#i mean i see how the game tried to make him like ezio?? but he’s really not

[mirendils]

i know in my heart of hearts that arno is a nerd. he’s an academic. a school boy

[anli-rambles]

Idk if the writers intended it or not but the amount of cognitive dissonance between what Haytham says and what he does is so telling of the kind of person he was raised to be. Birch succeeded in making him talk like a Templar, but his actions contradict pretty much everything Haytham claims to stand for. It's as if the brainwashing ran deep enough to make Haytham lack self-awareness but not enough to completely destroy what Edward was able to teach him before he died. Connor points it out verbatim right before they meet up with Washington too. "You've talked a great deal but you've shown me nothing."

Haytham says he wants order but he's just about as chaotic as his father was when he was younger. He says Connor's talks of "freedom" and "free will" are nonsense but literally every time we see him aside from the opening sequences, he's going off on his own, doing God-knows-what without telling any of the other Templars, he drops everything on the spot to go camping with his girlfriend, hell he even murdered a Templar Grandmaster for personal revenge (when revenge has been the driving force between many of the protagonists we've had so far like Ezio, Connor, Arno, Bayek, heck even Kassandra to some degree, while the Templars claim to be above this kind of stuff). He went against Lee's plans to have Connor executed because he felt like it. (The line in his journal is literally "I won't let my son die today.") He says he wants purpose and direction and yet never has a plan for whatever he's doing. He's exactly like Edward on that front, essentially bullshitting his way through everything and hoping it all works out (and it often doesn't). That man has never had purpose or direction in his entire life, and the moment someone tries to tell him what to do, he actively chooses to do the opposite because he doesn't follow orders (and if he does, it's on his own terms).

When Haytham realized he didn't hold the key to the Precursor site, he chose to drop it altogether, because he knew too many would have to die for the cause and it wasn't worth it. Do you mean to tell me people like Vidic, the Borgias, Germain, heck even Torres (who's by far the most reasonable Grandmaster we've encountered in the series besides François de la Serre, maybe) went to impossible lengths to get to the Observatory — do you think any of these men would've just... stopped ? Because more people would have to die ? (The answer is no. William Johnson was willing to commit mass murder just to buy the land the site was on — which by the way Haytham had no idea about (the mass murder part, I mean) until after the fact and he was very angry about it.)

Which is also pretty telling about how involved he is in all of this. He didn't know about what Johnson was planning because he couldn't even be bothered to hold yearly meetings for like 15 years.

In his journal, you can see how he progressively starts to despise every Templar he's working with. He endorses Lee out loud but his thoughts about the guy are that he's "too British to be a good representative for the American people" and he's actually pretty pessimistic about his chances to supplant Washington. He doesn't even believe in what he says about Lee, like, ever (which is why I say it really looks like he's endorsing Lee as an act of sabotage because it really feels like it sometimes.) His Templar kill count is also higher than Connor's — Juan Vedomir, the unnamed mercenary with a West Country accent, Edward Braddock, John Harrison, Reginald Birch, Benjamin Church and Nicholas Biddle (although the game never showed it, the fact that Church and Biddle died only days apart while both in the Caribbean means that Haytham was with Connor on the Aquila when he killed Biddle, so he's at least complicit in his murder.)

Haytham says he's a man with Templar ideals and an Assassin background but to me it feels like the opposite. He's a man with a Templar background and Assassin ideals, but the grooming started so young that even killing Birch couldn't undo the damage that man had done. I think Haytham realized that by the end and that's why he let Connor kill him.

[justa-smalltown-gargoyle]

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Thoughts As I Go!

-did not realize this game is so short, woah

-I got spoiled about this game in a YouTube comment section which made me really not want to play it😔

-but I still am because I own it cuz it came with black flag haha

-right off the bat, I wish I knew why Shay joined the brotherhood in the first place. Why is he here? Why does he want to be an assassin? Personally if I was his mentor his way of going about things would indeed worry me

-what happens in Lisbon is horrific. I think they did a really good job of portraying that and feeling that fear and also helplessness that you can do nothing and your actions caused it.

-I think Shay should have actually tried to talk to Achilles first and I think Achilles should have tried talking to Shay as well- I’m frustrated because we don’t even learn if Achilles knew that would happen or not. And also why tf would this device do this? That’s extremely different from any other device from Eden that we have yet to see.

-I do appreciate Shay’s anger at what happen, it makes complete sense to me. However it’s like? He’s just like oh I’m a Templar now I guess. What? Like maybe no side is the good option here? Or maybe, idk, see why this happened???

-people might jump me for this and idk maybe im being to extreme, but this game……is not doing good for repping poc. I mean, yeah this is Ubisoft. And obviously people of color can be morally gray, can be antagonists, they are not a monolith, however I feel like they made Achilles the man in charge of the colonial brotherhood which is so dope and then now they choose to question the brotherhood’s actions? Have him be all about people following without asking questions?

Painting Shay as the one in the right here, the white man, in comparison to the black man? Idk it’s just not sitting right with me. (This is also taking place in the same game you kill that man’s father, the one black man protagonist this game series has had thus far)

-and going off of that, I think it is an important point to show that the assassins are not this beacon of virtue, which I feel the Ezio games and even AC1 taps into. And that not all Templars are nefarious villains. But I feel like isn’t the whole point of the conflict about how ends don’t justify the means? How both sides want peace, but what differs them is what they’re willing to do to achieve it? how the assassins focus on freedom and the Templars focus on control? It doesn’t matter how pure your motives are if you take away peoples freedom to achieve it?

Also looking at who holds power in the world, in our world, how that aligns with who are Templars. The Templars line of thinking is a slippery slope to fascism. The top dogs are fascists, I feel like this game is forgetting that? Maybe that’ll be different by the time I finish playing it. It’s just important to remember what side the maroons were on and what side the plantation owners were on. And to be fair, the Governor in Black Flag was anti-slavery, but did he truly see Black men and women as his equals? My guess is no.

I just feel like “Templars aren’t actually the bad guys!” Is not the nuanced take it’s being painted as.

-so idk i appreciate Shay being a literal human being and being angry about what happened but i question his choices

-also when he’s on the ship and tells Liam about …the women 😀 around the world I was really grossed out. (Also his dialogue is a great example of the Madonna Whore complex!! We love to see it!) (we don’t, that was sarcasm)

-so um he lost some major points from me due to that convo

-he looks better with less facial hair and a ponytail tho

-and I really like Liam! Please don’t make me kill him😭😭😭😭

[halfpintofanxiety]

I cried so f-ing hard cause this has so much angst potential and I started daydreaming it along for a whole plot line and sadness and tears cause it be like that sometimes but essentially…

This has the most potential for pain as it starts off in the honeymoon faze and all the adults are so happy and content and falling in love (Maria fell first as she thought it was passing interest but it was love at first sight, Giovanni fell the hardest as he saw how perfect the final piece looked in the family, Desmond fell the deepest since he already knew the best and worst of both of them) so happy in love and kinky sex that Des makes a million times better with future knowledge that keeps Maria invested but they already had responsibilities beforehand so like reasonable people they had to think of the kids first, and Giovanni could only pretend that he doesn’t notice Desmond’s assassin quirkiness for so long.

In typical Desmond fashion he keeps his secrets to save the timeline or some nonsense but Gio and Maria had enough of the lies at some point and could only be open for communication for so long as they were already in danger of destroying their family’s happiness by dragging it out any longer and were like “We love you but you have to many secrets and we need to put our family first.”

“Of course but I thought- there’s always- we could try…”

“They are not your family Desmond.”

Cause we love pain that triggers a flashback from Ezio getting rejected by Caterina and to hide the bleed he takes his leave with as much composure as possible.

Only then with an impromptu visit to Mario to wait out the drama from the assassination and so that they can recover from the worst breakup ever, only for maybe Ezio or even baby Claudia (she called Des papa as her first word and nobody denied her cause for all Giovanni and Maria know Des is her father) for some real pain sees the statue of Altair, believe it’s Des and go “PAPA!”

So the kids are so sad when they realize it’s a statue, (Federico is old enough to know that Des is probably never coming back and is in mourning) and tiny Federico sprinting in only to get mad when he notices it’s not Des, and Maria is trying to console the kids and Mario is giving Giovanni the stink eye, “You managed to shack up a descendant of Altair and didn’t put a ring on it? What is wrong with you?!”

Des still tries to do the right thing for the people he loves and he knows that it doesn’t matter what happens he has over a decade before he knows any relevant information about the whereabouts on Borgia. So several years go by and everyone is still so sad and lonely and missing their third parent, Federico and Ezio never forgot but Claudia has vague memories and is pissed about the idea of her absent father, and Petruccio has no idea why his family acts empty, while Des is respecting their wishes by staying away but something has to be done about the conspiracy. He has had time to build up the brotherhood outside of Italy and is well respected maybe in Spain and Constantinople, maybe even became a legend that reclaimed Masyaf for the assassins, and has the support of the brotherhood.

Nobody would know the extent of the relationship between Des and the Auditore but Mario and the rest assume enough and decide to string Giovanni along (they assume that Des was spurned somehow since he gets sad and awkward whenever it gets brought up).

“Oh you just missed him Gio”

“What do you mean he wasn’t across town?”

“Maybe he’s at the bottoms of a bridge you should go check”

It’s all fun and games until Maria finds out that Des is back in Italy and since their kids are not kids anymore they are in a position to talk about it everyone sucks it up at the mama Auditore glare and arranges a secret meeting between the three.

Bonus if Ezio, Claudia, and Machiavelli have a rivalry because I could see Des taking over Machi’s training to avoid the whole we have a traitor and you are very suspicious issue and Claudia is particularly steamed because if anyone deserves training from Des it’s her.

I resent the "Only Petruccio left" remark! Because no. Not just him :> We still have a: Desmond lands into the past and meets younger Giovanni and Maria. Maybe when Federico is still a kid? And it's both Giovanni and Maria setting out to get Desmond (who is having a Crisis)

Alright, you got me there. Let’s give Desmond a DILF an MILF package in one.

In a modern-day setting:

Desmond is the babysitter. Maybe he’s doing this as a part-time gig whenever he doesn’t have a shift in Bad Weather. Maybe he’s a working college student who does this and dogwalking (it would be funny if he’s the dogwalker for Rodrigo Borgia and Giovanni, Cesare, Lucrezia, Gioffre are all his super high-maintenance dogs). Either way, Federico and Ezio are super young and he babysits them whenever Giovanni and Maria have a datenight.

Ezio is an adorable little boy who definitely has said ‘When I grow up, Imma marry you, Desmond!” at least twice. Federico is the little troublemaker who gets Ezio into trouble.

They both love having Desmond over.

Desmond ends up sleeping with both of them after they returned from their date night and the kids are in bed. They got Desmond to stay the night because they returned super late, and suggested they have (decaf) coffee or tea first before they get some sleep. Ends up waking in the middle of an Auditore cuddle.

Desmond has no idea how the fuck he ended up sleeping with them but he ain’t complaining.

It happened again.

And again.

At some point, Desmond realizes his clothes are all in the Auditore home and he goes there after his shift in Bad Weather. (he has a key by this point)

Ends up sleeping with Giovanni and Maria once more and…

A few weeks later, Desmond is just living in the house.

The kids are absolutely happy, of course, and Desmond starts more or less coparenting them as well as helping out in the house.

To those who don’t know the Auditores well, Desmond is the inhouse nanny.

To anyone who knows them, he’s definitely the Auditore couple’s lover and, if you want Giovanni or Maria Auditore on your side, you have a better chance if you get Desmond in your corner.

When Claudia was born, no one is sure who the actual father is and no one cares.

……… Giovanni definitely had dealings with William Miles. Bill does not approve of his son’s choices but no one cares what he thinks anyway.

Canon Setting:

Maria would be the one to notice Desmond first. Not because he was being sneaky or anything. No. He just… has a pretty face.

This is the woman who saw Leonardo da Vinci’s talent and became a repeat customer. She has a good eye for pretty things and Desmond is an absolute find.

Desmond also has no resistance for Maria and he just assumes she wants to talk.

Nope.

She brings him to Giovanni and, before Desmond understands that he had been led to a very pleasurable delicious trap, he’s already waking up in Giovanni and Maria’s bed with marks all over his body.

What the fuck.

Still reeling from that mindblowing night he had, he bumps into Federico and Ezio playing.

Seeing baby Ezio grinning (with missing tooth) at him and asking him to play with them?

The next time Maria sees him, he’s playing with her children.

He stays for dinner and ends up in their marital bed. Again.

He tries to leave.

Ezio and Federico begs him to play with them once more.

He stays and gets fucked again.

It repeats so many times that the servants just assumes he’s staying regardless and Desmond just… stays.

At some point, there will probably be a serious talk between the three and there’s going to be a bit of conflict because Desmond does have the habits and skills of an Assassin.

But, for now?

Desmond is just living his life as the Auditore couple’s mysterious lover and their children’s favorite playmate.

Strangely enough… Petruccio doesn’t have a weak body in this verse. Huh. Curious…

Whatever setting you choose:

Maria is the top-est of the three with Desmond being the bottom-est.

There’s pegging involved and praise kinks for everyone.

Body worship for Desmond.

Both Desmond and Giovanni get lots of ‘good boy’ and ‘my precious boys’ from Maria.

Maria and Giovanni also like to tease and spoil Desmond until he’s all loose limbs and head empty.

The Auditore children grew up calling Desmond ‘papa’.

[straight-into-the-animus]

Truth or Dare (French Fryes)

I’m writing the backlogged stuff but I had a dream about this scenario and had to get it out.

Read it on Ao3!

“Let’s play truth or dare.”

“Are we seven?” Arno asked even as Ezio tugged him over to sit in a circle. Coming to a party when he wanted to sleep for twelve hours after finals already wasn’t on his plans, but Ezio had insisted, and well… 

Some people had weak constitutions to Italian friends.

“Seven year olds can’t dare each other to do illegal shit.” Kassandra gleefully declared, and excitement shot through almost everyone at the manner of what they could all get into despite the protests of Altair and Bayek.

“Alright, nothing too illegal. But if you do it… Don’t film and post it.”

This was generally accepted and the game commenced.

It went by quickly, everyone content with trying to outdo the other. 

“Alexios has to switch pants with Evie.”

“Malik has to make out with a wall!”

“He already does, his name is Altair-”

Those who chose truth were generally heckled until they chose dare, but at the risk of sharing secrets -- no one wanted to, anyway -- dares were chosen almost always.

“Okay, okay, Jacob,” Ezio eventually called out once people had sufficiently calmed down after seeing Altair drink a mustard-based smoothie, “truth or dare?”

“You know me.” Jacob kicked back, leaning against the foot of the couch. “Dare.”

“I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room.”

“There should be an exception against the coupled up, right?” Bayek asked, and Aya quickly hushed him with her interest to see how it would all play out.

Arno sipped his drink, watching eagerly. There was an unnecessary flutter in his heart as he watched Jacob consider, scratching the beginnings of his beard.

“Alexios-”

Oh.

“D’you mind moving so I can get to Arno?”

Oh.

Arno swore it was a miracle he didn’t die from choking on the vodka-cran mix as Jacob scooted past the ‘disgruntled’ Greek until he was a breath away from the Frenchman.

“Did you need me to move as well?” Arno asked, glancing from hazel eyes to lips that curled into the smallest, shiest smirk he’d ever seen.

“Not unless you really want to. I’ve made my choice, though.”

Arno refused -- refused -- to show he was melting in and out, and placed his cup next to him definitely before looking Jacob in the eye.

“Then do it.”

The first press of lips against his was softer than he thought it would be, but he wasn’t complaining at all. His hand went up to tangle in the back of Jacob’s hair as the other planted behind his back for leverage against Jacob’s gradually deepening push. He took the demands happily as they started to come, even as their friends began to talk about how it wasn’t Seven Minutes in Heaven and other people had to go.

“Think we can leave them be for a while?” Jacob pulled back just a bit, cheeks and neck showing their flush, and Arno smiled as he took it in.

“They’ll go on without us.” Arno took Jacob’s hand and they hurried off to find somewhere more secluded.

---------------

The first date ended up being one of the cheesiest and most classic; dinner and a movie. It had been Jacob’s idea, and he sounded so uncharacteristically nervous and unsure about it on the phone that Arno couldn’t help but grow fonder and accept it.

“Are you still nervous?” Arno asked, and Jacob looked up from across the booth at him.

“I’m not nervous.”

“You tore up your straw paper.” Arno pointedly looked at the flimsy white shreds scattering across the table like snow, and Jacob half-heartedly brushed them away.

“You’re gonna laugh.”

“Try me.” Arno said, fixing his gaze on the other, and Jacob averted meeting his eyes before changing his mind about it.

“I almost cancelled the date.”

“You didn’t want…?”

“It’s not you, I promise. I mean, not that I didn’t want to be on a date with you.” Jacob was quick to clear up. “I just… Didn’t think you wanted to come to a place like this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Arno gestured around the restaurant slightly. It was a small family affair, had probably been around since after the second world war.

“It’s supposed to mean that a place like this is fine for me. I love coming here. But you’re used to… More.”

“I just wanted to go out with you, Jacob.” Arno reached over and held his hand. “I would’ve been happy with just a walk in the park for the night.”

“That’s a bit of a lie.”

“Maybe. But only cause it’s cold out there.”

Jacob laughed a bit and Arno smiled to hear it. They broke apart as the food and drinks came around for them, but even the emergence of that didn’t seem to completely quell whatever Jacob was feeling; Arno was sure he was even waiting to hear some sort of complaint about the pasta Arno had ordered, as if there was a way to mess it up. Eventually Arno came up with an idea.

“Hey. Truth or dare.”

“Huh?”

“Truth or dare.” Arno waited as Jacob furrowed his brow but answered all the same.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to have a good time and forget about anything except that I’m happy to be with you.”

Jacob’s confusion only grew until he understood, and he smiled; a slow, genuine thing spreading across his face.

“As you say, monsieur.”

And Jacob kept to that dare, never wanting to be shown up ever.

---------------

It wasn’t their first time, but it had to have been their best. Arno rested his head against Jacob’s shoulder as he came, a choked up sound spilling out from one of them. It went quiet save for their heavy breathing, and Arno hated to break it. Jacob had already come and made a mess of Arno’s front as a result, sticking to him even as Arno pulled out.

“If you’re getting a flannel, mind getting me some water?” Jacob sighed as Arno got off the bed, and Arno shook his head bemusedly.

“Swear I’ve spoiled you rotten.” He called out as he left, but did come back with a cup of water.

“How can I be rotten when I make things so sweet?” Jacob grinned as Arno quickly wiped them both off and discarded the flannel.

“You can carry yourself to the bathroom when you need to piss halfway through the night.” Arno noted before getting under the covers, Jacob quickly placing the cup away before grabbing him and pulling him close to act as the big spoon. A standard position despite the new environment.

“Think we’ve christened the new flat enough?” Jacob asked, kissing behind Arno’s ear, and he hummed in response.

“Perhaps. Wouldn’t be opposed to another round after a break.” 

“Sometimes you know exactly what to say.” Jacob smiled, and Arno felt it and returned it, even if he couldn’t see. “Hey… Truth or dare?”

“This again?” Both of them had made it a regular game to play with each other, something to pull out when they wanted. Sometimes it just happened when they couldn’t stand the silence, other times if they wanted to just cause a little trouble. Their friends still thought it was stupid to keep it up after two years, but everytime they tried to voice an opinion both men would just remind them that it had been what brought them together, thank you very much, and it would remain in their lives until it couldn’t anymore.

And they had decided to carry in the tradition even after Arno got his promotion and they decided to take the leap and move in together.

“Truth.”

“You happy?”

“More than anything.” Arno turned in Jacob’s arms and took him in, a hand closing the small distance between them to stroke his skin. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Do you love me?”

Jacob’s smile could be seen from space as he replied.

“More than anything.”

---------------

Arno came back only when it became dark enough that the lampposts were nearly unable to light up anything on the sidewalk. He was still tense as he stepped up the stairs with feet that barely wanted to make a sound. Half of him foolishly hoped that Jacob had been so pissed that he’d gone to bed and Arno could simply take the extra blankets from their little closet and spend the night on the couch, but he still saw the glow of yellow light spilling out from the crack under their flat door and heard the television still going. So Jacob was still up.

Arno braced himself, taking a deep breath as he pulled out his key and let himself in. The yellow light cast an uneasy shadow around everything in the flat, Jacob included. He was stretched out on the couch, face impassive as he took in something on the news.

“Took you long enough.” He greeted Arno as the man closed the door firmly behind him.

“If you’re staying on the couch, I’m taking the bed.”

“Oh, there’s the sensible shit coming out.” Jacob said, glancing over at him. “Seems about right.”

“Jacob-”

“Obviously I don’t have it in me, thank fucking God Arno Dorian does-”

“Jacob-”

“How could we ever bloody survive without it?”

“It wasn’t what I meant!” Arno snapped, defense kicking in as it did just a few hours earlier.

“Oh, so saying I would be better off with ‘an ounce of sense’ isn’t what you meant?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Fucking unbelievable.”

“Now you know how I feel with you!” Arno finally unstuck his feet, brain muddled as he kicked off his shoes and stormed off to their bedroom. The bed wasn’t made and it only served to faintly set off the bells in Arno’s mind to get pissed again, but mostly he was trying to mask his hurt that he was going to bed alone.

It was stupid, so stupid, and Arno only wanted to go back in time and hit himself to stop himself from bringing it up. 

The door opened after a time Arno couldn’t figure out, but he heard Jacob softly enter and stop a few feet from the bed.

“You asleep?”

“Not at all.” Arno whispered, and after a few seconds of delay Jacob got into the bed as well, slow but deliberate as he came up behind Arno and wrapped an arm around his waist loosely.

“You still upset?”

“Yes. But… I’m sorry I took it out on you. I just saw the mess and got… Pissed.”

Jacob sighed. “I’m sorry I let it get bad. I got back from work and just wanted to sit for a bit.”

“So did I.”

“Your work is what’s fucking killing you. You’ve never done that before.”

“Jacob-” He tensed, but the other man continued, running his fingers through Arno’s hair. It was getting tangled, a result of stressed pulling and forgetting to take care of himself.

“Just answer me this. If you don’t like it -- and I know you don’t, cause I’ve heard you complaining to Elise when you think I’m not listening -- then why are you staying there?”

Arno thought a long time about what he wanted to say.

“What I’m making, you don’t… It’s what you don’t have to worry about. You don’t have to go out and get another job, or get more hours. It gives you something nice if I-”

“You’re telling me you’re working fucking forty-eight hours a week, with extra work at home that you like to do ‘for fun’ off the books, so that you think I’ll stay?”

There was silence, and Jacob tightened his grip around Arno’s waist to pull him back.

“You’re a fucking idiot. I’d rather you be home before dinner and be happy with me than out there and making yourself miserable.”

The tension started to leave Arno’s shoulders as he leaned back into his boyfriend.

“Jacob-”

“We don’t have to talk too much about it yet. Just… please. I mean it.”

Arno went silent again, feeling his mouth begin to twitch and eyes sting with tears. He swallowed and nodded a bit. His hand went down and rested over Jacob’s, intertwining their fingers.

“Jacob.”

“Hmm?”

“Truth or dare.”

It had been a while, and he almost thought Jacob wouldn’t answer, but he did anyway.

“Truth.”

“You still love me?”

Jacob nuzzled Arno’s neck before speaking.

“Never think I’ll stop.”

Arno felt if he tried to laugh in relief it’d turn into a sob, so he just kept quiet and tightened his grip on Jacob.

Things weren’t solved immediately. But for now… They were good. And they were in bed together, just together. That was enough for the night.

---------------

“You should’ve seen the other guy. He started it.”

“As you say.” Arno shook his head with a smile, fingers intertwined with Jacob’s as they walked together. It had been a few months since their talk, and for the first time in close to a year, Arno felt lighter, like he wasn’t dreading waking up tomorrow.

There had been a long discussion about what they were doing, their feelings about everything, and it boiled down to being able to find a better balance than they originally had. Arno agreed to take fewer hours or at least find a way to condense his workload, and Jacob would work to help out more at his job and around their place. It had taken some time, but they were better now, Arno thought. And there were times now, like with Jacob talking animatedly about how he had narrowly avoided the fistfight that had led to them skipping out the bar and coming to the park instead, that he liked to think Jacob thought so as well.

“It’s getting warmer.” Arno spoke genially as they continued to walk, after Jacob had stopped his tale of glory, and Jacob made a noise of vague agreement.

“‘Bout time. Way too cold even for winter.”

“You like winter.”

“I like some parts of winter. Like the holidays and all that. But even I get to a point where it overstays its welcome. Besides, you got all the flowers out blooming.” Jacob pointed over where some newly planted tulips were beginning to sprout.

Arno felt his heart speed up for an unknown reason. Whether it was in the way Jacob admired a few flowers, or in how his hand tightened around Arno’s as he began to talk about all his plans for summer -- their plans for summer --, or the way the box in his coat pocket began to feel ever heavier than usual, that it left Arno’s mouth before he could stop.

“Truth or dare.”

“Seriously? Here?”

“It’s a real question.”

“Y’know what? I haven’t done dare in a while. Let’s go with that.”

Arno stopped them both and took a breath, hand slowly sliding into his coat and pulling the velvet box out. A million thoughts ran through his head as he shakily kneeled down, but looking up into Jacob’s wide eyes silenced them all until he spoke again.

“Marry me.”

---------------

The wedding ended up a lovely summer affair. Elise was only a bit upset that she couldn’t be Arno’s best woman in the way Evie was for Jacob, though Ezio ended up being pretty good about it and had people both laughing and sniffing by the end of his speech.

And all because of some stupid game, Ezio had been sure to mention at some point, and Arno and Jacob just shared some sort of smile at it.

And now here they were.

Arno woke up on top of Jacob, sprawled out in the huge hotel bed. The other was beginning to wake up as well, and they both smiled as their eyes met.

“Good morning, Mr. Dorian-Frye.”

“Good morning indeed.” Jacob rolled them over and Arno’s small yelp of protest at the action was silenced as Jacob began to kiss him in earnest, still smiling into it. They pulled apart eventually and Arno laughed.

“Not even letting me brush my teeth.”

“That doesn’t exactly matter right now.” Jacob tried to mouth lower at Arno’s neck, and Arno let him for a while before squirming.

“Call for the food first. Then you can continue making a mess of me.” Jacob pouted, and Arno smirked. “It’s not that bad. We do have all week, you know. Can’t spend all of it in a hotel room.”

“Just watch me.” Jacob challenged, but let Arno up anyway to stretch and get out of the bed and pull on loose sweat pants to cover himself up. Jacob had less grace and got out to simply pull on some boxers before calling it a day and going over to the Frenchman. He hugged him from behind, and Arno blushed, a smile still present on his face that threatened to stay there forever.

“Hey, Arno.”

“I’ll take waffles with fruit and cream, thanks.”

Jacob laughed, letting it take over before he calmed down enough to speak again.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“You ever been happier?”

“Never.”

----------

I hope you enjoy! If you do I have a Masterpost here and more ideas for writings and prompts here, so feel free to request!  If you’d like to support me, I have a ko-fi here! Safety and peace!

[eivor-basim]

ezio (in all seriousness now. mind your step 🥰🥰🔪🔪)

hey you can put your pixel knives away, i love ezio. and i'm not gonna steal your video game boyfriend i promise <3

first impression

i first played ac2 when i was 13 or so. at the Very First Glance he annoyed me a bit because he reminded me of boys my age who thought they were all that. a pre-fuckboy, if you will. but then he was so soft with his family. i really felt the pain of losing them with him. and he was adorably awkward flirting with cristina and being baffled by leonardo. so i quickly realized that ezio actually deserves so much love. and also a hug... pls allow this man some damn comfort ubi. plus of course, the fancy renaissance assassin robes and being so overpowered in fights just made it so FUN to play as ezio. i appreciated his badassery

impression now

now, playing an ezio game feels like coming home.

no matter what life throws at him, ezio finds a way to move forward and make something of it. always with a joke and a spring in his step. i love that resilience. and i've come to love the charm that annoyed me at first. because it's not putting on a show, that's just How He Is. he's warm and charismatic and funny. and manages to maintain that in spite of everything.

also, his humor isn't a façade veiling a lack of character or wisdom as can sometimes be the case with the fun-loving roguish archetype. over the course of the games, he really grows to be a man of principle and gains truly insightful perspective. these quotes he just drops:

"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it. And I had love, but I did not feel it. Many decades would pass before I understood the meaning of all three. And now, the twilight of my life, this understanding has passed into contentment. Love, liberty, and time: once so disposable, are the fuels that drive me forward."

"I have lived my life as best I could, not knowing its purpose, but drawn forward like a moth to a distant moon. And here, at last, I discover a strange truth. That I am only a conduit for a message that eludes my understanding. Who are we, who have been so blessed to share our stories like this? To speak across centuries?"

"To say that nothing is true is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile and that we must be the shepherds of our civilization. To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious of tragic."

"My story is one of many thousands, and the world will not suffer if it ends too soon."

i cried looking those up and reading them again btw!!

this man goes through so much pain. he builds the brotherhood up from nothing, only to lose it. and then builds it again. he does ALL THAT only to realize his whole life has served to convey a message he will never understand to a person he will never meet. yet even so he still finds contentment. he finds love and happiness. and he does it all with the signature ezio auditore da firenze flair. and looks hot doing it

(i really do need to note, this pixel man is FINE. i have to say his brotherhood look is my favorite but he is consistently hot)

i love him i love him i love him

favorite moment

there are so many??? and tbh i just started my ezio trilogy replay so the details are a little fuzzy, especially on brotherhood and revelations

one moment that always rips my heart out is when he assassinates his first target and yells "the auditore are not dead! i'm still here! me! ezio! ezio auditore!" and you can just hear his voice breaking a little

i love the little conversations between him and leonardo. leo really becomes one of the few constants in ezio's life, which forms such a distinct and powerful bond between them. and leo is just a walking ray of sunshine

ooh i really love the entire venice carnival sequence. also both ezio and claudia's assassin induction ceremonies. when ezio yeets cesare off the roof. and all of the moments with the quotes above

like i said, impossible to choose. and i still feel like this list is incomplete since i'm about to replay and will likely rediscover a bunch of old faves

idea for a story

hmm i don't know. i really feel like ezio's story is well executed and comes full circle in canon tbh. in the past i've enjoyed fics that actually do give ezio a chance to talk to desmond and explore the bleeding effect creating overlap between their lives. if i wrote a story, i might focus on ezio and claudia, because i feel like her character is very underutilized in-game.

unpopular opinion

i suppose a lot of my interpretation of ezio would be unpopular among those who see him as a womanizer and put him on a pedestal for that. other than that, hard to say tbh. i know many people don't like ezio with sofia, and i think they're very cute together. i guess also, i don't think ezio ever fully recognized claudia's ability. i think his perception of her was clouded by the gender roles of the time. in my view, he improved over time but never managed to shake off that bias

favorite relationship

romantically, this is difficult because ezio has great chemistry with lots of people and almost every ship makes me think oh yeah that'd be cute. i don't really have an otp with ezio, you know? i do really like him with leonardo and sofia tho

platonically, claudia. the murder siblings dynamic is everything. also, yusuf. their interactions were always so charming and hilarious, and yusuf's death clearly hit him so hard-- why ubisoft

favorite headcanon

ezio paints portraits of his targets, but i also like the thought of him painting portraits of his loved ones. ones that just feel more tender and personal when you're looking at them. and going out to the countryside to paint landscapes with leonardo-- artist couple!!

this is a communal headcanon at this point lol, but in-game ezio tries coffee and suggests adding sugar and milk. so i like to think he's the inventor of The Most Extra coffee drinks, like a triple caramel cappuccino with extra whipped cream and sprinkles type shit

finally, i think at heart he's very sentimental. he probably holds on to all sorts of knick knacks that remind him of the people in his life and the places he's been. he catches a whiff of, idk, a certain type of flower and is instantly transported to picking those flowers for a crush as a boy. gets all misty-eyed thinking about it. ezio is soft!!

send me a character!

[sparrow-in-boots]

oooooh i see what you mean!! and i mean, of all the controversial opinions to have this one is pretty chill xD /pos

if i may, i'll complement that argument uwu

there is indeed something to be said about how his build-up seems to match the ending he's given, but i think that if that's the endgame they wanted for him, then the game could have actually done it better.

the game tries to debate how the war between the assassins and templars is ultimately pointless and a waste of life and energy, that it blinded them to the greater danger to them all and the game of ancient telephone the Isu were playing with them. however, it doesn't have much of a thesis or point besides "war is bad" which, come on, the ac player base is more capable than that.

as such if they really wanted to give Daniel a pointless death, then they should have drawn attention to it. most we get in game is Rebecca's mournful comment that "killing seems to be the only thing they are capable of" and not much else. if you hadn't read the comics, you'd have no context for all the horrors he's been put through at all, and i think that games skipping over proper context over characters from extra content is a MAJOR flaw in the industry.

consider that Desmond is still an outsider to the recent events of the war. he has no idea of who Cross is or what he means to the brotherhood. Daniel is the face of the Great Purge, of the ultimate betrayal and of the devastating blow the brotherhood is still suffering through. but for Desmond, he's... just some guy. if he were any other assassin he'd have likely panicked or frozen at the sight of Cross in Manhattan, but instead? he fucking pummels the guy with the power source, cus Cross got too comfortable with his bloody laurels. him and Abstergo both overestimate and underestimate him, because he's incredibly vulnerable and unstable, but he's also their greatest asset at the time.

he's a symbol that means absolutely nothing to Desmond.

and the game should have made that more clear. we should have gotten a conversation about that, how Desmond's perspective can give the brotherhood a less cornered-animal look into the situation, how their fear and defensiveness is making them weaker overall. and they make such a stink about him having Altair's and Ezio's skill, but it's never shown how that affects the story. hell, we could even draw a parallel between Desmond and Daniel with Ezio and Cesare, or Altair and Al Mualim (or Abbas but [gagging noises]). if Daniel's death is supposed to be a point of how overall disposable of a tool he is, then it should have invoked sadness and somberness, even disgust, not a "wait, that's it?!" from the players.

i can and will complain about the horrid treatment Desmond and Clay got in the games, but i certainly will NEVER forgive ubisoft for how dirty they did Daniel.

that man is brimming with potential. we had two comics showing how he was used as a tool by the templars, how all of his life was informed and affected by what they did to him as a child. how he was left on the side of the road without clothes or a name to him, bereft of support and answers to his hallucinations, which led him down a turbulent and traumatic life. how the one community and support he found, the same one that gave him a direction and goals and a sense of belonging was violently ripped away from him because in the end, even that was just a lie, another illusion. everything he worked for for years in the brotherhood, meant nothing, was nothing, because the templars caused him to burn that bridge and the moat and the castle all in one stab of a blade. and now, he has no choice but to throw it in with the people who ruined any and all chances he ever had of a normal or stable life. they are the ones with the animus and the drugs that he needs to continue to exist, much less function somewhat normally. he has no other choice but to surrender himself as a tool, and he's always desperate to prove himself useful because he knows that once he's not, he'll be discarded again, and that will be a fate worse than death for him. if the brotherhood doesn't get him, then the drugs and the violent outbursts caused by the hallucinations will.

he was - is - a perfect foil for Desmond, who has been treated as a pawn, by the assassins and the templars and the isu, he's just the right person to be at the right place at the right time, thanks to a sprawling line of causality that leads him solely to it. he was a tool before he was even born, the community he was born in treated him as such too and so he left. he condemned himself to an isolated and dangerous life to attempt to be a person and find self-actualization, and look how that turned out. sure he chose to stay with the brotherhood and help, but in the end was that really his choice or did the calculations just compute his willingness to it? did he ever have a choice at all or was it all just numbers on a tally of probability?

Daniel is the worst case scenario Desmond could have ended up as. A man used and abused to the point where he has no choice but to make his peace with the role that was decided for him. he's Desmond's shadow of the soul as it were. they are both just playing their roles and they both are more aware of it than most people could ever be. Desmond said it himself.

"It just keeps happening over and over." "What does?" "Everything..."

and to further expand on on the narrative foils, Daniel and Clay also are mirrors of each other. Both stepping stones on the grand scheme of things, ultimately disposable but never dismissable. But while Daniel became a victim of the Animus and his need for it to function, wanting to ditch it but unable to, Clay had no choice but to surrender himself to it in order to see his duty to the bitter end. Daniel can barely handle existing in the real world anymore, and Clay had to leave it to continue existing in the simulation. Neither ever wanted his, but they both needed to do it to make something, anything, of themselves and the pain that was inflicted upon them.

worst of all, the game seems aware of all that!! even setting the last mission's confrontation in the Animus chamber in Italy, the place and machine connecting the three men together. Desmond having to use the Animus as a barrier between himself and Daniel, the thing that doomed both Daniel and Clay being his one protection at the time... it was all setup so beautifully for a poignant meaningful scene between those two, maybe even a proper boss fight--!

but what do we get? an absurdly deus ex machina bleeding effect that turns Daniel into another chase assassination. No fighting back, no words, no discussion or debate. Not even a fucking confession cutscene. It's disgraceful, it's pathetic, and it's so, so offensive to your audience and the story you're writing.

[kiatheinsomniac]

Huntress VI

Huntress Masterlist: [CLICK HERE]

The light slanted down onto the market from between the rooves and alleys of the Venetian houses, light reflecting off the surfaces of the canals and casting shadows everywhere else simultaneously. She observed from the corner of her hood, shifting from foot to foot on the cobbled path as she idly turned an orange over in her hand, feeling all the pores of its skin as she counted down slowly in her head.

'Five. . . Four. . . Three. . . Two. . . One. . .'

There he was, the guard, right on the dot - the same one who had doubted her vampire-hunting abilities solely for the fact that she was a woman. She looked back down at the stall, not wishing to be recognised. Having grown much too humiliated in her borrowed courtesan attire, (Y/n) had borrowed a spare set of Ezio's clothes while he was in the basement of their new hideout: a villa belonging to a trader and his family who were currently away for a wedding in Rome. (Y/n) and Ezio would be able to camp out there for a week until they were back.

The Assassin's robes were much too big on her: the shirt still too large despite being tucked into the trousers which were held up by the borrowed belt and had to be rolled up at the ankles. The brown cloak was stolen from a washing line and the shoes were taken from the family home they were resting in - and she was careful to not be spotted because these certainly weren't running shoes.

The huntress had one current objective: plot her route into the Duca's villa to retrieve her things. Apparently, the guards were on high alert and Ezio's contact was unable to acquire (Y/n)'s belongings. Part of her wanted to kill the Duca while she was there too: throw a knife from the door while he slept, guarded by two men but she knew that this plan would only result in failure: she didn't have that set of skills.

She placed the orange down on the market stall and eyed up the guards stationed around the villa again. If the night routine was the same, she should have a window of time to make her way into the ground floor through a window.

"Three oranges, please." She requested of the vendor as she pulled a coin purse from her pocket. The money was Ezio's and she was calling it 'borrowed' to make herself feel better about it. Given the nature of their relationship, he wasn't in much of a position to reprimand her anyway.

She pressed the coins into the man's hands as she continued to observe the patrols from her peripheral, turning her head down when a group of guards passed her, heading straight to the villa to take over the shift. She watched as they replaced the ones who had previously been on duty, a smug grin pulling at the corners of her lips as the three oranges were handed to her, wrapped in a creme fabric.

♰♰♰

When (Y/n) returned it was with a head full of new ideas, a heart full of determination and a hand full of oranges. She quietly closed the backdoor of the house (they were using that route to avoid being seen by the neighbours) and made her way to the bedroom they were camped out in when she walked in on a most surprising sight. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned around, hands clutching the fruits within them.

"So is this whole seeing each other almost naked something you vampires do? Because I'm not so sure that I'm fond of it." She spoke and heard a sigh behind her.

"Well, if someone hadn't taken my clothes, I wouldn't be like this and if someone hadn't taken my money, I would have been able to buy new ones." She heard the flat tone from behind her, making her laugh awkwardly. It wasn't a nervous laugh or a dry one: it was the sort that was created to fill space, to try and call attention to itself to try and clear away another subject. Her eyes skimmed down to the terracotta-coloured tiles and the off-white walls with their large extravagant portraits that stretched down the main hall, statues dotted between them. A dark red carpet ran along the middle of the floor as well.

"Well, if your contact had been able to retrieve my stuff, I wouldn't have had the need to borrow these things. I need a- are you decent yet?" She cut herself off, finding it too uncomfortable to talk to him with her back turned.

"I don't have anything to wear."

"The sheets!" She snapped in response. She waited to hear the rise and fall of fabric shuffling before turning around, seeing that he had only covered his legs. It wasn't like he was entirely naked - he had underwear on - but it was far too little for (Y/n)'s liking. She glanced over to the curtains which fluttered lightly in the breeze, the window must have been open.

He was seated on the grand four-poster bed and it's dull white silken sheets. The room was rather bare other than a vanity, a desk and a wardrobe - all of which were mostly empty seeing as this was a guest room.

"What happened to your clothes anyway?" She mused as she set the oranges down on the bedside and tossed his coin purse back to him, noting the look of disdain on his face at noticing she had spent his money. "Look, it may not be important to you but eating is very important to me." She added.

"There's a passage under the villa that leads to a canal, it's dark but it's a good way to travel in the daytime for someone like me. What I hadn't anticipated was the guard at the end of the tunnel who managed to push me into the water during our fight." (Y/n) thought over his words before a bigger picture became apparent in her mind.

"When was the last time you. . ." She trailed off, not quite knowing how to put it in a non-alarmed way. She shot him an almost warning glance from the corner of her (e/c) eyes. He shot her a questioning look and she made her way over to the window, peeking out from the edge of the curtains and spotting his clothes laid on the sill. She held onto the velvet fabric, caressing its softness with her fingertips. An unspoken threat.

"Fed?" He questioned, seeing the witch nod her head in response, he sighed and held his hands in his lap, leaning forwards. "Too long ago." She knew that it had been almost three weeks now. He must be starving.

"Do you plan on. . . I mean, I'd rather it be someone else than me." She debated over making a joke of this, showing her trust by following this up with a laugh and walking over to the screen to change out of his clothes. But she didn't trust him yet so she followed it up with a serious gaze, fingers wrapping around the edge of the dark and heavy curtain.

"I was planning on going out tonight." He replied.

"What time will you be back?" She quizzed, perhaps trying to make such a dark subject seem more casual, to seem more about concern for him than for whoever he would kill later that day. She didn't ask it the way someone would interview a murderer, how would one even go about that? No.

"Don't wait, I won't be back until just before the sunrise." (Y/n) scoffed, knowing what it meant if he would be back so late.

"We have work to do and you're going to play games?" She raised a brow and watched his face contort into offence.

"Look, it may not be important to you but eating is very important to me." He quoted her own words from earlier.

"Yes but I don't sleep with my food before I eat it." She threw back, "I know how Elizabetta was found. Most of your kind like to play some sort of sick game before you go for the kill, something to get the blood pumping." She sneered, realising that that disdain no longer sounded natural in her voice, it was becoming more forced now - a part of her that she thought was so important to her life that she almost didn’t want to let go of it, even if she knew she had to.

She knew she was now swinging, like a pendulum, between trying to earn his trust and reverting to what had almost become an instinctual prejudice. In the past, she always spoke so lowly of vampires, always slandered them at every given chance, so hellbent on revenge. Now that she owed her life to one, it didn't feel right.

"At least I'm more civil about it - I could make them fear for their lives with a chase in the woods." He replied as he stood up, tucking the sheet around his waist and walking towards her, delicately taking her wrist and drawing her hand away from the looming threat of the curtain.    

"Yes, because-" She began sarcastically before cutting herself off. Even if she disagreed, it wouldn't help anything to voice that aloud. What they needed right now was to be able to trust one another. He had drawn her hand closer to him, thumb caressing her wrist and she curled her fingers inwards, hesitantly tugging her own hand back to her side, feeling him press down on her pulse before his eyes met hers and he realised that he may be putting her in a fight or flight position.

And he had learned already that she was the fighting type.

"I need to ask a favour of you. . ." She began, making her way back across the room and tossing her stolen cloak onto the foot of the bed.

"What is it?"

"I need you to steal something for me: the uniform of one of the Duca's guards." Her (e/c) eyes flitted to their corners where she caught how his brows shot up.

"Why? May I ask?" He spoke as he checked the dampness of his clothes, being mindful to keep his skin away from the sunlight.

"I want to break in, that's why." She replied in a cold tone, the stinging of her feet and the bite of rope against her wrists reforming in her memory, "I want my belongings back and I'll set the bastard's chambers alight if I'm able." She paused as the picture of it formed in her mind: the smoke pluming from the window she would leave open, allowing it to rise up like a beacon; a sign to the man who had used her then tried to kill her once she became an inconvenience - him and everyone else in this group she still felt that she knew too little about. "I want him to be afraid." A silence hung over the room, a pensive one.

"Do you know how to pickpocket?" Ezio spoke up and she could hear him retreat to the far side of the room, securely tucked away from any possible venturing sunlight.

"Why would I need to?" She returned with a small glance over her shoulder in his direction.

"So you can stop stealing my money and start stealing someone else's." He replied with a laddish smile, watching in delight as she rolled her eyes but returned his comment with a hesitant smile of her own. "If you truly want to make use of yourself, I'll leave you in the hands of a friend of mine. She'll teach you some skills that will come in handy if you wish to stay with me until we can finish off the Duca."

"And this friend? Is he a vampire too?" (Y/n) knew that she could handle Ezio and that he could tolerate her but she knew that her sharp tongue and developed vampiric disdain could get her into trouble with anyone else of his kind kind.

"She is very much human. More of a political ally than one of kin." He responded as he sat back down at the foot of the bed.

"What will she teach me? Other than pickpocketing?" The witch spoke as she seated herself down on a stool by the unlit fireplace, glancing at the ashen pit and somewhat wanting to light it, with the autumn chill snaking in through the open window.

"How to climb, keep your balance over rooftops-"

"What need do I have for-"

"Even how to climb right into the Duca's window." He continued, playing to her wish to set fire to the man's room as he had ordered for her to be burned. He could see the intrigue in her eyes now, the way she looked up from beneath her lashes.

"It's probably best that you start making contacts in Venice seeing as you've lost all of them now."

"The word 'lost' doesn't quite seem to portray that they tried to execute me. . . with fire." She replied with a sigh and an undertone of bitterness at the memory.

"How have your legs been feeling?" He asked out of concern. It often slipped his mind just how fragile she was compared to him. He watched as part of her dropped a little and she brought her legs up on the stool with her, crossing them.

"I don't think that the scars that will go away. The worst of it is at my ankles but some of them stretch up my calves a bit." She bit down on her lip and one of her hands went to rub at the puckered flesh there under her socks, having already toed off her stolen shoes. "My legs feel better though, stronger than they were at the start of this anyway. I hope your friend will go easy on me." She added a laugh at the end of the phrase but it came out drily - Ezio could tell that she was still thinking about her injuries. Perhaps, he thought, she didn't even care that she would have to live with a memento of it for the rest of her life; perhaps it was because she could live with them while all those in her coven died with them.

They passed the next hour in conversation before (Y/n) made her way to the drawing-room where a shelf of books had caught her interest the previous day. She nestled herself in the window seat (with the curtains drawn, of course) and began reading a copy of Illiad.

A good amount of pages in, the shimmer of a blade caught her attention from her peripheral. There stood Ezio, in his clothes once more, with one sword at his hip and the other being held out to her in offering.

"What? Want to lose?" (Y/n) mused with a teasing grin on her lips as she set the book down.

"You haven't practised in weeks. I've been keeping up." He reminded her as she took the blade and rolled her shoulders, getting into a fighting stance as he drew his own blade from his hip.

"You don't forget how to wield a sword." She began before darting towards him, using the element of surprise by attacking halfway through the phrase.

The clash of steel rang through the room until it grew dark and (Y/n) grew tired. She fell down into the bed of the guest room they had selected for their stay (they tried to keep to as few rooms as possible in order to avoid leaving any trace of their presence in the house). The witch had grown exhausted from so many hours of sparring.

She looked to the end of the bed where Ezio was now fastening his belt and armour of his robes. But her body was now both weakened and tired and she rolled over, bringing the blankets around her figure as she did so.

Ezio made his way to where she lay and reached for the thicker comforter at the end of the bed, throwing it over her body to keep her warm, knowing that her body was much more prone to the cold than his. Her eyes remained closed and her breathing had now slowed as her head sank into the softness of the pillow which lulled her to sleep. The man reached his hand out to brush the hair back from her (s/t) complexion before cupping her jaw, leaning down to press his cold lips to her warm cheek which only grew warmer as her nose scrunched up a little and she turned her head into the pillow more.

"Go and get something to eat." She murmured and he hummed, almost not wanting to leave her. It was rare for him to see her so peaceful, he had stood in the doorway for a few minutes just to admire her reading before offering to spar earlier for this very same reason.

With reluctance, his hand fell from her warm skin and he vanished into the Venetian night.

[storytimefromthecreed]

The Assassins as Roommates: Christmas 2019

“Shoes? They’re wonderful! Many thanks.” Haytham returned to his seat beside Ziio, who’d gotten comfortable in the giant, quilted blanket she’d gotten. Draping it over them, Haytham held her hand beneath the folds, and Ziio leaned against him.

“They’re dancing shoes.” Edward joked, a twinkle in his eye as he gave Connor a shoulder.

“Since the genes seemed have skipped a generation, Father.” Was his grandson’s response, and they broke out in laughter.

“Burn, mate!” Jacob was clutching his sides, Alexios laughing beside him. They’d begun their game of White Elephant in the backyard. There was a chill in the air, snow on the ground, and a gray sky above them; and god were they happy. Ziio had started a bonfire nearby. There were similar set ups scattered around the backyard thanks to Claudia, Aveline, and Elise. Everyone had arrived. From Bayek to Desmond, from Aveline to Adewale, Assassins and Templars from around the world had joined for this time of year. The game was concluding it’s first round, the round where everyone opened the gifts, and was about to begin it’s second round, where the stealing of gifts began. The gift could be stolen only twice, then it was gone forever. Eyes darted as friends became foes, and enemies made truces.

“I’ll get those daggers if you help me get the cowboy hat.” Arno leaned in to Alexios, and Jacob pulled his boyfriend away.

“Aye, no cheating, mate. Besides, Alexios is helping me get Liam’s ropedarts, aren’t you, babe?” Alexios looked between the two and sunk lower in his seat. “Babe?!”

“I’ll have you know I dance wonderfully.” Haytham declared proudly, and looked to Ziio. “Right, dear?” Ziio’s eyes went wide and she looked at Connor, who’d begun laughing anew, clutching Edward for support.

“You dance wonderfully, dear.” Ziio assured loud enough for the other Kenways to hear and gave Haytham a kiss on the cheek to solidify the fact.

“All these relationships,” Altair voiced to Ezio, “Let’s hope the happy couples don’t take anything out on one another. However, I’d love to see what Claudia does to Yusuf.”

“You and I both.” Ezio laughed but then rose a brow. “Though I don’t like the way Maria is looking at you.”

Altair followed his line of sight and gulped. Maria pointed two fingers at her eyes and then back at her husband’s, and Altair, remembering his tardiness at his birthday, felt himself shrinking. “You and I both.”

“Time to steal!” Malik shouted. Those who loved their gifts tried hiding them behind themselves, behind other people, or making them seem uninteresting. Yusuf took Claudia’s hidden blades under his arms and pulled her near.

“I’ll protect you, Claudia.” He declared dramatically, kissing her cheeks and wrapping his scarf around her to protect her from undeserving eyes.

“Yusuf!” She could barely make out between laughing fits. Ezio eyed them, but said nothing. It appeared their relationship was growing on him.

“This spear? Not that great.” Alexios said with an eye roll.

“I can’t stand these hidden blades, if anyone would like a new set.” Shay said.

“Oh, we all know why you don’t want hidden blades.” Liam said under his breath, making Maria laugh.

“What was that?” Shay asked, and Liam looked around.

“Wouldn’t recommend this shield. I will do everyone a favor by hanging on to it.” Phillip sat on his shield, finally at eye level with Adewale.

“If anyone wants to take this axe, then I guess it’s fine.” Demetri leaned against Aveline, his newest crush. “I’ve seen better.” Both Gerard and Liam eyed it.

“Anyone touches my bow, you’re losing a limb.” Aveline secured it behind her back and Demetri nodded.

“I’ll steal from you, you steal it back?” Demetri winked and, for once, Aveline didn’t roll her eyes at him.

“Deal.” Demetri, who was number one, took her bow. Aveline was number three, so all she had to do was wait.

“Already lost one.” Malik grinned, and walked across the circle of gasping faces as he stole it from Demetri.

“The betrayals begin!” Elise shouted and Arno laughed, hushing her.

“Don’t incite a riot already.” He begged.

“Bet you won’t hit ‘em.” Maria yelled and then hid her face behind Altair’s shoulder.

“No!” Altair pulled her into his chest and held her before Malik. “If you’re going to start a fight, don’t come to me to end it! Take her, Malik! Take her!” Maria’s body shook, her mouth open, unable to draw breath from how hard she was laughing, slapping her hands weakly against his chest. Altair tucked her back into his chest, kissing her head and nestling around her. It was comical the way he had to hunch down to compensate for her smallness.

Malik puffed his chest. “Don’t call me Altair’s right hand man for nothing. Besides, I was quite the archer back in the day.”

“When you both arms, you mean?” Altair called from his place in between Maria and Desmond. Both buried their faces in their hands.

Malik snapped, “No, when my eyesight was bett- yes when I had two arms, you jerk!” Both men threw their heads back in laughter. No one understood their humor like they did.

Aveline sputtered, “Malik!” She handed it to him, and Demetri glared.

“You’re making a grave mistake, mon ami.” He said.

“It’ll be decoration for my study.” Malik chuckled, and bowed low. “We were getting a bit too chummy. The best gift of all, is your distress.”

Aveline was next, and she looked at Alexios’s spear. Alexios lost his spear but took Arno’s hookblades. Yusuf took Gerard’s dinosaur onesie. Gerard was happy to see it go and stole Phillip’s shield. Kassandra stole Adewale’s sweater.

“How will I fight if I’m freezing?” She explained, getting into it. “I’ve never lived anywhere this cold.”

“Kassandra,” Alexios now rethinking his gift groaned, “Switch with me.”

“I told you to bring your jacket!” Jacob removed his own and threw it over Alexios, wrapping him up in his arms.

Evie was fine with her jacket, and Henry took Jacob’s Captain’s hat. “Mate!” Jacob frowned.

“I’m the captain now.” Henry winked, placing it expertly on his head. Evie stuck a tongue at her brother.

Once everything was stolen, the scene looked a little like this. Elise spun nerf guns, Arno tilted a cowboy hat, Connor held the wanted axe. Edward stole the Captain’s hat and left Henry with a scarf. Ezio took the shield, Phillip a giant nerf gun, Demetri shoes, Gerard throwing knives. Alexios ended up with a belt, Maria a coat, Desmond a hood. Altair lost his mind when he saw him wear it, and Ezio cried real tears. Yusuf won a globe, Claudia new hidden blades, Bayek a watch, Aya a helmet. Finally, Shay a book, and Liam dual cutlasses.

The fight began as it did every year, with the frustrations of the past hour pushing them to pick targets. Connor ran after Haytham, per his tradition, and this year was aided with Adewale and Edward. Shay and Maria were mid-duel. Maria span, tricking Shay into loosening the hold on his sword and then elbowed him in the ribcage, straightened her arm, and held him at swordpoint. Scooping at handful of snow, Shay flung it at her face and Maria backed away to clear her vision.

Liam tackled Shay before he could smirk, and the two wrestled in a snowbank. Once vision was returned to Maria, she joined. Shay and Liam rolled into a standing position and were standing in front of one another. Maria ran, leapt, and used her shoulder to plow into Shay. Liam caught her by the waist before she could fall, and Shay, covered in snow, stared up at his laughing friends, giving high fives at their success.

Arno and Phillip were behind trees shooting each other, and whoever passed, with their nerf guns. Arno got Gerard in the face, but Gerard thought it was Phillip and took after him. “Gerard!” Phillip’s cries resounded the backyard. “Why would I hit you?”

Gerard paused, and eyed the tree Arno was hiding behind. “He went for the face, Gerard!” Arno snickered, calling from the tree he’d claimed as his outpost. Elise had joined him.

“The most sacred tenant is broken!” She called and Phillip, running past from Gerard, hurled a shelf of snow at them.

“Stop inciting riots!” He said, and swore to get back at Arno.

Aveline was in a fort with Desmond when Malik joined and she readied a snowball. But before he could receive it, Malik handed her the bow. “Merry Christmas, friend.” He said, and disappeared, leaving her spluttering.

“That Malik,” Desmond commented with a shake of his head. “What a guy.” He peeked over the fort and threw a snowball. Getting Yusuf at the back, Desmond hid behind the snow and laughed. Peeking out again, snickering at Yusuf’s confused face, Desmond threw another. Yusuf spun around, undoing his blades, and made a circle.

“Claudia?!” He called, “Ezio?!”

When his back was to Desmond, he threw another and ducked again. Aveline muffled her laughter in her sleeves, but Desmond couldn’t. Laughing, he looked over the fort wall once again, and found Yusuf was gone.

“Damn it!” Aveline hissed, her eyes darting side to side.

“He’s not by Liam,” Desmond observed, “not with the Kenways either.”

“Did you check behind you?” Yusuf asked, and the pair spun around. Aveline docked an arrow to her bow and shot a snowball destined for her. Desmond was not so lucky. But hey! The hood was awfully warm and took most of the impact. Yusuf danced off before they could retort.

Haytham and Ziio were behind a tree, Ziio peering around to glare at her son before ducking from the snowballs. “Leave me, dear.” Haytham sighed, “It’s me they want.”

“First, I’m not leaving you. Second, I’m not letting Ratonhkhake:ton best me. God! If only I had,” She eyed the branch above them, and smiled as a plan formulated. “Haytham, can you reach that?” Haytham reached his arm up and grabbed hold of the branch. Ziio instructed he bring it down, and piled it with snow.

Connor, Edward, and Adewale were waiting with bated breath and mischevious grins for Haytham’s hat to appear on the other side of the trees when they heard a whip. Snow, a blanket that filled the air white, was heading straight for them. Edward leapt in front of Connor, screaming, “No! Ratonhnhake:ton, no!” before hitting the earth. Snow hit Adewale’s face and got into his clothes, leaving him speachless from cold.

“How bad is it?” Edward croaked, throwing a hand over his forehead. Connor knelt in the snow beside him, and lowered his hood.

“You did not have to.”

Edward took his hand. “Of course I did.”

Connor smiled a sad smile. Then, Edward closed his eyes, his lips moving. “I can not hear you, Grandfather.” Connor frowned, leaning in.

“I said, I’m leaving you.”

“Please, do not, Grandfather.”

“I must, dear boy.” Edward coughed.

“Please, do not leave me.”

“I will always be with you. For now I must go, because....” He coughed and Connor leaned in closer. “It’s fucking cold as hell, and I’ve got snow in my under trousers.” Connor rolled his eyes and helped Edward up. He pat Connor’s back. “Avenge me, grandson. Also, do you take marshmellows in your hot chocolate?” Connor nodded, “There’s a good lad.” Then Edward went inside.

“Dramatic Kenways!” Malik called, and fought off Kassandra who was trying to steal Altair’s Santa hat. He wanted to wear it!

Evie and Henry were mid battle with Jacob and Alexios. “Freaking Kenways!” Jacob yelled from the other side of the backyard before Henry threw a snowball at him and caught him in the face. “Greenie! What the hell? I thought we were in this together?”

“I’m not a Frye, Jacob!”

“Yes, you are!”

Evie interjected, still fighting Alexios. “Jacob! I took his name! Remember? You were at the wedding!”

Jacob rolled past Henry’s guard and clipped him between the shoulders. Training with Elise and Alexios had really improved his swordsmanship, and he looked betrayed. “I thought there was one fake Frye in this backyard. Turns out there’s two.”

“Do you take French Fryes?” Demetri called, leaping over Malik’s shoulders and landing in a somersault bringing their duel to a halt as he ran through. Claudia and Desmond were hot on his trail.

Ziio and Haytham were still high fiving, celebrating their victory. Connor shook his head and threw on his hood. Haytham grinned, and Ziio formed a ‘L’ with her thumb and finger. “It seems I have lost both parents in this battle.” Connor glared, and his mother dropped her smile.

“What was that, Ratonhnhake:ton?”

Connor’s heart fell and he put his hands up. “Mother, I was joking. It was a joke.” Ziio emerged from the trees, and Adewale backed away.

Connor looked between Adewale and Haytham. “Ziio, maybe we should-” But she shot him such a look, Connor understood why he closed his mouth. Connor bolted. Aya, who was wrestling Bayek for his fort, saw this and took after with Ziio. Aveline joined them, always did love beating up on Connor.

“Greenie! After all we’ve been through?” Jacob sparred Henry, but Evie ducked under his arm and came to stop the blow. “Evie!”

Evie circled his sword, causing him to almost drop it, but Alexios took his boyfriend behind him and battled both. “Got your back, baby.”  

“I’m both embarrassed and turned on.” Jacob grinned, and Henry dropped his sword.

“Hand to hand?” He offered, and Jacob tossed his sword, readying his fists.

“This I can do. Love ya, Greenie!”

“Arno, you bastardo!” Ezio yelled, tossing snow over his shoulder but without a good eye on his target, it was just for show.

“Mon ami, admit you were wrong!” Arno yelled back.

“You overseasoned! I will not lie to aid your delusions!” Foam bullets pelted the tree. “Stop hiding, coward! Face me!” Ezio called over his shoulder. Arno was pinning him against the far side of the backyard, and if he didn’t break from this then he’d be taken out by Yusuf and Kassandra who rolling tree to tree and getting closer.

A rustling at his side made him jump, and Maria landed beside him. “Which one do you want?”

“Yusuf.”

“They’ll be expecting you to take him, so I’ll rush Yusuf first, then switch to the Spartan.”

“All well, Maria, but how are we going to get past their shooter?”

Maria smirked then formed a gun with her fingers, and blew on it. “I’ve got shooters of my own.” As if on cue, the shooting stopped as Arno was contending with Phillip. Demetri, you see, had been creating the pretense that he was Phillip poorly shooting at Arno while the real Phillip sneaked to Arno’s side and was now exacting his revenge on him. They didn’t call him the Shadow for nothing. Phillip truly was a ghost, his ability to disappear made him a great asset.

Confused over the sudden stop of their cover, Yusuf and Kassandra readied themselves for anything. Maria and Ezio charged.

Desmond, Claudia, and Elise were fighting Liam, Shay, and Bayek. “Keep you stance open, Desmond.” Bayek coached, and Desmond did as instructed.

“You’re on our side!” Shay tossed snow in the air as a cover for Liam, who ran through and landed in between Elise and Claudia. Not taken by surprise, Claudia circled around him and placed herself between him and Elise. With a swift kick, she pushed him to his side. Elise rolled over her back and landed with a kick of snow, blinding him.

“I’m on everyone’s side!” Bayek laughed, dueling Desmond who jumped and spun, catching him on the forearms. Bayek pushed him back, and congratulated him. “Beautifully done, Desmond. Keep your back low when you land. Don’t want to become a target yourself.”

“Thanks, Bayek.” Desmond smiled.

“Who wants to trade for Bayek? Connor? Altair? Anyone!” Shay called to anyone who would listen. He was trying to get to Liam, but Claudia and Elise were keeping him at bay.

“It’s only a game, Shay.”

“Don’t say that too loudly.” Aya leapt into Bayek’s arms, and he dropped his sword to spin her around. It landed with a tiny crunch in the snow.

“Ready to go inside?” He carried her easily, and she rolled from his hold. “I find myself longing for hot chocolate by the fireplace.”

“After this one battle, promise.” Leaving him with a kiss on his cheek, Bayek fondly watched her run off. “She always says that.” He said dreamily.

Desmond clapped his back. “I wouldn’t mind heading in myself.”

“Would you like me to carry you?” Desmond thought about it a moment, and then nodded. Scooping him up, they went inside.

“What’s wrong with Desmond? Is he hurt?” Altair cried, kicking back Alexios.

“Desmond’s hurt?” Ezio sparred Kassandra, ignoring the snow pelting him.

“He’s just being funny.” Maria sighed, stopping her duel against Yusuf to adjust Altair’s Santa hat. Ezio and Altair nodded, but kept a sharp eye on Desmond.

Tried of his antics, Claudia fell Shay by lowering herself in the snow and kicking a leg at his shin. Liam, seeing his fellow fighters were ended, accepted the snowball to the face.

The battle raged until their fingers, toes, ears, and noses were pink, cold, and running. Edward had hot chocolate ready when they came inside. Connor threw a blanket over his parents, nestling in with his father on one side and Aveline on the other. Aya sat beside Ziio and showed her how to care for her new hidden blades. Elise, Aveline, and Phillip were laughing and giggling, their conversation flowing from English to French and back again. Demetri sat gazing at Aveline. Arno and Ezio were with Desmond, under their own blanket, going back and front on sports. Jacob and Alexios with Altair and Maria were taking pictures under the mistletoe, interchanging couples and striking silly poses. Alexios lifted Altair, and Altair threw a hand to his forehead, swooning. Seeing this, Adewale and Yusuf joined them. He lifted Yusuf in the same manner.

Henry gave a cup to Malik, deep in conversation of the Creed with Evie and Shay. Liam was congratulating Kassandra and Claudia in battle, then asked for lessons.  The sun had fallen and their spirits were never higher. It was a wonderful Christmas indeed.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Day 3 : Kiss - Ezio Auditore

“Come on, Kat, it’s gonna be fun, I promise!” Claudia whined, holding both of my hands, looking up at me with puppy eyes. “No, Claudia, it’s not gonna be fun. I don’t want to have a joint birthday party. I know your birthday is on January 2nd, and mine on the 3rd, but...But come on, I’m so used to people forgetting about my birthday, it’s not even fun anymore. I’m sure it’s just gonna be you who remembers, and the rest would just celebrate your birthday or something, so what’s the point?” I sigh, plopping on the bed, hanging my head in disappointment. “Hmm...Okay, how about this! Let’s make a party this weekend, now that December finally started and it was the 1st snow already? It’s just gonna be the two of us, Federico, Ezio and Petruccio, and my house. It’s family! And it’s gonna be okay to get drunk, nobody’s gonna judge, right? Federico and Ezio get drunk ALL the time and nobody bats an eye, and besides, Petruccio is finally 18 and he is legal to drink! So many great things happening this year!” the younger girl chirped in glee, making me groan and lay on the bed completely. “I don’t know what to say...Not my best year.” I smile sardonically, looking up at her. “Oh, fuck that, he was a shithead and you know it! Everybody knows it! He was nothing and WILL be nothing! You deserve a break from all this...This mess, okay? You deserve to be happy and have someone who loves you! And let me tell you, Ezio is head over heels with you! -...Wait...Shit, I shouldn’t have told you that...Urgh.” she facepalmed and started mildly panicking, before giggling awkwardly. “Ezio...The guy who sleeps around and stuff...? Who doesn’t flirt with me or shows even the smallest hint...? Likes me...? Spare me, Claudia. I know he’s your brother, but...Just because he’s your family, doesn’t make him right for me.” I shake my head, getting up, ready to leave the room, but she stops me. “Wait, no, don’t go, please! Look, this was supposed to be a secret, okay? Ezio has been into you since you started hanging out with me and I kept telling you how nice you are, showed him your Facebook and Instagram, would sometimes show him our snaps and so on...I overheard him asking Federico for advice 2 years ago. It’s just...He’s trying to learn more about you so you won’t dislike him, but he’s very shy about actually being himself around you. And he hasn’t been whoring around, actually. So, uhm...If you decide to come over...The party is this Saturday, bring sweets, please. I’ll make sure to make your favourite shots.” she explaiend before letting go of my arm, letting me go home, able to overthink all my life choices.

Should I go? I mean...Ezio IS a lovely person, or at least, that’s what I could see. But so were my Ex’s, at the beginning, and it was all a facade, making everything go down in the flames of hell.

Why must decisions be so complicated?

-----

I get over my shyness and go buy some cookies from the bakery and make my way over to the Auditore Villa, where I had to stay for about 5 minutes in front of the door to convince myself to go for it... So I put my hand on the handle and get in, being greeted by the beautiful smell of Italian cuisine, namely, Pizza.

I go in the kitchen slowly, feeling not very welcomed, but I see the Auditores drinking wine together waiting for the Pizza to get cooked.  They all looked so merry and cheerful together...What the hell was I even doing here, intruding in a family party? What an idiot...

I turned around to slowly make my presence unobserved, but that couldn’t happen because Ezio raised from the table in shock, saying my name a little louder than preferable, making everyone’s attention focus on me.

“Katrina, cara mia, what are you doing here?” Ezio asked, making his way to me. “Uhm...I brought cookies?” I said unsure of myself, looking away. “I asked her to come for our party! I bet you’re happy I did, right, guys?!” she grinned at us, but I could only shoot her a very poisonous glare. “Si, of course we are happy Kat is here! The room suddenly became much brighter!” Ezio cheered, bringing me to the table, letting me sit between me and Claudia. “Uh...Right...Whatever you say.” I mutter, putting the bag of cookies on the table and biting my lip at how awkward I felt, not exactly knowing what to say or do. “Aww, Kat, I’m so happy you are here! Hey, Federico, make the B52 shots, Kat is here so we can celebrate and do party games!” Claudia cheered, making me sweatdrop. “Food first, then alcohol. You’ll just end up sick and with a nasty hangover.” I shrug, trying to look out for her. “Experience?” Petruccio asked in a shy voice. “Yes. Others’ experience. Makes for a ton of entertaining material, if you ask me.” I chuckle softly, only able to gaze in Claudia’s direction. “And what great timing, the pizza’s ready!” Federico chuckled already putting the pizza on the table - One pizza for him, one for Claudia and Petruccio...And one for me and Ezio. Am I reading too much into it, or is there a conspiracy theory going on here? “Ezio did these. He’s the best at making pizza out of everyone here.” Claudia winked, making me roll my eyes in annoyance. “Sure, but I’m the best at Pasta, you can’t deny that.” Federico chuckled, making Ezio laugh.  “Well...Guess Claudia was right. You did a nice job with this.” I admitted in shock at how great it was, especially compared to the ones at pizzerias or restaurants. “100% Italian quality right here, baby!” he fist pumped, making me let out an amused breath. “Bring the shots! Shot! Shot! Shot! Shot!” Claudia chants, getting joined by Petruccio, while I looked at her with amusement, one of my eyebrows raised in confusion. “Someone’s rather enthusiastic to get drunk. But fine, be that way.”

We went to the living-room, on the carpet, waiting in a circle for Federico to come with the chocolate shots already so we can play our party games, which was basically Truth or Dare for the most part, but we were so lazy or tipsy from the high intake of alcohol (SOME of us) that we preferred to just play Truth or Truth, so we won’t have to get up.

It seems though that Claudia and Petruccio couldn’t hold their liqueur at all, so they became sick and had to go to the bathroom and puke, while Federico, despite being close to drunk himself, had to go take care of them, while I remained wobbly, humming to myself some random songs that came into my mind while cleaning up some of the mess that we made, only to notice that Ezio remained behind as well.

“What are you singing, bella?” he asked randomly, making me turn around at him in slight confusion. “Uh...Just some Christmas songs, I guess. My friends keep singing them, you hear them on the radio too...Kinda got them stuck in mind head, I s’ppose.” I shrug, looking away from him, busying myself as a way to not look rude. “May I ask you something, Kat?” Ezio asks, getting in front of me and resting his arm on the table, looking straight at me. “Uhm...What is it?” I mutter, feeling awkward as hell. “Have you been avoiding me? Have I done something that annoyed you so much that you act so cold with me?” he asked with the most serious, yet puppy looking face I’ve ever seen on him. “I-I didnt avoid you, okay? And if I did, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” I tried to reason with him, but he only shook his head and sighed. “I may be tipsy, but I’m not stupid, Kat. If something that I’m doing is bothering you, then I’d like you to tell me so I can stop, okay?” Ezio pressed the subject, making me rake my fingers through my hair. “Okay, fine, look...I will be straight with you, I guess. I’ve been pondering a lot of things this week and...My head hurts like hell because of it, I have to admit. Claudia invited me to this party just before she let it slip that you have a crush on me or something and since Monday I’ve been trying to sort out my feelings and judgement, and honestly, I don’t know what to say or do. So yeah, sorry for being cold and distant, it wasn’t on purpose or anything, I have nothing against you.” I bit my lip in annoyance, not really up for a heart-to-heart conversation with a person that makes my heart feel like it has a panic attack. “Claudia told me about what happened with those jerks in the past. I can only imagine how bad it would be for you and I can only imagine how bad it must have hurt you that it made you not believe in true love anymore. Before she told me about it, I wanted to try my chance and ask you out very soon, but what chance do I have with someone like you?” he chuckled as his cheeks got faintly pinker. “Uhm...Shouldn’t it be the other way around?” I snorted in mock-amusement, but it made him shake his head vehemently, gripping my shoulders. “You, cara mia, are an amazing person, okay? Beautiful, smart, talented, funny, kind? Literally so perfect? And I’m what? A guy with a pretty face, fabulous hair and a bad reputation.” he shrugged dramatically, making me stifle my laugh. “I don’t know, Ezio, the last guy told me he dated me out of pity. I’m not sure where my self-esteem lies anymore, you feel me?” I give him a self-deprecating half-smile, but it only caused his expression to change from dramatic to offended. “Oddio santo, if I ever see that guy, he’s dead. How dare he treat such a beautiful soul like that? If anything else, you were with him out of pity!” he spoke out, shaking his head. “To be fair...I never actually loved any of my ex’s. Is that sad? I don’t know. You think you like someone, but then you realise that you just made yourself like the person for the sake of a relationship and...When you get to the point when you just want to get the hell out of it, you realise that it was all for nothing. It’s pretty sad, y’know?” I confess, looking away, but from the corner of my eye I could see him nodding slightly. “I know I’m basically out of your league, but would you let me show you that true love exists? Would you allow me to help you believe in it again?” Ezio leans in closer to me, one of his hands on my face, caressing it gently, as I leaned into his touch by reflex, as he let out an amused, adoring breath. “I mean...What’s the worst thing that could happen anyways? It can’t get any worse than what I’ve already been through, so...Okay, Ezio, do your magic.” I smile timidly, looking away. “Trust me, mi fiore, I won’t make regret it.” he ushered as he cupped my face and leaned in, planting a long and loving kiss on my lips, as I could only put my hands on his chest, too out of it to know what to do. “W-Well...I’m pretty sure I won’t regret it.” I managed to say after a while. “Oh~? Did you like that, Kitten?” Ezio teased me, as I could only chuckle shyly, nudging him slightly. “Hey, I mean, compared to my first kiss, that was a tongue-forced one, in front of a public toilet...This was heavenly, okay?” I cover my mouth with my hand as I laugh at the stupid memory, only to have my hand snatched away and kissed by the Italian boy. “And it will only get better from here on. Also, I’m so happy Claudia told Federico about that shot mix, ‘cause chocolate tastes so good on your lips.” he smirks, but he wasn’t expecting me putting my hands on his neck to steal a quick kiss from him, leaving him stunned and blushing. “Awww, I guess I have competition, ‘cause you sure tasted so damn sweet too~.” I wink at him playfully before chuckling at how adorable he looked. “Ay ay ay, cara mia, you’re going to be the death of me.” was the last thing he could say before we went to check on the others, who apparently all fell asleep.

I suppose...Sometimes it’s nice to face your fears and be brave in your decision to take risks and have such a nice win.

And so much more free, 100% genuine Italian pizza!

[creednight]

No Place Like Home

Yes, you read that right. This is Chapter 11. Chapter 10 here. Don’t get too excited I’m just getting back into this. So have a filler.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

    You wake with a start and glance at the clock next to your bed. “It’s 6 in the morning!” 

    The door creaks open and you hear Connor’s laughter. “It’s spring break, I’m back. Let’s go.”

    “Where?” you sit up and ruffle your hair. “And why so early?”

    “I have lots of stuff planned,” he kneels beside the bed and places a hand on it. “The Jeep is all packed, I made some snacks, everyone else will join us this afternoon. But this morning is you and I.”

    “Oooh,” you wiggle your brows at him. His face reddens and he uses his hands to cover his cheeks. “I’m kidding!”

    “I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he gets to his feet in seconds before dashing out her door. 

    A smile grows on your face at his antics. You fall back on your bed with a happy sigh before rolling out of bed and getting ready for the day. You sort through your closet pulling out clothes for all situations. Since it’s supposed to be hot out, you pull on your bathing suit under some shorts, a loose tank top and a light cardigan. 

    You grab a beach bag from below your bed and fill it with clothes, socks, sandals, sunscreen, your water bottle and anything else you deem necessary and head out. 

    In the kitchen, Connor avoids eye contact but slides a plate with half a large breakfast sandwich on it and nods at you to take it. He holds up his to yours before taking the biggest bite you’ve ever seen. 

    “Where are we going first?” you ask as he grabs his keys and marches towards the door. You notice he doesn’t look tired and it makes you frown. “Why are you used to waking up so early? Do you ever sleep in?”

    “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” he replies between food. 

    You stop in your tracks, as funny as you think it is, for some reason it hits you harder than you expected. In the doorway, you watch him hustle down the steps wondering why it bugs you. He pauses at the bottom and turns back, his dark eyes light and playful turn serious when he sees the look on your face. 

    He’s back in an instant. “What’s wrong?”

    “I-I don’t know,” you blink at him. “Sorry, I got sad all of a sudden.”

    “I was kidding,” he brings to fingers to pretend to pinch your nose. “I won’t die on you, (y/n).”

    You blush at your overreaction. “I know. Come on, let’s go already.”

    He grins, takes your bag and jogs over to the car. You follow him with a little more pep in your step and climb in the passenger side without a care in the world. Connor takes the driver’s seat and off you two go. He plays the radio and time seems to fly by, one second it’s 6:30 and the next it’s 8 and you’re staring at the most beautiful mountainside. 

    “You want me to hike?” you groan as he opens your door. 

    “It’s a short hike,” he laughs. 

    You can’t help but laugh as well and follow his lead as he pulls on his hiking pack and marches towards the trail. The sun shines down on the two of you as you watch the scenery change and grow bigger. Animals skirt the edges of the dirt trail, birds cry out overhead and you hear the sounds of a river nearby. 

    After all that excitement, fresh air makes you feel lighter and happier. Connor tells you about the land, teaching you tricks to find your way when you’re lost and how to pick trees that are easy to climb. He passes you snacks along the way and stops for water breaks every half hour until you reach a spot with a gorgeous view. 

    “Whoa,” you whisper as trees fill your vision and a lake gleams in the distance. “This is so beautiful.”

    “I like to hang around out here sometimes,” Connor digs around in his pack. “Stand over there, I’m going to take a picture.”

    “Only if you take a selfie with me,” you retort. 

    “Yes ma’am,” he responds with his camera ready. 

    He gets his photos and you pulls him to your side and hold up the phone. You twist and turn it, trying to get his large frame in. “Why are you built like this? Were you a large baby?”

    He bursts out laughing and takes your phone from you. “I’m not telling.”

    His angles work much better and you guys head back down the trail. With the day just starting, you find yourself smiling bigger and bigger. He takes you kayaking around in a large lake, another walk and then to town for lunch. By the time it’s 1, he finally takes you in the direction of the beach. 

    “The others have a spot, they’re excited to see you,” he explains. 

    “You mean, Ezio and Jacob are excited to see me,” you laugh. 

    He rolls his eyes. “And Evie, and Arno.”

    “It’s going to be great!”

    “(y/n), love!” Jacob waves you over to their line of towels. “Get your clothes, we’re going to play volleyball.”

    “That’s not how you get a woman’s clothes off, you animal,” Ezio glares at Jacob. He gets to his feet and trots over, giving you a full view of his delicious body. “You have to do it like this.”

    Connor steps in front of you, blocking the italian from getting to you. “Let’s just have some fun, right? No need to get (Y/N)’s clothes off.”

    “But that’s part of the fun!” Arno hoots while holding up a volleyball. “Who’s playing?”

    You’ve never seen so many grown men try to outdo each other so hard in your life. All the muscles attract hordes of people to the match as they run around and smack the ball. Ezio and Jacob strike the most ridiculous of poses to get you to look at their bodies for as long as possible. Connor is a beast at the game, he stands at the height of the net and blocks any attempts of a spike.

    You and Evie dip out an hour into their repeated challenges and head into the water. It’s so nice to feel the waves push and pull around you. Evie stays close and then tugs you along as the men arrive to cause a commotion. 

“Gotcha,” Ezio pulls you close and hoists you above his shoulder. “I got her boys!”

“Hold up,” Jacob comes up and pulls you from Ezio onto his shoulder after a nice shove to the chest. “I have her.”

“No, no, no,” Arno walks up and pinches Jacob’s nipple. While the british man is in pain, he picks up (Y/N) and holds her bridal style. “Come with me.”

He turns around and you bump into Connor. His dark eyes gleam in the sunlight as he glares down at Arno, arms crossed over his toned chest. You giggle as Arno places you in his waiting hands. Your skin, already on fire from being handled by everyone, turns electric as Connor holds you in his embrace. 

“Actually,” Evie taps Connor on the shoulder. “My turn.”

He tenses at her icy stare and passes you with no argument. 

A blush forms on your face as Evie’s arms hold you with surprising strength and she presses a kiss to your cheek. “There we go.”

    The boys start a playful brawl in the water that leaves you drenched and feeling weaker than ever. Eventually the sun starts to go down so everyone starts to pack up. Connor gets your things situated while you change into comfy clothes and buys you a fruity drink from a stand. 

    Dinner is a breeze of laughter and stories you can’t believe happened and how any of the people, Evie included, are alive. Your eyes begin to droop and one by one your roommate head out to their cars. They give your cheeks a peck as they walk by Connor’s Jeep, Jacob tries to prolong it, but Evie pulls him away to have her turn. Ezio winks after his and Arno goes for your forehead. 

    “They’re really testing the waters,” Connor comments while opening your door. “Come on, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

    “That was so much fun today,” you slur while climbing in. 

    Connor buckles you in, as if you were a child, and rounds the car to get in. “I’m glad you had fun.”

    “I still have a week of break left, you know,” you remind him with a yawn. 

    “Today is all I had,” he laughs. 

    The drive home is a blurr for you. Connor plays gentle music in the background and hums along while you fall in and out of sleep. Once home, you feel his arms encircle you and lift you out of the car, again like you’re a child, and takes you into the house. Murmurs sounds from all around, but you can’t tell who is who. 

    Finally you feel the warm gentleness of your bed and you smile. “Connor?”

    “Hmm?”

    You sit up, waving your arms at him to come closer, and grab his face. You peck both cheeks and smile. “Thank you so much.”

    “Anything for you, (Y/N),” he whispers back and you feel some warmth on your cheek. “Get some rest.”

    You think you say something but you’re passed out by the time your head hits your pillow with a smile on your face.

[lady-byleth]

Alright so, how about that Legacy DLC, huh?

If we ignore the obvious heteronormative, straight washing, completely backwards issues we've been pissed about since it dropped...It's still a really bad DLC

And I don't just say this because I'm biased but the entire story just feels wonky, like it belongs in a completely different genre

Not just game, genre

For one, most of us will play this after the main chest is done and yet there's absolutely no mention of our decisions in it. I saved everyone, the entire family, and brought them together - hell, they're on my goddamn ship - and yet the only mention made of them is that "I have no family"

It's not impossible to switch dialogue depending on how far into the main chest someone is, other games do it all the time

Second, I don't remember Kassandra (or Alexios for that matter, but I play as Kassandra, and she is the canon protagonists, so I'll use her) ever mentioning anything about wanting children. And yet that's apparently her biggest wish now.

Darius, as a character, is great. He has a sort of feel to him that reminds me of Altair in his old age, and those vibrant eyes could have been a great set up to explore eagle vision some more to tie him into the overreaching lore.

Instead, he's just a catalyst for Kassandra to meet his son, a cardboard character with little to no personality whose only motivation seems to be to stare at Kassandra longingly - which, fair, I do that too - and be conflicted about the Order.

And then, after a few conversations, we're not only supposed to believe him leaving Greece leaves Kassandra so shaken she'd break into tears, but that she'd settle down with what are basically two complete strangers? Please.

And the whole child business...I mean, come on! Even outside of the incredibly forced romance they tried to push on us, it's just a bad choice. Kassandra is a mercenary with a giant target painted on her back, she tried to keep Phoibe out of everything to protect her and has been through nothing but pain with her own family

And you're trying to tell me that she's willingly put a child into the world, be vulnerable for several months while pregnant, while potentially both the Cult and the Order are after her? To preserve the bloodline, something she's never been concerned with before?

Wanting a quiet life yes or no, there are realistic choices a person can make and everything that happens in the first two episodes goes completely against what was previously established about Kassandra.

And don't even get me started on episode 3, which started out so badly I just flat out refuse to keep playing it.

None of this has anything to do with Assassin's Creed at this point. Darius alone would have made for a great way to incorporate story elements we've been waiting to explore since Ezio collected the assassin seals in Italy.

Darius has been a legendary assassin for so long, why not let us meet him, help him unravel the secrets of the Order while we conduct our own investigation into who exactly he is and what he's done? And after working with him to stop the Order, he tells us about everything he's done, gives us the hidden blade, and let's us carry on the Legacy. Can even use the title of the DLC, don't need to change that.

Why make another family drama out of it - which the base game had and handled brilliantly - instead of actually tying up some plot threats we've been literally waiting 10 years to see?

The switch from the base games great writing and character exploration to the DLCs wonky, rushed and over all bad romance plot - and it is a romance plot, even with the changes allegedly made because just adding a heart and removing a kiss doesn't change the whole attempted and failed romantic tension that only ended up being loads of awkward silences - is so jarring, it feels like I booted up a completely different game

It's frankly insulting that they put this on the market. It left such a sour taste in my mouth I quit the DLC and went on to the other without finishing it. I was actually a little sick of Kassandra after seeing her act so out of character, and I hate that because when she was first introduced she meant the world to me

Long story short...This is a really bad DLC and I regret spending any money on it at all.

[teecupangel]

Oh my gosh!!!!!! I didn’t know you had personal beef with chocorooms 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 that’s amazing tho. I think the bamboo ones would be good too (*), and the chocorooms satisfy an old ‘I want to eat the mushrooms from Star Fox Adventures’ urge, lol, but I think the hello pandas are my favorite of the two. But I do like them both better then pocky. Pocky chocolate is too dark for me, I am a milk chocolate only kinda boi, or like…. Light dark chocolate, lol.

Hmmmm, random headcanons time:

I think Desmond would like Reese’s best maybe. But I think he would like most sweets, cause that was probably something he didn’t get a lot of as a kid. Very much so one of those thing he splurges on and tries everything new he sees.

And Altaïr would like… Snickers Bars, but I think he would be weird and put salt on them to be edgy. (I mean it’s probably good but he looks like a dummy, and Malik doesn’t let him live it down.) or like, salted caramel chocolate bars.

And Ezio would like… chocolate covered strawberries (or maybe those Brookside chocolate covered Açaí & Blueberry’s)

And Conner would like… for some reason I think he would those Big Reese’s with the pretzels in them…(Ok wait…. Wait, so like, your Project Eurydice Conner, bb Conner with one… maybe this is what I was thinking of the whole time, it’s probably way too big for him cause like they only come in king size, and those suckers are huge even for me!) But I also think maybe just a plain chocolate bar, but like fancy chocolate. Like, not just a plain old Hershey’s you know?

(*this got too long to put in the middle of that paragraph, oof:

I live in the Midwest of the US, so it’s hard to get anything here, all Japanese candies and snacks are usually in specialty stores that are expensive or like you have to order them, the chocorooms are available in most places tho so thats what I got🤪 even like… manga and stuff is only just catching up to the popularity it’s received in the rest of the country these last couple years, which is nice cause I’ve read manga since I was a teen, but like it should have been way sooner. I feel like I’m all over the place, but have you read any of the AC manga or comics?? I see them when I go to B&N now and I’m slightly tempted to pick up a volume but I’m not sure… also like, I am running low on book space lmao.) I shrunk these notes so hopefully it doesn’t make the ask too long, sorry if it’s weird lol.

(I wrote this ask… for SO long…. snacks are a serious subject. How did my chocolate ask get so long🙃)

AC Chocolate Headcanons!

I agree that Desmond would like most sweets and would be open to eating any and every sweet he sees. Honestly, I see Desmond preferring something with a burst of flavor and texture like Reese, like you said. I also like to think he likes packs with a variety of flavors like Skittles or Nerds (the duo pack or the rainbow ones)

Altaïr feels like someone who prefers something less sweet and more... not dark, just less sweet? Like Dairy Milk Salted Caramel maybe? Or something like Kitkat or Mars or Snickers. Something that is less chocolate and more chocolate-coated wafer.

Ezio would enjoy giving people those chocolates that has booze in them, just for fun. He'll try any chocolate and he says he doesn't have a favorite but his favorite would be something he can share with people like Toblerone or Pocky because he grew up with siblings and it's better to share snacks than try to eat everything before they get it. (He definitely tries to make people do the Pocky game with him because he thinks it'll be fun and he likes seeing people's reactions)

Connor's favorite chocolate is the chocolate cupcake his mom makes sometimes. When they want to be fancy, they put a small pretzel on the icing with crushed pretzels too. In general, I can see him liking chocolate with nuts in it?

============ AC Manga/Comics ============

I actually only have one AC comics at the moment. With all the AC merchs available, I had to prioritize because... money is finite. Anyway, I prioritized on any and all artbooks + cheap 2nd hand guides for the Desmond Saga 'cause I like artbooks.

BUT I do have the Reflections comics and I think it's nice. There are different versions, but this one (Amazon link) have all four volumes. It's like a mini-story with each volume focus on a different ancestor:

Ezio's volume is about how he knew the model for Mona Lisa

Altaïr's volume is how Darim assassinated Genghis Khan together with the Mongolian Brotherhood

Connor's volume is about his daughter who is so precious

and Edward's volume is about his ship getting boarded while he was underwater

Personally, I think it's worth it if you like any of the ancestors.

I personally like Connor's volume because, again, his daughter is adorable af and she can connect to her eagle like the protagonists of Layla's Trilogy.

I do love Altaïr's volume because I'm a sucker for the Ibn-La'Ahad boys and look at how cool Darim is:

The manga I only know of is mainly the Shao Jun mangas? I don't have that though so I can't know how canonically it is. The other comics usually focus on non-AC game protagonist characters and I can't say anything about them because I haven't read them. One of them does include how Juno dies though XD

============ Personal Choco Preferences ============

It's not a personal beef. I like chocorooms too. I just believe in chocoboos/chocoshoots supremacy. XD

Oh yes. Hello Pandas are the best. The way you bite into it and all the flavor just bursts into your mouth. That's waaayyy better. (disclaimer: I do prefer milk or strawberry flavor)

I prefer strawberry pocky XD. To be fair, I like strawberries in general so I tend to pick strawberry flavored snacks when they're available.

[reddeaddamnation]

Imagine: Living with the Assassins and Templars

You were awoken by the smell of freshly fried eggs and bacon. It was Evie’s turn to cook and even though she cooked marvelously, for some reason every time she did it, the entire house smelt of the meal. That wasn’t enough to make you wake up though... From the room above yours, Edward was trying out his new stereo system by playing tavern party songs at max volume. You looked at your clock and it displayed 9 AM. “What the hell is Edward doing up so early anyway?” you thought angrily. You rubbed the sleep away from your eyes and slowly got up from bed, staring at the wall for several moments, before actually standing up. You got dressed in a plain t-shirt and sweatpants and yawning, you walked out of your room. The house was big enough for everyone to live in, as it had three floors with three rooms (yours being on the second floor) on each, excluding the kitchen and two bathrooms. 

In the hallway, you bumped into Arno, who was holding a mug of coffee, still in his pajamas and looking like he is barely keeping his eyes open. “Good morning!” you exclaimed, a bit startled. He looked at you and gave a weak smile “Morning.” before continuing to drag his legs towards the kitchen. You followed him, careful not to push him, because you were afraid even the slightest touch could send him tumbling down. 

Bayek was helping Evie with the cooking and the two argued politely about how it was Evie’s job today and how Bayek had to help her with something at least. Shay was reading a newspaper and every so often he burst out laughing at something. “You gotta read this ‘Keeping a pet cat could be potentially more dangerous than keeping a wild animal’! Who the hell comes up with these?” Ezio scoffed from across the table “The fault isn’t in the person who sells the pie, but in the one who buys it.” Aya, who was playing on her phone and laughing at the headlines along with Shay snickered “Yeah. If people stop believing that shit, the publishers might actually stop making more of it.”. Jacob sipped the last of his coffee and put the mug on the table with a loud sigh, after which he stood up and grabbed his phone “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the office.” he notified and quickly strolled down the corridor to the bathroom and locked himself inside for the next quarter of an hour as he usually does and right when you had decided to take a shower. Evie glared at him as he walked, stunned and angry as always by his vulgarity. The main problem of the household was the limited amount of bathrooms and every morning was a true game of thrones for everyone, as they raced and argued who should be first and ending up waiting in line. 

“Morning, everyone.“ you greeted and sat down on a chair across from Shay, who was sipping coffee from behind the paper. “Shay, mate, the stereo is better than ever!“ Edward exclaimed loudly, bursting in suddenly “Just imagine setting it up in your new car!“ Shay looked up, beaming up, but you cut him off before he could say anything “We know, Edward, everyone heard it three blocks away.“ you rolled your eyes. “Okay, listen, listen.“ Ezio proposed “We should try it out now!“ Shay and Edward looked at each other “Yeah, let’s hope Des and Clay wake up by the time we set it up. They’d hate to miss it.“ Edward grinned and in the next minute the three of them strolled out of the kitchen at once. “Aya! You coming?“ Edward called. “You know it!“ Aya beamed and stood up, bidding farewell to the rest of you in the kitchen. 

At the doorway, they bumped into Connor, who was coming back from his morning jog. That man woke up earliest and went to bed latest. You wondered how he did it. They greeted each other, before Connor walked up the stairs to change clothes. “What’s the big deal about an ordinary stereo anyway?” Evie rolled her eyes, flipping a pancake with a spatula. “You know how those three are. Always wanting to be noticed.” Bayek answered. Arno was looking better now that he has had his coffee and occupied himself with checking his thousand social media accounts and making sure to update on every one of them. “FUCK” was heard from the living room and you recognized the voice as Altair’s. He was playing video games again and you knew better than to disturb him while he was in the zone... You and Evie shared a look and returned to what you were doing.

About a half an hour later, the loud music was heard coming from outside now, meaning that they did a good job at plugging the stereo in the car’s system. After a series of “No! Put it there!”, “Wrong hole again!” or “Damn it! It’s not working!”, the group cheered as the song started playing. It was about that time when Desmond and Clay finally decided to join you, but quickly changed their minds when they saw what was going on outside. “Hey, guys, what’s all the commotion abo- WHAAAT IS THAT!” and with that, they ran outside and joined the others, followed by Daniel who glared at them as he went down the stairs and joined you in the kitchen to get his coffee. “Is Haytham overworking himself again?” you asked and Daniel nodded a yes. Noticing his grumpy attitude, you sighed, realizing the reason for it and asked “The usual?” Daniel nodded again, understanding your question “This time it was Cross puns until 3 AM. And a spider.” he explained.

All of a sudden fiery Irish curses could be heard from outside after a few unsuccessful tries to start up the car, angry voices and a garage door opening “When I find the shit that sold me this car, just watch what I’ll do!” Shay swore as he slammed his fist on the lid of the car. That apparently made the car angry, because the lid opened and a black fluid flew out of the engine right onto his clothes. You watched the circus from the window as they pondered what could be wrong “Did you check the connector?” Clay asked, looking around the car’s vital parts. Desmond opened and closed the lid, brows furrowed, as he stared into the engine as if he was looking for something specific. “What are you looking at?” Aya asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m looking.” Desmond answered. “We see that, but care to tell us what exactly it is you’re looking at?” she asked again persistently. “Well...” Desmond stuttered “Everything here seems in order...” Clay scoffed and leaned his back against the car “Yeah, except that the engine doesn’t work and Shay emptied the grease tank on himself.” In the mean time, Shay tried to walk inside and upstairs, but was stopped in his tracks by Evie’s scream. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Shay looked at her angrily “I’m going upstairs!” That only angered the woman more, because she threateningly waved the spatula in her hand at him “Not like that you aren’t! You’ll get grease all over the carpet I washed only three days ago!”

Defeated, Shay walked outside again, hunched over and mumbling about how the car cost him a fortune. “Hey, mate.” Edward called “Did you raise the handbrake?” Shay furrowed his brows and stopped in his tracks for a moment. Then he jogged over and sat in the driver’s seat again, sighing rather heavily when he saw that indeed, he hasn’t raised the handbrake. They wasted another fifteen minutes filling the car with grease and Ezio’s remarks like “Do you even know how to start a car?” didn’t help at all. Of course, that made Shay angry and when everything was in order (hopefully) and everyone in their seats, Shay closed the door of the driver’s seat and glared at the Italian “Not you.” And with that, under the sound of party music and cheers, the car made a drift and rode off down the street. Just as Ezio walked through the door with a sad expression on his face, he was met with Jacob in the hallway who had just left the “office” and asked in a cheery tone “Did I miss anything?”

Everyone in the kitchen, including you, sighed heavily. To break the ice, Bayek smiled and asked “Who wants barbecue tonight? We’ll start up the grill in the backyard!” You wondered sometimes how it is everyone gets along so well under one roof... It made you smile how they were such good friends, while in the mean time roasting each other completely. 

[far-away-stars]

Can I ask all for Tenja or Ezio (or both c;) for the NPC asks? -v-

Hi, yes, I did both kitties, which mean it took me too long and got tired of trying to make any sense halfway through it, so sorry if it doesn’t make any sense or it’s just lame here and there. :’D

Tenja Rel 

1. Would they be recruitable?

As a new Jedi in training, yes, I pretty much think so. Sith is harder since he’s quite individualistic and has a pretty possessi-ehm, protective brother.

2. Would they be a class specific character? (ie. Imperial Agent only. Republic character only)

Probably Jedi specific. Either Consular or Knight both.

3. When would you recruit them? Vanilla story? an Expac? Post KOTET?

I think vanilla would be good, learning “peacefully” on the field the ways of Jedi.

4. Where would you recruit them from?

Probably directly from the Temple on Tython, going to pick him up for a mission you were assigned for by some of the higher-ups.

5. What would their recruitment mission be?

He wouldn’t really need one, since, simply put, he doesn't really have a choice, I’ll assume whatever missions the characters made so far in name of the Republic and jedi were enough as a vote of trust for the Council. If we are talking some sort of loyalty mission … maybe he asks you to accompany him on some sort of travel to Voss? To get some help for his blindness. Not to cure it, but to stop the phantom pains probably, or the general headaches from using the Force to “see” while not being yet fully used to it. It may also lead to a dream-travel adventure of sorts (with some comments of his regarding how he can somehow “see” you now.)

6.What would be their original recruitment outfit?

Visas Marr in an all-black dye.

7. Would there be a character they don’t like? Would that cause you to choose sides?

Well. There would be issues if he somehow came into contact with his brother, Di’taqt, so any sort-of public alliance with the Sith would probably be problematic.

8. Are they romancable? Why/why not?

They are, but it’s probably not one of the easiest shells to break. He didn’t really allowed himself love for the sake of it, I mean, his last wife blinded him in a fit of rage. Also, well, he doesn’t mind sex at all, because it what he was used to as a Sith and wasn’t going to go chaste just for the sake of old ass Jedi traditions, so there’s that. But, well. He doesn’t think love has a change to turn out well. He can be proved wrong, if one is willing to try.

9. What would they say if you clicked on them?

“I’m listening.” “What do you have in store for us today, my friend?” “At your service.” “I do wonder if it’s a wise idea.” “Mhnn, gossip. I like it.” “No one suspects the blind man.”

10. Do they know any other in game characters? (ie. trained under Satele Shan during the civil war. Knew Talos before he went to Hoth)

Aside from his brother and general Sith acquaintances I don’t think so.

11. What weapon(s) would they have?

His lightsaber, standard force-sensitive equipment. His sly charm.

12. Are they better as a tank, healer or DPS?

Essentially DPS but he can manage a decent amount of healing, at least for himself. His specialty consists in entropic redistribution of the Force, basically siphoning life force from his enemies to himself, wasting away his enemies while healing and strengthening himself.

13. What gifts do they Love? Like? What would they say when you gave them a gift?

Weapon and Trophy, probably. Doesn't mind Luxury and Courting either. - “Well. Someone will certainly find a use to it.” “Appreciated.” “For me? I’m honored.” “I.. thank you, my friend. It’s truly wonderful.”

14. What would they say if you sent them away/changed them out?

“I’ll be there when you need me.” “Good rest to you.” “Oh, you wound me, leaving so soon.” “I dare you to find company as good as mine, my friend.”

15. What do they say when they heal you? What do they say when they are attacking?

“Hush, hush. Better already, is it?” “Don’t die on me, my friend, I don’t need that kind of stress in my life.” “Fresh air and the the kiss of life.” - “Tut-tut, I’ll show how it’s done.” “Let it go. It will hurt less if you don’t fight it.” “You are lacking finesse. Not that it will matter for longer still.” “Do us a favor. Don’t get up.”

16. What’s their idle chatter like? Do they talk a lot (when you arrive on each planet) or do they suddenly say something in some strange places?

They certainly like to say something at each planet, idle stuff, less prone to start random conversations if unprompted.

17. What letters would they send post vanilla class story/SOR/KOTFE

Romance :

He would probably be so frustrated trying to write one, or think of a gift, but, yeah, letters are not his forte. He wouldn’t know what to write, how to explain, how to express what he feels. Not the full story of his life on paper would be enough to try to begin to put into words how he feels to this day next to them.

He will try to prove it, to show it, to make it spoken in a language he hopes the character will understand, but, no. Not in a letter. He will write invisible patterns on their skin, he will smile his gratitude and hold his hopes in their arms with them. And hope they understand.

Also he would have to dictate it to a holo-transcriptor and yeah, no.

18. If they are recruitable in vanilla story, where are they during KOTFE/TET? What are/were they doing?

Probably still with the Jedi. He didn’t have much choice, he couldn’t really go back to the Empire, and it’s not as if they were faring any better Tho I bet he was one of the most frustrated ones after the deal with Zakuul, very bitter. He may have left at a certain point to join some resistance’s group, if anything not to feel so useless.

Lucretyiio 

1. Would they be recruitable?

Buy him food and he’s yours, honestly.

2. Would they be a class specific character? (ie. Imperial Agent only. Republic character only)

No, not really. He usually strays away from force sensitives and isn’t overly fond of the Empire, but well, he doesn’t judge people from covers. Or tries at least,

3. When would you recruit them? Vanilla story? an Expac? Post KOTET?

He’s pretty freestyle. He constantly asks for rides. Anytime would work.

4. Where would you recruit them from?

A Cantina. Could be anywhere from Coruscant, to Tatooine, to Nar Shadda.

5. What would their recruitment mission be?

Help him take down or stop some violent gang making business around probably, or something of the sort.

6.What would be their original recruitment outfit?

Canderous Ordo armor.

7. Would there be a character they don’t like? Would that cause you to choose sides?

Honestly.. Not really. There’s a lot of things he doesn’t like, but it’s not about choosing sides, not really, it’s about engaging ourselves to be the best we can possibly be. He doesn’t actually wants to shun or isolate people. He won't be comfortable or agree with everyone, but he wants to believe it’s doable while offering the chance to be united.

Honestly, like, yeah, he will vocally disagree to a lot of stuff if it involves violence, abuse and all that stuff. But he will stay as long as he believes in the cause. Being open about his opinions is also one of the ways he hopes will help changing things for the best and influence people with new ideas.

8. Are they romancable? Why/why not?

Yes, very. He’s so flirty. He just happens to become a mess if you flirt back. You may have to pick him up on a spoon. But he’ll sing all the love ballads to you.

9. What would they say if you clicked on them?

“Never wondered : why Banthas? No, like, that’s it. That’s the question. I can’t figure them out, mate.” “Why nothing rhymes with “Saresh”?” “Bada-mba-dababum mate, ya feel me?” “I. Need. Ice Cream.” “Oh shit, forgot the safety on the blaster.” “I’m here all day folks.” “No, man, you are the sidekick.”

10. Do they know any other in game characters? (ie. trained under Satele Shan during the civil war. Knew Talos before he went to Hoth)

Nope, don’t think so.

11. What weapon(s) would they have?

His brazen and melodious singing voice. His halliksete, if smashed on someone’s head. A blaster that he mostly knows how to use. Also smoke grenades. Because he often needs a diversion from when he needs to quickly disappear.

12. Are they better as a tank, healer or DPS?

He can damage things alright. Mostly willingly. I wouldn’t really trust him for anything else.

13. What gifts do they Love? Like? What would they say when you gave them a gift?

Underworld Good and Courting are his faves. Luxury and Cultural Artefact can work out. - “Hey, yeah, cool. What is it?” “Fancy ass cool, man!” “Fuck. Thanks.” “*sobbing*”

14. What would they say if you sent them away/changed them out?

“Hey, be back soon for another show.” “Yeeees, party time!” “No, yeah, of course I can be left to my own devices. No dangers. Ah.” “I’ll be back when you need me!”

15. What do they say when they heal you? What do they say when they are attacking?

“Hey. Wanna me to kiss it better?” “I’m trying!” “Hey, all better, Am I the best or am I the best?” “Oh fuck man that must have hurt.” - “Aaaand perfect strike for local handsome!” “Yes, that was… totally what I meant to do!” “Oh fuck that hurt.” “In your BEHIND, dude.”

16. What’s their idle chatter like? Do they talk a lot (when you arrive on each planet) or do they suddenly say something in some strange places?

He talks a lot. Don’t even get me started.

17. What letters would they send post vanilla class story/SOR/KOTFE

One of his letters, both romance and not-romance (tho romance’s content are slightly different) is the messy drafts of a song he’s trying to compose about the character. It’s some sort of epic tale, or brash cantina chant, or something more private. It’s a mess, with all his annotations. It’s very sincere. He says he never managed to finish it, and maybe it’s because he doesn’t want it to finish. Never.

18. If they are recruitable in vanilla story, where are they during KOTFE/TET? What are/were they doing?

Helping refugees. He started off really angry, blazen songs about Zakuul and how they all had to fight. Then… he just wanted to help people.

[meggannn]

cut for negativity about AC Odyssey cause I just need to bitch

the short version: I’m mad. and I can’t tell if it’s just my fault for having unrealistic expectations of Ubisoft.

the long version:

I fully expected a sequel to Bayek’s and Aya’s story and am massively, massively disappointed they aren’t treating them with more content like Ezio. this was my fault, I guess, because they never promised me anything and I did get my hopes up for another trilogy or at least one sequel with Bayek. crafting good protagonists then doing FUCKING NOTHING with them for the rest of the series is Ubisoft’s MO, but the fact that they have these two great characters that establish the entire Assassin Brotherhood and you just leave them right when their lives really become interesting… like, be honest with me. Aya/Amunet, an Egyptian woman, is the person who founded the Roman Brotherhood. Bayek, a medjay, founded the Egyptian brotherhood which eventually led (we assume) to an eventual migration to Masyaf Castle where the brotherhood became so recognized that it became a symbol around the world. given Aya’s statue in Monteriggioni, we can assume she’s remembered throughout their history as one of the founding members of the entire brotherhood. this is a non-white woman who you have established is integral to the founding of the faction around which the entire series is based, and then you drop her and her partner like hot potatoes right when things get interesting in their history. would it not, say, make sense? to follow up Origins up with a game set in perhaps Ancient Rome or Syria? featuring the brown woman or brown man who established the Assassins that spread across the world? maybe???? not to be overdramatic but for me this is like, emotionally on par with Bioware announcing Dragon Age 4 only to say we’re not going to Tevinter or Nevarra, and that none of the old DA2 or DAI characters are coming back, but instead DA4 is bringing us back to Ferelden and we’ll be running around the Hinterlands for another fifty hours. If you set up a game with the logical conclusion to follow your old protagonists’ journey, then like yeah… I will feel… mad… when you don’t… follow through with them… in the next game… and just go back… to more… fucking… European… locations… I just cannot get over the disappoint I’m feeling and it’s overwhelming any excitement I might have initially felt for a character like Kassandra.

I still loathe Ubisoft’s take on the RPG genre, particularly their combat system. it’s mostly my ongoing rivalry with the hitscan system. I don’t find it fun, but also in general it’s just not what I associate with AC games -- with AC, I know exactly what I’m getting. or lmao like, I used to. I don’t know what this combat is anymore. I liked knowing exactly what I’m getting. I liked not having to waste time on combat and inventory bullshit and my choices mattering -- I’d play a better RPG if I wanted that. I play AC to sneak around places and focus on the story and assassins I’m hunting. I mean the quest system in Origins was… not great, but definitely a step in an interesting direction, I’m not inherently opposed to all RPG elements here. I feel like they could improve it with more tweaking, but what I did not want was them to “tweak” it in the style of The Witcher or Dragon Age where choice determined how the actual story pans out. I’m not convinced Ubi can do it. I sound like a snobby exclusionist, I know. I just am finding it really hard to see Assassin’s Creed in the game we were shown. when I plan AC game, I want (and expect) an emphasis on stealth. everything I’ve seen is…… not that. I know, assassins didn't come until later, but you can’t tell me sneaking around was invented when Altair first did it. Origins tried to allow you choice in how could approach a mission, but everything from the wide, environment to the millions of fucking weapons they make you pick up  expected you to fight a fair amount of the time. it’s not, to be fair, unrealistic, considering Bayek’s background as a medjay. I suspect the same reasoning will be made for Kassandra and Alexios. so much effort was put into revamping their combat system with an expectation people would use it more, and now in Odyssey… no… hidden blades…? call it a new IP set in Ancient Greece, I’d be way more receptive, but I don’t like that the game mechanics and simplicity that I grew attached to, the ones that made up the AC brand, is now -- apparently -- gone for good. I liked that shit. It was easy! I knew what I was getting into! I’m not thrilled how instead of dialing back from Origins, they’re just charging ahead deeper in the same direction re: combat complexity. I find it overwhelming and I’m not gonna use half the shit you give me. it took me like fifty hours to learn what signs were in The Witcher 3, even later for potions, and another twenty to actually start using them, cause it was just too much.

now i’m ready to complain about the main characters. sorry. yeah, it does bother me that there’s no set character. one staple of AC for me is that even if it’s fantasy, it’s historical fantasy; you’re given a predetermined character and watch them grow into an assassin and make their mark on history. it’s beyond strange to now see that that role is… flexible. Someone on reddit phrased my unease a very good way: there’s one scene in, I believe it’s AC Brotherhood, where Desmond is jerked out of the Animus after he witnesses the attack on Monteriggioni. Desmond immediately wants to go back, he’s yelling for them to let him back in the Animus so he can go back and save those people caught in the attack. Lucy takes him and gently says, “Desmond, those people are dead. They’ve been dead for centuries.” part of the series is how you can’t change the past with the Animus: you’re only viewing it. it already happened centuries, millennia ago, all of it is set in stone. all you can do, all you should do, is learn from what they did and work to make what went wrong, right. this new choice system with the ability to ‘change’ the past, via Layla’s new Animus system is… just bizarre. I don’t know. what’s the plot excuse for it? is there really going to be narrative payoff or explanation, or is it just so Ubisoft can rebrand the franchise an RPG?

it’s another thing that the dialogue choices themselves I’m seeing aren’t particularly… I’m searching for a word here, but “natural”? the conversations read like all they did was write a scene conversation between two characters, then spit up the dialogue and make half of it optional instead. but the thing is it’s all stuff you need to know anyway, so making it ‘optional’ doesn’t even matter like it would in a BW game where the optional dialogue really is optional. in the Odyssey clips I’ve seen it just feels stilted and weird.

anyway call me a whiner, I fully own it, but another big thing is that I’m thoroughly sick of this strange trend of making it choosable between a man/woman protag as a side-step around commitment to diversity. most of the time it strikes me as… lazy is not the right word, because technically they’re doing more work. but it's becoming more apparent to me that devs are seeing it as a noncommitment to having a female lead. play as Sara or Scott Ryder, play as Emily or Corvo, play as Alexios or Kassandra. (Sara/Scott less so, cause BW is an RPG company where you’re MEANT to build on a character, and choosing a gender is a part of that, but you’ll see what I mean in a sec.) but anyway, yay, diversity. except you can play all three of those games without once playing a woman like you’re forced to play a man in other games -- my irritation is because it still allows people to avoid female protagonists entirely. like. my hope is to make a woman protagonist unavoidable? don’t make her optional. make her mandatory. give me more undeniable canon female leads. give me Aloys and Ellies and Laras and Chells and Faiths. if you want to know why I feel so strongly about this, it’s because: a. so long as there is a choice, it is inevitable that the male lead -- in this case Alexios -- will be promoted more and featured in marketing. how do i know, it’s because we’re already seeing it. they did the same thing with Scott Ryder. looking at the trailer or box cover for Odyssey and you’d have no idea you could play as a woman. (it’s a little too early to say the same for Cyberpunk 2077 marketing, but I’m getting the same vibe there.) it lets devs, say, feature male leads in the trailer, but female options only in the gameplay. guess which one gets promoted on the big screen in E3 presentations and which one is only viewed by people who actually seek out the game? b. I am already seeing people claim that Alexios is canon and Kassandra is “just the female option.” Ubisoft is not going to comment -- and therefore commit -- either way. usually there’s a half-hearted “it’s more realistic” explanation for why people see the guy as canon, but more often than not it’s just because he exists, and therefore, is assumed the “real lead.” I'd like to see games with a canon woman leading instead of an option where she might not exist at all. and honestly if there were more female leads I probably wouldn’t feel so bothered by this, but seeing men saying “I plan on playing Alexios and ignoring Kassandra the whole time” makes me want devs to give us more games where they’re forced to play a woman. sue me c. the thing is I know Ubisoft can get this ‘balance’ of man and women leads right, because they have already, once. sort of. Evie and Jacob was a great idea, because that story was one they shared, and one in which you had to play as both and had to understand both. refusing to play as one or the other was not an option, because they were a package deal. people who bitched and complained about Evie were forced to play as her anyway. their relationship and mutual involvement was crucial to the story because she, a woman, was crucial to the story.

I’m not even one to complain about this, I mean I even took all of the Andromeda animations in stride, but the Odyssey animation doesn’t look… great. poses, faces, mouth movements, are tellingly awkward. this time last year when they promoted Origins, I feel like it was in a better position, and Origins and Odyssey are both releasing/released in the fall? I dunno. I wouldn’t even be bothered by it because I’m not bothered by it with BW really, except it’s noticeable when it’s a step down from what I’m used to in the crisp, cleaner AC cutscenes I’m used to that aren’t just talking heads. I can’t help but feel it’s another downside of making dialogue optional instead of making scenes crafted every time: some things, like faces and idle dialogue animations, will be entirely automated,

BIG MAP! OUR BIGGEST MAP EVER!!!!!!!! EVEN BIGGER THAN ORIGINS, THE ONE WHERE HALF THE REGIONS HAD NOTHING BUT SAND!!! please stop. I’m so tired.