lituusapollinis

[lituusapollinis]

only thing we share is one last name

Words: 5,233 Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Octavian & Oracle of Cumae Tags: Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Octavian Lives (Percy Jackson), Octavian-centric (Percy Jackson), Character Study, Oracles, Flashbacks Summary: Octavian and The Oracle of Cumae have an important chat about the future. Ironic that one of them's a jar and the other can't prophesy. You don't have to read the first installment of this series to understand, but it might give useful context.

Preview:

When one’s mind is perpetually overflowing with prophecy and visions, the voices of the gods, the past and the future, omens, blessings, demands, one tends to get used to the noise.

In fact, ever since Apollo hid away during the Giant War, Casimir Octavian Solemark has felt a deep sense of disquiet at how empty his mind has felt, without the presence of others crammed in with him.

For once– perhaps for the first time ever– his thoughts are his own in totality, and it rattles him. Octavian has no one whom to ask for guidance, no one on whose behalf to speak, and no one to provide him insight into the great unknown that is The Future.

Humankind has always been terrified of what they do not know; it’s why dark places, masks, and the deep sea are fears for so many. Octavian isn’t afraid of those things, no more than would be reasonable were he confronted with them in a dangerous way, but he is afraid of what Fate can do when he cannot prepare for her choices in advance.

He’s pretty sure he’s also afraid of silence.

It’s why he’d had a pair of pandai pilfer a harp from one of the other Julia Drusillas, to deposit in his cabin on XII, some odd weeks ago (that, and boredom). If Caligula knows he’s taken it, then he doesn’t seem to care; the god-king doesn’t play anyway, and it’s one of dozens. Caligula’s possessions are many, so it doesn’t much matter if one of them uses another.

When he isn’t on duty, Octavian fills his cabin with soft music, often singing along in Latin. He takes to composing his favorite ancient poetry into songs that he privately dedicates to various gods or old friends (most of those are mournful, apologetic), or Camp Jupiter, his one and only love.

Gods. He misses Camp like he’s been ripped in half by the jaws of life. He walks around, an ice sculpture in the middle of July, melting so that the original shape of it is impossible to discern, warped by his body-wracking grief.

He doesn’t recognize himself in mirrors, anymore.

A lifetime ago, when he’d been a centurion, an augur, popular among his people, Apollo’s marks on him had been obvious: his hair reflected rainbows in sunlight, his eyes were a vibrant and saturated blue, his beauty marks were a warm brown on his sun-flushed cheeks.

Then Terra had clawed her way into his entrails, making herself a home in his brain stem, in his spinal fluid, in the balloons of his lungs, and his body had paid an expensive price. His skin had lost color, the blue of his eyes had tinted grey, his hair had gone matte and yellowed from its usual platinum. These things would fade once Terra let him go, but back then, he’d attributed it all to stress, and it had seemed logical at the time.

After all, the state of Camp had been alarming, back then. He remembers the pressure and the tension, how it had all nearly snapped his and Reyna’s relationship in two (long before the real death blows).

They’d lost good legionnaires, too many legionnaires, at their siege on Mount Othrys. Yet, seemingly immediately after, they’d been flooded by new ones, demigods and legacies alike, building back their ranks by the dozens. Even Five had started to fill more bunks than ever. The legion approached capacity nearer than it had in decades (Reyna had even passed a Senate motion for approval to build more barracks)– and every single new probatio who arrived needed a reading. Octavian had never been so busy as the augur that being a centurion became secondary to that role, but that summer had asked more of his Sight than his leadership, and he’d spent nights upon nights in fitful, vision-filled sleep. It was like he’d accidentally posted an advertisement on a giant, flashing billboard, and everyone and everything who wanted a turn in an oracle’s head flooded in to answer it.

And then Jason went missing.

Read the rest on AO3

[lituusapollinis]

Who wants a cuddly Tav in their inbox?

[lituusapollinis]

Thinking about Tav + gun. Someone give him one

[lituusapollinis]

If anyone needs Octavian, they’ll have to find him buried under blankets on his couch, watching Julius Caesar (1953).

[lituusapollinis]

Send 🗡 to hold a blade to my muse's throat for their reaction!

Alternatively, send 'reverse + 🗡' for my muse (receiver) to hold a blase to your muse's throat.

If you cannot see the emoji, send 'DAGGER'

[lituusapollinis]

Bonus points if it’s actually someone he really really trusts so he lays on them while they infodump

Reading Camp Half-Blood Confidential, and Woodrow the Satyr goes through a couple of Greek myths while discussing constellations, and it’s making me think about how, while the Romans adapted the gods and the myths to their culture, I don’t think CJ would have taught most of the Greek stories, especially the less famous ones. Anyway, Octavian sitting with a CHB camper and letting them educate him on their history, thank you

[lituusapollinis]

Reading Camp Half-Blood Confidential, and Woodrow the Satyr goes through a couple of Greek myths while discussing constellations, and it’s making me think about how, while the Romans adapted the gods and the myths to their culture, I don’t think CJ would have taught most of the Greek stories, especially the less famous ones. Anyway, Octavian sitting with a CHB camper and letting them educate him on their history, thank you

[lituusapollinis]

counterpoiise

(v.) an equivalent power or force acting in opposition, a state of balance

rules - ask - about

Kronos blog: @drepanon

[lituusapollinis]

Thinking about Octavian’s views on the gods. They’re so complicated ;-; he wants to be used because it makes him feel useful. But he can’t pretend that sometimes, he doesn’t like being yanked around by them. He wishes he didn’t have prophetic vision. But if given the chance to do his life over again without that power, he wouldn’t hesitate to turn it down. He loves being the augur. He wishes he wasn’t, so he could be praetor. He wants to honor the gods in every way possible, but he also communicates directly with them, which takes away some of their majesty. He knows they are flawed, but it isn’t appropriate for an augur to point out those flaws. His fate was set by the mere accident of being Apollo’s descendant, so he knows it’s unfair to blame him for his loss of being voted in as praetor, but he thought Apollo had promised him that he’d be the savior of Rome, which should have been achieved by his rise to the highest rank at camp. It turns out, Gaea gave him that false promise, and so instead, he was a pawn used by the wrong goddess. On the other hand, her manipulation of him makes him as important as the prophecy seven, and that feels good, because hierarchy is everything to him. Importance and ambition and power are tempting and addictive, and his obsession with Rome and his devotion to the gods simultaneously complement each other and clash in the worst possible ways. He wants to scream and cry and curse the gods. He never will. He loves them too much.

[lituusapollinis]

I'M DAMNED IF I DO AND I'M DAMNED IF I DON'T

[lituusapollinis]

send me 🕯️to hear my character's inner thoughts about your character.

[lituusapollinis]

HERETIC 2024 | dir. Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

[lituusapollinis]

🐝  *  ―  𝑩𝑨𝑹𝑩𝑰𝑬 𝑨𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑺𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑼𝑷𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.

❛  all my life i’ve always wanted to have one day just for me.  ❜ ❛  i could take flight but would it be right?  ❜ ❛  duty means doing the things your heart may well regret.  ❜ ❛  but i’ll never stop believing.  ❜ ❛  ok, what idiot put this in here?  ❜ ❛  it was waiting there, so how could i refuse?  ❜ ❛  what? making a decision without me?  ❜ ❛  you simpering simpleton!  ❜ ❛  no! i won’t let go!  ❜ ❛  there’s nothing like some fresh air and a change of scenery.  ❜ ❛  i wish it were that simple.  ❜ ❛  did you really think you could make a living as a singer?  ❜ ❛  it’s alright. i mean, i’m used to it.  ❜ ❛  i’m just like you.  ❜ ❛  don’t get any ideas, [name].  ❜ ❛  i’ll take my chances.  ❜ ❛  i don’t think we run in the same circles, but … perhaps we can change that.  ❜ ❛  i can’t believe they won’t let me in there.  ❜ ❛  i am simply not going to look at myself.  ❜ ❛  [name], what would i do without you?  ❜ ❛  are you out of your mind?  ❜ ❛  there’s a time and place and way for everything.  ❜ ❛  promise me you’ll never do it again.  ❜ ❛  just who do you think you are?  ❜ ❛  i thought i was dreaming but i’m not.  ❜ ❛  i can see it when you’re feeling low, you can’t hide that from me.  ❜ ❛  i wish you could see the you i see.  ❜ ❛  i love you the way you are and that will never change.  ❜ ❛  i can’t let you do it all by yourself.  ❜ ❛  together we shall always be as one if you love me for me.  ❜ ❛  i’ll stay by your side if you love me for me.  ❜ ❛  what are we doing here?  ❜ ❛  why would you do this?  ❜ ❛  still underestimating me?  ❜ ❛  and what proof do you have of this ridiculous story?  ❜ ❛  i don’t believe you’re theperson they say you are.  ❜ ❛  you do love disguises, don’t you?  ❜ ❛  now who has nowhere to go?  ❜ ❛  sometimes being free means choosing not to go, but to stay.  ❜ ❛  uh, i’m quite sure this is not a good idea.  ❜

[lituusapollinis]

Maybe. So are you taken by him or someone else? Or is the augur as single as a pringle?

Rel. II Inbox: Open

“Oh, now I simply must know who’s asking.” Octavian grins sharply. “Pony-up, sweetheart.”

[lituusapollinis]

Answer the question. We're curious. He must love you a lot. :o

Rel. II Inbox: Open

“Mm, actually, I’d like you to answer a question for me, first. Why do you want to know my relationship status? Hoping I’m single?”

[lituusapollinis]

Whats your relationship with Beau? Is he your boyfriend?

How nosy of you, anon! II Inbox: Open

“Unless you’re not actually a stranger to me, I’m not sure what my relationship status has anything to do with whatever you’re putting off to ask this question.”

[lituusapollinis]

RATE YOUR MUSE'S TRAITS 0-10!𓂃₊ repost and rate your muse’s traits, then tag your followers

compassion: 3/10. He's much more compassionate with trusted individuals, but tends not to trust most people in general, severely lowering this score. That said, he isn't heartless.

bitterness: 7/10. When he has a grudge, he keeps it. When he's jealous, he lashes out.

happiness: It depends on the time period in his life. As centurion/augur at CJ, 9/10. As a runaway post-HoO, 2/10. He grieves the loss of Camp like he's lost a limb.

politeness: This one is tricky. He will feign politeness till the cows come home, but since it's fake, and very often passive aggressive, I'm going to drop this to a 3/10. With gods, of course, he is genuinely respectful, so around them, it bumps up to a 9/10.

chivalry: 6/10. He holds doors/smiles at strangers, is loyal to his peers, offers comforting touch to stressed friends, things like that.

pride: 10/10. This is his fatal flaw.

honesty: 4/10. He's sometimes honest, but the less well he knows you, the higher the probability is that he is lying, withholding the truth, or being generally fake for most of your conversation.

ambition: 10/10. He has lofty goals and will do anything to achieve them.

loyalty: To Rome, 10/10. To his friends, 9/10. To legionnaires, 8/10. To Camp Half-Blood campers, 0/10.

love: Romantic love, 6/10; it's not his priority. Platonic love, 8/10; he cares a lot about his trusted friends.

sense of family: To his birth family, 1/10. To his chosen family, 10/10. When you're family to Octavian, you'll never not be again, even if something happens to damage your relationship.

attractiveness: Man it really depends on your taste. If you like twinks with avant garde haircuts, he's a 9/10. If you don't, he's probably hovering closer to a 7/10. The marks of his Apollo lineage are present enough to make him decently attractive, imo, but he's not going to be known as one of the hottest people around CJ/NR. I also have a headcanon that when Gaea takes over his mind, he loses some of those markings of Apollo, and so during Blood of Olympus, he's a 5/10.

agility: 6/10. That's his stronger suit in combat than his physical strength.

sex drive: 7/10. He's pent up due to the lack of privacy at Camp, so once he's out and about in the real world, I think he's going to indulge a bit.

Tagged by: @dementedspeedster (thank you!) Tagging: @wisteriagrcve (anyone you'd like), @madefate (jason), @furysburn (reyna), @stygicniron, @youllbeinmywake, @everbloomingsoul, @ofthe-sunand-moon (apollo)