the real bunnwich

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Leona and a S/O with Autism

First off, thank you guys so much! It makes me happy you enjoy my art, and my interpretation of Leona, and that we can all have fun together with it!!

I’ve gotten several very similar asks of this nature, so I thought I’d try to get my thoughts together on it! (finally.) 

I wanna start off by mentioning that: like I’m sure you are aware, the autistic experience is incredibly diverse, so I can only really comment on the traits you both described rather than autism as a whole. Different autistic people will have different experiences, needs, and personalities after all! And I have not been diagnosed autistic myself. I am neurodivergent and have been diagnosed with ADHD, which can have overlap in experiences as a neurodivergent person, but is its own thing entirely!

That said, I can try to, in good faith, give you my personal  thoughts on the topic. As usual, these are just my thoughts and I am in no way an expert!!

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TLDR: ☝️ I actually think Leona could get along surprisingly well with someone who communicates differently from neurotypical people.

LET ME EXPLAIN:

Part of that comes from the fact that I personally headcanon Leona as neurodivergent himself. This is just obviously just my interpretation and not canon, but I will say it heavily influences how I write him for you guys and his thought process in my fics and analysis.

A lot of the traits people tend to describe in neurodivergent characters or OCs are things I can imagine Leona understanding, even if he expresses them differently.

No, I don't think he'd necessarily be bothered by someone struggling with eye contact. Leona rarely seems interested in following social etiquette just because everyone else does. If anything, I think he'd care more about whether someone is comfortable with him than whether they're looking at him.

Likewise, someone being quiet, awkward, or not knowing how to start conversations wouldn't bother him as much as more outgoing characters. He's perfectly capable of spending hours in comfortable silence. Honestly, I think he'd prefer that over forcing conversation for the sake of conversation. He's a quality time type of guy IMHO.

One thing I think people sometimes forget about Leona is that he's actually very observant. He notices patterns in people and remembers their lil habits and mannerisms. If he was interested in someone he would 100% take the time to get to know them even if they were somewhat shy.

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Shy Doesn't Equal Weak.

Especially to a man whose battle catchphrase is “I don't need brute strength to win."

Leona tends to admire underdogs and those with hidden strengths. For example, Sally is very soft spoken and gentle in the NMBC Halloween event but he still admires her and treats her more openly and kindly than he does to almost anyone we’ve seen on screen! He didn’t give a shit that everyone was teasing him for being a gentleman either. He just focused on her!

More than anyone, he's likely to see your hidden strengths, yk? While he can be a little insensitive and he might not immediately understand why someone or  his partner does certain things, he would eventually learn, esp if this is someone he grows to respect. He'd notice that you fidget when they're overwhelmed, that you become more yappy when discussing a certain topic. Or even, which routines help you feel safe, which situations make you uncomfortable.

And once he notices, I think as your partner esp, he'd quietly accommodate those things without making a huge deal out of it. Because TBH that’s how he tends to show affection to those he cares for in canon! Think about him and Ruggie’s relationship, where he quietly slides Ruggie more money for working, for him knowing it’s too much cash. He doesn’t like to be condescending to those he respects. So, it's subtle at first.

I also think that Leona is a good “grounding person” who always has his head on straight and keeps cool when under pressure or stress. He knows when to take the lead in situations. And I think even if he can come off harsh, it's sometimes comforting to know he will always tell you like it is and deliver tough love when you need it. 

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Hyperfixations & Difficult Emotions

Hyperfixation is something I think he'd relate to too!  If his partner starts passionately talking about something they love, he'd listen more than he lets on. He’d realize this is how you tend to unmask and let you  babble on. I think he'll appreciate that! Be honored that you consider him a "safe person. Because how often does he truly get to be that?

Plus, he has his own special interests,  chess, history and may even talk your ear off in return if you get him going enough. He canonically stayed up reading the same damn book all night.

As for taking things literally or struggling with sarcasm, I could see there being some…growing pains. Leona uses sarcasm almost like a second language. At first he'd probably get frustrated when his jokes don't land with you, but eventually he'd realize that if he wants to communicate something important, he just needs to be more direct. Which in a way I think he actually  prefers despite his actions since he deals with so many “social games" back home. I think it would be good for him!

Leona…has a tendency to hide genuine affection behind teasing or sarcasm. Being with someone who needs clear communication could force him to be more honest about what he actually means and how he actually feels much sooner. And maybe if you are someone who struggles to express emotions yourself, maybe he could understand that better than most people? He's someone who spends MUCH of the canon being called lazy, rude, antisocial, intimidating, uncaring, and selfish. People often judge him based on the impression he gives them rather than taking the time to understand why he acts the way he does or looking at his actions.

Leona too is incredibly good at picking up on actions. And I think he'd eventually start noticing the smaller signs of affection you give him. I think building a relationship with him just requires consistency.

Like I mentioned before, once he realizes that you unmasking is your way of saying "I trust you," I think he'd value it far more than any crazy romantic gestures. Because what I think Leona craves more than anything is being appreciated for who he is and relied on.

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He understands because HE KNOWS.

In return, I think an autistic or neurodivergent partner could understand/and relate to him.

His tendency to hyperfocus on interests while ignoring everything else

His specific sensory preferences

His dislike of restrictive clothing

His frustration at not being instantly good at something

His unusual sleep schedule

His bluntness

His difficulty fitting into social expectations

The way people constantly describe him as lazy, despite him clearly being capable of incredible effort when something genuinely captures his attention

AND YEAH, whether you read these traits of his as neurodivergent coding or not is entirely up to interpretation, but they're part of why I personally relate to him so much TBH,  and why I think (if you ask me) he could understand someone who is also neurodivergent. Or in this case, autistic.

I don't think a relationship between Leona and an autistic person would be just about him "putting up with" their differences either. You two would just need to gradually learning how the other communicates!! It's not easy but, YEAH. All relationships are that way TBH.

And it would be very rewarding for both of you I think!! You both realizing that all those things others criticize you for aren't “flaws” that you need to fix. You both able to find someone who doesn't expect you to “mask” all the time and can see past to the real you!

There would def be misunderstandings bc…Leona is Leona. He’s very stubborn, sarcastic, prideful, and TERRIBLE at talking about his feelings sometimes. But, once he realizes someone FOR ONCE isn't judging him for the way he is, I think he'd become one of the safest people you could have on your side!! And at the end of the day that all he wants too.

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“A lion always looks after his pride after all.” <- stock cheesy Leona line.

More than anything, I genuinely think based on how he interacts with more of the “2-faced” cast in twst, Leona craves authenticity. He dislikes social games back home, fake politeness, and people who aren't honest about what they want from him. Someone who is genuine, direct, passionate about their interests, AND comfortable being themselves around him?? Well, IMHO you would probably earn his respect much faster than someone trying to impress him purposely.

I think he'd appreciate being with someone who sees past his whole manufactured "lazy prince" reputation. Often, I find neurodivergent folks are good at that!! Pattern recognition and all that.

Leona Pouch?

Hehe!! Omg TY!! TBH I was worried about posting that art. And wasn't sure if ppl would like it. I tend to keep my patreon stuff separate plus...I know a majority of ppl prefer Leona with abs.

Uncensored art here. But, while I still see him as strong and athletic, I just find abs on him unrealistic and another brainwashing of stereotypical anime beauty standards. Those with abs tend to have very low body fat and with how he eats idk just feels wrong? I've always preferred him being a bit "softer" esp if he were to be in a relationship and gain some "happy" weight from having someone to enjoy food with and cook for him. I did a few "body HC" posts on patreon too. Obviously, I can't show it all but yeah, there's a peek above!!

I saw this comic with Azul on a AU where Yuu came to twisted wonderland when they were a kid once and then come back at the entrance ceremony like in the beginning of the game.

I imagine that when Leona was a kid he didn't have any real friends or people to play with. So I think it would be cute to one day when Leona sneaks out of the palace, he meets a human kid who appears to not know who he is (his status as a prince) and is not afraid of his magic or him.

And that would start the first real friendship Leona ever had, with yuu calling him 'Leo' as a nickname. With the two players and going on little adventures on the savannah (like Simba and Nala).

But Yuu ended up having to go back home and leave Leona in Sunset Savannah. After that, years passed and the two ended up thinking that the other was a imaginary friend or something. Until Yuu comes back to twisted wonderland.

They probably didn't recognize each other at first but in chapter two when Yuu and their gang lost to Leona and the other Savannah Claw students, Rugie or someone else says Leona's full name and Yuu goes like: "Wait a minute....Leo?!!!"

Like, just imagine the scene, where Leona recognizes the nickname right away and is in denial that this herbivore is his childhood friend who he thought was a dream, the Savannah Claw students and our friends shocked and afraid for our life for calling the housewarden 'Leo' and Yuu trying to understand who the cute and polite little prince she met became this man in front of her.

CEO OF LEONA??

Omg that's very sweet!??! GHJKL I genuinely appreciate you guys thinking I am some sort of maverick and feeding my ego all the time. BUT, TBH I feel like most of the time I just project onto Leona VERY hard with my own headcanons, and other things I talk about is bc I just love to study tropes and talk character analysis! I always have! I think that why I end up being "right" so much when it comes to Leona is a sort of pattern recognition. When you pick up on certain flags that writers tend to use for characters in media you can somewhat predict their arc and traits? In the case of Leona, I think even when we knew very little about him from his starting vignettes, he always struck me as that burned-out lazy genius trope that we often see in anime, combined with a tough-love reluctant mentor one. When you break it down, he actually doesn't brag about his more altruistic deeds, like helping Ruggie etc. And that's were a lot of his "loverboy" headcanons feed into when it comes to romance. His softness is all in subtext, hidden behind sarcasm, or purposely hidden by himself. He is his own worst press! He sort a a reluctant protector too, and we see that down the line when he tends to protect his underclassmen esp! Being how he is, I think makes him a very satisfying character to dig into. And honestly, I was just so sick of him being dragged through the mud back in the day in the fandom (and still is) so it pushes me to explore him in opposite ways than we commonly see! Anyways TYSM!! You guys have a lot of faith in me, and are always super encouraging to my madness. It encourages me to keep to pondering on the Lion Man as well as supply me with interesting questions to think about. SO, THANK YOU!!