Leonidas "Leo" Valdez

PLAYER
Player name: Keith
Contact: redfielding
Characters currently in-game: N/A

CHARACTER
Character Name: Leonidas "Leo" Valdez
Character Age:
Canon: Percy Jackson
Canon Point: Post The Dark Prophecy

Personality: One would think he's a child of Hermes with the way he jokes and plays pranks. Leo is one the most glass-half-empty optimists on the planet. He is upbeat to the point where it's worrisome, often disarming people's fears with jokes to cover up his own insecurities. Throughout most of the Lost Hero he is weighed down by the guilt of his mother's death, blaming himself for his family hating him (his family believe he was cursed, and he bounced around through foster families enough he believed it). He grows past this, eventually realizing that he isn't at fault for his mother's death, and is able to forgive himself.

He often feels like a third wheel (or seventh in one case) where he doesn't think he will measure up the same way as the other demigods can. He's not as strong as them, and often times feels like his support is not enough -- but he's smart. He pulls his weight in other ways trying to prove he is just as worth as the rest of them. Due to his abilities, he is surprisingly about the same level of power as the Big Three kids but he still doubts himself. His motto is simply to just do it and not over think it.

Leo falls "in love" relatively quickly. As long as the girl is beautiful and totally out of his league? He's there. Though flirting with women has gotten him in a spot of trouble before (see Khione who hates him and his compliments because his natural element with fire sort of goes against a snow goddess). However things change when he ends up on Ogygya and meets Calypso. At first? They don't get along but his tune changes as he slowly falls in love with her. After he leaves the island he makes an unbreakable oath on the Styx, he starts to become a little more grounded. Despite the heart break he feels, and his promise on the Styx, he knows that he will have to sacrifice himself to defeat Gaea, and he becomes more steeled in his resolve to their end goal.

After his death, he returns to Ogygya to finally help Calypso escape her curse to finally live off the island. The two of them are having their difficulties, which are a result of Calypso no longer being immortal and losing her abilities, and Leo's nervousness about their relationship turning into him joking around a lot. He's scared, their communication is not the best and he hopes that they'll grow past it. Through the Dark Prophecy we see him show his concerns and fears (through Apollo, who thinks they could use time to just stay in one place). He is still learning to communicate his feelings, but thankfully they both settle on staying in Indianapolis to try and be normal teenagers, to live together and work on their relationship.

Inventory:

•Festus, the Bronze Dragon: Anything through an 8'x4' door? Well behold! Festus can transform itself into a convenient suitcase complete with wheels to roll the bronze beast around. While yes it can become a beautiful giant bronze dragon (that seats at least three not fully grown demigods), it wouln't be the same without him. However, he is currently inoperable after the battle with Commodus where he was destroyed. Thankfully he is mostly put back together and Leo may need more time to get him up and running properly.

•Magic Toolbelt While he doesn't quite know where everything comes from, Leo can pull simple tools from the belt, as well as food, medical supplies, and breath mints. Larger items, especially things that don't have to do with mechanics, require the belt to recharge or "cool down." for an extended period of time. It is also known that big items, such as chain-saws, or magic items cannot be pulled out of the belt.

•Hammer: His primary weapon is his 3-pound Club Hammer, which he summons from his tool belt from time to time.

Abilities:

General Abilities:

•Language: Leo is fluent in Spanish, Greek, and English, which helps in a wide variety of cases involving his journey as a demigod. He also knows Morse Code, which he had learned from his mother.

•Superhuman: Despite not being the strongest or fastest Demigod around, he's still more so than the average mortal. One might say, however that he is the most durable of them all considering he's fireproof.

Demigod Abilities:

•Technokinesis: Not surprisingly as a son of Hephaestus, Leo has Machine Aptitude, Machine Expertise, Machine Sensitivity, and Trap Detection. All of this boils down to that he can figure out how to use any type of mechanical device, communicate with them, sense the faults in the metal ore, identify a type of machine with touch, and sense all mechanical traps.

•Pyrokinesis: This is an extremely rare trait among children of Hephaestus. He's the first child in hundreds of years to have it, and while at first he thinks of it as a curse he is now determined more then ever to make it a gift. He's extremely capable with it too, learning how to control the flames and heat around him. He is able to shoot white hot flames to melt chain links, throw fireballs/fire bolts, fire blasts and (if he concentrates hard enough), columns of fire. Sometimes he loses his control when he gets excited or scared, beginning to heat up and smoke. While Leo is fireproof, he has to actually concentrate so his clothing doesn't go up in flames as well.

Leo can increase the heat of his fire to such an extent that he basically becomes like a supernova. He used this ability on Gaea, however this actually killed him in the end. (He got better.)

Flaws: Leo's Fatal Flaw has not been revealed. It may relate, however, to how tightly he holds onto the past at times, and how fiercely he clings to his promises. He keeps a lot of his guilt and burdens inward, only letting them fester with time. He also has an inferiority complex torn between thinking he's not wanted or not trusted, and that too eats at him. He also has a very hard time communicating his own emotions to his friends, not wanting to burden those around him with his problems.

While he has it mostly in control, when he does feel overly emotional he tends to set himself on fire. This usually occurs when he's angry, but sometimes when he's stressed or upset. He's also not the best people person. Machine analogies are typically his go-to for everything, and considering how much it annoys Calypso that he equates all life as one he is struggling with this. This doesn't help matters when he tries to explain a situation and he utilizes machines as his answer -- he's a lot like his father in that way.

SAMPLES
Action Log Sample: How was it that he had barely made it past the Indianapolis city limits only to find himself in a Roman style gladiator arena? How? He rubs his head as he pushes himself up on his feet, taking in his surroundings in an attempt to figure out where he was. First thing he noticed was all of the foot prints that were scattered around him -- not a good sign. Of course he'd be brought to where ever he was and dropped into an arena used for sport with dangerous animals. Of course! He wondered which god did it this time.

"Tia I swear if this is you again we're going to need to have words." He muttered to himself, his hands on his hips.

Good news! He had Festus.

Bad news! Festus was broken and currently a suitcase.

Good news! He was alive???

Bad News! He might not be.

He groans, quickly moving over to his suitcase dragon to check and make sure whatever he did have was there. Leo wasn't about to stick around any longer then he'd have to and fight whatever was in the arena. Besides! This way he'd live to fight another day AND have a better idea of what the heck was going on. Gods help him if he found out that this was all Hera's fault again. It didn't take him long to drag Festus out of the arena, but he was along with his thoughts and that was worse.

"Seriously Festus, I wish you were like full on dragon mode right now." He frowns. "Then I wouldn't be trying to figure out if I died again or if this is just some bad dream."

He pauses for a moment.

"Man I don't recognize anything. We must be lost, amigo. Like super lost. So lost that even Lester won't find us." Was that a good thing? "So let's hope we find a friendly face. Don't think I need to tell you we don't need any trouble."