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Punk Leona rkgk, but you know, Ethically.

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Last month's Twst Radio was Ruggie's VA (🍩) interviewing music composer Ozawa Takumi and lyricist Aozora Ichika about the solo songs created for the overblot characters.

(note: only a summary, not a direct translation)

Leona's song:

Aozora: I am sorry for the difficult-to-pronounce title. I had the thought, “This is Leona. The words can’t be simple." There needed to be a degree of “what is trying to be said, here.” Something that you don’t understand the depth of at first glance. That is what I wanted for the title.

Ozawa: I was asked to create a rock ballad. The lyrics went in a down-to-earth, unsophisticated direction, to the point you think, “Is it okay to show this side of Leona?” We thought about emphasizing the “prince” side of him, too, but we think the song as it is also represents part of the root of his character that we saw in Book 7.

🍩: I love this song. As second prince he gives up on a lot and pretends he doesn’t see things, tries to protect his mental stability. In a way, giving up can be a form of self-protection, right? I feel like that really comes through. You get a glimpse of it, that kind of helplessness or frustration that comes with his position. You can really feel it in the tone and lyrics of the song. I imagine him having found a place outside the palace where he is able to be alone and singing this to himself.

Aozora: Exactly, that’s exactly it. I struggled with how to put the flaws at the root of Leona’s character into the lyrics and consulted with Toboso-sensei a lot. When his struggles are being shown we have to be careful so that he doesn’t just come across as pitiful when viewed from the outside. The orchestration has a strong atmosphere that makes you want to say something cool, or go in the opposite direction and emphasize weakness, so I avoided listening to it when writing the lyrics. I only listened to the melody. Oh, and I intentionally used words that linked back to the dorm song. In “DIADEM,” the word “light” comes up, and it is in Leona’s solo song as well. In his solo, he can no longer grasp the “light,” but in the dorm song…

Ozawa: He says “Until I seize the light.”

🍩: That’s how he is when they are all working together, but in reality he has already given up.

Aozora: He’s not able to seize it anymore. I hope people enjoy that link between the solo and dorm song.

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Punk Leona rkgk, but you know, Ethically.

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Met another twst fan for the first time in the wild at a gas station help me find them!! They complimented my Leona nui and said their fav was Malleus. 🥺 They said they were on tumblr so MAYBE.

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Might have been done before but silly tag game. Who is prev's blorbo?

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I have much to prove bc of those stupid ai edits I gotta make this good. I'll make the punk Leona we deserve or I'll die trying. 🫡🫡🫡

That makes me think 🤔 Should I draw rockstar/punk inspired Leona???

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Guys please beware of those AI generated twst sprites going around !! 🥲 Those punk/rock style sprites, they're made with AI.

That account is using AI to generate a bunch of sprites with different styles, please don't engage with them 😭🙏 don't give them the time of day, just block the account! It's better to not give them any attention, if their posts don't get engagement they'll probably stop.

Honestly, I find it very disrespectful to feed twst arts to an AI just to generate that crap. Use your own hands and brain and make the edits yourself like normal people do !!! 👊

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I've been good today and finished my work. IT'S TIME. Weird to think I've only drawn Leona in his dorm uni ONCE.

That makes me think 🤔 Should I draw rockstar/punk inspired Leona???

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Hello Bun!

That Leona edit you reblogged is AI made. If you look through their edits, Ruggie and Floyd's feet are merged.

It's pretty easy to miss but it sucks to see it be made with AI.

AAAAAAAAA NOOOOO 3:< That sucks, I did not notice at all. >.< Now that I've zoomed in I see what you mean. Such a shame... I adore making edits myself and there's really no reason to use AI. UGHHHHHH. Thank you for telling me!!

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That makes me think 🤔 Should I draw rockstar/punk inspired Leona???

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The Hair Touch🥀

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I saw Beauty and the Beast on stage recently and there are such Leona vibes in If I Can’t Love Her and its reprise, and it made me think of your animatic (yes they had The Hair Touch in the musical). Conclusion? Undetermined! But if we ever get a Beauty and the Beast type event, I hope he has a card in it.

Leona and Beauty and the Beast

THAT'S SO COOL! Oooo the hair touch. I never posted the animatic on tumblr but I did post a few screenshots. Considering Leona's solo song was a ballad I am more and more thinking he would secretly be into sad music. HE'S TOTALLY A YEARNER and even tho I know we have no evidence in canon about how Leona would act romantically...I just know it. I HEARD YOU, SIR. I mean I've yapped at length about this topic of Leona in romance but even in The Nightmare Before Christmas Event the connection Leona has with Sally who is herself a Grade A S I M P I like to think he sees her love for Jack too, along with her quiet cleverness, and sees a kinship in her.

ANYWAYS THE SONG. I've actually never heard this song, but YES, it's honestly right up there with "Nevermore!!" I really enjoyed this line:

Long ago, I should have seen All the things I could have been Careless and unthinking I moved onward

I do find Leona often unable to see his OWN potential despite being the cocky lion we know. And of course:

No point anymore if I can't love her No spirit could win me No hope left within me Hope I could have loved her and that she'd set me free But it's not to be If I can't love her Let the world be done with me

The defeatist mindset!!! CLASSIC LEONA. Like...the thing that is so funny to me about Leona secretly being a "Hopeless Romantic" is because he's the one least likely out of the cast you think would be one. LIKE It's just such an inversion of how he acts and that why I headcanon it. hehehe

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST EVENT???

YES! I would love it! I AM CURRENT WORKING ON A BATB FANEVENT actually! (Though its on hiatus due to a few other projects rn. ;-;) BUT, Leona WILL BE The main character for my event which will be am interactive one. I'm gonna design him a card and everything! My thought is Leona's role in the event is based off a mixture of Belle AND Beast. Since I find Leona is a mix of the two. Often I see him pigeonholed JUST as "the Beast" and made OOC and aggressive but he's more than that IMO. Example: he is is often objectified because of his handsome looks and is quite the bookworm! (As we've now seen in his Sleepwear vignette.) He's almost more Belle than Beast IMO. But, BATB is one of my fav properties so I am very excited about this event maybe I could share some more WIPS of outfit design after I clean them up!

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Might be a little dramatic but seeing any notifs of yours immediately becomes a highlight of my day like before i came across your blog i didnt know i was starved for proper Leona characterization.

Aside from that i enjoy your writing a lot, to me its easy to follow while pretty engaging and im very picky about the prose i read so i constantly think of how lucky i was to find you, i think if you were to change favorites overnight and write for other characters i would still read all of them.

Im also an artist who struggles with choosing and coloring so in that regard im easily impressed by your style but i really like that you give leona a more mature air (to me)

Waaa this is so long, anyways i hope youre proud of your work be it art or writing because be sure ill love it!!Youre really cool!!!!

DFGHJK THANK YOU!!?? THIS IS QUITE THE LOVE BOMB??

I'm happy that you enjoy my Leona posts, and I FEEL YOU. I am VERY picky about what I read too. I'm glad my posts can strike a cord with you and others! At first, my Leona rambles really just started with me sharing my HCs but I feel it's grown to a way I bond with my followers! :3

As a writer, I'm happy you find my writing style easy to follow. This is really what I strive for. I myself tend to have a hard time reading certain writing, so my goal above all, is be understood! I have friends and followers from all over the world who have English as a second language and so I feel as though clarity in writing makes it more universal and enjoyable to a variety of readers. BUT, I love to share with you guys!! And I am even more happy you like my art style?? 😭😭😭 Sometimes I really dislike my artstyle, and I wish it was better and more like some of the popular ones out there. I'm really glad I can have such amazing followers honestly. It really helps on the bad days, because if you ask me I find my art and writing really average. TBVH I don't find myself as talented like some twst artists out there and I am constantly trying to improve both my writing and art for you guys! 💚💚💚

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I keep accidentally writing your name as bummwich :[

I'm so sorry :[ You are not a bum :[[[

DFGHJKL It's okay?? I've been laughing at this for 10 minutes anon. No, what if I am a bum?? In fact, I should make a alt called bummwich DFGHJKL

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Apollo gave you the gift of prophecy but only pertaining to a specific fictional character (Leona duh), so u just circle back to being hardcore fan with crazy intuition

Oh anon you don't know the half of it...There's just so many very personal coincidences that both the Lion King as a franchise and Leona have played into with things for me irl. YOU DON'T EVEN WANNA KNOW. It does make me feel insane to a certain point istg.

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Bun really no pressure but is angst posting in your schedule in the near future ? Been thinking of lion sad hours and wanted to see if the expert has any ideas

Leona is Lonely

Oh, so I am constantly thinking of angst for Leona!! (It's easy??) Tbh I see him as a lowkey gloomy person (but he's just good at hiding it!!) In fact, the first fic I wrote of him (BACK IN 2022???) was him tricking the MC into thinking Ruggie left a note for them to help with Leona's chores but REALLY it was Leona wanting some company after taking a liking to the MC in Chapter 3.

-- Leona IMHO is an expert at masking, and I do think just by observing how he acts in stories and seeing what seems to make him "happy" leads me to the conclusion that he can have a hard time coping with his own feelings. And self admittedly he STRAIGHT UP SAYS "craves attention more than most."

Often the most we see him genuinely smiling is in other's groovys:

(Ruggie's Dorm and Birthday Boy groovy)

Let me cook for a second.

Just something I've noticed about him, despite saying and acting like he doesn't care about others or what happens to them or how much he HATES "babysitting..." We see him STILL meddling and helping (in his own way) his underclassmen. (who as Cater points out, he is beloved by) Particularly Epel, Jack, Ruggie and even the MC in Chapter 3. Ruggie takes care of Leona but he takes of him care back. Offering him a job, extra money, hand-me-downs, and even tutoring. He gives Jack multiple times what I like to call "Cryptic big bro" advice. He showers Epel with thoughtful gifts, tagged along with him to Cooking Crucible AND helped him finish potions project in Leona's labwear vingette. He uses the word "kawaii" to describe his DORM MEMBERS! Its doesn't matter if he complains the whole time or comes up with plausible deniability excuses that he was "getting something outta it too". HE STILL DID IT. Compared to when he's alone and left to his own devices we find Leona: sleeping (ofc), playing chess or (as we know a have seen in his new loungewear vignette) hyperfocusing on a book till morning until he crashes. This (to me at least) reads as someone who almost has to stay distracted to cope. And could be part of the reason he avoids classes, they're BORING, they slow him down And they are not a challenge and so he avoids them. Leona can't stand to be bored. He even falls asleep mid group conversation if it doesn't pertain to him. Or he fakes being asleep to avoid the social situation altogether. Craving to be apart of the group but not able to actual put the effort in. Jade even describes Leona' s "forlorn" standing in th3 corner of a party. Idk there is something...sad about the fact he is always either trying to self isolate to avoid others, and when we do see him active he's mostly helping his underclassmen or pretending not to care/want to be involved.

Leona is Happiest When He is Helping Others.

It reflects to me why Leona seems so hopeful and and encouraging in Diadem compared to his solo song were he is the saddest we've (OPENLY) seen him.

(Sad Boy Pose ™️ I really enjoy this art of him!!) AND Why he stops crying and picks up his mask in the damn Twisted Wonderland opening when Ruggie and Jack run up.

Leona prefers to suffer his negative emotions in silence. I think he has a hard time reaching out for help, AND ALSO sitting alone with his thoughts. Sometimes... it's just better to sleep. Even a seemingly harmless voicelines from his dorm and school uni cards were he suggests taking a nap to the MC to lose track of time?? Hmm.

Sir??? Sir??? Are you okay? (This feels like advice from a lonely person idk) I just think there's something to be said about the fact we mostly only see him "happy" when he's helping others idk. Fulfilling the senpai role he was meant to be in. It was even like that in the Tamashina Mina vignette after they won and he was like..."I guess having people to hang out with and enjoy things together isn't so bad."

-- As for my angst Devourer Au is pretty angsty as if focuses on Leona's general unwellness after his family's death and seeming hard time coping at the loss of an important relationship with Yuu as well. Or straight up just a breakup drabble I wrote, a snippet from a fic I where Leona thinks about his position on romantic love and how he should've figured he'll never be happy in life.

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I haven't seen it mentioned before, but I really adore the way you draw Leona's nose

DFGHJK Thank you!!💚💚💚 It's def one of my HCs for him I didn't even realize I was doing it for a long time, but AAAA it's one of my favorite parts to draw of his now. It just feels ✨right✨. It also created quite a stir on tiktok... FDGHJK

✨Leona nose appreciation post!!✨

It kinda reminds me of Scar's nose as well and my HC is that it's a bit crooked because it was broken when he was younger.

Here's the video I made on tiktok FGHJ: