every time i start to feel cringe for being too deep in the hyperfixation i remember the intense depression i have waded through and have to remind myself that enjoyment is fleeting (so grab it with both hands), and life is for loving (so hold that love close), and if anyone thinks i’m cringe they must not be having a very good time (and i hope they can find a good time soon).
how is it that Sephiroth both radiates the aura of a dingo about to tear into the plump meat of a steak sandwich while also looking as if he’d cut said sandwich into eighths with a fork and knife???
I think what would fit is physical touch, a hug, a hand on his shoulder, something solid to tell him "im here, you're not alone" and cause Chris's love language obviously is touch,
i think they just perfectly match🥹
I think he'd be a sucker for physical touch, words of affirmation, and acts of service. And I think if Chris hugged him, told him everything was going to be ok, and then did something to take some of the pressure off of Leon, Leon would melt instantly. I could see something like Leon was writing a report and he was really stressed out about it, I could see Chris interrupting the stress by kissing Leon's temple and giving him a little side hug when he sits down on the couch next to him, telling Leon it'll be ok, and then taking the laptop so he can proof read the section Leon was stuck on and make suggestions.
@polarspaz I give you more Noodle Leon, but this time, it's Leon in RE9 when he's getting interrogated by Gideon. This is unironically one of my favorite things I've written in the past couple months... just, the characterizations, weaving in the threads of canon, Gideon's entire disturbing deal, Leon's "flux state"... it just all hits really solidly for me.
WARNING: This is accurate to Victor Gideon's whole deal in RE9, which means the scene is VERY harassment and assault coded, except virus/snake flavored. Please take care of yourself!
...
It’s the heavy thud of footsteps that stir him into waking.
Leon jerks in place, but he doesn’t get very far. His arms are held uncomfortably behind him and when he shifts, rope and plastic bite into his wrists. Tied up. Cracking his eyes open, Leon glances up only to hiss as he’s immediately blinded. Heavy footsteps sound, something shifting to block much of the light. When Leon squints his eyes open again, his gaze trails from his own legs to those of another, and finally up to the backlit form of Victor Gideon.
Well, Leon found Victor. Or, Gideon found him.
“Why are you here? Is it for me?” Victor asks, his voice raspy as an odd smile twists his face. While it’s hard to see in this lighting, the man’s lips are cracked, skin split by scars and seams. As he speaks, Leon catches a flicker of the man’s tongue behind his black teeth. “Or… for her?
Grace.
Well, Gideon definitely knows who Leon is, if his welcoming at Rhodes Hill is anything to go by. But… he doesn’t know who Leon’s here for? Between that and Victor kidnapping Grace, it all points to the man deeming Grace important in some way. But why?
Instead of answering, Leon stays silent, keeping his gaze fixed on Victor. He’s been interrogated before, had training in how to handle interrogations. And one odd thing Leon’s learned over the years is that being in the chair can be a surprisingly good method of figuring out what the interrogator knows. The thing about interrogation: generally you aren’t interrogated for no reason, but because someone needs answers. And as the one with answers, that makes you surprisingly valuable. (Usually. Of course, sometimes, torture is on table.)
At Leon’s silence, Gideon leans forward. “We can talk,” the man says, and Leon has to duck his head as he gets a whiff of the man’s absolutely rancid breath. Jesus Christ, is this guy gargling gym shorts?! Forget experimenting on the dead, this man’s breath smells like the dead. Leon grunts, and when he lifts his gaze back up, the scientist’s expression has dropped.
“Right,” Gideon steps away, turning his back. Leon takes the opportunity to test his restraints, glancing back as he does so. His gaze immediately catches on the blood stained plastic lining the wall and floor behind him. …Not a great sign. “Or,” the scientist says, clicking his tongue, “we can begin your treatment.”
Leon looks over in time to see Victor turn back around with… ah, a scalpel in hand. Seems torture-style interrogation it is then. Leon flexes his wrists, idly testing the ropes as he sizes up the scientist. “The silent treatment, I hope,” Leon snarks.
Gideon eyes him for a moment, unamused, but then his cracked lips split into an eerie smile. “You’re an investigator, right?” Gideon hums as he points the scalpel at Leon. The amusement is short lived, expression quickly dropping into a scowl. “So investigate.”
Gideon moves closer and Leon shifts in place, only to grit his teeth as the everpresent pain in his body flares. Fuck. He hates interrogations. He hates this damn rot. Forcing his breathing to steady, Leon fixes his gaze on the far side of the room. Victor looms over his shoulder.
“What do you want to know?” the man asks, almost friendly. In Leon’s periphery, Gideon leans down. “Is this where I conduct my research?” Great, the guy’s asking rhetorical questions. Leon stays silent. He keeps his gaze fixed forward, even as he’s aware of a hand brushing the hair on the side of his head. Don’t react. Don’t move. “Yes,” Gideon murmurs, answering himself as he moves behind Leon. A hand settles on his shoulder. Stay still. Stay silent.
Leon keeps his head down as he feels fingers tug at his collar, as those same fingers brush against the necrosis on his neck. He can’t feel them, Leon only knows the fingers must be there thanks to the pressure transmitted to the living tissue beneath. Unease churns in his gut but he stays still. Silent. He doesn’t know what Victor wants, but Leon isn’t going to give it to him.
Besides, he seems to be quite happy answering Leon’s questions for him.
“Are the answers to your disease here?” Gideon mutters and he must press harder, because jagged needles of pain shoot down to Leon’s clavicle. In his periphery, Leon’s aware of Gideon bending down, hand still pressing into his shoulder and the blackened skin beneath. “Yes,” the man hisses, almost whispering in Leon’s ear,
Now, Leon’s been a good sport about this whole interrogation so far. But Victor getting up in his face is uncomfortable for a number of reasons, not least of which being that his breath still reeks. “You know, I do have a question,” Leon mutters as he cringes away from Gideon. He twists his neck to look at the face a few inches from his own. “When was the last time you brushed your teeth?”
Judging by Gideon’s black gums and rancid breath, the answer is probably never.
Gideon withdraws, allowing Leon a bit of fresh air, but it’s short lived. The man moves around in front of Leon, his hand trailing down from Leon’s shoulder to his sternum. To the pendant around Leon’s neck. Well, shit.
“Such an interesting necklace,” Gideon hums as he tilts the pendant up. It must have slipped out from under Leon’s shirt somewhere in the chaos of the past hours… or when Gideon kidnapped him. Swallowing his unease, Leon keeps his gaze fixed on the middle distance, staring through Gideon. But he can still see the scientist in front of him twisting the blue stone around his neck. “Odd thing to wear during all this, no?”
Leon keeps his expression neutral, even as a small thread of worry uncoils. If Gideon removes it, Leon will start transforming immediately… but, turning into his dragon form would make for an excellent distraction to take Victor by surprise and break these restraints. Leon breathes, keeping his muscles loose as Gideon fully takes hold of the pendant and then, with little fanfare, the man drags it up, pulling the cord over Leon’s head.
Instantly a familiar burning settles under Leon’s skin. He grits his teeth as dual waves of pain—from the rot and the transformation—pulse through muscle and bone. Vertebrae click as his spine is pulled and stretched. Skin itches as it's replaced by scales. His jaw aches as his face is pushed out, his splitting tongue running past sharpening teeth.
But then, abruptly, the burn abates as Victor drops the pendant back over Leon’s head.
Leon blinks, the whisker-like barbels on his upper lip twitching as they start to shrink. He glances up at Gideon over a half-elongated face and… the scientist doesn’t even look shocked. No, instead his expression is of something else. Delight. Leon shifts against his restraints as his spine begins to shorten, dread churning in his gut.
…Gideon knew.
Somehow, he knew.
A dozen theories are considered and discarded as Leon stares Victor down. While it’s possible the scientist could have encountered a situation like Leon’s before… Leon’s been stripped of his guns. It’s reasonable to assume Victor might’ve tried to take the necklace. Because yeah, people don’t wear jewelry like this in the field. Not without reason.
Gideon probably took it off before Leon even woke up. And then got a front row seat to what, exactly, the pendant did.
“How interesting,” Gideon murmurs, lifting a finger from the pendant to flick at the barbels still protruding from Leon’s upper lip. He can’t stop his flinch—couldn’t even if he wanted to. The things are so packed with nerves it’s ridiculous, even at this proto-stage.
His flinch however, seems to only embolden Gideon.
The scientist takes hold of the pendant again, slipping it off Leon’s head. The bone-deep ache returns, fierce and hungry as it reaches inside Leon’s body and starts to take him apart.
His face, nearly back to human, begins to elongate again. His neck arches—several inches longer than it was a moment ago—and his back digs into the chair as his spine is pulled. He can feel his tail budding at the base of his back, growing nerves protesting as he’s forced to sit on it. Scales flush over his skin, he can feel them itch along his back, his neck, his arms. The barbels at his lip tense and twitch with every wave of aching agony, stretching longer, longer—
And then Gideon drops the pendant back over Leon’s head.
Leon’s body burns as the mutations start to recede again. He glares at Victor, fangs flashing. It's partly out of frustration and partly because Leon’s teeth are currently too big for his mouth. Gideon just chuckles, letting Leon get a glimpse of the man’s own forked tongue.
‘Is there a point to this?’ Leon wants to ask, but he swallows the question. He knows why. Victor’s own fascination and amusement. And Leon, the unfortunate and unwilling subject.
Gideon’s hand shifts from the pendant back to Leon’s still-elongated neck. This time, Leon can feel the fingers brushing over his skin and scales. The numbness of the rot doesn’t stretch as far on Leon’s scaled hide—size-wise, there’s more of him, so the rot’s reach is smaller. But he knows where it is, knows that Victor is tracing where his scales turn black and start flaking off.
But he can also feel how Gideon’s dry cracked fingers move higher, tracing a patch of healthy scales along his spine.
“You’re a pretty thing,” Gideon murmurs, and Leon very, very, very carefully does not react. He breathes, gritting his oversized teeth as his jaw slinks back. The pendant is removed again, and this time Gideon keeps his hand on Leon as scales ripple back over his skin, as his vertebrae pop and multiply.
Leon’s ears flick as the burn ripples through his muscles. His shoulders scream, the transformation trying to force them forward, but the restraints keep them locked behind his back. Leon hisses as his back slips up the chair, forcing him to bow forward with a spine a foot longer than it was previously. Inside his thick trousers, Leon’s growing tail flicks against his thigh, struggling for an escape he can’t give it. His boots feel tight.
Leon twists his nearly foot-long neck to glare at Gideon over his partially-formed muzzle. “This is coming out of your credit card,” Leon informs the scientist. Victor already took his jacket, which is going to cost him. If Leon has to fight Gideon without shoes and wearing assless pants, he’ll do it, he’s had to do it before, but he won’t be happy about it.
Gideon smiles, showing off his blackened teeth. “Feeling more talkative now, are we?” he hums, letting the pendant fall over Leon’s head again. Leon grits his teeth as the mutations stutter to a stop, pressure on his body easing. It’s not going to last. “Hm, pity.”
Leon can feel his skin and scales crawling as Gideon inspects him, watching as the mutations retreat. But before they can vanish completely, he takes the pendant off again, keeping Leon’s body in a state of flux. Not human nor even dragon, but something other caught in-between.
Sick bastard.
Right, Victor’s not being helpful anymore, so time for Plan… C? D? Doesn't matter, new plan. Behind his back, Leon taps his scaled knuckles along his spine. His hands are too far from his hips now to reach for the small knife he keeps hidden in his belt. But, the talons cutting into the skin of his palm offer an alternative.
With clumsy fingers, Leon starts working the ropes. He tries to curve his aching back up a bit, and idly notes that even sitting, with his neck and back straight like this he’s nearly as tall as Gideon now.
While Leon is slightly worried Victor will see it as a threat now that Leon is no longer ‘beneath’ him, the man instead seems to find it delightful. The scientist lets the mutations creep another few inches, but then the pendant is back on. Leon’s whiskers twitch as Gideon’s fingers trail along the stuttering scales on his neck, then higher up toward his head.
Unease and disgust curdle in Leon’s gut as Victor leans closer, his breath rancid, face far too close. Leon feels those damned fingers trail along his jaw, along the fur that had begun to thicken from the stubble at Leon’s cheeks.
And you know what? Leon’s had e-fucking-nough. Before Gideon can pull his hand back, Leon lunges, sinking his still-elongated teeth into Victor’s motherfucking finger. The scientist screeches and blood fills Leon’s mouth—and he promptly has to fight back a gag. Even this man’s blood is rancid. But it does the job, Victor staggers backward clutching his hand and Leon talons tear through the last of the ropes.
He lurches upward, unsteady on his half-formed legs, but even half-transformed the muscles of his torso and neck are developed enough to keep him upright despite the extra feet of height. Leon staggers away from the chair and Gideon, clutching his pendant protectively. His eyes immediately catch on one of his pistols, discarded on a small table and he stumbles forward.
Leon swipes his gun and whirls, already firing. But Victor is as slippery as the snake he resembles, rushing away with a trail of black blood in his wake. The scientist slips past Leon’s shots and around a corner, and by the time Leon follows, Victor must have hit some mechanism because the passage closes behind himself.
Beyond the closing walls, Victor snarls. “You’re a dead man walking!” Gideon screams before the latch finally seals and Leon lets his gun fall.
Leon curls his lip, his partial muzzle peeling back to show his fangs. Bastard. The rotten taste still on his tongue has him grimacing, and Leon takes a second to gag. After several moments of frantic spitting, Leon manages to get rid of the blood and remains of Gideon’s finger still in his mouth. “Eugh,” Leon mutters, wiping his mouth with his free hand. “That guy is disgusting.”
His other hand still clutches his pendant, taking some comfort in the solid stone as the mutations finally fully recede into his skin. Leon rolls his shoulders, a quick survey informing him his pants and boots are thankfully intact. His body still tingles, phantom aches playing through his bones as if trying to replicate the flux state he was forced into.
Leon finally lets himself shiver, dropping his hand from his necklace. They already knew Victor was crazy, but Leon can now confirm he is bat-shit crazy with an added dose of harassing stalker ex. Why does Leon always get the weird ones? He shakes his head. Right, time to get going. Victor may have escaped but Leon still has a job to do.
“You there?” Leon asks, the lingering cold chased away as Sherry’s voice fills his ears.
EVERYONE GO READ THIS RIGHT NOW, I AM SUPER SERIOUS!
The body horror in this is TOP TIER and Leon's and Gideon's interaction is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!
I LOVE THIS FIC!!!!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!! (Gonna go read it again!)
Had to draw a scene from the oneshot that @quasar-crew did about Gideon being a dick and using Leon's pendent to keep him in a constant state of flux between forms by taking the pendent on and off again.
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