#so yeah as always you'll get the gist and some pretty language from me

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello there!

Just want to say thank you again for all the tgcf revision translations you've been sharing. It's been a pleasure to read and, just from an outside pov, your excitement about it seems like you're reading it for the first time again, and perhaps you are in a way! It's very contagious! 😄

Any favorite things that come to mind from where you are in the reading, whether new ones from the revision or even ones that remained from the draft that you just forgot about?

Oh, and I've heard you mention you're working on a Hua Cheng birthday project. Is it a secret? I'm so curious! 😄

Thank you! 🌸

It really does feel like I'm reading tgcf for the first time again, especially since it's been so long since I've read it and I don't revisit many parts often, so some details are so delightful (or heartwrenching). I think my favorite parts are just all the hualian content that's either been revised or edited in. The Hualian scenes are actually the ones that mxtx edited the least, but what she adds just enhances them in a way that's so joyful that it upsets me all over again that people will really argue that these two aren't crazy about each other and their relationship is built on lies or insecurities or traumas that would make them choose "someone else" were they to not have them. Just utter nonsense.

Only thing I seem to have forgotten is how terrible Feng Xin actually was as a friend. Maybe on account of Mu Qing stans being so vocal and taking up all the limelight, but with the new contenders for tgcf's most annoying stans, Feng Xin will definitely be getting more scrutiny this time around.

Yes, I have a Hua Cheng bday project! Is it a secret? Probably not a very good one since I've only ever been working on one thing, but it is a pleasant surprise.

[stranger-angel0401]

You'll Avoid Me Too

Pairing: Leo Valdez x Thanatos!Reader

Summary: When Leo ends up at Camp Half-Blood, he can't figure out why one camper is alone. When he gets to know them, he really doesn't get it.

Wc: 2.9k

Warnings: Language, reader gets bullied, reader doesn't know Spanish. No pronouns or description used for reader, but you could argue I used feminine adjectives (pretty, beautiful, etc).

From the day he arrived at Camp Half-Blood, Leo was convinced everyone there was insane. 

Of course, there was the whole ‘everyone is half god’ situation, but what really had him reeling was the fact that nobody was hanging out with the most beautiful person in camp.

He first noticed you at the campfire, sitting in the back by yourself. Nobody sat within several feet of you, and nobody seemed to even acknowledge your presence. 

Once he was pretty sure he’d gotten the general gist of what goes on at the campfire, Leo stood up and walked over to the log where you were sitting, plopping down right next to you. The sudden unexpected presence made you jump as your head whipped around to face him.

“Uh- can I help you?” You asked.

Your voice was just as pretty as you were. Soft and kind, despite you seeming mildly annoyed that he was sitting there.

“Well, I guess I was just wondering why you’re all alone. You got a disease or somethin’?” 

Leo immediately cursed himself for asking something so stupid, but it drew a soft snort from you.

“Or something, I guess.”

You seemed almost hesitant to talk to him, like you were trying not to engage too much.

“But seriously, why’s someone as awesome as you sittin’ all by yourself at the campfire?”

You sighed softly. “Trust me, you’ll want to avoid me too when you find out who I really am. Besides, how can you already think I’m awesome? You just met me.”

His grin dropped hearing you talk about yourself that way, but he quickly replaced it.

“I go based on vibes, Sweetheart. And your vibes seem pretty awesome.”

That brought a soft smile to your face, and you wondered if maybe this time would be different. For a moment, you considered your options. You were used to people avoiding you anyway, right? You’d just prepare for the worst, just in case.

“Can I show you something?”

You stood up, offering your hand. When he nodded and grabbed it, warmth flooded up your arm. It made you feel comfortable, a nice break from the constant cold you always seemed to feel. Leo let you lead him away from the campfire, towards the newer section of cabins. You stopped in front of one, assumedly yours. It was small compared to the others, and dark. He felt a small chill just standing in front of it.

“This,” you sighed softly. “Is my cabin. Can you guess which god it belongs to?”

Leo thought for a moment, running the few Greek names he knew through his head, but none seemed to fit. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“No worries,” you interrupted. “Most people don��t know him.”

He gave you a look, subtly pitiful. You hated it.

“Look, when I tell you who my father is, just- I get it if you never want to speak to me again. Most people don’t.”

Leo looked almost offended, you had to hold back a laugh.

“Yeah, well. I’m not like most people.”

You shook your head, holding back a small smile.

“My father is Thanatos. Do you know who that is?”

He shook his head again, looking disappointed with himself.

“Hey, it’s alright. It’s your first day, and there’s a lot of names to learn. Thanatos is..the god of death. Specifically peaceful death, but- that doesn’t usually make it better for people.”

You stared at the ground, waiting for some sort of response, or even for Leo to start running. 

“Okay,” he finally answered.

You gaped. “Okay?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t care if your father is Thanatos or Hades or Kronid-”

“Kronos?”

“Kronos himself. You seem cool, and I want to keep hanging around with you.”

You stared at him for a minute, trying to formulate a response. Truly, you thought he’d turn around and run by now.

“O-okay.”

“Leo!” Nyssa’s voice sounded from across the camp. “Lights out in five!”

Leo sighed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? I don’t think I got your name,” he grinned.

“Y/n. Goodnight, Leo.”

Honestly? You were pissed that Leo was going on a quest. You finally make a friend at camp after ten years, and he gets sent off two days later. Just your luck. You’d been front and center when he, Piper, and Jason left on the giant golden dragon. While Piper and Jason were saying their goodbyes, Leo had drifted over to you.

“You’d better come back safe,” you’d threatened. “Otherwise you’re gonna see why everyone at this camp is so scared of me.”

He laughed, wrapping you in a tight hug. You were stiff at first, shocked by the sudden contact, but you quickly melted into him.

“I promise I’ll come back, and I’ve got something to show you when I do.”

You’d watched the sky until you could no longer see the outline of Festus.

Even though Leo and his friends were only gone for a few days, they were torture. The quiet hurt so much more, now. You hated how quickly you’d gotten attached to Leo, especially after you’d sworn to yourself to never get that close to anyone. It would hurt too much if they left. When the three demigods had suddenly appeared standing on the Aphrodite cabin’s table, you’d nearly started crying. As soon as he’d stepped off of the table, you’d swept him into a hug, shocking him momentarily. 

“Hey, Sunshine,” he whispered, and the world felt right again.

“You do realize if you would tell me where we’re going, I could just shadow travel us instead of having to trek through the woods, right?”

You’d been hiking for what felt like forever, and Leo still wouldn’t reveal what exactly he had to show you.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re almost there. Just trust me.”

You groaned, but it was cut short when your foot caught in a hole. You yelped, failing to catch your balance, but the impact of the ground never came. Instead, Leo caught your arm, pulling you back up.

“Already falling for me, Sunshine?”

You rolled your eyes.

“Sunshine? Really? Pretty sure most people would say I’m the opposite.”

You pulled away from Leo, but he slid his grip from your forearm to your hand.

“Well, like I said. I’m not like most people. Come on, we’re almost there.”

When he stopped walking, you were standing at the base of a massive limestone cliff.

“I don’t think I understand,” you said, giving him a confused look.

He responded with a cocky grin.

“You trust me?”

You nodded, and his grin faltered.

“Look, I- you gotta promise you won’t be scared, okay?”

“This conversation sounds familiar,” you joked, but the look on his face told you he was serious.

“Okay, I promise.”

Seemingly satisfied, Leo nodded and placed his free hand against the cliff. Suddenly, flames erupted from his hand, dancing up the cliff face. You squeezed Leo’s hand as you watched, and then the flames outlined a massive door, which swung open into a huge cave.

“Holy shit,” you breathed. “You’re a fire user.”

Leo scratched the back of his neck nervously. 

“Yeah, I know, it’s kinda-”

“Awesome,” you finished.

Leo grinned before pulling you into the cave. The door swung shut behind you, leaving the two of you in darkness. You kept a hold of Leo’s hand as your eyes adjusted to the dark–night vision was one of the few perks of being Thanatos’ child. Next to you, a small torch lit in Leo’s hand. No, the torch was Leo’s hand. He scanned the wall for a moment, before mumbling a soft ‘there it is’. He flipped a switch, and suddenly the whole cave lit up. You sucked in a breath as you looked around. The walls were full of machinery and spare parts, and on a small desk was the head of Festus. 

“Holy shit, Leo. What is this place?”

You let go of his hand to look around, every square inch of the cave seemed more impressive than the last. You tried to ignore the chill you felt as you stepped away from Leo.

“It’s called Bunker 9. From what I can tell, it was built by my siblings centuries ago. But because fire users are so rare-”

“Nobody could get in,” you finished.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I’m gonna show my siblings later, but I wanted you to be the first.”

“It’s incredible, Leo.”

You ran a hand down Festus’ neck, and steam rolled out of his nostrils. Leo rolled his eyes next to you.

“I know, buddy. Believe me.”

You gave Leo a funny look, but he just shrugged, and you decided not to question it. 

“You ready to trek back?” Leo asked.

You grinned at him.

“Nah, this time we’re going my way.”

As it turns out, shadow traveling for the first time was not a pleasant sensation. When the two of you reappeared at camp, Leo was clinging to your arm and looking around wildly. 

“You’re tellin’ me you do that a lot?” He questioned, and you laughed.

“It gets easier, I promise. The first time is always a lot. You okay?” 

He nodded, “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good,” you smiled. “‘Cuz your siblings are headed this way.”

In the following months, you and Leo spent a lot of time together. Mostly in Bunker 9 while he obsessed over building the Argo II, but every once in a while you were able to drag him out for a campfire, or a real meal in the pavilion. The more time you spent together, the more you opened up, and you began to feel like you knew everything about Leo. You also thought of something you could do for Leo to thank him for letting you hang around all the time.

“Querida, slow down. Where are we going?” Leo questioned as you dragged him through the woods. 

“Just trust me, okay?”

He nodded and let you continue to pull him along until you’d reached the door of Bunker 9. You gave him an expectant look, and he rolled his eyes fondly before placing his hand against the stone and lighting it up. The door swung open, and on the ground in the middle of the room laid a blanket with a plate of food and a drink sitting on it, obviously stolen from the pavilion. Leo gave you a questioning look as you both stepped inside.

“That doesn’t look like enough food for two people. Plus, we just ate. I don’t-”

“Just shut up, okay? I need you to be quiet for like, thirty seconds. Can you please just trust me?”

He nodded, letting go of your hand as you kneeled on the blanket. You stayed quiet for a moment, and then you began chanting. Leo didn't understand most of it, but he did catch one part.

Esperanza Valdez.

In front of you, a sort of shimmering mist appeared. Slowly, it took the form of a person, Leo’s mother, he realized.

“Mamá?”

“Leo,” she smiled.

As Leo stepped forward, you backed into the shadows, trying not to listen too closely. This was a personal moment, you understood that. You managed to tune out their conversation until you heard Leo call out to you.

“Hey, Sunshine. Come over here.”

His voice was soft in a way you’d never heard before, it made you nervous. Carefully, you sat down next to Leo.

“Mamá, this is my friend, Y/n.”

He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, and you thought you might explode from the way his warmth flooded into your limbs.

“Hi, Miss Valdez,” you waved.

She gave you a warm smile. She was beautiful, and it was obvious how much she loved Leo. 

“Please, Esperanza is fine. I'm so grateful my son has someone like you, querida. I wanted to make sure you knew that before I left.”

Your eyes stung, but you blinked back any tears before they could escape.

“Leo is..everything to me, Esperanza. He's the only one who's taken the time to understand me. I'll always be appreciative of that.”

Her form started to flicker, and you knew her time was running out. 

“I have to go, mijo. But I want you to know how proud of you I am. You're going to do amazing things, I just know it. I love you, Leo.”

He reached out to her.

“I love you too, mamá.”

She gave him a soft smile as her form slowly dissolved, leaving the two of you alone in Bunker 9. For a moment it was silent, and then from beside you came a soft sniffle. You turned to face Leo just in time to catch a single tear roll down his cheek before he wiped it away.

“Leo,” you started. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean t-” His arms wrapped around you as he cried against your shoulder.

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

Leo thought he knew what being angry felt like. He learned a few weeks later that he had no idea. He had been in Bunker 9 working on the ship when he started to feel like he was being watched. He thought he was imagining things, until he heard a soft voice from the shadows.

“Leo?”

His head shot up, straight into the shelf above him with a loud bang. He groaned, rubbing the spot it had hit as he searched the darkness for your form.

“Amor? Is that you, Sunshine?”

When you stepped into the light, Leo’s heart snapped in two. You were standing in front of him, dripping in some sticky, red liquid, tears streaming down your face. You looked utterly defeated, and he wanted to kill whoever made you feel that way.

“Holy shit, what happened?”

In a second, Leo was by your side, wiping what he presumed to be juice, as well as tears away from your eyes. He took his jacket off the desk and wrapped it around your shoulders.

“Fucking Hermes cabin,” you sniffled. “They rigged a trap at my cabin door. As soon as I opened it I got covered in Kool-Aid. The whole camp saw, everyone laughed at me. Gods, I can never show my face again.”

Carefully, Leo lit a small flame in palm, holding it close to your clothes in an attempt to dry them. Somehow, your clothes didn’t catch on fire, which you were grateful for. With his free hand, he brushed a stray bit of hair away from your face.

“I’ll fucking kill them, I swear. I’ll make them regret ever touching you.”

You shook your head. “Leo, it's f-”

“The next word out of your mouth better not be fine, querida.”

“Why not?” You whispered. 

Leo looked personally offended.

“Because it’s not fine. They all treat you like shit for no reason, because- because they don’t like your dad? It’s fucking ridiculous. If they would just get to know you, if they would pull their heads out of their asses for five minutes- you’re beautiful, and funny, and so goddamn kind- I can’t even begin to comprehend how none of them will give you the time of day.”

You took in a shaky breath. You’d almost forgotten about being covered in sticky, sugary, Kool-Aid. 

“Your first night- why did you talk to me?”

You took a step back, suddenly feeling nervous. You shivered as your back hit the cold stone behind you.

“Because I thought you were pretty, and I couldn’t fathom how you were all alone.”

“You..thought?”

“I still do, mi amor. I think you’re the most incredible, kind, beautiful person in this camp.”

“Leo,” you breathed. “The- the nicknames you use, in Spanish. What do they mean?”

Sometimes Leo forgot how long you’d been at camp. He forgot that you didn’t spend much time in school, or watching cartoons like Dora the Explorer. You spent your life learning ancient Greek, but you didn’t know much Spanish.

“Well,” he took a step forward. “Querida means darling, or dear.”

You nodded, staring up at him as he came closer.

“A-and amor?”

With shocking gentleness, he placed two fingers under your chin, lifting your face closer. His usual cocky grin had been replaced by a new look, was he nervous?

“Amor,” he began, “Means love.”

Your heart thundered in your chest. Part of you wondered why you hadn’t asked him to translate sooner. Mainly, you were distracted by how incredible the words sounded coming from him. He leaned in closer, leaving a few centimeters between you, and you wondered if you were dreaming.

“Can- can I kiss you, amor?”

This was definitely a dream. Dumbfounded, you nodded.

“Please.”

That was all Leo needed. His lips met yours, and you felt like you were on fire. One hand moved from your chin to your cheek, pulling you closer, as the other came to rest on your waist. You could’ve cried at the way he held you–how soft he was. When he pulled away, he grinned.

“You’re so gorgeous.”

“I’m covered in Kool-Aid,” you rolled your eyes.

“And you’re still pretty. Even more so in my jacket.”

Heat rose to your cheeks, and reflexively, you looked down. Leo lifted your chin again, forcing you to look at him.

“Hey, don’t hide from me. You don’t ever have to hide from me.”

A tear rolled down your cheek, which he quickly brushed away with his thumb.

“Do you know what te amo means, Sunshine?” He asked.

You shook your head.

“It means I love you.”

You faltered, waiting for the punchline of the joke to come, but it didn’t. You weren’t waking up in your bed, alone. This was real.

“I- t-te amo too?”

Leo chuckled. “Yo también te amo.”

“Yo también te amo,” you repeated. 

“Thank gods.”