Resident Evil fans, especially the Leon x Ada shippers, have taken in Love and Deepspace's Zayne as the pairing's son. Here's how the two fandoms unexpectedly collided.
Resident Evil x Love and Deepspace Unofficial Crossover by Fans
“Aeon’s Canon,” Zayne’s Card Says
Resident Evil (RE) and Love and Deepspace (LADS) worlds converge after a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) humorously claim that Zayne, one of the love interests in LADS, is the long-lost son of Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong from the RE franchise. A user first noticed a 5-star Zayne card with the name "Aeon's Canon"; coincidentally, "Aeon" is also the ship (or romantic pairing) name for Leon and Ada, and "canon" in fandom culture means an officially accepted part of a fictional work.
In response to the post, another Aeon shipper designated Zayne as their chosen face claim for the imagined Aeon offspring, even though they are unfamiliar with LADS. "He has earned the title for saying Aeon [is] canon," they quipped. This may also stem from Zayne's resemblance to Leon and Ada in terms of appearance, especially to the latter.
Since then, users across other social media platforms, including those in China, have joined in on the joke. They photoshopped and posted images of Leon and Ada with Zayne, placing them side by side for comparison. One of them said that Zayne inherited Leon's sense of humor, as shown when he replied to the LADS main character's (MC) "These [books] are really heavy" with "It's the weight of knowledge."
Meanwhile, much of the fandom crossover centered on fan art depicting the three characters in familial scenarios, such as the "parents" supporting Zayne at his graduation or a meet-the-parents situation where Zayne introduces the MC as his girlfriend. Another artwork portrayed Zayne, Leon’s "Chinese son," with the counter-bioterrorism agent’s "adopted daughters," Sherry, Grace, and Emily.
The X user who originally sparked the Aeon trend featuring their son also contributed their own fan art, with the parents dressed as doctors in white laboratory gowns and Leon carrying a toddler Zayne. "Baby Zayne also wanted to tag along with mama Ada and papa Leon on the undercover mission and they couldn't say no," the post read, adding that the two inspired him to become a doctor himself when he grew older.
Backstory Built From Two Unrelated Games
Keeping the long-lost-son narrative going, fans have spun new, unofficial lore linking Zayne to Leon and Ada, despite the fact that they come from two vastly different worlds. LADS is a sci-fi-themed otome game, a dating simulator subgenre primarily for women. On the other hand, Resident Evil is a survival-horror video game series that also incorporates action elements.
Yet, even with RE offering only hints of romance, Aeon has emerged as one of its most popular pairings due to their ongoing "will they, won't they" dynamic across multiple titles since they first met in 1998 in Resident Evil 2 (RE2). A current hot topic within the RE fandom is also fueling the conversation: Resident Evil Requiem (RE9) showed Leon wearing a wedding ring, but developer Capcom has yet to disclose his wife’s identity. Ada is unsurprisingly at the forefront of speculation, alongside Claire Redfield, one of the main playable characters in RE2 aside from Leon.
Elsewhere in the "backstory," Zayne is a stoic heart surgeon who is dedicated to helping others in need, a trait fans have likened to Leon's own motives. His parents were also doctors, though they were often away for long periods due to their work, leaving Zayne largely on his own.
Considering the points above, it made sense for the fans that Zayne's "parents" led busy lives and were seldom around. Leon is a federal agent with the counter-bioterrorism agency, the Division of Security Operations (DSO), and Ada operates as a mercenary and spy for various organizations. The fans further theorized that the two RE characters are only working undercover as doctors, hiding their true professions from the public eye.
The merging of RE and LADS fandoms brought delight to players from both sides. Whether they enjoyed seeing RE treat Zayne "like their baby" or jumped at the mention of Aeon in LADS, the hilarity that ensued stood under the same banner: the birth of "Zayne W. Kennedy."
On a related note, several fans pointed out that Xavier, another LADS love interest, could join the Kennedy family as well. "Got that blonde hair, cop like papa Leon and also a soft spoken guy just like Zayne," one user said, "If Zayne took 90% of Ada's genes, Xavier got 90% [of] Leon's genes."
Sources:
X/Twitter | Fans Crown Zayne as Leon and Ada's Long-Lost Son
X/Twitter | Zayne becomes the face claim for Aeon's child
X/Twitter | ‘I’d say Zayne inherited it’
X/Twitter | Xavier as Aeon’s second son
Reddit | The Resident Evil fandom has adopted Zayne
This is canon to me now