#named after the gun he has in RE2

[serrennedyanonwriter]

Not related to my last post at all, but Leon is such a Lucario guy. I can’t explain it, but as a Lucario person, I just know he is.

[navstuffs]

Traffic stop

Pairing: Rookie!Leon Kennedy x BustyF!Reader

Summary: Your sports bra malfunctions during a traffic stop with a shy rookie cop.

Warnings: au obvs, happens in raccoon city, wrote with a busty reader in mind but anyone can read it, shy!leon, accidental exposure, suggestive themes, speeding (DRIVE SAFE PEOPLE!!)

Author's Notes: kudos to my husband for giving me the idea/title. if anyone would like to write a smut version of this, i also wouldn't mind, just let me know! i do have another plan for re2 leon in works cause he is my baby. hope you enjoy your reading!

my leon's masterlist | part 2

It is still hot, you think as you exit the gym after an exhausting leg day. You decide to wear your sports bra while driving home since your car's air conditioner has not worked since you bought it. You always think you will have money to fix it or even buy a new car, but you must work with what you have now.

You sigh, throwing your bag and your shirt on the backseat. The pain in your legs will only worsen, so you decide to drive fast to get home, shower, and relax. And oh, yes, hope the wind provides some sort of comfort on your face. Placing your sunglasses in your eyes, you start going, mentally praying you wouldn't see any cop.

But of course, this isn't your lucky day.

Not even ten minutes on the road, the sound of the siren from a car of Raccoon City P.D. is behind you. You groan an audible no, asking mentally what you did to deserve this.

"Perfect. Great," Your murmur.

You pull into a nearby parking lot, take the paperwork from the glove compartment and throw it in the passenger seat, the air already getting stagnant inside the car, making you sweat.

Your eyes roam to the rearview mirror, wondering where the heck that cop was, when you notice the zipper of your sports bra is half open. You attempt to zip it, but it immediately unzips it again, leaving half of your cleavage exposed. You think it doesn't look bad, so you leave it alone. It is not like you were driving topless anyway.

With droplets of sweat on your forehead, you see the cop coming out in your driver-side mirror. Finally, you think as he takes his sweet time to get to you. He looks young. He seems to take a breath before walking to your car, pulling his pants up and his other hand on his gun, and even someone who doesn't understand anything about cops would know this guy is a rookie.

He approaches slowly and carefully, analyzing your old car, and when he finally stops by your window, the first thing you catch is a pair of innocent blue eyes. Staring right at you.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." You read the name tag Leon Kennedy as his eyes go from your face to your sports bra half open. Officer Leon probably has a great view since your car is on the lower side. He gulps, you don't know if nervousness or something else, then stares directly above your head.

"Afternoon."

"Do you know how fast you were going?" Oh, this one is definitely a rookie, with his voice still showing some nervousness.

"Yeap, I know."

You really don't want to prolong this more than it should, and the way Leon Kennedy seems to stare everywhere except you proves he wants the same.

"Look. I was just trying to get home. Just issue the ticket, and I will be on my way. I will behave, I promise."

That clearly sounded more seductive than you meant to be. You don't judge yourself as a woman who could get out of a ticket by flirting; honestly, you didn't care at this moment. Your whole body is getting sweaty and sticky, with a few drops of sweat coming down from your neck, and your legs are literally pulsating with pain. It is worth trying.

And just for the right timing, you feel a single drop of sweat coming down from your neck to your cleavage. Leon Kennedy's blue eyes follow the trail until the drop disappears inside your bra top, and he gulps, licking his lips.

Well, you may be one of those women who can get away from a ticket by flirting.

"License and breas��� I mean, car registration, please."

Leon thanks mentally you don't seem to hear his mispronunciation. You grunt, impatience, turning to grab your documents for Leon. When you turn back at him to hand them, your zipper finally gives up, opening it up completely. It is a nice feeling at first, the same feeling you have from having your boobs released after a long day.

For a moment, you both don't move, too mortified. Officer Leon Kennedy is now staring, really staring, at your boobs. He doesn't even attempt to look away, his face entirely red as a tomato. Your immediate reaction is to try to close the zipper, but it seems it had enough. Leon finally turns around, mumbling an apology.

"I am sorry, I am so sorry, Officer!" You groan as you give up on zipping, going for the shirt under your bag in the back seat. 

"It-it is fine!" Leon rushes to say, his voice going high a few tones. If this wasn't embarrassing as it was, you would have laughed at the poor rookie's reaction. But now, great, you were probably going to be arrested for public indecency. You finally find a towel, a medium one, that might work. You cover yourself as best as you can.

After Leon gives you a few moments of privacy, he turns back to face you, and you know, by the expression on his face, you are doomed. You were probably getting arrested for trying to seduce a cop-out of a ticket. 

"You can go, ma'am."

"What? Like that?" You wonder before stopping yourself.

"Well, y-yeah. I can see you have much bigger problems to deal with it. Have a good day."

Leon gives you one good final look, a strange glow in his eyes. It seems he wants to say something else, but the moment passes. Leon gives you a slight smirk, his face still red, and walks back to his car.

You watch Leon drive away, your gazes somewhat crossing before he disappears into traffic. You sigh, the external heat forgotten, hoping this isn't your last encounter with Leon Kennedy.

[biird-rot]

Leon Kennedy is Autistic: An Analysis by an Autistic Person

DISCLAIMER: This post and all the points I make are highly based on my OWN experiences. I often find parallels between my experiences as a disabled individual and characters I love to help me better cope with and process my feelings. Hate will not be tolerated!!!

Before I get started, I’d like to say that this is not even me scratching the SURFACE of the things I could analyze about Leon and apply to various autistic experiences, this is mostly just the things that resonate with me the most.

Parallel Play/Preferring to Work Alone

It could be attributed to trauma, and the fact he works in a government agency, but Leon has always been the flying solo type. Missions in which it would be better if multiple people worked on it (RE4) HOWEVER! Whenever he does work with others, he often goes off on his own and leaves whoever he's with to deal with what's there (DI, Leon going off immediately after being vaccinated by Rebecca)

Difficulty Communicating/Identifying Emotions

This also plays into the difficulty making friends and maintaining friendships aspect of being autistic. There isn't any direct/obvious representations of this occurring in the franchise, but it can be inferred based upon his interaction with Chris and Rebecca in RE: Vendetta when the two try to recruit Leon on their mission because of the intel he has on the type of BOWs they're dealing with. Speaking of RE: Vendetta, it can also be noted that Leon copes with his inability to cope with/regulate his emotions by drinking, and this is a habit he always had. In fact, he's essentially hung over in RE2, having drunk his feelings away after being broken up with the night before the Raccoon City incident, and he is literally drinking on the job in Damnation. Essentially, he's canonically an alcoholic. As an autistic person, sometimes I would turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with my emotional dysregulation, especially when I was unaware that I was autistic.

Leon isn't a very emotional person in general, again, It could be chalked up to trauma, but lack of emotional expression is also a common experience/trait amongst autistics.

“Inappropriate” Responses to Situations

GODDDD this one is SO prominent in RE4R (hell, even the OG), Infinite Darkness actually everything he's in, I can name at LEAST 2 examples of this. To keep this short, I'll just name ones that I relate painfully hard to, and ones that I find hilarious.

To start, WHENEVR HE JUST SAYS "ok 🧍" in response to an emotional moment. RE2R, when Claire introduces him to Sherry, in RE4R, when Ashley hugs him and expresses her relief that he's okay, and in Infinite Darkness whenever he checks up on Patrick after the White House Outbreak. It never fails to make me lose it because he's just like me fr.

Thists a sillier one, but I want to mention it because it's so mecore.

Thank you to @highball66 for doing the lord's work of translating the Death Island manga yall seriously he’s a legend🙏

When Leon sends selfies of him on missions. That's it. He just sends it to Hunnigan and I think it's great.

Sensory Issues

Okay, I KNOW LEON IS A GOVERNMENT AGENT AND NEEDS SOME LEVEL OF GEAR ON MISSIONS BUT!!!!! Half the time he isn't even wearing a full set, not even a bullet proof vest. HOWEVER, I did notice that one thing he CONSISTENTLY wears (with the exception of a few instances) is GLOVES!!! This is more of a personal headcannon, but I like to think he's sensitive to texture, especially when handling guns and such, so he wears gloves, so it doesn't feel as terrible. To further back up his sensitivity to texture, in Death Island, after the Dylan BOW explodes and splashes water everywhere, Chris doesn't seem to care about being covered in water while Leon is flicking the water off him.

Literal Thinking - Coming off as Rude/Inappropriate Unintentionally

GODDDDD this is another big one, but I’ll only cover the ones that I relate to a lot to save time. Starting with his initial encounter with Jill in Death Island, they’re being chased by lickers and…well..this interaction

Exhibit B: This scene. He’s just so nonchalant about it and I do the exact same thing without like…intentionally being a “smartass” or whatever, I’m just being honest 🧍. Jill’s “Oh😒” at the end of the scene is really what made it hit home, because that’s how people typically react when i have a similar interaction with them

ANOTHER THING!!! All of the instances in which Leon casually asks “so you wanna get dinner?” Or something along those lines. It’s often interpreted as a poor attempt at flirting, but personally, I think he genuinely just wants food, and he doesn’t understand why ppl are like 🤨 when he asks. He just wants a nice dinner with a nice lady :(

Hyper-empathy

Small disclaimer here, autism is a SPECTRUM. And our empathy levels fluctuate every day. In Leon’s case, I see him being hyper-empathetic, much like myself. And being able to empathize so easily with people is incredibly draining. Additionally, a huge thing that is common among autistics is how we tend to respond to people who are sharing their struggles with us sharing our OWN experiences that are similar to theirs, and it often comes off as egocentric and selfish to “make it about us”, but in reality, that’s our way of saying that we understand what you’re going through, and it helps us process how you may be feeling as well. There are many scenes I could pull from, but I want to talk about one specifically in Infinite Darkness since it resonates so much with me:

The scene within ID in which Jason is having a nightmare, and Leon wakes him up, immediately asking him if he wants to talk about it. Jason recalls the nightmare and his trauma about Penamstan to Leon, and says that he has no idea what it was like, and Leon responds talking about his experience in Raccoon City, and how that affected him similarly

Special Interests & Using Media to Communicate Feelings

There are many aspects of this I could talk about, but I’ve already written 10 pages worth already in this post, so I’ll speed through it.

Personally, I think Leon has a special interest in film! He makes several references throughout the franchise, many of which are overlooked. Personally, my favorite reference he makes is in RE: Vendetta to Pulp Fiction (I think) when Chris and Rebecca confront him during his “vacation”

Final Notes/Conclusion

I had to cut a LOT out from my original mini-essay I wrote about this to fit it better on here, and make it not as boring to read lmao, but I hope you enjoyed my silly little analysis! I love being able to relate my experiences to others, fictional or otherwise, as it helps me feel less alone, and be able to process and cope with what makes my disability a…well, a disability. I hope fellow autistics find some solace in this as well, and please let me know your additional thoughts about this topic if you’re a fellow autistic Leon Kennedy headcannoner!!!

[noowayybroo]

Leon x ImpliedF!Creature!Reader - little drabble (SFW)

Ok so like imagine if YOU are the bioweapon / demon / creature whatever, but of course you're a little more humanoid... Humanoid enough for Leon to perhaps... catch feelings...? I was minding my business trying to do coursework when this lodged itself in my brain, mostly older Leon. *drools*

Warnings: Reader is described as monstrous, and called names like "princess" and "Beautiful" but it's more of a coping mechanism for Leon. Mentions of violence, fear and death. Mentions of guns and things. Leon is technically there to kill you. (But he can't)

Leon might call you things like pretty, beautiful, princess etc mockingly so sorry it's implied that the reader is female or at least feminine in appearance, but he could also just be mocking you if you are masculine idk. This is just how deliciously I think some of the Leons would react to seeing / being cornered by a creature heheh.

Re2 Leon:

-Could either be before, after or instead of Raccoon City because no amount of zombies and lickers could prepare him for you.

-He does have a weapon: a gun which he shakily holds towards you. He's so soft and pliable he may as well be handing his firearm to you. Certainly not a threat. You're huge and he doesn't know where to aim, at your head, at your chest, maybe at a leg? It's all a blur to him. His head spins.

-His eyes are wide, sweat sticking his fringe to his forehead as he slowly steps back, seconds away from stumbling. Once he presses himself against a cold wall, as cold as he fears he might be in a few minutes, he swallows hard.

-He's babbling, praying. Begging. Hoping that somehow you might understand him, and should you do so, that you'd let him go. You hadn't attacked him yet, so maybe there was a chance.

-You looked so... big. So imposing. He imagined bullets feeling like splinters to your toughened skin. But the way you stood so still, picturesque, almost like a statue, it had him questioning what was going on inside your head.

-Your lack of movement has him pinned, and his breath slowly calms after the initial shock of seeing you. He can see it in your eyes- the calculated cunning. The hunger. He expects you to lunge at him at any second.

-"So this is what mice feel like" he thinks to himself, voice and heartbeat astoundingly loud in his ears, but he dares not say anything aloud. He doesn't want to tempt you... or to infuriate you.

-He would run. Holy shit he wants to run, but one look at your legs and he knows he's toast. So, he decides to stay as still as possible. Maybe if he makes himself look friendly, you'll go easy. You certainly weren't tearing him to shreds... yet.

-After a while of you continuing to stand there, he slowly lowers his gun.

Perhaps staying still and acting docile really did better his chances.

Perhaps that's what you were waiting for.

Re4 Leon:

-Also has his gun trained on you from the get-go, but his eyes are sharper. He scrutinises you, looking for that sweet spot. He's ready to strike and plans on doing so before you can.

-He takes in your form, memorising it. Perhaps he'll be made to fight something like you again. He notes how your eyes follow the barrel of his gun as it slowly drifts its aim between your vital organs. So you're somewhat intelligent.

-You twitch a muscle, and he straightens his aim, demeanour becoming more serious. He's done playing now. Your stillness threw him off for a second. He licks his lips and tenses, staring right down the barrel. But he's not sure what a bullet would even do to you. It might just infuriate you if anything.

-So he wants to see what you can do, because he's seen nothing like you before. He can see those talons of yours, ready to strike at close proximity. If he has any chance of taking you down, he should probably do so from a distance. Lickers taught him that.

-He notes the way your eyes widen just a smidge as he takes one step back. And more when he takes another. But you're not just observant. You're excited. He can see that hunger in your eyes. So that's what you want. A chase.

-He indulges, fighting the sly smile that his own exhilaration leaves on his lips. "Hope you can keep up, big guy!" He calls out to you, already turn-tailing it in the opposite direction.

-You had gone tense all over, almost holding your breath. Excited, thrilled to be able to chase him, and now, he'd finally given you the opportunity. But as he leaves you in the dust, you stay still. You knew you'd catch up easily. It's fun to watch him run. More useful to have him exert himself.

-Actually falls for it, and for a while thinks you won't chase him until he hears heavy, bounding steps after him. Things suddenly got a lot more real, and you're gaining on him fast. He swallows down hard and scans his surroundings, improvising on how to kill, or at least, lose you.

-For now, though, he'll let you enjoy this chase. He's hoping it'll be your last.

Re4 + (umbrellla term cuz Ik nothing abt older leon canon wise):

-Almost sick of life, he takes a minute to eye you up and down with a 'really?' look, as if he's fed up of finding new things that want to kill him. His eyebrow raises in disbelief before his gun does.

"Well... Who do we have here then?" His tone is flat, rhetorical. Underlying, though, there is some curiosity.

-Glares at you, silently, pathetically, willing you not to move. He's fighting back a strange bubbling excitement. He's faced so many weird and cool, deadly creatures just like you, but none have been quite as captivating as you. He could tell you were intelligent by the way you eyed his finger on the trigger. He could see you were strong and likely fast just by looking at you.

-And he hadn't seen claws like that on anything but a licker. In his twisted mind, you were a bit like a licker that left the skin and some of your personality on, and for that he was grateful. He lets out a low chuckle and without hesitation aims his gun straight between your eyes.

-His teeth grit. He's ready to shoot. He's not too happy about it but he might as well get it over and done with. Can he kill you? Doesn't matter. In this line of work, he's gonna shoot first, pay the price later. It hasn't killed him... yet.

-He's gotten sick of killing things, though. It never brought him any joy. (And he's not going to admit that he doesn't think he can beat you) so he thinks he'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Diverting his aim for a split second he fires a warning shot just by you, hoping maybe you'll have second thoughts.

-Instead you flinch, snarling before slowly approaching him. Your heavy steps are loud, as is your low grumble, and he starts to back away cautiously. "Now now, princess, let's talk about this, yeah?" he hums, one arm up in a defensive position. His voice is thick and gravelly, if not a little shaky. He tried to sound tough and dominant, but there was an element of begging. You certainly approved. "I'd hate to make an enemy of something so pretty."

-If you could understand his words, you'd either swoon or become enraged, but that's for you to decide. Really, though, you can tell he's scared. You just have no idea when flirting with the giant creature that's about to tear out your ribcage was ever a good idea.

-Your claws are raised, ready to strike. You wouldn't soon forget the way he swallows thickly, peering up at you through his fringe. At least he had enough respect to look even a little anxious. He takes a few more steps backwards, giving you a side eye while he quickly checks behind him for an escape route, and so as to not trip.

-"Really, beautiful? We can't just talk about this?" A nervous chuckle. Like talking to a brick wall. It's hopeless, he's hopeless, but you can't blame an old man for trying. You just have to take it out on his knees, don't you?

-Tries to line up a good shot, tongue poking out, eyes squinting as he does, but he doesn't like how close your claws are getting, and decides to leg it. You give chase almost instantly, but barely try and keep up. You want to tire him out, and he has no idea just how easy you're going on him.

-"Didn't like my pickup lines, then?" he wheezes as he runs at a pace he believes to be fast enough to keep out of the way of your claws, but not too fast as to tire himself out too quickly. He's getting old.

-He fires some warning shots behind himself towards you. They were meant to hit, really, but his aim was poor. His breath quickly starts running short. Maybe this is the end after all.

"I gotta stop drinking" he grumbles, ducking round a corner.

Living rent free in my head is the concept of Leon x a creature immensely out of his league in terms of power. He could be scared, in awe, trying to kill it, idk idc I just love it PLEASE can someone tell me they like it too?? I'm going insane.

Also just remembered I'm still writing that leon x demon fic. One day, guys, one day. (saying this more for myself) k bye!

[nivannedyt4t]

was inspired by @grilde1chesse to make a resident evil headcanons post :p so here is that with some of my favorite characters :3 this is incredibly unorganized and bad, sorry in advance

this'll have leon, piers, ashley, mia, and wesker in it:3c

leon ; transmasc, he/him ; homoromantic & pansexual

- born in new york, grew up in boston (drives like a bostonian too (thank you to my irl friends for creating the bostonian leon headcanon))

- doesn’t cry often but when he does he’s an ugly cryer. leon was more sensitive as a kid but was forced to toughen up quick

- likes the the, the doors, crosby, stills, nash & young, nirvana… mostly 70s rock. likes mcr because of ashley

- has auburn hair naturally but is mildly embarrassed by this and dyes it

- hasn’t gotten top surgery as the recovery time would take too long for him

- absolutely a cat person. if he could he’d have five

- autistic & chronically depressed. very bad at socializing and yet a lot of his self esteem hinges on performing well in social situations

- often forgets to do basic things like eating or drinking water

- has always hated loud & bass-y noises but this was worsened after the events of re2

- bites his nails and cuticles as a self-regulatory/stress relieving behavior. starts painting his nails black after vendetta to try and combat this habit

- was on the field hockey team in his junior and senior years of high school

- has become somewhat of an older brother figure for ashley. she gifted him kandi soon after they got home from spain and he’s kept it safe ever since

- the plaga left behind some physical changes. this includes sharpened canines, a tapetum lucidum (eyeshine like a cat), and heightened hearing. leon dislikes these traits but hasn’t done anything to get rid of them for ashley’s sake

- his main love language is acts of service. he’s bad at talking people through things and prefers to just do instead of explaining himself

- leon’s commitment issues go craaazy. the only prolonged relationship he’s managed is with chris (or piers. or sometimes a polycule with both of them. yeah i’m a multishipper)

- gets sick a lot but it’s often mild enough that he powers through it or ignores it until it gets bad enough to put him on bed rest

- used to have a big appetite around the time he started t and was self-conscious about it as when he was younger he was a bit chubby. as he got older this has flipped to a certain degree, he doesn’t eat very much unless someone else made the food for him

- enjoys writing poetry but would rather die than share it with anyone

- has sensitive skin and an incredibly thorough skincare routine

- starts needing glasses around the time of re6 but refuses to get them for years

- retired matilda some time in the early 2000s out of guilt for "what he put her through"

piers ; transmasc, he/him ; mlm

- born and raised in northern minnesota

- was a complete tomboy before realizing he’s trans, actually

- loves fishing and archery (and dragging his friends out into the woods with him to do these activities)

- grew up on a farm, joined ffa and raised goats as a teenager

- gets emotionally attached to things very easily. this tended to be a problem during fair season as he’d always raise goats for meat pen

- sees the guns he uses as his peers, each of them have names and their own little personalities he attributes to them

- very short. like, 5’4. takes the piss out of it but is privately a little insecure about it

- a bit camera shy, as he ends up looking awkward in most of the photos he’s in

- dyslexic and has adhd

- really enjoys math. got in trouble during school multiple times for trying to help his friends when they struggled on tests

- big fan of dogs. grew up with shelties

- left-handed

- broke his arm four times throughout the course of his time in elementary school

ashley ; cis, she/her ; bi

- born in upstate new york, moved multiple times throughout her childhood

- was a scene kid (pretty much canon but i love this about her). huge fan of invader zim and made leon watch all of it with her

- born in 1989 (this is for the sake of a crackship and also so some of my other headcanons make a little more sense. this makes her like 15 or 16 in re4)

- obsessed with warrior cats, asked for the new books that’d come out each year for christmas five years in a row

- has “childish” interests unashamedly and makes sure everyone knows

- collected beanie babies when she was younger, held on to most of them into adulthood

- decorates everything with rhinestones. so many rhinestones

- she loves getting dressed up just for the fun of it. transitioned into a more himekaji-esque style during college

- ashley actually really likes what the plaga did to her physical appearance, namely the sharp canines. her parents were. mildly mortified

- loves sailor moon. her favorite character is luna

mia ; transfem, she/her ; bi and aroacespec

- born and raised in texas

- born in 1987 (see the explanation in ashley’s section)

- goth during high school and college

- loves strawberry switchblade

- she’s scared of birds after a goose attacked her when she was six

- mia enjoys the macabre and collects leather-bound horror anthologies

- has bpd and ocd. she’s incredibly concerned with her own morality and constantly fears that she’s a bad person

- does watercolor painting in her free time. she doesn’t think anything she creates is very good, but holds onto them because ethan loved her art

- so so protective of her friends and family to an overbearing degree. this ends up pushing people away, which is the opposite of what she wants

wesker ; transmasc, he/him ; aroace

- thinks listening to music is a waste of time and focus. enjoys a few instrumental jazz standards in private

- autistic. doesn’t get why people don’t view things exactly the same way he does and is incredibly frustrated by it

- keeps his hair slicked back because he hates when he can feel it touching his forehead

- sensitive to bright lights

- gets headaches very easily and has chronic migraines

- genuinely passionate about virology

- likes bugs and had a collection of mounted moths and beetles during the s.t.a.r.s. era

[sapphire-weapon]

No, hold on, I'm actually mad about this now (again).

Like, I just want everyone to stop and think about how completely nonsensical this version of Leon that's being pushed actually is.

So, he's a blonde second-generation Italian guy (despite the fact that him being so aggressively American is a running gag in OG RE4) named Scott Kennedy (because that's not ridiculous on its face already. Also he spends literally every single moment of his adult life outside of RE4 making sure that his roots never show because ??) who is the most naive motherfucker on the planet going into RE2 despite the fact that he grew up in a mafia family. Said mafia family, by the way, was murdered by a rival gang, and the only memento Leon has of his late father is a Zippo lighter that he then, later, as an adult, got the RPD logo engraved on. Because fuck sentimental value, actually, I guess.

He hits on every pretty woman who crosses his path, except it's just a joke and for funsies and he doesn't actually sleep with any of them or even want to, and when he tells Shen May he wants to take her out and doesn't care that she has a boyfriend, that's completely innocent and in no way reflects badly on him as a complete and total scumbag. His arrested development at age 21 and his brain being frozen permanently in 1998 paired with his extreme loneliness caused by forced isolation are just accessories for window dressing, actually, and have absolutely no bearing on his personality because he's just a clueless well-meaning introvert at heart who accidentally stumbles on the scummiest shit to say to women sometimes, but it's ok because he's doing his best.

Also, despite being an obnoxious do-gooder and perfect student, he was late to his first day of work at the RPD because he irresponsibly got drunk over being dumped by a girl that is never mentioned or even alluded to at any point during his character arc.

But he's definitely not a slut.

Not only that, but he's said to be one of the smartest people in the cast ("practically a genius," Ada calls him in a report) and yet he hero worships and unconditionally trusts and respects the man who kidnapped him off the streets outside of Raccoon City and held a gun to his surrogate daughter's head and ruined both of their lives.

All of this makes sense. This is definitely 100% the true intended interpretation of Leon S. Kennedy and is in no way a bunch of bullshit slapped together with no evidence for it in canon.

This absolutely makes way more sense than the interpretation of:

Leon has no canonical backstory but is so aggressively American that it's a running gag in OG RE4 (he's literally called "The American pig" at one point), so chances are he had a really mundane upbringing by parents who are part of families that have been in this country for several generations past already. He was an honor roll student who got top marks in police academy and specifically chose to apply to and join a police force in a city that had a gruesome serial killer investigation on-going because he has something to prove.

(Also, he's only blonde in one singular title out of the ten that he's appeared in because his natural hair color is, in fact, actually brown.)

In his stubbornness, he pushes Claire away because he's still trying to prove something to everyone and also himself by insisting that he'll be fine taking care of Sherry on his own. This hubris born from insecurity bites him in the ass when he gets snatched off the street by faceless CIA goons and forced into being trained to and actually performing the government's dirty work.

His captivity, forced isolation, and personal failures in and just after Raccoon City have dealt a massive blow to his sense of self-worth and his self-image, creating a desperately lonely man who has the maturity of a 21 year old well into his late 20s and 30s. This causes him to pursue superficial, physical relationships with women, because he fears being vulnerable enough to actually open up to anyone emotionally. Unfortunately, all of these little details culminate in some self-sabotaging and scumbag behavior, up to and including being an outright homewrecker, unconcerned with whether a woman he's trying to fuck has a boyfriend or is married or whatever -- as evidenced by his interaction with Shen May.

His self-isolation and depression get even worse later in life when an outbreak occurs in Tall Oaks, and he's forced to shoot and kill one of the only people who's ever cared about him -- a military officer turned president whose goals and values align with Leon's own, and who genuinely values his company and expertise and takes his (Leon's) emotions and trauma seriously. Adam Benford can't undo the damage that was done by Leon's capture and forced servitude, because he can't go back in time and he wasn't even there when it happened, but he did give Leon hope for a brighter future.

^^^^^ THIS??? ^^^^^ is using information that is strictly found in the games and CGI movies -- and does not conveniently omit any other details about him (other than the whole Ada thing, but like -- that's irrelevant to the point I'm trying to make). It is the whole picture of Leon as the games paint him and nothing else. THIS is what the intended canon for him is.

NONE OF THAT OTHER BULLSHIT is in the games, because none of that other bullshit makes sense -- which should be really fucking evident to anyone paying attention, especially now that it's been written out in full.

[residentevilbrews]

Dylan Burton Facts and Headcanons

Pre 'The Raccoon City incident'

-Born in Pastel Meadows, Colorado. (It's associated with another organization)

-Born on October 31st, 1989.

-His mother abandoned him in 1994 in Raccoon City. Was temporarily in an orphanage sided in a town near Raccoon city until 1997 when he and other orphans were put into the newly formed Raccoon City Orphanage.

-During experimental trials, Dylan was one of the last survivors, which had caused the scientists to become curious of what was different about Dylan.

-Before the Raccoon City Incident, Dylan had escaped thanks to one scientist by the name Ben Torres.

~~~~~~~~

RE2:

-Many civilians were in the RPD building, Dylan was found by Marvin Branagh and forced him to stay the RPD building until they could escape.

-However, during this time one of the scientists had contacted Chief Irons to find Dylan. He agreed to look for the boy.

-Dylan dealt with Chief Irons on his back throughout the building, trying to avoid zombies, lickers, and other officers. In Dylan's mind, he could trust nobody.

-He met Leon in one of the offices, and the two traveled briefly before being split up after meeting Mr.X.

-Dylan had found a spare parking card pass in one of the broken lockers, and got out before Chief Irons had left. He chased after Irons after realizing he was holding Sherry captive. He tried to the fight the man off with a bat....but being in the orphanage again gave him bad anxiety.

-Was rescued by Alan Wesker after he was shot in the leg by Chief Irons who assumed Dylan was dead after throwing him out of hte orphanage into one of the graves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RE3:

-In one of the RPD offices, as Carlos you'll hear someone walking from one room to another but it's soft and brief.

~~~~~~

Between RE3 and Code Veronica:

-Dylan would be in Alan's custody.

-It's revealed that Dylan was caught by Albert due to his DNA having something he's curious about. Using Alan's naive nature to do his dirty work.

-They were in a small, abandoned town a state outside of Raccoon City, being used as a hide out for Alan.

-Barry and Chris were investigating this town alongside Terisha in November 1998, as she at that point was healed.

-Alan was taken down but escaped. Dylan now adopted by Barry after that point. Despite Dylan's distrust towards the trio.

~~~~~~~~~~

RE Code Veronica:

-Dylan will be briefly mentioned by Chris for stealing Chris's jacket.

~~~~~~~~~~

RE4:

-Leon during his time hanging out with Ashley or Luis, at the gun range he'll mention Dylan probably would've liked doing shooting practice with what the merchant has.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RE Revelations 2:

-Barry will talk to Natalia about Dylan and how similar the two are.

-When Moira talks to Claire, she mentions how frustrating it is that Barry let Dylan join the BSAA, but her joining Terrasave was bad? she mostly makes remarks about Dylan not working as hard as her or how he can get away with it because he's 'the son that Barry ALWAYS wanted.'

-It's revealed in a conversation with Moira and Barry at a later point...Dylan did it without Barry's permission, and how Dylan had been off contact for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RE6:

-Dylan is part of Chris's squad, and is a survivor. However, he's highly traumatized as his near death experience brought him back to Raccoon City to even his earlier childhood of his mother and Pastel Meadows.

-Sherry mentions to Jake she's had a friend who's going through a rough time deciding things in his life.....and how much he's sealed himself off. She doesn't mention Dylan's name since she hasn't seen him in so long.

-Leon's surprised that Dylan is even part of Chris's squad, the two barely communicate, and even tries to small talk with him.

-After the events of RE6, Dylan decides to go to Therapy (finalllyyy)

~~~~~~

RE7/RE8:

-Nothing is known about Dylan's whereabouts at this point in time.

[geddy-leesbian]

funnily enough I was actually familiar with the word before I was into RE thanks to another franchise

My best copium is telling myself that if FE Gaiden, a game debatably even more niche since it was never localized/sold outside Japan, can get a remake, then RE Gaiden can too lmao (that is purely my desperate copium, the situations are different. FE Gaiden is actually 100% canon to FE as a whole so it made more sense to remake it. also another funny coincidence is that FE Gaiden has a character named Leon and the remake made him a pretty canonically gay and slutty twink amen)

I'd honestly kill to hear anyone talk more in depth about Gaiden's development, because what little there is is weird.

Basically the company Virgin Interactive had a deal with Capcom and they did the publishing for Capcom games in Europe. Capcom was interested in handheld RE games, having a failed RE2 port on a weird niche console I'd never heard of 🤷‍♀️ (the Game.com) and were making a GBC RE1 port.

A Dino Crisis game came out and for some reason Virgin Interactive commissioned a small British studio (M4) to make a proof of concept demo thing of a Dino Crisis gameboy color port. Which is kinda insane to me, they didn't ask Capcom, they just fucking did that?? But somehow it worked out for them because Capcom was impressed and told them they wanted the studio to develop a brand new RE game for them.

They canceled their own RE1 GBC port when they greenlit Gaiden. My best guess for what they were thinking long-term was that Gaiden would be a little experiment, and if it was successful enough they would have hired M4 to port RE1/potentially more games to the gameboy family (Gaiden was GBC but the GBA came out during its development and M4 pushed to move its development to the GBA but was denied) but because Gaiden was very mid reception wise they saw it as the final nail in the coffin and gave up on handheld RE games until the eventual RE1 DS port.

It's harder to speculate what the fuck they were doing with the story though.

I do think it was likely intended to be a silly thing divorced from canon overall. As a bitch who loves browsing concept art the lack of Gaiden art is the smoking gun for me, there's nothing.

or like... any character art at all. The original box art was this:

For the localization, they slapped Leon on there

But they didn't even give the poor man new art, they just fucking reused old RE2 concept art of him 😭 like the fucking RPD vest when it would make no sense because he's not a cop anymore (and the badge too??)

I think that there would be some kind of concept art for Lucia, at the very least, if they intended for any of it to actually be canon. She doesn't die or have some vague ending, Barry talks about adopting her and how she'll have a sister.

My biggest crackpot theory I mentioned at the start of this thread before veering wildly off topic is that the script writer took it a bit more seriously. He directed CODE:Veronica which was the here's what Claire did after RE2 and what happened to Chris after RE1. So I think he might have approached Gaiden as a "here's what Leon did after RE2 and what Barry did after RE1" type of thing, or even just what Leon was doing during CV (so it's a side story aka Gaiden to CV) And IIRC at some point in development it was Leon in CV and they changed him to Steve because they didn't want to kill off Leon, so the weird Gaiden ending also could have been him (the writer) wanting to do something to Leon that Capcom wouldn't have signed off on normally. (I know I've said Leon doesn't explicitly die in Gaiden, but the weird open vagueness still seems like something Capcom wouldn't be happy to see in a mainline game.)

Unfortunately I doubt we'll ever get solid answers because the writer dead ass quit the whole industry to be a farmer

so yeah dude has moved on to better things. good for him but also please sir one (1) interview about Gaiden I'm begging

oh no I had a random Gaiden thought I need to attempt to wrangle into something coherent

[tirsynni]

Okay, mild fandom rant time, because I keep seeing this in the Resident Evil fandom, and the only thing I can think of due to the lack of real basis is that people just prefer enemies-to-lovers or that it’s a beloved trope in the fanon.

The bit where Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy hate each other. Wtf. Where does this come from? Why is it so popular?

We have two -- two -- moments of actual tension between the two in the entire series, and that is it. Wtf.

1) Where the pair meet in RE6. At first, they don’t know who the other one is and that is the only time you see them physically fight. You see them draw guns on each other and hold them on each other even when they recognize each other, Here’s the thing: there’s nothing in the world that could convince me they were ever going to harm the other when they recognized each other. The guns up acted as a barrier as they argued their points. At this time, they were both seriously fucked up but were calming down and talking and I think would have reached a conclusion if fake-Ada had interfered.

2) When Chris and Rebecca interrupted Leon’s vacation/private breakdown in Vendetta.The two argued angrily with each other and were clearly pissed by the other’s inability to see their point. The closest it came to physical was when Chris tried to stop Leon from drinking some more.

Now here’s why I don’t think any of that lends to the antagonistic relationship a lot of fans think they have.

In RE6, despite seeming to be on opposite sides regarding the Ada affair, despite having their guns drawn on each other, they were talking. For the first time in the entire game, Chris seemed semi-calm regarding his teams’ death after a couple moments of talking with Leon. He was actually talking to Leon about this when every other time he just snarled and grew angry. We’ll never know for sure, but I’m confident that, if fake-Ada hadn’t interfered, Chris would have gone with Leon’s argument. He was calming down, he was checking Leon’s conviction. Most importantly, when fake-Ada ran, he quickly agreed with Leon that he would try to bring Ada in alive.

At that time, Chris had been incredibly messed up. He had been beyond poor Piers’s control. He has been angry, aggressive, violent. Yet it took one meeting with Leon to remind him who he was and what he wanted. It was after Leon stopped him and told him that he trusted that he would do the right thing that Chris stopped focusing on revenge and started focusing on doing the right thing. He change his goal, worked hard to be a good partner for Piers, and when he was face-to-face with the person responsible for killing his team, he tried to bring her in.

As for Leon? No one would blame the man for having major trust issues at this point, but he doesn’t hesitate to tell Helena that he trusts Chris. Despite literally just seeing Chris planning to murder Ada, he was confident that Chris would do the right thing and try to bring her in alive. When he said he believed in Chris, everything indicated he sincerely meant it.

Okay, onto Vendetta. I’ve ranted about that scene before, but I believe much of the scene with Leon drinking and the pair arguing has been blown out of proportion. Here’s what is canon: both men had just undergone something traumatizing. Both were reacting to that in that scene. Leon’s choice: going on vacation and drinking. Maybe not the healthiest response but done in a reasonable fashion: off the job, in a safe, out-of-the-way location, literally on a vacation. The fact that he’s merrily day-drinking shows that he wasn’t doing well mentally in that scene. As for Chris? He’s furious, frustrated, emotionally compromised, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to arm him and send him on his merry way? Leon was licking his wounds in true Leon Kennedy fashion by not addressing it and Chris was licking his wounds in true Chris Redfield fashion by aggressively going after his problems and trying to blow them up.

So were they fighting? Absolutely! Was that the last time they fought in the entire movie? Yep! They were both in a rough spot and failing to communicate with the other, but when push came to shove, they clicked. It took no effort after that for them to get on the same page. They worked together smoothly and trusted each other implicitly.

In the rare times we see the pair together in canon, that is the main point with them. They trust each other. Leon states it clearly in 6 and it is shown repeatedly. They trust each other not only in a fight but to have their backs and to make the right decisions. Even after fighting, they show no grudges toward each other. They get on the same page and go forward.

If someone wants to write tension between the pair, it would be remarkably easy. RE6 is a great example of how radically different they each approach their problems. Leon’s game started with his needing to kill a good friend. He is clearly fucked up about it. It’s the first time since RE2 that we see him hesitate to kill a BOW. He is in tears. He is devastated. He screams Adam’s name when he shoots. And then? He doesn’t say another word about it for the rest of the game. Helena repeatedly mentions her sister: after apologizing to Adam’s corpse, Leon doesn’t say his name again for the rest of the game. In RE6 and Vendetta, Chris charges after his problem. He goes for revenge. He wants the bad guy’s head on a pike. In Vendetta, we see Leon literally hide away and drink. They have incredibly different responses to emotional trauma. That could be an amazing source of tension between the pair instead of some strange antagonism.

Hell, I would love to see that possible tension be addressed, but regarding just general antagonism between the two? No. I don’t see it.

[zachsgamejournal]

COMPLETED: Resident Evil 7

This is the most I've enjoyed a Resident Evil since RE2 on PS1. May actually like it more than Code Veronica...

I kinda hated the freight ship section. By this point, I felt the game was done. But the designers were like: Nope, we're gonna have an environment as large as all previous sections combined, more enemies to face, start your gear at zero, and halfway through, make you replay areas via a flashback that's length to story ratio is 100:1.

The remote bombs were...a weird addition. I could place them on the floor, but not...you know...toss them. For like, when you're being assaulted by slimy monsters with shark teeth...And still, the game gives you a ton of them!

Turns out, I wasn't far from the end of the freight ship. So that was good. Then we end up at the salt mine. Turns out Lucas was just playing along...weird. So he got his arm cut off and everything on purpose? Like, he's a legit psycho?

I'm really confused about where the fetuses with curing abilities are coming from...ah well.

So we get some background info: Eveline was a fetus that was mutated to have super powers. She could infect folks, and cause hallucinations: presenting herself has a young girl. She, having never had a childhood, wants a family--so takes over a family and has them kidnap folks to add to their "family", but she's a psychotic child raised by other psychos, so everyone under her influence ends up violent and cruel.

And she vomits up monsters, or something...

Into the salt mine. I thought this was gonna be another section of exploring and puzzle solving, but it's actually quite linear. Seems they designed it to be the action section since they constantly send you up against molded, and drop healing items and ammo EVERYWHERE! I didn't need that because I had amassed so many healing items and weapons by playing frugally.

It's just like when I replayed Resident Evil 1--early on every zombie is life or death, and every bullet and herb is precious. But by the end, you become Terminator, can't die and tons of ammo.

There's a spiral climb at one point, and I just ran from everything. If you move quick enough, it's pretty clear of enemies. First molded was an easy side step. The second was a crawler and he trapped me on a catwalk. I was getting hit from behind, so had to kill that one. The third guy was just a walker, so I shot him once to get him to stumble, making the walk around easy.

And that was it. Salt Mine done. Which I was thankful, cause that damn tanker section!!

So we end up at the beginning, in the old house, reliving some Mia interactions via hallucinations. Not worried, cause I'm more well armed than an American Police force with more medicine than a...uh, pharmacy...I guess.

The phase one fight with Eveline was...unimpressive. But it was more about the story...I guess? I'm torn between being done with the game, and expecting a boss-fight on par with previous ones. But alas, we simply stab old-lady Eveline (nice twist) in the neck with a cure. She asks, "Why does everyone hate me" -- heart breaking, then talks about how it hurts. Almost as emotionally confusing as the end of Alien Resurrection.

But then...phase 2.

Instead of dying, Eveline turns into a giant tentacle monster. I guess it's inevitable that Resident Evil end on a ridiculous note. As grounded as much of the game is, they had to go big. But it's a pretty lame fight. You just shoot at mega-Eveline until a helicopter drops you special gun (Kind of like Brad dropping a rocket launcher at the end of Resident Evil 1 - wink, wink).

So she dies...for realz this time. And Chris Redfield appears in an Umbrella Helicopter. I'm glad he's not mega-Chris from Resident Evil 5, but he also doesn't look "his age". I don't know, seemed like unnecessary name dropping, but also no harm, no foul. Ethan hops in the chopper, finding Mia alive. Aw, so it is a love story!

But then the game gives this cheesy epilogue, blaming Eveline for being horrible--even calling her an "it". And then talks about how Mia just wants to put everything behind her. Everything being that Mia worked for a shady organization making horrible bio-weapons, and as part of her duties, helped hold a traumatized child captive and then attempted to kill her when the girl inevitably escaped??

Eveline was the real victim in this story. She did horrible things because she was child that wasn't properly loved and raised. No shit she wants to build a family. Her saying, "Why does everyone hate me", heartbreaking. I have kids. They're selfish, violent, impulsive bastards sometimes--but they're really sweet and just need people to love them.

Eveline wasn't given love. She was given orders, and restrictions. No surprise that she lashed out, and she did so in the ways she could: vomiting up molded zombies and possessing people.

So bosses...talk about unbalanced.

Boss 1: I had a single clip of ammo, maybe two healing items, and a pocket knife. All got used really quickly. I think you're not supposed to shoot him, just get the car keys. But it was confusing and intense, because I didn't know what to do. CHALLENGE: 3/5.

Boss 2: Jack again, but now it gets real. Moving around is awkward, and the second half involves a chainsaw duel. I used up at least 10 rounds of shotgun shells, all my healing items, and died at least 10 times trying to beat this boss. I almost switched to easy. CHALLENGE: 5/5.

Boss 3: Marguerite as a crazy bug lady. This was kind of the scariest battle, as she drops in out of nowhere and from behind. And if you don't constantly attack her, she sends bugs after you. This one drove me a bit nuts, but eventually I found the winning strategy. CHALLENGE: 4/5.

Boss 4: Super molded. I basically hid around the corner of the elevator and used all my shotgun shells on it. A few shots from the pistol and the thing was down. Not sure I even took damage. CHALLENGE: 1/5.

Boss 5: Mutant Jack. He was so big that he couldn't move around and hide like previous bosses. I maybe was hit once or twice, but it was nothing. The eyes were obvious weak points. CHALLENGE: 2/5.

Boss 6ish: Two Super-Moldeds. Kind of reminds of the big infected guys from The Last of Us. While they killed me the first time (very quickly), on my second attempt, I kept the elevator between us and used all my grenade launcher ammo against them (which I had been saving). They didn't touch me. CHALLENGE: 2/5.

Eveline Phase 1: Walk towards her, block when she shock waves. Timing was semi awkward. I died once. CHALLENGE: 1/5.

Eveline Phase 2: Shoot at a giant target that doesn't appear to do any actual damage. Could have been a cutscene. CHALLENGE: 1/5.

It's so weird that the hardest bosses were at the beginning. I guess this is where you have consider experience vs challenge. But for survival horror, challenge is part of the experience. You're supposed to be scared of bosses.

I think the final Eveline battle should have the player running through the swamp. Eveline's tentacles swimming after you, and in front of you, giving birth to molded with familiar faces (Like Mia) to freak you out. And that keeps happening until the player is out of ammo and healing supplies. Once you've used your last heal and bullet, Chris Redfield snipes the molded. You watch as the Eveline Mass rises to attack the helicopter. Chris takes aim with the Wesker gun, fires a shot at a tentacle arm--it calcifies and shatters! Eveline freaks out and smacks the chopper, sending the gun flying to the ground. You see it 10 yards away. You run to it, grab it, turn--Mia appears before you. "I'm one with her now. If you kill her, we'll never be together." If you hesitate too long, Mia kills you. If shoot, she shatters--Eveline attacks, final few shots: END.

Ah well. It was a good game and I'll probably play it again. I could see this being a semi-regular replay for me, right there with RE1 and RE2.

[cateringisalie]

Tagged by @fury-brand​ - thank you! I stole some questions back from the previous post...

Name: Sanctum

Fandoms: Final Fantasy VII and associated spin-offs; Bravely Default, Legend of Korra, Final Fantasy VIII, Grandia

Most popular oneshot: In terms of hits - Words Are Important Too (FFVII Cloti smut, which is not wholly surprising). It’s another version of the Highwind scene. Not sure if appreciably different from any other one. I did get a complaint in Spanish about Tifa hooking up with OCs. In terms of Kudos it’s surprisingly After the Wedding (Legend of Korra)

Most popular multichapter: In terms of hits and kudos its Healing (Legend of Korra AU) which I wrote with @danseru-kun. For me solo it’s Modern Love (FFVII Clerith smut)

Fics Nervous to post: the smut. Also the Cloti fics where they didn’t interact once

Coming Soon:

More (untitled) Clerith smut! (I am so sorry)

The unexpected spin-off to said Clerith smut! (wherein I think I can second-guess the first comment I will get and thus produce the seemingly obviously far more interesting theoretical fic with a flourish. Lot of assumptions on my part there and there’s little other reason to tie the things together)

Aeris as a scavenger! (which is now in two chapters and the second one is currently in pieces and I need to actually fix that and its in need of a title)

Resident Fantasy: Nemesis! I would very much like to do something far more with the obvious idea thrown up by the modded Resident Evil 3 Remake/Aeris has a gun and fuse Resident Evil and Final Fantasy VII together but whether this is going to work at all remains to be seen. Also getting past my inclination to make it more RE2, but recognizing RE3 offers an easier objective and reason for plot momentum and not having to get into why this art museum is now a police station.

Favourite things to write: alternate universes and/or what-ifs. Unconsciously? (since someone needed to point this out) Lots of missing scenes.

Actual worst part of writing: Forcing writing at a slower pace so everything doesn’t happen in a rush. Which I’m pretty sure I still do anyway. But the not being in the right mindset or not caring about *this* bit, but with it being vital to everything else and not wanting to makes it a real slog.

How you choose your titles: sometimes suggestions, sometimes lyrics, sometimes it just clicks when outlining, sometimes its desperation while staring at the relevant field on ao3, and sometimes generic-y what happens in the fic. A few times (with permission) someone else’s fic title.

Do you outline: Almost always. Except for the last few where I have the idea clear in my head and then try and bash the words together.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

An Annihilation/FFVII fusion is appealing but hard to marshal into something doable.

I re-watched Slayers last year and near immediately leapt to an obvious parallel of high-powered sorceress and her long-suffering blond swordsman companion, but trying to write that turned into a Slayers rewrite but with some cosmetic details amended. I have asked for this twice on fic-exchange occasions to no avail. It feels like it should be possible, but it needs to be different enough otherwise reading Slayers fic would save a lot of time (admittedly, I have not even looked there).

The other, other AU where Ifalna and Aerith successfully flee Midgar and make it to Cosmo Canyon. Aerith befriends Nanaki. As she grows older she chafes at the restrictions (don’t leave the settlement) and Shinra’s increasingly blatant destructive practices – not least secure in the knowledge that the White Materia can fix the situation but not wholly sure on how. So. She runs away, Nanaki going with her. Her various searches for a way to make use of the materia land her in Rocket Town eventually where Cloud having changed his mind about the whole SOLDIER thing after loudly announcing he was going for it has been working as an apprentice to Cid for a number of years embarrassed to go home. He winds up joining Aerith and Nanaki on their quest to clearly the saving of the world but the whole rest of this is completely vague. I have the whole first sentence as a wip at least (which I think is 2000 words).

Callouts @ Me: So many starts, so few continuations and even fewer endings. Occasionally no middle either.

Best writing traits: Fulfilling a writing prompt that, if not the inverse of intended tone then, is at least spun off in a complete other direction while still conforming to the working of the prompt (or simply: bloody-mindedness)

Canon adherence when necessary (or appropriate) and flippantly disregarding it when its an issue or canon is actively terrible.

Spicy Tangential Opinion: Not sure if spicy (I am old), but I miss the days of bizarre crossovers, Avalanche living together and strange fic.

Tagging: @danseru-kun, @effortlesslyuncool, @splinteredstar, @rentfreecat, @auncyen, @komatsujo and anyone else who wants in.

[sapphire-weapon]

The reblog that already exists from someone else is a really good response, but I wanted to throw in my 2c too.

Headcanons have been the name of the game since the early days of fandom. Some people use the jumping off points provided in non-canon but still “official” sources (like the S.D. Perry books), but others have created their own headcanons whole cloth.

I’m in the latter camp (and apparently one of the few people who still is lmao we used to be the majority back in the day, I swear!!). Like, I can’t get on board with the S.D. Perry background, because she wrote him as being from New York. I grew up in the NY/NJ area and was there for the first 25 years of my life, and Leon just. Is not one of us LMAO he’s just not. And the whole “parents were murdered by the mafia” thing pisses me off for so, so many different reasons.

The way I’ve been approaching it for about the last 20 years is that I look at who and what he actually is (A white guy who went to high school & college in 90s America and comes into RE2 at age 21 seeming pretty privileged and naive) and just wrote around that cultural context.

I’ve also kept my headcanons pretty basic and general, because I saw a lot of people back in the early days of fandom get trapped by their own headcanons and ended up writing him as more of an OC than an actual canon character as a result.

So, what I’ve done is come up with just a quick list of bullet points of very basic things, and I thought about them in a context that would be in line with what we’re shown as his canon personality going into RE2 -- because his RE2 self would be the version of him most heavily influenced by his backstory.

So, to give you an idea, this is what I got:

Where he’s from (I think of him as being from the Hartford area, because he still has enough of an edge to him to be East Coast, but he’s nice/polite enough that he probably interacted with Canadians a lot growing up.)

What his parents were like (for me, his mom was very religious, but his dad was basically just Cosgrove from Freakazoid -- basically, the temperament of his parents explains how he wound up to be the paradox of ‘neurotic but adaptable’ that he is)

What his high school experience was like (he had one long-term girlfriend thru junior & senior year that he mutually split from before they each went off to college, and he had a small group of tight-knit friends, but otherwise his experience was pretty unremarkable. he doesn’t have any massive insecurities to speak of in canon and, again, he’s kind of naive in RE2, so high school very likely was not terrible for him)

What his college experience was like (a lot of libraries and a lot of movie nights. he’s very much a “top of his class overachiever” in RE2, so that’s probably been his work ethic/mindset for a while now. though, he does have a wild, impulsive streak about him too, so I’d be willing to bet that he did go out and party a handful of times a semester, even if it wasn’t a regular thing)

What kind of music & movies he likes (see here for a shitpost-but-not about his music tastes, and my man loves him a Tarantino film. this one was written purely from a cultural context standpoint, because there’s nothing in canon that would indicate this one way or another.)

Why he relocated from home to Raccoon City (we know that he had to have relocated in some way, because he’s literally driving into the city over a week after the outbreak started. I love to think that the big secret that he doesn’t want anyone to know is that he was intrigued by/attracted to the STARS unit -- because, really, STARS is the only thing that would make Raccoon City unique and attractive to someone like Leon. but he’ll never ever tell Chris that. with a fucking gun to his head, he wouldn’t tell Chris that. LMAO)

Why he’s seemingly estranged from his family post-RE2 (the only thing that makes sense to me is that the government literally would not let him call home at first, and by the time he gained enough autonomy to actually do it, he realized that he’s probably been presumed dead as a casualty in Raccoon City for so long that it’d actually be fucked up to call his mom now and be like ‘hey uh so not actually dead but you’ll still probably never see me again because I still can’t come home maybe ever just for the sake of your own safety, sorry.’ it’s just a whole “it’s better this way” kind of thing.)

And that’s pretty much it. There’s nothing crazy in there; it’s just enough to round out Leon’s character and give his personality a bit more context. I almost never actually use any of it when I’m writing fic (except for maybe the music one) unless I’m specifically writing post-RE2 Leon trying to cope with what’s happened, but it’s been helpful to just have it at the back of my head in case I get the chance to or have to pepper in some details here and there.

RE2make did a decent job of filling in other details about him. He shows up late to the outbreak because someone literally called him and told him to stay away (but then he fuckin shows up anyway because he’s Leon and he can’t not go see what the hell is going on). He became a cop because he genuinely wanted to protect his community -- which just shows that he’s always had a sort of hero complex (as Krauser says in RE4make, he’s a kid still playing at fantasies of what’s right and wrong) and that his career decision probably had very little to actually do with his family.

So, basically, like. Don’t stress about it too much. There’s enough in canon that you don’t really need a super detailed backstory for him. But if you want one, just make one that’s vague enough that it doesn’t box you in in the long run.

Questions for the fanfic writers about Leon S. Kennedy's lack of background story: How do you deal with it?

I've been haunted by this problem for MONTHS and I needed to spit it out. I feel like Tumblr is a better place for long text and reasoned discussion, and most importantly: fanfic writers.

It's long and I sincerely look forward to your opinions. Even though I only draw Cleon, I didn't mention any ship in this post so I won't add ship-related tags here; if you're gonna list examples based on your ship, please respect each other.

So hear me out:

The best part and the worst part about Leon S. Kennedy is that HE DOESN'T HAVE A BACKGROUND STORY and a CONSISTENT characteristic development...and it's driving me insane.

The benefit of it is that I can shape his past into whoever I want to fit my stories. But it brings out a bigger problem: the development is solely depending on my understanding & knowledge of character design. He's pretty much a blank sheet of paper, except he's extremely famous, and I don't want to stray too far away from the canon info that we've got on him(and get "canceled" for OOC).

(I don't actually write stories into fics, but I DO write short scripts for my art when they are intended to be a series. I guess the prep work to start anything is the same: write it down in words, then expand the idea.)

I love AUs and I'm more interested in sci-fi/fantasy than modern/zombie-apocalypse kinda thing. But when I wanted to dig deep into their backgrounds, to start world-building, there's NOTHING for me. It's so frustrating.

For example, I'm currently working on a Monster Hunter AU based on the RE4R DLC Hero Outfit, which basically is the whole RE gang running around in the woods hunting supernatural creatures. (Not just CAPCOM's MH series but with the general mythical creatures, werewolves .etc)

And they have a Hunter's Guild, different tribes and clans, you know the drill. Since the setting was in a fantasy world, their surnames have caused me great pain from the start.

The easiest one is Redfield. It can be interpreted as "fertile land" or "battleground", and from these I immediately have quite a few visual ideas of how they'd look like, and what they'd do for a living. Chambers, Valentine, and Oliveira are "OK", but the surname Kennedy doesn't fit in ANYWHERE.

(Yes, I googled. It's Irish; but let's be honest, our first impression was a certain American political family.)

Then I read this article that shares a similar concern: Is Resident Evil 4’s Leon S. Kennedy Italian? An investigation

It pretty much sums up the most common FANDOM theories of Leon's background info. But all of them are still just, headcanons.

The more I try to dig in, the lack of this crucial element--a character's canon background story--is really blocking me to create things I enjoy. Even though I've been drawing him for almost 50 pieces of fan art, I still don't know what he's actually like. I can only imagine his personality by referencing other fictional characters/actors whom I think share a resemblance. (I have a soft spot for Keanu Reeves, Faramir from TLOR, and Sanji from One Piece. But that's another story for another time.)

Of course, I'm aware of the fact that, instead of spending this huge amount of time to rewrite a fictional character I don't own, I can create my own OCs and build everything from scratch. But that's not the point. I only started playing video games in 2019 when I bought a Nintendo Switch; and my first-ever, modern game experience was Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

The whole game-wise fandom and RE series are pretty new to me. But I've been in fandoms of books/movies/TV shows for over a decade. It shocked me that Resident Evil, this world-popular series has almost 30 years of history but non of the main characters have a consistent background that follows through the in-game timeline. There're huge gaps between the games even if we add all of the movies in it. How did that work? How do you get to know them? How do you get attached enough to write your own fan story?

In conclusion, I don't think I like Leon S. Kennedy, cuz he remains a mystery. Instead, I just combine all of the good qualities of other characters I like, create my version of Leon Kennedy, and hopefully pray that when he reappears in a new RE work, I didn't do him wrong.

[lakesideamusement-archive]

@cannibalcaf-e you asked

so, for people who don’t know, there actually IS music in the re2 remake, most noticeable during the final boss fights. while personally i have a soft spot for claire’s g4 track mournful pursuit, i have a lot of feelings about leon’s super tyrant fight theme. last judgment. bitchin’ title, right? right.

this is incredibly significant to leon as a character, and to all the other resident evil protagonists, but i’ll get to that part later. while to us it’s just a video game and a fun experience, it’s important to put yourself in leon’s shoes during this to understand what i mean. first or second scenarios aside, even when you’re in the company of other characters, the game is an incredibly isolating experience. oftentimes the game mechanics don’t get across the incredible fear that anyone would be in, especially someone so inexperienced. just because leon went to the police academy doesn’t mean he’s not incredibly out of his depth. how often do you think he’s even shot at moving targets?

none of the monsters he faced are quite as significant or persistent as mr. x, though. while we as players are familiar with the idea of tyrants, leon is not. he doesn’t know the monster’s name, what he is, barely even what he wants except to kill leon in a painful and horrifying way. leon faces plenty of trials of his own during his night in raccoon city; the zombies, the lickers, the alligator, g-adults, ivies, ada. and the tyrant. leon is only 21 and likely barely able to even grapple the emotional gravity of what’s happening while it’s still happening. everyone he’s tried to help up until escaping the lab has died, and the tyrant is coming after him at every turn. even when you get the senior staff keycard, he destroys the glass of the greenhouse and you have to run from him and the one-hit kill ivies all at once.

the moment that he starts the lift down as the lab is self destructing and the super tyrant breaks through the wall above him is likely the most defining moment of leon’s entire life up to that point. the monster that’s been chasing him the entire night, lifting him up by his head with intent to kill and finding him even in the strangest places. as a matter of fact, i’d argue that mr. x imprints on leon the way that nemesis imprints on jill. that’s how powerful the rivalry is, and the tyrant has the clear advantage. perfectly portrayed in the scene where leon is on the lift, far far below and tiny with the massive tyrant towering above him. it’s the first time the tyrant makes noise and breaks his cold and stoic silence.

it’s quite literally a battle to the death, the entire world falling to pieces around them, and a race against the clock. last judgment on the ost is slightly changed from the in-game rendition, as the one in the game has an extended intro that sets the scene incredibly well (i recommend listening to both and comparing to see what i mean). everything that leon has done in his life— by proxy, you the player, but that’s too meta for this analysis— has led up to this final moment. if he makes one mistake or misses one shot, it’s over. the one-shot attack the tyrant does where he winds up with a roar, only stopping by a heavy shot to his exposed heart or a stun? yeah, that, but metaphorically. (fittingly enough, the track that plays as leon boards the train is called the last moment).

every encounter, every time that he got caught vulnerable or off guard, every hit that he took led to one last confrontation. it is, in every sense, leon’s last judgement. with the tyrant as his executioner. he’s not expected to truimph. he’s not supposed to. if ada hadn’t sent down that rocket launcher, he wouldn’t have. the choir in the track matches the intensity on the level; it’s a fight of biblical proportions, and i’d argue the most important one leon has in the franchise.

every resi character has a last judgement, in a way. jill’s is nemesis with the rail gun. claire’s is william birkin as she activates the train. it’s a character defining and ultimately devestating battle at the end of their worst nightmare. claire’s track, mournful pursuit, personifies the devastation of birkin and g, her last stand to protect sherry. metamorphosis (in which returns the choir and is one of the best video game tracks i’ve ever heard, period) matches and nearly outdoes the biblical intensity of leon’s fight, but not in the same way. it’s a battle on the edge of the world that jill is more than capable, and furious enough, to take.

mournful pursuit fades out because it’s not truly gone; one more fight on the train is what ends birkin for the last time. metamorphosis has a soft ending, almost peaceful, and is the calm before raccoon city’s destruction. through good timing and lots of luck, leon scrapes by encounters by the skin of his teeth in every game. even ones of fate, things he shouldn’t survive. leon’s last judgment is the ultimate battle, with the most triumphant finale and a swelling choir, because it was doomed.

[soloscribbles]

Over the Love

[ Leon Kennedy x F.O.S Agent!Fem!Reader. Eventual Married! Leon x Reader. Begins some time between RE2 and RE4. ] 

Summary: You have Leon to thank for everything turning out the way it did, so you’re determined (‘too personally determined’, the other agents say) to watch over him in your own way.

Progress: 1 / ??

Title inspiration: Over the Love by Florence + The Machine

  You’re not suited for being an agent on the ground, shooting at any kind of moving targets and being in those kinds of situations. You’re not stupid by any means, but the heat of battle isn’t where your abilities shine. Which is precisely why when the U.S government official was sitting across from you offering you a ‘deal’ - more like an enforcement considering they added that you can’t return back to being normal after what you saw - you didn’t hesitate to suggest something less...intense than being an agent like Leon. Your former employment centered more on information and communications, so it felt natural to have you trained to be an F.O.S agent instead. You fit in like a glove after the training period was finished.

  Your supervisors also feel that it makes sense to pair you up with Leon Kennedy for your first communications mission. After all, when it comes to establishing a connection, you both had a hell of a ride doing that back at your (currently blown up) former employer - a pharmaceutical company that bit off more than it could chew with its t-virus sample. And by ‘connection’, you clearly remember Leon clearing away the infected with his weaponry while you played it smart and stayed away from the danger. ( Which basically meant hiding behind him or running away from anything that tried to kill you. ) The help you did offer was knowledge - layout of the facility, names, timeline of events, solutions to any puzzles - with the times being that you stepped in during the violence was to shove or stab one of the infected that were trying to kill Leon. 

  So, to have this be your first mission makes you feel like you’re paying him back for watching over you during that time even if looking back on it he could have just left you behind. Your finger presses the button the communication device, initiating your first contact with Leon in a while. You saw him once after being brought in for questioning, and it was only a brief chance for him to put a hand on your shoulder to comfort you. 

  The screen changes to his face and you can’t help the small smile the blossoms on your lips. It’s comforting to see him again.

  “It’s you,” he breathes out. This is definitely unexpected for him.

  “Agent Kennedy,” you say, giving him a nod, “I’m going to be your support this time around.”

  “Didn’t expect you to be helping me out like this,” he replies, letting out a little chuckle. 

  “It’s different this time, y’know. I’m not right behind you now, but I’ll still be assisting you in whatever way I can.” You sit back slightly in your chair. “I’ve already compiled some preliminary information to give you while I keep searching for anything new to update you on. Take some time to read through it before it’s time for guns to be blazing.”

  “Got it. Thanks.” There’s an odd beat of silence. “How are you doing?”

  The question throws off guard, wiping the smile off of your face instantly. Nobody’s actually asked you that and when you take a moment to mull it over you don’t think you are. 

  How do you tell Leon that, though? That it’s hard to go to bed at night because even the comfort of a bed doesn’t keep the nightmares away? That the figure of your jacket on a chair can terrify you because you think it’s a monster? That daily life has essentially been ripped out of your hands by other people, leaving you unable to breathe in the middle of broad daylight? You can’t. Even if he can understand more than anyone else. 

  You force on a smile. It hurts your face. “I’m doing fine, all things considered.”

  Another series of pauses follow. He goes to open his mouth again but you’re quick to the punch, hoping to block him from delving any further into your feelings. He’s being too kind in your opinion and while in another situation you’d feel relaxed it only stirs up a tightening in your chest. You deflect his intentions.

  “I wanted to say thank you,” you cut him off. “I didn’t get the chance before but seriously...Thank you.” 

  “You’re thanking me for saving you? What else was I supposed to do? Leave you there?”

  You laugh silently. “You could have.” Like your old co-workers did. “But that’s not how you are, I guess. Anyway, I can’t keep you from your mission. Good luck, Agent Kennedy.”

  “Right.”

  The transmission ends there. 

  When his transmission request comes through, you both had already shared a couple conversations prior to it. They were mostly standard - exchanging information and getting updates on his well-being and how far along the mission was going. There was the occasional joke thrown in or snappy remark but it was to ease the tension for the both of you. You two naturally flow that way, defaulting to such a speech style because that’s how you are. It works wonders for you since when you’re not talking to Leon you’re either checking his location or worrying yourself to mental exhaustion despite the rational side of you listing reasons over and over about why he’ll come out alive. 

  You accept the request without any hesitation. 

  “Status update?” You ask.

  “Mission complete. I’m moving to the extraction point,” he says, holding up a silver box with the target. 

  “Good deal. I’ll let them know you’re on the way.” You give another smile. “Good work. Looks like you’ll be back sooner than we predicted, too.”

  “Yeah. You know-” The smirk he gives you causes you to throw him a suspicious look. What’s he going to say? You’re not quite sure what to expect with him. “You’re looking pretty good like this. You free anytime soon?”

  Your mind blanks. That’s so unexpected. 

  You try your best to remember if there was ever a point before that he tried to pull something like this with you. Well, now that you think about it, even if he did, you would have been too frightened of the infected beings to even give it any kind of attention or a split second thought. You take what he says seriously, though. ( When you end the transmission later, you realize he’s probably messing around with you and doesn’t earnestly view you as a romantic option. You’d think it odd from your perspective. )

  Your feelings towards Leon can best be summed up as ‘thankful’. You have respect and admiration for him, but he’s someone that protected you so you have a hard time seeing him in anything outside of that light. You like him and, of course he has his charming points, but you’re not sure enough if anything you feel is considered romantic. At least for right now. 

  You recover from the surprise and send him a smug grin, resting your face in your palm. Even if there’s nothing romantic on your end, you decide to have some fun anyway. It can’t hurt after all. 

  “Come back later and try again, Agent Kennedy.”

[ Author’s Note: Hey, everyone! I’m a new writer for this series! I hope that you all enjoyed this and please give me any kind of feedback. Did you like it? Did you hate it? 

  I can’t really elaborate on what Leon and the reader’s past relationship is, but I’m sure you all figured it out based on what I gave you. I wanted to give something a little different for this story. Something a little fresh with the reader not being the action person but still helpful, y’know? 

  Thank you for reading! ]

[angryboywonder]

strangers

commission for mikugh on deviantart (who also does AMAZING art commissions, y’all should check out her gasr ) - the prompt for this fic was: leon kennedy/reader, with fluff and flirting! my visualization for this was definitely re2 because i’m still so not over the remake...

You’re found hiding in a convenience store.

It started a week ago. You noticed that people have progressively started getting more and more weird. As if they weren’t acting themselves. Work, school, even at home, your roommates weren’t themselves.

You came home from class to find one of your roommates feasting on the other and that’s when you bolted out the door and ran for shelter. You found an empty convenience store to take shelter in and that’s where you’ve been, hoping none of those things would find their way in.

When you hear the door open with a chime, your heart started racing and you immediately pick up the baseball bat that you told yourself you’d use in case of an emergency. Pulling it back over your shoulder tightly, bracing yourself as you pop around a corner, you’re met with a gun in your face, nearly screeching in response. 

“Hands up!” The officer yells, and you drop the bat by your feet, backing up.

“I’m good, I swear!” You feel tears starting in the corner of your eyes, and you repeatedly blink them away. The anxiety is rising in your body but you have to calm yourself, because you could have been shot, yet you weren’t. You’re lucky that this man has some decent reflexes to not immediately blow your head off.

Hands up, you’re shaking as he gets a good look at you, flashlight in your eyes, he even pulls at your eyelids for extra measure, turning your face side to side. “You haven’t been bitten?”

“No!” You shout, pulling away from him. “Do I look like one of them?” You saw up close what they look like, and they even took your best friends. You still don’t know exactly what it is. A virus, a person, a…thing? Are they like the undead that you see on TV?

“You really don’t but I would appreciate it if you spoke in an inside voice.”

“You’re the one who was yelling at me.”

The officer huffs, sliding his gun back into the holster.

That’s what I thought.

“Follow me.” He mutters, waving over his shoulder as he heads out the store.

You’re not exactly sure why you agreed to follow him. Maybe because he’s the actual, coherent, non-dead person you’ve found since the accident?

The entire time you do follow him, you try and figure out what his play is. He’s not exactly rude, and he isn’t really polite. It’s kind of like when you’re in high school and you kinda like someone, and you unintentionally play hard to get and be a little sarcastic with them because that’s just how you treat someone when you have a crush on them.

But you’re not sure. He’s been trying to contact someone through his radio as you make your way through the streets with no luck. What if he’s the only one on his team that’s still alive? It must be so hard for him. Who does he report to if everyone’s dead?

“You never told me your name.” You call out, breaking that tough silence.

His face lights up a bit at that, and he cracks a small smile as he throws a look back at you. “Leon. Leon Kennedy.”

“Very nice to meet you, Leon.” You put your hand out, which he gives a firm shake to. “My name is _____.”

You make your way underground, and you can feel yourself moving farther away from home. Farther from safety, but what is safe at this point? It’s then that you realize that you don’t even have the baseball bat you’ve been clinging to. You stop, looking side to side, despite it being dark and the only light is coming from Leon’s flashlight.

“What is it?” He asks, turning to face you.

“What if… I can’t defend myself?” You speak out loud, hesitantly.

Leon purses his lips, reaching into his utility belt, he hands you a combat knife with a sheath on it. You take it, gripping it tightly as you watch him continue his way on down the hall.

Maybe he’s not so bad.

You’ve only encountered a couple of those things on your journey, to which Leon swiftly took them out before you had the chance to scream or panic. He says you’re not that far from your resting point, and you’re still not exactly sure where the final destination is.

“So… what do you like to do in your spare time?”

Leon chuckles, “Are you trying to flirt with me?”

“No…! I just thought, I mean, we might be the only people left in the world so we might as well get to know each other.” You gasp softly under your breath, realizing that you might actually be poorly flirting with him.

“You so are flirting with me.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Not at all.”

The two of you laugh, and it’s when you pass by a doorway after him that you’re stumbling to the ground, another body on top of you, hissing and scratching at you. You’re pushing and scrambling for the knife that you were given, and with shaky hands, you drop it as teeth are piercing into your shoulder. Your fist sloppily collides with the side of her face, knocking her body sideways, you jump at the sound of Leon’s gun firing off with a bullet flying through the woman’s head.

You’re quickly being pulled up to your feet as Leon pulls back the strap of your tank top, wincing as he looks at the chunk that got taken out of your skin. “As soon as we get to the cable car, I can treat your wound.”

“Are you sure?”

Leon nods, “Yes, but until we get there, stay in front of me, and if I tell you to get down, you get down.”

“Okay.”

There wasn’t much ducking or hiding the rest of the way to the cable car, but once you get there, despite your bleeding wound and endless stinging pain, you make a joke. “My mom always told me not to get in cars with strangers.”

Leon doesn’t even laugh. You nod your head silently and enter the car, taking a seat on one of the couch cushions as you watch the officer pull the lever to get this contraption moving, and your body almost falls over as it takes off.

Kneeling in front of you, Leon puts the first aid kit beside you as he starts on the damage. He pours a solution over the wound that burns and causes you to whine and tear up, but you know he’s only cleaning it.

“I don’t have anything to stitch it up right now but I think this should work for now.” He smiles at you hopeful, taping a bandage over the spot. Your whole arm feels like static now and all you can do it lean back and endure it.

“Where are we going?”

“You’re… just going to have to trust me.” As soon as he’s done putting the first aid kit away, he’s back to your side, taking a seat next to you.

“What do you mean?” You look at him, eyebrow raising slightly.

“It might not make any sense to you right now.” He sighs, “I don’t want you stressing out.”

You hang your head back, looking up at the ceiling. “I think I can handle it.”

“We’re going to Umbrella Corporation, is that enough for you?”

“The… Lab?”

You look back at Leon, who’s nodding his head at you. You shyly slide your hand over to his thigh, giving it a slight squeeze. “Okay, I do trust you.” You laugh softly.

“I was hoping so.” He grins, leaning over, he places a gentle kiss to your lips. The kiss was so sudden and so quick it didn’t even feel real. You two exchange glances, and you lean back in to get another kiss, a more firm one this time, to which he places a hand on each side of your face. If it’s at all possible, he’s shifting even closer to you, your bodies pressing against each other as you’re moving your lips together.

It’s when the car comes to a jerking stop that your kiss is broken. You’re a little disappointed but you’re also feeling hopeful for what could possibly happen after all of this is over. Once again, you’re following back behind him after exiting the cable car. You trail a safe and respectable distance from him, gazing at him as he detaches what looks like a bracelet with a bright chip in the center of it off a nearby corpse. Leon uses that to gain entry into the lab and he reaches out a hand for you. You don’t even hesitate to intertwine your fingers with his.

[pixelgrotto]

The horrific Resident Evil playthrough, interlude three

Resident Evil’s a franchise that has almost as many spin-offs as it does main games, and when I told a friend several months ago that I was going to attempt a series playthrough, he was like, “Dude, aren’t there thirty of those?” 

Thirty’s an exaggeration, but there are about eleven spin-off games, give or take a bunch of mobile quickies that only came out in Japan. I’m not counting the “big” spin-offs like Code: Veronica or the Revelations titles, because those are essentially mainline releases with pivotal, canon story elements. I’m talking about games like Resident Evil: Survivor, an early PS1 effort that tried to fulfill the series’ first person perspective fetish with clunky results, Resident Evil: Dead Aim, a light gun shooter, and Resident Evil: Outbreak, an online game that let you tag team with buddies to escape Racoon City.

I decided to pick and choose which of these spin-offs I’d sit down to play, since quite a few of ‘em are mediocre, others have components that are now difficult to get running (Outbreak’s online multiplayer) and I just didn’t have the necessary hardware, like a PS2 light gun, to fully enjoy stuff like Dead Aim. (If you want a more comprehensive study of all of these games, then check out Avalanche Reviews’ Resident Evil Retrospective, which he began at around the same time that I started this playthrough.) I finally settled on Resident Evil 1.5, Resident Evil Gaiden, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles as the ones I was most interesting in experiencing...and honestly, it was a mixed bag. 

Resident Evil 1.5 - This isn’t so much a game as it’s a leaked beta release of what would eventually become Resident Evil 2, and the reason I chose to play this is because it’s famously different from the final product. Thanks to lots of behind-the-scenes development drama, Resident Evil 1.5 (still shown as 2 in my screenshot up there) is an unfinished build that was scrapped and heavily reworked before it became the RE2 that we know today. The differences between this and the final version are stark - the famous Raccoon City Police Station is a modern office building rather than a gothic hall of weird puzzles and art, the enemies include strange foes like zombie gorillas, there was no partner zapping system, and there’s a whole different character available from the get-go named Elza Walker. Elza, initially just a random motorcycle-riding civilian who crashed into the police station during the zombie outbreak, later became Claire Redfield in order to create a connection with Chris Redfield of RE1. I’m kind of fascinated with her, since it’s rare to get a glimpse of a character that was totally revamped during a game’s development, and I mostly ignored Leon to dabble through portions of the playable build with her. I say “dabble” rather than “play” because you can’t exactly finish RE1.5 - all you can do is wander around rooms and use a debug menu to teleport to different spots before giving up and watching a playthrough of someone more experienced do this on YouTube. At the end of the day, RE1.5 is more of a fascinating look behind the curtain than it is an actual game, and the final version of RE2 is definitely superior. It’s no wonder why the devs decided that a drastic revamp was needed, since RE1.5, even in its unfinished state, feels kind of samey to RE1. That said, I remain enamored with Elza Walker and her slick motorcycle suit, and I ain’t the only one, since it’s available as a skin for Claire in the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remake. 

Resident Evil Gaiden - RE Gaiden is a game that got infamously bad reviews upon release, with reviewers crapping on it for not being like the PS1 games. This is kind of unfair in hindsight, because it was released for the darn Game Boy Color, of all systems, and there was no way we were going to get an accurate copy of an experience which originated on hardware that was much more powerful. If anything, it shows how bad gaming journalism was in the early 2000s (you could make the argument that it still is bad, but that’s another story altogether), because honestly...I kinda enjoyed Gaiden? It’s flawed to be sure, but it comes darn close to taking the experience of “survival,” always at the heart of this series, and distilling it down to an 8-bit formula. The setting is a huge ship, just like Resident Evil Revelations (which oddly seems like it borrowed a lot of concepts from this game), and you’ve got to do the usual schtick of running around, collecting ammo and items and dodging zombies. Combat takes place from an RPG-esque first-person perspective that I liked because it struck me as an elegant reminder of Sweet Home, and you’ve got a constantly moving slider bar for each weapon with a key point in the middle that you need to hit in order to accurately fire off a shot. It’s novel but frustrating at times, since advanced weapons have the slider moving so damn fast, and it’s totally possible to end up in a fail state by running out of ammo. You can do this in any Resident Evil game, technically, but it feels more plausible here. Case in point - I got all the way to the final boss and was unable to beat him because I had no bullets. Dang! Still, despite its rough edges, Gaiden feels like a sleeper that didn’t quite deserve the bashing that it got upon release, and for a spin-off designed by a small British studio who had previously only made Mary Kate & Ashley and Tazmanian Devil games, it’s worth a look for people who always wondered what RE would be like in 2D.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles/Darkside Chronicles - I’m grouping these Wii rail shooters together because I expected to enjoy ‘em the most, since they contain remixes of the plots of RE1 to Code: Veronica and also new bits of lore, like the actual story of Umbrella’s downfall. (Why Capcom never stuck this in a mainline game and relegated it to a chapter in a Wii spin-off remains one of the company’s more bizarre franchise decisions.) Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish them, because I realized while playing both that...I don’t really like rail shooters very much. I mean, I think stuff like Time Crisis is okay in the arcade, when you’ve got a partner by your side and a physical zapper in your hand. But playing these after the fact and solo via the Dolphin emulator just isn’t as fun, though they are technically well made, for what it’s worth. I think my issue is that rail shooters take nearly all movement away from the player, and to me a vital facet of this series since day one has been exploration, so to be ushered from location to location with not much to do but blast zombies in the head just isn’t very appealing to me. The camera work in both games was also too much for me to handle, particularly in Darkside Chronicles, which has near constant shaky cam and gave me a headache after ten minutes. Overall, I think the new lore is worth checking out, at least via a YouTube collection of all the cutscenes, but I couldn’t bring myself to play these to completion. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, since I found the Time Crisis-style shoot ‘em up sections of RE5 and 6 to be kinda aggravating, but I was hoping to be surprised. This wasn’t the case, and part of me also finds both of these games to be something of a depressing reminder of the Wii era, where just about every major franchise got a gimmicky spin-off designed around the motion controls of Nintendo’s white box. It happened with Soulcalibur, it happened with Dragon Quest, and it happened with Resident Evil. The Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles are certainly on a higher tier when it comes to Wii spin-offs, but...I still think they aren’t for me.

And with that, I wrap up this so-so experience of Resident Evil side stories just in time for the big B.O.W. in the room... Resident Evil RE2make releases in two days, and you bet that I’ve got it pre-ordered and ready to load. 

All screenshots taken by me.