[heartcookie4]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Nick a notorious ad-libber? I remember him saying that he was given free reign to do ad-libs for RE4R Leon and he actually had a lot of fun playing him. He adds a lot of his own personality into portraying Leon. It's not a rigid thing. Didn't he also say that he helped shape RE9 Leon? So yeah, he just doesn't stick to the script. He improvises and he's allowed to bc Capcom trusts him.

So him saying "just resting my eyes" as a tribute to his father isn't unusual or a one-off situation. That's what the fuck he does.

Why is it so hard to accept that not every RE fan has ship brain? Not everyone shares this mentality that every single dialogue, object, symbolism ties to ships. And that's fucking okay!

What's not fucking okay is sending hate to people (VAs!!!) who don't think like you. It's asinine. It's unwell.

Nothing wrong being a shipper but good lord.

[tappioca]

contributing to this niche tag that is this au.

[heartcookie4]

RE9 is ultimately about closing the Raccoon City chapter of Leon's life and why that matters for his endgame

I came to this conclusion (delusion? maybe? lol) as I was brainstorming scenes for a fic and I was trying to dig into Leon's real goal in RE9, knowing that Raccoon City had remained an open wound for him for years. It clicked for me that the whole point of him going back is to find closure and leave that place behind.

Once I started looking at the story through that lens, my mind inevitably went to the whole "wife" debate. (Yes, this is a ship post lol)

I know, fam, I’m tired of talking about the ring and the wife too. I know this is a tired topic and I almost, almost don't wanna touch it anymore. This is just the reality of it; whether we like it or not, we'll keep seeing this discussion until the damn DLC confirms it or doesn’t. I just hope this is my last post on this topic though. No promises.

As always, I want to make it clear that this is just my own opinion and my own interpretation based on the text.

Anyway, here we go.

So... I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversations surrounding Leon’s endgame. If RE9 is truly meant to close out the Raccoon City chapter for Leon, it means the narrative has to look forward, not backward. A satisfying thematic resolution for Leon would be to let him have an end game that's beyond the events of RC.

1. We all know that Raccoon City is the definitive trauma of Leon’s life. It fundamentally broke something in him, which is why he couldn't let it go after almost 30 years. It's also why he felt the need to return to that place to make up for his "failures" back in 1998. And he accomplished just that, with the help of Grace. Put a stop to it (in the form of elpis) so it doesn't happen again to him or anyone else. Isn't that all he wanted? Eliminate the virus once and for all?

All there's left to do is move on and move forward without the guilt from RC following him.

If RE9 is truly about Leon finally closing that chapter, then the most satisfying thematic resolution is for his future to belong to something beyond it, that it shouldn't be tied to his traumatic experience in Raccoon City.

Not because the people associated with Raccoon City are holding him back, but because that chapter of his life is finally over.

To me, moving forward means building a future that isn't tied to the place where the wound began.

2. For Leon to close the RC arc, his "home" cannot be adjacent to that nightmare. He doesn't need another reminder of the things he already live through every day. He needs an anchor. He needs a sanctuary.

The cleanest way to move on is for him to be with someone who represents a hopeful future, a new beginning, a clean start.

So yeah, in theory, it could be a rando honestly. Or... enter Ashley Graham (you know where this is going)

3. Ashley Graham, to me, represents a bright future. A chance at a normal life. Yes, I'm sure she had trauma from Spain, but she's his success story and she's completely untainted by the ghosts of Raccoon City. She doesn't look at him and see the version of himself that was broken by RC; she sees the man who protected her, and who she, in turn, fought hard despite herself during one of the most brutal missions of his life.

Ashley represents a chance to experience a different reality. The literal embodiment of the civilian life he spent years of his life to protect.

When he drives away from Raccoon City and watches it disappear from his rear-view mirror, I can see Ashley waiting on the other side, probably eager to haul him off to the nearest beach resort for a much needed vacation. Not talking about RC or the next bio-terror.

That's the definition of home and peace that Nakanishi was talking about.

Capcom, call me. I have a few ideas to pitch.

[heartcookie4]

Unpopular opinion: I don't think Leon and Sherry have a father-daughter relationship or that he is even a father figure to her.

I can believe that they're friends, but she doesn't see him as a father, as in someone who raised her. In RE6, Leon told her, "I heard you became an agent". If they truly kept in touch, the way a father figure would, why wouldn't Leon know that she became an agent?

It seems to me that they barely kept in touch prior to RE6 and they only reconnected when Sherry joined DSO. I just haven't seen anything in canon where Sherry said that she saw Leon as a father.

Now, I completely understand why this head canon is popular in the fandom. Sherry did ask Leon and Claire to adopt her, so people filled in the gaps and assumed that Leon stepped up to be her father. But there was never any evidence that he stepped into this role. He did protect her, sure. But to say that he saw himself as her father is a bit of a stretch imo

We know that Sherry sees Claire as a mother, understandably so, but I really don't believe it's the same dynamic with her and Leon. So when people say that Sherry is Claire and Leon's daughter, I get it in the context of RE2, but not outside of that. It's kind of implied that Leon and Sherry didn't see each other until RE6.

Not because he doesn't care about her, but I honestly just blame the writing.

Sherry said so herself, "The people who saved me, Leon and Claire, are the closest friends I've ever had." FRIENDS. Although I question that comment too. Leon is your closest friend yet he doesn't even know you became an agent? lol Again I blame the writing.

The DLC might prove me all wrong but until then, no, Sherry is not a daughter to Leon, and that's not her father. I really don't think they're that close. Maybe professionally, but not so much personally.

This isn't an endorsement of Leon and Sherry ship btw. I'm just saying, that man is nobody's father, but he's definitely someone's daddy.

[pickledcucumbersblog]

Soon

[heartcookie4]

It's funny how the things that people dislike about leshley/eagleone are the exact things I like about them, and why, in my opinion, they're the most interesting ship in RE (and the most satisfying end game imo):

-power imbalance

-age gap

-social status gap

-experience gap (college student & special agent)

-protector/protectee

-can't be together bc all of the above

Amazing chemistry on top of it. Are you fucking kidding? That's hot. That's sexy. It's what makes them compelling. You wanna root for them.

I also love that she's sunshine ("miss positive") and he's a realist. That's catnip to me.

They're the "high alert boyfriend and unaware girlfriend" meme.

I think that's why eagleone scenarios just flow out of me easily. I tried to write for other ships but I couldn't come up with anything because they were lacking the ingredients I was looking for (but that's most likely skill issue on my end lol)

I like to put Leon in scenarios where he just exists and breathes easy and he can forget the bio-terror shit for a little bit. Ashley is the only one I can picture in this scenario with him.

They fucking did something right when they introduced Ashley into his life.

[heartcookie4]

"Imagine hating me and I'm just over here like"

[heartcookie4]

I want this on a shirt so bad!!!!!!!!!

[condortoroost]

some random lil re4 doodles ☺️

[jashoang]

Grace and Emily

[heartcookie4]

Thoughts about the possibility of Ashley returning in future RE games...

I was definitely one of those people who hoped for an Ashley return in RE9. I really wanted her to be the person in Leon’s ear. I just thought it would be poetic and narratively satisfying to see her in a position of being his guide this time.

I wasn't really convinced that it was her, I was only like 20% convinced. I know Capcom's history of bringing back side characters and odds were stacked against her. My brain said it was Sherry, but my heart wanted it to be Ashley.

It made me happy when I saw other people in the wild wanting it to be Ashley as well - big gamers on YouTube, redditors... it felt validating when someone who wasn't into shipping saw the potential of Ashley being Leon's FOS.

But of course, there were those who had to be the fun police and quickly shut down the hopes of those people. They just had to, they couldn't help themselves. As though they personally worked for Capcom. Like, why is it so impossible? Either Ashley haters or they convinced themselves that they know how Capcom operates that they can't imagine anything else.

These are the real reasons I've seen:

"Her character arc is complete, there is no reason for her to come back. It's ok for a character to be one and done."

Sure, that's fair, but I also ask, what makes a character one and done? Who decides that? Certainly not you, a random redditor. Also, I'd argue that her arc is not complete until we see her become an agent, thanks.

"Why would they bring her back instead of Carlos/Jake/Billy/Rebecca?"

Why can't we have both? Why would Ashley's return negate the possibility of the legacy characters returning?

Idk why it was offensive to them to suggest that Ashley might come back. The "that's never gonna happen" crowd is always so confident for a franchise like RE. It's not completely outside of the realm of possibility. The thing is, Capcom can be random like that. Who thought that they would bring back Alyssa Ashcroft, out of all the characters? No one predicted that, Alyssa didn't necessarily have a discord fan base dedicated to her. But she was still returned.

On the flip side, hugely popular characters disappeared for years. Characters who have every reason to return, didn't. Why? Idk, Capcom logic.

So maybe... popularity isn't the only indicator of who they decide to bring back?

We all know that in those polls we've seen, Ashley doesn't even make the top five most popular. I mean she is pretty popular but not top five popular.

It just makes me shake my head when people are SO SURE that something isn't gonna happen. There is no such thing as not happening in RE universe, only least likely or most likely. But the possibility is never zero. If Capcom finds a way, if it fits their story, they'd bend the rules to do it. We've all played RE9, yeah?

I mean, this is the series that brought back Wesker in the form of Zeno. But you draw the line at Ashley returning? Like, that's the thing you can't wrap your head around?

I don't know if that works in her favor, but I'm just saying, that people who are dismissing it as something that's never gonna happen aren't necessarily right. It's least likely, but not 100% guaranteed.

I mean unless they work for Capcom and they've actually seen the script for RE10, RE11, etc..., in that case, I eat my words.

But not today. No thanks. Keep your speculations to yourselves lol

By the way, when someone says they want this character to come back and they're not talking shit about other characters, why does it offend people? Why do they have to squash their hope? What is it to you if they hope for something to happen in a fandom that they escape to? If we dont have hope in this God forsaken world, then idk what else we have.

Ok that got deep but you know I mean.

What I can reasonably infer:

-Ashley's semi-recent appearance in 4make and her character makeover may mean they are planning to use her in the future. Whether that plan comes to fruition is a huge question mark

-Whether they like her or not, she is forever connected to Leon as one his biggest success stories (if not the biggest)

-Capcom doesn't seem to "bend" to fans' will, they only see dollar signs. And Ashley is tied to one of the highest selling RE games.

-Ashley's thread is there, ready and available, they just need to continue it if they want to

Tl;dr: No one can predict if a character is returning or not. While I think an Ashley return is least likely to happen (because then they need a good story to tell but I'm not sure it's a priority), it's not entirely impossible either. Popularity is not the only indicator of whether a character will return. Capcom logic. Remember that.

[heartcookie4]

I be minding my own business on a Tuesday afternoon having a normal day and then my brain suddenly reminds me of that time I told Nick Apostolides (yea that one) to “fuck off” right to his face, in person.

Anyway

[heartcookie4]

My new hc is that Leon got so ridiculously jacked in RE9 because, in his mind, protecting Ashley is his job now. At this point, she doesn’t have secret service protection anymore. And he still thinks someone could potentially harm her.

So Leon, because he is who he is, assesses the situation and goes, "fine, then I’ll be enough."

He trains harder, gets bigger, stronger, more dangerous. Because if anything ever comes for her again, he wants absolute certainty that they have no chance of getting past him.

(And let's face it, he enjoys being ogled by his hot wife 👀)

But you might ask, "ok, if he's so concerned for her safety, why did he leave her to investigate Elbridge and eventually Raccoon City?"

Because in his mind, if he doesn't do what he does, then the world is less safe, therefore she is less safe.

And Ashley, she's painfully aware of how much worse he operates when he's worried for her, she agrees (reluctantly) to stay at a DSO safe house or something while he's away so he can actually focus. She thinks it's over the top but she doesn't argue with him, she understands that he doesn't mess around when it comes to her safety.

Aaand, folks, that's why he got jacked in RE9, thank you, good night.

[heartcookie4]

Thinking about Leon and Ashley on their wedding night and Ashley getting all soft like “I married my hero…”

And Leon just looks at her softly and goes,

"well… I married mine.”

[heartcookie4]

"Leon is not a dom! He's a sub! Stop mischaracterizing him!"

"Leon is not a sub! He takes control!"

"He'll never say/do that!"

No no no no...

I don't give a fuck what you think he's like in bed. What is this gatekeeping bullshit in 2026!

Leon is whoever I want him to be. In my house, he is a sub, he is a dom, he is a womanizer, he is an awkward flirt. He can be all of them.

Okay, I don't care what he's like in the games, I played all of them. Do not care.

He's a doll to be played with. Stop fucking telling me how to enjoy him. Thank you for listening to my TED talk.

[heartcookie4]

Anyone else not even remotely excited for the RE9 DLC?

Like, idk, maybe because the whole ship wars killed the hype for me.

I kinda don't care about it, because my fave isn't gonna be in it. I might make an exception if Chris/Jill shows up. Anyone else, don't care.

Doesn't help that RE9 isn't my favorite game. Not even in my top 5 RE games. It didn't quite grab me the way RE2 remake and RE4 remake did. I'd rather play RE6 again for the gameplay, than replay RE9.

Leon's really stupid gorgeous in it, and Grace is cool, but that's about it. I can't even bring myself to finish a replay, it feels like a chore. I stop having fun mid game and I don't pick it back up.

But it's very possible that I feel this way because the whole time I was playing it, I was experiencing first trimester symptoms lol

Still, I'm not excited for the DLC. The whole ship wars had me so bitter, I don't even give a fuck what happens in it. I'll probably just watch it on YouTube, I'm sure someone will spoil it. But I won't be buying it right away, maybe wait until it goes on sale.

Stupid fan service. So tired. If Capcom is gonna break my heart then I'd rather not pay money for it.

[thememedaddy]

[heartcookie4]

I showed this meme to my husband, just one of the hundred memes I show him on a daily basis, and I was laughing at first bc I was genuinely confused.

I was like, "why did he say he's ugly, what does that have to do with anything? So stupid"

He gave me the side eye and went, "you really don't get it?"

I was like, "no, bro! Why can't he just ask for extra ranch, it's not hard, like who cares if he's ugly, is he joking or what"

He was like, "no, he's not joking. People don't usually get what they ask for when they're ugly. Or they have to pay extra. It's a real thing."

I laughed again because I thought he was fucking with me.

"What the fuck are you talking about, restaurants can't reject customers based on their appearance? That's their job, to serve customers."

I argued with him back and forth, truly confused.

"So you're saying if I asked for extra sauce on the side at a restaurant, they won't give it to me if I'm ugly?"

He said, "Yes. Not always, but normally they expect to be rejected."

Then I went, "Ive never been rejected at a restaurant and I'm not attractive."

He said, "why do you think you always get what you want when you ask for it?"

(It's been a running joke between us that I "always" get what I want: late checkout, free seat upgrade on a plane, free this and that. He held this belief because he witnessed it several times. Of course I get rejected too, a lot! But he still thinks I'm a lucky charm or something, so now he makes me talk to customer service everytime we need something lol)

Anyway I went, "because I'm nice. Because I ask nicely and I'm polite. I say please and thank you."

(I know this is such a sheltered stance but I truly believe that being nice/polite still matters)

He laughed, condescendingly so.

"No. It's because you're pretty. Pretty people get what they want"

"That's not it. People just gotta ask nicely."

"They do, but if you're ugly you don't get it for free"

At first I thought my husband was fucking with me. But he was dead serious. So I was genuinely outraged at this point.

"Well what the fuck, that makes no sense, it shouldn't matter if you're ugly, if you're a customer, you deserve to be treated with respect"

"You're telling me"

So now I don't know what to do with this information. I think I was amazed that my husband understood it right away, like he nodded, "makes sense", while I was like, what the hell? Why did he say he was ugly, I don't get why it's relevant? She just wanted extra ranch! #justicefordoordashdriver

I'd be lying if I say I didn't laugh at the "I'm sorry?" response.

Girl, me too.