#( relevant ) re4 leon

[kornish-rex]

🐎Cowboys Cleon🐎

THEY ARE MY PARENTS!!!😭💘💖

[residenceevil]

Obsessed with the idea of Luis having a smoke outside in the morning and Leon, who doesn't smoke, jus silently rests his head on his shoulder and watches the sky with him...... Maybe Luis even pats Leons head in a silent acknowledgement.....weeping

[autumnoakes]

hyperfixations really will have you imagining a 2 hour video essay on some white guy video game character huh 😪

[d4ngerous-shadowbanned]

[reverse+Leon] ❛  are you even listening to me?  ❜ / @ask-the-boogeyman

ANNOYANCE FLICKERS ACROSS THE AGENT'S face. How many times does he have to explain things ? His teeth grit together, but he closes his eyes, crossing his arms against his chest with a huff. " Are you even listening to me ? Will you even pay any attention to what I'm saying ? I'm getting tired of repeating myself to everyone. If you're not going to pay attention or listen - leave. I'm not dealing with this. This is not what I signed up for and if I have to go alone to get it done then I will and I will make sure I report it. "

[nshtn]

Almost all of Wesker's remake lines, voiced by Burnatowski.

This is almost all of Wesker's original RE4 lines, voiced by Waugh.

The tone is extremely different between the two, and the difference in personality is oceans apart. They both have their own strengths and weaknesses.

RE4 Wesker sounds as if he's playing a game of literal chess; he sits in his Mixed-Reality Mastermind Chair™ and pilots many First Person View drones from it, using hand gestures to sweep relevant information from three large vertical displays. He's competent, imparting advice and advisories to Wong - "Ring the church bell... that should quiet them down for a while". He shapes her movement and wants Leon dead - "[...] put him out of commission - we can't let him interfere with our plans" - having no remorse for Ada's attachment. He does not engage with Ada politically, but he's funfact after funfact with no explanation of the depths of his suspicious knowledge. He does not rise from his Evil Scheming Chair™.

RE4R Wesker is no-nonsense, possibly having briefed Wong on the situation before she'd arrived. He has no time to talk to her, tending to things woven between her calls, and advises her about what path she should ultimately take only once in the beginning, further desiring to have little input, - "I'm not here to babysit you". He pays little heed to Leon, seeing him as a government-owned dog that Ada is annoyingly attached to. When he catches himself in true conversation with her, imparting what he sees to be advice about the world, - "the weak exist to serve the strong- enough talk!" - he cuts himself off. Doubting Ada, he even personally arrives and threatens her.

[vigil4nted]

BLUE EYES WIDEN, AND LEON'S breath catches. Left completely stood still, his body not responding to any command his mind thinks up. Lips part, but no words pass. Not a single sound is made. Cheeks flush deep red, and he almost forgets how to breathe. His mind scrambles, and he can't come up with anything. At a complete and total loss, his mind desperately searching for what to do. Hearing the return words - there's a conflicting feeling in his chest. How he wants it to be true, but something in the back of his head kicks him down. There's no way anyone would choose you. You're not good enough. It's better to come back down to reality. 

His hand comes up, and though he's trembling, he puts it to Jiwoon's chest. " I'm... " A shaky exhale is taken. " I'm just normal. " Face it. You know who you are and what you should be getting. This isn't for you. " You're more than me. You've got... everything. " All I got was trauma. He flinches when he recalls it all - the murdered family, the rebuilding, and the shattering again when the zombie apocalypse hit on day one of his new job, his new life. He just wanted to be normal. 

" There's - there's some better than me out there for you. So you... " He trails off, and closes his eyes, swallowing the fear that settles in his chest. " You should be killing me, right ? That's - that's how this world works. " His body is trembling, and he can't stop it. " It's - it's just being realistic. " Or is it a whole new type of fear ? No - it's easier to think this isn't his place and he is out of his league. " Don't - don't give me some kind of false hope. " It sinks heavily in his chest when he thinks more about it. " I - I'm telling the truth when I say all those things I think about you - but don't let me think there's anything more to it than just... something unattainable for me. I'll tell you what I think, what I honestly think - but I know that's... as far as it goes. I'm normal and you're... more. Better. Untouchable. "

【 ❝ Ah, no, no, hey—I don’t want to hear that… Here, I can think of a few more words for you, if you’re having that much trouble. ❞ He offers a charming smile, underlined with sadistic glee. It was fun seeing Leon so worked-up, but he wasn’t aiming for that exact reaction, either. Pressing the knife flat against his palm, he pushes that hand against the wall to Leon’s other side. Effectively trapping him even further in between both his arms. Golden hues staring the poor rookie down. ❝ Listen. I’m picturesque. Stunning. Magnificent. Heavenly. Mesmerizing… ❞ He closes the gap between them an inch more. ❝ Captivating. Alluring… ❞

He closes the gap even further. Ji-Woon’s somewhat ragged breath grazes Leon’s cheek, leaning in close to his ear. He smirks, preparing to make certain the intention of his next words. ❝ …Unbearably adorable… Criminally endearing… So incredibly handsome… Entirely tantalizing… Enough to drive me fucking crazy… ❞ The gap is missing. He chuckles deeply. Letting out a deep sigh, briefly biting his lower lip. ❝ It’s only natural I’m “insanely” attracted to you, too, right? Why, oh why, would I want to silence my muse? I could listen to you sing my praises for days on end… What good are you dead…? ❞ 】

[bruhaintnowway]

Hybrid Dog Leon from RE4 cuz it’s cute :)

•Fluff

•Anyone can be reader

•Leon is dog

Scenario one:

Leon walks with the group as they all took a rest in a room. Ashley stands behind him talking to Luis about how tired they were from walking around.

Leon sits on a crate relaxing his muscles and sighing gratefully as he takes the weight off his feet.

Ada stares at Leon with a gleam in her eyes. He wasn't acting the same as when she had first met him. She remembered seeing the man's tail wag for every victory and every praise she'd given him in his youth. Now, However, now he was sitting stoic and uncaring as if this entire ordeal bored him. She observed him closely as he did.

“So, Leon.” She says, Leon looks at her with an unamused expression. He doesn't move to look at Ada just moving his body slightly adjusting himself in his seat. She seems amused by the action. In his past even being addressed would have the man's ears perk up and tail wagging.

"You're a lot more serious than you used to be," She says, eyeing him suspiciously with a faint smile. Leon doesn't say anything finally looking up at her with a bored expression.

"Come on. Where's that cute, fun-loving, rookie cop I met not too long ago?" She teases, watching Leon who leans back against the wall behind him meeting her gaze with a stoic face.

"He grew up," He says back, rolling his shoulders to relieve some stress he'd been holding from his mission.

"Really?" Ada hums, nodding slowly as if he was changing her mind. He was definitely different, but she could still see that rookie cop in him and she was determined to bring it out.

"Yeah, can't be a kid forever," Leon says nonchalantly fiddling with his gun his face neural and calm.

Ada nods watching Leon before a small smile pulls at her lips.

"So, how's your keeper?" Ada asks with a knowing smile.

Leon freezes keeping a bored expression on his face

"Why are you bringing them up?" He says, in the same monotone voice.

He's not noticing Ashly holding back a laugh as his tail wags smacking her repeatedly. Ada arched an eyebrow putting a hand up to cover her laugh.

"They have no relevance to this conversation," Leon says, his face remaining cold as his tail wags uncontrollably at the thought of his significant other.

Ada holds back a laugh watching his tail wag and watching Luis's eyes grow wide in shock.

"OH MY!? IT WAGS!?" Luis yelled excitedly, watching Ashley laugh happily at Leon's excitement.

"You left the rookie cop in you behind, huh?" Ada says snorting a bit, as Leon's tail seems to be causing dust to pick up behind him.

"Shut up," He says, grabbing his tail.

He feels bit embarrassed as he steps out of the room to compose himself, ignoring Luis's pleas to let him pet him.

Scenario two:

Leon has successfully taken Ashley out of danger as they speed away over the water on the jet ski. Ashley speaks to Leon excitedly as he smiles softly, promising to get her home where she can finally be safe.

Ashely smiles she'd only seen Leon smile once since they had met and suddenly she felt a spark in her brain as an idea formed she smiled mischievously and cleared her throat.

"Hey, Leon?" She asks innocently.

Leon glances back with a smile happy that they'd made it out safe and sound his mood soaring.

"Hm?" He hums as they zoom over the water

"Tell me about your keeper," she says.

Leon's ears perk at the mention and he smiles wider his tail wagging and smacking her in the face she regrets the timing of her request but she knew that this would have been a missed opportunity if she hadn't asked.

"Oh! They are the best! I'll introduce you when you get back home! They are so nice to me! They help me stay clean and they always make sure I eat and don't overwork myself! I'm so excited to see them when I get back!" Leon rambled his tail smacking Ashely repeatedly she laughs loudly trying to hold his tail so she wouldn't the knocked off.

Scenario three:

Leon walked leading the group as they made their way around. Ashely and Luis close behind.

"I need to," Luis says to Ashely, feeling a sudden urge of confidence as he looks at Leon's tail.

"Don't," Ashley warned shaking her head.

Luis ignored her and took a few steps forward reaching out slowly in hopes of touching Leon's tail. Luis had successfully pet both Ashely and Ada but Leon was a tricky one to get. However Luis was filled with determination as he walks crouching trying to be as quiet as possible feeling his heart pound with anticipation as his hand neared the fluffy tail when Leon's ears perk up and he lifts his tail before Luis can touch it.

"What. are. you. doing." Leon asks looking down at Luis who laughed nervously his hand still outstretched clearly caught in in his intentions.

"Good doggy?" Luis said jokingly, feeling his body spike with sudden fear seeing Leon's face as he catches him.

Leon looks at him unimpressed knocking him to the floor with a swift kick to the stomach. Luis groans in pain holding his stomach as Leon rolls his eyes turning away and continuing to walk.

"Told ya~" Ashley teased, laughing her ass off as she walked past Luis who huffed on the floor from pain.

"I WILL PET THAT TAIL!" Luis yelled before them as he groaned again in pain.

Scenario Four:

Luis walked behind Leon watching his tail remain low and controlled he hums and speeds up walking next to Leon he was determined to see his tail wag again and even more determined to pet him.

"So how come your tail doesn't wag with normal exciting stuff?" Luis asks, he'd been watching Leon closely for hours and after every victory or even when Leon seemed excited his tail remained perfectly still.

"I am a specially trained agent I can control my excitement, unlike some people," Leon says with a bored expression not sparing Luis a glance as they walked. Luis narrowed his eyes at his words thinking back to what Ada had said earlier.

"So, Not even when you think about your keeper?" Luis asked, experimenting with how he could see Leon wag his tail again. Leon's ears perk and his tail swishes but remains still.

"No," Leon says back.

"Don't wag. Don't wag. Don't wag..." Leon thinks desperate to keep his composure but he deflates a bit when Luis lets out an excited yell.

"Damn it," Leon thinks as his tail wags uncontrollably smacking Ashley again who groaned.

"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?" She laughed, trying to step away from Leon's tail.

Luis walks over excitedly reaching over to touch his tail only to be smacked hard in the face making him fall back.

"Oh come on!" Luis yells in defeat.

Leon sighed deeply trying to re-contain his excitement thinking how he couldn't wait to tell his significant other all these stories he was sure they would have a good laugh about it.

[dankovskaya]

I really don’t know if this is relevant to anyone other than myself but I recreated this re4 Leon gmv I remember watching repeatedly in middle school with re4make footage 👍

[rallamajoop]

The RE4 Remake and Luis Serra Navarro

I have a gazillion thoughts about the new RE4 remake, and a dozen different aspects I kind of want to talk about. But you’ve got to start somewhere, so let’s talk Luis.

I doubt it’d be controversial to call Luis “easily the most interesting new character introduced in this game.” We’ve got complex and questionable motivations, a bunch of plot-relevant backstory, and a bonus-serve of extra random details about his childhood – much of which is very easy to miss, and rewards you for paying attention. By the end of this game, I’m pretty sure I know more about Luis than I do about Leon, and I still have questions. He’s not just one of my favourite parts of this new game, he’s a perfectly little microcosm of all the ways the remake has reworked awkward aspects of the original – mostly for the better, but not without creating new problems in the process.

But to get into all that, let’s start back with the original Luis from 2004.

So, for context, I haven’t actually played the original RE4. Since getting into the franchise, I’ve been consuming past canon instalments mostly by the lazy strategy of watching cutscene compilations on youtube. I am fully aware of the important place RE4 has in gaming history, the way it defined 3rd-person-shooter over-the-shoulder-gaming (or, to use my preferred term, lookit-the-booty-shooty). I have watched Jacob Geller wax rhapsodic about multiple different versions of this game.

But for all that people remember about the original RE4, the plot rarely seems to be more than a footnote. And for my own money, all I can tell you is that either this is just not a gaming experience well-served being experienced through the youtube-only medium (hardly the stuff of serious critique), or me and the original RE4 just aren’t clicking somewhere. I’m all for campy horror (see everything I’ve ever written about the Hammer films just to begin with), but RE4’s sense of humour largely leaves me cold. And Luis is – again – a pretty good demonstration of the kind of record-scratch moments that made it so hard to get into.

You can find a compilation of all Luis' cutscenes here, for reference. Like the remake, Leon first finds Luis tied up and gagged in a village house – apparently the only un-infected person in the vicinity. His first act on being un-gagged is to ask for a cigarette – a decent little character-moment. Luis claims to be a former cop from Madrid, who quit because he felt his work went unappreciated. Given Luis’ general demeanour, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn he was actually let go for taking bribes or something, but that’s more of a vibe. When Leon admits he was a cop back in Raccoon City, Luis claims he ‘might have seen a sample of the virus in a lab at the department’, and… hang on, Madrid PD has T-Virus samples lying around? The hell? Where’s this going?

But we don’t find out, because the conversation is interrupted, and Luis makes a break for it.

As in the remake, Luis’ next scene is to show up for the cabin siege scene, where he backs up Leon with a handgun. Cool, that tracks with the whole ‘former cop’ backstory.

Luis gets two further appearances, though the first mostly consists of him running up to say “I’ve got something for you guys! What… oh, shit, I must have dropped it,” and going away again, and it’s exactly as awkward as it sounds. But he does at least establish that the ‘something’ is a plagas-suppressant, as he knows Leon and Ashley are infected, and wants to help.

His final scene has him return with the suppressant, only to be stabbed in the back and killed by Saddler. As he lies dying, he admits he was really a researcher working for the Los Illuminados all along, only lately turned traitor – and we’ve officially hit our record-scratch moment.

So what was all that stuff about being a cop? Luis has good reason to lie about being a researcher, but ‘unemployed former cop’ is a heckuva cover story for a scientist, and what was that about Madrid PD having T-Virus samples? Luis-the-researcher might well have seen the virus somewhere, but why bring it up at all?

More than anything, these feel like leftover artifacts of a character who’s been substantially reworked somewhere in development, just without actually rewriting the start of the script to match. Luis’ story, like so much of this game, feels badly in need of a second draft.

Luis goes on to get something of an afterlife in collectable documents, and another scene in Ada’s DLC campaign. He’s still trying to get a plaga sample to her in this version, and he’s still responsible for the lab that cures Leon and Ashley of their infections. Ada's commentary on his character is interesting, and documents suggest he had a grandfather who used to hunt in the region, but he doesn’t get much more backstory.

Regardless, nearly 20 years later, Luis has finally got his second draft, and there’s a lot here that’s improved. (Have a new cutscene compilation link for reference.)

To begin with, any talk about being a cop is gone (an easy win). We find out he’s a researcher much earlier too – Leon is a lot less trusting of Luis this time, and calls in for a background check. He’s informed Luis used to work for Umbrella, and reacts as you’d expect. The cabin siege scene still goes off in similar fashion (though this time, Luis doesn’t feel it necessary to comment on Ashley’s tits the moment he meets her – another definite improvement).

This time though, Ashley starts coughing up blood immediately after they escape, and Luis’ offer to help remove the parasites happens right after the cabin siege, rather than being left for some awkward whoops-I-dropped-it moment later. The new scene actually finishes with the very same exchange (“Why are you helping us?”/ “It just makes me feel better”) – but this version, similarly, feels so much better. A+ revision work so far.

The remake also spells out Luis’ deal with Ada sooner too – her first proper scene in this version is her first contact with Luis. Again, Luis’ story ends in the castle with a stab in the back, and the stolen sample he was carrying being reclaimed by one of the villains (Krauser, this time, since Saddler apparently likes to delegate more in this version). But in between, things get a little odd.

Having already offered to help them, Luis contacts Leon by radio a couple of times during the castle chapters – firstly to say he’s waiting for Leon and Ashley in the courtyard. But Luis isn’t in the courtyard. His next message claims that he ran into trouble, and he’s had to retreat to the ballroom. But he’s not in the ballroom either. No further calls happen, nor does Leon react to his absence in either location.

Leon finally runs into him, apparently by chance, after being thrown down a hole and wandering for some time through tunnels deep under the castle. How did Luis end up down there too? No idea.

I’m glad he does though, because the following chapter you spend with Luis as your cabin-siege-style partner is a very good time. Though Leon is still distrustful and Luis still evasive, they exchange some great banter and generally make a good team. We encounter Luis’ love for Don Quixote, he admits he was working for Los Illuminados… and then Krauser stabs him, and Leon lights one last cigarette for him before he dies. It’s touching and very well done (not to mention dense with slashy subtext, if you want to take it that way).

Exploring Luis’ lab during the game’s final chapter adds some nice details too – equipment pilfered from Umbrella, an old photo with his colleagues, and naturally, text documents everywhere. But it’s his email logs with “A.W.” (Ada, obviously) that will most reward anyone paying attention – particularly the line you still remember the code phrase?

In this version, ‘got a smoke?’ is still almost the first thing Luis says to Leon. But you might notice it’s also the first thing he says to Ada. And this time, we’ve got a whole new explanation as to why.

Admittedly, the execution is still a bit lacking. Luis calls Ada by her first name just a few lines after using his ‘code phrase’, and seems to know her well enough not to need a code phrase, so what's going on here? If Luis knew Ada herself was going to meet him, why try his code phrase out on Leon? Alternately, if he suspected Ada might have sent someone like Leon instead of coming in person, how did he know it was her when they met? Maybe we could still have used another draft. But it’s a otherwise a fun little easter egg to recontextualise something from the original in a creative way.

Much more has been added to Luis’ backstory hidden in documents from the village. You can find photos of 'a boy with his grandfather', an old diary left behind by said grandfather – and if you’re paying really close attention, a label on another copy of that photo naming the pair ‘Navarro’ – Luis’ last name. You might also notice that the boy in the story has Luis’ fixation on Don Quixote (another character trait added by the remake).

But young Luis’ story ends in tragedy, the conclusion picked up elsewhere in the village elder’s records: the grandfather is bitten by a wolf, begins experiencing what seem to be known symptoms, and tells the village elder "you know what to do." The old man is killed, and his cabin and everything in it burned to the ground so the infection can’t spread.

Now, the idea the village has been quietly dealing with plaga-infected wolves for generations despite the fact that the plaga were supposedly sealed under the castle until recently has problems of its own, but that’s a bit beyond scope. The more relevant problem is the idea that Luis comes from the same village where all the action takes place – why? What does this add to the story? With Luis’ new Umbrella-Europe-backstory, making the village his birthplace seems like little more than meaningless coincidence, thrown in without anyone thinking it through.

But there is one intriguing possibility buried in the subtext of Luis’ story, and it’s an angle I’d love to see explored.

The village records end with the scene of a young Luis watching in silence as his childhood home burns to the ground, his only family still inside, then walking away, never to be seen again. Now, suppose that’s the very moment that inspired him to go into medical research, driven to understand infectious agents like the one that took his grandfather’s life, that the people he grew up with only knew to treat with medieval superstition. Suppose that’s what made him seek out shady employers like Umbrella, the only outfits with the interest and funding to delve into that area. The drive to find cures, to find proof that what happened to his grandfather didn’t have to be treated like a ritual witch-burning could’ve fuelled a lot of denial in Luis about where the funding was coming from. And after Umbrella’s collapse, you can only imagine how he might jump at the chance to work on the same parasites that had infected that wolf from so long ago.

If that was the intent, though (and damn do I want it to be), I honestly think it’s a little too buried in layers of subtext to carry. I can only hope maybe we’ll be seeing more of Luis in DLC to come – in Ada’s Separate Ways, if not his own – that might expand on those parts of his history a little more explicitly. Or at least cover what he was actually up to all that time he keeps messaging Leon from different parts of the castle (did he genuinely run into trouble? Was Ada pushing him to keep Leon moving for her own purposes? How did he wind up down in the mines?)

The notion of Luis as a village native still has its problems though. The house you find him in seems to be the same one he grew up in – it’s a cabin by the lake, his grandfather’s diary and photo is there, etc. Only those old village records spell out very clearly that that cabin burned to the ground as part of a major character moment. Which is it, game? You can’t have it both ways.

Even if we ignore that awkward ‘burned to the ground’ detail, are we to take it the ganados caught Luis in his old house and left him tied him up in his own cellar? Wouldn’t they move a prisoner like him? Speaking of which, was that one guy banging on the floor supposed to be hammering the hatch shut? Why? Was Luis being left down there to die? Don’t they still need to question him about that sample he stole? This stuff does not stand up to scrutiny.

And the idea of Luis as a native still doesn’t completely work for me, because shouldn’t there have been some clue in the way he talks about the place? Chief Mendez is a man Luis knew from his childhood – when Luis sees him coming in a cutscene, his reaction betrays no more familiarity than ‘not this guy’. In that cabin siege scene, surely there must be faces in that crowd he’s firing on that he recognises. And fuck, how do you come back to the place you grew up, find its residents reduced to zombie slaves, and think, “sure, I could work for these people…”?

I do realise expecting this level of humanity out of characters in a Resident Evil game might be a little much, but this stuff throws me. It builds the impression the Luis who grew up in the village is a character that exists only in text files, largely independent from the cutscene-Luis of the rest of the game. When you expect your audience to notice minor details like a surname on a photo in order to put together a main character’s backstory, you’re demanding they pay close attention. And once you’ve demanded that much investment, it’s worth keeping track of whether the cabin by the lake was supposed to be burned down or not, why Luis should be able to call Ada by name but treat Mendez like a stranger, and other such confusing detail. And Luis’ story is still positively logical and consistent compared to that of Chief Mendez himself, or anything much else in the game’s lore.

Luis is genuinely one of my favourite parts of the remake – he’s complicated, interesting, and fun. But trying to make sense of him could be a more rewarding experience. Many things are improved from the original, but for my money, they could still have stood to go for a third draft.

[rat-typewriter]

Hello! Just read your Clumsy fic with Leon x Reader. It was very good and very true to my daily life😅

I was wondering if you do any angst? Like severely injured and the other person(in this case Leon or the Reader) is extremely worried and trying to save them. Ultimately you can choose if they die or not, but I just love the comfort when the other is dying or bleeding out.

Keep up the amazing work! And also may I draw a scene if you end up writing it? Please and thank you🥰🥰😚

Live to see another day - Leon Kennedy x fem!Reader

notes: ok so remember when RE4 was still relevant like two months ago and I said "hey guys, I've got this fic that'll be finished by friday!" and now its july???? Im so sorry and tysm for the request aussie,,, I loved writing this sm!!!!!!

Summary: You get shot, but Leon is trained in first aid by Saint John's Ambulance (I will write a summary when I'm less tired <3)

warnings: descriptions of injury, blood, guns - nothing too bad, all just average RE stuff, mentions of alcohol

This was not the kind of Thursday you had expected. Pulling a bandage from your kit you tried to remember your first aid training, but cold seemed to make your mind sluggish. The snow fell heavier; the clouds overhead and fields blending into a grey-white mass. 

This was supposed to be a simple mission; a quick in-and-out job. You and Leon had been sent to talk to some locals in a remote mountain town - just gather some information about the hiker disappearances. They had all been friendly and happy to share what they knew; it was odd talking to people who genuinely had no interest in hurting you, but you welcomed the surprise. Yet - as always seemed to be the way - not everyone was friendly. Especially not the man who shot you. Yeah, he wasn’t very nice at all actually.

Apply pressure

Yeah, alright. Apply pressure - okay.

Inhaling deeply, you surveyed the damage on your leg. Your black trousers were soaked in - what you could only imagine to be - blood and clung to your leg. From where you sat you could now see back the way you came. Your stomach dropped. A trail of blood - your blood - cut through pristine white snow. You glanced back down at your leg again; the fabric sticking to your skin. Shakily, you lifted your hands onto the wound. This was going to hurt. 

You pressed down on the gaping wound in your leg. A hiss escaped your mouth, followed by a string of curses. Blinking quickly you tried to focus on breathing steadily as stars danced before your eyes. 

Fucking hell, ouch. Fuck.

Leon, where are you?

Squeezing your eyes shut you remembered the young blonde-haired Leon's boyish grin. He used to be so naïeve and keen. The day he'd asked you out he had practically skipped away afterwards - turning back twice to smile at you and awkwardly offering a little wave before he finally turned the corner.

He had grown a lot since then; you both had. Even so, he never lost his playful nature - something you were glad for. It wasn’t quite the same - since as Leon grew more confident, he also realised how nervous he could make you - which meant that he now knew exactly how to tease you and make you blush. His newfound cockiness just attracted you to him all the more.

Flurries of snow had begun to settle in your hair. It was really cold. Your feet hurt from the cold; your face stung.

I need to get up.

I can't stay here.

With a surge or determination you hauled yourself up into a crouch - then a stand. Pain clawed up your thigh as your muscles cramped and sent you reeling into a nearby tree. Setting your jaw you huffed out a breath.

I'm not fucking dying here.

You took one step, pausing to let the agony rising in your chest settle again - still half-leaning on the tree. Setting off, you made it a few more steps before you faltered. Feeling a stab of pain through your leg, you sucked in the freezing air. As you tried to hobble onwards, one misstep became two and then became five, before you lost your balance entirely. Veering towards the ground, you shot out your hands. At the cost of grazing your hands across the jagged rocks, you were just able to catch yourself. Pausing for a moment, you let the shock of the impact with the hard surface pass, taking deep breaths.

The skin on your hands was raw. It stung in the frigid air. Despite the cold that seemed to overcome the rest of your body, your leg had this burning ache - as if someone was driving a hot poker straight into your bone.  

Something about the eerie silence and monochrome surroundings seemed to undermine time. The signal on your radio had gone dead long ago - something strange about this remote mountain village frying the circuits. To your numb body, struggling through the pain of walking didn’t seem worthwhile. Instead you lay, curled up - as best you could with the state of your leg - in the snow. 

I’m going to die, aren’t I?

I don’t want to die.

I’m so cold.

Then there came a far off sound. The crunching of footfall in the snow.

"Y/N?"

You froze. 

"Y/N?" His voice came again, this time sharper; louder. 

"Leon?" You said, your voice small and hoarse, you tried to push yourself up off the ground, which was not a good idea as it dragged your leg across the gravel. A string of curses leapt from your mouth. 

“Woah, woah-” He knelt at your side, pulling you up into a sitting position with a hand under each of your arms.  "Shit, what happened? You're freezing."

Leaning into his side, you struggled to form words - instead fisting your hands in his coat as you tried to think. The sudden brightness of the white snow made your head buzz, a dull ache running through it.

"I dunno." You grumbled. "Got shot, I guess."

"You guess?" Leon echoed. Although his tone was snarky, you knew he was just trying to keep you calm and focused. He fumbled with his radio in his free hand. "Hunnigan? We're going to need that helicopter after all." 

The sharp pain now spanned the whole of your leg - as though it were resonating up and down the bone. In a single, swift motion, Leon reached over, pressing his palm down onto the wound. You gasped, unintentionally jerking your leg.

“Easy,” He spoke softly, as though to a small, frightened animal - which you supposed was appropriate. “Easy there, deep breaths,”

Remaining firm, he kept his hand in place; you couldn’t help but admire his unwavering confidence. Any kind of hesitation or mistake would have just caused you more pain, 

You grit your teeth, inhaling as he said. Out of the corner of your eye you could see his grimace; the way his nose wrinkled up at the sight of your leg. You couldn’t blame him, the dried blood gave off a sickening metallic smell. You gagged.

“Hey, Y/N?” His tone was playful - maybe a little more upbeat than he intended - an overcompensation to hide the anxious undertone. 

“Hm?” You replied - not necessarily disinterested, but more focused on breathing normally.

"Do you remember when we met?"

You furrowed your brow. Inhale, exhale. "What?" 

"Don't you remember? That time at the party? I vomited in your car."

The memory flooded back. 

The base was loud enough that you felt it buzzing in your feet more than you could hear it clearly. The twenty - maybe thirty? - people throughout the darkened apartment didn’t really seem to care. Or notice, for that matter. 

Despite being a party consisting almost entirely of trainee officers - there was an awful lot of “drunk and disorderly” going on. Not to mention a fair amount of “Indecent exposure” and without a doubt “possession” of some substances. But, hey, you weren’t going to ruin their vibe. 

This definitely wasn’t really your scene. 

You hovered in beside the doorway to the kitchen - unsure of what to do with yourself. It felt wrong to leave so early, but your friends had long since abandoned you and it wasn’t as though they’d miss you anyway. A girl you knew stumbled past you - her blonde hair recognisable anywhere - and for a moment you thought about saying hi. Then you noticed the boy she had in tow, who seemed to be getting awfully handsy.  

Yeah, I’ll just leave them to it.

Abandoning your cup of - let’s be real - who-knows-what, you awkwardly squeezed through the crowd towards the front door. A few boys whistled at you as you tried to slip past them and out into the bleakly lit hallway. Although it was slightly easier to ignore as they were all drunk out their minds - it still made you wrinkle up your nose in disgust.

The door clicked shut behind you, muffling the noise of the party. Letting out a sigh, you stared blankly down the corridor, allowing your eyes to adjust to the brightness.

“Those guys are dicks.” 

You whipped your head around comically fast, confused as to who had spoken. 

“Down here,” He added and you turned, seeing him sat neatly beside the door, just at your feet. He didn’t look at you, instead staring at the wall across from him. Even if you hadn’t been able to smell the beer, you could tell from the way he loosely gripped the bottle that he was smashed.

“Oh - uh, yeah.” you replied. 

“I don’t even like parties.” He said, looking up at you. “I have no idea why I’m here.”

As you held his gaze, shrugging sympathetically - you suddenly were able to place his face. He sat next to you in one of your lectures - it must have been a dull one, because you also remembered (making your face heat up a little) that you had spent a considerable amount of time thinking how cute he was. 

What was his name?

Somehow he looked completely different here - instead of being so tightly strung and nervous that he looked as though he might just collapse if anyone so much as looked at him, he seemed freer; calmer. His hair was messier too, you noticed, as he pushed it back out of his eyes - setting off butterflies in your stomach.

Leon. That was it.

“If it helps, it’s not really my scene either. I’m headed home,” you offered with a small smile. 

"I don't know if you've noticed," He said, matter-of-factly. "But I'm quite drunk, actually."

You stifled a giggle - he was much more fun to talk to like this, rather than his up-tight one word responses. If you were honest, you stopped trying with him within the first few classes, as he never seemed that interested in what you had to say and the moment class ended he suddenly became some kind of record sprinter to leave the lecture theatre.

"I could tell," 

He raised his eyebrows, nodding seriously. "Smart girl,"

For a slightly too long moment he paused and you watched as he searched for his words. It was unbearably cute to see the blonde-haired boy furrowing his brow, clearly thinking as hard as his intoxicated mind would allow. 

"I'd like to go home, but I can’t drive,” He said and then suddenly looked deeply dejected, as though the weight of his words just hit him. He let out a huff and ran his hand through his hair again. “I hate parties.” 

On any other occasion, you would have left the strange drunk guy in the corridor, where he belonged - no matter how cute he was.

Yet here you were, at two am with a very smashed Leon Kennedy in the passenger seat. It was lucky that you hadn’t touched your cup of mysterious liquid at the party, because driving with a passenger who has just vomited into a plastic bag four (maybe five?) times was surprisingly difficult. He was weirdly apologetic about the whole thing, groaning and holding his head.

“I promise I’m not normally this bad.” He gagged again. “God, I’m sorry.”

You tried to sound reassuring as you spoke, but the vile smell was enough to make you gag as well. Although driving quickly would have gotten you out of the rancid car sooner, every time you turned a corner or hit a pothole - the poor boy beside you grew paler.

“It’s ok!” you said, perhaps sounding a little too reassuring, your voice rising several octaves. Although it was possible that he wasn’t used to drinking - you thought, glancing over at Leon, whose knuckles had gone white holding the plastic bag - this was more likely to be something worse. “Not much further now,”

It was lucky the road was empty - as it neared twelve fifty - because you braked much more suddenly than you meant to, lurching both of you forwards slightly. Leon swore and threw a hand over his mouth. You swallowed, trying your best to ignore the retching coming from the seat beside you.

“Wow,” Leon said, his voice raspy. “This is a great way to impress girls.”

That made you laugh. Though you felt a little mean thinking it, you really got the idea that this guy didn’t get around as much as you first thought. He was attractive, sure, in a sort of pretty way - but he gave this overwhelming feeling of lameness; he was constantly sheepish. 

Exactly my type. 

“Oh, yeah - I bet all the ladies love this.” you grinned. “Remind me to arrange our second date once I’ve gotten the smell of sick out of my car.”

He actually laughed, sounding considerably more sober than when he got in. Although you wouldn’t want to admit it, the sound made your heart skip a beat. 

“Wait, so in this hypothetical scenario - I convinced you to come on a date with me?” he said. You could feel him looking at you. “Hypothetical me must be a real charmer.”

Okay, so he definitely was not as sober as you had thought. Heat rushed into your face as you desperately tried to remind yourself that he was drunk. He probably just flirts with everyone when he’s drunk. 

He continued. "Y'know, when I see you in class, I'm normally too scared to even talk to you."

You risked a glance over at him, finding him now staring out of the window into the dark. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, you're like," He paused. "Way out of my league"

Leon was clearly not sober, but spoke with such openness that it was difficult to not take what he said seriously. You focused on the road ahead of you, stopping at a red light - even though the junction was empty. The quiet in the car was by no means uncomfortable, perhaps the knowledge that he wasn’t going to remember this took most of the pressure away. His presence was so unobtrusive - calming, even - that it felt as though you had been friends for years. Although he may not have noticed it, you felt a distinct shift in the air between you. He'd started something; laid the groundwork for something to be built between the two of you. He’d given you a glimpse of who the two of you could be. And once he was sober again, in your next 09.00 AM lecture - he would feel the shift too.

Within a few minutes you pulled up outside his flat - this time doing your best to roll to a stop gradually. He thanked you, a little awkwardly, and apologised for the vomit smell. You smiled and insisted it was no problem. And that was it; he waited outside the door, speaking into the intercom and then disappeared into the flat a moment later.

It was a strange memory. Somehow, with only a few words, he had caught your attention. The whole way home you had thought about him; waiting anxiously for your next lecture. 

Leon adjusted his grip on your leg, which left you hissing in pain - grabbing onto his upper arm. Each breath of icy air stung at your lungs, leaving your head spinning even more violently. 

“Yeah, I remember.” You said. “What about it?”

Leon tipped his head in place of a shrug - avoiding putting you in any more pain - and grinned. “I have absolutely no clue what happened that night.”

That was new. You felt sure you’d heard him talk about it before: to friends - or even family, occasionally - when they asked how you met. As you considered it, he did tend to stay quiet, letting you tell the story - only chipping in with the odd comment. After all, he was practically off his head that night.

Letting out a breathy laugh, you half-grinned; half-grimaced. “I never knew that.” You tilted your head to look up at him, continuing with eager curiosity. “So - wait - did you just think that I just randomly started to talk to you, after like a year of us mutually sitting in silence?”

He laughed. “Something like that.”

Mildly bemused, you snorted. “Oh my God, Leon - if you told me that back then I would have just about died.” 

It was true. Even though, as you got older, your self confidence seemed to grow - back then you were no more than a gangly twenty year-old, who would have crumpled at the first sign of rejection. Embarrassed may as well have been your middle name, since you spent so much time convinced that everyone else thought you were an idiot.

“Hey, I wasn’t complaining,” He said. “When the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen starts chatting to you like you’ve been friends forever - you don’t question it!”

Even after nearly a decade - he still made you blush. 

“Prettiest?”

“Mhm.”

As you struggled to find an answer that wouldn’t make you sound like either a disgustingly soppy romantic or socially inept teenage girl, your attention came back to your surroundings. With Leon there and the shock subsiding, you felt substantially warmer; your pulse was no longer thundering in your ears and while the pain was still by no means bearable, Leon had successfully kept your mind off of it. 

“D’you know how long until someone will get here?” You asked after a moment.

“Not long now, " he said, glancing off into the sky, perhaps waiting to hear the hum of a helicopter in the thick cloud. “It’ll be fine, Y/N.”

And after another seven minutes, you would see that he was right; it would be fine. You’d be operated on by one of the best doctors that the government could muster up and - without too much more hassle, you lived to see another day.

AN: how do you finish fics?????? I just run out of plot and end it like a terrible sitcom?????

[sapphire-weapon]

I said a few days ago I wanted to talk about this, and I still do.

With all of the rumors and speculation about RE9, there's a sentiment throughout the fandom of "x character needs to come back" or "it better not be Leon or Chris" -- and I've got some bad news, guys.

Until the legacy cast gets retired, it will always be either Leon or Chris. One of them will be there in some capacity. Chris has been designated as RE's primary protagonist, and Leon is its secondary protagonist (deuteragonist). It's that simple.

Part of it is brand recognition. Chris and Leon were the faces of the two most successful RE titles ever released (RE5 and RE4).

But what it really comes down to is that video games are a uniquely terrible medium for ensemble casts -- and that's only become more and more true as time has gone on.

When RE first started, games had an approximate development cycle of a year to a year and a half. RE1 was 1996, RE2 was 1998, RE3 was 1999, and CVX was 2000. Four mainline titles in four years. And other spinoff titles were getting released in between them, too. There was a stretch of time when we'd get 2-3 RE releases a year.

RE9 will come out in 2025 -- 5 years after RE8. It was 3 years between 7 and 8. And another 5 between 6 and 7.

And RE8 and RE9 were in development concurrently.

There's no yearly turnaround for game development anymore. Game development these days is 4-6 years. It requires teams in the hundreds. We only get one RE title a year if we're lucky, and it's going to be a mainline OR a remake OR a spinoff. Only one. There's no more simultaneous releases, because game dev can't support that anymore.

So in order to keep any semblance of a story straight at all, the focus has to be kept on either one or two characters, and that's it. Consider that it's already been 12 years between Leon's last game appearance and his next one. If Capcom was to give the spotlight equally to all of its characters, there might be 20-25 years between their titles -- and that's not an exaggeration.

So the complaint would still be the same. It would still be "where's x character???" But now with a completely disjointed story that jumps all over the place and has no central focus point for the audience to orient themselves on. RE would basically become Final Fantasy -- the games would be connected by name only but really have nothing to do with one another. And I don't think that's what RE fans want, either.

But it's not even just dev times between games, either. It's also the demand of the development process itself. You can't just put more of the characters into each game. RE is survival horror; it has to have a small cast by default. But even if that wasn't the case, it's actually really fucking hard to include more characters into a game's story due to the progression of gameplay.

An ensemble cast in films or books is intricately woven into the story in a way where everyone is relevant and their contributions matter for a big payoff at the end. Even in the 90s, that was pretty much unheard of; any RPG you play will have at least one or two "useless" party members -- characters that exist strictly for gameplay purposes because there wasn't enough room in the story for them to play a meaningful role.

It's impossible to keep everyone relevant in RE in a way that gives a satisfying payoff. It's just not possible. The cast has to be reduced for the story and the gameplay to stay tight.

Keeping the focus on Leon and Chris keeps things connected and keeps the audience engaged. Capcom is following the principle of "If you try to please everybody, you'll end up pleasing nobody." At least this way, the core audience of fans from the most successful games stay catered to.

This is part of the reason why I don't want Ada to be in RE9. There's so little room left for a large cast. Jill and Claire need to become the guys' main supports, because they're objectively more important. Cuts need to keep happening. The cast still needs to be pruned.

Because there's just not enough room for everyone. Dev takes too long. And for RE to keep its identity, the focus has to be kept on just a few core characters, or else literally everyone is going to get left in the dust.

[silvercap]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

Thank you @thebrandywine for the tag!! :))

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

43!

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

113,038

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly just Resident Evil, haha, but I've dabbled in a couple other things over the years... nothing else currently, though!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I. My lone Genshin fic 😭😭 at 935 kudos (holy shit!!)

II. Ripping at the Seams with 670

III. *metal pipe sound effect* with 301

IV. Fracture with 290

V. Day 18: Ache with 253!

5. Do you respond to comments?

As much as possible!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

:3

You tell me: is there more angst when older Leon dies, or when re2 rookie Leon does? Personally, I'm leaning on the rookie, but 'do you believe' has the added Hunnigan and Chris angst haha

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

you're my lover is just straight up Nivannedy fluff and sweetness :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Haven't yet, thankfully!

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

Sometimes 😭 usually it's more of a plot relevant thing than anything else, because smut isn't always my jam--but there are exceptions!! I'm writing a crack ship re5 thing asjdjds and sometimes I do like writing scenes that involve a little sexy time, but I don't think I'd ever write it as a standalone pwp sort of thing haha

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

No...? I mean, I have a Blade Runner au on the backburner of my infinite stove, but I've never put different characters together in a true crossover. Wrote the beginning of an Eragon + Percy Jackson + something I can't remember, when I was in like. 7th grade? But that's long gone and nothing ever came of it asdjdjs

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hopefully not... 👁️👁️

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Thought about it! It hasn't happened haha, but I'm open to the idea

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I'll be honest... ships are kind of cute adorable plot devices to me. I don't really have a favorite per se, but I do tend to prefer Chreon, Metaltango, and Nivannedy! I like Clairejill and I'm pretty invested in Ada/Hunnigan right now hehe but none of them really stands out as the OTP, y'know?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Not sure! I tend to jump around and abandon and revive things a lot, so it's honestly just up in the air. I'm loath to put one on the chopping block, but I have my doubts about this one (OG!) re4 fic where Leon passes out during the cabin fight

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told that I have a very visceral writing style by several people, and I do often get compliments on how well I've made something feel real/captured a specific feeling! Which is a huge compliment you guys are so nice 🥺 and I do like to think that I'm good at descriptive writing!! I see things very clearly in my head and it's gratifying to know I'm getting it across fully :)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to go at it without figuring out where I'm going, first. Plots are held together with a dab of white glue and some fraying string, and I often worry that I'm not putting scenes together coherently. I can do all the technical stuff just fine, but I really struggle with pacing and character motivations and foreshadowing and background etc, which I think is why I tend to write shorter fics!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's rarely worth it, unless there's some sort of narrative significance or I get to use my Latin knowledge for some silly villain 😭

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Bungou Stray Dogs!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I've always been partial to Fracture

Tagging- @fonulyn, @colesabi, @lightenupcowboy, @sunhatllama, @resident-rats, and anyone else who I forgot or wants to participate! <3

[hidingoutbackstage]

This is a problem with lots of fandoms at large but it’s true for Resident Evil as well so I’m gonna be specific and annoying about it. The men in the series will be assumed to have their own lives with their own depth and be their own people, while the women can only be defined by their proximity to the men. Even in canon, that’ll often be the case. Ada’s never in media that doesn’t have Leon. Female-centered games or games with a female protagonist will still have a majority male cast or characters related to men. In re3 Jill is the only relevant female character, in Code Veronica Claire and Alexia are the only female characters, in Rev2 Claire is the protagonist but Moira is defined by being Barry’s daughter and Alex is defined by being Albert’s sister etc. In canon properties that focus on the men, the male and female supporting cast are treated differently by the fandom. Best example, RE4 (esp in the wake of the remake). Luis is given so much love and care and headcanons and theories and attention, while Ashley, the secondary main character, is given jack shit. Moushley was probably the best possible thing to come of her existence in re4make because it gave her a cute gimmick and jokes that weren’t sexual harassment like the first time around. No one assumes Ashley has a life outside of Leon. No one makes headcanons about her life growing up as a politician’s daughter, but they care about how Luis grew up. No one makes headcanons about Ashley’s life post-4, but Luis Lives AUs are obsessed with what he does post-4. People brush past the trauma Ashley explicitly endured on screen in 4 to talk about what Luis was up to off screen and how he and Leon should’ve made out or fucked during it. What’s the only real difference? Ashley’s a woman

[delphi-shield]

For your wip tag game:

I would love to know more about "Moving Forward" and "America's Suitehearts" pretty please? 🥹

OH THANK YOU FOR ASKING oh man, oh man this is exciting! i'm so sorry, i got so carried away. i had too many thoughts when i went back to skim these wips lmfao. i'm putting this under a cut that's how bad it is.

Moving Forward is a one shot and maybe the stupidest fic I've ever written. idk i like thinking about the transition periods between all the different leon's we get to see, and i was thinking about infinite darkness through re6 leon and his relationship with adam benford. i know a lot of people decry their friendship as character assassination but i genuinely have never thought that it was out of character. by re6 (and arguably infinite darkness, though he's still kinda finding his footing there) leon has resigned himself to operating in a broken, fucked-up system. he's able at this point to recognize the people around him who are trying to do good and trying to work within the same system to get shit done. leon is not and never has been a leader, he's consistently happy to hand over authority to a more established, senior power. he does not spearhead change. he'll hold his ground and speak up if something violates his personal code of ethics/morals but he is absolutely not reforming anything by himself, he is way too happy to fall in line and play good little soldier and by that point in his life he's recognized that about himself and he's playing to his strengths.

anyway only like half of that is relevant. the fic deals with leon's servitude and his attitude towards his work a little bit, but it's mostly a fluff piece in which leon takes the reader to have dinner with his friend. he neglects to inform them beforehand that his friend is president-elect adam benford. insert hi-jinks. here's where the fic gets its name!

The house is a two-story colonial, fresh paint, a manicured lawn with a BENFORD 2012 sign stuck in the front yard still.  It screams money.  “Always thought that was kinda tacky,” you tell Leon. “‘Moving Forward’ - like, yeah, I hope so. It doesn't even rhyme with Benford.” “It's a slant rhyme.” “Why do you even know what a slant rhyme is?”

America's Suitehearts on the other hand is basically me shoving all my Ashley headcanons into a fic and making everyone deal with that!! Post-re4, poly leshley/reader, extremely inaccurate portrayals of how the secret service operate with adult children of sitting US presidents because i'm struggling to research it. reader is a big lonely loser in this fic and they're really fun to write. part 1 is very office romance, slice of life-y, part 2 is established relationship, sort of navigating the awkwardness of the early stages of a relationship.

perfume and cologne also play a really big part in this fic. i think it started as a way to practice writing smells and then it very quickly just became 'okay but ashley would smell good though, she'd probably like gourmand scents'.

“I think it smells better on you,” you say, offering her a sheepish little grin over top the cubicle. You hand her the perfume back, catching the pout of her lips and the furrow of her brow when she looks up. Her fingers brush yours. Warm and soft, yet they still send a chill through your body. “That can’t be right,” she declares. She stands up, leaning over the low wall separating your desks, gesturing for your arm. You give it to her without a second thought. Her hands cradle your forearm. Her nose presses to your wrist. You’re grateful for the empty office. If she wanted to open her mouth and sink her teeth into your skin, you would let her just to feel her tongue laving at your skin, to have her teeth leave impressions in your skin like a flower pressed between pages. Jesus, what a weird thought. You’re going to have to unpack that later. Maybe find a date or something. Fuck, you’re lonely.

[reno2005]

I would also like to note that “support/defense” here would be for example dodging, parrying, using elements/items outside of his own body/skillset that you would use in the game(RE4). This would include things like grenades, the chandelier in the castle section, etc but not his main weaponry or melee abilities.

To follow up, “power” here would include his main weaponry and melee abilities(both of which will/can be upgraded as the game goes on)

[The knife may be considered for both of the above or however you feel it should be categorized]

This poll should also consider Leon as he is in RE4 and you may consider RE2 Leon as well if it’s relevant to your assessment. (whether you want to consider one or both games, originals and remakes, etc is up to you entirely, no wrong answer)

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask before voting. The reasoning for this will stay vague for now but it is some small research/gathering of opinions.

[mimzalot]

things I love about RE4R (bullet point edition)

emphasis on Leon being like ‘uegh ugh guh eugh’ about everything, he doesn’t need to vocalise like that but he does because he’s Leon and his life sucks

the developers having fun with the existing fans by messing with their expectations of how things will happen, feels like we’re sharing an inside joke while newcomers also get to enjoy themselves

leaning into the actual horror of the Plaga messing with your mind, your free will, and your humanity (both being human-shaped and also ur sense of compassion) 

variations in the little video calls and how the characters speak into the camera (Ada’s ‘looking down on you’ pose, Luis’ myspace selfie pose)

stepping up the visual horror of what you fear you might become with all those god-awful cultist variants. the one that suction cups to the ceiling? piss off so much. that’s so cool. please stop

stumbling onto scenes of cult activity around the village that aren’t relevant to the main plot but make the place feel more ‘lived in’, in a bad way

the whole knight section and how it ties into the history of the location, the themes of autonomy/obedience, the cross-section of the military and religious evils that are so relevant in RE4, and specifically Leon and Luis’ relationship to duty and selflessness (as well as Princess Ashley)

the controller refusing to let you aim your weapons at civilians/companions vs. the enemies frequently mowing through their own ‘comrades’ to get to you

Ada and Leon acting like super agent runway models whenever they see each other

tightly written narrative that optimises all the pieces of the original game and ties it together thematically with the broad question of ‘what it means to change’ for better or worse

Ashley’s little skort

Luis