augustus

RU/ENG | 25 INTJ I'm Augustus. Making things, study languages and do something with my tablet

[gabswst-aug]

Hello everybody! I hope you're having a good day!

I was planning to open commissions later but life made its plans for me. :D The thing is, I was accepted for an international study programme, and now I need money to fly abroad.

If you want to see your character (OC or canon) in my style, don't be shy and DM me right away! If not, I would really appreciate a reblog!

I can draw almost everything, including animals/light blood/suggestive themes, but there are a few things I won't work on this time.

I don't draw

gore, porn, dragons and closest to them (a lot of details, and I need to work fast), furry, backgrounds, clothes with lots of small details. If you're not sure whether I draw something you want to ask for or not, feel free to ask in DM or in comments!

Price list for sketch/flat colours:

✨headshot - 9$/14$

✨half-body - 20$/28$

✨full body - 30$/41$

✨+1 character = +50% to the initial commission cost

I am not taking comms with full render right now.

Payments are received through Boosty donation system - https://boosty.to/augustus

Again, reblog is appreciated! Thank you for your attention!

[gabswst-aug]

Hello everybody! I hope you're having a good day!

I was planning to open commissions later but life made its plans for me. :D The thing is, I was accepted for an international study programme, and now I need money to fly abroad.

If you want to see your character (OC or canon) in my style, don't be shy and DM me right away! If not, I would really appreciate a reblog!

I can draw almost everything, including animals/light blood/suggestive themes, but there are a few things I won't work on this time.

I don't draw

gore, porn, dragons and closest to them (a lot of details, and I need to work fast), furry, backgrounds, clothes with lots of small details. If you're not sure whether I draw something you want to ask for or not, feel free to ask in DM or in comments!

Price list for sketch/flat colours:

✨headshot - 9$/14$

✨half-body - 20$/28$

✨full body - 30$/41$

✨+1 character = +50% to the initial commission cost

I am not taking comms with full render right now.

Payments are received through Boosty donation system - https://boosty.to/augustus

Again, reblog is appreciated! Thank you for your attention!

[julymist]

Holding Out for a Hero

Isekai Yandere!Leon Kennedy x fem!OC

Chapter 8

❌18+ MDNI❌ ⚠️Dead Dove: Do Not Eat⚠️

i'm so excited share this week's chapter with a special art made by @gabswst-aug that you will find below. i commissioned her at the very last minute and she did her best to bring my vision to life in very little time. everyone please go send lots of love her way and do consider contacting her as her commissions are currently open!💖

i combined her art with my beginner editing skills to make an RE4R reference i hope game enthusiasts will appreciate, so i hope you enjoy!

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 TBA

cw: canon typical violence

With the way cleared, Leon carries Nora silently through the bloodied battlefield of rotting corpses with squirming tendrils coming out of their wounds. He feels her tense up on his back at the gruesome sight, and he tightens his grip on her thighs to pull her somehow closer.

“Close your eyes,” he murmurs softly, and she complies by hiding her face in the crook of his neck. A shiver runs through him at the feel, and he hums in approval. 

She doesn't need to see this nightmare of a place.

The agent can sense tiredness overwhelming his muscles, but there is nothing in the world that could stop him from continuing—he must get her to that lab no matter what. And so, he trudges, his boots squelching in pools of blood and gore through the long path to the summit. 

He remembers how he killed each and every one of the corpses lying about, how he showed no mercy to the crazed people that came at him with dangerous weapons and bared teeth. He made sure not to leave a single one standing, because he knew he would need to come back with her, and he could not risk any more danger coming her way.

For a moment, he remembers his mission’s primary goal of saving Ashley, and he can only hope Luis has taken care of her in his absence, since he clearly hasn't been doing job properly. No matter, the young woman on his back is his current priority.

Walking up the steps of the temple as he finally nears his destination, he nearly trips in exhaustion, the dark veins on his skin having spread to every part of him by this point. When Nora does not react to his faltering walk, her body completely limp, he pauses to check on her and realizes through her heavy breathing that she has fallen asleep.

Leon feels a sudden urge to hold her against his chest, and squeeze her tight enough nothing can separate them anymore. Then, he blinks away the weird thought and sighs. 

He’s definitely not okay.

Just as he shakes the oddly crippling feeling of want from his mind, he hears footsteps behind him, and immediately turns on high alert, only to find a familiar face: Ada.

“Leon,” she murmurs, eyeing him curiously with her sultry eyes, her gaze drifting to the sleeping girl he’s carrying, then back to his face.

“Ada,” he responds quietly. He’s already bracing himself for whatever might come her way. He might not have seen her for six years, not since that God forsaken night when she betrayed him, but he is still all too familiar with her ways—no matter if she helped him or not.

“You know, I expected you to show up and offer your assistance at some point, but it seems your hands are full…” she quirks an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I’ve been busy.”

She looks back at the path littered with bodies and nods slowly before turning to gesture at Nora. “Is she okay?”

“I need to get her to Luis’s lab,” he subconsciously tightens his grip on the young woman, “ need to get the parasite out of her.”

Ada tilts her head, a hint of a playful glint in her eyes. “You know you don't look too good either.”

“Yeah, well, I’m kind of used to having shitty days.”

“You really haven't changed, Leon...”

Unspoken questions swim in the man’s mind as the old acquaintance observes him with intrigue. He wants to ask who she’s working for this time that made her end up here, of all places. Especially knowing that whatever job she must be here to complete isn't in the least bit virtuous. But time is not on his side, so with a final nod, he turns to push open the old temple’s doors.

“He’s not dead,” Ada adds in a serious voice. “I ran out of ammunition, and he transformed into something even worse. I had to get out of there.”

Leon exhales through his nose as dread begins to consume him whole, and with a head turn past his shoulder, he murmurs quietly, “then I’ll deal with him.”

Finally, as he begins to shove the gates open, the mercenary moves to silently lend him a hand, walking into the sanctuary alongside him without explanation. Leon can only guess whatever she needs for her personal mission is somewhere inside.

Their boots thud with echoing footsteps in the cavernous chamber. Tall, stone pillars hold the ceiling in place, with giant statues of various hooded figures lining the walls—Saddler’s predecessors. Up a line of steps is an elevated platform with an ornate altar at its center, fit for human sacrifice in the name of the false church.

Leon scoffs at the grandiosity of the place of worship. Clearly these people think highly of themselves if this temple is anything to go by. Ada, walking beside him, purses her lips despite her usual aloof demeanor, indicating she is not pleased with being here either.

“The lab should be through there,” she gestures to an open entryway to the left. 

Sure enough, as the agent tiredly makes his way to the entrance, hoisting Nora up to not lose his secure grip on her, Ashley and Luis come walking out.

“They’re here!” the girl exclaims with a relieved smile, clutching her chest in gratitude.

“Sancho! You made it!” the stubbled-man grins, though his smile quickly fades when he sees the blonde’s tired state as well as the sleeping figure on his back. “Mierda… Is she okay? What happened?”

“Nothing… She’s just resting,” Leon grumbles, not pausing in his steps. He throws a quick glance towards Ashley who appears to be cured, no sign of infection on her body. 

Good. That's one less thing to worry about.

“It’s too quiet in here,” Ada mutters under her breath when not a single ganado shows up to stop them. She expected this place to have more security.

As if on cue, Saddler’s voice suddenly booms through the echoey cave. “It appears the lost lambs have found their way after all. Very well. It’s about time you all join our covenant."

“You just had to say something, didn't you?” Luis whispers at Ada, and she huffs, already aiming her gun at the cult leader.

Leon moves faster despite standing on his last leg—he can't let anything come between him and that lab. Except his body suddenly locks up outside of his will, a pained groan leaving him when every muscle in him cramps. Behind him, Nora stirs awake when she’s afflicted by the same fate, her whimper of agony making him want to claw at his insides to move and protect her.

At the sight of their contorted faces, the Spaniard turns in alarm towards the megalomaniac. He knows he is the one controlling their autonomy and stopping them from moving.

“Why must you reject serenity?” Saddler shakes his head, moving closer to the center of the room. His purple robes sway with each one of his movements as he lowers his hood to reveal gut-churning looking scales on his bald scalp—an appearance akin to an insect’s skin.

He then taps the ground with a staff he holds in hand. It’s taller than him, gold in color and shaped like the cult’s symbol. But what makes it truly egregious looking, are the wiggling fleshy tentacles wrapped around its stem and head, their extremities writhing in the air. 

Saddler seems confident enough in his power that he is not accompanied by bodyguards, only servants whose faces are hidden with cloth, and he eyes the group with a chillingly arrogant smile.

“To those of you who have forgone the gift, do not fret. I shall bestow upon you a new one, and this time, you will have no choice but to welcome it,” he grins. 

Another tap of his staff and Leon kneels to the floor, his taut limbs unable to catch Nora as she tumbles beside him. Everything hurts, every muscle spasming, and the parasite inside them rejoices at being controlled by its master.

“The time has come for these lambs to join our union in flesh and blood. Become one with the Holy Body!” Saddler continues his preaching, and with every word Leon and Nora writhe in more pain to the others’ horror.

“Luis…” Ada whispers, tightening her grip on her gun. “His eyes. On the count of three.”

The man jolts at the sound of his name like he almost forgot how to function from terror, and he gives the mercenary a quick nod while gesturing for Ashley to stay back.

“One…” the armed woman murmurs under her breath, her eyes focused intently on the false god.

“Oh, blessings unto them and the sweet mercy they bring!”

The two infected thrash even more violently, with Leon still attempting to reach for Nora despite his uncooperative body.

“Two…” 

Another tap of his staff, and Saddler becomes louder. “Exalt all—and let it be so!”

Pained screams rip out of the two like something straight out of a horror film, and it's Ada’s cue to finally shout to Luis, “three! Now!”

Without wasting another second, the two aim and shoot at the deranged man’s face, making him grunt in discontentment for breaking whatever control he was holding over his hostages.

The agent breathes heavily, his body trembling from the aftershocks of the intense pressure, and he finally grabs a hold of the young woman's arm like a lifeline.

“Leon! Go!” Ada shouts as she continues to rain fire on Saddler’s face, though the man only shields himself with an arm like he’s simply experiencing a mild inconvenience. Every bullet that hits him is absorbed into his skin like his flesh is made of liquid.

Leon does need to be told twice before he’s hauling Nora into his arms with her barely realizing what's happening. He stands with a grunt and staggers into a labored walk, while she clutches onto him out of pure instinct.

“Go with them!” Luis barks at Ashley, and she scrambles into a run to follow his order.

“Wayward lambs! Servants of the heretic wolf! This will be your trial and tribulation!” Saddler grits out angrily, growing fat tentacles out of his back that match the ones on his staff in appearance, except these are nearly tree trunk sized.

Ada knows Leon won't make it in his fatigued state while the cult leader is on his tail, and her brain works a mile a minute as she attempts to think of a solution.

Taking advantage of Luis serving as a distraction with his shots, she notices one of the giant statues on the wall appears to be dilapidated enough that a metal chain is needed to hold it in place. It could serve as the perfect barricade if her plan works as intended.

With focused aim, she fires at the chain right as Leon, Nora, and Ashley pass through the exit, until the steel links break and the statue comes tumbling down with a deafening ruckus of breaking stone. It falls right where Ada hoped it would, acting as an obstruction that can buy the trio time while she and Luis attempt to deal with Saddler.

“The avarice of the wicked shall not be abided!” the latter scoffs as he prepares to lash at them, releasing from his palm the bullets his skin absorbed like some kind of unholy miracle.

Leon can only hear muffled noise through the thick stone as he advances through the dark hallway leading to his destination.

“It’s this way!” Ashley exclaims as she hurriedly walks ahead, turning around every other second to see the agent’s struggling form.

“Just hold on,” he grunts, and the girl isn't sure if he’s speaking to the one in his arms or himself.

Every step feels like he won't be able to make it to the next, and with Nora seemingly going in and out of consciousness, his crippling worry only grows.

Then, he blinks and he suddenly finds himself surrounded by dark hooded forms, his vision blurry and distorted.

“The hell?” he gasps, and the hallucination dissipates as fast as it came.

Ashley eyes him with evident concern, and she slows her steps to match his. “I can help you carry her.”

Through his hazy thoughts, he realizes it could be a wise idea, but something about delegating the task of transporting the girl causes him deep discomfort. He’s not willing to let her go.

“No, just… clear the way for me.”

The blonde woman nods and jogs to push open a gate waiting for them down the hallway. As Leon approaches, he’s hit once again with that same warped apparition of phantom figures. Only this time, it does not disappear quickly, it says, and he is forced to walk through the shadow-like silhouettes.

“Shit, I’m losing it,” he mutters to no one but himself. He is certain to have reached the very final stage of infection before turning into a mindless sheep.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoes in his head. “Still you resist, child,” Saddler taunts him through the plaga’s connection.

“Fuck off!” Leon grits out in response, prompting Ashley to look at him confused, though she does not question his behavior.

Cursing seems to do the trick and the vision evaporates again to the agent’s relief, right as the young woman before him opens the door to Luis’s lab. 

Leon feels like he’s about to cry from desperation as he slogs towards the surgical bed centered in the middle of the room, flickering lights illuminating it like his last beacon of hope.

“This time… it has to be different,” he rasps out of despair.

After failing to save so many, he not only put Nora in danger by getting separated from her earlier, he actively harmed her in a way he never knew he could do to anyone. Now, with her trembling body in his grasp, he has reached what might be the most important moment in his life as he craves atonement for his mistake more than he craves air.

He simply has to save her.

Finally, the agent plops down the brunette onto the operating chair with a grunt, and looks around for what he’s supposed to do next, when Ashley moves faster than him.

“I got it!” She quickly stands before a computer screen, and begins fiddling with the keyboard until a beep is heard.

Suddenly, the chair whirrs as it rotates in place with Nora’s slackened body on top, a set of three laser machines moving to aim at the parasite inside her.

“Leon?” she whispers half consciously, and the man nearly stumbles to come stand beside her.

Holding onto the arm rest, he peers down at her with worry. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

“Um… This is gonna hurt,” Ashley murmurs from her spot, causing the agent to tense up, before she clicks the ‘enter’ key to begin the process.

The three laser pointers shine with a blue beam at each extremity as they detect the plaga, and a blood curdling scream rips out of the young woman as searing pain floods her like nothing she's experienced before.

Leon chokes on his own breath, abruptly dropping to his knees to hold onto her hand while her body writhes on the chair like she’s being burned alive.

“Fuck, fuck… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he nearly sobs, his eyes watering at the sight of her agony. He would do anything to trade off her suffering if he didn't know it was necessary for a cure.

Ashley covers her cheeks in anxiousness, the screams making her wince as she recalls the way her own filled the room only moments before.

It’s only after what feels like an eternity that the machine stops. The computer screen shows that the procedure was a success, and the pain in Nora’s chest finally subsides.

Leon feels himself finally breathe when she stops writhing, her body going limp in exhaustion. A ghost of a smile etches on his lips in relief, tightening his hands around hers with a sigh.

Then, Ashley says something he isn't able to catch, her voice sounding muffled in his ears as the room spins when his body officially reaches its breaking point. His eyes roll back, and he loses balance just to fall onto his side with a thud, lying motionless on the ground.

Through her blurry vision, Nora walks down a long, dark hallway where the air is cold and humid on her skin. She can't see much apart from a flickering light at the end of the tunnel, with an open doorway leading into pitch blackness. 

As her footsteps echo down the corridor, she begins to feel the crippling sensation of being watched. A cold sweat covers her flesh and makes her clothes cling to her form from the ominous feeling. Sure enough, the moment she turns to look back, she finds a pair of ice blue eyes lurking behind in the shadows.

Filled with chilling terror, Nora breaks into a run in the direction of the flickering light, her breathing labored from the adrenaline of sprinting towards her only hope of survival.

When she nearly reaches her destination, she turns one more time just to see a hand reaching out from the darkness. It’s outstretched towards her, so close it nearly wrenches her by the hair. Then, she hits a hard surface that knocks the air out of her lungs, and a pair of arms wrap around her tightly enough she can hardly breathe.

At first she thinks she was caught by the monster behind her, but then she realizes she has run into the arms of a man who appeared from the open door. When she looks up to meet his eyes with wide ones, she finds a familiar face already looking down at her. Leon.

Nora attempts to scream, to warn him of the demon, but she can't speak, and is forced to helplessly watch him gently smile at her, as if everything is alright in the world.

“I’m here,” he murmurs softly. His voice reverberates across her whole body as if he's inside her, right as the blue eyed creature's hands wrap around her throat from behind.

“Nora!” Ashley shakes her shoulder and she’s suddenly jolted awake from her blurry nightmare. 

Her chest heaves, sweat beading at her temple, and she looks around to find herself in a familiar room. Though, it's one she had only visited on screen in pixelated form.

“Ashley…” she whispers as her consciousness catches up.

“We have to help Leon!”

“What?” 

Nora turns confused to find the agent on the floor, passed out, and the memory of exactly that happening in the game jolts her into action.

She doesn't pause to waste time pondering whether she should offer aid, when her and Ashley crouch by his slackened body hurriedly.

“You hold his feet. I’ll grab his shoulders,” she murmurs and the other girl nods.

With laborious effort, she hooks her arms under his, his head falling limply on her chest, and she groans as she attempts to lift him only for her muscles to strain.

“Holy fuck… How did you manage to do this alone?” she gasps.

Is Ashley a secret body builder? Because no way she carried him on her own in the game.

“What do you mean?” the blonde woman frowns in confusion, only to be met by a dismissive wave.

“Don't worry about it… Change of plan, we both lift him by the shoulders.”

On a count of three, they hoist him up with all their strength, and with shaky legs they are able to manage hauling him over to the chair. The two women unceremoniously dump him on the worn leather, his head toppling to the side and nearly hitting the armrest if not for Nora’s quick reflex in catching him.

Finally, Ashley hurries to the computer to start the parasite removal process once again, the lasers moving in place to fire up.

Despite being unconscious, Leon’s back arches off the chair as soon as the machine whirrs, a pained whimper escaping him in his sleep. Soon enough, his eyes fly open with a scream, and both girls wince from the guttural sound he’s unable to stop.

After debating for a split second, Nora tentatively reaches for his hand, and he grips hers with a crushing hold like his life depends on it. She watches him with a heavy heart as he squeezes his eyes in agony, all too familiar with the horrible feeling he’s undergoing.

He continues writhing until the plaga is eliminated and the engine stops, his body settling lifelessly if not for his heavy breathing.

When he looks up through his teary eyes to find the brunette standing beside him, holding his hand, he wishes he could curl up into a ball in her arms. Like some kind of overgrown toddler.

“Are you okay?” Ashley comes into view, eyeing him with concern.

That seems to be what pulls Nora out of her momentary display of affection, and she withdraws her hand quickly like the act is shameful. The agent wishes he could protest.

He nods, slowly sitting up. “Yeah, thanks… both of you.”

“Luis said you came here to save me,” the younger woman smiles softly, “is that true?”

Leon can't help a low chuckle, pushing himself into a standing position that has him now looking down at Ashley. “Yes, I’m here on the president’s orders... Sorry that you were left in the care of others, but I promise I’ll do what I can to take you home.”

To his surprise, the girl appears to blush, and a small smile etches on his face at the sight. President’s daughter or not, she’s just a college kid, no older than twenty. Her innocence reminds him of his younger self, before his life got turned upside down.

The agent’s thoughts are suddenly interrupted when Nora grabs Ashley’s wrist. “Come on, Ash, we need to go,” she mutters under her breath, and he notices the pursing of her lips.

Leon thinks she feels protective over the blonde girl, and something inside him breaks at the thought. He is supposed to be a protector, the guy that comes in to save those in need. But now he’s the creep women fear and shield each other from, and he can't even argue against it after what he’s done.

“Wait, what's this?” Ashley suddenly halts in her steps and points to something on the floor. 

Nora lets go of her as her eyes catch on the shiny object laying on the dark tile. She recognizes it immediately, her eyes widening at the sight of the acrylic keychain linking her house keys. It must've fallen from her pocket at some point, though she completely forgot she even had the object to begin with after the entire craziness of the day.

“Why does that look like… Luis?” the blonde tilts her head as she eyes the charm, and Nora feels her heart stutter in panic.

“What? Don’t be silly,” she chuckles awkwardly. She then quickly grabs the keys and shoves them back into her pocket before either Ashley or Leon see it. First, out of sheer embarrassment, and second, in order not to give any unnecessary explanations to the girl.

The agent, who witnessed the entire ordeal, feels a flood of questions about to spill out of him. But he sees her uncomfortable expression, and understands not to push the issue.

“Let’s go,” he clears his throat, and moves to lead the way.

The two women fall into step behind him, Nora’s pulse calming down slightly. She can't believe they almost saw her stupid keychain. It’s a two sided one of chibi versions of Luis and Leon with chains around their wrists, with the American looking grumpy and the Spaniard sporting his signature grin. 

It’s meant to be a cute reference to the infamous chain scene during the game. The one where they get abducted by the priest Bitores Mendez, and Leon is injected with the plaga. 

It doesn't sound very cute anymore.

“So… Have you guys met before?” Ashley murmurs to Nora, interrupting her thoughts.

“You’re the second person that's asked that today,” she chuckles bitterly in response. “But no, we haven't.”

Leon reloads his eyes and he keeps his eyes focused ahead, pretending not to hear the conversation that is so very clearly about him.

“Oh, okay… But he seems to know that other woman, right?”

“Right.”

Ashley does not pick up on Nora’s clipped tone, but Leon does, already growing acquainted with her different moods. He can tell this topic is unsurprisingly not her favorite after he reacted so violently to her pointed truths about it.

Her words still echo in his mind. ‘Pussy-whipped,’ she had called him—the bruise to his ego is still present. But the contrition that festers inside him quickly overshadows any selfish emotions of hurt.

It’s not like she's completely wrong—he has indeed let Ada’s less-than-ethical actions slip by, but it's because deep inside he feels like he owes his survival to her. 

Yes, she lied and used him, but she also saved him and refused to shoot him when the decisive moment came. He has spent the last six years replaying the events of that night in his mind, ruminating about every single thing he did wrong and how he could have done better. But one thing he knows is that he would not have made it out alive on his own, and that Ada, as questionable as she may be, came to his help repeatedly.

Focusing back on the present moment, the trio make it back through the rubble-turned-temple. It looks like a violent battle took place in the cave, so they are forced to divert their point of exit through a gate on a higher floor. Outside, they find themselves on a cliffside overlooking an industrial port. 

“Wait, is that…” Ashley gasps, and to Leon’s surprise—and Nora’s lack thereof—they notice in the distance the same woman mentioned moments prior, held helplessly hostage.

Dangling in the air by her bound arms, Ada Wong appears to be unconscious as her hung body sways in the breeze of the approaching Spanish dawn.

“Shit!” Leon curses, looking around for any sign of whoever clearly placed her there as bait.

“Wait… Where’s Luis?” Nora whispers, and her worry seems to contaminate Ashley who also stiffens in place.

The port is empty, without a single soul in sight apart from the poor suspended mercenary, and a crippling feeling of dread slowly starts creeping through the brunette.

What if he didn't make it? What if she couldn't prevent his death? She would hate herself forever.

“Krauser…” Leon concludes, then caulks his shotgun with a tight jaw.

The name makes a chill run down Nora’s spine. “I thought Ada took care of him,” she addresses the agent.

He hates to be the bearer of bad news, especially after what must undoubtedly be the girl’s worst day of her life, but he knows he can't lie either. So, with a grim expression he shakes his head.

“She ran out of ammo—said he’s still out here.”

And that confirms it. Nora’s heart shatters into a million pieces as she realizes the inevitable happened. Luis was killed like his life meant nothing, without her even being there to bid her goodbyes. 

Her eyes well up with grieving tears.

Next chapter coming soon.

i know you all want to murder me for the elephant in the room but can we please just to take an additional moment to appreciate augustus' cute little keychain! 🤓

i was going to post the art with a simple background but then decided to be extra and made that whole RE4R finding-an-object-background as an homage to the wonderful game that has allowed me to write this story in the first place

[julymist]

hofah taglist 🖤 @sammimi19 @kashasenpai @kennedysbbyy @aroacesimp69 @vanesmiracle @cake--rainbows @carriellie @cocoola @somnumbra-atra @3thr3al

[gabswst-aug]

*points a finger in the direction of the fic* I did a thing! @julymist did even bigger thing! Go read it!

[gabswst-aug]

Hello everybody! I hope you're having a good day!

I was planning to open commissions later but life made its plans for me. :D The thing is, I was accepted for an international study programme, and now I need money to fly abroad.

If you want to see your character (OC or canon) in my style, don't be shy and DM me right away! If not, I would really appreciate a reblog!

I can draw almost everything, including animals/light blood/suggestive themes, but there are a few things I won't work on this time.

I don't draw

gore, porn, dragons and closest to them (a lot of details, and I need to work fast), furry, backgrounds, clothes with lots of small details. If you're not sure whether I draw something you want to ask for or not, feel free to ask in DM or in comments!

Price list for sketch/flat colours:

✨headshot - 9$/14$

✨half-body - 20$/28$

✨full body - 30$/41$

✨+1 character = +50% to the initial commission cost

I am not taking comms with full render right now.

Payments are received through Boosty donation system - https://boosty.to/augustus

Again, reblog is appreciated! Thank you for your attention!

[gattobamboom]

[gabswst-aug]

I passed the state exam (one of the most horrid things in our education system), and now it's only the thesis defence left. But even if so, now I have much more time to think about my favourite things, communicate with the world, and also DRAW and WRITE.

Can't believe the master's degree is this close, and I feel so relieved by the fact that very soon, it will be over.

Cheers to everyone who is going through their finals as well! I'm holding up a glass for you and wish you the best of luck and good memory.

[julymist]

tiktok link

MY PAPI 🥵

this is how i'm healing from the bad ending btw 🤡

scp: BenjaminYorkGaming, DVESF

song: La Mamá de la Mamá

@gabswst-aug sent me a link with a leon as zeno edit and i was like girl i already did this two months ago 😎

[gabswst-aug]

the type of dynamic i keep imagining if i and leon were friends (or maybe it's you, idk, what do y'all think)

i love those funny and silly chat-like-memes from pinterest, they inspire me a lot. akchuly, this one lifted some stress that accumulated over past few weeks. i also didn't mean to make it too big, so here you go, a dirty sketch. again. hope it amused you. :)

[gabswst-aug]

i still think this is funny. success

[gabswst-aug]

the type of dynamic i keep imagining if i and leon were friends (or maybe it's you, idk, what do y'all think)

i love those funny and silly chat-like-memes from pinterest, they inspire me a lot. akchuly, this one lifted some stress that accumulated over past few weeks. i also didn't mean to make it too big, so here you go, a dirty sketch. again. hope it amused you. :)

[gabswst-aug]

you, nose-in the laptop screen, notes everywhere: i can't fucking believe i have to not only pass the state exam but also defend this damn thesis, why should we suffer in every stage of education

leon, sitting on the bed, his eyes flickering shortly to your shrimped back: who's attacking it?

you: what?

leon: who's attacking your thesis that you have to defend it?

you:

you: don't talk to me.

[gabswst-aug]

cuddle party after work (girlsss squeeze him hard and don't let go!)

low quality aaahh old wip because I am weak, and my brain shut down under the weight of 10 hours session of thesis writing.

I have a temptation to open commissions in the future like... just to draw Leon with different girls... OCes... why not....

[gabswst-aug]

I'm trying to come back, alright 😔

[gabswst-aug]

Getting ready to defend my thesis in a week, so I am not able to draw again. So I just... repost old things, okay? :'D

[crimescrimson]

Justice.

[starkissedverses]

"The Love You Left Behind"

Synopsis: After returning to Raccoon City nearly 30 years after its destruction, Leon comes to the rubble of your workplace. Within it, he finds the walking remnants of you, his lover from 28 years ago. Ship(s): Rookie!Leon & Requiem!Leon x girlfriend! medical student! reader (slight canon divergence, Leon was not late on his first day because of a breakup) Theme(s): Angst, hurt with NO comfort, story told through several flashbacks, people do dumb things in grief, inspired by "The Love You Left Behind" by Michael Schulte and "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane (blue denotes lyrics to the songs) Content Warning(s): character death, some violence and potentially intense description of Leon putting down zombies, swearing, one mention of wanting to throw up, long because I'm insane, an unkissed brick, Leon cries again does that count?

Raccoon City didn’t look any smaller than it did 30 years ago. In fact, memory had a bad habit of making everything bigger- the Raccoon City in his mind had wider roads, skyscrapers reaching for the heavens. Now, though, everything had changed. Roads were littered with the rubble of those towering skyscrapers, decrepit and caved in like the roads that had once carried ordinary citizens to and from work, school, other activities of daily life. The first Raccoon City in his mind had been one of neon and noise- life milling about as it did, a bustling city that he had once upon a time taken an oath to protect. Leon had joined the academy to see the lives of ordinary citizens safe, to ensure that the children in Raccoon City would be able to live lives without fear, without going through what he had in his own youth. But he had never gotten to see that version of the city in his dreams. Instead, his first day- once intended to be an initiation into the city’s police force- was one that would come to haunt his dreams for the foreseeable future. He no longer awoke from his slumber each night drenched in cold sweats, the visions of the B.O.W.s plaguing his dreams until he could no longer rest- those nights were fewer and more far between- but he could never quite erase it entirely from his memory. Quiet reminders of that night always lingered in the back of his mind, feeding the reminders that he couldn’t save anyone- not even himself. September 30th, 1998. The end of Leon Kennedy’s beginning. Thirty years ago, he had run from this city with blood on his hands and a promise at his back, an understanding that he would never again see the Raccoon City he had been so adamant to protect. Now, it seemed, that promise had come back to collect. Rubble crunched beneath his feet with every step he took, each footfall kicking up a cloud of dust and ash that burned his nose, filling his every sense with the fallout. As much as he reminded himself to focus on his mission, he couldn’t help but allow his mind to wander the slightest bit as he took in his surroundings. The gun shop in which he had met Mr. Kendo…and his daughter. An Italian restaurant he had once promised his partner that he would take them when they reunited in Raccoon CIty. His heart ached, and he stopped in his tracks. His partner.

He had met you when he was in the academy. Still a green, bright-eyed rookie who was all but enthralled by his upcoming assignment as soon as he graduated. You, at the same time, were set to arrive not long before he did, having finally been accepted into a medical school of your dreams and beginning your first clinicals at Raccoon City General. “It’ll be perfect!”  you had joyously exclaimed as you all but threw yourself against him, wrapping your arms around his neck in a hug as soon as you opened that acceptance letter. “I get to go to Raccoon City too! We won’t have to worry about long distance.” You were beaming that day, the elation of being matched into a program you loved and the dissipating worry of potentially having to navigate a long-distance relationship or worse, going your separate ways, had you glowing. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, absentmindedly nodding along to whatever it was that you had said. His hands had settled around your waist, lifting you off the ground in a hug, face buried in your neck as he inhaled the familiar scent of your perfume, the scent faint yet consuming all of his senses. The scent of home. “Yeah,” he had rasped, holding you tighter. “Yeah, we won’t. I knew you’d get in. If anyone could, it would be my brilliant, brilliant girl.” He would get to build a home with you. It would be difficult, sure, navigating your respective lives in a new place. Medical school was difficult and sure to occupy a large portion of your time, not to mention your energy. He imagined the first years of your new beginning together would be slow, low-energy dates. Cuddling on the couch, watching the same trash movies you always talked him into watching whenever you were together. Falling asleep tangled in each others’ embrace, your head on his chest and dozing off to the gentle beating of his heart and your soft breathing in a cozy symphony.

He hadn’t thought about you in a while, he realized. At least, not consciously. He would never stop thinking about you, a voice in the back of his head reminded him. Even if his thoughts were not focused on you, as they often were not allowed to be due to the demands of his line of work, he realized that you were often in the back of his mind even in the little ways. Remembering your favorite flower whenever he’d seen one. Humming along to your favorite song as if it were second nature to him. “Leon!” Your voice danced across his memory, and he turned his shoulders to follow the ghost of you in his mind, the same path you’d always traced through his apartment kitchen. “Come on, dance with me!” It was barely a request, already decided by the young woman in his space that he would be joining you whether he wanted to or not. The sound of your playlist filled the kitchen quietly, a backdrop to the comfortable silence that had filled the space between you up until then as you cooked dinner together. Carbonara, you had insisted, was the perfect beginner meal to make together. “I walked across an empty land. I knew the pathway like the back of my hand…”

“I don’t think that’s a good ide–!” You grabbed his hand before he could even finish the thought, spinning into his arms with a laugh as your arms came to drape around his shoulders. “Alright, alright, Princess. The ballroom floor is yours. But if I step on your toes, you can’t be mad at me.” He leaned down to press his forehead against yours, inhaling your presence as his hands settled on the dip of your waist. There isn’t really space to dance. The kitchen is small, all he could afford reliably on what meager savings he’d put together while he was in the academy, but you made it work. You always did. His other hand found yours, intertwining your fingers together before he begins to sway. The rhythm is uneven at first as he found the rhythm to both the song and you. “I’ll just… have to turn you into a frog, then!” Leon laughed, blonde hair falling into his face as he shook his head. The singer’s voice has blended into the background by now, little more than background noise to all of his thoughts consumed by you, of this quiet moment within your own little world with him. Outside, the world continues- traffic rolls, time passes by- but here? Here, there is only this moment. Everything narrowed down to the now. The faint music, the feeling of your soft skin under his hand as his thumb brushed against your wrist the best he could manage without letting you go. His love pressed against his chest as he looked down to meet glimmering eyes he had all but fallen in love with the first time he’d seen them. “There are worse things to be turned into,” he hummed. “But I could handle being a frog if it meant I still got kisses from you, Princess.” He spun you slowly, hand finding the dip of your spine as he brought you into a dip, his lips ghosting over yours faintly. “Just promise not to let me croak, okay, doc?” You rolled your eyes, half-heartedly attempting to shove him away from you at his dumb joke. His grip did not falter, though, and he held you steady once again as he straightened you out once again, hands pulling you in once again for a proper kiss this time.  "This could be the end of everything, so why don’t we go somewhere only we know?”

His forehead met yours, eyes closed as he savored the moment with you. Slow dancing in the kitchen was almost a date night tradition for the two of you by now. It wasn’t planned, of course, but it was natural. Somewhere over the course of the night, you would find your way into each other’s arms, circling in the few spare feet of your own personal bubble.

He didn’t notice that the song was already over, too enthralled in appreciating the beauty in his arms, the heavy beating of his heart that grew ever stronger as every second passed with you in his embrace. “Do you remember when you first heard this song? When you told me you didn’t like it?” He listened to the lyrics for a few moments before a breathy laugh escaped him when recognition finally came to him.  "Maybe I'm hopeless, but I'm only human..." “I hope that you know that I’d give it all for a moment with you,” Your voice, singing along to the familiar song brought him back to the present. He didn’t answer your question immediately, letting himself fall into a rhythm of dancing with you once again. He guides you across the floor of the kitchen, careful not to crash you into the dining room table as his movements got ever so bolder. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” His head nudged your own softly as he tucked you back into him. “I told you I didn’t get it.” You had carried this conversation on before the two of you were official, when he was still dancing around the desire to ask you to start going steady. Biweekly coffee dates, late night phone calls, flowers every time he saw you, yet no label. Denial was the label his friends had put on it for him- denial that he was actually developing feelings for a girl he knew that he may eventually have to leave behind if their fated courses were to diverge. You looked up at him, eyes glimmering with warmth and chin resting on his chest. “And now?” His lips found your forehead, lingering there for a few moments. “Now? Now, I get it.” He got you. "These cold hands, this burning heart, will always be hollow without you.”

Holding you in his arms for a few more moments, he let himself simply appreciate the space you filled at his side. You’d picked him up after joining the academy, after the separation from his last partner. You’d been friends at first, but Leon’s hopeless heart had done little to stop the feelings that grew ever present more and more by the day. It wasn’t until you’d found yourself staying over at his place during a storm that those feelings came to light between the two of you. “I love you,” he murmured in the comfortable silence, as if speaking it too loudly would shatter whatever this was. “Thank you…” His head dipped to bury in your neck. “Le, what are you thanking me for?” The nickname slipped out so easily now. It filled him with warmth. It was short, simple, and barely a change from his name. But it was wholly, undeniably yours.

“For being here. For not leaving my sorry ass.” Fingers finding his hair, you tugged on the soft blonde locks to get him to pull back and look at you. “Le, you don’t have to thank me for being your girlfriend. Really, it’s–” “I mean it.” His hands gripped your waist again, bordering on painful. “I know this isn’t exactly the life fitting of a doctor. One bedroom apartment in the busiest part of the city. I can’t provide everything for you yet, not until I finish with the academy, but…I will. I promise.” He sounded almost like he was on the verge of tears. “I’ll get there. I’ll be able to give you everything you want. A ring, one worthy of the person who lit up my life like the brightest star in the sky. A house to raise our family in. Our future will be bright.” Your hands found his face, your steps slowing until you stopped, just cradling his cheeks in your hands. “Leon Scott Kennedy-” Gods, hearing his name fall from your lips got him weak at the knees. For a brief moment, he imagined giving that name to you, dancing like this in a different scene. The blue sundress you currently wore longer, and white. Maybe it was too early to pop that question- it definitely was- but your impending move to Raccoon CIty would be one step closer. You’d agreed to move in with him, sharing an apartment in the city that you would both start anew in together. You’d be going first since your clinical rotation started earlier than his assignment began, meeting the movers and ensuring everything was in place before he joined you about three weeks later.  One day. And he couldn’t wait. 

He never made it to that apartment to meet with you. The last time he had seen you in person was the morning he said his temporary goodbye, sending you off with a chaste kiss and the promise to tell you all about his last weeks in the academy, about everything you had missed while you were separated. You had been unable to attend his ceremony, having fought tooth and nail to get an excuse from your clinical shift that week to no avail. You were left to hope that you would eventually see photos, sooner or later.  He wondered where you were these days. Every time he thought about you, fighting back the sharp pain that bloomed in his chest each time, he pictured your escape from the city, getting out and starting anew elsewhere. Had you moved on in the last 30 years? Gotten married, started a family with someone else? He’d always imagined that the two of you would have a daughter together, a miniature version of you that he would get to watch grow up into the same type of intelligent, resilient woman that had raised her. Elena. It was the name that came to mind every time he’d had the thoughts. Bright light, to accompany the nickname he had given you,  his Golden Girl. You were his sunlight, the bright warmth that greeted him at the beginning of every day, and the light that shone upon him at the beginning of every dark night he spent weathering through night terrors. 

Light streamed through the window of his bedroom, bathing the both of you in a warm gentle light as the sun crested the horizon to greet the world and guide it through a new day.

Rolling over onto his stomach, Leon was lured closer by a familiar weight to his left. Reaching out to wrap an arm around your waist, he pulled you to him, his chest finding your back as he buried his face in your neck. “Good morning,” he mumbled, tucking you securely into his grasp with a sense of finality, closing his eyes again with the full intention of going back to sleep holding you. “Not time to get up yet. Go back to sleep.” He was successful for a short while, letting himself doze off again when your contented sigh made way for the sound of your rhythmic breathing only a few minutes later. He wondered if you were ever truly lucid, or simply half-awake when he’d slid you closer. You only stayed asleep for another half hour before your eyes fluttered open and the cruel state of consciousness fell upon you. Groaning lightly, you moved to sit up in bed, only to be stilled by Leon’s arms resolutely holding you in place. A soft laugh escaped you and you settled back into his grasp, slowly turning over to face him. He wasn’t quite awake yet, affording you a few minutes to simply observe his sleeping features. He was so peaceful like this, face relaxed with the soft embrace of slumber. His nose twitched every so often as a strand of his hair brushed against his face, and a smile grew upon your features as you reached out to brush it back to protect his peace. A larger hand caught your own as Leon pressed your palm to his cheek for a moment before turning his head to press his lips against your palm, eyes still closed. He lingered for a few moments before his attention was on you once again, baby blue eyes meeting your own. He settled his head back into the pillow, but not before leaning forward to press his lips to yours, something he had once promised you would always be the first thing he did in the morning. “Morning, gorgeous,” he greeted, voice low and scratchy from sleep. “Sleep well?” 

You propped yourself up on an elbow beside him, your other hand idly moving to begin tracing patterns on his bare shoulder. “I always do when I’m with you,” you hummed. “You want breakfast, or do you want to stay here a little bit longer? You gotta go in today?” He shook his head. “Nope, not today. Come here, you.” Reaching out as soon as he sat up to lean against the headboard, he pulled you back to his chest until he had your weight against his shoulder. “No plans for today, either. Do I get a day to do nothing but spend time with my golden girl?” His lips pressed against your shoulder where it peeked from the collar of the t-shirt you had stolen from his dresser to sleep in. “Breakfast can wait.” Tipping your head upward, you observed your boyfriend, warmth growing in your chest. He really had grown into himself more throughout the course of your relationship, namely with showing affection to you. You had to hold back a laugh at the memory of him turning your favorite plushies around before he would even kiss you for the first time. 

“They can’t watch that kind of debauchery!” he had exclaimed then, much to your chagrin, before you pulled him into you, his face flushed pink and breathless in the aftermath. 

“What are you thinking about?” His lips caught the corner of your mouth, you having failed to hide the smile during your reminiscence, and an inquisitive hum rumbled through him. “You.” The answer was simple, honest. “Well, us. Where we were and where we’re headed. Raccoon City is where it’s all really going to begin for us, huh?” “Yeah, yeah it is.” A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, contemplative, as you thought of the future that was fast approaching for you. You had worked so hard to get here already, many sleepless nights during your undergraduate degree to get the credits you needed to graduate early. Day in and day out, you worked and worked, often wondering if the struggle was worth it and worrying about where you would go if you weren’t accepted to the medical schools you had applied to. Would you have to end things with Leon? Would you be happy knowing you had gotten into a school that wasn’t one of your first picks? Would you get in at all? 

‘Of course you’ll get in.’ Leon’s voice echoed in the recesses of your mind, just as it had every time you had begun to express these doubts to him. ‘You’re my golden girl, and you’ve got a good head on those shoulders. And if they don’t accept you, I’ll…I’ll find a reason to arrest them for you.” He hadn’t been serious, of course, but it had cheered you up nonetheless. In the pause that stretched between the two of you, Leon’s hand had found the charm of the necklace that had dipped under your collar, gently twisting the charm between his fingers. He had made it for you, somehow, during a brief stint with interest in crafting. He had wanted to gift you something to show his appreciation for you as his partner, but nothing he could find was quite good enough to suit the image of what he had in mind. 

“I tried to make it perfect.” He had looked away when he presented her with the box over breakfast that morning several weeks ago. “But…” You’d smiled softly at the gesture, lifting the necklace from the box and examining it. The pendant was small, a dented disk that was hand-engraved with a crude, uneven design. He’d intended for it to be molded into the shape of the sun, if the person looking at it squinted and tilted their head, created while he sat at the kitchen table, fumbling with tools he barely knew how to use. “I’d rather it be yours. It’s beautiful. Thank you, Leon.” She undid the clasp with skilled hands. “Will you help me put it on?” Nodding energetically, he had done exactly that, fumbling with the clasp for a few minutes before finally succeeding in his endeavor. Brushing your hair out of the way once more, he’d pressed a kiss to the nape of your neck before stepping back from you. You’d worn it every day since then. 

“Are you nervous?” He finally asked, slowing his fidgeting with the charm. “A little,” you answered honestly on an exhale, breath light before you let an anxious little chuckle escape from you. “But…I’m excited, too. I mean, we’re starting a new life. Why wouldn’t I be? Besides, we won’t be apart for too long.” “Hey, three weeks is a lot of time for things to happen.” His hand migrated to rub your arm. “The world could end in three weeks, you never know.” You playfully pushed him away. “Even if it did, you’ll still come back to me, you loser.” He laughed, pulling you flush against him once again before finally moving to sit up with the intention of getting out of bed. “I’d always come back to you, golden girl.” He kissed you lightly. “Now, come on. Let’s go get breakfast.”

He didn’t realize that he had gone the wrong way until he looked up at the remains of Raccoon City General Hospital. Perhaps part of him had forgotten his mission objective, letting his mind do more than just wander in passing. It was a source of pride for Raccoon City. Alongside the R.P.D. headquarters, the city hospital featured some of the most ornate exterior decoration, a testament to the history the facility had grown alongside the rest of the population. The inside technology had always been advanced for the times, cutting-edge and attracting patients from even the farthest corners of the large city. 

You had always been enthralled by the technological advancements headed by the hospital under the guidance of Umbrella. You’d been proud of working there, even, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the corporation still had you under its employ, wherever you’d found yourself in the aftermath. Did you know what Umbrella had done to the people you wanted nothing more than to protect? 

His head craned upwards to look at the remnants of the large facility. It stood ahead of him in a broken silhouette, upper floors sheared over by the blast that had cleaved the top half from the bottom in seconds, its concrete bones and wire ribs exposed to the elements. Wind moved through the upper portion freely now, carrying once-white bedsheets like flags of surrender where they were partially trapped under rubble and debris. Nearly thirty years and it still hadn’t finished falling, instead standing as a cold reminder of the night that changed his entire world nearly three decades ago. 

What remained of the facility’s perimeter signage was rusted over the years, the directional signs having faded until they were illegible and any authority eroded alongside them. His gaze traced the outline of the building once more, his current mind attempting to reconcile the signt before him with the one he carried in his memory. There would have been life inside, then, bright lights and people milling about. He imagined you looking down at him from one of those upper floor windows as he passed by during one of his patrols, waving at him as you leaned against the glass. He swallowed thickly, unable to stop himself as he approached the front doors of the facility. His gun hand hovered over his holster as he broke the barricade away, breaching the doors with one swift kick to the hinges, giving way with a dry metallic groan. 

Dust and ash covered the interior of the hospital in a thick blanket, undisturbed over the past years. The air was stale, heavy, and the lobby was barely recognizable now between the caved-in ceiling and broken tiles scattered about like an abandoned puzzle. His gaze found the clock on the far side of the room, long frozen in time at 2 P.M. “Still punctual,” he mumbled to himself. The time you often found yourself calling him on days you weren’t together, having started your lunch break right around that time. “Hope you aren’t mad at me for being late to this one, sweetheart.” He climbed over the reception desk that had been thrown sideways, metal drawers pulled out and long emptied, and ventured further inside. 

He moved slowly, gaze catching on fragments of the life that stood frozen in time. A wheelchair knocked upon its side. 

A child’s shoe, dingy and half-charred. Metal chairs fused to the floor and to each other from the heat.

Had they gotten out? Your first unit had been on the third floor, that much he remembered. How could he forget? You’d seldom stopped expressing your excitement over getting to work in one of the pediatric units. You were perfect for that part of the job. He had looked forward to seeing the change you brought about in their world. 

The climb to the third floor felt much longer than it should have, as if the very building itself resisted the idea of being revisited, and was attempting to keep him away. By the time he reached the unit, the sky was beginning to darken, the whisperings of sunset impending not far off. Muted light spilled through jagged openings in the half-collapsed walls of the rooms where remnants of normal life still clung stubbornly to the notion of normal existence. The horizon spanned wide and indifferent in the distance, not sparing him any more time to reminisce. 

“I was late,” he murmured into the dead-silent air around him as he looked around at what could, and would have been. Colorful paint that once colored every wall was muted, peeling and chipping away from the patterns that had had been painstakingly placed there to keep the young patients from being scared in the cold, clinical white walls of the hospital. “I told you I’d come back to you. I guess I couldn’t keep that promise, huh?” 

A gust of wind threaded through the broken structure as he looked outside, singing a mournful song to carry forth to him. He refused to turn and chase its voice. There was no point. Instead, he found the old paper that he’d kept with him on every mission since then. It was old now, yellowed and worn at the edges, creased from the constant folding over the years. It had been taken after your first official date at your insistence, captured in a moment that had no idea what was coming for them down the road. It had rarely left his side when he was sent out on a mission. Sherry had offered to give him a restored version, rendered again with modern technology and breathing new life into the old, lower-quality photograph. He had always refused, wanting to keep you with him in the same form he remembered you since then. 

“I’m still looking. Just in case you’re wondering.” He wouldn’t stop, that he had vowed the second he was out of Raccoon City. There would only ever be you, even if it took him 30 more years to find you. If you had that much time, he thought wryly, fist tightening at the grim reminder of the growing black splotches up the expanse of his arm and neck. 

Silence was the only thing that answered him, and the wind with its ongoing, mourning song. “Yeah. I figured as much.”

Turning from the hospital room, accompanied only with his thoughts, he paused at the doors. Opening his mouth as if he wished to speak, he silenced himself with a shake of his head before continuing on his path.

Making way towards the stairwell once again, deciding it was high time to get back to his mission now that he was in his right mind once more, his footsteps faded into the hollow quiet of the hospital. 

He had only gotten halfway down the corridor before something slid across the floor behind him. No, not slid. This was soft, carrying a rhythm to it. Something was dragging. Turning around, retrieving his firearm from the holster at his side, he trained his eyes on the junction of the next hallway. Every one of his instincts stood on high alert, decades of training and fighting pulling him still. Sneaking forward closely, he prepared to turn the corner and face the creature that he’d certainly alerted. This was a hospital. If there was one, there was likely more not far behind it. The sound came again, this time closer. Turning the corner, he pointed his firearm at the B.O.W. at the far end of the corridor, moving between the shadows. The figure moved unsteadily, lumbering forward toward him and catching itself against the wall with a jerking, unnatural gait. 

His world narrowed to a single, unbearable point, blue eyes widening in disbelief as they focused on it. Time and decay had taken their share of the body, that was certain. What remained of its hair hung in uneven strands, greyed with dust and ash with each brittle strand. Light pink scrubs, once purchased with the intention of making the wearer more welcoming to the younger population, were torn and fused to char-darkened skin. One arm hung at an angle that would not be seen on a living, breathing human, the other extended straight out with fingers twitching in small, aimless motions. 

But when the setting sun glimmered against a dented, circular pendant, he suddenly felt the contents of his stomach threatening to make a reappearance. 

“No…”

Thirty years was a long time to think of different endings, and Leon Kennedy had likely come up with dozens of scenarios in his mind on how he would reunite with you. None of them looked like this. Not a single one had prepared him for this, for the way his legs rooted him into the ground as if they suddenly weighed two tons. 

“You… You’re not…” He couldn’t find his words. What could he even say? It couldn’t understand him. You couldn’t understand him. 

“Hey.” Despite his more rational brain and better judgement, he found himself trying anyway. Hope foolishly bloomed in his chest for a fleeting moment, unable to be schooled just yet. He knew this was hopeless, he was hopeless, but part of him still could not bring himself to believe that this was the reality he was living. Pinch him, wake him up. Bring him back to the reality where he got to wake up with you asleep beside him again. Anything but this. “You remember me?” The plea escaped his mouth before he could pull it back. “It’s me. Hey, it’s Leon. I-” It lunged. It was erratic and sudden, stumbling. Hunger and instinct were the only things that controlled what had once been you. There had been no recognition that crossed your features despite his reminder. He knew there wouldn’t be. He tried anyway. It was wrong. This was all wrong. He shouldn’t be finding you here. You shouldn’t be here. You should be outside of the city limits, happy and healthy with the family you had wanted to build, even if it wasn’t with him.

Knowing what he knew now, he should never have let you follow him into Raccoon City, into the clutches of the organization that had taken so many people from him. Even if it meant that you would have been led away from him, into someone else’s arms, or to an entirely different path in which the two of you became little more than strangers, supporting roles in each other’s stories. 

His training snapped him back, the instinct to survive driving him to move aside, swiftly grabbing the wrist extended towards him and twisting until he heard a sickening snap as he only worsened what was broken. You stumbled forward, slamming into a nearby wall with heavy impact and a snarl before rounding back on him. His heart pounded in both fear and sickening recognition as he stepped back, hands returning his gun to the space in front of him as he observed her from downsight. He should shoot, his mind screamed at him. Shoot, before this went too far. “No,” he repeated, louder this time. Even he wasn’t sure if it was at his thoughts, or at the situation he had found himself in. “No!” Your hand reached for his chest again. Turning his head away so he wouldn’t have to watch himself do it, he fired. The sound was deafening, a sharp sequence of cracks that shattered the fragile silence. The recoil of his firearm, the Requiem that sang only for you, jolted up his arm as he aimed true with one, two, three shots. The sound of the weight hitting the ground as you crumpled was almost cathartic. His stomach still threatened him, as did the burning behind his eyes that still refused to look at the body on the floor, but in his own dark way, Leon almost felt a semblance of peace for you at knowing that you would no longer have to live as something you would hate. If you had been lucid enough, and still had an ounce of humanity to you, would you have asked him to do the same? To grant you mercy and take you away from the suffering you would undoubtedly face as you turned? 

Would he have been able to do it if you had?

His grip faltered at the thought of you in what had been your last moments. Were you alone? Or had you barricaded yourself in with the children on the unit, holding them close and keeping them calm despite your own rising panic? He hoped it was the latter. You had always been the most gentle presence in his life, and if there was anyone who could keep those kids calm even in the face of impending danger, it would be you. Selfishly, he also hoped it meant you hadn’t been alone at the end. The thought of you, alone and forced to sit idly by as those all-too-familiar black splotches bloomed against your skin tore at the very fabric of his being. He had never wanted you to be alone.

Setting his jaw and remaining there unmoving for a few more beats, his arm slowly lowered, slipping the gun back into his holster securely. And finally, he looked at you. Rather, what had once been you. The version of you in his mind was alive and well, not laying half-decomposed and forgotten in the walls of the hospital you’d thus devoted your time and life to, cursed to wander these corridors until something granted you the kindness of permanent rest. 

“I’m sorry.” The words felt inadequate. “I should’ve been there.” Against his wishes, a traitorous tear slid down his face, leaving tracks in the grime settling on his features. Dust stirred around him as he knelt upon one knee at your side. Wind passed through broken walls again, its wail echoing the one he was warring with himself to contain. A gloved hand brushed back brittle, ash-kissed hair, remembering what it had felt like twenty-eight years ago beneath his fingers, smooth and familiar when he carded through the locks every time you fell asleep against him. 

“You wanted to save lives here.” His voice was rough,breaking halfway through the sentence. “And I couldn’t be there to save yours. I’m so sorry.” His hands were shaking, and his gaze tore from you to stare at them as if they were not his own. They belonged to someone else, surely, and that would explain how they had done what he’d done. 

”But all the love you left behind will always…”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” Against his better wishes, a sob tore through his throat, sudden and violent, as he all but buckled, curling over the remains of you as twenty-eight years of worry, of wondering where you had disappeared to, came to the surface at the cruel truth that you had been here. And that he would never get to live out any of those visions of your reunion, even if they were too far in the future to rekindle anything at their age. “You were– Fuck, you were looking at me, but it wasn’t you. I… I’m so fucking sorry.”

He stayed there with you until the sun threatened to set on him, casting him into a darkness that would only bring new horrors alongside it. Part of him didn’t care, couldn’t bring himself to care now that he had lost you officially, but the rational part of him reminded him that he not only had Grace to rescue, but the part of him that you remembered. You wouldn’t want him to stay here, to give up and die, after all. He had promised to become a man worthy of you, and that was a promise he fully intended to uphold, especially now. When he could no longer stay by your side, having no more tears left to cry and leaving himself with only trembling shoulders with each heaving sob, Leon wiped his eyes and slowly schooled his emotions once more. Focus.

Rising to his feet, Leon paused only to remove the sun pendant from your neck. His hands trembled still, fumbling with the clasp just as he did 28 years ago when he had first placed it around your neck. It was old, fragile, and practically melted shut. Finally managing to remove it from your eternally still form, he tucked the pendant into one of the pockets of his harness. It was missing a few of the rays he’d painstakingly crafted all those years ago, having been lost to time and the erosion of nature, but it was so heartbreakingly you.

“I’m sorry I was late. A lot happened in three weeks, but…”

He hesitated again when it came time to say goodbye to you, standing a few paces away and looking back to where he’d left you. 

“Your loser came back to you,” he said quietly, turning his back on the past once again as he took his firearm from its holster again to fight his way out of the facility. “Goodnight, my Golden Girl.” "...Remind me of you"

All dividers by the wonderful @/strangergraphics!

Author's Notes: I had tormented a friend of mine with this idea a while ago and decided it was time to commit to the bit. Big thanks to Enso for sitting with me and making me lock in to finish it! Also... big thanks to Petal for being my first victim in beta...I love you pookie I'm sorry for making you cry even though you don't even go here Likes, comments in tags and thoughts ALWAYS appreciated! I feed off of knowing y'all like what I write And, as ALWAYS, do not feed any of my works through AI systems of any sort. Keep AI out of creative spaces.

[gabswst-aug]

a brick that I wasn't even trying to dodge.

[gabswst-aug]

I'm trying to come back, alright 😔

[gabswst-aug]

not taking off all the holsters? barely managing to take off his boots? this man will be in such a hurry every time he gets home to you after a mission just to lay his head on your lap

gosh.

i had to colour 'her' subtly because 1) I didn't want to make the figure grey again (lady Tyrant???), 2) didn't want to specify the skin colour. it's us, girls. just us.

[gabswst-aug]

It took me only 3 full days of attending university for exams, and now I'm unable to create things for how long? Only God knows.

Academic pursuit kills every creative spark in me.