#lesbella

My experience with Leslie Lives AUs usually has things remain fairly canon compliant up until the end where Isabella survives being skewered and they all meet up in the human world. The key factor here is that all of the kids are made aware of who Leslie is to Isabella right away because she's there to give context. While it's not the first time they've seen their mother shocked after their return to Grace Field, to see her so stunned and in tears at the sight of the boy she loved so long ago, alive and grown into a man, is still monumental. The younger kids would take to him easily to him because of this and because of how kind and careful he is with them. The older ones from Grace Field and Goldy Pond may be a bit more guarded but eventually take to him too because they can tell he means well, even if he's awkward about it.

Ayshe isn't overly fond of him, but to be fair, she's not fond of many humans at this point, save for Gilda, Don, some of the younger children, and maybe having some connection with Ray after their conversation about parents.

(Chapter 169 Deleted Scene)

But as far as human adults go, she can appreciate his kindness and patience, and how he doesn't push her to interact beyond her comfort level.

He doesn't push Ray and Norman to interact with him, either, but out of all the children I think they'd have the most baggage in doing so, for reasons entirely outside of his control.

I've talked about my preferences for how Ray's relationship with Isabella is handled in AUs where she survives and makes it to the human world in this post:

I'm open to a variety of outcomes from authors as long as Ray's allowed to ride out the turbulent storm of emotions he has over this rather than glancing over them for some schmaltzy sitcom scenario where he forgives her at the drop of a hat and is acting chummy with her (outside of short-form lighthearted comics). […] Up until the day of their reunion, he didn't hesitate to call her a monster after nearly two years of thinking she was dead because of the note he wrote as bait to get her in trouble with headquarters, a wry smile playing on his lips at the thought of her being considered a "good parent." […] Yet despite what he said about holding no grudges in the immediate aftermath of Peter's suicide, he can't just let go of years of hypervigilance, of being constantly on edge to not show a hint of vulnerability lest it foil his meticulous, multiyear plan, and knowing what he represented to her after he shattered the blissful delusion she'd fallen into at Grace Field for five years. That fear and feeling of being small in her presence was etched into his memory, carved into his bones. Now that he finally has a say in how their relationship should progress instead of being at her mercy, can rage at her until he's out of breath and be just as petty as she'd been, make her work and beg for his forgiveness to try to amend every cruelty she inflicted upon him, there's just…an emptiness he keeps coming back to. No matter what they did, he would never have an untainted childhood with her, and now that she's back in his life he's left to grieve that again. I imagine he'd circle through that numbness, grief, anger, frustration, and envy (as stupid and pathetic as that last one in particular makes him feel, seeing his siblings being able to interact with her so easily, her carrying no extra baggage with them, the kind of relationship he was ashamed he ached for when he was at Grace Field) for some time as Isabella recovers and integrates back into their family, and if their biological connection hasn't been revealed already through some external force this is probably where he reaches out to someone (defaulting to Emma, Norman, Don, and/or Gilda) to talk about it, though whomever he speaks with they make it clear he's not obligated to forgive or interact with her. […] Eventually they do start speaking to each other regarding topics that are easier to broach, like the other children, gardening, cooking (I don't know if she started cooking once she became Grandma or if it would something entirely new to her in the human world since the farm system purposely stratified labor as another measure to prevent the sisters from revolting), before tackling their deeper rooted issues or discussing matters like the origins of the lullaby.

While not being openly hostile to Leslie, the association he has with Isabella leads Ray to be more distant with him. There's just a lot of grief in being reminded his mother was a young girl at one point who had everything taken away from her, including the boy she loved who, in a kinder world, she would have built a family with. A tragedy that speaks to his humanity wrestled against the cruelty Isabella inflicted on him for years specifically because of his biological connection to her. It's not fair to Leslie, but those feelings are there, and feelings don't always follow logic.

And then the lullaby…there's multiple ways that conversation about its origins can be initiated and reach the point where all three parties are aware of what it means to each of them, but as someone who thinks Ray would be more private about it and have conflicting feelings over it, I think it would be one tinged in sadness.

Leslie wanted as many people as possible to hear the music he composed, but knowing a melody he created ended up bringing someone so much grief, I think it'd be a lot to take in with his proximity to it, especially if he never shared it with anyone else.

Norman also wouldn't be openly hostile with Leslie, but his track record with adults is abysmal, the only one that never acted as an antagonistic force toward him in the demon world being Smee, so that coupled with his unresolved grief and anger over the multiple betrayals he went through at the hands of his mother would put distance between them as well.

(S2 Episode 8)

This was the last interaction he ever had with her, after his nervous system is absolutely fried because up until ten minutes ago he fully believed he was going to die, one final hug wishing him happiness in his new cage. That stays with him, and similar to how up until the day of their reunion Ray considered Isabella a monster, I don't think Norman fully forgave her either, even if both of them cried at her death in canon because they would never have the chance to reconcile on their terms, but with her alive the possibility isn't off the table after some time.

This distance would also be adopted by the Lambda children who have a similar history with adults, though I could also see Adam, Cislo, Hayato, or Zazie being among the first to bridge the gap since they don't have extra familial baggage tied up in the interaction.

If Leslie meet the kids earlier, though, like in the discarded throughline where the paradise hideout was going to be populated with Minerva demon supporters

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 4)

I think Norman could be a lot more receptive to him not only as a general ally who also came from Grace Field, but because he's introduced without his connection to Isabella, even if it's revealed that he knew and cared for her at a later point.

Ray, however, would mentally put some distance between them once that became apparent, though they could have a conversation about the lullaby tinged with less anger if one day he happened to catch Leslie humming it, so taken aback his curiosity outweighs his more reticent inclinations to ask how he knows that song.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 6 Q&A)

Leslie would already be dealing with the grief of knowing what Isabella went through at headquarters, what she became, but being confronted with her biological child…it would hurt, through the fault of neither party present.

But the younger children would have plenty of happy memories of Isabella they'd share, too. Even knowing what she did to them and their siblings, there's more separation between the Mom they came to know only in a few short months and the Mom they knew for years, and that fondness would still creep into their recollections of her.

Combined with speaking with Emma, a mirror of Isabella in so many ways, down to how she initially reacted to the presented paths before her under the farm system

(Chapter 31 | TPN Light Novel 2: Moms’ Song of Remembrance - “The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List”)

Who could reflect on everything that happened and accept her mother in her totality (not excuse the harm she caused, but accept as a thoroughly flawed human capable of profound love and cruelty), gives Leslie a lot to mull over before they reunite.