Warning: Incorporates (very gentle) spoilers for the ending of Resident Evil: Requiem.
In a crossroads of my specific pursuits that undoubtedly weren’t on my 2026 bingo card, a fan of the Resident Evil collection, particularly the just lately launched ninth mainline installment, Resident Evil Requiem, abruptly discovered myself hooked on a totally completely different favourite of mine: the sci-fi otome gacha cell recreation Love and Deepspace.
When followers of industry-established works like RE abruptly take an curiosity in newcomers like LaDS, particularly works which can be overtly female-gaze-coded, it is actually because they faucet into one thing they discover offensive. So I used to be pleasantly stunned to be taught {that a} member of the Resi group was really fascinated with LaDS after abruptly taking a liking to one of many characters. It occurred to be my very own clear favourite husband, Zane, an aloof however type physician.
Handle cookie settings
So why did Resi followers resolve to embrace LaDS typically, and Zayne specifically? Effectively, all of it comes all the way down to a small scene in Bio 9 that acquired a disproportionate quantity of consideration. A refined gesture made by co-protagonist Leon Kennedy within the recreation’s good ending was interpreted by many gamers as him taking his marriage ceremony ring from his interior jacket pocket and maybe putting it again on his finger now that the hazard of the state of affairs had lastly handed. By the way in which, that is all occurring whereas Leon has his again to the digicam, so there’s fairly a little bit of ambiguity right here. However regardless of this, the fandom did what fandoms do and ran with its concepts.
Capcom officers have been debating whether or not this was intentional or not, with recreation director Hiroshi Nakanishi initially denying the favored interpretation amongst followers, however later selecting to seem leaning towards the thought, stirring up additional hypothesis. However both method, the genie cannot be put again within the bottle, and hypothesis is at the moment rife as to who Leon married throughout his 13-year absence from the sport’s timeline. Ada? Claire? Ashley? Chris? Is there anybody extra shocking? The probabilities are wealthy, contemplating Leon has created the form of endearingly awkward chemistry with principally each different character he is shared scenes with since 1998.
However what does this should do with love and deep area? Effectively, even should you do not play the sport, its immense reputation implies that anybody who spends sufficient time on social media might be conversant in the lovingly realized, extremely detailed 3D fashions of the 5 love pursuits – And post-Requiem, it did not take lengthy for avid shippers to level out, The Bachelor in LaDS #2, Zane bears a powerful resemblance to the theoretical youngster of Leon and his longtime frenemy and profit Adawon.
Certainly, there are specific similarities between Zane’s sharp options and people of the newest mannequin of Ada from the RE Engine video games. And whereas the resemblance to Leon is a bit more refined, assuming the penchant for curtained fringe and sensible but dapper fits is hereditary among the many Pixel bunch, I can definitely see it too.
Additionally, the shocking coincidence that Zane and Leon from the Bio-9 period have massive scars on their palms is a serious plot level, however I am undecided if most Regi followers nonetheless perceive the reasoning that far. Nonetheless, these in a cynical desperation to someway “show” that their ship is the one which set sail off-screen are going all in on the idea that Zane is the kid of Leon and Ada’s marriage. On the very least, Leon’s seemingly bottomless properly of unhealthy puns means he is undoubtedly a main candidate for the fatherhood.
As a Resi fan who can also be conversant in LaDS lore, I can guarantee you that this concept is controversial, as you may think about. Leon, Ada, and Zane are a uncommon group of online game characters whose canonical delivery years are recognized to be pretty clear, so in October 2026, when Resident Evil 9 takes place, Leon shall be round 49 years outdated, Ada shall be a number of years older, round 52 years outdated, and Zane shall be a 5-year-old child (as a result of he will not begin exchanging admiring glances with the LaDS heroine till the distant future in 2048). So whereas the Wongs and the Kennedys will surely be aged dad and mom, it is not totally unfeasible, and it appears believable, particularly if they’ll pull all of the stops and get by properly into center age.
Additionally, Zane does not even have a regular final title, at the very least within the English localization of LaDS. So it may simply be Kennedy, Wong, or a hyphenated mixture of the 2. Sadly for this concept, nonetheless, he’s actually the one character in “Love and Deep Area” whose dad and mom are each recognized, who’re really nonetheless alive and even seem sometimes within the story. And whereas they are not as necessary to the plot as having names, they do have well-established backstories. They appear decidedly not like Leon and Ada, as each are medical doctors, like their son, and have spent a lot of the previous few a long time offering humanitarian emergency medical help in far-flung places.
So, all in all, it is beginning to appear to be Capcom and Infold aren’t really secretly collaborating on maybe the unlikeliest, however arguably the very best online game crossover of all time – however I really like shared universe concept, and the extra freedom, the higher, so I am all for it, even when my interior lore-keeper cannot cease stating these annoying inconsistencies. Sure, I’ve personally at all times appreciated the thought of Leon being both Claire, Ashley, or Louis (sob), however that is the primary time I’ve severely thought-about messing with Ion (for the uninitiated, it is an Ada and Leon cargo).
Wait, I simply realized that “Aeon Canon” was, no kidding, the seemingly arbitrary and nonsensical title of a brand new Zane card launched in January for LaDS’ 2nd anniversary! In different phrases, is “Aeon” “canon”? I cancel all the things. That is no coincidence, however clearly proof of deep-level conspiracy on the a part of a number of builders…
Different LaDS followers have additionally loved the sudden pleasure of discovering their favourite video games within the highlight of the Resident Evil fandom, in addition to Zane’s private Mr. Hyde, an alt-universe doppelganger and occasional main-timeline Bode Some individuals have identified that Dawnbreaker, a person who’s ostracized as a suspected serial killer regardless that he really euthanizes victims of an incurable area illness simply earlier than they rework into harmful monsters, appears related. In reality, he is from the Resident Evil universe, so who’s to say there is not a connection there? All the things is coming collectively.
