#but hey this is where i'm at in my og playthrough so that's what you get

[sapphire-weapon]

Hey you know that time when Ashley rescues Leon from the cage and he softly asks her to drop down so he can catch her? Well there's a ladder up where Ashley was, it would've been more convenient for her to get that so that he can also easily access that floor and yet he still asked for that... Leon absolutely saw that ladder and ofc he just wanted an excuse to hold her, like the way he was smiling looking at her in that moment C'mon.

Huh!! You know, I didn't even think of that.

But it makes sense now that you've said that, because my initial reaction the very first time I watched that scene and heard him say that was a brow-furrowed, taken aback "uhhh..."

Because there's just something about the way that Nick delivers that line that felt very reminiscent to me of like... the kind of way you would try to bribe a child? LMAO like "I'm going to offer you a thing that I already know you like as a reward for doing something for me." That kind of tone.

I still kind of feel that way when I hear it, too. Like it feels very much like "hey~ I'm deliberately offering this because I know you like it~"

And it always seemed so weird to me tonally, because it was like ... Leon, she already did the thing, you no longer have to try to bribe her, you NEVER had to bribe her, what are you even trying to accomplish LMAO

But to think that he was actually projecting in that moment makes it make so much more sense. RE4make does a lot to spotlight the way that Leon self-isolates and how incredibly fucking lonely it makes him as a result.

Like. Examples of Leon self-isolating in RE4make would be:

in the intro where he talks about how military training kept him from worrying about the s-word that he refuses to say or even acknowledge (Sherry)

him basically refusing to talk to Luis when they're chained up together, even though Luis is clearly trying to be friendly at first

Ada having to pull a conversation out of him on the boat because he won't volunteer his thoughts or feelings to her

KEEPING HIS PLAGA A FUCKING SECRET LMAO DEAR LORD, LEON

It's hardly an exhaustive list, but. You get it.

And the only person who he ever lets through that barrier is Ashley, even though it scares him to do it at first. (He won't even say "yes" out loud when Ashley asks him "you too?" re: his plaga, and his tense, terrified nodding is literally everything oh my god)

But it could have only ever been Ashley, because it all goes back to that very first time he caught her out of that church window and just held her. I find it so interesting that we don't see his face during that time where he just stands there, holding her, before he even turns his head to look at her. I've talked about this before, but he was very likely having A Moment there, because this was probably the first time in six years that he's held someone. It's the first truly vulnerable moment he has, and he has it completely involuntarily.

So then we go back to the scene in question, and you have to imagine the sheer terror and anxiety that was probably coursing through him the entire time she was out of his sight -- because all he could do was wait, and there was no way of knowing how long he'd be waiting or how long would be too long. And the whole time his brain was probably just going "she's dead she's dead she's dead she's fucking dead she's fucking DEAD and you killed her, you killed her by getting caught, you fucked this up like you always fuck it up and she's fucking dead" and to be completely fair to Leon's anxiety, in my first playthrough, she absolutely was fucking dead. 100%. over and over again. because my stupid ass was literally too stupid to realize that her lantern can be used defensively.

And then the sheer overwhelming relief when he sees her again, alive and well and about to save his ass.

Of course he would want to hold her. Of course he would. And, in OG, if you remember -- he did. He gave her a full-on, real-ass hug after her section in OG.

And now I'm kind of wondering if his offer to catch her was actually a callback to that hug in OG. He didn't offer to catch her because it was something that he knew she liked -- he did it because it was something that he knew he liked, and it was probably something that he needed in that moment. But it was framed as him offering it for her sake because he self-isolates and the only comfort he's allowed himself to have leading up to this has been holding her after a catch and HOLY FUCK ANON I DID NOT EXPECT TO HAVE SUCH A MAJOR FUCKIN BREAKTHRU WHEN I STARTED ANSWERING THIS ASK LMAO

#resident evil 4 #leon kennedy #ashley graham #meta analysis #this is why i'm so grateful that y'all send me asks #especially as much as you do #i would've never gotten here if i'd just been left to meta on my own #leon/ashley fandom are the true MVPs when it comes to analyzing leon's character in RE4make #holy fuck bros

[alitgblog]

volume x thoughts

so much drama so many CHALLENGES i relate to max wanting to take a nap this is exhausting for MC but me? oh I'm living for this shit

my MC was honest to Jin but I have a feeling that might mean nothing because I think the betrayal is worse she cheated on him with Claudia who she has potential romantic feelings for rather than Max, just some guy she's barely talked to and switched to relatively last minute

but oh him being cold to her this episode 🥲🥲🥲

I of course mean this is the best way bc that's better writing than him being like oh well and then moving on

so I know I did defend Sienna last week and while her style does feel out of place, I appreciate them trying to give people different styles. At least it's not Oakley looking like he's got three layers on in the heat 🫢. that being said: I know that I haven't paid for one of the nicer sleepwear options yet but also Sienna who are you to talk about fashion

moving on, I do wish Max would get the hint because as soon as we entered casa MC has been like uhh Max, who? but he's acting like they have something and tbh while it is a branching issue, I've also just been playing this season weird and I kinda think it would happen anyway. like it feels like in s2 post casa when a bunch of the guys start acting the same.

actually most routes need to close sooner if the player chooses so because I think Hari and Hazel are cute but he needs to figure his shit out with MC soon especially since they've barely talked and he hasn't really pulled her aside to talk about where they stand. And I think Hari is a good LI bc he has his own personality (since his route isn't merged like OG boys or casa boys) but he's shoved in the background so much I almost forget he's there. But I think his story would be interesting bc he didn't get time with MC and he likes Hazel, but is genuinely struggling between the two (versus OG boy who doesn't like Sienna). And that's also fun bc from what I remember he comes off as someone who has it all figured out bc he's very driven and competitive and knows what he wants (but now he doesn't know what he wants). but again, unfortunately not much screen time for him.

back on the topic of routes needing to close though: MC getting randomly flirted at by Theo?? Claudia is confused by that, and so am I. reminds me of S4 when I first played I didn't go for Will but he just up and randomly was like hey we have a connection, right? and I was like uhhhh

also a small thing but I wish the little gossip drama things were more organic? like why do emel and Oakley have to run to pull MC aside to chat about drama when they could be chatting and MC comes up to them bc they're friends. Also it seems like every time this sort of thing happens it comes with a scene change which is so unnecessary. I'm OK with it sometimes but it feels like too much is going on when we are just sitting by the pool for ten lines of dialogue then flash to the beanbags only to get offered a gem scene that I might not even listen to. (actually bigger complaint: stop hiding the important content behind paywalls!!)

so snog, marry, pie. literally every proposal I was like gasp really?? but yes. everyone's in love with her she can't help it.

no but literally, again, Theo what are you doing? we've barely talked. for my playthrough this is gonna just be a friendship proposal. and if I had that much freedom with the proposal speech I would've proposed to him back.

if this was the show, there would be a recoupling and Liam would pick Sienna and Bea would be slighted but get over him, except this leaves her vulnerable either single or in a friendship couple and then eventually dumped before Liam leaves and it's really sad but she becomes an audience favorite. so if this happens that's my hc. I however do still hope Claudia and Bea leave their men regardless if MC couples with them because I mean....

OK it's just a kiss but still I just need them to be happy and Claudia seems bored of men and Bea needs a hero to save her from Liam

so I had my MC kiss max on the cheek, marry Jin, and pie Liam (on behalf of Bea and also bc he's a jerk). Then she got the extra pie, and listen all my the options for the extra pie were so good. I wanted to pie Liam again or get Emel just for fun but had to go to Sienna for continuing to be smug and delusional about Jin.

so after this, you get the option to hear about the gossip from the night before from Oakley and Emel. and there's some continuity errors about what happened when. like it makes it seem like there should've been another night passed after the challenge, but no it just continues. I personally wouldn't mind I my there were some time skips. gives me space to hc what happens during them and also implies a night has passed without writing it, It doesn't make the most sense bc you'd want to know what your character is experiencing but it's just another option in.

another reason is bc we very quickly get another challenge! which means two challenges in one day and presumably that night (in the next volume) it's movie night.

im upset that it's couple goals 2.0 bc (1) i don't love repeat games and (2) love island has another game which is basically the same thing which is the ranking game where they essentially do couple superlatives and as a group have to come to a consensus about first second and third. and we have so many couples we could do it. it also is such a drama stirring game which seems like the goal here.

at some point we stopped getting the option to vote which is such a shame bc I would've voted Hari and Hazel for more things. And then hazel gets sad afterwards? babe I'd vote for you if I could 🥺

oh but MC telling off Sienna??? icon behavior

very little Claudia romance this volume unfortunately. and then not a lot of talking to Max either despite them allegedly having the best banter. however I'm living for all the chats with Jin. I'm like a toddler with no object permanence: like oh, Claudia isnt talking to me? guess I'm on back on a Jin route

also I was living for every chat she had with Jin, like they make him sound so sweet to MC

I still think having OG boy and MC be single and forced to switch was a bad choice because similar to my last post, they could've just not done that and changed very little. Like Jin was scared and switched to Sienna would've been fine but as soon as MC is back he's all about her (which happens a lot in the show). I guess the downside of this, now in retrospect, is you don't get the tension between OG boy and Casa boy because that was also so so good this volume.

#litg #litg s8 #rambling #i cant believe im so invested in this season and not in a “god i hate this game” sort of way

[withoutanumber]

≫ starter for @vctlan

It was no surprise that Cloud couldn’t sleep, with the events of the day previous.  He could still feel the cold, cold water around his waist as he had carried Aerith out into the lake to let her go, still feel the numbness that accompanied the bitter cold.  He knew he should be sad, and he was, but not to the extent he should have been.  Right now, he was just angry.  Angry and scared.

He didn’t know how Sephiroth was controlling him, forcing Cloud’s body and mind to do his bidding.  He didn’t understand why it was only him and not anyone else.  All he knew was that, no matter how scared he was, no matter how he didn’t understand this other person within himself, forced into doing Sephiroth’s bidding, he couldn’t stop now.  He had to stop Sephiroth at any and all costs.

It was still the middle of the night when he crawled out of the old bedroom of the broken down house in the City of the Ancients.  The others seemed to be sleeping, maybe not peacefully, but well enough.  Everyone except for one other person, it seemed.

He found Barret just outside the house, sitting on a rock and rubbing a cloth over his gun arm.  Some sort of maintenance, Cloud supposed.  Rubbing the back of his head, he sat down across the path from Barret and looked up at the stars.  He thought about Aerith’s reaction to the stars the first time she had seen them outside the city.

He didn’t want to think about that any longer.

“Can’t sleep, huh?” he said, as a way to clear his head.

#vctlan #001; vetlan #v: [ headed for a breakdown ] #that got out of hand #but hey this is where i'm at in my og playthrough so that's what you get #:(

[eruriholic]

Hello! I just want share my feelings about the ending of Remake. I'm really bothered by it, tbh. Should I even trust Nomura on directing this considering his obsession with timelines? I'm now concerned with my favorite scenes in the OG like the Under the Highwind and Cloud and Tifa in the Lifestream. 😥

Hey there Nonnie! I didn’t expect my response to be so long, so I’ve placed it under the cut. I hope this helps!

I’m gonna be honest with you, after my first watch of the ending, all I felt was pure amazement and nostalgia for the game. A little confusion, yes, but it was mostly overshadowed by the positive emotions that filled me, most especially in how satisfying it was to watch Tifa in the entire game. It was afterwards when I started to watch people’s analysis videos and saw everyone’s mixed reactions that I also grew anxious and scared of what the ending meant for the game.

It was just as Aerith said in the ending of Part 1 - how she misses the steel sky. The dull metal of the plates above the slums was always a constant, and in the constant we find comforting familiarity. There is nothing scary when you know just what you are staring at. But now the team is literally out in the open, walking under a boundless blue sky – the endless possibilities, the unknown, and it is without a doubt, frightening. Not just for the characters, but for us fans who now, after decades of knowing the story, are faced with blank pages and the ghosts of what already came to be. I also started to think of so many what ifs, so many ways to make this already complicated story even more complicated and angsty. I also felt troubled and scared, and it ruined how I had enjoyed the Remake. Also, adding timelines just somehow takes away what’s special about the game – if it didn’t workout here, it doesn’t matter because so and so could’ve happened in this timeline – and I just really am not a fan of that (no matter how much I love the best puppy boy Zack Fair).

I thought real hard about this – no way will I let the ending affect the sky-high I was on (and still am) while watching the playthroughs and rewatching all my favorite scenes. And then I came to this answer: despite all the worries stated above, there is something that I think we can all put our hopes on - the  treatment and writing of Tifa and Cloud’s relationship.

I remember in an interview, the writer, Nojima, said there were so many things he wrote for the OG that didn’t make the final product. Nojima is widely known to love Tifa’s character, as does the then character designer and now director of the remake, Nomura. We were blessed with so many Cloti scenes that weren’t in OG, from the subtle to blatant, in words of support and comfort and even more in action. NPCs were even used here and there to remind the player of how Tifa is special or important to Cloud. Their relationship is treated with so much care, referenced even when Tifa is not around in a chapter. I do believe this slowburn is the story Nojima wanted to write, maybe had already written but was watered down for technical or practical reasons in the OG.

And when Tifa said in “Alone At Last” that it’s funny how they went their separate ways and they think they wouldn’t see each other again, but here of all places they meet again?? That, to me, was Nojima writing that Tifa and Cloud would always find their way back to each other, because their fates are inextricably linked to each other. This is even fortified when Cloud decides to stay even when his job is done, all because of Tifa. 

I also strongly believe that no matter what changes the ending of Remake will be opening to, Tifa will always be the key to bringing back the real Cloud and repairing his fractured mind. She is the only one among them who grew up with him and can prove he is Cloud of Nibelheim, she is first and foremost the start of his journey when he decided to be strong enough to protect her. Cloud finds himself through her, Tifa successfully reconstructs her own memories through him, and they grow stronger together and because of each other. (Pls excuse me I’m crying at this point) Also, unearthing Cloud’s memories is the key to revealing the Nibelheim Incident, which is also Tifa’s origin story and the birth of the villain Sephiroth. This is a very important turning point and a core story element that it will be very odd to erase it. Also it has been set up that there is a metaphysical Cloud who isn’t the one we’re following in the story – the real Cloud who appears in his subconscious to support him when he falls down from Mako Reactor 5, at the start of Chapter 8.

(I also have an idea in mind about how the Lifestream scene will go if it will be altered/enhanced in the next instalment??? If in Part 2 Aerith lives, she will be the one to help open the way to the Lifestream, and as the number one supporter of Cloti she tells her something like “This is all I can do. The rest is up to you. You’re the only one who can do this.”)

Also, that iconic scene in which Tifa cries, and Cloud cannot find the words to comfort her, but embraces her instead and assures her that crying isn’t pointless? That, I think, screams “Words aren’t the only way to tell someone how you feel”. That was Highwind before the Highwind. If they already outdid themselves in the Midgar Arc where in the OG there weren’t a lot of key Cloti scenes, I think they just might take it up a notch in Part 2.

The Remake really was such a wonderful thing, and despite how the ending made me feel, I can’t help but be hopeful in the writing that has always, time and again, brought Tifa and Cloud together. Also, as Nojima said, when he wrote AC as the follow-up to the OG, he said that he knew “Tifa and Cloud would be together” in the end. Coming from the writer himself, I think the story is in the best hands.

About Nomura, I decided I will have faith in his love for Tifa to do right by her character. The only thing I wish for is for her to be treated the same way as Cloud when they encounter Sephiroth. She literally had the same journey as he did, and her life was drastically changed by the Nibelheim incident.

So there you have it, those are my thoughts about the ending, which I hope can extend some positivity your way. Sorry if this was too long!

#cloti #anon #asks #thank you for asking me this! #this helped me get my thoughts in order #tifa lockhart #cloud strife #ffviir #holic.txt #Anonymous