalon is an island (one of the few places that have natural borders).... The irony that a AWWNB has it´s base of operation in Avalon is honestly kinda funny. It's almost like their ideas (and AWWNB as a whole) are build on contradictions. Which if you do look into the motives of the members they kinda are, Wizard 1, Gault 1 and Sorcerer 1 but even Pixy and Espada 2 all have different reasons for why they created/joined AWWNB. There is also the fact (on wiki) that ironically Gault 1 was really patriotic (that being said I was not able to find the source of this info so take it with a sight of salt). But I won´t get into this topic here. Speaking of Gault 1. He was a researcher in Avalon for something called Project Pendragon (V2). However there is also some implication in the Perfect guide that he might have worked on Excalibur (it´s mentioned that he worked on “chemical laser cannon”(this could be talking about both Morgan and Excalibur) and a “mass retaliation weapon” (this is about V2) among other things). If this is true this can also tie back into the myth. Since Excalibur (or Caledfwlch) was created in Avalon. (Speaking of perfect guide there are some interesting informations about aces in interviews, they do help with understanding some characters more + some more lore. Here is a translated link if you didn´t know about them: https://www.skywardfm.com/aczpg-ace-pilot-profiles) Now I will get into the more speculative side of my thought here. From what I could find Avalon is seen as a fairyland that is later in myth run by non other that Morgan le Fey (I might get to our fairy king some day, becuase the connections this guy has to fairies are pretty funny...). However and I do think this was a coincidence. But you could say that Avalon was a fairyland of AWWNB. A place where they (for the max of 6 months, before the attack on Lumin) were able to live together with other pilots no matter their place of origin or nationality (kinda fulfilling their goal in this one dam,it was basically an echo chamber for them)... A place without war that can´t exist in Stangereal, hence why it´s just a fairyland. And this is probably everything that I can think of now. So I hope you liked my thoughts (and that I don´t look insane from sharing them).

[dreamblasterharuka]

Meine Kneipe

October 1925. Five years after Osea officially prohibited the creation and distribution of alcohol. About six months since Trigger had to leave her home and accidentally stepped into the world created by the people breaking the law to do it anyway. The seedy world of bootlegging, speakeasies, and rum-running.

I've had this AU in mind for forever, and I finally had a chance to write it. Also, look at me actually writing Trigger/Tabloid!

Kinda long, so press that read more at your own risk. Title comes from Meine Kneipe by Von Wegen Lisbeth.

Also on AO3

October 1925. Five years after Osea officially prohibited the creation and distribution of alcohol. About six months since Trigger had to leave her home and accidentally stepped into the world created by the people breaking the law to do it anyway. The seedy world of bootlegging, speakeasies, and rum-running.

Cool night air kissed Trigger’s skin as she kept watch for cops or rival mobsters ready to rain on their parade. Fall had firmly settled in, and winter would be just around the corner. Honestly, the cold stung a little, but it was either that or leave the car window up and deal with the overwhelming smell of tobacco.

Count kept up his overconfident facade on the ride over, but he’d smoked like a chimney the entire way. So he clearly wasn’t that confident. He always smoked when he was nervous, but he got pissy when called on it, so Trigger avoided bringing it up. The way he kept patting the pocket holding his Colt 1911 was a bit more subtle.

She didn’t blame him for being anxious. A big business deal was going down that night, and Wiseman put him in charge of making sure it went smoothly. Even if Count was a known con man and a…What was the fancy word Tabloid used? Pathonomic? Liar, he was pretty good at talking to people. In this world of liquor and crime where a few well placed words could be the difference between walking away scott-free or jail, it was a good skill to have. 

Trigger wasn’t worried. Count was a good liar, and better at wiggling out of trouble. Besides, Huxian had his back, acting as the muscle. Trigger saw her fight people much bigger than her and win. She would also just shoot anybody who started anything. If anything, Huxian should’ve wound up with the name Trigger, and Trigger should have wound up with Butterfingers, or something.

Trigger never sat in on the meetings. Her job was to stay in the car and be ready to bolt. She was supposed to be on lookout, too, but she hadn’t seen anything through the dense treeline. The meeting was in a little house in a thicket in the middle of nowhere, with one dirt road leading past it. She could barely make out the lights in the house, but not any movement. Not that she expected bootleggers to have set up their operation in their living room. She hadn’t heard any gunshots yet, so it must’ve been going fine.

She found herself flipping open the little silver pocket watch she kept in her breast pocket. Checking it had become something of a habit since her mother pressed it into her hands and sent her off on the first train to the city a few months ago. Half the time she didn’t even see the time and would have to open it again. Her mother never kept jewelry, so it was probably the closest thing she would get to having a family heirloom. Just tracing her fingernails on the indents of bluebells etched into the lid gave her comfort.

She needed to write a letter home, soon. She tried to write one once a month, to let the family know she was still alive and had a roof over her head, and of her little adventures. Big adventures never made it to paper. As far as they were concerned, she made a living making deliveries for a local general store, which was technically true. 

A shadow passed in the front window, then several more. Trigger dropped the watch back into her breast pocket and settled her hand on the grip of the revolver kept in her cross-draw holster. It probably wouldn’t do much, and she was supposed to book it at the first sign of trouble, but she’d never been good at backing down from fights. It’d probably be more effective to try and run someone over, but Avril would bring her back to life to kill her again for the damage to the car.

Apparently she didn’t need to worry. The silhouettes of her compatriots appeared in the doorway, hauling a large box between them. She could tell it was her friends by Huxian’s long ponytail and the way Count held his hat down. At least it was just a fedora, and not his top hat. She swore one of these days somebody was going to shoot him on principle. 

Time to get to work. Trigger craned her head out the window. “Need any help with those?”

Count’s smile looked downright manic. The meeting must have been intense. “Nope. Just get the car running.”

The bootleggers killed the lights, leaving them completely to the dim light of a half-moon. Not like it bothered her. It was still enough to see the dash and turn the engine over. Back when they had to work for Mckinsey, starting the car meant having to hand crank it. She missed the excuse to hop out and stretch, but she for sure didn’t miss having to try and get everything working while getting shot at. Wiseman had a vested interest in keeping them alive, hence the self-starter. 

She turned the key. Her heart pounded in tandem with the engine humming to life. Count and Huxian dropped the crate in the trunk with a clatter, and were now roshambo-ing to see who rode shotgun. Trigger watched over the little gauges in case anything looked off.

The L.M. Raptor was a nice car. It didn’t have much room for passengers, but it could carry quite a bit in the trunk. More than that, it was zippy, and could keep its top speed for a while before starting to peter out. Combine that with the fact it was “easy” to work on and modify, it was a darling of the criminal underworld. She couldn’t name a single part in it, except for maybe the steering wheel and pedals, despite Avril’s best efforts to teach her. 

Count won the game and wound up in front. 

“Only because he cheated.” There wasn’t a whole lot of space in the back, so Huxian half-draped herself across the seat.

Count had the sharp liquor smell to him, which might’ve explained the attitude. “I did not! Tell her, Trigger.”

Trigger shrugged. She wasn’t really sure if it was possible to cheat at rock-paper-scissors, but she noticed Count tended to win more often than not. Maybe Huxian had a soft spot for him and let him win, but Trigger wasn’t stupid enough to ask. She bruised easy. 

Getting back to the city should have been a piece of cake. Once they got to the main road, it was a straight shot for an hour until they crossed county lines. Long, boring drives weren’t her favorite, but her friends made it bearable. It was always slightly different each time, and it was nice to listen to the conversation. Kept her from daydreaming too much. Usually, it helped her keep an eye out for any obstacles. Usually.

Light flooded the car. Two headlights, way too bright to be stock, practically chewed on her bumper. Her rearview was at a bad angle for it, becoming a miniature spotlight straight into her eyeballs. Trigger couldn’t tell a thing about its make or model, but she could take a wild guess. A shrill siren pierced the air, confirming the worst. Pigs.

Her head ran through scenario after scenario. Yeah, she was speeding, but surely not enough to be suspicious. It was just as likely to be a regular speed trap as it was to be an ambush. Maybe it would be better to pull over and get read the riot act than speed off and have every cop in the county on their tail. 

Something popped behind them, a bullet whizzing past her open window that she really should have closed that when they left. Trigger could feel the grin growing on her face. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to pull over now. 

A simple “Hold on.” was the only warning she gave before shifting and hitting the accelerator. The Raptor lurched, ready to be set loose. She jerked on the wheel, swerving from side to side, hopefully enough to make them think twice before shooting. It might buy time, but it wouldn’t be enough until they found an escape route. Luckily, there were still side streets to take, but she doubted they would really lead anywhere they could lose them. 

Huxian dove beneath the seats, reemerging with a violin case. She undid the latches, and started putting the Thompson submachine gun together with a practiced ease. They usually weren’t supposed to shoot at cops, since it was more trouble than it was worth. But the cops usually didn’t shoot at them first. For all they knew, these could be hitmen that managed to score themselves a patrol car.

A few more bullets whizzed past her window, but not a single one hit. Down and to the left. Whoever they were, they weren’t very good.

Huxian tucked the Thompson under her arm and flung her door open. Count, who’d been watching over his shoulder, was now fully turned around and halfway over the front seat to grab a fist full of her coat as she hung outside. 

Trigger might’ve heard him yell something along the lines of “What the hell is wrong with you?” but it was drowned out by a burst of automatic fire. Huxian had to have held the trigger down for at least a full second, shooting wildly into the air above their pursuers. 

The other car slammed on the brakes, and swerved. It was good enough for her. She tore down the closest right turn, the inertia flinging her friends back into the car. Lucky for them. If it was the other way, they’d probably be dumped on the pavement. 

Unfortunately, this place didn’t have anywhere to hide. Houses scattered to the right, far enough apart that they couldn’t hide between them. To the left was a sea of corn, as far as the eye could see. Just tall enough to maybe cover them. It wasn’t a great option by any means, but it was still their best. She drove straight until she could make out the break in the rows for a fire road, and pulled onto it, just in time to hear the siren turn onto the street.

Fire road was generous. What it really was was a dirt path made for a tractor. A small tractor at that. While Trigger might’ve been used to driving these as fast as possible back on the farm, that was with farm equipment, and alone. It was much different bouncing around in a proper car with two other people hanging on for dear life. While she tried her best to avoid the stalks, it was somebody’s livelihood, after all, the occasional heavy cob would bend in their way, smacking into the window. One particularly bold husk somehow found its way into her still open window, covering her in corn silk. 

It seemed to go on forever, unable to see anything but the path ahead, listening to the wailing siren somewhere behind them. She couldn’t tell if it was fading or getting louder, until it went silent altogether. Nobody spoke. The excitement of getting to drive fast bled into anxiety of needing to drive fast, and then into the fear that something was going to jump out at them from in between the stalks.

Finally, finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel as the dirt path spit them back onto a proper road. It looked free of any cars. After rolling up her window and checking their direction, she put the pedal to metal back to the city. 

She forgot who started laughing first, but it turned into a proper contagious giggle fit between all of them. The whole drive continued like that, only pausing for brief moments at a time which were broken again as soon as someone made eye contact. 

They pulled into Wiseman’s in the wee hours in the morning, after most of the patrons ducked out for the evening. And by most, she meant the only people still hanging around were Wiseman himself behind the bar, and Avril, Tabloid and the Princess hanging out at one of the card tables.

Cossette wasn’t really a princess, or at least Trigger was pretty sure she wasn’t, but she looked the part. Big blue doe eyes and smooth golden hair made her look like she stepped straight out of a fairytale. She was a little naive, but not stupid, like a fairytale heroine, as well. She was Erusean, here in Osea to study. Trigger suspected she might’ve been a noble, judging by how nice her clothing and jewelry was, but Cossette never said, and she wasn’t about to pry. Honestly, she could probably afford to hang out somewhere nicer, but the Useans seemed to be on the brink of a turf war, and Trigger could understand not wanting to wind up in the middle. Besides, she was more than willing to throw some of that money around at the bar, and she had made friends with Avril, which was no easy feat. 

Avril Mead wasn’t mean, per se, but she definitely had no time for bullshit. It was a mechanic thing. The better a mechanic is, the less time they have. And she was a really good mechanic, so she really had no time. She and Trigger were roommates at the boardinghouse. They thought the other didn’t like them for the longest time. It took Avril approaching her one night after a shootout to figure out that they just communicated differently. Now Trigger was the only other person allowed to help with the car, due to “weird sixth sense crap” that helped with driving. It was a badge of honor for her.

Tabloid was the first to notice them come in, flashing her one of his signature smiles. The kindly man, who got his nickname by working for one of the local rags, had been her first, and for a while, only, friend when she came to the city. He was smart, mostly working as a bookkeeper for both the bar and the general store upstairs. Probably smart enough to not work in the criminal underworld, but times were tough and he sent most of the money back to his family. That, and she knew hiding behind all the smiles and witty comments was an anti-authority streak a mile wide. 

“Deal went well, I take it?” Wiseman was the owner and operator of the speakeasy, and their boss. A sharp negotiator and businessman, he grew the place from his basement. When their last job fell through, he took Trigger and the others under his wing, acting more like a mentor or father figure most of the time, but he wouldn’t hesitate to give a good kick in the ass when it was needed. It was easy to see why all his employees were so loyal to him.

“Of course it went well!” Count tipped his hat out of the way. “We got the price down and they still were practically begging us to come back.”

Wiseman smiled. “Well, bring it out and let’s see it then, yeah?”

Count, Huxian and Avril all went back to the car. Count and Huxian to get the alcohol, and Avril to check on any damage to the car. Trigger suddenly felt anxious, and tried to remember if she damaged the car on their little excursion. If there was so much as a scratch on the paint, she would be getting an earful. Maybe she should’ve went with them to distract her, but she was pretty sure she would only get in the way, and three people would be mad at her instead of one.

Seeing as there wasn’t really anything for her to do, Trigger took one of the seats at the bar. Normally, it was impossible to get a seat this up close and personal. This was one of the biggest speakeasies this side of town, featuring tons of tables and a dance floor in front of a large stage. There wasn’t a band tonight, but when there was, it was standing room only. Here, in the early hours of the morning, the cavernous space was deafeningly quiet. Her companions loudly bustling around was an out of place comfort. 

Count and Huxian returned from the alley out back, hauling the crate of clinking bottles between them, and dropping them off behind the bar next to Wiseman. Avril limped in behind them, looking only mildly annoyed. That meant that the Raptor was fine, and Trigger didn’t accidentally scratch the paint on the way out of dodge.

Tabloid took the spot to her left, peering over the bar to count the amount of bottles in the crate and making some marks in a ledger. He hummed to himself, and closed it, apparently pleased with what he saw. His eyes wandered to hers, and he studied her for a moment before reaching out to her. Or her hair, rather, pulling something staticy out. A string of corn silk dangled from his fingertips. “What is this?”

He let the piece drop, and ran his fingers through her hair, checking for more. She would’ve been lying if she said she wasn’t just a smidge mortified. Her short hair was messy on the best of days, and driving around at top speed with the window down turned it into a proper rat’s nest. Tabloid was probably her best friend, and heaven knew he’d seen her in much worse states, but it was still embarrassing to have a handsome man pick vegetable matter out of her tangled hair. “It’s corn silk.”

He plucked another strand out of her hair. “Why do you have corn in your hair?”

“Trigger drove us through a cornfield.”

She pouted. Count made it sound like she drove straight through, running over corn the whole way. “There was a road.”

Wiseman paused his glass cleaning, the look in his eye going from mildly amused to concerned parent. ‘Why’d you drive through a cornfield?”

“Cops came after us when we skipped town. Started shooting at us outta nowhere.”

“We lost them in the corn.” Count rolled his eyes at her, but she wouldn’t let her excellent corn driving go unnoticed.

Wiseman was quiet for a moment. “Do you think it was McKinsey?”

Police Captain Doug McKinsey was supposed to be a keeper of the law, and made sure the papers knew about all the ‘hard work’ he’d put in keeping liquor off the streets. What he actually was was a rat in a human body. In truth, he would target people who couldn’t fight back and implicate them in some nonsense crime. He’d then wrap them up in his own bootlegging business under threat of prison, and use blackmail from that to keep them there. Many of the people he targeted were from immigrant families, or otherwise had people relying on them. Prison wasn’t just a threat to them, but the threat of starvation to their loved ones.

She, Avril, Tabloid and Count were all victims of his scheme. They’d made booze, laundered money, and got in life-threatening danger because of him. They’d been trapped under his thumb, helpless, until somebody set one of his buildings on fire, destroying all the blackmail. No one knew who the arsonist was, but no one stuck around to find out. From there, the four of them signed on with Wiseman and his crew, after running into them previously, and the rest was history.

The cops tonight might’ve been McKinsey’s boys, but she couldn’t say for sure if it was a hit. He was a self-centered bastard, which was a two-pronged sword. Sneaky and underhanded, he was always backstabbing as soon as it benefited him. But he was also a massive coward. If he was taking a swing at them, he wouldn’t have done it without having his ass covered. In theory, they could go public with all his criminal activities, and with Tabloid’s link to the papers, the entire city could know by sunrise. He was stupid, but she didn’t think he was stupid enough to kill them without being sure that couldn’t happen. 

“Maybe. They might’ve just been regular cops, though.”

“What if they weren’t pigs at all?” All eyes turned to Tabloid, still picking corn silk out of her hair. “If some gangsters managed to get their hands on a patrol car, they could’ve killed everyone and all the witnesses would assume that it was just the police taking care of criminals. With how corrupt they are, it wouldn’t surprise me if the police department swept the whole thing under the rug, and the real killers would get away scott-free.”

Count rested his head on his hand. “Who would go to the trouble, though?”

Tabloid finally stopped messing with her hair, and Trigger couldn’t tell if she was happy about that or not. “Now that’s the question. One of the Useans, maybe? Rumor has it that they’re all ready for a turf war.”

Cossette dropped her head, and seemed awful intent on studying her nail polish. She looked almost guilty, but Trigger couldn’t imagine why. It wasn’t like any of it was her fault. Although the world was currently at peace, scars of the last war still lingered. Even after leaving everything behind to start a new life across the ocean, it was easy to blame one’s neighbor for the actions of their homeland. Trigger even experienced it out in the sticks, when a passer-through Erusean practically spat at her mother for being from Shilage. The guy received a bloody nose for it, and she got a lecture.

Gangs in the city tended to group up by whichever country their families were from. The Osean and Erusean families were the biggest, but the current rumor was that the Shilagean and Volsagean families entered some kind of pact. That led to more rumors that they were doing it to take on the Eruseans, which could only result in a full on turf war.

Wiseman seemed to notice the change in mood and grabbed a bottle from the crate. “We can talk about this tomorrow. For now, let’s test the goods.”

With the popping of the cork, the atmosphere and passion of a full bar returned for a moment. Wiseman lined up a few shot glasses, pouring an even amount in all of them in one fluid, practiced moment. Her own face of amazement scrunched as she counted seven glasses, one for each person in attendance, including herself.

Trigger didn’t like alcohol. There was something horribly ironic about it, how it was liquid currency, one that changed almost everything about her life and fate in an instant. She risked her life for it, she might as well enjoy the fruits of her labor. But it was gross. The only way she’s ever liked it was when it was mixed in with so much syrups and other flavors that she couldn’t taste it. People told her that it wasn’t about the taste, it was how it made you feel, but the only time she’d been drunk she just felt tired and weepy. A long day could do that to her, but for a chunk of change she could pay for the privilege of doing it in public. No thanks. She didn’t touch the stuff if she could help it.

But she had to make exceptions for moments like this. A celebration of their skills, surrounded by her friends. She grabbed her glass and joined the toast. Maybe the sweet taste of success would make the taste tolerable.

She downed the shot and immediately sputtered. No, the sweet taste of success did nothing. This one tasted like burning, and it felt like it the whole way down. The only consolation was that she didn’t spit it all over the counter this time. Small improvements. Everyone else looked pleased, so it must have been the right kind of burn. Count and Huxian even went for more, the absolute psychopaths.

Before she knew it, another hour of camaraderie passed. It was already too late when they arrived, and pretty soon the earliest workers would be getting the day started. Trigger would have to be out of bed in a couple of hours. Wiseman spotted the time on her pocket watch, and promptly threw them out of his bar. 

At some point, Avril and Cossette disappeared into the night. Avril likely drove the Princess home, or a car came to pick them up, and Trigger was conflicted. The two girls almost acted like young lovers at times. While she was glad their friendship had grown so strong, it could be incredibly awkward to be their third wheel. Unfortunately, Avril was supposed to be her ride, and Trigger really didn’t want to walk home alone. The city was sketchy enough in broad daylight.

Count and Huxian both lived the opposite direction, and were both more than a little tipsy. She was pretty sure Wiseman lived above the general store, so he shouldn’t have to leave the building. Any one of them would have gone out of their way to help her get home, but she didn’t want to be a bother. 

“Hey, Trigger.” Tabloid, ever the knight in shining armor, waited at the bottom of the steps. “Walk you home?”

She smiled and nodded. They lived fairly close together, so he hopefully wouldn’t be too put out by it. Taking his side, they trekked into the darkness.

The night was quiet, or at least as quiet as the city got. Constant lights and sounds, even in the dead of night, were some of the hardest things she’d had to get used to when moving to the city. She still got headaches from it sometimes. But she could feel in the back of her chest where the city changed her. Even if she snapped her fingers and appeared home, the silence would be just as eerie and concerning. But she would adjust. Just like she’s adjusted to all the other weird stuff in her life.

Their conversation went the same way most of their conversations went. Tabloid carried on with most of the actual conversing, and she interjected whenever she could actually think of something to say. It was comfortable. Even as he ranted about a proposed city infrastructure bill because the money would just land in the pockets of the legislation pushing it. 

Eventually, they arrived at the boardinghouse, and their evening finally wound to an end. 

“Thank you. For walking me.”

“Anytime. Get some rest, yeah?” He gave her a soft smile, and her heart leapt into her throat. All she could do was nod.

Like a proper gentleman, he watched to make sure she made it inside safely, even if it meant sticking around while she fumbled around her pockets for her keys. Somehow, it was more nerve-racking than the police chase. Finally, she found the right one, and slammed the door behind her, leaning against it as she waited for her heart to stop pounding so hard.

What was that all about? Was she getting sick?

She neatly set her coat on the rack, and took the stairs up two at a time, nearly running into the ugly fruit bowl painting that marked her floor. Her door creaked as she opened it, slightly stirring Avril. Trigger paid her absolutely no mind as she crossed the floor over to the window and shoved it open. Part of her wasn’t sure it was supposed to open at all with how much groaned. The sudden onslaught of noise and cold air must’ve been a nasty wake up call to Avril, who was now grumbling behind her.

“What’re you doing? Close the damn window!”

Trigger ignored her, squeezing out the small gap she was able to make, and leaned out as far over the street as the flimsy windowsill would let her, in time to see Tabloid about to turn the corner. He stopped just as he did, and waved at her. She couldn’t see his face from there, but she hoped she got a laugh out of him. She waved back as he disappeared around the corner.

She pulled herself back into the room, and straight into the line of fire. Avril’s pillow collided with the back of her head with enough force that it probably would have sent her flying into the road, killing her instantly. She didn’t say anything about it, however, because she would’ve been annoyed enough to attempt homicide if the situation was reversed. She did, however, keep the pillow until after the window was fully closed before tossing it back.

Flopping unceremoniously onto the bed, she landed at eye contact with a stack of papers on the desk. Right. She needed to write a letter home. Her eyes burned. It wouldn’t hurt to do that in the morning. 

It had been a long night, after all.

[deisbookofdemons]

((Magma draws with bestie.))

[rijuaavara]

Felt inspired after reading the Fanfiction written by @mossyflowers and gave them the wings of their respective birds (atleast I hope Cipher is meant to be the dove haha) with some creative freedom. Pixy is based on a Golden Saker Falcon while Cipher is just some dove with blue highlights.

[gree-gon]

[saphirace tlou au]

archer's nightmare

[mt10lt20]

Incorrect Ace Combat - AC 0/6/7 AU Did quite a few slightly shippy Wingmen's perspectives before, so on the flipside - the Flight Leaders' version.

Cipher: Trig, I don't think you should go out with Count.

Talisman: Agree, he's slightly dodgy.

Trigger: *Ahem*. You both do not have the moral high ground to tell me not to date Count when one of you is seeing a dude who got you court-martialed and the other is seeing a dude who tried to murder you.

Trigger: And, you are both still alive. So.

Cipher & Talisman: Okay, low bar, but fair enough. You win. Enjoy, don't die.

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

<<My fellow submariners, don’t you see? The death of a million is a necessity!>>

Another Alicron doodle, as a treat. I’m surprised at the attention he’s gotten :>

[frogblast-the-ventcore]

The more unhinged of a final battle the better, I find. Rule of Cool, and all that.

A Wikipedia-style infobox detailing the final battle of the Lighthouse War in my (only somewhat hinged, full-of-fanon, took-a-hammer-and-fixed-the-canon) Ace Combat 7/PW crossover AU.

[cac-deadlyrang]

Bluey: Flash Forward (Future AU): Bingo Headcanons

Full name: Bendigo Bandit Cattle (“né” Heeler)

31 years old as of 2045

Trans man, but kept their birth name.

Uses he/him pronouns

Sounds like A Jolly Wangcore

Asexual/aromantic - in a queerplatonic relationship with Lila

Lives in Canberra

Wildlife veterinarian/rehabilitator

Changed middle name from "Kolibri" (after his late maternal grandmother) to "Bandit" (after you know who)

Favorite animals are tiger quolls and planthoppers

Somehow managed to make the worship of the Dust Mother (Holy Church of Dust) into an actual new-age religion, but is atheist

Smokes weed

Has stubble and top surgery scars

Willingly had their tail docked due to developing a kinked tail from an injury

Is in a rock/new wave band with Rusty, Koda (trans male adult Judo), and Muffin (called Sacabambaspis)

HEMA martial artist

Likes to fuck around on YTMND

[vaelerys-targaryen]

Only my 2nd fic I've ever publicly written & shared.

Some got to see this early.

Chapter 1 of my RWBYau Ace Combat: Remnant