#cipher ace combat 0

[kelseyidk]

Ace Combat 0: Zero Duel

i'm back. here u go. tumblr might lower the quality down tho

I spent a few weeks on this one, I had to go do other stuff while i was making this

ok so first of all i heavily referenced pixy's plane with one from the wiki. buwomp. also i used adfx-01 morgan instead of 02 sory

second of all shoutout to Tyler the Creator and kasane teto for carrying my soundtrack during this whole thing

thank you for about 100 likes on my trigger art. im so cool right.

ok bye posting when im feeling like it. rn my fatass is hungry

Oh man i love pixy. So much. Pixy. Solo wing pixy. Love him a lot. So much.

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

Buddyposting

[diurnaldaysart]

"It's starting to come down!" First time drawing modern fighter jets, so I drew Cipher and Pixy

[komododad1]

Okay but like. Who's cipher in this scenario

I think we both know who Cipher is.

[cookiekurimu]

The protagonists' dynamic in my head

Art by cookie

[dreamblasterharuka]

In honor of it being Halloween tomorrow(as of this comment date) can you do a Au where both Cipher and Pixy are demons. Can be fluff or angst. Maybe even a family au with their kid.

I've been wanting to write the fantasy au I've talked about, and something in the same vein as I Fear the Fall and Where We'll Land, so this was a really good prompt. I hope you enjoy! Title comes from Retrograde by James Blake.

Also on AO3

If you keep knocking on the devil's door, eventually someone will answer.

Pixy falls to an inevitability.

is this darkness or the dawn?

Pixy should have seen this coming.

As a child, he’d heard the stories of how demons were formed. How normal people damned themselves out of desire. Deals were made to achieve twisted dreams. Other stories talked of warriors slaughtering innocents in a pointless quest for power. How long had he walked the line? Had he just turned now, in the carnage of the burning town? Or had he been one the entire time, and it took something as blatant as this to notice?

(The grandparents in the village whisper about his family. Fae folk were rare. And dangerous. All it took was a name, and they would be spirited away to the Summer Court, never to be seen again. His mother tells him that they’ll change their minds sooner or later, when they get to know them better. That time never came.)

Hoffnung wasn’t a fort, like they were told it was. It was a town. They expected knights, soldiers prepared for war. He could keep the guilt at bay if that were the case. Instead they got farmers and civilians, the very same people they were supposedly liberating. Cipher attempted to stop it. To find a leader and negotiate a surrender, but the Osean knights shoved them aside.

How ironic. The proper knights were so quick to mock the two of them for being mercenaries, for their supposed lack of chivalry,even as they turned the tide of the war. Yet here they were. Laughing as they slaughtered innocent people just trying to defend their homes against the invaders. Yet he did nothing to stop it. Didn’t make him the same?

Magic turned sour in his blood. Despite his nickname, he hardly ever used it. Never had the time or patience to learn. But as fae, it was part of him, interwoven into his very being. His stomach curdled. Only years of training and desensitization kept him from throwing up right then and there. The scar on his back burned, like his lungs, like his eyes.

(Fingers dragged along his bare skin. Scars littered his entire body, but Cipher seemed to pay extra attention to the one that ran down his shoulder blade and into his back. Due to its nature, it ached most of the time, but gentle hands made him relax. Or maybe it was just the atmosphere. Just him and Cipher in a tucked away room, only the dim candlelight to keep them company.

Past lovers all commented on his wing by now. Past lovers usually were long gone by now, leaving him with whatever thoughts plagued him. Cipher had done neither. Perhaps it was their own magical heritage. From his understanding, their family had used demonic power to hunt monsters, back before they got wiped out by their own family. Stabbed in the back. And now he sat with his back to them.

Or maybe they didn’t care. At the end of the day, neither of them had any real connection to any of it. They may have looked the part, but what was physical appearance if they never knew of their history, or celebrated their traditions? 

A shiver raced up his spine as hands were replaced by lips. Cipher kissed up along the scar, continuing up to his neck, just under his jaw. They paused there, as he turned to meet their gaze. They were beautiful, almost inhumanly so, but he’d always had a special fondness for their eyes.

He leaned back to kiss them.)

Cipher cut down all who came near, their face a mask of ice. Sharp horns jutted out from unnaturally pale hair, appearing longer in the flickering firelight. Dripping shadows replaced clear eyes, betraying their innate bloodlust. They would never chase down a fleeing foe, but they would never lay down and die, no matter what honor said. Surrender simply wasn’t in their nature, for they were a true demon. They always had been.

(“You have an accent.”

Only when he’s drunk. Belkan wasn’t a popular accent to have outside of Belka, so he’s probably more cautious about it than he needs to be. He doesn’t care that Cipher knows. In fact, he’s glad. Despite their blood and reputation, they were kind. Better than the stuck up nobles masquerading as warriors.

Kind enough to help him out of his boots when his fingers lacked the coordination. Their hands were warm when they pulled his fumbling hands away from his scarf to undo the knot themself. Were it anyone else, he’d be offended. But they knew what that old piece of fabric meant to him. They wouldn’t rip it.

They leaned in close, letting him see all the curves and lines of their face. Their eyelashes fluttered over crystalline eyes, focused intently on his neck. He’s smiling like an idiot, but he can’t help it. Cipher barely looks up, and rolls their eyes, but the slight tug of their lips is more than worth it.

“Ich liebe dich.”

He doesn’t know if they know what it means, but the slight moment of hesitation tells him. Despite their cold exterior, Cipher could be more emotive than he was.

“You are drunk.”

Both of those statements are correct.)

He takes his place at their back. In other battles, he took pride in defending them. For the first time in his life, it gave him a place to belong. In the heat of battle, it was a comfort to have someone he could trust covering his blind spots. Two halves of a coin.

There was no pride to be had in this fight. Stiff forms are all he can perform as the last defenses attempt to rush them down. It’s sloppy. On all fronts. Everyone knew how the battle would end, but it didn’t mask the fear and anger in their eyes, even as the light faded from them. Even years from now, in the dead of night when the memories would surely come to haunt them.

(They’re heroes now. Belka was on the ropes, and that served as a catalyst for the people of Ustio to act, to take back their homes. Come morning,  papers would be signed, and the war would be over. They’d done well, maybe well enough that they would be awarded some land to retire to. Or maybe not. Cipher seemed like the type to wander into history. Pixy wondered if they would be opposed to wandering with a partner.

The bells rang.)

He was tired. The sword slipped from his grasp and into a dark puddle of liquid. He hoped it was water, but a nagging feeling in his chest told him otherwise. If he thinks about it, he will throw up. As he kneeled down to pick it up, his aching muscles finally gave out. Slumped into the mud, where he belonged.

It takes him a moment to recognize his face in the reflection. Physical appearance had never been something he cared for, but he just looked bad. Worn and haggard. Bags clung to eyes that were currently far darker than they naturally could be. He bore his teeth at the unknown creature to find that they were longer, sharper than they should have been. Perhaps it was just a trick of the low light. He hoped it was.

(He hoped. He hoped. He hoped. Could he even say that anymore, after everything he’d done? Had he not taken a knife to every shred of hope he could get his hands on? He was poison, destroying everything good he had ever touched.

There was no hope. He was turning into a demon. Any more killing and it would be irreversible. Saying anything else was just denial.)

All had fallen silent, save for the crackling of fire. In a twisted way, it was almost worse. The screams meant that there were still people alive. Now it was just hollow. This would be how they left it, uncaring how far the destruction would spread. It would be a long trip back to camp, even longer to the fort.

Cipher turned back to look at him, blackened eyes searching. For what, he could never guess. Guilt, perhaps. Maybe anger. It couldn’t have been out of concern. If they truly cared, they wouldn’t have done this. They’d been born a demon. This was their true nature.

(Hypocrite.)

(Lucan had a plan. One that would end this, once and for all. No more fighting, no more war, no more so-called ‘honor.’ Pixy’d been on the fence about it, since they were measures more desperate than he was willing to take. But the time had come. He knew what he needed to do now.)

Larry looked away.

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

Wow I can’t believe Marvel stole the plot of Ciphixy

the plot of civil war in one image

[yourfavasamilkshake]

Hey would u be okay with making a milkshake for Pixy from Ace Combat 0? His whole thing is that he's a mercenary pilot that was hired for a war, and while he is a bit cocky at times since he got the nickname "solo wing" by managing to land his jet after losing one of his wings, he's very witty and intelligent. His arc consists of meeting and slowly growing closer to Cipher (the player character) during the war before the weight of their actions becomes too much and he defects, trying to kill Cipher and nuke the continent with a supernuke. Before he can do this, however, Cipher does shoot him down and he survives, realizing that blowing up the world to reset it was kind of a bad idea and he then takes part in a documentary about Cipher 10 years later- no longer hating him. Borders are also a big thing for his character but yea he's very dear to me and it would be super duper cool. Awesome blog btw

Here's his wiki for photo refs and any details about his character I may have missed since I can't send pictures on anon

https://acecombat.fandom.com/wiki/Larry_Foulke

Larry "Solo Wing Pixy" Foulke has been SHAKED!

I went with the caramel apple mixable with pistachio syrup on a low blend for the base. I chose a green colour scheme to evoke a militaristic theme. The brown caramel flecks and the green swirls of the pistachio syrup on a low blend mimic military camo.

I also chose the caramel apple because, to me, it represents exuberance, playfulness and simplicity. Caramel apples are treats made for festivals and fairs, usually for children. Although Pixy has a complicated relationship with Cipher (the player character), Pixy does hold affection for and camaraderie with (and maybe something else giggle) with Cipher. I wanted to represent the purity of this feeling with the caramel apple mixable.

I chose a mocha whip, the same colour as Pixy's hair. I also chose the tan colour because it further ties into the military theming.

I chose pomegranate in order to mimic Pixy's "solo wing", the red wing of his plane. I specifically chose pomegranate for the red to represent Pixy's "fall" from order, after he defects and joins a world with no boundaries. Some scholars believe that the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden was a pomegranate. Like Adam, Pixy exits from existing "order" of the world to forge his own path.

Despite Pixy's actions when he acted as a terrorist, and misguided as they were, they were done for the sake of the betterment of the world and to unite all people. The golden drizzle represents his optimism and idealism. I used the Portallini confetti sprinkles to tie all the colours together visually.

I used bananas to represent the wings of Pixy's plane. Oreos symbolize Pixy's black and white, all or nothing "reset it all" worldview and his extremist beliefs during his time with a world with no boundaries. Also, black, yellow and white are the colours of the Belkan flag. Belka, where he was raised, a far right-wing neo-nationalist government which had plunged the world into war, the war which orphaned him as a child. Pixy's strong opposition to the concept of borders and his decisions are tied inextricably with the context of the country he was raised in.

Lastly, a haystack topping because I think he'd like something crunchy, and a cherry for good measure.

Love,

~Papa

[praise-suns-and-chill]

Okay, so

My current Ranking List for Ace Combat

0. Ace Combat 4

The quintessential Ace Combat. Not the one I enjoyed the most. But there is nothing I dislike about it. It's a 10/10 in the "Yeah. I can't complain about it. It just works" kinda way. Hence, the #0

1. Ace Combat Zero

An interesting story, antagonists with nuance (even Discount German/Welsh mixed Antagonists, like holy shit, this is some insane rarity to not just take any flavour of german antagonist and not just make them cartoonishly evil! I will get to that later -_-), gameplay I enjoy, interesting mechanics, a path system to personalise how you imagine Cipher, it is a 9/10 for me! It has flaws. It's not perfect. But it's nearly perfect. I love it <3

2. Ace Combat 6

VERY FUN GAMEPLAY, likable characters across the board (likable antagonists, I can understand where they came from and I wish they all could have made it), your allies are sympathetic AND USEFUL, story is a bit simple but hey, that's alright! It doesn't need to be complex to be compelling!

9/10, will never be able to play it again because I was sobbing, crying my eyes out for hours straight over this game. Shamrock ;_; I'd have burned everything down to the ground if it would have helped you ;_;

3. Now here the rating gets more difficult, but I'm giving #3 to... Ace Combat X.

It really only has one character, Crux, but I love him. Story is simple, but very much serviceable! Gameplay is a bit clunky, but fun! It's just a good game all around with some gimmicks that were luckily kept, like the Parts System, and others that should get adapted again, like Mission Selection that changes follow up mission parameters! It's very innovative, very solid, highly reccomend it

4. Ace Combat Joint Assault

10/10, INSANE bullshit that did everything right except for Flight Physics in my opinion. It's the fever dream of Ace Combat games, and I love it, and it had ideas that should be brought into the general Ace Combat series. Operator Choice, I get why that was only used once, but its still a cool detail! But bring back the Co-Op missions, please. BRING BACK PROP PLANES, I want to fly a prop plane from like 70 years ago against modern fighter jets and win. That's the most insane power fantasy, its hilarious, it's stupid fun, please let me do it in HD.

5. Ace Combat 7

As a "Discount Belkan" if you will, I wasn't a fan of the "the monarchy that started a war three times over is actually just dumb lil uwu babies that were manipulated by a single belkan guy and at fault for nothing despite the fact that they literally cannot stop trying to take over the continent, repressing, colonising and erasing minorities, but they are innocent now, let's blame it on one guy from a country that, as a country, really hasn't done shit since 1995" For fucks sake just leave Belka alone.

But aside from that rant, AC7 is still a very fun game! Buff the guns and get the Skies Restored Mod, and it's very good, stupid fun! Just ignore the cutscenes. Focus on the real story only (aka, the in-mission dialogue, which is actually pretty fun!)

A 7/10 (the 7 in its title is apt), still a good game and good introduction to the series! There is just better out there.

6. And now for the last place. Yeah, I'll be honest, I think AC5 kinda sucks. Rant incoming.

First off, the few parts I actually liked.

Chopper. Pops. Grimm also wasn't always annoying. The music was fucking peak, as always for Ace Combat games. And I can't complain about Oka Nieba either.

The writing is just... not very good. The story is overly convoluted that the writer just clearly didn't have the skills to pull off properly, the characters range from "Actually kinda likable" (only a few) to "so bland and annoying they made me quit the game" (Nagase, looking at you). It also stretches on far too long for a story that really doesn't justify it at all. And it's not like the length is there for character development either. I genuinely don't understand why it's so overhyped (maybe because it was sandwiched between two actually GOOD games, nostalgia and, tbh, the cheap waifu bait). The story wasn't good, the characters were bland, the villians were cartoonishly evil and just the generic, cheap "Discount German, just make them evil, I am so clever as a Japanese writer" (told you we'd get back to that, zero self awareness), while absolving the other warmongering countries of all responsibility in the process, no matter how many people and civilians they killed in the process already, just blame it on someone else so we look good, and while the Reply Mechanic was neat, it really wasn't used properly to give flavour to the characters and was kinda wasted as a mechanic with a lot more potential. Also, the whole "supposed" message of peace and unity is completely destroyed by the fact that the Wall fell... but South Osea still is an Osean colony. Despite Osea being racist against them, and them not wanting to be part of Osea either. So peace and unity except for Belkans, they can go fuck themselves, lmao, racial cleansing (explicitly children included) incoming on Tyler Island in 9 years.

There are still more AC games I have to play, but I am very sure that AC5 will easily stay my last place, by a mile. It's cheap writing taints the rest of the series in a way that is just beyond annoying and disappointing. Because there are competent writers in this series! Who can actually write characters, stories and nuance that are succinct, functional and good!

But a bad apple can spoil the bunch. Belka deserves better. The Writer for ACZ knew that, the only AC game where you actually fight the country in question, and they are easily the most nuanced villians in the series there!

There is so much potential if you just let a competent writer have at it.

I'm sorry, rant end.

In summary, there is definitely a lot more love I have towards the series than anything else.

I just hope they will be able to fix their lore flaws moving forward.

[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.

[whining-ylthin]

I would like to applaud "Incorrect Summary of Ace Combat 0" by Max0r for rewiring my brain chemistry with its many, many memorable quotes, but especially with this gem:

"It's all because of borders, and the police officers telling me I can't eat the drywall at Home Depot"

-- Larry "Solo Wing" "Pixy" Foulke explaining to his former companion and mercenary jet pilot Cipher why dropping a cluster mega-nuke called V2 on an already devastated continent is a valid option to end all wars, actually

[therazgrizaces]

So I took a break from editing my AC5 fanfic and made the cinnamon roll meme chart for the characters in my ace combat saga. And yes, Pixy is my only sinnamon roll. You can't change my mind about this.

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

[the-fourth-knower]

Random Ace Combat musing

So in 0, if you’re on the Soldier route and plaing the Gault squadron mission, Gault 1 mentions that he hoped to meet Cipher under differnet circumstances.

Which means that its possible that, off-screen, AWWNB approached Cipher about joining. Obviously, he refused to do so, for whatever reason. A code of honor, a soldier’s commitment, or just plain wanting to keep a presumably lucartive job.

Shame you can’t really explore that aspect in an Ace Combat game, or at least that Project Aces didn’t explore in 0.

[zealouselement]

So I haven't really written anything or fanfic-y that I wanted to post in YEARS. Who knew all it'd take was a couple of gay fighter pilots?

[cookiekurimu]

meme redraw but with the galms (and PJ) 

art by cookie