#stealing inspo from a long dead guy to win over the heart of a god

[zazzander]

Octavian: the name

I didn't need the reminder. I'd been so proud of my son, the original Octavian, later Caesar Augustus.

So names have meaning, right? Perseus was the hero that got the happy ending, which is why Sally Jackson chose it, even though Perseus was a son of Zeus not Poseidon. The original Jason was the captain of the Argo. And our Jason sailed on the Argo "Two" (too).

Then there's Octavian.

“Possibly my namesake, Octavian – Augustus Caesar. Everyone says I bear a remarkable resemblance.”

This is the first mention of Octavian's name and how it's related to the first Emperor. Now, OG Octavian was a ruthless politician, not a hero. Which is interesting, because usually if someone has a namesake in these stories it would be an actual mythological hero (Percy and Jason being examples). Not like, an actual person.

Besides, the first day of August is most auspicious - the month named after my ancestor Augustus. And you know how he united the Romans? [...] He saved Rome by becomes First Citizen. He wanted peace and prosperity, not power! Believe me, Mike, I intend to follow his example. I will save New Rome."

Unlike a lot of the other heroes with namesakes, Octavian seems to have invested himself into being just like Augustus. To follow his example.

How so? Well, reading through the lines a bit, we can guess that New Rome is mostly based off the Roman Republic's culture. It's hesitance to embrace the Greeks - for one thing. But also the fact each cohort has its standard. The fact Apollo isn't really worshipped as an important god (and his children generally dismissed as cowardly).

Going back to the original quote (at the top), we see Apollo talking about how proud he was of the original Octavian (Augustus). Despite Augustus' earlier portrayal as a powerhungry tyrant.

Which means me think Octavian's need to follow Augustus' example stems, in part, from Apollo's pride of his son. Feeding into Apollo's nostalgia.

This was a smaller, kinder, much improved Rome - the Rome we always thought mortals were capable of but never achieved. And, yes, of course we gods came here for nostalgia, to relive those wonderful centuries when mortals worshipped us freely across the empire, perfuming the air with burnt sacrifices.

Because even though Apollo says this - he's like the only god who seems to agree. At least, according to pretty much every Roman demigod who isn't Octavian.

And note, Apollo talks about the empire. Because of course he does. Under the Republic, Apollo wasn't that important. He pretty much had no Roman equivalent and that made it very hard to integrate him. The person who pressed for that integration? It was Augustus.

(The Romans had been becoming more and more interested in Greek concept for a long time. It's not like Apollo was just ignored until then. He had a Temple near Rome. But importantly none in Rome.)

But while we see a bit of Octavian trying to replicate this idealised Augustus. Of following the footsteps of his namesake. Almost like... like he really wanted Apollo to acknowledge him.

I find it really interesting as well, that we don't have Octavian's last name (I know I'm bringing it up again but it's important). A lot of Riordan's main cast have last names. And especially for Octavian, his should be just as important as his first name. He derives so much of his political power from his family yet he also talks about them vaguely.

The name he clings to is Apollo's.

Rachel Dare faced the augur, "Octavian, son of Apollo, you should take this more seriously. Even Romans respected your father's Oracle of Delphi."

"Ha!" Octavian said. "You're the Oracle of Delphi? Right. And I'm the Emperor Nero."

Octavian doesn't correct Rachel when she falsely calls him a son of Apollo. She calls Apollo his father. Even though that's blatantly wrong. Maybe that's because he'd refer that reality over the current one.

(I think Riordan has admitted this was a mistake but it's in the text so I'm going to use it!)

Regardless, like all the namesakes, Octavian's comes with a twist. Percy = actually a son of Poseidon. Jason = actually not the captain. Octavian? = actually dies young.

Brutal.

Anyway, I just wanted to talk about it. Because there's a real potential for the two of them to be compared in the eyes of Apollo. And, of course, the second Octavian really doesn't measure up.

Their former augur, my descendant Octavian, had died in the battle against Gaia. (Which I had a hard time feeling sad about, but that's another story.)

[jar-of-ectoplasm]

Beach Trip Headcanons: La Squadra

a/n: it's getting warmer where i live which is horrible and i hate it but it gave me some inspo here's some bullshit

Genre/Warnings: Crack, fluff, just some cute shit, polyamory (sorlato), a LOT of simping omfg

~Risotto Nero~

-he already had his tits out on the regular so his bare chest isn't anything new but he lost that stupid hat so it wouldn't get wet and now you can stare at hat-less riz

-doesn't get in the water too often but he definitely goes underwater to grab your legs and scare you (he does it to ghiaccio and melone too; melone screams at the top of his lungs and ghiaccio fails around like he's drowning)

-spends most of his time under the parasols with illuso and prosciutto, just chatting and watching you mess around with your teammates (and maybe checking you out while he's at it)

-lowkey starts to get jealous if he thinks melone or formaggio are gettin' too friendly with you (god help any random person that flirts with you)

-Riz makes damn sure both you and him are very well saturated (?? does that sound weird) with sunscreen. there's no way in hell either of you will be suffering through that

~Prosciutto~

-you thought you were going to the beach with your boyfriend? lmfao nah you're at the beach with mom and your rowdy ass siblings now

-came in clutch with the sunscreen, aloe vera ointment, snacks, water and spending money. has a very nice set up under a parasol with illuso (and you, if you'd like to join him in his relaxation/parenting session)

-pros with his hair down, shirtless and wearing a pair of pineapple swim trunks to match with pesci? out in public? a lot more likely than you'd think

-formaggio would be a prick and dump water on his hair and now you get to see prosciutto with his hair wet fUCK (pros would be FUMING but he'd look so GOOD)

-would read to you but he doesn't want to risk getting any of his fav books wet so he'd just tell you wonderful stories of the team before you joined (most of them are embarrassing for everyone but him)

~Pesci~

-literally he's having the time of his LIFE right now. he's completely protected from the sun (thanks mamma pros), he's goin' fishing, he's got his s/o with him, what more could a boy ask for?

-maybe he should've asked formaggio to not throw sand at him every 10 minutes because that is happening for sure, no matter how much prosciutto yells at him to stop pesci will not be left alone

-is in the water like, 70% of the time. he'll make bets with ghiaccio to see who can swim out the farthest and ghia is surprisingly not mad when he loses

-he'll walk off the beach with just you to get ice cream and it's honestly really fucking cute (he gets strawberry, btw)

-pesci really likes picking you up and tossing you into the water. he's secretly a little bastard and will laugh at you while helping you up

~Illuso~

-jesus the entire day with him is just 🙄. he's such a little bitch about EVERYTHING

-won't go in the water at all and carries a compact mirror with him so he has an escape plan in case formaggio decides to fuck with him. salt water damages your hair and there's no possible fucking way he's risking his scalp just for a little fun

-still insisted on wearing swim trunks and going shirtless though, mostly just to have your undivided attention (as if he didn't already force you to pay attention to him enough)

-sitting under parasols with prosciutto because he's pale and has sensitive skin but he still ends up getting sunburned and won't stop complaining

-you guys did have a cute little moment when the sun was starting to set and he dragged you away from everyone so he could look for sea glass with you (totally wasn't an excuse to hold your hand while he was dragging you around)

~Formaggio~

-spends the entire day being a little rat bastard and making almost everyone wish he was dead (he respects risotto too much and sorbet and gelato scare him so he leaves them alone)

-throwing sand at pesci and melone, pouring water on prosciutto, stealing melone's goggles, chasing illuso into the mirror world, straight up throwing ghiaccio's car keys across the beach

-and of course he's gonna drag you into this. even if you just wanted to have a nice beach day with your asshole boyfriend, he's gonna hold you captive during his shenanigans

-can and will wipe his sweat on you. he thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. please throw seaweed at him in retaliation, he thinks it's nasty as fuck

-leaves the beach early so he can treat you to dinner, both as a thank you for dealing with his bullshit all day and as an apology for wiping sweat on you every 30 minutes

~Ghiaccio~

-the most unrecognizable when he's as the beach with everybody. his hair isn't styled, so his curls are a lot looser and not plastered to his head, he's not wearing his glasses so they don't get lost in the water, HIS FUCKING LEGS AND BARE CHEST ARE JUST OUT

-literally just,,,SURFER GHIACCIO??? come ON dude. he knows what he's doing and will wink at you every single time he catches you staring

-loves wading out far into the water with you on his surf board so he can be all soft and cute with you without anybody hearing or seeing him

-he'll also be pretty light-hearted when he's out there too. he and pesci will see who can swim out the farthest and he'll let pesci win (let's be honest, with his legs he could swim to a different continent if he wanted too)

-ghia might look hot as hell out there, but he'll also end up burnt as hell. literally he just didn't put sunscreen on and he was out in the sun for hours. hottie got sun poisoning, please take him home early he will die

~Melone~

-he brought along goggles, a snorkel and flippers so he can do some shallow reef diving

-he'll pop up occasionally and yell for you to come over and show you a tiny little crab or a cool looking fish he found (it's honestly really, really cute)

-mel will take routine breaks to reapply sunscreen, drink water, check up on you, and get his goggles stolen (which he did not plan on). he'll also take this time to use shitty beach-related pick up lines to get you to laugh

-honestly as pervy as you'd think he would be. maybe it's because he's distracted by all the fun little creatures he keeps finding in tide pools and such

-has his own little set up a few feet away from prosciutto and illuso's. he'll be there while he's taking his breaks and yes he will try to cuddle with you even though it's pushing 90 degrees at noon

~Sorbet and Gelato~

-not to get sad in what is supposed to be a fun headcanon set but neither of them will take their shirts off or get in the water. both of them have a lot of body image issues and they'd really appreciate it if you didn't try to convince them to be half naked in public

-with that being said, both Sorbet and Gelato get loads of enjoyment out of just watching you swim around and have fun before returning to them

-Sorbet will help apply sunscreen but he really just wants an excuse to grope you and Gelato in public

-Gelato will want to have a sandcastle building contest with you (Sorbet is the judge and both of you receive the grand prize of a kiss)

-long walks on the beach together at night after everyone's gone home? of fucking course it's gonna happen