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storytimefromthecreed · 4 years

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The Other Side of the War

When one steps into the Animus, in the time it takes for the world to appear, everything is grey. That’s what it was like right now. Searching the horizon for the world to appear, Desmond searched the grey and found that this was not the case. It remained ever present, and panic shot through him. Something was wrong. Maybe the Animus glitched? Maybe something had happened to the rest of the team, and he was stuck in that damn chair?

If he had a heart, it would be hammering. That should’ve confirmed the thing he dreaded most was true. Perhaps, when you get there, this is what you have to figure out on your own.

As the memories resurfaced, he pieced through his day. Did he need more time with Connor? He’d thought he’d finished his story. Oh. They had. They’d found what needed finding. He remembered waking up and wishing he had coffee. Juno, the face of his family as he pushed them away, the burning. It was the most painful thing he’d ever felt in his entire life. “Maybe that’s why it killed me.” Taken aback that he’d spoken the words, Desmond looked around once more. For a world that would never build.

Of course, he would wind up in hell.

Falling to the ground with a sob, Desmond sat and pulled his knees to his chest. For a moment, he just sat there and wept. Then, he yelled into the void, “I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life!” There was no echo. “I’ve lied, cheated, stole. Hell, I’ve even killed, but you know what?” He waited, what for? He wasn’t sure. Maybe the Devil would show his face or God would smite him. “I’d do it all again! Ok? I fought for good, for the lives of the innocent, for the right to choose, and I’d do it again!” Nothing happened, and so Desmond returned to his crying.

A beam of light appeared a few steps away, like someone had drawn a curtain. The beam grew until a shadow formed inside it, and Desmond braced himself for a fight. He was an Assassin, after all.

He plopped down beside him and offered him a hand. Gold eyes twinkling at the sight of him. “God, I must be really handsome for my line to turn out as it has.” Desmond knew that voice, had spoken it, and yet it should be impossible for this person to be before him. His life was always filled with impossibilities. “Des-mound.” His accent was thick and made Desmond smile. “It’s really good to finally meet you.” Taking his hand, Altair helped him up. “Now, without delay! I had to fight the others to be first in line, and I’m sure they’re going to be mad if we’re late.” He’d began to make a step but stopped when he saw Desmond paled.

“The others?” He asked.

Altair nodded, “Yes. The other Assassins.” Now, he smiled, “We’ve been watching the adventure you’ve been on, and I have to say, Des-mound. We…we’re all so proud.”

“Proud?” Desmond pulled his arm away and cradled it against his chest. It should’ve been burned, and yet his tattoos were in perfect condition. “How can you be proud of me? I died. I made the wrong call. I…I lost.”

A hand went to his shoulder, and he looked up to see Altair giving him a soft smile, “Des-mound, a friend once told me what I am going to tell you. War is endless, it is a cycle between good and evil. It is, and always shall be. We make war on others and they in turn make war on us. Now, that’s not saying that it’s hopeless or not worth fighting, all it is saying is that there are no winners and losers. There simply is. As long as you fight for truth, for good, you’ll always win.” Tears sprang into Desmond’s eyes, and Altair felt a pang of sorrow. Maybe Connor and Ezio were right. They were better with their words and never would’ve made Desmond cry. Just as he was about to say this, Desmond wiping his face and finally smiled.

“Thank you, Altair.”

Swiftly, Altair pulled him in a hug. Shock colored Desmond’s face when Altair let him go, to which he said, “I’ve always wanted to do that. Now, tell me, are we ready?”

“Let’s do it, Gramps.” At this new nickname, Altair swung his arm over Desmond’s shoulders, and they started walking into the light. Scared, Desmond put his arm around Altair’s shoulders, and they stepped in.

Everything was white, and nothing existed save for Altair’s weight beside him. It made Desmond brave. Then, suddenly, there was a, “He’s HERE!! DESMOND!!” Heaven looked nothing like how he thought it would. There were no harps or clouds, but plenty of angels. As his eyes searched the room, he recognized some familiar faces amongst the strangers.

A woman with bright red hair looked him up and down before nodding her approval, the man with a ponytail gave him a small wave. Maria looked between him and Altair, hands clasped in excitement, and Malik stood by her. He looked different when he wasn’t yelling. His face kinder when he smiled.

Breaking apart from the crowd was someone Desmond would know anywhere. Ezio made his way before him and offered a hand, his mouth opening and closing before he finally spat out, “Hi. I’m Ezio.”

Chuckled, Desmond opened his arms, and Ezio walked right in. “I know who you are, Ezio, and it’s so good to finally meet you.” As they pulled away, Ezio held him at arm’s length and looked him over with tears in his eyes. “I can’t imagine how frustrating it was working through the veil and not knowing the whole story.”

“I’d love to hear it from the source, that is,” Ezio looked sheepish, “if you wouldn’t mind?”

“I’d love that, Grandpa.”

“Hey now, don’t go calling just anyone Gramps.” Altair pouted with a cross of his arms.

“Ignore him,” Maria stood before Desmond now, offered a hand. “He thinks the whole world revolves around him.” With her snark passing, she gazed down at him gently. “You probably don’t know who I am, but I know so much of you, Desmond. It’s truly wonderful having you here.”

“Maria Thorpe.” Demond gave her a hug too. “I know you.”

An argument had broken out between Ezio and Altair behind them, but they ignored them. “Oh,” Maria turned bright red. “You do? Well, I can explain. You see, in the beginning….actually, I’m sure I’ll have time to explain everything later.”

“I’m his Prophet.”

“I’m his Gramps!”

“I’m Connor.” The voice made Desmond turn and look up, all the way up, until he found warm by eyes.

Desmond leapt, “Ratonhnhake:ton!” He offered a handshake, “I just finished a session with you, and there’s so many things I have to ask.”

“A session?” Connor took his hand, and Desmond shook it eagerly.

“Yea! In the Animus. So, what happened to the Homestead? Where did the turkey go? How do you feel about the current state of America?”

“Uhhhh….”

“Sorry,” Desmond laughed, “Got a bit ahead of myself, didn’t I?”

“It’s understandable.” Connor assured him, “But the turkey? He lived a long, happy life, and died of natural causes, I promise you. Here, there’s some people you have to meet!”

Meeting Haytham was strange, but meeting Haytham’s Assassin/pirate father was even stranger. “What do you mean you never got to go through my life?” Edward huffed, angrily fluffing a pillow for Desmond. “These two,” he waved the pillow between Haytham and Connor, Haytham flinched. “Wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me.”

“Maybe it’s because you pissed away the head start the Assassins had worked thousands of years for?” Arno sipped his coffee.

Desmond wheeled to Edward. “That was you?!”

“Aye, get off it, all of you. Don’t go embarrassing me in front of my grandson, you hear?” Edward mumbled.

“But I’m the Gramps!” Altair called from the kitchen.

The day was spent catching up, as well as a family can with eras between them, and Desmond’s mind wandered back to his family in the land of the living. He hoped they were safe and knew he he’d be waiting for them when it was their time.

Until then, he was in wonderful company. What’s the worst that can happen with all the Assassins living under one roof?

#ezio auditore de firenze #altair ibn la'ahad #Assassin's Creed #assassin's creed 3 #assassin's creed brotherhood #connor kenway #desmond miles #arno dorian #arno victor dorian #edward kenway #assassin's creed unity #assassin's creed black flag #assassin's creed revelations #maria thorpe

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xazz · 3 years

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Moth Wings 3

Pairing: AltMal, Altair+Desmond Rating: Explicit Tags: vampires, romance, servant AU, music AU, fluff, angst, flangst Status: WIP

Happy Halloween! What’s better than an update to some vampires to celebrate?! And we get Malik. Finally. Here to be a charming vampire, what’s not to like? If you want to read them making out already you can sub to my patreon, where they’re already together (check out my blog main page) otherwise it’ll be a bit.

Desmond was two.

He was finally learning to walk. He looked like he should have been able to from birth but it still took a while to get it.

It was Altair’s nightmare.

Now he could wander. Or fall. Or bump into things. Or climb something.

Altair sometimes woke up in the middle of the day in a cold sweat after finding Desmond at the bottom of the stairs in the castle in his stress nightmares.

He wasn’t speaking yet though, despite Altair’s efforts. The master wasn’t upset about it but the mistress was. She kept telling Altair he needed to try harder. Altair didn’t know what else to do. He talked to Desmond all the time, asked him questions, engaged him in what they did during the night.

Altair was heading for bed one night. He’d put Desmond to sleep before the sun rose and he would sleep all day without issue. The master was waiting by his closet. He put his eyes down. “Master, did you need something?”

“Yes. We are having a guest arrive today. Before sunset. I require you to meet them in the light and have his attendants bring his sarcophagus to one of the empty chambers here in the castle.”

Altair half looked up, confused. He looked into the master’s chest. “A guest?” he asked.

“Yes. An old associate of mine. This is an important task, understand?”

“Yes, master. Do… do you need me to stay awake all day to wait for them?”

“He won’t arrive until late in the day. And it is important you are rested to care for Desmond. So rest, but not so deeply you don’t wake before dusk.”

“Yes, master,” Altair bowed. He didn’t straighten until the master was gone and went to his own chambers elsewhere in the castle.

He got ready for bed but slept poorly, knowing he needed to wake early. He woke well before dusk, going out to the castle steps and sitting, waiting. The sky was slowly turning orange and pink and Altair drifted in and out of a dozing state after his bad sleep.

He started awake as he heard the sound of hooves on the path leading up the castle and scrambled to his feet. He waited. He shook his head, sure he was dreaming at what was coming up the path. It was a carriage being pulled by...vertically black and white striped horses. Four of them, pulling a black carriage being manned by two drivers and he could see three men hanging off the back as well.

The carriage came around the drive and stopped in front of the stairs. “Hail,” one of the drivers called.

“Hail,” Altair lifted a hand, staring at the striped horses. “I take it you’re the guest we’re expecting.”

“Yes,” the driver got down. “His majestic Malik ibn-Selim el-Jama al-Sayf of the Sunfaire Abode.”

“Oh,” that meant nothing to Altair. “The master is sleeping currently. I’m to show you where to bring the sarcophagus.”

“Very good,” and then he spoke another tongue to the others and the three men got off the back of the carriage. They were huge dark skinned men with wide shoulders and biceps as large as Altair’s torso. They opened the back of the carriage, talking to each other. The second driver joined them and he was as big as the men in the back. They dragged a sarcophagus halfway out of the carriage and then they hoisted the wooden box up onto their shoulders. The first driver looked back at Altair, “Lead the way then,” he said.

Altair was so stunned he couldn’t move for a moment and then he nodded. “Yes. Yes come follow me,” he beckoned. They followed him, climbing the stairs as Altair quickly opened the front door for them. “I assume your master is sleeping as well?” he asked the driver.

“Yes. We’ve been trying to make the going as easy as possible,” he said.

“This way,” and he led them down the hallway to where there were empty rooms, close to Desmond’s room too. He opened a few doors into empty rooms to find the nicest one and motioned the pallbearers inside. They went in and laid the sarcophagus down gently. They spoke to each other in the language Altair didn’t know briefly and one undid a few latches on the box and then they all filed back out.

“And where may we put the zebras? And where are we staying?” the driver asked.

“There’s a stable around the side. And… I don’t know where you will be staying. Your master will have to arrange that with mine.”

“Hmmm, very well.” More unknown words were spoken and then they all leff, leaving Altair alone in the hallway. Did he go after them? No. That didn’t seem right. He wasn’t needed to help them.

While he’d been waiting for their guest it had gotten dark out. Desmond would be waking soon and Altair hadn’t eaten yet. He quickly went to the kitchen to grab something for breakfast before making his way back to Desmond’s room. As he was, eating the cheese and meat stuffed bun, a door opened. Altair froze when a figure he didn’t recognize stepped out from the room. He quickly looked down, realizing it was the master’s guest.

“That was the worst day’s sleep I’ve had in centuries,” he heard the vampire grumble. “You there,” his voice was directed towards him.

“Yes, sir?” he kept his eyes down and put the bun behind his back even as the vampire’s shoes came into his sight on the floor.

“You are the help here?”

“In a way, sir,” he said. “I look after young master Desmond.”

“Ah, yes, of course. I assume I’m too early for breakfast then?”

“The sun set a moment ago, sir. The rest of the coven has yet to wake.”

“I see-- would you look up? Didn’t William teach his help to look at who they speak to,” he sounded annoyed.

Altair would rather look than make a vampire angry. He looked up at Malik. “He prefers I keep my eyes down,” he said truthfully.

Malik rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath that while he couldn’t understand did sound a lot like ‘of course he does’ in an annoyed way. He wasn’t like the other members of the coven. Malik was fairly dark skinned for a vampire with a thick head of black hair that was messed from sleeping but not so unruly he couldn’t comb it back with his fingers. Like the others he had pure black eyes but they didn’t seem as sharp. Maybe it was because of the black painted lines around the edges even if they were a bit smudged. It took Altair a moment to recognize it. He’d only ever seen ladies wear eye makeup before. “Well you can show me where the dining room is then, yes? I can wait for them.”

“Of course, sir,” Altair nodded and turned on a heel and headed for the dining room. “The kitchen is down through there if you don’t want to wait,” he pointed at the stairwell leading down when he brought the vampire to the dining room.

“I shall be a courteous guest and wait,” the vampire said and sat.

“Very good, sir. If you’d excuse me,” he bowed.

“Where are you going?”

Altair paused before he left. “I’m going to get young master Desmond.” He was looking at the table, not at the new vampire.

“Silly me, of course. My sleep made me forgetful. Off you go,” and Altair retreated, stuffing the rest of the bun into his mouth on his way back.

Desmond was groggy and whiny when Altair picked him up from his bed. “Come now, Des, its time for breakfast,” he bounced the boy gently to wake him up. The little vampire yawned and behind him his weak wings fluttered and closed against his back again. “Yes yes, very cute, but it’s time to wake up.”

He got Desmond dressed and made sure he was awake before taking him to the dining room. Some other members of the coven were already there, talking with Malik. Altair just sat in a chair at the far end of the table with the baby quietly. He was only allowed to do this until the Matron came for meals and took Desmond away, then he was to go away until the meal was over.

Desmond was more awake now and did not want to be in Altair’s lap. So he let him stand next to the table and he bounced up and down to see over it before climbing into the chair next to Altair and standing on it to get a view of the dining room. Altair kept a hand near his back in case he needed to catch him. He could walk but not very well and sometimes still fell onto his butt or knees. When they were alone it was fine but here? As more of the coven was coming in for breakfast? If the child fell he’d be done for.

Eventually the Matron came to breakfast. She cooed at Desmond as she picked him up from the chair, ignoring Altair entirely. He slid off the chair as some went to go get a fresh meal for the rest of the coven. He waited outside the dining room for meal to be over and took Desmond when the Matron left the dining room.

Back in Desmond’s room Altair tried, unsuccessfully, to engage Demond in talking. He’d read Desmond a thousand books and sang him songs and talked about musical instruments and theory and anything to encourage the boy to speak. To at least want to tell Altair to do it again. Even just to say Altair’s name. Or call his mother. But like all the other days it didn’t happen and Altair ended up laid on the rug in annoyance watching Desmond scribble with colored crayon on scrap paper. He did love to draw at least. And he loved when Altair sang to him. Even if Altair was not a good singer. Sometimes he even made noises like he was singing along with Altair, little squeaks and beeps of noise.

Maybe that was something.

When the sun rose he put Desmond to bed and went down to the town. He was the master’s servant but he wasn’t a captive. They’d just made it very clear if he left and never returned they would hunt him down and kill him. So long as he came back.

His father’s workshop was attached to his family home. He’d been training to make violins from his father when he’d been volunteered. His father had always been an early riser and Altair wasn’t surprised to find him there, stringing bows with cat gut and waxing them flat. Umar was surprised to see him. “Altair, what are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too,” Altair said tiredly.

Umar was chastised, “Hello, son. What brings you here? Had enough of the castle life?” it was a minor tease but went right to Altair’s gut. Did they think he was pampered up there or something? Surely they had to realize he wasn’t a guest in the home of a vampire. He didn’t say anything about that. He just ignored the question entirely.

“May I have one of the violins?”

“Huh?” Umar was confused.

“I’ve told you I’m looking after the master’s son,” he said. Umar nodded. “He’s old enough to start talking but he isn’t. The masters are getting... increasingly upset about this. I can’t figure out a way to get him to talk.”

“Some children just take time,” Umar said gently.

“I know that. But that isn’t good enough for my masters, father,” Altair sighed. “But he makes noises when I sing to him, like he wants to sing along. I thought maybe music would get the words out?”

“Ah,” Umar nodded sagely. “Yes. We’ve had a few kids start talking to sing along with a fiddle player,” he agreed. “You’re, of course, welcome to whichever you wish,” he motioned to the workshop. There were only a few completed violins hanging on the wall, their wooden bodies shiny and beautiful.

“Thank you.”

“Though I should make you make your own,” Umar chuckled.

Altair sighed. “I only wish, father,” he said earnestly. “I hope I get to return and finish learning,” before he died. That was left unsaid. Umar was not a young man. He and Altair’s mother had had Altair late, which was why she wasn’t here for him. Umar had raised Altair alone, their only child.

“I’m sure you will. It’s just until that brat is older yes?”

“Yes. The master promised once Desmond was half grown I could return back down here to the mountain.”

“Well that isn’t too bad. You’re young. A decade won’t feel like that long.”

“I suppose,” Altair sighed. “Let me pick one and get back. I still haven’t been to sleep yet.” Umar left him to select one of the violins.

He picked a brightly polished one and tested it under his chin. It felt familiar and filled him with nostalgia. He tested the strings and even untuned, the strings loose, the sound it made was rich and melodic and Altair was satisfied. He put it, two bows and extra catgut and wax into a lined case. “Thank you, dad,” he said as he clipped the case closed.

“Of course, my boy. Whatever you need,” Umar said.

“I’ll try and visit again.”

“It’s alright. I know we run on opposite schedules now. Don’t feel you need to risk your sleep for me. I know you’ll be back.”

“Thank you,” Altair bowed a little before heading back to the castle.

#altmal #Altair #malik al sayf #desmond miles #Assassin's Creed #Moth Wings

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aeon-wolf · 5 years

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Legends 4x12

Ya’ll we got so fucking fed tonight.

Okay so since this post is basically going to be fangirling over Avalance for 70% of it, I’ll get all of the boring stuff out of the way first. If you just want Avalance stuff, jump down to the line break.

- I am living for Nora’s arc this season. As I’ve said many a time, she is probably my favorite “villain” character that has been on Legends so I’m glad they’re giving her the redemption arc. And it’s been written beautifully. The fact she is trying to change for herself; not for Ray, not for anyone else. But because she knows she’s capable of being a better person and wants to be that person. And then her working with Constantine to trick Neron. I admit I was a bit worried initially they were going to play the betrayal card with her, but I was glad to be proven wrong. And I will never doubt my precious child ever again.

- We got somewhat introduced to what seems to be Neron’s endgame. Bringing Tabitha into the world and then using magical creatures to scare humans into giving their souls to him. I’m not sure how that second part works exactly, but I’m sure it’ll be explained at some point. Probably in the last five minutes of the season finale knowing Legends. It’s probably a safe bet that Tabitha is a fellow demon if he needed Ava’s body as a vessel for her.

- I admit Ray and Nate are my least favorite Legends. That isn’t to say I hate them or anything. Just if I had to put all the Legends on the numbered list, they would be at the bottom. So the whole Nate/Ray scenes were really a miss for what I’m interested in Legends for. And with them butting up against Nora/Constantine/Neron scenes and Avalance scenes, they just felt like a drag to watch. That said, I do really feel for Nate. He’s in a difficult position, discovering things about his father and then having to face the demon who killed him. And he’s had some fun to watch growth over the season.

- I’m really still not here about SteelHacker (or Natari, according to Mona), but I also wish they’d stop playing this “will they, won’t they” with them. Either get them together or don’t. I really am getting kind of annoyed on some level with Zari being like “I like him, but wait no I can’t do that.” I love Zari getting growth, and while I’d infinitely rather see her be single, on some level I can understand her position. Love has always been a liability for her. ARGUS killed her family (if I’m remembering right, I don’t have a great memory), and from what we know about her past, her family were the only people she’s really ever loved deeply. So to protect herself in her dystopian future, she had to cut herself from getting too attached. Thus when she’s running into real budding romantic feelings, it’s hard for her. She’s unsure of herself. And from that standpoint, I don’t mind SteelHacker. Also, I would really like to believe the writers would have liked to put Charlie and Zari together (the eye sex and “You’re straight?” line in this episode), but CW executives (remember the network this show is on everyone) said they met their limit for lgbt+ relationships with Avalance and John/Desmond. Obviously, we can’t know that, but I’ll choose to believe that because it makes me feel better.

- I also really liked how they portrayed both John/Sara and John/Nora relationships this episode. When Sara insisted on going in after Ava, John seemed to be protective over her in trying to discourage her. After Caity sort of shut down any John/Sara romance stuff at Clexacon (not that there was any indication their dalliance in S3 was any more than what amounted to a drunken one night stand as well as a mistake), I feel like it’s been a bit easier to see their relationship more as almost a brother/sister kind of relationship. Perhaps most akin to twins. They support each other, are protective of one another, but they get on each other’s nerves and annoy the shit out each other, often times for fun. And John/Nora seems almost like a yin/yang relationship. They both are cut from similar cloth, as their conversation outside Neron’s holding cell in the hallway shows. They’re both scared of themselves and their own power, but where John is kind of the tortured soul about it, Nora tries to redeem herself and be better. I think both could learn a lot from the other.

- There are other little bits and pieces I liked about the episode, but this post is already long enough without talking at all about Avalance, so if you’re curious about anything else, please send me a message.

AVALANCE!

We, as a fandom, were so fucking fed it’s unreal. It’s such a strange feeling to me to pretty much have an entire episode basically be dedicated to our pairing getting to work out relationship issues and actually talk about the future.

- So first off, can we talk about how Ava has a cute ass picture of her and Sara in her entryway? It’s such a small thing, but it makes the relationship feel so real. Also when Sara was knocking at Ava’s door, apologizing and facing her fears and wanting to work their relationship out, that was such a growth moment for Sara. I was so proud of how far our emotionally closed off, reformed assassin has come.

- So basically Ava had been missing for two weeks, which probably was about when they had their fight. And Jes even said at Clexacon that there was supposed to be more to that scene where someone walked in on her having a mental breakdown. I’m thinking a possibility might have been Hank coming in, maybe Ava was late for their meeting and that’s obviously strange for Ava and he tells her to take a leave of absence to get her head on straight after she confesses about her relationship with Sara. And then Neron ambushes her in her apartment shortly after? That’s pure speculation and we’ll probably never know, but it’s fun to think about.

- The fact that Ava’s hell was set in the Legends version of Ikea was hilarious. Along with all of the little gay shoutouts. They managed to fit in an “out of the closet” joke as well as building furniture together, which was clearly peak gay. And confirmation that Sara is the one to disregard instructions, fail and then have her significant other basically say “I told you so” when they build the thing successfully following directions.

- I’m glad they clarified her opinions on one of the things Sara and Ava got in a fight about in the first place, how the Bureau was treating magical creatures. I’m not really sure I got the characterizations right in my assumptions, but it seemed to be a defensive fear thing, rather than any sort of malice or callousness. It obviously doesn’t make it right, but it does explain her point of view better than she did in the actual argument scene.

- As I said, one of the most real things about the entire episode was that Ava and Sara were talking about real problems that you’d normally see a straight couple on a TV show discuss. Long term commitment (shoutout for actually showing them as older wlw which is fucking rare on TV, even if it was only for a moment), them consider what a “normal” life would be like, and address them being two powerful, independent women trying to navigate a relationship when both of them are in pretty unfamiliar territory was a long term relationship. It was about treating Avalance like a normal relationship on the screen. The fact that they are two women wasn’t ignored, but it wasn’t the central point either. It was more like two people, communicating about what they want, recognizing they’ll both have to compromise on some things and work their problems out together that just happen to be two women. It was beautiful and no one can tell me otherwise. I’m sure someone will find a bone to pick with the whole premise, there always is, but I’d just like to recognize that while it may not be perfect, it’s a hell of a lot better than the “bury your gays” tropes that we were dealing with not 3 years ago. As well as other questionable lgbt+ representation decisions on a certain network.

- I’m kind of glad that it was Ava that wanted the “normal” life. And kind of addressed that there is more to life than her job. I feel like, at least for myself in writing fanfic, I’ve characterized her as someone who basically has no life outside work. And while that might be canonically true at the moment, getting verbal confirmation that Ava does want something more with Sara was great.

- And then again, Sara and her own insecurities over her past and not being able to be the person that Ava “needs” Which like.. fucking props for the ones who wrote the line “Neither of us needs anybody, but you are who I want.” I feel like in a lot of TV relationships (not just wlw) that they always make characters so dependant on their significant other, *cough Supergirl* and they sacrifice character development of one or both characters in favor of building a relationship. Or propping up one character at the expense of the other. And while Avalance is obviously important, both Sara and Ava have had growth unrelated to their relationship in the last two seasons and that line is kind of just a representation of that fact.

Anyways, I have a lot more feelings about the episode, but this post is long enough. Please send me inbox messages to fangirl with me if you want. I’m so hyped about this episode. I think moving away from a specific magical fugitive and just focusing on the Legends and the Neron plotline (plus the whole Nate thing) did the episode fluidity a lot of good and from the promo for next episode, it seems like it’ll be similar.

#legends of tomorrow #avalance #4x12 #review #analysis #this is a really long post but I had a lot of feelings

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michelles-garden-of-evil · 4 years

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Episode 12 Review: Jacques’ Cape Appreciation Post

{ YouTube: 1 | 2 }

{ Synopses: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

{ Screencaps }

This is one of my favorite episodes, one that I’ve re-watched more times than any other--not because of the plot, nor because of an abundance of analysis material or any particular turns of phrase, but for a completely different reason. In this episode, Jacques is, in my opinion, at his most dashing and is wearing what I consider his best outfit: a black suit topped with a long matching cape that is the epitome of elegance.

Do you remember two episodes ago, when Jacques told Jean Paul he did not want any more guests on Maljardin? Well, the handsome devil changes his mind and, while possessing Jean Paul, decides to bring Elizabeth Marshall to the island--where, as you may remember, her daughter Holly is hiding. Jacques does not have to dress up for the occasion any more than usual, but he does so anyway, giving Jean Paul an evil makeover:

Sweet dreams are made of this.

Quito knows that something is up, but says nothing because, as a zombie, he can’t. While they prepare to sail to the mainland, Raxl is in the basement communicating with psychic and voodoo priestess Vangie Abbott via makeup mirror, pleading with her to help her fight Jacques. Vangie suggests that she contact her father, the Conjure Man, which Raxl does by...having Quito beat the drum in the Not-So-Hidden Voodoo Temple? I’m not sure.

The priestess and the Conjure Man’s daughter communicating through the latter’s mirror.

Quito beating the drum during the ritual in the temple.

All Jacques knows, however, is that Raxl is in the basement, because he still hasn’t noticed the incredibly obvious "hidden” door. Probably thinking that she is just checking on the cryonics capsule or dusting the coffins of his descendants, he expresses his disbelief at her fondness of “the dark morbidity of that crypt.” Then he says this line, with which I wholeheartedly agree:

Once again, a man after my own heart.

Quito watches Jacques as he heads to the boathouse. I think that, despite being a zombie, he can still think for himself and he knows that Jacques is controlling Jean Paul.

So he and Quito sail to the mainland to get supplies, including “a few little goodies” that Jacques adds, which I assume refers to Elizabeth Marshall, the widowed, greedy mother of his guest Holly. They go to the French Leave Café so that Jacquet can meet with her. He arrives shortly after a heated argument between her and Matt that leads Vangie to comment, “No wonder Holly’s running.” Between her money-hungry, jealous mother and Reverend Stalker stalking her, I have to agree.

The red lining is lovely, even more so than the gold lining on his other one.

As he walks in, he cuts quite a lovely figure, his cape swishing as he turns. He stares at a young woman in a minidress who, surprisingly, doesn’t seem to notice him, when you would think that he would turn the head of everyone in the room. You would think that even people who aren’t sexually attracted to him would think, “OMG IT’S JEAN PAUL DESMOND THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD AND OWNER OF MALJARDIN” and stare. Maybe I’m alone in thinking that his outfit is one of the sexiest ever, but even if you don’t agree, you still have to admit that it’s one that would stand out almost anywhere, especially in the tropics where wearing all black with additional layers is highly impractical. So, logically, it should attract a lot more attention than it does. But maybe this isn’t the first time anyone in Jean Paul’s body has worn a cape to the mainland. Who knows? Before Erica’s death, Jean Paul might have shown up regularly at the Café in full Liberace regalia, for all we know.

I wonder what that string is near the top of the screen? It appears in other episodes, too, so it has to be part of some piece of equipment.

Filler scene with Holly commenting on Jacques’ resemblance to Jean Paul, with the portrait visible. They never should have established the rule of his likeness disappearing whenever he leaves the painting if they didn’t plan on showing that consistently.*

“A tonic water, please,” the handsome devil orders once he arrives at the bar. “Very cold.” Then, looking at the camera, he adds, “I don’t know what it is, but after all this time, I still can’t stand the heat.” I don’t believe you, Jacques. If you truly can’t stand the heat, then what are you doing dressed like that in the Caribbean? You must be very hot, in the literal as well as metaphorical sense. According to the first Paperback Library novel, the French Leave Café is air-conditioned**, and I’ve speculated before that the Château de Maljardin might be as well. But Jacques, surely you would have gotten hot on the boat or while walking from the dock to the Café, so don’t go around complaining about the heat when you’re walking around wearing a heavy, lined cape made of some suiting material. Besides, I’m sure Hell was much hotter.

Very practical clothing for a tropical climate. Not. But devilishly dashing!

He pulls out Alison’s letter to Dan and tries burning it in the ashtray (remember those?). Vangie, suspicious, deliberately bumps into him and spills his tonic water on the flames, then pretends it was an accident. “I’m charmed by your concern,” says Jacques, grinning.

“It goes back a long way,” she replies.

“Purely out of curiosity,” he asks, still grinning, “how long?”

“To your childhood!” she answers while staring at him and enunciating the words as though she intends to let him know that she knows.

“That’s quite a few years ago, depending on what you refer to by ‘how long.’“ He knows that she knows.

“It would be ungentlemanly to add up the years. As a woman, I would be the loser.”

“I never count a woman--any woman--a loser.”

She asks him about Holly and whether she is on Maljardin, and he replies in the affirmative. Soon after, Elizabeth arrives at their table, asking Vangie about Holly. “Vangie, who is this charming lady?” Jacques asks, so Vangie introduces them.

If such a dashing man were to kiss my hand, I would probably fall in love with him forever.

They chat about her and Jean Paul’s acquaintances for a minute, Elizabeth flirting with him all the while, before he changes the subject. “I have a confession to make,” he says, giving her Bissits Face™. “I’m harboring a fugitive on my island. A very charming one. Your daughter.”

Bissits Face™!

He notices Vangie eavesdropping and asks her if she wants anything, to which she responds, “It’s too late now.” This scene is really well-written and well-acted by Strange Paradise standards; nearly every line of dialogue is loaded with subtext, which the actors do a good job of conveying. We don’t need to be told that Vangie and Jacques recognize each other, nor that Elizabeth wants to marry Jean Paul or that Vangie is hurt because he just betrayed her trust. The subtext shines through. It’s the sort of scene that occurs in a lot of Ian Martin’s episodes once he gets the hang of writing the series. It’s also proof that Martin could be subtle when he wanted to be, which makes his choices to include over-the-top references to Jacques being THE DEVIL and obvious foreshadowing in certain episodes all the more perplexing.

Look at Elizabeth’s hair! A truly impressive bouffant.

They flirt some more and it takes little effort on Jacques’ part to persuade her to come with him to Maljardin. After all, her wealthy husband is dead and her daughter is set to inherit all of his fortune, so, in her mind, it’s the perfect opportunity to convince Jean Paul to marry her so that she can continue to live her fabulous high-society lifestyle as the new Mrs. Desmond. Also, she can capture Holly again and put her in another institution like Westley House, preferably run by someone who isn’t infatuated with her. She says that she is going to retrieve Holly, but hints that "[she] might want to stay forever.”

Two ladies, and he’s the only man.

On their way out, Vangie suggests that he invite Matt as well, but he refuses understandably. And after Jacques, Elizabeth, and Quito are on their way back to Maljardin, she retrieves the letter which Jacques has completely forgotten about (because of lust, perhaps?) and calls Dan. Meanwhile back on Maljardin, Jacques continues to flirt with Elizabeth and Holly realizes that her attempt to escape her mother has failed.

You can run, but you can’t hide!

Jacques doing that cute thing that his descendant does often in the Desmond Hall arc.

I think that I may have gotten carried away in this entry with all the screencaps of Jacques’ cape, but what can I say? He’s a gorgeous man who wears gorgeous clothes, and this is the only episode in which we see this particular outfit. It’s also a damn good episode--one of Ian Martin’s best--and I enjoyed reviewing this episode almost as much as I enjoy watching it.

Coming up next: Jacques and Elizabeth bond over some booze and Tim begins his ridiculous commission to paint Erica with Holly as his stand-in.

Notes

* One could argue that the characters do not actually see the portrait missing and that the blank canvas is only a visual cue so that the viewers know that Jacques has possessed Jean Paul. However, in the Paperback Library novels, the characters comment on the missing portrait, indicating that, at least in the books, the vanishing portrait is diegetic (in other words, that the canvas is literally blank from the characters’ perspective and not just the audience’s). I plan on eventually writing a post about diegesis in Strange Paradise, analyzing which effects are diegetic and which are not, because there are many things in this series that could go either way and I want to take the time to analyze them.

** Dorothy Daniels, Strange Paradise (New York: Paperback Library, 1969), 20. Daniels also states that the sun outside the Café is “mercilessly hot,” which should logically be true about the climate on the nearby isle of Maljardin as well.

{ <-- Previous: Episode 11 || Next: Episode 13 --> }

#strange paradise #gothic soap opera #week 3 #episode 12 #maljardin arc #review #favorite episodes #ian martin #bissits face #costumes #diegesis #evil makeover #hot as hell (best of jacques)#jacques/elizabeth #the not so hidden voodoo temple #that cute jean paul thing

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agentmarymargaretskitz · 5 years

Text

To Be or Not to Be?

Sequel to Let’s Make a Deal. Two days after an attack on Neron fails and the demon possesses Gary, Ava gets a call from Gary himself explaining that Neron has left his body and that he's himself again. But is he really?

(Special thanks to the Constangreen discord for helping me finish this. And for causing a fair amount of Adam thirsting)

Ao3

Ava watched as agents filed into the Bureau’s offices as the day began. Every so often, she glanced over to a pair of desks close to her own office. Two days ago, John Constantine had tumbled into the Bureau with Desmond and told her and the Legends that Gary had been possessed by Neron. Even though they only had John’s word to go off of, Gary still hadn’t showed up for work since that day the Legends thought they could finally send him back to hell. She had tried calling him twice yesterday, but it had gone straight to voicemail. If he didn’t show up today…

The phone on her desk began to ring, and Ava turned to pick it up. “Hello?”

“…hey, Ava.”

She nearly dropped the phone. “Gary? What…where...is it you?”

“Yeah,” Gary sounded exhausted. “It’s me. Really me.”

“But Constantine said you were possessed?”

“I was, but Neron ditched me yesterday. He went into a guy delivering food for me.”

“Oh,” Ava nodded. “Okay. If he’s gone, then I’m still going to need you to come into work. You missed the debrief yesterday and we need to know as much of what happened to you as you can remember. The sooner the better, because Hank is really on my case since the whole attack on Neron deal.”

“Oh…okay. I’ll be there, Ava.”

“We’re on the clock, Agent Green,” Ava reminded him. “It’s Director Sharpe.”

“Yes. Sorry about that. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Good.”

The call disconnected and Ava breathed a sigh of relief. Gary was okay now. She’d been a little concerned yesterday about him. The good news is that they had another body on their side. However, Neron was still totally off the grid. Hell, he could have been in Constantine for all she knew since he had mentioned that Neron took away his protections. Wherever he was now, Ava doubted that he was still in Gary. As loyal as he was, he was probably too…Gary for Neron to want to stick around in.

~~~

Gary showed up at the Bureau almost an hour after he’d called in, and it was through the main entrance. Ava had forgotten about him until she got another call that he’d arrived before going down to meet him.

“Director Sharpe, I’m so sorry I’m late,” he babbled, narrowly avoiding running into a post. “My Uber got caught in traffic.”

Ava sighed. “Gary, you have a time courier. Why didn’t you just use that?”

“Oh,” Gary grinned sheepishly, but he didn’t look much like his normal self beyond that. His suit was a little rumpled and his tie askew. There was no way that he’d shaved since he’d gone missing. His glasses were also nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t slouching in on himself so much either.

“Gary, where is your courier?” Ava asked, waiting for her answer.

“The courier,” Gary nodded and she was sure that he was about to go into a long explanation. “Um, so I kinda gave it to Constantine when Neron possessed me. Figured that I, you know, better not have it with me if a demon’s pulling my strings. Although that’s not really the case anymore since I’m pretty sure he’s in my delivery guy. I should have made sure he was okay, but then I passed out and-”

“Gary!” Ava cut him off. “Relax. Good move on not letting the demon get access to a courier. Bad news is paperwork to get you another will take a while. I’ll get someone started on it. Just head on up, the debrief from yesterday is on your desk.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Ava nodded. “Just head on up and get back to work.”

“Okay.”

“Good,” Ava turned and made her way towards the elevator to check on the magical creature containment units. “And don’t be late again tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sorry. I promise it won’t happen again…”

Ava was almost to the elevator when she heard something else at the end of the sentence.

“Bitch.”

The blonde spun around, but all she saw was Gary heading to the offices. She shook her head and pressed the call button. There was no way that Gary had said that, right? In his words that he’s told her many times, he had way too much respect and fear of her to even call her that point blank. Perhaps she was only hearing things.

But why was she hearing them in Gary’s voice?

~~~

Nate was looking over the newsletter that Ray had sent from the Waverider when he caught a flash of moment sliding into his vision. “Gary?”

The geeky Time Agent had a strained smile on his face. “Hey, Nate.”

Nate shook his head in disbelief. “But-but you…Neron-”

“Possessed me,” Gary finished. “Well, he didn’t stick around for long. He went into the guy who was delivering my food instead. He’s probably still in him.”

“Geez,” Nate grimaced. “So Neron is using someone else as a meat sack now? Poor guy.”

“Sure,” Gary nodded, taking a seat behind his desk.

“I’m going to tell the Legends about this. The sooner they track Neron down, the sooner this mess ends and he can be sent back to hell.”

“Well, I told Ava, er, Director Sharpe already. She’s probably already sent a message to the Waverider.”

Gary did have a point. Ava always was on top of things in the office. Working with her more made him understand why Rip had put so much trust in her. She knew when she needed to step up and do something. Whether that was clone programming or not, it made her an excellent leader. Hopefully his father would realize that sooner than later and stop pestering her so much.

“Eh, I’ll send them a message anyways so they know Neron’s jumped into another body. Besides, they’ll be pleased to hear he’s out of you.”

“Great,” Gary smiled slowly. “You do that.”

An involuntary shudder ran through Nate. “Hey, how long has Neron been out of you?”

Gary frowned. “Well, I’m not totally sure. Because I remember talking to Constantine about sending Neron to hell. Then it was darkness for a while, like I was asleep. I…woke up at my apartment and there was a delivery guy there with black smoke going into his mouth. I didn’t get a good look at his face though because I passed out. But then I woke up and it was morning and I was late for work so I called Av- Director Sharpe. And now I’m here.”

He spread his arms out in a flourish, the smile returning to his face.

“Huh,” Nate said. “John told us you made a deal with Neron. Why would he leave you?”

“He was?” Gary sounded surprised. “I mean, I dunno. Maybe I was too weak of a host. But Constantine asked about me?”

“Yeah,” Nate replied, slowly turning his focus to his computer with the intention of marking the report of Neron’s attack and Gary’s possession as closed. With Gary back and himself again, there was no need to keep it open. “He seemed pretty worried about you. Kept saying that it was his fault. You know, this might be your shot at getting back together since he cares about you so much.”

“He cares about me?” Gary mused, stroking his unshaven chin. “Well, that is an opportunity for something.”

~~~

Something was different lately at work. When Mona got down to the magical creature’s cells, there was a weird kind of energy in their air. Everyone seemed on edge when she came to visit them. The leprechaun was muttering about a ‘Wishweaver’ being close by but wouldn’t say anything beyond that. Baba Yaga didn’t come out of her chicken-legged hut as she usually did when Mona entered the room. Even the baby chimera seemed scared, and she was not a shy one. Once that happened, Mona was certain something was brewing again at the Bureau.

“Maybe you’ll feel better after eating,” she said kindly to the little monster as she left. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Eris!”

She walked back out into the hallway and pushed the cart down the hallway to greet her next change. Even though Nora wasn’t next, Mona still couldn’t help but feel excited about the latest love letter she was delivering to the witch from Ray. They were definitely more of a Monica and Chandler than Ross and Rachel the more she watched their relationship bloom. She’d have to mention that at the wedding, whenever it happened.

Her thoughts on the two lovebirds screeched to a halt when Mona turned the corner and saw someone standing in the hallway. Her hand fell to her side to grab the pepper spray she’d started bringing to work. If this was another man in black trying to kidnap a creature, she was going to be ready. Even if the creatures were prisoners, she would protect them from harm with her life. But then the man turned, and Mona realized there was no reason for alarm.

“Gary?” she questioned as he started walking towards her. “What are you doing here? Or are you even Gary? I heard about what happened to you. I’m warning you, I have an exorcism recorded that I will use!”

“The demon’s gone, Mona,” Gary chuckled. “He’s been gone for two days. It’s just me again.”

“Oh,” Mona relaxed, her hand falling away from the pepper spray. “Well, why are you down here?”

“Couldn’t sit still for long. I felt like stretching my legs and decided to take a walk through down here.”

“Ah,” Mona nodded. “Cool. I almost didn’t recognize you. You look a lot different now.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Gary told her “Neron broke my glasses, so I’ve been using contacts. And I ran out of razors, so I’m trying the beard out.”

“You look great,” Mona told him, but his look just contributed to the creepy energy she’d been feeling around the containment units since yesterday. “I’ll see you around. Gotta make sure that everyone gets their lunch.”

“Of course,” Gary’s smile slipped into place too easy before he walked off.

Mona turned to watch him go, noting that Baba Yaga started screeching in her cell once Gary walked by it.

~~~

Nora set her book down and rubbed at her eye. As much as she appreciated the steady flow of literature that Mona provided her, sometimes she just needed a break from the story. The latest chapter had featured a very intense scene between the two main characters in a forest that made her nostalgic for freedom. She knew she belonged in the cell though, that her penance was her first step on the path of redemption. But it had been so long since she had felt the sun on her skin.

With a sigh, she stretched out to the foot of her bed to retrieve the note Mona had delivered to her yesterday. Even though she’d already read it three times, the content was worth another reread. Ray was sweet to keep sending her letters while she was in here. Each one told of the exploits of the Legends that made her feel like she was on the Waverider instead of a cell at the Time Bureau. She wished she could sneak herself into an envelope and be delivered to the ship like Ray had done.

A faint tang of sulfur hit her nostrils when Nora straightened up, accompanied by the feeling of being watched. She knew there were cameras above watching her every move, but this was different. It felt exactly like when she was growing up in the cult with Mallus’s influence wrapped tightly around her. Nora slowly turned to look at the door of her cell, where Gary Green was staring at her through the glass. She sent a glare his way, hoping it would get him to scram.

A lazy smile flitted over his face before his eyes turned completely red.

Nora flinched back as Gary slid out of sight, astonished. Gary wasn’t one to lurk around this area, which made his presence down here already unusual. It was his eyes that really tipped her off though. Her eyes had looked the same whenever she’d passed by a mirror while Mallus was in control. If Gary’s eyes were like that…then someone else was pulling Gary’s strings.

Next time Mona came around, Nora was going to tell her about this.

~~~

Dez thumbed through one of the magazines a Time Bureau agent had provided him. Spending what felt like years in hell and then months with no control over his body had gotten him out of the loop on everything. So while he recovered from the possession in the Bureau’s medical center, Dez was making sure he was catching up on what he could. As bad as everything was in the world, at least it was a lot better than being in hell.

While he was glad that John had been spared a little longer Neron’s wrath, Dez had been worrying about the aftermath of Neron leaving his body. The guy the demon had ditched him for hadn’t left his mind since it happened. He’d been pretty brave to stick his neck out for John like that. Dez wondered a little if he’d had a bit of a crush on John, not that he could blame him. Not everyone would offer themselves up to a demon like that.

That poor man was going through so much torment right now. The thing with Neron was that he targeted purity. Dez remembered how everything he loved or cared about was broken apart in his mind by the demon. He’d never felt so much hate in his life before. It had been suffocating. Sometimes he hadn’t been sure if it was his hate or Neron’s.

Sighing, he glanced through the glass wall of the medical wing at the agents walking past. The doctor has told him that it was a one-way mirror that only he could see though, but one of the agents had stopped in front of it to stare at him. It took a moment before Dez recognized him as the man who’d agreed to let Neron possess him. The glasses were gone and he had a beard now, but it was the same man. He tilted his head to the side, regarding Dez as if he was able to see him instead of his reflection.

“Go away,” Dez muttered, even though he knew the man couldn’t hear him.

The man smiled smugly and winked. A ripple passed over his face, revealing a different one for a moment.

Neron.

Dez’s eyes rolled back as he fainted.

~~~

“While you were out, Director Sharpe sent a transmission to the ship,” Gideon announced as the Legends filed back onto the Waverider. “And it is one the whole team can view, Captain.”

“Thanks, Gideon,” Sara muttered as Charlie tossed her a smug grin. “You hold up okay while we were stuck in Roanoke?”

“It was a great deal quieter without you lot, although it is good you all returned alive.”

“We missed you too, Gideon,” Zari told the AI. “And I missed pants.”

“I missed Wi-Fi,” Ray chimed in.

“And I missed the game,” Mick muttered.

Sara rolled her eyes at the team as they entered the parlor. “Gideon, roll the message. Hopefully iy’s good news.”

“And something about where Neron is,” John mumbled as he slunk in last. He’d been in a bad funk since the attempt to send Neron back to hell ended with Gary getting possessed.

The hologram of Ava appeared in the center of the room. “Hey, Sara. I know you said you wouldn’t be on the Waverider during the latest mission. I’m hoping you get this soon. There’s some good news back here. Gary’s Gary again. He told us that Neron ditched him for another body. The bad news is that we have no idea who is it beyond a delivery guy and where they are now. We’re looking into it now, but John can stop worrying about Gary. Anyway, just wanted to give you a quick update on that. Give me a call when you have the chance.”

As Ava disappeared, Ray smiled at everyone else. “Well, if Gary’s free, that’s good news.”

“But Neron’s still running around out there,” Zari reminded him. “And they don’t know where he is now.”

John shook his head. “I do, and we need to get back to the Bureau. Everyone there is in danger.”

“Why?” Mick asked. “It’s not like Time Dweeb’s possessed anymore.”

“Sharpie might think that, but she’s wrong,” John told them. “Neron wouldn’t give up a body just like that, especially one that he got from a deal. Not to mention that he’s also a demon. They lie and manipulate to get what they want. There’s a wolf in the herd and the Bureau doesn’t even know it.”

Sara held up a hand. “Hang on, are you saying Gary’s still possessed?”

John nodded.

“He’s right,” Charlie agreed. “We have to warn them. He’s in close proximity to more magical creatures now. If he decides to strike, then a lot of people are going to get hurt and die.”

“Including Nora,” Ray paled. “And Nate.”

“Ava too,” Sara turned to John. “You’re certain that Neron is still inside Gary?”

“Positive.”

“Then everyone needs to strap in,” Sara announced, heading toward her chair. “Gideon, we’re going back to the future.”

~~~

“I can’t believe this,” Ava shook her head as she and Nate walked into the Bureau’s offices with the Legends. “You really think Neron is still inside Gary? He told us himself that he went into another body.��

“Oh, so his word’s good enough?” John mocked. “Brilliant! Then we’ll all go home because surely a demon couldn’t be lying to you!”

“Easy,” Sara glared at him.

But John wasn’t done yet. “Did either of you even think to test him to see if he was still possessed? Or do you just care about him so little? That he’s another expendable agent to you, Director Sharpe.”

Ava turned and glared. “I have enough to deal with already, Constantine! Maybe I heard something, but I wasn’t sure! And I don’t need you blaming me when it’s your fault he got possessed in the first place.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve-”

“STOP!” Zari suddenly shouted.

A hush fell over the entire room. Agents were staring at them before slowly resuming their work.

“This isn’t going to help us find him,” Zari spoke up. “You can point fingers later. Right now, we just need to find Gary.”

“Who’s looking for me?”

The group turned around to see the man they were looking for. Gary was staring at all of them, looking confused. John was surprised to see how much his appearance had changed since he’d left him behind. He looked hotter, but that was marred by the knowledge that a demon was in charge.

“Why are the Legends here?” Gary asked, pointing to all of them. “Is something wrong, Director?”

“Game’s up, you demon bastard,” John spoke through gritted teeth.

He had the audacity to look hurt. “Constantine, what’s going on?”

“Gary,” Nate sighed. “You need to cooperate. I’ve got your back, bro, but they think you’re possessed still.”

“But-but-but,” Gary shook his head. “I’m not! He left me! I told you! I know I can’t remember the guy’s face, but Neron’s in him now and I-”

While he babbled away, John lunged forward with a canister. He flicked the open end out toward Gary, water splashing his face. There was a sizzle as the liquid met his skin. Gary howled, clutching his face and stumbling backwards. Nate and Ray, who’d yelled at him for not following along with the plan, stopped and watched as Gary slowly looked back up at them. There were patches of red on his face where the holy water had hit, and his eyes were pure red.

“Gary…” Ava trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“There is no Gary,” he said, smiling cruelly. “Only Neron.”

Mick pulled out his heat gun as the other agents around the office pulled out their own weapons, all aimed at Neron.

“Cute,” the demon chuckled. “But pathetic.”

He threw his arms out. A force threw everyone and everything backwards. A few light fixtures popped and showered sparks. John groaned as he hit the floor, but he was one of the luckier ones. Most of the agents and Legends were unconscious. He heard a scream and saw one agent with his leg pinned under an overturned desk.

“You know, I’m almost glad you busted my cover,” Neron said, leaning down beside John. “It was so hard to have to be good and meek constantly and not rip someone’s guts out. I have never let so many people walk all over me in a host before. But I was in the perfect place, and you went and blew it!”

“Sucks for you,” John wheezed, grinning as he raised his hand.

“Oh no, no exorcisms here,” Neron snapped his fingers and a reel of tape wound itself around his head and over his mouth. “I’m sure you understand, Connie.”

John tried to lunge at him, but Neron stood up and kicked him back down.

“You…really did call me a bitch that day,” Ava snarled from where she was leaning over an unconscious Sara. “It was you all along.”

Neron turned and slow clapped for her. “Bravo, Ava. Gold star for you.”

“You possessed our friend,” Ava raised her gun at him.

“Wow, sweetheart, nothing escapes you,” Neron taunted. “You know, I wasn’t so sure about him at first. But he was right about no one really noticing him. It’s been a week and you’re only realizing today that poor little Gary isn’t the one in charge. You call yourselves his ‘friends’, but are you really? I let my personality slip through a few times and none of you noticed a thing! You just kept going about your business like nothing was wrong!”

“I just thought he was processing what happened to him,” Nate protested beside a desk.

“You’ve got to be a better liar than that, Nathaniel. Gary might not be in the driver’s seat, but he’s got the seat of the house in this ride. He’s seen everything this week. Poor sap knows how little you’ve noticed how different Gary was acting. He already knew that he was annoying and a pest to you, but to be brushed off after I told any of you I was just Gary again? It made him cry to be reaffirmed that no one cares. I mean, did any of you ask once during the week if he was okay?”

John looked at Nate and Ava, who sported guilty looks along with a few other agents. Reaching up, he started to work at clawing the tape away from his mouth.

“Exactly,” Neron grinned. “But hey, that’s what his friends do, right?”

“Shut up!” Ava snarled. “Get out of him!”

The demon looked unimpressed. “I’m sorry, does that usually work for you, Director? It could for Gary, but it’s useless with me.”

“Gary,” Zari said from somewhere in the back. “If you can hear us-”

“Save it,” Neron cut her off. “He knows you don’t really care. He’s accepting that I was right about you all. That none of you really care about Gary Green. And why should you?”

John had one lip free when Neron turned and smiled down at him. “Actually, scratch that. One person does care about him.”

“You’re a sick bastard,” John tried to say, although his voice was still a bit muffled by the tape when Neron dropped down to his level.

“I know,” Neron nodded. “I’m the King of Hate, I’ve heard it all before. But you were the one person who knew something wasn’t quite right with old Gary here.”

“I’ve dealt with more demons. I rely on holy water and salt, not word of mouth.”

“Smart man,” Neron praised, cradling John’s face in his hand. “When I was going to possess you last week, I figured that it would be fun to torture you in the same headspace. But now I see I don’t have to do that. I can keep riding Gary here while I enact my plan. You can watch someone you love suffer all over again.”

John wanted to hang his head, but Neron was forcing him to look up at Gary’s face.

“And as you watch the Earth fall apart and the Legends die, remember how you walked away to try and save him, but that it ultimately made him mine.”

Neron let him go and ambled towards the agent with his leg pinned under the desk.

“Gary…Gary…” the man pleaded.

“Gary isn’t here!” Neron roared at him. “McNeil, right? Not very bright for agent of the month, are we?”

McNeil was trembling. “What do you want?”

“Your time courier,” Neron demanded. “Quickly. I’ve been needed a new one since this idiot gave his away and the paperwork is still being filed for me to have a replacement. So, yours will do nicely.”

The agent hesitated. “I can’t do that.”

Neron sighed. “I’m going to be honest here, McNeil. I don’t like you. Gary doesn’t like you. He’s always been hoping to show you up someday. He said he’d be coming for you once when you won agent of the month again. Now he doesn’t have the balls to go through with it, but I do. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

McNeil relaxed.

“I’ll kill you first.”

“No!” Ava screamed.

John shut his eyes before he heard McNeil’s scream become a gurgle and several sickening noises. When he reopened his eyes, the demon’s suit and face were spattered with blood. A bloody time courier was in his hands. John looked at him instead of letting his eyes drift down to McNeil’s body, not wanting to see the damage that had been done. Neron smiled at him as he opened a doorway to an alleyway.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be gone for long. Just need to see some old friends,” he told them, tossing something from his pocket to the ground. “But here’s a reminder that you’re not getting Gary back.”

With that, he stepped through and closed the door behind him. The room was completely silent before Nate, who’d been in closest proximity to McNeil, grabbed a trash can and vomited. Ava was rising to her feet, the unfired gun still in her hand. Everyone else was slowly coming to around the room, trying to crawl out of the wreckage. John got up and approached the object that Neron had thrown to the floor while Ava and Nate helped the others.

On the carpet, with McNeil’s blood on them, were Gary’s smashed glasses.

Neron called them a reminder that Gary was gone. John didn’t see them that way. For him, they were a tangible motivation. He was going to go after Neron, whether the Bureau and Legends would be with him or not. Whatever it took, he’d do it to drive the demon out of Gary and send it straight back to hell.

“I’m coming after you,” he promised, pocketing the glasses before going to see the extent of the damage that had been done to the Bureau’s office.

#legends of tomorrow #gary green #neron #john constantine #constangreen #ava sharpe #nora darhk #mona wu #desmond laveau #nate heywood #sara lance #team legends #au #fanfiction #this is too much fun

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soulcrossed · 5 years

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HEADCANON / VALKYRIE CAIN : POST TDOTL

since bedlam is around the corner, i’d just like to remind everyone who’s following me for val that phase 2 is NOT part of my canon. i read spx & spxi, idk if i’ll read more of the sequels as they come out, but either way, phase 2 will affect my portrayal of val marginally at best. this headcanon is a rewrite of my interpretation from my old val blog from way back & it’s under a cut because it’s long af. if you want the tl;dr, feel free to give me a shout, but i’d appreciate it if you gave this a read.

when all is said and done, there’s just — silence. valkyrie didn’t really have any peace and calm and SILENCE in years — darquesse was never really gone. all those little thoughts in the back of her mind that had actually been her — they’re gone now. completely. and just then does she realize what had been darquesse and what had been her, and it SHOCKS her, because on the one hand she notices just how LITTLE of herself is actually left now — she doesn’t feel like ‘ stephanie edgley ’ anymore, because stephanie edgley was killed by darquesse — and she’s not darquesse anymore, either. and on the other hand, she notices just how many of the bad thoughts were actually her own after all.

and the entirety of the magical community knows who she was now, and we already saw in TDOTL how some of them treated her, so she doesn’t feel safe in ireland anymore. china and skulduggery probably made sure no one would bother her, but she’d just FEEL it, anyway. the glances and talks behind her back. the polite, but distant and forced conversations. poorly hidden disdain and hatred. outright animosity and confrontations, sometimes moving into outright attacks she doesn’t have the heart or energy to fight off. it’s hard to bear, and she begins to stay at skulduggery’s house when he’s at the sanctuary more and more often. ( although things are still a bit tense between them since he made her think he’d die and she told him she loved him. ) or at gordon’s, although she doesn’t like to be there unless it’s absolutely necessary, because it’s just as empty as her head now.

she doesn’t really like to go home either, because now her parents know who she is and they simply don’t treat her like their daughter anymore. they treat her with such care and they’re always so worried and she feels like she doesn’t even know them anymore. and it’s kind of TRUE, because she hasn’t seen them often since the war between the sanctuaries started and even before, it’s been becoming less and less, and it just makes her feel guilty and sad, so she keeps to herself a lot. and even though she tells herself that she’s their daughter and they love her, she can’t help but feel that she’s disappointing them, because she can’t be the reflection who cared for them so much and then died, and she just can’t get a grip on who she really is anymore. ( and of course, there are the memories, and whenever she looks at her parents or alice, it all comes back again, and she feels like she’s suffocating, like the weight of her actions will crush her. valkyrie knows she’s not darquesse anymore, but she IS the person who did that terrible thing to her little sister, and shoe doesn’t know if she can ever come back from that. )

and one night she just snaps. it’s all becoming too much and she can’t handle it anymore, so she arranges everything in silence while staying at gordon’s house, packs all the stuff she needs and doesn’t even say goodbye to her parents, she just shows up at skulduggery’s doorstep in the middle of the night, and says that she can’t go on like this and she really, really needs to go. and then she leaves, all alone, and goes to america to figure herself out.

and some time after, maybe one or two years, she finds a soaked and underfed little puppy at the side of the street one rainy day and took it to the vets. and she WANTED to bring it to a shelter afterwards, but eventually just keeps her because it seems just as lonely as she is herself, and those big, sad eyes kinda remind her of fletcher, so she couldn’t leave it behind and takes it in instead.

she slowly figures out who she is and who she wants to be, when she can actually bring herself to think about it at all, and eventually comes to terms with herself over there, and after getting shoved back into action ( the only thing that was in TDOTL & is canon ) she’s really ready to come home. however, she forgot that while she figured out who she was and what she wanted from her life ( and from the people in it ), her family and friends at home did that too, just that they didn’t even know where she was or if she’d come back at all; they simply COULDN’T include her in those plans.

[ NOTE: THE FOLLOWING REACTIONS OF OTHER CHARACTERS ARE SIMPLY MY THOUGHTS & NEITHER REPRESENT CANON NOR OTHER PEOPLE’S INTERPRETATIONS. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE CANON IN INTERACTIONS, BUT THEY INFLUENCE MY PORTRAYAL OF VAL. ]

tanith would’ve stayed in Ireland for a while, but then went back to england because really, what was left for her there? the memories of a dead lover and a lost sister she doesn’t even know anymore.

valkyrie’s parents had to take care of alice — who is 8 by the time she comes back, and has only ever seen pictures of her sister — she wouldn’t even recognize her on the street. and Melissa may be happy when valkyrie comes back, but she’d also be angry at her for leaving without a word in the first place.

desmond and china might be the least affected by it — they’d both understand. desmond, because he’s her dad and he took her time away to remember all the stuff his grandfather taught him about magic and the dangers of it, and he understands that something terrible must’ve happened and that they simply can’t help her because they don’t understand, so he lets her go when she needs to be away, but he welcomes her with open arms when she comes back. and china because one, she’s not really one for change, and two, she probably missed her too, if just a little ( & because skulduggery became WAY more silent and reclusive since then, much like when she was darquesse ) and three, she’d probably understand her, because she has her own wrongdoings of the past she once had to come to terms with.

of course, skulduggery would understand, too, in a way. with lord vile, he probably understands her better than anyone, but that’s why her leaving hurts him the most? because she KNOWS this about him, and yet she won’t let him help her figure it out. he was alone then, and he doesn’t want her to be this alone, but she just NEEDS it at the time, despite knowing that he understands and wouldn’t judge her, and would even leave her the space she needs. the thing is, as long as ANYONE is around, she would look at them and start blaming herself for EVERYTHING that happened to them, and that includes skul — because she left him alone and she wasn’t strong enough to keep darquesse out and in the end he even had to become vile again and she’s just so SORRY for everything, but she knows she can’t GO ON hating herself and skul wouldn’t want that, which is why he wants her around — to show her she doesn’t have to hate herself and that there’s still people who love her and all, but she needs to believe that herself and not only be TOLD this by others. ( and still, she’s very certain that she will never quite stop despising herself for what she did, because there’s no way to forgive THAT. )

she never even answered his mails or calls in america, athough she cried for hours after listening to every voice mail he left, and she’d listen to them on repeat when the homesickness is becoming too much. he still keeps calling, and informes about her family ( he and desmond actually become really close friends in those 5 years. ) to them, she doesn’t speak, either — because she just knows one word from alice would immediately rip her out of her self-chosen exile, would make her want to go back, make things right; would make her want to prove that’s she’s a better person now, just that she’s not yet sure she actually is.

and when she eventually comes home, she and skul meet again after all this time and they’re happy to see each other, but something’s just broken between them. they’re not these synchronised partners anymore — one of them is always slightly off track. like, skul wants to touch her. hug her, hold her hand, brush her arm, all those little things just to make sure she’s actually back & everything, like after she came back in TDOTL. but val hasn’t really been touched in 5 years and just — she’s HAPPY he’s doing it, but she can’t help flinching every time because she isn’t used to it anymore, and at one point he stops doing it and their problem is that they don’t talk about it. about all those little mistakes and about their thoughts on it and for a while everything is kinda tense and feels almost fake.

it would take so long for them to get truly comfortable around each other again. it would only strengthen their bond eventually and all, but for the first few months it’s just uncomfortable and kind of like before she went away — she doesn’t like being around anyone at first, because she became so used to being alone, and she’d move into gordon’s mansion for good. slowly, she would start spending more and more time with her father and china. she’d call tanith and cassandra at some point and meet up with them. approaching fletcher is a lot harder, because she’s not sure he’d even want to see her. and it would take her a while to get herself to meet alice, even if she missed her sister terribly ( though she still feels guilty when looking at her and alice takes a while to get to know her again. ) of course she’d see skulduggery quite often, but it’s some time until they really start spending their freetime together as much as they used to, and until things fall into that easy rhythm between them again.

#╰ ( hc ) valkyrie cain.#( do i support blandy and his bull ? no. will i stan valkyrie cain till the end of my days ? probably yes. )#q.

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creednight · 6 years

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Death with Dignity

Inspired by the song of the same name by Sufjan Stevens. The meaning doesn’t exactly fit, but the song just makes me feel so many emotions. Inspired by this post!! It’s really long, just a warning, and angsty. I love afterlife stuff and will probably do more for this, but I wanted to get this one out. Also, as a point of reference, Edward is the age he is in AC 4, Haytham: AC3, Ezio: Revelations, Connor: Post AC3 and Altair AC 1.

The buzzing stopped moments after it started, but Desmond’s body still feels like it’s vibrating. He remembers lights and a searing heat traveling up his arm, a loud booming sound, the buzzing and now this silence.

Are his eyes open? Yes, it’s just dark.

“H-hello?” he calls out into the black sea while walking forward.

Walking? He glances down to see his body in his usual garb, that’s a relief. Is this Heaven? Hell? Do Assassins go to a special in between?

Up ahead he spots a white light and makes his way towards it. The sound of footsteps fades in and the light seems to rush towards him. He shields himself, bringing his arms up as he’s engulfed by light and warmth.

Once again, he opens his eyes and is met with a garden. It looks familiar, a memory nags at the back of his head as he steps around the rows of crops towards a house on the other side of the field. He feels a sense of warmth bloom in his chest as he approaches.

The house is two stories built with some kind of light brown stones with an old wooden pergola attached to one side of the house. Desmond recognizes this style from Ezio’s memories. It hits him like a train and he stumbles into one of the support beams of the pergola.

“Easy there, mate,” a voice calls as a body flanks Desmond’s side. He glances up into the blue eyes of a blond man and frowns. “God?” The man barks a laugh and pats his back hard. “Nah, I’m more like the devil ‘imself actually.” “Who are you then? Where the hell am I?” Desmond stands up and takes a step away from this man. He stares at him longer, watching as the man’s blue eyes grow soft looking at him. Realization dawns on him and he exhales. “You’re the pirate.” “Aye, I’m Edward Kenway, captain of the Jackdaw,” he puts out a hand. When Desmond takes it he pulls him in and wraps an arm around his neck with one arm and ruffles his hair with the other. “An’ you’re Desmond, ain’t ye? We’ve been waitin’ for ya!”

“Wait what?” Desmond takes a step back, his arms up as if to hold Edward in place. “I’m dead, right?”

“Aye, thas’ right,” Edward nods as if it should be obvious.

“Then where am I? What do you mean ‘we’?”

Waving his arm inwards, Edward grins at the boy. “Come on, you’ll see. Yes, you are dead, but you’re home now.”

“Home?”

There’s no reply as Desmond is brought around the house to an open courtyard with a large table set and full of food. Music plays from somewhere in the background and suddenly Desmond doesn’t feel so heavy anymore. The burning pain he felt moments ago, the buzzing he heard is all gone. It almost feels like the animus...

“Ah, Desmond,” a deep voice calls.

Desmond turns to see a younger than expected Haytham, maybe in his thirties at this point, dressed in Assassin’s attire despite his turnover later in life. For a second, Desmond feels bitter, after having been through Connor’s life; it’s a struggle to be able to face this Kenway. Haytham holds out his hand and offers a wry smile.

“I understand your emotions, but what’s done is done,” he reasons and then grins when Desmond accepts his hand. “We’re here now.”

“I’ll think about it,” the younger assassin shrugs his shoulder before turning to see another figure show up. This time he grins and sticks his hand out. “Ratonhnhaketon, it’s an honor.”

The Native American smiles at Desmond, his hair is longer and pull back out of his face. He looks much older than his twenties and is dressed in his traditional assassin’s robes. His girth is intimidating close up and Desmond fully understands why some Templars shrank away from him in the Animus.

“The honor is mine,” Connor shakes his hand then reaches up to grasp his shoulder and pull him closer to the table. “There are plenty of people here to meet you.”

“Oh?” Desmond feels himself relax and more figures begin to appear in the courtyard.

He recognizes some from the database, other people his ancestors knew, other assassin’s who have made their mark in the Brotherhood. Others he doesn’t, he never did read too much into the database, preferring to just use what was needed. Man, he wishes Shaun and Rebecca were here...

“Why the long face?” Connor pauses in his tracks when Desmond’s face crumples up a fraction.

“M-my friends... my dad...” he stammers and wipes at his face with the heel of his hand. “I did this to protect them a-and...”

“It’s alright, lad,” Edward comes up on Desmond’s left and offers him a pat on the back. “We all understand the sacrifices you put in and what ya lost along the way. It’s going to hurt for a while, it’ll get better.”

With a nod, Desmond shakes off the grief to make it through this strange party. Connor resumes in bringing him over when a tall, not taller than Connor, figure comes up. He recognizes the man and nearly falls to his knees.

Ezio Auditore dressed in the robes from his time in Masyaf, gazes at Desmond with a slight smile and bright eyes. The two gaze at each other, Desmond cannot fathom this moment. Having relieved this man’s memories for so long, dealing with his pain and his happiness, so much so he couldn’t tell himself apart from him makes this moment so surreal. Finally, the italian reaches up with both hands and grasps Desmond’s shoulders.

“For all those years I never understood that message, you were the one,” his voice is deep and it rattles Desmond. “It is nice to finally meet you, Desmond. Desmond, it’s you.”

“E-ezio...” Desmond is speechless and damn he hates himself for it. What kind of man is he? “Shit. I don’t know what to say.”

Ezio’s booming laughter fills the courtyard. “Come sit, we will find the words together.”

Ezio takes the spot across from Desmond with Connor sitting on the younger man’s left and Edward on his right. One by one the crowd takes a seat and Desmond watches as the table fits everyone comfortably as they converse with one another. He gazes at all the faces in awe.

“I’m not related to everyone here am I?” he wonders out loud.

“Not necessarily,” Ezio explains while piling some food on his plate. “These are all of those in and associated with the Brotherhood...”

“Federico? Claudia? Is that Petruccio?” Desmond feels his heart ache at the sight of Ezio’s family. He remembers the depression he went through trying to sift through Ezio’s grief that was messing with his head. The deaths of the Italian’s brothers and father haunted him for a long time.

Ezio grins as his family materializes on his left, Desmond’s right. They grin at him, all of them looking more mature than when he last saw them. Federico wasn’t frozen in his early twenties from his death. He’s grown into a man, strong jaw, five o’clock shadow and elegant hair. He’s supposed to be older than Ezio, but his appearance is that of a thirty year old.

Petruccio is in his twenties, he’s still got his boyish looks about him, but it’s charming. Obviously an Auditore with that smile and lean muscled build. He would have made a fine assassin had he lived.

Claudia had grown up in the Brotherhood, her eyes are sharp and focused. Her lips, even while curled into a smile is dangerous. She’s beautiful and dressed in a deep red dress with cream ribbons in her hair.

“I see the Auditore genes run strong in your family,” Ezio comments with a grin, eyeing Desmond’s beard.

The young man raises a brow. “I mean, I did get some girls in my time too.”

“Unfortunately, he is most like you, Brother,” Claudia snorts.

“Nonsense, he clearly looks like me,” another voice interrupts and Desmond whips his head up to see Altair standing there with Maria Thorpe at his side and their two sons behind them.

Everyone at the table greets the new arrivals with a slight bow of their heads and smiles. Desmond stands up, unable once again to find the words when faced with Altair. He’s gonna punch himself in the face for being this fucking stupid in front of his ancestors. Who is he? Shaun?

“Look at his face, Altair,” Ezio gestures to him. “Clearly me.”

“His eyes,” Altair gestures while grinning at Desmond. “Me.”

“You all look the same,” Connor butts in with a flat tone.

This diffuses the argument as laughter bursts around the entire table. Desmond takes a seat as Altair and his family fills in the spot on the other side of Ezio. Dinner commences then and while Desmond has a long path of grief to go along he can’t help but feel good being surrounded by all his ancestors. They’ve been through the war he just got out of, they’ve seen the horrors and felt the losses. He’s here with them now and he can only wait and see what comes next.

#Original writing #Inspired by prompt #this was so much fun #I actually took a lot of time on it but its still not my best work #hope you guys enjoy it tho #Assassins creed #Desmond Miles #long post

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lambicpentametre · 2 years

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house 019

“Elise, what were you thinking?” Alina scolds, tugging her daughter towards her by the arm. She hates coming back home, and to think that Elise took Desmond and Stella with her? Alina wants nothing more than to drag them all back to the house in the cul-de-sac, the life that she took great pains to make for them in the human world with their father, but Elise is having none of it.

“Why would you ever leave this place?” she demands. “Why would you think our lives are better there!”

“Elise,” she says, stepping in closer to silence her. It’s a warning, and Elise knows it. Alina remembers being her age, just on the cusp of something new, something older, and the need to fight against her mother. She can only hope that Elise doesn’t take after her and stops fighting against her at some point; goodness knows Alina still argues with her own mother almost every time they see each other.

“It’s not fair, Mom! You got to be raised a witch, and Grandma was raised a witch, so why won’t you let me?” She’s petulant, throwing a tantrum in a way she hasn’t since she was a toddler. Alina understands: the past two years have been hard on them all.

“Elise, stop now. We are going home. Maybe we can talk about Grandma coming to visit more often, but right now, we are going to get on that bus and go back home.”

“But I don’t want to!”

“Trouble in paradise?”

A man in a dark cloak strolls through the square up to them. He’s wearing black from head to toe, and a talon ring sits on the fourth finger of his left hand.

She knows that ring.

“Aleksander?”

She hasn’t seen it since she was young—barely a few years older than Elise the last time she saw it, on the day she decided to leave Halloweentown for good and live in the mortal world—but she would know it in her dreams.

“Alina.”

Once upon a time, it might have sat on her finger.

“It’s lovely to see you again.”

He still smiles the same.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.” He grew up into a beautiful man. She always knew he would, with his thick black hair that felt like silk when she ran her fingers through it, dark brown eyes that were as strong as a cup of her mother’s coffee and swirling with the possibilities of the universe underneath.

“You still look the same.”

“Mom, you know the Mayor?” Elise looks up at her.

“Mayor?” She’s shocked, but she shouldn’t be. Aleksander was always destined for great things. “When did you meet my daughter?”

“It would be remiss of me to not greet the visitors to our little town, Alina. What kind of mayor would I be then? Surely you remember all the times Botkin did the same when we were children.”

Alina flushes and tucks Elise half-behind her body. “You’re right, I’m sorry. But we really must be on our way now, it’s close to their bedtime and we need to go home.”

Aleksander reaches out, his long fingers circling her wrist. Even in the rays of the afternoon sun, Alina has to fight a shiver from running down her spine.

“Please, Alina. It’s been so long since I saw you last.” His voice is smoother than satin. It still enthralls her even after these many years. “I don’t know when I’ll see you again. You and your children should have some tea with me at the mayor’s residence. I won’t even tell them any stories about our old antics.”

She glances back at her children. Elise is all but begging, and Stella is bouncing on the heels of her feet. Even Desmond, the most reluctant of her babies to address their family’s ties to Halloweentown, looks intrigued by Aleksander’s offer.

She bites her lip out of habit, but Aleksander is there to brush his fingers against her chin, reminding her to let go, a practiced motion after the thousands of times he must have done it while they were growing up.

“Alright, fine,” she agrees. “But only for tea, and we’re leaving before sundown.”

The children cheer, and Elise takes Aleksander’s hand quickly. He brightens as she tells him about all the things she wants to see in Halloweentown. There’s a mischievous glint in his eyes—the same one he had when he convinced her to get on the bus to the mortal world that first Halloween—that tells her he’s scheming to keep her here, and he’s recruiting an accomplice.

She’s going to regret introducing Elise and Aleksander.

prompt from darklinahomes on twitter

#daily darklina prompt #shadow and bone #show and tell

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teecupangel · 9 months

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Submitted by @saberamane

After seeing that chinchilla Desmond ask, it reminded me of my first impression upon encountering the ferox in Ark survival evolved, Genesis part 1. I know it has a cat/fox like face and kind of red panda tail and monkey-ish body but, my first experience with it was in game, as I hadn’t watched the trailer. And I thought it was a mutated chinchilla…

Saying that! A Ferox! Desmond au would be amazing. He’s small and cute, doing cute little hops to beg for treats, and then he’s a 7 foot tall wolf-gorilla thing capable of tearing your head off your body…

I just have a picture of guards angrily breaking into an ancestor’s house (like the Auditore villa at the start of AC2) and finding this cute…thing just sitting on the other side of the door, wagging it’s tail, and then they watch in horror as it suddenly grows, up and up, and up.

And then there’s nothing but screams…

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

Additions by teecup

For those unfamiliar with what a Ferox look like, here you go:

Desmond would probably spend quite a lot of time trying to get used to his new body, especially his newly acquired four arms so he’d be a bit of a klutz too. And he’d be super surprised when he first transforms into his other form but also ‘hell yeah!’.

Desmond would just be a fluffy sweet bunny? Fox? Cat? No one knows (and Leonardo is trying to understand what he is) but that doesn’t really matter since Desmond is more or less docile and just likes to eat and cuddle. Not being liked by him would make a person a social pariah XD

So we have an idea of how Desmond could screw up AC2 (also, he can totally protect Monteriggioni by going on a rampage on the papacy army, although this might start a rumor of Monteriggioni having a demon as an attack dog) and Desmond could easily thwart Charles Lee’s plan to burn down Ratonhnhaké:ton’s village by going ham on them either while staying with Kaniehtí:io that day or by transforming and ‘taking care’ of the soldiers before Charles Lee could even hurt Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Now, the most common setup would be for Desmond to be Altaïr’s pet but may I suggest an alternative: Desmond as baby Sef’s pet? Sef found him while he and Darim are playing (maybe they were even able to sneak out of Masyaf) and he brought him back because Desmond doesn’t recognize Sef but he looks a lot like Altaïr so he just makes soft purring sounds as he put all his arms in the air in the universal gesture of ‘pick me up’ and Sef does.

His transformation is kept a secret and Altaïr thinks Desmond might have mutated with the use of a POE. He’s still more or less Sef’s pet even though Desmond likes to follow Altaïr around when Sef isn’t in Masyaf.

So when Swami tried to assassinate Sef in his sleep, Desmond is curled on top of Sef’s chest and he jumped down, staring at Swami.

Swami’s eyes widened as Desmond transformed right in front of him and he let out a scream that gets drowned by Desmond’s roar.

Sef immediately wakes up to see Desmond pinning Swami against the floor and Sef knew that something fishy is certainly going on. Even though Swami is babbling that it was his father who ordered for his death, Sef doesn’t believe him.

First of all: His father wouldn’t order for this death. Of all the things Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad might and might not be, his love for his family will never be questioned.

Second of all: Even if Altaïr wanted him dead, he wouldn’t pick someone like Swami to kill him, that’s insulting. (At this point, both Swami and Desmond just stare at Sef because, yeah, he might be nicer and sweeter than his father but the Ibn-La'Ahad arrogance seems to be hereditary).

“Third of all…” Sef looked at Desmond and grinned, “Shall we get some exercise, Desmond?”

Desmond roared his agreement and…

That day, the conspiracy against Altaïr’s family and allies was thwarted by a large monster. Many of Abbas’ supposed allies squealed like pigs and admitted everything while being pinned down by said monster.

Malik drowned in paperwork that day.

#submission #you know what?#i am still tagging this as #desmond is turned into an animal subgenre #ferox is fictional but still an animal #fuck i should have made the tag #desmond is turned into a creature subgenre #to cover more grounds XD #desmond as a ferox #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #desmond miles #ezio auditore #ratonhnhaké:ton #connor kenway #altaïr ibn la'ahad #sef ibn la'ahad #swami

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captainatin · 7 years

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Magician’s resolve chapter 6: Preparations

It had been a full day since Lailani had been captured, she was forced to wait in her cell but Asgore came to her prison every few hours to check up on her. Word had already spread through the camp that the human was not to be executed or harmed in any way yet she was still concerned about all of the monsters making an effort to pass by and look at her with suspicious glances. The one advantage to the mind numbing boredom was a chance to see what life looked like for these strange sorts of people, it didn’t matter if they were a talking dog or a pile of sludge because it was all new and fascinating to her. From her view point she could see a group of skeletons hammering away at a battering ram in hopes of completing it before the next day came, it was quite astonishing to see how the sacks of bones worked together as they gave each other literal hands to help keep things in place and make the process go smoothly.

The ram itself wasn’t very interesting, simply a massive cylinder of wood that was coated in some strange kind of metal that seemed to glisten with all sorts of magical energies that were completely foreign to her limited knowledge of the topic; she then recalled how little Desmond has spoken to her about when it came to magic outside of her signature ability. Metal had always clicked with her, it was simple and easy to understand, there was no surprise, nothing that could go poorly if she hadn’t thought of it. Caolos-Tonn had to be careful with his power at first so he wouldn’t rupture his own eardrums; nothing that Lailani could do would have such unforeseeable side effects, at least that’s what she figured since it was simply the ability to manipulate metal to her will. I wonder what kind of enchantments are on that? I don’t think there are many magicians with that as their specialty, Caolos is pretty good but that’s not his main thing. These monsters must be incredible to do something this complex with their weak magical energy. She clenched the cold steel bars as she continued to stare in amazement. I wonder if Impact is working with them, I don’t think I’ve seen him since last night. I doubt he’s that tall broad one. She chuckled to herself as she began to analyze each of the workers as they walked around to finish different tasks or to fetch more materials. Oh, maybe he’s that one with the really small body in comparison to the head! That’d be hilarious! She grinned as her eyes shifted to the guard dogs who rotated shifts every once in awhile. It was hard to recognize if any of them were the dogs she had met the previous day due to the fact that there could be any number of huskies and golden shepherds in the camp. She watched as one of them idly batted at a butterfly that was floating around their nose only to miss with every annoyed swing, the second guard dog was even less diligent as he was gnawing on a bone from an ordinary chicken. Life was strange to the human girl, all of them seemed to run around and do normal things that humans did other than making games out of every trivial task like juggling wooden beams on the way to build the ram or finding words that started with the same letter of the last word’s ending. A water droplet could be heard falling to the stone cold floor of the cave. It all seemed rather peaceful except for the few times Grimgore passed through to check up on the progress, they all seemed to respect him and love him as a leader, yet none of them seemed to be personally attached to him. From the girl’s observations he had no friends and he had no one he talked to as an equal, he wasn’t a cruel master by any means. The hulking behemoth of a goatman was a great leader, he just seemed to be more grumpy than he was intimidating at this point. The girl’s fear for him slowly diminished over the span of her day that she spent gazing out over what they considered to be a normal day in the life, preparing for the next battle in an attempt to take something from the humans for a change. Lailani frowned upon the desire for war but she also acknowledged the lack of a better option, she realized that there was no way to talk Grimgore out of his plan. She could feel the hatred burning within him, the feelings of worthlessness as they fought a losing battle caused by the very nature of their souls. It didn’t take much thought to realize there was no way the monsters could win, their weaker souls covered every hard fought victory in the white powder that was their fleeting existences. It was sad to think that all the smiling faces she saw would likely be purged like a disease, massacred into a more morbid type of snowfall. The girl toyed with the idea of the monsters winning but soon let the delusion slip away from her thoughts, it wasn’t that it was impossible, but the hope would make things more painful when they lost. It was in that moment where she felt trapped and useless, she considered why she was doing all of this and how she had hurt people that she knew. They were humans, and humans are awful, in general we’re horrible people that are simply terrible. We don’t deserve to have stronger souls if we’re just going to screw everything up all the time. That’s all humans ever do; find new ways to screw up and make life hell for other people. I wonder what will happen after all of this ends….it’s going to end soon anyways so what’s the point in me doing all this? What do I gain from helping the monsters? Moral high ground? A clear conscious? She let out a loud sigh as she watched the skeletons finish the battering ram. No, I’ve hurt too many people to be okay with this. The girl bit her lip as Asgore came into view with a pair of teacups, he was wobbly and cringing as he stared at the cups that rattled in his grip; it was quite amusing to see how serious he was about not spilling a single drop from the flowery cups. Lailani could tell that the young prince was distracted, not just from the cups in his hands. “Hey, Asgore!” She called out to him and waved as she gripped the bars tightly and leaned into them, a bright smile stretched from ear to ear only to vanish in an instant; she noted the monsters that glared and cast odd looks in her general direction. The human girl frowned as she backed away from the bars and retreated towards the back wall of the cell that met her skin with a chilling sensation. I wonder if they’ll ever forgive me, I know that Asgore will but that’s different. Somehow we resonated….whatever the hell that means. Monster souls and human souls can’t resonate so that’s impossible. Is there some other kind of resonating that Desmond never told me about? She bit her lip as she pondered for a moment. The girl was snapped out of her daze as she realized that the prince of monsters was slowly approaching with the two cups wobbling on their saucers. “Hello!” Lailani perked up again as she crawled towards the front of the cage and wrapped her hands around the bars, a slight shiver shook down her spine as she fidgeted in place. The young man had a somber look on his face as he came up the cage and sat down. There was a heavy sigh as he slid the tea-cup through the gap in the bars as he stared at the floor. “Uhm….” Lailani flinched at his silence before she took the cup and tilted her head slightly. “Are you okay?” She gently pressed her forehead against the cold bars and tried to make eye contact with the young prince.

“Yes, I’m just disappointed that I don’t get to join my father in this fight. He’s always so stubborn and ill-tempered, yet everyone still seems to love him and understand he’s a great leader. How does he do it? If I were to be that aggressive they would all hate me.” Asgore sighed again as he stared at the rocks on the floor for a long moment before taking a sip of his tea. Another drop of water came between his thoughts. “I just don’t feel like I can live up to his standard, to be the king of monsters that everyone loves and respects.” His gaze slowly shifted up to the girl, it was clear he felt a little awkward about her concerned look by the fact that he instantly ripped his eyes away.

“I mean, that’s kind of silly when you think about it.” The human girl frowned before sipping the tea and shivering slightly as it sent a rejuvenating tingle down her spine. “Why would you try to be your dad when you’re you? I think the reason they think that way is because they’ve seen how your dad leads and they know that you won’t be the same kind of leader. It’s like, uhm….” She tapped her lip as she tried to think. “Like an alpha wolf and, uh, the head of a lion pride!” She grinned as she bounced in place slightly.

“I don’t know if there’s much of a difference between those things.” The young prince grunted as he sipped on the tea and looked up towards the ceiling of the cave; another annoying water droplet fell and splashed on his nose. His face contorted in annoyance for a brief moment before he brushed it off. “They’re both fierce leaders who lead groups of animals with asserted strength.” He blinked at the human for a moment before turning his head to look at the monsters and their preparations. The girl could tell that he longed to be out there and she couldn’t help but feel that, in some way, it was her fault.

“W-Well, uhm, I guess that was just a bad example.” Lailani leaned back from the bars and against the cold stone wall behind her as she tried to think of something to fill the void of silence that had crept back into their conversation. I guess I could warn him about Desmond and Percy, although I guess they already know about those two. I can’t remember if they said anything about where Hardwin and Kairim were assigned. I think there was another camp the monsters had and that’s where they’re at. Things are going to be tough if the monsters insist on fighting in multiple areas. I guess they just wouldn’t stand a chance if all of the human forces were united and fought full force. The two teenagers quietly looked at the ground, the only sound that pierced the veil of silence was the occasional sound of one of them sipping on the sweet flavored tea. She could feel the disappointment radiating off of the boy and she yearned to somehow take it away but she still couldn’t think of anything. The girl looked past him towards the workers who appeared to be taking a break from the construction of the battering ram and its more fine pieces of wood that had to be carved into shape. They seemed to be joking around like any normal construction workers would do if they were building a cottage or a carriage.

“So, uhm, they’re going to be done with that soon. Do you wanna talk to your skeleton friend? He doesn’t seem to be too happy but I could pull him over here for a chat.” Asgore shrugged as he finished off his tea.

“Oh, Impact? Yeah, uhm, I guess it’d be nice to talk to him. Do you know much about him? He seems a bit more okay with humans than the rest of you guys.” She smiled slightly as she fidgeted.

“Well, he was friends with a human back in the day so it makes sense that he would be a bit more sensitive than most of us. Despite the apparent peace and harmony, there was very little cultural exchange between the races. His friend was assumed to be a traitor and was locked up in some human type of prison.” He paused to look the girl in the eye. “You’re not the first human to do this, you know that right? There are several humans that don’t think this is right, most of them have suffered some sort of punishment simply for questioning the morality of your self righteous system. You do know this, right?” He stared for a long moment, his firm gaze sending a shiver down the girl’s spine.

“Y-Yes, I know I’m not the only one. I’ve only ever heard of people talking about it though, no one who actually fought back or anything. I’m the only one with enough resolve to stick by my beliefs I guess.” The girl shrugged as she drank the rest of her tea and looked towards the ground as if it held some revolutionary answer that would bring an end to both her confusion and her boredom from being locked up. Another annoying drop of water came down and splashed on the young prince as silence came over them, another drip came only to be evaporated by a small orb of fire that appeared over the prince’s head. “So you can do things with fire? That’s pretty cool.” She smiled awkwardly as she tried in vain to keep the conversation going. The young monster was often soft spoken but the silence was still unnerving.

“Yeah, I guess.” He spoke up after a long moment. “I don’t get to use it very much, I like using my trident because it’s more reliable. The fire can be dodged pretty easily if my enemy sees it coming, a trident covers a larger area with ease and it does more damage.” Asgore let out a sigh of relief, it was clearly a more comfortable subject for him in comparison to their previous attempts at discussion.

“Wanna try to spar? You know, when everyone is out on the raid we could practice in here!” Lailani bounced in place before standing up. “I want to help you guys out in some way.” She slowly wrapped a hand around one of the cell bars and took a deep breath, she didn’t want to bend it enough for people to notice but just enough to showcase her abilities to the young prince of monsters; the bars bent outward slightly and made a sharp creaking noise that made both the human and her new friend jump in surprise. “O-Oh, oh no, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to scare you like that! I-I hope no one noticed, holy hell that would be awful if someone figured it out they would never trust me and uhm….” Her speech slowed to a stop as she noticed that the boy’s eyes were wide with both shock and wonder.

“So you could have escaped anytime you wanted to but you didn’t?” Asgore stood up and inspected the bent piece of metal. “That was forged from one of our smiths through magic, you can manipulate soul metal too?” He bit his lip and tilted his head slightly. “One moment, I’ll get you out of there and I’ll see what you can do.” The girl nodded in response and watched the young prince rush off towards the skeletons.

“O-Okay, just don’t get anyone too unsettled by it!” The human girl cursed herself for the volume at which she spoke; several monsters turned their heads and gave her more bizarre looks of disgust and confusion. I really need to work on volume control. She awkwardly smiled as she retreated back into her cell and sat down against the wall. A large shard stuck out of the wall, it was positioned almost right next to her head so she was naturally drawn to look at it. The girl brushed her hand over it and felt that it wasn’t the same as the rest of the stone she was surrounded by, on a hunch she closed her eyes and reached out to the object with her soul; the object wiggled slightly, confirming her suspicions. Her eyes slowly opened and she smiled. I haven’t seen raw iron like this before, it’s really weird, so dusty and…. She struggled to find the right word to describe it but nothing came to mind as she stared at it. Basic? No, that’s not the right word. She tilted her head slightly away from the wall and huffed. The young metal mage closed her eyes again and focused her essence into the iron, she tried to pull it out but the shard was too deeply lodged inside the wall and refused to budge. She swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought of having to change the metal’s shape into something more complex in order to slip it out of there. The girl chewed on her lip as she stared at it in thought. Can I do this? I failed with trying to make that knife earlier. She smiled in an attempt to fool herself into thinking that there was no way she could mess it up, that she was capable of doing anything that she set her mind to. So what do I do? Impact told me to picture it but that didn’t work out so well. I’ll just like, uhm…. She closed her eyes again and saw the white letters from earlier that listed out what she had in her inventory and what capabilities she had from a physical aspect, she thought her way through the menus but none of them said anything about the limits to what she could do with her magical gifts. Great, of course it can’t be simple. She growled to herself as she opened her eyes and gritted her teeth as she prepared to give it her best shot. I can do this, I can do this, this is the next step in my growth anyways. Desmond would have pushed me to do this and to expand my abilities. I can’t just stay this way forever. She closed her eyes reached out with her soul and imaged the hunk of metal to compress and weave through the cracks in the rocks, all of the small chips missing, all the awkward grooves that iron has to move around. Her jaw started twitching and her mouth jittered open as she exhaled, she could hear the metal moving but it was clearly stiff and stuck in place despite how hard she was trying to dislodge it. Picture it, the metal flattening and sliding out cleanly. Yes, that should do it. She cringed as she heard a horrid sound that resonated with the grating of metal that rang out throughout the entire portion of the cave.that she was willingly trapped inside of. Her eyes opened as she whipped her head around to check to see if anyone had stopped to look at what she was doing, to her surprise there wasn’t much attention brought to the loud screeching sound aside from a few people covering their ears and growling something incomprehensible under their breaths. Wow, out of all the things I’ve done that’s what goes mostly unnoticed? She chuckled to herself before looking back at the hunk of metal. It was indeed reshaped but the shape was crude and far from the clean she was hoping to make. Her smile slowly turned into a frown at the sight of her failure, she let out a weary sigh as she let her head rest against the wall next to the protruding ore. Great, and I didn’t even do it right. How am I going to help them if I can’t even form a sheet of iron? I can’t just keep smashing peoples heads in with spheres of metal, that leaves sparing them as not an option. She drew her head back and let it fall against the rock again, the pain was barely noticed as she stared at the floor and started thinking to herself of what could be next.

“Well, I see you’ve made some progress on something.” The girl nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound of a familiar voice. “You’re getting better but you could still use some work.” As she turned around she realized that it was Impact, his firm over the top voice couldn’t be matched by any other skeleton. It was quite strange to see the disembodied head actually possessed a full skeleton that seemed reasonably proportioned to the size of his head rather than the laughable fantasies she had imagined. She tilted her head slightly as she noticed a ring on his lowest left rib that had a key dangling from it, there was no doubt in her mind that it was to the cell she currently resided in.

“Y-Yeah, but I really thought I had it that time.” Lailani sighed as she pushed her cheeks up with her palms as if she were a pouting child that had just been scolded. “Everything felt like it was going so well until that screeching sound started.” The girl huffed once more as she let her body go limp as she fell against the bars that locked her in.

“So you broke focus, you got impatient and started questioning your own resolve.” Impact stared at her, his height allowed him to look down on her with relative ease. “Monster souls do not possess determination, we cannot surpass our own limits, that is a trait unique to humans and that is something you can do.” His voice was stern, almost like a disappointed father looking down on his child. “Try it again, don’t get distracted!” He barked loudly which caused the girl to jolt up straight as an arrow.

“B-But I don’t think I can do it, this kind of thing takes time to learn and Desmond always said that a new skill is hard to pick up if I’m new to using my magic. I-I never taught myself how to do anything more complicated than what I’ve already done.” The girl continued to stare at the ground in dismay as her hair poked through the bars. She fidgeted when she felt a bony hand touch her head but stopped when she realized that it was the skeleton’s weak attempt at encouraging her into a second shot.

“Don’t believe in yourself, believe in the you that you can become.” The bag of bones grunted as he stood up straight and looked over his shoulder at Asgore who was quickly approaching. “If you pull it out before he gets here then I’ll let you out.” He chuckled as he turned back to the human girl, shock on his face as he found her with her eyes closed and her magic swelling from up inside.

“Okay….believe in what I can become.” It was clear that she had tuned out the rest of what he had said, she was clear and focused, driven to do whatever she could do. No, not to whatever I can do, past what I can do. True growth, I need it now! Her magic molded its way into the metal and she felt her soul come in contact with every groove and bump on the piece of ore, she could feel her essence slowly assimilate the iron, to make it the same magical signature as her own body. She could feel it mold to the touch of her essence, it was as if she were shaping clay rather than a solid block of iron. When the girl opened her eyes she squealed with delight as the iron slab dropped to her feet in an odd shape, she had molded it through the uniquely shaped crevice in which it was in yet she had failed to reshape it after it came out. I’ll still have to work on it, but this is a great start! She grinned like an idiot as she spun around and gave her friend a goofy thumbs up. Her smile slowly eroded away into awkwardness as she stared at the unimpressed skeleton who had now been joined by the young prince.

“I suppose it’s a start.” Impact sighed as he slid the key off of his rib and twirled it around with his boney fingers for a moment as he taunted the girl with the idea of escaping as he nonchalantly approached the keyhole.

“Just a start? Her ability is amazing!” Asgore grinned as stared wide eyed at the hunk of metal at the back of the girl’s cell. “If she can manipulate metal that well, including soul metal, she could beat so many knights! Almost all of the soldiers wear armor so she’s basically a trump card!” He punched his left palm with his right fist as he bounced on his heels with excitement overflowing from him. The skeleton inserted the key and with a loud creak he swung the metal door open and gestured for the girl to exit. “Wait, you’re letting her out? You’re actually going to let me spar with her?” He bubbled with energy as he looked up to the skeleton with his eyes wider than the teacup’s saucers.

“Now I never said that, I’ll have to ask your father about that one. The human can roam free as long as she sticks to a few basic guidelines and doesn’t try to escape.” The bonehead sighed again as he slapped his boney hand against his own forehead. “I don’t want either of you using your magic without my supervision.” He growled as he looked between the two overly eager teenagers. “Ah, that feeling when you’re reminded of your younger days back when you were a baby bag of bones.” The skeleton man chortled as he reminisced to himself of his younger days in spite of the fact that they weren’t as distant as he portrayed them to be. “Yes, the good old days.” He sighed wistfully as he stared off into space, his two companions looked at each other with confusion for a brief moment before shrugging it off.

“Well, alright then, I guess this means I get to show you around the camp then?” The young monster prince grinned as wrapped an arm around the human’s shoulder and gently pushed her along. “See ya later Impact! We’ll catch up with you in a bit!” He tried to keep himself from laughing but failed miserably as he broke out into laughter. “We won’t get ourselves into any trouble, I promise.”

“Why do I not believe you?” Impact sighed as he watched the two of them walk away towards the training hall. “His majesty is going to kill me for this.” The skeleton grunted as he slowly followed behind them. “Hey, wait up!” He called out to them as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. “I’ll be the one giving the tours around here, I do not trust you to show her around without blowing something up!”

“Eheh, I guess that’s fair.” Asgore chuckled awkwardly as backed away from the human girl and rolled his eyes. “I just thought she might want to see how we fought considering she’s going to be fighting alongside us.” The boy shrugged slightly.

“About that…” The skull’s voice trailed off as he looked past the two of them. “You know neither of you are suppose to participate in tomorrow's battle, well Grimgore would actually like to keep things that way.” He turned his head to Lailani. “You will remain as a prisoner of war. You will be given proper accommodations as such and you will not leave the cell.”

#undertale #human souls #The Magicians #Magician's resolve #asgore #determination

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ablastulasrecipe-blog · 6 years

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Nanowrimo, Day 2

About 2 or so hours later Sherlock sits in whatever object he can find that resembles a bench. In this case, the bench was the remains of a 925-year old Red Cedar, the most prized log of the most prized lumberjack in town, cut down in a late autumn night, as the mildest rain started to fall that season. Most of its trunk was used to burn the fires of a fireplace that warmed the body of little Sally, as she faced the most dangerous cold a 2-year old can face. She survived and got better the day after, and the remains of the trunk was cut up and used to cover the hole in her bedroom, the one responsible for letting rain hit her and making her sick in the first place. A tiny log still remains of that tree, and it won two yearly log contests in a row, getting banned from a third entry because they realized how unfair it would be to the competition. Having no further use for it, the lumberjack now leaves it in the front of his house to show people he still has the best wood in town.

- Watson. Are you there? – Sherlock opens his laptop in hopes that his friend answers.

- Wow, I thought you were dead! Took you long enough, why didn’t you contact me sooner? Did you get Moriarty?

- He escaped, or rather, he’s hiding in this town. Sorry for the worry, I’m fine. I’ve been trying to look around for him, but to no avail.

- Huh.

- And no one in town helps! It’s like everyone thinks I’m a plague. And others are just going around shouting something about mirages.

- Weird, small countryside towns tend to be very hospitable.

- Right? Only one person so far has talked to me, but I didn’t learn much.

- That seems rough. What are your findings so far?

- Well, if no one’s hospitable to outsiders, that means Moriarty is either having the same issues as me or he knows someone from here.

- I can try and search for a list of criminals, see if anyone’s from around there.

- I love when I don’t have to tell you what to do. Thanks Watson!

- You got it. See ya!

Watson’s next step was as clear as that afternoon sky, or that boiling heat. Sherlock’s however, was not as obvious. He tried to talk to multiple townspeople, failing spectacularly in all attempts of human interaction. And the sheriff seemed to be nowhere in sight, as Sherlock couldn’t even get an answer as to whether or not he exists. Trying to search for the mayor led to nothing, as he was being persecuted for believing in mirages. Only two certainties were had: Sherlock didn’t want to stay there for long, as eating nearly-rotted food and having to deal with boiling heat under those clothes were the most inconvenient bothers he could ask for; And the other thing was, dealing with Moriarty meant spending a long time looking at footprints and hair strands.

- You know, the rest of my snot-eating family would never forgive a peasant like you for the disgrace you’re bringing to this poor lumberjack’s house. – said a tiny Lyra, coming from out of the corner.

- The kid from before. Were you following me? – asks the detective, getting up.

- Escaping my dad is hard enough, so following a man that had no idea were he was going was a decent move to end up in an unpredictable place.

- Escaping your dad? Are you even at the age to run away from home?

- Duh, I’m not running, I just wanted to be alone for a moment.

- Then I suppose this is my cue to leave.

Walking away, he hears something knocking on the log, and Lyra’s voice:

- Wait, are you a swordsman? – Lyra climbed onto the prized wood before stopping Sherlock.

“A swordsman? I suppose that’s how one can look at me, but I don’t think I’ve ever been very proficient at the job, it’s mostly just Isabela helping me out. Or should I shut down any hopes of entertaining this girl? I mean, I’m a detective first and foremost, but I happen to swing a sword around sometimes, does that mean I’m a swordsman as well? Is a swordsman an occupation or a set of abilities? But then again, I work alone as a detective, so is that an occupation? Maybe they’re both sets of abilities, and I’m actually an unemployed person who happens to make a living out of selling said skills. But isn’t that what ‘working’ is in the first place?”

Some would say Sherlock’s inner debates are the reason he can’t make a lot of contact with people in general. But either way, that lasted a few seconds before he turned around.

- Why you ask?

- Look here ponpon, you answer me, and then I’ll think about continuing the conversation, okay? – Lyra had a little teddy bear called Ponpon, but she made his stuffing pop from his head, forming something resembling a hair bun. Sherlock’s hair reminded her of that.

- Yeah, I suppose I can be a swordsman, sometimes. – Sherlock’s inner monologue is so unnecessarily convoluted right now he can’t even bother with Lyra’s attitude, or nickname.

- That’s good enough. I’m hiring you as my teacher.

Hoping to settle the argument around his profession, and using the excuse of learning more about the town through that little girl, Sherlock accepts the request and follows the girl to her house.

- Okay, stay here. I’ll call dad and tell him you’re willing to teach and be responsible for my abilities with a sword.

He regretted his decision fairly quickly, but still, he didn’t have a clear course of action to take if he left, so waiting around didn’t seem like the worst thing he could do. Some muffled discussion and arguments were had, until Lyra’s screams were very clearly heard by the neighboring houses. Not a lot of useful information to be had in that argument, though Sherlock was now aware of Lyra’s rebellious nature against not only her father, but her entire family as well. It made him wonder why he was never that rebellious at her age…

The door started to open, and a happy Lyra exploded out of the house.

- This is the one dad! He’ll be my teacher, he begged me for the position, so I decided to give him a chance.

From out of the room, came the man Sherlock recognized from earlier that day. His hair was better kept than any other resident in town, and his clothes were probably more expensive than everything in Sherlock’s apartment combined.

- I’m happy you accepted her pleas, stranger. By the tired look and unwashed clothes, I’ll guess you don’t have a place to stay.

- You’re right, but mostly I’m here to get information as well.

- I see. Then you’re welcome to live here for as long as Lyra’s teaching takes. What’s your name?

- Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes.

- Nice to meet you mister Holmes, I’m Cliff Desmond. Lyra, take mister Holmes to his room.

As the man goes back inside, Lyra picks his arm.

- I’ll guide you there.

- How did you get your father to accept a stranger like me to not only teach you, but to live in your house? – Thinking back on Lyra’s screams from before, he realized he had spaced out halfway through the discussion and didn’t understand a thing of what was going on.

- Dad tends to do what I ask if I scream loud enough. He has sensitive ears. This way.

…

His room was a lot bigger than he expected. And the shower helped a lot to alleviate the horrible heat from outside. Still, he made no progress in finding Moriarty that day. But maybe Watson did.

- Did you find something?

- I found out that this town has no sheriff whatsoever. Since the townspeople all knew each other, crime was rare, and eventually, nonexistent.

- So, how come there’s a series of robberies happening? Is the world just going crazy?

- I can’t answer the second question, but for the first… I think it has to do with why the town is so isolated in the first place.

- What do you mean?

- Apparently, until three years ago, there used to be a forest no so far from there, and the river was much bigger. But apparently that’s no longer the case. Everything outside of the river’s remains is a desert around you.

- And now resources are getting scarce, so people are starting to get things another way.

- That’s my theory as well.

Beneath his feet, Sherlock could hear a thumping sound. He was on the second floor, so that was clearly someone below. He ignored at first, but it kept going.

- What about the mirages? Do you think that’s just because people are not used to deserts, so anytime something like that happens they blow it out of proportion?

- Could be, but still, I can’t find a single thing about that. No one has reported on that. Probably because it hasn’t hit the news yet, I mean, there probably isn’t any journalists in there.

The noise continued. It got louder, but Sherlock kept ignoring it.

- Okay, I was able to find a house to stay. So at least I’ll have a place to rest now. I’ll keep updating you, and you do the same.

- You got it, I’ll search something about these mirages.

- Thanks.

Watson said something before tuning off, but Sherlock didn’t hear his voice over the bangs happening beneath his feet. “Is this going to happen every day? What even is that? Do I have permission to walk around the house and check? Maybe it would be best to just accept, I already had a place to stay, I can deal with something like that.”

“Or maybe that noise is because someone needs help? Maybe the house’s getting invaded and there’s no one to protect it. If Lyra hears It she might even try to stop the robber herself, giving her attitude.”

Creating doubt in his mind made Sherlock walk downstairs, to find a messy and very angry girl with a wooden stick banging on the ceiling.

- Wow! You have the most heavy sleep I have ever seen! Or maybe you just hate me and wanted to see if I could get angry. Well, I am!

- If you wanted to talk to me, why didn’t you just call me?

- If you want to live in this house, why don’t you treat me with more respect?

“Can she talk like a normal human being for once?” Sherlock realized what kind of person he was dealing with.

- Come on, we’re starting my training!

- Now?

- Now!

He accepted the job, but truth was, he had no clue how to start teaching someone about fighting with a sword, let alone a small girl in her early teens.

The backyard was big, as expected, but it also had a bunch of destroyed vases, unkept grass, and wooden poles stuck in the ground. All probably victims of Lyra. “Maybe that’s a good first lesson” though Sherlock.

- Okay, let’s spar! – Lyra ran with her wooden stick in hand and turned to face Sherlock

- Spar? It’s far too early for you to think about that.

- What?

- If you want to fight with a sword, first you must learn how to behave like a swordswoman.

- No way! I demand a sparring session! Now! Defend yourself.

Lyra came running, guard down, arms up, towards Sherlock, who decided to use the tip of the sheathed Isabela do knock her down in a single move.

- Ugh.

- Are you happy? Now, let’s learn something useful.

- No way, I can still keep going.

- I’m here to teach you how to be a proper swordswoman, not how to attack every piece of wood that crosses your path. If you want to behave like the spoiled brat you are, be my guest, but we’ll be doing things my way because if all you wanted was to try and hit someone you hardly needed to call a teacher like myself. Now, sit down!

He felt good about that, there was enough confidence in his words that it inspired him to try and teach her something. Her reaction was looking down before obeying. Sherlock realized that while he was teaching her, he could get through her impulsiveness.

- So, the first lesson I want to teach you is the most important one of them all. – He starts to talk as he walks in front of her.

- I really don’t need the same kind of fluffy talk about being an honest person that my other teachers tried to teach me, okay?

There wasn’t much more Sherlock said besides picking up her stick from the ground and advancing at her with extreme agility, hitting her in the shoulder and knocking her over.

- Ouch! How dare you! You told me to sit!

- The first lesson is to always expect the last thing your opponent could possibly do. – Sherlock stands near Lyra and hands her stick. – Now get up!

Lyra smiles as she obeys. Her teacher was much more than she was hoping for.

…

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I’m happier with today’s content, at least the first half. This is actually a lot more than I was expecting to write, and yet, I feel like I should have done more. Word count at 3170.

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nurseperriestyles-blog · 7 years

Text

Useless

“I still don’t understand why Perrie is here..” Eren grumbled, causing Perrie to roll her eyes.

Perrie slid off of Mikasa’s back and immediately sank down, refusing to look anywhere but at her shoes.

“I’m a nurse.” she shrugged, and Eren rolled his eyes back at her.

“What do you think you’ll be able to do? You had to get a piggy back from Mikasa just to get here, and you can’t even stand up.” he countered, and Perrie put her hands on her hips and scrunched her nose.

“My knees are busted and I’m afraid of heights!”

“You’re such a baby!”

“And you’re being ungrateful...again!”

The two sounded like children arguing, and the Garrison soldiers around them exchanged irritated glances.

“Hey, we have bigger things to worry about here.” Rico snapped, causing the two to shut up.

“Alright, let’s go then!” Eren and the rest jumped from the Wall, while Perrie and Rico stayed behind.

“Hold your ears, this will be loud.” Rico instructed as she pulled out the signal gun. Perrie did as she was told and the emerald smoke flew high above them, letting the other group know the mission had begun. “Okay, stay here for now. It’s too dangerous for you to be down there with no gear. We’ll send someone to get you when the mission is over.”

Perrie nodded and watched as Rico shot off in the direction of Eren and the others.

“Good luck!” she called after them, her fingers crossed.

After a few minutes, she lost sight of them, but when a brilliant flash of lightning bathed everything in bright yellow light, she knew about where they were.

A thunderous roar permeated the air, and Perrie saw Eren’s Titan form burst through the plume of smoke. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as the Titan’s glowing green eyes scanned its surroundings, but she immediately felt as if something was wrong.

He stood slightly hunched forward, his shoulders squared and his chest bowed out. Perrie recognized that stance from the infirmary; hysterical or violent patients took that stance right before they attacked a nurse..

“Shit!” Perrie hissed as Eren punched a hole through a building. Though she couldn’t see, she knew he had took a swing at one of the soldiers.

She felt completely useless as she watched him jump around, punching and kicking the buildings. Suddenly, she saw him punch himself in the face, knocking him into a building. Shortly after, a red flare sliced through the sky.

Goddamnit, all I can do is sit and wait..

All she could do was stare in their direction, hoping that Eren would stand up and complete the mission. She wished she could get down there and make sure he was okay..

She wished that none of this was even happening.

So many lives were going to end because of this mission, and the thought made Perrie sick. Sending people to die, watching helplessly as they did so..those were the things Perrie stood completely against. It killed her to watch people die.

She remembered Grisha telling her that every life was precious..that she should always try her hardest and her best to save someone..but she pushed the thought of him aside; it only made her heart ache and her jaw clench.

Doctor Yeager, what did you do?

Several minutes later, after sitting there watching and waiting, she heard footsteps running towards her. When she looked up, she saw Armin approaching.

“Where are they? What happened?” he asked through labored breaths.

“There. I don’t know what happened, I couldn’t see very well. I just saw him attacking them all of a sudden, and now Titans are heading towards them.” Armin’s eyes went wide as she spoke, and he ran a hand through his hair.

“Stay here!” he ordered as he shot off towards the others.

“Well, where the fuck else would I go!” she yelled after him, throwing her arms up in frustration.

Her irritation melted away quickly, though, as she noticed a swarm of Titans slowly marching towards the group. Her heart stopped at the sight, and she felt like crying.

I’m so fucking useless! What if they’re all killed? I’m just sitting here watching!

Slowly but surely the Titans started to fall, but still more came.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, a familiar roar met Perrie’s ears, and she saw Eren stand.

“Yes!!” she cheered, jumping to her feet.

Over the rooftops, she could see the boulder slowly inching closer and closer to the hole. Hope drenched Perrie’s entire being and she felt light headed. It didn’t even matter that she was standing on top of a fifty meter high wall, or that Eren was a Titan...humanity was about to win its first victory over the Titans, and Perrie was watching it happen.

As they got closer, Perrie could see all of the soldiers assisting Eren. More had joined since the mission had started, and Perrie’s heart swelled with pride..

Until she saw them dying.

There was blood everywhere. Perrie watched as Titans plucked the soldiers from the ground and from the sky and swallowed them whole. She watched them crush them, stomp on them, and pull them apart..

She slowly sank to her knees, her lips slightly parted, her hands hanging limply at her sides.

There was nothing she could do except watch them die.

She watched as Mikasa and Rico sliced through them, she watched as Armin shouted at Eren through tears, she watched as Eren slammed the boulder down, fitting it perfectly into the hole. She watched as yellow smoke shot into the air.

She sobbed as she realized they had won.

“Why are you here? And why are you blubbering like a baby?”

Perrie hadn’t even heard him approach her over her crying, so when she looked up and saw Captain Levi, she jumped a little.

“E-Eren plugged the wall.” she stuttered dumbly, limply pointing down.

Levi glanced down and nodded.

“He’s a Titan, then?” he asked.

“He’s a Titan.” she confirmed.

“Are you alright? You look like shit.”

Perrie bristled and almost argued with him, until she heard screaming from below.

“Shouldn’t you be helping them?” she demanded, finding her strength.

Levi stared at her for just a bit longer, then, without a word, he was gone.

“Perrie?!”

Perrie was suddenly pulled to her feet with Ty’s hands gripping her shoulders. His eyes were wide with confusion.

“Why are you here?” He questioned.

Perrie was too elated to reply. Anytime the Survey Corps went on expeditions, she worried about Ty constantly. And after the day she was having, the sight of him alive and unhurt brought her unfathomable joy.

When she heard screams from below, she was pulled back to reality.

“You have to take me down there!” Perrie tried to rush to the edge of the wall to look down, but Ty wouldn’t let her go. When she looked back at him, she was startled.

The only time she had ever seen him look scared was the day he and his father picked her and Desmond up from the refugee camp after the wall fell. His eyes seemed to drink every bit of her in, relishing in the fact that she was okay. For the rest of the day, Ty held her hand, only letting it go when she went to sleep that night.

He had that look now, for some reason.

“Why are you here?! This is absolutely no place for a civilian.” His voice was even, but there was a hint of something lingering inside...anger, maybe? Fear?

Perrie shook her head impatiently.

“Look, I get that, but you need to take me down there right now, Ty.” She tried to keep calm, but the thought of Eren coming out of his Titan body..she didn’t have time to argue.

“Perrie, you need to get out of—“

“I’ll jump and you’ll have to take me then.” She cut in, stepping away from him. Ty’s face was white and incredulous.

“What is going on, Perrie? Have you lost your mind?”

“Just take me down there, goddamnit! Eren needs me and Commander Pyxis gave me express permission to aid Eren!” Perrie used her firm, no nonsense nurse voice that she saved only for difficult patients. She didn’t have time for this.

Ty gaped at her, unable to formulate and answer. Finally, he clamped his mouth shut, clenched his jaw and grabbed her roughly.

Perrie had never seen Ty act in such a manner. He was always laughing and smiling, making jokes and never taking anything seriously. His lazy smile and bright eyes were Perrie’s favorite things in the world.

Perrie didn’t recognize this Ty.

Once on the ground, Ty let her go as if she were burning his hands and he zipped off to help his fellow scouts kill the few Titans remaining. Perrie ran to Eren’s side, where Armin and Mikasa we’re trying to wake him up. Captain Levi was standing on the back of a slain Titan, cleaning it’s steaming blood from his blades.

“He’s burning the fuck up.” Perrie muttered, her hands roaming over his face and neck. “He probably stayed inside the Titan too long. Transforming twice in one day for such extended periods of time probably isn’t good for him. He’s completely over exerted himself. Shit.”

Levi watched as the nurse examined the boy, her face a stony mask of determination. She showed no fear in her face, just in her hands, which shook softly.

“So that’s why you’re here.” He said, walking over to where she crouched beside Eren. “You know, we’re going to have to take him into military custody. The military police are probably salivating at the thought of hanging him.”

“They’re not going to touch him.” Perrie said matter of factly, not even looking at him. Her reply caused Levi to snort.

“Oh? And I suppose you’ll be the one to stop them?”

Perrie glared up at him, but knew better than to argue. There were more important things to do at the moment, and she couldn’t get her temper cloud her judgment.

“Let’s get out of here, then. They’ll need to begin cleaning this place up, and Eren will need to be put into custody.” Levi jumped down from the Titan and sheathed his blades. Mikasa stepped between him and Eren, causing Levi to glare at her.

“Look, I am not your enemy here, girl. If you want to keep him safe, you have to trust me.” he said coolly. “And you,” he looked at Perrie. “You look like death. Go home and clean yourself up.”

“What? No! I’m not leaving him!” Perrie argued, standing up and taking a step towards the captain.

There was a flash of green and Ty was suddenly beside her, grabbing her arm. He was breathing hard and had steaming blood on his cape.

“I’m taking you home, like it or not, Pear.” his voice was steel, and Perrie stared at him with wide eyes and a furrowed brow.

“It’s Eren, Ty! I can’t--”

“I don’t care. Your dad is going to kill us both when he finds out you were in the middle of a Titan battle. Imagine how he’d feel if you got killed down here, Perrie!”

Ty’s words struck Perrie so hard she took a step back from him. Shame pinched her heart at the thought of her father being left all alone, and frustration flashed in her eyes at Ty for being so mean.

“Why are you acting like this?” she demanded softly.

“Because imagine how I’d feel if you got killed down here.” his voice was soft, back to it’s usual self, but a strange smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

Perrie faltered then, and looked back down at Eren, and then to Levi, who looked completely unamused by the exchange.

“Promise he’ll be okay.” Perrie said, pointing at Eren.

Levi quirked a brow.

“Promise that you won’t let them kill him, and promise I’ll be able to see him again--”

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep, nurse.” Levi cut in, causing Perrie to wince slightly.

Perrie watched as he walked away from her, and she felt Ty’s hand curl around her wrist.

“Tell them goodbye and let’s go.” he whispered.

Perrie spun around and went to Mikasa and Armin, who were kneeling beside Eren. She hugged Armin first, and then Mikasa, who actually returned it.

“Stick together and be safe.” Perrie said.

She looked down at Eren and brushed the hair from his forehead.

“Don’t cause too much trouble, kid.” she whispered before kissing his forehead.

Perrie gave them one last smile before walking back to Ty, who picked her up gently.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Pear.”

#perrie styles #snk fic #snk oc #aot fic #aot oc #oc x canon #levi x oc

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teecupangel · 1 year

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If I can, a small crack!idea? An AU where everything is more or less the same, but Desmond and only he can hear everyone's theme music. The Assassin's sound like variations of "Ezio's family". Abstergo, he learns, has their own sound - "March of the Templars". But all of those? also linger in places they were, and are different depending on iteration. Half the reason no one found him before? He used forgotten Templar/Assassin hideouts he tracked by the music

Ooooohh, this is an interesting idea.

But, nonny, I listen to AC Soundtracks a lot when I write so I'm not just gonna use Ezio's Family. XD

It does bring up a certain thing I feel about AC1's soundtrack in general.

This is the music you here inside the bureaus:

Am I the only person who thinks 'A-a-am I supposed to chill here? With this music???'

And I want Desmond to feel that kind of way for the music he hears.

Let's make it a bit more complicated for Desmond.

Let's say Desmond was born with the ability to hear each person's 'tune' except his own. Each person's tune has a unique spin to it, maybe one has more violin, maybe another has a woman singing softly, but each tune is (shall we say) shaped by their affiliation. And the tune lingers. Wherever people go, their tune is left behind like ribbons that kept playing a softer tune. The longer they haven't been there, the softer the tune is.

And Desmond was raised in a place where every person he hears shares the same tune. And their tunes surrounded the entire Farm.

Ezio's Family.

Some are faster than others, some are missing a few instruments or are focused on others, but, when they're all near each other, they create an orchestra. It's wonderful music, that's for sure.

But not for Desmond.

Normally, we hear Ezio's Family and we feel good/nostalgic/feeeeelllss but remember Ezio's Family is the music that has been associated with the Assassins so, for Desmond, who had to listen to the same damn tone in the Farm?

It doesn't make him feel good.

At best, it makes him feel annoyed.

At worst, it makes him nauseous or makes him panic.

Especially when he recognized it as his father's tune.

So when he ran away, he heard different tunes from different people but...

He could still hear it.

The Assassin's tune.

It seeped onto the very ground.

Together with another music that was louder than it.

He doesn't know what music it is.

Until he starts to work in Bad Weather and employees of Abstergo come to the bar for a birthday celebration.

The tune was soft in all of them.

Except one.

An older man who was most probably their boss.

The tune makes Desmond's entire body shiver.

Something inside him is unnerved by the tune and he didn't understand why.

Until he remembered how everyone warned him that Abstergo was the new face of the Templars. The Assassins' enemies.

The world's enemy.

And Desmond never believed it.

But Abstergo's tune...

He didn't like it.

If the Assassin's tune made him alert, Abstergo's tune made him want to run.

So he did.

Without giving his resignation letter, he just grabbed everything he had and run.

But no matter how far he traveled, those two tunes persisted. So he tries to go to other countries by hiding in the cargo of ships.

It doesn't work.

Wherever he goes, the tunes of the Assassins and Abstergo persisted. Like the entire world had been drenched in their tunes and no matter how long time has passed they have made their mark.

It's during his travels that he hears it.

The tune...

Of his mother.

But different.

Different instruments.

A slower beat.

It was soft. So soft Desmond wouldn't have been able to hear it had it not been for the fact that he used to focus on his mom's tune because it was the most different in the Farm.

So he follows it.

He follows it until he reached a town called Masyaf.

And he's hit by a discord of two opposing tunes.

Abstergo's tune.

And a tune that seemed to come from the very ground itself.

But underneath it is the different tune that reminded him of his mom so he continues on.

Not knowing that Abstergo had gotten him in their hidden cameras, watching him as he sneaked inside the Abstergo facility and into the basement that once housed the supposed grand library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.

And Desmond started getting the headache the further in he went because Abstergo's tune was simply getting too loud.

So when he finally reached what was supposed to be a library but instead finds what may be trophies collected by Abstergo.

He realizes where his mom's tune was coming from.

It was coming from a pile of bones that was arranged in the middle of the room to look like it was sitting on some kind of chair, wearing white robes that Desmond just knew was wrong.

And that's when Desmond loses consciousness.

When he wakes up, he's somewhere else, being told by a doctor with a headache-inducing tune of Abstergo telling him to relive the lives of his ancestor.

And a woman who looks like she's trying to help but her tune is the same as the doctor. The tune of Abstergo is so loud in her that it silenced what soft Assassin tune she had.

(Cue AC1 plot but with the additional problem of Desmond actually hearing tunes and Lucy's tune definitely screams 'Abstergo' and not 'Assassin')

Possible Plot twist:

While the Animus only lets people see the memories from the subject's genetic memory, we can totally use the favorite fanfic plot of our fandom: Desmond's ancestors can sense him when he's watching them (how? isu bullshit? the reader connecting the two of them in an attempt to change the past/present? take your pick, I'm mainly throwing the first ideas I can think of) but let's make it more... interesting. They can't sense Desmond per se.

But they can hear his tune.

And, unlike Desmond who can hear everybody's tune, his ancestors can only hear HIS tune. And Desmond's tune changes depending on how he feels.

Unorganized Notes:

I'm thinking Desmond's mom's tune is more in line with AC Revelations' track: Altaïr and Darim (which is a sorta more melancholic version of AC Revelation's theme) to symbolize her Ibn-La'Ahad bloodline mixed with the Assassins' Ezio's Family

Let's say Assassin's Creed 3 Main Theme is the tune of the Kenway bloodline (what about Assassin's Creed Black Flag Theme? The theme for all of Edward's pirate friends)

Desmond's tune (that he cannot hear) is a mix of the tracks Ezio's Family, Altaïr and Darim or Assassin's Creed Revelations Theme, and Assassin's Creed 3 Main Theme (how are you going to mix this? idk)

The sea is a mix of sea shanties and they're catchy as hell

Desmond does have his own themes, they're called Desmond Miles in AC Brotherhood, and Desmond's Destiny and Modern Assassin in AC3. (I wanna say Animus Island in AC Revelations is not Desmond's theme and is more of Clay's theme)

#once more it starts as a idea #and turns into a short fic #i dont know enough about music #but i do like me some mash-ups and remixes #i cannot find any city of jerusalem x ezio's family mash up and that makes me sad #assassin's creed #desmond miles #ask and answer

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