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temiizpalace · 2 days ago

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☆┊MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE?

SUMMARY: many heroes wished to share this dance with you, yet you chose him.

CHARACTERS: HEARTSLABYUL

GENRE: fluff

OTHER: heartslabyul savanaclaw octavinelle scarabia pomefiore ignihyde diasomnia

NOTES: thank you for an entire year, tumblr! as celebration for my first anniversary, have a small mini scenario as a token of my gratitude.

reader is g/n, reader is yuu

PROLOGUE ☆˙∘

excitement fluttered within the confines of the classroom. a nationwide gala was being held this evening for students all over twisted wonderland, and this years selected host was none other than the prestigious night raven college. you couldn’t help but feel a little nervous with how everybody spoke of such an event.

even if dances weren’t your thing, it was still worth it to go, right? “myah.. what’s with all the blabbering? it’s just a borin stuffy ball, right? all ya do is stand around for hours. i can guarantee ya not everyone’s gonna have a dance partner.” grim huffs, beginning to grow annoyed with the gossip.

“well, there’s going to be food from all over the region. at least then we’d have something to do, right?” you grin, your partner in crime suddenly very excited for the dance. “why didn’t ya start with that?! we needa go prep our outfits right now!”

evening came sooner than you anticipated. as chaotic as nrc was, somehow this was 10x as lively as usual. everybody had spoke with someone new while you were stuck at the snack bar with grim. a new face appears, wishing to have a small chat.

🌹┊RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS∘˙✩

“so you’re the magicless prefect, hm?”

a young boy leaned on the table, his unexpected presence startling you. “and you are..?” you question, curious as to how he knew you. he looked unfamiliar, but you couldn’t help but notice his pristine and well dressed appearance. he was handsome, certainly.

“where are my manners? amias reinheardt, a pleasure.” he smiles, bowing slightly before you. “i have heard lots about you, meeting you in person is truly an honor.” the way he spoke so highly of you was flattering, it was almost too much. but all his praise leads back to the same question: how does he know you?

“it’s nice to meet you, but how do you know me exactly?” you ask, raising your brow. “you’re quite popular. my classmate neige had many things to say, i just had to meet you myself.” he chuckles, and suddenly it clicked. classmate? “you’re from rsa?”

“correct you are.” he chuckles. now it all made sense. he was surprisingly chatty, but not in an off putting way. it was actually nice having someone not stuffing their face anytime you tried to talk to them. however, your chatter and laughter caught the attention of a nearby redhead.

“riddle, calm down.” trey sighs, seeing as riddle grit his teeth from afar. “what are you on about, trey? i am perfectly calm.” unfortunately, riddle was not raised as a good liar. “just go up to them, im sure it’s fine.” the boy in glasses sighs, adjusting them so they don’t fall off his face.

“it’s rude to interrupt conversations, you know.” riddle frowns, crossing his arms. despite his attempts to act unbothered, his gaze would still find its way back to you. seven why must you do this to him?

maybe he should just go over there. why fight it if there’s nothing to gain but seething jealousy?

a slow song starts to play, students suddenly stopping and taking their partners to the floor. amias paused as well, looking to you with a small smile. “oh? prefect, shall we?” he holds his hand out to you, waiting for you to take it.

riddle, on the other hand, was not going to stand for that. “[MC].” riddle struts over, causing you to whip your head over in his direction. “riddle?”

“may i have this dance?” he puts a hand behind his back, bowing slightly while reaching out for you. “pardon?” amias interjects, looking to riddle then back at you. “i believe i had asked first.”

oh. taken aback by their sudden proposals, you had to take a moment to ensure this is reality and not some weird vivid dream you were apart of.

you hesitate for a moment before taking riddle’s hand. “im sorry amias..” you mumble, shooting him an apologetic look. “don’t be. maybe someday..” he trails off, watching as riddle led you to the dance floor.

“at least try to be more cautious around strangers, prefect. not all of them have good intentions.” he sighs, waltzing you around the ballroom. his movements were refined, not perfect but not imperfect either. he made sure not to step on your foot no matter how bad your dancing may be.

“oh come on, he wasn’t a bad guy. maybe you’re just jealous.” you laugh, his silence a clear enough answer for you. his cheeks were red, but it was far too endearing.

“i wouldn’t want to share this dance with anyone else, riddle.” you hold a firm grip on his hands as you spoke, unable to hide your own flustered expression in turn.

“..im happy to hear that, [MC]..”

❤️┊ACE TRAPPOLA˙∘✩

“you [MC]?”

you turn to find a short boy invading your personal space, taking a few steps back to get a clear view of him. “uhm.. yes? and you’re.?” you answer, confused. his outfit was a tad disheveled, like it was barely put together. there were wrinkles and folds in his suit, but he had an odd charm about him.

“alan. alan fletcher. upcoming star player for rsa’s basketball team.” he grins triumphantly, his expression almost cocky. “ohh, i have a friend in basketball!” you reply, making the boy flinch.

“what?! err i mean, i heard a lot about ya. popular dude from school talks about you sometimes.” he shrugs, like he was reading your mind. you were just about to ask how he knows you!

“well there’s not much to know about me.” you laugh awkwardly, fiddling with the ends of your sleeves.

“yeah right, you’re from a different world! cmon, talk about it! im curious. what’s different there?” he asks, leaning on the table. it’s been awhile since you’ve last got to talk about home. with all the chaos at nrc, you’ve almost forgotten you’re trying to look for a way back.

“i guess there are a few things.” you chuckle, causing the boys heart to flutter.

ace frowned from afar, an unfamiliar feeling of jealousy coming over him as he stared. “ACE, THATS WAY TOO MUCH PUNCH! STOP POURIN.” deuce yells, his cup overflowing and spilling onto the tablecloth.

ace looks to deuce. he was absentmindedly scooping punch into his cup without realizing it. “gah, we need napkins! professor crewel would kill us if he saw this.”

while deuce was fretting over the spill, rushing over for napkins or any cloth he can find to mask the spill, ace felt lost. has he always been this jealous over you? i mean, sure he’s given a few dudes the stink eye every now and then, but this felt different.

the song changed abruptly, everyone now finding a dance partner or stepping off the floor. alan looks at you, waiting for you to say something. you try to avoid his gaze, his stare beginning to grow unsettling.

breaking the silence, alan spoke. “hey, do you wanna—”

“yo! [MC]!” ace shouts, running over to you with a cheeky grin. “been lookin for ya. cmon, let’s dance!” he grabs your hand, pulling you towards the middle of the ballroom.

“what?! hey!” alan calls out for you, but by the time you turned around to apologize, he was already out of sight.

you frown at ace, to which he scoffs in return. “what?”

“that was a bitch move, ace.” you pinch his nose, causing him to wince in pain.

“OW! look, we can apologize later. shut up and dance for awhile!” he chuckles, spinning you around.

“thought you were gonna dance with deuce. you jealous?”

“..i said shut up dance.”

(deuce was pissed to see ace leave him with the stain but at least you’re having fun).

♠┊DEUCE SPADE∘˙✩

“are you the student with no magic?”

a boy in a tacky looking hat smiled at you, making you stare for awhile before finding his eyes. aside from his hat, his suit was quite.. eccentric. colorful, for sure. somehow it all tied together, but he would most definitely stand out in a crowd. “i am..” you nod slowly.

“the names thistle!” he grinned, holding his hand out. as you reach out to shake his hand, he pulls a rose out of his sleeve and hands it to you elegantly. somehow this guy reminds you of a certain somebody in pomefiore.. interesting.

“are you familiar with che’nya? i know he sneaks onto your campus at times.” he laughs.

“i see him at unbirthday parties. didn’t know he talked about me so often.” you chuckle, finding the thought flattering.

“he tells me you’re from another universe. care to talk about it?” he asks, resting his chin on his hand.

“hm.. to kill time i guess.”

deuce stared at you, his expression blank and empty. you were laughing and having a good time, he should be happy, right? why does his heart ache so much?

seeing you with a rose in hand and a huge smile on your face would be such a breathtaking sight if it weren’t for who was next to you.

ace took notice of deuce’s expression, or lack of thereof. he smirked and nudged him gently. “looks like the prefect is hot on the market.” Ace teased, a cocky grin on his face.

deuce shoots him a glare, suddenly frowning at his partner in crime. “shut up! they can talk to whoever they want! im not jealous.” he huffs, crossing his arms.

“i never said anything about jealousy. yeesh, lighten up.” ace holds his hands up in defense, backing away slowly. “if you’re really upset just go talk to em. im sure your presence is welcomed with open arms anyway.”

“you think so..?” deuce felt his eyes lighten up, his gaze averting back to you.

the ballroom crowded to the center, students finding their partners to dance to the slow rhythm. thistle looks at you, putting his hand out. before he can even ask, a loud shout from across the ballroom stops him in his tracks.

“[MC]!!” deuce sprints over, stopping in front of you while panting for breath.

“deuce?! where did you—”

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE WITH ME?” he asks in between breaths, eyes shimmering in a newfound confidence. realizing he sounded a little pushy, he finally regulates his breathing and asks once more.

“uhm— i meant uh.. may i have this dance.?” he holds his hand out, bowing slightly before you.

you look to thistle, he smiled and gestured for you to take deuce’s hand. before taking off, you mouth an apology before turning to deuce and bringing him to the center.

“you didn’t have to run, yknow. i would’ve turned him down anyway.” you laugh, noticing deuce’s stiff movements.

“s-sorry. i guess i was just scared.” his dancing was robotic, missing his steps constantly. he stepped on his foot, but you managed to pick up the slack.

“ah! sorry!” he mumbled an apology, to which you grin in return.

“don’t worry, we can work on your dancing together. how about next week?”

“r-really?”

“really. consider it a date.”

“A DATE?! oh, i mean— sure. sounds good!” despite deuce’s attempts to seem calm and collected, he couldn’t hide the dopey grin spread across his face.

♦┊CATER DIAMOND˙∘✩

“so it’s true! nrc does have a student without magic!”

a startling shout from your right catches you off guard, turning to meet a rabbit beastmen with a huge smile. he wasn’t really wearing a suit, more of a vest. it wasn’t buttoned up all the way, but you must say he had really nice hair. looked so smooth.. “uh, tadaa?”

“what’s your name?” he asks, looking at you intently. “what’s yours?” you asked in turn, putting a hand on your hip.

“woah, woah, i asked first didn’t i?”

“well you initiated the conversation.” you shrug.

“alright, alright. im timothy parker, and you are?”

“[MC], nice to meet you.”

“i’ve heard so much about you from a friend of mine! we should get to know each other! have you played 20 questions?” he was a quick talker, you barely had time to reply before he talked about something different.

“i think ive played before.” you recall, nodding your head. “cool! ill start then!”

cater watched you, two drinks in his hand held firmly within his grip. he wasn’t one for jealousy, but something about this guy doesn’t sit right with him. his expression was usually so well hidden, but he couldn’t hide his frown. riddle took notice of cater’s dismay and raises a brow.

“cater, the drink might spill if you hold the cup so tightly.” riddle sighs, catching the attention of the boy beside him. “whoopsies! sorry, riddle! got a little distracted, haha!” he tries laughing it off, but that only makes him less believable.

“is something bothering you?” riddle questions, crossing his arms while looking in the direction cater was staring at.

“nope! don’t worry about it, cay-cay is fine!” he gives riddle a wink before walking towards you with a smile. “[MC]! heyy!”

you turn to see cater approaching, flashing a smile before waving enthusiastically. “cater!” timothy looks over, his smile faltering slightly at the sight of a new face.

“timothy, cater, cater, timothy.” you introduce them to each other. both boys stay silent for a moment before breaking the silence with a few casual greetings and fake smiles.

“hii! names cater, [MC]’s bestie!” cater hands you a drink, to which you eagerly accept. “hello. im timothy.” he replies dryly, much different than the way he greeted you.

the conversation flowed normally, though you chose to ignore their obvious distaste for each others presence. such cheery guys choosing to hate each other instead of bond, it made you kinda sad.

the music shifts to a slow song, cater immediately looking at you with a smile. “[MC], wanna dance?” he asks before timothy could, not failing to see his frown. cater put out his hand, gesturing for you to take it.

you felt your cheeks warm up. you put your drink down to hold his hand as he takes you away from the snack bar.

“isn’t this fun!” he beams, waltzing around with you. “i should take a photo!”

“if you do, you should send it to me. we can have matching profile pics.” you laugh, twirling him around.

“that’s so cute! smile for the cam!” he holds his phone up, snapping a quick photo of you two together. he posts it quickly, putting a string of emojis on the caption before putting his phone away and spinning you both around the room.

your smile means the world to him. it always will.

he didn’t want a viral post, he just wanted to keep your smile preserved for all time.

♣️┊TREY CLOVER∘˙✩

“boo!”

you jump, turning to find a floating head beside you. that head looked familiar. “che’nya?”

“meow how’d you guess?” suddenly, in the blink of an eye his full body appeared. his outfit was definitely not up to dresscode, lots of patches stitched onto an already brightly colored vest. it does suit him, but it feels like you were flashbanged.

“just a hunch. did you need something?” you ask, only to be met with his usual catlike smile. che’nya looked somewhere, grinning mischievously before averting his attention back down at you.

“wanna see a trick?”

“uh, sure?” and with that, he pulls out a deck of cards. he gestures for you to take one before suddenly changing the deck into a full tea set.

laughing in amusement, trey couldn’t help his heart from singing. why did his damn friend need to tease him like that? he clenched his fist tightly, feeling a little embarrassed for being jealous like that.

“trey-trey, let’s take it down a notch! che’nya’s just playing!” cater reassures his friend, patting him on the shoulder. trey sighs, adjusting his glasses properly.

“i know.. i shouldn’t even be jealous. it’s not like we’re together or anything.” he laughs awkwardly, making cater tut in response.

“don’t you see the way they look at you? when they bake with you it’s more than just being a helping hand, yknow?” cater crosses his arms, causing trey to stiffen.

“huh?”

“enough chit-chattt, let’s go join their convo!” cater drags trey to the snack bar, actively ignoring his protests and obvious refusals.

the melodies of slow violin play across the ballroom, students around beginning to slow dance.

“now’s your shot! go!” cater shoved trey towards you with great force. trey nearly fell to his knees but he managed to find his balance before he embarrassed himself.

“GAH!”

che’nya smirks, pointing behind you. “what?”

“trey?!”

“[MC],” trey puts his hand out for you. “may i have this dance?” a small smile hinted at the corners of his lips, you swore butterflies began to erupt in your stomach.

“it’d be an honor.” you take his hand, leading him away to the middle of the floor.

trey was surprisingly good at slow dancing. much better than that time with the ghost bride. “taking dance lessons, clover?” you ask, laughing as he averts your eyes.

“i’d rather not humiliate myself for a second time, haha.” he chuckles, swaying you around.

“i was honestly a little jealous seeing you have a good time with che’nya.” he admits, in which you burst into laughter in return.

“whys that? im sure you know he was just playing?”

“you can never be too sure.”

“don’t worry trey, this dance was reserved for you.”

“that’s reassuring to hear..”

A/N: names for these NPCS were harder than the actual fic 💀💀💀

date published: 11/27/24

divider found here! ☆

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 11 hours ago

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book 7 part 11 thoughts! (nov 29th update)

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 PART 11 OF THE MAIN STORY!!*** This spans part 212 to part 226, focusing on Leona. Jack and Ruggie's parts can be seen here.

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

The gang lands in… Sunrise City again? Importantly, there is a new effect that plays which differentiates it from the Sunrise City of Ruggie’s dream. There are now dust and tumbleweeds.

Ruggie and Jack are totally fine with the turbulent flight over, since they’re used to bumpy rides on brooms while playing magift/spelldrive. Azul, however, is not doing so hot (because of the flight + weather). Ruggie takes pity on the poor octoboi and looks for a stall to buy him a cheap drink like tea or something. That’s when Ruggie notices something weird… the city is way more desolate than usual, and many of the stalls that are normally selling are no longer there or are closed up.

He tries to talk to some NPCs, but they notice he’s a hyena and hide out of fear. Well, that’s just… odd. So the group decides to scope out the palace (the most likely place Leona would be) to get to the bottom of things!

We arrive at the outskirts of the palace and the uh… coloring… is ominous.

Silver comments that they didn’t see any royal guards so the Sunset Savanna must be a very peaceful country :DD (… Oh, you poor, sweet, summer child…)

Ruggie tells him that no, this is definitely strange! Normally there would be many female guards around, in what world would it be easy to sneak into a palace undetected?! The current head of the royal guard is a female lion beastwoman, and most of the guards are females who are proud of their skill and strength. Many girls apparently do martial arts as children and then volunteer to be guards.

They come across some hyena beastmen who are laughing loudly. Their garb is that of Sunset Warriors, who, if you recall from Tamashina Mina/Cloudcalling on the Savanna, is a title that is highly coveted + honorable and earned through winning a Cat the Tail/Bead Brawl tournament (that people often train hard for). But these NPCs aren’t honorable or even that skilled to begin with, so Ruggie senses something is WAY wrong.

The NPCs become darkness (it seems the dreams are becoming a lot more actively aggressive in the Savanaclaw segments) and we beat them up.

The guards chase us but Idia uses his Mad Gamer Skills to hack open a door and then lock it so they cannot pursue us. We overhear some shouting and…!

OH MY GOSH… Kifaji finally gets s voice?!!?!?! He’s pleading with someone to take action because the country is starving.

We sneak over to the throne room (which looks frighteningly similar to that one scene where Scar is lounging on rocks which poor Zazu is caged)… AnD YUP TheRE GE iS 😭 LEONA THE pRINcE (KINg) OF sUNSET SaqvCANNA)

AD BfsvkugvukevuylFI GOYQELGQEGIOYOG7QEOfwp9FFG9Fw HORYKAM AFDK DFHBLAGIOEYEQOGAGENNAGOUIAG OOTL THAT KLSOoKKS NICE AFN HADBLADBIHLDBIADGBIADGIOYGOVUEGYAIOAGABHIG KFDGSBHJDGBHLAGBIAGEIBGE PLEA DSN SE DREES LIEK THOA T LMORE PODFTNETN DFSBKLAFJAFBHLGBIUPAGIVYAAPIDMK OT AS;OBUGDAIYOADGYIADGOVIYAGOIEGPBIQEG

[Brain buffering...]

SORRY WHERE WAS I

Kifaji mentions that Leona’s father has passed from illness, and tragedy befell his older brother, Falena, and his family (I assume Cheka and the wife are also out of the picture??) so Leona has now succeeded him. In this dream, Leona claims to have “cleaned up” the slums, pushed development, and mined the hell out of the country. They made a lot of money, but… at the cost of ignoring the advice of his advisors + the public’s opposition and destroying their environment.

Leona says he won’t listen to those who cling to old customs. Kifaji admits that Leona’s plans to improve the country were innovative but still…! This is too much. He tries to get Leona to see reason by reminding Leona that people AREN’T like chess pieces. People are so different and can work in ways you may not want them to. As king, Leona HAS to understand that and work with them regardless. Unfortunately, Leona refuses to acknowledge anyone but himself as competent.

Apparently those guards from earlier were the result of Leona giving jobs to people because they needed it. Leona being Leona, however, never gave them proper training and demands that Kifaji handle that.

OH MAn 💀 They hear shouting and it seems like there is a protest outside??

Dream!Ruggie is leading a crowd. He says stuff like how Falena was a better ruler than Leona ever was. They want food, they want nature back; they don’t want a king.

LMAOv???!!?!!?,) NOT LEONA GOING “damn, if they hate it here so much then they should just leave”????? 😭 THIS IS EXACTLY WhaT OUT OF tOUCH RICH poLITICIANs SAy WHEN PEopLE XOMPLaaiN AbOUT THEiR POLICiES

Leona orders Kifaji to shut up the protestors, he can’t nap like this 💀 Some things never change, I guess…

Ruggie takes them to the same luxury hotel we stayed at for the Tamashina Mina event (he expects Idia to pay for them lmao). It looks like not even this fancy place has any ingredients left though…

Idia retreads what he said in book 6; isn’t Leona the type to realize he’s in a dream? Yet he is deeply immersed in it. Silver wonders why Leona dreams of terrible things happening (like tragedy upon his family and the people hating him) if this dream is meant to be happy. Idia suggests that this is because Leona’s dream is like a sandbox game; ie Leona is “playing around” with the possibility it provides and clearly seems to be aware of the consequences that come with it (hence the terrible things Silver mentioned earlier). So maybe he’s catastrophizing…?

cbjsvsjwkw They talk about midnight snacking for a bit??

Idia talks about procedural generation and how the dream has to accommodate + load new maps as the player shifts around. But Leona doesn’t do that??? So it’s impressive or something cbsbbskskw I could be misunderstanding this part, I don’t know how tech stuff works 💦

They brainstorm some way to take away the king’s authority… and decide to use Cheka!! Ortho downloads a 3D model from Styx and Ruggie uses his UM to puppet it!

They try to break through the protestors and things get violent 😔 ashbfbiadiab LIKE ONE FO THE GUARDS HIT A MOM AND WAS ABOUT TO HIT YUU TOO BUT GOOD BOY SILVER PROTECTS US

Sebek, Silver, and Azul fight off the hyena guards while Ortho, Ruggie, Yuu, and Grim ride on Jack’s (wolf form) back to charge in. We finally get the incantation for Unleash Beast!! “Faster, sharper, stronger! Unleash Beast!”

Inside the palace, Leona demands meat and such from Kifaji. When Kifaji tells him there is none, Leona says go outside and get it 😭 THEN HE tHRETEnS TO FRY AnD EWT KIFAJI?????? AnD tHEN HE GRIPS KIFAjI BY THE cOLLAR WhEN HE SAYS FaLEnAmS nAmR… GIRL… YOU DiD NOT…

Ruggie barges in pretending to be Cheka (with a really dumb voice LOL). But Leona clocks him right away and dispels the hologram. He accuses Ruggie of pretending to be Cheka to start a revolution and declares that this is punishable by death.

Kifaji protects us!! He uses fire to stop Leona’s attack, confirming him as a mage too. (That’s the first time the “darkness” in the dream has gone out of its way to help us rather than hinder us. Ortho suggests it is because the dreamer’s interpretation of the characters is important; the is could lead them to prioritizing their own behaviors rather than focusing on eliminating threats to the dream.) W AH 😭 Dream!Kifaji says he wishes for Leona to wake up from this bad dream…

Leona ran away in the brawl and is now outside the palace. He stews around and mutters that it isn’t his fault, so why did things turn out like this?

The hyena guards show up and pull Leona deeper into the dream. We of course leap in after him!!

Aaaaaand HERE WE ARE, a reality in which Leona and co. were successful in trampling Malleus or something... CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE how he gloats about his stupid ass plan that would NOT actually work irl. THANKS FOR REMINDNING ME ABOUT HOW CRAP BOOK 2 WAS, OJITAN... Azul has a moment where he laments that he had nooooo idea Leona would abuse the potion they made a deal over like this. He worries that Leona would have been too cocky and started taking out top performing students as well as athletes in order to pad out Savanaclaw's future in various fields.

AW JACKKKKK 😭 He says he can't stand aside and just watch this; the Leona-senpai he knows wouldn't be satisfied winning some fake game. Even when he has accomplished everything he wanted to, Leona isn't satisfied--so they've gotta snap him out of it!! aehjfaboboafevwtvaegp PUPPY... HE CARES SO MUCH ABOUT HIS DORM LEADER, AAAAAH

We confront Leona, with Azul claiming to have saved the Diasomnia team from his machinations. Leona notices there are two Ruggies and he starts to have that splitting 'I'm noticing things are off here" headache.

The Savanaclaw mobs start shouting and demanding to know what we did to "our king". DBHLFVLFEVIYOEAIAFE JACKGETS MAD AND SAYS LEOAN ISN'T "YOUR KING" HE'S "OUR DORM LEADER"!!!!! AAAAAAAHHAHAHHHHHAHHHHH H HHAHAHAHSH H HA HAHAHAHHHH H HHHHHHH H OTL

Leona wakes up and is a little prima donna about ita sdhlbaidbafa HE TELLS THEM TO WAKE HIM UP MORE DLEICATELY NEXT TIME... BITCH YLIKE YOU AHVE ANY RIGHT TO BE MAKING DEMANDS RIGHT NOW

Darkness, enter~ The group escapes it adgkhfihblffia BUT SEBEK SAYS DLEONA DESERVES THIS AND SILVER HAS TO STOP AND SCOLD HIM FOR SAYING THAT

Ruggie got caught and is now being sucked into the darkness. Leona runs back to grab him despite Ruggie's pleas to just run LH FABYOAFAEGAEG raARE WE GETITNGF TRI GELLA S ARE WE GETITNG GOOD LEADER BIG BRO L*ONA SAN WHO WON'T ABANDON HIS MINIONS EVER?a?? ? ?? ? ?????????? ?? ??? ? OTL The others warn Jack not to run over too, but he shouts that Leona and Ruggie-senpai are back there...

Leona throws Ruggie at Jack (who catches him) but falls into the darkness as a result. Welp, time to dive in after him!

ADFHBASBIYSAASD OKAY EHRE'S THE CRINGE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR... Leona sees his OB self moping about how he'll never be king. aiubafpdasbas OB LEONA TALKS ABOUT HOW HE WANTS TO THROW FALENA AND CHEKA OFF A CLIFF A LA SCAR STYLE...

Leona says it's pathetic seeing himself like this, doesn't he have any pride? If he keeps complaining that no one understands him, keeps looking down on others, keeps desiring approval... That's just so miserable.

He does what the other OB boys have done and proceeds to punch his Phantom into the dirt. Leona tells himself that he'll get his "own throne and country someday". (As has been alluded to many times before, this doesn't refer to a literal kingdom but a metaphorical one; ie he will try to find satisfaction through routes other than the crown.)

Leona returns back to his original dream, where it has started to rain and the sun has come out. Kifaji runs up to him with the morning report and reminds his prince that everything the light touches is his domain.

Leona says it’s unnecessary and someone like him doesn’t have a claim to the throne. To this, Kifaji smiles and praises Leona for being so clever OTL HE DOESn’T GET MAd anD TRY TO gET LEOnA TO SlEEP AgAiN… "So you've finally noticed [...] that this is a dream. As expected of you. my king." WHAT SO DREAM!kIFAJI KNEW ALL ALONG????? WAS THSI A PEICE OF LEONA'S CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WAS AWARE AND DECIDED TO MANIFEST AS KIFAJI TO SAVE HIS OWN ASS?????? ? ? ?? ?? ????

LMAOOOO Leona says if he ever becomes king irl he is firing Kifaji ASAP (but we all know he won’t 😭). Using King’s Roar, Leona renders his fake kingdom to sand… and Kifaji looks on so proudly 😭 telling Leona to go to “the place where he should be”… 😭 YOu’RW KIDDIng ME EiGHTvvvvv’nnnnn’nnnM!!!????

Leona reunited with the group and… WHOA, new Jack crying sprite?!?!?! (Like a tsun, he insists he is not.)

He thinks about the noble Leona in his own dream… and how terrible his senpai are irl… but Jack says he prefers the real Ruggie and Leona any day. He’s so happy they woke up him.

NUUUUUUuUyyUuUUUUUU 😭 RUGGIe - AnD LEOn a COMFORT CryING JACKKkKKKKKKKKKKK

After that, Ortho explains everything to Leona and Leona gloats a little about how he always thought Malleus would go and do something dumb like this. When Ortho invites Leona to join their party, Leona says he passes and would rather nap. He claims he’s exhausted cuz he saw sooo many unpleasant nightmares, so he’ll wait here ‘til everyone is ready to punch Malleus. Azul can handle things for him.

But then Ortho points out that Ruggie, Jack, and especially Azul took a lot of damage in his dream. Azul is battered quite a bit because he was busy dispatching royal guards! This guilts Leona enough for him to change his mind and join us.

Aaaand that’s if for this update!

Mmm... Part of me feels validated because many of the ideas I proposed in this analysis of Leona vs Falena's ruling styles were showcased in Leona's dream. For example, Leona disregarded public opinion, prioritized development without considering the input of advisors, and everyone grew to resent him because of that. When Tamashina Mina first came out, a common sentiment was siding with Leona and declaring that his plans would better the country + he would make a much better king that Falena when, clearly, development is a very delicate and not-so-easy thing to achieve... I'm glad that Twst took a realistic approach to this. That’s not to say I think Leona would really be a shit ruler or that things would get as bad as they do in his dream. I just don’t think he’s prepared to handle that presently. It’s good that he’s now focusing on graduating and he applied for that internship that will bo doubt help him gather the knowledge and skills he needs to help his country. If he keeps working hard, I’m sure he can be the sort of person that brings the rain to the savanna.

I thought the idea to pretend to be Cheka and return to claim the throne was interesting, but ultimately it went nowhere since Leona immediately knew it was a fake. This felt more like an excuse to have Ruggie and Jack use their mouse mandated UMs for the dream segments... I wish they had actually done more with this. Maybe I'm biased because I think Ruggie's fake Cheka voice was hilarious www

There were TONS of Lion King references in this dream, HOLY CRAP. AND LEMME TELL YOU, IW AS SLURPING IT ALL UP. Not because I like the movie (I think it's alright), BUT BECAUSE I'M AN AVID ZAZU X SCAR SHIPPER... (They're peak enemies to lovers, don't @ me) OTL (TO BE CLEAR THOUGH, I DO NOT SHIP LEONA AND KIFAJI. Please don't mix them up!!)

Speaking of Zazu and Scar!! It was cool to see Kifaji in the dream...! His role was so refreshing too. I loved that he wasn't actually hostile, protected us, and actively wanted Leona to "wake up" from this bad dream. I think that's so reflective of the real Kifaji too... He's stern on Leona but it's only because he cares for Leona's wellbeing and wants to see him at his best, not constantly brooding over what he cannot have. And the fact that dream!Kifaji knew all along it was a dream and wished so hard for Leona to wake from it... it implies to me that, for all the shit Leona slings at Kifaji, he actually relies on the old guy as a source of comfort. Kifaji was probably his one and only friend in the palace and one of the few people who continued to believe in him... BEST BIRD GRANDPA, HANDS DOWN.

I'm sliiiightly disappointed that Leona wasn't awake the entire time; this definitely felt like a missed opportunity but at least Idia addressed what he said back in book 6 and provided a reason for it (even if I think the reason is flimsy). This might be cope on my part, but I think... part of Leona's self-awareness came through in how dream!Kifaji manifested. Maybe, just maybe... that Kifaji is the one shred of hope Leona has left for himself... Not just the part of him that knows this is a dream, but also the part of him that believes he can change and be a truly "good" ruler... AGAIN, PROBABLY COPE BUT LET ME DREAM.

Another character I felt really shone this update (besides Kifaji) was JACK. This shocks me because I don't really like him as a character but MAN, did he shine... He was the one who noticed Leona is unhappy even within his own dream where he has everything he could ever want. He's the one who shouts at the dream!mobs that Leona isn't THEIR king, he's HIS dorm leader. ANKDBHLADBILAIBA ASND THEN HE CRIED AND GOT ALL TSUNDERE ABOUT IT... THE SENPAI RUSHED TO COMFOR T HIM AJKDHAKHAFVAFVOEFUQEFTLFIHAFLEFWTUEOFIYPAFOB THAT WAS ADORABLE!!!! 😭😭😭 This update and the last really showed me Jack's true appeal...

asbkhlabiylfailyveioyqegi I LOVE HOW HTHSJ UPADATE JUST ENDS WITH ELONA SAYING HE'S GOING TO FUCKING TAKE A NAP... but then he gets off his ass and joins us after everyone reminds him how tired the others are and how hard his underclassmen worked to get through to him. HE'S REALLY NOT BEAITN GHT E "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE KIDS BUT I SECRETLY DO CARE ABOUT THE KIDS" ALLEGATIONS . CVL;,SKJ'NGD;OBGDBIEGIFQWVGUEQVQE UQEO YFy vao ygFWOI Vf OTL

Not sure if I 100% get why this part had to be update separate of Ruggie and Jack’s part…? I mean, Kifaji helping us out and Leona having some amount of self-awareness was nice but I don’t think it was major enough to warrant waiting another week to see.

Next up is Heartslabyul which is in early December. It’s coming up quickly!

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