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𖦹 - Flame and flicker

Pairing - Valzhang (Leo Valdez/Frank Zhang)

Important tags - mild SH, major character death

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‘Frank doesn’t quite remember when he grew so fond of fire. Who knows?’

Just a blurb😿

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Frank doesn’t quite remember when he grew so fond of fire.

He used to despite it. It horrified him. His weakness for the natural element was a big part of his life. It was already bad enough at camp. One time, Hazel burned some fancy plant in her room while he was visiting. He hadn’t expected it and screamed like a girl.

In his defense, she didn’t ask.

It got a whole lot worse on his quest to save Thanatos. (He says ‘his quest’, but truly it was Percy’s. Percy’s the big hero.) He had to watch his childhood home get burnt down. He took his first steps in that house. He remembered every creak of the stairs, and how to avoid them. He remembered his mom making cookies that tasted terrible, and his grandma made him eat the charred baked goods anyways to be polite. Gods. How many pictures of his mother had he lost in that fire? Were there any left? What about—

‘Thinking about it doesn’t help,’ he chided.

Whenever he got nervous, he’d clutch the little bundle in his pocket. And that normally leads to sparks. Somehow. It doesn’t really have logic to it.

The ‘bundle’ he mentioned is a piece of firewood, tightly wrapped in cloth, a little band tied around it to keep it in place. It’s tied to his life.

Something about Juno, and him being declared ‘too powerful’ because of his divine parentage. If it caught aflame and fully charred to dust, he’d die.

So yes, he’s pretty protective over it.

He didn’t feel the need to tell anybody. Nobody would be able to gain that much trust from him. Not even Hazel.

…Not even Hazel.

He was a dumb teenage boy, and a crush didn’t equal life threatening trust. He wouldn’t do that.

Hazel’s sweet. She’s wonderful. Jeez, she’s amazing.

He wasn’t… quite sure about his feelings. All he knew is it didn’t matter. He’d never ever try anything with any crushes he’ll ever have, probably. He’d just humiliate himself.

When did romance come up? Anyways.

After that quest, he was declared a future hero of Olympus and thrown on a ship with six other people.

He was an odd one out. Of course he was.

Percy had Annabeth, Piper had Jason, and Hazel had Leo.

Hazel and Leo are… something. They’ve got something going on, let it be lore, romance, or detailed past stuff. Something about ‘Sammy’. Whatever it is, Frank hated it. Hated Leo. Despised him.

You’ll never believe what’s special about Leo.

He manipulates fire.

So not only is he an asshat that’s clearly stealing Hazel because he’s ten times more attractive, sly, and funny, he’s also the human equivalent to Franks biggest fear.

Leo was rude. Specifically to him.

‘I think I’m worth… say, three or four Franks?’

It ticked him off. He couldn’t have anything. Can’t be the main hero, can’t get the girl, can’t be anything of importance.

That’s not what this is about though.

Despite everything, all the cruel jokes, ‘accidentally’ dropping Leo about a hundred feet, and Leo almost setting him on fire (he almost sobbed, swear to hades), the managed to get along.

They had a whole talk underwater (don’t ask how). It kinda went like…

‘I hate you, why can’t you like anyone but Hazel?’

‘Whattt, nahhh, I’m likeee, wayyyy too cool for Hazel. She’s like, a sisterrrr, ya feel meee?’

‘Oh. Cool. Why do you sound like that.’

‘You’re ginormous.’

‘Oh. Cool.’

Yeah. It cleared up a lot.

And Leo shared his own secret. His own hate for his power. He spoke about how destructive it was, how painful, how it caused more wreckage than relief. He told the story about his mom.

Frank panicked out of guilt, and told him about his mom. And in the process of babbling, it somehow moved on to ‘I have a magic stick that’s like connected to my life and if it burns I’ll literally explode and that’s why I’m terrified of you.’

He hated himself for that. He didn’t trust Leo. He no longer thought he’d be out to kill him, but what if Leo catches aflame and accidentally stumbled into him and all hades breaks loose?

Leo disappeared for about a week.

They found him, obviously, a little raft on the shore of a little city. Frank called it out. Positive it was him. And they did find him.

Leo looked… confused. Off, through his normal spew of jokes. He gave Frank weird looks.

Then, one night, Leo approached him. He shared nothing about what happened that week, simply gifting him a baggy. A little fireproof baggy.

‘It’s fire proof.’ He’d said. ‘For your fancy deadly wood thing?’

Somehow, in Franks years of life, he never thought of a fireproof container. Living on the edge, y’know?

After Franks many, many nervous thank you’s, Leo opened up about what happened that week. He’d fell from the sky onto some goddesses island. Calypso. Leo knew the story of the Odyssey, panicked, and told her he was gay. She got a whole lot less pushy after.

A laugh had been forced out of Frank at that. It was a very Leo tactic.

Leo had brightened a lot. Probably nothing.

Frank sees Leo in the morning a lot.

Annabeth had mumbled something about how Leo wasn’t taking care of himself. How his mood was going down, how he wouldn’t leave the ships controls or engine room for a break. Frank hadn’t noticed. Huh.

He woke up early one morning in pajamas that didn’t fit right to wander through the Argo, ending up on the dock. Leo was stood at the controls, murmuring to himself.

Frank hadn’t meant to jumpscare him. But it was funny.

After a long moment of awkward conversation, Frank cleverly got Leo to hand over the reins by seemingly being so interested in how to drive the ship. Leo looked so proud of himself as he explained. It was a nice sight.

That happened a lot. Seeing him at random. Sometimes Leo even came to him at nights when he couldn’t sleep to rant. It’d disrupt Franks tricky sleeping patterns, but that’s okay.

Then Leo was gone.

He wasn’t sure what to feel. It was confusing.

He remembered being sat at the table with the other six—… other five. He had a hand on Hazels back as she explained through tears.

The look on his face as he told them his plan. It made Frank sick. He was never supposed to smile like that. It was wrong.

The look on the others faces had burned into Franks skin. And they were right to be upset. He let him die. It was his fault.

They had tried to move on from the subject. But Piper and Hazel were still in tears. Everybody was miserable. It made Frank want to crawl in a hole and die.

He tried to help. Said he could drive the ship. That Leo taught him how. Annabeth gave him a weird look (which was understandable, why would that happen?), but thanked him anyways. One problem down.

This was what Frank would’ve wanted way back then, right? What the voices in his head screamed for. Leo in pieces somewhere.

But the thought just made Frank sick.

He found Leo’s lighter at some point, after raiding his room. He assumed it was already dug through, he just wanted to… wanted to check. And check he did.

It was a nice lighter. He assumed Leo made it himself.

He flicked it open and a small red flame appeared. Brilliant.

It burned calmly, like it had all day, lighting up the mostly dark room. Frank could feel its warmth, feel its heat. The possible danger.

Leo would’ve scolded him. Something like ‘you’re gonna kill yourself! Stop touching my stuff!’ Which feels… ironic.

He stared at the flame for a while. He wasn’t sure why. It didn’t fix anything.

He brought his free hand up, holding the fire close to his palm. Not close enough to burn quite yet. It was a nice warmth.

Then he used his thumb and pushed a little closer.

It was just a tingle. Then an ache. Like he could feel his flesh burning, cooking. A dull, throbbing pain, that just seemed to get worse. Reminded him of something.

Annabeth had interrupted him before he could set his hand on fire. That was nice of her.

Hm.

Frank doesn’t quite remember when he grew so fond of fire.

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Again, beginning writer💔 I love them. Sigh. Criticism is appreciated !!

<33

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it's leo waiting for his cool boyfriend praetor without dyslexia (lucky bastard) to get off the reports and read to him.

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Happy Mardi Gras from the Queen and King of the Krewe of Jupiter :)

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random things that remind me of valzhang

this lamp

this spesific shade of fire

hibiscus tea, the color and the sour taste is so them

old watches and clocks

frank's bed in argo ii, where he kept a fire by his bed

broken mirrors

melted candles

the phantom of the opera (2004) movie, esp. the chandelier scene

southern gothic aesthetic and spesificially burning or abandoned churches

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reynabeth

is it bad that i prefer them over percabeth😬

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and of course my forever favourites, tanakane (sadie kane x drew tanaka)

them over sadiexanubisxwalt ANY DAY

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OCTAKAHALE (octavian x michael kahale)

idk who michael iss😭😭😭

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drewlypso

i think they both like woman but imo their personalities don't really match

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frazel

i LOOOVEEEEEEE my babiess probably my fav canon couple

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ships ask game, send me a ship in asks and i'll give my opinion abt them

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wish canada was real in general 🙁

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WE HUG NOW EDIT OF VALZHANG ON TIKTOK?!?!?!?!?!,! IN THE BIG 2025?!?!?!?!?!

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Maybe in another life

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Haruki Murakami

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In Defense of Calypso, an essay on Rick Riordan’s daughter of Atlas.

(Note: I will not be discussing the characterization of Calypso or the dynamic between Calypso and Leo Valdez within Trials of Apollo, as I believe they were unsuccessfully written to follow the bickering couple trope. I feel similarly towards the characterization of Nico di Angelo and Will Solace and their relationship in The Sun and the Star, and I feel it unfair to judge the dynamic that was written to mimic the popularity of Percabeth.)

“I'm coming back for you Calypso," he said to the night wind. "I swear on the river Styx. (House of Hades)

Ogygia exits in a pocket of time, similar to the Lotus Casino that trapped Nico di Angelo as eleven years old for decades. When reading a book, you have to remember the context in which it was written; It is unfair and frankly illiterate behavior to justify your hatred for innocent writing by warping the context of a children’s book. Rick Riordan, as senseless as his modern characterizations of the PJO cast are, would not write one of his few romantic relationships involving a main character to be predatory. Young adult fantasy has a target audience of people as young as 12 years old, who (in most cases) would not be able to derive insightful commentary with such extreme and complex dynamics. Instead, the characters and relationships presented should follow a storyline that focuses on relatable teenage experiences with a narration that reflects adolescent thought processes. A pedophilic character and a predatory relationship dynamic is a trope that is generally considered too graphic to successfully write within a series such as Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Instead, the relationship between Calypso and Leo is supposed to be an optimistic end to two characters who have dealt with longstanding heartache and loneliness. It can be considered an undermining of satisfactory character development, as having a character who struggles with loneliness find peace in being alone in a world that emphasizes the absolute necessity of alloromantic relationships would be a unique ending to the story and important messaging that romantic relationships do not “fix” a person. However, bashing Calypso for the profitable route that the author decided to follow (which is understandable, as the success of his previous novels within fandoms was partially because of the popularity of the romantic relationship between Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase (or “Percabeth”)) is not intelligent media consumption.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians emphasizes an overarching message of disability, how a person may struggle with disability in a world that doesn’t accommodate them, and how disability limiting a person’s abilities does not limit their character. The series is fundamentally a commentary on disability and trauma, as it was written to engage and represent Rick Riordan’s son who struggled with ADHD and dyslexia. While our main cast similarly struggles with these same two disorders, characters like Tyson, Nico di Angelo, and Leo Valdez are written more intentionally to represent disabilities such as Down syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder respectively. As the series develops, we see themes of trauma and long-lasting consequences of psychological and emotional distress, as it is assumed that the audience ages with the series and can digest mature themes more successfully. Calypso, because of her centuries-long isolation and repeated heartbreak resulting from the only close relationships she manages to develop, struggles with abandonment issues. It is not a stretch to say she may also struggle with social cues, similar to how a neurodivergent person may struggle to understand what behaviors are appropriate or not. To call her “mean,” “toxic,” “abusive,” or anything along these lines undermines the trauma responses Rick has made the effort to represent. Instead, it stands to demonize people with mental illness, assuming that their struggles define who they are and the relationships they have. The treatment Calypso receives for her trauma-based behavior is not applied to the male cast of characters, assumedly because of the standards misogyny has created for all women, even fictional.

Referencing the aforementioned defense of her “bad” behavior, many have criticized Calypso because of the curse she unintentionally placed on Annabeth which is seen in the House of Hades.

“We did nothing, the demons said. Your beloved has unleashed a special curse—a bitter thought from someone you abandoned. You punished an innocent soul by leaving her in solitude. Now her most hateful wish has come to pass: Annabeth feels her despair. She, too, will perish alone and abandoned.” (House of Hades, pg. 235)

However, it should be considered that, before Annabeth and Percy Jackson (and Nico di Angelo), no demigod had traveled to Tartarus, never mind surviving it. The demon encountered by the duo was not a common enemy, but a monster that could only be encountered within such a deep part of the underworld. Calypso, rightful in her bitterness though not in who she blamed for it, could not have assumed that Annabeth would encounter the Arai and suffer at their hands. (Note: this is assuming that Calypso had intentionally placed this curse, as it is equally likely that it was an unintentional manifestation of negative emotions)

According to a poll conducted by the Tumblr blog riordanverse-ship-polls, 93.9% of 346 voters feel, neutral or positively towards the ship between Leo Valdez and Jason Grace. 49.4% of these voters state Valgrace as their OTP or one true pairing. Additionally, the Valgrace tag on Tumblr has 2.1 thousand followers, and the tag that marks a romantic relationship between the two on Archive of Our Own has 1,651 fanfictions written (as of February 17, 2025). It is not unfair to assume that this pairing is popular within the fandom. This begs the question— how many people express hatred towards Calypso and her relationship with Leo Valdez because they would prefer a relationship between Leo and Jason? When scrolling through the Caleo tag on Tumblr, the Valgrace tag makes an impressive number of appearances. It is a common experience to see female characters hated in a movie, television show, book series, etc. because they “get in the way of” a ship between two men. It is a result of deeply rooted misogyny within fandom culture, which believes that male characters and relationships between men are inherently more complex than female characters and female relationships. This is not intended to be an absolute opinion, but instead a question that I ask every Valgrace shipper— are you holding female characters, specifically Calypso, to the same degree of morality that you hold the male characters? (Note: I do not intend to bash Valgrace or Valgrace shippers, but seeing the loud minority of them post Valgrace and anti-Calypso/anti-Caleo content under the Caleo tags is beyond frustrating. Ship and let ship!)

I believe I have addressed the reoccurring arguments in opposition to the ship between Calypso and Leo Valdez from Rick Riordan’s “Hero of Olympus” series, and those who incorrectly label Calypso as a mean, toxic, or abusive character. Greek Mythology does not allow for characters to be strictly “good” or “bad,” but instead allows readers to see the complexity of each action and its consequence. Though written for a younger audience, the same level of understanding must be given to the characters of the Riordanverse series.

(Please note, I am a 17 year old with limited experience with academic writing. Any constructive criticisms are welcomed, but I ask that you be considerate when disagreeing.)

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