Day 4: Favourite male character
HAHAHA IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION
LEO VALDEZ
HOW COULD IT NOT BE
Yes indeed, Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, repair boy extraordinaire, the seventh wheel, supreme commander of the Argo II and did I mention he's pyrokinetic? He's pretty much just made of awesome.
But that's not the only thing. See...
I sort of have this thing where I'm emotionally masochistic.
I just love having feelings, I think feelings are miraculous and what makes us human. So whether or not the feelings are positive, like, that's not as important to me. I just really enjoy having feelings.
And Leo Valdez makes me feel all the feelings.
Like, yes, this is indeed the same character who pulled all that hilarious stuff with Narcissus and his fan club (see Day 2 of the meme). This is the same character who has conversations like this:
Jason: You're not annoying, and you do take stuff seriously, especially your work. I wish I could do half the stuff you do.
Leo: (rolls eyes) I try very hard to be annoying. Don't insult my ability to annoy. And how am I supposed to resent you if you go apologizing? I'm a lowly mechanic. You're like, the prince of the sky, son of the lord of the universe. I'm supposed to resent you.
Jason: Lord of the universe?
Leo: Sure, you're all - Bam! Lightning man. And - "Watch me fly. I am the eagle that soars" -
Jason: Shut up, Valdez.
Leo: Yeah, see. I do annoy you.
Jason: I apologize for apologizing.
Leo: Thank you.
But then it's also like, oh yeah, remember, this is the kid who accidentally killed his mom when he was eight with his pyrokinesis. Oh yeah, this is the kid who was cast out of his family by his aunt after she called him a diablo (he's Latino, and his mom used to talk to him in both Spanish and English). Oh yeah, this is the kid who ran away from his foster homes six times since he was eight before he was finally dumped at the Wilderness School and picked up by the other demigods.
This is the kid who fixed this huge bronze dragon, Festus, only to have it die during the quest. This is the kid who devoted eight months of his life to building the Argo II, effectively isolating himself from everyone else. This is the kid who was possessed by an evil spirit and fired on the Romans, starting a war.
I just have a lot of feelings about Leo Valdez.
In fact
I have all the feelings about Leo Valdez.
Oh yeah, not to mention that a goddess literally told him that he would never find a place among his friends and he will forever be the seventh wheel as one of the demigods in the Prophecy of Seven.
LIKE LEO IT'S OKAY I WILL LOVE YOU
And what I especially love about Leo is the way he's portrayed to the audience.
Because he's always the comic relief - like, if you're having a serious conversation and need something to lighten the mood, fear not, for Leo Valdez will say something like, "Oh. I mean, suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this!" And I think that people have this habit of imagining class clown type characters as, like, boneheads, but it is very stressed through the books that Leo is an extremely smart and talented individual. Like, where Percy was generally the comic relief in all his books and he was a bonehead who would run without thinking into every fight, Leo lets himself think for a minute and manages to throw together a plan that works. I mean, obviously Leo is extremely talented in terms of building and repairing and mechanics and engineering, being a son of Hephaestus, but I think what defines his intelligence is his ability to problem-solve, which shines pretty brightly every time he's caught in a, you know, a situation.
What I also love about him is that he has very clear strengths, but he's also a flawed human that makes mistakes and he knows it. Like, every one of the character is flawed, but I think Leo is one of the only ones that acknowledges it about themselves. As I was talking about in one of the unfinished thoughtful draft posts, I sort of have a weakness for characters like that.
And also, can we give it up for characters who don't like fighting hand-to-hand? Because he's literally the only one of the Seven that has that weakness. He just, you know, fights in different ways. Generally from behind a control panel. (Although he did once fight a goddess hand to hand once - he only survived because she was the goddess of snow and hahaha, hello, he's pyrokinetic). But I just have this appreciation for him for not being, y'know, the hero-hero that's in every single adventure novel ever.
But, uh, yeah. Leo Valdez. My favourite male character.
I have opinions.
What have I gotten myself into with this meme thing.
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