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via-rant · 7 months

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Pt. 1

"Hey Leo?" Jason started and Leo looked away from his food he was stabbing multiple times. "Yeah?"

"Whens your birthday?" It's a normal question. A question anyone who didn't grow up running around cared about.

"Yeah. I think you're the only persons birthday we haven't celebrated." Piper added and Leo answered honestly, going back to eating his eggs.

"Oh. I don't know." Saying they were speechless was an understatement.

"You don't... know?" Percy asked as if it's the most unbelievable thing in the world and Leo stopped eating to look at them with a raised a brow.

"Yeah? I don't know, as in, I don't remember."

"Who doesn't remember their birthday?" Annabeth asked and Leo shrugged.

"Lots of people."

"You know lots of people who don't remember their birthday?" She pushed.

"Not personally but yeah. Met lots of them. Orphanages don't really care for that kind of stuff. So many kids we'd have a party every other week."

"What about foster homes? They had to have done something right?" Frank wondered out of pure curiosity.

"What is this? An intervention? Look, it doesn't matter. I forgot, I forgot, not a big deal."

"Dude, of course it is. That's the day you were born!" Percy exclaimed but Leo just shrugged.

"So?" Everything froze. It was such a simple word but held so much meaning. Oh...

When he realized what he said he just got up and left, not wanting to be questioned anymore.

"I'll be back." Nico said Shadow Traveling away.

------

"Oh, hello. What can I help you with?"

"Hi so I'm one of your sons friends and I was wondering when his birthday is?"

"You know my son?"

"Yes?"

"Is-is he okay? Is he safe?"

"Yes, yes, he's safe. He's at Camp."

"Camp?! But what about outside of it?! Does he have somewhere to stay when he gets out?! I..." He admired how much she loved him. Her voice was like applesauce, a little scratchy but mostly smooth and calming.

"Woah hey. It's okay. He's safe. Camp is a year-round place. He has a plan."

"He does?"

"Yes." He assured and she nodded wiping her tears.

"Lo siento, I've just been so worried."

"I completely understand ma'am. But we do only have ten minutes."

"Alright. Now what was the question?"

"When his birthday is."

"It's July, 7th. But why couldn't you ask him?" He told her what happened and she fell to her knees.

"Oh cariño, lo siento mucho. Debería haber estado allí."

"Ms. Valdez, you have nothing to be sorry for. You couldn't help it, people die."

"Oh, lo sé, lo sé. I just... was he at least safe? After I died?"

"Wish I could say yes." He said sadly and she sobbed. He held her.

"But he's safe now. We're taking care of him. I promise." He couldn't imagine being in her shoes. Being dead, hearing that your son is alive after all these years and finding out he hasn't been safe since, in any means.

"And he is such a wonderful guy. He's so funny, and kind, and selfless, and smart." She pulled away to wipe her tears.

"He was always the charmer." She said with a knowing smirk and he blushed.

"You know?"

"The whole underworld knows about you liking boys. I never thought it'd be with my son but if he's your type..." She said wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh! No, we're not a thing. I just... really like him. Ugh..." He said covering his face and she laughed. Loud and unpredictable. Just like Leo.

"Well. I think you should tell him." She suggested and he shrugged. "Maybe one day."

"Gracias. I haven't felt this relaxed in forever. I should really take Emily up for that spa one day." She said and Nico smiled.

"Aye, I apologize. You should probably get back."

"Um... yeah..."

"Before you do, could you tell him something?"

"Yes, of course."

"Tell him it's not his fault. And I love him. More than he could ever know." Nico nodded with a small smile.

"Of course." Then she did something unexpected. She kissed his forehead.

"You're an angel." She disappeared and he stood there in stunned silence before smiling again. Now to talk to Leo.

-------

@moa-broke-me @thatgaydemigodnerd @im-always-lost-in-a-book @starlightshadowsworld @cabin12kid @stillcarmine

(Please lmk if you want me to take your tag off.)

#leo valdez #jason grace #nico di angelo #percy jackson #annabeth chase #piper mclean #frank zhang #hazel levesque #hoo #heros of olympus #reyna avila ramirez arellano #valdangelo #percabeth #esperanza valdez #rosa valdez

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nepobabyeurydice · 6 months

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Esperanza Valdez & Rosa Valdez, Calypso & Leo Valdez Characters: Leo Valdez, Rosa Valdez, Calypso (Percy Jackson), Elena Valdez, Carlos Valdez, Leo Valdez's Grandmother Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Leo Valdez Needs a Hug, Calypso Still Has Her Magic, Family Drama, Intergenerational Trauma, Sammy Valdez’s Ranch (Percy Jackson), Terminal Illnesses, Wordcount: 100-2.000, Victim Blaming, rosa and ximena blame leo for his moms death Series: Part 20 of a one-shot by any other name Summary:

“Esperanzita’s boy,” Tío Concho grunts. He reaches out to ruffle Leo’s hair but Leo steps away and Calypso holds a hand between them.

Rosa Valdez is dying and Leo goes to see her one last time with Calypso there to mediate. It goes better and worse than expected.

#a one shot by any other name #my writing #leo valdez #calypso #rosa valdez #fanfiction #fanfic #heroes of olympus #🪨.link #a oneshot by any other name is which we call a fic

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unafangirlacaso · 8 months

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!!WARNINGS!! Spoilers e troppi "anche se","perché se","quindi"...

Detesto come nei libri:

Jason si arrabbia.

Piper si arrabbia.

Annabeth si arrabbia.

Percy si incavola, ma di brutto.

E ad un certo punto tutti si arrabbiano (anche Hazel), chi di più chi di meno.

Ma Leo no.

Ogni tanto lui è triste, e ci sta. Ma non si arrabbia mai nonostante abbia molti motivi per esserlo:

1• ha avuto a che fare con Era per 5 anni e ogni anno la sua dolcissima nonnina ha tentato di ucciderlo in cinque modi diversi ogni anno.

2• Gea lo ha ingannato nell' "uccidere" sua madre, anche se in realtà lui voleva proteggerla.

3• é finito in 6 case affidatarie scappato da altrettante, e sono pronta a scommettere che metà di esse lo maltrattavano o erano abusive (odio Teresa e Rosa con tutta la mia vita).

4• prima era la terza ruota con Jason e Piper, poi la settima con i sette.

5• appena arrivato al campo è stato mandato in una missione mortale.

6• ha costruito l'argo II per,prima andare a recuperare Percy al campo Giove, e poi per andare in grecia a sconfiggere Gea (ribadisco punto 2) e 1 probabilmente, per quanto poco si prende cura del suo corpo, si è totalmente dimenticato di mangiare e dormire, 2 nessuno gli ha nemmeno mai detto grazie.

7• Nemesi gli dice personalmente che sarà sempre la settima ruota (questo mi fa pensare che la Caleo finirà male).

8• Dopo essere morto e tornato in vita per parare il culo a tutti, quando torna al campo i semidei fanno la FILA PER PICCHIARLO (e che cavolo quando Percy è finto su ogigia ed è tornato 6 mesi dopo mica l'hanno picchiato).

9• il suo migliore amico (e forse, ribadisco FORSE, crush, secondo me se Jason fosse sopravvissuto la Valgrace sarebbe diventata canon).

10 • -NON CANON!-secondo me Calipso, ormai stanca dei ragazzi, decide di unirsi alle cacciatrici di Artemide.

11• Festus. GLI È LETTERALMENTE RIMASTA SOLO LA TESTA!! (anche se poi Leo è riuscito a ricostruire il corpo) ma porca miseria Leo era distrutto dopo ciò che è successo a Festus, anche se lo ha subito dovuto mascherare.

Ma ci sono due motivi aqper cui Leo non si è mai mostrato arrabbiato:

1 ha passato l'ultima metà della sua vita a reprimere le sue emozioni, quindi é ovvio che pur se arrabbiato non mostri come si sente realmente.

2 ma da quanto possiamo vedere dalle Leo pov lui non è mai arrabbiato, questo perché lui crede di essere inutile e di essere la persona che meno importa in tutto l'equipaggio della argo II (quindi i punti 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 e 10 non lo fanno arrabbiare) mentre per il punto 9 lui è più arrabbiato con sé stesso perché se lui fosse morto Jason sarebbe sopravvissuto, e invece lui a ingannato la morte con la Cura del Medico e perciò Jason é morto.

Morale della favola capisco perché Riordan non abbia mai fatto Leo arrabbiato, avrebbe probabilmente perso il controllo delle sue fiamme, ma io lo voglio lo stesso perché alimenterebbe di molto le angst di Leo.

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idontliketomatoesleavemealone · 2 years

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#heroes of olympus #Leo Valdez #Rosa Valdez #Tia Rosa

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slices-of-naranja · 3 months

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Hm. Leo Valdez and Nico bonding over religious trauma.

Everyone points out that Nico would be Catholic since Italian, y’know, yeah, makes sense. But Leo Valdez is Texan, Mexican, and his Tía Rosa literally called him a demon when he came to live with her after his mother died (if I remember correctly). His first response at Camp Halfblood was to ask if God with a capital G was real. (Which, fair, a lot do that, but still).

Brother could make fire with his hands, experienced the worst tragedy of his life because of it, and just lived seven years not knowing what the fuck was up with that??? Being called a demon at eight years old, after all that he went through, by a religious Mexican lady would definitely have a lasting effect. (Speaking as a Catholic Mexican).

Like, you’re not gonna tell me that some part of him didn’t secretly believe that. That it wouldn’t keep him up at night, wondering what the fuck he was. That he didn’t look back at his fucked up childhood, at the lava and brimstone in his veins, and not think “What if she’s right? What if I’m going to hell? What if I am a monster? A demon?”

Killing is a sin. Murder is a sin. And whatever the fuck he was, whatever kind of horrid creature he is, it wasn’t getting into Heaven. Don’t tell me he wouldn’t cry at the sight of a nun. Get nervous when his fosters would take him to church. Whisper silent prayers to be fixed, to have whatever was broken inside of him, whatever he was being punished for, to stop. To maybe stop existing at all.

I’m willing to bet that when an eight year old knows for a fact he isn’t human, fire flowing through his blood, and gets called a demon because of it during the worst time in his life, when not being human caused the death of someone he loves, it might stick with him. He might believe the words thrown at him.

So, yeah, I think Nico and Leo would get along.

Also- literally not in the headspace to articulate this correctly but I hope u see my vision.

#Leo valdez #Leo valdez angst #heroes of Olympus #hoo spoilers #heroes of olympus spoilers #nico di angelo #really hope I ain’t making half of this up #I only vaguely remember the Aunt Rosa stuff

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bomber-grl · 5 months

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Leo Valdez x Latina/o reader

₊˚⊹Pairing(s): Leo Valdez x reader (no pronouns/no specific godly parent)

When y’all meet it’s like that one Spider-Man meme

He’s honestly really glad to meet another Latin person, especially if that person ends up his friend and eventually lover.

If you speak Spanish then best believe he gon be speaking to you in Spanish, most times it’s Spanglish but you still understand all the same.

I feel like when people of the same culture/ethnicity meet it’s an automatic click.

So that’s def what happened between the two of y’all.

Now, if you speak Portuguese or anything other than Spanish then lil blud is gonna try to learn your language 😭

I don’t make the rules that’s just how he is.

Doesn’t even matter if he butchers it so badly

(Prolly doesn’t since Portuguese and Spanish are similar (if that’s ur language btw otherwise it’s so bad 😭)

But still 🤷‍♀️

Now, if your latino then best believe y’all gon understand jokes that others don’t

Especially if someone does something dramatic. then you both automatically reference La Rosa De Guadalupe

And then it turns into this whole worm hole on the momo and ballena azul things on those episodes- and it’s a whole other story tbh

(Sorry if ur reading this at night and got scared from the flashbacks)

Anyway, he’s that one person at Latino parties that’s a lot of stereotypes ngl

Like he’ll be that one older cousin that absolutely obliterates the piñata and then runs all cutely to you to give you the candy as if he didn’t push some 5 years olds.

But also that one guy in the table chismeando with the tías

You can’t tell me he isn’t a little chismoso 😭

He’d probs also be the guy that handles the piñata and purposefully move sit out of the way each and every time.

Continuing from that…

He’d def dance w u on the dance floor

Lil blud got them moves

And he def spends the most time w the little kids

No matter where you are 😭

Moving on, if you ever call him an Edgar or sum shit then he’d get so genuinely shocked

Like you absolutely recked him

How dare you?

Especially since his hair isn’t even an Edgar cut 😭

He’d be so hurt but move on (not at all he’d hold it against you)

Ofc lil pookie loves you so let’s move onto the more affectionate hcs

He calls you mamas or mamacita (fem nicknames) 😔

*insert vine boom effect*

Not to mention if you’re male leaning he’d call u some shit like papi chulo or since he’s kinda a nerd and into anime (personal hc) he’d call u senpapi

Like ain’t no way-

Bro is so embarrassing when he says this shit like wtf 😧 nahh git trippin

Nah but (unlike in the books) him calling u this shit is mostly satire

Especially when y’all call eachother the most rancid nicknames so it’s ok 🤷‍♀️

-Sometimes…. *insert that wiener dog side eyeing meme*

It’s fun being w him cuz y’all can just casually talk about whatever that involves your culture.

Like even talking about favorite Latin snacks is an actually convo y’all have had and it’s honestly great.

Especially when he says a word in Spanish cuz he don’t know it in English

bro doesn’t know how to speak in English or Spanish sometimes.

Honestly same

I mean lil broski is glad to have you as his s/o at all

Lil homie desperate

But it’s the icing on top when he finds out your Latino/a

Makes y’all closer and makes him glad he can reference things, knowing that you’ll understand.

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imaginechb · 6 months

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omg hi !! about your leo valdez post I was thinking that a good song would be "love story"

My best friend helped me write this because I was stuck stuck but I loved the prompt and saw so much potential so I couldn't just not do it so shoutout to them fr ❤️

Love Story

You were nervous. It was now winter break, and you were going home to visit your mortal family. This wasn't what you were nervous about, you loved them and you were excited to see them. The part you were nervous about was Leo. He was supposed to be going with you, staying with your family for the break. And your family hated Leo.

You didn't know why they felt this way, but you knew that when you had proposed the idea of Leo staying with you, they had turned up their noses. They had said yes, wanting you to be happy, but it was clear that Leo wasn't exactly welcome.

You had tried to warn him and apologize for whatever they might say or do, but he just smiled. "No sweat, corazón," he had said. "I can make anyone like me." Yeah... right.

The first week of winter break was... awkward. You'd spend time with Leo, but he wasn't allowed in your room. He would sleep in the guest room and you'd have meals together, but they were always tense. Your family grilled him with questions, but no matter what he said, he just didn't earn any points with them.

It wouldn't be until Christmas Day, when a horribly-timed chimera would attack your family's home, that Leo would gain their approval. It was 6:37pm, and you were just about to sit down for Christmas dinner, when it burst through the living room window, shattering it and causing your half-siblings to scream.

Thankfully, you and Leo were able to keep its focus away from your mortal family, but unfortunately, that meant it was focused on you. You and Leo fought side by side, him pulling item after item out of his toolbelt and setting traps, while you used your fanciest footwork and your (weapon of choice) training at camp to keep it sufficiently distracted.

It worked well for a bit, but one missed step can mean a lot in battle. You had stepped a bit too close to the beast, and one of its lion paws smacked you back, hard. You went flying backwards into the wall, hitting your head and slumping down to the ground.

You couldn't breathe.

You knew that you had to get up, you needed to help Leo kill this thing and protect your family, but you couldn't breathe or move, and your head was swimming.

What Leo saw was his partner, who he loved more than anything, get thrown against the wall. He saw you lying motionless on the floor, the chimera stalking towards you, its mouths salivating. He began to panic before jumping into action.

He jumped on its back, delaying its journey to you, but was ultimately thrown off. He became desperate and leaped in front of you, summoning fire to cook the sucker. Unfortunately, the chimera had the same idea. Fortunately, however, Leo was fireproof. The chimera was not. With one last bleat-roar, the monster turned to dust and crumbled to the carpet.

Immediately, Leo came over to you to see if you were alright. He helped you sit up and held your face in his hands, asking a million questions that you could only answer one at a time.

"I'm okay, Leo, really. You saved my life, thank you." He blushed a deep crimson but smiled. "Hey, I'm your super-awesome flame-throwing boyfriend. It's my job, mi rosa."

You were about to reply when your family came in from the doorway. "That was... what just happened?" Your step-parent looked confused. Your mortal parent just looked distressed. "Are you alright, y/n? What was it this time?"

Leo helped you off the floor and you faced your family. "Chimera, and I'm okay, thanks to Leo."

Your (mom/step mom) hurried over to Leo, grabbing his face in his hands before kissing his cheeks several times. "Thank you, Leo. You saved our y/n's life." She smiled at him before letting go of his face and hugging you tight. "Nah, it's nothing. I'd do anything for them." Leo blushed deeper, if that were possible.

Your (dad/step dad) made his way to the both of you, hugging you before patting Leo's shoulder. "You alright, kid?" Leo nodded, absolutely awestruck. He was talking to Leo! And there was no disgust in his eyes!

Sure, Christmas dinner had been a disaster, but Leo had gotten your parents' approval out of it, so he took it as a win.

The two of you still had to get the monster dust out of the carpet, though.

#pjo #toa #trials of apollo #hoo #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #chb #percy jackson #pjo hoo toa #camp jupiter #leo valdez #leo valdez x reader #leo valdez x you #pjo x reader #hoo x reader #hoo imagine #x reader

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crownofgildedlilies · 4 days

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the prophecy by taylor swift is so leo valdez after his mom died when he was seven? eight? after none of his family wants to take him in. after his aunt rosa literally calls him a monster and not so subtly blames him for the death of his mother. as he’s still a child. after no foster home ever puts in the effort to care for him so he’s sent to a wilderness school. after he finally finds a best friend, one person who gets him, only for all those memories together to be false, implanted by this goddess who doesn’t care if he lives or dies so long as he fulfills his purpose. after he third wheels his first quest, losing an almost-sentient companion in an explosion. after he seventh wheels another historic quest. after he still loses people he cares about, half those people not sure if he cares more about his machines than them.

so of course he’s going to fall in love with the first beautiful person who shows interest in him without him ever falling in love with himself first. he’s been fighting for someone to love him all his life. he wants someone so desperately to see him for him, but he hasn’t seen that side of himself yet. his character isn’t written to the end of his story. he needs to find peace with himself before he finds someone who can love the fully realized version of himself.

#this wasn’t supposed to be a ted talk #but i’ve warned y’all before that i love character studies #and leo valdez is one of my favs #so enjoy this ramble #love to chat more #leo valdez

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granddaughterofdemeter · 13 days

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Granddaughter of Demeter

Im Tali, uh I like writing and love it if people send me requests ❤️

daughter of persephone, kinda scared of my stepdad, Nico is an ok stepbrother, other kids of persephone, u relate or is it just me? 😭

Here i'll tell you whether the requests are open or not ->->->

[REQUESTS ARE OPEN NOW! SORRY FOR MAKING Y'ALL WAIT FOR SO LONG]

IF U SENT SOMETHING TO ME DURING MY CLOSED PERIOD SEND THEM TO ME AGAIN BC I CAN DO IT NOW <3333

You can request anything if you want me to write something.

the fandoms I write for are:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard [when I'm done reading at least the first book]

The Hunger Games [ finnick is so fine]

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Maze Runner [same w/ MC, I'll get there tho]

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue [LUC IS SO HOT UGHH]

Brooklyn nine-nine [1-4 bc I only have netflix not peacock]

Red Queen series

The Secret History [i'm only on pg 200 cut me some slack]

Characters that I write for are:

PJO:

Percy Jackson

Annabeth Chase

Grover Underwood

Leo Valdez

Luke Castellan

Clarisse La Rue

Nico Di Angelo

Will Solace

Jason Grace

Piper Mclean

Frank Zhang

Hazel Levesque

Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano

Rachel Elizabeth Dare

+ the Gods

MCGOA:

soon

THG:

Finnick Odair

Gale Hawthorne

Peeta Mellark

Katniss Everdeen

Johanna Mason

Haymitch Abernathy

Effie Trinket

THG:TBOSAS:

Coriolanus Snow

Lucy Gray Baird

Sejanus Plinth

Clemensia Dovecote

Tigris Snow

Livia Cardew

Treech

Maude Ivory

TMR:

soon

ILOALR

Luc

Addie La Rue

Henry ( i like Luc more so id be a bit biased tho)

B99

Jake Peralta

Amy Santiago

Rosa Diaz

Charles Boyle

Gina Linetti

Raymond Holt [platonic]

Terry Jeffords [platonic]

Adrian Pimento

Red Queen

Maven Calore

Mare Barrow

Shade Barrow

Gisa Barrow

Kilorn Warden

Evangeline Samos

Ptolemy Samos

Cal Calore [same as Henry in lnvisible life of addie la rue]

The Secret History

Richard Papen

Henry Winters

Camilla Macaulay

Charles Macaulay

Francis Abernathy

Bunny Corcoran [i would date him ngl]

I do have some prompts listed below

-Prompt 1: [I deserve better, but I want you]

-Prompt 2: [ I love seeing you in love..." "Does that mean you love me?" "..."]

-Prompt 3: [" Sure, I may only like you because you look like him." "But?" "But what?" "I'll change your perspective on that."]

-Prompt 4: ["Life is a bunch of twists and turns, (person of interest???)" "Okay, but why?"]

-more coming 🔜

NO SMUT IM HORRIBLE AT IT [for now.....]

angst is appreciated

step siblings are iffy

no non con or abuse

no domestic violence

I love AUs

i can do female, male, and/or gender neutral reader [any gender basically]

Banners are made by ->->->->->-> @cafekitsune

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stillcarmine · 1 month

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Man... if Sammy had still been alive when Leo was a kid and heard when Rosa started calling him cursed and all that, then Sammy would have been like alright, cracking my arthritic knuckles bout to set the record set for his granddaughter because his first love and childhood best friend was also called that sort of thing and she was the loveliest person ever sooo.... yeah, that's all shut down the first time it happens.

This was just supposed to be a quick and funny observation but if this did happen, then most likely there would have been a couple of relatives that would have not gone along with Rosa after Esperanza dies and taken Leo in :(

#leo valdez #sammy valdez #rosa valdez #esperanza valdez #hazel levesque #hoo #heroes of olympus #son of neptune #mark of athena

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via-rant · 5 months

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Esperanza being pissed at the idea that no one cared for her son for so long. But what sent her over the edge was looking at her grave and not seeing 'mother' as a describtion.

#esperanza valdez #leo valdez #hoo #heros of olympus #rosa valdez

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kitcat22 · 4 months

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My Genderbent Percy Jackson Names ideas!

Hold on tight cause this could get long

Percy Jackson —> Penelope Jackson

Ive seen a lot of takes where persephone is used and while i could see sally or Poseidon naming him that as a way to appease hades and try and avoid his wrath, i like Sally choosing the name of someone who got a happy ending. Penelope in greek mythology faces a lot of hardships but in the end she did get her happy ending. I also feel like Penelope being married to one of Athena’s favourite champions goes well with Penny Jackson falling for one of Athena‘s favourite sons. Also this Penelope choosing to follow her boyfriend on his perilous journey (ie. Falling into Tartartus with him) than being separated from him like the original Penelope was.

Jason Grace —> Helen Grace

Doesn’t start with the same letter but i wanted a name relating to greek mythology that i could think of reasons for. Ican see multiple ways Helen would end up with her name

1. Beryl Grace names her that out of pride. She seduces the king of gods and now she has a daughter just as beautiful as the original Helen.

2. Helen Grace does actually look a lot like Helen of Troy and was named by zeus/Jupiter for the resemblance

3. Hera, the goddess of marriage and women, maybe not being as hateful of Helen of Troy because she’s one of Zeus’ demigod daughters and not a demigod son. Also the original Helen having tumultuous marriages (depending on which version you go by) just like Hera who’s husband is about as unfaithful as you get. I could see Helen becoming one of her fave demigods and wanting to honour her by naming this new child after her. Or again Zeus naming her for that reason.

4. Helen of Troy was used in an insult against Hera so Hera being like ‘fuck you this is the new Helen, she’s gonna turn out much better than the original and she’s all mine’.

Also Helen Grace ending up in a kind of forced relationship with a son of Aphrodite.

Nico Di Angelo —> Viviana Di angelo or Mirabella Di Angelo or Rosa Di angelo

This one I’m not as decisive on, but i tried to find some italian/latin names that could be shortened to a nick name

Viviana means lively. Can be shortened to Viv. I could see this as a sort of contrast to her being the daughter of god of the dead but also Nico going through a lot of shit but surviving.

Mirabella means wonderous beauty and admiral which i think Nico is. Could be shortened to Mira or Bella.

Rosa is just a name that was popular in 1930s italy.

Also Benedetto for Bianca

Annabeth Chase —> Anthony Chase

The chase family tends to go with long posh sounding names so i thought this went well. Means praise worthy. I could also see Alexander after Alexander the Great but i don’t like giving deep meanings to every single name.

Piper McClean —> Presley McClean

Chose this because it was one of the only male P names that i liked to be honest, but Piper’s dad is famous and famous people tend to give their kids stand outish, meaningful names so maybe Presley was named after Elvis or something like that.

Frank Zhang —> Freya Zhang

Also just liked this one. Could be Francesca (no clue if i spelled that name right lol).

Leo Valdez —> Leah Valdez

Closest name to Leo i could think of.

Hazel Levesque —> Henry Levesque

Just a popular 1920s boy name starting with H.

Thalia Grace —> Hector Grace

I chose Hector because Hector of Troy was the greatest warrior for Troy and i think Zeus would want his son named after a great warrior. Before you say ‘but Hector was defeated by Achilles so shouldn’t he be named after Achilles’ I think even Zeus might think twice about naming the possible child of the prophecy after someone that had to be shot down because he was getting out of control. I don’t know if it rolls of the tongue as easily as Thalia Grace but i also thought it went nicely with Helen.

#percy jackson #pjo #percy jackson genderbend #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #the seven #annabeth chase #jason grace #thalia grace #leo valdez #hazel levesque #nico di angelo #frank zhang #heroes of olympus

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punknicodiangelo · 6 months

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Leo Valdez is not a fucking incel!

Full disclosure that I am a gringo and will touch on how xenophobia impacted a Latino character. I did check this with my Afro-Latina found brother @jasontoddssuper though!

Apparently people think Leo is an incel because he flirts a lot??? But he isn't! He's a traumatized autistic boy! That and Rick Riordan is xenophobic but I'm going Watsonian right now.

So what do we know about Leo's childhood? His mom died when he was 8. His Aunt Rosa made his family blame him, so he was sent to foster care, where he was neglected at best and abused at worst. He was also often bullied by girls at school.

As another Leo who was ignored and bullied as a kid, I can say from experience you play into expectations to get love. Mine were gender roles, his were stereotypes. Latine people of all genders are often oversexualized and stereotyped as "spicy flirts." Children are often aware of bigotry and stereotypes no matter how hard you try shielding them, and I don't think anyone but Esperanza would care to. If you're what people expect, they can't be disappointed, and maybe if they aren't disappointed they'll be proud. Flirting is also surprisingly affective at getting bullies to back off, which I know from watching my friends and my own tactic of fighting back not doing anything.

Leo learned to be flirtatious because it was how he got out of trouble. Because he was expected to and wanted to be loved. We see that when he becomes friends with other kids who love him for who he is, he gets less flirtatious. Because it was a coping mechanism and trauma response. Because he feels safe on the Argo II.

And I think this trauma explains why Leo "fell" for Calypso. They didn't get along at all, nor did they have any similar goals. But without his support system, without feeling safe, Leo reverted back to how he got by as a kid. He started to flirt. And Calypso gave him love for it.

#pjo #hoo #rr crit #leo valdez #anti caleo #racism #xenophobia #autistic leo valdez #borderline leo valdez #<maybe debating that headcanon #aroace leo valdez #trauma #queer me #autismus #audhd #the second argonauts #the seven #leo talks

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twoidiotwriters1 · 2 months

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The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: The House of Hades chapters were massively fun to write, I hope you love them -Danny Words: 2,237 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

XXVII: I'm in My Critical-Thinking Era

Today is Ara's 15th birthday, according to the magical screens surrounding the room: The beach has remains of a party. The fireworks show must've happened while they were fighting the rock giants or while she was sleeping.

Leo glances at the screen, then freezes and takes a second look. "Hey—!"

She drags him out of the room. "Don't say anything to them!"

The boy scowls. "What? Why not?"

"This is the worst timing possible," Ara's expression is horror-struck and pale. "Do you think I'm in the mood to celebrate?"

The boy blushes. "But pretending it's not an important date..."

"In the future..." Ara trails off. There is no future. If they're lucky they have a few weeks at most. "Listen, just forget it."

Leo glances at the screens and makes a face. "You shouldn't be spending it like this."

"Don't start," she groans, turning away to enter the mess hall, but Leo stops her.

"You should be in camp with Lily. Or with your parents—"

"And what difference does it make if I'm here or there? My family would be incomplete, the Romans would be all around camp..." she huffs, pushing his hand away. "There's no way I would've enjoyed my birthday this year. Let it go."

Leo stares at her, struggling to find the words. "If... If we'd met sooner, I would've thrown huge parties for you. A whole week of 'em."

Ara wants to cry at his words, but she thinks this is a worthy trade at the very least. She saves the world, therefore she only gets shitty birthdays. Whatever. She got to have three birthday parties throughout her entire life, it's not like she's suffering a major loss.

Leo was supposed to find her last December, it had to happen that way, otherwise, she wouldn't've taken the role of daughter of Olympus, and her prophecy is their only hope to break the curse...

Mike wouldn't've died. Janus whispers mockingly. Is one life worthier than the other?

She cups his face. "Having you around is enough. Besides, your birthday is also in two days, we can celebrate then if you want."

"I communed with the dead last night. I was able to learn more about what we'll face," Nico says as they eat breakfast. "In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors."

"Sounds like Día de los Muertos," Leo mentions. "My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."

"Chinese have that, too," Frank adds. "Ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime. Your Aunt Rosa would've gotten along with my grandmother."

"Yeah," Leo mutters. "I'm sure they would've been best buds."

"A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honor the dead," Nico agrees. "But the House of Hades was open year-round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions—"

"Special potions," Leo mumbles. "Yum."

Jason flashes a warning look at him, he doesn't want him to upset Nico because then he will tease Ara in turn. "Nico, go on," the boy says politely.

"The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future."

"And if the spirits weren't pleased?" Frank asks.

"Some pilgrims found nothing," Nico shrugs. "Some went insane, or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again."

"You always know the hottest spots to visit," Ara jokes.

"Right up your alley, desperate sacrifices just to get crumbs. Anyway, the ghost I spoke to last night, he was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She slew one of the giants—one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius."

"Dark dude," Leo says. "Wrapped in shadows."

"Leo, how did you know that?" Hazel questions.

"Kind of had a dream," Leo explains his nightmares to the group and Ara leans forward on the table rubbing her forehead.

"So the giant is Clytius," Jason concludes. "I suppose he'll be waiting for us, guarding the Doors of Death."

"And the woman in Leo's dream?" Frank inquires.

"She's my problem." Hazel says. "Hecate mentioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades —a witch who couldn't be defeated except by me, using magic."

"Do you know magic?" Leo asks

"Not yet."

"Ah. Any idea who she is?"

"Only that..." There is a brief pause and Ara looks up to see Nico and Hazel sharing a look, then the girl speaks. "Only that she won't be easy to defeat."

Ara remembers what Leo told her: Maze. Magic. A woman. It's not that hard to connect the dots, and she hates how quickly she understands what they'll be facing, part of her hopes to be dead wrong, but it's unlikely.

"But there is some good news," Nico says. "The ghost I talked to explained how Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness."

"Oh," Leo sits up. "Okay."

Ara shifts uncomfortably in her seat, nothing is as easy as it sounds, but she doesn't want to say it. Athena's blessing is working within her, she knows at last how it feels to be Annabeth and Lily, her brain constantly seeking info to make plans.

"Leo's fire isn't the same kind of magical as Hecate's. But I could try and teach you to control the mist," she offers to Hazel, and the girl blushes at Ara's offer. They haven't interacted a lot, so it's still a bit awkward between them. "I'm not a sorceress, but it's got to be worth something, right?"

"It's worth a try," Jason agrees. "At least we know how to kill the giant. And this sorceress... well, if Hecate believes Hazel can defeat her, then so do I."

Hazel sighs. "Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaea's forces—"

"Plus a bunch of ghosts," Nico adds. "The spirits in that temple may not be friendly."

"—and find the Doors of Death. Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and Annabeth and rescue them."

"We can do it," Frank tries to encourage them. "We have to."

"Well, that depends on how long it'll take us to get there," Ara turns to Leo.

"So, with this detour," he voices, "I'm estimating four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays for, you know, monster attacks and stuff."

"Yeah. Those never happen." Jason says sarcastically.

"Hecate told you that Gaea was planning her big Wake Up party on August first, right?" Leo turns to Hazel. "The Feast of Whatever?"

"Spes. The goddess of hope."

"Theoretically, this leaves us enough time," Jason interjects. "It's only July fifth."

As expected, Nico's gaze locks with hers and he opens his mouth slightly, tilting his head as if about to ask something. Ara's eyes widen and she shakes her head discretely but making it clear that he has to stay quiet.

"...We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giants' HQ and stop them from waking Gaea before August first," Jason finishes.

"Theoretically," Hazel nods. "But I'd still like to know how we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying."

"Well, that's Nico's job," Ara points out. "You're the Ghost King, right?"

Nico scowls, but Frank pushes his plate away with a look of discomfort and speaks before the younger boy can. "It's July fifth. Oh, jeez, I hadn't even thought of that...."

"Hey, man, it's cool," Leo replies. "You're Canadian, right? I didn't expect you to get me an Independence Day present or anything... unless you wanted to."

"It's not that. My grandmother... she always told me that seven was an unlucky number. It was a ghost number. She didn't like it when I told her there would be seven demigods on our quest. And July is the seventh month."

"Yeah, but..." Leo taps his fingers on the table anxiously, the morse code for I love you on repeat. He doesn't seem to notice. "But that's just coincidence, right?"

"Back in China," Frank continues, "in the old days, people called the seventh month the ghost month. That's when the spirit world and the human world were closest. The living and the dead could go back and forth. Tell me it's a coincidence we're searching for the Doors of Death during the ghost month."

"Man, shut up," Ara doesn't like the idea of her birth month being an unlucky one, especially because Leo's birthday is on the seventh day, and Jason's...

Ara looks at him. Jason's birthday! It was the same day they lost Percy and Annabeth... Jason doesn't even flinch at Frank's speech, he keeps it together like a true Roman, but still, Ara feels guilty.

"Let's focus on the things we can deal with. We're getting close to Bologna. Maybe we'll get more answers once we find these dwarfs that Hecate—"

The Argo II stops violently and they get tossed in different directions. Ara hits her ribs on the edge of the table and looks around not understanding what's happening.

"Nico!" Hazel gasps when he collapses against a wall.

"Look!" Jason pointed at the images of Camp Half-Blood.

Except it is no longer Camp Half-Blood. In its place, all she sees is chubby messed-up faces standing too close to the cameras. They flicker again and show the deck, where Piper and Hedge are gagged and unable to move.

Ara holds onto the wall and seizes Almighty. "What are those?"

As they watch the two little creatures bounce around stealing stuff, one of them snatches the Archimedes sphere out of its place, which sets Leo off. "No!"

"Piper!" Jason exclaims as he gets out from under the table.

"Monkey!" Frank shouts in alarm.

"Not monkeys," Hazel helps Nico up. "I think those are dwarfs—"

"Stealing my stuff!" Leo rushes out of the room.

Ara Jackson is a girl with a short fuse.

It's carefully hidden, though, which means not many things can trigger it. But Dwarfs breaking the things she's been looking after since they left home? That's definitely a way to get her murderous mode on.

She watches them jump from one place to another and realizes she can't beat them with brute force. These beings are faster than she ever was, and by the looks of it, are professional bandits. Even Connor and Travis wouldn't stand a chance.

"Duck!" Leo tackles her by the waist before a grenade hits her.

Ara groans and tries to push Leo off, but she can't. "You left those on deck?!"

"Sorry I didn't think of the possibility of dwarfs setting them off!" Leo complains, unable to move.

Ara can't function properly, the dwarfs used the grenades Leo made for her (he was trying to cheer her up after what had happened at the Fort). They were filled with Apollo's magic, some liquid booming melodies that were meant to disorient and stun.

Ara crawls to a sitting position just in time to see a dwarf run away with Leo's belt... and Almighty. They reach a ballista and one of the dwarves shoots the other out of the ship, then the one left walks towards the rail, hits Coach Hedge, and jumps out of sight mockingly waving goodbye to Ara and Leo.

"Those horrid sons of—"

"Come on," Leo stumbles to his feet, his eyes red and glossy.

Leo and Jason pick her off the ground and Ara stays still trying to get rid of the dizziness. Gorilla!Frank is out-cold, tongue out.

"Piper!" Jason stumbles over to his girlfriend.

"Don't waste your time on me!" The girl complains when he pulls out the gag from her mouth. "Go after them!"

Ara makes her way to the control board and discovers with horror that the dwarves also took her Octopi. She turns to Leo, understanding in their gazes as they fall to the same conclusion: Those dipshits have to pay.

Leo turns to Jason. "You feeling good enough to control the winds? Ara and I need a lift."

"Sure, but—"

"Good," Leo interrupts him. "We've got some monkey dudes to catch."

Ara's fingertips are burning with the need to strangle the living garden gnomes. "My plushie bags are off-limits," she says gravely. "They're going down."

"Where to?" Jason asks once they are in the middle of the small town.

Leo frowns. "Well, I dunno. Let me pull my dwarf-tracking GPS out of my tool belt... Oh, wait! I don't have a dwarf-tracking GPS—or my tool belt!"

"Be nice," Ara palms her pocket and with relief finds Almighty has come back to her. "Jason's trying to help."

"Thank you," says the boy, though also looking angry. Piper being mistreated isn't something that he lets slide. "The ballista fired the first dwarf in that direction, I think. Come on."

Ara thinks about Lily again. Her family was from Italy, and she'd always dreamed about coming here, to get acquainted with her roots, demigod and mortal. But Lily is stuck at camp fighting a war she didn't start and Ara's here, and if she fails, there might not be an Italy to visit in the future.

Now that she's as old as Mike was when he died, Ara wonders which friend is going to die this time, the one who's been forced to stay behind and grow older, or the one that's running forward and still playing pretend.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #leo valdez fanfic #doo #leo valdez x oc #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians

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nepobabyeurydice · 6 months

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Rosas Blancas

Summary:

Rosa Valdez is dying and Leo goes to see her one last time with Calypso there to mediate. It goes better and worse than expected.

Read on Ao3

.x.

“Do you know what you’re going to do?” Calypso asks as they approach the ranch. Her cinnamon hair is pulled into two of those bubble braids that the Aphrodite swore by as fashionable and comfortable, and her mouth is set in grim determination as she gazes at the door like she’s about to fight off her own father. Leo is grateful she came with him, Piper and Jason would’ve been too overprotective and jumpy, Calypso at least could keep herself serene and blank unlike his friends.

“Not a fucking clue,” he admits as he climbs the steps, his boots make noise on the porch, and suddenly he feels nostalgic remembering the dances they used to have on this porch when the night grew dark and the only light was that of the porch. His hand hovered over the door, already in a fist to knock it, but Leo couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.

His hand shook, and he put it down slowly, taking one breath, and then another. Calypso lays a supporting hand on his shoulder and knocks on the door for him. He shoots her a grateful look and tries not to tremble as the door opens.

“Esperanzita’s boy,” Tio Concho grunts, reaching out a hand to ruffle Leo’s hair as Leo blinks back tears and Calypso places a hand between them.

“Hello,” Calypso greets serenely, “I’m Leo’s foster sister, Calypso Atlasides, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Tio Concho eyes her, his huge mustache quivers in thought, and even that’s nostalgic to Leo. “You’re whiter than you sounded over the phone.”

Leo doesn’t even twitch, he had heard worse from other kids at school and from his own family after the funeral. He still intervenes before Calypso can get outraged. “Tio, it’s nice to see you. Where’s Elena and Carlos?”

Tio Concho sobers. “Out back with your abuela. Come, I’ll take you.”

He gestures for them to enter, and they follow, Leo doesn’t dare pull out any pipe cleaners or rubber bands to fiddle with. The ranch house was meant for twelve children to each have their own room and play. Out of all of them, Leo’s Abuela Ximena had inherited the ranch in lieu of her brother Kevin and thus, Tia Rosa and his Mama as her only children were meant to inherit the ranch. Now it’d probably fall onto either Elena or Carlos to take care of Visabuelo’s Sammy’s ranch. Leo stops, feeling a smile tug at his lips, at least he finally knows now why Abuela Ximena’s middle name was Hazel. He wonders how she’d react if she met her namesake and decides it’s not best to test it, she’d have a stroke.

Leo and Calypso walk into the backyard deck and his breath hitches at the sight of his family. Elena as is always perfectly put together the same way she had always been since she was ten and lorded her two years over Leo. Her glossy black hair had been cut short sometime between then and now, but she still looked the same. Carlos had a beard now which made Leo feel frozen in time, he was a year and five younger than Carlos, yet Carlos clearly had his life even more put together than Leo had ever even in Camp Half-Blood.

He tries for a winning smile, shoving the little Molotov cocktail of anger into the pit of his stomach. “Primos! Como les va?

Elena smiles and embraces him, she’s as scrawny as he is. “Leonidas,” she says, and cups his face in her hands, she frowns seeing the cut he has on his cheeks from the shrapnel coming off the Argo II. “It’s so good to see you. And who is this?”

“This,” he says, motioning towards Calypso, “is my foster sister, Calypso Atlasides. She came with me since Nyssa wouldn’t let me come alone.”

Nyssa had tried to convince him to stay at the camp until she could tell Jason and Piper who were in Rome and Oklahoma respectively for June, but Leo had argued that Calypso was more than fit to take him and that they'd go to California after for her to speak with Atlas. She had given in although not before sending a message to one of their siblings in Camp Jupiter to be on stand-by to pick Leo up.

He loves Nyssa, he really does, but she feels like his mom sometimes instead of his slightly older sister.

“A pleasure,” Elena says, offering her hand to Calypso, who daintily shakes it. “Where have you been, Leo?”

Leo shrugs, trying to seem affable despite wearing the nicest clothes he had in his closet at Camp which had been a gift for Piper last Christmas. “Texas mostly, last year though they found me a place in New York that’s more my style and that’s my permanent home, apparently. Our foster dad, Chiron, runs this summer camp, so we get to socialize with a ton of people.”

“Summer camp?” Elena asks, curiously. She looks over Leo’s shoulder and gives a small shake of her head, probably to Carlos. “Is it like the movies with canoeing and zip-lining?”

“Yes and no,” Calypso intervened smoothly. “We do canoe races, but we also do metalwork, architecture and have historical projects like building replicas of Greek triremes. A lot of rich people like sending their children away during prime tour season, and they make their way to us.”

Elena’s eyes widen, her smile becomes more real, and Leo feels grateful that he can still read her easily. He glances back to Carlos, who’s speaking with Abuela. Abuela isn’t looking at Leo but instead out into the plains, and Leo’s heart sinks. She still blamed him for his mother’s death then.

Elena follows Leo’s gaze and her excitement dies down. She motions for them to follow and Leo tries not to throw up as they approach his grandmother, somehow he didn’t think that she’d appreciate that.

Leo stops, just in front of Carlos, who shakes his hand but says nothing else. Abuela doesn’t speak, she never makes the first move.

“Abuela Ximena,” Leo says, trying to sound dutiful and respectful instead of sad and resentful. “It’s nice to see you.”

Abuela Ximena sighs, turning to look at Leo, and he’s struck by how much she and he look like Sammy Valdez. The same impish face, eyes and sardonic twist to their lips. Leo’s face was a bit uglier due to his father’s nose and his too big ears, but beyond that he and Abuela shared an uncanny resemblance.

“Leonidas, they said you ran away twenty times, I’m surprised you're still alive.”

“Tia Callida made me tenacious.” Leo replies without missing a beat and to his surprise everyone in the room flinches. Abuela Ximena guiltily adverts her eyes, and Carlos and Elena share a look.

“Callida is dead.” Abuela says she sounds sad.

“I know,” Leo lies, “she had a letter sent to me after her death.” If he never had to see Hera again, it’d be too soon.

Abuela nods, straightens up and Leo unconsciously straightens up with her, ready to steady her like he did when he was a child. He hates himself for it. They had abandoned him, told him he killed his mother and left a nine-year-old to duke it out with the foster care system, and he still wants their approval.

“Calypso, was it? Come here, child.” Abuela says, and Calypso stands in front of his grandmother, probably using her magic to peer into her soul or something. “Tell me, do you know what Leonidas did?”

No, Leo thinks, dread trickling down his spine. No, no, no, it’s been nine years.

“Of course,” Calypso says unflinchingly. “He survived when your daughter did not, I’d think you should be more grateful a piece of your supposedly beloved daughter lived instead of despising it, but then again we’re all entitled to our own opinions.”

The deck goes silent. One beat, then two. Abuela turns red in embarrassment and fury, and Calypso is unmoved. Leo remembers with some amusement that Apollo and Hephaestus had been one of her few regular visitors to her island, and she’d likely thrown even more acidic quips in her direction.

“What do you know about that?” Abuela demands.

“My father tried to kill me, and my siblings locked me in a manor for ten years until Leo finally broke into said manor and helped me escape.” Calypso replies, going with the official ‘rich family with dark secrets’ story she and Chiron had concocted while creating her identity. The sad part was if you replaced the manor with an island and ten years for two millennia she had changed basically nothing, and it was perfectly believable. “In that time I’ve learned one of my sisters is dead, the other two are in jail and my brothers are missing. It has not been an easy adjustment.”

Everyone is silent for a moment. Then, Elena speaks. “Is this why you're a foster kid?”

Calypso nods. More silence.

Leo sighs and decides to be the peacekeeper for once in his life. “What do the doctors say? About Tia Rosa?”

The mood plummets even further.

.x.

Tia Rosa looks old as Leo waits for her to wake up. Calypso sits on the other side of the room towards the windows and stares out of them. But Leo can’t pull his eyes from her pale face.

She looks so much like his mother it hurts.

Leo drums his knees with his fingers and tries to think of what he should say to the woman who ruined his life.

Hey guess what, I didn’t kill Mom and I hunted down her murderer and burned her alive and killed myself in the process? They’d send the cops after him, again. Leo licks his lips and tries not to bolt from the room, instead finally pulling out his pipe cleaners and twisting and twisting and twisting, until they resembled the knot in Leo’s stomach that consumed him whole.

“Esperanza,” Tia Rosa breathes out, and Leo freezes. “Your boy is here, Esperanza, will you forgive me now?”

Leo can’t speak. Tears prickle in his eyes, and he isn’t strong enough to do this. He moves to stand up and feels a weight on his left leg. He stares down and finds that a wind spirit is gripping his leg tightly to the chair. He meets Calypso’s gaze from across the room and begs her with his eyes to let him go. She shakes her head and another wind spirit forces him back down into the chair.

“Tia Rosa,” Leo says, and his heart feels numb. “I’m here.”

“You are. See Esperanza, I brought him back, after all he did I brought him back. Can’t you forgive me now?”

“Tia,” Leo hesitates and takes her hand. He’s overwhelmed for a moment with the urge to burn it, but the moment passes and all he feels is sick. “Tia, do you need something from me?”

Tia Rosa’s eyes focus on Leo, hazel like his mother’s and Leo nearly vomits at the sight of them. She always looked too much like his mother for his memories to be comfortable being blameless.

“The ranch,” she slurs out, she pushes herself up and Leo helps her. Leo always helps her. “It’s yours.”

“Tia, that doesn’t make any sense—”

“It was supposed to be Esperanza’s, now it’s yours. Elena is too in love with the stars to take care of the horses, Carlos is too young to think of such things. You are a practical little boy, Leo, like Esperanza, like Papa, the ranch will be yours like she wanted.” Tia Rosa says. Her eyes are like flint and stern, the same way they were when she described him as his mother’s killer.

Her eyes wander the room and land on Calypso. “You're from my dream.” she mumbles. “Leo on that dragon and you behind him as you wandered lost.”

Leo looks at Calypso hopelessly, and tries to process everything. The ranch, Sammy’s ranch, was going to him? No, Abuela would not have it, Tio Concho would not have it. Leo couldn’t take care of it, not even if—

Esperanza’s Repair Shop and Ranch, a little voice in his head whispers. Hazel could come and pick up horses for Camp Jupiter, Jason could drink out on the porch, Piper could sing the new Cherokee lullabies she was learning from her cousins in Oklahoma. Nyssa and Harley could come help out with the rest of his siblings. Calypso could pop in for special offers of food and drink for the regulars. Festus could live in the four acres of land that they owned instead of the monster infested woods of CHB.

That dream is poison, he reminds himself. That dream is poison, that dream is poison, that dream is poison.

Then why is it so sweet?

Leo swallows the hope rising in his chest and instead lets go of Tia Rosa’s hand. “I hope you get better,” he lies. “Bye, Tia.”

“Hasta el final y hacia delante, Leo.” Tia Rosa says, her gaze focusing on Leo. “May Esperanza forgive both of us.”

Leo swallows the lump in his throat and nods. Calypso lets the wind spirits off him and they both stand. Calypso exits first and Leo bows his head in some semblance of respect to the dying.

“Que Dios te bendiga, Rosa.” Leo says. He takes Calypso’s hand and they exit the room.

They wait outside the door. Leo looks at her, she looks at Leo.

“California?” Leo asks, already pulling out a drachma.

“California.” Calypso agrees, a rainbow forming in front of them.

Leo smiles, giddy and maybe a little freely. He left Elena and Carlos his number for Camp, Abuela Ximena had refused to speak to him and Tio Concho was probably helping on the farm. Leo had finally had the chance to clear the fucking air and nothing, not even the gods themselves would keep him from achieving his dreams now that he had.

They walk out of the hospital, already planning their trip back to New York.

#heroes of olympus #leo valdez #calypso #my writing #🌻.fic #queue for the queue god

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