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octavian-is-pretty-cool · 1 year ago

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already having to relive the Octavian/Luke comparisons and i think i may in fact spontaneously combust.

the blatant misremembering of Octavians character simply because readers just went along with whatever the main cast thought is honestly a little bit infuriating. he's the most spectrum coded character in HoO and most of his actions up until he is literally *brainwashed by Gaea* are justifiable.

"b-but he destroyed Percy's pillow pet comfort item!!" okay, maybe think about how he has to do this with his own comfort items every day? it's literally his job and it's very likely that nobody has ever gotten upset with him over it before. and *Reyna told him to do this* so why are we mad at octavian if it was an order from the praetor to do an augur thing and the easiest way to do that was with an item that had a connection to Percy?

i will also never get over the banquet scene at the beginning of MoA. Octavian literally does nothing wrong here but the characters decide that they just really want to make him the butt of every joke simply because they find him 'annoying'.

after Reyna does the toast and Jason is recounting their rescue of Hera/Juno, Octavian interrupts him in an exclamation of disbelief that they hadn't noticed that the queen of the gods had been imprisoned in a location that was very important to the romans. is interrupting rude? yes, but he obviously seems distraught over the fact that Juno was unknowingly imprisoned. instead of politely explaining the full extent of the situation, what does Piper do? immediately use charmspeak on him.

next, when Percy praises Jason's skills ("No wonder they made you praetor."), Octavian immediately brings up the fact that they have three praetors now that Jason has returned. this is really important, especially from his perspective since he's such a stickler for rules and regulations. Percy decides to immediately abtagonize him, and then completely dismiss his frustration over Percy choosing to step aside for Jason. Octavian has every right to be offended over this, even if it's not necessarily the most correct time to bring it up. Percy antagonizes him, and then basically blatantly insults him by treating the position he's worked his entire life for as if it's nothing important.

after that, Reyna has Octavian recite the great prophecy, ignoring his hesitancy (that is entirely warranted considering greece and rome have been at war for literal millenia). when Annabeth recites the last two lines of the prophecy and Frank brings up her parentage, Octavian has a right to be skeptical. in rome, Minerva isnt even a war goddess, and doesn't have children. without understanding how the gods operate in their seperate forms, it's reasonable, considering they arrived in a war ship, are being lead by a child of a war goddess that they are wholly unfamilliar with in more ways than most of the other major gods, and are, in fact, greek, to be suspicious of the groups intentions.

when Annabeth and Percy list the seven demigods they believe should go on the quest, Octavian is again rightfully upset. There are rules and procedures that are being completely ignored, and by visitors that are already suspicious to him and have made it very clear that they do not care about his opinion, even though he's on the senate and *the fucking augur.* he is once again interrupted, but this time by the book itself as Tyson shows up.

Ella then recites the 'mark of Athena' prophecy, which Octavian *once again* has every right to know about. prophecies are his job, and his entire *personality* as far as camp jupiter is concerned. i understand that it basically says 'Annabeth will destroy rome' but her secrecy in regards to the quest her mother gave her has never once made sense and is not justified in any way. instead of even saying something simple along the lines of 'Athena made me swear to secrecy', Percy for some reason is made to be the character that needs rescuing (in a situation that has nothing to do with him) and Annabeth takes the opportunity to make Octavian into the fool in front of all of his peers. it feels even worse later on when Annabeth and Reyna discuss the prophecy but only to agree that it even *is* one, and for no purpose beyond that for several paragraphs.

THEN when Leo offers a tour of the Argo II to Octavian and Reyna *once again* dismisses his suspicions, she winds up partly to blame for the resulting attack, as well as Leo for never telling anyone about gaea, and Annabeth for not saying anything when she noticed Leo was acting off. when Gaea attacks CJ and Octavian relays to Annabeth that he saw Leo open fire on the city, she assumes he's pulling some trick to get them to fight each other. she had known him for all of maybe a few hours and for some reason, watching her friends and boyfriend openly bully him has convinced her that he could be evil?

mind you, all of the above events happened over the course of *two* chapters, both of which are from the perspective of Annabeth who had only just met Octavian.

he only really began doing things you could consider 'evil' once gaea had fullt brainwashed him and driven him mad. and even then, he gets a fucking joke death?? as the only character up to this point that i was ever able to identify with on an ASD level, that feels really shitty! and the fact that the fandom just jumped on the Octavian hate train really drives home how people cannot handle spectrum coding/writing/*people* unless its presented in a cutesie helpless way.

but back to the original point of Octavian being compared to Luke; Luke was scheming the *entire* time we knew him. He did not want to protect his home, he did not have any real morals or self imposed rules. all he cared about was getting back at Hermes for not showing he cared about him (which is kind of bs considering Hermes is one of the busiest gods in the pantheon but as a fellow neglected kid i get it.) Luke was willing to do this in any way, even if it meant literally destroying the world. Octavian was just trying to keep his home safe in the way that any historical roman would have.

You also kind of have to consider his background. he was left at camp as an unwanted baby. we dont even know if his parents named him or if the camp did. his only identity is that he's a legacy of Apollo with a gift that is incredibly useful to CJ. this, along with his very clear coding (whether intentional on Rick's part or not), only shows me a character that was always unwanted and outcasted from the only place he even could call home. he doesnt want to be praetor for power, he wants to be praetor to prove to everyone (and himself) that he's worthy of being one of them. if he wanted power for the sake of power he could easily use his augur position to manipulate his way up, but never once do we see him attempt this. it doesn't help that he's named after THE Gaius Julius Ceasar Augustus, the man that founded the fucking roman empire in the first place. imagine how that must feel? to have your identity tied to such massive, larger than life people? imagine feeling like you have to live up to that in a place that seemingly fucking hates you for existing and only keeps you around because youre useful??

i really wish people would stop blatantly villainizing Octavian, dudes literally just an 18 year old autistic kid that was victimized by Gaea. give him a break, please.

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octavian-is-pretty-cool · 1 year ago

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ive got to defend octavian online and so do you

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octavian-is-pretty-cool · 1 year ago

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Things I wished was brought up/talked abt more in the books and fandom

Recognizing the fact that Percy wasn't the only one who was abused in his home as a child

Chiron gaslighting Percy and constantly withholding information from him and Jason (as far as I remember)

Thalia's childhood and overall importance to the narrative

Bianca was a 12 yr old girl who made mistakes and shouldn't be hated for her decisions

Hylla -Twice Kill- Ramirez Arellano

Phoebe the Hunter

EVERY Big Three Kid getting the chance to go all out on a person or a monster!!! Not just the boys, I mean Thalia and Hazel too!!

Annabeth's rocky relationship with her mother and how they should have a conversation abt it

Hazel should've been allowed to explore her powers over precious metals instead of letting her use the Mist e.g. controlling weapons (yes ik the rating was for kids but come on there's a bunch of ways you could've done this)

The potential of Octavian, Reyna and Jason mirroring Luke, Annabeth and Thalia

Camp Jupiter being fleshed out more and having more depth

Percy and Jason shouldn't have fought over leadership

Jason literally being replaced in his own camp and getting mocked for no longer being Roman even tho he was replaced by a Greek

Reyna and Jason's friendship

Dakota

The potential of Thalia and Nico being friends

Percy's mistreatment throughout the first 5 books from CHB

Thalia should've been in the room during the final fight in tlo

Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a wonderful character and doesn't deserve the hate just because she threatened the development of Percabeth

JASON AND THALIA SHOULDVE HAD MORE TIME TO DEVELOP AND BE TOGETHER

The only couple that should've been on the Argo II was Percabeth

The caleo plot line should've been a platonic relationship at best cause they both deserved better. Say what you want abt Calypso but she deserved to be freed. also, GIVE LEO A SELF LOVE PLOT LINE!!

Showing us how Leo learned to not be so afraid of using the powers that he believes killed his mother

I still think that Rick could've done something with the ' a Greek and a Roman born as siblings for the first time in centuries thing'

The implication that Thalia at 12 yrs old literally got torn apart by a pack of hellhounds on that hill (see tlt and hoh for proof)

Jason and Percy's rivalry should've either been caused by jealousy for the other having something they longed for (e.g. Jason wanted a family and a close relationship with his sister and a Camp that cared abt him.)

(Percy wanted Demigods to have a safe place to go and he definitely hated waking up in the forest alone with no memory surrounded by wolves)

Annabeth and Jason should've had more time spent together developing a friendship or a sibling relationship as they share an older sister

Rick failed at writing the Aphrodite Cabin and could've done better with the Hunters

Is it really necessary to have every major character be a cabin counselor?

Jason is the son of Jupiter yet he's only met Zeus.

Will's trauma from losing 2 of his brother's and being forced into a leadership position at a VERY young age should've been discussed more

Does anyone know what happened to the remaining Demigods from the Titan Army? Did they die? Did they run away? Were they offered a place at Camp, what???

who was responsible for telling the parents of the Demigods who died during botl and tlo and how did they even do it?

Why tf did Chiron make a 14 Yr Old boy tell a 10 yr old his sister was dead???

Drew Tanaka has the potential to be a layered and interesting character but Rick wrote her as a stepping stone for Piper

Instead of having everyone minus Leo be in a relationship on the Argo II, it should've just been Percabeth, who are the oldest (minus Hazel) and most experienced (slightly minus Jason) mentoring the others and helping them learn how to use their abilities and work as a team

Jason and Piper should've spent hoo learning who they are and who the other person is so they can learn to trust and depend on each other instead of jumping into a relationship right off the bat

Also they should've been the founders of the Leo protection squad just saying

Was losing daedalus' computer AND Luke's dagger necessary?

Percy should've spoken up when they were contemplating leaving Nico in the jar

The way Percy got all his memories back while Jason DIDN'T

Perseus means to 'Destroy' and Jason means 'to Heal' I think this could've been a great thing to talk about and https://www.tumblr.com/starlightshadowsworld/744309856211697664/this-exactly-like-were-told-time-and-time-again?source=share this post explains it better and credits to @rowlev and @starlightshadowsworld for it.

Thalia's relationship with the hunters is definitely a lot more complicated than we think, see this post -> https://www.tumblr.com/caffeinatedflumadiddlebutpjo/645485477726715904/i-am-having-feelings-about-thalia-grace-everyone?source=share for a better explanation

Why were Nico and Percy the only ones to go apeshit on a monster/goddess/person? What about Jason, Hazel and Thalia? yes ik Hazel fought Paisphae in HOH but that was the mist and not her actual powers over jewels and other Pluto/Hades abilities that we could've explored. Jason is praised for defeating Krios on his own as well as the trojan sea monster yet we don't get to see him go all out or put in a situation where he's pushed to the brink and is forced into a fit of rage. No, seeing Thalia turn to ice wasn't enough I need more.

Also I know it was mainly about the 7+Nico and Reyna but what if we got a perspective of Thalia or Hylla right after Reyna and Nico escaped from Orion? what if we got to see how that fight went? what if we saw Hylla and Thalia beating the absolute shit out of Orion like Nanami and Itadori did to mahito in jjk season 1? cause you can't tell me that both Thalia and Hylla wouldn't have just straight up used him as a punching bag after he killed their friends and comrades.

Children of the Big Three Do. Not. Just. Apply. To. The. Boys! I will fight you.

What kind of drawbacks do you think washing away the Curse of Achilles done to Percy? Demigods already have bad luck, Percy and Thalia especially so since they were the products of a broken Oath.

Rick shipping one person with another much older person

I'll add more I just need to recharge my brain

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octavian-is-pretty-cool · 1 year ago

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Yeah, Octavian’s anger post-MOA is really valid, because to the Romans, these people showed up with claims of peace and then bombed their city, targeting not just fighters but civilians too. I also would despise them and wouldn’t be willing to listen to what they say (also? Octavian is right to bring ear plugs to counter Piper, to the Romans she’s a girl who can take away their free will and part of the group that attacked their home. Who knows what she could say to them, what if she makes them go back and attack New Rome even more? She’s very much an active threat in the eyes of the Roman demigods). There’s no actual evidence the 7 could offer up to prove it wasn’t actually Leo in charge, it’s not like possession leaves a trace nor can they display their memories to prove it.

She literally planned to use her charmspeak against New Rome from the start (Bad for Relations) and actively used it against Octavian specifically cause she found him annoying. Like- yeah, no surprise he took steps to prevent that from happening again.

And yeah, like- as far as Octavian is concerned he was literally THERE when Leo starts bombing New Rome. Maybe he'll accept that the others didn't intend to, but them running instead of surrendering and talking out what happened doesn't look good. Especially because they proceed to break more laws.

Now, I do think Rick wrote him absolutely insane, but like- him not trusting them? Tracking them down? Trying to capture them? Valid.

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octavian-is-pretty-cool · 2 years ago

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This story is a short fanfic about the second PJO series: Heroes of Olympus.

This will be written as a sequel where instead of dying, Octavian lives.

I had woken up in screaming agony. My skin felt like it had been removed from my body; my limbs were sore and numb at the same time. It was like I had been pelted with rocks while being burnt alive and was now facing the aftermath. I couldn’t figure out where I was at the time or what led to the state of injury I was in. My surroundings were hardly distinguishable due to the lack of light. I was able to make out some trees, a moon, and a soft dirt path (which he was laying on). It turned out that I was in a forest.

I was covered in my own blood and dirt, while what once was molten gold had fused to my burnt skin. I still don’t know how long I was in that forest before I woke, but I assume it was a good 4 days. I could barely walk. My one leg was terribly sore, while my other leg was broken. I had begun to crawl to a nearby rock. I remember praying to you to give me some clarity on the events that had led up to this. If I had been left for dead or if my own choices landed me here, I didn’t know and it was killing me.

I had crawled for what seemed forever, for the rock was just a bush and I couldn’t sit on that. I had begun hearing voices. Cheering and laughing and talking and moving around. Then I heard a name that brought back every memory that I had lost.

“Percy Jackson”

Normally I would’ve been engraved by his name, but at the time I felt fear. I remembered the war, the ship, the blood, Gaia, and the canon I was shot out of. Instead of anger, I felt fear. I knew where I was. I was in the forest of Camp half-blood with the Graeca. Those fuckers were going to kill me if they found me in the forest. But it was too late. I had crawled too close and someone found me. It was a mean looking girl, around my age. She went right up in my face.

“You’re Octavian, aren’t you?”

She asked me, although she said it more like a statement. I nodded my head and she grabbed my shoulder.

“Stand up.”

She spat at me. I shook my head yet again. The girl lifted me up, causing me to wince, and tried to force me to stand. I fell back down again. It’s not like I wanted to stay on the floor, I just couldn’t. She kept yelling at me to stand up, kicking me in the side and probing me with a spear. Some of the others were coming near, the rest of the graeca going quiet. I mustered up the energy to speak.

“Look, if you’re going to kill me, do it now.”

It hurt to speak. My mouth and throat were so dry. The words came out scratchy and slurred, since my jaw was hurting as well. The girl looked at me and laughed. The others were surrounding me, I noticed. They were mumbling my name and what I think was the other girl’s name, Clarisse. They began to poke at me, jokingly, trying to get my attention. Clarisse picked me and draped me over her shoulder.

“Can someone else take him?”

“No way, he’s cold as hell!”

“Jack Frost who?”

“Shut up and stay focused.”

“What are we going to do with him?”

“Take him to Chiron, obviously.”

“No we’re not. Will’s going to insist on treating him.”

“Yeah, this bitch can't even stand, what makes you think he can go to Chiron.”

“Some of his skin looks burnt.”

“There’s also gold on him.”

“He looks like an abuse victim.”

“Adam, you can’t just say that.”

“It’s true though.”

“I mean, obviously he looks like this. He was shot out of a cannon.”

“Him and Percy should kiss. They’ll have a heart-warming reunion.”

“I’d kill to see that.”

“You’d kill just for fun.”

I listened as they had a small conversation. I would have rather died than get treated at Camp Half-Blood. I heard the murmur of the rest of the group and could see the ground being illuminated by a fire. I was now in the presence of the rest of the Graeca. Once again, the collective question of “Is that Octavian?” Had started up again. I had been dropped on the ground near the pit. I didn’t even realize how cold I really was until then, the fire making me feel instantly better. I ignored the raging pain coursing through my body, the murmurs of the Graeca, and the possibility of being murdered just to soak up the new-found warmth. That girl, Clarisse, and Adam, I think, were explaining my condition as far as they knew.

At least one broken leg, severe burns, dehydration, bruises, and potential hypothermia. I felt someone kneel down to my face. I couldn’t open my eyes even if I wanted to. Whoever it was trying to talk to me. They were saying my name and poking my face. Everything after that was a blur as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up on a hard bed in a dimly lit room. My body bandaged up.

I could lift one of my legs, but the other one was completely numb. I knocked my other leg against it, so I could make sure it was still there. I could see some light peeking through the curtains, meaning that it was now morning. I could feel my throat slowly killing me. I looked around the room. There was no chance of escape and I knew it. I was crippled and stuck in an unfamiliar place that I’ve only been to in a midst of chaos. The people here didn’t like me, and I didn’t like me.

‘I’m going to be poisoned. They’re going to kill me. These Graeca are only keeping me alive for information.”

I lied there in misery, overthinking my impending doom. I had failed to notice the voices outside the door. Their voices were muffled by the door, and with every passing minute my anxiety rose. Finally, the door opened, and my body tensed up.

In came an older looking centaur with silver hair and a rough beard. He was followed by some other kids around the same age as me. I didn’t recognize any of them at first. I did see Will and Nico, and later on Jackson. The person that surprised me was Jason. I pretended not to notice him as I stared the centaur in the eyes.

I won’t lie to you and say that I wasn’t scared, of course I was, but I can proudly say that I didn’t show it. Likewise, I refused to let myself appear vulnerable to those Graeca. The room was silent. No one dared speak. There was the sound of someone clearing their voice.

“How are you feeling, Octavian?”

I looked towards Will, whose voice I recognized. He didn’t have that same harsh glare as the others, instead he looked concerned. That didn’t stop me from being wary of his intentions.

“I’m fine.”

It was all I could manage. My throat was still dry as hell and my jaw hurt. He didn’t seem convinced by my claim, the scratchiness of my voice only confirming his suspicions. Will reached into his bag and pulled out a plastic water bottle. It was probably filled with someone’s spit or laced with magic of sorts. You should never trust a Graeca, especially in a moment of weakness.

I shook my head and tried my best to push his hand away.

“You need water, boy.”

The centaur took the water out of Will’s hand and gave it back to me. Normally I had more fight in me when it came to resistance, yet I caved in immediately when that man gave me the water. In hindsight, it was a foolish move. It could’ve been a poison or a drug. There was no real promise that it was water, or if the water was safe to drink. It didn’t matter, though. I remember drinking the bottle slowly, as if I was looking out for a weird taste or feeling as I drank it. As thirsty as I was, I only drank half the bottle, despite Will urging me to drink more.

“You’re dehydrated Octavian. You need more than that one water bottle, and a heck of a lot more than just half.”

“Will, leave him be. He’s not our friend.”

“Yes, but he’s my patient.”

“That tried to kill us.”

“So did the other Romans.”

“That’s different. It doesn’t matter if they did.”

“Well, I’m sorry for caring about people, Percy.”

I watched silently, growing more restless by the second. I desperately wanted the water, but I knew better than to finish the rest of it. Instead of listening to Will and Jackson, I studied the faces of the others. They were either focused on those two idiots bickering or studying my body. I suddenly became very self-conscious of my body. My shirt was off, exposing my chest and torso. My skin has always been paper-white and my body skinny. So skinny, in fact, that you could see my rib cage even when I’m wearing a shirt. I looked down at myself, disgusted by the burnt flesh and ugly bruises. I had a feeling that I would not be leaving this camp for a while.

Being so distracted by my own self, I failed to notice Jason coming up to me on the other side of the bed. He tapped my bandaged shoulder, making me flinch.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Sure.”

“No I’m serious.”

“Whatever. What do you want?”

“Some of the people in Camp Jupiter had dropped this off.”

Now listen here, no one will ever be able to imagine the mix of emotions that I felt when Jason pulled out my bear, not even you. His name’s Tiberius and he’s been with me ever since I got to Camp Jupiter. Tiberius is an old-stuffed bear that I carried around with me back in my Augur days. He remained latched to my belt at all times. I had left him at home (Camp) because I was convinced that we would’ve won the battle.

I shakily reached out to Tiberius with my good arm. I didn’t even notice the silence that now filled the room.

“I was going to wash him, but I didn’t have the time.”

“That’s okay, he’s perfect.”

“Why did you leave Tiberius at home?”

“I thought I would be going back.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that someone thought of you enough to bring here instead.”

“Yeah, it is. Thank you, Jason.”

“No problem dude.”

Looking back, I wish that I would have given him a more meaningful thanks during the few moments where we were alone. The time of my reuniting with Tiberius was certainly not one of them.

I put my toy bear right next to me in bed as the others continued to watch. Eventually, the centaur spoke again. He said that he thinks that I’m in the right headspace to be interrogated later on in the week. The rest of the group left shortly after we agreed on a time. The only people left were Will and Jason. Will pulled out a chart and began to check off some things as Jason sat down at the edge of the bed, twiddling his thumbs. There was a lot that I wanted to say to him at that moment. Like, “Why did you betray me?” “How could you befriend the Greeks?” “Are you still praetor in Camp Jupiter?” “Is my title as Augur still there?” “Do you see me as a friend or an enemy?” and most importantly, “I’m sorry.” Of course, I never spoke these thoughts aloud, and still to this day I wish that I had. Jason then turned towards me.

“Hey, Octavian. I need to ask you some-.”

He was cut off by that damn Graeca.

“Sorry to interrupt Jason, but I really need to fill out this medical chart for him.”

“That’s fine, Will, I’ll ask another time.”

But he never did. Here and there he looked like he was about to say something to me but would always stop himself. Other times, when around people, he would constantly get interrupted.

Days turned into weeks, and I was finally able to move around with more freedom. I hadn’t really interacted with most of the Graeca since I was kept in the Big House instead of the infirmary. I still had refused to eat with the others and was reluctant to talk to any of them. It didn’t seem to matter to most. It was decided that since they could forgive the rest of the Romans, they could sort-of forgive me too. The only part that I was happy about was not being treated like a criminal. I was too tired and weak to do anything anyway. I mean, what much can a crippled legacy do in a situation like this? That’s right, nothing.

Later on, I was given the “good behavior” sentence and was allowed to go back to Camp Jupiter. The only problem was that it was being run by Frank and Hazel, who didn’t want me back. And that’s what led up to where I am now. I’m at home with my parents and siblings. They were disappointed in the loss of the war, but pissed at my exclusion from Camp Jupiter. I continued my last year of high school and graduated 5 months ago. Now I’m in college and studying law. My leg had never fully recovered, and I have since lost all contact with Roman and Greek life.

Although just earlier today I received a note from Jason and Reyna asking if I was able to head over to Camp Half-Blood.

Apollo, I beg of you, just one more chance. You now know what had happened to me after the war. I had faced my punishment, and I’m now ready for redemption. You don’t have to write me back, or visit me in a dream. Just please Apollo, please give me a sign that you’re here and bless me with your guidance.

-Octavian

#octavian pjo #hoo octavian #octavian #octavian hoo #heroes of olympus

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