Maybe this is a controversial opinion, but I think the reason a lot of people hate the Aeon ship, call it “toxic,” and deny that there’s any canon basis for it boils down to racism. Ada is a Chinese woman, and they can’t stand the fact that a desirable white man like Leon (the most lusted-after male character in video game history, lol) is in love with her.
The female selfshippers are mad as fuck that they can’t project onto her because she isn’t a white woman, and a lot of the white men who self-insert onto Leon would rather see him with any of the white female characters (even Sherry) who are considered more “wife material.”
I don’t know what other fandom has such an obvious romance that has been teased for decades, yet huge portions of the fandom want to pretend it will never happen. Leon has been in love with Ada since he was first introduced in Resident Evil, but people still claim Aeon is a “delusional” ship and suggest alternate love interests for him.
(To make this abundantly clear, I am not hating on any specific person or character. I love all the female characters and I love RE for having such a variety of women. This is just me expressing some of my frustrations with the fandom.)
I see this sentiment a lot about Ada, and I think race is a factor in it. I've frequented various fandom spaces and the general trend is that a lot of people think, for one reason or another, that Ada is undeserving of Leon. She is viewed as an "other" moreso than any other character. For this reason, a lot of women find her difficult to relate to and a lot of men don't consider her "wife material." However, I think in addition to Ada being Chinese, another major factor here is that Ada is not a conventionally feminine woman.
You might it think sounds weird to say that Ada isn't conventionally feminine considering that she's always wearing heels, dresses, and has this femme fatale persona (note, I don't think Ada fits that trope as neatly as a lot of people think, but that's another conversation). But if you think about it, Ada really does not embody the type of femininity expected of women. Ada is highly independent. She is not gentle and nurturing. She is a cold, morally gray mercenary dedicated to her work before anything else. And you know what? I love it. She is arguably the most complex character in the series. She's mysterious, she's interesting, and she carries a strong presence. But you'll notice, morally gray women are always shit on in fandoms, especially when they commit the crime of being loved by an attractive male lead. And especially when they're women of color.
I personally find Ada to be a fascinating character. I also love her relationship with Leon, because the way she treats him reflects deeper layers to her character. It calls into question if she really is a cold blooded killer, it gives her depth and motivations other than simply carrying out her orders. I don't need their relationship to be completely healthy. It's interesting. That's what's important in fiction.
Now here's what annoys me in fandom. Think about the reverse of this. People give male characters so much more leeway in this department. Male characters who mistreat women are outright idolized a lot of the time. For some reason, it's so easy for people to separate fiction and reality and claim being interesting is so much more important when it's a toxic man. So why are female characters who aren't nearly as bad get relentlessly shit on?
Here's an example right here in the very same fandom. A lot of people thirst over Albert Wesker (no shade if you aren't a hypocrite about it) despite him literally being a genocidal maniac and a clear reference to Nazi/eugenicist ideology. He's even shipped a lot... including with Leon and Chris. So tell me why I see more complaints about Ada's toxicity than his? It's a complete double standard and you can find it in every fandom. If a man is cold, dark, toxic, morally gray or even evil, he is idolized. People ship him with men because they love their toxic yaoi. People ship him with women because they love a dark romance. But for some reason, when you want to ship a morally complex woman with a heroic man, it's a problem.
This is a form of internalized misogyny that people don't want to talk about. People are instinctively uncomfortable with a relationship like Ada/Leon because it does not follow conventional heterosexual relationship dynamics. It makes them uncomfortable that Ada is not warm, submissive, and constantly available for Leon. I guarantee that if the genders were swapped (or if both were men) this ship would be wildly popular.
I want to make it clear that this is not just clowning on women who selfship with Leon, or women who ship him with characters they can more easily project on. Straight men do this too. They project themselves into Leon and therefore only want him with whichever woman they consider to be the perfect waifu. However, what these groups have in common is that they lean into the exact same tropes that have this weirdly racist (and sexist) undertones.
Because look. These are the characters most frequently brought up as those who would be good waifus. Better wives than Ada. Notice what they have in common? I also don't think race is a coincidence here. Especially with the male side of this fanbase, there is this weird emphasis on childbirth. With Claire, it's the whole "Redfield bloodline" shit which has had racial undertones for years. With Ashley, Grace, and Sherry (🤢), I also keep seeing people point out that they're much younger than Leon and therefore better for birthing children. Just ew. That's so gross and misogynistic, towards these women, and also towards Ada. I actually love all four of these women too, and I hate how people reduce them to potential love interests for Leon. They are all unique characters with their own stories.
I also want to note that some of these people just fundamentally don't get Leon as a character either. I see men project the most disgusting misogyny into Leon that his canon character (especially in the remakes) would never tolerate. They act like that just because they are creeps who find women over 30 undesirable, that surely Leon has the same taste, right? (No).
Then there are some selfshippers on this site who write the most insane shit about Leon then turn around and trash Ada. Like how does it make sense that you are literally warping Leon, a deeply sensitive and empathetic character, into some kind of stalker/rapist/pedo/whatever, but then people shipping Aeon is crossing a line? It's insane. I don't get how you can police the shipping of a character who you clearly care nothing about beyond his looks.
In sum, yes, I get it! It's so frustrating. Leon and Ada have this interesting and complex relationship that adds depth to both characters. It has been consistent and built up for almost 30 years now. It isn't delusional! You just can't handle a complex female character who interferes with your Leon fantasies.
There is this constant treatment of Ada like this "other" and like she could never have a peaceful life, or that she doesn't deserve it. Ada is treated as if she's incapable of change, when the narrative shows that not to be true, especially if you paid any attention to Separate Ways. She's held to harsher standards than other characters, because she's a prominent woman of color who is a morally complex character. The emphasis on family/children especially has a racist undertone to it.
