ioculus | tl;cr!

Leon Kuwata | Dangan Ronpa |

PUNK BUDDIES?? punk buddies

I think I just accidentally did some thing to your journal when that hover menu popped up oops

PUNK BUDDIES! They should hang out outside of crazy CERES drama. Leon's dude friends in Cerealia tend to not be much like himself, and he still loves them, but sometimes he just can't relate or finds himself needing to explain things he takes for granted, and it's weird. He's getting used to everyone he talks to being completely outside of his social circle norm. So he's kind of relieved whenever he ends up chatting with Yusuke and it's like, holy shit, a modern day dude my age who isn't some weird socially awkward nerd? He used to have more friends like that here, but all of them left, and he misses the dynamic—so he's interested in getting to know Yusuke as a friend. He seems to have his shit together when it comes to his feelings on CERES and this whole situation, too, so that's also a plus. He really needs to just brodate him sometime to get to know each other better because he seems like a cool dude who would be a good friend.

:) my asscracked saved u im sure

yes thank u Saber

Saber like . . . moreso than anyone else in group four, Leon has no idea what to make of her. She never presented as a "normal person" from the very beginning, unlike the others, who all kind of started out as relatable people and then suddenly busted out magical powers. SABER IS SABER. She's crazy and out there and dramatic and it was very obvious from the first minute that she wasn't a normal person. And that only got confirmed throughout the event. It's hard for him to even imagine something like talking to her as a friend one on one. But he's curious about her now, of course. He's impressed with and grateful to her for taking care of him during the interlude, and while he's kind of out of it and numb concerning her death, he's fucked up over it, and he probably needs to talk to her again to work out those feelings and express them anyway. It all just happened so fast and so unbelievably that the shock never wore off. But even though she's obviously some crazy wacky non-human, she helped him, and she's cute, and she seems like she might be fun, so he definitely wants to follow up with her now.

!!!

!!! ♥

Leon is just really consistently grateful to have Kirigiri around, pleasantly surprised by how supportive she is, and happy to interact with her. He spent a lot of his first couple months in Cerealia waiting for the other shoe to drop with his castmates, feeling like all of the unaddressed issues were going to bite him in the ass someday, or that he was being played somehow, on some level. And those issues are still there lurking, but he's over that hurdle now at least; he genuinely believes Kirigiri cares about him and forgives him, in all but his very worst moments. It's a surprise to him. Sometimes he doesn't know how to feel about it, because it's not an easy situation and he's never really talked to her about it before. He doesn't know how. But the more time they spend just together, whether it's having fun or coping with whatever CERES is throwing at them, the more he comes to trust her. It not only loosens the hold those issues have on him, but it makes him more confident that if he ever does address them someday, he won't be burning bridges with her. He can't stand the thought of burning that bridge.

Kirigiri is someone he can go to who understands certain things without needing to be told, and even if those circumstances are really unfortunate, he still values that. He probably trusts her the most of anyone in Cerealia. His classmates get an automatic trust boost because they're the only people who know every terrible thing about him and what he's done and their world and have decided to accept him anyway; no one else has been through that with him, so he can never be sure that anyone else wouldn't turn their backs on him. But Kirigiri and Togami haven't, and between the two of THEM, Kirigiri is the one he's known longer, understands better, is more comfortable with, and trusts more. It doesn't mean things are completely okay and straightforward between them, but it means a whole lot to him.

He really really likes her and is interested in her, and he's thrilled that she's agreed to little things like coffee dates and lets him hold her hand. She's so straight-faced and understated that he has trouble gauging how much she actually likes him, and whether she's attracted to him . . . but he figures they can cross that bridge when they come to it. If she's not, she'll let him know, and he'll be glad to have a friend like her that he can trust and who understands. If she is, then WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HELL YEAH SMOKING HOT GIRL LIKES ME AWESOME SHE'S SOOOOO CUTE WHEN SHE SMILES AND LAUGHS AND

(stuff like that)

But of course there are still complications. He's beginning to grow more confidence that they can someday work them out, though, and he's grateful for that.

Let's hear it!

WILLIAM MY BRO. Of course William isn't the kind of guy Leon would have expected to be one of his best friends, or really probably his very best friend, in the colony, and yet here they are. They're very different people, but the thing is, Leon doesn't mind that as long as the other person doesn't give him any shit for it (at least, in any way other than typical playful ribbing, and even that he sometimes gets jumpy about if he's in a Mood). He's totally in favor of comparing different life experiences and interests as long as he doesn't feel looked down upon for it. And William is good at striking the balance between being different, and being snarky about it, but still being respectful and treating Leon as an equal that he genuinely likes. That's really all Leon asks for in a friend, and so their dynamic works out well. He likes people who will listen to him and have stupid conversations with him and trade banter without him feeling like he has to perform for them; it's relaxing and a relief. He feels pretty confident about having that with William, so he likes and trusts him all the way.

William is the easiest person to come to with Issues, too, and Leon appreciates that a lot. He hasn't yet regretted letting William in on something. It's interesting because William doesn't know as much about Leon as some other people in the colony do, but the stuff he does know, Leon told him willingly, which is extremely important. Some other people know things like the exact details of Leon's death and even now what he did to deserve it, but he didn't want those people to know that stuff. They saw them in memories without consent, or else they're canonmates who were there for it. William is the first person he actually made the decision to tell he was dead, for no other reason than that he trusted him with the information and wanted him to know. He's also the only person Leon would go to with things like sexual questioning lol. Everyone needs a friend they can talk to about their problems, and William is that friend for Leon. Leon wants to be that friend back for him, too. He trusts William to be the kind of guy who will listen and react normally—not betraying Leon by turning on him or making fun of him or whatever, but not being some weirdly perfect all-accepting angel either. It's comfortable and he's really grateful he has him.

Leon's first impressions and thoughts on Veronica??

Veronica is another weird one for Leon. Not in a bad way; he appreciates her as a friend very much, even if he doesn't exactly Get her. It's funny because Leon, theoretically, is really into pure-hearted "good" girls; it's his self-stated Type, and it's part of why he was attracted to her in the first place (that and her being drop-dead gorgeous). But back home, when he was doing a lot of dating and sleeping around, Leon didn't always take much time to get to know the girls he was with. He was extremely casual in his approach to women and pretty shallow in his perception of people in general. Now in Cerealia he can't get away with that so much (because he never meets girls here who are actually interested in no-strings-attached sex), so he's doing a lot more getting to know of the girls he likes. And with Veronica, what he's discovering is that sometimes a girl can be Too Good. Too pure. Too cinnamon roll. He likes her a lot, but he has trouble reconciling how "perfect" she seems sometimes—she really does remind him of an angel or something, and it turns out angels are hard to relate to! Not in a way where he doesn't like her or talking to her; he does, and he wants to keep getting to know her. But it's easy for her to confuse him with how good-hearted and guileless and sweet she is. (Leon himself is pretty guileless and up-front, so it's interesting to have him thrown off by the same thing in someone else. They have very different styles of bluntness.)

His conversation with her about Angelo (not that he knows it was Angelo) was interesting for him too, in that it made him think about things he'd never thought about from a woman's perspective before. That was an important thing for him, and it made him worry about her; he'd definitely go out of his way to stand up for her or protect her now. He would have anyway, because she was so good to him during the mirror event and he feels like she deserves it for that—but now there's this weighing on his mind too. He really hopes she will be okay in Cerealia and not get taken advantage of by anyone skeevy. Yikes.

Leooooon and Rise ofc

RISEEEEEEEE

I'll start by saying that when Leon first meets people, he tends to perceive them pretty shallowly at first. Not in a bad way exactly; it's just the same kind of thing everyone does when they have limited information to go on about a new person. In Rise's case, the first real lasting impression he had of her was as a symbol, which happened the third time they spoke. The first time she was just a hot girl, which leaves an impression on him, but he wasn't particularly more inclined to her than any number of other hot girls. The second time was during the mirrors event, which was a traumatic blur to him, and his feelings about all that were initially pretty self-focused. But then she contacted him to check up on him after the mirror thing, and that was really, really important to him—that's when he kind of latched on to her, though still more as a concept than a person. She was like, A SYMBOL OF HOPE in his life—she was proof that he was "allowed" to be vulnerable and have awful things happen to him and it didn't make him offputting or pathetic or disgusting. That was something he'd been struggling with for ages, and he still kind of does, but it's a lot easier now for him to convince himself that it's okay to open up to people a little or share negative things with them without them thinking he's a freak or a "downer" or "broken" or anything like that. Rise was one of the people who did that for him most powerfully.

So for a while he was eager to hang around her for that reason: she proved to him that a pretty, sweet girl could know some darker things about him and see him having serious problems and still think he was worth being around. But of course the longer you hang out with someone, the more you actually get to know them as a person, and that's what happened between the two of them. Leon doesn't see her as a symbol or a beacon of hope anymore; he sees her as a human being and a good friend of his, and potential romantic interest. He knows what she's like now! He likes what she's like! She's genuinely fun and makes him happy to be around, and he cares deeply about her and all the time they spend together. He would take care of her in any way he could, which is like, not much compared to everyone else she knows, but hey he'd try. He can at least be emotional support.

His sexual/romantic interest in her has definitely not faded any with getting to know her, but their relationship outside of that is really important to him. Leon is definitely not the kind of guy who'd ever decline to sleep with anyone for fear of ruining a friendship lol, but if she turned him down for good in any sense, he would deal with it and move on from those feelings and still want to maintain the close friendship they have. He's cool with that. But of course, unless that happens, he is definitely still hoping/aiming for something to happen between them someday, and is hopeful that maybe she likes him back??? Hope springs eternal.

I want you to know that everything about this comment hurts me now because of their stupid mem-sharing thread DX

Leon on Usagi? Since their fun robot dino romp through the sewers?

Usagi is still an enigma to Leon, or maybe more accurately, now she's an enigma. When they first briefly met on the network, he liked her immediately, because it doesn't take much to make Leon like someone, especially if they're a girl: she was cute and she seemed like a typical, normal, pretty girl who doesn't like school/homework. He can relate to that. So his impression of her was positive. And then they ended up in the sewers together, and for the whole first bit he related to her there too, because he thought she was the only other "normal" person in the group. But of course it turned out she wasn't! And that kind of turned his impression of her on its head, and he hasn't worked it out yet. He hasn't really had time to cope with those feelings. It doesn't actually change anything, and he'll realize that pretty quick as soon as they follow up and thread again; he's got plenty of friends with powers, he doesn't care! But her going from someone he was considering "like him" to someone who was actually "like them" (the others in the group) was a shock in an already shocking situation, and he hasn't worked out in his head yet quite where she fits. His impression is still very positive, just . . . in a pretty different way than he thought at first.

Haa. Poor confused Leon. But Usagi canonically is the last person most anyone would actually expect to be Sailor Moon so. It works. I'm sure in time he'll reconcile the two impressions easily enough. I think if anything she would prob message him and the others from the interlude group to keep it on the down low. But now he knows.

AAAAAYYYY

Athena IS A BRO! A KIND OF WEIRD. Bro. He loves her and values her but she is definitely weird; he still can't really figure aspects of her out. She's like a whirlwind! A force of nature! But then sometimes she's embarrassed about things and worries way too much?! She's a genius but also kinda sheltered about some stuff! And so on. She's a person of contrasts, and Leon is never sure what he's going to get out of her. But he likes her and appreciates her friendship, and he wants to keep being friends. HE SUPPORTS HER AND MERLIN and hopes she makes a move and gets the D. (Not that he knows who Merlin is. He needs to find that out and meet him at some point.) He's been able to tell for ages that she wasn't actually into him (Leon) even though she never said no to his advances and even agreed to dates and stuff, so in a way it's a relief to have her dating someone else and to not have to think about that anymore; the more he gets to know her the less attracted he is to her anyway, which sounds insulting but is not. (It's just that she's not actually his type. Though he still thinks she's hot.) So he won't hit on her again even if something happens with her and Merlin, though that doesn't mean he won't still compliment her and stuff. Because she IS still hot. But he's totally fine and kinda relieved to be in the friend zone now forever and now they can have dumb conversations and it's great.

hey. there

hey there trash asshole

Leon's thoughts on Togami form an interesting kind of dichotomy in his own head that he doesn't even really think about himself. I think it was in a recent thread with Rise where he consciously thought of Togami as "a friend he barely even gets along with sometimes" and that's not inaccurate. He does think of Togami as a friend, but he's . . . a high-maintenance friend. An Effort friend. Leon's used to putting (way too much) effort into his relationships to try and make people like him, but the effort he puts into his relationship with Togami is more like "make sure we don't rip each other's heads off." "Make him like me" doesn't even enter into it. He's Togami, he doesn't like shit. (There was another thread with William where William was like "maybe he cares for you more than you think in his stunted prissy way" and Leon's reaction to that was also kind of like LOL NAH BRO P. SURE NOT.)

That kind of makes things both harder and easier. It's not that it's easy to hang out with someone so insulting, where the two of you constantly step on each other's toes because it turns out that happens when someone hyper-defensive starts hanging out with someone hyper-offensive. WEIRD RIGHT? But there's another sense in which it's a relief. It ties into the same trust Leon has for his classmates in Cerealia as a group: they're the ones who know everything about what happened, and yet here they are talking to him anyway, plotting with him, trusting him, and so there's a strong sense of relief that there is absolutely no chance they can ever find out his ~darkest secrets~ and decide to cut ties with him. Because they already know, and they haven't. Togami is one of those people, but similarly—he already blatantly insults Leon and looks down on him. He already talks shit about him and attempts to exploit him. And yet he hangs out with him anyway, and they even manage to have fun together sometimes playing games or just being comforted by silent not-being-alone. It's a strange kind of relief to have a "friendship" where you're already kind of at rock bottom, and all you really need to focus on is not ripping each other to pieces, because that's the only way to sink lower, lol. He doesn't have to worry about looking cool in front of Togami because 1. you can't impress Togami Byakuya and 2. Togami Byakuya is a fucking nerd loser and not really worth impressing anyway

Consciously, anyway. It's not like he's completely devoid of the desire to look good in front of him and even be praised by him. It's just that it's not a conscious obsession as it sometimes is with Leon when he's invested in someone liking him.

He is also just really relieved to have him around. That he is consciously obsessed with. I forgot to mention this in Kirigiri's reply, but Leon is deeply unsettled by the idea of all of his classmates disappearing and leaving him the sole representative of his world in Cerealia, for various existential reasons. He's down to two now, and if either of them left, he'd be extremely upset. So just being around them is a relief in and of itself, even if it's just sharing the same space. There's some comfort in their mere presence.

So the dichotomy that exists in their relationship is the "eh yeah I guess he's my friend, he's kind of a shitty friend, you wouldn't like him, he's a total asshole loser and hard to be around, we fight a lot" which is all stuff Leon will say to people 100% earnestly without any hesitation—and "he's comforting to be around and I totally trust him and we've been through a lot together, I'd protect him and take care of him however was necessary" which is also 100% true, though less likely to come out casually, lol. They've had enough moments though where Leon was just really fucking glad to have him around in whatever sense that he does have a conscious understanding of it, though.

Unlike Togami, he does genuinely like him, but kind of in the way where you like a mean elderly cat who hisses at you and pees on your stuff but you can't help but be attached anyway. (you don't sleep with the cat though)

tl;cr!

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THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE MURDERGATE THREAD FTR

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