i'm sorry if this has been asked before, but do you have any tips for writing leona? both as he is in general and when he's with someone he cares about (not necessarily in a romantic way)
How I Write Leona (cont.)
NO WORRIES!! I’ve been asked similar questions before TBH but I’ll try to collect my thoughts in a way that might be helpful? DFGHJK
First, a disclaimer that: EVERYONE has their own “vision” of characters, so don’t forget to stay true to how YOU feel he would act too!! When I write Leona, much of it is simply my OWN HCS that I've kept consistent when writing him. The little stuff I guess: how he talks, smells, body language, etc.
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There’s a lot I can say about how to “understand” Leona to write him ig, BUT the core of it is, I think Leona’s one of those characters who at first seems straightforward on the surface but turns out not to be! So much so that the rest of the cast tend to misunderstand him. ALSO, in the game he is introduced in a certain (BAD) way, and he tends to be relegated to a support character or even comic relief. Sooo, I get why some people write him one note.
But, IMHO man is just a big contradiction.
From what I’ve learned (and what I tend to lean into in my own writing), are how his pride and restraint work in tandem. I view Leona as a very emotionally intense person, but a lot of the time he refuses to show it in any sorta straightforward way. He’d rather downplay, deflect, or act annoyed than DARE admit he cares about fucking anything. (which is alot) He’s admitted that he's scared to hope!! HOWEVER, I do think ppl fall into the trap of making him TOO mean sometimes, so I try to have a balance.
In General:
He’s blunt and he doesn’t waste his words, (The VA was basically instructed to play him as if every word he said was too much effort!) He doesn’t yell though, nor have an aggressive aura unless he’s purposely pushing/scaring someone.
He’s VERY observant, he notices EVERYTHING. But in gen, Leona doesn’t comment or get involved unless it matters to him. (Chessmaster headass.)
He defaults to laziness/apathy as a defense. If something feels like effort (especially emotionally), or he’s feeling a bit too vulnerable, sometimes he’ll avoid deep emotions, or act like it’s totally not a big deal.
When He Cares:
When it comes to people he cares about (romantic or not), that’s where it gets complicated!! Romance is a bit different I will say, and I already made a post specifically about this. BUT, I do soften him up DRAMATICALLY when It comes to being in love bc IMO compelling romance requires vulnerability and once his walls are down WE SEE THE REAL OOEY-GOOEY.
Anyway. These are gen things I think about him, relating to how he cares for others!
Leona generally shows he cares through this sort of "tolerance of your proximity to him." Letting someone stay close to him, not just pushing them away, I think sharing space is a big form of affection for him.
Though I think he can get more irritable too. (Tsundere-ass.) Not because he actually dislikes someone, but because they affect him, and Leona above all craves control. Sometimes, it’s hard to decipher when he's just annoyed or when he’s trying to hide that he cares, and I feel like people confuse these two.
I personally see him as a very physical person but in subtle ways. (In my fics especially, I lean into how touch-starved he can feel and how that creates tension between wanting it so baddddd, yet resisting it.)
He doesn’t sugarcoat things when he does reassure/help/praise ppl. But, he does it!! He shows this with his underclassmen and even Sally in the NBC event. He sees and believes in everyone's worth, even complimenting Vil and Idia when needed, two ppl he doesn’t get along with that much.
Leona craves affection/attention more than most (his own words), but he doesn’t often put in effort to reach for it. And so that gap creates a lot of internal tension when you write him!!
He often frames things like they DON’T matter to him…while clearly acting in ways that prove they do.
I think when he does get close to someone, there’s this weird push-pull of wanting more vs. holding himself back out of pride, fear, or w/e.
The Leona Voice:
One thing that might really help is thinking in terms of character voice? Which is a basic writing concept that helps your character writing be more immersive in general.
Character voice in writing is unique to each POV character and how a character thinks, speaks, reacts to things, and basically how their world view works with all this.
The most simple example I came across in my creative writing textbook is comparing how Elmo VS Oscar the Grouch would react to someone handing them a bouquet of flowers and how they would describe said gift internally.
Leona is sarcastic but teasing, he can speak in short sentences when he's annoyed but when he's playful he puts on his princely air and that's where the drama come in. I have him go back and forth. He speaks properly sometimes when he's more serious, but mostly it's casual slang bc I think he likes the distance that creates from his upbringing.
But, it's not just what Leona says, but what he's thinking and his intentions, (He can be super sarcastic) his internal monologue, all through his VERY pessimistic worldview. He thinks a lot, but avoids saying things outloud, and he often contradicts himself. IT’S ALOT. TO CONSIDER. FGHJK
SO, if you wanna develop your own version of Leona’s "voice", my advice is to think about how he sounds in your head, imagine how he would talk, gesture or react and try to put yourself in his shoes.
TBH there's no single “correct” fanon Leona. I write him in a way that I LIKE and you should too!! I prefer to emphasize his softness and thoughtfulness. I write him through the lens of someone who used to be a dreamy, sensitive kid and now is a closed off, chronic over-thinker. He sees the world as a chessboard. And that alone GREATLY affects his relationships in both positive and negative ways.
I think to get that satisfaction you want, you might just wanna work on finding a way to consistently write him to your tastes? Re-read his vignettes, others vignettes with him in it. ALSO, @/yuurei20 is a great resource for lots of objective Leona facts if you have time!!
Once you start to write to him in a way that feels right to you, it will be second nature after a few times! At first, I really had TO THINK about how I wrote him and my relationship with him developed along with my Yuu’s. But now I just do it. And TBH this applies to all characters. This is just some creative writing stuff I’ve learned bc I myself wanna write my own fiction book one day!! And I’ve briefly worked as a copywriter as well.
Just How I Do it:
Here are a few random things I've noticed that I do a lot in my Leona writing after skimming some old stuff!!
– Leona defaults to holding back, instead of expressing his emotions.
Basically, I write him clenching his hands a lot. LMAO. And in gen, just always holding himself back, stopping himself from reaching out to ppl or saying something, etc. The strong emotions are there, gnawing at him, but those sweet words can come out through clenched teeth at first, yk?
– Hovering close to ppl he cares for without committing to anything.
He is kinda nosy AF and a know-it-all. He always has his eyes on what is going on in a room at all times. He ESP watches over people he cares for but knows when to step off. HE’D NEVER TELL YOU WHAT A LURKER HE IS. I think that this creates tension when you are writing romance with him especially!!
– Leona HATES formality in emotion or in relationships, but he be playin' games.
I think he appreciates ppl who are straightforward about their emotions since he deals with a lot of social games back home. And he might become closer easier to someone who can is a “read the room” type, and so, they can read/see through his caring, but standoffish behavior.
– Touchstarved but SO stubborn about it.
Maybe more a HC but IDC. I think this man craves touch, but there’s always that internal resistance about wanting or even punishing himself for enjoying it. Like he wants it, but won’t ask for it.
– Irritation (can) = His Way of Caring.
When he cares, he can get snippy esp when you don’t listen to him. I do think there is a threshold for this for when he is VERY close to someone. And then, instead of being annoyed he cares for you, you become one of the only ones he acts soft to. He uses that tough love sometimes to make you “better.” (Sally skipped the line on this. He was actually really sweet to her bc he respected her.)
– He’s a pusher, and loves games/testing ppl.
I think Leona tends to push into ppl’s space in a way that’s a little overwhelming at first (his intro in game, THE SNIFF) But, it’s him testing boundaries and initially trying to force a reaction instead of just communicating his questions or curiosity about someone directly. It’s def one of his less appealing traits, but it’s Leona IMO.
– Internal VS External Reactions
Internally he’s loud, he thinks a lot, and feels a lot. Externally, he tends to say very little. This contrast when you're writing his POV IS JUST SO FUN.
– Fixation on senses (especially with people he cares about)
Beastman noses and ears are sensitive esp Leona's who canonically can SMELL magic, etc. So, through his POV I think he tends to notice lil things like smells and sounds and body language. Again, in a romantic sense, emphasizing this can show how focused he is on the other person.
- Discomfort with being seen clearly or clocked on his shit!!
He clocks others a lot, but if you do it to him god forbid!. If the other person gets him too much, or is a lil too nice to him, I think it's his nasty self-loathing habit that makes him default to deflection or irritation. Being understood makes him vulnerable, and he doesn’t like that!! (at first)
- There's a threshold to his “Tsundere-ness”
After a while I think there comes a switch in Leona when he truly appreciates someone and he will begin acting softer instead of annoyed or pushy, in a way this is him “submitting” to his feelings! He’s super mature actually. (THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS PPL LOSE ME ON IN FICS OR HCS BC WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE MARRIED/OR BFFS AND HE STILL CALLS YOU AN ANNOYING HERBIVORE??? HE DOESN”T EVEN CALL THE MC HERBIVORE LATER IN THE MAIN STORY THAT MUCH.)
- “You’re still here?”
I don’t think Leona expects others to stick around much through his tests or show him much focused individual affection. He’s never got proper attention from anyone in his life, so I think when writing any kind of relationship with him he’s lowkey expecting the other person to leave and testing them the whole time. When they stay, it affects him DEEPLY.
- Suprisingly charming??? HE’S STILL A PRINCE.
I've noticed I tend to have him pull out these zingers sometimes in emotional moments. Much like he does in the game where he “suddenly” acts nice, gentlemanly or says something waaaaay too sweet. This would happen more if you were his partner I think, but yeah! He’s capable!!
- Using the word “herbivore” sparingly.
That’s all. I hate the overuse of it. (Or at all.) It immediately takes me out of any fic. I've all but cut it out of my romance fics/HC especially. And even if you were his friend he wouldn’t call you this either, sorry. He doesn’t call Ruggie one??? I just can’t stand it.
I think with any character writing balance its key, soft Leona (to me) is much MORE satisfying because he fights it SOOO MUCH. But, I remember not to make him too mean because I truly believe Leona is a very self-aware and emotionally mature character. (Crazy I know!!)
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That’s all I got for now!! ANYWAY. I hope that this was helpful in some sorta way?? I am not actually the authority on Leona but, I do create fan content for this man as part of my living now and I think it's well received?? So, I like to think I've learned something? (I HOPE.) Still, this is just my perspective on it!! Good luck!!
