#not even infected yet and already having issues-so sorry leon

[3point14a]

what is leon's animal?? also what's his deal?? im curious what y'all did with him :D

:O thanks for being interestedddd!!!! Ummmmmm first of all as always I always get over exited and jump the gun about new stuff we have that is subject to change so like. This IS subject to change LMAO. 

We are shaking the villains like maracas as we figure out the magic system and what their evil plan even is!!!

With that outta the way: Leon is an inland taipan!! which is an INSANELY venomous snake. You miiight notice he doesn't have fangs, and that's precisely because he’s venomous, for safety they took his fangs off. All animals that are THAT venomous have that done once they hit a certain age. It's not something super strange to see, scorpions can’t have their stingers cut off cause they will grow back but they CAN have the venom gland removed. Owynn still has venom because it’s not actually dangerous at all and is more akin to a bee sting. So that sucks for him lmao

In this au reptiles have long ears, which this guy doesn’t have, and i’ll get to that in a sec.

But first of all, how did we extrapolate any character at all from just a design? Uhm well first we just wanted Town and Eak to have more friends because they have Cami, eachother (does not count cause they’re dating), and like no one else???? So yeah they need more connections so we gave them another little friend.

Then given that we had nothing to work with we did the good old trusty technique of tying him to other characters (like we did with the salvaged). Made him sort of match with what we already had of Eak and Cami, and we also made every villain parallel one animatronic: Eak with chica, owynn with bonnie, Fox with Cami, Freddy with Town, AND Leon with Golden (sorry for the Fred exclusion but honestly they have enough on their plate ALREADY). These connections are not concrete, but it's what we're working with right now.

We made Leon also come from a family of musicians that are neglectful and who care a lot about public image. As the son of musicians he was expected to follow through and he only ever really got attention when he showcased that he was good at music, otherwise it’s just “don’t bother me kid.” His family is not nearly as well known as the Belmontes (Golden and Joys family), so he doesn’t get as harassed about it, but he wants them to be more well known and bring their name up through following their legacy with music, given that it’s all they seem to even care about. 

When they were little he and Eak got into a real bad fight, which sparked from them being sad little kids dealing with their own issues with their own families, they start insulting each other and it escalates to just an actual legit fight. They are kids and they don’t really know how to control themselves or their strengths, Eak is an EAGLE who has very sharp talons, so Leon gets a bunch of cuts (a lot to his ears) and Eak gets his leg messed up (Leon did NOT bite since he’s super venomous and doesn't have teeth out yet. But the other way snakes fight is wrapping around limbs and squeezing so he did that).

Fight is over, neither of them are like dead or anything apparently super serious, Eak ends up with a limp and a leg that sort of just hurts permanently and is annoying. But Leon… Ends up a bit worse…

Given how cold his parents are and how insistent they are that their time is valuable and to not bother them with anything that doesn’t pertain to “important” stuff, Leon did not ask them to help, and instead just actively hid that he was injured at all and tried to handle shit on his own. The blood and the dirt on the inside of his ear caused an infection. Said infection affected both the outer parts of his ears, which caused them to get cropped, and his actual eardrums, which made him deaf. 

That idea came from Leon supposedly being an Owynn replacement, so we wanted to give them something relatively similar. Owynn’s eyes can look like common eyes despite the fact that the more they shrink the less he sees, and Leon’s ears getting clipped makes them look like the most common type of ear in this world (both arthropods and some mammals have them) but they were clipped due to the infection that also made him go deaf. 

Just as Cami carries the guilt and fear of having permanently scarred Eak without much effort, Eak carries the guilt of taking something so monumentally big away from Leon, while the latter at least had the self control to not bite him. While Eak can’t possibly hide his scar from Cami, Leon tries to hide all his scars from Eak, hence the undershirt thing and the hair over his eye and ears.

Then there’s another popular thought about Leon which is that he was who Eak was referring to when he told Town “I don’t plan on losing two friends”. Which we translated to “god please can people tell Eak when stuff is wrong or he’s going to explode” 

Eak’s friend group is Cami, Leon and Town. Cami just doesn’t talk about anything, Leon’s refusal to ask for help lost him his hearing, Town was, in Eak’s head, the one honest person in the group.

And he 's not! We made Town be a germaphobe who is really fixated on “being a good person” thinking of other people as “dirty” is something an awful person would do, refusing to hold hands with your boyfriend is something an awful person would do, thinking helpless small animals are horribly gross is what an awful person would think. So he just acts how he thinks he should! He constantly does things that make him insanely uncomfortable without telling anyone that they make him uncomfortable at all. The one thing he does do is be a vegan, which he can’t be given that he’s a lion. But he thinks vegetables and plants are a lot easier to monitor and clean than meat can be, and thus he is just constantly weak and unhealthy, and feeling unhealthy feeds his idea that he’s getting sick from other stuff, so it’s just never ending.

Once Eak finds that out, that’s when he tells Town to shut the hell up and tell literally anyone he has a problem. Someone close to him already lost so much because he thought he could handle himself, because he didn’t want to bother people. And that’s exactly what Town has been doing for years, not telling anyone he has a problem and handling himself to not bother other people and to not be “a bad person”. He can’t watch 2 people close to him neglect their needs and end up self-destructing. He can't lose another friend.

With that out of the way, what the hell is his deal? Well we wanted the villains to be like, a proper group of villains right? And with that and fucking around with the magic system (still,,,,,,,hard,,,,, help,,,) and we needed motives. Cami wants to “tame” people and control them and stuff, with that theme of control we have assigned her “tempo”  haha tempo controls everything, music reference. “Music moved this world” and whatnot. magic system. music. We don't have anything even remotely that specific for the other 4 because magic system hard BUT the gist of it is: Owynn wants a shadow in his head (dont even worry about it), Town wants to be a good person, Eak wants to bring people together, Leon wants recognition. 

Once he went deaf instead of using him like how golden’s family exploits them, Leon’s family just sort of stopped caring for him. Despite that he has hearing aids and that you can totally do music when you are deaf, they just decided he couldn’t and that he wouldn’t. In opposition to Golden’s arc of breaking free, Leon wants to go back in there. He wants his parents to give a shit about him and to be able to be recognized as “the child of the musicians” instead of just a guy who looks kinda funny, to be recognized by his last name and bring more to his family as a whole even though they already gave up on him. This is also why he got his snake bites (lol) piercings, to see if they noticed or if they even scolded him (they didn’t).

That’s pretty much all we got of him for now which are all subject to change, but i'm pretty happy with how they are as of right now! Some extra stuff that i didn’t know how to fit:

We were never big fans of making Eak short since he’s an eagle and all, but we can have our cake and eat it by making Eak tall objectively, but be the shortest out of the villains! tall freaks lol <3 we drew Eak in a rough height chart we have and he was average height but compared to cami he looked miniscule. So bumping him up makes the line up between all of them feel more comfortable. Plus he should tower over some people, and be intimidating. He deserves it.

Leon's pretty chill if not just a bit odd, apex (i call em that cause villains includes owynn) as a whole are a chill friend group until you learn that 3 of them tried killing and that Town got second hand insanity from it. Attached to each other out of guilt (3 of them about injuries and Town about “seeing them as dirty”) so they're kinda weirdddddd

People with vitiligo actually have a higher chance to lose their hearing! so the cards were stacked against him from the start ripppp

Just like golden has a star birthmark, Leon used to have a family birthmark too but it got whitened due to the vitiligo, fly low your ties to them keep decreasing boy,  talk about getting wiped out of your family's name lmao 

also the Belomte family has the root of “what we're doing comes from a place of care” and the exploitation is sort of(?) unintentional, they have a whole thing about being close and tight knit. While Leon’s family atm is just out of the gate cold and driven by a success that could be bigger, and whatever doesn’t really adhere to that ideal of success doesn’t really matter.

[oathofpromises]

where does it hurt? let me see.

Leave it to Ashley to end up getting hurt as they were trying to escape from a horde of virus infected villagers. Holding her hand to her chest, the blonde didn't want to burden Leon more than she already had. The agent had already done so much, and yet kept putting his own life on the line to keep her safe. Glancing down, she noticed his bandaged hand. It was another injury he had suffered on his way to find her.

"Leon, I'll be okay. It's not even that bad, just a small cut."

At least she hoped he believed such a thing, her body wasn't doing a good job at hiding the pain, though. The girl entire right arm was shaking slightly, prompting her to use her other hand to grab it. Whatever they had done to her, it was slowly starting to effected everything inside her own body. However, that didn't seem the most pressing issue. The two had found a cabin abandoned in the woods. Which was surprising since the island seemed to be invested with villagers. It felt like they would turn around and ran smack into another group. These people desperately wanted her, for what purpose she wasn't fully aware of quite yet.

Noticing that Leon wasn't going to just let this go, Ashley held up her hand. It looked like a bruise was starting to form slightly, with a tiny bit of blood dripping down her wrist. It might've been from the two women with the chainsaws but, the girl was so afraid and confused, she hadn't noticed the wound until Leon mentioned it.

"I'm sorry..I know you told me to stay hidden, but I didn't want to leave you alone." whispered the blonde, as her eyes looked down towards the ground. It felt like the moment she took her eyes off the agent, he would vanish. Not like they had the best track record of not running into things that separated them temporarily.

All of this wouldn't even have happened if Ashley had just stayed home, at least that was her thought. Leon would be off saving someone else, but a part of her thought it would be less risky. He was pushing himself too much to save her. Putting her life above his own, and that wasn't what she wanted at all. It was clear the other had been through hell before, he was too calm not to have experienced something similar. It was the biggest question on her mind, but something she hadn't had the courage to ask Leon quite yet. He was so focused on getting them out of here alive. Maybe when they were home safe, she would've the guts to ask him about his past. Not that he would probably share it, but the longer they spent together, the more she started getting a picture of how much he had been forced to endure at such a young age, too.

"I promise to listen. I know stuff like this only makes it harder on you.I just...don't want to feel like a burden. Too many people have made me feel like that my entire life."

[grimmywrites]

So, about Infinite Darkness...

I’m gonna try to be as succinct as I can (I failed) about all the problems I had with it, but my list is pretty long... Yes, this has spoilers. Let me state upfront: if you’re not a hardcore RE fan, you can skip the show. Below I’ll tell you why.

Story: What a mess. Honestly, they turned me off right at the beginning with all the military stuff. It’s the same reason people didn’t like Chris’ campaign in 6; didn’t they learn anything from that? So, the story wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it had more plot holes than anything and so many points where I went: “I don’t care about this.” Again, it was a jumbled mess. Capcom, hire me and I’ll do better, I swear. Let’s just sum it up by saying it’s a rehash of things we’ve seen SEVERAL times in the series before. If you’re gonna do it AGAIN let’s make the story unique and interesting. Oh, there are shady people in the military that want to use bioweapons in war? Okay, we’ve known that since the first game. We’ve seen it time and time again. Look to re8′s ending for example: the BSAA are now starting to use engineered soldiers - THAT was a reveal that was far more interesting. The way it was addressed and overcome in this show was just... so lackluster. Ultimately, it just felt like this entire thing didn’t need to happen. It changed nothing, it impacted nothing, and I’m aware that it really couldn’t since it was after re4 and before re5. There was just no lasting point and all the ‘themes’ (if you can call them that) made absolutely no sense, but I guess I’ll get into that with the characters? Pacing: Absolutely god awful. One minute we’re in the White House fighting zombies then I blink and it’s over and I’m like: Oh, we’re done? Another we’re in a sub and then I blink. Oh, that’s over, too. Also, the creators must’ve taken a page from the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones (which is an abysmal idea, don’t fucking do that) because with a few cuts here and there we went from Guam to China back to DC. Guess everybody learned how to teleport so they got exactly where we needed them to for the “climax”. Let’s talk about that climax: There was none. Let’s look at Degeneration and Damnation (no I won’t talk about Vendetta). Both had their weaknesses but Leon and the climaxes were BADASS. Leon doing parkour in Degeneration? Leon going against Lickers and the huge Tyrants in Damnation? Those were amazing scenes. He did a few cool things here and there but nothing that got more of a laugh out of me. My man is coming off re4 where he rampaged through a village, a castle, and an island of mutated creatures to save one girl. C’mon now. Characters: By now (if anybody is even reading this rant), you’ve noticed that I’ve talked a lot about Leon. But what about Claire? Yeah, they lied to us about them working together. She got sidelined again. A lot of people are upset about this -- and yeah, it sucks because I do love Claire. Leon has just happened to be my favorite since 1998 so I wasn’t as heartbroken. That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, I’m just not very surprised. Leon - My main problem with Leon is Nick, his voice actor. I’m so sorry for all those who like him, but he just isn’t good enough for me. Paul Mercier (re4, Degeneration, Darkside Chronicles) and Matt Mercer (Damnation, Re6, Vendetta) would have been more appropriate. Nick tries his best, but he’s just too soft sounding to be post-re4 Leon. This is a man who is quipping one-liners left and right a couple of years ago. Now he’s barely smiling and doesn’t feel confident at all, and I think a lot of that is because of his portrayal. There are times where the lines hit, but more often than not they fall flat. I never felt that way with Paul who is my favorite Leon or Matt who gave emotional performances every time. Also, his decision at the end? I can understand it, but explain to Claire! Claire - I like Stephanie as Claire, I have no problems with her. She makes her sound tough and ready to do what she thinks is right. Unfortunately, the story completely sidelines her and makes her role obsolete. Everything she uncovers (because that’s her role apparently, just there to Nancy Drew) is already told to us through flashbacks and other characters. Why even have her? Was it just to show us WHY her and Leon don’t talk often? A waste. Shen Mei - I don’t care. I felt nothing for her. They tried really hard, but they just failed to flesh these new characters out and when her time was up I once again went: Oh? That’s it, then. ‘Kay. I think I laughed a bit, sorry girl. Her whole plotline was to get that chip in Leon’s hand, nothing more. Jason -  I don’t care. A character I thought I felt sorry for with his ptsd but nope. Once his story unfolded - messily, I might add (I hate the REPEATED flashback shit. Tell me once and stop teasing me.) I just went... okay, what the hell is your plan? To spread fear? ‘Kay. It was dumb and made no sense. What, he wants everyone to feel terror so they know? It needed to be clarified. It’s like they couldn’t figure out more synonyms for fear and terror. So, what? It helps keep Leon from going public with the chip and that information? Because he knows it’ll just cause mass hysteria? And then you’ve got Claire’s side - she’s not an agent and she believes the people have a right to know. They’re both right, but there’s no goddamn communication between ANYONE in this show. I just felt exhausted by it, nothing else. Not to mention it’s useless angst because of the plot of Degeneration. Wilson - Our bad guy. Let’s just sum up really quickly in case people were confused by the plot: He was putting infected soldiers into war zones so that even after they died they’d kill anybody involved, then he’d bomb the area and clean up the evidence. These soldiers didn’t show any symptoms because they had inhibitors that kept the virus at bay until they died, so they had to take regular shots to stay human. He’s the one who gets the zombies into the white house so that he could blame it on China and get the US into a war with them. That way he could send in his soldiers and infect the populace. From there, he’s the only one with the cure so he could rake in LOTS of money selling it to the world. AKA: he wants to use the US military to infect everyone so he can make a profit. He gets infected by Jason and gets away... then meets up with someone who gives him an inhibitor. This someone is working for Tricell, the big bads of re5 who work under Wesker. So it leads right into the fifth game. That’s all he is, a tie in and yet another example of someone in power trying to profit off the viruses of the RE world. Honestly, nobody else is worth mentioning. Animation: They’re getting better at it. Leon and Claire looked especially pretty, but there’s still a stiffness here and an issue with everyone’s mouths while they talk. I want to praise how different SOME of the characters look - the president and his aides all look appropriately aged and grizzled and distinct. Same with Jason. Other characters (side characters mainly) kinda look generic. Shen Mei for example isn’t very distinct. I mean, her grandpa and brother (both one scene wonders) were more realistic looking than she was. Even Claire - they gave her a bigger nose and made her look more in line with her Revelations 2 model (thank god I love that model). Movement was pretty fluid, I wish we’d seen more fighting and cool action -- though not to the extent of Vendetta. Maybe that’s what they were trying to avoid, but it didn’t make it any fun to watch. Enemies: This is the last thing I’ll comment on. The zombies were fine - they always are. I heard a ton of reused sounds from remake2, as well, but I thought of it as an Easter Egg more than anything. They looked good, their gore was good, all set there. Problem was, they were basically the only bad guys. That’s a huge fucking disappointment. I know people recognize this series as ‘the one with the zombies’ but that’s not true. Every game (save 7) had MULTIPLE enemy types all created through bio engineering. In this show we see three types. THREE. Zombies. Zombie rats - a one-scene wonder that Leon dispatches fast and easy. I’ll admit, they looked cool but there was nothing else to them. “They’re a bioweapon” and then Leon fries them all with some electricity and we’re done. Jason’s mutated form. Okay, I have to admit, I really loved his design. He was cool, I liked that he could talk and emote. But, other than that? He didn’t DO anything cool. He mutated once and hopped around a lot. That’s it. I mean, a bioweapon that keeps his mental capacities? C’MON! We could’ve done so much more with him. Again, this goes back to why the climax was so bad -- he and Leon didn’t fight. One jumped, the other ran around to catch up and fired a few bullets and a rocket at him. Then he used an acid bath to finish the job. (Also, explain to me WHY he mutated into a tyrant-like creature while everyone else with that specific virus was another form of zombie? We see Jun (Shen’s brother) mutating almost crystal-like at one point but... what? You leave them off for a while and they turn into crystal zombies? Make it make sense.) I’m sure there’s more to say, but honestly, unless you’re a hardcore RE fan like me, I’d say you can skip it. It wasn’t a fun ride, there weren’t any stakes, it wasn’t emotional... it just... was. I will end on one good note that made me smile, though: I loved seeing the Ashley Easter Egg.