one and only ✌🏽 anon back with it again and dude i juat went on this whole search about rookie leon... turns out there's actually a ship name for claire and leon that isn't only cleon: rookieangel! it's not very commonly used but it sounds so cute and i absolutely loved it lol. so, afterwards, i found out that there's also books for resident evil that aren't graphic novels?? apparently resident evil underworld is a bridge between re2 and a year after the events so 1999 which talks about leon, rebecca, and claire going on some infiltrating mission of some sort... the books by s.d perry are not canon and are simply little expansions outside of capcoms canon universe. still, apparently they are still a really good read (im about to see where i can purchase them matter fact bc idgaf i love anything resident evil related) and they include a lot of cleon dialogue. now, im someone who personally can't decide who i like leon best with (me). ive seen him with ada which my lord do they have tension i absolutely love the two, but him and claire were so adorable in re2 and i felt really bad when watching infinite darkness bc the way they said goodbye was so bittersweet and it hurt me 💔
honestly i love him with both girls, we've seen very good interactions, more so id say him and claire were such cuties in re2 so might be a little biased honestly. i went on this little rant lol just to ask your opnion on if you thought leon might've had a crush on her whether it was small or not? ive always seen them as awkward teens flirting for the first time in re2r especially when the fence scene where they were all smiley. i think it was hard to determine though based on the fact they were in a crisis and experiencing a major apocalypse which also goes to say that in many of the resident evil games that ada happens to make an appearance alongside leon, there's tension sure, but it's often short-lived. ive seen debates on who he might be married to as well considering they showed him putting on a ring in re9 ending. honestly? im split between the fact that it's some survivor ring he, sherry and claire wear bc ive seen that sherry has one that looks the same but on her pinky. if not that, and considering koshi nakanashi stated he has a place to go home to and that "the answer will be clear some day" (lord he's so mysterious 😓) im assuming he meant marriage. id like to think that leon would've gotten married perhaps to a normal civilian he met sometime in the years we didn't see him. here's the thing though, i feel as if leon would've maybe been afraid or doubtful to bring somebody so normal into his life considering he works in a very dangerous work setting. still, i have zero idea and these are just my thoughts. sorry for the long rant this was actually meant to be shorter but uhm... im a chud who kept writing whatever came to mind 💔
I actually didn’t know there was a rookieangel ship name, I always known his ship with Claire as Cleon. I have read the SD Perry novels but I have come across some posts where other users share snippets of the excerpts. Perry definitely goes into details and really expands on the world building and character development. I think Leon and Claire would be a cute couple in a normal AU. They have a good rapport and definitely they have a solid trust in each other that is very evident even in degeneration despite the movie giving Leon and Angela more romantically coded scenes. This is why I felt that the RE9 charm “Trusted Companion” is a good name 🙂.
I’m going to say something very controversial, but I would rather Leon end up with some with that’s a part of his world. Personally I actually dislike the idea that he ends up with a normal civilian, because there would be a lot of classified information kept from the spouse in addition to that person having a target on their back from both the villains and the government. It would be an incredibly selfish decision for Leon to be in a relationship with an unknowing civilian, and this is why I argue that a relationship like this would be very draining for the spouse. This is why my own Ex-Husband!Leon series explores the negative side of a Leon x Civilian relationship.
As much as I lean towards Aeon, I know they just simply can’t be together like that. The reason why Aeon is very popular in the East Asian community (other than Ada being a representative of said community) is that their relationship follows the doomed lovers trope, and this trope is incredibly popular in that market. Many love stories in EA culture are usually angst where they don’t end up together - this is also heavily tied to the societal expectations to adhere to traditional norms and to “save face” or preserve honour. And Capcom is a Japanese company, so I do believe they are most likely to follow the same fail proof trope. If you are interested in Chinese literature, these are some of the very famous love stories (and they all follow the doomed angst trope):
The Butterfly Lovers (Fable)
The daughter of a wealthy family disguises herself as a boy in order to attend school (daughters from wealthy families were homeschooled). She ends up falling in love with a boy, but she doesn’t tell him that she is actually a girl so their relationship doesn’t progress into anything further than “best friends”. Then, she gets called back home because she is to marry the son of a more powerful family. By the time the boy friends out that she is actually a girl, it was too late as she had already gone home - he is heartbroken and dies. Just before her wedding, she gets news of his death and she visits his grave where she follows him. Their souls finally become a pair of butterflies and only then were they finally free to love each other.
Xiang Yu & Yu Ji (Historical Figures)
This takes place during the fall of the Qin dynasty when warlords are locked in confrontations in order to gain power during this turbulent time. Xiang Yu is the leader of the Chu and he is very infamous as a very imposing warlord (most records describes him as ruthless and brutal, but these were considered “good” traits for a warlord). He loved his consort “Yu Ji” very dearly: she was his “softness” contrasting the hardness of the battlefields and his “peace” in his war-defined life. However, Xiang Yu had a very volatile temper and was terrible at making alliances which ended up giving his cunning enemy the advantage. He ends up loosing one battle after another, until he has to retreat. In order to not be a distraction for Xiang Yu (because Yu Ji knew she would be captured), she took her own life so Xiang Yu could take the rest of the soldiers and escape the surrounding enemy forces. Unfortunately, Xiang Yu ends up dying in battle not long after. This story is forever immortalized, and it is the inspiration behind the renowned Peking Opera “Farewell My Concubine”.
My guesses for Leon’s potential partners (out of the canon characters) are:
I like remake Ashley, she is a sweetheart and she did have a significant positive impact on Leon. She is technically aware of Leon’s world and would be understanding of the classified secrets. However, this is not my top pick because I want Ashley to heal from the RE4 trauma and to move on with her life AND she is technically tied to the very system that holds Leon hostage and risks his life. Because Leon was originally supposed to be a bodyguard for the president, this leave a power imbalance due to the social class differences between her and Leon. I know Ashley is not directly responsible for the corruption, but she is a part of the oppressive and privileged class being the president’s daughter. I know it’s not Ashley’s fault that her father was the president, but it’s important to acknowledge how background and network connections influences one’s positionality within society.
If Leon trusts anyone then it’s Hunnigan. She has stuck by him through the majority of his career is already an integral part of his world. In the Death Island manga, it does show how Leon likes to send her selfies from his missions. If Leon has a friend out side of the main cast, then it’s definitely Hunnigan. Also she is a POC and I love seeing more interracial couples in mainstream media.
Surprise! Most of you either don’t know her or forgot about her. But she definitely has on-screen chemistry with Leon, because Leon was NOT shying away from the skinship and intense eye-to-eye during degeneration…and she is the only other character (other than Ada) to share a mouth-to-mouth kiss with Leon although the context of why that kiss happened could be argued. She is a safe choice, because she has the backstory and the chemistry development but she isn’t too mainstream to have antis.
The true underdog ship. Rebecca is already a part of Leon’s world (she is an advisor to both the BSAA & DSO) and she is a part of the main cast. Although it shown in the recent games, she does make appearances in Vendetta and Death Island. She isn’t politically tied or directly trauma bonded with Leo specifically like Ashley. She is the perfect offscreen character who doesn’t need much of an introduction. Rebecca is a safe choice because her optimism and gentle personality is positive influence for Leon.
Controversial, but Capcom is a Japanese company and there’s been documented instances of daughter figures turned into lover. For example, in Inuyasha’s sequel, Sesshōmaru became a couple with Rin and they had kids. Not what I want personally, but it is a possibility considering they don’t have that large of an age gap (under 10 years). I’m just putting this out there so everyone is prepared…
For Claire, I see her as a friend and confidante for Leon but not a romantic interest. Claire has a very friendly and inviting personality, but I do not think it was explicitly stated/shown that she is romantically interested in Leon (at least from what I could see). Unlike Ada, who in the original storyline was the established love interest for Leon, where a large part of her character development and appearances was to compliment Leon’s own storyline…Claire has her own story in the series that does not necessarily need to involve Leon as she is perfectly capable of mainlining her own titles.
But tbh, RE is a horror action game and I really found it unnecessary for Capcom to roll out the ring if it really ends up representing a romantic relationship. At the end of the day, RE is just a game and Leon is just a fictional character (and so is his s/o). The above is just my own casual personal opinion.
