#my love my child my sweetheart

[irisbellemoon]

thinking about madoka kaname......

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

sometimes you wake up and and just want to go back to sleep.

not particularly because you're still tired, but because you feel awful, limbs heavy and anxiety threading through every inch of your body- or is it hunger? no, it's too deep and crushing to be simple hunger. you have to get up. but you can't get up. you roll under the covers, wrapping your arms around your shoulders with a grimace, heart fluttering and squeezing erratically. it hurts, and you need to get up, but dread weighs you down and confines you to the mattress, sinking into your bones and burrowing into the marrow like tiny mites.

instinctively you freeze when a pair of arms snakes around your waist, claws resting against your skin- ah. it's just Foul Legacy.

he has a nest of blankets and pillows in his own room, but in all honesty most nights are spent happily curled up beside you, taking up all the extra space on your bed with his lovely, cozy Abyssal self. Legacy purrs quietly, kneading gently against your stomach with his talons and tugging your shoulders until you flip over to face him. he croons, languid, delighted, nudging his head against yours and licking your cheek before pulling back with dreamy adoration in his crystalline eye. you stare, exhale, and a matching smile spreads across your own lips, minus the fangs and the ridges of his mask. Legacy chitters in contentment, as the sight of your happiness warms him more than any burning ember or flame could dream.

the knot of dread in your stomach uncurls and dissipates into wisps, and you peacefully snuggle into your beloved moth's arms.

[chuthulhu-reads]

[ID: Five panels from Trigun Maximum. The background and borders are solid black instead of solid white. Before the first panel are speech bubbles saying, "Mama. Mama, look!" The second panel shows a small child pointing as his mother, a pretty woman with a kind smile, crouches next to him. In the second panel, the mother looks down at the child and says, "She's pretty, isn't she?" The little boy, still staring up, asks, "Why..." In the third panel, he looks up at his mother and continues, "...Is she in there?" In the fourth panel, the mother puts her hands on the kid's shoulders and looks up as she says, "She's... working." In the fifth panel, the mother smiles back down at her son as she says, "It's thanks to her that you, mama and papa can live here safely." The little boy looks confused. End ID.]

I WEEP over this flashback. They're introducing the plant to their child not as something weird or alien, but pretty. Not as a thing, but a person who's working, who's not just property of the community but a crucial member of it. In the next panels, the mother prompts her child to thank the plant in a way that looks both like a hyper-respectful Japanese bow and Christian prayer.

[ID: Three panels from Trigun Maximum. The first shows the little boy pointing up with a big smile. Behind him, his mother is looking back over her shoulder at her husband, a smiling man in glasses. The little boy is saying, "Mama, look! She smiled!" The second panel shows the little boy still looking up and smiling as, behind him, his parents talk and laugh together. In the third panel, the boy is turning away and looking at his parents, saying, "See?" as the father smiles and waves and the mother looks surprised. After the last panel, there's black space, and a last speech bubble saying, "She smiled..." End ID.]

She smiled. She smiled at a child smiling at her. She smiled at a child who was alive because of her. She smiled at the people who loved her and prayed to her and thanked her. She treasured them enough to remember their smiles even after being fused into the horrendous amalgamation in the Ark.

[ID: Two panels from Trigun Maximum. The first shows Knives looking startled, wide-eyed and sweating, the left side of his face flaking somewhat. The second panel shows him standing on a walkway over a huge mass of fused plants, an uncomfortably fleshy mess of wings, veins, and random limbs. Knives is saying, "Was that..."]

LOOK at that. Knives himself knows he's at risk of losing his sense of self inside that mass, and Chronica later says that plants don't innately have an individual sense of self to begin with. Yet one of those plants remembered some of the humans she once supported fondly enough to cling to that memory, no matter what; or, perhaps, that memory was so beloved by every other plant that saw it that they all kept it, all shared it and held it close to their hearts, all that love battering against Knives' shaky mental walls of rage and hatred and fear.

[ID: A chaotic double-page spread from Trigun Maximum. The first four panels show a quick sequence of Knives falling to his knees and gasping as he clutches at his face, his eyes widening desperately. The next three panels are thin slices, each showing a larger and larger number of random people, like you're pulling out from a crowd that just keeps getting bigger. Despite how many people are crammed into each panel, artistic effort has been put into making each face unique and distinct from each other. The next face shows Knives' face literally cracking and splitting into a number of panels showing the Project Seeds ships, stars in space, the shooting-star image of the ships falling, a sun rising over ruined ships, and the elongated arms of a plant reaching out from among folded wings. A panel at the bottom of the page shows Knives screaming as it looks like the flesh is actually melting off of his face. The last panel shows Elendira running towards him, crying out, "Knives!" End ID.]

I really think, at the end of the day, the plants don't necessarily mind being relied on as producers, because I think they love life and creation. They've held onto all of these faces, all these people who were alive because of them. Short of the horror of the Last Runs, maybe they take pride in what they do. Maybe seeing other lives flourish from theirs makes them happy. We don't know for sure, but for all the body horror in their imagery, they are still, ultimately, evocative of angels. And they're reaching out to Knives with enough love for humanity to fracture the walls in his mind that he's put up against the reality of what the Big Fall was, against remembering that he did once love humans, and then he killed tens of millions of them. Being forced to see humans as Vash and the other plants do--as individuals, as living things, as people--is literally tearing him apart. God this page is a real artistic flex from Nightow, both in terms of panel composition and just thumbing his nose at mangaka that draw the same three faces forever

[meidui]

tony's hands 🤤

[redr0sewrites]

i would talk about harry potter on here but no one agrees with my headcanons i fear

[seriousbrat]

let sirius (and james) be mean

Obviously in SWM both James and Sirius are atrocious towards Snape but I think it's pretty revealing how mean they also are to their best friends, especially Peter:

And while I think James possibly grew out of his mean girl phase to some extent Sirius didn't, at least not fully. To be fair he's usually not outright rude unless he dislikes someone-- mostly, he's dismissive or impatient especially when someone says something he perceives as stupid, as well as being overall insensitive to the feelings of others.

In the prequel they're both fairly insensitive and rude to two terrified Muggles lol, I mean who cares and it's funny but there are examples of Sirius being something of a mean girl later on as an adult. obviously, the famous one:

and yeah you can defend this by saying he was stuck in grimmauld place and frustrated, bla bla bla, I do get it and I still love him and don't think it makes him a terrible person or godfather but objectively this is an incredibly mean thing to say to Harry.

Other somewhat minor instances that nevertheless paint a wide picture:

OotP (I'm leaving out his interactions with Kreacher bc those are self evident)

-------

-------

he's also kind of dismissive towards Harry's feelings at certain points. A good example of this is the stiff "one-armed hug" and gruff goodbye he gives him when they leave for Hogwarts after christmas, or this earlier conversation:

Also, how he talks about Regulus. obviously it's somewhat justified since Sirius believes him to have just been a Death Eater, but he specifically calls Regulus stupid rather than just saying he was a bad person. This is interesting because it can be inferred that Regulus was not stupid at all, given that he figured out the secret of the Horcruxes. imo Sirius was too dismissive of his brother to actually know who he really was.

(and bonus him being snippy with Harry)

GoF

like this is probably true but it's still rude lol, as is this from OotP which has definite mean girl vibes:

next:

so this on its own doesn't seem especially mean but it does come after Sirius has basically dismissed every single thing that Ron has said lol, even raising his hand at one point to shut him up. It's not the worst but imo does indicate his impatience with "stupidity" which we also see in SWM:

and James has this too:

imo this shared feeling of superiority and mutual delight in their own intelligence were big factors in his closeness with james.

ALL THIS TO SAY, Sirius was mean lol ESPECIALLY as a teen. my rude scorpio child. So I think when writing teen Sirius it's an important part of his characterisation (and James's) for him not only to be rude/disdainful to people he hates but also just generally. It's also why it's extra ridiculous that he's portrayed as dumb in fanon seeing as he's very often dismissive and judgmental to those he perceives as being of lesser intelligence.

And this isn't a criticism of Sirius at all, I love him and tbh his mean streak is one of the things that make him so fun to write for me. He's a beloved character and I understand the desire to paint him in a positive light, but he wasn't perfect. As others have said the friendship between the Marauders wasn't something idyllic and aspirational, it's a warning story to Harry. Furthermore, kindness towards Kreacher being something that helps them find the Horcrux is also a lesson for Harry.

Sirius's insensitivity to the feelings of others was what got him killed, his insensitivity and disdain for peter led in part to James and Lily's deaths too. it doesn't make him a terrible person, just a flawed one.

[greatgoddyke]

much ado about pleasure

[reallyhardy]

Sorry what’s up w the Ethan slater stuff? I know him only from your posts / SpongeBob stuff

HI HELLO please buckle in

yep -- the same guy from the spongebob musical, and my posts abut the spongebob musical.

he blew up completely and now the general public knows him as 'ariana grande's new boyfriend' - their relationship seems to have started off the back of co-starring in the upcoming wicked musical film adaptation.

it's just been like. a monkey's paw curling sort of a way for him to get catapulted to fame, as i had always really enjoyed him as a performer (as spongebob, yes, but also in the other roles i'd seen him in,) and my biggest hope back around 2017 was that he would continue in and be really successful in theatre, get a lot of broadway roles, maybe take on some existing parts i thought he'd really suit, like seymour in little shop or ogie in waitress.......... but instead he booked the role of boq from wicked in a massive hollywood film production instead, where he met ariana grande. THE ariana grande.

and then yeah. at some point, he and grande broke up with their respective partners, (slater leaving both his wife AND newborn son) jumped into a new relationship, and now the whole wider internet knows who he is but certainly not for the right reasons.

there's been speculation regarding whether or not grande and slater had cheated on their previous partners before their relationship began with various sources coming out of the woodwork saying "yes they did" and others saying "no they didn't" -- humans are all perfectly capable of making stuff up, the media especially, so i simply don't know who to trust and i admit it had completely shattered my whole good impression of him - PLUS it gave the wider internet an absolutely awful first impression of him, resulting in, yeah, the (frankly, unflattering, sometimes downright cruel) memes of him popping up on twitter and, as i discovered yesterday, in non-theatre youtubers' videos who would literally never have heard of him if not for the slater-grande romance 🥲

FULL COVERAGE of the situation as it was happening can all be found on the lovely @notasimpleslater's blog under the tag 'ozgate' if you want to delve deeper!

[poppinspops]

My favorite tbosas(the ballad of songbirds and snakes) characters but as boards

I made board's because school is kicking my ass and writers block is being a bitch all at the same time 😕

[boarwinds]

so from what i can tell in your h.c's lucy gray, very understandably, starts off cold to coriolanus when they go to the capitol (shocker, girls don't like getting shot) is there ever a specific turning point where they sorta have a new normal (by their standards) and if so do you have a hc of that moment

I think that would only happen once LG sees the twins actually somewhat enjoy/get used to living in the capitol? Maybe its like a lightbulb moment for LG, her kids aren’t fighting over food anymore when they think she can’t see them, (tangent but,, I definitely don’t want the kids to come across as selfish(?) but they’re kids, they’re hungry n underfed, and its natural to fight over stuff w ur sibling. They know their mom does her absolute best so they try not to fight in front of her, but it must’ve absolutely broken LG’s heart when she first saw them fight esp over food. Prob also the first time she cracks n thinks maybe reaching out to CS wouldn’t be so bad, ofc she immediately dismisses those thoughts) they’re warm, and safe n under the protection of the most powerful person in panem. LG realizes she can’t keep believing that the capitol is the worst thing that could happen to her kids when she sees them so happy. Maybe it’s after they come back from their first day of school, it’s a 180 from when she sent them off, both kids were terrified and clinging to her skirt. If it weren’t for CS, she might’ve taken them right back into her arms and gone home with them, but when the twins come back after school all excited and animatedly talking over each other to tell CS n LG abt their day, LG feels relief and grief at the same time. Her twins were fine but now she knows their happiness means she can never escape CS or the capitol.

I think CS clocks this n finds it so amusing. Maybe he picks up the kids in his arms (for visual ref look at my fan art of CS carrying Maude ivory lawl) all while keeping eye contact w LG, only breaking eye contact to face each twin n tells them “slow down, one at a time so ur mother can hear you, right LG?” Or do u think he’d call her a nickname 👁️👄👁️

[aheckinmess]

Laundry Night in Gotham

(Part 1 of Bashful Beginnings with Bengal.)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Bruce Wayne, Batman, Gotham City, Original Child Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Gotham is Gotham, Child Reader is Just Doing Her Best, Canon Divergence, A Little Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruce Wayne is the Ray of Sunshine We Deserve, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Bruce Helps a Child, Child Gets Lost, I Love Bruce Because He's a Sweetheart, Bruce Knows ASL, Quiet Child OC, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Family Fluff, This is the Introduction to a Whole AU My Friends and I Have Been Writing, Protective Bruce Wayne

Word Count: 1,537 words

Summary: Bengal is a young child who likes talking with sign language more than words, and her mother never lets her go out in Gotham at night. So what happens when they're at the laundromat and Bengal gets lost in the ever-darkening streets of Gotham?

Author's Note: My friends and I have written a whole fanfic and this is part of my character's backstory. I had to share because it's just too cute.

“Oh my sweet Tiiiiiigerlily!” Bengal heard the call of her mother through the garden, but she was remiss to leave. Plants were easier to interact with than people. Plants didn’t force you to say anything you didn’t want to. Plants didn’t laugh at you just because you talked more with sign language than actual words. 

Plants didn’t say mean things to you just because you twitched sometimes when you were thinking really hard.

Mommy taught her about growing plants. Mommy helped her plant cucumbers that were flowered so pretty in the warm spring air. Mommy said most plants flower to show they’re mature, and laughed when Bengal asked her why humans don’t do that.

Now, Bengal toddled through their vast garden and tucked behind the vibrant leaves sprouting from a planter of potatoes. The scent of lavender wafted over and helped soothe her breathing. Maybe if I don’t answer, she’ll give me a few more minutes. She thought, laying back to look up at the clouds.

Her mind drifted back to the tall lady in the grocery store, how she’d frowned when looking at her mommy. “What does she have? Is she okay?” That had been enough to rattle Bengal from her daydreams and get her to stop twitching. Though Bengal was too young to understand exactly what was said, she gathered enough context to look down with bright red cheeks.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh…I’m sorry. She…well, I thought she was having seizures.” Peeking out behind her hair, Bengal could see the lady looked sad, but her face was a little different. It had the look Bengal frequently gave her mother when she knew she said something she wasn’t supposed to.

“She has an overactive imagination. It makes her twitch sometimes.” Mommy had smiled, but her voice sounded angry, like when she talked about Daddy. 

Bengal had never met her dad. Mommy told her that he left but it wasn’t her fault…but it still kind of felt like her fault. Sometimes when she’d go outside, she’d pray to God that He would bring him back. Sometimes she prayed that He would keep him far far away from them.

“Tigerlily, there you are.” Mommy’s voice trickled in her ears and she was suddenly lifted in strong arms. Bengal watched her mother pick up a basket of carrots before readjusting her. “What am I going to do with you, my little tiger?”

Buy me more video games . Bengal giggled as she signed the words.

“You don’t feel like talking out loud to Mommy today?”

Bengal shook her head, feeling tired and worn out from the grocery store.

“That’s okay, honey. I know we just went to the grocery store a few hours ago, but I need you to come with me to the laundromat, okay? Your babysitter canceled.”

No Rosie? Bengal frowned. Rosie was the best! Rosie read to her. As many books as she wanted! And sometimes she’d play video games with her.

“No, sweetie. Rosie has the flu. Now, come on. Let’s go get some clothes washed.” Mommy winked at her before passing through the threshold from the backyard and into the house. When Bengal was set down, she ran over to her favorite pink shoes. “Good girl. It’s just a short walk. Let’s hurry so we get finished before dark.”

Mommy didn’t let Bengal go anywhere in Gotham alone during the day. But even her mom wouldn’t walk in Gotham at night. She said more bad people came out at night. More bad people who were not safe.

Bengal was scared of the dark, but she wasn’t scared of the night. Because night time was when The Batman came out to save everyone in trouble.

. . . . .

Mommy started shaking her leg in the chair and glancing out the window whenever the sun went down. She started squeezing her sleeves when the shadows spread over the streets.

Bengal wondered if she had to go potty, but she didn’t seem to be in a hurry. And whenever the laundry was done, her mom stopped moving quite as much. She pulled Bengal along with the fresh, clean clothes and out into the darkening city.

They made it to the crosswalk when Bengal saw someone with glowing lights on the street corner. She wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t mean to get separated from her mother, but suddenly she was alone in a big crowd where a bunch of cold eyes glanced at her and kept walking.

Her throat got tight as she started to sniffle. She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but she started moving and trying to find a police officer. What did Mommy tell me? I’m sposed to stay still but I don’t see her! Where am I supposed to go? Do I just walk home? I just want Mommy…  

She started running. She needed to find a safe spot. There were so many people. Too many people. Bengal didn’t look at anybody. She found the nearest empty bench and hid beside it, starting to cry. Her body shook as she tried looking through teary eyes to find her mom. But everyone looked the same and she couldn’t find her mother’s face in the crowded darkness.

I’m never going to see my mommy again and then someone is going to hurt me or someone is going to hurt her and–

“Excuse me, sweetheart, are you lost?” A kind voice startled her and she retreated further into the side of the bench. “Hey, hey, hey, you’re okay, you’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

People scared Bengal so much. She couldn’t find her voice as she looked up at the tall man. He seems nice though. He looks nice, too. He’s got a pretty blue tie.

“Hey, can you breathe with me, sweetie?” His voice softened as he bent down to Bengal’s level.

She nodded her head and followed his lead through some shuddering breaths. The world stopped spinning quite so much. Her shaky hands weren’t quite so shaky anymore. 

“There you go, good job.” He encouraged, giving her the prettiest smile she’d ever seen. “Now, do you need help getting home?”

Again, she nodded.

“Okay. Where do you live?”

Bengal wiped her eyes and started signing. 99 Oakland Drive.

Oh. Are words hard for you? That’s okay. I know ASL too. He signed back, making Bengal gape up at him. Follow me. I’ll keep you safe. He extended his hand but Bengal merely held up her arms and looked at him with a plea. The stranger hoisted her up in his arms and began carrying her across the dark streets of Gotham.

The darker the city got, the more Bengal flinched and startled at every sound she heard. Finally, the crash of a trash can lid made her speak.

“I-I d-don’t like…th-the dark.” She whispered.

“The dark is scary for a lot of people.” The nice man said, patting her back. “It’s okay to be scared.”

“D-Do you think…Th-The Batman…gets scared?” She swallowed, her little body twitching when she heard an angry dog barking down an alley.

He chuckled.

“I think The Batman gets scared more than people think he does. For sure.”

“What…” This information was new for Bengal. If The Batman gets scared and still saves people…maybe I can do stuff even though I’m scared too. “What do you think he does…when he’s scared?”

“Hmm, that’s a good question.” He said, looking both ways before crossing another street. Bengal knew this area well enough to know her house was getting closer. They were almost there. “I think The Batman faces his fears so he can help others. Because he knows that it’s okay to be scared so long as he doesn’t let it get in the way of his life.”

Bengal opened her mouth to ask another question when she saw them. Red and blue lights outside Mommy’s house. And Mommy! She stood talking to two men in police clothes while the nice man held Bengal in the shadows.

“That’s her. That’s my mommy!” She exclaimed happily, before suddenly being put down.

“This is as far as I take you, okay? You go on ahead. I’ll watch you. But it might be a big fiasco if I take you over there. I’m glad to have met you, little one.” He started pushing her toward the lamplight.

“But…you helped me.” Bengal stepped back toward him, scared of making even that small trek in the darkness. “Why can’t you come with me?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older, if you remember this.” Another smile from him gave her courage. “But don’t forget to be brave, okay? You can do it. Now go on.”

Bengal took a few steps away from him, stopped, and then rushed back to crush the man’s legs in a tight, appreciative hug. She looked up at him and signed one phrase. Thank you.

Then she took off for her mother.

“Mommy! Mommy!” She barreled into her legs and breathed in her scent and finally finally everything felt like it would be okay. 

“Oh, Bengal! This is her, officers. Oh, my darling!” Mommy was crying, and Mommy never cried. Bengal was sure she’d explode with as tight as Mommy squeezed her!

But she didn't mind.

[lunabug2004]

I don't really understand it when reactors or just people in general get annoyed at how long it takes for the kids to get Max in-the-loop in s2.

I know that Mike's attitude towards her plays a part in it, bc he's also the one that always responds to them almost letting her in like the times they're talking about Will's "True Sight", but I wish people would remember the fact that no one involved in s1 is supposed to tell anyone about anything they went through. Steve literally explains it in the first episode, I think.

Like, I understand my view is biased as a Mike stan, and I'm not saying Mike wasn't a jerk to Max, but he was literally keeping both them, and her (maybe less intentionally, but still) safe by not allowing Max to know about the Upside Down. Even the first time I watched, I remember thinking it was odd that Mike seemed to be the only one of the boys who actively tried to not tell Max anything when it was literally illegal and unsafe for them to do so.

I think this is backed up by the fact that even if he didn't really like her presence, he didn't actively kick her out until things started to connect to the UD being involved. He was perfectly fine with her meeting and knowing about Dart until Will told him about Dart's connection to the UD.

(Also, maybe less related but something I noticed on this rewatch. Mike clearly doesn't like the idea of Max getting hurt no matter how mean he was being to her. He is so worried when El makes her fall. I am at least a slight believer in Mike not wanting to involve Max, or anyone else really, because bc of the risks they might get hurt btw so disregard this if you want.)

Again, maybe this is just my Mike-bias talking, but it's just something I wish more reactors/people would keep in mind.

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Imagine untangling sea monster fould legacy from some tangled wires or plastic bags from the ocean- he's just a clumsy swimmer :*( Also polution'

me whenever i see more Sea Monster Foul Legacy: *consumes in one bite omonmonmonmmom*

just think about finding him on the shore unable to move, blood seeping from places the wires are too tight. he flinches when you approach, jerking his tail away and ripping more gashes in his scales until you hold up your hands, gently shushing the odd sea beast so you can carefully snip away the wires from his body. you wince at the cuts that litter his torso and tail, balling the horrible wire up into a ball and shoving it into your bag to throw away later, then taking a slow step back to show the creature that he's free to go

but instead he stays, claws scratching at the raw wounds and tail smacking the waves in pain, and without a word you kneel and begin using your hands to pour saltwater onto the injuries. he flinches initially, but soon allows you to continue, before gently curling his claws around your hands and bringing them closer to his face, amazed at the lack of webbing and small size. with a smile you extend a hand to compare to his, and hear the peculiar creature trill and purr in delight, the already vibrant colors of his scales and armor flaring brighter as he laces his talons with your fingers

the next day you return to the beach on a whim, and are overjoyed to see a pair of crimson horns peeking out of the water

[blitzbuckz]

KICKS THE DOOR DOWN.

Listen here you! I absolutely ADORE you. You, Blitz, everything about you is so genuine & sweet. You're an absolute joy to talk to & be around, I always look forward to seeing you on the dash. Your art is absolutely gorgeous & YOU are literally the starlight of my life. Never change Liz, you're perfect♡

GLAD I HAVE FUCKIN' INSURANCE otherwise I wouldn't financially recover from this...

[depressedstressedlemonzest]

This had me legitimately crying like OH MY GOD between rumple giving one last love confession to belle and then he and bae?

I don't know which part had me crying more.

Bae being heartbroken about losing his papa even though he was still mad. That was an awesome line because usually it's like "I'm sorry" "it's okay" but begrudgingly.

This was genuine with bae's emotions. And rumples.

Great let's add cora to the Heartbreakers club.

Bitch.

"I'll take your baby"

"You only get your own child and any child I have Wong be yours."

Okay but that makes me think that not only did they totally fuck, but that regina could be rumple's. Because I can see cora using rumple's own double speak to trick him.

God I hope him nd regina don't start Mackin on one another later. This show has enough mommy and daddy issues.

Okay this is a sad scene and all, but rumple and his sluttly little elbow garter?

Next episode!

Who the fuck is the kid and the dad? Who else has present parents in fairy tales? Most of em die off or are already dead.

I love how devilishly happy regina is.

"And that's how I met your mother."

Henry is a perceptive kid, how perceptive are 11 year Olds?

[ima-ghost-art]

Having some ideas for a "10 years later" valzhang kid fic (featuring trans leo & other fun hcs)

Where a couple years after Leo and Calypso split (early 20s at this point) Athena goes and works with leo in his shop for a few months before giving him a daughter, because she believes that he is one of the smartest minds of his generation (I just KNOW Athena heard all of Leo's plans through out Hoo when he would talk to himself around the Athena Parthenos, and was impressed with his (honestly incredibly smart) strategy to succeed at doing 2 things no human nor god had ever done, then succeeded with both plans all while remaking a metal dragon all in secret, plus Annabeth loves her friend alot so that's a bonus)

(This will be long so more after the cut)

So now, at like 23, Leo is the father of a beautiful baby girl named Sophina Esperanza Piper Valdez, and he loves it, he really does! Although he was terrified to ever be a parent, and this certainly wasnt how he planned to ever have kids, he loves his daughter more than anything and is determined to not have her experience anything he had too, and because shes a greek demigod he knows she will taken care of by the camp.

PLUS the seven ADORE Sophina!!

Piper loves her god daughter, and she and leo love to tell her all about Jason knowing he would have loved her so much too! Although it's weird in the beginning, Annabeth really loves and cares for her little sister, but much prefers to be seen as her aunt, (percy is definitely the cool uncle and loves to babysit Sophina along with looking after his own kids)! Hazel couldnt have been more excited to have a neice, just like leo she cant help but see so much of sammy Sophina!

And Frank? He adores Sophina too, he loves seeing Leo excel at being a dad, and he finds it hilarious at how devious this little girl is, how the combo of incredible building/ strategic mind from her godly heritage plus that insane intelligents from her father alone made the now 3 year old an adorable MENACE!!

No normal kiddie pen could ever keep this child contained! And frank would know, he offered to babysit more often than not, whenever he wasnt doing his praetor duties, he was looking after Sophina. And when he wasnt doing that he was often having her and leo over for dinner or lunch.

So much had changed since they where 15/16, living on a flying boat trying to save the world, it had been an entire decade even. And sure they were only mid 20s but that's practically middle age with a demigods track record. Leo and Frank went from hating eachothers guts to having a weird bond, formed of complete and utter trust in the other, while never quite getting rid of their petty bickering, tho this time on far more friendlier jokeing terms, (loving bullying piper called it) plus it helped they admired eachother and their abilities greatly. And now as they were both freshly single, welp dam it sometimes feelings just sorta surprise ya!

Frank and Hazel split the year before Sophina was created, both realising they had different ideas for their futures, and in the aftermath they became even closer friends, so when Frank started realising just how long he had been harbouring feelings for leo, well Hazel was the first one to say she both knew it, and to become his ultimate wing woman.

Leo, who has been single since 19, and hasnt thought about dating again properly since after having his daughter, suddenly having years old feelings from the argo2 reserface after frank starts helping him out more with his little girl, feeling like a percy out of water when he thinks about wanting to get back into dating again, especially when dating involves one of his best friends...

Buttttttt :) when you have the favour of both the godess of love and the godess of marriage and family on your side (abit reluctantly on your end) things end up going great!! Everyone was surprised it hadnt happened sooner and well, it's been going smooth for the last few months at least! Plus Sophina absoulutly loves having Frank around more!!

That is until 6 months later, 3 months before Sophinas 4th birthday, Frank is called away for a quest with his legion, which isnt uncommon, but it's the first one since the two became official, so Leo wont lie if hes a little bit more stressed than usual.

It doesnt help no one has heard from Frank and his quest group in over a week... nor the fact not either of the camps or even the hunters could find them... and definitely no the fact that Leo's cycle is late and has been throwing up for the last few days...

So when Annabeth comes over to help with a project while Percy takes care of Sophina for the day, the first thing she does is tell him to take a pregnancy test or have them call Will, even tho Leo is adamant its probably just a stomach bug.

Of course, 3 positive tests, 2 breakdowns in the arms of Annie, Piper and Hazel, and 1 check up from Will, Leo discovers hes around 6 weeks pregnant and the other father could only be Frank and he is still MIA!!!

Not only that, but Leo, after the war, becoming a double amputee, still grieving Jason with so much regret, and a now no longer single father of an amazing little girl, he was now facing becomg a father AGAIN only this time hes going to actually carry his own child, unlike the first time. Leo was trans, he always knew that if he ever in the place to have a child, he would have to carry them, and at the time he mostly only dated women anyway! But when Athena came along and gave him Sophina, well that was the perfect out to all that. Until now...

Leo doesn't know what to do, he cant make any decisions about the baby without Frank, and by now it's going on 2 weeks without any word. Hazel has been staying with him and Sophina when she hasnt been out doing search missions with Arion, the two have been sharing the stress.

Its week 2 and a half, 4 weeks from when the original quest started, when the questing group finally returns, found by Rayna and Hazel, mostly badly injured and being carried by Frank who had transformed himself into (all be it a very hurt) Elphant.

According to what they said the group had somehow fallen into some of the uncollapsed tunnels of the labyrinth which messed with people being able to find them.

But that doesnt matter, Frank is back and Leo is a flood of emotions because he just spent the last 3 weeks worrying if the guy he was inlove with was dead or dying, and the last week and a half thinking he was going to be a single dad AGAIN

But Frank, big dumb lovable Frank, is here, hes alive, and as he returns from the elephant to normal with the kindest most apologetic smile as he walks over to Leo before being directed to the med tent. He holds Leo close as he says hes sorry for disappearing over and over again.

So of course Leo, in all his blazing adhd glory, not exactly chooses, more word vomits the thing that he had been desperate to tell Frank since he first found out.

So in sitcom style dramatics the moment frank hears the words "I'm pregnant" from Leo's mouth he immediately passes out.

Que some shenanigans, but it ends with Frank being so excited, he already loved Leo, (not that either had said it out loud yet), he would be thrilled to have Sophina as his step daughter, and to to be an actual dad himself, for them to have a child and give Sophina a little sibling?? For them to be a weird chaotic family (oh gods they're going to be a family, they're going to need to find a bigger place to live all together, would Leo even want to move to New Rome? Wait would Leo want to even move in with HIM?? Panic for another time)

It becomes a hectic next 9 months, the Valdez - Zhang family has a new family home at the edge of New Rome, Sophina has never been more excited finding out she was going to be a big sister (being told the week before her 4th bday) (she had a party thrown by the Athena & Haphaestus kids at CHB) and happily helps her dads prepare. The 7 are thrilled for the new addition to their found family (my hc this would be the 4th kid from the group)

And finally they eventually wecome Ellie Jace Valdez - Zhang, Greek/Roman legacy of Haphaestus, Mars & Poseidon, future fighter extraordinar who eventually inherits the Zhang shapshifting, also inherited her fathers firewood