#*headcanon*

I know a lot of people have been confused by my muse lately both on Tumblr and Discord. I’ve been asked the same questions several times. “Is he really evil?” “If he isn’t, why does he keep going back there?” “If he’s a good guy, why does he cling to darkness?”

With new resources, I can finally put his actions into context: he has issues letting go of everything.

In the book so far, he had an issue letting go of his ex-fiance, even running away because of it. I do get where it was coming from (one does not simply accept being cucked like that), but his thoughts surrounding it did seem like he was genuinely beating himself up over it and refused to go to anyone for help. That lead to his heel turn in the book. It doesn’t help that he was described as a person who wanted peace and would suffer in silence for those he loved before the plot happened. It makes him more prone to unhealthy things like making bad choices, bottling up emotions, and taking on more responsibility than he has to.

In the game, when he starts his monologue, you can tell he didn’t forget the beginning of the game, bringing up the victims of war as leverage for why he’s in the right. On top of that, when he finally does snap out of it, he seems to blame himself for war atrocities he didn’t even commit or at least feel guilt over them. He didn’t kill a single main character, yet with how the lines are placed, it seems like he takes responsibility for them in a way. And of course, he feels so much guilt, he runs away from his family to sort himself.

Even in Opera Omnia, despite being possessed (I think), he seems to take responsibility for his actions despite not being in control of them, and unlike his own game or the characters of IV, he didn’t have any ill will for the party and is thus more justified than in previous incarnations. None of the other characters seem to have issues with him, either, meaning his sulking is all in his head.

I feel that answers a lot about him as a character and my muse’s development over the years. Leon has problems letting go and takes responsibility for things he hadn’t done just to keep people he loves safe and happy. It’s why he constantly falls into vices and bad influences. He sees himself as a monster when most people either never saw him as that or moved on and forgave him. Many villains over the years have also used that to their advantage, the obvious one being the Emperor.

I’ve tried to ween down on the “random citizens hate him” thing for at least a year. It may not appear like it, but they mostly leave him be with a few random incidents here and there. However, to someone like Leon, those incidents would be all he sees and hears. In a way, it’s what he wants to be reality because he feels he should still be punished internally, though not to a masochistic level. He doesn’t get off on it so much as he feels it would be justified.

His darkness is also an issue affected by this. If he’d forgive himself, he could easily work toward not letting it take him, but without the capacity to do so alone, he can’t work on it, thus the vicious cycle of rage and sadism coupled with bouts of guilt and sorrow with splashes of happiness, like a bipolar person without treatment. Add to this that the darkness takes any sense of remorse and empathy away, and it’s almost like a drug for him at times. The worst part is he’s too prideful, stubborn, and ashamed to ask for help or reveal his thoughts like that.

First, let’s go for his stats and clearly define what and why.

HP: 4/5 Atk: 4/5 Def: 5/5 Mag: 2/5 Res: 1/5 Dex: 3/5 Acc: 3/5 Spd: 3/5 Lck: 2/5

This is from Record Keeper which is where I’m basing a lot of this. I added Luck instead of Mind, which was low. Clearly defined strengths and weaknesses, right? He’s a physical tank that hits like a truck but is allergic to magic damage. He’s also fairly quick for someone as HP/Defense heavy as him, but not to ninja levels.

Now, in FFII, you are able to wield up to 6 weapons with shields and bare fists as the other options. Well, it turns out Firion isn’t the only weaponsmaster. Leon can technically pick up any weapon and use it to varying degrees. Here’s how my muse is set up:

Swords: 9/10 Spears: 8/10 Axes: 7/10 Knives: 6/10 Maces: 5/10 Bows: 4/10 Fists: 3/10 Shields: 2/10

The levels actually go to 16, but why would I want to torture myself with calculating those levels? I don’t come here for math!

About the shields. Leon may be a dark knight, but he’s a very aggressive one. He’s known to dual wield, as well, so shields aren’t a high priority for him.

Next are abilities. I actually had a lot of material to work with between other dark knight abilities and Record Keeper. I also had a friend who made a pretty neat Dissidia profile for him. But choosing which ones fit best was difficult. Here’s the outline:

Magic: Just low leveled balls of Fire, chunks of Blizzard, storms of Thunder, and clouds of Scourge (Bio). He can enchant them with darkness to create better versions, but that saps health the longer he does it.

Darkness: Standard Dark Knight stuff. Coats the weapon, creates waves and projectiles, all at the cost of his health.

Blood Drain: His only healing move and one of his few defensive moves. Think a decently leveled Drain spell. Named after the Blood Sword.

Hypnotism: That’s right, he can hypnotize people. Though it’s not guaranteed to stick, it puts them under his control. No, he wasn’t brainwashed; he brainwashed others.

Ultimate Move: It’s basically Darksworn Blade in FFRK. Will come up with better name later. Very hard to pull off, and takes a ton of focus and HP. He only uses it as a finisher.

Leon first appeared in the war as a Warrior of Cosmos alongside many other heroes. This lasted all of one cycle before he was defeated and taken to become a Chaos Warrior under the watchful eye of the Emperor. Due to this, he has no memories of the first cycle.

From cycles 2-11, he served Chaos and many of his warriors, mainly Emperor Mateus and Garland. He saw the Emperor as familiar and Garland as more of a superior, even idol for a knight. However, he rarely got along with any other warrior due to being loyal to only the Emperor, Chaos, and Garland in that order. Little did he know he was just a pawn to each of them.

As the cycles continued, he gained his memories back, and the horror of what he truly was slowly made itself apparent. He grew to resent the authority figures he once followed obediently and became somewhat sympathetic to the plight of the Cosmos Warriors. Not Cosmos herself, though. He felt she was just as guilty for the war as Chaos.

In an later cycle, he also had his first encounter with Firion with all of his memories back. Like every other warrior he fought against, Firion had no memories of their home and mindlessly fought him as he was technically their enemy. Leon defended himself, but he never struck back and ran. It was the first of many times he spared his brother and the first of many times the Emperor began to suspect him of being a traitor.

By cycle 11, Leon had helped kill many warriors but always spared Firion and his friends if faced against them. His allies’ fury finally came upon him when he saved his brother and several others from a fatal attack. In the end, it cost him dearly, and he was even punished for his actions. While he was suffering, he finally found the courage to break free and escape the stronghold into Cosmos’ domain.

Found by her warriors, he was nearly killed but saved by one of the group he had saved before. He pleaded with them to take him to Cosmos, and after much suspicion, they obliged. Once in front of the goddess, he pleaded with her to make him one of her warriors, feeling he’d rather help her than Chaos and not being able to cope with his memories or deeds. She agreed, and he left her sanctuary with the hope he could set things right.

However, it was never meant to be. A small horde of Manikins were heading toward her throne, and despite knowing he wouldn’t survive, he engaged them. While a few did survive, many were cut to pieces by the fury of the Dark Knight. In the end, he was left to bleed out, no one knowing where he was, and no one to remember or care about him in the next cycle. His final thoughts were on his brother, praying for Firion to stay until the end and defeat the Emperor and the God of Discord.