i found something on twt. a chinese player shared it. either way, take it with a grain of salt !!
"im a low-level artist on the project team. the entire character design and pv (promotional video) for the new male lead were completed six months ago. we held meetings three times to warn upper management that dropping a character out of nowhere with zero pre-hype would definitely infuriate veteran players. we suggested extending the promotion period and balancing the content production for the old characters, but everything was rejected by management. the higher-ups only care about traffic and financing. they can't wait for players to argue their way onto the trending searches to boost popularity.
they deliberately suppressed the storyline resources of the five original male leads to pile everything onto the new character, completely disregarding the feelings of long-time paying players. everyone at the grassroots level clearly knew that this plan would ruin the game's reputation, but nobody listened to front-line opinions. the current mess of net-wide boycotts is entirely a self-inflicted result of management's shortsightedness and greed."
Guys so in order to really impact the game and get them to reconsider this decision to remove Valko, we need to do things that will directly reach the developers.
Submit complaints directly to the in-game customer service. A high influx of complaints will force the developers to notice the effects that this decision is having on their global playerbase. VIP players should do this especially since their unhappiness with the game will directly affect Infold's income.
Email Infold and PaperGames. You do not have to write your own complaint since there are templates/scripts for people to follow and email to them. The templates will be posted at the bottom of this post, as well as the email accounts to target.
Leave negative reviews on App Stores. Leave 1 or 2-star reviews and express that the decision to remove Valko has negatively affected your gaming experience.
Post on social media about the negative impact of Valko's removal. If you are unwilling to post, interact with posts that are discussing the outrage towards his cancelation. Use the hashtag #BringValkoBack.
Sign the petitions that fans have made in retaliation to this decision. While gaming companies do not always pay attention to petitions, showing the amount of signatures will prove that there is a community that is willing to fight for his return.
If possible, delete the game completely. Chinese fans caused the game to have about 1 million uninstallations of the game, which is what led to this in the first place. We need to affect their pockets too.
Valko's removal sets a really bad precedent for how Infold and PaperGames will respond to consumer backlash (especially from the Chinese market) in the future. This adds the risk that if Chinese players dislike any story beat or aspect, we will risk losing that too.
The problem was never with Valko, it was with the company's inconsistent communication with the fanbase about when things would be happening, and by making the decision to remove Valko they are going to have to change the rest of the game entirely. This game was always intended to have 6 love interests, and now that this has been abruptly changed, the game will either have to face even worse delays or the re-written parts of the story will be rushed and not up to the same quality as the rest of the game. This will affect player enjoyment as well as the longevity of the game as a whole.
it’s devastating to see how the hard work of the valko team was just completely wiped out. i just hope the devs and artists got compensated properly for their time. it’s so unfair that front-line staff always have to suffer the consequences of terrible decisions made by upper management :(((
`Hi! I wanted to ask the Love and Deepspace team to keep Valko's launch. I agree he deserved more time in the spotlight before the launch, deserved more build-up, but genuinely I've been so excited for him. Please reconsider your decision on removing him. For all the negativity, there are so many more people out here who do want him around. Don't give up on us!`
`Valko was a highly anticipated addition to the game and many Global fans find this decision to remove him to be poorly thought out. We love him already and want the love and care that his artists and writers poured into him to be made available to his fans. Please reconsider and bring Valko back! Especially out of respect for the artists, writers, and his voice actors!`
`Dear Love and Deepspace Team,I'm writing because I'm deeply disappointed by the decision to cancel Valko.I understand that the team is responding to community feedback, but many players were genuinely excited for Valko and were looking forward to his story. It feels unfair that the support for him was overshadowed by the backlash.I have supported Love and Deepspace every month by spending money on the game because I truly love it. This is the first time I have ever seriously considered quitting because of a decision like this.Please reconsider bringing Valko back. We need him as part of the six love interests. Without him, the game feels incomplete.Thank you for your time, and I sincerely hope Valko will return.___________主题：关于敖尹的玩家心声——恳请重新考虑亲爱的恋与深空团队：感谢你们在这段艰难时期倾听玩家的声音。我知道过去几天对所有人来说都不容易，也很感激你们的团队愿意直接回应玩家的反馈。我想以一个对取消敖尹这一决定感到非常心痛的玩家身份，给你们写这封信。从他第一次公布的那一刻起，他的设计和身世之谜就深深吸引了我。在长时间等待新角色之后，他重新点燃了我对这款游戏的期待，我一直很期待了解他的故事，看他如何融入这个世界。我理解大家的不满。已有角色的长期未更新剧情确实需要被重视，这些诉求是合理的。但我不认为敖尹本身是问题所在,取消他并不能解决这些问题，反而让另一部分期待迎接他的玩家感到失望。我也想到了所有为他付出心血的人：编剧、美术、动画师、程序员、音乐制作人、配音演员们，他们投入了大量时间和精力才让这个角色得以呈现。如果这些努力最终无法让玩家体验到，实在令人惋惜。恳请你们考虑除永久取消之外的其他方案。哪怕他的上线需要推迟，等现有角色得到应有的剧情更新之后再说，我也愿意等待，相信很多玩家也是如此。恋与深空一直以来都致力于为玩家创造难忘的回忆，而敖尹在我们真正与他相遇之前，就已经在很多人心中留下了意义。无论你们最终做出怎样的决定，我都希望你们能记得，有许多玩家曾经为他感到期待，也仍然希望有一天他能在恋与深空中找到属于自己的位置。感谢你们读完这封信。`
Get IGN to write about this!
https://corp.ign.com/contact
`Hello IGN team,I wanted to send a tip about a major developing controversy in the Love and Deepspace fandom.Today, the official Love and Deepspace account announced that Valko, the game’s newly revealed sixth love interest, has been canceled.This is especially notable because Valko had only just been announced as the game’s sixth male lead, with his debut planned for Version 6.0. His reveal triggered intense backlash, particularly from parts of the Chinese player base. Much of the criticism focused on his appearance, his “Westernized” design, and the belief that his addition would take resources away from the existing love interests.However, the backlash appears to have gone far beyond normal criticism. Players have been circulating reports and screenshots alleging death threats, harassment, funeral-themed protest items, cow dung being sent to or left near the company’s HQ, and discriminatory comments aimed at the character’s perceived Western appeal and werewolf-coded/queer-coded presentation. There have also been widespread accusations from global fans that some of the backlash included racist and homophobic rhetoric.The reason I think this is newsworthy is that the company appears to have fully capitulated to the most hostile side of the backlash. By canceling Valko outright after his reveal, many players feel Love and Deepspace is effectively rewarding harassment and discriminatory fandom behavior rather than drawing a line against it. Fans who were excited for Valko are now upset not only because the character was canceled, but because the decision seems to validate the harassment campaign against him.This could be a significant story about live-service games, otome fandom, Chinese/global player-base tensions, and what happens when companies respond to extreme fan backlash by removing announced content.Thank you for looking into it.`
Further email options and actions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vCH71CCf6JzcmicrC01xO20AhOArl7eg8SVMV0Owh0w/edit?usp=sharing
Ummm I just found out that one of the main complaints was that Valko was "too tan"....???????????? And Infold went for it. Mkay. Yeah, as a black player this is past the last straw. I'm done.
Western???? Yeah no babe that's racism. Or at least colorism. None of the LIs look chinese let's be completely honest. They're just pale. Which, mind you, a lot of Chinese people are not without bleaching their skin FORRRRRR WESTERN standards!!!!!! Racist fucks.
It's a long shot seeing as it seems that Inf*ld only cares about their local audience, but however slim, there's the chance that they may just be testing to see what would be the pushback of deleting Valko versus keeping him, especially since it doesn't solve any of their existing issues and actually makes them worse.
If you can, please sign the following petitions 🙏🏻
Bring Valko Back! - Sign the petition! via @Change
how ungrateful do you have to be to ruin part of a game for literally a million other people? valko was for sure not a character for everyone, but that’s the entire point of a love interest game. everyone has different tastes.
i’m sure infold wasn’t pushing off the story line. y’all just had to be patient and wait. why is that such a problem
protesting and causing public disturbances is actually so disgusting. what has humanity come to if y’all are getting so butt hurt over a game?
i hope everyone who has taken part in these protests that led to valko’s PERMANENT REMOVAL learn that the world does not revolve around them—SO many other people, including myself, were looking forward to valko.
please a) use #bringbackvalko, and b) consider signing the following petitions:
Bring back Valko as a meaningful love interest
Fans urge Infold and PaperGames to restore Valko as a love interest in Love and Deepspace to honor the original vision for the game. Add you
and, i will continue to write for valko as if he were added in the game, cuz in my heart he absolutely is.
When I first skimmed the announcement, I thought they were just delaying Valko’s release. The backlash had gotten too intense, so they were going to pull back and maybe rework his design and personality to better suit Chinese tastes. I wouldn’t have agreed with that, but it was at least a “compromise” I could realistically see Infold making.
So when I realized they were actually cancelling Valko altogether, I was shocked. It never even crossed my mind that they would throw an entire LI in the trash after investing so much time, effort, and money into creating him. Even more unbelievable is that this seemed to be their first response. They didn’t try delaying him, redesigning him, or exploring any other options before scrapping him entirely. To me, that’s unfathomable.
Outright cancelling Valko is a huge deal. It has major implications for both the story and Infold itself. His main story was supposed to introduce a significant amount of lore, so what happens to all of that now? Do we simply never learn it, or is it awkwardly shoehorned into another LI’s story? Either way, Infold now has to write around the massive hole Valko leaves behind, which could easily hurt the pacing, continuity, and overall quality of the story.
When a company gives in to unreasonable fan demands, it sends the message that enough outrage and pressure can get people exactly what they want. That creates a bad precedent because it encourages the loudest and most demanding fans to keep pushing whenever they dislike even a small decision. Instead of accepting that they won’t always get their way, they learn that if they complain loudly enough or keep the pressure on long enough, the company might cave. Over time, that can make the fanbase more entitled, turn every decision into a potential controversy, and push the company into reacting to whoever is shouting the loudest instead of sticking to its own vision and making the choices it genuinely thinks are best.
It’s also very notable to me that Infold’s announcement didn’t address any of the valid issues players have actually been raising, like the lack of ways to farm diamonds, the slow pace of main story updates, or the missing content for existing LIs. The only thing they briefly mentioned was that Sylus and Caleb would be getting main story updates later this year. It almost feels like they used Valko as a sacrificial lamb. “Look how much we care about player feedback, we got rid of an entire LI for you. Now please ignore all the legitimate issues with the game. Haven’t we done enough?”
Another thing I’ve seen surprisingly few people talking about is their statement that they’re never going to release another new LI. Such a concrete, no-wiggle-room statement is insane to me. The game’s materials and overall structure have always been built around having 6 LIs. We only have 5, so are we just never going to get the complete set? Are we never going to get the narrative foil to Rafayel like the other LIs have? That’s a massive decision with huge implications for the future of the game. If Valko had been the 7th LI and we already had a complete roster of 6, then I could understand them saying they weren’t adding any more. But permanently leaving the roster incomplete like this is just baffling.
I love every point you made here Anon!
As a business owner, I am absolutely FLABBERGASTED by Infold’s response to this entire thing.
The smart (and ONLY) logical choice for infold to make was to cancel his release in the CN servers and continue to release him globally.
This option would have been the best bet at “pleasing all parties.” Because at the end of the day, Infold is a BUSINESS designed to MAKE MONEY. So why the hell would they waste millions of dollars developing this character by just completely canceling him WHEN THE REST OF THE WORLD WILL SPEND MONEY FOR VALKO!
Infold needs to grow some balls and stand on business. How hard would it be for them to announce “We have considered all feedback from Valko’s release and decided the best course of action was to remove him from the CN server. We understand and appreciate everyone’s thoughts and feeling and hope that you understand our decision. If not, we completely understand and there’s no hard feelings. For those who continue to support us, we thank you as well.”
But since they didn’t do that, the rest of the world is now mad at them. At this point, I don’t know what they’ll will be able to do for damage control.
Infold has also violated the FTC on the account of false advertising and materiality. If enough people complain, this could lead to a massive class action lawsuit in which we may be able to use as leverage to force their hand and release Valko to western countries.
Maybe that’s just wishful thinking, but honestly I’m mourning Valko like a real person. I’m beyond devastated, along with so many others. I even had to go to urgent care for a migraine from crying for hours and got a $300 bill on top of all this lol.
I encourage everyone to make their voices heard and stand up for Valko so that maybe, by the grace of the gods, we can save him.
summary: and we'll wake up to find it was all just a bad dream...
wc: I have no idea, not very long
content: Valko x gn!reader, nightmares, fluff that might now be considered angst. Possibly ooc!valko, but I GUESS WE'LL NEVER KNOW NOW, WILL WE???
a/n: to prove how very normal I am about The Character, I made this weapons-grade copium for the loss we have suffered. Not proof-read, barely edited, coming straight from the broken pieces of my heart. I AM NORMAL.
excerpt: A brief pause and then Valko huffs, suppressing a laugh because he knows you're upset, but unable to help it because the idea is so ridiculous.
"I would never leave you, cub. You know that."
"I do," you reply, "but you didn't want to. It was something... something making time go backwards. Every moment since we met, everything just winding back until you... you were gone."
---
"VALKO!"
You wake up with a scream, one of the real, uncontrollable ones that tears at your throat as it escapes. You've never screamed like that in your life and you sit bolt upright in a panic.
Your whole body is trembling, your eyes wide, sobs hiccuping from your tear-filled face as you try to breathe. Your sweat-covered body feels cold in the air and the sense of being exposed shocks you and you inhale sharply, as if readying for another involuntary scream.
"Hey."
Less than a second after you sit up, a warm embrace brings the terror to a halt.
"Hey. It's alright," Valko rumbles gently.
You grab onto one of the massive arms wrapped around you, the heavy muscle acting as your life-preserver as the world stops its sickening swaying and shaking. A familiar musk settles over you, an instant comfort.
"Valko..."
You turn and shove your face into his bare chest, throwing your arms around his large body to the best of your ability.
"It's alright," he says again, rubbing your back, "I'm here."
But he wasn't here a moment ago. The nightmare comes back to you in fragments, moments of your lives playing in reverse, ripping him backwards out of your life.
From playfighting in the woods, the fire not dying but being unborn, you climb back in the car to drive in reverse all the way back to your separate homes.
Leaning against bookshelves with him, you withdraw from messing with his cute, dumb face and he stands up and walks backwards out of the room.
Holding you in bed, he carries you backwards to the kitchen and then meanders through your house, cleaning up every mess he made, erasing every last trace of his presence and then leaping off the balcony and out of your life forever.
A tiny moan of horror escapes you at the memory and you hope stupidly that he won't hear it, knowing that he has a surplus of very keen ears.
"That must have been some bad dream, huh?"
He tries to sound nonchalant, but it worries him that you haven't let go. You touch each other A LOT, but you don't usually cling to him like this. You try to make yourself pull away, but you can't, so instead you mumble,
"Did I wake you up?"
"Mm-mm," he murmurs onto the crown of your head. "I woke up just a second before you did..." You sense him smile a little. "Instincts."
This gets a small laugh from you and finally look up at him.
He's gorgeous, even with a bedhead and bedears and sleep in the corners his lovely golden eyes. He puts a hand on your cheek and thumbs away a tear.
"You okay? Do you wanna tell me about it?"
Thinking about the dream again tenses your body in an instant and Valko gives you a reassuring squeeze.
"Or not. We can talk about something else. Stock market volatility? The rules of Parcheesi?"
You laugh again through your tears.
"Those are the worst conversation topics I've ever heard."
Valko grins at the sound of your laughter and the sight of his sharp yet adorable eyeteeth makes the nightmare begin to fade.
"Sure, they're bad right now, but give me a minute to workshop it, I just woke up."
You smile and nod, sniffing back the last of your tears.
Valko touches your cheek again, as if to make sure the tears are drying at an acceptable rate, and then he moves towards the edge of the bed.
"Hang on, I'll go get you some wat-"
You react before you can stop yourself, catching his arm and pulling him back toward you with surprising force.
He chuckles a bit, thinking this is the beginning of a little roughhousing.
"What's wrong?" he teases, looking back. "Afraid I'll disappear?"
Your chest seizes and immediately your eyes fill with tears. Valko's face drops its playful look.
"Don't go," you whisper, trembling again ever so slightly, "please."
Quickly he swings his legs back onto the bed and pulls you close once more, nuzzling and kissing your head as you try to stop yourself from crying.
"Shit, I'm sorry, cub. I thought you were messing with me."
You wrap your arms around his waist as he leans you both back against the pillows, resting you on his chest.
"Sorry," you hiccup. "The whole thing... It's stupid. I dreamt you were... that you..."
Valko doesn't interrupt. He just rubs your arm and waits and that gives you courage to say it.
"That you left me."
A brief pause and then Valko huffs, suppressing a laugh because he knows you're upset, but unable to help it because the idea is so ridiculous.
"I would never leave you, cub. You know that."
"I do," you reply, "but you didn't want to. It was something... something making time go backwards. Every moment since we met, everything just winding back until you... you were gone."
He goes quiet for a moment, like he's reliving the nightmare with you. He shivers and sighs, and then holds you tighter.
"Yeah," he agrees, "that's a pretty bad one."
"Yeah." You press into him and close your eyes. Speaking it out loud made it a little less frightening... a little.
A gentle kiss lands on the top of your head.
"It's gone now though, right? I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, backwards or forwards. Okay?"
"Okay."
It feels truer now. He's here. Valko is here. You can feel his warmth, the rise and fall of his chest, his finger stroking lightly over your arm. You can smell his scent and he can smell yours, having marked each other forever, bonded with him for life.
"So definitely a no on the water?" He asks.
"Definitely," you say, finally starting to relax. With your eyes closed and Valko's heart beating steadily in your ear, sleep starts to fall on you again, soft and heavy like snow.
"Crying makes you dehydrated, you know," Valko comments, his voice also getting heavy.
"Your mom's dehydrated," you shoot back, half-unconscious.
"I'll tell her you said that."
"You better not."
"Totally gonna."
You grin stupidly and push at him with your eyes still closed. He laughs and wrestles you over, flipping you onto your side and pulling you into a tight hug, making into you his little spoon.
You fall faster and faster into sleep as Valko's tail curls around your bodies comes to rest on your legs, warmer and more comfortable than any blanket.
His voice is the last thing you hear before reality relinquishes its hold.
"I got you, cub," he says, soft lips brushing your ear, ushering you over the threshold into your dreams.
Your dreamscape is a glorious wilderness now, free from all constraints of time and space, well beyond the reach of strange, dark forces ripping you apart from the one who belongs with you, the one who runs at your side as the wind takes you up and away.
After watching the live stream I’ve come to the conclusion that Valko would hold your hand under the table at an event or family gathering and then proceed to try and thumb wrestle 😭
alright, i'll be the one to say it. ao3 and tumblr becoming "mainstream" did so much damage to the community and the writers. i have seen loads of videos and posts about:
1. people hating on writers and fics. writing is something we do for free and for fun. if you stumble upon a fanfic that isn't necessarily your cup of tea or you just don't like, scroll. dont read it. literally leave their page. you don't know if this could be the author's first work that they're so excited about, you dont know if the language they're writing in isn't their first language, you dont know that the writer could be a literal teen and loads of other reasons. fanfictions don't HAVE to be perfect. you write what you want to write because we do it for fun and enjoyment and we want to share that to the world. seriously, what is the wrong with that?..
2. x reader consumers getting WAY too entitled. the number of tiktoks i've seen that say "i run a strict program when it comes to reading fanfics." girl you aint running shit. this is FAN FICTION you're reading. F A N F I C T I O N. there is no denying that most fanfiction writes are beyond talented but just because you read one fanfic that exceeds your expectations doesn't give you the right to talk down on others that don't. people have their own personal writing style, their way of doing things and you talking shit on that isn't right.
at the end of the day, we are all humans, reading and writing is what we do and what we're meant to do. and for you to talk shit about a person WRITING is so insane. we are humans. not some robots that you can tell what to do so you can consume it.
i've seen so so many authors take down their fanfics and losing all motivation to write because of a hate comment. DONT LIKE DONT READ‼️
and to every author reading this, this community values your work and your contribution. we love u and, please, never let anyone's negative words have an effect on you.
OK. I understand why I can’t ride a riffroc full pelt through the centre of Kilima but also why can’t I ride a riffroc full pelt through the centre of Kilima. I am very polite and can be trusted
SUMMARY: Agent Kennedy is a smartass, so he reopens his stitches.
PAIRING: Leon S. Kennedy/ fem!Reader
TAGS: Reader is the doctor, Any era leon works, Fluff and a little crack if you squint, Hunnigan gave him the balls, we love lonely men, a little beta read.
𖦹 Word Count: 2,009 𖦹 Ao3
"Agent Kennedy, you need to stop moving." Your voice cut through, quite displeased by his constant fidgeting. You had patched him up merely two days ago; he had seventeen stitches across his abdomen, fresh bandaging and a lecture he could probably recite word for word by now.
Avoid strain. No sudden movement. Rest for at least forty-eight hours.
Simple instructions.
Instructions Leon Kennedy had apparently treated as optional.
Leon was not foreign to the concept of stitches and so you were sure there would be no complications this time as well. Lo and behold, 'I was bored so I went to the camp' which led to your current predicament.
“Says the lady currently driving a needle through my skin,” he muttered with a strained groan, finally leaning back against the operating chair.
"You were the one who denied local anaesthesia. If you want I could still-" You were cut off by him almost immediately. "I don't need local ana-thing for 5 stitches" He said as if you had offended him by even suggesting it.
Men.
"Then don't move again. I mean it." Sternly, this time.
"You got it doc."
Keeping his word, he stopped moving, the only sign that he was not under an anaesthetic being the faces he was making every time the needle went through. The stitching, being superficial, was done relatively fast. You moved away and discarded your gloves.
"I'm writing you up on a strict recovery leave for the next two weeks" , you said flatly as you reached for the clipboard resting on the counter nearby.
Leon’s head snapped up so fast you almost feared he had torn another stitch. "Oh, come on, doc, don't do this to me. Hell, I'm pretty sure you're not even allowed to do that."
“Doctor’s authority overrides field assignment if an operative is deemed medically unfit for active duty,” you recited. “Would you like me to continue, or have you memorised this lecture too?”
Leon stared at you for a long second before letting out a quiet sigh through his nose.
“That’s low.”
“What’s low is reopening your stitches because you got bored.” Moving to your desk and sitting down, you picked up his file.
“In my defence, it wasn’t entirely my fault.”
You finally glanced at him, unimpressed. “You voluntarily went to a training camp two days after abdominal sutures.”
“They needed me there!” He replied quick on his feet.
"You told me you went because you were bored." Another flat look.
A beat of silence "Well, I was bored and they needed help with the rookies."
"Leon, we are not arguing about this. You need rest. As your doctor its my responsibility to make sure you stay in good health and shape" You set the clipboard down on the desk with a sharp tap, turning back to face him.
He slumped back onto the operating chair with a groan. "Fine. You're the boss. I'll sit at home and do nothing. Rot basically. Cause that's what u want me to do. Rot."
"Leon."
"No no. Do as you please. Don't let my misery bother you."
"Agent Kennedy."
That finally got his attention.
Barely.
He dragged a hand down his face before peering at you through brown-blond strands falling over tired blue eyes. “You know, people usually buy me dinner before threatening my entire lifestyle.”
You crossed your arms. “People usually don't reopen stitches out of boredom.”
A soft smile took home on his face all the while looking like he was seconds away from falling asleep. Cute. Adorable even. The small voice in your head even urged you to run ur fingers through his hair. How unprofessional, you scolded yourself mentally.
“You’re exhausted,” you said, gentler this time.
“I’m functioning.”
“You were limping when you came in.”
“Hey now you're just being dramatic.”
How stubborn can someone possibly be, level Leon Scott Kennedy. You exhaled slowly through your nose, fighting the urge to smile. Fighting and losing, apparently, because his eyes narrowed the second he caught it.
“There it is,” he said quietly.
“What?”
“That thing.”
You frowned. “Very descriptive.”
“The smile.” He gestured vaguely toward your face. “You try not to do it around me.”
Your heartbeat performed an unhelpful little backflip.
“That is objectively untrue.” Quick to defend yourself and only receiving a "mmhmm" from his end.
"FYI, I'm very professional, I do not laugh and giggle with any of the government agents I'm assigned to. Ever." You said trying to gain some of the ground back for it to all be yeeted out the window when leon dramatically clutches his chest.
"Agents. There are multiple? You're telling me I'm not the only one?"
You roll your eyes and get up to wash the tools you used. Distracting. Or at least trying your best to distract yourself. That was until Leon spoke up again.
"I think you tolerate me quite professionally.” His voice dipped lower, softer around the edges. “I think the smiling part’s separate.” And thank god you were'nt facing him cause he would have totally caught onto how warm that sentence just made you.
"You're avoiding the real topic." You said trying to go back to medical leaves.
"You're deflecting." God did he ever stop, or was he on a mission to break his poor doctor's composure today?
Nope. Not today.
"You need sleep." You said placing the washed stuff back where it belongs
"Cruel" Came a quick reply
"And at least two weeks off duty."
"Crueler."
With that, you turned back only to see him staring at the ceiling as if he had been sentenced to death. You cleared your throat and sat back down at your desk, flipping through his file in an attempt to regain some level of professionalism. “Your vitals are stable for now. But if those stitches reopen again, you’ll need another full closure.”
“Sounds romantic.” You chose to ignore that one.
“You’ll need to come back in a week so I can remove the stitches.”
“A whole week without seeing me?” he mused. “How tragic.”
“You say that like you don’t appear here every three business days.”
“That’s unfair.” To which I replied, "hardly," before standing up and making my way to his other reports to add them into the file as well.
Another silence settled between you.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that made you aware of stupid things.
Like the fact Leon’s voice always sounded rougher when he was tired.
Or how he watched you when he thought you weren’t looking.
Or how unfairly good-looking someone had no business being while half-drugged on painkillers. You could feel his gaze lingering again. It made concentrating nearly impossible.
“Why do you do that?” he asked suddenly.
You looked up. “Do what?”
“Act like you don’t like me.”
You nearly dropped the clipboard.
“I never said I didn’t like you.”
“You don’t have to.” His smile turned faintly crooked. “You get all professional whenever things stop being about medical stuff.”
“That is generally how being a doctor works.”
“Mm. See? There it is again.”
You set the clipboard down with perhaps slightly more force than necessary. “You are reading too much into things.”
“Occupational hazard.”
Before you could respond, Leon shifted forward in the chair with a quiet grunt. Immediately, your expression sharpened. “What did I just say about moving?”
“I dropped my phone!”
You are quick to pick it up and hand it to him. And as if on cue, it rang loudly in his hand.
Leon glanced at the screen and groaned dramatically. “Great. Hunnigan.”
“Answer it.”
“She’s gonna yell at me.”
“You deserve it.”
He narrowed his eyes at you before answering anyway. “Hey.”
You busied yourself backl with his file while he spoke.
Or rather, while he got scolded.
“Yes, I’m at medical.”
Pause.
“No, I’m fine.”
Longer pause.
“I said I’m fine.”
You heard a faint muffled voice and had to fight down a smile.
Leon pointed accusingly toward you while talking into the phone. “See? This is workplace bullying. You and her. You both are teaming up against me.”
You snorted quietly.
Apparently, that was audible enough because Hunnigan’s voice sharpened through the receiver.
Leon sighed heavily. “Okay, okay. Yes ma’am.”
Another pause.
Then his expression shifted slightly.
Subtler.
Softer.
His eyes flicked toward you briefly before he looked away again.
“...No,” he said after a moment. “Not yet.”
Your brows furrowed slightly.
Not yet?
Hunnigan must have said something else because Leon suddenly rubbed his face with his free hand.
“You are literally making this worse.”
Now you were curious.
Very curious.
A beat later, he hung up and tossed the phone onto his lap.
You crossed your arms. “Problems?”
"Aren't there always?...You know what I've realised, doc?" I looked at him, confused, "What have you realised?"
“I like being here.”
You blinked. “In medical?”
“In your office.”
Your heart stumbled traitorously. Was he smooth-talking right now?
“That might genuinely be the saddest thing you’ve ever said.”
“I’m serious.”
You looked at him carefully.
He looked exhausted still. Pale under the fluorescent lights. Hair falling into tired eyes. Stubbornness practically radiated off him in waves.
But underneath all of that was something else.
Ease. Like this was one of the few places where he could unclench for a minute.
For a second, neither of you spoke.
The rain outside had softened into a steady rhythm against the windows. Somewhere farther down the hall, footsteps passed and faded again.
Leon Kennedy looked unfairly pretty while exhausted.
"So...I've got a question for you", Leon spoke up, breaking the quiet. "Sure. What is it?" You noticed the slight shift in posture. The hesitation. The way his gaze flicked away for half a second before returning to yours.
“I was wondering...” He cleared his throat lightly. “If maybe you’d want to get dinner sometime.”
Your brain stopped functioning.
Completely.
You stared at him.
Leon immediately grimaced. “Wow. That bad, huh?”
“What?”
“The silence. Usually not a great sign.”
“No, I just…” You blinked rapidly. “You’re asking me out?”
"Well, I was trying to.” A faint flush touched the tips of his ears. “Kinda crashing and burning now.”
“You’re serious?” you said.
You folded your arms again mostly to hide the fact your hands suddenly had nowhere sensible to go. “Agent Kennedy, are you aware that there are probably regulations about this?”
“Probably.”
“And you didn’t even hesitate?”
“I hesitated for like six months.”
Your eyes widened slightly. “Six months!?”
“Listen,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m not exactly great at this anymore.”
The honesty in that statement hit unexpectedly hard.
Not self-pitying.
Just truthful.
Careful.
Like someone testing whether the ground beneath them would hold.
“You could’ve asked someone else,” you pointed out softly.
He looked at you for a long moment.
Then, quieter than before, “Didn’t want someone else.”
The room went still. Outside, thunder rolled somewhere far in the distance.
Leon leaned back again, clearly deciding he’d already embarrassed himself enough for one evening. “Anyway. You can say no. I figured I’d ask before you banished me to house arrest.”
"Wh-I...well..uhh." Words and thoughts had completely escaped you because this was genuinely the last thing you thought would happen.
"Hey its ok, you know? It's fine. I'm a big boy, I can take rejections."
You shook your head, trying desperately to ignore the stupid fluttering in your chest. “Leon.”
His expression softened slightly at the sound of his name.
“I’m serious” he said quietly.
"Well...You are going to recover first." And upon hearing that, he visibly perked up. As if you had just given a golden retriever its favourite treat. And god did the sudden, wide-eyed hopefulness look adorable on him.
"...and after?" He asked carefully
You tried to maintain professionalism.
You truly did. But the small smile found your face anyways. "After...maybe dinner."
Leon stared for exactly one second before visibly relaxing with a smile as he looked at you.
“There it is again,” he said softly.
You frowned slightly. “What?”
“That smile.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A/n: First leon fic!! Not sure how I feel about it tho. Did you guys like it?
❥𝖨𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽. 𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝗆𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽!!
✦Pairing: Leon S. Kennedy x doctor!reader
✦Summary: Statistically speaking, a plastic surgeon is not the most useful doctor during a zombie outbreak. Unless the zombies need a face lift. Unfortunately, a bioterror attack hits your hospital anyway. Now you’re stuck surviving a viral outbreak with a tired government agent who keeps getting injured and showing up at your apartment like a very dangerous stray cat.
✦Content: 18+, Canon typical violence, eventual smut, slow burn, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, PTSD, trauma recovery, fluff, angst, emotional intimacy, romantic tension, strangers to friends to lovers, domestic, nightmares
Binged it all over the course of today, totally worth it. Perfect amount of tension w/o relying on the 'will they, won't they' trope. Stellar writing and peak internal monologue. Five stars, no notes.
𓂃 ࣪ ࣪⋆✩˚ ༘ [leon kennedy]: head empty, just old friend! leon reunion
— in which! spend the day bonding with an oversized puppy named leon ass kennedy.
wordcount! 1.5k (short 'n sweet)
warning! cliché, idiots in love, f! reader, fluff because what I'll be posting in the following days will be anything BUT fluff lmao, sumn short 'n sweet while I finish my anniv special fics, eng not my first lang, not beta'ed we die like leon's missing jackets, treat this as a warm up pretty please thankyeiw, wrote this in less than 10 hrs oh fuck im DOOMED! TIMELINE IS A YEAR AFTER RE4
check out part 01!
You couldn’t talk yourself out of the situation. Like you tried, yes, but goddamn, he really knew how to convince a poor, innocent, unsuspecting woman like yourself. Curse his stupidly good genes (and those corny ass jokes, ugh! damn that dork).
You honestly don’t know what to expect. He’s always been good to you—ever since you could remember. Hell, if not for the fact that he moved closer to his job at Racoon City, you think you would’ve been dating him. But, as you know, life doesn’t (unfortunately) work that way.
The send-off was mediocre, at best. Promising to keep in contact (lmao lies), last hugs, and lingering touches that probably weren’t appropriate at that time.
You got this, yeah? It’s just Leon—the sperm donor of your cute adorable purple child. It’ll be fine.
Then, you walked inside the cozy cafe he insisted you’d like. Just by looking at the interior, you have a pretty good hunch that you’ll love it. Fuck, he still knows you like the back of his hand.
It wasn’t long until you found a familiar mop of dirty blond sitting near the windows, looking drop-dead gorgeous and so far away. Like life didn’t treat him too kindly after he moved.
Leon, on the other hand, was beating himself up because what the fuck prompted him to ask you out so suddenly? Especially now that he’s juggling more than he could carry—of course he doesn’t want to burden you further! Damnit, he really needs to talk to his therapist—!!
His self-monologue was abruptly cut short after he heard the click-clack of heels walking towards him that he could only guess belonged to you.
“Hey, Kennedy. Fancy seeing you here. Looking for someone?” You drawled, a playful grin involuntarily crawling to your face. Mentally, you cringed. Physically, Leon felt the heat make itself at home on the tips of his ears.
“Yeah, a mischievous brat wearing…” He checked you out, subtlety not in this man’s vocabulary. “A vintage heart-shaped amethyst necklace given by me five years ago.”
Damn, he clocked your shit. That fast, too.
“Ugh, you’re still as annoying as ever, Lee.” You rolled your eyes, fighting off the smile that threatened to surface, easily slipping into the chair. It was soft and—god, he’s so fucking perfect. You blinked, trying to redirect your thoughts to—fuck, you missed his sweet smile.
Oh shit, you’re doomed.
Leon is not faring any better. His thoughts consist of a variation of ‘jesus christ, she’s doing that addicting smile again’, ‘she smells like—wait, is she wearing that perfume from college?’, ‘gun to my head—fuck—she’s gorgeous’. See, told you. Not any better.
“And you’re still as sassy as ever, sweets. But you don’t see me complaining now, do you?”
“Drama queen.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes.
“Your drama queen.” He whistled, easily falling back into that push-pull rhythm.
“And you’re such a flirt!”
“I prefer the term ‘lady’s man’.”
“You mean loser?”
“You’re still mean.”
“Some things never change, yeah?”
He laughed at that, feeling like he had gone back to being a young, impressionable teen again. The banter felt as easy as breathing—of course, it is. When he’s with you, it always feels like the world outside your bubble was an afterthought.
Nothing else matters except the mad easy atmosphere both of you unknowingly created.
“Order whatever you’d like, missy. Y’know it’s on me.” What’s annoying is that it’s true. Ever since you were teens, Leon has never let you spend a dime when he’s with you. It doesn’t matter if he took extra shifts in his part-time job; he absolutely refuses to let you touch your wallet.
“Yeah? Looks like your job’s treating your bank well.”
He stiffened, and rapid flashes of his fucked-up job appeared in his mind before he quickly shook it off. “…You could say that.”
If it were others, you don’t think you’d notice the light change in the atmosphere. But this is Leon you’re talking about. You know his quirks and tells, even if he doesn’t notice himself. You’re not gonna lie, you thought time had changed him, given the dramatic change in his physical attributes.
But you couldn’t be any more wrong. This was still the Leon who crashed at your dorm when he got rejected by his crush at fifteen. The same Leon who stuck with you while watching god-awful movies until three a.m. The same Leon who cried in your arms while watching animal documentaries.
He was still the same Leon you’ve unknowingly memorized throughout the years. Just… more hidden. More reserved.
But never from you.
Your hand moved before you could even think, moving in front of his—lightly touching his fingertips. “‘m sorry, Lee. The world must’ve been unkind.”
He didn’t reply. He just moved his hand, placing it on top of yours, moving his thumb in circles before so softly sighing—a light smile making its way on his lips.
“Order for me? You’ve always known me best.” You whispered, looking at him expectantly, waiting for his familiar brag of ‘of course, I know you best—you’re my sweets’.
Meanwhile, Leon—poor, unfortunate Leon—was mentally panicking. Not only did you read him like an open book (even though he knew he was keeping his emotions in check, fuck, his facial expression in check), you were also expecting him to choose for you. You trust him, even though you were the biggest picky eater he knows alive.
That’s a lot of pressure for a guy who can’t even stop his heart rate from increasing and is actively trying to get out of its cage called ribs.
“Tough decision, sweets. Is this a test?”
“Dunno, guess we’ll have to wait for the results.”
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
To say that Leon still knows you is an understatement.
Because each pastry he feeds you is exactly to your liking (yes, feeds, you were teasing that guy too much, so he feeds you to keep your mouth shut). And your coffee? Perfectly the way you like it. It’s annoying how he still knows you, even after three whole ass years with zero contact.
It pissed you off, actually. But Leon would argue otherwise.
He’s looking at you with those damn hearts in his eyes—he doesn’t even think you notice, too busy munching on the carefully made tiramisu on your plate. Honestly, he wanted to bite your squirrel-like cheeks off (respectfully).
“Lee, ‘m literally melting. What the heck—stop staring!” You whined, lightly kicking his foot below the table. He swiftly caught your foot after your third kick, gently caressing as he looked at you with a grin. “H-hey..!”
“You’re such a brat, sweets. What if my leg were injured, hm?”
“Were you?”
“No.”
“That’s your answer.”
His eyes narrowed, sucking his bottom lip while fighting off that huge ass mischievous grin that begs to be let out before lightly squeezing your ankle and letting you go. He leaned back in his chair, looking at you with a challenging spark you had been used to.
“Brat.” He started.
“Karen.” You replied, just as swiftly.
“Spoiled rotten.”
“Old man.”
“I’m literally just a year older!” He scoffed.
“Back pains.” You paid him no mind, sipping your coffee as if you didn’t just K.O.‘d his pride.
“Take that back??” He feigned a gasp and acted offended, clutching his heart like a dramatic little idiot he is.
That made you laugh. The little fits of giggles made it so hard to breathe—it truly has been a while since someone made you laugh that hard. But it was always so damn easy when it came to him.
And Leon? He couldn’t help but stop and stare. He had forgotten how beautiful your laughs were. How innocent it sounded. And… once upon a time, his laughs were similar to yours, too.
Leon cherishes you. So much.
So damn much, to the point that he is willing to walk away from you again, just so he can protect your heart.
Honestly, he didn’t know what he was thinking to offer you a little get-together—a little date. But fuck, he’d like to thank his past self for that decision. Call it selfish, he doesn’t give a shit because that way, he could peacefully walk away from you, taking in your sweet laughs as a memory to be forever kept. Something to get by the following days.
Because after he finishes this agent thing bullshit? Yeah, he’s taking you out on a sweet date again. Doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as he gets to see you? That’s enough for him.
Quiet; The Absence of Words - Leon Kennedy x quiet!DSOAgent!Reader
Summary: You are assigned as Leon's new rookie. It's been 6 months since that day, and you have never spoken a word to him. It's just not in your nature. But what happens when he collapses in front of you during the events of RE9? What happens after that?
Part 1 - Oh, Fuck!
Part 2 - The Five Times vs. 1
Part 3 - Smiley Faces and Sandwiches
Part 4 - Call the Repairman!
Part 5 - It's A Secret
Part 6 - Grandpa, Grandma, and Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Part 7 - Kindness
Part 8 - Spiral
Part 9 - Chocolate Chip Pancakes, the Reprise
Part 10 - Pulling Punches
Part 11 - Debrief
Part 12 - Silent Tensions
Part 13 - Freefall
Part 14 - Of Lab Rats and Poison
Part 15 - Violet Infections
Part 16 - From Bad to Worse
Part 17 - Don't Let Up
Part 18 - Nothing More
Part 19 - These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends
