#between haytham and his secret family not family

[peridot-tears]

Jacob's reaction to Evie asking Queen Victoria to Maybe Not Be a Colonizer makes me think that he's one of those guys who was very whatever about Britain's Role as a Colonizer but eventually started coming around a little bit as he got older and closer to Jayadeep, his sister married into an Indian family, and he went to India itself. But he still didn't form strong enough opinions about it for Lydia Frye to shiv Winston Churchill on the spot for being The Colonizer.

[teecupangel]

An Inverse! Au where Desmond or whoever replaced him has Templar origins but, instead of "our" templars, the templars are the good guys and the assassins are evil? Like, Vieri De Pazzi goes on an arduous and wrought adventure to kill (I forgot Ezi's daddy's name rip)?

Since this is an Inverse AU, the Desmond of this AU would most definitely stayed with the Brotherhood and believed him to be the rightful mentor of the Brotherhood, making him the big bad and pretty much what can be considered as the final boss of the series.

So the main character would be either Lucy Stillman or Daniel Cross due to their connection with the Brotherhood and the Order.

Of course, Berg or Numbskull would be a good alternative main character to have a more acceptable way to infodump in the story because they’re new in the whole secret war thing.

The modern day plot would be the Order is now in small teams that have been driven underground thanks to the Brotherhood holding a Great Purge under the last mentor and now the Assassins are hunting for any survivors.

The Animus is the Templars last ditch effort to find a way to create a counterattack against the Assassins’ relentless hunting.

And to do that…

They have to ask help from the descendants of Templars of old who are also being hunted down by the Assassins because they know the Templars are developing the Animus and they have their own.

Unorganized Notes

The start of the Brotherhood’s corruption could be at any time but the three main possible triggers are: 1) From the start with Aya and Bayek being driven by their rage of Cleopatra’s betrayal, making the Hidden Ones much more vicious and more on the side of ‘destroy everything against us’, 2) Loki’s Isuness corrupting the Hidden Ones between Mirage and Valhalla and having long lasting effects even after his death or 3) Al Mualim raising Altaïr to be his heir and son, effectively turning him into the second Al Mualim

Personally I think 1 is the best option mostly so we can have this corruption start at the very core, becoming the foundation of the Assassins themselves.

Al Mualim used the Templars to get the Apple and used it to gain knowledge that would jumpstart the Brotherhood’s technological advancement. Altaïr continued what he started and drove the Brotherhood into the shadows because there’s an ongoing alliance of quite a lot of formidable foes that are trying to destroy Masyaf.

The Italian Brotherhood under Giovanni Auditore used the Medici family as their puppets exert control over the lands. The Pazzi conspiracy was meant to be a decoy to the real plan to destroy the Auditore family. This fails and most of the Pazzi die and Vieri de Pazzi is trained by Rodrigo Borgia to the ways of the Templar. His revenge is half successful in a way that he was able to cut off the strings between the Medici and the Brotherhood and deal a fatal blow to Giovanni (whether he lives or not is up to you). This, however, caused Ezio Auditore to take center stage and destroy the remaining Templars in a rain of blood and fire all the while Petruccio Auditore becomes the pope, effectively making the Church under Brotherhood control for as long as he reigns.

The Kenway drama unfolds in a different way with Haytham Kenway becoming a Templar to go against his father who has taken the mantle of mentor. Birch is now the guy who showed Haytham the errors of the Brotherhood’s way and this becomes a story of the Templars were able to destroy the Brotherhood in the colonies thanks to Shay (who, in this one, still defected because of Lisbon but less of a case of ‘people don’t communicate well in this game’ and more of a case of ‘it’s a shame but it cannot be helped’ mentality)

of course, this means Ratonhnhaké:ton becomes an Assassin for revenge because the burning of the village is still becomes of Washington and Charles Lee is a Templar but he still did as ordered (but, instead of hitting a kid hard, he orders him to run and shoots near his feet to force him to run). Ratonhnhaké:ton is trained by his grandfather in this one because Haytham couldn’t kill him and his aunt ends up being an Assassin who is mainly there to kill her own brother because he’s a ‘disgrace’)

Arno and Élise still have their forbidden love thing going on but, this time, it’s the Dorian family adopting Élise after her father is killed by an unknown ‘person’ (this turns out to be Jennifer Scott who was hunting Shay Cormac down). Charles Dorian dies because he tried to unite the Brotherhood and the Order. Eventually, it’s found out that he was killed by Bellec and Arno kills him out of revenge. Élise doesn’t die on this one but they don’t end up together because Arno wishes to remain in the Brotherhood to do what his father tried to do but Élise doesn’t believe unity can be accomplished considering how merciless the Brotherhood is. She’s proven right as even to his death, Arno was known as a great Assassin but his call for peace was deemed ‘poisoned’ because he loved a Templar Grand Master

The twins did everything they did the game but, more chaotic. Maxwell Roth absolutely joined their cause because he’s just like that and this is actually an AU where Jack the Ripper doesn’t happen because Jacob AND Roth nurtured his hatred and wrath into something more refined and much more… well stealthier. In exchange, London has an urban legend about how the Reaper would walk the streets of London during that time, and all he sees will never be seen ever again.

[demigoddessqueens]

This was a Discord anniversary gift for @straight-into-the-animus and I wanted to share it on here as well!

Arno & Jacob

Peony – Good fortune, happy marriage, everlasting prosperity

Being in his husband’s arms unburdened Arno from so much doubt that he carried. He still remembers his wedding day, how both of them were so hesitant and afraid. It all seemed so silly now after the years of life they built together. Jacob was....many things, Arno knew that as much when he first met him, but the love of his life was a full guarantee. There was no one, and nothing, that he would trade Jacob for. Holding him in his arms, reminiscing on the mirthful ceremony that just took place hours ago, Arno felt as if he was floating. Maybe he was a bit of a sap as his sister liked to tease so very often, but he didn't care. Seems as if the sap of the family didn't turn out too bad making a life for himself.

Malik & Altair

Sunflower – happiness and vitality

If a stranger were to tell either men that they were meant to be, both would have scoffed at the latter and at each other. Yet, denial was the first step in what led to a tumultuous courtship and eventual union. Both men, prideful and arrogant in their own way, who never wanted to give the latter the higher ground. Neither would push or pull. It spoke in between their kisses, fleeting touches in their brief intimacy, and in the few times where they let their walls down amongst each other. Malik was not one to admit such soft and yearning feelings, but that hardened exterior was only shed for one individual, even if it was sometimes due to Altair's cockiness (damn him). Altair didn't just see Malik as one who just called him "novice" or as another Assassin. His heart beat for this man, yearned and longed for him during the long missions, and craved for more time whenever it could be found. Amidst their strife and work, there was an unspoken truth between both men: that their love, no matter how brief it could last, gave a new sense of life. Something else besides just being an Assassin.

Ezio & Leonardo

Aster – Wisdom, royalty, devotion, purity, faith

Ezio was a man who had lost much in his life. Members of family, sense of self, hope, anything a man can list when they are being chased by a vengeful bloodline. It was miracle that he never lost the love in his heart and his life. He wasn't much a man of faith after the loss of his father and brothers, but Ezio was grateful to a higher power for sending Leonardo. Leo, who was caught up in his art and inventions, was a rock and cornerstone for the Auditore male heir. Through the toils and troubles of becoming an Assassin in the Brotherhood to avenging his deceased through the Borgias, Leonardo was there. Be it at any secret rendezvous or meeting at the villa for any respite, he was there with open arms for the weary Ezio.

Connor (based on From the Children)

Lavendar – healing, devotion, luck

He felt immense pity for the given situation. Such a young boy who had to endure a life that was not entirely meant for him. Connor didn't know whether to blame himself or the Assassin's, but one thing was certain: such a lad deserved better. Maybe it was the way Shay started to take charge, or how he was steadfast at the helm of the ship, but there was a foreign feeling that overcame him. Pride? Ambition? A sense of hope? He realized he did not children of his own, but now it seemed to be something of a reality he wanted to create. Though Haytham was the boy's father, it was safe to say that the only relation was through blood. Come what may, the vengeful Assassin's and those he used to call friends or the Templars who felt entitled to everything else, Connor was not one to go down without a fight. Hell or highwater would not come for this young boy's life, and the potential new beginning that laid ahead.

Alexios, Lykaon,Thaletas

Dahlia – commitment, discovery

Coming back home was more than just returning to the country side. It meant reuniting with a sister, and the two other individuals he wanted in his life. Alexios and his fellow Greeks had heard of the philosophers and wise people say that beauty was terror. It was a terror to find someone, or something, as beautiful and stunning as Lykaon and Thaletas were. It meant to let them in, to tell them of what he had endured on his voyage, and to come back a changed man. Alexios didn't want to admit, but underneath the battle worn exterior, his heart quickened when he returned home. Would they see him as different? Accept him? His answer came in the form of open, welcoming arms. The tears of relief fell down Alexios's face in gentle streams. Yes, this is what it meant when beauty is terror. It's the fear that one wouldn't accept their other half, but for Alexios, he would never have to face his fears alone anymore.

[octalove]

III: We Met

(Batgirl/Red Hood)

Description: Reader goes out, and finds herself in an alley with no one to call. An old memory is brought up. Part one and part two.

Who the fuck leaves a batarang lying around when they’re spying on a supervillain?

A week had gone by. A week where every day I tried to wake up and smile at my family and go to school and do calculus, but all I kept wondering was what kind of idiot leaves a batarang when they’re spying on a supervillain? I glanced over at it; I’d left it lying on my desk as a reminder. Every time I looked at it, I felt the sharp edges biting into my palm as his hands closed around mine. I smelled leather and the musty scent of unsettled dust in the warehouse. It was the same shape as the angry red bat on his chest- eye level with me.

How did he know who I was? How did he know I was there? How was it he just knew I’d show up to that same warehouse four days afterward in the middle of a school day?

“Tell Batman,” He’d said. If the secrets weren’t ringing around my head already- there it was. The line that kept echoing. Tell Batman, tell Batman. Telling Batman wasn’t an option. He’d lock me in the cave until I was thirty and growing liver spots. I’d never be Batgirl again. No way in hell was I standing before that black cowl and confessing two weeks worth of bad decisions.

That blue evening, Gotham was alive and breathing with the heat of something organic; rhythmic heart-beat in the muffled cars on the street, and the jazz clubs, eyes wide open in the bright, excited lights dotting the spiring skyline. The breeze bit subtly as the city shook the shackles of summer, and moved into early September.

I stuck close to Batman, almost apologetically obedient for the night as I tried to convey some sort of negotiation on my part; I’m sorry for acting weird, I’m on my best behavior tonight.

Robin didn’t so much appreciate that sentiment, because Batman’s side was his place, but patrol began civilly enough. Car theft on Nettleton (Red Robin dealt with), some questionable sex work in the Row (I oversaw and made sure the women were safe and willing), a robbery call (Batman and Robin checked it out- false alarm). By one in the morning, we were all mostly still in one piece, and lulled by the mildness and coolness of the night. I was dragging my gaze over Haytham Parkway when Oracle’s staticky voice came through the coms.

“Batman. There’s been a Red Hood sighting at the H&P in Gotham Village. It’s Falcone’s men.” Swiftly and gracefully, the three of us scaled rooftops, pillars and cell towers. We arrived within twelve minutes, and then planted ourselves like gargoyles. Listening. The Village was one of the more quiet parts of Gotham. It was all settled with blue collar, passive criminals, instead of outright violent ones. A few minutes passed. The building looked undisturbed.

“Do you think-“

Bang.

A gunshot followed by glass breaking. In a hair’s width span of time, Batman, Robin and I descended on the building and swung through through the shattered display window. Inside, broken glass littered the floor, along with disheveled items from the shop, stung around haphazardly. Two men were dead on the ground, blood around them like a premonitory chalk outline. They were unassuming men, but I recognized the patches on their matching shirts as Hadley’s Deli. They were Maroni’s men.

“Robin- the back rooms. Batgirl- check the perimeter. If he left the building, he won’t be far.”

I shot past them and into the dark, grappling to the roof for a better vantage point. From there I swept my gaze across the northern and eastern neighboring streets. Movement. Like a twitch in the darkness. I raced down a fire escape and into an alley adjacent east of the H&P. It was quiet. The sound of my own boots on the asphalt as I halted. It was small and enclosed- the shadows weren’t deep. If he was here, I’d know.

Click. And now I did.

“Easy,” He said, a rumbling, buzzing sound that was becoming familiar. “Easy.” The second order was much slower. I felt his presence as it drew closer, but I didn’t turn around. I was a damn good martial artist, but a gun would always be faster and deadlier than me.

“I just keep findin’ you, don’t I, little bird?” He stopped a couple feet away from my back. “Where’s Batman?” He asked. I scowled.

“He’s with the men you murdered.”

A deep chuckle. “You saw that? Maroni and I have been havin’ a… disagreement. He’s comin’ around.”

“What, he won’t submit to you?” I pressed, hoping since he was so keen on entertaining me, I might be able to probe for some information- figure out his long game.

“Something like that.”

“So all this. Is it just to get to Batman?” He didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped forward. I tried to look for something to catch his reflection in- a window or something. I felt the cool metal of his gun part my hair like a curtain and press against the nape of my neck. Then, slowly, his gloved hand ghosted lightly across the side of my face, slowly, slowly, upward toward my temple until he found the button. Click. And just like that, my coms were down. No Batman’s voice in my ear. No updates from Oracle. No calling for help. How did he know that was there?

“What do want? Who the hell are you?” I said, letting frustration and anger deep into my voice. I stood cemented to my place as he drug himself around to stand in front of me, until I was staring back at that angry red bat on his chest. He’d holstered his gun.

“Why don’t you find out?” It was one part threat, one part joke that I wasn’t in on, growled contemptuously in that electronic flare that masked his voice. Whether it was rhetorical, or a genuine invitation, I took the opportunity to cautiously raise my hands to his helmet, feeling along the edges of the jaw until I found a matching set of release triggers. The architecture of the helmet was oddly congruent with something Bruce would’ve cooked up. Another mockery- like the bat.

His passive stillness terrified me. Like he knew just what was under the mask and just how I would react. Like it was all part of his plan, and I was playing my dutiful role. I pressed. A hissing noise as the inner workings went slack and released, giving me the freedom to push it up and over. When I saw his skin, then his mouth, I stopped. I stopped because he was actually letting me- and there was no reason he should be letting me except if he planned to kill me afterward. There was a long strangulation of the air between us. Gotham City- the buildings and streetlamps and gaudy, glittering marquees- seemed to quiet just to watch in anticipation. In a very coy way, his lips battled a grin. I felt like saying something witty, but stayed silent for fear of pushing time back into motion. He leaned forward, and lightning leapt in my stomach, despite myself. The dusk had alleviated, leaving only black across the sky that was rather vapid in comparison to the shining city reflected on his helm, still covering his eyes and nose.

“Scared?” He asked; quite spitefully considering my hands were trembling. Of course I was scared. But his voice was so human- smooth, but a little raspy, like anyone who gave orders for a living might have. It was low and deep, and I preferred it to the voice scrambler.

A dog barked from somebody’s fenced balcony, and some passing car shook with jaunty bass. Loud engines, sirens, honking, distant voices. The sizzling of a street taco stand. And still, somehow I was close enough to hear his drawing breath as his chest rose and fell. I went to push my fingers along the bottom of the helmet, to remove it entirely, but he grabbed my wrist.

A tiny, pinpoint red light was flashing on the breast of my suit. Batman was trying to contact me- unable to reach my coms.

“Daddy’s calling.” He looked wolfish there in the dark; featureless but a mouth displaying a cheshire grin that was wickedly snide. In a fluid motion, he released his grip on me and replaced his helmet, turning on his heel into the shallow shadows.

*

6 years prior

I hated this. The music, the marble, the champagne- all of it. I caught Alfred’s eye as he exchanged formalities with some distant-cousin-twice-removed of Bruce’s. I knew what he was looking at me for. The glint in his eye said it all.

Please behave, was the message. I’d already heard it twice this evening; Bruce told me how important this party was for the investors (aka, please behave), and Dick gave me some casual line about how he’d been looking forward to tonight all month (aka, please, please fucking behave).

It’s not like I had anything better to do. I couldn’t drink (no, not even the wine), and the only thing I had in common with company investors was that I was under Bruce’s thumb, too. Occasionally, some sweetly overbearing lady would appear, pinch my cheeks and pat my head, then disappear just as quickly. Thirty minutes passed as I sipped my ginger-ale and counted untied shoelaces, until I decided to find my brother. It was easy, really- just follow the laughter.

Dick wasn’t born in Gotham- not like me- but his rearing in the city had no doubt left a strong imprint. Everything about him proposed Gothamite glamour- even his voice. Far removed from the expensive private grammar lessons Bruce had bought him, he swung his vowels, and let his ‘a’s hang in the air, leaving an irresistible air of cocky, laid-back swagger. Some equilibrium between wealthy socialite and ‘man of the people’ he seemed adept at finding.

I found him at the snack table. He wore a perfectly-fitting suit of all black with navy satin accents, dark hair slicked back, and a very beautiful woman (I would come to know as Maya. Or was it Moira? Mara?) on his arm. A couple of his academy friends stood around him- freshly graduated, and so much wiser for it. It all suited him well. Not as much could be said for me.

“Hey.” He said, throwing me a grin.

“Hey.”

Maya Moira Mara excused herself to freshen up for a moment, and Dick put his hands in his pockets.

“Make any friends?” That was always his first question. I rolled my eyes.

“No. But you have.” It was a pointed jab- he and Babs had just taken a “break” and Maya Moira Mara’s silky red hair marked her as a painfully obvious rebound.

He sighed, decidedly ignoring me. “What about uh... what’s her name?”

“Who?”

“Ah, I forget. Her parents are international law something or other. Bruce works with ‘em. They have a daughter about your age.”

I just grunted. No use in making it seem like I was desperate for company now, considering I’d spent the last hour alone.

“There-“ He pointed to a girl standing alone, apparently abandoned by her respective international lawyer parents. Before I could slap his hand down and tell him it was rude to point, she spotted us. Following that, I’d look even weirder if I didn’t say anything, so after a nudge from Dick, I walked over to her.

“Hi.” I said, immediately wishing I could take the monosyllabic word back and try again. “I’m Jason.”

The girl smiled at me. A small, bashful sort of smile that you give when you’re the only people your age at a christmas party, so you slam together like two magnets.

“I’m Y/N.” She replied.

[richincolor]

New Releases

It's a new week and that means new releases out this Tuesday. Check them out:

Version Zero by David Yoon

Reboot the present. Save the future. Max, a data whiz at the Facebook-like social media company Wren, has gotten a firsthand glimpse of the dark side of big tech. When he starts asking questions about what his company is doing with the data they collect, he finds himself fired…and then blackballed across all of Silicon Valley.

With time on his hands and inside knowledge about the biggest tech companies, Max and his longtime friend—and sometime crush—Akiko, decide to get even by…essentially, rebooting the internet. After all, in order to fix things, sometimes you have to break them. But when Max and Akiko join forces with a reclusive tech baron, they learn that breaking things can have unintended—and disastrous—consequences. And those consequences will ripple across the world, effecting every level of society in ways no one could have imagined. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia An unmissable tour de force from three-time National Book Award finalist and Coretta Scott King Award–winning author Rita Williams-Garcia, who memorably tells the stories of one white family and the enslaved people who work for them. Essential reading for teens and adults who are grappling with our country’s history of racism.

This astonishing novel about the interwoven lives of those bound to a plantation in antebellum America is an epic masterwork—empathetic, brutal, and entirely human.

1860, Louisiana. After serving as mistress of Le Petit Cottage for more than six decades, Madame Sylvie Guilbert has decided, in spite of her family’s indifference, to sit for a portrait. But there are other important stories to be told on the Guilbert plantation. Stories that span generations, from the big house to out in the fields, of routine horrors, secrets buried as deep as the family fortune, and the tangled bonds of descendants and enslaved. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar  Everyone likes Humaira “Hani” Khan—she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship…with a girl her friends absolutely hate—Ishita “Ishu” Dey. Ishu is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl. Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Sister of the Bollywood Bride by Nandini Bajpai Mini’s big sister, Vinnie, is getting married. Their mom passed away seven years ago and between Dad’s new start-up and Vinnie’s medical residency, there’s no one but Mini to plan the wedding. Dad raised her to know more about computers, calculus, and cars than desi weddings but from the moment Mini held the jewelry Mom left them, she wanted her sister to have the wedding Mom would’ve planned.

Now Mini has only two months to get it done and she’s not going to let anything distract her, not even the persistent, mysterious, and smoking-hot Vir Mirchandani. Flower garlands, decorations, music, even a white wedding horse—everything is in place. That is, until a monster hurricane heads for Boston that could ruin everything. Will Mini come through as sister of the bride and save the day? — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2) by S.K. Ali Janna Yusuf is so excited for the weekend: her brother Muhammad’s getting married, and she’s reuniting with her mom, whom she’s missed the whole summer.

And Nuah’s arriving for the weekend too. Sweet, constant Nuah. The last time she saw him, Janna wasn’t ready to reciprocate his feelings for her. But things are different now. She’s finished high school, ready for college…and ready for Nuah. It’s time for Janna’s (carefully planned) summer of love to begin—starting right at the wedding.

But it wouldn’t be a wedding if everything went according to plan. Muhammad’s party choices aren’t in line with his fiancée’s taste at all, Janna’s dad is acting strange, and her mom is spending more time with an old friend (and maybe love interest?) than Janna.

And Nuah’s treating her differently. Just when things couldn’t get more complicated, two newcomers—the dreamy Haytham and brooding Layth—have Janna more confused than ever about what her misfit heart really wants. Janna’s summer of love is turning out to be super crowded and painfully unpredictable. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[reflectionsofacreator]

Boy howdy, here we go. Desmond gets desynched out of Haytham’s memories after witnessing Charles’ initiation, and hoo man he’s not taking it well. 

So my very first thought upon witnessing this scene was to wonder if the conversation Desmond had with William was supposed to take place after this, instead of where I found it in sequence 2. I kinda feel as though there’s enough weight to place it both before and after this scene, and it makes me wonder. I’m tempted to lean towards “no, it’s not supposed to take place after this” because of how caviler Desmond tried to be with his father at the start of that conversation, which doesn’t exactly mesh well with after this mess of a convo. However, it’s no secret that ac3 is buggy as hell, and it wouldn’t surprise me that I managed to trigger a conversation early. 

Tbh like. Desmond has every right to get this pissy or fed up. Maybe he could’ve gone about it a better way, but god damn his life kind of sucks, and has sucked ever since he got grabbed off the street. He may have resolved to see this through to the end at the end of Revelations, but that doesn’t mean that he has to roll over an accept everything without so much as a peep. What really interests me is how he chooses to phrase it though, especially with regards to Lucy. “Templar plot twist” is a hell of a term, both in word choice and how he chooses to distance himself from the fact that he was closer to her than to Shaun or Rebecca. I think it’s the only real mention that Desmond’s made about Lucy’s allegiances and the fact that she was going to betray him. 

I find it fascinating how he talks around Lucy, instead of actually trying to talk about her, including speaking “as” her. It kind of reminds me of grief or coping mechanisms, because he’s still not okay with what happened. I also take great interest over the fact that he takes responsibility for her murder, even if he was being controlled by “a magic space wizard”. Because normally that would absolve people of responsibility, but... I don’t think he does. Not at all. He blames himself for Lucy’s death, even if it wasn’t him “pulling the trigger” so to speak. Admittedly, I’m surprised it took him this long to actually have any form of breakdown over her death, and even then, this is pretty damn understated. Even when Subject 16 told him about it, he collapsed to his knees, but didn’t have a violent reaction like this. 

Anyways William’s continued insistence that he knows better and that Desmond’s being a petulant child is ... Very. Irritating. Where’s my bat... 

Also, this is the first time we’ve really got an extended look at William’s face while he’s talking, and I wonder at the significance of that. Sure, we’ve heard him do voice overs, or seen him here and there, but this is the first major cutscene with him. I also can’t shake the feeling that he looks too pale -- I was always under the impression that he and Desmond were PoC, given their vast and varied heritage. 

My next thought is just... Why is Rebecca so quiet? She literally doesn’t say anything, and it feels odd. She’s always been pretty vocal before, but I swear, I’ve only heard her talk in the convos you can trigger outside in the world, not in the cutscenes. There’s a number of reasons why that might be the case, and I feel like the biggest one is likely just. Pure sexism, and the devs not knowing what to do with her. That might just be me being a pessimistic ass though, but considering the recent shit that’s come out about Ubisoft’s in house sexism/misogyny and how female protagonists were shafted... [waves hand] It’s possible, and I won’t discount it. But for an in story reason, it could just be that she’s still grieving Lucy, or that she doesn’t exactly want to cause a fight with her boss, considering that William is the Mentor of the Brotherhood, even if Desmond is her friend. Also like -- it’s fucking awkward to get between a family fight, man. 

I appreciate, however, that Shaun was willing to intervene. Even if said intervening just amounts to “hm let’s just not c:”. It’s still something, I guess. Also perfectly IC. Shaun just does not do emotions, either well or at all, so it makes sense that he’d give them a goal to try and work on instead of letting this fester and try and blow up into a fight. He brings up the power source that Desmond found upon first entering, and lo and behold, I knew we’d have to gather more. Admittedly it’s a problem for later, as they still need to find the Key. 

You’re prompted to wander around the Grand Temple, and then you can see what looks like a glowing ghost off in the distance, not exactly dissimilar to a Bleeding Effect. 

[lunavadash-creates]

A Nightmare

I have never written a short story like this but I love Shay and he deserves some love, alright? Also, I tried to avoid putting a name for s/o so you can, I don’t know, identify? I’m just not sure about putting y/n here.

Words: 2177

           The night was unusually calm and silent, very different from the ones she used to spend at the sea. For the past few weeks, she was lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the Morrigan, surrounded by loud sounds of waves crashing against the ship, laying under the deck with fellow crew members. She has been a Templar for a few years now, with a title inherited from her father, respected scientist, who devoted his whole life searching for the artefacts of ancient civilization, who ruled the world before humans. She followed his footsteps, focusing on research but in a little bit more practical way – she never wanted to end up locked in a laboratory or any other place, the sea was calling her like a siren’s song and there, surrounded by endless blue, she finally felt free and able to uncover the secrets of the world.

This was probably the reason why she couldn’t focus on her book now, it was too calm in that little inn they all stayed at. Haytham went somewhere, she had no idea where. He only announced that he will be back in two days so the crew could rest. Shay was sleeping in a room next to hers and the crew was probably having fun with brawls, women and alcohol. They deserved that fun after that few weeks of constant sailing and fighting.

           Finally, she let out a deep sigh and put the book down, determined to catch at least few hours of sleep, but just when she was about to give up in the arms of Morpheus, she heard some strange noise. She immediately sat up, reaching for a dagger and listened, trying to find out what was going on. She heard that sound again, like a muffled moan, that was coming from Shay’s room. Straightaway she dashed out from her room and went straight to his. She was no fighter, but there was no time to make a solid plan when her captain was in danger! She opened his door, ready to attack intruder, but the only thing she saw was Shay, sitting on his bed, panting heavily, his upper body was naked and covered in sweat like he just had the most exhausting fight in his life, but he was alone, there was no danger. He looked at her confused when she barged in and for a second, they were looking into each other eyes, trying to understand the situation. Shay soon moved his gaze at her dagger and rose an eyebrow. A little bit ashamed she hid it behind her back. She realised how stupid she was, with that little dagger she could have done nothing.

           “I thought you were in danger,” she said silently, trying to explain herself.

She came closer to the man and put her weapon on his nightstand before she decided to sit down next to him. “You had a nightmare, hadn’t you?”

She had no idea what was driving her, she probably should just turn around and leave but something kept her in the room… he remained her of all those times when she had to deal with nightmares on her own. She had no idea that he was going through something similar and felt she should be there for him

           “Don’t worry, lass. Go back to sleep, it’s nothing,” he said, moving a little bit back. She was the last person he wanted to be seen in such a vulnerable, pathetic state.

The woman didn’t move a bit, instead, she just sighed again. Shay never told her the story about what had happened in Lisbon, she only knew that the city collapsed due to the earthquake and that Shay somehow was blaming himself, was it possible that it was the source of his state?

           “I had terrible nightmares when I was little. My brother used to scare me with stories about monsters from the closet or under the bed, that were going to catch me by my ankles and kill me or take me directly to hell. When my mom was still alive, I rushed to her room almost every night but after she passed, I had to deal with it on my own...”

           “I’m not afraid of monsters,” he said harsher than he wanted, interrupting her “I still hear that sounds. Crashing building, screaming people who were dying under the rubble of the city, people burning alive, trapped, children looking for parents! That is not a stupid story, that’s my reality!” he looked away from her. He never intended to burst out on her and soon he felt ashamed by his behaviour. He ran fingers through his hair and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. All those things were still hunting him in dreams, the whole Lisbon, the artefact, assassin’s and their stupid, useless creed that caused death of thousands of people. It was too much for one person and yet, he was forced to carry a burden of that tragic event.

He used to believe in the creed. When Liam saved his life and gave him a chance to do better, purpose in life, Shay was so devoted to their cause. He wanted to change the world, make it a better place for everyone and the thought that he could do it with the artefact was like his dream coming true. But now he knew that it was just pure arrogance and foolishness and the assassins were just seeking for power and vengeance, there was no nobleness in their actions, just a pure greed. Yet as much as he understood it now he still felt terrible at the thought that he had to kill every person he used to consider them as family.

           “Shay, it’s alright” she assured him, not offended by his outburst, she saw his nervousness and never expected that the amazing Captain Cormac, ex-assassin will be just a broken man. It was a strange discovery, but it didn’t change anything for her, she still was intrigued by him. But his memories… she couldn’t even imagine things he went through. She looked in his eyes only to find endless pain, sorrow and regret in them.  She couldn’t blame him, he was betrayed by his brothers and forced to do something terrible, at least that what she thought.

           “Let’s just deal with your nightmares. Come here!” she said with a warm smile and before he could react, she simply wrapped her arms around him. If he needed a distraction, she was ready to provide it for him. Shay was nice and warm, and it was great to feel his naked skin. What could she do? She was just a simple woman, taking pleasure from looking at a handsome, half-naked men. Shay hesitated and, in the end, didn’t hug her back. He was just so surprised by her actions. They weren’t too close, they respect each other, talk sometimes but it was all connected to their job. Even if he was curious and found her attractive he was well aware that there was no place for romance during their mission. At the same time he felt that something was changing slowly, maybe because they were finally alone, Haytham was far away and crew was having some fun in the city. They had the opportunity to get to know each other better.

           “Lay down, I will stay with you. Haytham will be angry if you’re tired after he graciously allowed us to rest for those two days. And I cannot focus on my study when you are so loud here”

           “Wait, you were awake the whole time?” he was visibly surprised, he thought that she was just sleeping soundly. He frowned at her shrug and shook his head; it was past midnight for sure. ‘I will be fine. You should go to sleep, Haytham needs your work and he will kill me if I keep you from it”

           “Mr Cormac lay down and do not disobey me,” she said suddenly very serious, imitating Haytham’s voice and his British accent, she even clasped her hand behind her back, making Shay laugh a bit. Honestly, he never expected something like this from her, she seemed to be so devoted to the order and Haytham. And yet, here she was, making fun of the Grand Master. But it worked and for a while, Shay managed to forget about all things that bugged him. His smile, a little shy but honest was worth making fun of Haytham. The woman smiled back at him, feeling like ice between them began to break.

           “You have to practise that British accent of his,” he said, still grinning while looking at her serious expression. She was a terrible Haytham, but still, it was quite adorable that she made an effort to raise his mood.

           “Honestly, Shay. Lay down” this time he listened to her and lay down on his bed, quite curious what she was planning to do. Did he hope that maybe she will stay with him for the night? That would be nice, especially that she was wearing nothing but a nightgown.

           “Oh no, no, no. I’m lying next to the wall. If you are not afraid of monsters you will gladly take care of them for me if they appear, right?”

           Again, Shay laughed, this time louder, hearing this demand and submissively moved, making her place on the bed next to the wall. She lied there and move a bit, to make herself comfortable, only then she brought him closer and closed him in her warm embrace. She used the fact that for the first time she saw him with his hair loose and immediately buried her hand in his dark locks, scratching his scalp gently. She wanted to touch them for so long, but she couldn’t ask before, it would be too awkward! But now she felt no shame in doing so, his hair was soft and nice, and Shay looked just so different without his ponytail with red ribbon.

           “You never told me how you dealt with your nightmares…”

           “Oh… I just imagined that I’m lying in bed with someone, handsome, dark-haired prince,­­­­ for example, who will slay monsters with his sword and keep me safe. But now, close your eyes” she cleared her throat before she spoke again “Once upon a time, long time ago there was a big, beautiful castle that hid a very dark secret…”

           “Wait, are you going to tell me a fairy-tale?” he asked surprised, looking at her with disbelief like she was some kind of madwoman. He frowned, not sure if he should be angry that she was treating him like a baby or happy…? That she cared?

           “After a nightmare, I couldn’t sleep, because when I closed my eyes saw all those scary things…I had to distract myself. Besides, it’s a nice story…”

           “Eh… fine” he sighed deeply, pretending that he was indifferent, but honestly, he felt happy.  He moved a little, to find the perfect spot for himself, then put one shoulder around her waist, not sure if it was right, but she was hugging him so tightly, that it was the most comfortable position.  She made him bury his face into her neck and Shay knew that if he wanted, he probably could bury himself in her chest, he was just so close to her breasts but didn’t want to destroy that moment of theirs. That was a thin line he didn’t want to cross, at least for now.

           He closed his eyes and let himself relax. He felt her heartbeat, a little bit faster than it should be, her scent was just so nice and sweet. The same scent she was leaving all around Morrigan, when she was walking around, he had no idea what perfumes she was using but they fit her perfectly. Surprised he found out that she also perfectly fitted his arms like she was made for hugging.

           “Once upon a time, a long time ago there was a beautiful castle that hid a terrible secret. A young prince lost his father due to war, his mother abandoned him to carry on with the fight at the battlefield, so the prince had been risen by an evil fairy, who tried to seduce him. She failed and decided to punish him, by turning him into a beast…”

           In no time she heard gentle snoring and smiled to herself. Shay was fast asleep; his hug became much tighter like he really was ready to protect her from everything. A little smile and his peaceful expression were enough for her to know that she managed to help him. So, she just hugged him tightly, and put a gentle kiss on his temple, she couldn’t resist his charm, even when he was asleep.

“Sleep well my prince,” she whispered before hiding her face in his hair. In no time she fell asleep. they both had no nightmares, they just crossed a strange border, something that was holding them back. And it was just the beginning of their very own fairy-tale.

[koszmar-zycie]

Haytham Wyatt-Berwick Interview

Name ➔ Haytham Wyatt-Berwick

Are you single?➔ "It would seem so, yes.”

Are you angry?➔ “Angry? I’m afraid I can’t say that I am. I suppose you expect a Gilnean such as myself to harbor rage? Vengeance?” The sailor rolls his eyes. “I’m far from old, but I’ve seen blind emotion be the downfall of many a Gilnean during my time serving in the fleet. It seems to be a problem that most Worgen face. Kaldorei too, if I’m honest. Do I wish justice? Of course. But doing it blindly the way certain ‘leaders’ are, is as suicidal as knifing yourself before jumping to the sharks.”

Are your parents still married? ➔ “That they are!”

𝔑𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔉𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔰

Birth Place ➔ “Gilneas, of course. Granted there wasn’t too much time there, between the war and basically growing up on a ship.”

Hair Color ➔ “Black. Though it’s really more like a very, very, very dark brown. And there’s admittedly some grey peppered in there. Please don’t go looking.”

Eye color ➔ Brown

Birthday ➔ May 11th

Mood ➔ "Hmmm. I could go for a sail around Kul Tiras. Get away from the people and with people like me. Maybe have some adventure looking for Azerite, so it’s a little bit of a useful trip, too.”

Gender ➔ “I am your classic, homegrown Gilnean gentleman.”

Summer or Winter ➔ "Summer. Now, typically I see the appeal of winter. But summer makes for better sailing, less ice in the water, and pleasant nights on the coast or on the sea. Island nights in the summer are simply marvelous.”

Morning or Afternoon ➔ “Honestly? Either one works. I’m pretty accustomed to mornings after time in the navy, of course.”

 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔄𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢

Are you in love? ➔ "Regrettably, no. As wonderful as it would be, and a fan of romance myself, I don’t think there’s anyone out there for me, really. Which is plenty acceptable, I reckon. I’ve always got the ocean.”

Do you believe in love at first sight? ➔ “I imagine in a sense. I feel that there are those who can have a sense for who’s right for them; but I also believe that such a thing is unfathomably rare. Probably pushing the stereotypical one in a million ratio that is so often utilized.”

Who ended your last relationship? ➔ "We didn’t really had much of one to begin with. I believe I mentioned elsewhere that a female sailor and I once sort of had a thing, but between business and the world, we didn’t really expect it to last. I suppose you could say we ‘amicably drifted apart’. 

Have you ever broken someone’s heart? ➔ “I don’t imagine so! But I reckon you would need to ask them. Sometimes people’s hearts can be wounded invisibly, because they never speak out. It makes it impossible to truly answer this question, honestly. I *can* tell you that I’ve never done so intentionally, if it *has* happened.”

Are you afraid of commitments? ➔ “I’m about 30 years old. I spent approximately the latter half of those years were serving in the Gilnean navy. I’ve given up almost all of my personal life until recently to serve Gilneas since I was about 14 or 15. If that isn’t commitment, I don’t know what is!”

Have you hugged someone within the past week? ➔ “No.”

Have you ever had a secret admirer? ➔ "I uh... don’t believe so? Certainly nobody who has spoken up, or left any hints, anyway.”

Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “No.”

𝔖𝔦𝔵 ℭ𝔥𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢𝔰

Love or Lust ➔ “Certainly love.” Haytham says with a nod. “I made mention that I’m a romantic, but I believe in substance over quantity.”

Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Iced tea, but I do like both.”

Cats or Dogs? ➔ Haytham chuckles. In fact, only a slight chuckle at first, followed by a full fledged laughter in exult. “I’m sure some Worgen do prefer cats, but that isn’t me. I like them, mind you. Just not as much as dogs. And that was.... ah... before the curse.”

A few best friends or many regular friends? ➔ “As stated previously, I prefer quality over quantity.”

Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ "In, of course. Unless it’s on a ship. Then it counts as both? I think.”

Day or Night ➔ “Day, technically. Unless it’s on the sea. Then both.”

𝔉𝔦𝔳𝔢 ℌ𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰

Been caught sneaking out ➔ “I have not! The few times myself and other cabin boys killed time with mischief, we were quiet enough. Or the officers didn’t care. And beyond my teenage years, I had too many responsibilities to bother.”

Fallen down/up stairs ➔ "Actually no. Jumped plenty of times, though.”

Wanting something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ "Hmmmm.” Haytham contemplates. “I can’t really say so. I’m trying to think of a satisfying answer to offer, but I don’t really believe I can give one.”

Wanted to disappear ➔ “Not really. Sometimes if I’m down or need to be alone, I’ll find a way to sit it out somewhere.”

 𝔉𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔓𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰

Smile or eyes ➔ “Eyes.”

Shorter or taller ➔ "Shorter, I suppose.”

Intelligence or attraction. ➔ “Intelligence. But then again, ‘attraction’ is much more vague than Intelligence. For example, am I not attracted to intelligence? Or beauty? Or a lovely personality? If I answer with ‘attraction’, then it would by default include intelligence. I understand what wording you were intending to use... you ah... just didn’t use it.”

Hook-up or relationship ➔ “Relationships, of course. Substance always matters.”

 𝔉𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔶

Do you and your family get along? ➔ “Yes, but my family is small. We rarely get to meet these days.”

Would you say you have a “messed up life”? ➔ “By nationality, yes. Personally, no. My people have been through more than ‘a lot’, and yet I myself have been relatively fortunate. Worgen curse aside, of course.”

Do you consider all of your friends good friends? ➔ “I consider my good friends as good friends. All of my friends are “good”, otherwise I would not associate with them. But not all are thick as thieves.”

Who is your best friend? ➔ “I cannot say, really. I’m alone most of the time, and don’t really have one.”

Who knows everything about you ➔ “Not a soul, if I’m honest. I’m relatively social, and have various friends, but as mentioned above, few that come close to ‘best friend’, and I don’t think anyone really knows me in all manners.”

𝔗𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔡 𝔅𝔶: @halforc-mercenary 𝔗𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤: I do not have anyone who isn’t already tagged by Halforc lol I don’t think. Uhhh… @noxsden @shuuhuu @warcraftingfox? I’m trying @fel-light y’all probably have already been tagged. ANYONE WHO WANTS TO!

[peridot-tears]

Mind sharing some Ezio, Ziio, Shay and Edward Hcs?

Sofia and Claudia got along like sisters (idk I think this might actually be canon).

Ezio encouraged Flavia to be spirited and curious, and sees himself in her and the way she takes care of Marcello. If Ezio had lived to see her to adulthood, he would have been protective but let her choose her own husband.

Ezio wanted to keep his Assassin activities a secret from his children. After he died, Claudia took them in and trained them herself the way their Uncle Mario did for them.

Ziio and Oiá:ner's interactions became stilted after the birth of Ratohnhaké:ton. There was no doubt that the love was there, but Oiá:ner could not quite look at her the same again, and she had to busy herself with finding someone else to groom as successor. They were finally warming up to each other again just a year or so before Ziio died.

Oiá:ner put full trust into Ratohnhaké:ton and his decision-making going forward because she didn't want to drive a wedge between herself and her grandson the way she did with Ziio. And it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Modern-day Ziio would have been a leader in the stand-offs against the Canadian government and localities like the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance, which her voice actor Tiio Horn was actually in. My headcanon Ziio has a lot of Tiio Horn's traits, mostly because Tiio Horn's sass that I see in her social media comes through a lot in her voice acting for Ziio.

Ratohnhaké:ton's a BEAST at lacrosse. Man moves like WATER.

Shay died peacefully in a manner similar to Ezio's -- in a garden, watching his family.

Shay most definitely was the black sheep amongst the Templars -- not just because a traitor gets no trust from any side, but because he's Irish and many other Templars were Englishmen who were racist against him. Adéwalé called him Haytham's hunting dog, but the Templars thought the same of him.

Because of this, Shay was that high-achieving Templar the others resented, because they hated the idea of being outdone by someone they felt was lesser. They kept their distance from each other, and his friends in the Order were kept in a tight circle -- Jack Weeks, Gist, and Haytham.

That's also why Cudgel was so fiercely proud of his grandfather later on too -- despite the racism, he was more Templar than any of them.

Also, Lil Cudge seems to me like that kind of guy who in modern day would insist that the Irish were slaves. He seems to me like someone who's very loyal, but but blindly so, and someone who doesn't question tradition.

Edward wanted to raise Haytham as English as possible, but he'd occasionally slip up and curse in Welsh at times. Haytham would grow up with only vague memories of the Welsh part of his heritage.

Edward was a rambunctious lil youngster who didn't need any dogs to herd the sheep. The wolves were scared of HIM lol.

Edward's relationship with Jenny haunts my dreams. What happened in the years between her and Haytham's birth. The people need to know.

I wrote a whole other word vomit post expressing my guess that he didn't want her to get involved in the Assassin world because he wanted to protect his last memory of Caroline. He believed in being honest with your child, so she knew everything about his activities. But given that Caroline had already been disowned because of him and even now that he was a new money gentleman, he was a social pariah because of his pirate past, he wanted Jenny to live a noblewoman's life -- marry a man of good social standing and be a good wife. And although she protested, he always thought he knew what was best for her.

If Jenny knew about her brother's child and ever met him, she honestly would've adored him. Such a polite, well-loved young man. She would've been relieved that he was raised right by his mother's side, away from the Kenway drama. Thank God all he had in common with her side of the family was blood, but if she could have chosen to be blood with any remaining relative of hers, it would have been him.

[teecupangel]

OG anon of the Reborned Desmond in Unity. I'm mighty proud that my ideas spur you fun writing. I'll confess you a secret, I'm also og anons of the ideas I've sent you prior but I don't wanna have you see me aggressive or pushy because I enjoy your content immensely (I had bad experiences of people's harsh words in irl and online on my personality). Anyway, it's similar in Unity idea. What if Desmond is reborned in AC Rogue, like became Shay's childhood friend or Liam's older or younger brother. Or possibly in a time earlier so can Desmond be established in Brotherhood maybe master assassin for Connor's happiness. Haytham's confusion and frustration in some point in the plot that Desmond won't kill him but has a look of a disappointed or pained look of a family member and Lisbon is saved. Desmond and Shay could become platonic soulmates or slow burn childhood friends to lovers (up to you) or better yet Desmond unintentionally became mentor (he was supposed just be an assassin in the background damn it lmao) and Shay is like a bodyguard or right hand which had these intense sexual tension between the two. Sorry for messy and long ask

Ah, well, I don’t see a problem with your personality and I like the ideas you throw at me. To be fair, I do try to limit my time with everyone’s asks to a certain time so I can still write. So if you don’t see an answer, that only means it’s been pushed to next day or something.

Alright, let’s think about how to make this work.

As usual, we’ll keep the same limitation as the Unity AU one

Desmond remembers his life as Desmond Miles

Desmond will have his ancestors’ memories and skills but those memories will be vague

So he either gets reborn as Shay’s childhood friend or Liam’s older/younger brother. Since Liam is Shay’s childhood friend, we can combine the two and make Desmond’s Shay’s childhood friend who is also Liam’s sibling.

Now, according to AC wiki, Liam was Achilles’ first acolyte and it was Liam who also recruited the rest of the Colonial Assassins. He’s pretty much Achilles’ second in command and maybe even being groomed as the next mentor.

In this scenario, Desmond and Liam would both be inducted into the Brotherhood together (whether we keep the whole “Liam’s father got executed to save his son” part of his backstory is up to you, nonny) with Desmond being more of Liam’s shadow. Many will see him as the little bird who whispers in Liam’s ear. Everyone in the Brotherhood knows that if you want Liam on your side, you get Desmond on your side.

We’ll get to Shay later as we need to talk about how Desmond’s inclusion would affect the Colonial Brotherhood as a whole.

Achilles Davenport

Desmond would still remember how Ratonhnhaké:ton thought of him as a father-figure. He also remembers how Achilles sometimes treated Ratonhnhaké:ton like a stubborn child so he has mixed feelings for Achilles. What he does remember is that Achilles’ family would die. Here’s where we get a bit creative with this. Desmond doesn’t have actual medical know-how. What he did had was a Shaun who was more than happy to explain what killed Achilles’ family and how that could have been prevented, which literally boils down to “cleanliness”.

So, in this scenario, Desmond is kind of a clean freak. People assume it’s because he used to live in a dirty place and Liam never tried to correct them that Desmond had always been a clean freak since they were children. The homestead is always clean, especially the kitchen. Achilles learned to live with it because his son loves the ‘wash your hands’ song that Desmond taught him. In this case, Abigail and Connor live and that means that Achilles would be ‘milder’ than his canon characterization. (Maybe Abigail even treats all of Achilles' students like her children as well?)

Hope Jensen

The main difference for Hope in this scenario is how she controls her gangs. Desmond knows it would be impossible to stop crimes from happening but his words and his adherence to the Creed would resonate with Hope. Instead of having something akin to a Proto-Rooks, Hope would be in charge of something similar to how the media portrayed the golden age of the mafia. They’re criminals, yes, and they sell illegal shit but they’re organized and they have a code. They protect the people in their district and take care of crimes not their own. In exchange, the people (and maybe even the police) look the other way when they do illegal stuff. (Hope becomes a mix of Vito Corleone and Red Hood in this scenario… does this mean Desmond accidentally created the mafia in New York during the 18th century?)

Kesegowaase

Not much would change for Kesegowaase although he would consider Desmond as a close friend. They’re also hunting buddies and Kesegowaase would notice how many of Desmond’s movements are very similar to him or to other tribes that he knows of. Desmond would just wave it off as a coincidence or maybe even say “I had a great teacher”. Kesegowaase would seesaw between thinking Desmond had been trained by one of his people (or one of the other tribes) and thinking Desmond may have been blessed by one of their spirits.

Louis-Joseph Gaultier

Oooohhhh bbooyy. This one… okay. So… Gaultier will be the one that keeps butting heads with Desmond. A lot. Desmond would even argue against his inclusion as he sees Gaultier as violent and arrogant but Achilles will argue that his connection with the French army made him invaluable. Even his suggestion of just keeping Gaultier as an ‘ally’ would be denied because Achilles sees how loyal he is. “He is loyal to a master, not to the Creed!” will be Desmond’s main argument. So there are a lot of times that he and Gaultier would argue on what it means to be an Assassin and what the Creed means. Gaultier would emphasize on Desmond’s Irish immigrant heritage to belittle his knowledge about the Creed and Desmond will argue that blood doesn’t matter. On the flip side, Desmond’s constant arguments with Gaultier and critiquing of Gaultier’s actions make all the other Assassins have a better understanding of the Creed and what it means to be an Assassin.

Liam O'Brien

Honestly, I think Desmond should be his younger brother, mainly because that would make Desmond be of a similar age as Shay and because Liam just has big bro-vibes. Just imagine him being a protective older brother who likes to tease Desmond. In this scenario, Liam would feel responsible for Desmond’s safety (especially if we do decide that their father still dies for Liam’s mistakes) and he’s a bit overprotective at times which Desmond finds both tiring and also makes him feel warm inside. Liam would also be torn whenever Desmond and Achilles would butt heads. On one hand, Achilles is like a father to him, on the other hand, Liam also knows his brother long enough to understand that everything Desmond does is for what he believed is right. Achilles may have been the one to choose Liam to be an Assassin but Liam knows that it’s Desmond who embodies what being an Assassin is supposed to be.

And now, we get to Shay Cormac.

Shay met Liam first and Liam was the one to introduce Desmond to him. Desmond has no memories of Shay at all since, even before the memories of his Bleed took a hit, his memories of Haytham stopped before Haytham met Shay. Not only that but Achilles never told Ratonhnhaké:ton anything. All Desmond knew is that the Colonial Brotherhood will be destroyed by the Templars while Ratonhnhaké:ton was young. So he grew up treating Shay as a friend. They separated due to their family situations but Liam later reunites with Shay and invites him to the Brotherhood.

And this is where Shay gets hit.

Growing up, he saw Desmond more as Liam’s little brother. A small kid that Shay needs to keep an eye on because he can be a little strange and has a mischievous streak that no one would believe. Shay has lost count of how many times Desmond had made some asshole’s life hell without anyone realizing it was him.

So when he heard Desmond was one of the high-ranking members of the Brotherhood, he wasn’t surprised. Desmond had always been a sneaky little shit.

Then…

He saw Desmond as a young adult for the first time, maybe while he’s looking over reports Hope was showing him concerning the current situation in New York, and Shay just…

Stared.

Desmond as a child was cute. Maybe a little too thin but that was unfortunately normal for them. He always wore Liam’s old clothes which were too big for him.

But Desmond in his Assassin robes? Wearing clothes that actually fit him? Having grown up into a fit young man?

Shay gets hit hard. And Desmond is simply too happy to see him again to see it.

But Hope notices it.

And Liam freaking notices it too.

And now Shay doesn’t have to just deal with his growing affection for an oblivious Desmond. He has to deal with Hope’s teasing and Liam’s seesawing erratically between teasing him and threatening to eviscerate him. Shay’s crush is going to be the worst kept secret in the homestead that even little Connor Davenport knows about it.

But Desmond doesn’t.

Why?

Because Desmond is too focused dealing with the whole Kenway drama at the moment.

Because no matter who Desmond gets reborn to… He will always prioritize the three men he cared for the most.

And, at this point, Haytham Kenway was already in America (but Desmond has no idea where) and there were even slow ongoing talks of an alliance with Ratonhnhaké:ton’s tribe that Desmond has taken charge of.

And this is where I go back to my try-and-tested idea of Desmond spending lots of time with baby!Ratonhnhaké:ton and being bff with Kaniehtí:io. (*whispers*Ratonhnhaké:ton and Connor Davenport being brothers *whispers*)

But let’s focus on the first part of Rogue for this one.

One way for Desmond to learn that Achilles is messing with Isu bs is thanks to Hope. Hope and Shay were the ones to be ordered to find and analyze the precursor box and either of them could tell Desmond about it but, at this point, Shay is still ‘new’ and may be trying to get some brownie points from Achilles. On the other hand, Hope has long been converted to Desmond’s side and would definitely tell Desmond about all of these because she’s heard of how dangerous these items are from Desmond himself.

Desmond would strongarm his way to being part of the mission and might even sneak into Morrigan as a stowaway and only show himself when they were nearing Lisbon. Thanks to Desmond’s ‘affinity’ with POEs, Lisbon will definitely not happen (hell, we can even use some of the plot points from A Pirate's Son for this part XD) and the second part of Rogue would be changed to Desmond and Shay trying to secure all the other POEs in the manuscript they have.

And… maybe they start getting close during their travels and something develops between them during that time… (nudgenudgenudge)

Sidenote: This is also a bit similar to the idea I was thinking of based on @twitcherpated’s suggestion in AO3 of Desmond being reborn as the actual Connor Davenport. The only difference is that Desmond would be a bit young in that one and won’t be able to stop Lisbon but, even if he’s young, he can still comfort Shay and stop him from doing anything drastic while still in shock.

[brohood-assassins-imagines]

Disney Movies

A/N: I don’t have a good explanation for this. I truly don’t. Forgive me, it’s 3 am and I wrote this in a single day and I know I have soulmates and a few other requests and fics to tend to. I’m too inconstant. I’m a big kid, what can you do?

Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad

The Lion King! I’m sure Simba’s history and the talk about “who you are” would touch Altaïr’s apparently “cold and stoic” heart — but you know him well enough to tell apart the truth and what he tells others. He knows most of quotes and secretly memorized “The Circle of Life” accidentally, even though you could swear his favorite song was “Just Can’t Wait to Be King” — you found out when you woke up one morning and Altaïr was in the kitchen, brewing coffee and humming the song while he watched the steam rise up with a distant look. The movie has kinda turned into a comfort animation he turns to every once in a while just to keep the memory of the feeling he had when Simba climbed the rock and roared to claim his place as the king.

Ezio Auditore

Aladdin! What movie would be better fitting for Ezio than the history of a underdog who charms an upperclass girl — in this case, a princess — and they both fall in love? He has lots of feelings towards that movie, especially when it comes to the “hidden messages” in it about humility, love and friendship. The fact that Aladdin was his favorite Disney animation was never a secret, since he told you about that with a sheepish smile in one of your first dates and sang the chorus of “A Whole New World” just to prove a point. Ezio generally turns to that movie in cold and rainy days, when he can cuddle you and watch it together and play-sing his favorite song together.

Connor | Ratonhnhaké:ton

Brother Bear! Have you guys expected anything else? When he was younger, Connor decided that this was his favorite movie because he used to love bears — but came to adore it even more after he got old enough to understand how truly beautiful the movie is. As he matured, he could read through the lines and understand more about friendship, what it means to be family and love. Connor won’t admit it, but he can’t listen to “No Way Out” without feeling bad. It’s a movie that has a deep emotional connection to him, considering he lost his mother when still young, so when you are watching it together and it comes to the bit where Kenai tells the truth about Koda’s mother… You will see Connor flustered and tearing up because it’s too much.

Haytham Kenway

The Aristocats! Haytham is, clearly, a cat person. The narrative, despite being simple and “silly” in a certain way, was his first and favorite movie when he was a kid, so he holds it in a high regard. It took him some time to actually work it out and come to tell you which was his favorite movie and why. After some insistence he told you it was Aristocats because he “likes cats” — he’s a simple man, truly. Haytham will never come around to admit it, but he still knows some parts of the lyrics to “Everybody Wants to be a Cat” and if you stay for long enough around Edward, he’ll tell you about how flustered Haytham became when the butler tried to get rid of Duchess and her kitties. That’s when Haytham decided he’d never be taking you to any Kenway family dinners ever again.

Edward Kenway

Treasure Planet! Of course it would be treasure planet. Imagine how marveled Edward would be at the chance to sail into the space in a ship. He can relate in a certain way to the young Jim, with everyone trying to tell him what to do and how he should behave — ever since a young age, Edward knew he was having none of that. The sense of adventure he shares with the character when they’re looking for the spaceship, the eager gasp and look he gave the TV when the map opened up to lead the way to the treasure and, more importantly, when Jim solved the puzzle to where the treasure was hidden. When Edward matured, he could see the movie was more about camaraderie, long lasting friendships and a spark of a thing he couldn’t quite pin down; but he never let go of that movie.

Arno Dorian

The Beauty and The Beast! The story of a beautiful and king girl who ends up falling in love with a monster? Sign Arno the fuck up. Let’s not forget that the movie is also an old French tale, so Arno has been familiar with it his whole life. For him, it’s the way that Belle ends up understanding the Beast, seeing how he can be good despite frightening and the ill-tempered behavior. Arno has a romantic soul, so nothing better than a movie about the power of love, lessons about humility and kindness and, above all, a beautiful ending where the main characters stay together. Arno actually knows how to sing the main song, although he does it in French. If you want to see Arno melt and blush, just kiss his face during the ball scene between Belle and the prince. He has a soft spot for love stories.

Evie Frye

Mulan! Evie simply adores Mulan. It has been her favorite movie since forever, always competing with Jacob about what they’d watch — of course, she’d always pick the movies first. Even from a young age, Evie could understand the lessons about determination and courage that the movie passed, which is why she chose Mulan to be the movie she would love forever. There isn’t a particular song that Evie loves about the movie, but the bit that gets to her is when Mulan saves the Chinese Emperor. That’s when she decided that no one could tell her what or what not to do. After all, if Mulan could save an Empire, she could very well do the same or more.

Jacob Frye

Peter Pan! London? Flying away to a distant land with fairies and other kids who fight against pirates and never grow up? Please. Peter Pan was made for Jacob. He’d wait all day and even endure the silly movies Evie would put him through — he watched Mulan so many times that “Make a Man Out of You” was engraved into his brain. Since Evie was always around and a unending source of comfort when their father was away, he came to understand Wendy’s position about her siblings quite early — he would never forgive their father if he forced Evie and him to share separated rooms when younger, although his position changed with time. Jacob loved Peter Pan so much he longed for the day when his chance would appear, often leaving the bedroom window open, even during winter. You probably would come to find out this was Jacob’s favorite movie when Evie teased him about that and he blushed deeply at her, eyes widening and, believe it or not, words dying in his throat.

Desmond Miles

Hercules! Thinking about it, Hercules and Desmond share quite a lot of things — starting with: none of them actually asked for this. Ever since early, Desmond came to adore Hercules — he even managed to convince William to buy him a Pegasus plush at some point, a memory he left behind in his bedroom, much to his regret. With no reason at all, his favorite song ever was “I Won’t Say I’m in Love”, even though he can never remember the whole lyrics but the chorus. Desmond has probably asked you to watch Hercules more than a few times, just he could show how exactly how deeply he knew the quotes of the movie. In a very young age, Desmond came to understand about honor, nobility and the importance of choosing your own way, which eventually led him to bolt.

[sleepyfan-blog]

@aridette

When King Werewolf shows up in veterinarian Connor’s ER, he's livid.

His father, North American head honcho vampire, has threatened a chilling or else if he "accidentally" helped a wolf again, especially since they're at war. But he's tempted by the sexy wolf. And his deadly blood calls to him in a way that should set off warning bells... A promise to his brother in arms obliges Haytham Kenway to rescue the aristocrat vampire before his family discovers his secret - a secret Connor himself isn't even aware of. What he didn't expect was to find him sexy-as-hell. He's not into vamps, yet the inescapable heat building between them is a delicious temptation guaranteed to end in total disaster.

[newstechreviews]

Before Jacob Blake’s father spoke to media last month about how police gunned down his son in Kenosha, Wis., he took a moment to say a Muslim prayer.

“Our family is very diverse and we don’t represent just one thing, so if you all could give me one second please, this is for my son—Jacob Blake,” Jacob Blake Sr. said shortly before reciting a verse from the beginning of the Qur’an and proceeding to talk about how police shot his son “seven times, seven times, like he didn’t even matter.”

“They shot my son seven times, seven times. Like he didn’t matter, but my son matters,” Jacob Blake’s father says. Blake’s attorney confirmed that Blake is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by Kenosha police. https://t.co/rpOW888B4T pic.twitter.com/DSJg8kt7y3

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) August 25, 2020

Blake Sr.’s recitation of the prayer moved Iesa Lewis, a Black Muslim graduate student at the University of Chicago and part-time community organizer, evoking for him “just how deeply embedded Islam is within the Black community.” But the moment also encapsulated the complicated relationship that the Black Muslim community has with non-Black Muslims. Lewis says that while many non-Black Muslims would likely embrace Blake Sr.’s decision to recite the Qur’an, many would also continue to perpetuate anti-Blackness in their own lives and communities—everything from non-Black Muslims not returning greetings, to assuming ignorance about Islam, to not considering Black Muslims worthy of marrying their non-Black children.

The Black Lives Matter Movement is forcing the Muslim community to reckon with its own anti-Blackness and scrutinize its already tense relationship with law enforcement. The police shooting of Blake, as well as the murder of George Floyd—whom Minneapolis police killed after staff at a non-Black Muslim owned store called 911 over a suspected counterfeit $20 bill—has sparked introspection within the non-Black Muslim community about how they may contribute to overpolicing despite also being profiled by law enforcement.

Black Muslims account for at least one-fifth of all Muslims in the U.S. even as they face discrimination from within their religious community. Some mosques are segregated by race, reflecting the neighborhoods they are located in. The refusal to fully integrate Muslim communities runs deep, Lewis says.

While some Muslims want to maintain good relations and cooperate with police in an attempt to assimilate without causing trouble, others have been angered by secretive surveillance programs targeting Muslims as well as police brutality directed toward Black Americans.

Muslims have a complicated history with law enforcement

Both non-Black Muslims and Black Muslims have long dealt with government surveillance and profiling by law enforcement. A 2017 Pew Survey found that “nearly one-in-five (U.S. Muslims) have been called offensive names or singled out by airport security, while one-in-10 say they have been singled out by other law enforcement officials.” A more “distinctly Muslim appearance,” like wearing a hijab, is common among Muslims who experience discrimination, the survey notes.

The Patriot Act and other federal policies enacted in the wake of 9/11 enabled expansive government surveillance that civil rights groups say “cast a cloud of suspicion” toward Muslims and paved the way for their detention and interrogation.

Of particular concern in recent years is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program called Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). Experts who spoke to TIME say CVE grew out of the FBI’s COINTELPRO, which was used to spy on perceived political dissidents and civil rights leaders, many of whom were Black, in the Civil Rights era.

DHS describes CVE as a set of “proactive actions to counter efforts by extremists to recruit, radicalize and mobilize followers to violence.” The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law institute, says decades of research has debunked the idea that predictive risk indicators can identify potential terrorists. They say CVE programs allow federal agencies to “mask efforts to gather intelligence, identify individuals who are not suspected of wrongdoing for surveillance, recruit informants and co-opt community leaders to promote government messaging.” The center says it does not prevent terrorism. DHS did not respond to a request to comment about CVE.

The federal government launched CVE under the Obama Administration and the Trump Administration has nearly tripled the amount of CVE money going to law enforcement agencies, as well as expanded the program’s scope to also target Black Lives Matter activists.

Although Muslims of all ethnicities may face challenges with law enforcement, being a Black Muslim makes life even harder. Lewis says that as a Black Muslim, there’s no escaping the “day-to-day effects of just being seen as a Black person.”

“I don’t think people walk around and can identify me as Muslim. The first thing that comes to mind is that this is a Black man,” Lewis says. “So I’m constantly profiled (for being Black) but then as a Muslim” he says he has to think about government surveillance issues.

For many Black Muslims, interactions with law enforcement in recent years have been fatal. A sheriff’s deputy fatally shot Sudanese-American immigrant Yassin Mohamed—a Black Muslim man—in Georgia this May. Local police shot and killed Shukri Ali Said, a Black Muslim woman in 2018, also in Georgia. Sacramento police killed Stephon Clark, another Black Muslim while he was in his family’s backyard, in 2018.

In 2017, Phoenix police restrained and killed Muhammad Muhaymin Jr., a Black Muslim man. The 43-year-old yelled “I can’t breathe” as multiple officers “placed the weight of their bodies on his head, back, arms and legs” according to a lawsuit filed over his death by his family, accusing the police of using excessive force. “They basically choked him to death,” says Haytham Faraj, a lawyer for Muhaymin Jr.’s family.

Bodycam footage revealed Muhaymin shouted out “please Allah,” and one officer responded by saying, “Allah? He’s not going to help you right now.” None of the four primary officers involved in the incident have faced repercussions, per Faraj.

Nabihah Maqbool, a Muslim attorney who focuses on surveillance and racial justice issues, wrote in an Intercept article earlier this year about how programs like CVE would result in local police departments viewing “youth as would-be terrorists, criminalizing Black Muslim youth with federal dollars and remaking local law enforcement agencies into miniature national security agencies.”

“There’s no guarantee (…) that information collected in the context of community-building programs is not also being shared with federal law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies,” Maqbool tells TIME. “Participants have no idea about whether what they say and do will be contextualized in a format like a criminal investigation but they are then also encouraged to be frank and forthright with law enforcement whose primary goal is not to build communities.”

A closer reliance on police will ultimately harm Black Muslims more as they are “at the intersection of two criminalized identities,” Maqbool says.

  Justin Lane—EPA-EFE/ShutterstockA group of Muslims gather for Friday prayers and Khutbah, and a subsequent Black Lives Matter march, outside of the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York, June 5, 2020.

Tensions between the Black Muslim and non-Black Muslim community

The Black Muslim community’s response to government surveillance has in some ways diverged from that of the non-Black Muslim community.

African American Muslims have historically been more wary of law enforcement’s reach into mosques and the Muslim community because of a “longstanding suspicion” of federal agencies’ involved with surveillance and their history of racism, says Faiza Patel, co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program. However, the remainder of the Muslim American community—many of them South Asian, Arab or Indonesian immigrants— showed relatively more willingness to cooperate with law enforcement as a way to distance themselves from the Islamophobic narrative that likened Muslims to terrorists, according to Patel.

Some Muslim organizations continue to foster close ties with law enforcement. For example, in Brooklyn, Muslims formed a community patrol last year to “serve as the eyes and ears for the NYPD,” The New York Times reported. In Washington D.C., Masjid Muhammad—a religious Muslim organization— accepted a CVE grant exceeding $531,000 to contain extremism and introduce Muslim groups to local law enforcement “through dialogue and engagement.” The police department in Arlington, Texas, received a CVE grant of more than $47,000 to “strengthen partnerships” with the Muslim community as they focus on “Islamist terrorist movements.”

Muslim events in recent years have also exposed divisions about policing. Tensions rose in Texas when the East Plano Islamic Center’s invitation for the suburb’s police chief to speak about systemic racism and policing policies led to outrage from some Muslim Americans. In 2016, remarks from white Muslim American scholar Hamza Yusuf drew sweeping criticism for stressing that police are not always racist and saying, “any police now that shoots a Black is immediately considered a racist.”

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, the role of corner stores—particularly immigrant-run corner stores in Black neighborhoods—have come under greater scrutiny for how they interact with and may contribute to the over-policing of Black communities. Black Lives Matter advocates are working to change the ways non-Black immigrant Muslim owners react when they sense tension; is their first instinct to call the cops or to start a dialogue to defuse the situation? Minneapolis police arrived at the scene after staff from Cup Foods, a neighborhood store owned by a Palestinian immigrant, called law enforcement over a suspected counterfeit bill Floyd used. The store owner has since spoken out against police brutality.

“Not all (non-Black Muslim store owners) have been bad but not enough of them have been good partners in supporting the viability and the wellbeing of the community,” said Makram El-Amin, a Black imam in Minneapolis, during a Facebook webinar called “Doing Business In Black Neighborhoods.” The panel, organized by The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, took place about a week after Floyd’s death and highlighted a history of discrimination toward Black people from South Asian and Arab store owners.

Rana Elmir, deputy director of ACLU Michigan and a non-Black immigrant from Lebanon, said during the webinar that aspirations of being a model minority can contribute to anti-Black sentiment in the Muslim community. Non-Black Muslims “have believed (…) in this kind of American dream that can shield us…from ignorance from racism,” she says.

Combating Racism and Rethinking Public Safety

Although tensions about how closely to associate with law enforcement continue to divide parts of the non-Black and Black Muslim community, some of those who practice Islam are taking efforts to better address racism within the religious community.

The Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), a community organization invested in social issues affecting people of color in Chicago and Atlanta, works to defuse racial tensions between Muslim Arab store owners and their customers in majority-Black neighborhoods through a “corner store campaign.” They also run a health center, a transitional housing program, life skills education, construction training and an arts program focused on fostering a community space.

“We don’t need more police in schools. We don’t need more police presence on blocks,” says Shamer Hemphill, deputy director of IMAN. Hemphill says cities instead need more of the kinds of programs that IMAN is working on as a way to ensure public safety.

Although progressive Muslim organizations, like MPower Change, Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative and IMAN, have worked to address racism for years, recent Black Lives Matter Movement protests have renewed and amplified conversations about overpolicing even among more mainstream groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

Zuhdi Masri, a non-Black Palestinian corner store owner in St. Louis, Mo., opened his store in 1982 when he first moved to the U.S. He has long made it a point to get to know his Black clientele. “I know their names, their addresses, their mommas, their grandparents,” Masri tells TIME. “I mean 38 years is enough to know everybody.”

Masri’s Yeatman Market includes a small cafe with WiFi. He says he doesn’t want his Black customers to feel like they have to drive miles away to a white neighborhood just to get reliable internet and a place to hang out.

Masri’s story was recently featured in Muslim advocacy group MPower Change’s campaign to start conversations about the “Muslim communities’ complicated relationship with police” called #PolicingIsHaram. (Haram means forbidden in Islam.)

Police presence at mosques doesn’t always equate to Muslims feeling more safe, says Sijal Nasralla, Campaign Director for MPower Change. “In communities where Muslims have been targeted by the FBI or other undercover officers, they do not portray an image of safety,” Nasralla says. Further complicating the matter, mosques often need protection from vandalism and violence, particularly from Islamophobic individuals, so a legitimate need for security remains. In the absence of a trusting relationship with law enforcement, some mosques are relying on volunteer marshals to enforce security instead.

Nasralla says MPower Change has received dozens of calls from Muslims wanting to organize their mosques to confront police brutality. During Ramadan, it became more common for Muslims in the U.S. to give part of their zakat, a form of almsgiving undertaken by Muslims every year that is one of the five central pillars of Islam, toward bail funds, Nasralla says. MPower Change has worked with mosques around the country to raise money for bail funds for Chicago-based Believer’s Bail Out, an organization that fundraises to bail out Muslims in pretrial incarceration and ICE custody.

“Zakat is being framed within many U.S. mosques as a politicized charge to support those who are being targeted by state violence,” Nasralla says, noting that zakat has often traditionally gone toward causes like hunger and poverty.

Masri, the Palestinian store owner, has a zero-tolerance policy for violence but refrains from calling the police. (The last time he called them was more than a decade ago, he says.) He prefers to resolve conflicts through dialogue and says his store functions as a sort of “peace corner” in the community. He recalls saying a few times, “just drop the guns guys, let’s talk, let’s sit down.”

“We don’t call the police for that. We just try to resolve the problem,” Masri says. “Police aren’t going to make it any better; they are going to lock them up.”

[teecupangel]

From @heiress-prime

I love this! Haha! I wanna chat more bout this crap now, lmao. XD Also, I think maybe, at some point, Laura may become an Assassin? When she finds out her grandfather was one.

That would definitely hammer in the angst because, now, Haytham would be wondering if he’s doing something wrong. His only daughter is now an Assassin for some reason and his youngest son is either a Templar with his heads above the clouds. At least his eldest son turned out okay…

From @bored-platypus

mmm i feel like desmond & shay's interactions would be very interesting, esp with the whole rouge-assassin and rogue-not-templar thing they have going on. BUT also desmond would be really conflicted about going against the templars bc he knows that they're siding with the native tribes. and who's to say they won't be exploited if the templars are kicked out? but he's certainly not going to allow the whole people-don't-actually-want-power-so-we're-gonna-control-them thing desmond hating charles lee would be hilarious though. ratonhnhaké:ton and laura and just like: wow this man totally sucks and is just kissing up to father :/ but desmond is completely and unashamedly biased against lee. connor davenport really has no idea how to interact with desmond. assassin-desmond just appears one day and achilles is vaguely suspicious esp with how desmond HAS to cover his face up every time they go out to beat templars up imagine desmond tries to become a moderate templar to avoid conflict and ends up fighting haytham anyways like poor guy he just can't get a break. ALSO it would be fascinating to see how assassin-desmond is percieved. like, out of the blue the grand master's son runs away and a few years later it's revealed he's with the ASSASSINS. the amount of extra drama desmond accidentally brings into this family. AND ratonhnhaké:ton + laura's conflict with desmond would be ouch.

Oh man. The twist would be that the first person to truly be on Desmond’s side is Shay because he realized Haytham Kenway’s youngest son is trying to find a third solution to this long bitter secret war.

You know what would be funny? If Charles Lee was a good babysitter. Like, sure, he is absolutely kissing the ground Haytham walks on but he cares for the kids like they were his nieces and nephews and he’s damn good at it. That would make Desmond’s hatred for him become like a running joke that no one can understand XD

Yeeesssss. More drama would set the colonies ablaze when this turns into a threeway battle between Assassin Laura (who wants to honor her grandfather), Templar Ratonhnhaké:ton (who wants their father to be proud of him) and Third Party Rogue Templar/Assassin Desmond (who, really, he goes missing for a few years and Laura’s an Assassin??? What the hell happened while he was off with Shay securing POEs???)

Hello, me again! (I feel as if I'm bothering you..)

Now, this has been in my head for a bit;

But what if Ziio married Haytham and Ratonhnhaké:ton was raised as a Templar? (Feel free to give him another sibling or two, as well. ^^)

Sibling!Desmond as well, cause not. XD

Also, let's throw Mrs Davenport and Conner Davenport into this as well, say they survived typhoid fever. Would Conner Davenport be trained as an Assassin?

(I'm totally not asking because I lowkey wanna make Laura a Templar now XD)

(It’s no bother. I actually feel a bit bad since I’m like… 10ish days late on asks and 2ish months late on reblogs/replies XD)

Let’s go for the funny things first.

Charles Lee will become Ratonhnhaké:ton and his siblings’ reluctant emergency babysitter. There is no escape. This is his fate. Charles Lee is that annoying ‘uncle’ that sucks up to their father too much so they don’t like him.

Shay could be everyone’s favorite uncle but I doubt it since we’re keeping Abigail and Connor alive. One of the hints that Achilles wasn’t fit to be the mentor was the conversation Shay and Liam had about how the death of his family changed him. Also, I stand by my headcanon that Abigail acted like everyone’s mother and she helped kept Achilles grounded and reminded him to not be brash. So there’s a high possibility that Shay wouldn’t defect in this one but would probably become distant with the Brotherhood due to Lisbon, acting more like a Rogue Assassin that focuses on making sure any Isu-related devices wouldn’t be used by either faction. So Shay could be an uncle of sort but more like ‘that annoying man who keeps getting in everyone’s way’.

Connor Davenport would definitely be an Assassin and might even be trained by Shay himself (although it’s more possible that he’d be trained by his father, Hope and Liam). He would also inherit the Aquila and, if Shay doesn’t become a Templar, he’d see Adéwalé as his sailing instructor as well.

Now, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Laura would have no problem becoming Templars. Hell, they could have looked up to their father and wanted to follow his footsteps. Even if Kaniehtí:io had reservations about it, she wouldn’t stop them from following their desires, only stopping them long enough to remind them to always think about their actions and taking responsibility of the consequences of their actions. The Templars in this one would definitely side with the tribes because Haytham is not impartial anymore and none of the Templars would disagree with him.

And that’s where we will hammer in the angst. Because the youngest of the Kenway children is Desmond Kenway and he remembers his life as Desmond Miles. Becoming a Templar would feel like a betrayal not only to the memories of Altaïr and Ezio but of the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton. He loves his family, he truly does, but there are many times when he wondered if this life of theirs was better than the life Ratonhnhaké:ton had back in the original timeline. Sure, he had lost his mother and he was forced to kill his father but… would the world truly be better if he lets the Templar take over America?

Can he truly kill the Assassins trying to stop them? (Even if some of them were dealing with the morally dubious part of the cities?)

Honestly, this can go either way with Desmond. Either he followed the path of the Templar to change it form the inside, becoming a beacon to the moderate Templars like Monsieur de la Serre and his cohorts in Paris and pushing for peace with the Assassin (which will lead him to be in conflict with Haytham who doesn’t believe that the two faction would ever be at peace) or he leaves the family he loves and becomes an Assassin to stand against them (and maybe having some kind of “are we allies? Are we enemies? What are we???” relationship with Connor Davenport).

Either way, there’s gonna be Kenway drama and it’s definitely going to be because of Desmond Kenway.

(sidebar: even if Desmond becomes a Templar, he would definitely have a “are you my enemy or are you trying to help me???” relationship with Connor Davenport, mainly because he still remembers the sadness Ratonhnhaké:ton felt when he heard of how Achilles lost everything and because Connor Davenport is pretty much the most acceptable Assassin in America at the moment. Laura and Ratonhnhaké:ton would definitely mistake this to some kind of forbidden love, no matter what Desmond says. Haytham would stress that he isn’t mad that Desmond likes men, just disappointed that Desmond likes an Assassin. Kaniehtí:io believes Desmond doesn’t have any romantic feelings for Connor Davenport but also she enjoys seeing her family get overworked by something like this.)

[reflectionsofacreator]

No photos for this one, there’s not much of a fanfare of bringing John Pitcairn back to the rest of the crew. I did consider recording this, but the dialogue is delivered rather slowly (this clocks in at about four minutes of dialogue), and there’s nothing happening save to listen to them talk, so I opted not to. If you’d like to hear the voiced lines, go here, it’s timestamped. 

We actually don’t even know why Haytham picked John up, which is strange -- there’s no reason given as to why he might be worth recruiting, other than Reginald’s words that he’s sympathetic to the order’s aims. You can talk to him once you get back inside the Tavern, however, and Haytham opens up about his history with Edward. 

John: If I may... I was curious about your past with Braddock. You two clearly have a history.  Haytham: Edward was one of us, upon a time. And I considered him a close friend. He was brave and bold in ways few men are. But everything changed at the siege of Bergen op Zoom.  Haytham: We has lost the fortress to the French and were in the midst of egress. There was a skiff hidden at port, with which we planned to make our escape. As we drew near a young man and his family came upon us, begging us for safe passage. I consented, but Edward refused. The young man called him craven, then... So Edward killed him and all the rest. Even the children.  Haytham: To this day I don’t know why... Was this the first time he’d struck out? Or had I simply never seen it before? Either way, things were never the same after that. We campaigned together a few more times but each outing was more disturbing than the last. He killed and killed. Enemy or ally. Civilian or Soldier. Guilty or Innocent. It mattered not. If he perceived one to be an obstacle, they died. He maintained that violence was a more efficient solution. It became his mantra.  Haytham: And it broke my heart.  John: I had no idea...  Haytham: He hides it well-- and intimidates into silence any who discover him. Those who persist have a tendency to find... misfortune.  John: We should stop him.  Haytham: I suppose you’re right... But I maintain a foolish hope that he might yet be saved and brought back round to reason. I know, I know... It’s a silly thing to believe one so drenched in death might suddenly change.  John: I am sorry to have brought this up. It was not my intent to sour you.  Haytham: Nonsense. We are brothers now. There should be no secrets between us.  (If you talk to him again after the conversation ends) John: I hope you and the General find a way to patch things up. 

Man. I think this is actually the first time I felt for Haytham. Like -- slow delivery aside, his voice actor really sells the quiet anguish over losing a friend to rage and death. His questioning of if it was a slow building thing, or not knowing if it was the first time it ever happened, man, that really got to me. 

I do wonder about Edward though -- the game portrays him as being in his mid 30s ish, maybe 40s if you’re generous, but canonically--historically?--he’s in his 60s at the time of this game. Granted, we know that AC canon tends to play fast and lose with ages (looking at you, Ezio), so I’m not that bothered. Mostly I just wonder if the relationship was more of an older brother, or two peers of roughly the same age. 

And like, as interesting as Haytham’s shit is, I can’t help but wonder about the fact that John didn’t offer much of anything about himself. Right now he just... feels like a cardboard cutout npc, and I’m not really sure where he’s going to end up falling. Something about him feels like he’s not done, so we’ll see what’s gonna happen. 

[teecupangel]

Desmond/Muromachi(Sengoku)+Azuchi–Momoyama

Ezio and Altaïr spent the 15th and 16th centuries trying to help Desmond because he was severely weakened after waking up and no one knows why. Desmond remembers his life as Desmond Miles and he talks about a Solar Flare that will hit the Earth in 2012. How he had died protecting the world from it. Other than that, he remembers he used to view Ezio and Altaïr’s memories together with another man named Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Desmond is confused when he hears about how Altaïr and Ezio are effectively immortals right now and gets even more confused when they tell him about demons. As far as his memories go, there was nothing about demons and immortality and such in his memories of Altaïr and Ezio. He feels that something has terribly happened.

And something has!

As far as I remember, Demon Slayer doesn’t explicitly say the exact years for the events in the lore BUT Yoriichi’s timeline is more or less during the Sengoku Period. If you remember, I talked about how Desmond was sleeping in a bed of blue spider lilies.

That’s right! Desmond woke up the day Uta died. (I know, I’m sorry).

During that time, Kassandra had returned to Japan because she has no idea where Altaïr is and she received messages that the Demon Slayer Corp had been severely crippled, including the death of the last Oyakata-sama, thanks to demons (there were even rumors that it was only one demon). During this time, the Japanese Brotherhood and the Demon Slayer Corp were having a strained relationship. The Demon Slayer Corp wanted to focus on eradicating demons while the Japanese Brotherhood was going off assassinating or helping out various daimyos for one reason or another.

Kassandra has no power over the Japanese Brotherhood because she wasn’t, in their eyes, an Assassin. Her influence on the Demon Slayer Corp has also weakened because the current Oyakata-sama was never told of one of the greatest secrets his family held, only passed down from one Oyakata-sama to another when they were ready. The secret of Kassandra and Altaïr’s immortality. So, to both factions, she was just the descendant who took the name of her ancestor Kassandra and she’s an outsider. There’s a lot of distrust going on so Kassandra goes rogue instead. She learns how the Demon Slayer Corp was now using Breathing Techniques to ‘power up’ their Nichirin swords while the Japanese Brotherhood continued to practice their own style of taking down demons (although they were mostly focused on ‘human’ events at the moment). The Kakushi were formed by some Assassins that wish to be a mediator between the two factions and they provide support for both. Really, Kassandra was getting a headache thanks to all these.

Anyway, by the time Kassandra finds Yoriichi, he was already dead. A few days later, she was able to hunt down Kokushibo, and her Isu-enhanced skills and the spear forged from Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore let her deal significant damage to Kokushibo but Kokushibo ran away before she could take him down. From there, Kokushibo slipped into the darkness and covered his tracks so well that Kassandra couldn’t find him. Maybe a little too well.

The way he fought reminded her too much of the breathing techniques the Demon Slayer Corp were using and they were offended by her insinuation. So she left to try and track down Muzan once more.

Kassandra would continue to sail, all in the hopes of finding Muzan and/or Altaïr.

Kenway Family Drama (+ Shay)/Edo Period (Edward & Haytham)

The Golden Age of Piracy is quite… interesting. There are stories about monsters hiding inside certain pirate ships, waiting their time to kill and eat unsuspecting crew members that the others would believe had fallen off the ship during the night watch. Others would whisper that captains specifically let them eat some of the crewmembers to retain their ‘support’.

Edward Kenway thought they were just tall tales governments and nobles tell to sully the pirates’ reputation (not that they need any more sullying considering some of the things pirates do that Edward never let his own crew participate in)

There was this one ship though. Goes by the name Adrestia. Flies no sails but her own. Not a pirate but definitely not British, Spanish, or merchant at all. She was fast and absolutely brutal in a naval fight, the worst of her bite was the flames that spew from the front. Flames that would not die in water at all.

Edward had a few run-ins with her and he likes to think that they had a friendly rivalry going on. Well, as friendly as they could be when they are trying to take down each other’s ships. Still, they would team up whenever a British or Spanish vessel was trying to take one of them down and that made Adrestia and her captain a ‘friend’ in Edward’s book.

A friend he’d backstab without any remorse, sure, but a friend nonetheless.

Edward’s part pretty much ends the same in canon, although, this time it wasn’t just Roberts he had to chase in the Observatory. Monsters shaped like men with power and strength beyond which he could understand. He’s saved by a lucky strike of his hidden blade into the eye of the demon before Kassandra takes down the demon with her nichirin spear. She gives Edward her nichirin rapier and tells him that he should ask the Brotherhood about demons. Ah Tabai tells him what he knows although many Assassins nowadays believe that they are only legends, illusions created by an artifact. Edward tells him about what he encountered, including Kassandra, and Ah Tabai tells him the legend of an Assassin by the name of Altaïr. How he had been a great mentor who had been led astray by a woman named Kassandra and how he left the Brotherhood and disappeared. Every now and then, the Brotherhood would hear the name Altaïr or Kassandra and it’s said that those people took the name of their ancestors, slipping in and out of the history of the Brotherhood. They would usually be chasing this ‘demon king’ and the Brotherhood believes that they are hunting POEs.

Which… isn’t exactly wrong. Kassandra is chasing Muzan, sure, but Altaïr and Ezio had been spending centuries finding the POEs that Desmond knows or that Altaïr’s Apple can direct them to. Why? Because absorbing the POEs’ powers is the only way to heal whatever damage Desmond’s body was suffering from. They don’t know why but their current guess is whatever those blue spider lilies are, they might have poisoned Desmond instead. Desmond was effectively immortal just like the two of them but he’s far too weak that it took them a century of finding nearby POEs and Desmond absorbing them for Desmond to be able to stand and walk with a cane.

Altaïr didn’t tell Kassandra any of this because… he forgot about Kassandra. Like, there’s something about meeting Desmond that made Altaïr and Ezio believe that Desmond’s safety and health are the most important thing right now. They lay low in the house they built for Ezio and Sofia’s children and stayed there until Sofia died and their two children went on to join the Brotherhood, promising to keep everything a secret. As far as everyone in the Italian Brotherhood knew, Ezio Auditore had died when his heart gave out one day and the Ezio Auditore that was currently walking around was another child of his. The only other person in the Brotherhood that knew the truth was Claudia and she took that to her grave as well.

At around 1725, Edward returned from his mission in Macau where he ended up fighting demons from Japan over a POE that wasn’t even there anymore (gasp, where could it be???). He starts training his son Haytham once he was a bit older. When Haytham was eight, Edward gave him his nichirin rapier and tells him to keep it with him always and, when he is faced with an opponent that feels like a ‘monster’, use the rapier.

The thugs that Birch employed still attacked Kenway mansion and one of them turned out to be a demon that had been trying to infiltrate the Templar Order (another Order trying to quietly kill demons even though they refuse to ally with the Assassins). Edward manages to kill one human thug while the other human thug was killed by the demon because he needed the ‘energy’ after Edward tried to take him down with his hidden blade. Seeing his father bloodied and dying, Haytham takes down the demon with a surprise attack using his nichirin rapier. As Edward dies in Haytham’s arms, the door opened once more and Ezio comes in. Haytham only knows him as their neighbors (brothers who may not even be related by blood if the gossips were to be believed) and Ezio gives Edward his blood to revive him before he dies.

This entire thing traumatized Tessa so much and she begins to call Edward a monster as well. Edward and Jenny stay with Tessa while Haytham goes with Ezio and he is raised by Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond (sometimes visiting the Kenway mansion although he doesn’t do it often after the first few years of trying to see his mother who never wishes to see him again because he was a killer).

So, in this one, Haytham doesn’t necessarily become part of the Brotherhood but he is trained to be an Assassin with the skills to take down demons. Edward finally joins them after Tessa’s death and they travel to the colonies where they let Haytham take point because Haytham has been pushing that he’s not a child anymore (Desmond has no idea how Haytham could still act like the Haytham he knows when he had tried so hard to be a good nice ‘role model’… he was going to blame Altaïr. Yeah. Blaming Altaïr would be the safe bet. “Why not Ezio?” “…” “This is called favoritism, you know.” “…” “Also… an attack of my character.” “…” “I know you’re not sleeping, Desmond.”)

Kenway Family Drama (+ Shay)/Edo Period (Ratonhnhaké:ton & Shay)

Anyway, Haytham still has a relationship with Ratonhnhaké:ton but, this time, he does stay with her, even going as far as telling his father and uncles that he’d be leaving them to be with Kaniehtí:io and everyone approves of it.

It was during the Hundred Years' War that their path finally crossed with Kassandra. Kassandra is annoyed, of course, because she had been traveling all alone and getting the cold shoulder from both the Demon Slayer Corp and the Assassin Brotherhood while Altaïr was ‘creating’ a family of his own. Altaïr just takes it silently because, yeah, that was a bad move in so many levels and he understands that.

Desmond doesn’t trust Kassandra for a while because, well, she didn’t exist in the memories he had of Altaïr so that means that she played a major role into why the timeline isn’t moving as Desmond remembers it (not that he wants it to, he likes Haytham being their annoying stuck up nephew/son but he’s worried of the effects all of these would have)

They make contact with Achilles’ Brotherhood though but Altaïr insists they’re there for the demons (not exactly a lie, that’s what they had been doing when they weren’t hunting POEs to help Desmond get better)

Anyway, Haytham almost dies saving Kaniehtí:io from the burning village and it’s only because Desmond insisted they stay for a bit in the village (just to be sure) that he is saved by Edward giving him his blood. Haytham becomes immortal in front of their family.

Kaniehtí:io flat out asks Desmond if Ratonhnhaké:ton can be immortal as well. Desmond says yes. “But not me.” “… I’m… I’m sorry, Kaniehtí:io.” because Desmond has an idea of who can be immortals. It’s not like a feeling like the other immortals have. Desmond knows if someone can be turned with just a look. Kaniehtí:io takes this with grace and she spends the rest of her life with her family and tribe.

Because of their amicable relationship with Achilles, they were there to hear about Shay’s mission. They requested to join Shay because they were planning to make Desmond absorb it. Since they’ve been doing this for a while now, they notice how dangerous it was to move the POE and this derails the entire plot of Rogue.

In the end, Shay joins them after being disillusioned of Achilles as a mentor who still wanted to get an Assassin to check the POE (he wanted to get a second opinion but Shay took it as him not believing what Shay and the others are saying)

Because Shay became a rogue but not a Templar, the Brotherhood’s control continued and it became clear that the Brotherhood was supporting Washington’s side while the Templars (under Birch) were supporting the British.

Shay later drinks Haytham’s blood after being shot in the back by Gaultier when he had stopped Gaultier from doing his duties as a French officer (which would have gone against the Creed and cause the death of innocents)

Desmond and co end up supporting Washington here and there but they mostly focused on helping Kaniehtí:io and the other tribes.

Ratonhnhaké:ton drank his father’s blood to live during the battle of Yorktown.

Then they would start to hear rumors of strange unsolved killings in France…

Next one, we’ll have both Unity + Syndicate… and, hopefully, the main characters of Demon Slayer XD



I would LOVE to see a crossover between demon slayer & assassin’s creed , like it was something that I’m dying to see ever since I got back into the AC franchise in October.

Also I think you should know about Edward, Shay, and Evie JPN VA’s , BC HOLY SHIT

Kenjiro Tsuda is Edward and NOBODY talks about it and the man is a LEGEND along with the other legends! I relate Edward and Kishibe from CSM bc they both love booze and women. Evie voices Annie from AOT and Shay does Caesar from JJBA battle tendency

(This is kinda an offshoot of this 'what if AC and Demon Slayer characters with the same jp voices meet' idea)

Alright, before we go gushing over the jp voices of the other main characters, let’s first talk about an Assassin’s Creed x Demon Slayer Crossover.

This… will have spoilers for Demon Slayer so Imma put it in a Read More. This will take the backstory of both Demon Slayer and coat it in Assassin’s Creed Isu Bullshit to make this more on the side of ‘two series getting blended together with Isu ice’ crossover than a ‘these characters appear in this series’ crossover.

Game?

Okay, let’s do this.

(sidenote, my fingers are so used to typing Desmond that whenever I want to write Demon, it usually goes “Desmon” so if I missed any Desmon misspelling, let me know XD)

So, Muzan’s experimental treatment happened during the Heian period (794 to 1185) and we won’t get into that much detail about this time but the year is important because this is smack dab (1090) in the middle of the year the Assassin Brotherhood was created (or had transitioned from the Hidden Ones).

So, in this crossover, the experimental treatment that was supposed to save Muzan was created using a failed Isu experiment that an off-branch of the Order of the Ancients have found and were doing human experiments to check if it was possible to use it to prolong their lives like the legends of the misthios who was still hunting them down.

Now, we are using the Order of the Ancients in this one for one simple reason: the Templar Order is still building its presence from the ashes of the Order of the Ancients’ main branch in England and is currently under the ideology of King Aelfred. They’re too busy preparing for their ‘grand entrance’ to do human experiments at the moment (and many members would consider such thing beneath them or against their personal interpretation of the Order of which the Templar Order was meant to usher in).

So, Muzan is gets turned into a demon by this experiment and the Order of the Ancients became his first victims and he tortured + experimented on them to learn the truth. By the time Kassandra gets there, it was already too late. Muzan has created his first few demons to create that specific demon that might ‘cure’ him. Kassandra’s high Isu genes meant that she could do feats that normal humans cannot do and these skills gave her an edge in fighting the demons together with the hidden blade she now possessed.

She managed to take down the demons Muzan created (which was a good thing because they were about to tell Muzan about the Isus) and she fought Muzan as well. Unfortunately, she was unable to defeat him and Muzan tries to turn her into a demon as well… to enslave her to him.

The Isu ‘tech’ that was used to make Muzan into a demon reacted to Kassandra differently though and instead she seemingly died after having a severe seizure.

Muzan left disappointed but an hour later, Kassandra gasps as she opened her eyes.

She doesn’t know what happened and if the Staff had been the one to save her or not but she retreats for now, knowing it would be futile to take Muzan alone.

She needed allies…

From Heian Period to The Third Crusades/Kamakura period:

Kassandra makes contact with the Ubuyashiki family and helps in the creation of the Demon Slayer Corps (more as a secret co-conspirator because she knows Muzan would hunt her and the Ubuyashiki family if he learns she lived)

She tried to contact the Hidden Ones as well but learned that the Hidden Ones are no more, having been absorbed by the Assassin Brotherhood who are currently ‘unavailable’ so Kassandra is on her own at the moment.

Kassandra would leave Japan to finally contact the Assassin Brotherhood once she was sure that the Demon Slayer Corps could handle their own. She meets with their current mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, to talk about the demon problem in Japan.

Altaïr joins her in Japan to check the situation himself, leaving the Brotherhood to Malik Al-Sayf, and they learn that the Apple cannot control them at all yet they could be misled by the Apple’s illusions. It’s thru Altaïr’s studies with the Apple that they learn why Kassandra survived Muzan trying to turn her into a demon. Those with high concentrated Isu genes have varying immunity to being turned into demons and there is a defense mechanism in play in certain individuals to keep them from turning into demons. Altaïr says that this mechanism is only in certain people and, if they drink blood from either Muzan or Kassandra (who has been ‘infected’ in a sense), they would gain a similar immortality that Kassandra possessed.

Things happened, the demons attack, Altaïr is wounded saving the current Oyakata-sama and Kassandra berates him for being reckless. Altaïr tells her that his wounds are too severe so Kassandra agrees to let him drink her blood. Altaïr doesn’t turn into a demon but is revived as effectively an immortal like Kassandra (although the infection made the Staff’s immortality setup moot, making both Kassandra and Altaïr not age but be able to die if their body takes too much damage). Altaïr returns to Masyaf to make preparation to branch out the Brotherhood before it became clear he was no longer aging.

Once everything is done, Altaïr relinquishes his title to Malik and tells everyone that he will create a Brotherhood in Japan. The Japanese Brotherhood would look after Templar activities (which seemed to be in the bud at the moment) while helping the Demon Slayer Corp in their endeavours to kill demons and find and take out Muzan once and for all.

Unfortunately, Kassandra and Altaïr’s appearances made Muzan realize that, if he wants to survive and reach his goal, keeping his plans in Japan is not the way to go.

They hear rumors that Muzan left Japan and now Kassandra and Altaïr go their separate ways to try and find Muzan.

Sidebar: Altaïr definitely went to the Island of Tsushima to fight off the Mongols and he reunites with his oldest son Darim there who told him that Sef is now the mentor. Altaïr gives Darim his Armor of Altaïr (that’s not the original name, Altaïr named it the Sunlight Armor but… uuhhh… the name got changed later on due to… time) and the eagle sword forged in Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore. He has his own nichirin sword and he warns Darim that if they were ever faced with an enemy that seemed unworldly, use his sword or their hidden blades.

The original hidden blades used by the Hidden Ones (most of which were used by the Assassins in Alamut and Masyaf) were forged from Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore as well. It’s unclear where the Hidden Ones got the ores and sands but Kassandra has an inkling it’s connected to a mysterious merchant ally of the Hidden Ones that she only heard the name of “Thousand Eyes”. Altaïr had requested that more hidden blades be created for the Brotherhood in Japan and that they ship a few of them to the other branches to give them a chance in case a demon gets there.

Renaissance Italy/Muromachi(Sengoku) Period:

Altaïr gets to Italy because he learns of an Apple being transported into Venice. By the time he gets there, the Apple is in the hands of Ezio Auditore who had retaken it from the Templars after an epic punch out in the Vatican. He managed to get to the Italian Brotherhood’s main headquarters, Monteriggioni, just in time to warn them about the army he saw on his way to them.

A lot of people do a doubletake because, yeah, he looks a lot like the statue of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad but he just waves it off as him being a descendant because there’s no way he was going to say ‘yeah, I’m the real deal and I’m sorta immortal at the moment because there is a much larger problem than Templars right now.’

He helps them protect the town but they knew that they had to leave. The Papal Army will return with more soldiers and they wouldn’t bat an eye razing the entire town into the ground just to ‘clean’ the taste of defeat from their mouth.

They all go to Rome with many of the civilians joining them and Altaïr gets sucked into the whole ‘let’s get all of Rome against the Borgias!’ plan.

He and Ezio become friends and he also becomes a close advisor to Ezio’s early years as a mentor, just to help him get to his feet and figure out by himself what kind of mentor he wants to be.

Ezio also lets Altaïr study the Apple and the two Apples resonant with one another, showing Altaïr and Ezio a blurry vision of someone. Ezio believes that person is the one the goddess call Desmond. Altaïr doesn’t understand why but he also believes that Ezio is right. That person is Desmond…

Cesare still poisons his father and runs away, Ezio and Altaïr chase after him but Altaïr is distracted by the appearance of three demons who tried to kill him while Ezio continued to chase after Cesare. Feeling dread in the pits of his stomach, Altaïr takes care of the three demons and tried to find Ezio and Cesare.

He’s just in time to see Cesare pierce Ezio’s stomach and it was clear that Cesare had become a demon, Ezio didn’t let that deter him, using the sword Altaïr had given to Darim all those years before to behead Cesare. As his head and body fell to the cliff below as it disintegrated, Ezio falls to his knees.

Altaïr gives him his blood before he dies because he knows, something inside him knows, that Ezio is one of the people with the defense mechanism. Ezio is revived and he returns to Italy with Altaïr.

After he was sure the Brotherhood would be okay even if he was no longer the mentor, Ezio joined Altaïr in traveling to Masyaf because Ezio had a vision when he was turned of a castle that, when he described it to Altaïr, sounded a lot like Masyaf. Although Altaïr has no idea what this supposed door underneath Masyaf was meant to be. There was no door there before.

The Ezio-Sofia thing happens in the background and it takes them longer to find the memory seals (which now contain memories of Sef). The last memory seal they find is actually in Sef’s resting place in Alexandria and Sef directly talks to Altaïr, “Father, I know you’re out there somewhere. I made all of these because of a dream I had. I cannot truly explain it but… there is something in Masyaf that must be kept a secret until you return. Once you see it… you will understand what must be done to keep the world safe from the darkness crueler than the Templars will ever be.”

When they finally entered the underground ‘garden’ (as legends go, it was a garden that Sef had tended every day), it’s dark but they could see something blue glowing at the center. Once they were close enough, they realize it was a flower bed of blue spider lilies.

And, in the center of the flower bed, a man was sleeping. No. He wasn’t moving at all.

Was he dead?

They cautiously stepped closer and the moment Ezio and Altaïr were by the edge of the flower bed, the slightly glowing blue spider lilies glowed brightly before slowly losing all colors, turning into white spider lilies. It started from the edge then slowly moved inward until the last blue spider lilies to lose their color were the ones underneath the man.

A second pass…

And the man gasped as he sat up.

He turned to look at the two men staring at him and blinked as he called out, “Altaïr? Ezio?”

They don’t know how or why but both of them answered, “Desmond…”

Dun dun dun!

Yup. Ending it there at the moment because this was getting looonngg. I’ll continue with the Kenway family drama another time (and, this time, we get Kassandra and Edward duking it out in naval combat).

I am thinking if we should make Haytham and Shay immortals OR, let’s add lots of Kenway family drama in this one (as well as Dorian-Cormac feud) by making them both demons instead (and they’ll be part of the Twelve Kizukis). I’m honestly leaning toward the latter XD.

Sorry if this was light on the Demon Slayer characters but the main characters of Demon Slayer won’t be born until the Taisho Era (1910ish) but, at that point, you bet the story would be much more different since there’s gonna be butterfly effects.

Other than that, yes, we are making Desmond the living embodiment of the blue spider lilies that Muzan was looking for because I show my love to Desmond by making his life complicated XD

========================

Now, let’s gush over the JP voices of the other AC main characters.

Before anything else…

Desmond Miles is voiced by Hiroki Tōchi

Who voices as a lot of older men types (Malik from Tales, General Cross from D.Gray-man, Ovan from .hack, Mael from Seven Deadly Sins and Klaus from Valkyria Chronicles) which I find funny. He’s also the jp voice of Gavin Reed (Detroit Become Human), Chris Redfield (RE) and Nathan Drake (Uncharted).

Funny thing? He voiced Toki from Fist in the North Star in the 2010 anime adaptation BUT Tomokazu Seki (EZIO) took over for the 2010 and 2013 video games.

AND to make things even funnier, Haytham is voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi who voiced Toki in the 2023 Fitness Boxing game and the Legend of Raoh anime. XD

(honestly, there’s a lot of Fist of the North Star voice actors in Assassin’s Creed with Altaïr’s voice actor being one of the go-to voices of Kenshiro XD)

Edward Kenway is voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda (yeeesss, he’s definitely a Legend! He’s freaking Seto Kaiba!)

He also voiced Gris/Gregory from Fire Emblem, Luis Sera from the RE4 remake, Zeke from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Zaveid from Tales, CHIKAGE from Hakuoki, FIRE EMBLEM from Tiger & Bunny, TATSU from The Way of the Househusband, NANAMI from Jujutsu Kaisen, Overhaul from MHA/BNHA, and have I already said that he voiced Seto Kaiba from YuGiOh? Yeah? Well, he voiced Seto Kaiba from YuGiOh. I think the best part is that he voiced Hannes from AOT. Hhhmmmm… parental figure to a main character that has dirty blond hair and is using alcohol to cope with the bad shit in his life only to die in front of said main character? Lollollol (also, also, Kishibe, Hannes, and Edward would definitely try to drink each other under the table)

Evie Frye is voiced by Yu Shimamura

As @ullyaboo has already said, voiced Annie in AOT, she’s also the voice of Zelda in TOTK, Mature in 2018 King of Fighters game (who was usually voiced by Hiroko Tsuji), Cindy from FFXV, Shinobu from JoJo, and Ilina from Chaika.

Once more, Rogue’s voice actors are not in Behind the Voice Actors so I had to doublecheck with the jp wiki. XD

Shay Cormac’s voice actor is Takuya Satou

Who voices CAEEESSAAARRRR in JoJo (sidenote: Old man Joseph is voiced by Unshō Ishizuka who voices William Miles XD), Machias from Trails, Albert James Moriarty from Moriarty, Conrad and Abel from Fire Emblem, and Alphen in Tales.