Comment on Requests from The Crib

  1. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Sat 26 Jul 2025 02:01PM UTC

    That was heartbreaking! Leon seeing what he thinks is the similar scenario or maybe just seeing it through his trauma. What a trigger for him!

    Probably made so much worse because he was already out his comfort zone in the bar to begin with. All that people, the noise, the food even. He's already overwhelmed and then this happens. The blonde guy was lucky to get off with just a few bruises (even though it wasn't his fault and he wasn't doing anything wrong.)

    Leon is healing slowly but still has lots to work through. The line "He wasn't over it, wasn't ready for something big like this" was just heart-breaking. Healing from trauma doesn't happen at once but in bits and pieces. There are set-backs and then steps forward and it show here! But Leon seems to be doing much better physically though, which is so good to read. He's walking properly, he's eating properly, I'm assuming that his speech impediment (from Wesker's "reverse speech training" and Leon's shifted teeth from the pacifer for years) seems to be better. Now his mental health needs to catch up.

    Chris' reaction was perfect; in your storyline, Claire is the one who really knows Leon, not Chris because a lot of canonical stuff didn't happen due to Leon being kidnapped by Wesker and held captive for so long. Chris must find this Leon a lot to deal with but he's trying. Love Chris being Chris and wanting to make sure Leon is safe at home where they can do something for him.

    Last Edited Sat 26 Jul 2025 02:01PM UTC

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    1. Kaffei on Chapter 2 Sat 26 Jul 2025 03:36PM UTC

      iirc the birthday party chapter in Toy Box had Wesker look over Leon's teeth to see if the pacifier was shifting and hurting them, and nothing had moved then (but earlier pacifiers he used before that one did make them shift somewhat). Although, you're right that constant years of pacifier use likely did train Leon's lips, tongue, and teeth into new positions. And repeated use of oral anesthetic definitely trained Leon into asking for things in a babyish manner and pronouncing words like a baby/toddler would. Being honest, the "reverse speech therapy" was something I hoped would be more than just a one-off chapter since it was one of the more sadistic components of Leon's captivity.

      Last Edited Sat 26 Jul 2025 03:38PM UTC

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      1. Empty_Cemeteries on Chapter 2 Sat 26 Jul 2025 10:50PM UTC

        I can write more in depth Leon's path to incorrect speech to fixing it and how that goes for him.

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      2. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 11:34AM UTC

        Yes, it was in Chapter 8 of Scraping The Bottom Of The Toy Box! "Things changed somewhere down the line, maybe when his diet became 50/50 smoothies and mush and he developed a speech issue from the pacifier shifting his teeth. Regression felt like a pool he was drowning in, warm from the direct light hitting it all day."

        I'm not sure if some of those chapters are AU versions of the storyline or if they're all canon though. That's interesting, your mentioning that years of pacifier use could train Leon's lips and mouth a certain way. Didn't even think of that!

        The reverse speech therapy was terrifying! It really nailed down the loss of agency and his old identity.

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        1. Kaffei on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 02:58PM UTC

          True about chapter 8, but the chapter with the birthday party started with Wesker looking over Leon's teeth because Leon was using a different pacifier. The stuff about the pacifier use training his lips and tongue into certain postures a certain way also seemed logical. Although, mentioning that was also because I remembered a story called "if you stay" in a bigger fandom where the main protagonist had that happen to him after weeks of using one, so years of using one would definitely have a worse effect. I mostly read it because just like this series, it was about a total loss of agency on the MC's part and forced regression isn't something I typically seek out

          Little story about the reverse speech therapy. The chapter where that happened had Leon get punished for feeding himself in it too, and the latter of which was one of my suggestions for Leon to fight back and rattle his captor since I wanted to see his captor have setbacks. Then that one suggestion created a domino effect that led to the newborn treatment Leon endured up until his rescue 💀💀💀

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          1. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 03:21PM UTC

            Yes, you're right! It was a different pacifier in that chapter and he did check out Leon's teeth. The stuff about the training of the lips and tongue completely make sense, especially coupled with the reverse speech training. It's interesting that you mention that forced regression isn't what drew you to the other story or to this one but the loss of agency of the MCs in the story. For me, it was the psychological aspect and the recovery arc (something explored at length and often neglected in other trauma-recovery stories.) Like you, forced regression isn't really my thing but the stuff by Empty_Cemetries works whether or not someone is into that aspect.

            Really? I didn't know that. It makes a lot of sense that it caused a domino effect because he was always treated as quite so regressed in earlier parts. I remember Wesker even trying to talk to Leon about the whole dynamic when Leon showed interested at first. But then it spiraled into a pattern of defiance and punishment until Leon was permanently kept in an extremely regressed role. Makes you wonder what would have happened if Leon had been willing to play along from the first. Maybe he could have nudged Wesker towards letting him be a little bit "older" in terms of his role. Which would haven't been ideal for Leon at all (he didn't want this!) but might have been easier to handle and Leon would suffered less of a physical decline.

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            1. Kaffei on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 03:50PM UTC

              Well, I remember remarking that Leon being bottle-fed his meals was "newborn treatment" because I that was the most apt way I could sum it up when I commented on that specific Toy Box chapter, and when the next chapter came out, the author decided to double down on said "newborn treatment" with the cranial helmet and mittens

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              1. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 04:49PM UTC

                Yes, I remember that. Must actually go back and read the whole story again to see the order of things and how things progressed. Leon suffered so much in the series. But it was particularly humiliating in some parts of that story. His physical discomfit was very disturbing to read at times, especially the bit with the cranial helmet. Remember having to take a break from reading parts because the physical discomfit and the identity loss verged on horror at times.

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              2. (17 more comments in this thread)

            3. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 04:28PM UTC

              There are so many typos in my comment above. Sorry, everyone. My cat was trying to get my attention while I was typing XD

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          3. Empty_Cemeteries on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 06:37PM UTC

            I really didn't rattle Wesker too much in these stories, a little but I could do a lot more now

            Last Edited Thu 31 Jul 2025 08:04PM UTC

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        3. Empty_Cemeteries on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 06:18PM UTC

          No, not AU in that specific fic ^^ it's just fragments of time spanning over the 5 years he was with Wesker.

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          1. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Mon 28 Jul 2025 06:51AM UTC

            Thanks! That clears things up. So Krauser survived in this story.

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    3. Empty_Cemeteries on Chapter 2 Sat 26 Jul 2025 10:47PM UTC

      Yes! Those poor brothers just trying to enjoy their life until a crazy guy jumps one of them and starts throwing fists at him. Leon is lucky that his friends got in the way before he could do serious damage.

      And that's so nice!! Recovery really is two steps forward and one step back and I'm glad I was able to describe that here. For Leon's teeth I feel like he probably had a few sessions with a speech therapist and some sort of mouthpiece that will shift his teeth back out again. Sounds logical.

      Chris has a lot of different personalities across different fics and authors and I do know mine is more aloof and cautious, especially with Leon as Chris thinks he's unstable and this only proves that. But this is Claire's friend and he's got good morals to help those who need it.

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      1. Hetuwa (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 26 Jul 2025 11:05PM UTC

        I mean, Leon's just insanely traumatized, but from the younger brother's view, being assaulted for seemingly no reason while trying to help his drunk sibling would paint the picture of being attacked by a crazy person.

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        1. Empty_Cemeteries on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 06:13PM UTC

          Leon is a bit crazy after everything he has been through. I mean everything from Raccoon to Spain and with Wesker. He did end up breaking and he's still being put back together.

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      3. SFShouse on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 11:27AM UTC

        They were just trying to get home and the one brother was being the responsible one until suddenly someone fast and with training starts attacking him for no reason (from the brother's perspective!)

        Very lucky that Chris and Claire were there because Leon wasn't fighting a superhuman Tyrant like Wesker then; he was attacking a normal guy. Probably could have killed him without breaking a sweat!

        It really is. Recovery isn't a straight line at all. That's what makes the storyline work. You sell it very well here! Speech therapy and a mouthpiece make sense, especially since his recovery (physically) took years. That gives him time to get back to normal speech.

        That's the great thing about the characters. One can write them in different ways and if you keep the core elements intact, they come across as plausible. It makes sense that Chris would be aloof here because he only knows Leon via Claire in this story (and his introduction to Leon was seeing Leon at his worst, so to speak.) But Chris still has a big heart here.

        Last Edited Sun 27 Jul 2025 11:29AM UTC

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