I say I'm going to lose my mind when we get Leona nearly murdering Ruggie animated like I won't have already lost it as soon as we maybe get an op or ed using DIADEM. like, that's the bit that might actually make me go feral, which is only going to get worse once we get Leona turning on Ruggie.
sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and put "text your friend whom you love and genuinely want to talk to" on your to-do list because otherwise it is not getting done
honestly so glad this one is gaining traction. just saw it in my notifications and went "MAN ALRIGHT" to text yet another person i have been genuinely wanting to text back for days
writing is a fantastic hobby but the kicker is it's a lot harder to show your friends as it's progressing. with a sketch i can show someone and they'll be like oh that's an apple. you can't do that with words until you get a lot of them down. so i'll just be like damn fuckin. uhh. check this out
that's right. and that's just one of the several words i know
Last winter, after reading Leona's dream, I wanted Baymax to play the therapist for him cause his line broke my heart... I drew other stuff but didn't finish them back them.
Now that Baymax event is coming, it was the opportunity to finish them :3.
(Working on Leona's birthday, so I'm gonna answer you guys next month :x)
Since it was confirmed that baby hyena beastmen are born with dark hair that lightens as they grow up, then the same biology is probably applied to baby wolf beastmen too right......
I've had this idea rattling around my brain ever since I read Ruggie's Platinum Jacket vignette; the tone shift to discuss his dad kind of surprised me, and I wanted to see that conversation have more of a conclusion. So here it is!
Hello again, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my ask! It has definitely sated my curiosity, and I do love reading your thoughts on the topic.
When it comes to the mediaās reaction to such a relationship, I do tend to lean towards the thought that they would villainize Leona. No idea to what extent, but it would feel on brand for them given the biases of Leonaās home country against him.
If we go with the āgetting engaged to avoid an arranged marriageā route, Ruggie worked for Leona both in the palace and NRC for years and lived in extreme poverty his whole life. Leona is literally dating his employee, and I do think there would be a fair few that would take shots at Leona for such a thing.
I do have one more question for you relating to my previous ask that has been lingering on my mind for a few days now; how do you think the coup wouldāve changed had Leona and Ruggie been romantically involved beforehand or at the very least perceived to be so?
What got me thinking about this was the fake dating idea that was previously mentioned. If they did decide to go through with it and it was revealed to the public, I do think it would change some things. To what extent, I am unsure.
For starters, a big part of Mizaās plan was getting married to āLeonaā and then getting rid of him when it was most convenient. But how believable would that have been had Leona publicly got into a relationship shortly before their supposed engagement, especially if Ruggie and him went so far as to get engaged? If it was shortly before the coup, I could see her going through with the plans and just put out a statement afterwards about āLeonaā wanting to secure the stability of the country now that his family is dead or whatever, but potentially it could lead her to going after Ruggie during the coup which I fear would not end well.
The biggest thing that has been going in our trioās favor this entire fic that has allowed them to get away with living in the Savannah for this long is Ruggieās anonymity, and to take that away may result in there being no Ruggie and therefore the eradication of the Kingscholar line.
If they got into a public relationship long before Miza had even stepped foot in the palace, I feel like that would hinder Mizaās plans because the main reason she was invited there was to talk about an engagement with Leona. Furthermore, the believability of an arranged marriage after Leona has been in a public relationship for fuck knows how long is a lot less believable. Then again, he did just have his entire family die and that does cause people to act in ways they normally wouldnāt.
Anyways, I would love any thoughts you may have on any of the above! Thank you again for your response to my previous ask!
apologies that it took me a bit to reply to this! I've been sick, unfortunately, and while it was just a cold it pretty much turned my brain off for a few days.
(again, under the cut, because it got long)
you can tell I come at most things from a Ruggie perspective, since he's very much my little guy out of the two. now you say it, I do agree that Leona would get a lot of flack from the media as well. we know he doesn't have a great reputation, and they'd definitely be after him for the whole power difference thing (when not criticizing Ruggie for the same thing on the other side, since the tabloid reaction to things is always highly hypocritical.) it would probably be frequently framed as a stunt on his part, and the common narrative would be that he'd break things off before any wedding actually happened.
as for how the coup itself might change, I do think Leona and Ruggie getting together ahead of time would lead to some pretty significant changes. first, like I think I mentioned in the last post, I think Ruggie immediately becomes an assassination target. Miza's a character that is willing to be pretty brutal, and I think she probably would immediately hold a lot of animosity for Ruggie, in her mind, suddenly getting in the way of her plans. in her eyes, Ruggie was just a forgettable hyena that didn't deserve her consideration before all this, and now he's getting in her way and preventing her from winning over Leona.
that said, things probably start out pretty subtle, because she doesn't want to tip her hand. staged accidents, maybe even poisoning (even if I think the Savanna doesn't have as much of a poisoning culture as the Scalding Sands), and other things to try to take Ruggie out in a way that doesn't immediately link back to her and her retinue. considering Leona isn't stupid, things would have to be pretty subtle to not tip him off, though Miza may not realize how smart he actually is. I think, in this AU, they're probably caught a lot less off guard by the coup, just because Leona can see Ruggie's being targeted and starts sounding the alarm.
as for the night of the coup itself, the major changes I think are that, as you say, Ruggie is attacked in a more direct way, rather than him just being initially a minor target alongside the rest of the servants. he's probably attacked by an actual mage, for instance. that said, I kinda imagine they still underestimate his magical ability, because the whole deal with Ruggie is that people underestimate him because he's a hyena from the slums. even with him being more in a spotlight, that doesn't mean their bias towards him disappears, I think. there's probably a good chance he's in Leona's room as the coup begins, honestly, depending on whether their relationship has progressed and if Leona has figured out enough to realize something is up.
as for Leona, I think Miza's plan goes from the original fic's "try to win him over but if we need to kill him instead, so be it," to "we must capture him at all costs so we can potentially bewitch him/otherwise create our own narrative." her goal is still to get the throne, and so she needs him under her power to do so. I think the narrative she'd try to go with is playing into the media narrative of his thing with Ruggie as him being potentially manipulated or even bewitched by someone trying to gain power (which. y'know. would be true in the end if Miza succeeds, but it's Miza, not Ruggie, doing so.)
and then I think her plan also changes from killing Cheka to capturing Cheka, as a backup plan. I don't think she's the type to marry a child (because, even if that's what royalty has done in the past, ew. even if it's realistic, I don't want to have that in my narrative because it's the kind of thing that makes me personally uncomfortable) but she would probably be able to go the advisor route/perhaps even have a child that is betrothed to him if she felt like that was her best option.
she'd still try to have Falena killed, and I think her plan for Shujaa would also be to have her killed. if she's planning on capturing Leona and Cheka, that's fewer variables if she doesn't have to worry about Shujaa.
in terms of how this all plays out? I'm not sure. I'd have to think about it a bit more, and if I was writing it out, things always change in writing it. characters would be less blindsided, but things like Leona and Falena's conflict might be ramped up at that point in a way that makes things still end badly. depends what the narrative calls for, I guess?
anyway, thanks so much for your ask and for the interesting thoughts to chew on! I hope my speculation on the things you bring up feels right and interesting. :)
Firstly, I want to let you know that swallow the sunrise is my favorite ongoing fic and one of my top twst fics that Iāve read in this fandom. The plot itself is something I have been searching for for ages and I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon a fic centered around such a thing with writing good enough to prop it up. The way you write the plot, the world, and the characters has me hooked in a way a fic hasnāt done for a while now. Thank you for posting your work and allowing us the privilege to enjoy the story you have made!
Now, onto the main reason I have made this ask:
One thing that has been on my mind since Ruggie/Leona finally happened has to be how Farena wouldāve reacted to their relationship were he still alive to witness it. In order to sate my curiosity, I have evidently decided to go straight to the source.
I suppose a part of why my mind keeps looping to this question is largely because I do think how Farena wouldāve reacted does depend on the circumstance around them getting together. If this was an offshoot of the main plot where Farena somehow lived and is currently imprisoned by the Usurper, I do think he would be a lot more open to it because of everything Ruggie has done for his brother and son. If not for that, however, I do think there would be significant pushback.
If the coup never happened and they still somehow got together against all odds, how wouldāve Farena reacted? Better yet, do you have any thoughts on how the public would react to such a match?
I will admit that I find it funny to think about if Ruggie and Leona did what they joked about near the beginning of the story to fake date to get Farena off Leonaās back about an arranged marriage. Maybe the coup never happened or it was pushed back by a few months, but thinking about the aftermath of such a harebrained scheme has me giggling. Farena would get a lot of gray hairs, that is for sure.
Any thoughts you have about my pondering would be greatly appreciated! I always love hearing what fellow fans have to say about my favorite characters :)
first, thank you so much for your kind words! it's always so reassuring to hear that people are enjoying it. :)
this got a little long so I'm putting it under a cut!
Falena's an interesting question, huh? while we don't get a ton about him in canon, my interpretation of what we do get that I tried to carry into sts is something like: well meaning guy with kind intentions who probably has learned biases on account of being royalty (who also has a political lean that negatively impacts communities in need like Ruggie's despite all the admirable parts of the Savanna's work with nature.) in other words, he's caring but flawed, something that actually I can hint at our boys having to grapple with a little in some coming chapters in sts that I've already written.
so, how would that then affect how he sees Ruggie & Leona being together? I do agree that a lot of it is circumstantial. if everything's the same in sts but Falena lives, there's going to be a lot of gratefulness that comes with Ruggie's roll in this possible overthrow of Miza that would color things. however, if it was instead that either the coup never happened or Leona and Ruggie went through with the initial fake relationship plan, I think the truth would be that Falena would be someone who would try to be accepting because he's well meaning, but would engage in anti-hyena microaggressions without realizing it and not necessarily examine his own role in Ruggie growing up the way he did.
now, that said, I do think he would absolutely believe the relationship was Leona trying to get out of the arranged marriage (which he would be right about) unless Leona actually took the extra step of getting engaged to Ruggie. but if they did actually get engaged, Falena, because I think he does actually love Leona a whole lot, would try very hard to be supportive of Leona's relationship and end up just making Leona mad (because Leona is also Leona and would probably mostly see Falena being unintentionally a little bit of a jerk to Ruggie as an excuse to get into fights with Falena.)
Ruggie, meanwhile, wouldn't ever care at all about whatever Falena's newest attempt at being supportive is, because he'd be too busy having his own separate crises on a weekly basis about actually maybe marrying into the whole system he really hates. Leona would be fuming about something Falena did to or said about Ruggie and Ruggie would just be like, "I don't CARE dude, I want you to get everyone to stop calling me 'sir' instead," or something like that.
on the other hand, I think public opinion would be a lot more negative. there's this perception in the Savannah of hyenas being thieves and liars, and so most of the nobility would have a hard time moving beyond that when discussing Ruggie. and, like, yeah, Ruggie is a thief and a liar, but he's honest about it, you know? as much of a oxymoron as that might be. the media perception would probably lean into that and perhaps also paint Ruggie as a gold digger/someone manipulating Leona. and then I think there's also a very real possibility that people from the slums would see Ruggie marrying into royalty as a betrayal, especially if there doesn't seem to be any initial effort to improve conditions in the slums.
so, I hope that answers your questions and feels right and fitting! this honestly wasn't something I'd put a lot of thought into before your ask, but I found myself mulling it over all day at work, so thanks for the opportunity to think and talk about it. :) I hope you continue to enjoy sts as it continues!!
and then you also got me thinking about what a sts au where Leona actually says yes to the initial fake relationship proposal would look like
a couple things would happen immediately, at least if it was a fake engagement (which, like I said above, I think would need to happen if they actually wanted Falena off Leona's back):
Ruggie would get his own room in the palace, separate from the serving quarters, but probably separate from Leona too, otherwise it might be kind of a scandal that they were sleeping in the same room while just engaged
Ruggie would immediately be relieved of duties like being Leona's attendant
both of the above would mean Ruggie would absolutely lose his mind within the first week, both because he needs things to do and does not want to be treated like nobility. he'd try to back out, but Leona wouldn't let him (kind of a "you got me into this, so if you back out now I'm gonna kill you," kinda thing.)
meanwhile, speaking of threats to Ruggie's life, him getting directly in the way of Miza probably means she's actually out for his blood in this au. there are probably multiple assassination attempts and all the angst/hurt Ruggie/worried Leona potential that comes with that.
would Ruggie have the same relationship with Cheka? would Miza still try to take power? would Falena live? would still have to mull those over more. I don't know if I'd ever be able to write this (sts takes up so much brain space and usually I'd need more than just a couple stray scenes/notes to feel ready to write a fic) but maybe one day!
because that's far from a guarantee though, people should feel free to borrow these ideas for their own. more inspiration in the creative space and all that.
Firstly, I want to let you know that swallow the sunrise is my favorite ongoing fic and one of my top twst fics that Iāve read in this fandom. The plot itself is something I have been searching for for ages and I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon a fic centered around such a thing with writing good enough to prop it up. The way you write the plot, the world, and the characters has me hooked in a way a fic hasnāt done for a while now. Thank you for posting your work and allowing us the privilege to enjoy the story you have made!
Now, onto the main reason I have made this ask:
One thing that has been on my mind since Ruggie/Leona finally happened has to be how Farena wouldāve reacted to their relationship were he still alive to witness it. In order to sate my curiosity, I have evidently decided to go straight to the source.
I suppose a part of why my mind keeps looping to this question is largely because I do think how Farena wouldāve reacted does depend on the circumstance around them getting together. If this was an offshoot of the main plot where Farena somehow lived and is currently imprisoned by the Usurper, I do think he would be a lot more open to it because of everything Ruggie has done for his brother and son. If not for that, however, I do think there would be significant pushback.
If the coup never happened and they still somehow got together against all odds, how wouldāve Farena reacted? Better yet, do you have any thoughts on how the public would react to such a match?
I will admit that I find it funny to think about if Ruggie and Leona did what they joked about near the beginning of the story to fake date to get Farena off Leonaās back about an arranged marriage. Maybe the coup never happened or it was pushed back by a few months, but thinking about the aftermath of such a harebrained scheme has me giggling. Farena would get a lot of gray hairs, that is for sure.
Any thoughts you have about my pondering would be greatly appreciated! I always love hearing what fellow fans have to say about my favorite characters :)
first, thank you so much for your kind words! it's always so reassuring to hear that people are enjoying it. :)
this got a little long so I'm putting it under a cut!
Falena's an interesting question, huh? while we don't get a ton about him in canon, my interpretation of what we do get that I tried to carry into sts is something like: well meaning guy with kind intentions who probably has learned biases on account of being royalty (who also has a political lean that negatively impacts communities in need like Ruggie's despite all the admirable parts of the Savanna's work with nature.) in other words, he's caring but flawed, something that actually I can hint at our boys having to grapple with a little in some coming chapters in sts that I've already written.
so, how would that then affect how he sees Ruggie & Leona being together? I do agree that a lot of it is circumstantial. if everything's the same in sts but Falena lives, there's going to be a lot of gratefulness that comes with Ruggie's roll in this possible overthrow of Miza that would color things. however, if it was instead that either the coup never happened or Leona and Ruggie went through with the initial fake relationship plan, I think the truth would be that Falena would be someone who would try to be accepting because he's well meaning, but would engage in anti-hyena microaggressions without realizing it and not necessarily examine his own role in Ruggie growing up the way he did.
now, that said, I do think he would absolutely believe the relationship was Leona trying to get out of the arranged marriage (which he would be right about) unless Leona actually took the extra step of getting engaged to Ruggie. but if they did actually get engaged, Falena, because I think he does actually love Leona a whole lot, would try very hard to be supportive of Leona's relationship and end up just making Leona mad (because Leona is also Leona and would probably mostly see Falena being unintentionally a little bit of a jerk to Ruggie as an excuse to get into fights with Falena.)
Ruggie, meanwhile, wouldn't ever care at all about whatever Falena's newest attempt at being supportive is, because he'd be too busy having his own separate crises on a weekly basis about actually maybe marrying into the whole system he really hates. Leona would be fuming about something Falena did to or said about Ruggie and Ruggie would just be like, "I don't CARE dude, I want you to get everyone to stop calling me 'sir' instead," or something like that.
on the other hand, I think public opinion would be a lot more negative. there's this perception in the Savannah of hyenas being thieves and liars, and so most of the nobility would have a hard time moving beyond that when discussing Ruggie. and, like, yeah, Ruggie is a thief and a liar, but he's honest about it, you know? as much of a oxymoron as that might be. the media perception would probably lean into that and perhaps also paint Ruggie as a gold digger/someone manipulating Leona. and then I think there's also a very real possibility that people from the slums would see Ruggie marrying into royalty as a betrayal, especially if there doesn't seem to be any initial effort to improve conditions in the slums.
so, I hope that answers your questions and feels right and fitting! this honestly wasn't something I'd put a lot of thought into before your ask, but I found myself mulling it over all day at work, so thanks for the opportunity to think and talk about it. :) I hope you continue to enjoy sts as it continues!!
given the current climate this pride especially i feel i must mention that i love my trans friends, i stand with trans people in the fight against transphobic legislation and those who would enforce it, and this blog is not a good place for you to be if you do not vibe with that
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