#Mama Leto

[raewritesfiction]

Via. I just really love this pic of Cara and Constance!!

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Apollo: Mama, I want uppies.

Leto: I can't do it.

Apollo: Don't you love me anymore? 🥺

Leto: Sweetie, you are two heads taller than me and I don't think my arms can withstand your grown man weight.

Leto: No, you crouching down like a kid won't change anything.

[galadrielaaa]

Hera: yo mama.

[theicarusconstellation]

will forever mourn the loss of mama’s boy paul

[likethexan]

thoughts on artemis?

She’s alright. One of the lesser myths that come in mind when thinking of her positively was when she helped her former huntress Procris reunite with her husband (who was stolen by Eos of all people) with a ploy and some cool duds, which is cool considering she herself doesn’t believe in marriage

[worlds-oldest-teenager]

Breaking news : Local area grandpa strangles son in law to death for being a bad father/lover. More at 10.

This is a little gift comic for the lovely @apollosgiftofprophecy who's writing this series where Koios aka Apollo and Artemis's grandfather tries his best to be a good grandfather (or get them to join the dark side hehe ). Here's the link for their fic this was loosely based on.

Enjoy! (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

[my-name-is-apollo]

I'm a sucker for anything related to the childhood of Artemis - Apollo, so imagine my joy when I saw these 18-19th century gems depicting the babies & their mama!!

Leto seated under a palm tree, with her infants Artemis and Apollo

The infant Apollo nursed by the nymphs

Themis feeding nectar to young Apollo

Leto and her twins in the presence of Poseidon

Leto punishing the Lycian peasants by turning them into frogs

Leto and her children fleeing from Python

Tityus pursuing Leto

[literallyjusttoa]

Apollo Music Headcanons

As a god Apollo’s singing voice can be whatever he wants it to be, but as Lester I imagine it as a strong tenor (he can’t hit a lot of low notes and it pisses him off) with a bit of a rasp in it. He sings like he’s been classically trained, but with enough confidence to bend the rules in order to get the right feelings out of the song. In one word, I’d describe Lester’s singing as raw. It’s not perfect, but the imperfections seem planned in such a way that they touch you even more than perfection would.

There are multiple languages that Apollo has learned solely so he could perform the most popular songs of the era. Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and a couple more throughout the years. This is also how he learned English.

He uses vocal warmups as a form of stimming. Meg wakes up some mornings and hears him going “oooOOOOooooOOOOooo” and just has to deal with it. He pulls them from all over too. Sometimes it will be professional warmups that opera singers use, and other time he’ll be whipping out “mama made me mash my m&m’s” from middle school chorus

Leto has a lullaby she used to sing to Apollo and Artemis while she was still searching for a place to safely give birth. To this day, it’s the first song Apollo plays on every new instrument he picks up.

Apollo is scarily good at impressions, even as Lester. He has so much vocal control that impersonating the sounds of others comes easily. He can also throw his voice really well.

He has songs that he connects to other people. Will’s song, Meg’s song, etc. when he’s lonely on Olympus, he listens to them on repeat.

Apollo is the god of music, not the god of good music. You could bang two trashcan lids together and have a screaming raccoon as lead vocalist and he’d probably still add it to a playlist. He unironically listens to some of the most hated songs of the last few centuries. Ironically, he’s also the worst person to pass the aux to in the car. If he really cares about you, he’ll cater the music he chooses to your taste. If not, you’re getting the whiplash of the next biggest K-pop hit followed by the liturgical chants of Hildegard von Bingen. Enjoy!

[medusaspeach]

concept sketch of Leto, the goddess of motherhood, and mama to Artemis and Apollo.

[the-tortured-fangirl-department]

Thinking about how that ant saw Lester/Apollo be desperate and adopted him, I’m just imagining and intense custody bettle between Mama and Leto

[yeyinde]

thoughts on what kind of music taste t-141 has?? i can't stop thinking about this and your opinion 👀👀

I have a few! I tried really hard to think about what would be playing on the radio as each of them drove somewhere, and came up with this.

Price: I think he was an OG Alt Kid and did his research on rock which lead him right to the blues. And now his playlist is mostly a mix of blues and rock (garage, blues, alt, psychedelic), bluegrass. Folk. Divorced Dad Rock. 70s Roadtrip. Swamp Rock & Cajun Blues.

some artists you might find on his playlist are:

The Cure. CCR. Lead Belly. Koko Taylor. Agent Orange. Howlin' Wolf. Bobby Bland. Cockney Rejects. Siouxsie and the Banshees. The London Souls. Jimi Hendrix. Muddy Waters. The Psychedelic Furs. Grateful Dead. The Electric Flag. Johnny Cash. Cream. Snooky Pryor. The Rolling Stones. The Doors. Donovan. Sonny Boy Williamson. John the Conqueror. Fleetwood Mac. Pixies. Santana. Derek & the Dominoes. T. Rex. Wilbert Harrison. The Velvet Underground. Cheap Trick. Liverpool Five. The Rivieras. Redbone. Marlena Shaw. Mama's and Papa's. Allman Brothers Band. The Animals.

Gaz: eclectic. I think he dabbles in a little bit of everything. Almost all of his favourite artists are described as "genre defying." He's a lover of music, but tends to lean towards unique vocals, strong lyricism, and modern spins on traditional music.

some artists you might find on his playlist are:

Stromae. Nej. Espacio Dios. BLK JSK. Mdou Moctar. Mabastet. FIBEL. Rachel Chinouriri. Mereba. Mitraz. PLASUI PLASUI. Says'z. Tinariwen. Berhana. NATAB. IRBIS. Leto v Gorode. Jubantouja. Ayra Starr. Devon Gilfillian. Madihu. Karan Aujla. OBOY. Maher Cissoko. maye. Youka. LION BABE. AP Dhillon. Tay Iwar. Yalnayak. Oumou Sangarè. Kari Faux. Tati Falco. Taqbir. Soapkills. Ikky. Raury. Mon Rovîa. Svvell. Tanya Tagaq. Tunde Jegede. SARRB. Doechii. Rina Sawayama. Tiakola. Ronisia. Frenna. jev. H.E.R. Omar Apollo. Montell Fish. Lor. Pinkpantheress. The Fur. Sindrome. Odeal. Omah Lay. LAGOS. Jon Muq. DON WEST.

Soap: like Gaz, his taste is expands across genres but he's more of a Top 40 to Gaz's unending appetite. His choice mostly depends on his mood/the occasion. He has no shame when it comes to music, either. There's no "guilty pleasures" - just what he likes. Pop. Pop Rock. R&B. Soul. Indie. Folk. Rap. Hiphop. Rock. Metal. New Wave. Sea shanties. Traditional folk. If it sounds good to him, he'll listen. He also tends to adopt the music taste of whoever he's interested in - regardless of what genre it is. But he has a special kinda love for late 90s early 2000s R&B, and 80s synthpop/poprock, and a playlist for every occasion.

Ghost: I don't think his taste in music has changed at all since he was in his late teens, early 20s. Metal. Rock. Classic rock. Classical (Vivaldi. Bartók. Sibelius. Prokofiev. Shostakovich. Stravinsky. Verdi). It's not really because of any genre loyalty. I just think he adds those artists and songs under the umbrella of liked music because it's a habit, and something he used to do as a teen assembling mixtapes with Tommy. They probably hung out at local bars and listened to the underground music scene in Manchester.

Mainly because my biggest, unchanging headcanon for him is that he virtually stopped existing when he was 19-20 so everything has just been habitual. (Until he meets you or Soap teaches him the meaning of "we" and teamwork.)

[tsartistry]

I love the Niobe kidnaps Lester AU! I’m already so invested in it! But I have many questions…

1. How does Leto (aka mama Leto) feel about this?

2. What is/how are the Apollo kids feeling? Are their powers not working as much or what?

3. How is Olympus doing? Is someone doing apollos work? Are they trying to investigate or are they trying to pretend that nothing is happening?

4. Did Lester/apollo gain their powers back before Niobe kidnapped him? And since he’s being brainwashed did he forget he does have powers if he gained them again or are they just completely gone?

5. Will Lester/apollo have a love interest?

And last question for this post I swear lol does Lester/apollo ever show signs of their powers once and awhile? Like for example if their hair starts to go blonde suddenly?

Sorry for so many questions, I’m just so invested in this AU ever since I discovered it lol I keep going back to this tag just to reread everything :3

1. How does Mama Leto feel about all this?

in a nutshell?

For the past several thousand years, Leto's had a lot of trust in Zeus. Even during Apollo's trials, while she was begging him to end the trials and restore her son's divinity, she still trusted him. Surely if Apollo succeeded at his trials, then Zeus would keep his word and restore him to Olympus. And if he failed -- she did not want to think about him failing, but she still trusted she would see her son again. Somehow.

But now, it's not a matter of success or failure; Apollo is just gone. Leto can't find any trace of him, and suddenly Zeus isn't giving her any answers. She can't exactly bring wrath down upon the King of the Olympus the way she did Niobe millennia ago. All she can do is ask everyone she knows for help finding her son, and stew in her worry as she waits for any scrap of information.

She's not doing great.

(Whenever she finds out about Niobe's involvement, all that anxiety turns into RAAAAAGE)

2. What is/how are the Apollo kids feeling? Are their powers not working as much or what?

Their powers are weakened, but still working! Their spirits... not so much. It's not like Apollo to give them radio silence. When they ask the other gods for information, they provide no answers. But where Leto was filled with anxiety, the Apollo kids are on the cusp of despair. The only thing they're holding on to is Nico saying he didn't feel Lester die; But if that's the case, where is he?

3. How is Olympus doing? Is someone doing apollos work? Are they trying to investigate or are they trying to pretend that nothing is happening?

I hadn't thought about who was doing Apollo's work, but thinking about it now, it's probably either Hermes or Artemis. Maybe they switch off? Hermes has a precedent for handling Apollo's animals, and Artemis would want to ensure her brother's position as sun god is cared for and not usurped. She saw what happened to Helios, after all.

But Olympus is tense. Zeus is convinced that Apollo went into hiding, perhaps hoping that Zeus will come begging for him to come defeat Python --

Oh, yeah, Python's still around, by the way! He's still digesting the power of the Triumvirate, and still has complete control over Delphi, and there is now a risk of him using his power and position to start taking control of fate. With every day that passes, the serpent's power grows, and the tension among the Olympians builds.

Unfortunately, fate has decreed the absent Apollo would be the one to defeat the serpent. But Zeus will not stoop to begging Apollo to come back; That would be showing weakness! He's fine waiting out his son's little tantrum. He's just making it harder for himself, after all; Every day Python grows more powerful. But that's Apollo's problem. Why should Zeus be worried about an evil serpent possibly taking control of fate itself?

Yeah, Zeus is panicking. He pretends to know where Apollo is, but he's as clueless as everyone else, and it's terrifying. Even in the guise of a mortal, what could make an entire god disappear so suddenly? And could Python pull the strings of fate to force the Olympians to fall?

Despite his efforts to look cool and collected, the other Olympians are starting to see the cracks in his facade. Poseidon especially is starting to smell blood in the water, so to speak.

4. Did Lester/apollo gain their powers back before Niobe kidnapped him? And since he’s being brainwashed did he forget he does have powers if he gained them again or are they just completely gone?

I wouldn't say they're gone, but I would say he does not have access to them. The power still exists, but he cannot reach it.

The brainwashing and the lost powers are two separate things that were done to him. Niobe actually did some magical shenanigans (with the help of a Greek goddess I won't name just yet, it's someone who has never appeared in the Riordanverse) to actually remove parts of Apollo's soul to prevent him from accessing them.

5. Will Lester/apollo have a love interest?

I don't have any plans to write any romance for Lester, but who knows, maybe as I'm writing I'll get struck with inspiration! But the story's already complicated enough, haha, romance might tangle it up even more.

And last question for this post I swear lol does Lester/apollo ever show signs of their powers once and awhile? Like for example if their hair starts to go blonde suddenly?

Yes! While he's lost access to most of his powers due to Niobe's meddling on top of Zeus turning him mortal, she overlooked his music powers! It's actually a plot point that he can use music and rhythm to guide people's emotions and movements.

I like to imagine that if he practices hard & concentrates, he can trigger an entire diegetic musical number. The kind where he can get a whole crowd singing and dancing together. Unfortunately that sort of thing is difficult to convey in writing.

Sorry for so many questions, I’m just so invested in this AU ever since I discovered it lol I keep going back to this tag just to reread everything :3

aaa that makes me so happy!! Please don't feel bad about asking questions, it helps me fill in details I hadn't thought about before :D

speaking of Apollo's music powers, here's a bonus doodle

[sarafangirlart]

I've literally seen someone call Ares sexy because he hunted down a pregnant Leto because she hurt his poor mama ☠️ and that she isn't fit to be the goddess of motherhood because of her making fun of Hephaestus in Lucia's dialogs of the gods (which I'm pretty sure is supposed to be comedic)

Like honestly this person basically just posts about how diabolical Leto is for sleeping with her sister's attempted rapist and for being Zeus' willing side chick. In turn making Hera seems defenseless and Ares a big mommas boy who can do no wrong. But alas they won't say anything about Zeus' other lovers such as Maia

lol I think I came across some of their posts, so weird. Like even if you think Leto deserves it (which she doesn’t) do the newborn Apollo and Artemis deserve being treated like this?

[divineintervention-comics]

Omg I love how you draw the gods, I'm not sure if you ever deew her but what animal would Leto look like? Seeing as her children look like bears and swans

thank you so much!!! I plan on having Leto show up on the later chapters of the comic (10 chapters with 4-5 parts in each). Leto is based on a wolf. Artemis got Leto's mammalian traits and Apollo got Zeus's avian traits. i dont have her current design as she would appear in the comic yet but i drew her when she was younger with cub Artemis and cygnet Apollo

its kind of a rough sketch i did on paper but she's very cool. protective mama wolf ♡

she lives on Delos and avoids Olympus all together bc she did her job as titaness of motherhood and is retired. she's just living her best life. she does visit her kids on Olympus but just tries to stay away from everyone else bc she does not need that kind of stress and drama in her life. i love her a lot

[silmarillaure]

Well Ares didn't go after Leto because she slept with Zeus...Hera sent him after Leto because according to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo she would give birth to a son more beloved to Zeus than Ares.

Like most stories we don't know if the union of Leto and Zeus was consensual or not. Hesiod actually lists Leto as the wife of Zeus before Hera and idea which is seemingly older than the myth of Leto's trials perhaps. Heras relationship with Zeus actually seems to be something that was kept secret before their marriage according to some writers, while he was with Leto (an example whete they were almost caught sleeping together by Heras nurse who was trucked to believing that Zeus was sleeping with Leto instead.)

In "The Hera of Zeus" they delve further into Hera's wrath foe this particular situation, where she's angry that Leto is given certain titles and rights that Hera believes should only be hers because she is the queen. Similar to how Aphrodite was angry towards Psyche because mortals gave her titles and honors that should've gone to her as a goddess of beauty.

Leto as a conniving bitch frankly isn't attested so boldly in classical texts or cult. She is given the title of the gentlest and most mild on Olympus, she who answers every prayer.

The myth where Ares hunts down a pregnant woman isn't because he wants justice for his mum. It's because Hera wants to make sure that Ares' role as a legitimate son of Zeus is secure (Apollo is the first son of Zeus born from a goddess who is not Hera)

Whatever Ares did it for, I support him, because if he is already born to be punishing Leto, then Leto is the sidechick and deserves it for willingly sleeping with a married man.

Also, let's remember Ares didn't punish any of Zeus's other baby mamas (most of who were victims), he's not the shitty person you want him to be.

As for Leto not being a bitch...

She rubs her affair with Zeus in Hera's face and insults Hera for giving birth to a disabled son.

That's not bitchy behavior to you?

Not to mention Zeus is also the same man who tried to rape her little sister Asteria. Sleeping with him after he did that makes Leto even scummier than she already is for sleeping with another woman’s husband.

[amiti-art]

I wanna see you, draw Apollo being a mama boy to Leto at some point, lol

I don't have a design for Leto yet, but when I have it I will definitely draw her with her babies 🫶🏻🌙☀️