Apr 3
2026 COLOR CHALLENGE: April & Yellow
↪ theme: favorites I can be an instrument that sees us out of this life. BASIM IBN ISHAQ → Assassin's Creed Mirage
seen from Canada
seen from Greece
seen from Greece
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from Vietnam
seen from Bangladesh
seen from United States
seen from Maldives
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from Ukraine
seen from United States
seen from Yemen
seen from Belgium
seen from United States
seen from United States
2026 COLOR CHALLENGE: April & Yellow
↪ theme: favorites I can be an instrument that sees us out of this life. BASIM IBN ISHAQ → Assassin's Creed Mirage
Basim Ibn Ishaq - Headcanons II
(Valley of Memory!)Basim Ibn Ishaq x GN!Reader
Word count: 1.6k
Warning: SPOILERS for VOM!!
A/N: More Basim headcanons (but it became more of a oneshot towards the end)
When Basim decides to set for AlUla, he makes it very clear that you are not to join him and Dervis on this journey. Not because he doesn’t trust you, but because this mission already feels too personal and he doesn’t want to inconvenience too many people with the demons of his past
Dervis earns his approval thanks to his navigating skills, but you are left with negotiating with Basim. Luckily for you, you have a cousin living in the city who could give you insider information. The cousin, however, is wary of strangers and needs familiar faces to cooperate
The look Basim gives you is one of exasperation and fondness
And so, you find yourself on a camel the next day
He makes sure to ride close to you during the entire journey; gives your camel extra sweets when you’re not looking. When setting up camp, your cot is the first to be made and the last to be rolled up. Breakfast is laid before you the second you open your eyes and sheets are tucked when you move too much in your sleep
Basim watches from a distance, especially in Valley of Memory. Everything on this journey feels more… raw, like he’s bearing parts of himself to you and Dervis without even realising. He finds himself speaking of childhood memories he thought he’d lost to time. It’s scary yet unraveling at the same time
If you are not already courting by this point, this journey certainly brings you closer. Dervis and, funnily enough, Enkidu, play as undercover matchmakers – in their own way.
Dervis sits out minor missions – he’s tired, he says. Old age is creeping up on him and he’s not as in shape as he used to be (this is after he massacres a group of 20 robbers btw)
“Go on, now. Go together. No, Basim, I’m not smirking.”
Enkidu watches you. You’re sharpening your sword at the camp when you feel the bird’s eyes boring into you – and when you turn to ask Basim what Enkidu’s problem is, you find him already looking at you. He immediately looks away by feigning disinterest, and when you look back at his companion, you find Enkidu looking away too; only his demeanour is exaggerated, mocking the male assassin
Enkidu also starts to give you gifts like a shiny coin or a mouse he hunted. He’s seen Basim gift you trinkets or feed you when you’re too tired, and he quickly learns to mimic that behaviour. He is in sync with Basim’s soul, and the bond between the two of you clearly runs deeper than with Dervis, so his instinct is acting upon what Basim doesn’t dare touch
So, here’s a dead mouse for you. Say thank you to Enkidu.
You befriend a hare that lingers by your campsite. She’s cautious but trusting enough to let you feed her sometimes, maybe touch her fur before she scurries away (Enkidu was watching lmao). A few days later, you find the figurine of a carved wooden hare on your cot, small enough to cup it in your hands
That’s how you find out Basim wanted to be a wood carver during his childhood. It’s a new side of him you haven’t seen since you started training together, and it all starts to make more sense the more you study him. Those toys he gifts to the street urchins in Baghdad – those are no donations or stolen goods, but works of his own. The horse on wheels, the wooden doll; all sanded to perfection to ensure the children don’t get any splinters
That means he’s often gnawing and prodding at his fingers to get splinters out. Has definitely missed a few and has tiny scars and cuts on his fingertips as a result
He is still his silly self btw. But you can tell his mind is elsewhere, busy with the whereabouts of his father. He’ll be joking and wheezing with you before bed and then disappear the next morning before breakfast, needing to clear his mind. But he clearly appreciates your presence there, despite his initial apprehension
“When I was a child I used to stand under people’s windows and make weird noises haha”
“Where’s my dad :(“
Speaking of disappearing, you are a wreck when he is kidnapped. Enkidu hasn’t returned either, and after two days of searching around AlUla, you finally hear back from your cousin. Basim is in jail and ‘Abis’s men have spread out through the area, much to the dismay of the people.
You opt for a side entrance of the jail. It’s less guarded, and the soldiers posted there are gossiping instead of stopping your incoming attacks. One throwing knife after another eliminates your targets up to the entrance, when chaos suddenly erupts
You hear yelling first – the guards unsheathe their swords when the doors open, and for a split second, you think you’ve been caught. But then Basim comes out stumbling, favouring his chest as he drags his feet. He’s barely managing to dodge the bodies on the floor and the soldiers charging at him, his gaze hazy and his lungs squeezing. By the time you reach him, he has collapsed, his skin flushed and his wheezing rattling your heart
You don’t know how you managed to bring him back. Dervis found you halfway and helped you drag him to his cot where he cleaned his wound. For the next few days, Basim is in and out of sleep as he fights a fever, his breathing shaky as his body washes out the poison
When he opens his eyes, he looks dazed. Like he’s not sure the poison has claimed him or if the entire journey to AlUla was a part of his imagination. But you’re sitting there beside him, dabbing a damp cloth on his forehead to bring down the fever, and his lidded eyes are watching you so intently you blush
You allow yourself to chastise him for the worry he caused you and Dervis. How much of an idiot he is for falling for the oldest trick in the book, how he should have asked you or Dervis for help. Despite your anger, Basim doesn’t miss the tremor in your voice. You finally allow yourself to breathe after he responds to your rant with a squeeze of your hand and a kiss to the palm – an apology with what little energy he can muster, but no less sincere.
He doesn’t let go of your hand though – and he’s already fallen back asleep, so you make yourself comfortable next to him and rest
The next morning, you find Enkidu resting by his usual spot – only this time he isn’t watching you, but sleeping peacefully like his partner.
Once he’s recovered, Basim is itching to continue searching for his father. He knows where he is now, and while he is excited to see him again, he doesn’t miss the apprehension on your face. You’re worried of what he might find, if he’ll find anything at all; if he’ll get into trouble again or choose to walk away when he’s certain you and Dervis can’t follow him
And so, he places his father’s beloved amulet on your palm with so much reverence you’d think he’s giving you the relic of an altar. He forces your hand closed, cradles it between his in a silent promise. The warmth emanating from his eyes is new but not unwelcome
(he might as well just propose to you atp)
The days drag while he’s gone. You and Dervis keep each other entertained for as long as you can; but Basim shows up again on his third night away. You’re reading by the edge of the campsite when you see his figure walking towards you, dark clothes blending with the dark dunes under the moonless sky. His scarf flaps in the air in your direction, like an arm looking for you, reaching, yearning. He doesn’t say anything, only takes his hood off with a sigh that betrays the inner turmoil he’s feeling.
You’re almost afraid to ask.
“Did you find him?”
Basim purses his lips, hesitating, before his arms wrap around you and pull you close. The embrace is tender and lacks the playfulness of all the other hugs he’s given you since you met – it’s grounding, new, and warm like the hearth of a home in the eye of the storm. You are the eye of the storm.
“I did,” he responds, voice hoarse like he hasn’t used it in a while. “I have my answers.”
“And what’s your verdict?”
Basim pulls back just enough to find your gaze, nose brushing against yours. His eyes are studying you like he’s done every day during this journey, lingering and wanting – the warmth of his body, the smell of wood on his hands, his fingers quick to fix the lapel of your clothes. His palm cups the curve of your cheek like he carved and chiselled it himself to perfection.
“I have faced my past and buried it behind me,” he swallows before surging forward and catching your lips in a lingering kiss; tentative, almost shy until you melt into it. How you wish you could swallow the sigh he releases at that. When he parts again, it’s with a lingering peck, his eyes blown as they flutter open again. “My future awaits me now. If you’ll have me–”
“Yes.”
That earns you a chuckle. “Very well. We shall leave this all behind. Travel to distant lands.”
You tilt your head, caress his beard when the promise of travel seems to awaken a certain glint in his eyes. “Any particular place in mind?”
“You know,” Basim murmurs, his eyes dropping to his amulet in your hand. “Constantinople has been calling out to me lately.”
I KNEW IT!!! (read the tags)
Met a special friend in Mirage: Valley of Memory last night.
There's a colony of cats in one of the tombs in the Hegra area of the map, to the west of the Robbers Camp at Al-Khuraymat.
I got two entire hours or something to play the dlc i just have to fucking talk about it dear fucking lord.
DO NOT. AND I REPEAT. DO NOT CLICK THE READ MORE IF YOU DONT WANNA BE SPOILERED AT ALL OR AT LEAST HAVENT PLAYED TO THE HEART OF CORRUPTION QUEST!!!!
Small rant because it needs to be said!
Im going to say this once, and i bloody hope those that go through their tags see this.
TAG YOUR SPOILERS FOR AC MIRAGE VALLEY OF MEMORY!!
TREAT IT LIKE YOUR FAVOURITE GOD DAMN FILM OR SERIES THAT YOU CAN NOT GET TO SEE ON OPENING NIGHT!! GIVE EVERYONE A DAMN GRACE PERIOD OF A MONTH!!
I, and others, do NOT want to be spoiled!!! Im just as excited for it as the rest of you! Yet im not on here destorying it for others! I'm rambling to a sibling about it and even scheduled a damn post with VERY minor spoilers to be posted a week and a half away UNDER a "cut"!
Sweet fucking christ on a pogo stick, TAG YOUR POSTS PROPERLY PLEASE!!
I had so many games, films, and programmes destroyed for me to the point i dont fucking watch it or play it cause whats the damn point? When people have ruined it! Or its to the point i have had to stay offline for a day before too several weeks before now, but this shouldn't be the case.. christ, if you want to ramble, put a polite post out asking for mutuals that have completed or seen the thing you like, to ramble to and with!.
