#ris rambles

The theory part of this comes form the forest hideout we see in Embrace Your Destiny and Claim to Flame. This is Redson's go-to to meditate and control the Samadhi Fire, something he eventually shares with Mei.

It is a temple in a very isolated forest, built into the side of a mountain. Though the statue in the altar is broken and a bit vague, Redson did place an offering and light a candle. It also has a more secluded area surrounded by bamboo near it. ('The Stab Shack Of Meditation', according to Mei) Why are these details important to me?

Well, in JTTW, Red Boy becomes the Bodhisattva Guanyin's student (and as such, his hair is shaved) after being defeated, as a way to repent for his crimes. Now, here's an excerpt of Journey To The West chapter 49, where Wukong goes over to Guanyin to ask for her help (he does that a lot):

“The Bodhisattva left the cave this morning,” said the deities, “and forbade anyone to follow her. She went by herself into the bamboo grove, (...)”

See here? Guanyin's temple where she lives with her students (including Redson) is described as a cave (on a mountain), and as having a bamboo grove near it. Which makes me wonder if this isn't connected in some way to the place we see in the show.

And so my headcanon goes:

Sometime after the Samadhi Fire was sealed, Redson got sent to study under Guanyin. He learns from her how to meditate and better control his powers, since even without it being a world-ending level threat, a flame prince out of control could still be dangerous (and we know from the show she still struggles with 'outbursts' even now). After DBK is sealed under a mountain, they leave Guanyin for a quest to find a way to free him.

It's a long time later that Redson goes back to the temple, seeking some peace after everything happening in the city, or maybe seeking guidance to deal with the return of the very fire that caused him to need her to begin with. She's not there physically, but it is still her temple.

And that's the story of how Redson was a bald child!

I mean, sure, maybe it's unintentional. Maybe it's just coincidence, after all, Helena isn't a child. She doesn't need protection the way Sherry did. But it's definitely there, in the most subtle ways

One of the most prominent examples I can give of this is like.. both Leon and Claire see themselves in the younger counterpart. Claire sees Sherry and is reminded of herself as a kid, and Leon sees Helena and is reminded of when he was just introduced to bioweapons.

Claire's familiar with the feeling of being a scared and unsure child. It's one of her main interactions when meeting Sherry in re2r, she's empathizing with her over their parents. Connecting with her through their shared misfortune of losing their parents (in Sherry's case at the time, it was just her father)

Leon is familiar with the feeling of being unsure and having to deal with bioweapons all the time. Something we see Helena dealing with at the beginning of her and Leons campaign. Mainly during the elevator, where she's hesitant and unwilling to shoot the daughter of That Guy™. He scolds her, in a way some could analyze as a parallel to how Ada had yelled at him when they first met, but that's something that could be saved for a different post

Another similarity between Leon and Helena is the anger, moreso directed towards someone higher up. What I mean is; with Helena it's naturally Simmons, as he's the one who pressured her to allow what had happened at Tall Oaks with the president. That much is obvious, and with Leon, my intentions are much more directed towards re4(the remake, at least. I admit I do not know much of the original...) and the gap between the six years of it. The subject of his anger directed towards the government, for being coerced into agreement to join such from threats. Which is very familiar... (Cough, Helena, cough)

Something else to slap on is the fact of; Cleon has inspired their respective younger counterparts in different ways. Claire's inspired Sherry to grow up to be like her. Leon didn't exactly inspire Helena in the way Claire did, sure, but he did push her to keep going. Encouraging her to keep going until the end, and even then, still encouraging her to keep going.

The same can be said vice-versa; not in the same ways, but still. Sherry was a reason for Claire to keep going and to get them out. Helena, while not really motivating Leon to keep going, encouraged him to try and keep hope. For Ada at least, and that is still going down as a motivator in my books.

Mentor trainee you'll always be loved by me....