#teecup analyze more than necessary

[teecupangel]

Today in... teecup gets distracted and stopped writing for today.

Sooooo... page 21 of Altaïr's Codex had this as part of the 'poison blade' upgrade

And me being me...

I sorta felt this sense of familiarity with the leftmost flower.

It might be wolfsbane.

And I know what you're going to say.

"teecup, it can be foxglove too."

Which is a valid alternative.

But I honestly like to think it's wolfsbane due to the leaves but also because I am bias lol

The middle right flower might be Poinsettia though...

[teecupangel]

I don't know how I can help you? XD

My usual go-to explanation as to why AC characters tend to look different (varies), especially the Desmond saga, is because they're made by different primary development teams that usually work on their specific games in tandem since AC used to have a yearly release and these games take more than one year to develop. (Unity alone started development in 2010 after Brotherhood and wouldn't be released until 2014... in, uh... let's just say unoptimized state).

So Ezio's looks vary in his own games.

Nexus though... weeeellll... my initial idea is this is still in development so they probably forgot Ezio's scar.

... Which I still think is a huge oversight but... well... it's a VR game for Meta Quest, I don't think Ubisoft is prioritizing it compared to Mirage (multiplatform) and Jade (large mobile audience absolutely trying to squeeze into the Chinese market). Also, I don't know which development team is working on Nexus but, considering it's the first VR game for AC, there's a high possibility that the development team isn't Montreal (currently working on AC Hexe & Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake) or Quebec (apparently working on a Rainbow Six mobile game? idk). Bordeaux is most probably still working on Mirage too. So, yeah, I think Nexus is being developed by other Ubisoft development teams.

I honestly don't wanna look at Nexus!Ezio too much XD

But, seriously, characters looking different isn't anything new in AC.

Sometimes, it's a matter of how much the graphics have evolved:

Sometimes, it's a matter of the development teams using different engines (AnvilNext 2.0 for Quebec's Odyssey & Ubisoft Anvil for Montreal's Valhalla)

Sometimes, it's a deliberate choice to show that Abstergo's Animus used Desmond's face and Revelation shows Altaïr's real face

BUT.

THIS.

WHAT.

THE.

FUCK.

UBISOFT.

Desmond looks like he has shape-shifting capabilities.

Don't even ask me where these Desmonds come from. I have them saved on my computer because I used them for this Multiverse of Desmond post so I no longer know myself.

Assassin’s creed nexus, and WHAT THE FUCK happend with Ezio’s face? IDK if im blind or something but it’s me or his face looks different???

AC II, Brotherhood, Revelations, and the corto

ac nexus

AC brotherhood

It’s me or they are completly different people??? he doesnt even have the scar?? And he looks like brotherhood but not ??

idk i need help @teecupangel​

[teecupangel]

Im curious about what is cannon and fannon in the AC fandom. Ive read many different origins for the scar Desmond has, but most people go with Bill being the one to give it to him. Is this because its cannon from a little known source(similiar to the fact that Altaïr can swim, as seen in the 3ds games, but most people make him unable to swim despite the fact) or is it widely accepted fannon? What about Masyaf castle? Ive read some fics about it being an Abstergo facility with the Templars having opened the Library, while others write it is just been left to time. And ofc cant forget Eagle Vision. Is it a unique ability to Altaïr only? Did his father have it too? Did every novice have to master it before becoming an assassin?

There could be others, but these are the facts that im mostly curious about. Thank you for answering. ^^

So I’m gonna break this into sections so I don’t have to think about scene transition or whatever rambling equivalent that has.

Altaïr Can Swim

We all accept that he can’t swim because that’s funny. However, if we take into consideration how Altaïr can swim as seen in his ‘sequel’, this is pretty much the complete opposite of “Altaïr has never been hit” status that he has in the fandom. They both causes desyncing so if we believe in “Altaïr has never been hit” then it’s not that Altaïr can’t swim, it’s that “Altaïr never slipped or fell into the waters” which actually points more to Altaïr being a badass. But we decided that Altaïr not being able to swim is a much funnier idea and went to town with it XD

Bill Being The Reason Desmond Has His Scar

Okay, so ngl, I also liked to write that Bill is the reason Desmond has a scar, either directly or indirectly (I mostly go for indirectly with another kid being the reason why he has a scar but Bill was there ‘supervising’), mostly because I like the plot point that getting the scar is the thing that finally snaps Desmond and got him to leave the Farm ‘randomly’.

Anyway, the canon/fanon blur a lot in this one as there are enough people that believe Bill made the scar as seen by this post.

My thoughts on that is pretty much summarized in the tags I left in that one:

#wait it's official? #or did we as a fandom just collectively saw how bill treated desmond and went #ah yes he's why desmond has that scar #seriously i hc it and it makes sense narratively for bill to be the reason why desmond has a scar #whether from training or by accident #but i don't remember it being even implied in any games #especially in ac rev where it could have easily been added in

To add to that, I’m talking about AC Revelations specifically because of Desmond’s rant in an early scene where he finally shouts at Bill for being a bad father. That was the perfect time to just drop that bombshell of Bill being the reason why Desmond has his scar but we didn’t get that. That’s the main reason why I don’t think it’s canon that Bill is the reason why Desmond got his scar but there’s 3 more scenes in AC Revelations where he could have talked about it, all of them from Desmond’s memories scenes.

I also talked about how I couldn’t find any evidence of Bill being the reason that Desmond got his scar in this post.

But the summary is I tried looking for any information about it in the books, pamphlet, manuals and references I had (I say ‘had’ because I had to leave them back in my old home after I moved due to space constraints TTATT), only focusing on any mentions of Desmond and Bill

Assassin's Creed Limited Edition Art Book (p40-41)

Assassin's Creed The Complete Visual History (p290 -292) - p291 has the line "... Desmond's father, William, adds an element of family drama..." calling it family drama sounds like an understatement considering how Bill and Desmond act around each other

Assassin's Creed The Essential Guide (p14, 66, 161, 218-219, 236, 238, 240) - this book is so weird. P218 says that Bill and Gavin shared the mentor role after the Great Purge, p237 says that only Bill took the mentor role (but didn't call himself the mentor) after the Great Purge

Assassin's Creed Atlas (p159, 165)

Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia (White Version) (p18, 158-183)

Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia (White Version - JP ver) (p18, 158-183)

Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia (Black Version - JP ver) (p17, 113-127) - The Black Version is an older version, only going as far as AC Revelations + The Fall comics, The White Version has up to 3 + Liberation

No mentions at all about Desmond's relationship with Bill in the following:

That short game manual that's inside the game disc for AC1-AC3 (JP ver)

Assassin's Creed Reference Guide (JP)

Assassin's Creed Perfect Guide (JP)

Assassin's Creed 2 Reference Guide (JP)

Assassin's Creed Archive Book (JP)

In conclusion:

The most I got can be summarized from Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia, p182

"... driven, intelligent but emotionally distant father of Desmond Miles..." " ... technically minded man, fully devoted to the Assassins and their cause, whose passion for politics outweighs his responsibility to his family. While William's wife has always been able to deal with this emotional distance, young Desmond could not. Eventually he grew to feel that his father was more of a drill sergeant than a parent and fled the compound, despite his parents' repeated warnings to never leave."

If Bill did directly or indirectly cause Desmond's scar, I could not find it in the official books I have or even on Desmond's or Bill's AC Wiki page.

Unless someone can point out where it officially states that Bill caused Desmond's scar, I believe the whole "Bill is the reason for Desmond's scar" is AC fandom's own Mandela Effect. Most probably something that started as a headcanon (and for a very good reason) and is commonly used by fanfic writers (including me) which has evolved as a Word of Dante that we, as a collective, have mistaken as a Word of God.

Masyaf’s Current Situation

There’s no official note of the current situation of Masyaf in the modern days and I think Ubisoft would probably not do anything about it narrative-wise… I’d honestly be surprised if they did anything about it if they make an AC1 Remake. Now, it’s a bit nebulous if the Templars did manage to get the library but it should be noted that the last time we see Altaïr’s Apple, Ezio let it stay in the library and the ACR novel gave us:

“The bookshop was used as an outpost for the Assassins, and Ezio stored the Masyaf Keys in the chamber where he had found the first key, underneath the bookshop.”

If the Templars got into the bookshop then they’ll find all the keys and would have everything they needed to get into the library.

However…

The Apple would find itself in the hands of Queen Elizabeth I and Mahatma Gandhi before falling into Templar hands.

As far as I can see, Queen Elizabeth I isn’t a Templar so it’s highly possible that the British Empire did their usual ‘finders keepers’ thing and this wasn’t a nefarious Templar plan. So either Ezio got the Apple out of Masyaf and hid it somewhere else that would later be found by someone (maybe John Dee?) or Ezio… just left it in Masyaf?

I wanna give Ezio the benefit of the doubts and believe that he knew leaving it in Masyaf would be such a bad idea so the Apple was most probably transferred somewhere else.

Which means that Masyaf was completely abandoned by the end of Ezio’s era which Ezio would have believed be something that Altaïr wanted to happen.

I realized now I’m rambling further and further away from the actual topic for this section.

In conclusion: we have no idea if Masyaf is abandoned or occupied by the Templars in modern day. I will also add if it’s occupied by Templars, it might be a secret ‘base’ or it’s affiliated with a non-Abstergo Entertainment section of Abstergo because, as far as I can see, Abstergo Entertainment’s headquarters are based on existing Ubisoft headquarters (ex: Black Flag’s Abstergo Entertainment is in Montreal = Ubisoft Montreal)

Personally, I think that Abstergo would take over Masyaf castle either officially or unofficially as a way to show the Brotherhood how they hold one of the most important locations in their history. That’s the kind of power play the current Inner Sanctum would do.

(It would be funny in a ‘that’s fucked up’ kind of way if Masyaf is an Abstergo secret facility that does experimental work with captured Assassins as guinea pigs which they have done in the Philadelphia facility (Fall comics) and Madrid (AC Movie))

Eagle Vision

It was actually never explicitly stated who had Eagle Vision and who hadn’t but it’s noted that humans, in general, have the capability to unlock Eagle Vision although there are humans who has an easier time unlocking it.

AC1 noted that the Levantine Assassins knew about Altaïr’s Eagle Vision but there’s no evidence to suggest that they have it as well. Most of the time, they just tell Altaïr to use his vision without saying if they have it as well or not.

(it’s just personal preference to write that 12th century Assassins, both in Masyaf and Alamut, would have some form of Eagle Vision to show how much the Brotherhood had ‘fallen’ in the modern day. Canon actually points that only a small number of people can access Eagle Vision)

[teecupangel]

Abstergo made very edited games of the assassin ancestors. What if the assassin's made the true version of what happened available to the public?

That was always an option so I did think of why they wouldn’t want to do it.

The biggest one I could think of is that it would go against the third Tenet “Do not compromise the Brotherhood”.

Secrecy is paramount to the Brotherhood and even the Templars keep the Isu stuff a secret.

The Brotherhood is probably worried of what would happen if those in power learn about the POE considering what those in power have done according to history.

The narrative is putting them into an antagonistic light with the Templars being crowned as heroes but, as they say, they ‘work in the dark to serve the light’.

They’re used to being seen as ‘evil’ or murderers.

This is just the 21st century equivalent to it.

Also, they cannot be certain that showing the true version would be better.

Not only does it include information about the POEs and the Assassin Brotherhood as a whole but…

Well…

Abstergo is a large company with far-reaching influences.

What’s to say their version wouldn’t just be ridiculed and treated as ‘fanwork’ or the insane edits of disgruntled employees/Assassin stans.

The Assassins work in secrecy and it’s because of that secrecy that they can still protect the world, both from the Templars and the POEs.

The only way a true version would be ‘leaked’ is either through a ‘fuck it, let’s see what happens’ Assassin who did it without the approval of the mentor or an incident in the database (a bad update that uploads it to the public or a hacker who got lucky and got a copy of it).

Let’s be honest though…

In the AC world, there’s gonna be fans who stan the bad guys. They’ll probably think that Assassins are so cool and the Templars are kinda boring (Abstergo risks making the Templars ‘bland’ by removing the bad parts of their lives that will incriminate them and the Templars in general).

Like, remember how Berg sent the Assassins a heavily edited copy of Shay’s memories in the end of Rogue and how it was a footnote later on that the Assassins were like “cool story bro, obviously edited, go fuck yourself” and nothing really happened with it?

If that’s how the Templars edit the stories as Templar propaganda then it’s not… Abstergo has a history of making good premises but mediocre to bad execution XD

The Assassins have a better chance of having someone write for them a fanfic of the games in a kinda ‘novel adaptation’ format and put the real version in that one. It won’t get them as much exposure as trying to pass it as real history BUT it will make it easier to stay under Abstergo’s radar and, even if Abstergo sees it, the fanfic is protected by “this is fanfic, why are you bullying someone writing what they want for free in their own free time, Abstergo???”

[teecupangel]

Hey there!

I don't know if you take requests for character analyses (if you don't just ignore this), but I would really like to see your take on Desmond Miles since, for some reason, I can't really seem to wrap my head around him, which has resulted in me finding him almost boring, and I would like to remedy that.

I'm particularly interested in what you believe to be to be his biggest flaws and where they come from, since that's what usually compels me the most about a character, and also what I have trouble with finding in Desmond.

I’m fine with any analysis requests that get sent my way :)

Although, I do wonder if I’m the right person to analyze Desmond since character analysis is meant to be as nonbias as possible but I’m me and y’all know how much I love Desmond at this point. XD

I will do my best though but it is my duty to remind you that this analysis is written by someone who loves Desmond so, yeah, some of that love will bleed thru in this analysis.

Also, as this would get pretty long if I do a complete character analysis, I’ll focus on what compelled me to Desmond which, I believe, is connected to your question about what his flaws are and where they come from.

What compelled me to Desmond:

Nolan North’s Voice

He’s voiced by Nolan North and I’ve been in love with Nolan North’s voice since I played Spec Ops the Line. Haha, no, that’s half a joke and my obligatory “Nolan North fangirling” out of the way. Also, no joke, Nolan North was able to give Desmond a compelling voice that helped mold his character in my eyes and ears. I never once heard Desmond speak and thought "oh, that's Nathan Drake" which is funny since Nolan North uses similar voices for the two of them. With what he's given, Nolan North was able to make Desmond unique from his other characters, making him a charming and adorable dumbass with more depth than he usually shows.

Endless Potential

This was what compelled me to him because his part in the series felt like it was building for something more. If we were to believe what Nolan North said in this video (around the 33~34 minute mark), Desmond was meant to have a bigger part in the story. The ultimate Assassin with the ability to time travel, most probably to help change the past and tragedy of his ancestors and to usher in a brighter future for the Brotherhood and mankind. The one who will finally end the endless war between the Assassins and the Templars.

But then Ubisoft screwed that up and wasted Desmond’s potential.

But from their actions were born endless potential. For as long as there are fans who create new stories with Desmond in them, Desmond lives up to that endless potential. By destroying Desmond’s potential, Ubisoft unintentionally created a character with endless potential given to him by those who create stories where he is resurrected or never died in the first place.

And that endless potential is what brings new ideas and scenarios for our dear poor Desmond to get involved with. XD

Desmond and His Ancestors

Kenway-Patented Daddy Issues

So let’s start with Ratonhnhaké:ton because there are some people who say that Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton are quite similar to one another but, let’s be honest, most of those comparisons stem from their similar ‘tense’ relationship with their father. Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton mirror each other because of that relationship and they showed two contrasting ‘endings’:

Ratonhnhaké:ton had wanted to build a bridge between himself and his father but ended up killing Haytham because of their differences and their stubbornness to yield to the other’s wishes and demands.

On the other hand, Desmond let go of whatever animosity he felt for his father and made up with him in the end even though there have been hints of how deeply Bill mistreated his son (either thru neglect or actual abuse is up to interpretation) that should have been given more time to talk about than... two-ish voice messages.

This is more my opinion but Desmond forgiving his father and trying to make amends is because he wished to grant Ratonhnhaké:ton’s wish in some form. Perhaps even his Bleed of Ratonhnhaké:ton is the reason why he felt the desire to make amends because he’s seeing a lot of Haytham Kenway in Bill. In his Bleed-’corrupted’ mind, this could be counted as Ratonhnhaké:ton getting his wish.

The Legend Everyone Wants Him To Become

Lucy said it herself, they’re using the Bleeding Effect to jumpstart and cheat their way into making Desmond an Assassin. But is that really their end goal? Sure, Lucy had the ulterior motive of the Templars wanting to get the POE that had been under Ezio’s care but the Assassins themselves want Desmond to become an Assassin as quickly as possible.

We can even make an argument that they want Desmond to not be an Assassin like Ezio Auditore but to be Ezio Auditore.

Because Ezio Auditore was seen as a success story by the Assassins. They didn’t know how he had almost been so close to giving up the Creed during his later years, they didn’t know how he left the Brotherhood because he had enough…

They remember Ezio Auditore as this great man, this legend.

And the Bleeding Effect gave them the tool to try and recreate this legend in Desmond Miles.

Also, the way Lucy, Shaun, and Rebecca supported Desmond is similar to how Mario and the members of the Italian Brotherhood in AC2 supported Ezio.

In some ways, they were using Desmond/Ezio to get what they want. Desmond and Ezio are the ones risking their lives the most (either in the field where anything and everyone can kill him with Ezio or in a high-tech device that could destroy his mind with Desmond) while their allies kept information from them “until the time is right” (mostly Bill and, by extension, Lucy) and supported them from the shadows instead.

The Distorted Mirror

For me, Desmond is actually more of Altaïr’s foil and a distorted mirror image of Altaïr because:

Both of their mothers are quite the blank slate with Maud only known as a Christian member of the Levantine Brotherhood but never confirmed to be an actual Assassin while Desmond’s mother has never been officially called an Assassin, only a member of the Brotherhood like Maud.

Both were born and raised in Assassin ‘strongholds’, isolated from the rest of the world. How similar their upbringing was is open for interpretation but, considering how Desmond never talked about any specific children from the Farm and didn’t talk about his life as a bartender or any of his coworkers and the only person that treats Altaïr like an old friend was an informant in Damascus (if we do not count Rauf who looks like he’s friendly with everyone and Kadar who is more on the side of hero-worship for Altaïr than being a friend of equal grounds), we can safely assume they were both lonely (especially after Abbas and Altaïr’s friendship went to hell).

Both of them were trained to be Assassins at an early age but where Altaïr thrived and became one of the best Assassins in the Levantine Brotherhood (and, later on, in history), Desmond saw himself as a failure.

Speaking of which, they both have father figures who trained them to be Assassins but where Al Mualim succeeded in creating a valuable weapon, Bill failed.

Both of them, at some point in their lives, thought about running away. Altaïr had been ready to leave Levant with Adha but stayed instead after her death. Desmond, on the other hand, actually ran away and created a new life out of the reach of the Brotherhood.

Altaïr is known for saying “How can I regret the only life I have ever known?” which echoes Desmond’s regrets of running away from his Assassin lineage.

Desmond had talked about how he wished people had told him things, had explained things to him, and given him information that would have made him understand that the Assassins and Templars were real. He even tells Shaun that he would have loved to have been a know-it-all in the Desmond_01.WAV in AC Valhalla. Altaïr is known to hoard knowledge (his library) and is a scholar as well. They both desired knowledge but where Altaïr sought and hoarded it, Desmond simply… wished for it.

There are other comparisons of how similar they are but distorted in some way to make them unique from one another (like how their canon love interest (sorta in Desmond’s case) died because of them in some form or another) but those are some of the major ones in my opinion.

So, you might be wondering, why did I focus so much on Desmond’s ancestors when this is meant to be a character analysis of Desmond himself?

Because that is one of his flaws.

Desmond has and will always be compared to his ancestors, both in universe and in meta. One can only imagine how Desmond felt about being compared to his ancestors.

Well...

We can actually guess how he felt about that because...

Another one of his flaws is how he saw himself as a failure and his feeling of being never enough, of being a failure stems from, you guessed it, William Fucking Miles:

I—I had failed you, and you KNEW it. But you said nothing. I stayed mad. For weeks. I thought you were...you were patronizing me. I thought maybe you decided right there that I was never going to be the man you wanted me to be... (Noob’s Personal Files: "Subject Zero" - audio file 3)

The rest of the audio file talked about how Desmond had misunderstood Bill’s actions but what kind of upbringing would he have to have had that his first thought when he was praised was that it was a lie? Instead of immediately believing the praises given to him by his own father, he assumed that he had failed and his father had given up on him?

Desmond couldn’t even see his own accomplishment:

Desmond: I wanted out. I wanted my own life. To live my own way. Sixteen years old. And where was I going? No idea. Just away. That's it. That was the plan. Not much of one. They never guessed what I was doing, because I didn't know what I was doing. I just walked right out. Someone realized I was gone. They shouted. I started running.

William: Desmond! Desmond!

Desmond: I just ran and ran and ran. All that training was finally worth something. God, it was so dark when I left. And the forest... endless. I didn't dare take the roads.

Mother: Desmond, where are you?

Desmond: Mother, calling out. Begging me to stay. But I wouldn't. I followed the hills down. Down until I hit a stream. I followed that to a river, and from the river to an old access road. I walked for hours that day, the summer sun keeping me warm well into the evening. Found a clearing after dark. Fell asleep beneath the stars. Never had a quieter night. Not before or since. Walking, too scared to hitch a ride. What the hell was I doing? Lost in the badlands for a day. Felt like a week. Endless ocean of wrinkled earth. Can't believe a place could look so dead. (AC Revelations Escape)

A secured location run and protected by adult Assassins couldn’t catch a 16 year old kid? Even if it’s just his parents who went after him, two adults with more experience couldn’t catch him? This only shows that Desmond had the skills. A sixteen years old who had NEVER left the Farm further than what his training and his parents had allowed was able to evade those who were training him his entire life.

Yet, he still thought that he had been a failure. That memory of Bill praising him for doing a good job and him believing that Bill had given up on him stayed with him and made him believe he was a failure for a very long time.

And this was a man who stayed out of the whole Assassin and Templar business for nine years until he grew complacent and tried to treat himself with a motorcycle license (which might show how bored he was with his life as a bartender and wanted some excitement in his life… like a really fast vehicle)

Bill described Desmond as:

This... boy had no ambition. No direction. No plans for the future. What he DID have was a heritage. One he chose to deny. (AC3 Intro)

But then you get to Desmond’s audio files in AC Valhalla where he talked to Shaun about what the Creed means and he says this:

Anyway, my dad has mellowed over the years. But he was strict when we lived on the Farm. He ran a tight ship. I never got the impression that I was free to choose my path forward. Our creed, our tenets, they were drilled into my head. By the time I was a teenager, I was following these rules out of a sense of duty. This was... just what we did. (Layla Hassan’s Personal Files Desmond_01.WAV)

Just like Altaïr, the life of an Assassin was the only life Desmond had and he felt like he never had a choice. He was envious of Shaun who decided to become an Assassin out of his own free will.

But running away?

Denying his lineage?

That was the very first ‘choice’ he ever made for himself.

And this brings us to what Desmond desired most of all:

His “I wanted my own life.” in AC Revelation’s Escape is another excuse he tells himself. Because what he truly wanted was:

A Place to Belong.

After nine years of being away, my old bitterness was back. I was tired again. I didn't want to admit that moving forward might mean taking a step back. But the shine of the city had faded. The freedom I felt was hollow without old friends, without family. (AC Revelations Regret)

But then Desmond started saying these lines:

And suddenly, I wanted it all back. All that training, all that time. But I couldn't. Those days. They were gone. (AC Revelations Regret)

Not until you guys found me. Yeah. It wasn't until I met you and Becs and Lucy that I knew... I knew I wanted to be an Assassin. (Layla Hassan’s Personal Files Desmond_01.WAV)

I know my easiest days are behind me. But I don't want them back. Not now. My name is Desmond Miles... and I am an Assassin. I AM an Assassin. (AC Revelations Regret)

But then compare that to how Desmond was in AC1:

Lucy: Why'd you run away?

Desmond: I could never leave the compound. You have any idea what it's like being trapped in a place, knowing there is a whole world out there I'd never get to see?

Lucy: Don't you miss your parents?

Desmond: No. Far as I'm concerned, they weren't my parents. They were my wardens and I was their prisoner.

Lucy: It sounds like they only wanted to protect you.

Desmond: With all that's happened... I don't know. I guess they were right. (AC1, after the first memory block)

What changed?

Is it because Desmond knew what it was like to be part of a team? Of what it’s like to be an Assassin?

Yes but it’s a little bit more complicated than that.

Desmond felt like he belonged with the Assassins but he made one big mistake: he thought he meant the Assassins as they were are right now.

But what he truly desired, the place that he believed he could belong was the Brotherhood of olds.

The Levantine Brotherhood under Altaïr as the mentor.

The Italian Brotherhood under Ezio as the mentor.

Those were the 'memories' he had of what it meant to be part of a Brotherhood.

Then he started reliving Ratonhnhaké:ton’s life (one who did not have a Brotherhood, instead a village that left him behind and an old man too jaded to truly guide him without letting his past and guilt drive a wedge between them) and those messages he left for Bill? The acceptance? The forgiveness?

They were created after experiencing the pain and loneliness that Ratonhnhaké:ton went thru. It was created after he felt the sorrow of having a father that will never accept him for who he was.

They were left by a man who felt the regrets of someone close to him, could feel himself be him at times, and wished for another ending.

A… happier one.

Desmond’s line of

My name is Desmond Miles... and I am an Assassin. I AM an Assassin.

Becomes bittersweet because, yes, he had accepted who he was meant to be from the start but, thanks to the Bleeding Effect, we never got to know if the kind of Assassin he was ever meant to be was one that was truly Desmond Miles or…

Someone trying to live up to the memories of his ancestors.

[teecupangel]

I learned of Shao Jun while checking Ezio's AC wiki page before actually playing AC Chronicles China and before watching Embers so I always assumed as well that Shao Jun is "(family name) (given name)", especially since I'm used to thinking that if Shao Jun was her full given name, it would have been written as "Shaojun" instead.

Then I watched Embers and Ezio kept calling her 'Yun' and that confused me so I tried checking the JP version of ACC China to check for the kanjis of her name but I saw this instead:

Then I checked the Shao Jun manga JP version and...

This means, as far as the official JP AC media is concerned, the pronunciation of her name is シャオ・ユン (Shao Yun). シャオ・ユン is also her pixiv tag.

Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that it's canon that her actual name is Shao Yun but this does mean that Ubisoft signed off on all of these and, as far as JP is concerned, her name has always been Shao Yun. Had it been Shao Jun, it would have been written and pronounced as シャオ・ジュン.

The JP wiki does give 3 different kanjis for her name though:

Regardless, it seems that, as far as JP is concerned, Shao is supposed to be 少. The second part of that paragraph even says "there are multiple kanjis for her name's meaning. (refer to the name section)" (spoiler: there is no name section in her wiki... also, very rough translation, sorry)

So I think that Ezio and Sofia calling her 'Yun' may be more accurate?

(I personally still use Shao Jun unless Ubisoft retcons it or fesses up that they screwed up with the Jun/Yun thing... although I will use シャオ・ユン if I have to 'talk' about her in JP XD)

(does... ACC China not have a Chinese translation? I assumed it had? Wouldn't that sorta-kinda have Shao Jun's official Chinese characters?)

Irt Shao Jun's Name

Why is it even spelled "Jun"? Even in her first appearance in Assassin's Creed: Embers, Ezio and Sofia pronounce it "Shao Yun."

It's...a mixed bag in Chinese fandom, as far as I've seen. There are no official characters for her name, and without them, we don't know what her name means or even how to correctly pronounce it because there are no tones. Fans usually pick a number of characters to spell out either Shao Jun or Shao Yun, which means her name is usually pronounced differently, with different meanings.

Tbfh, I always favored 绍君 for her name, AKA Shao Jun with "Shao" being a surname to mean "carry on" and "Jun" being a word to describe a gentleman/someone of noble birth and bearing. It bears a lot of power.

In the official AC novels by Yan Leisheng, he uses the 少芸，or Little Yun, which has me taken aback because I've always read Shao Yun as her full name, meaning "Shao" would be a family name, not a prefix. I guess both would work, given that she's a palace concubine. The "yun" he uses means "rue," the flower, which is fitting for a concubine, but doesn't bear the same weight and power as the "jun" I chose for her.

Either way, Ubisoft can't commit to her name. They spell it one way, then pronounce it another. Even the novelization is apparently officially non-canon, meaning once again, the VIBE of this girl is completely up to fanon.

[teecupangel]

kinda late on the weekly schedule but, what do you think about the latest chapter?

My thoughts on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (one of these days, I should really just make a tag for them like '#teecup analyze and reacts to acft webtoon' or something XD)

Official English translation (the free chapters anyway) here

Hahaha, it’s fine. I was pretty busy with the moving and unpacking anyway so I only got to read to the latest chapter yesterday XD.

Jennifer gets another mention which is nice.

This part is an important one as it does show what the Assassin Brotherhood is fighting for.

Free will and the right for everyone to decide their own fate, not be bound by the plans of dead ‘gods’.

We’ll get back to Edward’s speech later because I have a few things to say about that but, for now, the way this is presented:

The close-up of the Shimazu Clan’s crest would imply that the Shimazu Clan (or ‘Shimazu’ Sei) has a beef with the Assassins personally that ended in destroying their vision of order or something but, while I’m not all that familiar with how rich and powerful the Shimazu clan is today, they seem to still hold some power even if they are no longer a ruling family from what I can read.

I am unsure if she’s talking about the Constitution of Japan which rendered titles meaningless (which would have weakened the Shimazu Clan in general) or the destruction of the order kept by the Shimazu Clan in connection to the ‘results’ of the Battle of Sekigahara because that’s one of the main information that we have on the Japanese Brotherhood. They put their lot with Ieyasu Tokugawa while the Shimazu Clan (and, I suppose in AC lore, the Templars) placed their lot with Ishida Mitsunari. Tokugawa’s forces ended up victorious but Tokugawa didn’t really punish the Shimazu Clan and let them keep their lands and titles so… I won’t be surprised if these Japanese ‘pirates’ supposedly under the Shimazu Clan had gone rogue from the clan itself, disgruntled members of the clan who didn’t want to bow down to Tokugawa although that’s a bit sorta ‘???’ because the Battle of Sekigahara happened in 1600 and Edward’s parts are set in 1725. I mean, grudges can go on for a very long time so not that “???!!!” but still a “???”

(I will have to point out that my JP history is spotty at best and my familiarity with the Shimazu Clan is even spottier and wiki doesn’t even have a separate page for Shigehide Shimazu who should have been the lord of Satsuma and head of the Shimazu Clan during 1725 so, yeah, maybe something big did happen to the Shimazu Clan that would explain why ‘Shimazu’s Sei’s line of ‘destroying order’ is set in a panel showing the Shimazu Clan's crest)

Webtoon is a stealth promotion and prologue to AC Red Theory: The Assassin that we will play in AC Red is a rogue Shimazu shinobi (we already know that AC’s Shimazu Clan employs shinobis thanks to this webtoon) and they’re the Japanese ancestor of Noa Kim. ‘Shimazu’ Sei’s line of ‘destroying order’ is a reference to how this Shimazu assassin had destroyed the Shimazu Clan’s order in some way.

Anyway!

I guess this is confirmation that Edward has already married Tessa by this time.

Sidebar: not important to the plot (maybe) but Edward, if you’re hunting crocs, that means we can finally see you use a rope dart, riiigghhhttt???

With that out of the way...

Alright, let’s talk about Edward’s speech more.

First of all, this line:

Not an analysis but more of a comment. I would have gone with “gold and glory” instead of “glory and treasures” even if “glory and treasure” could have been a more accurate translation of the Korean version because “gold and glory” is a phrase most commonly associated with pirates which could have been used as a reference to Edward’s past as a pirate.

Now for the sadder analysis, there is something tragic about this line:

Edward is talking about this in reference to why he had become and stayed as an Assassin, even going as far as touching his hidden blade.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that he is touching the Assassin’s insignia with two of his fingers while his pinky is touching the pirate symbol. This is most probably to show that he remembers and learned from his past as a pirate and how being an Assassin is both his present and his future. More importantly:

“If you decide for yourself what’s right and do everything in your power to uphold that idea… Even mortals like us can overcome fate and leave behind something meaningful.”

That entire speech is meant to represent Edward’s loyalty to the Creed and believing he is doing the right thing and wishing to leave something meaningful behind.

The tragedy comes when you remember that there is one Kenway who did ‘decide for himself what’s right’ and ‘did everything in his power to uphold that idea’

Edward Kenway's own son and a Grand Master of the Templar Order: Haytham Kenway

Even if he was indoctrinated by the man who ordered the death of his father, he still stayed with the Order after learning the truth and even went as far as trying to kill his own son to keep the hold of the Order in the colonies although, yeah, an argument could be made that Haytham was planning to die by his own son’s hands during that final battle but that does not change the fact that Haytham remained loyal to the Order even after knowing the Order is the reason why his father died.

Not only that but Edward’s death and Haytham’s indoctrination were fated. The Isus needed Ratonhnhaké:ton to take the key from Haytham and hide it for Desmond to find when the time comes so Edward's life and death had been fated to happen so that Haytham may become a Templar and travel to the colonies.

In the end, Edward Kenway didn’t overcome fate, he became just another cog in the machine called the ‘Calculations’.

But…

His vision of what it means to defy fate? His thoughts of upholding the Creed which became what he believed to be ‘right’?

It was inherited by his grandson: Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Even if they never met… Ratonhnhaké:ton embodied what Edward wanted to leave behind. And Ratonhnhaké:ton’s life wasn’t dictated by the fates the moment he had buried the key for Desmond to find.

He wasn’t like Altaïr whose dying breath had been to give a final message to the prophet for Desmond to hear.

He wasn’t like Ezio who only finally stepped out of his role as Desmond's prophet after leaving the Brotherhood and having a family of his own when he was already in his 50s.

Ratonhnhaké:ton built his own future after he buried the key. The past of the American Brotherhood was built upon the choices Ratonhnhaké:ton made of his own free will.

To leave something meaningful behind.

[teecupangel]

Heeey long time no see, thoghts on whats going on in the comic?

Heeeeeey, and even longer time no answer, sorry TTATT

Anyway… first of all.

Here’s the tag for all my reactions and analysis to this webtoon.

This does mean I will be talking about Chapters 12 to 18 in this one and, ooohhh boy, let’s get this started XD

Okay, so this might get a bit disjointed in some places so uuuhh… bear with me?

First of all: I remembered reading that Birch was supposed to a business partner or something of Edward but I can’t find where I read that. It was never truly stated what Edward’s ‘front’ was (and I highly doubt he let it be ‘the trophy husband of a rich woman’) so Edward forming an alliance with Madam Lee might turn to him and Madam Lee having a business ‘alliance’ later, maybe Edward being the person in charge of Madam Lee’s business endeavors in London (maybe even Europe?). This would be a good place to set that up but, if it’s not, well… I also won’t be surprised considering the last few chapters XD

Sudden Ezio appearance!

Not surprising though since Ezio is the ancestor of the Kenways so, yeah, Noa having him in his genes is spot on.

However…

Excuse Me???

Bitch, if you trying to take over our baby boi Desmond Miles’ place, there will be… well… not riots but there will be some strong words being thrown around in this tumblr, that’s for damn sure!

BTW, love this game mechanics shoutout XD

(And yes, I do love these more than that Hitman coin toss thing in Chapter 11)

Also…

I know this is meant to be a visual ‘aid’ of some sort of the Italian Brotherhood around AC Brotherhood (Ezio and his recruits), but that’s Evie right there.

That’s Evie. XD

And finally...

Oh my heart… TTATT

Overall: Edward's parts are interesting and it does feel a lot like an AC game with lots of side objectives before tackling the main objective.

The flashbacks help show how Edward became the person who he is in this webtoon and his conflict with Madam Lee even with their alliance is also pretty interesting.

Refusing to call it opium and just calling it 'devil's powder' is funny though, ngl. I don't know if it's against webtoon's terms and services or not but calling it 'Devil's Powder' is the kind of dramatics that Edward would sometimes have. XD

On the other side though, honestly? I don't know if I would ever like Noa, especially with the way the webtoon is comparing him to Desmond Miles.

(I'm going to sound like a broken record)

Again, if the plot twist is he's Desmond's half-brother or son (super highly improbable), I'm out.

If the plot twist is he just so happened to have the same bloodline as Desmond (with Altaïr's bloodline included) but not closely related, I'm out. (For one, Altaïr's bloodline came from his mother's side and is not part of the Auditore-Kenway side. For another... siiigghhh... here's the post where we talk about how weird the percentages of Noa's 'bloodline' is)

The problem with his connection with Desmond is that it comes with doing disservice to an already existing underutilized character: Elijah.

Remember, all the memories Noa is reliving are Edward's memories before he had Haytham. So this means that Sample 17 could have been used to find these memories. They don't need Noa to do this.

And even if they need a 'living descendant' or what not.

ELIJAH IS STILL ALIVE in canon and would have the same memories.

"Oh, but Elijah is in hiding". Uh-huh. And it's not like Abstergo finding him or him creating his own modified Animus to find these memories would be anything out of the realm of possibility.

Which is why I am still advocating that 'Shimazu' Sei and her fellow kidnappers are doing this without Abstergo's approval and/or knowledge.

I detailed why I came to this conclusion here.

[teecupangel]

So, something I've noticed. The bureau's are suppose to be hidden safehouses but also function as shops, but isn't a building with only 1 entrance, and that entrance being on the roof, really suspicious? How is it suppose to be a shop if no one can get in or even knows it's there? And how does Malik leave the bureau with one arm?

I did wonder about that and AC wiki helped me form this headcanon:

So, for me, the bureau is composed of three parts (and an optional fourth part which I’ll get to later): the front shop, the main chamber and the Rafiq’s office.

The room we see whenever Altaïr jumps down from the rooftop is called the main room (according to AC wiki) and this is where any ‘visiting’ Assassin can relax or rest until the start of their mission.

The second room we see where the Rafiq (or Dai in Malik’s case) can always be seen is the Rafiq’s office where an Assassin and the Rafiq can discuss the current mission and also have all the records of past and current missions and information/intel.

I actually assumed that the front shop and the Rafiq’s office are the same room until I thought about it and went “That’s too risky, right??? Like, anyone could just enter while there’s an Assassin-related discussion happening???” and such a risk seemed too stupid for the Brotherhood to do so I assumed there is a third part we don’t know about:

The front shop and any rooms it might need (like a storage room/area) with a novice(s) working as a ‘clerk’.

But then the question becomes how can the Rafiq access the front shop?

The common answer would be there is a door south of the room that we cannot see because of normal camera angles.

The more fun and more secretive answer would be:

It’s a hidden door.

Because every Rafiq's office has a similar setup with enough space behind the counter for a door.

Now, I talked about a possible fourth part and this is more my preference than anything else but I think a front shop that directly leads to the Rafiq office is too risky as well so I headcanon that there are ‘normal’ rooms between the two. A small bathroom because Assassins using public baths sound too risky thanks to the possibility of anyone seeing their missing ring finger and the idea they would leave their gear (especially their hidden blade) in a pretty unsecure place sounds stupid, a kitchen with a nearby dining hall, maybe quarters for the novices and informants or guest quarters, maybe even the Rafiq's private quarters or private office (or both?) and (like I mentioned earlier) any rooms that the front shop might need. Then to get to the Rafiq’s office there will be a hidden door that looks like a wall. This fourth part is optional for me because, well, we'd have to take in consideration just how big the bureau looks on the outside for this part to even be possible. If it's not, I guess... it's bigger on the inside XD

Anyway, that’s how I think the bureaus during the Third Crusades operated because the alternative “the Rafiq’s office is also the front shop” sounds too risky for me XD

[teecupangel]

Tee, have you heard of/played Outer Wilds? It may be weird, but I find many similarities with the Assassin's Creed lore despite the games being very different...

I’ve not played it but I have heard of it and I was interesting in it because I know it deals with time loops (which is a trope I enjoy) so I know a bit of it. (and in my backlog)

I think the reason why you find it similar is because of the whole “the sun destroys your world and the entire solar system after a specific deadline” and it has an alien device called the Eye which has some OP capabilities.

Also… the ending of Outer Wild is bittersweet that invokes a similar feeling to Desmond’s ending in AC3: although death is inevitable, the choices we make are the keys to ensuring life goes on.

Other than that?

The idea that the protagonist is transported back into a specific time before the sun explodes to try and redo everything and change their fate is such a Desmond-centric fanfic plot XD

That’s my opinion though and it’s based on what I know about the game XD

[teecupangel]

Thoughts on the new chapter of the web comic of ac black flag?

Thank you so much for the previous response!

(I'm glad you enjoyed our rants hahahaha)

So, I forgot to add this in the first post but if you’d like to read the official English version of the webtoon, here you go.

As for my thoughts on the first chapter, here’s the post.

Before I rant about Chapter 2, I need to talk about this:

“Hey, Abstergo, how bad did Devil of the Carribean flop that Noa doesn’t know Edward Kenway??? Did it not get a Korean release???”

It’s this guy, Noa!

He’s in the freaking trailer!!!

Okay that’s the most forgivable 'oversight' they've done so far since, you know, it did flop so maybe it didn’t get an international release. Hey, maybe it’s a ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of cult classic by now XD

Let’s get on with me overanalyzing this webtoon.

Now, I’m going to assume you meant Chapter 2 as it’s the latest free chapter in Webtoons but, for those who didn’t know, they already have more chapters up that can be unlocked. I would suggest that you wait for the free chapters instead if you’re still unsure if you’d like to keep reading the webtoon or, you know, follow Captain Edward Kenway’s footsteps after being privateer didn't pan out XD

Okay, so let’s talk about Chapter 2… (and this may be disjointed and absolutely out of order)

First of all:

Adéwalé is mentioned!!!

It would be fun if he gets some screentime on this one, maybe save Edward some time or another.

Same, my man. Same.

Edward is also searching for a lost city in the IndoChina area, supposedly a city of the Isus, and part of the Khmer Kingdom.

Considering Khmer Kingdom was a Hindu-Buddhist empire, Isus based on Hindu gods (or an interpretation of already existing Isus seen as Hindu gods) could become vital to the story (or just a cameo).

There’s also info about missing ships and I’m betting this is connected to the lost city in some way.

If this is a case of Tomb Raider Yamatai’s defense mechanism though… come on, Ubisoft. (It’s also possible it’s those masked dudes but my bet is the Yamatai defense mechanism type)

Okay. I have a problem with this one…

So… I don't think we have confirmation if he has already married Tessa Kenway in this one but is Edward fully embracing that he’s British and not, you know, Welsh? Like, is this the vibe we’re going for here? Or are we going for “Welsh is part of Britain” type of deal and Edward is just calling himself British because, sure, yeah, okay, that’s how people around here know him as? Also, everyone thinks he’s British because of his accent but he’s Welsh in my ears (and maybe it’s not as thick as Catrin-Mai Huw’s Nia but it’s at least around the ballpark of Aimee-Ffion Edwards’ Mio so yeah, he sounds Welsh to me). (To be fair, he was a privateer under the British Crown so maybe this is just me pushing my headcanon that he’s proud to be Welsh).

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART THAT IS MOST PROBABLY JUST MEANT TO BE A REFERENCE:

I’ve talked about this in the other post before BUT this is most definitely a reference to the temple underneath Alamut. Now, Alamut isn’t in Syria but I’m going to think better of everyone who had a hand in this webtoon and assume that this is not a mistake but a hint that they’re starting to look into it but don’t know the exact location so they’re starting in Syria where the seat of power of the Levantine Brotherhood was. Also, it was Edward who found the temple so this serves as a nodnodwinkwink that they’re not going to find anything and Edward would have to check it himself later on… probably. I don’t know anymore with Ubisoft.

Additional Notes for the other chapters because goddamn it, I wanna talk about some of these already. Primarily, THREE THINGS!

ONE: EDWARD’S EYES GLOW WHEN HE USES THE EAGLE VISION

And since this is supposed to be canon, it means Eagle Vision making people’s eyes glow when it’s activated is canon! I feel so validated for my headcanon.

Although it looks more red than gold but I’m still going to keep describing the glow as gold because fuck Ubisoft, I'll write what I want XD

TWO: The implication of the name Shimazu

The lead of the whole ‘let’s abduct this dude and force him to relive Edward’s memories instead of paying him and make him believe it’s for a new game!’ plot is supposed to be this ‘Shimazu’ Sei although the quotation brings into question if she is truly related to the actual Shimazu Clan, it could just be a case of the whole ‘there’s no real evidence that she has Shimazu ancestry but yeah, she actually does’ thing.

So if we go by the idea that the Shimazu Clan is part of the Templar Order, this brings up some insight to the possible Templar activity in Japan because:

The Shimazu Clan is descended from the Minamoto Clan which are pretty much composed of members of the Japanese imperial family that have been removed from the line of succession or taken out of the family itself and became nobles instead. The Shimazu Clan’s Templar ‘roots’ may stem from their exclusion to what they may consider to be their birthright.

The Shimazu Clan’s ancestor is Minamoto no Yoritomo who is the brother of probably the most famous of the Minamoto brothers, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Why is Yoshitsune famous? He’s known as one of the legendary heroes in Japanese history (although a lot may have been exaggerated at this point) and the Shimazu Clan’s ancestor Yoritomo is sometimes portrayed as going against him which, if Yoritomo is part of the Templar Order/Order of the Ancient, might imply that Yoshitsune was an ally of the Hidden Ones or something similar. (Historically though, they were allies but that might be the whole 'the Templars have muddled the truth' kind of deal)

The Shimazu Clan having Templar ties is also important because they were part of the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara which is another nod to AC lore of the Tokugawa Clan and the Eastern Army being allies with the Brotherhood during that time. There was no mention that the Western Army were Templars or Templar allies but, if this ‘Shimazu’ Sei does turn out to be an actual descendant of Clan Shimazu then this would imply the possibility that some (if not most or all) of the Western Army were either Templars or allied with the Templars.

THREE: Edward fighting shinobi-looking fellas

This gives the vibe that he’s fighting rogue/turncoats Assassins from the Japanese Brotherhood as most shinobis we know of were affiliated with the Brotherhood. I say ‘most’ because the Templars have employed a kunoichi before and Fuuma Kotaro seemed to not be affiliated with the Assassins or the Templars from what I read. So… yeah, might just be shinobis employed by the Shimazu clan as they have said or might be rogue/turncoats Assassins and ‘Shimazu’ Sei is meant to be their descendants. Maybe even both???

Not a mistake but I had assumed that the way of speaking of the characters was a translation choice but this (btw, this isn’t the official translation):

The Japanese line isn’t bad or unreadable/not understandable (and the English translation is not entirely correct which I assumed they translated from the Korean line that was included below the Japanese line) but it’s not exactly in accordance with the time period. Remember how Edward would say ‘Jay-sus!’ instead of ‘Jesus’ in Black Flag? Or how they speak in certain ways that we don’t use anymore? It’s similar to this considering that this was in 1724~25.

Maybe it’s because I watched a lot of Japanese period dramas but

目撃者を殺す

is too plain in my ears. The literal translation of this is “kill the witness” not “kill the witnesses”.

For a shinobi like this, I feel that translating “kill the witnesses” should be more like this:

すべての目撃者全滅する

That would translate to “Annihilating all eyewitnesses” which has more gravitas.

The more complete line would be “すべての目撃者を全滅する” but it’s more natural at times to remove particles when speaking and this is longer, yes, but that’s usually how they speak in olden times. Since Japan is still in the Edo period, they’d still be using a more archaic way of speaking than what we’re used to. This すべての目撃者全滅する, btw, is already modernized compared to how they should normally speak but it’ll be more ‘believable’ than just 目撃者を殺す.

Or… you know… the mook shinobi is not really a poet nor a reader and I’m thinking too deeply on this.

If you’ve read up to the end, here, have a chibi Edward XD

[teecupangel]

It's probably me seeing things, but does it look like you like Hidden Ones were less impressed with Isu stuff in general? I mean. in Origins we have Bayek coasting through half a dozen temples and tossing away two Apples. *Technically* in Valhalla we have (HO adjecent) Eivor parting with an Apple, no issues, and just meditating at various Isu ruins... Later on Assassins seem more invested in the stuff. Unless Mirage/Golden City prove me wrong

My usual go-to answer to really weird sci-fi bs that lacks any kind of reaction are

Unreliable Narrator: We’re not exactly seeing what truly happened but what the Animus has interpreted. Either something has snuck into the Animus and there is no reaction since it didn’t really happen (ex: Clay’s gylphs in AC2 and maybe the weird messages for Layla in the temples/pyramids Bayek visited) or the Animus reads the genetic memories but interprets it the way the source sees it or remembers it (Eivor’s Odin memories are tainted with Norse myth instead of being pure Isu history or Bayek fighting a bigass snake after performing a ritual). Some of the special abilities of the weapons and tools they acquire could also fall under this, similar to how sometimes people exaggerate their stories. So, for example, Bayek received a flaming sword (the name I will not say because spoilers) but that may be the Animus’ interpretation of the rage in Bayek’s heart after receiving the sword. Mjollnir’s abilities could also be the Animus glitching because of what Eivor believed the legendary Mjollnir should be able to do.

Religious Inclination of the POV Characters And What They Believe In: Another possible answer is that it’s not like they’re unimpressed but more like they believe that it is possible so why should they be surprised? Bayek, Alexios/Kassandra, and Eivor all believe in their gods and religion so, when faced with things like curses or mythological beings, they have an easier time believing them. Bayek did lock two Apples up because he was wary of their power and, by the time Eivor held an Apple, she pretty much knew the Apple was the reason for all the weird things happening in the Isle of Skye so she treated it more like a cursed artifact than anything.

When in Doubt, Blame the Animus: Considering how the most bizarre and elaborate Isu/myth events happen in Layla’s trilogy and how Layla stole her Animus from Abstergo who had been primarily using the technology to produce entertainment, it’s possible that her Animus is more inclined to making more bombastic action pieces than Vidic’s Animus (which the Assassins’ Animus was based of). Also, considering how a freaking Chocobo is obtainable in Origin, Layla (or someone in her team) is probably modding the Animus. Trial of the Gods events are also noted as being glitches so either someone has been modding the Animus or Layla’s Animus is glitchier than the previous Animus. (Excalibur and other Isu weapons are also part of this explanation because, come on, I get Excalibur not getting any real reaction BUT FREAKING GUNGNIR???)

[teecupangel]

So, concerning the origin of Lucy’s betrayal, she talks about it in AC1 and, considering Project Siren may or may not have already started during this point, this could all be a lie she told Desmond so he’d sympathize with her (although AC wiki does consider this to be canon based on her wiki page):

Lucy: Warren saved my life. So, if he wants to yell a little, let him.

………

Lucy: Sometimes I wonder if they weren't behind it all. If they manipulated events so I'd get desperate. They can do that. They can do anything. I didn't think when I agreed to come here... they even told me I'd be trapped. For 6 months, a year max. Once the product launched, there'd be no need for secrecy anymore. But, until then, I'd be a "guest of the company". At least... that's what they said.

Desmond: And when the Animus was ready?

Lucy: They came in while I was sleeping. Three guys... guns...

Lucy: They dragged me out of bed... God... the worst part is, I knew them. One guy, Richard, we ate lunch together sometimes. And now he was gonna... They were cracking jokes... I tried to pull away... he hit me... and that's when he told me I was going to die.

Desmond: Christ! What did you do?

Lucy: Nothing. I kept telling myself it wasn't real. And then Warren was there, shouting at them to get away from me. And they listened.

Depending on how much you believe her lines (if she was telling the truth, the semi-truth, or just flat-out lying to gain Desmond’s sympathy), these lines could add a different spin to her character and to her relationship with Vidic, especially if you include this line:

Lucy: When they first approached me, I was finishing up my Ph.D. The university made it clear I had no future there. They didn't like the subject of my doctorate... called it pseudo-science. Said keeping me on would discredit and embarrass them. It was the same everywhere. Other universities... companies I interviewed with... pretty soon I was out of money and out of time.

First of all, it’s canon that she was cut off from any communications from the Assassins once she received her orders to infiltrate Abstergo according to the Lost Archive DLC of Revelations:

William: Italy, to Abstergo's new research facility. I want to know what they're after with the Animus device. Your third teammate has been kept outside the Assassin Order, waiting to be called upon.

Clay: Lucy Stillman.

William: She's been trained to infiltrate Abstergo. Since the age of 17, the girl has lived outside our ranks. All her ties to the Assassins have been erased.

And, if it’s true that she had problems getting a job and being validated by her work (which could have been perhaps intentional to catch Abstergo’s attention but highly unlikely?), this meant that Abstergo came to her when she was at her lowest, alone and far away from the people she had known and trusted all her life.

She was vulnerable and Abstergo gave her a new life, made her feel wanted and liked.

Gave her relationships.

Then took it all away from her.

They didn’t have to do it but they deliberately chose Richard to be one of her executioners, someone that Lucy knew by name and they even made fun of her fate, acted like her death meant nothing to them.

Like she meant nothing to them.

That’s when Vidic swooped in.

Saved her.

Protected her.

Gave a new life once more.

Lucy owed Vidic her life, she said so herself.

And that…

That is how many cult leaders get the loyalty of their followers.

First, they take a vulnerable person (Lucy who was isolated from everything she knows). Give them a place to feel loved and seen (Abstergo and Richard and her other friends). Then take it all away and drag them back to the loneliness and isolation they were in (the ‘failed execution’) - this is normally done by bringing them to the forefront and making them remember all their (perceived) failings but, in Lucy’s case, by destroying any relationship she had fostered in Abstergo, including what might have been her social safety net then the cult leader would make them feel loved and wanted, maybe go “I believe in you” or “I forgive you” depending on the context (Vidic saving Lucy).

So yeah… if we truly do believe all the lines Lucy told Desmond in AC1, then the line “If they manipulated events so I'd get desperate…” becomes different. The whole “I’m a prisoner” was a lie to make Desmond sympathize with her but it’s also the truth, whether she knows it or not. She is a prisoner and her Templar allegiance had been tainted from the get-go, by both the Assassins (Bill) and the Templars (Vidic).

The idea that she believes the Templars would ‘take care’ of humanity is tainted by the fact that her idea of ‘care’ is what she experienced from Vidic.

Indoctrination.

… which is what the Templars want to do to the world but Lucy only sees the good thing about that indoctrination. After all, that’s how she was ‘saved’.

And I like the headcanon that she didn’t know Clay would die because of her actions (or her inaction) because she trusted Vidic too much. She believes he’s a ‘good’ man.

But also, Vidic is her cult leader. His words are law. She cannot go against him because she believes she is nothing without his approval. So even if she knew it was dangerous, she would believe Vidic if Vidic tells her that Clay would be fine. Even if she didn’t believe it, she’d still go along with it because Vidic’s words are law.

This line from Vidic:

We're counting on you, Lucy. You have served the Templar Order well, and we never forget loyalty. Oh, yes. Once inside their hideout, perhaps you might ask the Assassins why they left you alone for so many years.

The first two lines are Vidic reminding Lucy who was there for her when she had nothing. Who had seen her loyalty. Her ‘worth’.

But the third line?

That was said to remind Lucy that the Assassins abandoned her. It’s not him suggesting that she asks them. No. That’s Vidic reminding her that the reason why she had been so alone for so many years was deliberate on the Assassins’ part.

Also, the only times we see Lucy actually going against Vidic is when she’s playing the part of the good cop to Vidic’s bad cop so even that is tainted with Project Siren already working in the background. We can’t be sure how much her actions in AC1 are acting and how much is true concern for Desmond brought by her guilt over what happened with Clay. Even when they left, all of her emails to Vidic talked about concerns for Desmond’s health but she never does anything about them. She always listens to Vidic.

Because, in the end, Vidic brainwashed her and indoctrinated her to believe that his way is the right path.

All lines from the game came from 21st Century Conversations and Memories of Clay

Feeling a little bit under the weather, so I'm gonna cheer myself up by trying to write a lil character analysis for Lucy.

(Warning: I am writing this mostly off the top of my head, not to mention while sick so my brain isn't exactly working as it should, so if you find anything you would like to correct/expand on feel free to comment/reblog)

Out of the modern day gang, Lucy seems, at least initially, like the least interesting: Rebecca is a bit of an adrenaline junkie who discovered her aptitude for technology while bedridden after sustaining an injury caused by her passion for extreme sports, Shaun is a conspiracy theorist who was forced to join the assassins after his snooping got him into trouble, Desmond is a man who ran away from a cult and had to build a new life for himself, only to then find himself dragged back into it once again.

Each of them has an interesting and unique reason for being where they are when we first meet them, and each is the result of an active choice that lines up with their equally unique personality.

And Lucy? Lucy is a spy. She became one because that's what the assassins needed at the time, and then she became Vidic's assistant because he manipulated her into it.

And how did she become an assassin? She didn't, she was born into it.

Out of all the "origin stories" for the modern day gang, Lucy's stands out as it has the least amount of active choices on her part.

The most active we see her as is in AC1, where she regularly fights with Vidic over a variety of matters, but mostly Desmond.

By the time of AC2 Lucy's role as animus expert has been taken over by Rebecca, who also acts as the nice, friendly presence in the group, pushing Lucy into the role of leader instead, and now that she is no longer playing good cop to Vidic's bad cop we start seeing that she can be quite bossy at times, but also that she's under enormous amounts of stress, as we can infer from multiple occasions.

As Brotherhood comes out we learn even more information, most importantly a)that she feels guilty for Clay's death, as well as her current treatment of Desmond and b)that the years spent as a captive at Abstergo have led her to feel disconnected from the rest of the world.

And then she dies, and it is revealed that she'd been a traitor all along.

So far I have been ignoring this piece of information as it was clearly a last-minute decision to justify Kristen Bell's departure, and I think that, for the purpose of this analysis, it would be interesting to take a minute to compare pre-reveal Lucy to post-reveal Lucy.

Pre-reveal Lucy is a likable character, but not a particularly deep one. She mostly functions as a love interest for Desmond and a straight man for the rest of the gang, by which she's largely overshadowed.

Post-reveal Lucy, on the other hand? She's a much grayer character. While I would still describe her as a largely reactive character, the choices she does make tell us much more than just "she's a good person" and "she's loyal to the assassins". 

First of all, her betrayal: while we are not given any real explanation as to how it happened (was she found out? Had the templars always known? Or was she the one who willingly revealed herself to be an assassin?) we do know from an interview with the lead writer of Revelations and Lost Archive (source: "The Assassin's Den - The Lost Archive ft. Jeffrey Yohalem", on youtube) that the main drive behind her loyalty is the conviction that the templars will "take care" of humanity, herself included. Paired with her previously mentioned feelings of disconnection from the world, that would lead me to speculate that while she does take on the role of caretaker more often than not she herself desires to be taken care of, more so than she desires her freedom, and she projects those feelings onto the rest of humanity.

Second, Clay's death: this is the one that made many fans dislike Lucy's character, as she leaves him to die when she had the perfect opportunity to save him by running back to the assassins with him.

While there are plenty of ways to interpret this, I personally believe that it was simply a bad call on her part, possibly caused by her overestimating Vidic's and her own abilities to cure him, as well as the nature of the doctor's intentions.

As stated by the official wiki, in fact, when talking about subject 15 "Lucy Stillman eventually became concerned with the condition of the subject and advised Warren Vidic to cease exposing her to the Animus.[2] Warren agreed and insisted Lucy take the day off.[3] He then sent an e-mail to Steve Gibbs informing him of the need for "disposal units" at the labs as well as the drafting of a fake accident report by James Morse, implying the termination of the subject.[4]", which might suggest that Lucy is a much more naive character than Desmond's pov would have us believe, at least when it comes to Vidic.

Third: this might be a bit weird but… all the tiny choices she makes when interacting with Desmond and the other assassins, what she chooses to reveal and what she doesn't… the reveal of her betrayal puts all the information given to us by pre-reveal Lucy into question, thus making her an unreliable narrator.

Considering that the rest of our information regarding her comes from Juno (the mother of all bitches) and Clay (whose pov was heavily manipulated by said mother of all bitches), both also unreliable narrators…

What we do actually know about Lucy is very little, and idk I think that makes her even more interesting.

So, uhm, yeah. There's a lot of other stuff I wanted to cover, such as the many ways I believe she is a tragic character and how her interactions with other characters (Coff coff Daniel coff coff) could have been very interesting to see but alas I am tired and my brain wants me to go to sleep already.

Bye and thanks for reading this.

Here's a cookie as a reward 🍪

[teecupangel]

Here for the same every week.

Pd: I was scared for the look in the face of Noah :(

My thoughts on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Official English translation (the free chapters anyway) here

So, before we get to the ‘meat’ of my thoughts for this chapter, Edward is doing good on his part but the mystery is mostly contained in the modern-day part right now so that’s where I will focus on.

I will have to ask, is this something that Edward knew on his own?

Or is this meant to be something Noa did that goes against history?

Are we saying Noa’s Animus has the ability to change the past as he sees it? (Not the real past though but the past that the Animus is loading)

Annnyywaaayyy…

My head pretty much hurt when I was reading the modern-day part because it sorta doesn’t make sense?

This dialogue makes it seem like rejecting the memories would worsen the Bleeding Effect but that’s not what happened to Cal’s father in the film. He went blind because he refused to cooperate with the memories yet there was no mention of how he suffered from the Bleeding Effect.

I supposed the film’s side effects would have less canonical standing than ‘Shimazu’’s words in the webtoon?

Also… this part…

Are we saying that Edward, who wanted to meet his daughter after learning about her, the same Edward who returned to London with her, the same Edward who made a name for himself as a noble and made sure to provide for both his daughter and his son…

We’re calling Edward a deadbeat dad???

Look… let’s be clear, Edward made grave mistakes. How he left Caroline is a big red flag that points at him being a deadbeat husband even if he says he’s doing it for them but the ending of Black Flag shows that he wants to be better, he wants to be a good father.

Edward: Will you stay with the Assassins? Anne: No. I haven't got that kind of conviction in my heart. You? Edward: In time, aye... when my mind is settled and my blood is cooled. Sailor: Sail ho! Coming into the cove! Anne: You're a good man, Edward. And if you learn to keep settled in one place for more than a week, you'll make a fine father too.

And Edward's part in this webtoon is set 3 years after Edward and Anne had this conversation.

Edward was a lot of things but I refuse to believe that he was a deadbeat dad to Jenny growing up.

Dude, don't do Edward dirty like that.

I think this is Noa projecting his hatred for his father but Edward is not the right person to be used for this entire thing.

Hey, Noa. Wanna know who fucked up the Kenway family so badly?

This motherfucker.

The whole Kenway family drama started when he had Edward killed, Jenny sold off and indoctrinated Haytham into becoming a Templar.

For all Edward Kenway’s shortcomings and foolish decisions, I refuse to believe that he was ever anything but a good father to his children and Noa’s words, while I know came from the eyes of someone who don’t know Edward enough and someone who has a very bad relationship with his own dad, still managed to irk me.

At least Desmond had an actual bad dad to push his daddy issues to with Haytham and we can't even really call Haytham a deadbeat dad since his 'lack of contact' is because he didn't even know he had a son in the first place.

I'm just saying the Kenway men (actually, the Auditore-Kenway men) are not the right people to call 'deadbeat dads' in this scenario. An argument can be made for 'deadbeat husband' for what Edward did to Caroline but NOT deadbeat dads.

Now, for the other ‘main character’ of the modern-day era…

This line does not bold or add single quotation marks on the Shimazu so this could mean that she does believe she’s a Shimazu but the boss lady doesn’t believe she’s a Shimazu. Of course, this could also be an indication that the boss lady calling her ‘Shimazu’ with quotation marks was meant to show that she was stressing the name instead of implying she’s not a real descendant of the Shimazu clan.

Another thing… (this is more of a personal thing than anything so you can ignore this)

No.

God, no. Please don’t.

I already have a low tolerance for tsunderes in general, if this webtoon makes ‘Shimazu’ a tsundere with the development being she’d become more and more ‘dere’ for Noa, I’ll probably lose any interest I have in her. Tsunderes aren’t really my thing, especially if they physically abuse their ‘dere’ target which ‘Shimazu’ kinda did using the goons she had with her.

[teecupangel]

here im once again, tbh i feel the comic is startying to feel like te AC movie. Also interested on the "Who is the fhater?" thing going on. And yeah we have another one on the bingo "family problems"

My thoughts on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Official English translation (the free chapters anyway) here

Kenway Daddy Issues plays a major part in this one, that's for sure.

My main takeaway is…

Ah. I’ve been unnecessarily torturing Desmond because I've desynced soooo many times due to fall damage… Sorry, Desmond.

But see, that’s my problem with this setup though.

This seems… too dramatic?

Because let’s remember that at this point, we already have the Animus that is being used by Abstergo Entertainment AND it's a mainly a headset. (Let's remember this is the Animus that they used to check Edward's memories back in Black Flag as well so it works with Edward's memories so this isn't a case of "oh those Animus can't watch memories like the big ones" because these headset Animi were the main Animus that Black Flag, Rogue, Unity and Syndicate used)

But Noa’s Animus as seen above looks more like Abstergo’s Animus from AC1 with its overhead transparent screen-like thing and the fact that it keeps the subject flat.

It's even look more similar to the one Desmond was forced to use than the Animus Layla stole in Origin:

(We're not comparing it to the Odyssey and Valhalla Animus because those have been modified by Layla and her team.)

So this mean, in terms of looks, Noa's Animus is most similar to an older Animus version.

This is weird because why is the Templars or Abstergo using a variation (and deadlier version) of an old model?

My theory is that they’re a rogue team and this entire thing has not been approved by Abstergo at all because there is one important plot point that they have yet to tackle:

“Why do they need Noa Kim’s genetic memories in the first place?”

The memory they’re looking for is from 1725

AND Noa’s DNA states specifically that he has Iroquois DNA

Then that means he came from the Edward-Haytham-Ratonhnhaké:ton line because that’s more believable than “Oh, Edward had a one-night stand/affair with someone before/while he’s married to Tessa AND just so happened to have an Iroquois ancestor LIKE Ratonhnhaké:ton”

This means that Haytham was probably born prematurely for this entire thing to work since we do know Edward was still in Macau on February 1725 and Haytham was born in December 1725.

Aaaannndd we’re back to the Desmond is Noa’s biological dad theory OR the William Miles is Noa’s biological dad theory BUT here’s the thing though.

If he is Ratonhnhaké:ton’s descendant then that means any and all genetic memory that Noa might have of Edward Kenway is in Desmond’s genetic memories EVEN IF they are not ‘closely’ related (I call bullshit if they’re not AND I don’t even like the theory that Desmond is Noa’s biological father, ELIJAH IS SEVERELY HORRIBLY NEGLECTED BY UBISOFT ALREADY!!!) because if Ratonhnhaké:ton is both Noa and Desmond’s ancestors, even if they had different ancestors after Ratonhnhaké:ton, their genetic memories of Edward stops at the same place: the conception of Haytham Kenway.

This means that there’s no need for Abstergo to take Noa because they still have Sample 17.

The same thing they used to watch Edward’s memories in Black Flag in the first place.

Abstergo would have a better time getting some poor intern(s) checking Edward Kenway’s later memories (Noob style) than

Kidnapping Noa Kim

Hiding him somewhere

Making sure no one would look for him

Forcing him into the Animus

And doing all this manipulation and threatening bullshit

In conclusion, I propose the following theory:

The people who kidnapped Noa are a rogue team affiliated with the Templars and/or Abstergo and are doing this on their own without the Inner Sanctum’s approval.

(Oh, and ‘Shimazu’ is acting like a bitch version of Sofia Rikkin and this does have AC Movie vibes to it and, I’m saying this as someone who rewatches the AC movie whenever I’m stressed to relax, that is not a comparison this webtoon would probably want to have right now)

[teecupangel]

Here I'm once again, thoughts on the new chapter?

The woman with the tablet on chapter 4 gives me a vibe of Lucy idk why.

My thoughts on Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4

Official English translation (the free chapters anyway) here

The woman with the tablet, for me, feels more Vidic at the moment. Maybe if we get a scene with her being nice to Noa, she’ll be similar to how Lucy acted around Desmond (especially if she implies she’s working for Abstergo because she has no choice).

Ngl, depending on how she treats Noa, she could turn into either Vidic or Sofia Rikkin. Speaking of which, Sofia Rikkin is still alive, right? Why isn’t she the one doing this shady Animus project? XD

I can say for certain that this would be a shorter ‘thoughts and analysis’ than usual, mainly because a large portion of the chapter focuses on Edward being a badass. As much as I love seeing Edward being a badass, there’s really not much to analyze as I focus more on the story XD

I will say that Edward getting sanctuary from the Chinese is funny considering he’s running from the Japanese. XD

Also, it might be because I’ve been talking about Jade a bit and I’m reaching but if they get a Chinese character to join their quest, this might become connected to AC Jade.

(But I still think the focus on Noa’s quarter-Japanese ancestry and the villains being the Shimazu clan points at this being a prequel/set-up to AC Red).

Anyway, main takeaway:

Edward’s character development from Black Flag is intact:

The fact that this comes at the cost of so many lives will always be bittersweet to me.

Oh, also…

He hunted 2 crocodiles and if we based it on AC Black Flag Crafting (from IGN):

I’m betting Edward’s gonna get another pistol but I would absolutely love it if it was for a rope dart pouch. The panel would suggest either a belt or a holster though. :(

(Meta: I'm sorry, Edward, are you saying that you didn't load up with your max upgrades before you went on this mission???)

And to end this short-ish thoughts and analysis:

See? This is the kind of thing that would be the same as ‘rejecting the memory’. If ‘Shimazu’ Sei keeps saying that this is all dandy and a good thing, I’m calling bullshit and think either she’s actually deliberating keeping things from Abstergo or this webtoon is trying to push an Animus theory that contradicts what we know of how the Animus operates using genetic memories.

Btw, does anyone know what she’s supposed to be making here? It looks like soup and skewer with perhaps rice wine(?) but the 2 uncooked garlic bulbs make me go “???”