Leodia could be that ship™..........if only the writers gave them something to do.
Diana (my problem child) could be such a fascinating psychological and character study. I mean, being tormented by your girl's people from pretty much the get go has to do something to your psyche after a while. Then comes Leona. Possibly the only one to show her any sort of kindness (despite Diana awaiting the other shoe to drop at some point). They get together (are they even able to acknowledge each other publicly? "Rise with Me" gives the impression that they can only associate in private, which is even sadder). They stay together for a decade. They're each other's first love, if not first everything.
But not even a decade together can keep Leona from essentially doing a heel turn on Diana. Deciding that she's no longer her equal. And even worse, deciding that not only is she a problem, but she needs to be gotten rid of at any cost. Permanently. And Diana's lingering fear (that Leona would eventually turn on her too) is ultimately fulfilled, just as she hoped it wouldn't. Funny how becoming a literal god can't save you from getting your heart shattered. On top of all that torment, being an Aspect seems to not be the healthiest thing for the mind. Trauma begets trauma.
(I could also state my personal pet theory that the Aspects and their choices of Leona and Diana could be viewed as an analogy for the cycles of generational/ancestral trauma and how women so frequently tend to be nesting dolls of pain. And the devastating impact it can have if left unmanaged. But that's a conversation for another day.)
Hello! And thank you for the ask! (Sorry it took so long to answer, but life is life-ing)
You do bring up some interesting points, I will give you that!
I think that even with the story limited as it is, the founding grounds for sth great are there. The writers just need to work through it properly and carefully, and it will make for a brilliant story. (Though the fact that it touches upon religious fanatism, genocide and the wedge said religion can drive between two people that do very much love each other, might mean that these themes are not going to be explored properly in this day and age)
Diana is a fascinating character from many aspects. Even personality wise when one considers that she grew up essentially in the same environment of indoctrination as Leona, but she is far more critically thinking than her peers. To a certain degree I think we could say it is idiosyncratic, but ofc it can be to a variable degree accredited to her upbringing in the temple, though we have little knowledge of what her younger years prior to Rise With Me, were like, and if she inspired similar ire to her teachers as her opinionated teenage self. And certainly, being subjected to such cruel treatment for the crime of having a functional brain in a society that very much resembles a cult (from the fanatism, to the central person/people of power, to the information culling) from a young age leaves a mark.
Leona on the other hand is also really interesting as a character (I do have a post abt her if you’d like to throw a glance, I’ll leave the link here. Haven’t gotten around to doing Diana quite just yet). Teenage Leona shows remarkable maturity in recognizing her flaws and her lacking oration capabilities, and humbly asking for assistance, recognizing that the so called “black sheep” is a skilled orator. She sees past the general discontent against Diana in the temple and comes to befriend her and then some. (Ahh, young love).
I am of the opinion though that Diana was very much hopeful abt her relationship with Leona, at least in the beginning. For she finally found someone that sees her for who she is and gives her the time of the day even if Leona doesn’t get everything. (I am not sure if they are publicly together in Rise With Me, and if they had ended up tip toeing around everyone for however long it lasted it adds another layer of tragedy to their story, being each other’s forbidden fruit…)
Now the interesting part that we know virtually nothing about, is the years between Rise With Me and the Ascension. And that is where I think their story has the most to offer. Seeing their duties pile up, and religion, the priesthood and expectations create a distance between them, that then becomes a wedge. We can explore Leona losing more and more of herself in the mask of perfection she is required to don more and more often, trying to appease the priesthood and her own family, we can explore Diana becoming more stubborn and desperate for answers losing herself into her books and research, seeing her punishments as sth worth bearing where Leona cannot stand to see her lover’s skin split and burned. We can see them arguing or growing distant, setting the foundations for the catalyst that was the Ascension.
Ten years is a long time, and the tragedy of them is not that it was a momentary betrayal or that Leona was a wolf in sheep’s clothing all along, or even that Leona’s nature as a Solari was inevitable and her feelings not genuine. Because that is not their story. The love was there, and it was real. But it wasn’t enough. The tragedy of them is their fall was, in a way, inevitable, and their love, earth shattering as it was, wasn’t enough. (in the current part of the timeline)
I do not quite agree with exactly how you go about Leona, bc oh boy, is there trauma there too, and we sometimes forget that even at this point in time when she is painted as the aggressor, she is the model child of what growing up in such a strict fanatic environment looks like. And this is also a bit where idiosyncrasy comes in as we mentioned before. Where Diana’s first instinct is to question rules, Leona’s is to follow them.
So, let’s take that stickler for rules, with all that it entails, and force her to go through a traumatic experience (climbing the mountain) only to face another traumatic experience (Diana’s ascension and the terror that inspires), coupled with her own “here is the essence of the God you worship, you are her Aspect on Runeterra now, oh and here are some memories of Aspects past so that you know that your entire life is a lie” moment…
Nothing that I have mentioned thus far makes Leona’s actions okay or is any form of excuse for her part in the genocide, but understanding our characters is what makes the story great. And the sad truth here is that here there are no villains, only victimized people forced to be the villain in each other’s story.
In a way, they are both products of the society that birthed them, victims of the oppressive order of things.
I would love to hear your theory abt Aspects and generational trauma!!
Thank you again for the ask! Have a good day!
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