SPIRITED

guide me o' fragile heart.

[kingflair]

so two of the big changes with my leon is who his starter was. 

his father is from sinnoh  &  his mother is from galar. however, his father was always traveling for work  &  so, leon rarely saw his father, but every time he came home leon was always given a gift.

one day he was gifted with a pokeball, curious as to what was inside, leon was surprised with a special little piplup. special being the fact that it was a shiny piplup, it had hatched while his father was at work ( he worked as a pokemon researcher )  &  his father believed it’d be a great gift for leon. a little symbol that his father is with him when he leaves to travel once again. 

so what i’m getting at is that his main partner is  &  always will be his empoleon. not charizard, while for his champion battles, he uses both, charizard has become the icon of who leon is. but if people really knew him, it would be his empoleon no matter what. his empoleon is the pokemon that is always out of its pokeball as he runs around, they are inseparable.

[kingflair]

when leon’s parents divorced, he had it rough. imagine having to explain to your baby brother why dad is leaving,  &  why their older sister was going with him. imagine having to explain in the gentlest way possible that they wanted a break as his mother explained it to him, but leon knew, they weren’t happy with the distance. how his father was never home and his mother had to take care of so many things without him, but they love each other ! oh, they love each other so much.

but they believed it was best for them both that they part, it doesn’t mean that they’re not a part of each other’s lives anymore. but it didn’t mean leon wasn’t hurt witnessing his parents close this chapter of their life together in this way. he didn’t like saying goodbye to their older sister, not knowing when or if he’d see her again.

no one expects a 12 year old to truly understand the situation, but there were arguments. as unpleasant as they were, leon has heard them in the night. when everyone should be in their 4th dream, leon has heard the sad words from his mother to the tired responses from his father. bickering, back  &  forth, back  &  forth. it bothered him, it scared him, why would any kid wish to see their happily married ( or so he thought ) parents leave each other? 

but he makes an effort to see his sister at least when he hears she’s in galar for work. she was, after all, his inspiration, his role model. there are moments in his life where he thinks he wouldn’t be who he is without his siblings, yes, being the middle child. normally they’re meant for greatness, they’re meant to rise above so much more than their kin, only to raise the bar for the next one to follow. 

[kingflair]

okay a proper hc this time. not a long one but a short one.

leon is very in tune with his emotions, he’s very empathetic  &  he’s usually the type of person many friends can ring up when he isn’t busy  &  just vent to. 10 / 10 times he’ll probably cry for your muse if you’re going through something rough and it’s so stressful, he’s … very accepting of emotions  &  he never thinks it’s okay to bottle them up. his mother taught him at a very young age that allowing yourself to experience the emotions you’re feeling helps you grow  &  better yourself. if he’s upset, he’ll cry. if he’s angry, god damn it, he’ll be angry!

let him show these emotions, the public doesn’t deserve some 2d personality of rainbows  &  sunshine like he has no issue in the world. they deserve a human, he is human  &  screw anyone  &  everyone that tries to tell him differently. he has control over his emotions, he knows when to keep himself in check  &  when it’s absolutely necessary. but let him be human. don’t take that from him.

[kingflair]

On the topic of Chairman Leon and how he fears how much the title would weigh on the new champ, my immediate concern is that he will revert to old habits. Which is to say... he'll take up too much responsibility again for the sake of lightening the load for that young champion. The League as a whole is so much work for all those involved and Leon - not only used to it but also fighting to protect the younger champ - would inevitably return to working himself raw for the sake of others.

sadly, you’re absolutely right  &  to him, he thinks it’s nothing, but after discussing some things with @earngalar. it was pretty much just a realization that leon was stripped of pretty much everything to the point that even he doesn’t remember much about who he is as a person. kind of causes a bit of a crisis that he definitely internalizes for a good moment, like, he’s given up so much as the champion at his age. he grew distant with the people he grew up with, he was barely in his younger brother’s life because of his title, he grew distant with sonia  &  hell, he even grew distant from raihan. the only thing that kept raihan in his life throughout it was because of their rivalry  &  constant battles during the championships.

leon doesn’t want the young champion to give anything up or feel like they have to, his thing is that he didn’t grow up with someone telling him it’s okay to take things one day at a time. he was dragged everywhere, he was conditioned to think this type of work ethic was normal. no one told him that going home at such late hours exhausted but unable to sleep was an issue, there would be days where he’d lay in bed  &  stare up at the ceiling thinking about what he has to do tomorrow. getting out of bed when he didn’t get any sleep at all only to repeat the routine. 

leon progressively lost connection with his friends  &  family that sometimes he wonders if he actually remembers anything about them. have they changed? what’s different? do i even remember what they were like when i was younger? they seem so different.

[kingflair]

leon is all for promoting body positivity !! while he, of course, is a physically fit  &  healthy person. a lot of people don’t understand why he goes out of his way to promote such a thing, people think his physique or like minded physiques should be ideal but he says fuck no to that! fuck the unrealistic standards people have! he loves all body types, each  &  every body type is beautiful  &  unique! 

he would absolutely use his platform  &  role as champ to promote  &  challenge all these harmful standards!

[kingflair]

wyndonskies‌:

WHAT SHAPE DOES YOUR PAIN TAKE?

RESULTS   :     MASK.

you hide your pain behind a mask. maybe you feel you can’t be helped, maybe you think no one cares, maybe you don’t want to hurt anyone else with it, you’re afraid of being judged, or maybe there’s another reason. but whatever the reason, you fake a smile and try to function normally even though you’re one step away from falling apart. secretly, you wish someone would notice it’s a mask, ask you if you’re really okay, see right through and make it be okay somehow. you’re hurt and a little angry that no one’s noticed yet, but you’ll never admit it. white lies, not that bad… are they?

[kingflair]

bro the more i think about bea’s episode in twilight wings the more i just. bro leon has ruined the confidence of so many people  &  he can’t do anything to stop that because he’s doing his Job, like. seeing the extent bea pushed herself in that episode hit real hard when it first aired  &  it makes me think of how other trainers ( & gym leaders ) must harbor some hatred towards the guy  &  leon never sees this. 

or well, i believe he HAS but they were always random trainers in sudden bursts of hatred or sudden gestures expressing this. it kind of hurts him to witness because he knows that losing hurts a lot, he can only imagine pre - game, witnessing it, he doesn’t like it. but he has a job to do as a champion defending his title -

[kingflair]

im so sad that sometimes, leon doesn’t feel like he is allowed to u know. have fun - like, the moment he sees people having fun  &  enjoying themselves. he just looks on with a smile because he knows that eventually, he’ll have to leave  &  go back to work.

but when the moments hit him, he WILL say fuck it  &  it’s like watching a child at play because he’s laughing with his whole heart, he’s darting all over the place and messing with the people there  &  they always reciprocate!! they mess with him as well  &  he’s having so much fun messing around with fans  &  pokemon alike!! free of that god damn cape is like being free of responsibilities for just a moment.

[kingflair]

willow, his serperior was a gift to him from one of his sponsors to celebrate his 5th anniversary as champion.

she was a rescue pokemon, found abandoned by her trainer. she was severely injured  &  was found curled up in the deepest depths of the white forest located in unova. how she ended up there is still a mystery but when leon brought her out of her ball, she was terrified.

one of her hands was severely damaged to the point where she can no longer move it. so it remains limp at her side, there had been many times where leon would discuss possible treatments when she was first given to him, but they said the damage was too much, the nerves have died. 

they went through a great deal of personal time together, doing exercises so he could gain her trust. spending time with her  &  would allow her time to ease into coming to his side. they also spent a great deal laying in the grass in wyndon, under the trees where the shade was absolutely perfect, these were the moments willow loved being around leon.

the first time there is any breakthrough with their bond is when leon held charizard’s ball in hand, ready to throw it for their training but instead, mid-throw, willow forced her way out of her ball. a gentle cry leaving her. she wanted to train with him, the smile she received from leon was one of excitement. oh, she was so happy!

whenever leon is home  &  his pokemon are out of their balls, willow is almost away coiled around him when he’s seated on the couch. she takes up a lot of space when she does though … but leon never minds it, in fact, he loves it immensely. sometimes, he’ll even carry her weight with him around the house while she’d coo happily. 

[kingflair]

leon in formal attire really. REALLY. i mean. REALLY. is a sexy sight. dress vests with jackets over his shoulders. his hair pushed back or braided ( i hc leon’s hair to be longer. i mean middle back length. ) or tied into a ponytail. gold necklaces with an expensive watch on, dangling chain earrings. his accessories, of course, vary with his outfit but he’s actually very good at coordinating outfits even though his champ outfit is a disaster. that one he blames rose for

[kingflair]

post game, leon really does like. struggle a lot with his identity purely bc as a ten-year-old, that’s around the age you really start to get out more. it’s around the time where you’re easily influenced by the world and media around you  &  leon being the champion, he was heavily influenced by the decisions rose made for him, the guidance he was given the dos  &  don’ts as champ. so when he loses his title, he …. feels like he doesn’t know who he is. because he realizes, my whole life was built around being champion that i don’t know who i am without it. 

he doesn’t dive into work for the battle tower immediately, he doesn’t rush to do that. instead, he’s …. he kind of has to do a bit of searching post game it’s a big where do i go from here? is the person i was as champion really me or was that an entirely different person?  &  coming down to it, yeah, that was an entirely different person, looking through rose colored glasses  &  blinding lights, surrounded by people that loved this persona. people that hated him without really … Knowing who they hate.

deep down, he’s just a man who had to deal with a lot more than any kid should.  &  a lot of people won’t listen because they’ll act like he’s ungrateful like woe is me i’m too successful i can’t do anything! like … no. leon has always felt so alone on this pedestal that people have put him on that every time he has looked over the edge there was someone new keeping him there. he lost people in his life he cared so deeply for because of it, every time he’s thought of jumping off that pedestal he felt so closed in. leon has always felt so alone even in a crowded room with all eyes on him.

leon has eventually felt that people, even friends  &  family weren’t looking at him anymore. they were looking at his title, they were treating him based on this title of his. people comparing themselves to him, people basing his value off his title. leon feels so utterly fucking alone that he feels like no one will ever understand how much this breaks his heart.

[kingflair]

leon does a lot of minor gardening at home aka he has a lot of windowsill planters / planters in general filled with flowers by / on his balcony. he even has some by his bay window in the bedrooms of his house. so every morning leon and little juniper water the flowers, the only reason why his mudkip got her name was bc the first thing that grew after a few days of their care was his juniper plant he keeps outside. 

[kingflair]

the only person he can easily open up to about his issues and easily cry in front of is sonia. he can’t even vent to his family because he feels like he’s complaining and he’s being ungrateful for the things he’s gotten in life. with sonia he knows that she’d understand - he doesn’t think hop, raihan, or the others in his life would understand bc people are so used to it being passed off as him having a baby fit when … no he’s really hurting and the more people pass it off as that the more he emotionally detaches himself from said people because he doesn’t want to be hurt by them when they say something in response.

[kingflair]

looking at leon. people wouldn’t think he has a strong pair of pipes on him when it comes to singing. he can easily sing in the octaves between tenor and baritone, singing was actually something he picked up from his father and he has such good control, beautiful vibrato, he has such a powerful voice, he can Easily harmonize with other people should the moment come around. he wasn’t professionally trained but everything learned was from his father.

singing is a personal connection with his father that they’ve always enjoyed when leon visits unova. 

[kingflair]

wyndonskies‌:

leon LOVES singing  &  dancing, he knows ballroom dancing  &  many spanish dances. to him, music is the way to someone’s heart! it’s such a vulnerable act honestly,  &  he’s got so much energy that he isn’t afraid to pull his friends off to the dancefloor  &  just have the time of his life! it really lets him get loose from the stressful life of being the champion.

leon also plays the piano  &  cello  &  he’d 100% play for you if you so asked it of him. he loves playing for people but he hasn’t done it in so long since he’s been champion that he misses it so, so much. playing for someone  &  singing to them always leaves him feeling warm.

[kingflair]

leon has battle scars from the eternatus incident, in fact, some are even on his arms from when he blocked his face in the explosion! the shrapnel  &  attack from eternatus had sent him flying, on his chest, there are scars from the frontal attack  &  if he were to bring his arm up in the same position, it would complete the look of the scars. post game, he wears a lot more long - sleeved shirts  &  when he’s home he wears shorter - sleeved shirts. 

though he also has a nick of a scar here and there on the right side of his face right through his eyebrow reaching his hairline. it’s thankfully covered by his hair but … it’s a reminder for him of what happened. it’s not something he wears with pride, but it always feels like it mocks him whenever he sees it in the mirror.

[kingflair]

no starters rn but hc

leon is the middle child and thus he’s the one that his siblings look to be the logical one amongst them. but as a kid, leon latched onto his older sister  &  followed her around. wherever she went, a tiny leon was calling out to her and running after her. he’d hold her hand whenever they went out  &  he’d swing their arms when they held hands, he was the happiest child in the world.

when leon’s parents went out with the kids, they would do that thing where they’d hold his hands  &  swing him. leon genuinely doesn’t have any bad memories with his parents, he had sad ones but …  the good ones weighed out many of the sad ones. 

he really did cry when everything was said  &  done, the whole divorce thing. mind you, he always kept it to himself because he knew that his mother probably had it worse than him, i mean, his father was in his mother’s life for so long. so while he cried to himself, he put on a front for his mother.