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welshoot · 7 months

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Talent and Overblots: An Interesting Relationship

So I read an analysis about Leona and his overblot and it has gotten me to thinking and, only just realizing that talent is a bit of a theme for Twisted Wonderland. Or rather, talent in a more negative lighting than it is often portrayed in.

Simply put, everyone who has overblotted is also talented and said talents (+ the side effects of being talented) really seem to be a large part of their trauma, stress, and varying issues that culminate in their overblot. I’m going to put the rest of the analysis under the cut for fear of any spoilers and due to length (and it is long), but this is something that is incredibly fascinating to me since this portrayal of talent is so wildly different from what is typically seen.

Starting with Overblot #1, Riddle is obviously talented. He became a housewarden in his first year, has an incredibly powerful signature spell, knows all the rules of Heartslabyul, and is a top student in a school filled to the brim with geniuses. We know from his overblot backstory that his mom held him to strict rules and pushed him too far, always demanding he be better than the best. Talented wasn’t enough. He had to be perfect. And that is, quite simply, what led to his overblot. He was holding others to that same horrifying strict regime. Talent isn’t enough, you must be perfect. But Riddle’s talent(s) is what made this drive for perfection truly frightening. That talent of his is what helped to lead to the pedestal that he (and others) placed himself on. And then his view was an incredibly simplistic, and even relatable one. If I can do it, so can they. But that viewpoint is what led to him pushing too far and breaking down when he realized exactly what he’d done. Ace quite possibly put it best when he informed Riddle that he was, “An extension of her”. Her, being Riddle’s mother. Realizing that he’d become that same tyrant, constantly pushing that talent wasn’t enough and you had to be perfect, was a big part of Riddle’s overblot. Because what is worse than becoming the very thing you’ve feared and toiled under since you were a child?

Leona is obviously talented. He is one of NRC’s geniuses, implied to be a very physically strong beastman, possesses an incredibly powerful signature spell, and has the cleverness to think his way out of any situation on top of the fact that he can power his way out of most problems due to his incredible persistence. But those talents were little more than weights around his neck when nothing he did mattered. He would never be king no matter what he did. But how much of Leona’s overblot was ever really being about king, when the crown that just the image that stuck with him? After all, the crown was the first thing that he was probably told he could never have no matter how talented he was. So kingship became a symbol of all he can never succeed in, despite his many talents. In the Savannaclaw chapter, story vignettes, and even in events people are constantly telling Leona that if he just tried he could do it. He is talented after all. And how much must that sting? You’re talented, and you have tried, but no matter what anyone tells you, it doesn’t seem to matter. The words of encouragement others give him are just like a slap in the face because failure keeps rearing its head. Thoughts like that can easily lead to or worsen depression and self-loathing. Especially when he gets his hope up once more that maybe he can do something, he keeps getting dragged back down, either by life’s machinations or his own occasionally self-destructive behavior. As a culmination of this, we find Leona exactly where he was in the Savannaclaw chapter. Failing once more and finally breaking apart as it occurs in front of those who have placed him as their head, the leader of their Pride. Not only has he failed himself, he has failed those who place their faith in him. To Leona, it no doubt looked like his greatest fears were true. Even with all of those talents, Leona feels worthless because he can’t succeed even once.

Azul is talented even if he himself doesn’t see it. Not many can say they have a successful restaurant business, and have hoodooed both the headmage and a good number of one’s fellow students at his age. Azul’s talent isn’t the one he wants though. He wants something more flashy and easily seen. Something that will make others not bother him. He never wants to be a silly little octotwerp who gets made fun of again. And, at this point, Azul can’t seem to see his knack for business for what it is. A talent. Being surrounded by so many obvious talents at NRC is bound to crush him, because everywhere he looks there is someone better than him in some way. So Azul gets greedy. He won’t let them make fun of him and look down on him like his previous classmates did. He can’t take that again. But then all of his carefully calculated actions come crashing down around him. Leona destroys his contracts and asserts, no less, that Azul has been beaten by a magicless prefect. And that is when Azul truly starts to crumble to pieces. He can’t even beat someone that he no doubt viewed, at that point, as a nobody. His actions turn desperate as he fears that Jade and Floyd, the two who’d actually taken a look at young Azul and saw talent there, are abandoning him because he’s been beaten at his own game. In Azul’s eyes, he has no talents, so why would they stay? All those feelings come racing back and Azul really does feel like a nobody. Just a silly little octotwerp even despite all his efforts. And so he overblots. Because obviously if you aren’t talented, then no one wants you and it doesn’t matter.

Jamil is talented in numerous ways and, unlike Azul, he knows it. But Jamil’s talents consistently get ignored or downplayed by everyone, even his own family. And it’s all because of the fact he works under another family so in the eyes of those around him, Jamil can’t and shouldn’t be better than Kalim. So he blames Kalim, even though he knows it isn’t Kalim’s fault that they were born in the positions they are in. Even though Kalim is someone who has always lavished praise on Jamil’s talents and never downplayed them. Even though Kalim is his friend. It’s too much. Because each time Kalim, the source of Jamil’s woe (at least in his eyes), praises him, it’s like a slap in the face. A reminder that even though you’re talented, you aren’t allowed to reach the full height of your abilities. All because of this fellow, who is your friend and greatest supporter. When Jamil’s grand scheme is foiled, it breaks him. It’s a hard hit to his ego and probably feels like yet another reminder that he can’t outdo Kalim. And, to top it all off, there’s the guilt. Because like it or not, Jamil knows it’s not Kalim’s fault because Kalim, for all that he doesn’t understand or realize about their situation, would never put Jamil in the situation that he has found himself in. And so Jamil overblots. His talents don’t matter because he isn’t allowed to show them. He’s restrained, and all of that frustration is suddenly coming out.

Next is Vil, whose troubles are so curiously (and perhaps amusingly) similar to Leona’s. Because for all of Vil’s talent as an actor, he can’t get the role he so desperately longs for. To be the hero, standing on stage till the very end where people will notice him. But it is Vil’s talent (and beauty) that weighs him down and makes people speak of how special he is. And isn’t special so similar to being unrelatable? So talented is he, so special is he, so unrelatable is he, that he must be the villain. Because no one wants a hero that seems so otherworldly, perfectly beautiful and talented. No, they want a hero they understand. A more relatable type of attractiveness, a more mundane level of skill. A villain is, as Vil’s dad asserts in the overblot flashback, a hard role to play. But Vil knows that it’s also the role everyone hates. No one wants to be the bad guy. And how often do people actually pay attention to the villain? Everyone’s eyes are on the star of the show, the good guy. Getting typecast because of his talents is a big part of what leads to Vil’s overblot. He is so weighed down by how inescapable the role of villain seems that he quite literally becomes a villain. And, mirroring Riddle, the realization that he has become that thing he so loathes and maybe even fears is what causes his overblot. The golden child that he was has finally fallen and become mired in the hideous filth that remains when one’s talent becomes a set of shackles that makes you ‘special.’

Idia is, like the others, talented. But interestingly he seems to loathe his talent just as much as he loathes a crowd. Despite his amazing technological achievements, Idia doesn’t want the recognition of fame that comes from his talents. In many ways, he almost behaves like he wants to be free of his talents. As if that talent is a chain. And perhaps it is, that talent makes him well-suited to the position he was born into is yet another chain that binds him to the Island of Woe. His wishes don’t matter. Idia is doomed to his position by both his family name and his talents. The stress of such a truth paired his past with Ortho’s death, and the constant reminder that he is at fault for it (or so he constantly tells himself) is what causes his overblot. Because at least this way, maybe Idia can use his talents once more to do something he wants. To save his brother, and atone for what he has done.

Finally, there is Malleus. Another individual with undeniable talent. Someone who is already listed amongst the most powerful of magicians and who comes from a long line of talented people. But Malleus’s talent, skill, and power for magic is what causes others to fear him, worship him, and avoid him. No one wishes to approach someone so fearsome and talented, because how could they? He is a royal who seems so far beyond them, they cannot comprehend such talent and power. Surely he is beyond them. And when they can’t understand him, perhaps it is better to fear him. It’s only natural to fear that which we can’t understand, so that is what happens to Malleus and his incomprehensible power. The isolation that stems from other’s fear and misunderstandings leads Malleus to do what is only natural. To cling to those few people that remain near him. Those who don’t fear him and instead accept him. And that isolation, paired with the need to cling onto those precious few while all others continue to stare at him in awed horror, is what contributes so greatly to his overblot. Because if those few leave him, what does he have left in his ivory tower of talent?

Anyway, I just find it fascinating that Twisted Wonderland has portrayed the darker side of talent and how it can lead to so many issues for those that hold it. Talent is a blessing in many ways, but there are two sides to every coin and it appears that talent can just as easily be a curse in the wrong situation.

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 9 days

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thinking about book 6 battle simulations

I was thinking a lot about book 6 lately! (Not for any particular reason, I was just ruminating, haha...)

During the examination segment, Riddle, Azul, and Vil were put into one group and Jamil and Leona were put in the other group. Idia then put them into VR simulations in which (simulated) Trey, Jade, Rook, Kalim, and Ruggie approached the subjects to upset them. This is for the purposes of STYX to gauge their combative capabilities and blot accumulation. What I noticed on another read of these parts was that Idia makes sure to inform all the subjects they are about to enter a VR simulation BEFORE they dive in... and yet despite this, group 1 (Riddle, Azul, Vil) was still caught off-guard when Trey, Jade, and Rook attacked them. Meanwhile, Jamil in group 2 automatically defers to Kalim but Leona is the one who notices something is fishy about the situation. Now, now... this is interesting 👁️ Why might this be, I wonder~ (You bet I'm going to analyze the heck out of these small details!)

***Main story spoilers up to book 6!!***

First thing to consider: it's possible that perhaps the characters don't fully understand what "VR simulation" is, as most of them did take a while to come to their senses. Of the 5 subjects, Riddle is the most likely to fall into this category. He seems to be slightly confused by the concept of a "virtual space" when Idia explains the examination to them (which likely conflicts with Riddle's very traditional understanding of "tests"). Furthermore, Riddle has expressed in Endless Halloween Night that his mother did not allow him to play video games or to watch TV so he'd usually do crosswords or solve other puzzles for fun. He's not completely technologically inept (like Malleus), but Riddle does have a somewhat limited scope of how items and procedures are to be used, especially if it lies beyond its normal means. It's likely that he has not thought of VR simulation being used in the scenario in which he finds himself in now.

The other 4 subjects, however, most likely understand what VR is and shouldn't be confused by the simulation. Azul is very savvy and keeps up with trends, which can factor into his business(es). He even brings up streaming as a potential source of revenue in book 6; man has his fingers on the pulse of pop culture to know what will sell. Vil, being a celebrity and the leader of the Film Research Club, must have an understanding of various technologies used to achieve certain effects (especially as director of his own projects). Jamil constantly deals with Kalim's requests and, being in Kalim's social bubble, must get exposure to all kinds of crazy technologies. Leona, being a knowledgeable prince, surely must understand the concept of VR simulation.

Okay, so... why did they (mostly) still get "tricked" by the simulation anyway? The key words today would be "trust" and "dependence".

Thinking about it, there's one thing that separates group 1 from 2: the boys in group 1 have a tendency to rely on others for support and validation whereas the boys in group 2 are consistently shown to be more independent than their peers (even if they, too, seek validation). Let's go through them one by one!

GROUP 1

Riddle

Riddle is presented as a tyrant that rules with an iron fist, particularly in book 1 where he stars as the main antagonist. However, it's also pretty blatant that Riddle has become increasingly aggressive due in part to others enabling him. Ace specifically calls out Trey for this, saying that his failure to intervene or to quell Riddle's temper has resulted in Heartslabyul students suffering for it. Cater is also complacent, as he and/or Trey often follow Riddle's orders and remove Adeuce from the dorm multiple times in book 1. Riddle relies on these upperclassmen to listen to him and carry out his bidding, and he feels validated when they do. It's a lesson he has learned from his mother. He is the most powerful, and therefore he should be the most correct. Notice how Riddle is quick to anger when others refuse to obey him and how often he demands for them to conform. He becomes enraged when the Heartslabyul mobs rebel and chuck an egg at him. But what hurts him most of all is, perhaps, Trey turning too. Riddle was mad about the mobs acting up, yes, but he still did not overblot. Not yet, at least. No, Riddle overblots only AFTER he tries to attack Ace with the rose trees... and Trey steps in with his UM to overwrite Riddle's collar, turning it into cards. Trey's relationship with Riddle cannot be understated here. In this very moment, Trey, Riddle's childhood friend (one of his first friends), vice dorm leader, silent yes man, his most trusted confidant, has betrayed him. He is proving Riddle wrong, that the most powerful mage is not the most correct. "Are YOU going to tell me that I'm wrong too? After all I've done to protect the rule of law?! [...] I... I refuse to believe this!"

From these examples, we can clearly see that Riddle is someone who is reliant on others--not that he isn't a capable mage, but rather he is reliant on others for his own sense of self-worth. Indeed, even in his post-OB flashback, he indicates feeling proud and excited when his mother praises him for good grades or successfully performing a spell. This is reiterated many times over in book 1, in which Riddle feels satisfied and even smug when his students fall in line, and spirals into uncontrollable rage when they don't. There are a select few whom Riddle has chosen to place his faith in, and Trey is one of them. Trey, who gave him his first slice of strawberry tart and has been supporting him as his vice for over a year now (since Riddle became dorm leader in his first week as a first-year student; now is the start of Riddle's second year). That's why he feels so hurt when Trey is suddenly chastising him, telling him that he's behaving irrationally.

If we reexamine Riddle's post-OB flashback, you'll notice that Riddle says he is lonely without every outright stating the word "lonely". The phrasing makes it sound as though Riddle does not understand his own loneliness, like he doens't even know the word or want to acknowledge it as reality. He is awkward and unsure around Trey and Chenya, who invite him out to play. He follows his mother's rules because he believes that is what will bring him happiness. He wonders why, in spite of following all those rules, he still feels hollow inside. Then, once Riddle has awoken, he confesses that he always wanted to play more with Trey, and that he wants to talk with everyone after a meal. Riddle. at his core, craves companionship rather than dominating his peers. Trey was one of the few friends he ever had, and so Riddle puts a lot of stock into his support. This may be why he was quick to believe the fake Trey in the simulation, and why he looked so shocked when Trey started attacking him. Here is a boy who has already been betrayed once, experiencing that same betrayal again at the hands of his childhood friend. How scared must he be of losing his oldest friend, of Trey turning his back on him or seeing him as a monster? 😭

Azul

Due to the bullying he experienced in his childhood, Azul works very hard to maintain a new image of someone who is cool, confident, and composed. Part of that is passing himself off as someone who is large and in charge, while posing Jade and Floyd as his lackies who do whatever he tells them to. The reality of the matter is that the twins are very much... there to do their own thing, and they just kind of go along with Azul's schemes because they seem to be a lot of fun. When you stop to consider it though, Azul definitely puts a lot of trust into the Leech brothers even though they're both shady and can be flippant at times. It's the twins going around and advertising Azul's services to the student population. It's the twins who help him expand his business and acquire new items (as all three's Dorm Uniform vignettes are about the Octatrio conspiring to acquire the rights to and/or advertise their new drinks). It's the twins who are asked to run the Mostro Lounge whenever Azul is absent. Time and time again, Azul falls back on Jade and Floyd. They've been with him since middle school.

In book 4, both Azul and Floyd insist that they aren't really "childhood friends", but they do consider each other "equals". As Azul describes it, "I strongly doubt Jade or Floyd have any binding allegiance to me. This is all and elaborate game of pretend to them. [...] If I made a poor choice as leader--or even simply a boring one... They would turn on me instantly and seize the dorm leader seat for themselves." Floyd follows with, "We ain't got any plans to challenge him, either... for now, anyway. Aha ha! [...] We stick with [Azul] now 'cause it's fun. If it stops bein' fun, we drop him like a bad habit. Easy." The twins and Azul are both very aware that their relationship is a temporary and transactional one. Azul himself has even fully considered the possibility that Jade and Floyd may one day turn on him. This is all true--however, I also believe it's possible that the Octatrio are not being entirely truthful to themselves and do actually care for one another beyond the confines of their business ties or "having fun". In book 3, Jade and Floyd sense that something is wrong, and their immediate thought is to go check on Azul because of this gut feeling. Jade warns Azul of the consequences of misusing his UM. They are also the first to check on Azul after his OB and insist that he rest and find it within them to gently tease him over the situation. Even the way they address each other is "special". Jade and Azul have a tendency to be polite and use the honorific "-san" after everyone's name... except for each other and Floyd. Floyd, meanwhile, tends to give everyone a nickname... except for Jade and Azul. They drop these naming conventions within their group because that's how much they know and trust each other. Further proof of this is that when Floyd first meets Azul in the post-OB flashback of book 3, he calls Azul "Octopus-chan". Azul used to have a nickname, but no longer has one. This implies that a lack of a nickname actually indicates that Floyd is more intimate with someone than if he had nicknamed them. The same goes with Jade and Azul, who are usually so formal and polite.

I've already established that Azul acts in ways which indicate that he is close to the twins, as much as he tries to deny it and come off as tough. He drops the honorifics for them and he trusts them to do his bidding. What I find most telling, however, is when Jade and Floyd check up on him right as he's about to OB. "Jade! Floyd! Ahhh, you've finally come back to me," Azul says (if you listen to his voice, he sounds SO relieved). "Would you believe that thanks to these FOOLS, I've lost all of my contracts? Which is why I'm going to need your powers now. Come on, give them to me!" This is notable because, prior to this, he was forcibly ripping powers out of mob students. But now with the twins--Azul makes a CONSCIOUS decision to ask Jade and Floyd for them to willingly give up their powers to him. Azul is emotional and acting without tact here, but he STILL stops to ask the twins for them to surrender their magic. He cares about getting their consent specifically. When the brothers deny him and Floyd says Azul has become lame, that's when Azul snaps. His loyal henchmen are refusing his request and he's lost all his accumulated wealth. He's going to become the weak, friendless crybaby he once way all over again.

Knowing all of this, it makes sense why Azul was as startled as Riddle was when the simulated Jade attacked him. Azul claims that he anticipates this day--but he still seems to disturbed when it actually happens. It's true that perhaps this surprise comes in part from Azul having no indication that the twins were getting bored of him, so this is coming out of left field in his perspective. But... it could also be that he's hurt by the sudden shift, even if he and the twins have been telling themselves all along that they'd toss each other out without a second thought once they lose interest. This calls back to Azul's concerns right before he overblots: that his "business partners" (whom he refuses to call his friends) have lost interest in him and will now leave him alone and with nothing. He relies on the brothers not only for labor, but as his company and his confidants. When that's taken away from him... what does Azul have left that's worth anything?

Vil

Vil is another person who typically passes as very independent. He looks after himself quite well and is often the one nagging others to do the same. The thing with him is... he's still a celebrity at the end of the day, and a celebrity like him is always aware of his public image and the eyes on him. That's Vil's Achille's heel: as a celebrity, he is constantly concerned with how others perceive him. This is a lesson he learns in book 5--that he shouldn't let other people's judgment of him or a silly popularity contest determine his self-worth. Ah, but let's remember... book 6 begins like a mere DAY after book 5. Sure, Vil's character arc may be over, but that does not mean that he has suddenly completely changed. Up until yesterday, he was aggressively training to overcome his rival and to show the whole world his true beauty. Vil still, to some degree, finds value in how he looks and how others see him, as it strongly ties into his career. To this end, he sees Rook as a valuable individual.

Now, there's a lot of contention about whether or not Rook is a good influence on Vil or not, as some interpret his commentary as derogatory or unnecessarily critical. I'm not going to get into that; here, I am going to speak plainly about how Vil himself views Rook's feedback. In Vil's Labwear vignettes, he confides in Trey that he relies on Rook's keen observational skills to reflect the truth back to him. A celebrity must look at his best, and he can count on Rook to not mince his words and point out even the most minute of changes at a quick glance. (Vil himself is also extremely strict with himself, but lacks the superhuman abilities that his vice dorm leader does.) Rook has been doing this since long before he even transferred to Pomefiore, critiquing Vil's performances and such, not just his looks alone. This led into long discussions and debates between the two, which demonstrates how much Vil values Rook's perspective. Even back then, Rook was one of Vil's greatest supporters, but not exactly a totally blind "yes man". He is offering the kind of feedback that Vil seeks, not empty, sugar-coated niceties. This is why, in spite of his betrayal at the end of book 5, Vil eventually accepts it, as he trusts Rook's keen eye and judgment. What's interesting about book 6's examinations is that Vil seemingly takes charge of his group. When approached by the simulated classmates, Vil steps up and, after a moment of silence, says, "No... It's nothing. Let's go." (Vil is known as a skilled actor and can easily sniff out an act himself. Was the silence hesitation as he, Azul, and Riddle reevaluate the scene? Hard to say, but I'm assuming that STYX's state-of-the-art tech was able to perfectly simulate Rook, and thus confused Vil and co. for a while.) Rook strikes him with a spell, and that invokes a great emotional reaction from Vil, who seems to be the most aghast of the group. The fake Rook then declares that he's going to claim the dorm leader seat from Vil, which shocks him. "As you know, I appreciate beautiful things. Hence... I can hardly allow someone who's acted as ugly as you to occupy the Fairest Queen's throne!" The scene then cuts away to a battle. Now, while we don't get any extra dialogue from Vil to show his reaction, one interpretation could be that he was stunned into silence. Why is this a believable occurrence? Because the fake Rook called Vil out for "ugly" behavior. This is significant because back when Vil was overblotting, he was desperately shouting for people to "not look at him" because he's "so ugly". Here, ugliness does not mean literal ugliness or something that is visually unappealing. The "ugliness" being spoken of refers to being morally rotten, as Vil was speaking on his guilt after resorting to dirty tactics to try and take out his rival (when he had previously sworn to win on his own merits alone). The simulated Rook might be referring to this, which induces great shame in Vil, who is aware of the weight of his sins. Heck, book 6 even starts with Vil taking accountability and sincerely apologizing to the whole NRC Tribe for causing them trouble. Vil blames himself for their team losing, as it was his OB that forced them to fight and physically wore them out before their big performance. "What does it matter who forgives me?! I can't... I can't forgive myself!" He may still have lingering guilt regarding this incident, hence why he's the one predominantly reacting when the vice dorm leaders betray group 1. His mirror and huntsman, who speaks only the truth to him, now tells him of his ugliness. What else can that be, if not the truth reflected back at him?

GROUP 2

Jamil

To be clear, Jamil did not automatically go after the simulated Kalim. He automatically defers and tries to go along with his dorm leader (and only starts fighting once Leona declares the simulation for the sham it really is). Why? Surely Jamil is sharper witted than that. To this, I say... of course, it's just that Jamil's so used to being a servant that he reverts back to submissiveness as soon as he's put in a circumstance where there's a power dynamic. He’s not the one relying on Kalim—Kalim is often the one relying on him. You need proof of Jamil's servile mindset? He was intentionally talking down his own skills ever since book 4 and, according to Azul, has been purposefully maintaining painfully average grades (which, in of itself, takes a lot of effort). Admittedly though, those are conscious choices, not unconscious ones. But how about back in book 5, when Vil announces him as one of the lead vocalists and Jamil's immediate reaction is not to accept it, but to humble himself and insist that Kalim would be better suited for it (when Kalim actually isn't)? Jamil has to stop himself, back up, and accept the nomination, which he has earned for himself, rather than relinquish it to someone less deserving. Years and years of serving someone else, forced to play the part of the inferior servant, will beat that attitude into his mind, regardless of how much he resents the position.

Even now, Jamil feels like he usually has to follow someone else's lead. Leona, the upperclassman and dorm leader, provides that lead for him in the VR simulation. This leadership + independence is something they would butt heads over later in book 6, as Jamil begins to act overprotective of his current charge (Leona) as he does with Kalim. While Jamil has played the part of Kalim's attendant and childhood friend, the reality is that Jamil cannot stand those roles. He desires to stand out and to be recognized--something which is evident in book 4. Before he brainwashes the Scarabia students, he's always framing himself in a positive and helpful light to them and speaks humbly about his abilities. After he brainwashes the Scarabia students, he has them heap him with praise that he had never gotten in his childhood. In the post-OB flashback, we see Jamil's parents scolding him for outperforming Kalim, even in something as simple as a game. The headmaster of a great arcane academy overlooks him in favor of someone far less capable.

Jamil knows he can be great, but he's intentionally being told to not reach those heights. He feels stifled and trapped, and no one understands his plight that he cannot escape from. This results in Jamil distancing himself from others and coming to rely on himself and himself alone to make his wishes come true. He can't rely on his family, who are beholden to their legacy of being servants to the Asims. He can't confide in friends because none of them are quite like him, and Kalim would ignorantly brush it off. He can't tell third parties because, as Crowley as demonstrated, they dismiss him outright. Jamil, as he acts throughout book 6, is doing so in an effort to find his own strength and to be able to act on it with the freedom he seeks. To play support not because he has to, but because he, the individual, wants to. As Jamil states before overblotting, he wants to "be free" from these precarious circumstances where a wrong move could doom him and his family... but he only has so many liberties to work with. This leaves him in a strange limbo situation where he still isn't fully independent but desperately wishes to be. We see him fighting against the restraints, and to varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the context and his state of mind within that context.

Leona

From a young age, Leona seems to have worked tirelessly to obtain recognition. Like Jamil, Leona was in such a position (second-born prince) that, despite his efforts, he kept being rejected and beaten down again and again. As we see in his post-OB flashback, this is what eventually broke Leona’s spirit and made him develop a pessimistic outlook on his prospects for the future. The thing is, even though Leona does not really have hope for himself, he still manages to inspire hope in other people, from underclassmen to the students of his dorm. Book 2 is entirely about Savanaclaw looking to Leona to save their own futures, and him trying to do so for their sakes. His club mates extol how he can so quickly hone in on their best skills and advise them on how to sharpen those skills. Jack admires Leona’s plays, so much so that he wished to one day play alongside Leona. He’s even able to get beastmen of different species to get along and live peacefully under his rule when this has historically been difficult for his older brother to manage. All in all, Leona has all the makings of a leader. He stands out from the crowd, knows when to leverage his power and intelligence (playing smarter, not harder), and commands with ease.

… That being said, Leona’s presence can be so powerful at times that it’s also isolating. This was the case for his childhood, which is depicted to us as many palace servants being fearful of Leona’s devastatingly strong magic. He also uses this strong magic against his dorm mates when their intentions clash in book 2–and he comes close to killing someone in the process. He’s also just notorious in general for being grumpy or unfriendly toward others, including one instance in book 5 when he seems upset that you’ve showed up in his classroom. Leona drives people away from him, whether because of his strength or because of his prickly attitude.

At the same time, i would also describe Leona as a tactician that keeps some degree of distance from those he commands. He makes it clear he's willing to use others to achieve his own goals and does so many times over. Book 2, when he tries to take out Malleus to help his dorm leaders while also trying to prove to himself that he's capable. Book 3, when he helps Yuu and co. dissolve the contracts including one of his own he made with Azul, etc. Leona knows how to best use his own abilities, as well as those of others. That's what makes him so formidable--he can read others and judge the situation extremely well, and he knows when it is smart to fight and when to tactically retreat (such as in book 6, when he immediately surrenders to STYX agents rather than make a scene). Leona is a self-sufficient man.

There’s the question of Ruggie, of course. Leona is often depicted as lazy and relies on Ruggie to do many daily things for him, such as laundry or fetching food. This obviously throws a wrench into the claim that Leona is more "independent" than those in group 1, doesn't it? He doesn't even come close to Jamil, who actually does all of these tasks himself. Well, not exactly. I don't think "independence" here really comes down to that alone. Riddle, Azul, and Vil all relied on Trey, the twins, and/or Rook to some significant degree to inform their own senses of self. Jamil had this belief of deferring to his "betters" (the Asims) instilled in him, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. And Leona? Leona does not significantly rely on Ruggie for his self-worth (dude was 100% going to sand him in book 2). Yes, Leona was likely looking to help his dorm members in part to prove to himself he is capable of leading a pack, but he gives up when he realizes it was a fruitless effort. He doesn't become reinvigorated to keep it up or to try again, even when his dorm members (Ruggie included) plead to him. Leona is acting selfishly, and he refuses to acknowledge their perspectives--he's set in his own ways and is driven by his own thoughts, not those of the people around him. Perhaps this is what allows him to discern truth from lies with such clarity, as it is Leona who rouses Jamil to his senses and leads the charge against the VR simulation Kalim and Ruggie.

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twistedminutia · 1 month

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Which Housewarden Has the Most Practical Signature Spell?

This question was triggered by my thinking about the signature spells the housewardens have are… not always super useful under most circumstances. As this post will be covering all housewarden signature spells, there will be spoilers for Book 7 parts only available in JP.

Riddle Rosehearts. Signature spell: Off with your head. Creates a collar around the neck of the target(s) which prevents them from using magic.

It was Riddle’s signature spell that got me thinking about this in the first place, honestly. Mostly because his spell seems very practical on its face. He’s actually the housewarden who seems to use his signature spell the most, after Azul, which would make it very practical. Right?

Except his spell is only practical at all because of two specific circumstances. One, he is in a position of authority and able to deal out punishment to rule breakers, and two, he is in a location with a lot of magic users. In Twisted Wonderland, humans who use magic are much less common than humans who do not use magic. Outside of NRC, Riddle’s spell isn’t going to have much more use than a fancy collar about 90% of the time.

In summary, Riddle’s spell appears practical, but only because he’s in the perfect circumstances for it. If he was in different circumstances, it would be much less useful. 5/10

Leona Kingscholar. Signature spell: King’s Roar. Causes anything of Leona’s choosing within a certain radius to crumble into sand.

This is, again, a spell that is only practical under certain circumstances. It’s definitely a powerful spell, but you’re not exactly going to be whipping it out every single day, unless you’re a glassmaker (and even then, you need specific sand to make glass and we don’t know what kind of sand Leona makes).

That being said, it’s not like the spell has no practical uses. It’s an extremely powerful offensive spell and it means people would certainly be cautious about approaching Leona in a combat situation. He’s a prince as well, so we need to consider that he’s more likely to get targeted for political reasons. A powerful spell like his would be a deterrent and a means of protecting himself and defending others.

All in all, it’s another powerful spell, but it’s hardly one you’re going to get much use out of under normal circumstances. 4/10.

Azul Ashengrotto. Signature spell: It’s A Deal. By signing a scroll, Azul can take any power he chooses as part of a contract. If the terms are broken, the contracted party will have to obey Azul.

Okay, so this one’s a weird one. It’s been stated before in canon (I believe Jade and Floyd touch on this right around Azul’s overblot) that Azul does not HAVE to make a contract in order to take a power. He can just do it (he was using his signature spell when he overblotted, for example, without needing the contract). However, this is difficult to control (since he just sucks out ALL a target’s abilities instead of one) and it skirts along the lines of forbidden magic, so he uses the contracts.

Obviously, this limits practicality. To gain the power, he needs to get the target to agree to the contract and he needs to fulfill whatever his end of the bargain is. However, Azul is cunning and good at hiding his motivations to get what he truly wants. He can’t get people who don’t agree, but he can leverage people to get them to do so.

In general? This is the most practical spell we’ve seen so far. It’s got wide applicability (it seems to be implied in his backstory that he’s not limited to taking magic) and it’s something that can be used every day, even making it part of your job (which he does)! 9/10, subtracting a point for the inconvenience of the contracts.

Kalim Al-Asim. (What, were you expecting Jamil? Read the top again- it’s housewardens, not overblotters!) Signature Spell: Oasis Maker. Using only a small amount of magic, Kalim can create a downpour.

This is one of the spells that got me thinking about how practical some spells are, because this spell is discussed as impractical in story. Kalim states that the spell is mostly useless in a time of irrigation and running water. It’s good for some water fun, but not a super useful spell. In some ways, this could be seen as a reflection of Kalim himself, or maybe even how he sees himself: fun and flashy, but not really useful.

This makes it more interesting when, later in the chapter, Azul notes that the spell is incredibly useful in a different context! Go to a land without water and suddenly Kalim is a king. That’s why he’s wealthy in the first place- being able to create water made his family important. And it could be another commentary on Kalim- he’s really only fun and flashy in this setting, but he’s also more capable of being beneficial to those around him than he realizes.

So. Is Kalim’s spell practical? Well, yes and no. Azul’s right in that it’s more practical than Kalim was thinking, but that practicality is context specific. But being able to make clean water no matter what is useful in a lot of survival situations, and could help a lot of people, so… 4/10. Practical under the right circumstances.

Vil Schoenheit. Signature spell: Fairest One of All. Vil is able to curse any item with any condition he chooses.

So, uh. Does anyone else think this is like. Ridiculously overpowered? Might as well just give him the ‘do whatever you want all the time’ spell because that’s basically what this is. He has, in canon, paralyzed people with food, almost put someone into a cursed sleep with food, created acid, and paralyzed someone by getting them to touch lakewater. What. The. Hell. Are there limits on this spell? Is Vil perpetually one mental breakdown away from creating ‘you obey everything I say now’ water and dumping it over a crowd????

Okay. Rambling aside. This is a ridiculously practical spell. Clearly there are limits (I would imagine he can only affect so many people/things or hold it for so long before he can’t keep it up anymore) but it’s pretty damn strong. 10/10.

Idia Shroud. Signature Spell: Gate to the Underworld. Idia can open the gate to the Underworld in the S.T.Y.X. headquarters.

I feel bad but... It's not the world's most practical spell, is it? It's cool, and clearly necessary, don't get me wrong, but like. How often does this come up in day-to-day living? It might be practical for his job, I guess, but it doesn't seem to be useful in most circumstances.

I obviously can't rate this one very highly. Sorry, Idia. One point for its usefulness to his job. 1/10.

BOOK 7 SPOILERS

Malleus Draconia. Signature Spell: Fae Maleficence. Allows him to put people into ageless sleep while surrounding the area with a wall of briars and thorns.

This one's a harder spell to categorize, because we know what the spell has done so far, but we don't know it that's all it can do. I may be wrong on this, because I've only read the portions of the chapter that have come out in English, but it's not confirmed that this is the only thing his spell can do- like it's never been stated 'Malleus' spell puts people to sleep always.' It could be that this is the extent of his spell, but it could also be more like Vil's spell. If we'd only read Book 5 and he hadn't explained it, we could have assumed that Vil's spell could only be used on food. But it's actually much broader. I'm saying this because I don't want to rule out that Malleus' spell might be even more powerful or flexible than shown.

That being said, I can only judge on what I have. And what I have now is the ageless sleep bit. It's certainly not the most practical spell ever, though it could have its uses. As a defensive spell, it seems pretty good. You could trap an army with it, or create a protective barrier for your people until danger has passed. Still, I don't think this is a spell Malleus could use every day.

It's primarily for defensive purposes, so same as Leona's. 4/10.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland analysis #twst analysis #twst talk #twst housewardens #riddle rosehearts #Leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #malleus draconia

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crystallizsch · 3 months

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oh hey it’s the savanaclaw guys

heartslabyul • savanaclaw • octavinelle • scarabia • pomefiore • ignihyde • diasomnia • grim

#leona is the reason i started twst #been reading a lotta character analysis for leona and oh my god im sobbing for this man #this is a random ass thought but i wonder wth that dorm smells like #[—#twisted wonderland #twst #twst art #savanaclaw #leona kingscholar #jack howl #ruggie bucchi #twst yuu #★'-my-art #(🩷) yuuna #—]

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bunnwich · 2 days

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WAKE UPPPPP LEONA'S CLUBWEAR CARD JUST DROPPED

I love when you guys send me asks like this like -

"Sire, look look a new card of your catman has arrived!"

OKAY, OKAY BUN THOUGHTS🐇

1.) I'm am so happy they didn't jack up his face. (Sorry not sorry.) They go so off-model with his face in cards sometimes and I just don't get it. Or make his mouth look weird and thank god!!! (Let's pray the groovy doesn't wash him out!)

2.) AND THE HIGH PONY PREDICTION CAME TRU. I had a feeling he was gonna get the pony but what's more-

3.) THE RETURN OF THE FOREHEAD. I personally think he looks better when his bangs are back, and we haven't got good forehead since his pre-groovy robe card. (Ironically that's my favorite way they have drawn his face/skin.) 4.) HE HAS SUNGLASSES INSTEAD OF GOGGLES????? THAT'S JUST SO ON POINT WITH HOW I HC HIS STYLE VIBES. UNLESS THEY ARE JUST SLIM GOGGLES. VERY GOOD SIR. I'll give you that one.

WOOHOO. The simps can rest now. TBH I'm more excited for the voicelines. I love the tidbits of lore they have. ALSO-

The shoes are wild, but they fit his personality so I'll let him live for now. They remind me of a cheetah. Gotta go fast!! As for lil old me, I am tempted to redo my Spelldrive art from my old account bc I was going through some funk art-style growing pains. I can do it even more justice now I think. >:3c

#twst #twst leona #leona kingscholar #Thank you!!!#OKAY GIMME THE VOICELINES AND GROOVY pls #And then stay tuned for Bun's 1k analysis on both.#I haven't seen anyone say anything about the sunglasses idk it's such a little touch that feels so right #How does he wear them tho???#remains to be seen #DFGHJK

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traumxrei-archive · 9 months

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leona and jamil’s interactions in 6-67 and their growth

book 6 threw me in for a wringer with leona and jamil’s relationship, and it's funny because i never realized how similar they are until leona was pointing out all of jamil's negative thoughts about himself, as if he knew these thoughts like the back of his hand. tell me i'm not the only one seeing parallels between them:

jamil as a kid was told he was never going to be equal to kalim, because he's supposed to be kalim's servant; having to concede to him at every turn in private and in public.

leona as a kid hearing whispers about how he was so different from the bright falena, and how he wouldn't ever get the throne; all his achievements a mere shadow to anything falena did.

jamil who tried to create an elaborate scheme to pit everyone against kalim, and to subtly kick kalim from his "throne", only for it all to backfire, and for him to be so scorned by having everyone find out that he overblotted.

leona who created a plot in order to secretly reduce competition in the magift tournaments, and tried to severely injure malleus draconia to keep him from playing, only for his plot to be revealed, and for him to give up on trying, thus leading to his overblot.

and then when you think about it, leona probably sees the younger version himself in jamil. jamil’s lust for power is something that leona’s been through more than once, and he knows how being arrogant can lead someone down a bad path.

the rut that he was stuck in was the fact that he thought he was more suitable than falena. but was leona right for the throne ? or did he just want the throne to prove all the people who slighted him wrong ? and again, with magift, he knew that he didn't have the magic power to beat malleus, but he still wanted to win, so bad that he played dirty tricks.

sounds familiar ? it’s basically what jamil did to try and rip the housewarden seat from kalim. jamil thinks himself more suitable and worthy than kalim but is that because he IS more suitable, or is it because he wants to publicly be better than kalim at something for once ?

that’s why leona wants jamil to move on past that. he needs to throw away the arrogance that he’s the 'best', and that 'others just don’t see his brilliance', because…he has a long way to go. leona recognizes his potential. he learned the lesson that jamil is going through the hard way, that’s why he’s trying to help him.

jamil kept insisting that he could protect leona, because he’s convinced that he is more capable at protecting him, relying on his perception of who he thought leona was, rather than acknowledging his prowess. leona knows that he’s more skillful, and he, in the end, succeeds in getting him to accept that.

when jamil can accept that he doesn’t know all that there is, and that he’s at the bottom of the pecking order…that’s exactly when he can start moving up. that’s when he can start working on his skills for the future rather than lamenting the fact that others don’t see his potential.

and that’s exactly the lesson that leona wants him to learn.

okay a cookie for you if you ACTUALLY made it here bc whew this got really long really fast— thank you for reading this far and i hope that you enjoyed my interpretation of book 6’s events ++ leojami’s growth ^^ (also sorry if there’s any spelling/grammar mistakes, i shall fix it later)

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trixeraptops · 10 months

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Having heard about Malleus being basically the "boy who lived" (egg that hatched) makes alot of sense actually

Cause he went from a literal shell to a metaphorical one (his guards and his magic)

I mean isn't it literally stated people don't approach him cause of his magic? I bet having guards around you most of the time doesn't help either.

For example, take the Leech twins. Most people find them scary and off putting, like they do Malleus (albeit for different reasons), yet they have still been able to make friends and form connections with other students (something Malleus has not been able to do, to my knowledge). Weird isn't it? You can also do this with Riddle who was an actual tyrant or Jamil who enslaved people during his overblot. They still have friends. They *had* friends.

And the royalty aspect plays into the isolation too. Cause he's not just a royal, he's a crown prince and hes treated like it. That's a far cry from Leona's hated second born/lazy dormleader who makes a 2nd year run his errands.

Malleus's overblot could not have been stopped because its been building since the day of his birth. We know overblot is connected to emotion and one day all that loneliness and dependency on Lilia for companionship was going to come to a head.

Imo Lilia left too late, he shouldn't have gone to school with Malleus and Malleus should not have guards while he's at school. He's one of the strongest mages in TWST, what the heck is a guard gonna do to help him when he could help himself? All it does is add another layer (another shell) isolating him from the world. Preventing him from any shred of normality he could ever feel and any connection he could form outside his inner circle that was established when they were *children*.

And all this is because he's the "Egg who hatched", a symbol of hope that is not allowed to be anything more than a symbol. Because Briar Valley can't lose the last dragon fae, even if it means killing him from inside out.

The only way for Malleus to grow as a character is to stop being the egg and start being the dragon.

#Malleus draconia #character analysis #twst #twisted wonderland #lilia vanrouge #Jade leech #Floyd leech #riddle rosehearts #jamil viper #Leona kingscholar #Diasomnia #silver twst #sebek zigvolt

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basuralindo · 9 months

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So I was asked to expand on the whole Jamil having a trauma response to Leona comment on my last post, aaand here's that.

(This pertains to chapter 6 btw, so spoiler warning)

(also it's very much sleep deprived rambling so sorry if it's, well, rambly)

First off, I'm operating under the assumption that he has cPTSD. Jamil has clearly been programmed since birth to always obey the Asims and act in their best interests, even at the expense of his own life. This is a boy who has been forced to eat poison to protect them and their assets, who's family was forced to let that happen, and who has been so desperate his entire life to escape that situation that he was willing to resort to murder and doom not just himself but his whole family which he is implied to care about. Which means if simply quitting was an option, he would have done so. So, you kinda have to infer that he and his family don't have a choice in this role, and there are severe enough consequences for disobedience that fucking up or refusing is a worse option than risking a slow painful death every time Kalim wants to eat something. And this is all stuff that's been depicted blatantly in canon, not even touching on the assumptions that could be made from there.

So that's the position Jamil is in. That is a traumatic situation. This is a guy who has been groomed for servitude and obedience since he was old enough to talk. These kinds of circumstances absolutely can lead someone to be triggered into subservience or other trained behaviors. That's just, a thing with trauma.

Now, with the Asims being one of if not THE most powerful merchant families in their country, one of the expectations of Jamil as their servant and especially as the attendant to their heir is to ensure good relationships with other rich and powerful families, especially royalty. This was shown in the fireworks event, where he states that as a prince, if Malleus came to any harm under his watch while a guest of the Asims, it could start an international conflict. These are incredibly high stakes, a misstep on Jamil's part could ruin the Asim family and potentially even endanger his country, and it's pretty strongly implied that he and his family would take the blame and suffer the consequences. Now, much like how wearing a company logo while at work makes your actions representative of your employer, Jamil serving the Asims 24/7 (and especially as the chaperone of their heir) means that he is representing their family At All Times. This is why he is forced to defer to Kalim in all aspects of life even outside of their country, part of his job is to make his employers look good, and there are consequences for not doing so. This means that anyone of high enough status to be significant to the Asims is someone who Jamil is required to be subordinate to.

Then, enter Leona. As a wealthy prince, he would be someone who Jamil is expected maintain good relations with at any cost to himself. With his position Leona could literally destroy Jamil's (and probably his family's) entire life with a single complaint to the Asims about his conduct. Like, he could do that with no actual cause just for fun, because the Asims are 100% going to take the side of a prince over an expendable servant. This means that one misstep or any backtalk from Jamil puts him at massive risk, it is entirely up to Leona whether or not he suffers for any of these actions, and while the audience knows Leona's personal morals would prevent him from actually doing that, Jamil does not.

THEREFORE (sorry this ended up so long), once Jamil was in a life threatening situation with Leona, it seems likely that all this programming and fear would manifest in desperately trying to protect him and follow orders the way he's always done for Kalim. To me, the way he snapped into bodyguard mode, and immediately complied with every one of Leona's bitchy commands (like giving him a hair ornament to throw away without question, and barely saying anything about it after), even while being humiliated and knowing he was less trained in magic, just comes off more like a trigger response than anything. Especially because I can't imagine that situation not being triggering, and I can't imagine him knowing any other way to respond.

#jamil viper #leona kingscholar #jamil ptsd analysis #twst #this is also why I got so pissed about leona's behavior in that chapter #like I do genuinely like his character. he's one of my favorites and I get where he was coming from #but boy was being ignorant as all fuck #like jamil is so heavily implied to be an indentured servant #and leona could probably buy his whole family #there's no version of 'i know what it's like to feel overlooked. suck it up and work with what you've got' advice #that could benefit Jamil from this guy #because changing your attitude and putting in the work doesn't free you from a situation like that #and I can only assume that coming from a free country in the modern world #Leona just hasn't considered that Jamil would BE in a situation like that. it's not exactly normal #and this is the guy so out of touch he thought Ruggie's home was a doghouse. so I mean. giving him the benefit of the doubt on this #but goddamn was that out of touch. and I just hate how they wrote the conclusion between them #not the intended subject when i wrote this. but tagging it as #leojami #for the small steps crowd in case they get curious about what else i have to say on them??#i feel like some of the thoughts from this post are gonna be playing into the story

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1218-814 · 2 months

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Twst Loop Theories/Analyses … (Mostly of Leona Oji-tan's)

Savannaclaw’s the deepest and most mysterious theory I have translated tbh...

This time it’s ALL of the people that are from the Savannaclaw Arc (Even Cheka!)

Jokes on you if you haven't dissected the op like I have. We (as players) have made a contract with Azul :3

Leona is an important person in the Loop Theory, aka Rapunzel theory. And one way is by looking at his hair.

Leona’s hair is brown, unlike Scar’s black mane. Most characters have a main villain base and other characters as a sub-base. Leona’s is Scar main and possibly Kion as a sub base. (more on that later in the bottom) But a lot of characters have more than 2 bases so what if the base is in his looks?

Leona’s hair is brown with braids. So, in the Disney’s franchise there's only one specific person, or princess that would fit this description. Rapunzel. These two have a lot in common if you look for them.

Leona is 20. Rapunzel is 20 by the 3rd season of the TV series.

Like I said, looks Rapunzel did have brown hair as well as green eyes. When she has long hair in the tv series, she did braid her hair sometimes. But in the end she did cut her hair again, like in the end of the movie. So Leona might cut his hair in the end. (I will miss his hair)

The Fairy Gala had lilies in Leona’s SSR. In the movie, there are similar lilies when Rapunzel gets out of her tower.

And the buddies of his card are the light trio, Rook, Silver, and Kalim. All three of them have a part that is based off of the ‘good’ characters.

His tarot card is the tower; if the tarot card theory is true, then it does fit in with the description. Especially the part that Rapunzel was trapped inside a tower. In the story Leona (Rapunzel) is trapped in the tower (NRC)

Both of them also share a similar power (kind of not but). Rapunzel has a power that is called the “sun drop”- it came from the sundrop flower. The power of the “Sun Drop” can help slow down aging, heal, and as well as recover what was once lost. Leona’s power is King's Roar. His power “dries up the opponent and turns everything into sand”. (I don't fully believe it because of my last post but this is this) We are going to assume “in the end” it will become sand.

In the world of Rapunzel. There is a stone called the “Moonstone Opal”. This stone is the exact opposite of the “Sun Drop”, and it- kills and takes away life. In the 14th episode of season 2, Rapunzel finds an old scroll and chants the “Reverse Inaction”; it makes the animals decay and the people around hard to breathe. This was only the first half of the lyrics so the power of destruction was probably not complete. Half of the lyrics can kill, but unlike Leona’s power, it can’t fully destroy the shape.

Cassandra, the daughter of Gothel, did use the powers (her hair and eyes became different) and if she touched anything they would decay; like Leona’s powers of drying the things he touched after using “Kings Roar”. And in the end of season 3 Rapunzel did absorb part of the Moonstone Opal’s powers.

So what will Leona do in the story? If you look at the prologue 0-0 in the end title you’ll notice it either

turns to sand

or the fire went out.

In the movie of Rupunzle the antagonist, Mother Gothel (Evil Queen is the motif), and in the end, she loses the power of Rapunzel’s hair and drops from the tower and becomes dust leaving her robe behind. I did say this before of him being “The Tower” card. But what if in the end... He uses his magic and makes the person/thing Crowley revived into sand?

(Personally I think there's a chairman or someone that Crowley will revive. Mallenoa? IDK, there's a person or something I think)

But before the soul disappears, Crowley flies into the mirror and uses his magic to rewind time, which is what might happened, and he tries to find his “Happy ending”

But Leona doesn’t lose his memory, and the Messiah, Lilia, is probably the one who knows and is teaming up secretly. It was especially suspicious when Leona purposely overblotted, which I think, was because of Lilia’s words....

It would make sense if it was the fire going out, because it can also ties in with Rapunzel. Leona is probably going to break the loop with MC.

I did say that Leona does have chess pieces in his room that tie in with the Light trio. (below)

Rook: Rook Hunt’s name

Knight: Silver thinks he has a talent for a sword and “silver sword”. Also Malleus’s knight

Pawn: Kalim is a pawn to Jamil (He tried to use him to become King in the movie and in the arc)

Also, Leona would be the “king” chess piece

And Leona’s best subject is “ancient curses”, like Rapunzel he can use harmful ones, like his unique magic too. What if he knows a spell that can “go back in the past?

If he did It would make sense why his memories aren’t lost. So in conclusion Leona is the Rapunzel trapped in the tower called “Twisted Wonderland”

But other than the pieces what gave away that he is the traveler?

Something with Azul’s contracts and the scar on his eye is still not clear. But, first let’s look at his name.

Kingscholar can be seprated into King (ruler) and Scholar (a specialist in a branch of study). Scholars usually point to social sciences, or humanities. These branches of study study the human values and how they express the feelings; they require knowledge from phycology to history. If the word “scholar” is in his name, then it can be reasoable to think that he may be “observing and analyzing a person or a thing”

Leona’s best subject is “ancient curses”, and he is good at protection spells as well as pharmacy (the study of medication). Those do require a lot of knowledge to be good at. Why would he need to repeat the grade if he is so smart?

On Youtube (とろちゃんねる), Leona broke the loop in between his second year and third year.

In the 4th arc, Mickey’s third remark in the dream is the reason the number “3″ is really weird, almost incompatible.

Leona is 20 he’s in his third year for the third time (if the loop theory is true). If I am correct then the time MC came is when the “3″s (triple)overlapped. He also asked how many stones Grimm ate after the third arc.

This is where Jack’s origin comes in. Jack most likely originated from the author of “White Fang” (Jack London), but there’s more. In my other theory, I said that the MC’s body is not there, that Jack may be referenced from the TV show of the Lion King, Lion Gard’s, Ray-ray. In the show, they defeat Scar, who died and came back to life. Maybe this is also a clue...

In a personal talk, Savannaclaw was talking about the King of Beasts (or whatever they called it). People usually thought “Oh, it's about Scar” but, it's not. It’s not Simba or Mufasa either. It's not Kion as well. If I summarize the traits of the king they were talking about then it becomes like this:

He ruled with his power and fangs, and rejected his older brother to become the king in an attempt to great a good country with wisdom and order to change the affiliation of the strong bullying the weak

The King of Beasts does not discriminate

“The King of the sky that guides the stars” was called “firefly” and “Great King from the Past”

The nephew of the king was not at the king’s coordination ceremony (Leona and Jack’s conversation)

Leona’s scar on his eye and the King of Beast’s scare are the same. But, Leona avoided answering the question when Ruggie asked him when his scare was from. (Ruggie and Leona’s conversation)

The anecdote of the king; he can apperently talk to hippos, giraffes, lions, and monkeys. (Jack and Leona)

The hornbill, who served the royal family, noticed the change in the country and gave their opinion to the king of beasts infromed. The king is very considerate and king and listened to the opinions and advice. (Ruggie and Leona)

Most of it is describing Scar

but 3,6,7 are far from matching him.

3 is taking about the “ The King of the sky that guides the stars”. This description is very fitting to “Roar of the Elders” from Lion Gard. Yes, there is a time where this kinda happened in the main story. (also Leona’s unique magic is referenced from “Roar of the Elders”

6. We do have a hippo friend in “Lion Gard”, but not any other animals in the original ones. (The giraffe is missing)

7. the Hornbill is Zazu from lion king, who does serve the royal family. He is present from the original “Lion King” and is with Kion in the show. Something seems off to my guts.

“Why are they favoring Kion?”, you may ask. But Kion and Scar have a trait they share. They are both second born. Also Kion’s roar becomes the strongest; there is a story when he got the cobra venom in his eye and became violent and couldn’t control his power. His scar is as the same as Leona and Scar’s left eye. In season three you see Kion with two lines as a scar on his eye.

In conclusion, what the Savannaclaw students were talking about is either “Kion” or “a lion other than Scar and Kion”.If it is Scar the King, number 1 explained, then the flow of the story is too convenient. It’s also unclear if it is Kion as well; if it's the conversation after season 3 then I would have no idea.

The Key part is his Tattoo and Azul’s contract (Bet you didn’t see that coming)

In “Lion Gard”, the guards all have a tatoo. Leona does have powers and has a tattoo on the same left arm (technically) as Kion. But unlike Kion’s, the tatoo is a different color. We’ve seen this shade of color. Yes, it’s the same as Azul’s ink.

(Pull out Azul’s Dorm SSR, after Groovy)

We can’t read the contract, but Lin Channel (on YouTube) is doing gods work and translated into actual words (English cursive) it reads:

Contract:

I am wishing mate

I wishes senior siring

nephew smiling

inwhere inway amaging waiting

winner winter welcoming

where wide whichever via where wiser anniversary

For all eternity (For all eternity is from the original “Little Mermaid”’s contract)

Let me explain how she’s doing the work, Google (yea, teachers) She looks up people’s hand writings and can conclude things (the long curve after “i” may be the ending “ing”) But, if I clear it up and make it normal English it would look like this:

I want a companion

I wish my brother and nephew a smile

I am ambushing and waiting

Anywhere in the place where

the winter of victory comes

This is just my thoughts, but “brother and nephew” may be Cheka and Leona’s brother, which would be reasonable why such a minor character like Cheka got voice acted.

Winter could be meaning Hades, who kidnapped Persephone and made winter. So, maybe Idia could be the key to our victory here. And this would expain why Savannaclaw was between Ignihyde and Diasomnia

Winter could also mean Cheka and Leona’s brother’s heart. They could be lonely (Grim asks Leona about his family, and Grim replies with “They must be lonely, being in a dark cold place” or something like that)

I’m sure that Leona made the contract for Cheka and his brother. He is the only character with a nephew. The tsun-dere side of Leona would explain why he didn’t want to tell anyone about what the contract is about.

Just by the contract and the loop theory we can tell that he is important. But what if he is not based off of Scar... But rather, Kion from “Lion Gard”? If I look into the original characters of what Leona is based off of, then I would forget about “Leona”. Yana Toboso is twisting our brain like that, such as in “Black Butler”, and maybe thats another reason why the game is called “Twisted Wonderland”

So what we all we know about Leona is:

Leona’s tattoo

he is aware of the loop or he is suspicious of the loop

Jack’s position (We don’t know as much as I would like about his power)

Cheka will appear again (he does get Voice acted, and maybe that’s what the second arc will be about. He also said something about having a fiancée so maybe an event?)

Leona overblotted instead of Ruggie (my other theory)

I do think the tattoo may be made by Azul in the other loop, and he is aware of the loop or will remember of the loop because of the tattoo

But it is Yana Toboso sensei so... I may be wrong~

~~~

Posting this after Leona's magic is aeration theory bc his unique magic makes no sense.

Multiverse or Azul theory next?

If you can comment that will be appreciated (likes and reblogs are appreciated.

I also wrote this 2 years ago

Idk if its right but I did make some changes :3

#twst #twst theory #twisted wonderland analysis #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland theory #leona kingscholar #twst leona #azul ashengrotto #twst wonderland #twst azul

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cannedpickledpeaches · 6 months

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Sad Poems but I Choose to Interpret Them as Happy

Leona Kingscholar x Reader

“I will love you as we find ourselves farther and farther from one another, where once we were so close... I will love you until your face is fogged by distant memory. I will love you no matter where you go and who you see, I will love you if you don't marry me. I will love you if you marry someone else--and I will love you if you never marry at all, and spend your years wishing you had married me after all. That is how I will love you even as the world goes on its wicked way.” -Excerpt from The Beatrice Letters, Lemony Snicket

Leona is used to being seen as lesser. Lesser than his brother, lesser in status than his royal blood should indicate, lesser than who he really is and what he is actually capable of. Perhaps that is why he gave up on trying. No matter how hard he claws for more, he will always be perceived as lesser. It is better to keep the expectations low and stop wasting his efforts.

He resigns himself to the inevitable distance that forms between you and him as time passes. As you move on with your studies, grow, and mature. He stays frozen in time. Frozen in resignation. Frozen in being labeled as lesser.

Lesser though he may be, his feelings can hardly be described as such. His love stays a constant in his heart, just as everything else stays constant around him. Perhaps it is better that you are leaving him. If you stay, you will grow stagnant, too.

Leave. Stay. Whatever it is, he loves you to the ends of the Earth and beyond. He loves you forever, a constant that cements itself as an axiom of his life. You don’t need to return it. You can move on as you should, love whoever you want, be whoever you’d like. He would love you all the same.

But he doesn’t give you enough credit. You return to him, and you practically scream with every action that he is greater than he thinks. He loves you for that, too. Even though he doesn’t expect you to love him, because he is the lesser option, you do.

Greater though he may be, Leona is a coward at heart. He pretends not to care, but the insidious gossip back home seeps into his insecurities. It’s alright if he is perceived as lesser. He loves you despite all that. However, he would not force you to tough out those two-faced smiles and poisonous words. He can love you in a cruel and unforgiving world without expecting anything back.

But again, he underestimated you. To give love is one thing, but he has yet to learn how to receive it. Loving at someone is so much easier than loving with them. He loves you no matter what. And day by day, he learns how to believe that you love him just the same way.

#leona kingscholar #disney twst #twst x reader #twst leona #twst x yuu #character analysis #leona kingsholar x reader #twst fanfic

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c-a-e-l-a · 2 years

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Preliminary thoughts on Leona’s advice for Jamil, his perception on Kalim, and the Scarabia development implied in Chapter 6′s ending. (AKA "A Pathetic Attempt at a Scarabia Essay”)

I think I am speaking for all of us when I say that Chapter 6 has, by far, been the most interesting and satisfactory Twst arc. Ever. I don’t know where to begin in describing it, honestly, but I think you would understand once you get to read it for yourself.

I’ll mostly be focusing on the topics I stated above, but this post will still be laden with spoilers for Chapters 4, 5, and 6, so if you aren’t up for Scarabia-centric spoilers, please skip this post!

SCARABIA PRE-CHAPTER 6 (I)

In this section, I’ll be talking about the dynamic between Jamil and Kalim over the course of Chapter 4 & 5, as well as a few of their interactions in relevant personal stories. I’ll start with the latter.

(Source: Jamil’s Dorm Uniform SSR Vignette)

It is a universally known truth that...Jamil has zero trust in leaving things up to Kalim. And we can’t really blame him---with the way they used to be, he couldn’t leave Kalim alone, nor could he rely on him to do something he’d been expected to do.

(Source: Jamil’s Ceremonial Robes SR Vignette)

(Source: Jamil’s School Uniform R Vignette)

Many occurrences have been more than enough proof of that, and those few moments wherein Kalim actually was reliable paled in comparison to these negative instances. As such, it has so happened that, to the surprise of no one, Jamil has made a habit out of taking responsibility after responsibility and sparing Kalim none of it----adding further onto his contempt towards him and Kalim’s own ignorance to Jamil’s difficulties.

(Source: Book 4, Chapter 37: The Magic Dispelled)

This has something to do with how, generally speaking, Jamil has always viewed Kalim too negatively. His frustration isn’t unfounded, of course, but he’s closed off his mind to the prospect of Kalim ever becoming more than what he already made him out to be---when in fact, Kalim is more than willing to become someone Jamil can rely on.

So, there. Jamil’s perception of Kalim hasn’t been the best...and naturally, it won’t change immediately. These are years and years of grudges we’re talking about, after all. It even reaches to the extent that in Episode 5-34, Jamil tells Epel that, “If he himself is laughing, then it’s probably not that heavy” when the latter mentions that Kalim was laughing despite talking about a traumatizing topic and sharing about the reason why he strives to keep living.

Jamil seems to view Kalim precisely for the first thing he sees of him, and not for what possibly lies behind all of his cheer.

Regardless...

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-9, Translation by Shel_Bb)

There have been cracks in that perception of his. He’s beginning to see facets that he’d failed to consider...

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-34, Translations by Shel_Bb)

...facets of Kalim that he struggles to acknowledge...

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-30, Translations by Shel_Bb)

...and facets of Kalim that he will only continue to realize.

SCARABIA PRE-CHAPTER 6 (II)

This part will discuss Jamil and Kalim’s respective character development after Chapter 4! I’ll start with Kalim’s.

As depicted in the set of photos directly above this section, one of Kalim’s most prominent realizations is that “he has never achieved anything if it weren’t for Jamil.” For all these years, he never believed that anything should be rightfully his...but at the same time, it never crossed his mind that all the acclaim he’d received happened not because he earned it, but because of who he is.

This realization frustrated him, and this spurred into him doing his best to stand by Jamil as equals. Borrowing my own captioning in Kalim’s TV Tropes page:

He becomes more considerate of others as the main story plods on, and he strives to exert more effort to make up for all the times he “achieved” something despite not deserving it. He is also more likely to take action when he notices something is wrong, thus resulting in his meddling with Vil’s attempt at Neige’s life, unlike before when it’s implied he knew about Jamil’s hardships but didn’t do anything about it until it was too late.

The Kalim that we all see post-Chapter 4 is the Kalim that does his best to be more than what he used to be. This is the version of him that’s trying to become more independent of Jamil, slowly but surely...and while this implies for Jamil’s workload to be lessened, this development turns out to stress out Jamil all the more, as he still can’t trust Kalim to do anything by himself. We’ll get to more on this later.

Jamil’s post-Chapter 4 character development consists of him stepping up for himself more. He no longer lets the social hierarchy stop him from showing his potential---but that fact alone isn’t enough to prove that the mindset he’d always held still doesn’t affect him. Jamil is still in the midst of breaking free from the way he’s been taught to behave...and a part of him still views Kalim as someone he can never overcome.

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-24, Translations by Shel_Bb)

Jamil is a rather contradictory character, as it is often that his wants and his actions differ from one another. For instance: he wants acknowledgment and acclaim, but shies away the moment someone begins to praise him. He says that he knows Kalim is no match for him if it weren’t for his parents, and yet he subconsciously doubts that the sort of charisma Kalim has over their dormmates is something he can’t easily replicate.

When Vil assigns him as one of their group’s lead singers during the Pomefiore arc, Jamil instinctively declines it at first, in favor of Kalim, before stopping himself and accepting it. The beliefs his parents taught him are ingrained in him that deeply, and just as he perceives Kalim as someone who is always above him, he can’t easily overcome this mindset of his, too... At least, not until Leona’s advice.

LEONA’S PERSPECTIVE AND ADVICE

Although the available translations currently haven’t touched on this, the last part of the main story update certainly introduced good development between these unlikely pairs of characters: Leona & Jamil, and Azul & Riddle. This part won’t be as specific as the other sections because I’m just writing this based on what I know, but I hope I still get my point across. Azul and Riddle will have their separate ramble, they’re giving me so much brainrot rn.

(Source: Jamil’s School Uniform R Vignette)

Even before their interactions in Chapter 6, Jamil has always been wary of Leona, as the Savanaclaw Dorm Leader was one of the few students who could very easily see through the facade he consistently put up.

This same dynamic applied to their alliance as partners in hunting down the Ice Phantom---with Jamil initially being hesitant over partnering up with him---except that in that current instance, Jamil seemed to be insistent on “protecting” Leona, much to the latter’s chagrin.

Jamil believed that he had to prioritize Leona’s safety amid this situation because he is the secondborn prince of the Sunset Savannah. This “overprotectiveness” was something Leona found unnecessary, and he didn’t take it well whenever Jamil prioritized his life over his own self. He thought Jamil was making too much of a big deal out of this.

This resulted in many arguments and fights between the two, and...yeah, they fought so much I forgot the exact arrangement for what happened...but, at one point, Jamil winds up in an outburst of emotion, and he laments that no one would ever understand where he’s coming from, anyway. Leona begs to disagree.

Leona says that he gets the gist of Jamil’s situation. He also adds that he knows Jamil is better than he initially let on, and explains precisely what Kalim has that Jamil doesn’t.

“...Charisma?”

“No, he’s got money.”

That conversation above is non-verbatim, by the way, lol.

But what Leona meant to say, as a whole, was that Kalim had money and knew how to use it. Jamil was understandably baffled by this...but on my part, it made me realize how different others’ perspective on Kalim’s actions could be.

As players, we all know Kalim does most of the things he does because he’s a genuinely good person. We have the privilege to get a look-see into their character stories, after all. But to people like Leona, they see it differently.

The renovation at Scarabia, the banquet they held for Crowley, the banquet Kalim held at the cafeteria, Kalim donating his share on the prize money to Ramshackle Dorm... We know and believe that Kalim did this out of the good of his own heart, but Leona sees it as a strategic expense of money.

It betters Kalim’s reputation, it gives chances for establishing useful connections...and many more. Of course, that doesn’t mean those are actually the motives behind what he did. It’s just interesting how others perceive these actions of kindness as something far more strategic, and it really makes one think about how much thought is actually put into every single one of those monetary decisions, rather than them just being bouts of spontaneity.

As Leona states further on, people like Kalim usually go for their instincts right from the get-go. It might seem foolish, at first, but the conviction Kalim gives in every decision he makes is what what makes up for that said "foolishness."

If he thinks something is useful, then he'll go for it.

If he thinks that saying this is the right thing to say to a certain person, then he'll say it.

If this plan doesn't work out, then he'll just think up something else and try again.

Be it because of years of exposure to his family's business, or the socializing skills he'd gained from hosting banquets and being a people person in general, or the innate kindness that just shines from within him, Kalim, while still unpolished, had always possessed the qualities one would search in a leader. On the other hand, Jamil had been so desperate for independence that he'd made a habit of dealing with things on his own, making him incredibly capable...but also alienating him from his peers. He'd become so used to dealing with things solo that he failed to discover that there's more to being a leader than just being capable: the ability to inspire, convince, and empathize with others, the ability to know when & how to adjust to different kinds of people you'd end up working with, and how to lead them. Jamil has none of that, and he realizes this once Leona calls him out on it.

I have a lot more to say, but the bottomline is that: In Leona’s eyes, Kalim is already making use of his favorable qualities---his charisma, his wealth, etc.---and he’s imploring Jamil to do the same. To find what he’s best at and invest in it, rather than wallow in his closed mindset that’s been ingrained in him since young.

And that’s good advice, made especially more credible with the fact that it came from Leona, someone who understands the complexity of the hierarchy and Jamil’s situation. Jamil is shown to be thankful for this, and he admits that he has viewed Kalim and everyone else to be better than him subconsciously; this led to him holding everyone in contempt, believing that he could do better than them if he just had a chance to show his potential, despite never taking the stand to showcase said potential, anyway. He aims to fix his mindset from now on. And afterwards, Leona... He whispers to himself that Jamil better do that.

Because at the end of the day, he and Jamil are different, and with this, Jamil at least won’t end up like him.

SCARABIA DEVELOPMENT (After two years of waiting, we Scarabia stans have won...)

Okay.

Okay so.

The, uh, the glomp.

Kalim.. about to hire the best doctors to check upJamil..

And the.

“Really... I never thought the day would come that I’d feel relieved to see your face.”

AND JAMIL ASKING KALIM TO GET OFF OF HIM AND KALIM SAYING HE CAN’T BECAUSE HIS RELIEF OVER JAMIL BEING OKAY MADE HIS LEGS FEEL WEAK

AND HIM TATTLING ABOUT HOW JADE SAID SMTH ABOUT THEM POSSIBLY BEING DEAD AND HE LOOKED SO ANGY LIKE >:000000

THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DECENT ANALYSES POST BUT IM SORRY I AM NOT GOD’S STRONGEST SOLDIER I CANNOT I JUST CANNOT

AHEM.

Anyway.

Later, Kalim offered to help Jamil cut a tart while they’re at Ramshackle. Jamil told him to just sit there because he’ll take care of it...but then he reconsidered it, and said that he can at least get everyone a dish and a fork.

Such a small act is already so indicative of the development we’ve longed for years to see...and I think it’s pretty self-explanatory at this point how important it is that Jamil is now willing to accept Kalim’s help. He's acknowledged that shouldering all the burden by himself won't do him any good, and that by opening himself up to others, he can be able to discover more chances to heighten his potential. It’s a small step. It’s such a small step, and yet it matters oh so much. They’re learning to have a healthier relationship, bit by bit :”)))

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 8 months

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savanaclaw light novel: the importance of introspection

I’ve previously discussed how TWST benefits from telling us the same story across different mediums. Different mediums provide different benefits over others, and some can “patch up” rougher bits of story or add more detail to them. The game is interactive and serves as a baseline for most new content. The manga is able to have far more freedom of movement and expression due to being visual-heavy. And last, but not least, a light novel, which is mostly text, has the boon of letting us see more of each character’s thoughts and feelings. We can elaborate on what the game already established and understand the characters on a deeper level.

I would say that the light novel’s format will most benefit the OB boys, as they are the ones who will go through the biggest character arcs in the main story. Because the game’s story is told via mostly dialogue and some sound effects, we rarely, if ever, get a clear understanding of what the OB boys are truly thinking and feeling outside of their brief post-OB flashbacks. The same goes for the manga, which has limited pages to tell its story, so it has to keep a certain pace. But a light novel? Well, you can go ham there with an omniscient narrator.

Today, I want to talk about Leona’s expanded post-OB introspection in the second volume of the light novel as an example of this. Then I will combine it with the information we have from the game and see how the light novel complements what already we know of his character thanks to hindsight. (I’ll be referencing this fan translation if you want to read and follow along!)

First thing’s first! From the game, we know that Leona enrolled in Night Raven College one year late (and then got held back a year, which makes sense considering he is 20 in the main story present). He didn't find a use in attending school since he, by royal birth, was able to afford all the best tutors in the world and didn't think NRC had anything left to teach him. In Leona's Birthday Boy vignettes, he further specifies that he decided to enroll at NRC after Cheka was born. As Leona says in his post-OB flashback in-game, Cheka's birth means "the despised second son loses what little claim he had to the throne forever", essentially putting an end to his hopes. This would imply that this specific change in circumstance was the push that made Leona want to physically distance himself from home. Furthermore, it's supported by Leona's other behaviors: he does not take calls or read letters from home if he can help it (implied by Cheka asking why Leona doesn't answer his letters and Cheka calling on Halloween night to catch up with him; Leona lies and quickly hangs up), he makes excuses to avoid going home (as Kifaji states), etc. If we want to extrapolate even more, how is it that Leona, second born prince, initially crossed paths with Ruggie, who was born and raised in the slums (which, I imagine, must be quite some distance away from the royal palace)? This makes me think that even before Leona enrolled at NRC he would leave his housing and roam around, finding alternative places to stay because home just felt too uncomfortable and suffocating for him. There's also the implication that Leona often brooded over his circumstances, as he confesses to thinking about it and going to NRC to get his mind away from the tired cycle--although he also acknowledges that he's running away from "the pain" of having lost the throne.

The distancing would prove itself to be beneficial to his mental health, as Leona cites that his heart started feeling lighter, his restlessness dulled, and his pain numbed. With the throne out of sight, so, too, was it out of mind, and his longing softened. But that same haunting despair returns when another group starts to place expectations on him. This time, it's no longer the palace servants, but his own dorm members. Instead of fear and derision, his new pack looks at him, their "king", with desperateness--and, more importantly, hope. Speaking about the future with sparkling eyes. That, in turn, made Leona hopeful too. He can't let these people who look up to him and rely on him down, so he must do anything to win. That's all he ever wanted: to win, just this once. No matter what, he wants to win.

But when Leona's plans crumble, that crushing sense of despair rears its ugly head. He fails. And he suddenly understands that all his efforts will always amount to nothing, that they will always be meaningless, that there is no future for him. Leona's hopes have been dashed. He has been struck down by the world once again, just as he had started to climb up, fighting tooth and nail, to prove himself. Yet when defeat came, he also claims it doesn't bother him as much as he thought he would--perhaps because he's so accustomed to not winning, because maybe this is the outcome he had expected all along in the deepest recesses of his heart. That familiar disappointment begins to hurt him once more, and Leona wants to forget it all, to retreat to the shadows and to lick his wounds, to be far away from that pain.

One interesting new detail we glean from the light novel is that Leona is terrified by his dorm mates staring at him with hopeful eyes. It's not their expectations he's inherently scared of, but what those expectations can do to him. Leona is scared of himself, of being motivated by others to act, to never give up hope, when he still anticipates being beat down again and again by a world that rejects him and denies him. He even goes so far as to say he would be pathetic if he let his dorm mates' words inspire him and keep his waning hope alive. Ruggie, who had wanted to turn the world upside down together. Jack, who was inspired by his play three years back. All the mobs putting faith in their futures on him, their one and only leader. With so many people looking to him, how can he not be swayed by that positivity that had once been so elusive to him? How could that not ignite what little spark of hope is left in him? And that's exactly what Leona finds so dangerous about it. He's lived almost his entire life being put in his place, hurt every time he tried to demonstrate what he could do, how he could contribute--yet time and time again, here comes life, tempting him to try again, just to inevitably be compared to his brother and kicked down, delivering another blow to his pride and his self-image. Leona truly seems to hate himself for not being able to let go of that small fragment of hope he has left. He wants so badly to give up and not have to worry anymore about something he can never obtain. He's so tired of struggling and suffering for nothing. If he just caved, then he would never be hurt again. He can't be hurt if he doesn't care about anything. Yet no matter how much he wishes or tries, he can't run far enough away to detach himself from those expectations of grandeur, of being something more.

There's been many fan theories about Leona's mental health in circulation well before the release of this light novel, many of which mention self-loathing in spite of how proud and confident he typically presents as. You'd have to read in-between the lines of dialogue from the game to draw these clues out, whereas the light novel lays it more bare to you. It hits very differently reading hateful statements made by the character to himself. Leona calls himself all sorts of things: a fool, pathetic, insignificant, boring. That he isn't strong, that he isn't wise, that he's not loved. (In the in-game flashback, Leona also talks in a self-deprecating way, but to a far lesser extent than in the light novel; we also see that Falena does his best to discourage Leona from this kind of behavior.) That this is who he is, that it's the one thing he's afraid to admit and accept--but he also says he lacks the "strength" to give up. That's why Leona would rather run away than confront that potential truth. The option to embrace complete nihilism just isn't possible for him, because he can't just quash that pesky little thing called hope. This is much more complex than what's explained in the games and demonstrates a maturity and degree of self-reflection from Leona that we've never seen before. What's more, this gives us brand new context with which to view many of his other seemingly mundane actions mentioned in the game. At face value, Leona often acts very callously and doesn't care to help others unless he gets some kind of benefit from it (like agreeing to poof the contracts in book 3 just because he has his own deal he wants to get rid of). We see this time and time again when he instructs others reliant on him or less knowledgeable than he is in various matters where he is well-read and experienced with. For example, he takes note of his club members' strengths and weaknesses and offers tailored advice to help them improve their play. He tells others how to mine magestones of an adequate size in Vargas Camp. Maybe he's just doing these things to make the circumstances easier for himself (so he can put forth less effort to leading them in a game, or so he can nap heartily). But from what we've just learned from the light novel, now I'm suspecting a different secondary motive.

What if... Leona is, in part, encouraging and helping others to hone their own skills to subconsciously compensate for what he doesn't believe he himself is capable of? Because there's still so much hope for his dorm mates, for his underclassmen... (and, let's not forget, it was those in Savanaclaw that first motivated Leona to "try" again for the first time in forever) but he doesn't have that same amount of hope for himself. I get these vibes as late as book 6, when Leona and Jamil have a talk. In their conversation, Leona directs many pointed, blunt words at Jamil--words that could very easily also be thrown back at Leona's face and be applicable to his book 2 self. He accuses Jamil of making excuses so he won't have to actually act, just as Leona has continuously run away from uncomfortable situations to put himself at ease. At one point, I believe Leona event states that Jamil “*isn’t like [me]”, Here, again, it can be argued that we're seeing Leona's self-awareness on display, as well as a willingness to warn others to not follow down the same path he once treaded, to lose all hope in the future. Again, it's done with a double purpose: the other one being to get Jamil out of his way while they're exploring. And (of course) Leona's way of expressing his message is gruff and not very warm, not to Jamil and certainly not to himself. He's become prickly and defensive himself after all of his experiences--but that just adds to the complexity of his character when we synthesize what we know of him from TWST multimedia.

I really wish a lot of what was in the light novel post-Leona OB was also in the game. It would have helped to flesh out Leona's motivations and fears, which book 2 was sorely needing. As he is presented now, he appears shallow and selfish in his goals, and we don't fully understand the emotions spurring him on, a lot of which is genuine self-loathing and the sinking despair that comes with thinking you're not enough and you'll never be enough. That would have been so much more relatable than the in-game Leona having himself a pity party with a great amount of emphasis on the throne--a throne which, in actuality, just symbolizes a desire for recognition, love, and acceptance. It was never about explicitly being king. It was about being seen as his own person and appreciated for it instead of being admonished and compared to his exalted older brother.

Now, as an adult, Leona has become someone who pushes away those who try to give him that which he craves. He sees a lot of people--his own family and his dorm mates, the closest thing he has to friends--as dangers to his own mental wellbeing. He's scared to let them in, so he's built up these emotional, arrogant walls around himself. Think at how often he rejects advice from Falena and refuses Cheka's affection for him. Look at how this behavior extends beyond those who are keeping him from a literal throne and to his classmates. They instill hope in him, hope which scares Leona. The things he has wanted all his life are now poison that chips away at him. Considering all of that together, it makes Leona's story far more tragic than how it was initially shown to us in the game alone. But guess what? That can also become his strength, fuel for his character arc. Leona isn't running anymore. He's actually returning home for winter break in book 4. He's determined to not get held back again. He's committing to an internship in a field (an energy lab) which will immensely help his country (which is rich in natural resources). All of this, coming from a young man who once acted bitter when his older brother suggested that there were many things Leona could do with his intelligence to benefit their homeland. Leona is making slow strides and steady progress toward a future he used to think was unattainable for him. From that darkness, he's rising anew--like the sun upon the savanna.

#twst #twisted wonderland light novel #twisted wonderland #twst light novel #Leona Kingscholar #disney twisted wonderland #notes from the writing raven #Ruggie Bucchi #Jack Howl #Savanaclaw #twst character analysis #twisted wonderland character analysis #twst analysis #twisted wonderland analysis #Cheka Kingscholar #Farena Kingscholar #Falena Kingscholar #Kifaji #Jamil Viper

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