Leo Valdez Angst - Tumblr Posts

People love to forget that tbh-

Same with how Percy considered it too.

And everyone thinks they are silly little guys and ignore shit that actually happened.

I think that some people in the fandom forget that Leo genuinely committed suicide.

HES NOT A SILLY LITTLE GOOFBALL

HE IS TRAUMATISED

HE WAS ABUSED

HE WAS OKAY WITH DYING

THATS NOT NORMAL.

Did we just gloss over the fact that Leo was canonically abused as a child??

Friendly reminder that Piper and Leo were both put into a wilderness therapy camp instead of getting the love and help they needed.

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Friendly reminder that a lot of your favourite characters (this includes Percy!!) are actively/used to be suicidal!!

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Friendly reminder that Leo Valdez, a kid whose mother died in flames, being born a rare child of Hephaestus who can summon fire out of his hands.

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Friendly reminder that this is the difference between Leo Valdez’s death and Jason graces death.

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"This story is a tragedy because it didn't have to end this way."

vs

"This story is a tragedy because it was always going to end this way."

Thinking about names having power in the Riordanverse- because it’s exactly the kind of literature motif that I LOVE.

Thinking about “Leo” being short for “Leonidas” who was a Spartan King who sacrificed his life fighting to save his people in the Battle of Thermopylae.

Leo, similarly, gave his own life to stop Gaea and save the world.

That comparison has already been made before, but there’s more-

Leo rejects the name “Leonidas” and chooses to go by “Leo”- in a way, rejecting the fate he’s assigned to. And he doesn’t suffer that fate in the end. He lives.

Yeah, names have power. But what you choose to name yourself has even more power. For example, the fact that Thalia rejected the last name “Grace” because it associated her with her mother, but then taking it back up again when she found out Jason was alive. And Leo chose to not go by “Leonidas” and he also chose to take the physician’s cure and come back.

And here we get onto what Calypso’s doing. By calling him something that he asked to not be called, she is taking away that agency of choice. She is taking away that power.

It’s a small moment, but it REALLY bugs me. Because, like Leo, I go by a shortened version of a longer name, and often one of the ways bullies used to hold power over me was by calling me by my full name repeatedly, even after I asked them to stop. It’s also a way a lot of transphobes hold power over trans people- by deadnaming. By taking away the power of their name, their choice, their identity, who they are, who they’ve built themselves to be, and their right to control all of that.

Now, I’m NOT saying Calypso is going as far as deadnaming Leo, but it’s a similar premise. It’s a manipulation tactic used to knock people down.

Now friendly nicknames -e.g. “Seaweed Brain”- are different, because Percy consents to it. It’s a term of affection between them (and notice how it’s different when Thalia used it. It’s a name that symbolises percabeth’s love, and it’s a name only Annabeth can use). But this is a name, while said in a jokey, banter-y manner, that Leo has SPECIFICALLY ASKED to not be called. And she does it anyway, ignoring the boundary he’s set, ignoring his choice to shape his own identity, ignoring everything that symbolised INCLUDING the fact that it’s literally Leo saying “I choose life” by rejecting the name that fated him to death. It’s just a big red flag for me. And if you put that on top of the fact that she also physically hurt him in this (enough to make him say “ow”) then you just get a whole host of Reasons Why This is NOT Leo’s “Happy Ending”- which the narrative paints it out to be.

the outsider by marina is leo valdez coded. nothing you say or do can change my mind.

Daily reminder that Jason was one of the few (maybe the only?) people to tell Leo that he was needed.

Art by piinaplesaucee on Instagram

edit after a bit more research: GAEA AND JASON WERE THE ONLY ONES TO EVER TELL LEO HE WAS NEEDED!!!! AND YET YALL STILL DONT SEE HOW JASON CARED FOR LEO

Okay we've discussed Piper in depth and now I want to tackle Leo.

Leo originally in HOO was clearly putting in a mask for other people. Being a jokester and the comix relief because he wouldn't be kept around if he wasn't.

Add the fake memories to the mix. Now in canon no one ever tells Leo these are fake for some reason??? But in our canon Leo is not dumb he's a genius in his own right. He knows that there is something odd about those memories something off. Jason never acts like he did in the memories. As soon as Leo is told about the mist he has an oh shit moment.

But he never says anything. Never searching for the memories he forgot. Because deep down he knows that he probably spent those months alone and scared, bullied and teased without anyone to back him up. That without those memories Piper wouldn't have looked at him twice. The only reason he has what he has right now is because of them. He has to be useful and funny. Serious at the right moments and comic relief at others. Leo's whole personality is built on how to keep others around. Because he is so tired of being lonely.

So he swallows his fear and guilt around his fire and uses it anyway. Because Jason is the son of the king of the gods. And Piper could charm anybody with a simple smile. He has to bring something to the table. That's why he hunts down Festus.

Bunker 9 stays in his back pocket. A trump card he will only use if shit hits the fan. He is going on this fucking quest and he is going to be a hero. Because maybe then people will actually look at him.

Hello!!! If you have any request ideas please send them for me to write ♥︎

You can find who I write here

Here me out..

You meet leo in wilderness school. You became quick friends and eventually started hanging out with piper and Jason. one night, you and leo snuck out onto the roof. He opened up to you about running away, and about being scared everyone was gonna leave him. So, you take his pinky in yours and promise to never abandon or leave him when he needed you.

But then... Camp. The prophecy. An oath to keep with final breath. And then you realize.. your pinky promise...one of you is gonna die to save the other.

But you're already in love with him. And you know...that you're gonna protect him no matter what.

I think that would be silly (it's in my drafts give me like a week or two)