Leo Valdez

Name: Leonidas ‘Leo’ Valdez Age: 17 Gender: Male Height: 4’8” / 142 cm Appearance: Leo is described to look like a "Latino Santa's elf," with curly black hair, dark brown eyes, a cheerful, elf-like face, normally with a mischievous and impish smile, and a diminutive stature with a slim and relatively scrawny build. He is said to be very short, implied to be between Piper and Hazel in stature. Leo's most notable trait is that he has a look in his eyes that makes him look not only like a troublemaker, but also like he has taken much more caffeine than the normal limit; this could be linked to his ADHD, although he is described as being seriously ADHD even by his friends standards, who all have ADHD. Although not being considered quite as conventionally handsome as Jason and Percy have been described, Leo has been called 'cute in a scrawny way' by people in school, indicating that Leo is quite good-looking despite not finding himself attractive. His upbeat attitude and humor also contribute to his charisma. Personality: Leo is mischievous, flirty, upbeat, resourceful, eccentric, and impulsive, and loves to tell jokes constantly, even if they aren't particularly funny. He prides himself on being the 'class clown' and pulling pranks on those around him. Leo is genuinely very intelligent and honest and cares about his friends and found family. Being bullied growing up taught him to adapt and entertain even under pressure, as making his enemies or peers laugh prevented them from attacking him. He is also shown to be incredibly brave and selfless, willing to sacrifice himself to save his friends from any type of danger. He is said to be sensitive about his size and occasionally makes self-deprecating jokes about it. Even with his mischievous personality, Leo is also a leader. Despite his easygoing attitude, Leo is emotionally scarred from the death of his mother as he blamed himself for most of his life for causing her death. He hid a hurt and angry demeanor with humor until realizing that his mother's death was not his fault. Leo's serious side exhibits when he is angered by someone, when those he loves are threatened, or when the situation calls for it. He is also frequently seen building small machines and gadgets, and is very skilled and serious about his work. He also feels that his whole life has been nonstop danger and running, which is reflected in his abundance of nervous energy and need to always fidget and keep his hands moving. Backstory: Leo had serious ADHD and dyslexia. Leo can speak Spanish and English fluently, having learned both English and Spanish from his mother as a child. Leo is very intelligent. He had learned to think three-dimensionally, and solve mechanical problems in his head. Even at the age of eight, he can do math better than most adults. He is very clever and witty, and is good at adapting, letting him build at any circumstance. He had used his wits, which helped him survived in tough schools and neighborhoods, and a master problem-solver. Leo is an amazing cook. Leo has ran away from foster homes more than six times. He and his mom were very close. She taught him Morse code, and they would communicate simple things with it, tapping messages on the walls. Esperanza would switch between English and Spanish when she talked to him, and made him bilingual. It took years for him to realize not everyone spoke that way. His mom worked at her machine shop since no one would hire her, providing for the both of them. She consistently told him that he would someday meet his father, but would not answer questions about him. By the time Leo was eight, he spent every spare minute at the shop, knew how to use the machines, and could do math better than most adults, solving mechanical problems in his head. They would also have special Friday night dinners of shrimp and catfish from a local seafood restaurant in Houston. Leo had a cousin who bullied him, named Raphael, and a mean third grade teacher named Mr. Borquin. During Día de los Muertos, his Aunt Rosa took it seriously and dragged him to the local cemetery in Houston, where they would clean their relatives' graves and leave offerings of lemonade, cookies, and marigolds. Rosa would force him to stay for the picnic, as if eating with dead people would fix his appetite. One night, when Leo was eight, Esperanza and Leo were working late at night. Esperanza was making a prototype for a drill bit, and if she sold the patent, they would finally get a break. While they worked, Leo helped out by passing her supplies and made corny jokes to keep her spirits up. Esperanza would laugh at them and say his father would be proud of him. After they were done, as they were walking through the break room, Esperanza realized that she left her keys in the warehouse and thought she had them, and smiled at Leo for the last time. A few seconds later, the door closed and locked. Leo heard something heavy crash, and tried in vain to open the door. He then tapped with Morse code, "You okay?". But he got no reply as a fire stared on the other side of the door, where his mother was. Leo lost consciousness as the room went up in flames, burning down the shop with his mother trapped inside. Leo woke up in an ambulance, and the paramedic was kind to him, saying that the warehouse had burned down and his mom hadn't made it out. Leo felt hollow, he thought her death was his fault. The police were not nice to him and said the fire started where Leo was standing, and he miraculously survived, but his mom didn't make it. His neighbors in the apartment complex gossiped about him, saying they always knew something was wrong with him.