contractionsband

[teecupangel]

Found something interesting while reading contact entries in the database of AC2. It says La Volpe has violet eyes, robbed the pope, that he can see through buildings (eagle vision??) and he's thought to be immortal?

I always headcanon’ed that ‘La Volpe’ isn’t a specific person but a title that gets passed down to what amounts to be the ‘leader’ of the thieves guild.

So the name La Volpe is immortal but the man is not. The La Volpe that Ezio meets and allies with is simply the latest one to take the title.

And, considering that he is an Assassin since he was there for Ezio’s initiation, it wouldn’t be surprising if he has some form of Eagle Vision since we know Eagle Vision could be acquired thru training (or, if you’re a cheating Templar, thru the Animus)

The purple eye thing could be a rumor though but it would be fun to think that La Volpe has such an interesting unique eye color. Perhaps that may also be the reason why he wears a hood: to hide/darken his eye color.

Although, it would be interesting to make La Volpe into some kind of immortal being and…

(From AC wiki’s La Volpe article)

In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, La Volpe did not seem to have aged at all, and in fact, he seemed to have fewer wrinkles on his face than in Assassin's Creed II.

It would be easy to make him an Isu sage (perhaps of a ‘god’ associated with foxes, maybe?) as Isus have too distinct physical attributes for us to make him a living Isu.

Although…

So… there are some fox spirits that are well known for possessing humans and they’re usually portrayed as tricksters in lores and myths. (Cunning as a fox, as they say)

One of them is a fox spirit by the name of Da Ji who is well known for being one of the main reasons why the Shang Dynasty fell.

In folklore, probably popularized in the West thanks to the many adaptations of Fengshen Yanyi, Da Ji is a fox spirit (reincarnated as the human Da Ji or the fox spirit possessed the real Da Ji) sent by Nu Wa to destroy the Shang Dynasty on the inside because the king wrote his self-insert smut drabbles (Reader x Nu Wa) on Nu Wa’s shrine.

If we twist that lore to work with the AC lore, perhaps fox spirits are something akin to some kind of slave race created during the Isu-Human War (possessing humans to create chaos) and, in this scenario, they gained their own free will centuries after the fall of the Isu.

La Volpe’s body could be a normal human that had been possessed by one of these fox spirits who had just been interested in the Brotherhood and came to feel some kind of loyalty to it later on. Maybe his loyalty stemmed from Giovanni Auditore’s influence even or perhaps he’s a fox spirit that had been taking on bodies to continue to be La Volpe and he found himself interested in the Brotherhood as well.

Whatever the reason may be, the fox spirit that takes the name La Volpe is an ally of the Brotherhood.

… For now.

[anna-the-undertaker]

La Volpe

Ex criminal/thief MC

Mitsuhide x  MC

Reader insert

At Azuchi…

The Warlords sat in the audience chamber, all wearing grim expressions, each with differing severity.

“Lord Nobunaga,” Hideyoshi began. “What do you plan to do?”

His face was a mixture of worry and anger, but Nobunaga just smiled cockily even though everyone present could tell that he was enraged himself.

“We will do nothing,” his grin widened.

Mitsunari’s concerned voice flitted through the room, “They likely knew that we don’t currently have the resources or numbers to take Kasugayama with kennyo’s threat pressing against us.”

Masamune punched the tatami mat as hard as he could, “I’m going to kill them,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. “Send me to get her back and I’ll bring back the heads of all of them.”

Ieyasu scoffed, “That’s suicide. What good are you dead? All we can do for now is hope she can hold out until we have a plan.”

There was worry written in the blonds eyes, along with an ever present fury.

“Mitsuhide,” Nobunaga called.

“Yes, my lord?” Mitsuhide smiled, keeping his calm facade even though he was seething on the inside.

“Find out what's happening in Kasugayama and if our Fireball is still alive.”

The Kitsune’s smile widened, a gleam in his eyes, “As you command, my lord.”

Mitsuhide’s eyes hardened as soon as he was out of the room. If anything had happened to (y/n)… The Kitsune would stop at nothing to bring Kasugayama to its knees. Come Hell or high water, he would find a way to get his Little Mouse back. 

_____________________

A week later…

There was a commotion at the front gate. Vassal’s were scrambling as a single horse and rider came bursting through the courtyard wearing a suit of Uesugi armor. 

Coming to a sudden halt, the rider fell from the saddle, hitting the ground hard. They pushed themself up, sitting back on their knees, a growl of pain gritting through clenched teeth. Soldiers surrounded them as they removed their helmet, letting hair come falling down their back and revealing their face. 

“It’s the Princess!” One of the vassals shouted as they rushed to pull you up and bring you inside. “Someone go alert the lords! And bring Lord Ieyasu quickly! She’s injured!”

The castle was now buzzing as vassals and servants alike rushed about to have everything prepared as the Warlords arrived just in time to see the state you were in and their eyes widened.

 An arrow protruded from your shoulder and thigh, a ripped piece of fabric tied hastily above the leg wound to slow the blood flow. Sweat doused your skin along with dirt and grime that covered you from head to toe. Blood had soaked into the pale blue armor turning it purple, almost black. There were bags under your eyes so deep it looked like you hadn’t eaten or slept in days and a cut that ran across your cheek and lip. 

The Vassals ushered you into your room with Ieyasu hot on their hills, supplies piled in his arms before pushing them out and slamming the door shut.

“What the hell happened to you?” he demanded as he sat you down as gently as he could and began pulling the armor off, cutting the fabric without agitating your wounds. 

Your pain and exhaustion took away all your inhibitions and made your tongue sharper than before, “Isn’t it fucking obvious? I escaped. I thought you were smarter than this.”

Normally he would retort but at the moment he just let it go. His panicked mind held back any and all words other than asking how.

“That can be explained later,” you spat. “For now, just get these damn arrows out!”

He removed the last bit of clothing leaving you in the fabric you had used to bind your breasts and trousers after cutting an opening to expose the arrow in your leg.

His eyes widened at the sight before him. Elbow to neck was covered in colorful designs that flowed towards the chest. Your entire back was covered as well, depicting a red fox along with other designs surrounding it. 

He was brought out of his stupor by the shivering that began racking your body. Placing a hand on your shoulder to hold you steady, he began feeling around the wounds. They had become feverish, hot to the touch and swollen, red streaks flowing over the affected areas. All he could think was that you were lucky that infection had not set in yet as he set to work. A mumbled apology fell from his lips as he pulled the arrow free and a scream tore from your throat.

He finally emerged some hours later, a tired sigh escaping his lips. The other Warlords were there waiting for him as he instructed some of the maids to have some light food prepared for when you woke up.

“What is her condition, Ieyasu?”

The blond’s green eyes locked onto Nobunaga’s carnelian ones, “See for yourself,” he huffed. “She’s asleep for now but she is going to need to be on bed rest for her wounds to heal. (Y/n) claims that she escaped though I can’t hazard a guess as to how.”

Mitsuhide rounded the corner with his customary grin, “The intelligence I’ve gathered can confirm that. All of Kasugayama is in chaos thanks to our little Chatelaine. However, the only way we will know what she did is when she tells us.”

Nobunaga came forward with the others close behind to peek into the room. You were rolled over onto your side, your kimono hanging half off showing off the wrapping around your shoulder and exposing part of your back piece. Their reactions were similar to Ieyasu’s when he first saw it with only Nobunaga and Mitsuhide keeping a straight face. They closed the door now that their concerns were put at ease and left you to rest.

____________________________

A few days passed before you were able to move around but when you were finally well enough a banquet was held to celebrate your return. Masamune had made all of your favorite dishes and everyone seemed to be in high spirits.

Nobunaga sat upon his dais watching you with a large grin, “Fireball, I order you to tell me what those colored markings on your skin mean.”

A sad smile graced your lips from behind your sake cup, “They are called tattoos, ink pushed under the skin with needles and are a symbol of what I once was and that I have paid off my debt.”

Many brows raised in response before Mitsunari spoke up, “What do you mean?”

You downed the rest of your sake in one go and sat the cup down, “We all have parts of our pasts that we have left behind, but if you must know, I was a street rat. I had to steal food in order to eat and I had no home until a group of criminals took me in. In return for saving me from starvation the leader had me work for them. They taught me how to steal and with every completed job they added more ink to my skin until I was finally allowed to leave.”

Ieyasu laughed, “You’ve never struck me as a professional criminal.”

“That’s what made me so good at it. I looked unassuming and could blend in with the crowds with ease. Distract some guards while the others grabbed the goods or I would scope out our target. Eventually I was best among them and they were sending me out on my own. They called me La Volpe,” you poured yourself another cup. “That means ‘the fox’. I guess Mitsuhide and I share a nickname. What do you have to say about that, Kitsune?”

The look of pure surprise on the man's face was priceless, sending you, Masamune, and Nobunaga himself into a fit of laughter. 

He quickly fixed his expression with a smirk, “And you were never caught?”

“No. It isn’t difficult to change your appearance so that no one recognizes you. Cutting your hair and changing clothes are often enough, and hiding a feminine physique is easy with the right bindings.”

“Is that how you escaped Kasugayama?” Hideyoshi questioned.

You chuckled wryly, “Partly.”

“Explain,” Nobunaga commanded.

After taking another sip of your drink you sat up straight, “I used the first two days to memorize the guard shifts and took note of the one that was closest to my size, then waited till both kenshin and Shingen were out of the castle.”

“What does that have to do with how you escaped?” Ieyasu grumbled.

 “With both of them in the castle, it would have been next to impossible for me to escape alive. The Uesugi-Takeda are under the impression that I am Nobunaga’s concubine so I used it to my advantage,” you rolled your eyes and laughed. “I’ll make this simple for all of you, all men are willing to believe two things about a woman: One, that she is weak, and two, that she finds him attractive. Naturally, I played the terrified girl and lured the guard into my cell before knocking him out and stealing his armor then locked him inside after tying him up and gagging him. I was already at the stables by the time they realized what had happened and they gave chase. Which is why I ended up as a pincushion.”

“Damn lass,” Masamune was laughing hard. “Who knew you were such a badass!”

 “Honestly, if it weren’t for the horse riding lessons from you and Mitsuhide, I wouldn’t have made it back here alive. So thank you.”

“Maybe we should have you working for Mitsuhide instead of acting as our Chatelaine.”

You waved him off and smirked, “No, that part of my life is over. I’m fine with where I am. However, I’d be happy to teach some of the vassals what I know.”

Conversation flowed smoothly after that. You were glad to just sit back and watch as everyone smiled amongst each another. Happiness surrounded you as your eyes softened.

“Well, well, Little Mouse, you look splendidly content. Or should I call you Little Fox now?” Mitsuhide teased as he took a seat next to you.

You chuckled, “You may call me whatever you like, Kitsune.” 

You both fell into a comfortable silence and you started to doze off. Your head began to fall forward when Mitsuhide pulled you closer and laid your head in his lap. His fingers ran through your hair, a softness he only showed to you covered his features as he gazed down at your sleeping form. He still had plans to cause more chaos for the Uesugi-Takeda, but for now he settled for watching over you. 

His gaze lifted back up to the others when he caught sight of Nobunaga smirking at him knowingly. The Devil King lifted his cup, his voice echoing over the chatter. 

“A toast to our Chatelaine, our resident Red Fox.”

They all raised their cups quietly having noticed you were now fast asleep. The kitsune smiled as he lifted you up and left the room, making his way to yours. He placed a kiss on your brow, “Welcome home, (y/n).”

[talesbytaylor]

When characters don’t have last names.

I don’t think this is common for most fandoms but in SaGa Frontier, none of the protagonists nor the supporting characters (except for Red Okonogi) were given surnames. When you love a character so much, you can’t help but wonder about the littlest details about them, including their family names xD

Although, in Romancing Saga; Re;universe, Gen’s full name was revealed to be Genjiro Nobushige. But can we really count spinoff games as “canon” with the original game series?

Here’s another example: the whole love triangle between Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith from Final Fantasy 7. Although most recent production seems to veer towards the whole CloudxTifa ship, there are some works out there that support CloudxAerith (ahem... Benny Matsuyama’s book... ).

So many questions to consider xD Now... I know this isn’t really a big deal. Fanfiction exists because while we love the original creators’ work, we can’t help but want (crave) more, even though we can’t get anymore xD Also, too many fans mean too many different desires to fulfill. You can provide fan service to only so many fans xD

Which brings me to my own devices when it comes to the surnames of SaGa Frontier characters. I’ll list a few what I believe is their actual full names (first and last). 

(And like many crazed fangirls... I lowkey wish my prediction of these last names are correct, or at least would be used in some official capacity by other SaGa fans one day until it becomes “canon” in that sense xD sigh...)

SaGa Frontier characters:

Red Okonogi is already set in stone, officially

Genjiro Nobushige is sort of official ...?

Fuse: Hugh Roster His last name is official, but I imagine that his first name is something that sounds similar to his nickname “Fuse” hehe. Interesingly, Roster (the German last name) means “blacksmith”. And Hugh means something along the lines of “mind” and “spirit” in Old English. Doesn’t that fit Fuse so well!? 

Blue and Rouge Magnussen - the magician twins! From Google - “ The surname Magnussen derived from the given name Magnus, which means "great" in Latin and means "power" in Swedish. The name was made famous by St. Magnus and Magnus, the son of St. Olaf of Sweden. “ Um ... self-explanatory, yes? xD

Asellus Mori Mori is both an Italian and Japanese last name. Since race (as we know in OUR IRL universe) is not categorized the same in the SaGa Frontier universe but DOES have some influence from our world (i.e: Red’s Japanese last name, Roufas’ Italian restaurant, etc), I’d imagine that the Humans (and Mystics) have what we’d perceive as a mixed-ethnic appearance. Which is why I had trouble deciding on whether Asellus is more European or Asian. So I thought “Mori” would be a fitting name.  In Japanese, it means ‘forest’. The term ‘Mori girl’ is a fashion aesthetic that usually includes nymph/dryad/fairy-like clothes. I think it suits her xD

In Italian, it is apparently a patronymic name based on the Latin name Maurus, which means “moor” or “North African”. But this is not what I was thinking about at first! Morbidly enough... “mori” means “died” in the Italian language x_x And as we all know, Asellus (at least her human form) is very much dead ... 

Emelia Conrad From Google: “ It is derived from the Proto-Germanic name Konrad, from conja meaning "bold" and rad "counsel". It was the name of a 10th-century bishop of Constance, and became popular in post-medieval English and post-medieval French. “ I think this suits Emelia perfectly. 

Annie Ferro It’s an italian word for “iron”. Annie’s tough life growing up only made her stronger as she works to financially support her little sister and brother. I bet this is their last name, despite their hardships :3

Liza La Volpe Basically means “the fox” in Italian. Foxes are generally a symbol for being cunning and clever ... and no doubt that Liza (including every other member of Gradius) is also just that! But the reason why I chose “fox” for her name is because of her loyalty to Roufas. I suspect they were romantically involved at some point in their lives. Whatever their relationship status is like now, Liza remains at Roufas’ side, just like how foxes mate together for life. Did you know that if a fox’s mate died, the surviving fox stays single for the rest of their life? I feel like Roufas and Liza would be the same way.

Roufas D’Amico This one is a common Italian name. It means “of friend.” I just thought that Roufas is sort of like a “caporegime” for Gradius. Also, he has an Italian restaurant that is most likely a front to launder some of Gradius’ money xD Despite Roufas’ own reputation for being a clever, cunning man, he has a slightly friendly history with IRPO agent Fuse (they were in training together, whereafter Fuse got hired by the IRPO and Roufas chose to join Gradius instead). He is both a “criminal” but also a friend. Doesn’t that remind you of the classic Italian mafia? xD

Anyway, this is as far as I went with surnames of SaGa Frontier characters. I will post more when I develop more.