#mostly desmond

[just-absolutely-super]

As many people have pointed out already in chapter 106, the Forgers—a fake family—act more authentic than the Desmonds—the actual family.

But really…the Desmonds aren’t a “real” family, not to me. Not in a way that matters...

SxF is really good at showing relationship dynamics and how blood doesn’t always make a family. This is so true now that you read chapter 106 and compare the Desmonds and their interactions to the Forgers and how they act with one another.

With the Desmonds, there is no warmth shown in how they interact. I'd say there's barely any love either (we know Melinda does care for Damian despite the conflicting thoughts, but it seems she's not allowed to show it). Damian tries to form connections but no one in the family is receptive of it. The parents have a hands-off parenting style. The older brother keeps to himself and doesn’t open himself up. Damian literally finds more affection in his dog and butler than his actual family and that’s so heartbreaking!

The Desmonds may be a family in all sense and purposes, but they don't present in a way that all families are meant to.

On the other side are the Forgers. Loid and Yor married for convenience. Anya is adopted. They’re only together because of Anya due to her mind reading abilities. It’s all a sham for WISE’s mission and to lower suspicion from the secret police.

But despite the intentions behind forming this persona of a perfect family unit…you can tell that there is a genuity to their relationship with one another. You see love, care, emotion, respect, and protectiveness. The family may be fake but the feelings they exhibit are so real despite the motives not exactly being pure. Loid, Yor, and Anya experiencing life together led to them forming bonds that they cherish. They Forgers managed to create a warm place they can comfortably call home.

idk I just find it so fascinating to see how a family brought together for convenience and ulterior motives can develop true familial bonds compared to an “official” and “real” family. I want to write a thesis paper about it lmao

I do wonder what the future holds for the Desmonds. In Damian's case, I hope he and Anya can grow more together so she can show him what a real loving family is. If Donovan really is as evil as the narrative is making him out to be, my hope is that he can be taken out of the picture so the rest of the family can heal from their respective traumas, then grow back together on what little familial love is left over. But we'll just have to wait and see when it comes to that...

[theconfusedartist]

hehe have internet back. I'm talking yet again~

but like, I get it. Shaun and Rebecca aren't going to get close to Desmond after what happened to Clay (hence why they always call him 16, don't give Desmond the full disclosure on what happened) because it's easier to keep an emotional distance. They're assassins after all, and if they already know that Desmond is most likely going to die, what's the point in getting close? Another death, another 'occupational hazard' in the making.

Rebecca worked with Clay, knew who he was, but it's easier to refer to him by number rather than think of him as a person that met a bloody end. Shaun is probably thinking about the fact that the last time they had someone who interacted with the animus into the order, they murdered the mentor (Daniel), so who's to say that Desmond isn't a sleeper agent? They see him going through the bleeding effect, they hear him screaming in his sleep, they can tell he's losing it. It would be so much harder emotionally to get close to him only for him to die, so they keep their distance and let Lucy handle it.

And on Lucy's part, it's just another animus subject she has to watch fall to pieces, another person whose personality gets eroded away to nothing as they lose all sense of self. How many times had she asked for extraction? How many times of her pleas for help being ignored?

No one is coming to save them. She learned that in the seven years as a mole, forced to work alone without any backup or real communication, it's only a matter of time before he ends up like everyone of the other subjects she had to see die.

So for Shaun, Rebecca, and Lucy, why would they start treating Desmond like a friend or a real member of the team? To them it's inevitable that Desmond will have a painful end, but they got back Lucy, right? At least there's an upside.

And as for Desmond? He's going insane and no matter how much he tells them, no matter how much they see it happening; no one is coming to save him. Sure, he might be willingly going into the animus, but he better not complain! After all, 'he agreed to this'. It's not like he can ask to leave, because for all the narrative and team want to paint retrieving Desmond as a rescue, they aren't going to give him a choice in going back to the animus. The only difference in situation with the Assassins is that he isn't being forced into a coma, because he willingly agreed to it, but what would happen if he didn't?

Desmond only really has Lucy to ask for support, and she's busy setting up enough emotional walls so she doesn't get hurt, that it's a shadow of a relationship. They don't give him answers because they expect him to die anyways, so what's the point? For all the assassins talk about freedom and choice, they have very little to spare for their members in the modern day.

And maybe thats why the modern assassins revere the ancient assassins so much, they're a tale of what the order *should* be, what they were *told* they were fighting for, even as it's not practiced in their own modern order.

By the time AC3 has rolled around, the group has been around long enough and weathered enough together that at least they can have *fleeting* conversations about the big things; Lucy's death and apparent betrayal, Clay being left to die, but only in hurried and hushed whispers. What was already a fragile working relationship is strained by William.

The same William that claims he had 'no clue' that Lucy had turned traitor, but conviently leaves out the fact that he left her in enemy territory with no way out. The same William that lays Clay's death at Lucy's feet, despite the fact that there are emails to prove that William will push whatever limits he needs to in order to get info, no matter who it is.

The same William that treats the deaths of his members as 'occupational hazards' and leaves bodies and bases behind to the templars, even knowing that they're scraping their bodies and DNA for any information they can find. The same William that treats the death of his members as if they're all pieces on a board instead of real loves being lost.

The same William willing to punch his own son in front of other people just for asking to be treating with respect.

Like. I get it.

This is the mentor of the assassin order and he's willing to let his son go insane, willing to hit his son for speaking up, and somehow incompetent enough to get caught by the templars. He keeps plugging Desmond into the animus when he goes into a coma or into a fainting spell, because if he's going to die, might as well get as much from him as they can.

By the time it's clear that Desmond is going to die, they've been expecting it for months now, it's not a relief or anything they were expecting because despite how hard they tried to distance themselves from Desmond--it's hard to treat him like a number when he's alive in front of them.

Desmond dies, and all they have are regrets, wishing that they had memories of a friend rather than someone they knew as a walking USB for historical archives. Desmond dies and no one gets closure because the templars are still a problem so they gotta keep moving.

And Desmond dies to save the world, his entire life orchestrated to the final notes, knowing that every choice he thought was his own was carefully planned from the start.

maybe my desmond tags were a bit spicy but i said what i said

The modern team was a group of friends with Desmond as their work friend/colleague

Not hateful or anything, not malicious. They just... they ain't close like that, unfortunately

[angermango]

i see your "Rachel Bronev". i also see all those true and wonderful "Rachel Bronev deserved better/should have lived/could have escaped/could have joined Targent/no fridging etc" takes. and i so bring to you:

Rachel Bronev survives, escapes Targent and becomes the Descole of the AU

TL;DR she heard her husband now runs the cult that kidnapped them and separated them from their children, and she's making that everyone else's problem (but especially Targent's).

i admit i haven't come up with a villain name or a proper set look on her costume yet lol. but she looks fabulous anyway.

(i also call it the "Putting the 'Domestic' in 'Domestic Terrorism' AU" for fun, and because i haven't come up with anything better/funnier to name yet :U)

[shrinevandal]

lost meme dump because i cannot be assed to make individual posts

[sulfies]

how do you feel abt ezio w piercings (lip, brow and maybe nose???) bc I feel like he'd get them while drunk

If he had any piercing it would be a tounge bc its easy to hide and he found it sexy, but I dont think normally he would get a piercing since he doesnt get the reason to get one, (being from 1400s) on anywhere except in his ears.

Desmond in my HC def has a belly button and a tounge one tho, lmao just bc I like em AND I think he would be the most likely to get it while drunk out of the three.

If Altaïr ever got one he would just walk out the piercer and they would be like “where is it” and he would just smirk and never answer. He is the least likelt to get one tho bc like Ezio he just doesnt get why he would need one. (he likes it on desmond enough "I can just look at yours")

[sforzesco]

you're SO right, how is it that the best portrayal of many italian renaissance figures comes from a bad videogame from the 2010s

wheezing I’m torn between going truly this is the best portrayal of Leonardo da Vinci we may ever get, and defending AC2 even though I’m a full time Ezio Saga Hater

[toy-pigeon]

hi im mentally unwell about this man. at all times. literally been up at night experiencing vague secondhand sadness on his behalf

(if you can, i recommend you turn your sound on - audio is from isle of dogs and i had to fucking custom clip it for this because every other clip of this audio has mitski behind it. if not thats also ok i included subtitles)

[sombertide-0]

okay so i don't fucking know when, how, or why, but I've had sphinx Desmond on the brain for the past week and have been working and experimenting on his design. I don't really have a story in mind? Mostly thinking "What if instead of fucking *dying*, he just gets turned into a giant sphinx due to isu bullshit since the sphinx is like, a guardian of knowledge, and Desmond has lived 3 1/2 lifetimes (with Haytham? i'm not too sure about the lore, still need to get familiar with AC3)

Anyway, he'd still have his bleeds, he'd be very confused, scared and uncoordinated for weeks, maybe even months after the transformation, getting used to being so much bigger, stronger, and no longer being bipedal as well as not having thumbs. I'm debating on whether or not to give him wings? I dunno.

Wanted to make him soft and cuddly, since he'd probably slouch a lot, trying to make himself look smaller. I'm still not familiar enough with Bec's and Shaun's and William's characters to have a proper idea of how they'd react? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter :3

Also yes I'm a filthy little shaundes shipper hehehehehe

mild blood under the cut

[fisheadz]

The fic feels like it’s actually working rn. It’s not working well, but it’s working and that’s enough.

So far I got Tonia being a lovely kitty, the mannequins being helpful, 32 less spelling errors out of an infinite amount, Desmond being the Most Confused Man In The CU, and more than a couple headcanons of mine that sorta change the game a bit, but it’s whatever.

I’m still not happy with it, I’ve got so much more fixing upping to do and stuff, but I’m becoming more hopeful, at least :D.

I’ve also got a list of little things that I’ve noticed, and some random voicelines and stuff. AR has a lot to say, apparently, lol. I’ll probably post some of the stuff I got sometime.

[crispyjenkins]

Assassin's Creed fic 👀 I am always a sucker for (good) Desmond Miles fic, hell yeah, would 100% read those if you posted them.

👀 👉👈 you're my new favourite, anon. this isn't close to being done but i'm very fond of it so here's a lil preview~ inspired by esama's study of flight, but with a twist! (gen, time travel/reincarnation, found family, william miles' a+ parenting, accidental subterfuge, desmond goes by miles mostly)

  Inhaling a careful breath, Ezio pauses half a flight from their destination and Leonardo halts on the step above him, frown deepening in concern. “Ezio?” he prompts, when he still doesn’t say anything.

  Ezio sighs. “We have thirteen recruits now,” he explains, turning to lean his back against the staircase wall; the cool temperature of the stone actually calms him somewhat and allows him to go on, “He’s been with us a few months, now.”

  Tilting his head curiously, Leonardo bends closer to him. “I thought you had stopped recruiting for the time being.”

  “I had.” Ezio rubs over his face quickly, such discomfort usually unsafe to display so openly — then again, Leonardo is hardly his enemy. “One of my discepoli, Adele, noticed him first.”

  “ ‘Noticed him’?”

  “... In my defense, I was away on a long assignment.”

  Leonardo just looks bewildered, an expression that’s usually quite amusing to see on the man, but Ezio can only cough awkwardly.

  “He, ah, was here a week before anyone thought to question him.”

  His old friend blinks slowly at him, Ezio can almost see the calculations happening in his mind, before his whole countenance brightens enough to make Ezio wince. 

  “You mean he infiltrated the Brotherhood? And nobody noticed?” he asks gleefully. “Oh, Ezio.”

  Refusing to flush in embarrassment, Ezio crosses his arms with a humph. “As I said, I wasn’t in the hideout at the time. Geniuses some of my recruits may be, but they all thought I had sent him here. Adele was the one to notice he had previous training, and asked him where he had met me.” Letting out a long breath, Ezio does smile, just a little. “The whelp didn’t even deny having snuck in, ’said that this is where he wants to be and was tired of waiting for chance to put him in my path, or I in his.”

  Leonardo laughs brightly, moving to rest against the wall across from Ezio. “And Machiavelli didn’t kill him immediately?”

  “No, Valeria convinced them all to keep it quiet until I returned from my contract, the little hellions. She even used me as a meat shield when Niccolò finally found out.” Ezio loves his recruits to distraction, they’re his brothers and sisters and siblings and he would gladly die for any one of them. He would also like to never face down Machiavelli’s sword and rarely-used hidden blade ever again. Once was already in excess.

  “And the recruit?”

  “Miles defended himself, of course. At least long enough for Niccolò to become intrigued by his skill.” He’s still testing the theory, but Ezio is fairly certain even the rank of millite is too low for him, though why Miles would be hiding his prowess is a concern all on its own. 

  Leonardo has known Ezio far too long, and far too well to not guess at his unsaid meaning, his lips tugging back into a thoughtful frown. “You think he was trained by another Assassin?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” he admits with a sigh. “He certainly wasn’t trained by any of our branches.”

  “Miles, Miles Miles,” Leonardo muses to the sloped ceiling. “Unusual name. Germanic? Or French, perhaps?”

  Ezio had been considering contacting his brothers in Spain, despite being almost positive that Miles wasn’t trained by them; he hadn’t even considered the French branch. Actually, did the French branch even exist anymore? He thinks he recalls hearing of its decimation around the time of the Inquisition.

  “There’s a thought,” he agrees slowly, rubbing his jaw. “I’d have to ask la Volpe or another older member about their fighting styles, I only ever crossed blades with Helene, and she hadn’t been an Assassin in many years by then.”

  “Ah, Helene... Dufranc, was it? Yes, yes, the lovely rogue from Barcelona. ‘Mon petit Assassin’, if I recall correctly?” 

  Glowering, Ezio kicks his friend’s foot at the reminder of the nickname he only escaped upon return to Italy. Some of his Spanish brothers still tease him about it in their letters. “I regret ever telling you about that,” he grumbles, much to Leonardo’s amusement. 

  Though, he quickly sobers and meets Ezio’s eyes under his hood, pinning him there easily. “Why am I here, old friend?” he asks, softly, but leaving no room to wriggle out of the answer again.

  He really isn’t making this easy, is he?

  Ezio can only hold Leonardo’s gaze for a few moments more, before he has to look away. “Miles is a bastard from a Veneziana whore. He never met his father.” He needn’t look to know Leonardo gets it immediately, but Ezio still goes on, “My students aren’t nearly as subtle as they think they are, and I do not know if it would have occurred to me without their whispers.”

  Leonardo understands this immediately, too. “Ah, does he not bear significant resemblance to you, then?”

  Ezio shakes his head. “My recruits seem to think so, but I’m afraid I’ve gotten far too in my head about it and am no longer sure if what I see is simply what I want to see.”

  “Oh, Ezio,” Leonardo sighs, standing straight to reach across the narrow space between them and put a hand on his shoulder. “I would be glad to meet him, old friend. Then, after, we will sort all this out, just as we always have.”

  Despite himself, Ezio finds himself relieved by the comfort, and reaches up to squeeze Leonardo’s hand, before removing it and stepping away. “Thank you,” he murmurs, and nods to the bottom of the stairs. “Miles is usually sparring one of his brothers or sisters around now, come with me.”

  “Or siblings,” Leonardo reminds him with a soft laugh, following at his heel.

[auroramoon-draws16]

Bro

Assassin’s Creed x Star Wars (again)

I can’t stop imagining Desmond running a bar somewhere, that doubles as an Assassin Bureau, and having some Star Wars character(s) walk in.

Mando (Din), Obi-Wan, Anakin, the clones, the rebels, anybody

Just- they walk in, they ask him for some info or a drink, some bitches square up (a target or a gang or something) a fight breaks out and Des is like “can you guys take this outside? That’s gonna be hell to repair” and they keep fighting, so he sighs, walks around the counter and drags them out himself.

Alternatively, he ends the fight in a couple of seconds, no issue.

Another scenario:

Desmond is hunting down a target, and it’s someone the Jedi are either arresting or escorting or guarding, so Des is just “damn, okay” and takes out the target before disappearing without anyone seeing his face (helmet/mask thing with the hood ofc)

(Also for the horny folks: Desmond sleeps with a character, because yes, in an alley, over the counter, clenching the sheets, wherever and however you want. My first thought is an Obi-Wan one-night-stand, because it’s mf Kenobi, but you can pick whoever you want)

[kingbob2-0]

@teecupangel gonna put the slugcat au art over here so the ask doesn’t become 500 reblogs long.

It’s only letting me put one pic at a time for some reason, sooo- here’s Desmond! And all the objects he’s (hoarded) kept throughout the years.

i didn’t want him to look exactly like the survivor, so I gave him some patterns (the red v and mantle/frill is supposed to resemble his hoodie somewhat.) his color pallet (also on screen) was picked directly from his character model, minus the burns.

[skyburger]

venn diagram of these guys

[ghstslut]

the cards are saying death & i'm hoping well ✨️🔮

[riraro489]

The Time Gear was returned... So why?

Why is time still stopped in Treeshroud Forest?

@heropartnerweek Day 5: Frosty Forest | Treeshroud Forest | Forest of Shadows | Mystical Forest

[theconfusedartist]

Desmond is so...idk I have so many feelings about that man

kind yet willing to kill without hesitation. gets used by pretty much everyone but doesn’t just sit there and take it, actively speaks out about how people treat him. appreciates life and enjoys it to the fullest even while knowing that he’s getting closer and closer to the end

idk. i feel a lot of things about des but i just don’t have the words right now. love that dude